Reading folios

Sameer Nair's strategies might just be the result of his in-flight reading.

He may be in the eye of a storm, but he still can't take his eyes off books. Sameer Nair, the chief executive officer of Star India, is a voracious and versatile reader by his own admission.

"It's a habit I picked up from my father who worked with the Films Division." Other than hectic shooting schedules for Kaun Banega Crorepati with Shah Rukh Khan, a couple of extremely absorbing books are keeping him tied up these days.

A Michael Crichton fan, Nair is reading the author's latest book Next that deals with genetic research. Though he may have read the complete works of Crichton, science fiction is not his first love. History is.

No wonder he's fallen for Robert Crowley's 1453. "It is a wonderful book "" a graphic narrative on the fall of Constantinople," says Nair.

Another "drop-dead" good book, whatever the expression means, is The Dancing Wu Li Masters. And guess what? It is a book on quantum physics by Gary Zukow.

At 41, Nair does not recall when he really started reading. Maybe at age sever or nine. He's gorged on Isaac Asimov, Robert Ludlum and Jeffery Archer in his early reading days. Somehow he never got down to reading Indian authors. While Shantaram was abandoned midway, Suketu Mehta's Maximum City is still to be picked up.

With great passion he recommends Bob Woodward's triology on George Bush. "Even if you don't read the first two books, make sure that you read the last "" State of Denial. It is superb." In his collection, he's proud of his books on Hitler.

And, no, he cannot state his "best-ever read" as there are too many good books around. But if his life were a book, what would be its title? "This beats all Page 3 questions hollow (laughs). "I can't think of any."

Knowing the buzz that surrounds his current status in Star and his future destination, it may be better that he leaves that one unanswered. "Too much may be read into it," he quips.