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"We read to know that we are not alone"~C. S. Lewis
Mod
Thanks Col. Its a series of entrance exmas, GATE and a couple of others. Feb, March and April weekends.
My first book for 2012
5/5 for the beautiful book 'The Great Gatsby' is. This is my second Fitzgerald book and I was amazed by his narration and description unlike 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'. I was a part of the New York crowd witnessing and living a paradoxical life. I feel glum now and my head is buzzing with all the questions that reading the book created.
Mod
Smitha wrote: "I've been meaning to read this book for a long time now. This year, probably I'll be able to."You should. Its a must I say.
wow...nice title of the page.. 'We read to know that we are not alone'
Meenakshi wrote: "wow...nice title of the page.. 'We read to know that we are not alone'"Thanks Meen :) Goodled for some quotes and found this through Goodreads itself!
I know..Goodreads has a great collection of quotes..I used it every time I have to read thoughts in my school..but I liked your idea of using a quote as a title..
Mod
@Col maybe I'll copy it this year@Parikhit you better put in some copyright laws to use..otherwise..don't say later that nobody warned :P
Mod
Smitha wrote: "don't scare him off, Meen. I will put a disclaimer to the effect that the originator of the idea is Parikhit"He he Col. That's not required :)
Second book for 2012
3.5/5 for the adventure that was centered around castles and kidnapping-just my Famous Five type.
Before you gasp for air by the utter surprise that I'm reading Famous Five let me try and justify myself :) Yes, I've trasported myself back to my childhood-reading-days-of-Enid-Blyton-in-the-garden and I'm loving it!
The Famous Five are holidaying in caravans and everything seems perfect but with the arrival of fair-folk things begin going haywire. There is adventure awaiting in a castle behind the fields where they were holidaying. There are snakes, fire-eating, rope tricks and all to make it a perfect adventure.
Guess most of you have read it already!
Mod
Smitha wrote: "I remember reading this book. You will be now waking up the dormant Enid Blyton fan in me."He he :) Can't grow out of Enid Blyton!
My third book
3.5/5 again for this Famous Five tale.
The Famous Five books hardly take any time to read. Interesting, quick and witty, I love the adventure packed tales.
The five are spending a peaceful time in a farm and there's the rough sea and rocky beaches. Ghastly tales of deliberate shipwrecks caused by false lighthouse signals on stormy nights suddenly become real and thus begins another adventure.
Perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon!
The forth book and yes Famous Five again
4/5, being the first in the series it deserves a 4.
The first book and the onset of many many adventures. George, a difficult girl, befriends her cousins Julian, Dick and Anne and there is Timmy then Timothy or better Tim. A wrecked ship is brought to the surface of Kirrin island by a storm and has a treasure map neatly hidden. The children discover the map and so do some thugs. There's a hunt for the treasure, perils and good narration.
The best Famous Five read recently.
Smitha wrote: "on an Enid Blyton spree?"Yes Col. Will stop for a while now. :)
Parikhit wrote"Yes Col. Will stop for a while now. :) "Why..got bored or what??
Parikhit wrote: "The forth book and yes Famous Five again4/5, being the first in the series it deserves a 4.
The first book and the onset of many many adventure..."
I remember it was hardly a hundred pages or so. George's apprehensiveness in warming up to her cousins is well shown, and Anne was the cutie pie among all. I remember it most for the way george passes on a msg to her cousins by signing as georgina. Have seen this trickin quite a few hollywood flicks, but this is the first book I read it in... The english breakfasts were so mouthwatering only until I got to know what bacon means :P
Parikhit wrote: "Smitha wrote: "on an Enid Blyton spree?"Yes Col. Will stop for a while now. :)"
I thot u are planning to read complete famous five series this year.. :)
Mod
Not boreed at all Vinoth! I've temporarily stopped for the other serious work.And Anbu I think I will read the entire series, yes. :D
Glad to be of help Col :)
Parikhit wrote: "Not boreed at all Vinoth! I've temporarily stopped for the other serious work.And Anbu I think I will read the entire series, yes. :D
Glad to be of help Col :)"
i asked , because i feel a little bit impatient when i read 3 or more novels of the same author on the trot.
Vinoth wrote: "Parikhit wrote: "Not boreed at all Vinoth! I've temporarily stopped for the other serious work.And Anbu I think I will read the entire series, yes. :D
Glad to be of help Col :)"
i asked , becau..."
Yes. That happens to me as well. It becomes monotonous. So stopped it temporarily :)
no more Enid Blytons?? then what next??
Meenakshi wrote: "no more Enid Blytons?? then what next??"Right now 'Solo'. Then 'Secret Life of Bees'. Followed by some classics, Anantole France, Maurice Maeterlinck, Selma Lagerlof. Planning to read the complete Animorphs series, Eragon (the only fantasy I could think of). Will pitch in Enid Blyton here and there.
My fifth book
5/5 for the book is amazing, amazing and amazing
Can dreams and reality ever be combined to create a rich work of literature? Absolutely, for Rana Dasgupta does that and beautiful is the amalgamation. 'Solo' is a masterpiece, in my opinion. The effect can be delusional as it becomes hard to distinguish dream and reality. But the book isn't just a cryptic take on merging existence with hallucination; the book is uncannily identifiable. Equally retrospective and introspective, Ulrich narrates his hundred year life-all that was and could have been. His tryst with violin and chemistry, his changing relationship with his mother, a disturbed country and also his dreams. Ulrich isn't the poster of achievement or failure, he represents us, our dreams, our reality.
An excellent book!
Mod
Parikhit wrote: "My fifth book5/5 for the book is amazing, amazing and amazing
Can dreams and reality ever be combined to create a rich work of literature? Absolutely, for Rana Da..."
Lots of good reviews, can't wait to start reading it.. :)
Mod
Smitha wrote: "received my copy just now. am off to read"I can ascertain that you'll not regret it!
The sixth book for this year
Rating it 3/5. A good book.
With 184 pages of a Pakistani man narrating his four years of stay in the United States at a café in the buzzing market of Anarkali Bazaar in the city of Lahore, ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ poetically and in a subtle tone describes the bitter sweet hostility shared between the west and the east. It would be wrong to completely suggest that the 9/11 attacks on the WTC forms the theme in this book; it is but a crude reminder of the morbid relationship. There have been innumerable movies, documentaries and articles on the cruel stereotyping of followers of the Islamic faith but ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ does not completely dwell on the shadows of racism; it questions the very morals and ethics that lead to a prejudiced thinking.
Pari, you are going at a great pace dude.. Already six books!! great.. :)
Anbu wrote: "Pari, you are going at a great pace dude.. Already six books!! great.. :)"
Most of them were Famous Five :P And I'm compensating for the fact that Feb two weeks I'll not be able to read (which I honestly doubt) ;)
Mod
The 7th one this year (Totally unexpected!)
4/5 for the beautiful art work and an interesting story.
The first graphic novel I ever read and I loved it! I had no intention of reading any other book apart my course books for some time. Landed up in the library (JustBooks) after a stroll intending to pacify my anxious self for some time and picked up this graphic novel and yes I was in for a surprise.
With 137 pages of artwork this should not take one more than half an hour to read. Set in Manipur, north-east India this graphic novel has a couple of stories threaded together. There are the two invalids Kona and Kuja in the pursuit of a floating island. Pema, the owner of the hotel where the stories are narrated, has her own tale of loneliness while her husband narrates a supernatural tale of the plight of Japanese soldiers in Manipur and Nagaland during the World War II. An old man narrates the tale of losing his eye sight wherein the floating island resurfaces as a part of his tale.
The graphic novel may be a potpourri of simple stories but the impeccable sketches and the unblemished simplicity of the stories make it altogether profound heightened by the beautiful depiction of rain and thunder. Manipur, the heart of the book, is a beautifully mystical land. The famous floating islands lake, Loktak Lake, and the bloody battle between the British and Japanese soldiers that Manipur was witness to in the Second World War has been honestly depicted in this graphic novel. How I wish someone could depict in words all that Manipur has to offer.
Eighth book
4.5/5 for the poetic experience derived.
Dysfunctional lives are connected in a silent battle of love and friendship through rhyming words. I could so well connect to the yuppie life-detached and floating alone in a vast ocean longing for a shore. The story is simple, nothing extraordinary but the narration makes reading the book an unregretful experience. Seth has sketched his characters flawlessly and as a reader I could not put down the book (when the rhythm took over me). However there were a few unanswered questions that kept agitating me. Whatever happened to Ed? How about Sue? If I, however, choose to settle down for some imaginable answers the book is amazing.
Mod
Smitha wrote: "finished already? I started earlier than you and am stuck."Yes. Couldn't put it down at all!
Ninth book
4/5 for the variegated and beautiful collection.
A Game of Chess is a collection of fifteen short stories originally written in Assamese. I was under the impression that the stories would be based on the state of Assam but I was in for a surprise. Authors excelling in storytelling in the Assamese language bring in unimaginable situations and circumstances that contribute to a beautiful collection.
Tenth book
4/5. Dostoyevsky is an amazing author. Only regret not reading his works earlier.
The first novel by Dostoyevsky and my first step in the world created by Dostoyevsky. ‘Poor Folk’ is written entirely in the form of letters exchanged between Devushkin, a lowly copyrighter in the government service and Barbara. Devushkin, much older than Barbara, is her benefactor and her devotee. To appease and comfort Barbara, as a token of his unending love, seem to be the only purpose of his existence and thereby he finds himself in piteous conditions. Unlike Devushkin, Barbara had lived a pleasant childhood but circumstances, the death of her parents and wicked relatives had robbed her of all happiness and reduced her to a disdainful figure. Irrespective of his poverty, reproach met out to him by his colleagues and neighbours alike his devotion for Barbara remained unaltered. The ending is saddening and so is Devushkin’s fate.
Mod
Smitha wrote: "I will try this then. Am stuck on the first few pages of Master and Margherita"Will highly recommend it.
Should I be ashamed of not having read a single Dostoyevsky book yet!
Smitha wrote: "Am stuck on the first few pages of Master and Margherita"Oh no! Why?
Indian Readers
Books mentioned in this topic
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The Joke (other topics)
Palace of Desire (other topics)
The Brothers Karamazov (other topics)
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2012 started off with a great weather. Praying it will be a good year.