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Lit Bug (Foram)
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Jun 11, 2013 12:32AM
Now I'll have to shift it to my top-among-to-reads shelf :) And was it a memoir, written by himself or a biography (only to know if it was written in third-person by someone else) - in order to know where to shelve it - biography or memoir.
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Memoir i guess, co-written with John Carlin. To a reader, it looks like what he narrated to John was penned down in a better language and vocabulary. It also consists of a few quotes from interviews with members of his team and family.
Ok :) Thanks - will see if i can get it...
Trying my level best to complete
... its a wonderful book, but needs long time devoted to it!!
Catcher in the Rye - Salinger, going really slow due to lack of time, need to pick it up over the weekend as the book is really interesting and the narration screams to be read continuously in one sitting :)
Indraneel wrote: "Hello people, I have recently got Countdown by Amitav Ghose.. Has anyone read this one? How is it?"Hi Indraneel. Haven't read Amitav Ghosh's non-fiction work but am a huge fan of his fiction. Do let me know your thoughts about Countdown after you have read it. Adite
@Aditya reg catcher in the rye...one of my favourite books :)I'm currently reading John Grisham's the client. it's a bit gruesome but captivating.
Neuromancer is amazing, though daunting. If one reads the wikipedia plot summary first and then follows the text, it is incredibly easy. Those who loved even one installment of the Matrix trilogy is bound to love cyberpunk, since the Matrix, its tropes and every single thing associated with it is nothing but pure, unadulterated cyberpunk.
Lit Bug wrote: "Neuromancer is amazing, though daunting. If one reads the wikipedia plot summary first and then follows the text, it is incredibly easy. Those who loved even one installment of the Matrix trilogy i..."Thanks for the tip. It sounds like an amazing read.
Yes, it is, but it is not a literary book - the Matrix can still boast of some literariness, but not this one - and be prepared for cyberspace lingo such as "jacked-in, deck, cowboy, matrix, simstim, trodes and flatline, else you won't get the plot. And make sure you read the plot summary first, else you won't figure out what's happening at all - unless you've already read other cyberpunk works. Happy reading!
Lit Bug wrote: "Yes, it is, but it is not a literary book - the Matrix can still boast of some literariness, but not this one - and be prepared for cyberspace lingo such as "jacked-in, deck, cowboy, matrix, simsti..."Thanks for the tips...hmmm...maybe they should provide a glossary for those uninitiated in cyberpunk? Just saying... btw, is steampunk different from cyberpunk?
Yes, steampunk is sci-fi set usually in the Victorian era, complete with its costumes and architecture - e.g., The Time Machine is now considered steampunk. Even today, if you write sci-fi set in the Victorian era, it will be steampunk.Cyberpunk, on the other hand, is mostly about the future and has an elaborate storyline focussing mostly on hacking and cyberspace and matrix. The action is mostly carried out in the matrix and there a few indicators that qualify a work as cyberpunk - e.g. it usually has a loner individual battling against a mega-corporation, the persistent theme of the mind v/s body, the focus on the plot rather than on characters - these are broad characteristics which define a work as cyberpunk. If you look it up on wiki, you will get a very good summary, and it will help if you familiarize yourself with its peculiarities and context before jumping in the book - because without the background, it will be difficult to enjoy the book - the genre isn't enjoyed by all.
Mod
Thanks - cyberpunk is more about world-building. It's a thriller kind of work, only difference is, while most thrillers are set in our familiar world and uses familiar settings and lingo, cyberpunk uses a world that is logical but imagined, uses hard sci-fi best familiar only to technophiles and geek but with some effort, understandable by non-geeks too. Just like the Matrix trilogy - strip off the world-building and SF, and there's nothing remarkable about the plot or the characters.In steampunk, the world is Victorian, but that is still familiar - the only imaginative part is infusing SF in an archaic setting, which is why most people who are put-off by the hard SF of cyberpunk still love steampunk because it is familiar and easily accessible to our sensibilities. Cyberpunk, it seems, is more of an acquired taste, because you have to learn to appreciate the subtleties of the genre in order to like it.
There is a huge load of soft SF, which fuses SF with literature and the human concern that we look for in literary or even pop-fiction works. Cyberpunk, on the other hand, is hard SF, more concerned with ideas, concepts and imaginary worlds not yet in existence.
Gibson typed out Neuromancer on a typewriter - you didn't even use a PC in the US in the 80s to type out your books - and in that era, he not only predicted, but helped make possible the internet, virtual reality and hacking. Nothing what he wrote in Neuromancer existed when he wrote it, at least not as radically as things were portrayed. Programmers took cues from him and other writers and invented what he had so far only imagined - that is what I find so beautiful about cyberpunk - even if it sounds weird, it is perfectly possible, even if it is not dystopian in real life.
Lit Bug wrote: "Thanks - cyberpunk is more about world-building. It's a thriller kind of work, only difference is, while most thrillers are set in our familiar world and uses familiar settings and lingo, cyberpunk..."Wow, thanks for that. You, clearly, are a huge fan of the genre! :)
currently reading wise and otherwise by ashwin sanghvi!
Aditya wrote: "Catcher in the Rye - Salinger, going really slow due to lack of time, need to pick it up over the weekend as the book is really interesting and the narration screams to be read continuously in one ..."Masterpiece.
I started reading In the Sea There are Crocodiles: Based on the True Story of Enaiatollah Akbari by Fabio Geda.I am enjoying it so far.
dely wrote: "I started reading In the Sea There are Crocodiles: Based on the True Story of Enaiatollah Akbari by Fabio Geda.I am enjoying it so far."
TBRed! Thanks :)
On to Synners by Pat Cadigan
Today's free ebook from Amazon from the free books for a fortnight scheme is The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World. Have read only 10% of it till now, but it is very interesting and even more thought-provoking. Thought someone else might be interested in it too...
Lit Bug wrote: "Today's free ebook from Amazon from the free books for a fortnight scheme is The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World. Have read only 10% of it till now, ..."Sounds good. Got it too. :)
Do read it - I'm done about 80% now and it's really amazing - IMHO, it is one of those books to be read at least once while one's still alive, and if possible, young.
Lit Bug wrote: "Do read it - I'm done about 80% now and it's really amazing - IMHO, it is one of those books to be read at least once while one's still alive, and if possible, young."Absolutely agree with you. I still have a few years (hopefully) before I croak it! ;)
The book makes us feel so insignificant in terms of what we are capable of doing and how negligible we are actually doing for anybody. And makes us realize how we are so sure about what is happening in the world, the roots and solutions of all domestic/global problems and actually how short-sighted we are.Have you started reading it?
If you like this book, you should also try Great Indian Middle Class by Pavan K. Varma, a retired IAS officer. It is almost a life-changing book, just like this one.
Lit Bug wrote: "If you like this book, you should also try Great Indian Middle Class by Pavan K. Varma, a retired IAS officer. It is almost a life-changing book, just like this one."I have read parts or Varma's book. Also Gurucharan Das writes books in the same vein.
Oh great - am not aware of Das' works - could you tell me which ones you liked?
Lit Bug wrote: "Oh great - am not aware of Das' works - could you tell me which ones you liked?"You could check out his India Unbound. He has written several more, but haven't read them. here's a link to his website http://gurcharandas.org/india-unbound
Another very interesting book you may want to read is Land of the Seven Rivers: A brief history of India's geography https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Thank you - feel free to recommend any good book you think I'd like :)
Lit Bug wrote: "Thank you - feel free to recommend any good book you think I'd like :)"Sure! :)
Lit Bug wrote: "Thank you - feel free to recommend any good book you think I'd like :)"What about Vandana Shiva? Do you have already read her books? They seem interesting. I have heard about her some weeks ago during a conference about biological food and fair trade.
I haven't, Dely - but thanks for the reco! I'll check her out right now!
Just read: old man and the seareading: to kill a mocking bird
next: to start 'sea of poppies' from leftout
Just read: Riders to the seaReading : Empire of the Moghul: The serpent's tooth
About to read: The Shadow Lines
Just Read: South By Java HeadReading: Lord Jim
Next up: Eye of the needle
Just read : If tomorrow comesCurrently reading : The Homing pigeons
TBR : The Godfather
dely wrote: "Lit Bug wrote: "Thank you - feel free to recommend any good book you think I'd like :)"What about Vandana Shiva? Do you have already read her books? They seem interesting. I have heard about her ..."
I admire her work and passion as a relentless environmentalist but haven't read any of her books.
Those of you who are into magical fantasy may want to check out Hoshruba: The Land and the Tilism. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/64.... Translated from Urdu it is considered to be the "Mother" of magical fantasy and influenced the work of authors such as Salman Rushdie. It's an amazing read.
Adite wrote: "Those of you who are into magical fantasy may want to check out Hoshruba: The Land and the Tilism. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/64.... Translated from Urdu it is considered to..."Thanks - sounds interesting!
Mod
Reading : Mistborn: The Final Empire
Next Up : The Well of Ascension
On to Embassytown by China Miéville - my second Mieville book, and I'm only barely 1/4 part through, but I'm stunned. So different from The City and the City, yet so thorough in detailing and so interesting!Mieville's a fantastic world-builder... And maintains suspense so very well...sigh
Just read The house on hope street by Danielle Steel. Currently reading Eleven minutes by Paulo Coelho and the next read would be King of torts by John Grisham...
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