Love Among the Bookshelves

The book tracks the formative stages of Ruskin Bond’s life through the physical and emotional sanctuary of libraries. It acts as a guide to the specific stories, essays, and poems that inspired him to pick up a pen and become a writer.

• • Ruskin Bond is a celebrated Indian author of British descent with a career spanning over seven decades. He has been honored with prestigious awards, including the Sahitya Akademi Award (1992), the Padma Shri (1999), and the Padma Bhushan (2014). He continues to write from his home in Landour, Mussoorie.

The narrative is structured around personal milestones where books served as Bond's primary companions. He shares childhood memories of discovering hidden bookstalls in small towns, reading during lonely school breaks, and finding solace in old bookshops. Alongside these intimate memoirs, Bond reintroduces readers to forgotten gems by writers like Richard Jefferies, H.E. Bates, and others. The book highlights how reading shapes a person’s soul and celebrates the timeless love affair between a reader and their bookshelf.