What Should I Read Next : Issue 5

Ski stories from Kashmir, Best books on Afghanistan, 5 must reads for Negotiation

Dear Reader,

I never imagined there would be so many benefits to disregarding advice.

For years, I’ve longed to go to Kashmir.

I read the best selling The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay. And cried over Curfewed Nights by Basharat Peer, a tragic memoir of growing up in Kashmir .

Finally, a few weeks before the lockdown would shut down all travel, I pitched two stories - one on girls football in Kashmir, one on winter sports. There was tentative interest from publications I contributed to. And just like that, it was carpe diem for me.

In early February of 2020, I flew to Srinagar and drove on to Gulmarg for a week of learning to ski.

Against all advice.

If I didn’t get blown up by militant fire, I’d break my ACL or at least an elbow (or two) I was told.

Instead I met the skiers & snowboarders I wrote about in this story for Hindustan Times. I skied down slopes all day to cries of pizza banao and control, the lexicon for rookie skiers. And spent the evenings clustered around a fire in the lobby of Hotel Nedou, trading the day’s tiny triumphs and tribulations with skiers from all over the world, over apres-ski drinks.

Here’s where I first heard of Nitisha Sethia ; the girl who skied down the formidable Phase 2 slope, the girl who worked at Mckinsey, till one day she didn’t, the girl who disregarded conventional advice.

Sethia has just written Outbound: My First Steps to an Inward Journey. It is a fascinating account of the embracing of a new life, of skiiing in Gulmarg, kayaking in Rishikesh & more. Join us as we chat with the author on her new adventure company and on the writing of this book. Scroll down to Book Events for details of this session.

The pursuit of such a life, and indeed any life at all, is improved by negotiation. Here are 5 books on Negotiation that will help you master this skill.

Audio book lovers

If you want to soak up life skills while you walk, listen to Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss. The author was an FBI hostage negotiator & taught at Harvard Business School. His racy stories work well on audio & the book is narrated in a style that will keep you hooked.

If on the other hand you feel like some vicarious adventure, like walking through Afghanistan in the 1950’s, listen to A Short Walk in the Hindukush. Author Eric Newby is an adventuring Englishman at his best - Wodehousian in his humour.

Upcoming Book Events :

Sept 3 : An IIM book club meets on Zoom at 6 pm IST to discuss Second Hand Time a unique blend of story telling and reportage by Svetlana Alexievich. This Belarusian born Nobel prize winner, writes on the break up on Soviet Russia. The book is heart rending and hard to read - but it is also a magnificent tribute to the millions who lived and died.

Sept 11 : Author Nitisha Sethia joins us on Zoom at 4 pm IST to chat about the writing & publishing of her memoir Outbound - the story of how she quit Mckinsey & Company to become an adventure entrepreneur. The session is open to all, comment here to RSVP for the Zoom link.

Sept 25 : The Beas Book Club meets on Zoom at 4 pm IST to discuss I am an Island by Tamsin Calidas. If Second Hand time is a book of people & politics , this book is one of landscape, of solitude and a life lived close to nature. Tamsin Calidas and her husband Rab take the sustainability life seriously as they as they birth their lambs and farm their land on a small island in Scotland. The book is a powerful survival story, as Calidas battles the hostility of the elements - the cold, the wind & the insular prejudices of a small Scottish farming community. Beautifully written in prose that brings the elements alive. This book discussion is open to all, comment here to RSVP for the Zoom link.

Sept 25 : The Juhu Book Club meets on Zoom at 6 pm IST meets to discuss 2 books on Afghanistan.

No Good Men Among the Living: America, the Taliban & the War Through Afghan Eyes by Anand Gopal. This 2015 book follows a Taliban commander, a U.S-allied militia leader and a civilian woman - powerful & crackling with conflict.

In Places in Between, author Rory Stewart walks across central Afghanistan, in the footsteps of Babur, just weeks after the fall of the Taliban in January of 2002. For Afghanistan, its geography is its history, and there are lots of books that cover travel here; this is one of the best in terms of writing, setting & descriptions of people and places. This session is open to all, comment here to RSVP for the Zoom link.

And if these books leave you wanting more, here are 5 Must Reads on Afghanistan, each invoking a different lens to tell the stories of this country.

Writing Opportunities

Finally, a last call for submissions of stories and essays. We are publishing a special Money Diaries anthology, we’d love your money stories, send them in !

If you’ve been planning to write, but still not got down to it, we are happy to offer you a special extension up to Sept 5.

Give the Best Gift of all - Books !

For a meaningful present for a friend or family member, how about books curated specially for them by us ?

Here’s one such reading experience present, 3 months of reading which includes a complimentary Reading Consultation, click here for details.

Or be extravagant and gift a year of books.

Until next month then, Happy Reading !

Warm regards,

Sonya

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