What are you reading?

Reading is a habit that is unobtrusively common among everyone from all walks of life. We may or not call our-selves a 'reader' but we consume content everyday via newspapers, magazines, novels, blogs, tweets etc. While I enjoy reading in almost all its forms, my true calling has always been the novels. And I've been proud to be known as a 'voracious reader'. Of late, though, laziness (a common trait in our generation) took over and my book count started dropping alarmingly. Being a self-appointed 'reader', I could not let this lull to drag on. I had to remind myself of the love I held for my books and so, I took a trip down memory lane because nothing gives the feels as a good stirring of the memory pot.

Here's a list of the 9 classics that gave birth to the passionate reader in me!

1. The Indian Comic fare

Panchatantra, Jataka Tales, Magic Pot, Tinkle, Amar Chitra Katha, the evergreen classics. Story-telling that was captivating beyond measures, illustrations so vivid and iconic that the heroic image of Abhimanyu wielding his chariot wheel is still imprinted in my mind. I know, The DC world, Archie's, Star Wars, Asterix and Obelix are equally memorable, but our great Indian comics will always hold a special place in my heart.

2. Enid Blyton

I had a friend once, who was slowly initiating herself into reading, and I could think of no better book than Blyton's Bedtime stories to gift her. Wonderful, thoughtful and moralistically simple tales which suited the innocence of that age. I still read Famous Five occasionally when I'm in the mood for some Timothy! Anything Enid Blyton and it will make this list.

3. Agatha Christie, A.C.Doyle, Carolyn Keene...

Fancy yourself a detective? I began by stepping into Nancy's shoes and quickly progressed to Monsieur Poirot and Sherlock. It was a treat to read about characters so well fleshed, with their unique quirks and talents. Detective crime fiction is a fascinating genre and while today, we have advanced to darker and more realistic tales, the era of Hardy Boys and the Nancy Drew gang will always be remembered as the golden period of detective novels.

4. Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen had a huge impact on broadening my limited worldview. With Pride and Prejudice, I entered a patriarchal English society, where the five Bennet sisters were engineering a feminist revolution of sorts. Enraptured by the intelligent Liz and taken in by the lovely Jane, I read and re-read the book. Although, the most captivating character had to be Mr. Darcy, and even before Matthew Macfadyen charmed us all in the 2005 movie adaptation, Mr. Darcy had made his way into my heart.

5. R.L.Stine

Say cheese! And die... Goosebumps was in great vogue during my childhood, the bizarre twists and ghostly adventures were all very catchy. I would read the book entranced by its spookiness, all the while on alert for any horror that could attack me from over my shoulders. For people who scare easy the book lives more than up-to its skin tingling title!

6. Roald Dahl

I will admit to this, I saw both the movies before I read the books, but that made me appreciate the writing even more. 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' and 'Matilda', originality cannot be defined better. Roald Dahl, the genius storyteller, wrote of the inequalities of the 20th century and gave brilliantly magical solutions to infuse justice in society. Each book is a poignant statement, speaking to the vices in human nature.

7. Hans Christian Andersen

I sincerely believed in fairies, witches, broomsticks and magic long before Harry Potter even made his debut. Little Mermaid, The Emperor's new clothes, Ugly Duckling, The Snow Queen etc. were my all time favorites, courtesy the talented H. C. Andersen, the master of my beloved fairy-tale genre.

8. Dan Brown

Shout out to all those who wanted to become a symboligist after reading The Da-Vinci Code. Dan Brown with his insanely clever twists and explosive historical data gave us one page-turner after the other. Though the most attractive part of his books was undoubtedly Professor Langdon in Harris tweed jacket and mickey mouse watch, didn't we all wish we had such a dreamy prof in our classes too?!

9. J.K.Rowling

Where to begin? I can't say my life would have been the same without Harry Potter, and I would like to thank over and over again to J.K.Rowling for having blessed us all with friendship, love, courage and everlasting magic. For me it is never ending as I will keep reading them all over and over again. It's been 32 years now, since Harry's scar last hurt and all is well in the wizarding world.

Those were a few of my favorite books that made my, and I'm sure millions of others childhood and hopefully adulthood, magical!