BookWorm

Fables Vol1-11 - Bill Willingham

2010-11-25T20:29:00.000-08:00

I just finished a marathon session of reading Fables Vol1-11. One of the thing that strikes me is that unlike other Vertigo series, this is pretty much a straight story - It doesn't have the layers or complexity of a Lucifer or Sandman - i.e. a second reading doesn't add much to the storyline. The story is of course a solid entertainer but there isn't much else to it.
Another thing that detracts from my reading experience is the subsequent knowledge that I have of Bill Willingham - He is a conservative. Not in itself a problem - But when Bigby wolf states how he doesn't like the French because they have no gratitude - Is that really Bigby's voice or the conservative's ? For some reason conservatives equate lack of gratitude (for saving the French in WW-II) with criticism(of American war policies). And when the criticism is from an American it is of course unpatriotic except when a Democrat is in charge. See distracts from the story. Similarly Bigby's actions in his mission - Operation Israel , provides such a warped perspective of the Israel - Palestinian conflict. Further the glorification of Guns in the final war with the adversary - A standard conservative shock and awe tactic. Go in bomb everything , problem solved - Except we know it doesnt always work. Vietnam , Iraq, Afghanistan - you name it.
Anyway , the story is still good enough that I can ignore the above, Willingham mostly manages to keep his characters honest. It's also interesting to see how he manages to find his voice after a few issues. The first volume with Bigby as detective is cute but has a sort of amateurish feel to it. It takes about the third volume before Willingham gets into his groove - or perhaps thats the amount of time it takes the reader to realise this story is more than just a gimmick.

50 voices of disbelief - Russel Blackford , Udo Schuklenk

2010-02-27T10:59:00.000-08:00

This is a very interesting book and as far as I know the first one of its kind. 50 essays about religion / disbelief / atheism without any of the four horsemen. Some of the essays are personal journeys into disbelief, some are arguments against religion and some are observations. Most are well written, I think only two of essays did not hold my interest and I skipped over them because they were too densely argued. I believe a book like this was important because it demonstrates the variety of views that atheists have, that not all (and not most in my opinion) are angry, hateful people and that most of the arguments are sound. This is not particularly news, but its curious just how many religious people (even the liberal ones) believe the above or dismiss arguments by stating "too strident", "too arrogant", "not my religion".

I also came across some new arguments (or atleast one's I haven't heard before). For example there is one essay that deals with the excuses people give to continue believing in a personal, omnipotent, omni-benevolent God given the current state of the world. Excuses being "Free Will", "Greater Good", "God works in mysterious ways". The author neatly turns the tables by hypothesizing a personal, omnipotent, evil God and shows that all the above excuses work equally well. The personal journeys are also really interesting because I could contrast them with my own.
One problem is that some of the ideas seem repetitive as the essays are all independently written. A good number mention the problem of evil and its implications. A large number of them deal with the Christian God and there is some lack of diversity. There were two essays by Indians which mostly dealt with humanism and superstitions (which reflect the problems in India) and only one by an ex-muslim Maryam Namazie which drew a line between Islam and political Islam, which also reflects a reality in the Islamic world. It is here where I feel the book lacks a little bit, because I would have loved to see some more Asian representation (Chinese, Japanese etc.) and more African representation. Most of the authors are also reasonably well known and I'd like to see a few more common people since I believe that is an important message to get across, that disbelievers are not the intellectual elite, they are you and me.
All in all , this is a book that is well worth the read, though I suspect it will not be famous as any controversial polemic work, nor will it be picked up by the religious who would benefit the most from it.

Looking for Calvin and Hobbes - Nevin Martell

2010-02-01T12:07:00.001-08:00

Why evolution is true - Jerry Coyne

2010-01-08T22:51:00.001-08:00

Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism - Susan Jacoby

2009-12-26T13:25:00.000-08:00

Superfreakonomics

2009-12-08T22:31:00.000-08:00

Like most sequels this book is not as good as the first. There are various reasons why this is so, the chief among them is that the original read as a solidly researched, backed by data, interesting book with interesting theories. The new book reads as a set of anecdotes picked solely to be contrary. It's still a readable book with some interesting tidbits, but it wont stun you like Freakonomics did.

Private wars - Greg Rucka

2009-11-20T22:19:00.001-08:00

A gentlemans game - Greg Rucka

2009-11-20T22:18:00.000-08:00

The life you can save - Peter Singer

2009-11-06T21:40:00.001-08:00

The Greatest show on earth - Richard Dawkins

2009-11-01T11:55:00.001-08:00

In a way I'm glad Prof. Richard Dawkins wrote this book. So far I had a fairly rudimentary knowledge of evolution, and this helped me understand a bit more about it. But in a way I'm sad that books like these have to be written , not to inform or educate, but to refute the ignorant, the stupid or the dishonest(Like someone has said after reading this book they can no longer call themselves ignorant).
Prof. Dawkins has a lucid writing style, and when it comes to explaining science , I feel that he is only second to Carl Sagan. There is also the sense of sincerity and wonder about science that comes through in the writing, that makes anyone who has even a little of bit of curiosity, join Prof Dawkins on his journeys and explanations. Prof Dawkins manages to keep your interest even when he is discussing elaborate and intricate material like Richard Lenski's grand experiment. I read this section of the book on the train on the way home and I couldn't stop reading inspite of Prof Dawkins' warning to not read this at the end of a busy day.
The book itself covers a wide range of the evidence of evolution and discusses the various Creationist/Intelligent Design ploys and their fallacies, and Prof Dawkins deals with these issues appropriately(Warning if you are a creationist , it isn't pretty) . The book is full of witty anecdotes and I couldn't stop laughing at J.B.S. Haldane's 'You did it yourself and it only took you 9 months'. Professor Dawkins makes a comprehensive case for the various independent streams of evidence we have for evolution and the way that each one of them could have been falsified (take that Ann Coulter).
For those who are scared away by Prof Dawkins' atheism, this book does not touch on the subject (except in the preface) and even if you are , there are other books about evolution that you could and should read. If you discount evolution because of your religion, then you should remember Carl Sagan's words
'How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, "This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant. God must be even greater than we dreamed"? Instead they say, "No, no, no! My god is a little god, and I want him to stay that way.'
After reading through this book I'm curious enough to read other books on evolution, on a couple of that interest me, this book has stoked my curiosity on the subject, and I'm sure that for Prof Dawkins, who is also an educator an who takes his teaching seriously , that is high praise.

Predictably Irrational - Dan Ariely

2009-10-20T22:13:00.001-07:00

Carl Sagan: A Life in the Cosmos - William Poundstone

2009-10-15T15:15:00.000-07:00

The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman

2009-10-15T15:14:00.001-07:00

Sandman Vol1 - Vol10 - Neil Gaiman

2009-10-09T18:18:00.001-07:00

I reread all the original Sandman volume's (thanks to Fremont library) and I am still struck by how well these volumes have stood the test of time. I originally read a few stories haphazardly and at that time my taste ran more towards say A Death in the Family or the Reign of the Supermen. But even when I didn't understand what the story of the Sandman was about, there was still a haunting lyrical quality to Gaiman's writing. As the years went by, I read more of Sandman, the turning point being the Season of Mists , where I thought I mostly got what Gaiman was trying to say ( I was wrong) but at that time I did realize that Sandman was worth reading. And then I read books written about the Sandman where Gaiman is asked to summarize what Sandman is about in a single sentence and he said something like 'In life you have to change or die and the Sandman makes his choice'. It was an epiphany of sorts. The ending which hadn't made any sense to me when I first read it , now had a different meaning. And finally after all these years after having read all the books in one sitting, it's about what Gaiman said and so much more than that too. It's probably futile to say much about the Sandman, you have to read it.
What surprises me still is that everytime I read Sandman I still find that there are nuances I have missed, but it still was amazing reading the books when I didn't know the nuances were there.
There are three books so far which have ended with what I believe are perfect endings. Calvin and Hobbes, Lucifer and Sandman (take that Harry Potter).
Gaiman has never managed to match Sandman in his other writing (Asimov's Nemesis curse) , which isn't to say his writing has been bad, just that it hasn't been epic. But I think it is a matter of scope as well. He had years in which Sandman was written, whereas his other works have been far shorter , and a necessary ingredient of an epic story is time. It's probably unfortunate that Gaiman has succeeded in other mediums (unfortunate for us), because he probably cannot dedicate the amount of time to any Sandman like comic project, but we can always be thankful that the Sandman was written.
And to quote an introduction ' if the Sandman isn't literature I don't know what is.'

Dead men's boots - Mike Carey

2009-09-19T13:25:00.002-07:00

Dark Entries - Ian Rankin

2009-09-19T13:25:00.001-07:00

Filthy Rich - Brian Azzarello

2009-09-19T13:24:00.001-07:00

Too predictable noir. Not at all what I expect from Azzarello

Preludes Nocturnes - Neil Gaiman

2009-09-12T22:22:00.000-07:00

I am a dire wolf, prey-stalking, lethal prowler.
I am a hunter, horse-mounted, wolf-stabbing.
I am a horsefly, horse-stinging, hunter throwing.
I am a spider, fly-consuming , eight legged.
I am a snake, spider-devouring, poison-toothed.
I am an ox, snake-crushing heavy footed.
I am an anthrax, butcher bacterium, warm-life destroying.
I am a world, space-floating, life nurturing.
I am a nova, all exploding, planet-cremating.
I am the universe-- all things encompassing, all life embracing.
I am anti-life, the beast of judgment. I am the dark at the end of everything. The end of universes, gods, worlds ... of everything. And what will you be then dreamlord?
I am hope.

The Book of Lies - Brad Meltzer

2009-09-12T22:20:00.000-07:00

Interesting for the Superman fan, a bit too pat as a thriller, and yeah I already knew the secret of immortality.

Google this!

2009-06-25T15:11:00.001-07:00

Life Science Research
Clinical Diagnostics
Spectroscopy
Process Separations
Food/Animal/Environment Testing
Life Science Education

Vicious Circle - Mike Carey

2008-12-18T22:50:00.001-08:00

Black Adam The Dark Age - Peter Tomasi

2008-09-10T00:36:00.001-07:00

52 made and destroyed Black Adam completely. 52 was extremely well written. A dictator villain find love and slowly changes. He has the beginnings of a family with his wife and her brother. And then tragedy strikes , wife and wife's brother are killed and he snaps to become worse than ever. Typical Schwarzenegger movie, but what makes a difference is when Isis dies , she tells him that all they worked for , all the love , all the forgiveness, all the better way are all wrong, the world doesn't deserve it, and in that instant you see everything from Black Adam's view , and who has betrayed him aren't only Isis' killers, but Isis herself and this story goes from a revenge story to an epic shakespearean tragedy.
And after killing an entire city (or was it country) Black Adam without powers is trying to reunite with his dead wife. Does it match upto 52? not even close. But it is very well written and has ingredients of horror and tragedy but somehow it doesnt have the emotional attachment that made 52 so great. So a very very good book , just not great

The Gospel of the flying spaghetti monster : Bobby henderson

2008-08-15T23:27:00.000-07:00

As noted elsewhere by me, one of the signs that a person is too religious is a lack of sense of humour (and its cousin irony ) as well as the inability to recognise sarcasm. It should come as no surprise that this book which uses humour, irony and sarcasm as it's chief tools to make a point will be ignored by the people who should read this book. Written primarily as a means of countering the Intelligent design supporters, indeed the genesis(heh) of the book is a letter written by the author to the Kansas school board (when they were considering teaching Intelligent Design in school) , this book has in my opinion , devastating arguments against the teaching of Intelligent Design. It states that not only was evolution guided by an intelligent designer, they also do know the identity of the Intelligent Designer, ta dah- The flying spaghetti monster. And in doing so they neatly counter every argument put forth by the Intelligent Designers ,including Sen. John McCain. For e.g. McCain : Every point of view must be taught in school. Therefore we should teach children that a flying spaghetti monster designed us is a theory.
Full of pun's (the followers are called pastafarians and say RAmen after a prayer), this book is a hoot. While taking on the Intelligent Designers, the pastafarians also take on my favorite targets - religious fundamentalists. And they do it with their own tools.
For e.g.
How convincing is this argument to you?
P1. The Flying Spaghetti Monster is a being which has every perfection.
P2. Existence is a perfection.
C. Therefore, the Flying Spaghetti Monster exists.
Not convinced? Well tell that to St Anselm.(this is his argument for the existence of God , replace FSM with God)

And what does their religion stand for? Everything that is good.
and what is their religion against? Everything that isnt good.
Funny no? But everyone does believe this about their religion.

And also a set of commandments or eight I rather wish you didnt, reproduced here because people should compare with their own religions set of rules and think which one is better

I'd Really Rather You Didn't Act Like A Sanctimonious Holier-Than-Thou Ass When Describing My Noodly Goodness. If Some People Don't Believe In Me, That's Okay. Really, I'm Not That Vain. Besides, This Isn't About Them So Don't Change The Subject.

I'd Really Rather You Didn't Use My Existence As A Means To Oppress, Subjigate, Punish, Eviscerate, And/Or, You Know, Be Mean To Others. I Dont Require Sacrifices, And Purity Is For Drinking Water, Not People.

I'd Really Rather You Didn't Judge People For The Way They Look, Or How They Dress, Or The Way They Talk, Or, Well, Just Play Nice, Okay? Oh, And Get This Through You Thick Heads: Woman=Person, Man=Person. Samey-Samey. One is Not Better Than The Other, Unless We're Talking About Fashion And I'm Sorry, But I Gave That To Women And Some Guys Who Know The Difference Between Teal And Fuchsia.

I'd Really Rather You Didn't Indulge In Conduct That Offends Yourself, Or Your Willing, Consenting Partner Of Legal Age AND Mental Maturity. As For Anyone Who Might Object, I Think The Expression Is Go F*** Yourself, Unless They Find That Offensive In Which Case They Can Turn Off The TV For Once And Go For A Walk For A Change.

I'd Really Rather You Didn't Challenge The Bigoted, Misogynist, Hateful Ideas Of Others On An Empty Stomach. Eat, Then Go After The B*******.

I'd Really Rather You Didn't Build MultiMillion-Dollar Churches/Temples/Mosques/ Shrines To My Noodly Goodness When The Money Could Be Better Spent (Take Your Pick): A. Ending Poverty B. Curing Diseases C. Living In Peace, Loving With Passion, And Lowering The Cost Of Cable. I Might Be A Complex Carbohydrate Omniscient Being, But I Enjoy The Simple Things In Life. I Ought To Know. I AM The Creator.

I'd Really Rather You Didn't Go around Telling People I Talk To you. You're Not That Interesting. Get Over Yourself. And I Told You To Love Your Fellow Man, Can't You Take A Hint?

I'd Really Rather You Didn't Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You If You Are Into, Um, Stuff That Uses Alot Of Leather/Lubrication/Las Vegas. If The Other Person Is Into It However (Pursuant To #4), Then Have At It, Take Pictures, And For The Love Of Mike, Wear A CONDOM! Honestly It's A Piece Of Rubber, If I Didn't Want It To Feel Good When You Did It I Would Have Added Spikes, Or Something.

Unfortunately though, the only people who would get a good laugh from reading this book are people like me

A History of God - Karen Armstrong

2008-06-26T16:19:00.000-07:00

A book about 'God' or rather what the three major religions believe about God and how they have changed over the times. An interesting read for people who like to read about such things. This book probably needs to be read by people who believe their faith is absolute and that the religion they follow today is the same as what it was always, since the book has numerous examples of how they were sometimes competing viewpoints in the same religion , of how somethings got added or reinterpreted depending on the times.

Programming Interviews Exposed - John Mongan, Noah Suojanen, Eric Giguere

2008-05-19T16:41:00.000-07:00

Faker - Mike Carey

2008-05-06T16:18:00.001-07:00

Jesus for the non religious - John Shelby Spong

2008-04-30T14:28:00.000-07:00

This book is more appropriately titled as Jesus for the religious rather than the non religious as I think they will benefit more. Spong a christian bishop of 45 years has evidently concluded that his religion as practised today is far removed from what Jesus (within whom he sees God) taught or experienced. And he goes through and tries to interpret the various miracles that are now treated as literal. He dismisses the concepts of virgin birth, prayers answered, walking on water, even the resurrection as not literally true and point's out time and time again how these events seem to have been copied from jewish tradition with his explanation of that people tried to interpret what they experienced using the only language they knew. He tries to maintain that only after you discard all the various miracles that have accrued around Jesus, can you truly understand the message and even see God.
It is an interesting book and good enough to be read by people who believe in other religions too. Religious people mostly believe that questioning their faith is a sin, is somehow wrong, makes you weaker, takes you on the path to atheism/hell. This ofcourse is absurd. Faith that cannot stand the test of rigorous questioning should be discarded. And this is what Spong believes as well.
He also mentions christianity's irony now. Jesus was the breaker of all traditions, the unifier but now Christianity is the opposite, everyone want to stick to their traditions and the segregation found in Christianity itself is quite startling (The one place where blacks are still noticably segregated from whites is the black and white churches).
Spong however makes the same mistakes that most liberal religious people do. If some of the thing's in your religion's holy book are metaphors/ made up/ interpretations/ just plain lies then how do you know which is or which isn't? e.g. One of his point's is that Jesus didnt discriminate against the Gentile's and points to passages demonstrating it. But if some of the other passages are not literally true , how can we be sure this literally happened? He also avoid's some of the harder questions e.g. How does the concept of Jesus get reconciled with the concept of hell? And if say he does see God in jesus, does he also see God in say the Buddha who also shares some commonality in the tradition breaker, unifier? or does his devotion blind him to the other great teachings that exist?
The book is good though and people of other religions too should read it and see if they can question and investigate their faith as Spong does. I dont agree with all his conclusions but I respect them which is more than what I can say for the Pope!

How would you move mount fuji - William Poundstone

2008-04-22T15:46:00.000-07:00

There is an internet answer to the title of this book - How would you move mount fuji. It's I would tell it a touching story about a boy and his bunny (the bunny dies). Im sure that answer wont get you hired at Microsoft. This book deals with the puzzle questions that Microsoft asks some of the candidates which interview with it. The puzzles are good though I've heard some before and some I've heard for the first time (needless to say I could only solve a couple myself without referring to the answers). The more interesting bit of the book is the discussion on Why most candidates dislike these questions and whether this is a fair way to judge candidates (Also why do question's like What motivates you, Or what are your good qualities get a free pass though the answers to these are rehearsed and mean nothing). As pointed out in this book , this is a decent way for freshers who have no experience to be questioned on. I dont think it's appropriate to ask experienced people this (disclaimer I have some experience :) ) - or in other words dont ask me these questions !. Sometimes I'm glad that in my childhood I did read Martin Gardener and I'm glad that Mindsport lifted a lot of it's riddles from the west , so I'm familiar with some of these!.

The End of Faith : Sam Harris

2008-04-02T16:42:00.000-07:00

Sam Harris argues eloquently to leave religion and faith behind, pointing out various problems with the three major religions. As also with his other book, the faithful will be hard pressed to come up with meaningful arguments to counter Harris and would probably dismiss his arguments off hand. A good read but ultimately wont convince the religious and the devout because as usual Harris is appealing to reason which as history show's isnt very effective against religion.

The varieties of scientific experience : Carl Sagan

2008-02-28T18:24:00.000-08:00

The subtitle of this book is " A personal view of the search for God". This is a collection of the lectures presented by Sagan in Scotland on varied topics mostly connected with God and religion , but you also get a bit about the search for extra terrestrial life, nuclear weapons, creationism and other views. As always Sagan is very lucid in his writings , and it is hard not be impressed by him , not only for his ability to clearly think , but also for his ability to put across his point clearly. Sagan also is very polite and at least to me fairly balanced in his views when it comes to the evidence of 'God'. If you define God as the sum of laws of nature then he exists, If you define God as love then God exists, If you define God as a bearded white man in the heavens watching your every move then we need more evidence. I cannot easily summarise any of the material here , because Sagan's work is always so easy to understand that the only thing I can do is copy his words. So instead I will quote some of his beliefs from the introduction by Ann Druyan.
"What is wanted is not the will to believe , but the desire to find out" (Bertrand Russel)
"Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you let him live. in a hundred billion galaxies you will not find another"
"His argument was not with God but with those who believed our understanding of the sacred had been completed"
"He never understood why anyone would want to separate science which is a way of searching what is true from what we hold sacred, which are those truths that inspire love and awe"
There is also a question and answer with the attendees of his lecture which is very interesting and informative.
There is something in this book for you, no matter which side of the argument you stand on.
It goes without saying read this book.

Mission Accomplished - Khalil Bendib

2008-02-24T13:08:00.000-08:00

Two reviews on Amazon , yay

2008-02-14T12:25:00.000-08:00

http://www.amazon.com/review/R2A0I2NNDM0UVO/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm and
http://www.amazon.com/review/R10M1ZOW5SYXND/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Letters to a Christian Nation - Sam Harris

2008-02-03T16:13:00.000-08:00

The tragedy of this book is that, the people who dont like religion will find that Sam Harris argues for the danger of religion eloquently, that he demolishes the various illogical beliefs that religious people have but ultimately he tells us nothing that we dont already know. Which is fair enough because he has addressed his book to the believers. And therein lies the tragedy. Astonishingly few believers will read this book , and of those who do, how many will stop and say , Hmm maybe I should think a little more on this topic, I might actually be wrong. Its far more likely that they will read it , denounce it as an atheist's attempt to sway them from the path of the righteousness and repeat that their holy book is irrefutable , is perfect , is the word of god (why? because it says so in the holy book!).

Brainless (The lies and lunacy of Ann Coulter) - Joe Maguire

2008-01-06T09:12:00.000-08:00

I expected more from this book, given the subtitle. However I guess a more appropriate title for this book would be The Contradictions and Hypocrisy of Ann Coulter as the author exposes very few lies (and very few new ones that aren't found in Al Frankens book) but does a decent job of showing the numerous places where Ms Coulter contradicts herself or where she judges herself
(or conservatives or republicans) by different standards than Liberals (or democrats). An OK book , could have been much better if it didn't repeat some of the ad hominem attacks or exaggerations that Ms Coulter uses to makes her living.

The Riddle of Scheherazade: And Other Amazing Puzzles - Raymond M. Smullyan

2008-01-06T09:10:00.000-08:00

A book of puzzles - some trivial , some old chestnuts and some using coercive logic. Some paradoxes, some meta puzzles in other words a mixed bag. Its quite hard to wrap your mind around some of the coercive logic puzzles and the paradoxes. A decent read but I would have enjoyed it when I was younger.

Any place I hang my hat - Susan Isaacs

2008-01-01T13:31:00.000-08:00

My first ChicLit book. too shallow and too pat though good for light reading. Sigh my tastes are too feminine sometimes.

The Bookseller of Kabul - Asne Seierstad

2007-12-30T20:19:00.000-08:00

A well written , though a truly disturbing book. You'd think the lead protagonist who want's Afghanistan to be great again and who 'heroically braved persecution' to bring books to his people, is such a despicable character that it is difficult to like this book. The book however is not only about Sultan , it's also about his wife (ves) , sisters , sons. Its also about the plight of the women, and it is that more than anything else which is will make you wonder , what is it about men that they torture women so - makes one ashamed sometimes. Sam harris in a debate once said That the people for whom Islam causes the most problems is muslim women, (and its not like other religions, countries treat women better) , but it is probably true that women are treated worst in Islamic fundamentalist regimes. I wonder why they dont rebel. And its worse that even with the taliban kicked out of afghanistan, the women are still treated as objects and possessions. Maybe one day they wont be, i just hope it happens in my lifetime.

Michael Moore is a big fat stupid white man : David Hardy , Jason Clarke

2007-12-18T20:00:00.000-08:00

The second right wing book (though the book says dont dismiss it as right wing propaganda) that i've read and atleast its far better written than Coulter's. It seems to be a collection of articles and is therefore a bit repititive in places. It's aim is to prove that michael moore is a hippocrite (probably), lies and misleads folks (maybe) and edits(probably) and doctors the footage(maybe) for his movies.
a lot of the examples provided though seem to be Michael says this, this other person who was present says this, we believe the other person. Or The watch in Charlton heston's house showed 26 inutes elapsed but Michael only hs 6 minutes shown in Bowling for columbine, what was he doing in the not shown footage etc etc. A few are probably true where Michael has been caught (if the evidence provided in the book is true) but that doesnt really come as a surprise.
All in all though this book is pointless.
a. If you are a michael moore fan, this book will probably come across as an attempt to discredit Moore , and you arent going to buy their side of the story.
b. If you are a right wing person, you already know that Michael Moore lies so this book wont tel you anything new.
c. if you are a reasonable person who bother's more about the core issue's that Moore tackles namely
1. Does America have a gun problem (yes)
2. Did G W Bush and co. lie to the public to take them to war (probably yes). And did they have motives other than WMD's and democracy for Iraq(yes)
3. Is Health Care in the USA screwed up (yes)
Then this book doesn't address these issues. Solely that Michael lies and cheats and misleads and rants.
A good balance to moore's work , but not useful in any way

Crooked Little Vein : Warren Ellis

2007-12-18T19:54:00.000-08:00

Warren Ellis writes some good comics. Mostly disturbing and horrific but good comics all the same. Sadly it doesnt translate into novel form. There are places where you can recognize the ellis touches, the bits of humor, the disgusting bits, the weird , the outrageous but all in all this book doesnt really go into any detail of its main plot.
A down and out detective is a 'shit magnet' and is hired to trace the alternate consititution of the USA and undertakes a journey through the darkest underbelly of the America and face myriad acts of depravity , some of which are mainstream in the Internet. Though Ellis does have some important points he could have elaborated on to make this book a lot deeper, he settles for cheap shocks and thrills and the end impression is of a shallow book.

Lies and the Lying Liars who tell them : Al Franken

2007-12-14T19:44:00.001-08:00

Its quite interesting comparing this book (exposing the lies told by right wing pundits and republicans) to the one by Ann Coulter. Both have agendas. Both try to expose lies by the other side. Both are probably manipulating data to suit their interpretations. But one books funny and sound a lot more plausible and true and one is just a shrieking hysterical woman ranting at her favorite targets (knowing fully well that she makes her money this way). I guess the above shows that Im fairly liberal in my outlook. But keeping aside the truth of whats written, Al Franken has a much better sense of humor than Ann Coulter and presents his *facts* much better. It was quite satisfying to read him denouncing Ms Ann Coulter. (Hilarious to read his 'She's single and a good christian and he is so happy that she is saving herself for the right guy')
The book begins very well with him providing evidence of catching Ms Coulter, Bill O' Lielly , G W Bush and Dick Cheney in various lies, but halfway through the book he stops that and starts becoming more preachy or pushing his views on us, However there is still a lot of good things to be found in this book . Operation Chickenhawk is hilarious.
But this book also represents whats wrong with the american media in general. Everyone has an agenda and everyone is trying to manipulate you , the reader. No one really wants to presents facts, No one really wants you to judge for yourself (though you will find numerous examples of text that state these are the facts, you choose) and everyone makes money out of it. Which is the bottom line.
Read this book though , if only to find the Ann Coulter and the bullying Bill O' Lielly get theirs.

Fever Pitch : Nick Hornby

2007-12-14T19:40:00.001-08:00

A book about Nick's lifelong fascination for Arsenal and a slight diversion for his Cambridge team. Aptly illustrating the British fans fascination for *his* team , the obsessions and the pettiness. It would have helped if I knew which matches hornby is referring to but the account ends at the point that I had just about started watching football. There are flashes of Hornby's humor, but this book has probably little value for someone who isn't an English premier league fan.

Godless - Ann Coulter

2007-12-03T19:30:00.001-08:00

This is the first book that Im writing something about even before i've finished reading it.
To put it quite bluntly , it is painful reading this book. Have you ever read the comments section in Rediff ? Or the comments say in slashdot on a controversial topic (or anything involving microsoft). Well the quality of this book is lower than the lowest rated slashdot comments and the rants and abuse are on par with it. I mean honestly , this is what the book comes across as - A lot of poorly written rants , interspersed with insults. The insults are what Ms Coulter believes are the humor part of the book which will only be funny , i guess , if you truly hate the people she is insulting.
I'm probably more liberal , than I am conservative but I call myself neither so I guess this book was not for me.
Right so where to begin. according to Ms coulter , the republicans have all enacted successful policies, the democrats have screwed up everything, and where they havent its because they inherited the good work of the republicans and where the republicans screwed up is because of democratic policies previously enacted(e.g. 9/11 happened because Bill Clinton didnt act on the evidence he had). Umm ok. I guess coming from India , Im more likely to believe that all politicians uniformly screw up what they can and their successes can be attributed to law of averages. That very few(ok none) of them have the people's welfare in mind
Then Ms Coulter who evidently is a good devout christian advocates the death penalty to major crimes (actually anyone who doesnt agree with her). Ok. if questioned about this her answer usually runs something like "Ah but you godless liberals, you'll support abortion. You dont mind killing a hamless innocent baby but you want to protect a multiple murderer rapist!!you $#%$#^%$^%$" Actually no I dont support the death penalty and I dont support abortion either. But i guess Ms coulter is from the Bush school of your either with us or against us.
Then there's a chapter that is so rich in irony. Ms coulter goes after the people the democrats put up to state their case who cant be touched or criticized. e.g. The widows of the people who died in 9/11. The widows / mothers of soldiers who have died in the war. She then proceeds to accuse these women of all sorts of things(like they did it for the publicity, they did it for the money, they took so much pleasure grieving for their husbands deaths) while repeating that nobody is allowed to criticise them. Leading to the obvious inference Ann Coulter = nobody.
And onwards to teachers who according to her are above criticism and nobody is allowed to criticise them or public schools either. So nobody i.e. Ms Coulter, than proceeds to do exactly that criticise public schools, bring out statistics to number of children abused by school teachers v/s number of children abused by priests. Im not sure what she wanted to prove there.
And this is where I have reached and I had to stop because it is truly painful reading this book. Its not even like its well written. I can normally read with viewpoints i disagree with , but this? this is just a hysterical woman ranting. There are very few facts (yes yes I know there are endnotes - Read Al Franken on this), there is lots of opinion, and there is very little by way of solution (or atleast feasible ones).
The sad bit is , these books are bestsellers. And again I cant get over how poorly written this book is. I mean do people buy books just because they agree with someones views and arent really concerned with how good the book is?
Ms coulter evidently knows how to appeal to her audience. Take the school topic for example. Assuming that American kids don't get a good education in a public school, whose fault is it?
The school and the education policies - definitely. The teachers - definitely. The parents - definitely. The American society itself which doesnt put much of an emphasis on education , but more of an emphasis on making it big getting rich - somewhat. The heroes that are worshipped here - Rich billionaires , Rich empty headed blondes, talented actors, talented sportsmen but note the lack of educated folks(you have to be really really rich). All of this ? undoubtedly these and a lot more factors. But Ms coulter knows her audience. The parents and society members who wont take any responsibility - Its easier blaming the public schools is it not?
Abortion / Stem Cell research arent easy topics. The answers are not black and white. In the end all people have are their beliefs. People like Ms Coulter however dont believe that , only their way is right (pun intended) , they are certain everyone else is wrong. To quote Scott Adams - only an idiot can be certain about anything.
I had to balance this by immediately reading Al franken's Lies and the Lying Liars who tell them where he does a far more effective job of demolishing Ann Coulter than I could ever do. And he's funny too. Yep insults sure are funny when you dont like the person they are made against.
One hilarious youtube video (Ann Coulter says Bill Clinton is Gay - this is satire I think) explains why Bill Clinton told Ann he was gay. it seems he needed an explanation as to why he wasnt hitting on her. too funny!
To conclude , shamelessly plagiarising another youtube quote from a law student graduating from university of michigan , referring to ann coulter
"had I known just how lucrative being a bitter and hateful circus freak with a law degree could be , I .. God is my witness I would have come to law school 10 years ago"
Oh and the 4 chapters of evolution. Ms Coulter attacks evolution and brings up fact after fact that evolution cant explain. Even assuming she is accurate, umm thats how science works no theory is perfect and we must always try to improve it. She repeats her contradictory statement that Darwin made that shows that evolution can never be disapproved and how theories that cant be disapproved aren't science and then proceeds to write four chapters trying to disprove evolution. Which is it Ms Coulter? She evidently is of the school of thought that believes that attacking Evolution proves that Intelligent design or Creationism must be correct(a false dichotomy). She repeats Ad Nauseaum how the eye is a piece of wonderful design (it is) and how evolution cant explain it. And I with my minus seven thick glasses think, heck God couldnt you have made a better design? I mean you dont see these people crib about the dual nature of light (waves and particles) and say they want it taught in school's as only a theory and want equal time with the theory of intelligent design of light which was created by a God who said 'Let there be light!' do they?
This book is too shallow and has been written with a set audience in mind. If you believe in truth , fairness, balance, objectivity , theres nothing here for you. If you hate extremist liberals or if you hate extremist right winger's then yes this book's for you.

The Miracle Detective - Randall Sullivan

2007-12-03T19:11:00.000-08:00

I took this book from the library because it claimed that both believers and non believers will like this book. That its an objective book. And for the most part, it is. But the title is misleading , it should be The Miracle observer. The story is enthralling and for a curious non believer , it's quite difficult to explain away (assuming ofcourse the phenomena are accurately and honestly described).
The book deals with apparitions of Mother Mary in Medjugorje where Mother Mary makes a series of appearances to six children. A fascinating tale of how the people, the priests, the church react. And in some places , the author loses his objectivity, as he gets involved with the incidents.
The politics within the various factions in christianity are also referred to. As well as the fact that its not just the skeptics who would question the apparitions but also the devout (why would Mother mary show herself in the mountains and not in church?). The church ofcourse cannot say the apparitions are authentic (as it would lose credibility if proved false later) nor can it outright say the apparitions are false.
Reading this book , it was curious that all the people who didnt believe and then saw something that made them change their mind were all christians as some point or the other. Or to put it another way if I saw an apparition Im not likely to directly go for Mother Mary, but all the seers here seem to know it without the apparition telling them that it is so. And while some of the *facts* are such that science has no explanation, its curious that all the tests conducted are things like measuring brain waves or pricking the seers with pins. I would have thought that an easy test would be to ask questions which the seers wouldnt know the answers to, or is not common knowledge (i.e. things that you wont get to see in the bible) e.g. ask the apparition to speak in aramaic or ask questions based on the era christ lived in that is not common knowledge. It's easier to ask questions like which religion is right and get answers of the form there are no differences before God. Having said that , there is no evidence that would make a skeptic believe and there is no evidence that would make the believer disbelieve. Some incidents are red flags though. There is the story of Mother mary telling the seer's secrets , some of which pertain to *bad things* that will happen. And supposedly some bad thing didnt because enough people prayed. Full proof predictions is it not? I can do that. There shall be a great war unless you heed my words! and later if there is - see i told you so and if there isnt - thank god some of youll heeded my words and averted this!
Nonetheless the book is an interesting read.

Fragile Things : Neil Gaiman

2007-10-03T19:59:00.000-07:00

Stardust - Neil Gaiman

2007-10-03T19:58:00.001-07:00

God save the Queen - Mike Carey

2007-08-12T18:01:00.001-07:00

My first wikipedia entry ! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Save_the_Queen_%28graphic_novel%29. Kinda dry and an ad verbatim recital of the story , doesnt quite capture the book's charm. Go buy a copy, or better yet go buy all the Lucifer books and read them

Good Omens - Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett

2007-08-12T18:00:00.003-07:00

How to be good : Nick Hornby

2007-08-12T18:00:00.001-07:00

Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi

2007-06-18T15:54:00.001-07:00

A long way down - Nick Hornby

2007-01-28T09:09:00.001-08:00

Next - Michael Crichton

2006-12-24T23:03:00.000-08:00

This novel is reminiscient of some of crichtons best works (sphere) where he blended a lot of real science with good fiction. However as most of his later works there is a distinct tendency to make the reader aware of issues that face us. The novel is told with a multitud of characters who are loosely related to each other , and a lot of parallel stories unfold each touching on a different aspect of gene research. Should genes be patented? What forms of research are (un)ethical? Can the current laws cope with the science that exists today? Is the commercialization of universities harmful? these are only some of the questions which will get raised when you read the book. Crichton ofcourse has his own opinions and the best part is that he does write them down at the end and lists all his references. The fiction part of the book however suffers a little and is probably not crichtons best. But the book is still quite an engaging read.

Cat o nine tails - Jeffrey Archer

2006-12-24T05:16:00.000-08:00

Black Friday-Hussain Zaidi

2006-12-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

Chosen - Mark Millar

2006-11-05T09:40:00.000-08:00

A book(well a comic) about the supposed second coming of christ and how we would react to it with a twist. Jodie is a teenage who starts manifesting the same miracles and powers that christ has and starts believing himself to be Jesus Christ reborn. However the ending has something quite different in store for him. A sequel is said to be in the making which will also make for a good read. There are clues scattered throughout the book (it helps if you know latin or your star wars). But the best part of the book is the writer / artist's self interview at the end.
The book does raise some interesting questions and is very well written. Millar and Gross are both in top form here.

American virgin- steven t seagle

2006-11-05T09:37:00.000-08:00

Freakonomics - Stephen D Levitt , Stephen Dubner

2006-11-05T09:27:00.000-08:00

The devil you know -Mike Carey

2006-11-05T09:25:00.001-08:00

My Name is Red - Orhan Pamuk

2006-11-05T09:25:00.000-08:00

Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman

2006-11-05T09:24:00.000-08:00

In case you didnt know it, there are two london's one above one below. And once you know london below you can never go back to london above. Another very nice gaiman novel , this time dealing with london the city, with events written around its places (some of which i can even identify) and with interesting characters like the marquis de carabas who deals in favors (puss in boots ,i knew it!). The villanous duo was particularly cool and i wouldve thought would have been perfect had this been a comic. Which is why i cant wait to buy carey's adaption of the novel.
The story is sort of been there , beautiful princess ,a quest , villains and a mystery and an unlikely hero . But what sets this book apart is the way London has been used.

The Alchemist -Paulo Coehlo

2006-11-05T09:23:00.000-08:00

Supposed to be one of paulo coehlo's best works , which actually doesnt bode well for the rest of his books. A very simplistic book infused with the authors beliefs. The story isnt very interesting at all , though there still are some things that may be learnt from it. There is a sense of optimism that fills the pages which means the author believes everything he has written. Which sort of makes reading the book worthwile.

The Patiala Quartet

2006-06-04T06:12:00.000-07:00

Another one of the books picked up due to the three factors - indian story, female author, debut book. Such things must be encouraged. if only so that Shobha de's books are drowned out.
Though this book was kinda of mediocre, about 4 people in patiala , but i dont think the story went anywhere leaving with a promise unfulfilled sort of feel to all of it.

American Gods- Neil Gaiman

2006-06-04T06:09:00.000-07:00

Neil Gaiman writes a story about probably what he knows best. Gods of various cultures engaged in a war with each other, a protoganist with a dead wife who watches over him. Lots of interesting tidbits of information (like the origin of easter) and the usual guess why Odin can also be called wednesday.
An engaging story though nowhere near Gaimans best work which in my opinion is found in the comics he writes. Its probably due to the fact that his work in comics has been ground breaking but in the novel world it is merely really good.
Still worth a read, though i saw the end coming

Red Carpet - Lavanya Sankaran

2006-06-04T06:06:00.000-07:00

I bought this book because i read its first page and it had a character called ramu who was on the lookout for an arranged marriage and criticised all the prospective candidates so it reminded me of a colleague similarly nicknamed and thought it would be a good prank. Besides it was a debut novel so i selected it.
turns out it was a good choice to make. The stories most of them are pretty good and written reasonably clearly. Theres a mix of stories and we should be expecting more from this lady.

About a Boy- Nick Hornby

2006-01-08T04:29:00.000-08:00

Nick Hornby is fast becoming a writer whose book ill pick up simply because his name is there on the cover. And I have only read two now. About a Boy is the charming tale of a boy named Marcus who is too old for his years and a man named Will who has never grown up. And like the book says , If Will can show Marcus how to be a boy, perhaps Marcus can show Will how to grow up. Endearingly funny , well paced , a must read.

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

2006-01-08T04:26:00.000-08:00

A story about betrayal and redemption, that could have been written by any of the bollywood scriptwriters. Full of clichés and coincidences and every trick in the book designed to appeal to your emotions, but breathtakingly written. Especially in the first half of the book where you can feel and identify with the protoganist and see the world through his eyes. However the latter half of the book seems rushed in comparison, as if the author wanted to reach the last scene which he had setup in the first part. But a touching scene nevertheless. This is a story about an afghan boy Amir and his relation with his father and Hassan, a sort of servant who thinks the world of Amir. But Amir betrays hassan to win the love of his father, and the rest of the book is about how he earns redemption. Intermingled with some Afghan history , but really not using it for anything other than a faint backdrop, the author does capture the story very well. And the book has its coincidences and clichés but it is only coincidence for people who are not afghanis.

False Impression - Jeffrey Archer

2006-01-08T04:18:00.000-08:00

It looks like the stint in prison hasn’t worked out for Jeffrey archer, false impression is boring predictable, coincidence ridden and full of two dimensional cardboard characters. It seems to be on the best seller lists though probably due to the authors past glory. The storyline is completely predictable, there is no real twist in the tale. The only humorous part in the whole book is the introduction. The author has served 5 years in the house of commons , 14 years in the house of lords and two in her majesty’s prisons. The rest of the book? Not worth it!

The diary of a young girl - Anne Frank

2005-12-11T04:37:00.000-08:00

Im not quite sure how to describe this book. Its title says the diary of a young girl but Anne cannot be categorized that simply as a young girl (which she is) and much more.
An introspective self indulgent diary , but but but it has a quality in it which touches and moves and you. And you finish the book with the sense that this girl should have lived (and she does) and you cant help but feel anger at the perpetrators of war and hatred and the havoc they wring. But anne is still cheerful(most times) through it all and maybe that’s another lesson to learn.
Does she really love peter? Probably not.
There are doubts on the veracity of this book and while reading the last 4-5 essays I felt it as well. But does it matter whether anne wrote the diary or her father. ? No it doesn’t the book would touch you anyway and would have things you can learn from it.

Riot - Shashi Tharoor

2005-11-25T09:54:00.000-08:00

The characters in this book are all as two dimensional as the paper that riot is printed on. The divorced non Indian couple, the foreign social worker who has an affair with the Indian, the smart south Indian, his repressed wife and aiyo, the hindu communalist, the muslim who forces his children on his wife, the hard drinking swearing surd well you get the picture. The telling of the story from various point of views is also not that innovative, well not really the same story since each point of view progresses the story rather than looking at the same item from a different point of view. The story is also told in a slightly non linear fashion with two timelines being followed. What saves this book however is that the writing is quite good and full of some memorable quotes (A large percentage from Oscar Wilde) and has a lot of themes regarding India that the author will return to in his later writing, notably in India from Midnight to the Millennium
It concerns the pointless death of a foreign woman social worker killed during a Hindu Muslim Riot during the Ram Janmabhoomi foolishness. And her parents journey to find out more about the circumstances in which their daughter died and the work she was doing. Adding to this cast of characters is the IAS officer the woman is having an affair with , his wife and daughter, his Punjabi Police Inspector friend -whose English abuses seem out of place. Would any self respecting sardar say sisterloving or ban****?
And other sundry characters involved in the riot.
Tharoor also tries to highlight the complex issues that India faced and still faces over the babri masjid issue. But people like me who have already formed their opinions about this matter are unlikely to change their opinions (the people of both communities who participated in the reprehensible acts are a bunch of fools and bastards. At least the politicians had an excuse they did it for votes.)
Tharoor can’t resist mentioning to of his pet topics, the greatness of St Stephens college (which of course cant compare to St Stanislaus even though the latter is just a school) and The Great Indian Novel.
Tharoors writing is of course quite good and that makes this book a worthwhile read

The Tipping Point Malcolm Gladwell

2005-11-13T03:33:00.000-08:00

The Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell
This book deals with the factors that make certain events tip. The event could be anything from why some people become chain smokers to why Paul Revere’s message was spead or why people watched sesame street or why the ya – ya sisterhood book after a quiet start suddenly tipped and became a bestseller.
The author has an interesting hypothesis and has plenty of real life examples and experiments to prove his point. The book is worth reading if not entirely convincing. This is mostly to do with the fact that most of these factors are analyzed after the event and the theory can therefore be retrofitted to suit the known outcome.
There is however an interesting example about a company where everyone is called Associate, there is no defined management structure and in no plant are the number of employees allowed to exceed 150. And the company is a multi million dollar one. Now could this be done for a software company?. Theres no reason to believe it couldn’t!.
Useful tidbits of information like connectors, maven and salesman which you can certainly identify from your own circle of friends are also present here. Well written and informative but not persuasive.

The Life And Times of Scrooge McDuck - Don Rosa

2005-11-08T08:15:00.000-08:00

It is relatively easy writing about how a character came to be as he is, In the case of Scrooge McDuck you know he’s an honest miser,loves adventure is a cantankerous mean old geezer, so to show his life history its relatively easy to come up with situations that would have made him as he is. It is however far more difficult(im tempted to say nay impossible) to do this as well as Don Rosa has done in his 12 issue comic series describing Scrooge McDuck – His life and times.
On a purely factual level, Rosa tried to incorporate every known fact about Scrooge , written by Carl Bucks, give it a timeline of sorts and write the history of Scrooge. However Rosa’s efforts, his research and indeed his love for this character makes this book rise well above everything. It just shows. The book would have been worth buying just because Rosa loves the characters so much. Writers like these must be encouraged.
I had issue 9 of the series bought from Happy Book Stall and when I read it the first time it was simply too good. I hadn’t expected this from a Disney. In time and during the course of many trips to the raddi-wala shops I managed to pick up two other disney’s one a cornelius coot history where scrooge declares himself king to avoid paying taxes and another regarding scrooge celebrating some anniversary and every Disney character from the duck world I knew was there in the story and a few other I didn’t know. Of the Disney books I had these were the best. It was then that I noted the similarity among these books. Their writer was Don Rosa. There began an unsuccessful attempt to hunt down the other parts of Life and Times. Google searches showed collections but not in English and much as I loved part 9 I was too old to learn a language just to read all the parts. Till about 6 months back when the book was collected in English!
Back to the Book
Scrooge takes us around the world for his various adventures and we learn the incidents that made him who he is today. You can’t help but laugh at some of the statements the characters make throughout the course of Scrooge’s laugh either because you know how untrue its going to turn out or because you know how true its going to turn out
Sample the following
Do you want to end up with a coal bin with the dang stuff?-Uncle pothole talking about money tells a young scrooge
He’s broke. We beagle boys wont have to bother about robbing him again- Blackheart Beagle to the beagle boys referring to scrooge
I shudder to imagine the kid that would come home from that unholy union –Dabney Duck To grandma duck referring to donalds parents

And Scrooge’s comments that bring out a guffaw
“Who needs self respect when you have money HAHAHAHAHAHAHA hawwwwwwwwwNUTS”

And a few sentimental moments as well
Like when scrooge goes to meet his mom in part 9, or the lock of goldies hair(I vaguely remember reading this issue) or scrooge’s first and second meeting with his illustrious nephew

And action and adventure,see scrooge destroy soapy’s casino
This book has it all.
Part 9 will always be the best for me since I only had it for a long time. Among other things the last sequence is amazing(warning a character dies) and it has the gags to make you laugh.
But the entire books is a gem , one scrooge himself would have been proud to own

State of Fear - Michael Crichton

2005-11-05T08:07:00.001-08:00

Its nowhere near as good as Andromeda Strain or Sphere. In fact it has an unbelievable(As in bad) plot. It doesnt have the pace or the suspense of his earlier novels and most of the novel seems forced. And this is still money well spent. Do you like the environment? do you want to preserve it? do you think the industry-politico-underworld nexus are slowly destroying our environment?. Read the book some eyeopeners here. Not that I believe everything in the book is true but like the author says everyone has an agenda except me.
The problem with the book is similar to Da Vinci Code. The author had a statement to make and the the fictional part of the book is written around this statement. So while the statement may be an astonishing one, the fictional part of the book suffers. In this case its the whole Does Global warming really exist question with an impressive array of charts to prove that it may not. Other facts!? regarding the environmental issues that may cause people to reconsider their stand on some issues.
This book though is redeemed by The author's statement at the end which clearly states where he stands (like mike carey as opposed to a scott adams!)
Maybe crichton is right about the some of the issues he raises. But i remember reading about Carl Sagan and his arguments regarding the industries reaction to the ozone layer problem. The industries said it couldnt be proved, that the proof show no signficant impacts etc etc and they stalled for years. And his point was if you werent sure about something so important wouldnt you choose the safe option?

english august

2005-11-05T08:07:00.000-08:00

Its been a long time since i read the book and now when im actually typing this up. I only remember being totally disappointed with this book which seemed to be completely pretentious and mostly boring.

Gone with the wind - Margaret Mitchell

2005-07-22T23:53:00.000-07:00

Sold to me as the Best love story by a colleague , in the end its neither the best story nor a love story, which isn't the same as saying its not a good read.
Chronicaling the life and loves (or what purpots to be love) of Scarlett O'Hara , set in the time of the American Civil war and the fight to free the slaves, A reasonably well written and engrossing book which however fails in some crucial areas. Some of the parts that make me uncomfortable is the cleaning up of the treatment of slaves and the rationalization of the Ku Klux Klan (admittedly not a major part of the story) which if treated correctly could have made this book so much more (for an example of how to do this read To Kill a Mockingbird). The famed love story between Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara in the end for me is anticlimatic (and in ways reminiscient of the shakinh head feeling i had when i read Pride and Prejudice). And in the end my favorite character in the book has to be Mammy, A woman who knows what she wants and knows how to get her way , rather than Scarlett who one cant dislike or like. Perhaps Mammy's story would actually be a much better book

Midnights Children - Salman Rushdie

2005-06-25T02:12:00.000-07:00

An intelligent book , A smart book meant for an intelligent audience or atleast one who is willing to read the book thrice. yes i didnt get all of the book especillay the end, but there is a charm to this book, the phrases used that bkeeps you engrossed even if you didnt understand parts of it.
The story of Saleem Sinai , he who will always be as old as India is told , blending his story with parts of India's history. Notice the articles where Saleem cuts out newspaper headlines to write his note to Commander Sabarmati . Turns of phrase that shouldnt work but do (rusted time) abound aplenty in this book
A good read though a bit dense sometimes

Pather Panchali - Bibhutibhushan Bandhopadhyay

2005-05-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

A story about a poor Indian Household, told through the eyes of a child Opu that moves you with its realism and authenticity. In parts very much like R K Narayan filled with the bitter sweetness of the hum drum lives the characters leave. The major difference is the view point of a child who notices things without understanding them. His life , His play his imagination. His interactions with his sister. The fate of his sister is tragic, I didn't like it.
The translators chose to translate names as the Bengali pronounciation (so we have Horihor,Opu,Shuresh etc.) which was funny at first but now lends authenticity to the tale.
And the end , a new beginning.

5 Russian Masters

2005-05-28T08:44:00.000-07:00

This is a collection of short stories by the following writers, Chekov,Tolstoy,Dostevsky,Maxim Gorky and Ivan Turgenev. There is really no way to describe this collection of short stories each story is sufficiently distinct from the other so to comment on this book as a whole is pointless.
The best writers are Tolstoy and Gorky (and the two stories that stand out in my memory are Ivan the fool and The travelling companion). Most of Chekov's stories lose me. I feel that the author has some point to make which i cannot grasp.(See what you can make out of the first story)
Most of the stories are sad, even tragic sometimes. Perhaps a reflection of the times the authors lived in. However there is a haunting quality to some of the stories that can't really be described
Go ahead read the book!

Ignited Minds - APJ Abdul Kalam

2005-05-13T23:31:00.000-07:00

This book is a continuation from India Vision 2020 (which i havent read) and also picks up some threads from Wings of Fire. Kalam makes some suggestions on how to arrive at his vision for India.Kalam recognises as do I that the only way for India(or any country) to progress, to develop the only answer lies in the youth of the country and the the things that they can accomplish if allowed to do so, if taught to do so. It is of course a lot more difficult to do this even as i have found out in practise.Kalam writes in the same vein as he did Wings of fire. Anecdotes from his life which got him thinking and ruminations on the same which makes for an interesting read as it includes opinions of people from varied strata of Indian Society.His interest in meeting the young people and the questions and answers that he gets from them which have the unadulterated innocence are a pleasant read in themselves.However there are also a number of instances where the author and i differ significantly in our views which cause some chapters to jar. Kalams belief in the spiritual side of things, his willingness to listen to the sadhus/mullahs/saints/godmen which i would say are the cause of a number of problems in India. The willingness of people to entertain these people and listen to them with blind faith. Also the extra emphasis on India,India is paradoxical. Kalam wants us to get rid of our prejudices and think of ourselves as Indians. Shouldnt that be Earthlings? or universites? (is that the right word). For humanity to succeed on the whole we have to get of all our prejudices and The country that we are citizens of is one of them. The book is definitely wortha read. It makes you think on a wide variety of things. Which means it has partly accomplished some of its goals. the only thing left is of course to act.

Bookless in Baghdad - Shashi Tharoor

2005-05-06T21:23:00.000-07:00

"Show me a writer without an ego , and Ill show you a good actor" - Shashi Tharoor
While reading this book , Tharoors writings on various topics connected with book's , you can definitely tell that the writer has an ego and a big one at that. However this does not take away from the fact that most of the essays are eminently readable, witty in part, preachy in others.
A lot of the space is dedicated to tharoor's own work , which in my opinion is a good thing. I have always been fascinated by the thought process that an author goes through and the reasons for writing things in the way he has. On the other hand its amusing when Tharoor begins an essay on Rushdie, quotes his words on India and then proceeds for the next 10 pages to dicsuss India and his motiviations for The Great Indian Novel. In fact the Great Indian Novel almost always finds its way into Tharoors essays. I think the author hasn't gotten over the fact that he had hit upon a brilliant idea and feels the need to explain it at every instance.
But you do nuggets of information (like why the Jalianwala Bagh massacre was renamed the bibigarh massacre). The snappy comebacks (like the one's for Shobha de when she disparaged Show Business).
Its also nice to note that while young Tharoor and I read mainly the same books and had the same tastes and its only later that you choice of books seem to have diverged.
But a person who is so fond of P.G. Wodehouse cant be all that bad.

Godan - Munshi Premchand

2005-05-01T03:27:00.000-07:00

The first time i read a premchand short story was in school - Bade Ghar Ki beti was part of the syllabus. And now i have finally got to reading Godan which some rate as his best book. There is however a problem reading a transalation of someones work , in that you may lose the flavor of the book , which i think has happened in this case. Still It's a very good read( though the spelling mistakes tend to distract you but thats about my only quibble about the book)
The book , set in rural India follows the life of a peasant Hori Ram and his family and people they come in contact with. It attempts to depict the crushing loans a peasant lives under , his exploitation by all and sundry , by the zamindars, the panches , the money lenders. It exposes the hypocrisy of the rich , the high castes and points out the flaws in the poor as well , their actions, their beliefs which serve to keep where they are , crushed under the feet of the rich and powerful. There are also side stories of a miscellany of characters , none really noble or heroic, all flawed in some way or the other , petty, vengeful and ultimately human.
The character that remains with you after you finish the book is undeiably dhunia. Strong willed , sharp tongued, argumentative , soft and hard alternately, loud spoken , opinionated, contradictory everything that i would like in a woman (except my wife!) , she is the character that remains in memory. The chief porotoganist Hori Ram comes across as pathetic loser , though a good man at heart and is representative of a lot that is wrong with India's farmers even today.
This book is indeed a worthwile journey through rural India

Lord Emsworth and the Girlfriend - PG Wodehouse

2005-04-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

Rudyard Kipling called this The Perfect Short Story.
And it is.
There isnt much more to say about this other than this short story has the one instance when Lord Emsworth stands up to his Gardener and His Sister.
The scene wherein the little girl slips her hand into his giving Emsworth the courage he needs is stunning for the visual imagery that it draws in your mind.Picture a western where the lone hero is about to face the rampaging hordes. Its sunset and you can see mostly silhouettes , the hero is resigned to his fate and then a child puts her hand in his and grips it tightly. Your viewpoint is from their back and suddenly the hero draws himself together stands upright and you know then that he is invincible today.
I think that only Uncle Fred Flits By comes close to matching this story

Wings Of Fire - APJ Abdul Kalam

2005-04-01T09:23:00.000-08:00

APJ Abdul Kalam was one of the architects of India's Missile Weapon Development programme. He is also deeply religious and attributes a lot of the events in his life to fate , destiny and God's hand. My current views on war and thanks to Lucifer my views on fate destiny mean that this should be pretty much a book i dislike
To add to this the history of the missile development is mainly dry , mostly consisting of i worked with the great man so and so and together we achieved great things.
And yet this dry history is interspersed with such brilliant observations which are so undeniably worth spending time over, that i did like this book. Though i may not agree with most of the things the author does say most of the advice , quotes and verse did make me think and you cannot ask more of a book.
Kalam does come across as an extremely well read person though a trifle naive at times (he calls India Gandhi a great person ..on second thoughts he is either naive or extremely shrewd!). And he is of course extremely smart. It is a pity then he is just a figure head for India, i'd rather see people like him in the role of a ruling politician.
In some ways the author does show the things it is possible to achieve even in India's corrupt bureaucratic systems.
The best chapter of the book is the last.
There is a sadness that Kalam’s life seems to have revolved around his work . He does point out himself that his bloodline will end with Kalam. But I guess that’s a conscious choice he has made and he seems happy to have made this choice.
And some words to live by given my current penchant of resigning from my job
Dont worry and fret, fainthearted
The chances have just begun
For the best jobs not yet started
The best works not yet done

Nehru - The Invention of India - Shashi Tharoor

2005-03-26T20:40:00.000-08:00

The title of the book is misleading. It brings visions of a book that is about to denounce Nehru's policies and generally show that Nehru isn't what we thought him to be.
This however is not the case. The book is a biography of sorts tracing Jawaharlal Nehru's life and views from an undistinguished teenager to the undisputed Leader of Free India.
My only exposure to Nehru is through the reading of The Discovery of India. A book that went more or less over my head, but had the unmistakable stamp of a person who loved India and identified with its people.
This book is not great. But it is a book about a great person and some of the attributes do rub of on the book. As the author himself puts it , its a book by a layperson for laypeople. Its not comprehensive, the author only brings out incidents and quotes he wants to dwell on. It is however distinguished by its last chapter, where the author looks at Nehur's policies and what they have meant to India with of course the benefit of Hindsight. The four main policies of Nehru
a. Democratic Institution Building
b. Secularism
c. Socialist economic policies
d. Non alignment
There is no doubt in the author's mind (or mine) that the first two were ..indeed are .. necessary for India to survive. It is the third and fourth policies which the author believes are partly responsible for India's poverty and corruption. While i do not know enough of the Socialist economic policies and their impact, I am certain that the policy of Non Alignment was the right one to follow. It is only today that people can smugly predict that India should have stood with the USA in the cold war instead of being part of a Non Aligned Movement. Taking sides in the cold war would undoubtedly have been wrong.
The book has some of the more memorable quips by Nehru which makes we want to search for the full text on the Internet or read some more on Nehru's speeches and perhaps on that front alone this book has served its purpose

The Tunnel Of Time - R K Laxman

2005-03-25T08:20:00.000-08:00

The uncommon man of Indian Cartoonists writes his autobiography of sorts. Laxman writes with a style which is very similar to his elder brother R K Narayan and perhaps suffers for it. But his insights to life are as sharp and you do get to see the flashes of sarcasm and cynism that Laxman's The Common Man cartoons are famous for.
Well worth spending an afternoon on.

Show Business - Shashi Tharoor

2005-03-19T20:39:00.000-08:00

Ok so I expected a Great Indian Novel.
It didn't help that the lead character is Ashok Banjara(AB ahem) is married to Maya (J) acts in a movie starring both his wife and the actress he is having an affair(Rekha?) with (Silsila) where the story of the movie resembles Abhiman, who has a disastrous stint in politics and who suffers a life threatening accident while filming (Coolie). In typical tongue in cheek manner Neetas Natter (Stardust) becomes Cheetahs Chatter.
The book follows the life of Ashok Banjara but that is only an excuse to look at the world of Bollywood. The story is told through multiple perspectives, that of Ashok, Pranay (the villain , I wonder if its Pran), Ashwin(Ashok's brother - Ajitabh?), Mehnaz (Rekha).
The book has flashes of brilliance like the Hindi movie script interludes describing Ashok's movie. Because like it or not you are laughing at yourself. Who among us hasn't liked Amitabh's movie, but reading them in detail like this, i have to marvel at the things we tolerate in the movies we see.
The book has sharp commentary as well. As the guruji notes Topless Nudity which is still part of India's rural truth is banned in our movies, But violence etc which is illegal is cheerfully glorified

So why was I disappointed on the whole with the book ? Oh its still worth reading But it lacked something. Perhaps the fact that I didn't identify with the characters or maybe I didn't want to do. I still want to remember Amitabh as the hungry ..Sorry angry young man. And to see him as a flawed human being somehow subtracts from the movies that I have fond memories of.
Perhaps it was the fact that the ending is weak. Perhaps because most of the things you get to read in this book are cliched. True but cliched. You have heard it so many times before.

The 10 Second Internet Manager - Mark Breier

2005-03-19T20:34:00.000-08:00

It is somewhat fun to read a book written in the Internet Boom time exhorting the virtues of the Internet and the Need for Speed. The way the Internet has changed the way business is done and how if the author wasn't fast enough his company would be Behind.Com instead of Beyond.com. Beyond.com(the domain) is up for sale.
Oh yes there are some useful suggestions (Work fast, Work hard, Work Smart....Yawn)
Alright so I usually approach all management books(except DILBERT) with a closed mind so I am biased.
But really do we need highly paid managers stating the obvious?
That meetings generally end up wasting people's time? That employees should be rewarded for accomplishments? That unless you have fun in the workplace its not going to be fun working?
Or the contradictions that are inherent ..Like in the chapter the secret to acting fast the 11th point is slow down?
And this is a book that I more or less agree with most of the things it says. The best being that the author wouldn't hire a person who could sit through a 4 hour meeting without getting restless. I cant sit more than 10 minutes without wanting to leave, I wonder if I'd get hired.

All in all nothing gained, but at least the book was quite short

A Midsummer Night's Dream - William Shakespeare

2005-03-19T20:33:00.000-08:00

Lysander asks Hermia to meet him in the wood to elope to his aunts house.
She replies
I swear to thee by Cupid's strongest bow,
By his best arrow with the golden head,
By the simplicity of Venus' doves,
By that which knitteth souls and prospers loves,
And by that fire which burned the Carthage queen,
When the false Troyan under sail was seen,
By all the vows that ever men have broke,-
In number more than women ever spoke -
In that same place thou hast appointed me,
Tomorrow truly will I meet with thee
Get the point?
If i ended this here, It wouldnt be possible to know whether im praising Shakespeare or being sarcastic.

Those who like Sheakspeare, will probably love the visual imagery in the words. The women will proibably nod their heads knowingly at the all vows that men have broke. Others may seek reference to to Dido,Queen of Carthage by Christopher Marlowe.
Detractors, Lovers of Simple,Concise and Clear writing will shake their heads and say with a painful expression on their face "Couldnt she have simply said 'Yes,I'll be there'".

I find myself firmly with the detractors. The story does have it twists and turns and is entertaining, but the writing. the dialogues! Painful.
I think Shakespeare has outlived his time and should now be consigned to the dark recesses of history.

Author - Alistair MacLean

2005-03-12T21:34:00.000-08:00

I greatly regret that i read all the Alistair Maclean's a long time ago and a diminishing memory will not allow me to do justice to his titles (and i don't think i could do that anyway but now it has even lesser chance). And the numerous books i have yet to read prevent me from going back and re reading these books.
Anyway For those who haven't yet read this author , do so , for those who have read some of his books but not all , what the hell are you waiting for?

HMS Ulysses
When i first read this book i gave it up after 100 pages. Too boring. I was used to books like Satan Bug, Ice Station Zebra and the other staple diet was Hardy Boys. A year or so later much more experienced and with the knowledge that no maclean could be a waste of my time, I sat and read this book again, understood why the books was so slow in the beginning and completed reading it. This book has the dubious distinction that i cried when i read it(i was only in the 6th or the 7th standard). It also changed my views completely about war and it was the first time i realized that something you read can change the way you view the world.
Note that so far all notions of war were romantic. I thought of shivaji besting the mughals. I thought of the good beating all the evil of the Ramayana. This was the first book i read about War in which all the good guys died. All of them(except the doctor and another guy who was indestructible). The Captain who even if he died should you would think be the last to die and only after beating the Germans dies half way through the book. The character whose name i cant remember who commits a form of suicide because he killed a person in the mutiny. The character who has to torpedoes his father's ship. The character who gives his girlfriends handkerchief to the doctor. All sentimental stuff. But they did bring home one lesson. In a war everyone loses. I have been staunchly against any sort of war ever since. Not those fought for religion, not those for territory(yes i refer to Kashmir), certainly not those for oil.
The other striking thing in the books was that the *enemy* was always smart. Not a caricature. (I'm reminded of Warren Ellis in the introduction of Queen And Country where he said The Tom clancy's of the world , when the cold war ended simply replaced the Russians with another community and carried on writing as before - i don't read tom clancy). And sometimes you felt sympathy for them. The best example of course is The Last frontier. But its true of his other novels as well
Satan Bug was the first Maclean I read from my Moms Library in BPT. A fast paced book completely entertaining and I'm lucky i read this when still in the thrall of Franklin Dixon. If i had HMS Ulysses at that point i may never have read an Alistair Maclean again
The other ones that stand out in memory are Ice Station zebra and The Dark crusader (this almost made me cry but not quite).
And Sir George And the Dragon (i think it was) in the collection of The Lonely sea was too funny.
And i have shamelessly used his line from Fear is the Key "Eternity is a long time, Eternity Lasts Forever..... But ill be waiting" though completely out of context of course(It was in a romantic context for those interested , though in the book its said by a murderer plotting revenge against the protagonist)

It has been said that the public devoured his work and the critics hated it. Indeed i think that the first review that Maclean himself read said Burn this Book (the review was for HMS Ulysses) and since then Maclean didn't read reviews. I sometimes wonder who the critics were reviewing the book for? It cant be for the common man because they seldom agree.

Surprisingly i think that the most famous of the Maclean Books the Guns of Navarone, Where eagles dare , When eight bells toll i like but they aren't what i consider his best. Perhaps the view is colored by the movies (The outrage you feel when you see Hollywood changing the characters from male to female in Guns of navarone - The change of the scaling of the mountain in guns of navarone to a 5 minute sequence which looks so fake - though i guess that was because of the time).

I. Asimov - Isaac Asimov

2005-03-12T04:37:00.000-08:00

The most striking thing about this book is how closely the author's view mirror mine. There are I think only two significant differences. Asimov is an atheist though I believe in god and secondly Asimov was an immensely talented writer whereas I am .. Well we'll find out. Yes we have the fact that Our Egos are quite large, in common. This book is meant to be a more introspective book with Asimov's thoughts on events and is very personal. This I think is a trademark from his other collections as well where he would have a word to say about how he got the idea for a story , or an incident related to the story or some other background that added a charm to the story.
Very well written , light hearted and Self Indulgent. A must read for those who have read the works, Fiction or Non Fiction. For those who haven't read Asimov before this books not for you , go read his other tales first.

There are some absolute gems in the book. For e.g. regarding his argument with a speaker where neither one was willing to accept the others viewpoint Asimov writes ," the reader may well point out that I was being as stubborn, but I was right and he was wrong and that made all the difference!". I cannot remember the innumerable occasions when I have felt this way

The book was written when Asimov had almost completed his life and is full of fond reminisces. All his friends have been sanitized and the book shows a man who has lived the life he wanted to lead and would have no regrets on his death.

Tamas - Bhisham Sahni

2005-02-26T21:07:00.000-08:00

The reason i wanted to read this book , was because the TV series by Govind Nihalani was as far as i can remember gripping and shocking. Though i now remember none of it,except that Om Puri acted well. And you could say that of most of Om Puris movies be it Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro , Ardh Satya or Bollywood Calling. But this isn't about Om Puri.
Tamas is set in the riots of 1947 and are based on true accounts that the author has witnessed in Rawalpindi. It has a multitude of characters all of whom are equally important to the story and perhaps equally insignificant because the topic the author tackles is no easy one.
It begins with a sweeper Nathu being fooled into killing a pig which is subsequently dumped onto the steps of a mosque. This leads to a rapid polarisation within the communities and the 'I want to live in peace but if they do anything then i will retaliate in kind' attitude. The situation worsens by wild rumors , some killings,looting and everything else that we can see repeated these days.
The book shows the inability of even the well meaning politicians to come to an understanding. The apathy of the people in power (then the British but which applies for the riots today as well).
There are no politicians , criminals or British that you could blame these riots on though these characters are of course present. The villains(if you could call them that) are the common people.
The striking feature is that the story is authentic. Loose ends are left untied and you do not know how the lives of the people continued. There are no moral judgments to be found here.

The Bible Code -2 Michael Drosnin

2005-02-20T00:12:00.000-08:00

Perhaps the problem I had when I read this book is that I expected a Da Vinci Code.
The Bible Code describes a code that is supposedly hidden in the Hebrew text of the old testament which contains predictions of events occurring after the book was written.
The Bible Code 2 is the sequel and contains some more predictions and includes the authors search for an Obelisk that he believes could crack the code.
I have read the book and I can say I am not convinced.
There are many reasons for it some of it illogical like the author always mentions that the bible is 3000 years old and therefore its prediction of events occurring now is nothing short of miraculous - yes I got it it the first time. The author keeps repeating that he is an objective reporter and does not believe in religion time and again , so many times that you begin doubting his words!
The main problem is that there are no maths to back up his claims. I have to believe the word of an Israeli mathematician. There are other who have pointed out that Moby Dick, War and Peace even the Bible Code itself contain predictions by pure chance of course
The other striking feature is all the predictions deal with Israel , Palestine and in some cases America. Its as if there is no world outside of these communities and that the world revolves round them.
The author of course hedges his bets saying the bible only has predictions and these are meant to be warnings which means we can change the course of events. It of course follows that everything that comes true is because the code told you so and everything that doesn't is because we did something that changed the future.
The book is also poorly structured as most of the pages are taken up by Hebrew text screens that I do not understand. It wastes a lot of real estate without much gain to the normal reader.
The only redeeming feature is that the author claims he tried to bring peace between Arafat and the various Israeli leaders. Even if the code is false, but peace could be bought by it then it is indeed a worthwhile endeavor

In any case the code predicts a great disaster in the year 2006 so we shall see whether the author is right

The Great Indian Novel - Shashi Tharoor

2005-01-29T20:58:00.000-08:00

No epic, No work of art is sacred by itself. If it does not have meaning for me now, It is nothing it is dead. - P. Lal The Mahabharata of Vyasa
The above quote,from the book itself, illustrates quite adequately what the author -Shashi Tharoor has attempted to achieve in his book The Great(Maha) Indian(Bharat) Novel. He has retold the Mahabharta using the context of India's freedom struggle upto The Emergency. The Author has created an amalgam of characters from the Mahabharata and India's politicians.
So we have a Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as Dhritirashtra. Since Nehru was so concerned with modernizing India that he was blind to the fact that the India's poor were exactly where they were before Independence. We have Gandhi as Gangaji Or Bhisma Pitamaha , he of the terrible vows , the patriach of the clans. Some characters represent Organisations like Bhim is the Army , The Strong Man who considers his duty to his brothers (in the infamous gambling scene in this case The Emergency) more important than the duty to his wife (Democracy)

This is a very clever book-almost smug sometimes - It is also a sharp commentary of Indian Politics, Indian Politicians but as importantly this book will make you laugh. It is essential before reading this book to have some understanding of the Mahabharata(If you watched the serial on doordarshan it should be enough) and of some of the events in Indian History if you wish to truly enjoy (or understand) this book. Its not often that i spend my time on the Internet trying to look up Indian Politicians to match them and events with the events depicted in this book. For this alone the author has my thanks.

Spoilers
An attempt to identify the characters and events in the book. (with thanks to jitsi who began this)

People
Gangaji (Ganga Dutta, Bhishma) – M. K. Gandhi.
Dhritarashtra – J. Nehru
Pandu – Subash Chandra Bose
Vidur – Sardar Vallabhai Patel
Gandhari – Kamala Nehru
Priya Duryodhani – Indira Priyadarshani Gandhi
Kunti - ?
Madri - ?
Karna – M. A. Jinnah
Yudhistir – Morarji Desai
Bhim – The Army
Arjun – The Indian Media.
Nakula – the Diplomatic service
Sahadev – the IAS
Drona – Jayaprakash Narayan
Krishna - ?
Kanika Menon- Krishna Menon. In the book he is the defence minister of India and is the one who is sacrificed when China Invades India.
Drewpad – Lord Mountbatten
Draupadi Mokrasi– Democracy
Ashwathaman - ?
Eklavya - VV Giri was the rebel candidate that Indira gandhi made president but F A Ahmed the president who signed the emergency
Ved Vyasji- I think it could be Rajagopalachari. But he may have died before the emergency so the time lines dont match. But he was known as Gandhi's conscience and is reputed to have written the best translation of the Mahabharata. Ved Vyas is also India's first Governor General in the book
Mohammed Rafi = Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad
Vyabichar Singh = Maharaja Hari Singh
Sheikh Azharuddin = Sheikh Abdullah
Lord Richard =
Heaslop =
Shishu Pal = Lal Bahadur Shashtri
Shakuni Shankar Dey = Siddartha Shankar Ray
Shikhandin = Nathuram Godse
Ganapathy = The Author himself? But Looking at the author's views on Ganapathi (in From midnight to millenium) I doubt it.

Round And About - BusyBee

2005-01-09T05:10:00.000-08:00

There never was a writer like BusyBee. There never will be a writer like BusyBee.
I forget who said this , but it is obviously true.
Round And About is the column BusyBee aka Behram Contractor wrote for 36 years in Free Press Journal, Mid Day and the Afternoon. Though there are a couple of articles which say that everyone mistakes Behram Contractor for BusyBee but no one mistakes BusyBee for Behram contractor!
The columns dealt with event in Mumbai and India , food, cricket and anything else that BusyBee might put his mind to. The Articles were Simple, Humorous,Sometimes with gentle criticism but so gentle that you could not really call it criticism, Sometimes with a dash of sarcasm,were always eminently readable.
If he wanted to make a point about Azharuddin or Kapil Dev he would write an interview with the Cricket fan or the Cricket Stadium , and in the end you would end up laughing at the Cricketer , at the Fan , at the BCCI , but not really at them.
If he wanted to say anything of Bal Thackeray and the Shiv Sena Government he would end up pointing his remote control at the TV and ending up with Manohar Joshi on Channel 1 and Gopinath Munde on channel 2. You can picture the bespectacled BusyBee in his T Shirt and jeans with the befuddled expression on his face wanting to watch the latest cricket match and ending up with Manohar Joshi in the mantralaya and you cannot help but laugh.
If R. K. Laxmans common man had to look different , it would be have to be BusyBee even though BusyBee was anything but common. There was no one who understood the average Mumbaikar(or should i say Bombayite) better than BusyBee and as Bombayites' go there were few better than BusyBee.

Rules

2005-01-09T03:08:00.000-08:00

Reviews of books I have read appear here , provided the book interests me enough to devote some time for its review or angers me enough to spend time denouncing it.
However there wont be a rating system. (That book is three stars , the other one's three and a half, but I like this one midway between the previous two so should I give it three and a quarter?)
This represents a selection of what I'm currently reading and mostly doesn't cover what I have read in the past. Which is a matter of regret to me , because so much of what I loved in Books I wont get time to write about. But to Quote Calvin
Its a magical world out there , Hobbes old Buddy. Lets go exploring