Not so far, no. But I do worry about it. Occasionally, I have wondered what will happen if after writing my first few books, I run out of ideas. It is, for me, a very scary thought.

No, I have no trick. I wish I had, though. My all-time favourite author is P.G. Wodehouse. I have spent many, many happy hours reading and re-reading his books. My life would have been poorer but for these.

I don’t smoke and no, coffee/tea have no connection with my writing. As I said, I don’t write for long hours at a stretch, perhaps this explains why I don’t need any props. If I get some time and my laptop, I don’t need anything else.

Just finished Sam Miller’s Delhi: Adventures in a Megacity and enjoyed it. I have Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s Palace of Illusions lying unread at home. I will probably pick that up next.

I have mentioned one already. I have liked individual books of course, but I can’t think of anyone else who has made even half as much of an impact on me. I think, in a sense, I have never grown out of or beyond Wodehouse. Maybe I am still trapped in his joyful paradise, a world of sunshine and innocence where an inherent goodness prevails, a world that may have villains but absolutely no evil.

Well, given my rather limited range of reading, it is unlikely that I will ever come across a book that I feel should be banned.

Again, I am restricted to the few I have read. Besides, I don’t think I’m really on top of things when it comes to knowing how widely a book has been read or how it has been rated, except for the bestsellers. But yes, from time to time, I have come across books that I had never heard of, but yet enjoyed reading. Extra Virgin by Annie Hawes, Penguins Stopped Play by Harry Thompson and The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner. I also loved Shashi Tharoor’s The Great Indian Novel. If I let honesty take precedence over modesty, I should also include my debut novel here.

If one can describe J.K. Rowling as a children’s author, I find her books captivating. As a child, I grew up on all the usual stuff that were available in India those days… Enid Blyton, Richmal Crompton, the Hardy Boys series… Now I have a 14-year-old son and I find it most difficult to read the kind of books he seems to relish. In fact, the only reason I started reading Harry Potter was to make sure it was appropriate for him. That I got hooked on to it is another matter. I still like comics, though.