Constant Companions

My loot of books

I am without a doubt a lover of books. I said so as much when I entered an article in a writing contest in a national daily for which I got a gift certificate to a book chain. In my much younger years I would read almost everyday and for the better part of it to boot. I would get lost in the world of of the written word and come up only for air and for nourishment (Of course I exaggerate).

But in the daily grind of everyday living my reading habit has been reduced to a once in a month frequency. Such a far cry during my childhood and post adolescent years when a book a day was common stance.

Now as before, it is still suspense thrillers, mystery novels and basic whodunits that fill my reading fare. Owing to the limited time I have to browse and buy, I've narrowed my list to the three which are my favorites: Dame Agatha Christie, Mary Higgins Clark and John Grisham. In that particular order.

Ms. Christie never fails to whirl me in and so far I have read almost all of her novels. The same is true for Ms. Clark, however, it is the former who to my mind is more brilliant with her perfect characterizations and mood settings. As you go through her books you feel that her characters are so real you start to picture them. The plot itself is astounding, with enough twists and turns that keep you guessing till the end. Yet what lends distinction to her tomes is the uncanny way that Ms. Christie re-creates everything, from the mood, the place to the characters in a way that comes so alive to the reader. In my eyes, she is till unsurpassed and decades after her death I still has to see an equal.