Tag: Books

  • Point Being…

    Have finished both of Chetan Bhagat’s books – the hugely popular ‘Five point someone’, and the heavily trashed ‘One night at the Call center’, and that doesnt mean i can write book reviews..:) because like i have repeatedy said, i am really bad at them, but that doesnt stop me from commenting on books anyway…
    I happened to read ONATCC first, and i felt it was a fairly good book.. i doubt if it is meant to provoke a deep analysis of self and the cosmos.. but it does give a peek into the working of the industry that employs a large percentage of today’s youth, and the lives of these guys..its a racy book and more importantly excellent value for money.. to all the literary critics, i would say that we sit and laugh at the ‘No Entry’s and the ‘Meet the Parents’ fully understanding that theres hardly any cinematic value to it.. in the nation’s lingo its called timepass, and theres no harm if an author caters to that need at all.. and so, in essence, the book wont change your life, unless you took a day off from work to read it or something…
    Five point someone also has a good pace, and while there are occasions which are too ‘filmi’ (like x thing happening to the exact x person at exact x time, which is too convenient for random coincidence), it is still a good read…i think the difference between the two books is that while FPS is a first person experience (for mr.bhagat), ONATCC is perhaps in a setting about which he only has another person’s view of…and while the prologue in ONATCC says that the book is written primarily to accomodate the larger sections of youth untouched by the IIT (which is the setting in FPS), i feel that FPS also applies to most of the residential colleges because all have grading systems, weird profs, love lives, canteens, and stereotype characters.. i think that made the book successful, because most of everyone could identify it with the (arguably) golden era of their lives – college days..So, point being, i am really bad at reviews, but you should read the books 🙂
    until next time, we pass time, and time passes us 🙂

  • Storytellers

    Its party time for the worms in Bangalore, the book kind that is, all thanks to the Strand Book Festival – one of the few things that rock our home’s otherwise carefully managed financial boat..:)

    Last weekend was no exception, as Sherlock Holmes, Calvin, Asimov, Mughals and assorted other stars came into our living room, a slightly different kind of printed paper went out, and like always, there’s not even an iota of guilt..hehe

    Since D preferred to do eyebrows while I browsed through rows and rows of storytellers, it gave me time to send a little note of thanks heavenwards, to the first storyteller i ever knew, and the best – to my grandmother, who used to tell me a story every night before I slept, who used to make sure i got my ‘Poompatta‘ every month, and insisted that my dad bought me ‘Amar Chitra Katha’ regularly. The storyteller whose stories were only for me, whose characters always seemed to be my age, or the kind that i liked, whose stories were imaginative, inspiring, heartwarming and everything else that stories should be, who made sure that i would love stories for the rest of my life.

    And since i know i can never be that good a storyteller, the books I buy are perhaps my way of passing on my favourite stories to those who come after me, for I understand that only the very fortunate ones end up getting a great storyteller as a granny.


    until next time, live happily ever after…

  • Monster Thursday

    I dont believe it, that dumb female Jennifer Aniston has been declared celebrity No: 1 by Forbes, my apologies to all the “Friends” fans, but no, puhleeese, i think the only fem worth mentioning in that star cast is Courtney Cox. Jennifer Aniston, no bleeding way! i have yet to find a way of expressing my dissatisfaction to Forbes, hmmm, good question, does it matter :-), well it does, to ME!! and no, the title of the day is not for ms anniston, though that would be deserved, that will come later in the post.got some cds i purchased on the net, the first time without a cash on delivery option. got 3 cds of dire straits, and an assorted album, for 450.the quality is okay too. check out this guy, he has given an ad in the times classifieds online, at indiatimes.com, he will b towards the last/last but one page if you follow the link of music, mp3. name is neil, based in pune. the ad page will lead you to his homepage, u have to check out whether it still works.have finished ‘day of the jackal ‘ again!! cant find a good library, anyone in bangalore reading, feel free to guide me.from tomorrow on, i am gonna write on sublimal/ethereal subjects/philosophy/points to ponder/critiques on movies and ads, coz i have a strong feeling that the mundane activities in the life and times of yours truly are just not interesting reading material enough for my poor readers!! which brings us to

    manuscrypts trivia
    Pop quiz class!! who is my fave fem TV show character?? Oh ok i know it doesnt matter, but give it a shot…the clue is somewhere in this post for my loyal readers , that should be a no brainer, but for those, who are not, just goes to show where good reading can get you!! 😉