Vinay's Book Battle (2011)

[vinay87]

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.

Edited December 6, 2011 by vinay87

[Ben]

A book I've never had the heart to attempt to tackle, so you're doing better than me so far, that's for certain. Best of luck in your 2011 perusals.

[vinay87]

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.

[Ben]

I've looked at it a few times, that's as far as I've got. Maybe one for the summer perhaps!

[Kylie]

Wow, you're off to an impressive start, Vinay. I hope you enjoy it.

[vinay87]

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.

[vinay87]

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.

[vodkafan]

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.

 

Lol so WAP still might end up being the last one you finish in 2011 Vinay!

[vinay87]

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.

[vinay87]

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.

[vodkafan]

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.

 

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!

[vinay87]

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

[vinay87]

Bought a copy of Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon and Round the Moon. Also bought Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conra, and HG Wells's A Short History of the World.

 

Can't decide what to read next, I want something light though

Edited April 18, 2011 by vinay87

[vinay87]

Updated the list with what I'm reading, reviews coming up when I have the time.

[vinay87]

I've read a lot (relatively) WOO!

Reviews :

 

1. Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons - Watchmen

 

To a comic book fan, not reading Watchmen is something close to sacrilege. It isn't just a comic book though. For all of DC's efforts to present its books as "Graphic Novels", I think Watchmen is one of few which actually deserves that title. That being said, it's not something you read just once and understand 100%. It's deep. Watchmen isn't bound by Plot Armour, or Holier-Than-Thou-Heroics. The "heroes" portrayed in its dark pages are dark. They'd make Batman cringe. I always wondered what it would be like if there were masked heroes in real life. Watchmen is the answer. Surrounded by cruel injustice and corruption, we're deluded if we think that DC's heroes, if they existed in real life, would be "heroes"; that they'd be incorruptible. Well, they wouldn't be. In fact, they'd be the ones to really watch out for. There're so many storylines out in DC's pile that deal with the question of why we should even want a saviour. I mean, if Superman existed, would we welcome him? The answer, Watchmen will tell you, is a sad no. Not in the terms of how Gotham hunts the Batman or in terms of how Mutants are treated in Marvel's universe. No. This is darker than any of them.

Take the protagonists, for example, Nite Owl, a more-than-obvious portrayal of the 70's Batman, and Roscharch, someone closer to Spawn, I think. Roscharch is most easily the most scarred "hero" I've seen till date. He's what the Joker would be if he was a "hero". Well, not exactly, but that's the most I can tell you without spoilers.

I enjoyed Watchmen a few days after I read the book, once I watched scenes from the movie. I realised that I wasn't finished reading it. I'll need to reread it, if I have to understand it.

Read it if you don't like comics. It's definitely not a comic. Read it if you like comics, because it's different.

The art is brilliant, but I won't comment on what I do not know about. Apparently, there's a lot of symmetric symbolism in there that I totally missed.

 

2. Mark Waid, Leinil Francis Yu & Gerry Alanguilan - Superman Birthright

*slow John Williams tune here, please*

Superman. As a kid, I did everything to become Superman. I combed my hair backwards and let a tiny spit-curl hang over my forehead, had mom stitch me a cape (not red sadly), even wore my underwear on my pants. Hey, I loved everything to do with the Man of Steel. I still do, but I'd rather not dress up like him. Over the years, I realised that there was someone else in the universe I loved more as a fan than Superman. That was his "mild-mannered" alter-ego, Clark Kent.

Waid nails it.

I'm a fan of the old Superman from the 80s and the 90s, that's who I grew up reading. John Bryne was definitive in his root-origins story. But I do understand why DC would want to revamp the character every now and then. For those wondering, this isn't the present origin story. Birthright is the previous story for the last decade. Presently, the "official" origin story is the Superman Secret Origins storyline which is also brilliant.

Waid, like I said, nails it.

Clark Kent is alive in these pages. He isn't mild-mannered, no. In fact, it's obvious that he's just trying to be mild-mannered. I mean, this is Clark Kent the farmboy who doesn't see the need to do this, yet he learns. He comes to Earth wrapped in the banner of his dead home planet, Krypton. Wrapped in the red, blue and yellow banner bearing the insignia of Krypton, he is discovered by the Kents and raised as their own. He develops his powers and soon leaves home with a keepsake of his world, a computer of a kind that stores the history of Krypton. He can't understand the language but he can see the symbol everywhere.

He learns why he has to help people, not from the shadows but in the open, without hiding his face. Also, Martha Kent's advice on how to make Clark Kent the disguise is hilarious.

The art!! The art is beautiful and hilarious. In the scene where baby Kal-El (superman) is being placed in the spaceship by his Kryptonian parents, he gives them the thumbs up, as though to tell them he'll do okay.

The book is spectacular, definitely worth the buy.

Do read this one if you like the Man of Steel.

10/10

 

3. Superman/Batman - The Search for Kryptonite

Hilarious, action-filled, fast. There isn't much else to say. Superman tells Batman he wants to rid the world of Kryptonite. They begin this seemingly impossible hunt. Also, check out Batman's "true" origin story (*snicker*) at the beginning.

 

4. Ramesh Menon - Siva - The Siva Purana Retold

Ramesh Menon has a line of Hindu Mythology-based books. This is the first one I've read and so far, he's promising.

To the uninitiated, Siva is the Hindu God of Destruction. He's one of the Trinity (the others are Brahma and Vishnu). He is said to have no beginning and no end. He appears as an ascetic, clad in deer-skin, half-naked, covered in ashes and his hair (or jata) in a wild knot on the top of his head with a crescent moon hidden in it while the holy river Ganga flows from the top.

Hindus are roughly divided into two, Shiva-worshipers or Vishnu-worshipers. Of course each will claim that their own God is supreme, as is natural.

I've had a highly secular youth, not by my parents' choosing but mostly because of my dad's fight with religion. He converted to Christianity in his 20s and converted back in his late 40s. Because of this, I attended church and grew up reading the Bible as a kid. I love the Bible, and I love Hindu mythology which my grandfather recited to me despite my father's strictest warnings.

But we're Vishnu-worshipers so Shiva is a no-no. Well, superficially at least. I bought this first of all my Hindu mythology-based books because I was intrigued.

Shiva is a strange god. He's Rage personified yet he's also the most benevolent one. He has gifted near immortality to even Demons and protected them as long as they recited his name. A little devotion goes a long way when it comes to him.

Ramesh Menon's Siva is an abridged version. It is nearly impossible to think to translate the entire "Shiva Purana" into English. He does a spell-binding job though.

If you are interested in Hindu mythology or religion, this is worth a read. But I'd recommend keeping wikipedia open at the side to understand the various names because, in Hindu fashion, he uses more than one name for Shiva which can be rather distracting.

Also, beware the explicit descriptions. After all, Shiva's symbol is a phallus.

8/10

 

5. Terry Pratchett - Mort

Terry Pratchett deserves applause, not for how prolific he is, but for the sheer idea of portraying Death as a person so hilarious that it'd be hard to be afraid of him. When Death takes on an apprentice, well it's just too hilarious to express.

I read this one in January so I don't remember much of it except that I laughed a lot while listening to the audio-book.

10/10 for having Death in it.

[vinay87]

Read a few books since my last review:

 

 

1. Neil Gaiman — American Gods

 

I took a long time to read this book, mostly because of my work-related troubles and other personal problems. I love Neil Gaiman's writing style and I'm sad that I took so long to discover such a brilliant writer. His words are not only amazing, they are inspiring.

That being said, American Gods is his own way of discovering America. Apparently, he wanted to learn as much of its culture as he could, he began to realise that the "American Dream" of immigrants coming over to the New World to live, could be applied not only to the people who come there on a barge, but also to the gods that are very existent, in their heads.

I didn't understand a lot of this book, another reason why is because I didn't know the myths regarding Anansi.

The central premise of this book is that a man named Shadow is released early from prison and finds out his wife is dead. On the plane back home, a man called Wednesday asks him to be his bodyguard. It is slowly obvious that Wednesday is a God. So are his comrades, more or less dying Gods. Well, these Gods aren't immortal. They can and will be harmed. It is the fact that people no longer believe in them that taunts them. The story revolves around Shadow, his own questions regarding his life and why Mr. Wednesday finds him of interest. It also introduces several divine beings from all over the world.

A rather brilliant piece of work that redefines the fantasy fiction genre. I kid you not when I say this is something to marvel at, especially when fantasy fiction means elves, wizards and dark lords.

Easily one of the best books I've ever read. Advice though: do some background reading after you read the book to realize who the names refer to.

8/10

 

2. Neil Gaiman — Anansi Boys

This was a faster read than AG. Mostly because Gaiman evolved as a storyteller here.

The book covers the story of Fat Charlie, one of the two sons of the god Anansi. When Fat Charlie decides to call his dad to his wedding, he learns that his dad has died. In a rather hilarious fashion. He also learns, to his dismay, that his dad's a God. And that he has a brother named Spider. He learns that he can contact his brother by asking a spider for him and he foolishly does. And when Spider enters his life, all hell breaks loose.

This is a far greater achievement that AG, in my opinion. It is hilarious, and I have to admit, Anansi is the most brilliantly mischievous character I've ever come across. And in pure Gaiman fashion, you have several short stories added into the story, to let you know more about Anansi. That, I think, is the reason why I enjoyed it more. I learnt more about him, even though I had no prior knowledge, except a little from AG.

10/10 and this is definitely on a re-read list along with AG.

[Ben]

2. Neil Gaiman — Anansi Boys

I absolutely loved American Gods so I've surely got to add this one to my wishlist now, after such a glowing review from you.

[vinay87]

I absolutely loved American Gods so I've surely got to add this one to my wishlist now, after such a glowing review from you.

 

If you loved AG then yes you definitely must read this!

[Ben]

If you loved AG then yes you definitely must read this!

Will bare it in mind, thanks.