So what does this say about me?! I am re-reading A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth and I just bought these truly delightful tortoise shell heeled sandals. I am hearting these both a lot! 

I am really feeling this quote. I have fallen in love all over again with A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth; the words just draw you in like a warm duvet on a cold winters day.

Well I think I am there with the book! Especially with the sequel Suitable Girl due soon. Does anybody know the exact date – I have scoured the net for one? I have started re-reading it after 23 years in preparation for the sequel release!

I will be SO telling my son this a lot!

I love lots of things, but the thing I love to do most is READ!  As a child, I was never lonely, as a reader, I made many friends, discovered various places, time travelled and learnt a lot of lessons.  Books were everywhere, in school, at home, at my grandparents’ homes and on play dates – we used to exchange books and stickers.  For the five years I spent in Cambridge I was in heaven; we had access to over a hundred libraries!  Each library was a feast for the senses.  I never managed to study in any of them as I would get distracted by the book titles, colours and the designs of their covers, the architecture, wondering who had taken out which book, which book was lonely – sitting there for years on end, waiting for someone to come and pick them up, which renowned academic had studied in the library, what great theory had they developed sitting in this very library … oh I could spin story, after story, in the library, and my essays wouldn’t move even a word forward!  Our passionate lecturers in the Education course at Cambridge certainly cemented my love for children’s literature and made it legitimate to read and collect it. A few years later as the first principal of a renowned school in North India I had the delightful task of stocking the library – can you imagine the sheer joy 🙂  I was nowhere near exhausted even after procuring over 12,000 books – my only pain – not being able to read all of them.  Books have been my constant companion and prescription for the various roles I have had as a school leader, mentor, curriculum developer, mother, wife, etc. and for the people I have supported, whether through their teacher training, college applications or life’s dilemmas – there is a book for every situation and infliction!  And that is how My Next Reading List came into existence, a way of sharing my enthusiasm for humankind’s greatest invention.

I came across Anne Shirley just as I turned into a teenager, and she became my kindred spirit instantly! I wanted to have her confidence, sense of preciseness, imagination and humour. As I look back, I now realise she gave me a lot of gumption to go and do things and have 100% conviction in my goals. So today on World Book Day, I would like to thank Anne with an ‘e’ for inspiring me to never give up, have intense passion in whatever you do and keep ready a supply of ambitions, to keep you thrilled forever.

I have had the most marvellous adventures from my armchair … thank you The Man Who Counted by Malba Tahan, News From No Man’s Land by John Simpson, An Era of Darkness by Shashi Tharoor, Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson and so so many more that I need a spreadsheet to document :).

I don’t want to go anywhere when I have The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh and endless large mugs of Earl Grey tea.