Dilly-dallying

What's a book?

2013-08-26T18:59:00.001+05:30

Thankfully the new generation isn't that bad but I wonder if we'll get to a point where the word 'book' becomes an archaic one; where it would need to be defined in relation to the internet and technology. "It's like the internet made out of a tree." Yikes.

Safe than sorry

2013-06-02T16:40:00.000+05:30

Take care of hearts
like precious vintage china.
Locked inside the warm safe confines
of a mahogany cabinet
visible through a stained glass pane.
'Look but don't touch'
Far away from careless hands and lips
Waiting for that right occasion
that right guest.
Gathering time and dust
But un-cracked

unbroken.

Just saying

2013-05-25T18:41:00.000+05:30

“She had reached a turning point. She no longer believed that a situation could be made better by writing a poem about it.” - One Day, David Nicholls

Why I choose to rise

2013-02-10T20:51:00.001+05:30

I rise
Because I know too many stories

The story about
the school girl in that crowded 138 bus
wincing in silent resent
as an old gray bastard’s penis pressed in to her back
The story about
our first lady president
about whom an entire book is authored
detailing the men she took to bed
whether she fucked at night or day
her policies and politics
secondary to her body
The story about
the friend who works
among uniformed men
supposed guardians of the nation
violated 9 to 5
by seedy eyes
and dirty mouths
The story about
that wife who stays
always stays
even though her man’s dick
paints the town red at night
The story about
the girlfriend that couldn't break free
because he threatened to hold ransom her dignity
The story about
the hen party photos that went viral
from one inbox to another
forwarded on with an LOL or Bunch of Whores
by brothers, fathers, husbands, boyfriends and worse
sisters, mothers, wives, girlfriends
The story about
the prostitute hounded by her pimp
with nowhere to go but to a jail sentence
The story about
the stories she told
of how she got
that bruised lip
the black eye
that cigarette scar
The story about
that fine lady
who’s got to face a world of narrowed eyebrows
for calling off a marriage that wasn’t working for her
The story about
the woman who agrees to be arranged
only to find herself unwittingly married
to a man stuck in a closet
The story about
the woman who could very well have been my
sweet gentle granny
raped on the streets one night
The story about
the countless stories
of women of all kinds
stepping out to catcalls and groping
men masturbating shamelessly
on busses, beachstrips, cinema halls
The story about
the one that got away
came to file a complaint
only to face a shameful interrogation
so the officer could get off
The story about
the stories you’ll never hear
caught between night and day
sound and silence
in the cracks between life and death

I rise
if only in spirit
if only in words
hoping, always hoping
that there'll come a day
when a new generation reads these stories

it will be in history books.

More info: One Billion Rising Sri Lanka (Facebook page)
Don't forget to join the Melomanic crew on the 16th Feb at Warehouse Project, Colombo for a special OBR session.

The Great Book Robbery

2012-05-13T18:54:00.001+05:30

This afternoon I happened across this documentary that was on the Aljazeera site titled The Great Book Robbery. The documentary attempts to look at the series of book "collections" that took place during the 1948 war, where the Israel National Library, accompanied by Israeli soldiers, "collected" valuable books and manuscripts from "abandoned" Palestinian houses in Jerusalem, Jaffa and Haifa (these two were considered to be the areas of the affluent and cultural elite of the time).

Jaffna Library, now restored

Books have been burned, stolen, and hidden away throuhgout history at times of conflict and war. Politicians and indeed religious leaders have always attempted to control the free flow of literature and continues to do so to this day. Looking back at Sri Lanka's own history of conflict, one of the darkest and most beraved moments of it was the burning of the Jaffna Library. To imagine the wealth of knowledge and culture that was lost in that moment of political chaos always makes my heart ache. I'm told that there were books that had only one existing copy of it, and that was only in that library.

The Great Book Robbery's argument is about a similar loss but one that is at once private and public. A loss that is extremely private because these were books that were taken from personal libraries of individuals' homes, but also public because most of these books were the cultural products of Palestinian intellectuals, poets and authors. No matter where you stand on the politics of the Israel-Palestine conflict, this is a documentary worth watching.

Identities are a complex thing, whether it is national or individual identities we are talking about and I do think it's important for these identities to be fluid - in a constant process of definition and re-definition. But I do think our histories and our cultures have an important role to play in that process - how can we move forward if we have nothing to look back and nothing to think and reflect on? One of the people in the documentary was Ala Hlehel, a Palestinian writer, who spoke about his need to embrace his Arabic roots and to be able to do so in Israel without the politics involved in claiming such affiliation:

"But talking about Palestinian identity is still perceived as separatism...for Israelis today, Beirut equals Hezbollah, and Damascus equals Bashar al-Assad. But the space I want to inhabit is beyond politics. It's not Bashar and Hezbollah that I seek for my cultural identity, I seek Beirut's publishers, nightlife, the fascinating theater scene, cinemas...I miss it terribly."

Living away from Sri Lanka has made me personally appreciate a lot of the "culture" that we take for granted on a day to day basis while living there. Culture gets bandied about a lot by our politicians and it is in the "name of culture" that some heinous political choices have been made throughout our history (1956 Sinhala Only policy for starters) and indeed, quite sadly as of recently (the Dambulla mosque situation). How do we be Sri Lankan, while enjoying the products of our own individual cultural groups? I think the answer has always been simple: with respect. Cultural products are more than just things, they are a consciousness, they are person's voice; and whether they be books, art, music, cinema, religion or ritual, I do think a little respect can make a big difference.

Apologies for this long-winded preachy post but it's hot-on-the-heels after having watched the doc so my thoughts are running with me. The 45 minute version of The Great Book Robbery can be viewed here on AlJazeera or here on YouTube. More about the project itself can be found on its website.

Today is special...

2012-04-24T02:29:00.000+05:30

I wanted to thumb a quick post today because today is an important day for the literary world. Firstly, it's the great man himself's presumed birthday - yes, that's right I'm talking about big Will. William Shakespeare is assumed to have graced this world on a day like today and aren't we all the better for it! It's also interestingly and quite Shakespearenly, the day he also left this world.

It's also partly why UNESCO has marked today as the World Book and Copyright Day. Which brings me to today is special reason #2. It's World Book Night here in England. Like last year, today one million free copies of some fantastic books were given out at bookshops, train stations and road sides. Last year I was on the receiving end of WBN but this year I got the chance to be on the giving end. I asked to give Room by Emma Donoghue. I've gushed plenty about that book on this blog so I'll spare you all that.

So today I carried a heavy tote full of books to give out as and when I felt like it. I gave out ten books at work. I love the idea of just stumbling on a book so I left copies here and there in the office with post-its on it saying 'Take me!'. A quick email was sent out to everyone just to give them a heads-up. But I was really keen on giving out books to random strangers. But dear lord giving anything free to a random Londoner is the hardest thing ever. If you aren't chased off, you would at first be met with a mixture of confusion, skepticism and aloofness. I gave out some books to a few solitary commuters who were at the waiting area of my local train station. I was asked 'what the catch is' several times and when I said there's no catch it's just a free book and yours to keep some them sort of didn't know how to take it. It was quite funny but no one said no. I'd have been gutted if someone did. On the whole it was a nice little experience and in a city like London where you barely make eye contact with your fellow commuters it was nice to break the wall and just say hello and give a book. I also left a copy on the train I was on, I wonder who stumbled on that one?

I now have just three copies of the book left. Tomorrow morning they will hopefully make it in to the hands of three more strangers.

Because it's also Shakespeare's birthday, all the World Book Night books have a Shakespeare sonnet in them. Here's the one in Room. You can read all the sonnets included in each of the 24 titles here.

Review: Life of Pi by Yann Martel

2012-04-06T02:06:00.001+05:30

Ah, the number of people that have kept telling me to read this book...and at last I got to it. I kept putting it off thinking it might become a lagging read given that the story centers around a boy and a tiger on a lifeboat. How wrong was I! Life of Pi is such a wonderful, inspiring and moreover thought-provoking book; and again a book thoroughly deserving of its accolades.

Martel does such a fantastic job of skillfully and artfully weaving the narrative with wisdom and humour so that it's never just really only a story about being marooned in the high seas.

I love books that expand your worldview, either by challenging it or revealing a way of looking at things that you never would have before. Life of Pi did that for me. On the one hand it challenged my own views about faith and religion through its protagonist's immeasurable capacity to believe in life and god and indeed his multi-religous philosophy. As someone wavering between atheism and agnosticism and I don't know what else, lines like “To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation" really hits the spot. This is not to say that post reading this book, I am now a multi-faith convert or something. Not the least. Indeed I still find that 'doubt' really is the only affirmation that life offers but all the same it's refreshing to have a different perspective so well-presented and and the book has plenty of that to offer. Also, I tend to be quite critical about zoos and Pi's thoughts on animals in zoos as opposed to the wild were really intriguing and made me look at the whole thing from a completely different angle. I find it amusing that religion and zoos - two things I've been skeptical about are both addressed in this book with fantastic sentences like this: “I know zoos are no longer in people's good graces. Religion faces the same problem. Certain illusions about freedom plague them both.” Talk about genius right?!

I won't go into any more details as I think I've already spoiled it for some of you and in any case, this is the kind of book, that each person will take something different from, depending on what one's own personal ideologies are.

I also have come to realize, having now read several Man Booker prize winning novels in a row, the Booker judges are partial to novels that play with the idea of story-telling itself. Atwood did it in The Blind Assassin, Barnes did it with The Sense of an Ending and Martel sure does it with Life of Pi. Luckily I'm partial to that myself so it works but perhaps some readers might find it a bit overdone. To be fair, these novels are so much more than that though and indeed what makes them great is a combination of things.

Apparently there is to be a film adaptation of Life of Pi (directed by Ang Lee) coming out the end of this year, so if you haven't read it yet, step on it before the film goes and spoils it all.

Goodreads stars: 5/5 stars

Could appeal to: anyone interested in the big questions - life, god, religion ; zoology, animals ; adventure

Read it: on a cruise (just for irony's sake)

Taster quote: “If you stumble about believability, what are you living for? Love is hard to believe, ask any lover. Life is hard to believe, ask any scientist. God is hard to believe, ask any believer. What is your problem with hard to believe?”

Published by: Canongate

Love Stories

2012-02-13T04:40:00.000+05:30

Like with every special day, Valentine's Day is yet another commercialized affair. But that being said, it doesn't detract from the fact that it's a day worth celebrating if for nothing else, for what it stands for: Love. Or rather, Love Stories to be precise. It's origins themselves are accredited to several possible Love Stories after all.

In this very modern, rational, capitalist day and age most of us can get a little cynical about Love Stories. We want truth and realism and yet are confused in what that really means in the context of Love. My own relationship with this enigmatic word has evolved over the years. If anything the older I've grown, the more life experiences I've accumulated, the more indefinable it's become. But that's precisely it isn't it? It's its evasion of set definitions that has made it the muse of many a great writer. It's what's lead to many a great Love Stories. Here are some of my favorites and my little exercise in boxing them in to the kind of Love Stories they were. Much like our own individual experiences and conceptions of Love, these stories approach Love from various angles.

The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood: Secret Love

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez : Timeless Love

Rome and Juliet by William Shakespeare : Doomed Love

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen : marrying Love

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand : Individualistic Love

One Day by David Nicholls - Friends in Love

July by Karen Roberts : Forbidden Love

The God of Small Things by Arundati Roy : Redefining Love

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte : Foreboding Love

The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot: Ruined Love

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston : Liberated Love

A lot of the above I suppose are pretty obvious choices but I'd love to know a few un-obvious ones, if you have any suggestions. What are some of your all-time favourite Love Stories? Go on, share the love.

The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

2012-02-06T00:50:00.006+05:30

To start off with, this is the first time I've ever read a novel by Margaret Atwood. I follow her on Twitter, I've read her poems but a novel not until this. I've been sorely missing out. Missing out, not just on anything, not just on something, in fact not even just on a good thing...I've been missing out on greatness.

The Blind Assassin isn't some quaint novel. It's a sweeping saga that pans generations and yet manages to be personal, insightful and deeply relevant. I love the short novellas and if I could build a temple to the aesthetic value that brevity brings, I would; but there must be something said about the big books; the books that come with a spine 600 to 700 pages thick in font size 10 or 11. When these big books aren't just big for big's sake, when every word, every fullstop exists for a purpose they become more than just good stories told well. The Blind Assassin is such a book. It's about story-telling it self; its art, its motives and its outcome. I loved the narratives within narratives element and what I loved more was that it wasn't just a stylistic device, it was purposeful.

The two central characters in the main narrative - the sisters, Iris and Laura - their plight, the times, the circumstances that form their personal destinies and their complicated relationship with eachother are engrossing and also deeply moving. Categorizing this novel is difficult as there are elements of Sci-fi/fantasy/historical fiction and even contemporary fiction. But perhaps, if it must be categorized I'd say, ultimately it's a love story. A very melancholic and heartbreaking one at that. I couldn't recommend it more!

Goodreads rating: 5/5 stars

Could appeal to: it ticks a lot of genre boxes so I'd say there's something to appeal to a lot of people

Read it with: no one. It's a book made for solitude I think.

Taster quote: “In Paradise there are no stories, because there are no journeys. It's loss and regret and misery and yearning that drive the story forward, along its twisted road.”

Published by: Virago Press

New year. New resolutions.

2012-01-15T18:28:00.001+05:30

New reading resolutions that is. My main resolution is to stay on top of the reading challenge this year. The goal this year, is the same as last - 25 books. This year I'm hoping I can actually meet this. So far I've finished one book (although it's one I started last year) and am told I'm on track, which is good to know. I'm currently reading Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. It's one of those books that I've let sit on my TBR pile for ages and always shyed away from because it seems so dauntingly thick and warrant a certain length of time. But at the moment I'm almost three quarter way through the book and am surprised at how easy it's been. Will report back on it once done of course.

Apart from that, this year I really am keen on reading widely and venturing in to new genres or genres that I have neglected over the years. My reading diet lately has mostly compromised of Literary Fiction and a few Speculative stuff thrown here and there. This I want to change. Because I really do think while reading doth maketh the person, it also doth come down to what one doth reads. Reading informs and forms ones worldviews, opinions, etc and if we stick to reading just the one kind of books, what narrow perspectives and knowledge we'll have. So yes, widen my reading is another.

Tick off the Classics. Even though I did an English Lit BA, I never really got through most of the Classics. Our degree was very un-Classic in a way, i.e. it covered a lot of feminist, postcolonial and modern texts. (This is a good thing in general.) I have read a fare share of the Classics but I do have quite a few that I've never really cared to approach. So this year, I'd like to tick a few of those off as well.

And last but not least, watch and keep a log of all the "lit flicks" I've watched through the year. By "lit flicks" I mean, adaptations or any films with a bookish/literary theme. I've already started with that and you can find them listed with a short review (see menu on right).

That's mostly it really. Nothing too taxing, I'd say. What about your own reading resolutions? Got any this year?

Review: Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

2012-01-08T19:36:00.000+05:30

Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking confirms and surprises you about the way our mind works when it comes to making choices/decisions in the blink of a moment. Malcolm Gladwell reveals with research and case studies how 'thin slicing' (a phrase used to describe the way in which our minds form impressions/decisions in a matter of seconds) can be both a good and bad thing. He uses case studies from a variety of life situations and people, from cops at gunpoint with a suspect, to the famous Coke-Pepsi blind taste test, the music industry, a tennis match, and even an Orchestra audition. Gladwell gets at the heart of why some people can get it so right when it comes to making certain decisions in a split second while in some cases having all the information about a situation or person isn't necessarily going to arm you with a better decision-making ability. On the flip side Gladwell also uses some fantastic examples of where choices based on first impressions or in split seconds have gone seriously wrong.

I quite enjoyed this book, and can't really find anything specific to criticize it with. It was written accessibly, convincingly and I reckon I will venture to read more of Gladwell's work in the future. Blink has some fascinating revelations but it also re-frames the obvious. On the whole it's all intriguing stuff and its content will no doubt make for an interesting conversation starter, at the very least.

Goodreads rating: 3/5

Could appeal to: anyone interested in how the mind works and about decision-making, marketers, advertising folks

Read it with: Google at hand (because there'll be plenty of little triviaesque stuff that you might want to Google whilst reading)

Taster quote: “The entire principle of a blind taste test was ridiculous. They shouldn't have cared so much that they were losing blind taste tests with old Coke, and we shouldn't at all be surprised that Pepsi's dominance in blind taste tests never translated to much in the real world. Why not? Because in the real world, no one ever drinks Coca-Cola blind.”

Published by: Back Bay Books

My favourite reads of 2011

2011-12-31T18:03:00.001+05:30

So here we are on the last day of another year. I began a lot of projects this year, including the 2011 Goodreads Reading Challenge, which I can report back I have not completed. I couldn't get to my goal of 25. This is disappointing, given that I know people who have made and met goals like a hundred books! Where the HELL do you people find the time??? I am a relatively slow reader and if I'm on a particularly difficult book, I might struggle with it for weeks, even months. Of course this year I picked up the naughty habit of taking on two or three books simultaneously. I might read one when I'm commuting, another at home. This system works but sometimes, if one books is particularly difficult I might tend to neglect it - you will notice Tinker, Tailor still there on my 'Currently Reading' shelf. I'm still debating whether to retire it to my 'We're on a Break' shelf but for some reason I feel determined to conquer it.

In all fairness though, if I count all the books I needed to read for Uni and the full manuscripts I read for one of my internships, I have technically gone well beyond the goal but that's not the point is it? I think this reading challenge that Goodreads initiated has been a fantastic idea and I can't wait to get to the New Year and devour more books and this time next year I'll be damned if I don't report back to you all with a 'mission accomplished'!

This year I've read some amazing books but also some not-so-amazing ones. But my top 5 should be pretty straightforward if you've been keeping tabs on my reviews. But here we are my favourite top 5 books read in 2011:

5. Starter for Ten (David Nicholls)
David Nicholls was an author I had never read and I'm glad it was Starter for Ten that I read first. It's been laugh out loud funny, probably one of the best funny books of all time.

4. Chinaman (Shehan Karunatilaka)
The debut novel of Sri Lankan author that made it in to the Waterstones 11 - it's bold, it's witty, it's big. It IS the Great Sri Lankan Novel we've been waiting for. Only it's 'great' in the most unexpected ways. I know not everyone agrees with this but BOO to you.

3. Room (Emma Donaghue)
It was sad to see this book not making its way up the Booker list. It's really fantastic writing by Donaghue to be able to keep the voice and narrative confined to the vocabulary and insight of a little boy who has never seen a world outside a 'room' and a 'television screen'.

2. The Sense of an Ending (Julian Barnes)
2011 Booker Prize winning novel - light in weight, heavy in subject, small in size but big in questions. It's one of the few books I read in one sitting because it was so so good.

AND NOW FOR THE BIG NUMBER ONE. DRUM ROLL PLEASE....

1. We Need to Talk About Kevin (Lionel Shriver)
This book is written with such sincerity, boldness and insight and is so clever and complex. The film adaptation was recently released (I am yet to see it) and on the back of that I imagine there will be new interest sparked for the book and deservingly so. It's a difficult book in many ways and perhaps not for everyone but if you haven't read it yet, I couldn't recommend it more.

So there you have it folks, my favourites of the year. Thanks for dropping in this way over the past year.

Wish you all a fantastic New Year!

Merry Christmas dear readers...

2011-12-24T01:32:00.000+05:30

Came across the idea for a bookish tree thanks to this link one of my tweeps shared. I needed a Christmas tree in my little room and having a little money, a little space but a lot of books, it made perfect sense! Of course mine is considerably less enchanting but I love it none the less.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Literary Link of the Week: Ryan Gosling works in publishing and the library

2011-12-17T15:28:00.001+05:30

I am well aware that again, this link is more of an excuse to drool over a hot guy and is in no way actually "literary" or intellectual. But how can I deprive you lot of the opportunity to feast your eyes over The Gosling, especially when he is, for some strange and unknown reason linked with libraries and publishing?! It's an extension of that now famous Hey Girl tag that has kick-started a flurry of tumblr blogs with Gosling as the inadvertent poster child and advocate of feminism to now libraries and publishing. Where it all started I think is with the blog Fuck Yeah! Ryan Gosling. Whatever will he champion next?

Ryan Gosling Works in Publishing

Hey Girl. I like the Library too.

Have a great weekend!

Literary Link of the Week: We Give Books

2011-12-09T17:25:00.001+05:30

I love the idea of this digital initiative by The Penguin Group and Pearson Foundation where for every book read online they donate a book. So if you have kids and are looking for wonderful books for them to read check out www.wegivebooks.org/books where you can find a host of children's books for young and early readers which you can read online for FREE! There's the option of creating your own library of books on the site by registering and logging in. And of course for every book you read, there's the promise of a book being donated. More details on the website.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

2011-12-08T04:31:00.001+05:30

The first time I tried reading this book I read a few pages and found it to be such drivel that I left it, never to return. But you know how they say, 'being at the right place at the right time'? Well, in the same vein I'd say I was in the right mood at the right time for The Alchemist when I felt like going back to it recently. I won't go much in to personal circumstances but suffice to say that I was in this vulnerable place where nothing fills that void quite like a diet of Oprah and Chicken Soup for the Soul. The only reason I managed to keep flipping through the pages of The Alchemist was this need and the fact that it's a short and easy read; other than that on the whole this parable of a young shepherd boy who crosses oceans and desserts in search of his "Personal Legend" isn't my usual cup of literary tea.

The Alchemist, originally written in Portuguese was first published in 1988 and it does feel dated in many ways. While there is quite a lot of religious and spiritual references and symbolism throughout the text what is interesting about The Alchemist is that no one faith can claim it as a propagation of their own. What it definitely is though is spiritual and possibly even theistic but if there is any specific doctrine that Coelho consistently pushes for, it is "The Law of Attraction". If you're familiar with The Secret of course you know this concept is echoed in everything from religion to philosophy to Quantum Physics. That being said, I did find the worldview/s a bit contradictory--while saying you had your own free will and must persevere, it also seems to suggest that "it is written".

On the whole as a work of fiction it is rather poor but I think it's the wrong way to approach it anyway. It is very much in the vein of fables our grandparents might narrate which have come down through generations, and in that sense it does its job, albeit predictably.

My Goodreads rating: 2/5

Could appeal to: Self-help book readers, optimists, anyone in to fables or The Secret

Read it with: an optimist

Taster quote: “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

Published by: HarperCollins

Review: After Dark by Haruki Murakami

2011-12-05T05:55:00.000+05:30

I've heard so many good things about Haruki Murakami that I felt I must must read at least one of his books this year. After Dark was at hand. It is short, didn't need too much commitment; I couldn't think of a better way to introduce myself in to a Murakami world than this. And what a world it is!

While Murakami writes in Japanese and what we read are actually translations this world that he creates, the atmospheric quality of his narrative does not seem to get lost in translation at any point in the book. Of course I can't say this with certainty unless I actually read the Japanese version and then compare but you get the point.

The events in After Dark all take place in one night. It's in what is called 'real-time narrative' where the story is unfolding in the then and the now with us readers as witness. We are introduced to several characters, mainly Mari, a young college student, Eri Asai, her older sister who seems to be in some deep state of sleep, and Takahashi, a young trombonist. There are also a number of other characters, all connected to Alphavill, a "love hotel". As the night progresses we are given snapshots of these characters as their paths cross each other's. Through out the novel I kept thinking what a fantastic film it would make mostly because of the way Murakami guides the reader's point-of-view almost like a cinematographer does with a camera. The whole story plays with the concept of perception and reality/realities. In fact duality is a major theme in the novel.

What Murakami does in this novel, and does quite brilliantly is to transport you in to a time and space that is bordering reality. Even the "reality" of the Japanese metropolis in the novel has a veil of the surreal cast over it. In a way this could be because "night time" does tend to carry with it that sense of the surreal and mystic. Therefore you could say we only encounter "reality" in the sobering sense of the word, when dawn breaks at the end of the novel. Until then, we are very much lost in a world that sits comfortably between the familiar and the strange, the real and the dream-like, the comprehensible and the hallucinatory.

The richness of the imagery, the uncanny tone all make for an immersive reading experience. It's hard to say exactly what Murakami is trying to say with all this: there's obviously meditations on time and an almost Quantum Physical conception of reality but it's not quite clear cut. But it really doesn't matter. After Dark, for me at least, was all about the journey, I didn't care about the destination.

Goodreads rating: 4/5

Could appeal to: readers of speculative fiction, fantasy

Read it with: a night light

Taster quote: "In this world, there are things you can only do alone, and things you can only do with somebody else. It’s important to combine the two in just the right amount."

Published by: Random House

Literary Link of the Week: Reading in bed with James Franco

2011-12-02T19:16:00.001+05:30

I'm downsizing this weekly feature to one link. Sorry, dear readers. Time is scarce. The world is on a recession spiral, AGAIN. It's the way the cookie crumbles. La-di-da you get the picture.

Anway, this week's link however, is a treat, especially for the ladies (and gentlemen?). Well, those in to James Franco that is. Those of you on my Twitter list might already have seen it because I did post it there sometime ago. But it's worth re-sharing.

Here's what happened: James Franco sent in a recording of him reading the shortstory William Wei by Amie Barrodale (includes PG13 material by the way) to The Paris Review. Of course he happens to be reading this in bed. The Paris Review posts the video on their site. The world is a better place. The end.

It takes hot guys reading books to a whole new level yes? More please!

Reading in Bed with James Franco from The Paris Review on Vimeo.

#16days: Skin and bones

2011-11-30T07:00:00.000+05:30

If I say 'Violence'
You expect big revelations
Bloody bruises
And black eyes
A chipped tooth
A dislocated jaw
or tell-tale scars
You want the evidence
of a crime scene
blood on the dancefloor
smears on the bedroom sheets
Broken plates on the kitchenfloor
But she has none of that to display
Only a corpse buried inside
A momentary plea in her eyes
Now you see it, now you don't
He never touched her skin and bones.

Akram Zaatari, 1966 at the Tate Modern (London)

I tend to be skeptical about activism sometimes. But I think one of the important things about projects like the currently ongoing 16 Days campaign against gender based violence is that it makes it ok to talk about difficult things, takes the taboo away, if not for always, at least for a few weeks, maybe months. I was especially moved by this bold and honest post and I can only imagine the effect it will have on a lot of people. When you're going through something, sometimes it means the world to know that you are not the only one. And that is what makes such campaigns, and moreoever posts like the above so important.

Violence, however comes in many forms. Whether it is in the hands of an abusive partner or through the dictates of media, we are violated every day and sometimes in the most subtlest ways. I wanted to draw attention to that. Violence (particularly against women) is sometimes un-physical, passive, and the signs aren't skin deep.

Find out more about the 16 Days campaign and how the Sri Lankan blogosphere is responding to it here. You can also keep up with the online activism and get involved with the conversation on Twitter. Hashtags to note are #16days, #16daysSL, #VAW and #takebackthetech.

All things literary: a wishlist

2011-11-29T18:59:00.000+05:30

Dear Santa,

I've been good this year. Wishlist below.

kthanxbai

-Me

Sylvia Plath Pin from The Literary Gift Company

Mug from The Literary Gift Company

Tote from Cafepress.com

iPod/iPhone charging Dock via etsy

Poster print via etsy

Shakespearean Book Locket via etsy

Penguin Classics Mug via art meets matter

necklace from bookish

Umbrella from Penguin Books

I Read Banned Books bracelet via Amazon

Personal Library Kit via Amazon

Trivial Pursuit Book Lover's Edition via Amazon

Literary Tea Bags from What the Dickens?

Shakespearean insults badges! from What the Dickens?

Golden Snitch necklace via Etsy

Review: Even the Dogs by Jon McGregor

2011-11-26T04:41:00.001+05:30

Here's the thing. I'm on the fence about how I feel about this book so this review is going to be a bit short and perhaps even a little confused. Even the Dogs is a book about junkies and the harsh realities of their life. The story opens with a very CSI kind of crime scene where the dead body of a man is found in his flat. Cause of death is unknown but as the story progresses we come to learn that he has a history of substance abuse, mostly alcohol. As the novel progresses we come to learn more about him, his death and his acquaintances--homeless drug addicts who were given shelter in his flat in exchange for them going and getting him his food and drink. The narrative shifts between making the reader a distant observer and at other times it breaks into a stream of consciousness of one of the characters. It's almost as if McGregor wants us to look at this from two points of view: as outsiders and also very much from the perspective of an addict. The prose is very jagged and experimental. He opts not to use punctuation at all and sentences tend to be left hanging, even without a full stop or ellipses (Lynn Truss might be inclined to write a petition!). However, this is mostly when the narrative is from the stream of consciousness of one of the addicts, which justifies this style. But on the whole all this doesn't make for easy reading but at its best moments the effect is profound. At its worst, some might find it pretentious.

But Even the Dogs is an important story and it gives perspective of a community that is very much a part of a City's underbelly, straddling its margins. It does all this without judgement nor justification. It is dark, it is depressing, it is graphic and it most definitely isn't a book you want to start your morning commute with, which I sort of did because I mostly read while commuting. In retrospect, one of the important things the book did for me is make me realize how on a fundamental level we're all living like junkies. Chasing one high after another and doing a lot of waiting in between. Whether that high is a job, a lover or the next must-have thing. So while it's a book I'm glad to have gotten through, I'm also glad I did pick up. Perhaps had I been in a different frame of mind, read it in a different time and place I would have felt its effect far more.

Goodreads rating: 2/5

Could appeal to: If you've read Train Spotting this might be of interest, although possibly not as wry or readable. Also anyone into experimental fiction.

Read it with: perseverance

Taster quote:

"All this waiting though. Still.

Waiting outside the night shelter for them to open the doors. Hanging around for hours to make sure you get your place. Waiting at the walk-in centre to get something sorted, and getting referred on to somewhere else so you can wait a little bit more. Waiting for the chemist to open to get the daily script. Waiting to score when it seems like no cunt can get hold of it, the way it was before Christmas, all of us loading up on jellies and benzos to keep the rattles off. Too much to handle if you score on top of all that and you're not careful. But careful aint really the point."

Published by: Bloomsbury

A Picture Speaks

2011-11-04T05:33:00.000+05:30

Thought I'd take a cue from a project my sister is doing with song lyrics and photos. It's a good way for me to share more of my photos on this blog. It's also quite fun placing beautiful words on them. Feel free to share but do link the blog.

Everything Beautiful Began After by Simon Van Booy

2011-11-01T08:00:00.000+05:30

I suppose the title should very well have been an indicator of the kind of book I was in for but generally speaking I went in to this blind. The book opens beautifully and the first chapter dwells about cities and what they mean which seemed promising of what starts off as a love story set in Europe between an aspiring French painter and an English archaeologist. But that's as far as the appeal went for me. From then on it was a downward spiral.

For one thing, I don't think Simon Van Booy really had a story there to begin with. He has a poet's way with words no doubt but there's no point if you're the world's best wordsmith if you don't have something to say. Half way in I really was tempted to give up on the book but only pushed through because I had already invested too much time in it and this would've been in vain, especially because I'm so behind with my Reading Challenge!

I'm not going to go into detail about this book because there was a lot I didn't like about it from the over-poetic dialogue (for example: "That doesn't mean anything," Rebecca interrupted. "Loneliness is like being the only person left alive in the universe, except that everyone else is still here.") to its stagnant storyline and an ending that is a bit too corny for my liking. Suffice to say that I won't be gifting this to anyone for Christmas.

Goodreads rating: 1/5

Could appeal to: People who want to graduate from Harlequin romances perhaps?

Read it with: coffee

Taster quote: “Dreamers conquered the world long ago.”

Published by: Beautiful Books

Review: Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman

2011-10-31T10:00:00.000+05:30

Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman is another book that was shortlisted for the Booker this year and one I didn't particularly take to. Set in contemporary urban London, it is the story of Harrison Opuku, a 12 year old migrant boy from Ghana who lives in a council housing estate. Harrison is all wide-eyed wonder at a lot of what happens around him and at the same time somewhat aware of the violent neighbourhood he is in, made all the more evident when a teenage boy in his school is murdered. The book deals with the issue of knife crime and teenage violence, and also touches on the general migrant experience.

Why I didn't like the book had a lot to do with the narrative. As the narrator, Harrison failed to win me over. Doing first person child narratives is never an easy task and for Kelman there was also the added burden of it being a migrant child. It just wasn't convincing and most of the time I found it irritating. For one thing I just didn't see how he could be so completely in wonder of certain things and then in-tune and street-smart about others. I also a found this whole thing of seeing adult issues through an innocent childish perspective a bit overdone already, and what could've been fresh is if the perspective came from a less innocent child, like one of "the other" child characters. I found the portrayals of these characters a lot more succesful and convincing. The child-speak meets street-speak was also a test of my patience especially when it's an entire book of that. In Room the child-speak narrative worked beautifully and convincingly; it also would've meant a very different story had it been from another voice and perspective. I'm not sure Pigeon English would have lost out had Harrison not been the narrator.

And then there's the pigeon. I assume it has a symbolic function, perhaps to do with migration but other than that I just didn't see its point. And when it starts to talk... Lord, the less said about it, the better!

There were some nice moments but on the whole Pigeon English has sadly been a disappointment.

Goodreads rating: 1/5 stars

Could appeal to: Those interested in urban contemporary fiction

Read it with: no expectations

Taster quote: "I needed to break a window. I needed a thousand points to catch up."

Published by: Bloomsbury

Reading list: get your spooky on

2011-10-30T15:53:00.000+05:30

The Halloween weekend is about to end but that doesn't mean you can't get your spooky on, particular on a nice cold winter night. Of course there's already several such lists that came out in the build up to Halloween over the past week such as this and this (which happened to include 3 books I planned on mentioning here). But there's always room for another one right?!

1. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

I can remember reading this back when I was a teenager and being intriguingly spooked from page to page.

2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

It's a classic Gothic novel and anyone who's read it knows how dark and atmospheric it is. Definitely has a lot to bring you to the edge of your seat.

3. Beloved by Toni Morrison

If there's a book that had the hairs on the back of my neck standing as an adult reader, this has got to be it!

4. Macbeth by William Shakespeare

I don't think this needs much explanation does it?

5. Mythil's Secret by Prashani Rambukwella

I think this would be a nice spooky bedtime read for kids. Despite its Gratiaen Award, it's been massively overlooked.

Happy reading! :)