``I read regularly. Of course, I have been reading a lot of election-related material these days, but I have been into the habit of reading books on other subjects for years now,'' he says. Geoffrey Archer is his favourite author, someone whom Shankaran loves reading anytime, especially on flights.

His preoccupation with constitutional advice, political events and political personalities does not take away his sensitivity to current non-political happenings. Sankaran has now picked up to re-read what he had loved as a young man Nirad Chaudhuri's An Autobiography Of An Unknown Indian. ``I just felt like reading it again,'' he says. Another book he appreciates a lot is Allan Sealy's Everest Hotel. The novel, he says, is his favourite genre.