On the writer's shelf with Vernika Awal

On Her Collection, Reading Habits, and how they have Evolved

Vernika’s interest in reading began at age 5, when her father got her a set of Grolier reference books. She says, “I remember, in the early 90s, he paid around 6k to get the whole series for me. It had the encyclopaedias, the I Wonder Why series, A Story A Day, all of that. It’s basically what got me into reading. Prior to that, I was always listening to stories. But those books got me into reading and I still have those in pristine condition.” Vernika cherishes them and hopes to pass them on to a niece or nephew some day!

Once she hit college, she was reading a lot of fiction and world literature as an English literature student. This changed not just what she read, but how she read. She says, “It’s great and not-so-great. Great because I am able to read between the lines and go beyond reading a book as a book…but it is also a con, because I can’t read just for fun anymore!”

After kids’ reference books and literature, Vernika’s collection has grown and evolved to include a lot of non-fiction. She says spending so many years studying fiction is probably why she reads more non-fiction today. Many of her books remain at her parents’ home in Mumbai, and in Delhi, she’s building a shared library with her husband Shouvik, a tech journalist. “So now it’s a lot of, well, tech and conspiracy books, alongside the more fun ones that I read!”

On Arranging by Size, not Colour or Genre

Vernika approaches book organisation in a practical way: by size. She doesn’t believe in organising by colour, genre, or alphabetically. "So the food books are usually together. But my fiction, non-fiction, literature, it’s all by size and quite haphazardly done…but size is what I usually stick to.” It may seem confusing to some, but Vernika knows each shelf and can navigate them with ease — it’s almost instinctual!

On Her Bookshelves Sourced from Near and Far

The home library has been custom-built, with Vernika using the help of AI to create 3D renders which she then shared with the carpenters to bring her vision to life. The bookshelf in her living area has been sourced from Amar Colony furniture market in South Delhi. It’s simple, classic, and adaptable: it can be placed vertically on the ground or mounted onto a wall. “There’s not too much drama attached to it, it’s as simple as it gets, and it lets my books shine. That’s what I love the most about it.” But she’s also found a way switch things up if she wants to refresh her space. “I go to Amar Colony furniture market so often that I have a good friendship with one of the vendors there. We have that relationship where I can exchange an old piece I purchased from him if I get bored of it!”

Apart from her custom shelves and Amar Colony finds, she also owns an IKEA “Billy” bookshelf: something most bibliophiles are familiar with. It’s close to Vernika’s heart because her dad procured it years ago when IKEA was a novelty in India. “It’s been with me for almost 12 years now, this is from back when IKEA wasn’t even in India, so my father had it shipped from London. I refuse to part with it and I keep changing it’s colour. It’s iconic!”