Indian Readers discussion
READING PROGRESS 2017
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Jayanth's Mission Impossible 2017
Jayanth wrote: "@Em, @lovesfrost, @delyCommom question to all who have read Murakami. How is Kafka on the shore? :P Would it be a nice read for a first time Murakami reader?"
Yes, yes!
Okay done- I want to give Kafka another chance. :)Will read Penal Colony :)
Lovesfrost wrote: "Okay done- I want to give Kafka another chance. :)Will read Penal Colony :)"
Anytime soon? I want to read it too. Since it will be weird, we will have a lot to discuss if we buddy read. What do you say? :P
dely wrote: "Jayanth wrote: "@Em, @lovesfrost, @delyCommom question to all who have read Murakami. How is Kafka on the shore? :P Would it be a nice read for a first time Murakami reader?"
Yes, yes!"
Great! I've been putting off reading his works for so long. I think I'll start with Kafka on the shore. :)
Jayanth-it's short as well. You decide the starting date:)
Lovesfrost wrote: "Jayanth-it's short as well. You decide the starting date:)"Over the weekend?
Also, I see that you are reading 'The Picture of Dorian Gray', just started? How is it? I have it on my classics tbr and it's also a weird kinda book from what I remember from the blurb. :D
Mod
Kafka on the shore is good - though my first Murakami was Windup bird chronicle.
yeah done:) @Jayanthhmm I just started it not even 10% ,I liked his play -The Importance of being Earnest -that man is extremely witty ,I loved his writing there let's hope I love him more with this one :)
Lovesfrost wrote: "yeah done:) @Jayanthhmm I just started it not even 10% ,I liked his play -The Importance of being Earnest -that man is extremely witty ,I loved his writing there let's hope I love him more with t..."
Great!!! I'm actually going to listen to The Importance of Being Earnest soon, downloaded the audiobook. That too is on my tbr. :) And I'm very excited about Dorian Gray, the cover art and the description give me a sense of gloom and eerie feeling ;)
Em wrote: "I love most Murakami books that I have read....except perhaps 'strange library'.Kafka on the shore is good - though my first Murakami was Windup bird chronicle."
Ooh, okay :) His books names are so unique and weird :D
Lovesfrost wrote: "Okay done- I want to give Kafka another chance. :)Will read Penal Colony :)"
Don't hate me if you won't like it!
Hey @Dely no no never. Who knows I might actually end up loving that book:):)*fingers crossed*.:):)
Log entry, January 13:1. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (finished)
Ebook + Audiobook
Pages read: 135/135
Pages read today: 105
Rating: 3
2. The Awful German Language by Mark Twain (finished)
Ebook + Audiobook
Pages read: 24/24
Pages read today: 24
Rating: 4
3. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (ongoing)
Ebook + Audiobook
Pages read: 42/282
Pages read today: 42
Rating: TBD
4. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irvy (ongoing)
Ebook + Audiobook
Pages read: 0/42
Pages read today: 0
Rating: TBD
Total pages read today: 171
# # # # # # #
01:15 - Finished reading/listening to The Importance of Being Earnest. It was okay, I liked it. I can't sleep until I choose what to read next :D
14:54 - Finished reading/listening to The Awful German Language. Loved it, it was hilarious. :D :D
19:42 - Started reading and listening to Trevor Noah's autobiography 'Born a crime'. I admire and respect him a lot, from what I know of him from his late show.
23:10 - 'Born a crime' on hold. Listening to classic horror tale 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'. I have seen the movie, but interested in the book. It's a very short story.
Updating my reading challenge from 70 books to 100 for this year because I'm in the mood for reading short books right now, classics preferably. I've read the likes of The Death Of Ivan Ilych, The Metamorphosis etc in the recent days and I want more of the like. :D But that would mean my 70 book challenge becomes easier to achieve, well, we don't want that do we? The challenge must remain a challenge :D
Mod
Mod
Murakami - Wind Up was my first. Followed by Kafka on the Shore. Both have some similarity.
And just by these two works I'm a (novice) big fan of Murakami. Will join you for any other which you might plan to read.
Mod
Manju wrote: "Best of luck!"Thank you :)
Gorab wrote: "Haven't tried Kafka and I think I have a mental block against abstract writing :(Murakami - Wind Up was my first. Followed by Kafka on the Shore. Both have some similarity.
And just by these two..."
Sure! I will definitely read one of his books this year, will decide which one and if its any other than these two, I will let you know :)
Em wrote: "Jayanth, at your pace 100 too isn't much of a challenge. Opt for 150 :P":P Hahaha! I don't think so. My current pace is only fast because I'm desperately trying to avoid dealing some things in my life and trying to divert my attention away from stressful things. Reading is something that works for me that way :D So, I don't know, if I'll finish even 70, I'm bound to get a reader's block soon :P
Review of The Awful German Language by Mark TwainRating: 4/5
Loved it! I was laughing at every turn of the page. I want to say that Mark Twain's intention of writing this book is not to belittle German language but to let others know how unnecessarily complicated the language is for a foreigner to learn. And after reading the book, I quite agree that German would be hard to learn compared to other languages. Mark Twain gives an awful lot of good and funny examples to make this point. I will put some examples from the book here and you'll understand:
To continue with the German genders: a person's mouth, neck, bosom, elbows, fingers, nails, feet, and body are of the male sex, and his head is male or neuter according to the word selected to signify it, and not according to the sex of the individual who wears it -- for in Germany all the women wear either male heads or sexless ones; a person's nose, lips, shoulders, breast, hands, and toes are of the female sex; and his hair, ears, eyes, chin, legs, knees, heart, and conscience haven't any sex at all. The inventor of the language probably got what he knew about a conscience from hearsay. Now, by the above dissection, the reader will see that in Germany a man may think he is a man, but when he comes to look into the matter closely, he is bound to have his doubts; he finds that in sober truth he is a most ridiculous mixture.
---------------------------------------
My philological studies have satisfied me that a gifted person ought to learn English (barring spelling and pronouncing) in thirty hours, French in thirty days, and German in thirty years. It seems manifest, then, that the latter tongue ought to be trimmed down and repaired. If it is to remain as it is, it ought to be gently and reverently set aside among the dead languages, for only the dead have time to learn it.
All in all, I enjoyed this short satirical book on why German language in awful for new learners. Twain doesn't just complain about the absurdity of some of German language's aspects, he also offers suggestions for its improvement. He lists a few valid improvements and then continues the list with a few satirical ones. :P
The free audiobook on Librivox narrated by Kristen Wever is wonderful to listen to.
Mod
Manju wrote: "you're on a roll!":D Rolling downhill :P I'm at work and reading/listening to books. Also, this book is only 24 pages long :D I wish it was lengthier, the humor was top notch.
Mod
Mod
Gorab wrote: "This looks interesting. Can you speak/read/write German?"No, I'm totally unfamiliar with German except that I know there are ridiculously long words which define a very very specific thing. This I know from soccer discussion forums I follow. But this essay is kind of a brief overview/introduction to German language, even though it comes from someone who sees this language as overtly complex and partly absurd when it comes to its technicalities.
I'd recommend you to read it since you find it interesting. :) :D
Em wrote: "have learnt German for 2 years - grammar is awfully complicated :/"You should read this book then! It just 24 pages and I think you will have a lot of fun and probably places where you will exclaim "that's so true!" ;)
Mod
Em wrote: "And best of all.... a feather in my cap which is aiming at minimum 100 feathers this year. :P"And it will be one of the most ticklish feathers of them all, I'm quite sure! ;)
I won't be surprised if you read more than 365 books this year!!:D -good luck!!
Lovesfrost wrote: "I won't be surprised if you read more than 365 books this year!!:D -good luck!!"No way!!!
If somehow I can quit my job and yet make money while I lie on my bed finishing a book a day, I will do it!!! Won't you? :P But sadly, that won't happen :( :D
Today is 13th you've already read around 11 some are currently being read and the day is not yet over:P so,basically it's like one book per day!:P.Be optimistic and let's hope you read more!!:D:D
Mod
And it will be one of the most ticklish feathers of them all, I'm quite sure! ;)"
he he..
Mod
No way!!!
If somehow I can quit my job and yet make money while I lie on my bed finishing a bo..."
_/\_ was thinking the same these past few days,
I listened to The excerpts fron the diary of Adam and Eve by Mark Twain and it was good.
Lovesfrost wrote: "Today is 13th you've already read around 11 some are currently being read and the day is not yet over:P so,basically it's like one book per day!:P.Be optimistic and let's hope you read more!!:D:D"Thanks for your encouragement! But I'm so pessimistic in general, but let's say, I might read half of the number you say. 182.5 books, okay. :P
@Em lol.. I think, in some deep corner of their hearts, every book lover is :P
Rebecca wrote: "I listened to The excerpts fron the diary of Adam and Eve by Mark Twain and it was good."Ooh, okay. I'd check that out. :)
Log entry, January 14:1. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving (finished)
Ebook + Audiobook
Pages read: 42/42
Pages read today: 42
Rating: 3
2. The Double Barreled Detective Story by Mark Twain (finished)
Ebook + Audiobook
Pages read: 50/50
Pages read today: 50
Rating: 2
3. In The Penal Colony by Franz Kafka (finished)
Ebook + Audiobook
Pages read: 38/38
Pages read today: 38
Rating: 4
4. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (ongoing)
Ebook + Audiobook
Pages read: 100/288
Pages read today: 36
Rating: TBD
5. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells (ongoing)
Ebook + Audiobook
Pages read: 7/206
Pages read today: 7
Rating: TBD
Total pages read today: 173
# # # # # # #
01:44 - Finished a slightly spooky short story, The legend of sleepy hollow. I wish it was more creepy and had more horror elements.
20:00 - Listened to 'Born a crime' for a while as I went out to eat pani puri. :P Now started reading The Time Machine.
Review of The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow by Washington IrvingRating: 3/5
I liked the story. I have already seen the movie starring Jonny Depp, it was good. That's how I came to know about his book. So what I had known about this book before reading and what I was expecting, the book delivered it in the final 10 pages, that is, the horror element. Up until then, there were creepy scenes described and tales of ghosts hinted but nothing too scary. The movie obviously changed a lot of the story and hence my very high expectations for an out and out horror story can be considered unfair.
I listened to an audiobook narrated by Mr. Chip and his performance during the last 10 pages was astounding, it made the book come alive and the horror element really stood out by his narration, the tension during these final pages of the story was great. I'd recommend listening to his audiobook instead of reading the book itself, or do both simultaneously like I usually do with audiobooks.
Jayanth wrote: "Review of The Awful German Language by Mark TwainRating: 4/5
Loved it! I was laughing at every turn of the page. I want to say that Mark Twain's intention of writing this book is not to belittle ..."
I think Mark Twain studied German to know these things? He is right, German is very difficult, but it's also a wonderful language.
Review of The Double Barreled Detective Story by Mark TwainRating: 2/5
I did not enjoyed reading this book at all. I felt the story was poorly written. The humor I was hoping for in this satirical take on detective stories was nowhere to be found. There were a scene or two which made me laugh but the rest was all confusing and felt incredibly lame, even for a story that is trying to poke fun at the world renowned detective from Baker Street.
Review of In The Penal Colony by Franz KafkaRating: 4/5
CRAZY doesn't begin to explain this story. What the hell, it was so dark but awesome too. This my second Franz Kafka book in 2 days, the first being The Metamorphosis. I liked both the stories very much, the dark themes and the narration.
Torture devices have always been used in the judiciary systems all over the world until very recently. These belong in the list of abominations created by humans and should be represented in our history, without shame, to show the savagery of men and their thought of earlier times regarding judicial punishments for all generations to come.
In this story, we see a prison officer, who operates an abominable torture device, trying to justify its existence and use to his higher officials who might be planning to decommission this torture device. This officer is despicable and as the story progresses, I felt pity for him. Not because he had some ghastly painful life story but only because he was so obsessed with this torture device that it was clearly from the way he talked that no man could ever convince him that what he and his machine do is not only unjust, but is inhumane.
This story was very very dark and gruesome. The characters in it were weird and crazy. Loved it!
Jayanth wrote: "Review of The Double Barreled Detective Story by Mark TwainRating: 3/5
did not enjoyed reading this book at all. I felt the story was poorly written. The humor I was hoping for in this satirical..."
You have a strange way to rate books! For me 3* means that I liked the book.
Jayanth wrote: "Review of In The Penal Colony by Franz KafkaRating: 4/5
CRAZY doesn't begin to explain this story. What the hell, it was so dark but awesome too. This my second Franz Kafka book in 2 days, the fi..."
Yay!
dely wrote: "Jayanth wrote: "Review of The Double Barreled Detective Story by Mark TwainRating: 3/5
did not enjoyed reading this book at all. I felt the story was poorly written. The humor I was hoping for i..."
Hey, I meant to give only 2 stars for that book. :D I didn't like it. I just copied the previous review template and didn't update the rating. ;) :D
Although I do admit I rate books a slightly different. For me 3 is 'I didn't like or dislike it. Leaning towards liking'. :D
Mod
And our Manju (thismodisverystrict) would be the opposite :P
@Dely thanks for the reco.:)
@ Jayanth we both rated it 4 stars -High 5!!:)
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I've read it a lot of years ago and I think that Kafka had really a sad childhood.