Books by Indian Authors: A Tag

I was tagged by Geets at auroragirl.blogspot.com about books by Indian authors. So, here goes. The ones in bold are those I haven't read but am dying to:

1. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai (interesting, well-wrriten and oddly familar of young grandchild living with grandparent, until I rememberd no.2 on my list)...

2. Fire on the Mountain by Anita Desai (a granddaughter comes to live with her aloof grandmother and of course, Anita is Kiran's mom). Interesting.

3. Spy Princess by Shrabani Basu (a compelling biography of the fascinating Noor Inayat Khan, an spy for the British during World War II, of Indian descent and a supporter of Indian independence, tortured and executed by the Nazis at 30).

4. By the River Pampa I Stood by Geeta Abraham Jose (now that I am all settled in Geneva, I can order it. Can't wait to read it)

5.Planet India: How the Fastest Growing Democraxy is Transforming America and the World by Mira Kamdar (saw it at Barnes and Noble when I was in Boston last week but will order it from Amazon I think)

6. The Tennis Partner by Abraham Verghese (a poignant and very real story of an unusual friendship between and Indian doctor and an American medical student. From the same doctor/writer who wrote My Own Country: A Doctor's Story)

7.The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid (well, he's not Indian, he's Pakistani but I snuck him in here since I've heard good things about it. I have it and have just started reading it).

8. Blessings and Other Stories by Bina Shah (I've known Bina from chowk for years and have her novel The 786 Cyber Cafe. Hope I can get this one soon)

9. Maps for Lost Lovers by Nadeem Aslam (one of my favorite books in the past few years. Beautifully written. Slow in parts but a wonderful, slowly unfolding story).

10. The Tree Bride by Bharathi Mukherji (I know she's supposed to be great so I keep buying her books hoping to be wowed. Like her other books I find this one predictable, pretentious and forgettable)

11. Serving Crazy with Curry by Amulya Malladi (A bit predictable but still a decent read. Reccomended beach reading)

12. Beyond the Courtyard: A Sequel to Unveiling India by Anees Jung (A long-awaited sequel to Unveiling India. I couldn't put this down. It's non-fiction but reads like a story of the soul of India. Plus she came to my book launch and bought my book and she was very, very cool :-)

13. Riot by Shashi Tharoor (Ummm...I really like him but this book screamed mid-life crisis. I wish I could forget I had read this).

14. My Story by Kamala Das (Interesting book)

15. Salaam Paris by Kavita Daswani (If you're going to write a book about a super-model from a conservative Muslim family, do your research. I kept throwing this one against the wall in frustration. Desi chicklit...Ugggh)

16. The Sari Shop by Rupa Bajwa (This is the book (author) that made all those who've been slogging away for years jealous. Have to read it soon.)

17. Madras on Rainy Days by Samina Ali (Though I figured out the twist, this was a very well-written and well developed book. Highly recommended)

18. Brick Lane by Monica Ali (ok, she's Bangladesi, sue me! An important novel when it came out. It was well crafted and well written but did not live up to the hype.

19. Train to Pakistan by Khushwant Singh (just finished reading it. I am usually not a fan of his fiction but this one made me tear up and think. Good read)

20.The Red Carpet by Lavanya Shankaran (Been meaning to read this for a while).

21. Fasting, Feasting by Anita Desai (I really liked this one)

22. The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar (a very interesting concept, but the maid's voice in the novel did not ring true at still. Even then a decent read)

23. The Death of Vishnu by Manil Suri (A very good read)

24. The Age of Shiva by Manil Suru (need to read it when it comes out in 2008)

25. The Blue Bedspread by Raj Kamal Jha (a little gem)

26.The Last Bungalow: Writings on Allahabad edited by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra (It was released the same time as my book and I bought it at Wheeler's in Allahabad. The author was there and even signed it for me. Pure nostalgia and important Allahabad history of a time and place that's all but disappeared).

27. Can Your Hear the Nightbird Call? by Anita Rau Badami (can't wait to read it. I like her)

And...I'm done. I left off the usual suspects (Rushdie: I love him, Arundhati Roy: loved God of Small Things) to make space for some lesser-known books.

Binafshe, indiequill, Deepti Lamba, and Sujatha Bagal...consider yourself tagged. Go!