Books like 7-course meal, blogs like fast food: Vikas Swarup

For bestselling author and External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup, reading books is like having a "leisurely seven-course meal" and the experience cannot be replicated by "fast-food" blogs.
Swarup, whose debut novel "Q&A" was adapted into Oscar winning Hollywood movie "Slumdog Millionaire", was today participating here in a discussion on Books vs Blogs on the concluding day of the fourth edition of the Delhi Literature Festival.
The 1986-batch Indian Foreign Service Officer who has penned three bestsellers pointed out that while books have narrative most blogs were like fast food, which he said is not necessarily healthy and most did not have a structure but just tried to make a point.

"Books have a beginning, middle and an ending. They have a plot and have to be of a certain minimum length. Books are like a leisurely seven-course meal, which is more pricey but something you can't miss out on," he said.
The diplomat pointed out that books offered a two-way communication by way of the author writing and the reader's imagination.
Swarup did not, however, dismiss the power of blogs and the social media.

"Blogs are a medium of the 21st century. I don't blog but I tweet on behalf of the MEA and I see the immediate response there is," he said.

Film critic and author Anna Vetticad, who has penned the 'Adventures of an Intrepid Critic', however, said that it was her blogs and the response she got to her film reviews which got her to writing her book.
"My blog was an outlet, an experiment to see whether people would read my reviews without the backing of an organisation. And I found that people were actually looking for long form of writing on the internet," she said.
Another bestselling author Yashodra Lal who began blogging in the year 2006 went on to write her first book 'Just married please excuse' based on her blogs.

"In both books and blogs, the desire is the same to tell a story to an audience but the method is very different. I blogged for years, but writing a book is a different process," Lal, who is an IIM alumnus, said.
Talking about the freedom and space available for today's bloggers, Vetticad said although the Internet provided more space to write, it also made one answerable to readers.
"I am my own boss when blogging, but I am also answerable to them if have to write regularly," she said.
The blogger said since blogs and books can co-exist, a debate on which medium is the better remains inconclusive.

"There is a readership for both. Blogs deliver a point of view and books are a long time association since they stay with you," she said.
Vetticad rubbished old-school notions that blogs and social media will impact the quality of writing and reading.
"A good writer will remain a good writer across all mediums -- on twitter, Facebook or the printed word. Whereas a bad writer will be a bad writer, always," she said.