Who's reading what,when & the experience

PeakXV

Box Wallahs - The British in Cawnpore (1857-1901) by Zoe Yalland

Informative read of the events in Cawnpore after the First War of Independence. Drawn from previously unpublished letters, diaries, & industrial records it tells of the hardships & triumphs that surrounded the building of the mills of Cawnpore. A little thick going at times but an interesting insight into their lives and thoughts. Some great photos too.

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We shall not cease from exploration and at the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started ...and know the place for the first time.
T.S. Eliot

Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

theyyamdancer

I'm currently engrossed in "Two Lives", having been prompted to buy the book in India after seeing Vikram Seth interviewed on TV last January. I am a big fan of his books and my all-time fave novels on India are "A Suitable Boy" by Seth, "A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry and "The Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri. I also have in my soon-to-read pile : "Maximum City" by Suketu Mehta, "The Argumentative Indian" by Amartya Sen, "the Last Jet Engine Laugh" by Ruchir Joshi... and, me too "Teach Yourself Colloquial Hindi"... On the subject of "Shantaram", in my first week back from India I devoured this book. Although it is gripping and the subject matter startling, it does ramble on a bit in parts. I am looking forward to the forthcoming film of the book, to be directed by Peter Weir, produced by and starring Johnny Depp as Lin-ji and soon to be filmed in Havelock Island (Andamans) as a substitute for the Goa beach scenes. To those who like to read about Kashmir, I thoroughly enjoyed last year reading "The Tiger Ladies" by Sudha Koul. And for a Varanasi setting I loved "The Romantics" by Pankaj Mishra. I am also at the moment dipping in and out of his non-fiction "An End to Suffering ( the Buddha in the World).

BaHaMo

Have just finished Q&A by Vikas Swarup. He may not be a great writer but he is a wonderful storyteller! I devoured this book, couldn't put it down. I have heard that it is being made into a movie. Does anyone know anything about this project?

skell

To anyone in the US who hasn't read Shantaram yet, I just spotted it at Costco for about $9.

clawhammer

Just finished Hugh Thompson's book on Nanda Devi -"A Journey to the Last Sanctuary". Very vivid and interesting portrayal of the trek to the inner sanctuary.
It was the third book on NandaDevi I read in last 6 months-other two being MS Kohli's "Spy in the Himalaya" and Eric Shipton's description of his travel in his autobiography "The Untravelled World"(awesome book)

iwanttogoback

likewise - have devoured it in three or four days, in between completing two or three assignments.
wonderful evocation of the lives of his indian uncle and his uncle's jewish german wife who met in prewar berlin and lived through the war in london.
wonderful engaging, and an insight into vikram seth's life as well.

Frog

Can't recommend enough Aldous Huxley's book "Island" (His last novel). Every person I got to read this has read it more than once I've read it several times. Full of wisdom and insight with a great story

The Indian philosophy in it makes it particularly relevant for reading over there.

sam371

Ordered my copy of Shantaram from Amazon yesterday. Can't wait to read it.
I had no clue they were actually making a movie on this book - thanks for the heads up Theyyamdancer.

davyd

Hi to all,
probably I was the last on this forum to read Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code (in translation). The ongoing case in London prompted me to read it though I tried to overcome yawns and drowsyness to finish.
Surely one of the worst works of that kind, in line with Paolo Coelho, Arturo Perez Reverte and nameless endless rows of paperbacks of so called pulp fiction.
Curious thing - Dan Brown shot up with work breaking all rules of writing, doing opposite what any writing teacher like William Zinsser or Sol Stein recommend - used third rate stolen plot, did not delete weak scenes, sowed manuscript with platitudes and beaten allusions; in this novel protagonists cartoonish and not clear whose story it was, they lack credibility, the action is excessive, there is proliferation of author intrusions, and after all author vocabulary is very poor. Yes, some parts of DVC resemble guidebook on France and UK with pretensions on history revelations, but I am not sure they were not quoted.
I hope to find Elizabeth Kostova's work Historian better - I'll try it.
There are many more books in pipeline, James Clavell's Shogun, Eiji Yoshikawa's Musashi and finishing endless The Lord of The Rings.
Good hunting to all!

BaHaMo

Good analysis davyd, I'm with you 200 percent. Just read Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. Superb!

akshay_gupta

I am currently reading "tiger in red weather" by ruth padel.It is a travel memoir.

kidsan

yes, kafka on the shore is great...have you read the wind-up bird chronicle? also superb!

And dont get me started on dan brown....jeez

skell

I'm so glad to know others feel like I do about this book. I couldn't even finish it. "Shogun" is one of my all-time favorites along with Larry McMurtry's "Lonesome Dove" and Ken Follet's "Pillars of the Earth" and, of course, "A Fine Balance"!

sirensongs

Thanks for the warning about DVC, was wondering what all the fuss was about...maybe I will start it for kicks.

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"Why do people go to India to find themselves? India is where you go to lose yourself."
Feringhee: The India Diaries

lotus blossom

i cannot seem to get past the first few pages, despite trying a few times due to hearing of all of the rave reviews. i am interested in the topic, but the writing does not grab me. i read a few years ago that the best info on mary is in a book entitled "mary magdalen" - myth and metaphor. i've not read it yet, but it looks quite scholarly.

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Not all who wander are lost