zen Posted February 4, 2020 Author Share Posted February 4, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, zen said: Updated lis: Candide by Voltaire On Her Majesty's Secret Service by Ian Fleming Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut The Maus by Art Spiegelman The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (bullied by @Mariyam to classify Maus as non-fiction ) In Parenthesis by David Jones (In the process of reading this unique book) PS one of my criteria is that the book can be read multiple times by me. Though it is a great book, not sure if The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco will fall into that category (still reading it in conjunction with other books) If required, I may replace it with one of the Corto Maltese books by Hugo Pratt - Link Le Monde's 100 Best - https://thegreatestbooks.org/lists/108 has The Ballad of the Salty Sea on it (#62) .... While the Name of the Rose is at #14 .... ICF's most popular book so far, 1984, is at #22 Edited February 4, 2020 by zen Mariyam 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stradlater Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 1 hour ago, Mariyam said: I absolutely liked Brothers Karamazov. It does require some pre-reading on the trends in philosophy of the era and life of the Russian peasant and land owning class. I was a part of a book appreciation club hosted by the marhoom Eunice D'Souza. She generally shared her expositions at the end of every discussion. We discussed the Russian classics for 8 of the 10 months that I could attend their sessions. The authors we covered were: Dostoevsky, Asimov, Chekov, Nabokov and Tolstoy. If philosophy is your thing, a must read is "the story of Philosophy" by Will Durant. I read this book after/during I read Brothers Karamazov. Thanks. Would love to check it out in the future. These days I'm busy reading modern European and medieval Indian history. Speaking of Chekhov, I remember there used to be this serial on doordarshan that used to go by the name Chekhov ki duniya I think? Was based on his short stories. Superbly entertaining and funny in a sort of way. Mariyam 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stradlater Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 1 hour ago, Mariyam said: Would like to add the following the list of my favourite fiction books: The Stranger by Camus. The Holy Quran I kid I kid I found The stranger quite strange to tell you the truth. Had to re-read it in order to fully grasp the deeper message and I'm not sure I quite got it in the end lol. Also The Quran is quite bland. No offense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mariyam Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 4 minutes ago, Stradlater said: Thanks. Would love to check it out in the future. These days I'm busy reading modern European and medieval Indian history. Speaking of Chekhov, I remember there used to be this serial on doordarshan that used to go by the name Chekhov ki duniya I think? Was based on his short stories. Superbly entertaining and funny in a sort of way. Chekov's : The Proposal and Dostoevsky's : The Idiot were enacted by Motley Crew (Nasiruddin Shah's stage venture) on various occasions across the nation. If you get the chance, you must watch these. *You* will love em. I haven't seen the serial you mentioned. Shall take a look if its available on YT. Stradlater 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mariyam Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 (edited) 40 minutes ago, Stradlater said: I found The stranger quite strange to tell you the truth. Had to re-read it in order to fully grasp the deeper message and I'm not sure I quite got it in the end lol. Also The Quran is quite bland. No offense. I had to re-read parts of The Stranger too! Can we discuss book endings here? Might spoil the fun for the others who haven't read the book. I was joking about the Holy Quran as favourite work of *fiction*. meh. It can be slightly difficult to follow given that it is not in a chronological order and some verses abrogate previous verses, which because the book isn't in chronological order come after the latter verses. Can get very confusing. Edited February 4, 2020 by Mariyam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stradlater Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 Just now, Mariyam said: I had to re-read parts of The Stranger too! Can we discuss book endings here? Might spoil the fun for the others who haven't read the book. I was joking about the Holy Quran as favourite work of *fiction*. meh. It can be slightly difficult to follow given that it is not in a chronological order and some verses abrogate previous verses, which because the book isn't in chronological order com after the later verses. Can get very confusing. Isn't there a spoiler tag for that sort of thing? The ending definitely seemed unconventional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted February 4, 2020 Author Share Posted February 4, 2020 (edited) del Edited February 7, 2020 by zen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vijy Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 On 2/3/2020 at 5:29 AM, Stradlater said: @Vijy Have you read The Witcher series? yes, I did. several yrs before witcher 3 and before the poor iteration of the tv series. they are lovely books - not masterpieces or "great" perhaps - but nice world-building, good prose, 3D characters who show growth, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stradlater Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 2 hours ago, Vijy said: yes, I did. several yrs before witcher 3 and before the poor iteration of the tv series. they are lovely books - not masterpieces or "great" perhaps - but nice world-building, good prose, 3D characters who show growth, etc. Yes they are a fun read. Even the short stories were entertaining in a sort of way. Vijy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted February 12, 2020 Author Share Posted February 12, 2020 Those who are yet to read this classic, my kindle book is available for free till Feb 14th: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WRMNB9K/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
velu Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 robinson crusoe scarlet pimpernel ^forced to read in school dont remember reading any other novel .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted February 12, 2020 Author Share Posted February 12, 2020 35 minutes ago, velu said: dont remember reading any other novel .. You should try some of the books listed here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted February 18, 2020 Author Share Posted February 18, 2020 Since In Parenthesis uses a mix of poem and prose, it is among the most intellectually challenging books that I have read. At times, I read a paragraph 2-3 times to grasp its meaning - writing is wonderful. An excerpt from the book: "Machine-gunner in Gretchen Trench remembered his night-target. Occasionally, a rifle-bullet raw snapt like tenuous hide whip by spiteful ostler handled. On both sides the artillery was altogether dumb. Appear more Lazarus figures, where water gleamed between dilapidated breastworks, blue slime coated, ladling with wooden ladles; rising, bending, at their trench dredging. They speak low. Cold gurgling followed by labours. They lift things, and . a bundle-thing out; its shapelessness sags. From this muck-raking are singular stenches, long decay leavened; compounding this clay, with the more precious, patient of baptism; chemical-corrupted once-bodies. They 've served him barbarously - poor Johnny - you . wouldn't desire him, you wouldn't know him for any other. Not you who knew him by the fire-light nor any of you cold-earth watchers, nor searchers under the flares. Each night freshly degraded like traitor-corpse, where his heavies flog and violate; each day unfathoms yesterday unkindness; dung-making Holy Ghost temples. They bright-whiten all this sepulchre with powdered chloride of lime. It's a perfectly sanitary war." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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