Back after a break, and reading Shantaram

Hey,
I'm back after a loooong pause. Some reasons for this break,
1. For a change had some work
2. was reading a lot during office time so writing was second priority.
3. Shaku Aji passed away on ganesh chaturthi...god bless her soul..

It was a overall boring and morose month. Work (though not much of a challenge) was keeping me busy.
I also read 'Shantaram' during the last week. I was curious about for quite some time and finally got the e-book. I read it non-stop for 7 days till I finished it (I have this fanatical habit of completing books once I start reading) E-books is not a preferred mode of reading (gimme a paperback any day) but it provides an excellent option to pass time at office when you don't have much to do.
Coming back to Shantaram, its about an Australian fugitive trying to escape from the authorities and lands in Mumbai(then Bombay) on a fake passport. His weeks stopover extends into months and years and finally he spent about 12 years in Mumbai. During those years he formed close bonds with many people like Prabhakar, Abdullah, Abdel Khader and Karla to name a few all playing different parts in his life here. He also learnt to speak marathi and hindi. His fugitive and financial status compelled him to live in a 'zopadpatti' where he even started a free clinic for the slum dwellers. Through Abdullah he slowly became close with the Mumbai mafia and underworld and the don Abdel Khader. He works as a gun-runner, black-marketeer, counterfeiter and all this slowly builds up quite an adventure.
The most powerful sentiment that flows in the book is an over whelming love for Bombay and is literally crammed with really good quotes and humor. I was laughed till my stomach hurt during his experiences at Sunder the village but also was close to tears during some emotional scenes. His style of writing is very good (except lengthy accounts of discussions with Karla and Khan which seem to drag) and keeps up the readers interest till the end.
To this blog readers, I would say an interesting read if you can spare the time (its about 1000 pages)
I have been downloading a lot of e-books in recent times. From Ludlum to Kipling and Shakespeare. You can look up books on
www.esnips.com

Cheers till next time and I hope to post another review of a book sometime soon.
Ganapati Bappa Moraya..Pudhchya warshi lawkar ya!