BENGALURU : Indhu Radhakrishnan, co-founder & CEO of India Syndicate that offers content, design, digital marketing and social media services. The social media junkie is an avid reader too. In a conversation with CE, she talks about her favourite books and authors. Excerpts:
Your favourite book of all time and why? Could you quote a passage?
It has to be Catch-22. I read it at an impressionable age back in college and was completely influenced by the wit and the dark humour that reflected a war-ravaged era. This book was possibly my induction into satire.
Your favourite fictional character and why?
Yossarian. From Catch 22 again. He’s unbelievably funny, annoyingly pragmatic and a detached observer of life.
Few lines you got from a book, which you would never forget?
“Don’t let go too soon, but don’t hold on too long.” Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie.
Five top books released in 2017, according to you:
Hit Refresh, Ministry of Utmost Happiness, Lincoln in the Bardo and Sing, Unburied Sing.
One book you would want a first edition of and why?
One Hundred years of Solitude. It’s an epic that deserves pride of place on my bookshelf.
Which author would you like to have tea with and what would you talk about?
I would like to have tea with Chitra Banerjee Divakarunni, the author of The Palace of Illusions. I would love to talk to her about Mahabharata, the characters and her fascinating interpretation of their relationships.
One advice you would give to your favourite author, and one you would give to terrible
writers.
To my favourite author, I’d like to tell them not to become predictable with their stories and your style. And, I would like to advice terrible writers to think as a reader and if they would read their own books. But, I admire their perseverance and determination in getting their work published.
Which books would you take with you on a solo holiday?
The one I’m reading now, The Kitchen
Confidential by Anthony Bourdain.
Your one guilty-pleasure read?
I’m a social media junkie. The guilty pleasure read has to be any story, even trivial stories, that are shared widely and are trending on social media
One fictional character you go to when you need a friend?
None, I’m afraid. I’d rather go to real friends, I have plenty of them. (smiles)
What is one quality of a book you wish people would have?
I wish people are as receptive to your moods as books are.
One book you wish was never written, and why?
I have never come across a book that does not deserve to exist. For me, a book is an investment of my time and a kind of commitment to see it through to the end. So I choose my books wisely, usually based on recommendations or reviews that kindle interests in me.
What is one thing you cannot tolerate when you are reading?
Prime time news hour on television.
Your favourite reading nook?
My balcony with a hot cup of tea
Do you remember to keep bookmarks?
I do. But I keep losing them all the time. With Kindle, bookmarking got easier though.