What makes me pick up a book?

I have just finished reading a really long (768 odd pages) book and am wondering what to read next. As of now, I am  actually looking at something as dry and long as Paul Samuelson's book on Economics. I don't know, I just feel that I want something emotionless and objective and yet subjective. This got me thinking about what actually makes me pick up or buy a book.

Many people read books which are best sellers or are recommended by their friends. They just go ahead buy or borrow the book they want. In our house, my husband is the one who actually buys books and his buying rate is clearly faster than his reading rate. End result, there are many good 'unread' books at home. I am not big into buying books as I am the one who actually dusts the shelves where they stand and I am the one who looks at the slowly decreasing shelf space at home. Anyway, books are my companions and I like to have various associations with them. For instance, I can recall my music classes when I come across some old Amar Chitra Katha comics. I associate Nancy Drew books with my teenage years. I associate Agatha Christies with my grandparents. I associate Jane Austen with my college years. I associate the discovery of many women authors like Virginia Woolf , Edith Wharton, Lousia May Alcott with my initial married life. Very often, my mood forces me to choose a particular book. However, there is a general criteria that I do have while choosing a book.

These are some of the things that I will consider when I take up a book:

1. 1. Is it a classic ? I am partial to classic English literature. There are many good books in this genre that I am yet to read.
2. Is it written by a woman? I am partial to woman authors, I wonder why?
3. Is it well reviewed by magazines or newspapers like 'New York Times' or 'Guardian' or 'New Yorker'
4. Is it an award winning book?
5. Does it have a story? - I prefer books which  have a good story line, something that is not too violent or obscene or too outlandish. I am not a 'fantasy fiction' fan. 
6. What is the genre? - if it is very clear that the book is a 'mystery novel' or a 'series' , I am little careful and I might take it only if I am ready for a light read. For instance, if I know I am travelling I prefer to have some such book that is fast paced and easy.
7. Is it a Victorian novel ? I love Victorian novels which deal with society, inter-personal relationships and women and their lives. It all started with my Jane Austen fascination.
8. Who is the author? I am partial to Indian English authors and like to try reading them. I like the fact that it is a character much closer to home. 
9. Is it women centric ? I like books that deal with everyday lives of women, modern or otherwise. 
10. Does it have a good dose of humour? I do enjoy books which are humorous. Some of my favourite books in this line are 'Three men in a boat',  'Golden Gate' and 'A writer's nightmare'. I also like P G Wodehouse for this reason, but I find them too flimsy and light for me right now. 
11. Was it made into a movie? I am curious about books that have been made into movies. Sometimes the books turn out to be better than the movies themselves. Ofcourse, I will read them only for one of the reasons mentioned above. 
12. Is it Chicklit? I am partial to Chicklit. Okay, popular Chicklit, if that makes it any better. I loved 'Bridget Jones Diary' and 'Eat Pray Love' and some of the first few 'Shopaholic' books. I am always interested in the modern twist to a fairy tale. 

This list seems to be soon turning into my favourite books, which is not what I intended in the first place. Anyway, I am in the process of trying to write my review of 'Middlemarch' by George Eliot. I definitely need to take some time to write it as it has taken me about 3 months or more to read the book.

5 point someone

I have wanted to read this book for a long time. Finally, I read it last month. It's a small book, easy to read and you can probably finish it in a day. The reason I chose to read this book had a lot to do with the hype surrounding the book, the author and ofcourse the movie, 'Three Idiots'.

I am glad I did not watch the movie because the book is seeped in 'IIT' jargon and presents a pretty contemporary picture about the life in a top rated engineering college in India. The title of the book refers to the much discussed 'GPA' in IITs. The GPA is very crucial as it determines the future prospects of a student and Chetan Bhagat has chosen a good title for the book.

The story is all about the travails of three students who join IITs with various aspirations. The three guys come from very different families and backgrounds and somehow become friends. The story deals with the ultra competitive environment in the IITs where every student is a school topper. After the gruelling preparation for getting into the IIT, many students find it tough to keep up with the grinding schedule of the IITs. It is a combination of personal ambition and family aspirations which encourage them to sustain and do well in the end. Chetan Bhagat uses this backdrop for his story and makes a case for the mercenary attitude that parents and professors have towards education in India.

There are three protagonists in the story, one is intelligent but unhappy, the other is not so intelligent but hardworking and sincere and the third is intelligent, but cynical and lazy. Together they try to beat the system and try to enjoy their lives in the college. However, their plans are not so successful and they land up in the ranks of the 'five point something' grades. In the end they realise that their short cuts are not going to help in improving their grades. It is their interests and passion which guide them to better grades.

Is it important to enjoy life and have as much fun as possible or is it important to just work hard and make it to the top? Chetan Bhagat grapples with this question throughout this book. One of the characters, Ryan, represents the 'cool dude' characters that we often encounter in life. The ones who have got things too easy, money, a good life and good grades. The other two characters get influenced by Ryan and try to follow his lead to get things the easy way. In the end, they are forced to use their own strengths to beat the system. Like in life, mere intelligence and creativity does not help in IIT. Intelligence combined with hard work and sincerity is what gets you through.

I think the book was good because of its true depiction of the dilemmas faced my many young people in India.