Director and COO of Graphiti Multimedia,
Munjal Shroff tells Nidhi Jain about
the kind of books that attract his attention.
Who introduced you to reading?
 My
grandfather, Navin Shroff, used to read a lot
of books. My school had an amazing library.
Apart from that, our teachers made sure we read
the right books, starting with Enid Blyton.
I was a huge comic book fan, had a massive comic
book collection. Due to space constraints, it's
been given away to an orphanage. My family also
nicknamed me Cartoon.
I love reading popular science.
Kind of book collection you have
Best sellers, science fiction and of late I
have been reading management books to understand
the method in the madness of the corporate world.
On favourite authors and well written books
Among authors I like Isabel Alende and
Ashok Mehta's Ramayana. Also reading Afghan.
I like to read a wide variety which are very genre
specific like James Gleick's Chaos, I like
to read books which explain things in different
perspective like in Chaos. In the book it is stated
how chaos is part of nature. In a way my reading
is drawing those parallel in nature. Books I read
co-relate to the work I do in life.
 Do
you find interesting things in every book? How
do you choose books you read?
A recent example of Da Vinci Code. It was
successful for merely because it broadened the
content, the way the story was taken forward,
the way the relevancy was brought in terms of
taking clues of the places that exist, being pertinent
about the location - the roofline, a particular
cathedral, Da Vinci paintings. Fiction is all
about creating an imaginary world. I like authors
who draw so many relevant clues which exist, the
perspective they bring. How gripping it is. It
creates enough excitement for the reader to visualise
them. As a filmmaker, a book should transport
me visually to that place where I am able to feel
the fear, that level of involvement comes with
detailing. That's the mark of a writer.
Money and time you spend on books
You should confirm that with my wife Mona, especially
since it's a competition between me, my wife and
my books. Mostly while traveling, I catch up with
my reading. I was a voracious reader now I don't
even spend 10 % of my time reading.
 Your
reading pace
If the book is engrossing I can finish it in one
night or it can take a month.
Browsing and e-reading
I e-browse a lot. My favourite site is wikipedia.
I never managed to do e-reading since there is
a limitation of screen space on a palmtop. Though
I am a technology freak, I like the smell of the
paper.
What do you think of self help books?
Some self help books are well written, some are
repackaged like 7 habits, living the 7 habits.
It's nice to pick up ideas, beyond a point it's
your personality, self help books don't an make
earth shattering difference in life.
Books that do not hold you
Self help books. Only a dumb person is going to
pick up dummy series books.
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