By Ruchika Kher
Mumbai, Aug 20 (IANS) If you thought Bollywood celebrities only read scripts, here is a surprise. From fiction to philosophy to thrillers to romances, they love reading books and consider it their favourite pastime.
Many of the B-town celebrities IANS spoke to swore by well-known tomes like "The Idiot", "Chariots Of the Gods", "The Kite Runner" and "Interview With A Vampire".
Neil Nitin Mukesh: My favourite book is by a man called Shiv Khera and the book is "You Can Win". The reason it's one of my favourite books is it makes you feel rather positive about life and about yourself in general. I have read it almost four times and every time I read it, it teaches me something new.
Deepika Padukone: I read "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini and I really liked it. It's a wonderful book."
Chunky Pandey: I'm currently reading a series of books by Erich von Däniken, the one I just finished is called "Chariots Of the Gods". I loved it. The book is based on the premise that what humans across the globe refer to as gods were actually extra terrestrials and aliens who visited earth and gave us advanced technology that was described as miracles in ancient texts around the world.
Eesha Koppikar: One of my favourite authors is Richard Bach and I also loved reading "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand. I am not too fond of fiction. I like philosophical reads.
Sameera Reddy: I love reading and my favourite book is "Losing My Virginity" by Richard Bradson.
Bobby Deol: I haven't read a book in some time, but I used to love vampire books. I was obsessed with vampires. I love "Interview With A Vampire" by Anne Rice.
Cyrus Sahukar: I love "The Picture Of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde. It was the first book I read by Oscar Wilde and I have been a fan ever since. Every line is so beautifully written that you can revisit it at any stage in your life and it will always make you think.
Mugdha Godse: I like reading and "Only Love Is Real" by Brian Weiss is one of my favourite books. That book has really changed my concept about love. It has pointed out how your soul can find your real love.
Rajat Kapoor: I love reading and my favourite is "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It's a fat book, but it was so engrossing I finished it in just four days. I just didn't want to leave it.
Trisha: I like fiction. But I liked reading "The Kite Runner". It's serious and not my kind of book, still I liked it a lot and read it thrice. The first two times I read it in quick succession, with a one-week gap.
Arbaaz Khan: Mario Puzo's "The Godfather" is one of my favourite books. I have read it a couple of times.
Randeep Hooda: I read a lot. I read biographies. I read every day. I think reading makes your imagination big. My favourite book is "Papillon" by Henri Charriere. It's a very old book about prison escape. Then I like "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho and there are a number of others.
Koena Mitra: The last book I read was by Paulo Coelho. I really like his writing, it has a sense of realism to it and one can actually relate to it."
Kim Sharma: I am not an avid reader. I like reading romantic novels. I am the Mills & Boon type of a reader.