What book is next on your reading list?
A difficult one, I must say. For the past couple of years, I have been reading multiple books at a time. This includes multiple non-fiction and one fiction. It’s been pretty great so far. I am able to retain more information and I no longer get stuck in reading. When it comes to choosing the next book, it is completely dependent on my mood. For example, I have been putting off reading The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, saying that I need to be in a better mental state to read that. I finished it today and the irony is that my therapist prescribed anti-depressants for me yesterday. Years of following every self-help advice made me think that I have it all together. But I broke down in the first 10 minutes of my first ever therapy session. So much for waiting for the perfect time to read a book!
I am in the process of finding the right words for The God of Small Things. I don’t want to jump into any fiction immediately. I will continue with the non-fiction ones I am reading — Recollections of My Non-Existence by Rebecca Solnit and Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott. I can gladly say that I will continue to be a Rebecca Solnit fan for life as this is the fourth book of hers that I am reading. As someone who is still fighting for existence, it’s been a difficult read compared to the rest of her books. It brings back so many traumatic experiences and I am taking it slow. On the other hand, Bird By Bird has been an inspiring book. I am sticking to the writing process just because of Anne Lamott and depression-induced high-functioning. Then there is this ambitious project of reading Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. I am struggling to see the greatness of America in the initial sections and I hope it gets better in the next sections for non-Americans like me. Otherwise, it is going to be a lost cause.
