I'm busy writing, and haven't finished reading Empire of Illusion.
So, here's an end-of-the-year best of GAB. I've included some explanation to justify the selection.
Best wishes for the New Year.
December 08: Jesus, Jinnah & Atal Behari
(I wrote about my favourite history book Richard Tucker's Ranade and the Roots of Indian Nationalism. Later discovered, reading MJ Akbar's column, that Jinnah had changed his birthday from October 20 to December 25. October 20 is also an important date for me)
January 09: White Tiger
(Quite simply one of the best books I read this year. Also, my blog comes up in many searches when readers of the book Google the Great Socialist and White Tiger.)
February 09: Fun Home
(My first adult graphic novel. Amazingly sensitive and touching. I discovered a wonderful art form that economises on words but not on emotions.)
March 09: Running in the family
(I hadn't read Ondaatje before. This was a great introduction. Then, I read In the Skin of the Lion, the most definitive book on Toronto.)
April 09: It’s raining
(I always got drenched in the first rains in Mumbai. Tried doing that in Toronto and almost fell ill. Also wrote about Alexander Frater's Chasing the Monsoon. The book has Jawaharlal Nehru's quote about being disappointed with Bombay's monsoon. See the quote below.)
(Used photographs from Rahul Gandhi's website.)
May: Asian writers
(Met Jasmine D'Costa for the first time, and read her wonderful collection of short stories Curry is Thicker than Water.)
June : VS Naipaul
(Reading a master; awestruck.)
July: Writer as God
(This piece was a result of an intense internal turmoil.)
August: A Streetcar Named Desire
(Nick Noorani wrote back. I was surprised, overjoyed.)
September: Festival of South Asian Literature & Arts
(Met MG Vassanji for the first time.)
October: Princess of Serendip
(I met Dionne Brand a month later; she has a warm heart.)
November: Canadian Voices
(A marvelous collection of fiction and poetry by new voices in Canada)
December: Global Soul
(Realised that I'll always be an outsider anywhere I go.)