Book: Landour Days
Author: Ruskin Bond
Pages: 200
Publisher: Penguin
Read On: Paperback
How Long it Took Me To Read: 2 days
Plot Summary: Ruskin Bond is an inveterate diarist, but over the years the nature of what he wants to record has changed, for ‘In the autumn of my life, I grow reflective’. Although Landour itself is a magical world—where every month has its own flower, every walker his own style, and the countryside is filled with a beauty all its own—in his mind Bond ranges further afield. In Landour Days, he ponders on the experience of being a writer, on writers he has known and those that he loves reading, and on critics, handwriting and typewriters.
Filled with warmth and gentle humour, Landour Days captures the timeless rhythm of life in the mountains, and the serene wisdom of one of India’s best-loved writers.
General Thoughts: Penguin to celebrate 30 years in India came out with these gorgeous editions of some of their bestsellers. Now most of the books in this series that I was interested in, I already owned and didn't really want to shell out and get another copy. But I saw this yellow beauty and my heart skipped a beat. So pretty!
Also, I saved this book for my annual Landour holiday and read it amidst the hills and cooing of birds and rowdy monkeys trying to steal food from the kitchen! It was the best decision I've made this year.
Things I Loved:
1. The writing as per usual was wonderful. It's like I am stating the obvious but Ruskin Bond's writing is full of joy and comfort.
2. This really felt like you were being granted glimpses into someone's journal. It felt entirely authentic and full of charm. Being an avid journal keeper myself this book really resonated with me. And trust me it might just inspire you to keep a journal yourself. I can't recommend journaling enough. It's so good to document the big and small things of life and to return to it years later and see where you were at a point in time and what you were thinking and feeling.
3. The book is divided up into sections based on seasons. I enjoyed this way of classifying entries. It made the book flow along nicely.
4. Reading about writers and their process is always interesting. At least to me, being a bookworm and a writer myself I always want to see what drives writers and their craft.
5. Reading someone's, anyone's diary is good fun and if the diary happens to belong to a charming and brilliant writer, the fun is exponentially more. I loved this book and the time I spent reading it. It made me smile all the way through.
6. Like I've mentioned before, I saved this book to read in Landour..which was perfect. I was staying just 3 kms away from Mr.Bond's home and it felt wonderful, simply marvellous to read about this adventures and musings sitting on a sunny patio so close to where he lives and probably wrote most of these diary entries.
7. The book also had adorable illustrations in it, which is always a good thing be!
Rating: 5/5
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