The writerly life can look like one never-ending party to readers who track their favourite authors on social media, hopping from book signings to literature festivals to award ceremonies. But this seductive illusion conceals the messy and uncomfortable realities that many authors have to live with. Ruskin Bond’s new book, Laugh With Me, is a joy to read because it sheds all pretence.A first-person narrative by Bond, who celebrated his 92nd birthday in May of 2026, it grants privileged access to the inner world of a celebrated writer, and makes one chuckle along. He writes, for instance, of a time in his late twenties when he felt that his publishers were not doing enough to publicise a newly published short story collection, as a result of which it was not available in bookstores at Khan Market, Connaught Place, and Shankar Market in Delhi.His frantic search led him to Janpath, where he found a copy at a small bookshop. “It was firmly wedged at the bottom of a pile of other writers’ bestsellers – Khushwant Singh… Harold Robbins… Roald Dahl – everyone on top of poor little RB,” he writes. This anecdote will strike a chord with every debut author, wallowing in self-pity, and wondering if their book would have stood a better chance at being discovered if it were endorsed by a celebrity, represented by a star literary agent, or launched at an exclusive club with canapés and cocktails.Bond’s candid recollection of how “desperate” he was as a young writer is all the more poignant because he has now become so popular that other authors are envious of him. The grouse that his books, along with Sudha Murty’s, hog shelf space at the expense of others writing for children is routinely heard when writers gather at literature festivals in India. It is humbling to know that Bond, too, has struggled to build a loyal readership.In Laugh With Me, Bond goes on to spill embarrassing details about how he dealt with jealousy. When he thought that the Janpath bookshop owner wasn’t looking, he pulled out his book from the bottom of the pile and placed it at the top to make customers notice. “But the shop owner had seen me at my shameless attempt to display my neglected masterpiece,” recalls Bond.The writerly lifeNot knowing that the author of the book was standing before him, the owner said, “Ye nahin chalta!” (No one buys this one). The book was put back in its place, just like Bond. The author, however, was unstoppable in his zeal, so he revealed his identity. To his utter surprise, the man said, “I thought so. Writers are my best customers. They are always buying their own books.”This part of Laugh With Me is a powerful commentary on the broken publishing ecosystem in India that pushes authors to champion their own books online and on offline platforms, which takes away from the time that could be spent writing their next book. This is simultaneously a tender portrait of the burning desire to be read, which leads many to write in the first place.Bond turns self-deprecating humour into a survival strategy. “Writers are a vain lot. Everyone thinks he’s another Shakespeare or Kalidas, and that their books are going to be bestsellers,” he remarks, adding, “Well, Shakespeare did not make much money from writing, and I doubt if Kalidas went in for mass marketing, so we shouldn’t expect too much from our literary efforts.”This line of thought might not go down well with authors who feel that they earn peanuts in terms of advances and royalties, while their creative labour pays the salaries of publishers, editors, designers and marketing professionals. Some of them spend out of their own pocket to hire publicists.In the absence of financial security, authors often find comfort in fellowship and community. Bond, for example, writes about friends who gathered to celebrate the publication of his first story in a national newspaper when he was 16 years old. The cheque he got was for Rs 50. “That may not seem much today, but 75 years ago, it was a fair amount – almost the same as getting Rs 5000 for a story today,” he notes. He bought jalebis, samosas, pakoras, laddoos, pastries and lemonade. The party was thrown on the roof of the building where he lived.Guess who decided to gatecrash this party? A group of monkeys! “Samosas were flying around, pastries were on the ground, jalebis were being fought over…and laddoos were bouncing around like pong-pong balls,” he recalls. Since nothing was left for humans to consume, they pooled in their contributions and went out to gorge on chaat, tikkees, golgappas and buttermilk.Illustrations from the book by Shamika Chaves.This is a heartwarming tale in itself but Bond’s entrepreneurial mindset is the unexpected hero. “I made good use of my failed party by writing and selling a story about it, so in the end I had the last laugh.” This is the kind of jugaad that writers often have to resort to, where every disaster and disappointment becomes material to be mined for a future story, poem, novel or essay.All in good humourPerhaps the funniest part of Laugh With Me is where Bond confesses that he has been mistaken for other writers. What could have been a severe blow to his ego becomes an opportunity to giggle at the sheer absurdity of life. Once, a woman brought along her son of seven or eight and said, “Vicki wants your autograph; he’s reading one of your books in class.” Vicki was reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Bond did not want to let him down, so he signed as Mark Twain.On another occasion, Bond was approached at an airport by a lady who mistook him for Rudyard Kipling. She asked him when he was going to write another Mowgli story. He did not correct her or get angry. He simply told her that it was coming along nicely. The book documents another incident at a five-star hotel where a drunk lady said, “So you’re that writer fellow Buskin Ronde, aren’t you?” This is hilarious to read, especially as a journalist who covers literature festivals and often runs into authors who are horrified when an influencer who has just taken a selfie with them turns around and says, “Sorry, what’s your name? I would like to tag you on Instagram.”Having lived through ups and downs for more than nine decades, Bond has learned to loosen up and not take things too seriously. “I take all this in good humour. Just as long as my royalty cheque gets my name right.” These little jibes, scattered throughout the book, are hugely entertaining. Bond reminds us that “anger and resentment poison the soul”, so a gentle disposition and the ability to “laugh at yourself from time to time” are the key to happiness.Shamika Chaves’s whimsical design and illustrations elevate the book from an autobiographical work to an art object. She plays with typography, white space, and colour palettes, encouraging readers to pause and relish instead of rushing to read from cover to cover. This approach complements Bond’s writing style, which is languorous, dreamy and soaked in nostalgia.Chintan Girish Modi has contributed to various anthologies, including 101 Indian Children’s Books We Love (2013), Borderlines: Volume 1 (2015), Clear Hold Build (2019), Fearless Love (2019), and Bent Book (2020). He can be found @chintanwriting on Instagram and X.Laugh With Me, Ruskin Bond, designed and illustrated by Shamika Chaves, HarperCollins India.