The lighter the better

Mentioning Harry Potter and a corporate honcho in the same breath doesn't quite gel.

Even rarer is to come across a CEO admitting to a predilection for "the boy who lived". But not Shiv Agrawal, CEO of ABC Consultants, who was introduced to the Potter books by his 13-year-old cousin. "I believe that reading should relax the mind," he says.

Labelling himself a "visual reader", Agrawal would rather move into his den, his favourite reading spot, with a Potter adventure than bore himself with self-help books because, "I consider self-help books extremely silly".

Eagerly waiting for the seventh and last instalment of the boy wizard's adventures, Agrawal also reads works by Arthur Hailey and John Grisham. 
 

Books and the man - XVIII A weekly series on books and authors people read
Favourite author	Arthur Hailey
Best-ever read	Maverick by Ricardo Semler
Latest buy	Made in America by Sam Walton
Book budget	Rs 3,000 pm
Favourite genre	Management, fantasy
Favourite childhood book	The Magic Faraway Tree

And more than just indulging in escapist literature, he also picks up management books. Mention Ricardo Semler's Maverick and he starts is eloquent, "I have read it more than three times and find myself returning to it time and again."

Explaining his fascination for Semler's book, he sees a congruence of vision with the author on the way he wants to run his company. "I can relate to what he is saying through the book and find it inspiring," he says. Good to Great by Jim Collins is yet another all-time favourite.

Not a great Salman Rushdie fan, whom he finds "simply too heavy", Agrawal picks up books only on recommendations. "I rarely try out a completely new book," he mentions, "Either someone should have mentioned it to me or I should have read about it somewhere."

Agrawal, whose favourite shopping spot for books is the airport, may not be a voracious reader but he is a voracious buyer.

"I have a huge stock of books waiting to see the light of day," he says and adds that he has always been very close to his books even though, "I had even started a lending library when I was young!".

After some books never found their way back to the rightful owner, he shut shop and has been very protective about his books ever since.