A Good Read

Raised a bookworm, the arrival of gifts from Juliet and Hugh for my birthday (a little housekeeping for the bottom end of my amazon wishlist) was welcome. There's now a tidy pile of books waiting to be read.
It won't take too long to crack the first edition, since I'm trucking right through a v. good read right now: A Fine Balance. This book was also a gift, from friend Dipti. Dipti is one of those very gracious folks who always seems to have a thoughtful gift for you whenever you see them. No occasion required. It's a trait I'd like to adopt myself, but it seems like one of those things that is only done well when it is done sincerely. I can't just start foisting books on people to get the good credit.
This book, starting in India in the 1970s but moving both forward and backward, reminds me of how little true world history is covered in World History survey classes. While as good little US citizens we learned about the 13 original colonies in fifth, seventh, and again in eleventh grade, I'm at a total loss to explain "the partition." Who knew that that's where Pakistan came from? And why Kashmir is such a problem. (Not just a cozy type of sweater, which can sometimes be a problem in and of itself, i.e. worn on a day that turns out to be warmer than expected.) It's embarrassing to realize stuff like this: both the lack of world knowledge, and the inappropriate wardrobe.