Since it’s World IP (Intellectual Property) Day on the 26th of April, I thought I’d ask some IP related people to tell me about their Inheritance Books. So, this week Kalyan Kankanala, who has written a  thriller book with an IP lawyer hero, shares his Inheritance Books. 

Hi Kalyan, welcome to Inheritance Books. Tell us a bit about yourself.

I am an IP attorney based out of Bangalore, India. In addition to practising IP law, I also consult for United Nations Industrial Development Organisation and teach at National Law School of India University, Bangalore. After publishing a few academic works on IP, I have now ventured into fiction writing. My debut novel, Road Humps and Sidewalks, has been recently released.

Which book have you inherited from generations above? Why is it special?

It is my pleasure to write this post for Ms. Rhoda Baxter on her request. After I agreed to write this post on the best book I inherited from my family, I went through a nostalgic and fascinating process of running through my legacy works and arduously rating them. Passing the likes of Frederick Forsyth, Robert Ludlum, Jeffrey Archer, Mario Puzo and George Orwell, I arrived at James Herriot and got stuck there. Tattered and battered, though it was, Herriot’s All Creatures Great and Small is my most treasured inheritance.

It was during one of those idling law school days that I picked this book from my uncle’s deteriorating book shelf. A vet himself, my uncle recommended it to me, with promises of great learning. The book stood to his assessment and I have read the book several times, hoping every time that the book would just go on and on. Starting with this work, I read all Herriot’s works and was quite disappointed that he had written very few works.

Which book would you leave to later generations? Why?

My love for animals, appreciation of beauty in small things and respect for farmers was influenced by all creatures great and small. I would not be exaggerating, if I said that this book that looks at the world through a vet’s eye impacted my life in more than one way. I would, without a second thought, pass this book to the next generation. It is my ambition to preserve this torn, yet highly treasured stack of paper intact for not just one generation.

You can find out more about Kalyan on his website  (www.kalyankankanala.com), or find him on Twitter (@kalyankankanala), LinkedIn or Facebook. His book Road Humps and Sidewalks is available to buy on Amazon.