Excellent read. Strongly recommended!
The rings of saturn by W G Sebald
March 29, 2026Geoff Dyer’s Out of sheer rage: Wrestling with D H Lawrence
February 24, 2026A very funny and very readable book. Strongly recommended!
Heart the lover by Lily King
February 14, 2026Since I loved reading King’s Euphoria and Writers & Lovers, obviously, I did not want to give this one a miss. As usual, I was not disappointed. The writing, especially in part I, is so smooth and wonderful. The book deserves all the praise heaped on it. Strongly recommended!
Peter Heehs’ Sri Aurobindo: a brief biography
February 9, 2026A must-read! Who knew, for example, Aurobindo’s middle name is Ackroyd! This is also a very different from usual biographies in the sense that the second part explicitly deals with the inner life and yoga practices of Aurobindo as much as any biographer has access to such things — through letters and diary entries of Aurobindo and the notes from his disciples/followers. Enjoyed the book and am looking forward to his biography of Mother.
Stephen McCauley’s You only call when you’re in trouble
January 26, 2026A good read. This was a recommendation for January by Maureen Corrigan a couple of years ago (but works well for this January too!)
Katabasis by R F Kuang
January 17, 2026I like campus novels. This is a very unique campus novel and is fun!
Greater Magadha: studies in the culture of early India by Johannes Bronkhorst
December 28, 2025This is a very interesting book, which, among other things (such as when the Vedic texts were finalised, and how much of Rig Veda as we know it now was known to Panini, and so on), advances the following two ideas:
(1) Buddhism and Jainism were independent and at some level contemporaneous with Vedic Hinduism and to think that Buddha is a reactionary to Vedic religion might not be correct; and, more importantly,
(2) The ideas of rebirth and the Karma notions are borrowed into the Vedic religion from these contemporaneous thought processes.
The second idea also leads to an important conclusion, namely, the Carvaka school is probably the Vedic school which was true to the original Vedic religion in refusing to accept outside notions such as Karma and rebirth. A very thought provoking and interesting read that made me question many ideas I had about the growth of Buddhism vis-a-vis Hinduism. Strongly recommended with the caveat that some portions (especially the appendices) are too technical for me to follow and the original quotes in German and French are given without translation, which, again, I could not follow.
Granta 173: India issue
December 23, 2025I used to borrow Granta regularly from Eloor lending library — about two decades ago. I have not read one in recent times. However, since this is an India issue, I decided to give a try. Some of the interviews are online and are more extensive. But the issue overall is nice and certainly worth the read!
Vijnana Bhairava: The practice of centering awareness Commenatry by Swami Lakshman Joo
December 9, 2025This is a manual on meditation. About 112 meditation practices are explained. Of course, one needs practice and probably a teacher to understand some of the methods indicated. Very interesting nonetheless.
Called by the hills: A home in the Himalaya by Anuradha Roy
December 8, 2025This has been an year of some wonderful reading for me. Roy’s Called by the hills is among some of the best that I read this year; it is certainly the best in terms of the exquisite water colours. I recommend that you buy several copies and keep them in every room, hall, and desk!! Very strongly recommended!!
Entertaining Research 