A bibliophile's summer reading

For me the long, languorous days of summer and the arrival of the rains are inextricably associated with books and reading. In pre-television and digital times, when power cuts were more frequent and entertainment restricted to transistors and movie halls, books were an escape, a stimulant, a soothing elixir. It is a habit that has not faded. Here is my best list to fend off seasonal torpor and other disturbances.

The most applauded and talked about book of the year is Early Indians (Juggernaut; Rs 699) by former business journalist Tony Joseph. In a lucid and enthralling narrative that combines forensic