Book Summary Websites: Are They Really Useful?

Some things take time – that’s just the way it is. Want to be an expert at playing the piano? Want to build a National-level championship-winning physique? Want to learn to cook like the head chef at a Michelin-starred restaurant? Want to get a PhD in aerospace engineering? For any of those things – and perhaps thousands of others – there are no shortcuts. You need to put in the time, the effort, the proverbial blood, sweat and tears. There’s no other way.

On that note, what about reading a 1,000-page book? Or rather more specifically, a 1,000-page non-fiction book? It could be a book on politics, history, psychology, economics or religion. To gain an in-depth understanding of what the author has attempted to convey over a thousand pages, does one need to actually sit down and read every one of those pages, or could there be another way? Personally, I’d say you have to make that effort, you have to read every bit of it – there’s no other way. But clearly, some others believe there might indeed be a short cut.

The Story of the Mighty Paperback

A senior professional from the Indian publishing industry, the exceptionally well-read and eminently knowledgeable Sridhar Balan tells us the story of the ‘paperback’ format of books, which has over the last few decades democratised reading and made books more accessible to a wide range of buyers. In addition to his work in publishing, Balan is a well-known writer himself and his columns have been published in The Hindu, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Financial Express and The Asian Age. His book Off the Shelf: On Books, Book People and Places was published by Speaking Tiger in 2019.

A ‘paperback’ is defined as a softcover book with a thick paper cover or paper board cover, the pages of which are held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. Glue is used in a hardback too but here the pages are sewn together in sections. The hardback is characterized by sturdy boards with a loose jacket cover. The paper used for printing in a paperback is often of lower grammage or thickness than that of the hardback. Therefore, the paperback appears less sturdy, lightweight and perhaps flimsier. It’s difficult to believe that such an object could save a life. But that’s precisely what the paperback carried in the breast-pocket of French legionnaire Maurice Hammoneau did during the battle of Verdun, in the First World War, in 1913. Hammoneau was shot and lost consciousness. When he regained consciousness, he found that he was alive because the book had stopped the bullet – its last twenty pages had miraculously stopped the bullet from creating a fatal wound. As for the book, we know it well in India. It was the pocket edition in French of Rudyard Kipling’s famous work, Kim. This book can be viewed in the Rare Books Room of the Library of Congress in Washington DC, along with some correspondence between Maurice and Kipling.

The Lensman: In Conversation with Pradeep Chandra

Based in Bombay, Pradeep Chandra is a senior photojournalist who has worked with the Times of India for more than 25 years. He has also worked for a host of other newspapers and magazines and is the author of five books, three of which are on megastar Amitabh Bachchan. His latest book, Amitabh Bachchan: The Forever Star, was released in 2022. I had an opportunity to speak to Pradeep about his work as a photojournalist and an author, his books and the experience of working with Amitabh Bachchan. Here are some excerpts from that conversation.

Blitzkrieg: Audi RS5 Sportback Driving Impression

Three years ago, I had an opportunity to review the Audi RS5 for a leading men’s magazine. Along with its younger brother, the S5, the RS5 remains one of my most favourite Audis ever. So, here’s the article I wrote about the RS5, back in 2021

Audi is making a bunch of truly phenomenal cars these days. And that’s causing me some grief. No, not the cars themselves, of course. The problem is with the reviews I end up writing, which tend to go a bit overboard with praise for the cars’ performance. Take the last Audi I drove – the S5 – which made me fall deeply in love with its screaming, rasping, turbocharged V6, intense acceleration and terrific handling. Predictably enough, I wrote a rather glowing review, which was subsequently accused by the Editor [of the magazine for which I wrote the review] of being ‘gushing’ and ‘breathless.’ Oh, the shame!

Book Review: An Inky Parade - Tales for Bibliophiles

Author, avid bibliophile and book collector Pradeep Sebastian’s new book, An Inky Parade ‘is a window into the charming world of antiquarian book trade in India and around the world, as well as an ode to the book as an object of art, sure to delight every reader,’ says the publisher’s note. ‘Blending personal experience, revelatory conversations and bewitching legends from the world of books, the author paints in full splendour the picture of a life devoted to the romance of books,’ it adds.

From the Archives: In Conversation with Pierre Terblanche

Pierre Terblanche has done some phenomenal work for Ducati and other motorcycle brands

For motorcycle afficionados, the name ‘Pierre Terblanche’ needs no introduction. Born in South Africa, Terblanche is one of the most well-known, widely respected motorcycle designers in the world. With a Masters degree in transport design from the UK’s Royal College of Art, Terblanche has, over the last 40 years, worked with Volkswagen, Cagiva, Ducati, Piaggio, Confederate and even Royal Enfield. The bikes he has designed include the Cagiva 900 Gran Canyon, the 1^st generation Ducati Multistrada and Hypermotard, the Ducati SuperMono, the Ducati SportClassics, the Ducati 999, the Ducati MH900e, the Confederate X132 Hellcat Speedster and the 1^st generation Royal Enfield Himalayan. He also redesigned the Ducati 851 which then became the 888, and he designed a spectacular bunch of concept bikes for Moto Guzzi, which were shown at the 2014 EICMA. More recently, Terblanche designed a futuristic concept bike, which you can read about here.

In 2013, I had an opportunity to do an interview with Pierre Terblanche (who was working for Confederate Motorcycles at that time) for one of my other websites, Faster and Faster, which I had to shut down in 2017. I wanted to preserve this interview, hence putting it up here, where I hope it’ll remain forever.

In Conversation with His Excellency Prashant Agrawal, Ambassador of India to Laos

During the time when he was serving as Indian Ambassador to Namibia, Mr Prashant Agrawal led The Cheetah Project, for reintroducing the Cheetah to India after a gap of more than seven decades

I like speaking to people who are ardent readers and who love books – such people often have interesting perspectives on not just books but also life in general. The conversations that I have with such people, some of which I post here on this website, often make for interesting reading.

Some time ago, I had an opportunity to catch up with His Excellency Mr Prashant Agrawal, Ambassador of India to Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos), who loves to read and has an eclectic taste in books. Currently based in Vientiane, the national capital of Laos, Mr Agrawal is a senior diplomat, who joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in 1998. In addition to having served in various capacities in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, he has also served as Deputy Chief of Mission and India’s Deputy Permanent Representative to UNESCAP in Thailand, and India’s Consul General to Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR. Before taking up his current assignment in Laos, Mr Agrawal was serving as India’s High Commissioner to Namibia, where he successfully initiated and led Project Cheetah, aimed at reintroducing the Cheetah in India.

Despite a packed schedule and a hectic pace of life, Mr Agrawal – who also has a degree in mechanical engineering from IIT Kanpur – retains his love for books and reading, which has been dear to his heart since his school and college days. I had an opportunity to ask him a few questions about his early days, his love for reading, the books he likes and the authors whose work he likes. Here are some excerpts from the conversation.

From the Archives: In Conversation with Damien Basset

French designer, Damien Basset, who is currently design director at Peugeot Motorcycles, used to work with Ducati earlier. He’s the man who had designed the first Ducati Streetfighter, which was launched in 2009 and which was offered with a choice of 1099cc and, later, 849cc V-twin engines. I had an opportunity to do an interview with Basset in 2009, for Faster and Faster, a motorcycle website that I used to own at that time. I had to shut down that website in 2017, but wanted to preserve this interview, hence posting it here, where it will hopefully remain forever.

Maserati GranCabrio: Beauty and the Beast

It may not be the fastest car I've ever driven, but it's certainly the most beautiful!

I was between jobs in 2012. Had moved on from Buddh International Circuit, where I had served as the PR manager and was national press officer for the inaugural Formula 1 Grand Prix of India, and had nothing much to do for a couple of months. At that time, my good friend Murali Menon gave me an opportunity to drive the incredible Maserati GranCabrio, which was on sale in India in those days, retailing at Rs 1.76 crore ex-showroom.

Murali, who was the managing editor at MW magazine at that time, spoke to Maserati and arranged for me to drive the car on the Noida-Agra Expressway, which had just been opened up to the public and remained, for the most part, fairly empty and devoid of traffic. The Maserati was stunningly beautiful – gorgeous beyond words – and sounded divine, orgasmic, beyond anything that words can describe. Here’s the piece I wrote on the car.

From the Archives: In Conversation with John McGuinness

John 'Morecambe Missile' McGuinness has won an incredible 23 races at the Isle of Man

For anyone who loves motorcycles and motorcycle racing, John McGuinness needs no introduction. Also known as the ‘Morecambe Missile,’ Guinness is one of the most successful motorcycle road racers, an Isle of Man specialist, having won an incredible 23 races at the most difficult, most dangerous road racing circuit in the world. Only Joey Dunlop and Michael Dunlop have won more races at the Isle of Man, while both McGuinness and Mike Hailwood have an equal number of Senior TT wins at the IoM, at seven races each.

Born in Morecambe, Lancashire, in the UK, McGuinness started competing in motocross at the age of seven and had his first taste of road racing in 1990, at the age of 18. His first race at the Isle of Man was in 1996, on a Honda RS250 and since then he’s won 23 races and is still going strong, having taken 5^th place in the Senior TT at this year’s Isle of Man races, at the age of 52.

I had an opportunity to interview John McGuinness back in 2012, for Faster and Faster, a motorcycle website I used to run at that time. That website no longer exists but I wanted to preserve this interview, hence posting it here, where I hope it’ll remain forever. It goes without saying that I’m a huge fan of McGuinness. Anyone who races 200bhp, 300kph motorcycles at the IoM has to be barking mad and McGuinness is right up there with the maddest of the mad. But anyway, here’s my little interview with the great man.

Reading By Design: Professor G.V. Sreekumar

Prof. G.V. Sreekumar loves books and is an ardent reader

A dear friend and former colleague from my days with CHIP magazine, G.V. Sreekumar is a Professor and former Head of IDC School of Design at IIT Bombay, and his specialisations include typography, calligraphy, publication design, information graphics, design pedagogy, and visual semantics. Prof. Sreekumar studied Applied Art at M.S. University, Baroda, and Visual Communication at IDC, IIT Bombay. Since the year 2000, he has been a faculty member at IDC, IIT Bombay as well as a design consultant with many corporate houses.

Since Prof. Sreekumar is an ardent reader, I thought it would be interesting to talk to him about his favourite books and authors. Here are some excerpts from the conversation.

American Biker: In Conversation with Erik Buell

Erik Buell, genius engineer and builder of some truly unique motorcycles

The United States doesn’t have much of a domestic sportsbike industry. European and Japanese sportsbikes and superbikes are popular in the US, but American manufacturers like Harley-Davidson and Indian stick to making cruisers and touring bikes. For the last four decades, however, one American has been trying his damnedest to change that. He has taken some pretty hard knocks along the way and his company has gone bust more than once. But like an extra-resilient phoenix, he rises from the ashes again, again and again. Most would have given up a long time ago. Not Erik Buell though. The man is indomitable.

Let’s Talk Mutual Funds: In Conversation with Monika Halan

Financial expert and widely respected journalist and book author, Monika Halan talks about investing in mutual funds and the pitfalls that investors should avoid

Ups and downs, highs and lows – they’re all part of life. That’s alright as long as one remembers to prepare for the lows when riding the highs. And financial prudence – proper financial planning – is an important part of that. If I have one deep regret in life, it’s the fact that I paid no attention at all to planning my financial future when I was young. In the early years of my career, I spent money like there was no tomorrow and made no effort to save anything, much less invest any of whatever little I earned.

While I started working in my early-20s, I only started thinking about saving and investing money when I was already in my mid-40s – a colossal mistake. But in any case, even if it was already very, very late, I did realise my mistake and set about rectifying the situation as best as I could. And for me, that was investing in mutual funds, which has since then provided me with some decent returns. I’ll never make up for those 20 years I lost – spending indiscriminately when I should have been saving and investing. But for whatever little it’s worth, I hope I’ve mended my ways for good and now there might perhaps be some hope for my financial future.

The Book of Body Positivity: Addressing Medical Professionals’ Bias Against Overweight Individuals

The society doesn’t exactly make things easy for people who are deemed overweight. Fat, obese, whatever. Every day in schools, colleges, workplaces and often even in their own homes, fat people are called names and are shamed – sometimes with casual nonchalance, at other times with studied cruelty. People who are overweight are sometimes (often?) labelled ‘fat and useless,’ get looked at with disgust, are sniggered at, are excluded, left out, laughed at, spoken to in a condescending manner and made to feel bad about themselves. 

It’s as if every thin person on the planet has an automatic, God-given right to talk down to those who are overweight. And since ‘fat shaming’ is a global, universal phenomenon, those who are overweight quickly learn to acquiesce, compromising any dignity or self-respect they might happen to be left with. Crack jokes and laugh at a fat person’s weight and they will usually pretend to laugh along with you. Because, hey, aren’t those jokes really funny?