About the book

LITERARY WRITERS OCCASIONALLY WRITE ON THEIR PASSION FOR SPORT. THE TRAFFIC IS SELDOM IN THE OTHER DIRECTION. THIS BOOK IS A SMALL ATTEMPT TO REDRESS THAT—A SPORTSWRITER WRITING ON A PASSION FOR LITERATURE.

What do Ved Mehta, Gabriel García Márquez and Agatha Christie have in common—apart from being among the most celebrated writers in the world, that is? Their ability to hook the discerning reader and never let go. What have some of these great writers said of their own work? What, for that matter, makes a writer, or a book, ‘great’ and canonical while others that sold millions of copies in their own lifetimes fade into oblivion? How much of a reader’s appreciation of a novel or an essay stems from their own early reading practices and friendships? And why, oh why, do they not give the Nobel to the writers who most deserve it?

These are some of the thoughts that centre this eclectic collection of reflections about writers and writing. They seek out the pleasures and the techniques, the spaces and the memories, the little moments and the life-changing sentences that encompass and enrich a reader’s life.

About the Author

Suresh Menon is one of the world’s leading cricket writers. He became India’s youngest sports editor and then one of its youngest editors with Indian Express. His books include Bishan: Portrait of a Cricketer and Pataudi: Nawab of Cricket. He is married to the sculptor Dimpy Menon, and they live in Bengaluru.

‘In Why don’t you write something I might read? there is a refreshing crispness, with short sentences, the occasional single-line paragraph, and an unhurried style — almost like that of a spectator sitting in the shade, watching a leisurely match play out on the greens, with a book lying open before him, so that he can dip into it during a break.’ —The Hindu