Who's reading what,when & the experience

brishti

i couldnt attend - held up at work.
but - i got me two b'day presents from two different people of two different books, both autographed by him

i believe he's a very reserved kinda guy.
no smileys.
must've gotten dawg tired of speaking and signing books - dont blame him.
he had interactive sessions with them audience as well... Q&A's.
them auditorium in bombay and chennai were choc-a-block-sardine-packed



:brishti

migrantuxo

Just finished The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown..... didnt like it.... typical America is the navel of the world crap.
I am sure it will get good reviews in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Was disapointed.
Reading A Confedereracy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole at the moment.......... well written and with a good chunk of sarcasm.


For something different..... try Pride and Predujice and Zombies....great stuff ( my opinion )

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hash666

Jesus lived in India...

Nick-H

Oh! I thought we were back on the Guru's thread for a minute!

Anyway, interesting idea that I'm inclined to believe.

machadinha

Ah, that reminds me, I was gifted his Railway Bazaar Revisited (Ghost Train To The Eastern Star), er, somewhere late last year I think. Started reading it & was immediately gripped -- then as a token of said appreciation put it away again as usual Better start up again I suppose.

Yes, read all about it, this was the first chap to float the idea I think, or to bring it to public (Western) attention anyway (or with the theosophists and the likes of his time anyway): http://reluctant-messenger.com/issa.htm.

Thanks to KulluKid who first brought its being online to my attention. Note it's all a load of bull of course, but, well, persistent and hence interesting bull nonetheless.

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Reading tips, all picked up at IndiaMike : INDAX's A Comprehensive Guide To India / Dinoj Surendran's Desi Humor / ITHVC on Culture Shock & Travel Health / JetLag Travel Guides For the Undiscerning Traveller / India Travel Links

kullukid

Here's the link;
Jesus lived in India

Here's some more bull!
Jesus in Jagganath; http://reluctant-messenger.com/aquar...el_022_028.htm

Jesus in Benares; http://reluctant-messenger.com/aquar...el_029_035.htm

Jesus in Tibet; http://reluctant-messenger.com/aquar...el_036_042.htm

Nick-H

Well, I am re-re-reading The Master and Margareta (twice through on the trot), so it is not off-topic to mention that I really like the Jesus character in that novel --- but then it has a pretty wonderful Devil too!

machadinha

Have you read Robert Graves' King Jesus, Nick? Quite the read, or so I thought as a young man.

Ah, yes, some thread that was, eh

skk

IMAGINING INDIA: The Idea of a Renewed Nation - 2009
Its written by Nandan Nilekani - cofounder and chairman of InfoSys and serves on the boards of various other companies and Indian government advisory committees.

I'm half-way so far and its pretty good. He connects distant past, the independence struggle past, the socialist past, the current to project into the future about important subjects such as:

The ideas that have driven India, the history and future of the English language, democracy in India, entrepreneur in India, and so on;

He says his book is "a small attempt to make some sense of the ongoing struggle to define the future ideas and policies for India and the possible ways to resolve this struggle".

An aspect he discusses that grabbed me - how the squalor of the urban areas,the cities, starts out with a neglect of them due to Gandhi's anti-city views, and because cities were the province of the Raj's servants and thus people had an antipathy to them, how the democratic set-up allocates power mostly the center and the states, leaving the urban elected officials( mayors etc ) relatively powerless and with low taxing ability and thus funding abilities.

Interesting.

-skk

wonderwomanusa

I've been reading a lot -- here are the best ones:

ROOFTOPS OF TEHRAN (Mahbod Seraji)

Anything written by Diana Abu-Jaber

SACRED HUNGER (Barry Unsworth)

THE GIRL FROM FOREN (Sadia Shepard)

THE GARDEN OF LAST DAYS (Andre Dubus III)

BETWEEN THE ASSASSINATIONS (Aravind Adiga)

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The map is not the territory. --Alfred Korzybski

Shiver me Timbers

I am reading Robert Fisk`s account of the Lebanese civil war `Pity the nation`.

I`ve had a couple of nightmares already. Some terrible stories. Fisk is a great eye witness although I don`t think much of his political analysis. Definitely recommended though.

machadinha

I have some diary notes by Fisk written during Israel's last war against Lebanon, when he was stationed there (in 2006 already, man, how time flies. I thought that was last year or so.) It's pretty intense stuff. (It's originally a Dutch publication I think, no idea of its English title, if any.)

Read about your latest trip diversion btw, Shiver; that's probably wise yes. Good you didn't sink your teeth into persisting on the overland thing, it's not necessary, right.

Meanwhile, hey, look what I found, with just a few sidesteps from that Jesus stuff above: Years ago, in some 2nd-hand bookshop in Mahabalipuram, I come across a French translation of a novel I've never seen nor heard of, by an apparently Russian-sounding author, called Alamut, and apparently set in the legendary Assassins stronghold of that name (in Persia, roughly 1000 AD). My French is none too good, and it's a little bulky, then again it costs nothing, and in short I regret to this day not having bought it. I could never find it back, not on the web either.

So in fact it sprung to mind again in the light of said Jesus stuff, and I was about to ask if anyone here might know what book I mean. So figuring I'd give it one more web search, bingo, there it is all of a sudden (not too surprising, since apparently it's been translated into English for the first time just a few years ago): Alamut, 1938, by Slovenian writer Vladimir Bartol.

So methinks I know what to ask for a Christmas present

bigjed

just finished An Area of Darkness, having read A Million Mutinees Now recently. Have just got hold of Dalrymple's latest Nine Lives - will read that next.

Ignite

Just finished reading Corsair by Clive Cussler.

Don't read it. It sucks, and it's nothing like Cussler's earlier work.

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deej

'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell', about two rival magicians in Napoleonic war era England.

It's a novel of 'A Suitable Boy' proportions so excellent for long plane journeys!