Every time I pick up a book, it?s like entering a comfort zone. It?s almost as if a warm blanket has been thrown over my shoulders. Through my growing-up years, reading was a kind of crutch, a relief from the outside world. Even today, I only have to open a book to be lost in a world of my own.

Reading has shaped my entire life, my character, my body language. The books I?ve read have played a major part in making me what I am, shaping the way I think and influencing my outlook on life. Books have taught me about right and wrong, moral and immoral. They?ve also taught me about life?s grey areas that everything isn?t white or black, that you can?t make snap judgments of people and situations. Because books are an obsession, I?ve developed a taste for writing too. I keep a diary in which I note down all my thoughts and that?s helped me develop my personality.

I can?t really remember how I got interested in reading. And I can?t remember a time I picked up a book and didn?t read it. As a kid, I was fond of Tinkle comics, Enid Blytons and fairy tales. The reading habit bloomed during my boarding school years because the school had a great library. I remember it had the original version of Grimm?s Fairy Tales. And I devoured it just as I went through all the Nancy Drew, Bobbsey Twins and Hardy Boys series.

Over the years, I?ve developed a taste for fiction. I?ve read a few non-fiction books but I found them very boring. Really, why should I want to read another person?s biography or autobiography? Why would I want to know about a stranger?s personal life even if he?s a pop star or a politician? If at all, I?d love to read my mom?s, dad?s or grandmom?s autobiography. They are the people I love and cherish. I would definitely want to know how my mom faced certain situations in her life.

However, one non-fiction book I?ve really loved is Brian Weiss? Many Lives Many Masters. My mother gave it to me and I finished it in one sitting. It?s about reincarnation and at that point in my life, I was really intrigued by the subject.

Also, I hate self-help books. I don?t need anyone to tell me how to lead my life. Maybe because I?m a very confident person. I?ve never felt the need for them. These days my daughter is my biggest self-help manual. I?ve learnt so much just by being with her. I?m a much better person, mellowed and much more focused.

I must state here that I read what interests me, not what people think makes good reading. For instance, I absolutely love reading Mills & Boon romances. I think they?re great stress relievers; absolute time-pass reading. They?re like disposable diapers you can read them and chuck them away. A lot of people tell me they?re absolute shit and I always retort, "Please write one readable M&B and then we?ll talk."

I love historical romances too. They give me so much information about another era when chivalry was alive. I love reading about how people lived a hundred years ago. There was a sharp dividing line between the roles men and women played and it made life so much easier. Not that I would like to be in that era. It?s just nice reading about it.

Swing to the other end of the scale and I love vampire books, especially those by Anne Rice. I?m quite tickled by horror, telepathy, and the supernatural. Also science fiction and fantasy; more fantasy than science, actually. Any wonder I?m fascinated by Harry Potter? I?ve read the whole series. I don?t think they?re children?s books, they?re for everyone. I?m sure everyone believes in magic and wizards and that there?s a Harry Potter somewhere who?ll save the world.

Science fiction can sometimes be dry because most writers are too fixated on science and aren?t interested enough in creating enough drama and investing their characters with emotions. What I find fascinating is the way they operate in a parallel universe set in futuristic time and use all the metaphors of that parallel world.

The one book that really disappointed me was The Lord Of The Rings. I couldn?t proceed beyond a few pages. There was so much description about each and every place that it bored me to tears. A story has to move, it can?t get lost in description. Earlier I used to be a member of a library but these days I find it easier to buy my own books. I keep myself informed about the latest best-sellers and other fiction titles to hit the market and I pick up most of them when I travel abroad. I can proudly say that I have a great library.

I have over 1000 books right now and this, after having recently discarded some 400 books. I prefer paperbacks to hardbacks; they?re much easier to handle...and cheaper, too. Though the price is never the main criterion, the quality of the content is more important to me than the quality of its pages.

I have to confess here that I haven?t read any Indian authors. I find books written by Indian authors too close to reality. When I read a book, I don?t like to focus on reality. I read a book not to stress myself but to de-stress.

?The one book that really disappointed me was The Lord Of The Rings. There was so much description about each and every place that it bored me to tears. A story has to move, it can?t get lost in description.?

Anuradha CHOUDHARY

Source : Filmfare