Some Books I have Read & Would Recommend

[bandari]

read two small books simultaneously.both were light leisurely reads. the first one was 'a walk to remember' by nicholas spark. most of us have seen the movie, but the book is very enjoyable as well. a very small story, it's a real feel good romance, with an old world charm and a ending which creates a lump in one's throat. sort of read you would love on a rainy sunday afternoon, something which won't help for rc much, but would surely make you feel good, and bring a slow smile on your face.

the other book was 'the funda of mixology' by mainak dhar. i had heard rave reviews about this book tagged as one of the books an MBA or MBA aspirant should read to get a feel of the real world. but frankly , i was disappointed. the story is repetative, and sort of grumbly, with the portion in heaven taking up a substantial part of the book, and making it kind of absurd.the plot too, was cliche and lacked punch or tightness.didnot enjoy reading it much. if you go by my recommendations u can well avoid this book.

[frigid sapphire]

yeah, thankyou fera for the article and your opinion.
I have been following the conversation between you and the_mask.
I have always wondered why in india there has been a pressure on the art of writing to create socially relavant/motivating stuff. May be in a poor country it is justified by saying that inspiration/reality is the need of the hour. But then if we consider the movie industry which is more comprehensible for the poor, there is no such pressure. like wise the art of music and art of painting.
Books like God of small things , salman Rushdie, anita desai dealing with pain and reality are revered and awarded. others become fashion for awhile and shoved off.

Like Paul Auster says we still are hungry for stories. Give me Gogol but also I need my P.G. Wodehouse.

P.s. Me planning to read Paul Auster too. The preface of Picture of Dorian gray is my favourite paragraph by an author.

[fera]

Originally Posted by frigid sapphire

I have always wondered why in india there has been a pressure on the art of writing to create socially relavant/motivating stuff. .....Books like God of small things , salman Rushdie, anita desai dealing with pain and reality are revered and awarded. others become fashion for awhile and shoved off

As Frigid points out, it is interesting to note how people tend to regard culturally rich literature as more genuine. Once in book forum, I mentioned I was reading Gogol (Taras Bulba to be specific). I was enquired by an Ukranian National how I percieved the story, because she personally felt it was out of touch with the real Ukraine that is existing. That was the when it dawned upon me that the exotic appeal of the Cossack was what caught my attention ,in the beginning.
This might be attributed to the fact that the content of the story has a greater influence than just the writing style. We like our Hellers, Adams and Wodehouses but we probably feel that the Doestovskys of the world can lend a more enriching experience

IMO, Salman Rushdie might have an 'magical' take on the exotic India but his stories ,neverhteless have content that is definetely not over rated.

@THE_MASK

Vladimir Nabokov ,Roald Dahl ,PG Wodehouse,Oscar Wilde
What about yours?

I haven't had a chance to visit Nabokov ,yet. And my list is quite long, but few authors I prefer are
Milan Kundera
Douglas Adams
Franz Kafka
Fyodor Doestovsky
Virginia Woolf
Samuel Beckett
Ayn Rand
G.B.Shaw

Picture of Dorian Gray requires a special mention as a story that delves into hedonism at a frightening proximity, almost convincing the reader along with Dorian.

Two books i revisited recently are - The Great Gatsby and On the road, two strikingly beautiful odes to extinct generations, The Jazz and the Beat

[the_mask]

Originally Posted by frigid sapphire

The preface of Picture of Dorian gray is my favourite paragraph by an author.

I don't recall the preface you mentioned as of now. However, my fave paragraph by an author is Paulo Coehlo's opening to "Eleven minutes". It goes somewhat like this - "Once upon a time there was a prostitute called Maria. Once upon a time is usually how fairy tails open. However, because at any point of time we have one foot in reality and one foot in fairyland, this is the way this story opens." I am unable to quote the paragraph verbatim but this is its essence. I quite love it

And Fera that's quite an impressive and diverse list of authors. You really must read Nabokov. He's nothing less than a genius. In Lolita, he describes the early death of someones as follows - (summer picnic, lightning).

[Federer]

Originally Posted by the_mask

I don't recall the preface you mentioned as of now. However, my fave paragraph by an author is Paulo Coehlo's opening to "Eleven minutes". It goes somewhat like this - "Once upon a time there was a prostitute called Maria. Once upon a time is usually how fairy tails open. However, because at any point of time we have one foot in reality and one foot in fairyland, this is the way this story opens." I am unable to quote the paragraph verbatim but this is its essence. I quite love it

Eleven minutes Starting: I must admit, one of its kind...

Picture of Dorian Gray: Read that from the TIME library while prep. for CAT last year

Also, among the Classics, I feel the mention of Jules Verne to banta h yaar...

I have read only 3 yet but they are just extra-ordy:
Journey to the Centree of the Earth
20,000 leagues under the sea
Around the world in 80 dys.

The only book that beats these is The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.

For me the best part is that chapter near the end when Roark is sitting over the hill top and looking on his resort and the Cycler comes, looks and asks "Who made this" and Roark says "I did" and the Cycler replies "Thank You".
That Thank You still gives me a feeling that I just can't explain.....

[nricklee]

I have just finished u reading The la vincie Code, really great book to read.

[kmalviya]

Originally Posted by Federer

Eleven minutes Starting: I must admit, one of its kind...

Picture of Dorian Gray: Read that from the TIME library while prep. for CAT last year

Also, among the Classics, I feel the mention of Jules Verne to banta h yaar...

I have read only 3 yet but they are just extra-ordy:
Journey to the Centree of the Earth
20,000 leagues under the sea
Around the world in 80 dys.

The only book that beats these is The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.

For me the best part is that chapter near the end when Roark is sitting over the hill top and looking on his resort and the Cycler comes, looks and asks "Who made this" and Roark says "I did" and the Cycler replies "Thank You".
That Thank You still gives me a feeling that I just can't explain.....

I have read ' Around the world in 80 days'. A nice pleasure read. A bit old fashioned, but it gives you an insight about the time when transportation was still evolving.

And yes, The Fountainhead is a real masterpiece. Give a go to Atlas Shrugged also. John Galt is a powerful and angry image of Howard Roark. Stunning and gripping piece of Literature. Read it for his speech on 'Money'. If you are a believer that Money is the root of all the evils..and blah blah blah...be careful, it can just turn your thinking upside down. Also, the character of Hank Rearden and Dagny Taggart are worth meantioning. I had read it long back, but these characters are just unforgettable.

Currently I am reading ' The Three Musketeers' by Alexandra Dumas. Midnight's Children is next on que.

[fera]

Originally Posted by the_mask

You really must read Nabokov. He's nothing less than a genius. In Lolita, he describes the early death of someones as follows - (summer picnic, lightning).

Guess I will be buying Lolita afterall

And yes the preface of Dorian Gray is quite something

The artist is the creator of beautiful things. To reveal art and conceal the artist is art's aim. The critic is he who can translate into another manner or a new material his impression of beautiful things.
The highest as the lowest form of criticism is a mode of autobiography. Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault.
Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope. They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only beauty.
There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.
The nineteenth century dislike of realism is the rage of Caliban seeing his own face in a glass.
The nineteenth century dislike of romanticism is the rage of Caliban not seeing his own face in a glass. The moral life of man forms part of the subject-matter of the artist, but the morality of art consists in the perfect use of an imperfect medium. No artist desires to prove anything. Even things that are true can be proved. No artist has ethical sympathies. An ethical sympathy in an artist is an unpardonable mannerism of style. No artist is ever morbid. The artist can express everything. Thought and language are to the artist instruments of an art. Vice and virtue are to the artist materials for an art. From the point of view of form, the type of all the arts is the art of the musician. From the point of view of feeling, the actor's craft is the type. All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their peril. It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors. Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital. When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself. We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.

All art is quite useless.

[the_mask]

Originally Posted by fera

Guess I will be buying Lolita afterall

And yes the preface of Dorian Gray is quite something

The artist is the creator of beautiful things. To reveal art and conceal the artist is art's aim. The critic is he who can translate into another manner or a new material his impression of beautiful things.
The highest as the lowest form of criticism is a mode of autobiography. Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault.
Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope. They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only beauty.
There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.
The nineteenth century dislike of realism is the rage of Caliban seeing his own face in a glass.
The nineteenth century dislike of romanticism is the rage of Caliban not seeing his own face in a glass. The moral life of man forms part of the subject-matter of the artist, but the morality of art consists in the perfect use of an imperfect medium. No artist desires to prove anything. Even things that are true can be proved. No artist has ethical sympathies. An ethical sympathy in an artist is an unpardonable mannerism of style. No artist is ever morbid. The artist can express everything. Thought and language are to the artist instruments of an art. Vice and virtue are to the artist materials for an art. From the point of view of form, the type of all the arts is the art of the musician. From the point of view of feeling, the actor's craft is the type. All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their peril. It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors. Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital. When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself. We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.

All art is quite useless.

Ya man, go read Lolita

And reading the preface to Dorian Gray makes me wanna read the book again. I read it a couple of years back and guess if I read it now then I'll be able to understand the dark side of the novel even more.

Another book which i've really really liked but haven't read much of is "The art of seeing sideways". It's a really thick book and it has sections like creativity, humour and other stuff. It's difficult to say what the book's about coz it has well info on everything under the sun. Random but amazingly interesting trivia, great facts and LOADS of good stuff It's available in most bookstores so if one's ever wandering around in one and doesn't quite know what to read and spend some time, flip thru this book

[frigid sapphire]

[

Another book which i've really really liked but haven't read much of is "The art of seeing sideways". It's a really thick book and it has sections like creativity, humour and other stuff. It's difficult to say what the book's about coz it has well info on everything under the sun. Random but amazingly interesting trivia, great facts and LOADS of good stuff It's available in most bookstores so if one's ever wandering around in one and doesn't quite know what to read and spend some time, flip thru this book [/quote]
Yeah , "The Art of seeing sideways " makes a good read. For me especially its like reading an anecdote or two in the evening and LOL. It focusus on things like hand-eye coordination response time of brain. And what makes it even more fun is , its not preachy nor a self help book. Its in short story/ Anecdote form.