Book Love 2016

Book Love 2015 here!
 
Starting to pen down this year's 'read' book list well in advance. Because I'll be in the mountains on new year's (mild show off) and don't want to fall behind on my yearly ritual. A slight change this year, is I am also going to put down the list of books I really want to get my hands on and start reading in 2017. In case you know me, you know what book gifts I would really appreciate! (needy much?)

So tah-dah!! Here are the books which made me go all aww, inspired me, made me contemplate, gave me hope, made me hopeless. I am only elaborating the great ones (according to me) i.e. the ones I felt connected with. The complete list with goodreads link at the end of the post. Let me know your personal favorites, I am always on the look out to expand my reading horizons. Without further ado:

1. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - I had been wanting to read Ray Bradbury for quite some time. Judge me all you want, but I decided to wait 20+ years to get one Bradbury book in my hands. Earlier in August, I gifted F.451 to Pushkar (he is an avid reader and reads many interesting books). I promptly asked him to lend his copy once he was done reading. I also started reading this book on my birthday last month. Boy, was I delighted! The book is often dark and depressing, even devastating. But the hope in the last 15-20 pages is unmatched to fools and romantics alike. Also, to pack so much in mere 150-160 pages! Writing miracle.

2. On Writing by Stephen King - A memoir of the craft by Stephen King - Essential reading, if you write. Even those painfully tedious work emails (at times) or long facebook posts or tweets or letters or for fun. As much as it is personal, some of the most basic writing advice from a stern teacher like Mr. King leaves lasting impact. Also, he knows what he is talking about, because he has succeeded at this i.e. Writing. I still check, re-check, edit everything I write after having read the book. I also use some handy online tools, to make sure I avoid typos, common grammar mistakes (you are never too old or learned to make those).

3. The hard thing about hard things by Ben Horrowitz - My non-fiction reading list used to be abysmal until 2016. This year I pro-actively picked up books that seemed like 'not my forte'. This book was pretty easy-going and written in a matter of fact way. To top it off, my current work profile and the book's theme aligned. I not only understood a lot of scenarios he talked about, but could relate to some situations. Handy rule-book if you are in technology business.

4. Zen Garden by Milind Bokil - Only Marathi book I read this year. It was a compilation of short stories. Some of the short stories stayed with me for a long time. Simple, uncluttered and contemporary writing despite being thought-provoking.

5. Kafka on the shore by Haruki Murakami -I love Haruki Murakami's characters and writing. They are such a bundle of conflicts and melancholy. They are weird is such an under-statement. There are random music, literature references throughout this book. A library and a librarian of treasured works is at the center of the story. What more does a girl want!

6. My brilliant friend by Elena Farrante - OMG! Reading good original fiction which you can relate to feels so fulfilling. Elena Farrante's protagonists Lila and Elena are us. They are growing up in Naples, Italy. The trials and tribulations of their younger years and their friendship is the focus of this book, first in a 4 part series. If you dig good fiction then I highly recommend you read Farrante. Even though I read the translation and had a tough time remembering all the other characters' Italian names, I really liked the book. Her deep grasp on nuances of emotions moved me.

Moving on to the complete list of books I read!
Here's a picture from goodreads.

#WhatIReadIn2016

I already know what I am reading through January 2017.
Margaret Atwood's Bluebird's egg and other stories
Siddhartha Mukherjee's The Gene
Elena Farrante's The story of a new name (2nd in the series)

What about you ?

Book Love 2015

I wanted to start my new year (you know when the clock strikes 12) with some writing. But I spent most of the last few hours of 2015 huddled in a chair reading and finishing the book Misery by Stephen King. So I let it be and pushed the writing part to the new day.

I love doing this ritual on my blog for myself. I feel huge gratitude that I live in a world where magic (also) dwells in the form of the written word and books. I also feel thankful that because of some strange wiring in my brain I 'love' reading books. I spent a lot of 2015 traveling. Mostly it was work related so my reading became punctuated by how much work related reading I ended up doing. If numbers were important then I read an abysmal 15 books this year. As I was going through the goodreads list, I realized I touched upon different genres, and writers from different countries and backgrounds this year. So that is a little ray of hope there! I like how I am stumbling across these writers and books. Serendipity or not.

I'll write about some of my favorite reads of this year.
Letters to a young poet by Rainer Maria Rilke - As a letter lover this book was a treat. Some of the most timeless advice for anyone who wants to write. Heck live a meaningful life. Rilke rules!
 
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi - KT had recommended this book long time back. That email remained in my mailbox and the book never made it to my reading list. After I came back from a work trip and was itching to read a book which wouldn't be a 1000 page long will power test, but instead would be breeze. I picked this book and put it down only after I was finished reading it. What a book! Marjane's humor and no-nonsense objective look at life while growing up surrounded by a conflict was an eye opener. Her journey is not only interesting and fun, its strewn with personal loss, coming of age insights and what it means to be a liberated woman in this world. I loved the book.

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda ngozi adichie - Adichie's single story TED talk drove me to her books. I picked purple hibiscus on a random whim. My biggest revelation while reading the book was as an Indian I could relate with the social structures in Nigeria. I liked Adichie's writing because it felt personal, had good observations about human nature and had pretty good characters. Of course I wanted to know more about what happened to Kambili.

The year of magical thinking by Joan Didion - I had never read Joan Didion before. I read this book because of a random brainpickings article I read. Her tale of personal loss was so honest and immediate that it felt refreshing in an odd way. Without any layers or drama, she lays out the facts. It puts you in an extremely vulnerable frame if not brutal and makes one wonder about how losing someone you love must feel like.

Eat and Run by Scott Jurek - Disclaimer- It may not be the most well written book out there about running or someone's running journey. But Scott Jurek is awesome and any book associated with him I'll read without judging for the inspiration quotient it brings. I have learnt so much about running and eating and life from this book. Thank you P for this amazing birthday gift!

Misery by Stephen King - Pushkar sometimes suggests the most scary books. A voracious reader himself I was prodding him for some holiday reading suggestions and he suggested I should check this one out. It was more of a thriller than horror, he had assured. The reason for my aversion to Mr. King was I had tried reading IT and had failed. I knew he was one hell of a writer, but he didn't deserve a sissy reader like me. Anyway I took Pushkar's word and marched on. I was hooked to the book despite the horrifying things it had in store for me. I finished it in 2 days. Unputdownable. Word of caution though - Dont read it during night. Creepiness quotient doubles.

I am planning to start 2016 with some non fiction with a hope to read many more genres, writers and books.

The facebook effect

* I realized the post has nothing much about the book. hence reposting with an adage. 


Pre script : The post is about the book by David Kirkpatrick.


I am a skeptic. It helps me getting my views/opinions about stuff straight. And I have always been a skeptic of social networking. It comes from personal experience. I am a decently social person. Not for the parties I indulge in or the page 3 (or 6 is it ?) person that I am, but because I like meeting new people and new experiences. So when I was in the US and still regularly in touch with most of my family and friends back home, I started facebooking. Rather I got introduced to it a new way there. I was on facebook, orkut, twitter, blogger, linkedin. LinkedIn was the only one I ever took seriously for obvious reasons. Then I read The Lost Symbol and the whole concept of twitter and collective thinking and action started making sense. Twitter soon replaced newspapers and tv for me. It is so non intrusive, simple and some concepts are so novel that I was hooked. Blogger became more and more personal as I started spending more time with myself. Facebook, orkut remained the places to add friends, stay connected in the most cold manner (just wishing each other on birthdays etc) and random exhibitionism. Yeah! I used to rave at people displaying their whole life on such public forums. It made me ask is this really the meaning of  'Social' ?


The book basically looks at how 'facebook' the internet giant of our times came into being. Not just those Harvard dorm stories about a break up and 19 year old's take on it. But the real deal. How Mark Zuckerberg  and a bunch of his friends stuck to their guns and revolutionized how people share stuff. How his idea of an open world is changing and affecting us despite the vibes of voyeurisms, rambunctiousness and exhibitionism. It is a fascinating tale. People who have watched the movie 'the Social Network' and raving about arrogance should read the book. 'Facebook' and its story is much bigger than the arrogant vibes the trailers and movie gives. Its about entrepreneurship and being true to your believes. It also opens up new debates on how open we really are and do we really want the world around us to be as open ?
I still believe sharing stuff with a close friend over a coffee is much precious than getting updates on facebook. But the book has given me perspective. With so much data about people, generated by people it will be really very interesting to analyze it and determine trends and look at how we as a human race are progressing or think.


The book on the whole is pretty straightforward. Since it was tracking story of a company it made sense also to have events chronologically. But that makes it insipid and dull. I was literally pushing myself through the parts with the money matters and negotiations. I owe it to the fact that financial transactions normally bore me to death. So if you do plan to read you can ignore this little comment. But truth be told this is no racy thriller or tear inducing drama, though its a thrilling story in quite a few respects. So you really need to be interested in such stuff to read the book. Else one can call it a pass.


~nightflier


P.S. Since reading the book my activity has generally increased on fb. :D

My inevitable change

The blog needed a change (of template/design/content/structure) for a long time now. And nothing can beat my indecisiveness in this matter. I have been hunting and searching for a template who sweeps me off my feet (love at first sight types). And since I don't like whatever is available on the web, I am thinking of creating something myself with all the duniya bhar ke tools available. Daunting task that is!


Anyhooooo, point is since that has taken a different lane, I thought might as well entertain you guys and myself with some dedicated content. 


The self proclaimed movie critic inside me has been doing summersaults to grab attention on this self obsessed blog (buff more like who can't help but give her opinions about any movie she watches). A mere 10 out of 270 something posts ratio has made her a bit suicidal. The immediate treatment has involved giving her a room of her own with stuff to play with. So you will find This week (that year) at the top of the blog, below the header to be accurate. I plan to put 2 movie recommendations per week in that space. Now I know how much you all adore (care for ?) reviews and hence I am going to try to describe why I like/recommend the movie. So the said person whose life we are trying to save gets a prolonged existence and you feel responsible for the after effects of listening to my views.


Lately my reading habits have become really erratic. I have multiple books on my reading pane. None of which I have managed to finish. So this is going to track my progress with each book that I have touched. I hope this venture lives really long. Otherwise the sad future of my would be kids looms in front of my eyes. Depressing!


Also did I tell you about the brand new chamakta Tennis star on the scene? Yours truly. Ahem!
Yesterday clad in my flipflops and skinny jeans I made my international debut. After the sad demise of Sania from tennis to the wrong side of the court, I thought may be it was time to take responsibility for Tennis's future. 
Kidding! I am not that deluded. Not specially after failing to land 5 consecutive serves in the right side of the court. But today was better with sneakers and no skinny jeans (but tennis shorts, you dirty mind!). And tennis is fun, specially if you dont care a speck about the rules on the court.
Still prefer watching it over playing it. Convenience. That reminds me this time Nadal will sweetly take french open no ?


Is there anything else, I should dabble in ?


~nightflier

Of bedtime stories and fairytales !!

I just finished reading 'The tales of beedle the bard' !!

Rowling is right when she emphasizes the importance of bed time stories in the raising of children. It's a good attempt to revive the old genre. Actually she did it with the Potter series. 

Well my sole aim behind this read was to gather as much wisdom as possible from the great Albus Dumbledore! I was not disappointed but it was not quite up to my expectations. May be I was expecting a lot from what is supposed to be a book of bedtime stories :D 

The grown up in me can be greedy I tell you !!

So it is basically a collection of stories about virtue, valor,  good vs evil and all the routine. Perfect recipe for fairy tales. The stories have a lot to offer to us muggles. They take you to the lands of magic to tell us that many times magic alone, also cannot solve life's greatest mysteries. I liked the story of the fountain of fair fortune and the warlock's hairy heart particularly. Some more addition to the list of stories I will read to my kids !! 

And at this point I should also thank my parents who let me join a library when I was 8. I remember one summer I ended up reading their entire collection to the astonishment of the library caretaker. She actually told me that there was nothing left for me to read for next summer. In this library I was introduced to the magic of Graeme's' fairy tales, endless stories of Birbal's wisdom, the kid detective Faster Fene (most of the books are Marathi), Ramayana, Panchatantra. I also developed the habit of bartering books with friends. Teenage was spent in reading and re-reading Sherlock Holmes and treasure island. And also Sidney Sheldon and Agatha Christie!! Many times books have shown me other worlds, vicarious feelings, but they have been great teachers. Always!

Coming back to the book, every purchase of the book contributes to the Children's high level group, a foundation formed by Rowling. It works to make life better for vulnerable young people, something I totally believe in. So at least buy the book for improving lives :)

I sign off with a quote from Dumbledore : 

The truth is a beautiful and terrible thing and should therefore be treated with great caution.

Until we meet again,

nightlfier!

Unaccustomed Earth

Its a collection of short stories by noted author Jhumpa Lahiri.

Each story opens up the human nature in a different way. A brief synopsis.

1. Unaccustomed earth : The title story tells the tale of a father and daughter, separated by the invisible walls of loneliness, after the death of their only common thread, his wife, her mother. The distances which grow between them. Each's idea of bridging it. The father never wanting to be near his daughter for more than a fortnight. The daughter wanting him to take care of her family in an Indian fatherly way. The unaccustomed earth of her kitchen garden, where she has recently moved, becomes their bonding place as the father develops a special love for his grandson.

This is the best story of the lot. A deep uneasiness in the characters. The uncomfortably comfortable relations they share. The way even a father and daughter separated by a huge emotional gap, would bond at an unaccustomed place.

Thumbs up to this story!!

2. Hell-Heaven : This story explores the psyche of a woman. Her instincts and her emotional capabilities. As a woman, the author knows eaxctly which shades to highlight. Her observations of the human mind leave a lasting impression.

3. A choice of accomodations : The story of an emmigrant boy and his american wife. A very simple story, about how marriages work, fall apart and again work. Again her observations of those tiny emotions, captured in words, is simply amazing.

4. Only goodness : I personally liked this one too. The story of two siblings, who brought up in a foreign culture, loose the bonding while growing up. The efforts of one as the responsible and competitive sister always losing against the carefree and lost brother. A secret of drinking beer at nights after their parents fall asleep, turns into an addiction for the brother. Something which is unacceptable to the Indian mindsets of the parents. This devastates the perfect family the sister's trying to nurture.

Again her meticulous observations and the ability to weave story in a flashback stand out.

5. No Body's Business : A complicated love traingle. That's the only thing that comes to my mind when I think about it.

6. Hema and Kaushik : Fiction at its best. The story of two individuals with separate lifestyles joined by a single thread, a dead woman. This story travels from American coasts to Europe to Asia to leave a lasting impression. Kaushik's need to keep on moving, not to settle at a single place, not to feel the sense of belonging. And Hema's struggle to make herself feel belonged, by trying to settle in a foreign country. Their love and its defeat. The sad end to the story. Every part is touching.

Lahiri's emotional wisdom is just amazing. She delves into such realms of the mind, so effortlessly, that you relate with the lives and struggles of the characters. The stories do seem bounded by the whole emigrant experience.

A good and soft read if you are really into short stories.

Ironically I have not read her earlier works. I have to dig more now. She is impressive!!