My Tryst with "best-sellers" !

Every time I walk into a book store (and I do so often), I am greeted with a shelf full of neatly stacked books of the best-sellers category, mostly "how-to's.." and some preaching, sometimes some novels whose writers are either too well known or not known at all. Confused, I walk ahead and find attractively placed stack of new arrivals - and lo! here too the same "best-sellers" are sprawled all over. Confused further, I move ahead looking for books arranged in terms of genre. The ones I hate to touch are "how-tos's..." God knows you come across so many unsolicited advices every moment that spending money to get them seems foolhardy. Anyway, but there are those (and a sizable number at that) who actually spend to buy these! Anyway, to each his poison! So where was I? Oh yes, my tryst with bestsellers. So when I look at books by genre, there too there is a special segment for the elite, the so called best sellers! Finally there seems no respite from these limelight hogging titles, the back covers of those smeared with remarks from mutual admiration society and inner jackets splashing the photograph of the best-selling author, smiling in anticipation of hero-worship!

I have tried to understand the mechanism of bestseller-hood, but by all means my humble attempts at extracting this mighty phenomenon have been far from getting me closer to unraveling the mystery. Some books are bestsellers even before they hit the stands; some remain so years after their publication and some attain a cult status owing to their celebrity pedigree. In my experience though, these so called hot selling "items" merely adorn your bookshelf, kept there with reverence and sometimes with exhibitionist intentions, but almost never cuddled with love for the written word.

Here are some of the books I read recently, sharing with world wide web my experience of trying to cuddle a bestseller! However, I have a confession to make, most of these books I borrowed from a library, undecided whether to invest both money and time, or just the time :)

Devil in Pinstripes

by Subramanian, Ravi

I read it, as much as I could. The plot as described on the back cover was interesting hence you go on to the cash counter to actually pick up the book by paying a price, run back home to start on the tale of a harried banker with your evening coffee, and after a few pages and a few sips of your favorite coffee, you suddenly feel a bad taste in your mouth. Hell! What's wrong with my coffee, you think. Put the book down and sip again. Now it is better. Yes, you guessed it right. It’s the aftertaste of the languid prose you read with shallow detailing and unimaginative characters that jig-jag in past and present almost at will... a taste that you can far from relish!

I am told it’s a best-seller. I would say it’s an opportunistic cashing on a prevailing trend. I would not mind that, after all writers write what they see, experience and understand. The write up, as the best I can categorize it, would be well suited to those monthly magazines that have some short stories stashed away with gossip, home grooming tips and a host of how-to's. But for a novel, I think a bit more of writing technique and eye for detail is required. It’s a soap opera kind of writing. That, for book lovers like me would rather avoid.

Lessons in Forgetting

by Nair, Anita

This is well written but somewhere down the line it gets predictable, clichéd and lacking in courage. Anita Nair has an eye for detail and her characters are well defined but their plight and persona seem to be unidirectional. It seems each and every character is build and assigned a story to align with a common thread, somewhat as a force fit. There is melancholy and pain of broken families that touches you, but something doesn’t work too well. All in all a good read but not a memorable one.

The 3 (Three) Mistakes of My Life

by Chetan Bhagat

Just picked it up out of curiosity to find out why is Bhagat a craze! Plot is interesting, writing is simple... so far so good, but something seems to be missing... can't put my finger to it though!

I went on despite not able to find that missing connect with the book, but again could not go beyond halfway mark. Same issue here, shallowness, opinions half baked, readers are not made to think or revel. It goes on as a narrative, predictable at times and superfluous at others. Here ends my attempt to discover the magic element that makes a "best seller". If this is what a best-seller is made of, I am better off with the nondescript ones that sank without a trace on the mighty listings but stay cuddled on the bedside tables of those who chanced upon them... (P.S.: My bed stand is full of such non best seller gems that I savor, relish and at times gorge on :)

Suits: A Woman on Wall Street

by Nina Godiwalla

Back cover synopsis sounded interesting... but a disappointment... a unidirectional sob story.... halfway into the book you start wondering when this depressing monologue will end!"

One Amazing Thing

by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Long time back I had read Mistress of Spices by the same author and what had me hooked was the way she paints the picture with words. This one too has an interesting storyline, diverse characters and a simple plot. Good, relaxed reading! But somehow it gets lost towards the end.... read for yourself and decide.