I read "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4" again not so laugh out loud as wry smile inducing...

I too have read the "Hungry Tide"...I was hooked to Amitav Ghosh after reading "The Glass Palace" and "Calcutta Chromosome" never would have I thought the Sunderbans and Dolphins could be so intertwined...and the characters are faulted with a grace, Ghosh seems to handle chronicles well..though I do agree with Shoba about the pace of the novel...i will admit that I was enthralled with the cover it was so eye-catching and beautiful:

http://www.ffbooks.co.uk/images/n13/n69999.jpg

I have not read "1984" as yet but praise for it is unbounded...though i am quite fond of his "animal farm"...short and bittersweet

the last novel I finished was "Tess of the D'Urbervilles"..Hardy's prose is so beautifully written that you can not help feel your heart wrench for the wronged heroine...