ME & MY SHELF

Siddharth Kapila is a lawyer turned writer whose writing has focussed on issues surrounding Hinduism. His debut book, Tripping Down the Ganga: A Son's Exploration of Faith (Speaking Tiger) traces his seven-year-long journey along India's holiest river and his explorations into the nature of faith among believers and skeptics alike.

A Fine Balance BY ROHINTON MISTRY,

Faber and Faber, ₹1,104 Mistry portrays quotidian middle-class Indian life so effortlessly that you flow with his prose. And as you’re sailing along, out of nowhere, he drops instances of the everyday cruelties we inflict on the most vulnerable in society, leaving you gasping. I was fearful to turn the page. Then, I re-read the book.

My Family and Other Animals BY GERALD DURRELL,

Puffin, ₹273 Just before WW2, an English mother takes her children from Britain to the Greek island of Corfu. What ensues is the most hilarious and colourful story of the family’s stay there. At once comical and genuine, this autobiographical book taught me a lot about vividly de- picting places and family relationships. I still return to it if I need a pick-me-up, and it never fails to provoke laughter.

Catcher in The Rye BY J. D. SALINGER, Penguin UK, ₹399

I first read this all-time classic bildungsroman on the six-hour toy-train ride from Shimla to Kalka. I was so absorbed in it that I hardly looked out the window! I’ve re-read it four times since and loved it just as much on every reading.

A Short History of Nearly Everything BY BILL BRYSON,