A year of reads 2021

 The last of 2021 was Great classic Collections by Rabindranath Tagore  -  a collection of 18 beautiful stories, and favourite among them where, The Jewel - where a wife so obsessed with her jewel, do not share it with her husband, and what people say, and what actually could have happened; and Kabuliwala - how love of a father for his daughter is irrespective of where he is. 

Well that was the 112th. Planned to read 120, was short of 8 books for the target. But an amazing year of wonderful books. Difficult to name top 10 as each were amazing - may be there are top 25 books. 

So many variety - and interesting, 75% of the books from the shelf to be read in 2021 is still untouched. Of the 20 here, read only 5, if at all, I had flipped the pages of the others and written the review, I would have reached my target. Books that I carry over to the next year are:

1. Fatherland by Robert Harris
2. Love in times of Cholera and One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia
3. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk
4. Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
5. The Elephant Catchers by Subrotho Bagchi
6. Work Rules by Laszlo Bock
7. The Mahabharata Quest by Christopher C Doyle
8. The Power of your Subconscious Mind by Dr. Joseph Murphy
9. Great Works of Franz Kafka - Amercia, The Castle, The Trial.
10. There is no love in Wall street - Ira Trivedi
11. Man the Unknown by Dr Alexis Carrel.

Book list for 2022 are:

1. Fresh water for flowers by Valerie Perrin
2. In The Dream House: A Memoir by Carmen Maria Machado
3. And some purchases from Mumbai

Some people say you tube is better than reading, and some ask me they want to get back to reading, and how that can be done. I found the below tips from David Nair useful:

1. Start with your favorite subject  - if you love sports, read biography of your favorite sport person. If you like science/psychology or anything else, there are books for every type.
2. Set aside time for reading - Before you start your day, before bed, or after lunch. Set aside 10 minutes a day. Start now.
3. Carry your book around - You carry your mobile and things you need without second though, make this a nautre.
4. Target pages per day - Most self development books are of 200 pages. If you read 10 pages a day, you would be able to finish 18 books a year. 
5. Cut of your useless activities - Do you scroll through your social network on mobile or OTT many times a day? If you do, you still have time.
6. Use a Visual cue - Sticky notes, circling calender, simple excel sheet - it could be anything, a visual reminder help you track your habit.
7. Start with a modest target - Start small, keep going, you will turn into a reading machine in no time.

Most successful people acknowledge how their reading habits added value throughout their careers. Cultivating the habit of reading is'nt that hard. All you need is the will to begin.