Reading progress 2010

[Muddle head]

I faced this problem a month ago, when i wanted to be active in goodreads, FB and chat on gmail and then work at office all through the night! In the end i decided to ditch FB and gmail and started camping here. Here i need not be so active that it starts eating into my office work and also its not so dull as to put me to sleep. The activity over here at the moment suits me just fine!

[Ahtims]

yes, that's one good thing here. You can visit anytime you want. Just continue with the various threads at your sweet convenience.
what is FB?

[Muddle head]

oh, i meant facebook

[Muddle head]

24. The Caves of Steel 3/5
Just completed this one. It's like a mini Agatha Christie novel as far as the mystery goes. But full marks to Asmiov for his imagination of the future world and the way he set-up the story in those times! Enjoyed this book!

[Muddle head]

25. The Naked Sun 4/5

Rating this a bit higher than the previous one just for the philosophical touch at the end of the novel. The mystery quotient is as good as the previous one. The whole 'viewing and seeing' experience is quite interesting too!

[Ahtims]

Am currently reading 'Year of the flood' by Atwood. Liking it so far. Paradoxically, dystopian (or dystopic?) novels soothe me as I feel pampered amongst plenty as I read about people scourging for food, doing without electricity, vehicles etc. I try to conserve energy as far as possible, but sometimes can't help it - especially when I read or surf net long into the night. Otherwise I am quite good, especially with conserving water and fuel.
Am leaving for a one week, well-earned vacation to my parent's home, where I will be able to read to my heart's content as my son will be busy hanging out with his grandparents.

[Muddle head]

The only dystopian novel i read is 1984 .
I found it quite intresting, but to be frank, i never thought about what i had to do to avoid such a future. Now, when am reading Asimov, am still contemplating if his writings can be classified as dystopian or uptopian! There's quite a debate going on over that.

I liked Asimov for the way he describes his societies at large in the background of a murder mystery just to make the reading more interesting!

[Muddle head]

And enjoy your vacation! A true one is where you have no internet connection or cell phone network coverage! I don't know if we have such places now and if we do have, if we are permitted (by our professions/families) to have such a 'vacation'! I wish i can!
The week before last i had a forced week-off as i was sick and had to rest without permission to even read! The same time my laptop was also out sick and it was only my mobile that reminded me that am not having a true 'vacation'.

[Ahtims]

Its true, times have changed so fast, I can never imagine a vacation without my E Reader, cell phone and laptop. Infact I am going home equipped. For a lark, I would like to see how I will spend a day without reading/surfing.

[Ramakrishnan]

i started re-reading aghora part 2 (Kundalini); but it seemed a bit of a drag; so now i am onto the 2nd part of the millennium triology - the girl who player with fire; going ok so far; even in the first part, it was only in the latter half that the book was really gripping...so i am hopeful

[Muddle head]

26) The Robots of Dawn 4/5

All through the book i was thinking of it as not more than a 3/5, but then the climax did surprise me! My personal feeling is that with such a climax in place, the author could have written this book in a lot more interesting manner.

One interesting fact is that before reading this one i read the first page of Robots and Empire, its sequel by mistake. And believe me, that first page itself contains the spoiler for this one! So in a way i was able to guess the 'murderer' just before the protagonist had, at the climax! I also recommend ppl not to read the summary of robots and empire, even that has a major spoiler to this one.

[Ahtims]

76. -4/5
it was a fascinating read. Initially I was puzzled a bit as I had started this book blindly, without any prior knowledge as to what it was all about. So it took me a few pages to realize it is well set in the bleak future, wherein most species we are familiar with have extincted, many cloned and spliced species and chimeras have emerged, man has changed considerably , by genetic engineering as well as by cosmetic camouflage, you cant walk about in the sun without protective clothings or nose cones which help in the polluted air, there is not much of electricity or other amenities, papers are precious, humans have formed bands and cults which are trying to destroy each other for survival.
I really got entangled in the story, even had vague dreams at night. Didnot want the feeling of slight discomfort to pursue me for days, so finished off this book quickly. Overall, quite a good dystopian novel. One disadvantage I had in reading this is that I came to realize after halfway through the book that it is actually the sequel of another book called 'Oryx and Crake' or something like that. I would like to read that book too, but want a few weeks gap.

[Ahtims]

77. -3/5
I originally bought it for my son, but then on skimming through it found it inappropriate for a 7 year old and ended up reading it myself. The cartoons are cute, other than that there isn't anything much to hold your interest. But then I like books about preteens and teens - these help me to understand a bit about what kids are doing or thinking nowadays. This was a quick and easy read - finished the book in a couple of hours. I understand that there are 3 more books in this series, but am not in a mood to read those yet.

[Muddle head]

27) Robots and Empire
With this i complete the Robot series, glad i could do it within a week! The series itself is like that...they make for a pretty fast and interesting read. Coming to this particular one, it's the perfect ending to the series i guess. the conversations between Daneel and Giskard are the highlight. I wish these conversations had started quite earlier in the series. I enjoyed this a lot. The entire series would be a lot more popular if ppl looked at it as consisting of simple logical mysteries instead of as a science fiction one. I will take a break and carry on with the Foundation series, as it was acclaimed to be a better work of asimov and also a logical continuation of this Robot seris, will soon start a thread dedicated to Asimov in the appropriate section

[Ahtims]

Aditya wrote: "27) Robots and Empire
With this i complete the Robot series, glad i could
The way you have described these books, feel like starting on Asimov next. I haven't read much science fiction so far. Had heard about Asimov, Edgar Rice Burroughs and a few others----

[Ahtims]

78. -2/5
not as good as other Townsend book I read (Adrian Mole). This started out interesting in the beginning, started to drag a bit in the middle, by the time I reached the end, I could hardly wait to put this down. This is supposed to be a satirical look at the British democracy of the nineties and early twentyfirst century. The main character, Edward Clair, the PM is supposed to be a parody of Tony Blair, with a wife and kids to match. Maybe British people will understand much of the subtle ( or so I guess) wit evident in this book. I would not like to recommend this book to anyone in particular

[Muddle head]

Smitha wrote: "The way you have described these books, feel like starting on Asimov next. I haven't read mu..."

The series is entirely set in a hypothetical universe centuries away from the present day (it doesn't mention a specific year any time). It's all about sustaining humanity, one should say it describes a dystopian society trying to correct things. Don't expect much of philosphy though, only at the end of each book does the author start talking of humanity and survival, otherwise it's just a plain murder mystery. Let me shut my mouth before i spill out anything further!
Trivia: Two of the books in the series are written way back around 1950 and the other two are written in the 1980s.

[Ahtims]

79. -4/5
Liked it. The events are set in Quebec, French Canada. So there are many french terms which I couldnot get, other than that a very well written book. Lots of scientific and forensic details to whet my appetite. The end was a bit disappointing, the killer being a non descreipt man ( which is the norm in most psycho thrillers), other than that a very good read.
Actually I had started on this book thinking that it is the original of 'Bones' series starring Temperence Brennan and her NY colleagues, but this is totally different. This Tempe is far older with a teenage daughter, and none of her colleagues of her 'bones' series make an appearance.

[Ahtims]

80. -2/5
I had bought this book with great expectations. But it turned out to be a B grade chicklit. I like chicklit, but this one failed to impress me. It was so-so, a bit tacky in places, the characters were not impressive, almost bordering on ridiculous. One thing which the author could portray with humour was the state of our TV serial industry. I could identify with most of the things she had written; though she was a bit repetitive. On the whole, nothing to lose if one decides to give this book a pass.

[Muddle head]

Smitha wrote: "
I had bought this book with great expectations. But it turned out to be a B grade chicklit. I like chicklit, but this one failed to impress me. ..."

Then i am glad i chose Romance with Chaos over this one.

[Ahtims]

How is it? I have started on a 'piece of cake' by Swati Kaushal as I am now on a contemporary Indian spree.

[Ahtims]

I just now read your review on it in goodreads. Thanks.

[Ahtims]

81. -3/5
I am totally addicted to Shopaholic series. I like Becky and reading about her, despite her various hard-to-believe antics. I am shocked at her financial negligence, still am sure she will come out of all her financial crunches. (After all, this is fiction) In this book I enjoyed reading about her precocious mini shopaholic daughter and am feeling very very sympathetic towards the hapless Luke Brandon. This book would be devoured by all shopaholic lovers; others may find it too bizarre for words.

[SHON]

Ramakrishnan wrote: "Smitha wrote: "Ramakrishnan wrote: "60 books by Sep? ~7.5 books a month.... wow - that's a LOT!!!

i feel delighted if i finish 2 books a month..smile..."

thanks, but I am flabbergast when I s..."


What's 'The Professional' about?

[Muddle head]

Shon wrote: "What's 'The Professional' about?"

I guess Ramakrishna missed ur post or is yet to, the best i can do is point u to his own review of the book here:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

[Ahtims]

82. -3/5
It was a very quick and easy read. You could read it with half your brain wandering and still, not miss the story. I liked it though there was nothing thought provoking or any great life's lessons to be learnt. Just a story of 19th century New York aristocracy and noveau rich - their expectations, their beliefs, the way they struggle to keep up to their images.... and 3 rich girls who somehow entangle themselves with the same rich playboy. But as any other work of fiction being written nowadays, it stopped at a point which clearly indicated that there is more to follow...
I have started hating series - somehow these keep you hooked, and you feel like reading mediocre books which follow through just to know what happens next, whether your guess work was correct. It is similar to those mega serials which keep many people hooked to TV and lead to loss of productivity.

[SHON]

Thanks Aditya.

[Ahtims]

83. -3.5/5
Quite a fastpaced, interesting read. This series revolves around 4 teenage girls living in an affluent community - they are close friends, confidantes and accomplices. The central incidence is the disappearance and death of the alpha friend, Ali. All the events revolve around this incident. What happens before and what happened after her disappearance. I was quite hooked to book 1, finished it soon, and am now planning to go to book 2. One great disadvantage in starting a series is that you feel compelled to end it, otherwise there is this incomplete feel at the back of your mind. I feel nowadays authors are backing on this to write more and more books dealing with the same few characters.

[Ahtims]

84. -4.5/5
there are some books, which when once started are difficult to put down again. And lo behold, if you start reading such books late night. This happened to me yesterday. I started on Mango Season around 11 pm, reluctantly went to bed at 12.30, day dreamt about the characters while at work ( luckily or unluckily, today was a very busy day), read a bit more at lunch time, and finally finished it off at a stretch at around 9 pm today. My son had an inkling that I liked the book a bit too much, when he found that I was neglecting to teach him or supervise his homework ( at our home , it is the otherway round. Most of the times it is my son who reminds me that he needs to be taught, unless he is at the computer)
I just devoured this book - like a juicy, ripe, luscious mango. I could smell, see and taste the flavors of South Indian life. I could identify with most people. I feel south Indians would identify with this book, I dont know about other people. I just went through a few of the reviews in Good Reads and to my surprise that many people had given it only one or two stars. I would really recommend this book to anyone; but then tastes are diverse.

[Ahtims]

85. -3/5
an okay read. Its best for those times when you want something light and nontaxing to read. I finished this off by reading it piecemeal during my food breaks.

[Ahtims]

86. -3/5
Sometimes a series just catch holds of you, though the books are not that great(this happened to me with Sweet Valley High series a decade back). Pretty little liars is a saga of 5 hoity toity society girls, one of them who has mysteriously disappeared at the beginnning of the series. The book takes on after the aftermath of that incident, how it has affected the other girls, their interpersonal relationships, their attitudes etc. It is a quick, easy read. I am engrossed in this series. Its never boring. But then, on the minus side, there are no good quotes or no great lessons to be learnt. Still, I love this series. I am looking forward to book 3 in the near future.

[Muddle head]

28) How To Disappear Completely
CONTAINS SPOILERS
I was bored and had a couple of hours to kill before leaving home, picked up this short ebook, just abt 100 pages. Nothing of a literary value in there, but pure entertainment without being too gross, it's almost a hollywood movie script, takes abt the same time to read too!
********SPOILER********* (i guess you needn't care enuf to avoid this)
Summary: Guy proposes to his girl, girl rejects, but takes the ring. Guy dejected, loves another girl, new girl happens to be friend of his ex. Guy finds out his Ex was already in love with another guy, hence the rejection, so sneaks up into her apt gets the ring back after a climactic fight with his Ex's pet dog. Hilarious part is the scenes between the guy n his ex's dog, the Satan!

[Ahtims]

87. -3/5
Am just devouring this series. I think at this rate, I will polish off the rest 5 books within a fortnight's period. I know, it is not healthy for me. I feel as if I am gorging on junk food ( no offense to the author, it is a taut, well-written mystery cum romance cum young adult series ... something comparable to SVH, but better). I am determined to devout atleast half an hour daily to reading old classics, which would assuage my guilt.

[Ahtims]

88. -3/5
I found this slightly less interesting than the first three books. There was too much of repetition, there were too many false clues that everytime the finger was pointed towards someone I was pretty sure that person would turn out innocent later on in the course of the book. On the whole, if you have completed the first 3 books, you wont feel like leaving half way through. So now I am off to my fifth book.

[Ahtims]

89. -2/5
This is the fifth book of the series. First four were immensely readable. This one, I had to skip and read as it started getting boring and repetitive. I will ofcourse complete the series since I am quite invovled in the lives of Aria and gang, but then I decided to read a few other diverse books on the side as PLL as the sole diet has started feeling bland to my literary palate.

[Ahtims]

90. -1/5
I was drawn towards the title. But by the first few pages, I came to know what sort of a book this is. But then the fact that it was a small book coupled with some sort of morbid interest kept me at it and I finished it off in a couple of hours skipping in between. It is a lurid story about a prostitute who makes an unwary motel owner her prey and conducts her buisness from it; certainly to be kept away from adolescents.

[Ramakrishnan]

Aditya wrote: "Shon wrote: "What's 'The Professional' about?"

I guess Ramakrishna missed ur post or is yet to, the best i can do is point u to his own review of the book here:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/sh..."

Thanks aditya; i have been very busy - so could not read anything or check out goodreads last month or so

[Ramakrishnan]

Just finished "the girl who played with fire" - second part of the millennium trilogy series

First part was really good; damn chilling and all. Second part was lack-lustre; i dont think i will go on to the third part

oh, by the way, i bought the entire Asterix collection; i cannot express how delighted i am :-)

[Ahtims]

where did you get it from? Indiaplaza?

[Ramakrishnan]

Smitha wrote: "where did you get it from? Indiaplaza?"
bought it offline - reliance chain; but same price available on flipkart (~9300)

[Ahtims]

Ramakrishnan wrote: "Smitha wrote: "where did you get it from? Indiaplaza?"
bought it offline - reliance chain; but same price available on flipkart (~9300)"

thanks

[Muddle head]

Ramakrishnan wrote: "Thanks aditya"

Welcome Ramakrishnan!

[Muddle head]

29) When the Wind Blows

An ok book, nothing great to say abt the writing style, nothing special abt the plot too, esp for those who already saw the X-men series.

[Ahtims]

91. -2/5
An okay read. Nothing much exciting. Altogether predictable characters, with a few romantic interests thrown in between - the plot deals with a murder investigation/romance interest/spouse abuse

[Ahtims]

92. -4/5
I really enjoyed reading this book though it took me more than two months, as I read it only during meal times, and then I was constantly misplacing it somewhere or the other. This is a really gripping story about a rector, who has become disillusioned with life, love and his duties and his lively wife, who wants to enjoy the little pleasures of life and who is striving to regain her husband's love and affection and is trying to change him from the pessimistic, passive man he has turned into over the years. Her struggle to maintain a comfortable life for her kids and to rekindle the affection of her marriage dismally fails, and her life is still complicated by her attraction to a couple of neighbours, one of them her arch deacon's brother. It is a good read depicting how and where a marriage can go wrong. It was a bit slow paced but made me contemplate a lot

[Ahtims]

93. -4/5
Enjoyed this book. Though it is just another book dealing with a rich and beautiful girl falling for a boy from the other side of the tracks despite various obstacles and finally triumphing in her love, it was crisply written. Characters were lovable, dialogues were witty, though suitable only for the above 18 category. This book does have ranging hormones and sex in it, but somehow it does not seem vulgar. It fits in with the circumstances and moods. I would recommend this book for people who like romance and passion in their books. I am planning to follow up with the second in the series -"rules of attraction"

[[deleted user]]

yay smitha! 93!
i know u dont have a target but i hope u make it to a 100 atleast! :)

[Ahtims]

thanks, Hazel. I too was wondering about the same thing. But I dont want to compromise upon the quality. So I have to wait and see how many I finish.

[Ahtims]

94. -4/5
this was a good sequel to Perfect Chemistry. A very quick read. The hero here is Carlos, brother of Alex (the star of Perfect chemistry). Both the brothers have much in common including spitfire American girls whom they are trying to impress as well as ignore, though in this sequel Alex has been tamed by his girlfriend Brittany and Carlos is still wild as ever. Carlos too gets entangled in Latino gangs and the main crux of the story is how he manages to free himself from their clutches aided by his elder brother and his guardian. This book has much similarity with 'perfect chemistry' still it didnot bore me. Let us wait and watch for the third book which deals with the youngest Fuentes brother.

[Ahtims]

95. -3.5/5
Was a good read, though I didnot like it as much as Mango season by the same author. It was a poignant tale entwining Bhopal tragedy and Indira Gandhi's assassination with an infidel husband and a wife with a backbone, who decides to leave him and build a life for herself, little knowing that a few accidental moments of her past will haunt her future and affect her child. I liked the characters, though there were too many incidents occuring at the same time. I would recommend this to all Indian fiction lovers.