Such a Long Journey by Rohinton Mistry

I picked this up from the library while my casual browsing. The reason I remembered it because of the controversy when it was pulled out of a college syllabus.

Of course curiosity got the better of me even when I was not interested in reading it for the propaganda.

Well this was a quick one (don't let 300 odd pages deter you). It has all that a normal Indian life has to offer. drama, emotion, comedy, tragedy and a lot of hope (even some black magic remedies if you're interested). And of course a lot of Parsi life and rituals in Mumbai. This also was a really thought out novel when a lot of sub plots ended up joining in the larger narration.

I could have avoided a lot of metaphors but then I'm on the other side of writing. 

But if you miss this one you're not going to miss much :) 

Love

Age of Anger : A History of the Present by Pankaj Mishra

 A lot of my choices these days are influenced by what is available in the library.

So here is the one which was I saw last week and I picked it up on a whim. Well, this was not the best pick but I don't feel bad about taking it.

The reason why it was not the best because there were a lot of references in the book which are directed from philosophers to revolutionaries to thinkers to political/social commentators. I heard the names of most of them but unfortunately didn't know their larger writings so in the back of my head I was telling myself not to get biased because this might be a one off quote :)

But I did like the overall perspective of the book, and it did give me a lot of references which I would be glad to pick in my future readings.

One thing about the rise of individualism is that it was always there. Those hungry, dissatisfied, hothead revolutionaries and politicians were always a part of the history. The modern technology has just equipped the current generation to move their thoughts and actions faster than their predecessors but that is visible in every field so why this one is expected to remain the same.

Worth a read if not for a new perspective but for a different one.

Peace

Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India by Shashi Tharoor

 I was not looking for it but when I saw it in the library I said "why not?"

As the author mentioned that this came out in the continuation of his speech in Oxford, I could just smile at the irony of it, don't worry if you don't see it.

And like the title suggests it puts a lot of thoughts around the data and other sources from those 200 years and beyond. I will say that anybody who is looking at the positive sides of Raj or bent on showing that this was after all for the welfare of the colonised should look at this book. It summarily gives you all the details about what was wrong with British colonisation.

The worst part is not that this happened but that this was justified later or suppressed from public memory.

Repatriation is not the answer but keeping it alive in memory of people from both side is more important. If we forget it or remember a diluted/altered version of it then that will be the gravest of the injustice.

Peace

Kashmir - Behind The Vale by M J Akbar

 After my last read this was something I wanted to read.

This is a real good account of Kashmir from its history to what it is today. It covers a lot of topics and a larger portion is dedicated to the narrative around what caused its current state.

I'll not go into details but I can see that it has almost the similar causes that has catastrophic results historically irrespective of the event/country/civilisation. These are ego, greed, apathy, indolence and doubt.

I wonder how it would have been if any one of these factors were avoided. A ego won, greed removed, apathy understood, indolence acted upon, and doubts cast aside. Well that would have lead to a completely different book and what an amazing book it would have been to read.

But we can't turn back time and undo things and should look forward to the future.

Peace!

Our Moon Has Blood Clots: The Exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits by Rahul Pandita

 This a memoir of growing up in Kashmir as a Kashmiri Pandit.

It all goes like a narration which doesn't sound very coherent on a timeline but once you put the book down you realise that the sequence automatically falls in place inside your brain. You've the building blocks thrown at you but you don't need a blueprint to know which one goes where, it always falls into it's place.

It is a bit difficult to put yourself in those shoes when you don't have anything similar of your own. It's easy to connect with a narration which talks about moving out of your place for your job, business, dreams or what not but when you're rooted out of your home and take up a tag of a refugee than it's a different kind of movement. It's not what you wanted to do or destined to do but this was something which was forced upon you.

There can be million opinions why or how this happened and who was responsible for it but in a retrospective this doesn't mean anything. You realise that what is done can't be undone. You can't just put the clock in reverse to wish it away.

However, this gives us the opportunity to contemplate on what we can do or how we can react to it. And if possible what everybody can learn from it.

Peace

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

This one came on my radar recently, and I thought of picking it up.

This was a really good read as it gives a commentary from the author's point who happens to a journalist which I'm mentioning to make a point about her amazing writing skills.

The whole book is full of so many small anecdotes/incidents which are personal or historical but gives us a big picture of how the whole discrimination works. There are a lot of incidents which are from US before or after the civil war but those are true for any discriminating society.

One thing which I kind of disagree is that in today's world the discrimination is still there but the rightfully your's can be delayed but can't be denied which is true for all.

We've made progress and from here on it's going to be way forward only as the new normal settles down.

Another thought which came as an after thought was that the imbalance of power is always going to stay in one form or another. Discrimination is something which we can't just wish away and only the conscience with discipline can deliver the larger goals in the future.

Peace!

Saigon: An Epic Novel of Vietnam by Anthony Grey

 To start with, this is hell of a book and rightly called an epic novel. Pun intended.

This one is huge with 900+ pages and took a lot of time (or maybe I'm getting slower). The plot covers around 50 years of Vietnam unrest (war/struggle) with a lot of family, friend, and love involved.

I'll not go into the plot but some how I believe that to make it an epic the same plot got repeated with multiple characters. It was even so common that I actually started waiting for the moment when each of the characters will die. And there is barely anybody left by the end of it!

Of course it has that charm from the colonial era but I would have loved to miss a lot of niceties.

But I'm just an ordinary reader, and this was not written only for me. I completed it (which is an accomplishment itself) but I'm sure this had a lot of thoughts and moments that I truly appreciated.

The size of the book is a bit intimidating but given the coverage of half a century, and if you're interested to learn about how it was in Vietnam, it is worth a read.

Love

Sex, Drugs, Einstein, & Elves: Sushi, Psychedelics, Parallel Universes, and the Quest for Transcendence by Clifford A. Pickover

No prizes to guess that I picked this one up just because of the title.

Don't go with the title. It doesn't really have much to offer apart from the great things the author has done or written. Well it's not bad but I know which writer I'm not going to pickover again :)

The only good thing with this book is that it reminded me of my long due Marcel Proust's "In Search of Lost Time" but I'm still unsure if I should start it.

Not worth the time.

The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang

I picked up this book after reading about the tragic life of the author.

I never heard about this particular war atrocity but than we never know everything, and I'm glad that Iris put a sincere effort to bring out the story.

Of course, this is not a story that anyone would like to remember but forgetting it will be a bigger crime. This book is a record of what the people of Nanjing went through during the Sino-Japanese war. The crimes are unspeakable and there were some convictions too. There were a lot of stronger ones who got away with their wrong doing.

When I finished it my first reaction was that all the wars are dirty, and their real reasons dirtier. But this can't be the reason for not knowing the history of these wars. In fact, these are more of a reason to know this so that we remember it in future even if we all have a failing memory.

Peace

No Turning Back by Rania Abouzeid

A serious one after so much soft reading.

This is about wartime Syria but unlike a commentary it talks more through the real people who have been in different situations since this all started.

War is bad and the worst thing about it is that it puts the humanity out of all the equations, and everything sounds like a number.

I'll not try to put the details here but I believe one thing that nobody comes unscarred out of it irrespective of being a part of it or not.

May those scars heal, and only peace remain.

Peace

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

I picked this up for a light read, and as expected it was.

The author is best known of his plays so reading this one gives you the feel of a play. There is a smaller set up, and all the characters keep moving in and out of the same place as the story moves ahead.

This is also similar to those dream like romantic Japanese movies, and in a lot of places it feels like repetitive.

However, the best thing is that it keeps you engaged, and curious to know what happens next. And yes it does leave a lot of things unanswered which I think is a good thing.

Quick and fancy read if you're into romantic things.

Love

A Burning by Megha Majumdar

I picked up this one because this was recommended by Amitav Ghosh not that I'm blaming him for his recommendation. You always hear it from somebody and pick up the book. If it lives up to your expectations or not depends on the dynamic between the writer and the reader because somebody who is recommending had been a reader once but a different reader.

This is a debut novel and you can see it in the first ten pages.

It felt like the whole plot is taken from the recent headlines, and was put together to get this. If you follow the news you can see the connection with most of the characters.

Megha has a long way to go and it is definitely not the best debut novel but I'll be looking forward to more.

Peace

The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams and the Making of China by Julia Lovel

I was looking for something on Opium war and remembered this was mentioned somewhere.

Well, since I was curious I finished it fast. And as expected this was not a really scholarly sketch of what happened during those years. However, it suffices to give an overview of the situation.

I'm not quite convinced with the rational of Chinese inaction but the point of business reasons of selling opium and less effective Chinese measures in the latest warfare was driven very well.

Like any historical war this had more to do with business rather than nationalism, patriotism or the all time favourite liberate them. In fact it was clearly an attack on the sovereignty of a country to maintain it's business and geopolitical interests.

Of course in a detailed account which include internal conflicts, territorial issues or even the communication gaps/military mismanagement we may come up with more reasons on why China lost it but eventually the reason why it started in the first place will always remain same - greed of business and the blind support to this greed.

The whole scenario did build the atmosphere of mistrust, and we never know how long will it take to get over it.

This is not best of the books but you can definitely build some initial thoughts around this, and definitely beware of the pitfalls before believing anything.

Peace

The Synagogue of Satan by Andrew Carrington Hitchcock

There are some books which give you a feeling that you shouldn't have picked it. But this book gave it away in like first ten lines.

I should have never picked it up but then we all fall for those curious titles.

If this ever gets mentioned anywhere just don't fall for it. Not worth a thought.

Peace

The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell

I don't even remember where I got the reference for this book, and how long it was lying there.

Finally, I picked it up and finished but not so fast.

This is about how the mythologies are created, and specially how the heroes are created in it. It tells that on a larger level the journey of hero in any culture can be broadly divided into three stages Separation, Transformation, and Return.

The examples in the book are really covering the whole world and they do make you think that all the heroes in the mythic lores have similar journey. Even if these myths look different from outside, a closer look will bring all the similarities right into your face. These stories created the heroes as saviour or gods or even created a whole new religion or cult. But all this boils down to a same pattern.

The whole narrative is not really judging any story or hero but throws light on the overall narratives. It doesn't verify or reject any of them but look at them from a holistic point of view to understand what they want to tell us.

Worth reading!

Peace

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

This one is a novella or short novel but I'll like to call it a long story. I don't remember where I got the reference for this one but this was on shelf for quite some time.

This was real quick, and I was wondering why I didn't pick it up earlier.

This is one of those stories that go a long way with you after it is over. I read it fast, and honestly I can still see the two main characters George and Lennie in my head.

It's a story of constant struggle in life, loneliness, dreams (seen, broken, and killed). We all have a dream of owning that life of contentment and peace, but like Crooks said this world is full of such dreamers but no one ever finds such a place.

We'll be fortunate if we get a chance to live our dreams even for a brief time but the worst thing that can happen is the death of those dreams. And unfortunately death of those dreams is something that we all can relate to.

Peace

Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction by Philip E. Tetlock, Dan Gardner

This is also the one which was on shelf from quite some time. And glad that I finished it.

As the title suggests this is about how anybody can predict the future based on the knowledge of current events, and a little bit of digging. This gives the confidence that you don't have to be a maths genius or global policy expert or a head of so called think-tanks to predict about some future events.

The best thing about this book is that it gives you a framework, and gives a lot of examples how the actual participants benefited or found a solution.

I'm not really a fan of Tom Friedman but I did read two of his books which are around future predictions. He has an excellent writing style but I will agree to the point that a lot of things can go either way.

For a lot of people prediction is a full time job, and it can damage the reputation if their predictions turn out to be incorrect. The point is that this is not an absolute science, and even if there are signs in the favour of an event it can still not happen due to a lot of complexities being involved.

So you make them, and own them even if they turn out to be incorrect. Use them as an opportunity to fine tune your understanding.

Prostitutes and Polygamists: A Look at Love, Old Testament Style by David T. Lamb

No prizes for guessing that I picked this up only for the title.

This was a fun read, and positively honest about the stories in Old Testament around prostitutes and polygamists.

It puts emphasis on the point that due to the timeline differences we can't real justify the pros and cons of a controversial laws of the olden time. But it is always beneficial that we know them and try to treat them reasonably. Rejecting them without any thought is as bad as accepting them. Also, the golden rule is "do not imagine", if it is not there it's better to leave it as is rather than putting a lot of imagination.

Really good part of the book is that it shows the controversial stories around a lot of the prime characters from the Old Testament like David, Solomon etc as is, and doesn't really try to euphemize or sweep them under the carpet.

Definitely a worth read, and surprisingly quick!

The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

I don't know why I picked this up but let's just say I read this book.

No thoughts!

The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology by Ray Kurzweil

A lot of the books end up being classified under the category Science-Tech, or Nonfiction or futurism (which is a relatively new in the market).

 I didn't care much about such classification but this particular book is not an easy read. It needs relatively much open mindedness, and critic. All the beliefs that have been the way of life or very close to your heart are challenged here in the most rational way possible.

The problem with such a topic is that not all the readers have the level of awareness required to understand some complicated topics covered here (in the very plain language with minimum to no jargon). A lot of people who don't have it may end up rejecting everything as a work of fiction.

So if you have an open mind to explore new ideas, and hypothesis plus some patience for fat books than this one is for you.

You don't need to be a super techie or even a tech enthusiast to follow a lot of content but be prepared to be challenged. This may end up changing your way of looking at future.

Peace