A 'Fiction'al tale

Today was an interesting day. After grading some homework assignments and attending a faculty meeting, I was driving back to my home and listening to the radio. There was an interview with a NYT reporter about a new book that has the front pages of all the NYT newspapers published thus far. This book weighs more than 8 lbs. The reporter described his favorite pieces, one involving the Gettysburg Address of President Lincoln, and the other a piece on the inventor of electricity.
Another story on the radio involved an interview with a 'music' person who ranked all the songs in Bond movies, on the heels of the new Bond movie "Quantum of Solace."
Late in the night, I was talking to my brother and our discussion wandered to reading and fiction. As he reminded me, I used to be an avid reader of fiction in my school and college days, devouring works of authors like James Clavell, Doyle, Wodehouse, Ayn Rand, Ludlum, Wallace, McLean, and many others. Unfortunately I have not read much fiction in recent years. My brother then read me some wonderful pieces by A.G. Gardiner. I then talked about Sir Walter Scott, whose novel Ivanhoe was one of our readings in school. I had then gone on to read Kenilworth and Talisman. I happened to remember R.W. Emerson and the poem The Mountain and the Squirrel, which my brother then went on to recite to me. The human mind is such an incongruous object with beauty, charm, and performance. I wish I had read more works of Christie, Austen, and others. We talked about the many wonderful Indian writers whose works we both wish we had read more- Tagore, Sarojini Naidu, and others. We talked about the wonderful songs of Manna Dey in Bengali, and ended with my brother reading another piece by Gardiner.
A joyous journey through the works of great writers. My brother himself is an amazing writer and story-teller, with a great gift for narrating complex human stories in a charming yet poignant manner.

Unfortunately the world of reality pulls us down...