Bookshelf/Anaida

Nothing strings better than music. Or does it? Ask Anaida. The stylish singer, for one, says nothing beats a book when it comes to stringing a fancy.

So how much of a reader is she? 8220;Oh, a very avid one,8221; she smiles, telling you how you8217;d mostly find her walking around with a book. Any favourites? Not strictly, says she, before adding: 8220;Author-driven? Not me. I can read just about anything as long as it leaves me better informed.8221; But of course, the one book that has the reader in her ever so willing is Mika Waltari8217;s The Egyptian, a story of an Egyptian as per the transcription he left behind. 8220;And it8217;s so very real!8221; she gushes, 8220;so romantic, political, historical.8221; A history buff, there?

8220;Well, I love anything that has been true stories, occult, cosmic stuff, you know,8221; she says, further explaining why Turkish writer Aziz Nesin has her lapping up all he churns out. 8220;He has such a brilliant sense of humour!8221; James Joyce too sits on her list of favourites, for Ulysses, of course. So what makes a book a good read? 8220;Hmmm8230; that has you guessing, dying to know8230; unlike a film,8221; she chuckles. And then, thoughtfully, 8220;A book that helps me understand the pattern life maps out. And something that throws open a large canvas to build my images on. After all, would Vivien Leigh ever measure up to the Scarlett 8216;O Hara in our minds!8221;