vinay87
-
Posts
699 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Books
Posts posted by vinay87
-
-
Don Quixote - Cervantes.
10~ years I guess
-
Nope no one in my family reads anything. I do have one or two friends who read but they don't read much either. Somehow everyone runs out of time when it comes to reading a book.
-
Totally agree, Vinay! But, on the positive side, the next book is out in July and maybe - if the tv show is a success - it'll put pressure on him to get it finished
Oh! It's coming in July? Thanks for the info!
That's fine and all but I hate what he's done with the last book, splitting one book in half by the viewpoint sucks! That way we don't get to find out what has happened to Jon Snow until the next book, which should come out in oh ten years or so, give or take three years.
Edit:
I just read that he's extended aDwD such that it extends alongside and beyond his last book. Whew. I still pray he finishes this soon. He's going to lose interest if he waits much long. If he hasn't already.
-
I just love Jules Verne and my very favourite of his is Michael Strogoff. I managed to find an oldish copy of the book but it is one I'll treasure and read again. Marvellous adventure and a real page turner.
I haven't heard about that one, is there a good English translation about?
-
aw you reminded me of this series I wanted to forget! GRR Martin's brilliant but he gets negative brownie points for not finishing the series.
hmm I wonder if I can watch these though
-
Actually Vinay it's a pretty big and valid excuse ! Sorting out things like that does take a lot of mental energy and focus. Good luck with your chosen career path. Are you studying locally or do you have to travel? I have a friend in Bangalore and he has to commute about an hour each way every day on a crowded bus and his journey is in no way restful!
I'm studying in Bangalore too!
Well, I'm sure that your friend is only travelling because of the traffic. I face that too. I have to change the bus once before I get to the Institute. Takes about 1 hour without traffic. Luckily, the buses are usually half-empty so I don't face much discomfort there. When I was doing my Undergrad, I had to travel for 1h 45min so this is a piece of cake
-
I haven't read much since my last visit to this forum. I have some manner of excuse since I began my journey onto the road of a PhD in Aerospace Engineering this month.
Yet, it's no excuse for not having read anything or written anything.
I did read Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera. Strangely not what I expected. I will review it later.
I'm reading Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea now.
-
Compared to the other people on this forum, my 250 books collection doesn't seem much but I do have one piece of advice. Never ever buy a bookshelf with sliding doors on it. They're demonic.
I have one "open" bookshelf (the sliding glass panes fell out one day and nearly hit me on the head) and three "closed" bookshelves which hold my technical books. I'll definitely get rid of the first bookshelf and get a custom made one soon. Hopefully within this year.
-
Yeah, thought so too. I like used books for the history that they bring along with em
-
I found a lovely hologram-bookmark with a wolf on it, a photo of a kid pasted on a "don't do drugs" book mark, a photo from what I assume to be a wildlife reserve with some stone carving of a stag on it and in one book, two people had exchanged notes that went something like
"I love you"
"IF you liked me you wouldn't treat me this way"
"But I care"
"Then why did you hurt me?"
"I want to be with you."
"Learn how to treat a lady first."
All written in pencil and in different handwriting so it leads me to think that some couple were exchanging notes in this unique fashion. I'd have damned them to hell for writing in a book though.
hmm I've also found many names inside books, of the previous owners, or notes when the book were gifted (sad that they give them away after someone took pains to write "merry christmas dear XXX" in a book. I could write a story about all of this. :')
-
Lol so WAP still might end up being the last one you finish in 2011 Vinay!
har har har James
Got some education related stuff piled up at home, after a week of agonising discourses with my parents I have them convinced that I want to do a PhD in aerospace engineering. Going to meet a professor tomorrow to discuss my options so didn't get much writing/reading done.
My book is going really well though.
Read a little of TOAFK again. Planning on starting Frankenstein.
-
Read about 40 pages of The Sword in the Stone by TH White on my morning walk.
I'm also reading The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum and listening to Mort by Terry Pratchett
-
Finished reading Terry Pratchett - Equal Rites. The man is hilarious!!!!!!
Still reading War and Peace. I will not give up. (Actually I only paused because the book's too big to carry around while walking)
I also started reading T H White - The Once And Future King.
-
Not really. As you can expect, some of her recurring detectives do talk about their previous cases but never give anything away as such.
Her most famous detective is Hercule Poirot who debuts in A Mysterious Affair at Styles, along with his "sidekick" Captain Arthur Hastings.
Seeing as you have a lot of unread books already, I guess you should start with Taken at the Flood.
-
Reading War and Peace. Page 50!
-
And some translations just suck. I feel like learning French just to read the original.
-
Ah, if you haven't read anything by Agatha Christie then those aren't the books I'd recommend. You should try The Murder of Roger Ackroyd or The Mysterious Affair At Styles. Roger Ackroyd is mind-blowing. There's also Five Little Pigs which I enjoyed.
One of my friends hated Trudi Canavan, another loved her, so I haven't given her books a go. I have to admit, her books became available at the wrong time in my case. I had just declared that I quit reading Fantasy.
The Little Prince is... different. I've laughed at many points in the book, mainly because how much I needed to read something like that. I was in a bad state when my friend recommended it to me and it livened up my mood.
I've been unable to digest Dickens's writing. I hope to read at least one of his books. Maybe Bleak House!
-
1. Jules Verne - The Mysterious Island
My favourite read of 2010. It is signature Jules Verne and beyond that, and the various occasions on which I've extolled his works, I have nothing more to repeat.
2. Victor Hugo - Les Misérables
Les Mis. That's enough said.
3. Lew Wallace - Ben Hur
The movie with Charlton Heston was 45% as good as the book itself. The book is magical.
4. George Orwell - 1984
This is the scariest thing I have ever read. No it doesn't have zombies. Sometimes, ideas are scarier than monsters.
5. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - The Little Prince
One of the most memorable books I have ever read. I will return to it every year just to remind myself the importance of dreaming.
-
TBR Pile C-D
Trudi Canavan: The Magician's Guild
Trudi Canavan: The Novice
Trudi Canavan: The High Lord
Orson Scott Card: Ender's Game
Miguel de Cervantes: Don Quixote
Agatha Christie: The Secret Adversary
Agatha Christie: Taken in at the Flood
Eoin Colfer: Artemis Fowl #1: Artemis Fowl
Eoin Colfer: Artemis Fowl #2: The Arctic Incident
Eoin Colfer: Artemis Fowl #3: The Eternity Code
Gyorgy Dalos: 1985
Antoine De Saint-Exupery: The Little Prince
Philip K Dick: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Charles Dickens: Bleak House
Charles Dickens: The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
Charles Dickens: The Old Curiosity Shop
Charles Dickens: Oliver Twist
Alexandre Dumas: The Last Cavalier
Pretty interesting books there!
Looking forward to what you feel about Trudi Canavan! I've gotten only mixed reviews about her books.
Taken at the Flood is a personal favourite as well as one of my earliest Dame Christie books. Hope you enjoy it.
I really enjoyed The Little Prince. It's an awesome book with deeply rooted meaning that I am sure you will love as well.
Good luck with the rest! I'm going to tackle Don Quixote and the Dickens's books myself this year.
I haven't heard of The Last Cavalier! Sigh another Dumas book that I will not find in print in India! I'll have to get the Gutenburg texts printed!
And 1985?! Wow I loved 1984 so if this person's sequel lives up to anything that's close to 1984.. I want to see it!
-
So far so good. I'm 30 pages in, which isn't bad since the print is miniscule. The wordsworth classics edition seems easily readable.
I'm also listening to A History of Warfare by John Keegan.
-
Happy new year!!!
Hope you have some wonderful reads this year James!
-
Haha! I thought to make it the last book of 2011 but then realised that if I want to prove a point to myself, I should read it first.
-
have started The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.
bobblybear
I absolutely love that book! It's wonderfully refreshing to say the least. I hope you enjoy it!
I started reading Leo Tolstoy - War and Peace. Call it my way of starting the year with a self-challenge.
Have started my first read for the new year, it's the first book in the Mistborn series - The final Empire by Brandon Sanderson. I loved the cover and the catcher line on the front "what if the Dark Lord won?" reminded me of Harry Potter so I'm in. Hoping it's good as I've already bought the rest of the series.
I haven't read any of his original work, but I do love his work on the Wheel of Time books. I hope to read his other books soon, especially since I've started listening to his podcast Writing Excuses. Happy reading!
-
This year I'm hoping to read more classics. I've read 22 books last year, which isn't saying much since I bought nearly 100 or so. I also hope to be able to read eBooks, since I'll save more money that way.
So here's the list:
Edit (05 June 2011) : Ditched the classics, restarting reading list for the year. Various reasons.
Graphic Novels
I've been buying graphic novels now. Call them comics if you will, the name's irrelevant. Here's the list of those.
1. Waid, Yu, Alanguilan — Superman : Birthright 10/10
2. Green, Johnson, Davis, Banning — Superman/Batman : The Search For Kryptonite Story : 8/10 Art : 10/10
3. Moore, Gibbons — Watchmen Art : 9/10 Story : 7/10
Contemporary Fiction
1. Trudi Canavan — The Magicians' Guild 6/10
2. Neil Gaiman - American Gods 7/10
3. Terry Pratchett — Mort 10/10
4. Douglas Adams — The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy Unfinished
5. Neil Gaiman — Anansi Boys 10/10
6. Arthur C. Clarke — Earthlight 8/10
7. Umberto Eco — Name of the Rose Unfinished
8. Stephen King — The Gunslinger Abandoned
9. Raymond E. Feist — Prince of the Blood 7.5/10
10. Raymond E. Feist — The King's Bucacaneer 8/10
11. Raymond E. Feist — Talon of the Silver Hawk 8/10
12. Raymond E. Feist — King of Foxes 7/10
13. Raymond E. Feist — Exile's Return 10/10
14. Raymond E. Feist — Flight of the Nighthawks 10/10
15. Raymond E. Feist — Magician : Apprentice 9/10
16. Raymond E. Feist — Magician : Master 10/10
17.
Classic Fiction
1. Gaston Leroux - The Phantom of the Opera 9/10
2. Jules Verne — Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea Unfinished
3.
Misc.
1. Siva — The Sivapurana Retold — Ramesh Menon 9/10
2.
Bought a lot of other books too, but those are for reading later. This year, I just want to enjoy reading and not read because I have to or anything like that. I'd say I'm doing well so far (in comparison with last year, I mean).
Classics : Fiction
Leo Tolstoy - War and Peace
Contemporary Fiction
Robert Ludlum - The Bourne Identity (E-book)
Fantasy
Terry Pratchett - Equal Rites
Terry Pratchett - Mort (Audiobook)
Non-Fiction
John Keegan - The History of Warfare
Sun Tzu - The Art of War
I'm starting my reading year with the juggernaut itself. I wish/hope/pray to be able to finish this mammoth somehow or the other. I've always believed that if I can finish this, I can do anything in life. So I'm going to put that to the test.
Question about fiction
in General Book Discussions
Posted
Please don't lose your obsessive behaviour of looking up new words! I have been trying to develop that habit for years and I've constantly failed.
I've almost exclusively bought only classics for the last five years. This for a variety of reasons : 1. They're cheap. 2. They're somehow more interesting. 3. They've passed the test of time so should I get lost in time I can still discuss Hugo or Verne; I'm very skeptical about whether any of the present authors/books will last half as long.
I'm still far from reading and enjoying these books at the same speed that I'd enjoy a John Grisham book though, I say that is because my language hasn't improved much in the last decade. In reading classics, you not only read a wonderful and timeless tale, but you also improve your language.
As Vanwa said, present day writing exists because of the movement, the momentum, the rush. Classic literature exists because it is just beautiful and because most contemporary writers don't have it in them to write that way, present company included.
Also, in Dickens's time, only a few write. Today, any idiot with a macbook can start a blog and goes down the line of writing with some practise. I'm not saying there aren't any good books in the making out there, I'm only saying that while classics are like water in a desert, the books we have coming out annually now are like the Nile flood.
I mean, that was the best of times. This is the worst of times. Plagiarism if you will. Even so, Dickens will be studied and remembered, King will be enjoyed and possibly forgotten.