tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104044112024-03-06T23:34:33.825-05:00KaviSpeak कवि-उवाचEnglish and Hindi poetry & prose, published as well as unpublished, experimental writing. Book reviews, essays, translations, my views about the world and world literature, religion, politics economics and India. Formerly titled "random thoughts of a chaotic being" (2004-2013).
A short intro to my work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQRBanekNAoVivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.comBlogger470125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10404411.post-47147389955037593212024-01-06T09:00:00.000-05:002024-01-06T09:00:06.234-05:00Books read in 2024<p> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read in 2024 (9 = 8 + 1; NF 3) </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><u><span style="color: blue;">ENGLISH FICTION <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><u>(5</u></span>) </span></u><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">FICTION IN </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">ENGLISH TRANSLATION -- (4):</span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="color: red;"><i>(Flights</i></span></b> <span style="color: red;">by Olga Tocarzuk</span> [Translated from the Polish by Jennifer Croft]), [<span style="color: red;"><b><i>Life: A User's Manual </i>by Georges Perec</b></span>], <b><span><span style="color: red;"><i>Independent People </i>by Halldor Laxness [Translated from the Icelandic by J. A. Thompson], </span><i>(Cowboy Graves </i>by Roberto Bolano), </span><i><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></i></b></span></span></span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">NOVEL / FICTION IN ENGLISH (1):</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i> </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><b> [<i>Karma Cola</i> by Gita Mehta].<i> <br /></i></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><u><span style="color: blue;">ENGLISH POETRY (1=1+0) </span></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i style="font-weight: bold;">POETRY IN ENGLISH TRANSLATION (1): </i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i> <span style="color: red;">(The Lusiads </span></i><span style="color: red;">by <i>Camoles </i></span></span></b></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: red;">(translated from the Portuguese)</span>), </i><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i style="font-weight: bold;">POETRY IN ENGLISH (0): </i><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">ENGLISH NON-FICTION (2=2+0+0)</span></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">PHILOSOPHY / RELIGION / MYTHOLOGY </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">(2)</span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span"> (</span><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span">Vasistha's Yoga </span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span">translated by Swami Venkatesananda</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span">)<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">,<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><b> <i>(India </i>by Al<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">-</span>beruni),</b></span></span></span></span></span> <br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">POPULAR SCIENCE / </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">ECONOMICS</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i> (0): </i></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"> </span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><i> </i></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">NON-FICTION - </i></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">HISTORY</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"> / ARTS/ OTHER (0):</i><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i> </i></span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><b style="color: red;">MAHABHARATA (by Mahrishi Ved Vyas; translated from Samskrit into English by Kisari Mohun Ganguly) (0/18): </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: blue;"><u><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">LITERATURE: NON-INDIAN LANGUAGES (0=0+0; 0):</span></u></span> </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><u>LITERATURE : INDIAN LANGUAGES (1=0+0; <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">1</span>)</u></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Hindi / Urdu / Punjabi (Fiction/Mythology: 0+ Poetry: <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">0 </span>+ Non-fiction: <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">1</span>)</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>: </i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: red;">(<i>Sanskriti ke Char Adhyay</i> by Ramdhari Singh Dinkar)</span>, </span></span> <br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><b>Sanskrit (Fiction: 0+ Poetry: <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">0</span>): </b></i></span></span></span></span></div>
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</div>Vivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10404411.post-51473036678275440802023-01-08T15:31:00.028-05:002024-01-06T08:56:03.063-05:00Books read in 2023<p> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read in 2023 (50 = 27 + 23; NF 12) </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><u><span style="color: blue;">ENGLISH FICTION <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><u>(14</u></span>) </span></u><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">FICTION IN </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">ENGLISH TRANSLATION -- (9):</span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i><span>S</span><span>weet Bean Paste </span></i><span>by Durian</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span> [</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span>Translated from the Japanese</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">],</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span"> <b><span style="color: red;"><span><i>The Temple of the Golden Pavilion </i>by Yukio Mishima [Translated from the Japanese by Ivan Morris</span>]</span></b>, <span style="color: red;"><b><i>Pyre </i></b></span><span><b>and</b></span><span style="color: red;"><b> <i>One Part Woman </i>by Perumal Murugan [Translated from the Tamil by Aniruddhan Vasudevan]</b></span>, <i><b>The Red Haired Woman </b></i><b>by Orhan Pamuk [Translated from the Turkish by Ekin Oklap], <i><span style="color: red;">Time Shelter </span></i><span style="color: red;">by Georgi Gospodinov [Translated from the Bulgarian by Angela Rodel]</span>, </b><i>Peach Bosson Paradise </i>by Ge Fei [translated from the Chinese by Canaan Morse]<b>, <i>Sputnik Sweetheart </i>by Haruki Murakami<i>, The Radetzky March<span> </span></i><span>by Joseph Roth [Translated from the German by Joachim Neugroschel], </span><i><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></i></b></span></span></span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">NOVEL / FICTION IN ENGLISH (5):</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i> </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><b> <span style="color: red;"><i>Victory City </i>by Salman Rushdie</span>, <i>The Forty Rules of Love </i>by Elif Shafak<i>, </i></b><i>Atmospheric Disturbances </i>by Rivka Galchen<b>, <span style="color: red;"><i>Seven Moons of Maali Almeida </i>by Shehan Karunatilaka</span>, </b><span style="color: red;"><i>House of Caravans </i>by Shilpi Suneja</span><b>.<i> <br /></i></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><u><span style="color: blue;">ENGLISH POETRY (16=10+6) </span></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i style="font-weight: bold;">POETRY IN ENGLISH TRANSLATION (10):</i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i> <span style="color: red;">Cronopios and Fomas </span></i><span style="color: red;">by Julio Cortazar </span>[in Spanish and in English, translated from the Spanish by Paul Blackburn], <span style="color: red;"><b><i>Gilgamesh</i> [translated by David Ferry]</b></span><i>, <span style="color: red;">Poem of the Deep Song</span></i><span style="color: red;"> by Federico Garcia Lorca [translated from the Spanish <i><b>Poema del Canto Jondo</b></i> by Carlos Bauer]</span>, <i>(<span style="color: red;">Poems of Fernando Pessoa</span></i><span style="color: red;">: </span><i><span style="color: red;">Alberto Ceiro, Alvaro de Campos, Ricardo Reis, Fernando Pessoa, Bernado Soares [edited and translated from the Portuguese by Edwin Honig and Susan M. Brown]</span>)</i><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i style="font-weight: bold;">POETRY IN ENGLISH (6): </i><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i>Wasteland and other poems </i>by T. S. Eliot</span>, <span style="color: red;"><i>Opened Ground</i> </span><i><span style="color: red;">by Seamus Heaney</span>, Double Truth </i>by Charles DeNiord</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">, <i>Sweet Ruin </i>by Tony Hoagland, <i>A Nostalgiac's Map of America </i>and <i>The Country Without a Post Office </i>by Agha Shahid Ali, </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">ENGLISH NON-FICTION (12=2+4+6)</span></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">PHILOSOPHY / RELIGION / MYTHOLOGY </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">(2)</span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">:</span></span></span> <span style="color: red;"><i>In Light of India </i>by Octavio Paz [translated from the Spanish by Eliot Weinberger]</span>, <i><span style="color: red;">Jafarnama by Guru Gobind Singh</span> </i>[Translated from the Persian]<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">POPULAR SCIENCE / </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">ECONOMICS</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i> (4): </i></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"> </span></span></span></span></i></span></span><span style="color: red;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i>The Life and Legacy of G.I. Taylor </i>by G. Batchelor</span></span></span></i></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">, </span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i>Science and Cooking: Physics meets Food, from Homemade to Haute Cuisine</i> by Michael Brenner, Pia Sorensen and David Weitz</span>, (<i>Masala Lab: The Science of Indian Cooking </i>by Krish Ashok), </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"> <i>On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen</i> by Harold McGee,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><i> </i></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">NON-FICTION - </i></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">HISTORY</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"> / ARTS/ OTHER (6):</i><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i>A History of the World in Six Glasses </i></span></span></span></span></i><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">and <i>(An Edible History of Humanity) </i>by Tom Sandage</span></span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i>, </i></span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i>The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World </i>by Virginia Postrel</span><i>, </i></span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i> </i></span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i>How to Write a Thesis</i> by Umberto Eco</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i>Milk: A 10,000 year Food Fracas </i>by Mark Kurlansky, <i>Novelist as a Vocation </i>by Haruki Murakami</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i> </i></span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><b style="color: red;">MAHABHARATA (by Mahrishi Ved Vyas; translated from Samskrit into English by Kisari Mohun Ganguly) (0/18): </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: blue;"><u><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">LITERATURE: NON-INDIAN LANGUAGES (0=0+0; 0):</span></u></span> </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><u>LITERATURE : INDIAN LANGUAGES (8=1+7; <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">0</span>)</u></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Hindi / Urdu / Punjabi (Fiction/Mythology: <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">1</span>+ Poetry: <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">7 </span>+ Non-fiction: <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">0</span>)</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>: </i></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> (<b><span style="color: red;"><i>Ret Samadhi</i> by Geetanjili Shree</span></b>), </span></span><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Pallav </i>by Sumitranandant Pant,</span></span> <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i>Selected Poems of Firaq Gorakhpuri,</i> ed. Urdu and [translated from the Urdu into English by K.C. Kanda], <span style="color: red;"><i>Rashmirathi </i>by Ramdhari Singh Dinkar</span>, <span style="color: red;"><i>Madhushala</i> by Harvinash Rai Bachchan</span>, <i>Kamayani </i>by Jaishankar Prasad, </span></span></b></span></span></span></span><i><span style="color: red;">Jafarnama by Guru Gobind Singh</span> </i>[Translated from the Persian]<br />
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><b>Sanskrit (Fiction: 0+ Poetry: <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">0</span>): </b></i></span></span></span></span></div>
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</div>Vivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10404411.post-15526972698885271042022-04-10T19:57:00.011-04:002023-01-09T16:09:48.813-05:00Books Read in 2022<p> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read in 2022 (24 = 13+ 11; NF 5) </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><u><span style="color: blue;">ENGLISH FICTION <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><u>(7</u></span>) </span></u><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">FICTION IN </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">ENGLISH TRANSLATION -- (7):</span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"> <i><span style="color: red;">2666 by Roberto Bolano</span></i><span style="color: red;"> [</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;">Translated from the Spanish</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;">], </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="color: red;"><i>The Gambler </i>and The Double by Dostoevsky</span></b> [Translated from the Russian]), <i>(The Festival of Insignificance </i>by Milan Kundera), <span style="color: red;"><i>A Woman Betrayed</i> by Simone de Beviour </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span">[Translated from the Russian], <i>Theorem</i> by Pier Paolo Pasolini </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span">[Translated from the Italian]</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>, <i>The Legend of the Holy Drinker </i>by Jospeh Roth<i>.</i></span></span></span></span><i> </i></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;">
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">NOVEL / FICTION IN ENGLISH (0):</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i> </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><b> </b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><u><span style="color: blue;">ENGLISH POETRY (8=2+6) </span></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i style="font-weight: bold;">POETRY IN ENGLISH TRANSLATION (2): </i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i> <span style="color: red;">Travels to the Deep North </span></i><span style="color: red;">by <i>Basho </i></span></span></b></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: red;">(translated by Sam Hamill)</span>, </i><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i style="font-weight: bold;">POETRY IN ENGLISH (6): </i><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i>frank sonnets </i>by Daine Suess</span>, <span style="color: red;"><i>American Sonnets for my Past and Future Assassin</i></span> and <span style="color: red;"><i>Hip Logic</i> by Terrance Hayes</span>, <span style="color: red;"><i>Selected 100 Poems</i> by Seamus Heaney</span>, </span></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i>First Course in Turbulence by</i></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i> , <span style="color: red;">Lice </span></i><span style="color: red;">by W. S. Merwin</span><i>, </i></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i> </i></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">ENGLISH NON-FICTION (5=0+2+3)</span></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">PHILOSOPHY / RELIGION / MYTHOLOGY / HISTORY </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">(0)</span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">POPULAR SCIENCE / </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">ECONOMICS</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i> (2): Voyages through Turbulence, </i></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i>The Life and Legacy of G.I. Taylor </i>by G. Batchelor, </span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span></span></i> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><i> </i></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">NON-FICTION - OTHER (3):</i><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"> (<i>Essays by Nabokov), <span style="color: red;">Living to Tell the Tale </span></i><span style="color: red;">by Gabriel Garcia Marquez</span><i>, <span style="color: red;">Dreams </span></i><span style="color: red;">by Naguib Mahfouz</span>, </span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> <i><br /></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><b style="color: red;">MAHABHARATA (by Mahrishi Ved Vyas; translated from Samskrit into English by Kisari Mohun Ganguly) (0/18): </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: blue;"><u><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">LITERATURE: NON-INDIAN LANGUAGES (0=0+0; 0):</span></u></span> </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><u>LITERATURE : INDIAN LANGUAGES (4=1+<b>3</b>; <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">0</span> )</u></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Hindi / Urdu / Punjabi (Fiction/Mythology: <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">1 </span>+ Poetry: <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">3</span> </span>+ Non-fiction: <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">0</span>)</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>: </i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: red;"><i>Talkhiyan</i> by Sahir Ludhyanvi</span>, <b><span style="color: red;"><i>Rashmirathi </i>by Ramdhari Singh Dinkar</span></b>, <b><span style="color: red;"><i>Saaye mein Dhoop</i> by Dushyant Kumar</span></b>, <i><b>Nirmala by Prem Chand</b>, </i><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><b>Sanskrit (Fiction: 0+ Poetry: <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">0</span>): </b></i></span></span></span></span></div>
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</span>Vivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10404411.post-24341062277081275852021-03-28T21:14:00.009-04:002021-03-28T21:18:09.783-04:00Books Read in 2021<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read in 2021 (11 = 8+ 3; NF 3) </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><u><span style="color: blue;">ENGLISH FICTION <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><u>(5</u></span>) </span></u><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">FICTION IN </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">ENGLISH TRANSLATION -- (3):</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"> <i>Samarkand</i><i> </i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">[Translated from the French]</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i>,</i> <i><span style="color: red;">The Aunt Who Wound not Die </span></i><span style="color: red;">by Shirshendu Mukherjee [</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;">Translated from the Bengali</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;">], </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span">(<i>Laila and Majnun </i>by Nizami [Translated from the Persian]),<br /></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;">
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">NOVEL / FICTION IN ENGLISH (2):</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i> </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><b> <span style="color: red;"><i>Beneath the Lion's Gaze </i>by Maaza Mengiste</span>, (<i>Go Tell it On the Mountain</i> by James Baldwin), </b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><u><span style="color: blue;">ENGLISH POETRY (3=2+1) </span></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i style="font-weight: bold;">POETRY IN ENGLISH TRANSLATION (2): </i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i> <span style="color: red;">(Without End: New and Selected Poems </span></i><span style="color: red;">by Adam Zagajewski</span></span></b></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: red;"> (translated by Blackburn)</span>), (Rhymes of Whimsy: The Complete Abol Tabol </i>by Sukumar Roy (Translated from the Bengali by Nilandri Roy),<br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i style="font-weight: bold;">POETRY IN ENGLISH (1): </i><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i>Lice </i>by W. S. Merwin</span>, </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i> </i></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">ENGLISH NON-FICTION (3=2+0+1)</span></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">PHILOSOPHY / RELIGION / MYTHOLOGY / HISTORY </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">(2)</span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span"> (</span><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span">Vasistha's Yoga </span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span">translated by Swami Venkatesananda</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span">)<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">,<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><b> <i>(India </i>by Al<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">-</span>beruni), </b> </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">POPULAR SCIENCE / </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">ECONOMICS</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i> (0):</i> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><i> </i></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">NON-FICTION - OTHER (1):</i><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"> <i>The Truths We Hold </i>by Kamala Harris, </span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> <i><br /></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><b style="color: red;">MAHABHARATA (by Mahrishi Ved Vyas; translated from Samskrit into English by Kisari Mohun Ganguly) (0/18): </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: blue;"><u><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">LITERATURE: NON-INDIAN LANGUAGES (0=0+0; 0):</span></u></span> </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><u>LITERATURE : INDIAN LANGUAGES (0=0+<b>0</b>; <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">0</span> )</u></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Hindi / Urdu / Punjabi (Fiction/Mythology: <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">0 </span>+ Poetry: <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">0</span> </span>+ Non-fiction: <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">0</span>)</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>: </i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><b>Sanskrit (Fiction: 0+ Poetry: <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">0</span>): </b></i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">(If
I am through more than 50% of the book, it goes into the list of the
year past, otherwise it appears in the new list next year. </span><a href="https://viveksharmaiitd.blogspot.com/2020/01/books-read-in-2020.html" target="_blank"><b style="background-color: white; color: #878787; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: initial;"></b></a><b style="background-color: white; color: #878787; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: initial;"><a href="https://viveksharmaiitd.blogspot.com/2019/01/books-read-in-2019.html" target="_blank">See here for the books read in 2020, with a selection of my favorite reads from the year past</a>.</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">)</span></span><br />
</span>Vivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10404411.post-38008316911618326752020-01-02T19:07:00.007-05:002020-12-24T17:59:38.974-05:00Books Read in 2020<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read in 2020 (33 = 26+ 7; NF 7) </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><u><span style="color: blue;">ENGLISH FICTION <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><u>(19</u></span>) </span></u><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">FICTION IN </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">ENGLISH TRANSLATION -- (14):</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"> <i>The Brewer of Preston </i>by Andrea Camilleri<i> </i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">[Translated from the Italian]</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i>,</i> <i><span style="color: red;">A Bridge on Drina </span></i><span style="color: red;">by Ivo Andric [</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;">Translated from the Serbian</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;">], <i>The Unicorn Expedition</i>, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i>The Emperor's Ring</i>, <b><i>The Golden Fortress</i></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b> </b>and <i>The Bandits of Bombay</i><b> by Satyajit Ray [</b>Translated from the Bengali by Gopa Majumdar<b>],</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i><b><span style="color: black;"><i>Springtime in Broken Mirror </i>by Mario Benedetti [Translated from the Spanish by Nick Caistor</span><span style="color: black;">]</span>, </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">The Sailor Who Fell From the Grace with the Sea </i><b>by Yukio Mishima </b>[Translated from the Japanese by John Nathan]<b>, <i>Woodworm </i>by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay </b>[Translated from the Bengali by Shampa Banerjee],</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Kusamakura </span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span>by Natsume Soseki [</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span>Translated from the Japanese by Meredith McKinney</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span>]</span>, <i>Humiliated and Insulted </i>by Fyodor Dostoevsky [</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span">Translated from the Russian</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">], <i>Troubling Love </i>by Elena Ferrante [</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span">Translated from the Italian</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>], </b><span style="color: red;"><i>His Excellency Eugene Rougon by Emile Zola</i> [Translated from the French by Brian Nelson]</span><b>, Star by Yukio Mishima [Translated from the Japanese]</b><br /></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;">
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">NOVEL / FICTION IN ENGLISH (5):</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i> </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><b> <span style="color: red;"><i>Blood Meridian </i>by Cormac McCarthy</span>, <i>(At Swim, Two Birds </i>by Flann O'Brien), (<i>Go Tell it On the Mountain</i> by James Baldwin), <i><span style="color: red;">Rain by W. Somerset Maugham</span>, <span style="color: red;">Angle of Repose </span></i><span style="color: red;">by William Stegner</span>,</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><u><span style="color: blue;">ENGLISH POETRY (2=2+1) </span></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i style="font-weight: bold;">POETRY IN ENGLISH TRANSLATION (1): </i><span style="font-weight: bold;"> <i>(Masnavi</i>, Volume I by Rumi), </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i> </i></span></b></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: red;">Proensa (translated by Blackburn)</span>, </i><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i style="font-weight: bold;">POETRY IN ENGLISH (3): </i><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i>New and selected Poems</i> by Thomas Lux</span>, </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i> American Poets for my Past and Future Assassin</i> by Terrance Hayes, <i> Saudade</i> by Traci Brimhall, </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">ENGLISH NON-FICTION (7=2+3+2)</span></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">PHILOSOPHY / RELIGION / MYTHOLOGY / HISTORY </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">(2)</span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span"> (</span><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span">Vasistha's Yoga </span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span">translated by Swami Venkatesananda</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span">)<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">,<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><b> <i>(India </i>by Al<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">-</span>beruni), </b> </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">POPULAR SCIENCE / </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">ECONOMICS</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i> (3):</i> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>(<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">Cohesion </span></i><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">by Rowlinson</span>), </span></span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><b>(<i>The Idea of Justice </i>by Amartya Sen), (<i>Nabokov's Blues: The Scientific Odyssey of a Literary Genius</i> by Kurt Johnson & Steve Coates), </b></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><i> </i></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">NON-FICTION - OTHER (2):</i><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"> (<i>Give and Take</i> by Adam Grant), <i>Borges and Me </i>by Jay Parini, </span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> <i><br /></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><b style="color: red;">MAHABHARATA (by Mahrishi Ved Vyas; translated from Samskrit into English by Kisari Mohun Ganguly) (0/18): </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: blue;"><u><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">LITERATURE: NON-INDIAN LANGUAGES (0=0+0; 0):</span></u></span> </span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><u>LITERATURE : INDIAN LANGUAGES (1=0+<b>2</b>; <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">0</span> )</u></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Hindi / Urdu / Punjabi (Fiction/Mythology: <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">0 </span>+ Poetry: <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">1</span> </span>+ Non-fiction: <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">0</span>)</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>: <span style="color: red;">S</span><span style="color: red;">anchayika</span></i><span style="color: red;"> by Ramdhari Singh Dinkar</span>, <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Badalon se Salaam Leta hun </i>by Gopal Das Neeraj,<br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><b>Sanskrit (Fiction: 0+ Poetry: <span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">0</span>): </b></i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">(If
I am through more than 50% of the book, it goes into the list of the
year past, otherwise it appears in the new list next year. </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #878787; font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: initial;"><a href="https://viveksharmaiitd.blogspot.com/2019/01/books-read-in-2019.html" target="_blank">See here for the books read in 2019, with a selection of my favorite reads from the year past</a>.</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">)</span></span><br />
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Vivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10404411.post-10126177266666191942019-01-01T10:04:00.004-05:002020-01-02T14:38:34.712-05:00Books Read in 2019<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read in 2019 (40 = <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">22</span></span></span>+ 18; NF 7) </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><u><span style="color: blue;">ENGLISH FICTION <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><u>(13</u></span>) </span></u><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">FICTION IN </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">ENGLISH TRANSLATION -- (6):</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <span style="color: red;"> <i>The Time and the Place and other stories </i>by Naguib Mahfouz [Translated from the Arabic by Denys-Johnson-Davies], </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i>Bengal Nights </i>by Mircea Eliade [translated from the French by Catherine Spencer]</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;">, <span style="color: black;"><i>Granada </i>by Rawada Ashour</span>, <i>The Third Reich</i> by Roberto Bolaño, <i>Decay of An Angel </i>by Yukio Mishima, <i>Taras Bulba </i>by Nikolai Gogol,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">NOVEL / FICTION IN ENGLISH (7):</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i> </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>The Unknown Terrorist </i>by Richard Flanagan,</b> <span style="color: red;"><i>Mr. Sampath: The Printer of Malgudi </i>by R. K. Narayan</span>, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>Wanting </i>by Richard Flanagan, (<i>Blood Meridian </i>by Cormac McCarthy), <i>The Boys who Faught </i>by Devdutt Pattanaik, [<i>The Circle of Reason </i>by Amitav Ghosh], <i>Immigrant, Montana </i>by Amitava Kumar,</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><u><span style="color: blue;">ENGLISH POETRY (15=3+13) </span></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i style="font-weight: bold;">POETRY IN ENGLISH TRANSLATION (3): </i><span style="font-weight: bold;"> (<i>Residence on Earth </i>by Pablo Neruda [Translated from the Spanish by Donald D. Walsh]), <i>The Rubaiyat by Omay Khayyam </i>[Translated from the Persian by Edward Fitzgerald], <i>(Masnavi</i>, Volume I by Rumi),</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> </i></span></b></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i style="font-weight: bold;">POETRY IN ENGLISH (13):<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i>The Double Truth</i> by Chard deNiord</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i>The Undressing</i> by Li-Young Lee</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>, <span style="color: red;">Something Bright, Then Holes </span></i><span style="color: red;">by Maggie Nelson</span>, <i>So Far So Good </i>by Ursula K. Le Guin, </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Sea Prayer </i>Khaled Hosseini</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, <span style="color: red;"><i>The Thought Fox </i>by Ted Hughes</span>, <i>Zoo </i>by Odgen Nash, <span style="color: red;"><i>In A Language You Know </i>by Len Verwey</span>, </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Patina </i>by Kavita Jindal</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, <span style="color: red;"><i>Citizen </i>by Claudia Rankine</span>, <i>Annapurna Poems </i>by Yuyutsu Sharma, <span style="color: red;"><i>The Rime of Ancient Mariner and other Poems </i>by Samuel Taylor Coleridge</span>, <i>The Wild Iris </i>by Louis Gluck, <br /><i></i></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="color: blue;"><u><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">ENGLISH NON-FICTION (9=4+3+2)</span></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">PHILOSOPHY / RELIGION / MYTHOLOGY / HISTORY </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">(4)</span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span"> (</span><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span">Vasistha's Yoga </span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span">translated by Swami Venkatesananda</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span">)<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">,<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b> <i>(India </i>by Al<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">-</span>beruni), <span style="color: red;"><i>Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind </i>by Yuval Noah Harari</span>, (<i>Every time I Find the Meaning of Life, They Change It </i>by Daniel Klein), </b> </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></i></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">POPULAR SCIENCE / </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">ECONOMICS</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i> (3):</i> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>(<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Cohesion </span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">by Rowlinson</span>), </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>(<i>The Idea of Justice </i>by Amartya Sen), (<i>Nabokov's Blues: The Scientific Odyssey of a Literary Genius</i> by Kurt Johnson & Steve Coates), </b></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><i> </i></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">NON-FICTION - OTHER (2):</i><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> (<i>Principles </i>by Ray Dalio), <i>The Mays of Ventadorn</i> by W. S. Merwin, </span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> <i><br /></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><b style="color: red;">MAHABHARATA (by Mahrishi Ved Vyas; translated from Samskrit into English by Kisari Mohun Ganguly) (0/18): </b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: blue;"><u><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">LITERATURE: NON-INDIAN LANGUAGES (1=0+1; 0):</span></u></span> (<i>Residencia en la Tierra </i>by Pablo Neruda), </span></span>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><u>LITERATURE : INDIAN LANGUAGES (1=0+<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">1</span>; <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">0</span> )</u></span></span><br />
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Hindi / Urdu / Punjabi (Fiction/Mythology: <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">0 </span>+ Poetry: <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">0</span> </span>+ Non-fiction: <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">0</span>)</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>: </i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><b>Sanskrit (Fiction: 0+ Poetry: <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">1</span>): </b></i><b><i>Shiva Tandava Strotram</i> by Ravana/ Valmiki</b></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">(If
I am through more than 50% of the book, it goes into the list of the
year past, otherwise it appears in the new list next year. </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #878787; font-family: Times,'Times New Roman',serif; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: initial;"><a href="http://viveksharmaiitd.blogspot.com/2018/01/books-read-in-2018.html" style="background-color: white; color: #878787; font-family: Times,'Times New Roman',serif; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">See here for the books read in 2018, with a selection of my favorite r</a>eads from the year past.</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">)</span></span><br />
<br /></div>
Vivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10404411.post-66239461477498550742018-05-10T10:50:00.000-04:002018-05-10T10:50:07.256-04:00Troubled Troublemaker at the Chicago CTA station<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span data-offset-key="d6nj5-0-0" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(29, 33, 41); color: #1d2129; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">Bizarre CTA Experience: This morning I stepped onto the platform at Chicago red line stop, and began reading Nabokov's Blues, a book about the writer and Lepidopterist (butterfly scholar/ collector) Vladimir Nabokov. I was on page three of a book I received this morning, when I guess my peripheral vision mapped an old man approach from my left side. Many travelers pass you by, and you barely pay attention. I was really enjoying my reading material, and before I sensed how close he was, he knocked the book out of my hands. The book, with two blue butterflies on its cover, fell onto the steel-gray tracks. With the book gone, my hands still raised up as if in prayer, I saw before me an old, haggard, African-American man. He had a cigarette butt in his lips, and a very angry expression on a wrinkled, dissipated face, eyes bulging out of sockets as if if with intense hatred. I stepped away from him, as did others around us. Then the man went on to partially drop his pants, expose his posterior, while a hand got busy for few seconds in his pants in the front. A minute or so later, with posterior still exposed, he walked past me, and approached an African-American woman who was sitting on a bench. He picked a tissue paper and a fork lying next to her, and angrily threw it at the tracks. A person next to me kept saying: is there an emergency button around here? Quite soon, but not soon enough, the train arrived. I boarded the train, later called and talked to a CTA representative reporting the incident to make sure the troubled man, the troublemaker was removed from the train station. Also I expressed interest in getting my book back. The man appeared quite disturbed and unstable, and clearly needs some form of care and cure. I wish I knew how to help him, and though I was appalled by the whole thing as it unfolded, I am still wondering why did he do what he did? </span></span><span class="_5zk7" data-offset-key="d6nj5-1-0" spellcheck="false" start="1890" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgba(88, 144, 255, 0.14902); border-bottom-color: rgba(88, 144, 255, 0.298039); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; caret-color: rgb(29, 33, 41); color: #1d2129; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span data-offset-key="d6nj5-1-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">#CTA</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="d6nj5-2-0" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(29, 33, 41); color: #1d2129; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><span class="_5zk7" data-offset-key="d6nj5-3-0" spellcheck="false" start="1895" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgba(88, 144, 255, 0.14902); border-bottom-color: rgba(88, 144, 255, 0.298039); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; caret-color: rgb(29, 33, 41); color: #1d2129; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span data-offset-key="d6nj5-3-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">#Chicago</span></span></span><span class="_5zk7" data-offset-key="1g8m7-3-0" spellcheck="false" start="1837" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgba(88, 144, 255, 0.14902); border-bottom-color: rgba(88, 144, 255, 0.298039); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; caret-color: rgb(29, 33, 41); color: #1d2129; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span data-offset-key="1g8m7-3-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span></div>
Vivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10404411.post-3317265229033488182018-03-17T15:22:00.001-04:002018-03-17T16:07:21.924-04:00It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>It Can't Happen Here</i> by Sinclair Lewis is a prescient,
prophetic, visionary novel, that embarks on a cautionary tale of a
fascist, misogynist, racist leadership that manages to get
democratically elected in the United States. The novel was written in
1930s when fascism was on a rise in the Western Europe while communism
was growing stronger by the day in the Eastern Europe, and back when,
most of the European nations, the US and Japan harbored strong colonial
aspirations. Central to the story is the character of Buzz Windrip, the
man who becomes the nominee of a major party, then the president, and
then a dictator, "in order to save the nation from the welfare cheats,
from crimes and sex, from drinkers and bootleggers, from the rising
power of women who had just got the right to vote and work in
offices and factories, from the ascendant African-Americans,
businessmen Jews and the immigrants, from a liberal press, and imports". Buzz Windrip
is brought into power with the help of evangelists and with the help of
miners, laborers, and the so-called hardworking middle class American
who believe in his promise that everyone would make more money under his
leadership. In the first quarter of the novel, as the drumbeats around
the nomination and subsequently the election of Buzz Windrip get louder
and louder, the confounded intellectuals around the country go on
mumbling "It can't happen here!"</span></span><br />
<br />
</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The novel is a razor sharp
political satire from another era, and it imagines the rise of both a
dictatorial president and his henchmen from a fully-functioning
democractic set-up. The scenarios imagined with a cold accuracy of a
truly imaginative and creative writer appear to the a script many
leaders around the world have emulated over the past few decades.
Sinclair Lewis was the first American novelist to win a Nobel Prize for
literature in 1930, for his major, more famous novels like <i>Main Street</i>,
<i>Babbitt </i>and <i>Arrowsmith</i>. Although America narrowly escaped the wave of
nazism and fascism in 1930s, the script of the novel stays as fresh and
as foreboding as ever. Buzz Windrip, who eventually wins the vote,
within this novel is said to have ghost-authored a book, written in a
folksy, funny, simplified language, with choicest examples and phrases
meant to echo in the minds and hearts of common people. Many chapters
open with a paragraph drawn from the imaginary book, (titled <i>Zero Hour</i>)
and each paragraph seems to have inspired words and phrases we have
heard in our times from the leaders who are said to be in touch with the
public, the masses, the working classes. </span></span><br />
<br />
</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The novel has a
very memorable cast of characters, and works well both as a political
satire as well as a saga of families and friends trying to make sense of
events and changes around them. The primary actor and thinker in the
story is Doremus Jessup, who is an editor of a small New England
newspaper. Doremus both bears a witness to the emergence of Buzz as the
president and a dictator, and becomes a victim to the influence of Buzz,
exercised through handpicked cast of men in administration, each one
more cunning and capricious than his predecessor at the job and also the
incredible "Minute Men". Minute Men refers to a parallel armed force
of followers created by Buzz, with help of Sarason, his confidant and
the supposed brain behind many of the popular songs, sayings and
policies of Buzz. Minute men run the labor camps (similar to
concentration camps), seize what they will, and they control justice
system, and the minute men, with their marches and uniforms inspire awe
and obedience in the masses. Without giving away the thrilling and
chilling plot points, including the inspiring and equally well-written
female cast, I would add that the friends and family of Doremus, and his
foes, provide a perfect orchestra of voices and choices through which
the grand drama of the demise of a democracy is played out. I think it
is the honored duty of every individual and every intellectual to read
books like this one. Highly recommended.</span></span></div>
</div>
Vivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10404411.post-58507365697883847952018-01-01T21:21:00.003-05:002019-01-01T10:28:16.904-05:00Books Read in 2018<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read in 2018 (53= <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">26 </span></span></span>+ 27; NF 4) </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><u><span style="color: blue;">ENGLISH FICTION <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><u>(21</u></span>) </span></u><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">FICTION IN </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">ENGLISH TRANSLATION -- (10):</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <i>The Double </i>by Jose Saramago, <span style="color: red;"><i>Kaputt</i> by Curzio Malaparte</span>, <i>I am a Cat </i>by Natsume Soseki: Volume 1, Volume 2 & Volume 3, <span style="color: red;"><i>Runaway Horses </i>and <i>The Temple of Dawn</i><i> </i>by Yukio Mishima</span>, <i>(Beware of Pity </i>by Stefan Zweig), <i><span style="color: red;">Morning Sea </span></i><span style="color: red;">by Margaret Mazzantini [Translated by Ann Gagliardi], <i>Botchan </i>by Natsume Soseki [Translated from the Japanese by J. Cohn],</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">NOVEL / FICTION IN ENGLISH (11):</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i> </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <b><i>The Shadow of the Torturer </i>by Gene Wolfe</b>, <span style="color: red;">(<b><i>Of Human Bondage </i>by W. Somerset Maugham</b>)</span>, <i><b>The Claw of the Conciliator </b></i><b>by Gene Wolfe</b>, <b><span style="color: red;"><i>It Can't Happen Here </i>by Sinclair Lewis</span></b>, <span style="color: red;"><i>The Underground Railroad </i>by Colson Whitehead</span>, <span style="color: red;"><b><i>The Tiger's Wife </i>by Tea Obreht</b></span>, <b><span style="color: red;"><i>The Book of Chocolate Saints </i>by Jeet Thayil</span></b>, <b><i>Cannery Row</i> by John Steinbeck</b>, <i>Coyote Doggirl</i> and <i>My Dirty Dumb Eyes </i>by Lisa Hanawalt, <i>There is No Such Place as Far Away </i>by Richard Bach, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><u><span style="color: blue;">ENGLISH POETRY (27=7+19+1) </span></u></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i style="font-weight: bold;">POETRY IN ENGLISH TRANSLATION (7): </i><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="color: red;"><b><i>War Primer </i>by Bertolt Bretcht <span style="color: black;">[translated from the German by John Willett]</span></b></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">, <span style="color: red;"><i>The Complete Poems </i>by Catullus <span style="color: black;">[translated from the Latin by Guy Lee]</span></span>, </span><span style="color: red;"><i>Songs of the Simple Truth: the Complete Poems </i>by Julia de Burgos</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>[translated from the Spanish by Jack Agueros]<span style="font-weight: bold;">, </span><span style="color: red;"><i>Birds for a Demolition </i>by Manoel de Barros <span style="color: black;">[translated from the Portuguese by Idra Novey]</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">, <span style="color: red;"><i>Homage to the Lame Wolf: Selected Poems </i>by Vasko Popa <span style="color: black;">[translated from Serbian by Charles Simic]</span></span>, <i>By the Danube: Selected Poems </i>by Atilla Jozsef [translated from the Hungarian by John Batki], <i>The Book of Luminous Things: An International Anthology of Poetry, </i>edited and compiled by Czelaw Milosz</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> </i></span></b></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i style="font-weight: bold;">POETRY IN ENGLISH (19):<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></i><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>The Shadow of Sirius</i> by W. S. Merwin, </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>The Rain in Portugal </i>by Billy Collins</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, <span style="color: red;"><i>Erratic Facts </i>by Kay Ryan</span>, </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Felicity </i>by Mary Oliver</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, <span style="color: red;"><i>Exit, Civilian</i> by Idra Novey</span>, <span style="color: red;"><i>My Soviet Union </i>by Michael Dumanis</span>, <i><span style="color: red;">The Day's Last Light Reddens the Leaves of the Copper Beech by Stephen Dobyns</span>, </i></span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Registers of Illumintaed Villages</i> by Tarfia Faizullah</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Perception </i>by Christina Pugh</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>A Face that Does Not Wear Footprints of the World </i>By Usha Akela</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, <i>My Dark Horses </i>by Jodie Hollander, </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>House of McQueen</i> by Valerie Wallace</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="color: red;"><i>If they Come for Us </i>by Fatimah Asghar</span></b><span style="font-weight: bold;">, <i>The Singer of Alleppey </i>by Pramila Venkateswaran, <i>Atmospheric Embroidery </i>by Meena Alexander, </span><i>Ferrying Secrets </i>by Ralph Nazareth<span style="font-weight: bold;">, </span><i>Sharp Blue Search of Flame </i>by Zilka Joseph<span style="font-weight: bold;">, <span style="color: red;"><i>Magdalene </i>by Marie Howe</span>,</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> </i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: red;"><i>The Complete Poems </i>by Catullus [translated by Guy Lee] in Latin, </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><u><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">ENGLISH NON-FICTION (4)</span></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">PHILOSOPHY / RELIGION / MYTHOLOGY / HISTORY </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">(2)</span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>Three Ways to be Alien </i>by Sanjay Subrahmanyam, <i>The Lessons of History </i> by Will and Ariel Durant</b> </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">POPULAR SCIENCE / </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">ECONOMICS</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i> (0):</i> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><i> </i></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">NON-FICTION - OTHER (2):</i><span style="font-weight: bold;"> <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>(Trac<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">tion </span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">by Gino Wickman)</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, <i>The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck </i>by Mark Manson</span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> <i><br /></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><b style="color: red;">MAHABHARATA (by Mahrishi Ved Vyas; translated from Samskrit into English by Kisari Mohun Ganguly) (0/18): </b></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><u>LITERATURE : INDIAN LANGUAGES (1=1+<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">0</span>; <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">0</span> )</u></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Hindi / Urdu / Punjabi (Fiction/Mythology: <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">0 </span>+ Poetry: <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">0</span> </span>+ Non-fiction: <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">0</span>)</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>: <span style="color: red;"><b>Pratinidhi Kahaniyan </b></span></i><span style="color: red;"><b>by Bhisham Sahni</b></span>,<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><b>Sanskrit (Fiction: 0+ Poetry: <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">0</span>): </b></i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">(If
I am through more than 50% of the book, it goes into the list of the
year past, otherwise it appears in the new list next year. </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #878787; font-family: Times,'Times New Roman',serif; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: initial;"><a href="http://viveksharmaiitd.blogspot.com/2017/01/books-read-in-2017.html" style="background-color: white; color: #878787; font-family: Times,'Times New Roman',serif; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">See here for the books read in 2017, with a selection of my favorite r</a>eads from the year past.</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">)</span></span><br />
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<b>Highlights from 2018</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;">1. <i>Kaputt</i> by Curzio Malaparte</span>: Both <i>Kaputt </i>& <i>Skin</i> by Malaparte are beautifully-crafted but horrifying and unforgettable portraits of human decadence, war-mongering, wars and cruelty, and essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the impact and influence of war (WW2).</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">2. B<i>otchan</i> and <i>I am a Cat </i>by Natsume Soseki</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">: </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Humor and satire, with heart-warming style</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">3. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i>Runaway Horses </i>and <i>The Temple of Dawn</i><i> </i>by Yukio Mishima</span>: The second and the third book in Mishima's fertility series. Involves unforgettable passages about a visit each to Thailand and to India, especially to Benaras Ghats, ruminations on changes in Japanese society, Buddhism, love, honor and reincarnation.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">4. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i>It Can't Happen Here </i>by Sinclair Lewis</span>: You can say Sinclair Lewis invented Trump or at least presciently knew what could lead to the rise of Trump-like president. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <span style="color: red;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i>5. The Tiger's Wife </i>by Tea Obreht</span>: A beautiful tale that weaves magical realism into a story that is both timeless and poignant, and beautifully written. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i>6. The Book of Chocolate Saints </i>by Jeet Thayil: Like <i>Savage Detectives, </i>tracks down to source and beyond the movements and mysteries of Indian Writers (mainly Bombay poets) who chose to write in English. The prose is luminescent in places, I guess whenever the poet drops in to ignite a line or few.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;">7. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i>My Soviet Union </i>by Michael Dumanis</span>: Great poems. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="color: red;">8. The Day's Last Light Reddens the Leaves of the Copper Beech by Stephen Dobyns</span></i><span style="color: red;">: I can hear Dobyns recite in my head, and so the poems have additional appeal for me. Poignant and prophetic.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>9. </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>The Book of Luminous Things: An International Anthology of Poetry, </i>edited and compiled by Czelaw Milosz: A great collection of poems, has no Indian poets represented though.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: red;">10. Pratinidhi Kahaniyan </span></i><span style="color: red;">by Bhisham Sahni</span>: </span></span></span></span></i><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span">A book that managed to give me goosebumps again, and again, and again.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="color: red;"> </span></i></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
Vivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10404411.post-68376918598132092272017-05-12T20:54:00.000-04:002017-05-13T15:24:42.169-04:00The Splinter Factory by Jeffrey McDaniel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Jeffrey McDaniel is a heartbreak, wisecrack poet, and his poems contain a potpourri of metaphors that astound, amuse, hurt, and linger in your imagination. Though there is often a subtext of dysfunctional family, unrequited or unsavory love, crack or alcohol addiction, in nearly every line Jeffrey invents a language for human condition that is scintillating in its originality and imagery. Do not attempt to read these if you are a prude, do not attempt to recite these if your lips have never been silted by tears or blood. In poem after poem, Jeffrey stuns you with his metaphors, and his wordplay brings to page a gorgeous imagination that thrives in the surreal landscapes of "The Utopia of Scars" co-inhabited by desolation and hope. I find his poems intoxicating, and as I sip his punchy phrases, I feel I am at a cocktail tasting, as a special guest of a bartender renowned for discovering savory concoctions, made with unexpected ingredients.<br /><br />In "Renovating the Wall", he writes: "I enjoyed my time in the uterus, reading / what the previous fetuses had written / on your walls. That's how I learned / to spell. That's how I came out speaking."<br /><br />In a poem titled "Dear America", Jeffrey talks about addiction: ... In college I took so many drugs / the professors looked at the samples of my urine / just to know what books I'd been reading./"<br /><br />Jeffrey has a remarkable ear and eye for curious word combinations that are charming, endearing and apt. "The Scars of Utopia", he says: "... There should be Band Aids // for what you don't know: whiskey breath minds so sober people // can fit in at wild parties; a Smithsonian for misfits: / an insomniac's mucky pillow hanging over a naroleptic's // drool cup, ..."<br /><br />The collection is as spectacular as his poet titled "The Jeffrey McDaniel Show". "The Archer of Gluttony" or "Old Flame Thrower" enthralls us with sounds and images so crisp and finely crafted that you delight even at phrases that are highlighting desperation or melancholy. The poems showcase the skill of one of the finest metaphor makers of our times, and yet the poems are very readable, very likeable.<br /><br />The seemingly autobiographical or persona poems are full of razor-sharp observations and unforgettable sentences: "...your tongue,/ ripping through my prairie like a tornado of paper cuts". Or in a poem about Grandma, he says: "I press my ears to her lampshade-thin chest / and listen to that little soldier march towards whatever / plateau, or simply exhaust his arsenal of beats." I highly recommend this collection by Jeffrey McDaniel and also recommend all his other books. Like me, you will discover that within the poems abides a sensitive, compassionate, witty, sympathetic and remarkable, self-effacing voice that must be celebrated word by word, line by line.</div>
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Vivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10404411.post-68857237005291150092017-04-02T22:38:00.001-04:002017-04-02T22:42:59.824-04:00Middle-class Traditions Featuring Lemon Tree Leaves<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
- for Stephen Dobyns and Dean Parkins<br />
<br />
<br />
Adolescent cousins sneak out, smoke<br />
cigars, hukkahs, cigarettes, beedis,<br />
opium sometimes, chillum fumes.<br />
Cousins chew lemon leaves before<br />
returning home. Explain why my uncles,<br />
aunts, (their parents), cousins, neighbors,<br />
never smell a lemon? Why not count<br />
how many leaves vanish each night?<br />
<br />
Cousins inherit the trick,<br />
but fathers ignore the nostalgic lemon.<br />
Mothers go on washing kurtas / shirts,<br />
give head massages, hugs and career<br />
advice. Mothers descry each drab stain<br />
but fail as spies in a smoker's domain.<br />
Is it maternal instinct to nurture<br />
ignorance of chewed leaves?<br />
<br />
Middle-aged uncles sneak out to savor<br />
scotch, dancing women, rum quaffs,<br />
sacrilegious ham or beef kebabs.<br />
Though their lemons control<br />
their households, the habit<br />
plucks a leaf or two.<br />
Rich don't care, poor brawl,<br />
middle-class avoids confrontation<br />
by swallowing bitter leaves of lemon.<br />
<br />
To ward off evil-eye, grandmas<br />
string lemon-chilli necklaces<br />
for cars and all entrances.<br />
Aunts treasure lemon trees,<br />
they occasionally worship.<br />
Lemons – spice up their dishes,<br />
scare away unwelcome spirits,<br />
and add flavor to their kisses.<br />
<br />
My dead grandpa's friends<br />
resent guilt and thrills of their young.<br />
I imagine them unzip trousers,<br />
loosen pajama strings with flourish<br />
and tremble with a sly joy as they spray<br />
golden, odorous drops, offered as ablutions<br />
to the life's deceits and to all lemon leaves<br />
that their spiraling, musty jets can reach.<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
First published in Muse India, 2016</div>
Vivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10404411.post-8810143511413973642017-01-02T17:49:00.000-05:002017-01-02T17:49:24.326-05:00Advice from Saraswati and the Muses<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Write what is wrung from your tongue<br />a blistering song, a howl from your lung,<br />strum every veena vein muscle string<br />of your throat and your thumb.<br />
<br />Write with a bite that goes below, to the bone,<br />to marrow and to moan, to the seed of a seed.<br />Write to merit a sigh, a smile or a sob<br />from a granite idol or a brass snob.<br />
<br />Embrace the past, encompass eternal, vast<br />feelings. Empower -- under the thumb, mum,<br />conquered -- with hymns. Leave no crumb<br />unversed. Croon with aplomb.<br />
<br />Invoke immortal ideas, idols, ideals, idioms.<br />The wise mine for poems in realms forgotten<br />or uncharted. Seek, master the unknown,<br />the before and the after of Allah, Yesu, Om.<br />
<br />To celebrate and sing of the light like a skylark,<br />begin in the dark. Curate a spark within, burn,<br />transcend the limits of the Brahma and a quark.<br />Publish. Deserve immortal art.<br />
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--<br />
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--<br />First published in Muse India, 2016.<br />Saraswati: The Hindu Goddess of Knowledge, Speech and Music.<br />(My new year resolution for 2017: publish, publish, publish -- mostly science, also poetry)</div>
Vivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10404411.post-79322002503600292892017-01-01T17:33:00.004-05:002018-01-01T21:27:33.011-05:00Books Read in 2017<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read in 201<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">7</span> (<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">60</span></span></span></span> = <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">40 </span></span></span>+ 20; NF 13) </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><u><span style="color: blue;">ENGLISH FICTION <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><u>(26</u></span>) </span></u><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">FICTION IN </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">ENGLISH TRANSLATION -- (12): </span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Silence<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: red;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">by Sh<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">ushako</span> Endo [Translated from the Japanese by William Johnston]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>R<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">u</span>din </span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">by Ivan Turgenev [Translated from the Russian by Richard Freeborn], <i>The Monkey's Wrench </i>by Primo Levi [Translated from the Italian by William Weaver]<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, <span style="color: red;"><i>The Magic Mountain</i> b</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;">y Thomas Mann</span> [Translated from the German], </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: red;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>By Night in Chile </i>by Roberto Bolano [Translated from the Spanish by Chris Andrews]</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, <span style="color: red;"><i>Ghachar Ghochar </i>by Vivek Shanbagh [Translated from the Kannanda]</span>, <span style="color: red;"><i>The Savage Detectives </i>by Roberto Bolano [Translated from the Spanish by Natasha Wimmer]</span>, <i>Spring Snow </i>by Yukio Mishima [Translated from the Japanese by Michael Gallager], <span style="color: red;"><i>The Swimmer </i>by Zsuzsa Banks</span> <span style="color: red;">[Translated by Margaret B. Dembo]</span>, <span style="color: red;"><i>The Tartar Steppe</i> by Dino Buzzati [Translated from Italian]</span>, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i>A Night in the Cemetery and other Stories of Crime and Suspense </i>by Anton Chekov </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">[Translated from Russian by Peter Sekerin], <span style="color: red;"><i>Cairo Modern </i>by Naguib Mahfouz [Translated from Arabic by]</span>. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">NOVEL / FICTION IN ENGLISH (14):</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i> </i><b>The Pearl by John Steinbeck</b>, <i>Two <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Y</span>ears Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights </i>by Salman Ru<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">shdie, </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>The Power and the Glory </i>by Graham Greene, <b><i>A Painter of Our Time </i> by John Berger</b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, <i>Dear Committee Me<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">mbers </span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">by Julie Schumacher, <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>The Confi<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">dence Man </span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">by Herman Melville, <span style="color: red;"><i>Jesus' Son</i> by Denis Johnson</span>, <i>(Untouchable </i>by Mulk Raj Anand), <i><b>Angels </b></i><b> by Denis Johnson</b>, <span style="color: red;"><i>Love, Again </i>by Doris Lessing</span>, <b><i>The Anthologist </i>by Nicholson Baker</b>, <span style="color: red;"><i>All the Pretty Horses,</i> <i>The Crossing</i> and <i>Cities on the Plain</i> by Cormac McCarthy</span>, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><u><span style="color: blue;">ENGLISH POETRY (<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><u><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">20</span></span></span></u></span>) </span></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i style="font-weight: bold;">POETRY IN ENGLISH TRANSLATION (<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">5</span></span>): </i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>The Poetry of Zen</i> [Translated from the Japanese and the Chinese by </b></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Sam Hill and J. P. Seaton]</b></span></span></span>,<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i> Issa's Best: a Translator's S<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">election of Master Haiku<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">by Kobayashi Issa [Translated from the Jap<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">a</span>nese by David G. Lanoue], <i>The Sound of Water: Haiku </i>by Ba<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">sho, Buson, Issa and Other Poets </span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>[Translated from the Japanese and the Chinese</b></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b> by </b></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Sam Hill]</b></span></span></span></b></span></span></span> <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, <i><span style="color: red;">The World's End </span></i><span style="color: red;">by Pablo Neruda [Translated from the Spanish]</span>, <i>Sp<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">lend<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">or and Death of Joaquin Murieta </span></span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">by <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Pablo Neruda [Translated from the Spanish by Ben Belitt<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">]<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><i> </i></span></b></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i style="font-weight: bold;">POETRY IN ENGLISH (15):<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></i><span style="color: red;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sweet Ruin </span></span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">by Tony Hoagland</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, <i>Station Island </i>by Seamus Heaney, <i>The Long Meadow </i>by Vijay Seshadri, <span style="color: red;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">A Street of Clocks </span></i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;">by Thomas Lux</span>, <i>Telephone Ringing in the Labyrinth Poems 2004:2006 </i>by Adrienne Rich,<i> <span style="color: red;">The Splinter Factory </span></i><span style="color: red;">by Jeffrey McDaniel</span>, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Winter's Journey </i>by Stephen Dobyns</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, <span style="color: red;"><i>Evenings and Avenues</i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i> </i>by Stuart Dischell, <i>The Forgiveness Parade </i>by Jeffrey McDaniel</span>, <i>As I Walked Out One Evening </i>by W. H. Auden, <i>Backward Days </i>by Stuart Dischell, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Letters from Aldenderry </i>by Philip Nikolayev</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, <i>The Romantic Dogs </i>by Roberto Bolano, <span style="color: red;"><i>To Urania </i>by Joseph Brodsky</span>, <i>Selected Poems: 1988-2003 </i>by Seamus Heaney,</span><i> </i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><u><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">ENGLISH NON-FICTION (<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">13</span>)</span></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">PHILOSOPHY / RELIGION / MYTHOLOGY / HISTORY </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">(<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">0</span>)</span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">POPULAR SCIENCE / </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">ECONOMICS</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i> (3):</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b> </b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Proof: The Science of Booze </i>by Adam Rogers, <i>Flow </i>and <i>Branches </i>by Philip Ball, </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><i> </i></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">NON-FICTION - OTHER (10):</i><span style="font-weight: bold;"> <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Ways of Seeing </i>by John Berger,</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <i>The Art of Rec<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">klessness </span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">by Dean Young, <i>A Writer's Nightmare </i>by R. K. Narayan, <i>The Uncertain Certainty </i>by Charles Simic, <i>Understanding a Photograph </i>by John Berger, <span style="color: red;"><i>Drink<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">: A Cultural History of Alc<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">ohol </span></span></i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;">by Iain Gately</span>, <i>(Twenty Poems that Could Save America and Other Essays </i>by Tony Hoagland), <span style="color: red;"><i>The Miles Between Me </i>by Toni Nealie</span>, </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>The Hare with Amber Eyes </i>by Edmund de Waal</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, <i>Food Rules: An Eater's Manual </i>by Micheal Pollan,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> <i><br /></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><b style="color: red;">MAHABHARATA (by Mahrishi Ved Vyas; translated from Samskrit into English by Kisari Mohun Ganguly) (0/18): </b></span>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><u>LITERATURE : INDIAN LANGUAGES (<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">1</span>=<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">1</span>+<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">0</span>; <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">0</span> )</u></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Hindi / Urdu / Punjabi (Fiction/Mythology: <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">1</span> </span>+ Poetry: <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">0</span> </span>+ Non-fiction: <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">0</span>)</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>: <span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Bhasmavrit Chingari </span></span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;">by Yashpal,</span> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><b>Sanskrit (Fiction: 0+ Poetry: <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">0</span>): </b></i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">(If
I am through more than 50% of the book, it goes into the list of the
year past, otherwise it appears in the new list next year. </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #878787; font-family: Times,'Times New Roman',serif; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: initial;"><a href="http://viveksharmaiitd.blogspot.com/2016/01/books-read-in-2015.html" style="background-color: white; color: #878787; font-family: Times,'Times New Roman',serif; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">See here for the books read in 2016, with a selection of my favorite r</a>eads from the year past.</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">)</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">Best among the books read in 2017</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">(1) The Savage Detectives</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">(2) Gachar Gochar </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">(3) To Urania</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">(4) Drink</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">(5) Cairo Modern</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">(6) The Splinter Factory</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">(7) The Magic Mountain</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">(8) The Swimmer</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">(9) The Miles Between Me</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">(10) A Street of Clocks</span></span></div>
Vivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10404411.post-59406809180233209502016-11-09T05:51:00.004-05:002016-11-09T05:57:45.676-05:00People have a Native Sympathy for Crooks<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div>
Double up with laughter, regale the tale,</div>
<div>
or play the wit, add eye-popping details,</div>
<div>
rejoice at the dolt who trusts the cheats,</div>
<div>
marvel at the idioms used for deceits,</div>
<div>
they lie to you, never write it in books,</div>
<div>
people have a native sympathy for crooks.<br />
<br />
</div>
<div>
Pick any epic, romance, any heroic tale,</div>
<div>
entertainment follows a scoundrel's trail.</div>
<div>
Be it for jest, or suspense, or raw charm</div>
<div>
or to seduce a duchess at a duke's farm,</div>
<div>
its him, its his cunning that the world salutes,</div>
<div>
people have a native sympathy for crooks.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
He often inspires more than a cheeky grin,</div>
<div>
a hope in Joe or Jane, who're poor but alive,</div>
<div>
who do what they can do, to just survive:</div>
<div>
bribe and steal, use every conceit, lie, sin.</div>
All find it titillating to hoodwink the sleuths, <br />
people have a native sympathy for crooks.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Is mischief charming, is it a Freudian thing?<br />
<div>
Do joys ensue from an addictive suffering?</div>
<div>
Every holy book spends most of it rhymes</div>
<div>
in detailing human failings or sinful times.<br />
Why do we prefer wine over fruit juice? <br />
People have a native sympathy for crooks.</div>
<br />
<div>
Movie audience bursts with awe or guffaws <br />
as he partakes the best lines, guilty pleasures<br />
throughout the saga, he, the breaker of laws<br />
controls the reins, the keys to all treasures.</div>
Only in the climax, unconvincing he looks,<br />
people have a native sympathy for crooks.<br />
<br />
<div>
Not Jesus or Buddha, but Krishna, Zeus, Dionysus</div>
<div>
proclaimed that the life's sauce is Baronesque.</div>
The crafty seem to win, while the honest wait<br />
<div>
for karmic redemption, for delayed gifts, grace.</div>
<div>
As they know, in the end, he'll going to loose, </div>
people have a native sympathy for crooks.<br />
<br />
--<br />
(First draft Jan 2014) </div>
Vivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10404411.post-46945543817127025482016-02-14T14:14:00.001-05:002016-02-14T14:18:15.046-05:00Valentine's Day Proposal, 14th February 2013 (by a Romantic Academic)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Darling, on this Valentine's day, <br />
all night and day, I worked on a proposal.<br />
Each word chosen carefully, promise<br />
after promise, crafted with more heart<br />
than Rodin put into his sculptured art.<br />
I worked on a proposal, brought forth<br />
from the deepest recesses in my memory<br />
ideas, idioms, examples that were apt, stark<br />
and phrase after phrase, page after page,<br />
I sung like a lark. Darling, let me sleep now,<br />
if they fund my proposal, I will be at your disposal<br />
the next Valentine's day.<br />
<br />
<br />
--<br />
(In honor of the academic owl <br />
who works through the night <br />
without fail, without a scowl).<br />
<br />
**<br />
(Imagined first as a poem from my colleague and friend Randy Ewoldt.He was finalizing his research proposal in a conference hotel, and kept working on it through the night).<br />
14th Feb 2013</div>
Vivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10404411.post-40860850941035516542016-01-01T13:36:00.000-05:002017-01-29T18:05:47.676-05:00Books read in 2016<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read in 201<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">6</span> (<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">4<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">6</span></span></span> = <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">3<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">2</span></span></span></span></span></span> + <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">1<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">4</span></span>; NF <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">1<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">0</span></span>) </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><u><span style="color: blue;">ENGLISH FICTION <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><u>(1<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">7</span></u></span>) </span></u><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">FICTION IN </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">ENGLISH TRANSLATION -- (<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">6</span></span>): South of the Border, West of the Sun </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">by Haruki Murakami, </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>The Island of the Day Before </i>by Umberto Eco</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, <i>Therese Raquin</i> by <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Emile Zola, <i>Fountain and Tomb</i> by Nagui<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">b <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Mahfouz, <i>Cosmicomics </i>by Italo <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Calvino, <span style="color: red;"><i>Life's Good Brother </i>by Nazim Hikmet</span> [translated from Turkish by Mutlu K<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">o</span>n<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">uk</span> Blasing],</span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">NOVEL / FICTION IN ENGLISH (<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">1<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">1</span></span>):</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i> </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><i>Americanah </i>by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche</span></span></span></span></i><b><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span">, </span></span>41 Sto<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">ries </span></span></i></b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>by O Hen</b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>ry,</b> <span style="color: red;"><b><i>Native Son </i>by </b></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Richard Wright</b></span>, <span style="color: red;"><i><b>Anthill</b></i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i><b>s of the Savannah</b></i> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b>by Chinua Achebe</b></span><i>,<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><i>The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America</i> by Erik Larson, <span style="color: red;"><i>The Heart is a Lonely Hunter </i>by Carson McCullers</span>,<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> <i>Rob Roy </i>by Si<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">r Walter Scott, <i>Dept. of Speculation </i>by Jenny Offill, <span style="color: red;"><i>Miles from Nowhere </i>by Nami Mun</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, <i><b>Flowers for Algernon </b></i><b>by </b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Daniel Keyes</b></span><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">,</span></i> <span style="color: red;"><b><i>The Narrow Road to the Deep North </i>by Richard Flanagan</b></span>, </span></span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><u><span style="color: blue;">ENGLISH POETRY (<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><u>10</u></span>) </span></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i style="font-weight: bold;">POETRY IN ENGLISH TRANSLATION (<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">2</span></span>): </i></span></span><b><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Selected Poems </span></span></i></b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>by Francis Ponge</b>,<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <b>The Selected Poetry of Ranier Maria Rilke </b></span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>[Translated by Stephen Mitchell], </b></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i style="font-weight: bold;">POETRY IN ENGLISH (<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">8</span>):<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> A Street of Clocks </span></i><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">by Thomas Lu<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">x, <i>Mystery, So <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Long </span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">by Stephen Dobyns, </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>The Emperor of Water Clocks </i>by Yuse<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">f Komunyaka</span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, <i>To <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">the Left of Time </span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">by Thomas Lux, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Tracer Particles </i>by Allison Joseph</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>, <span style="color: red;"><i>Neon Vernacular </i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;">by Yusef Komunyakaa</span>, <span style="color: red;"><i>Leaves of Grass</i> by Walt </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;">Whitman</span>, <span style="color: red;"><i>Selected Po<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">ems </span></i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;">by W. B. Yeats</span>, </span></span></span></b></span><i><br /></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><u><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">ENGLISH NON-FICTION (<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">1<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">2</span></span>)</span></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">PHILOSOPHY / RELIGION / MYTHOLOGY / HISTORY </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">(<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">5</span>)</span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>The Hist<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">ories<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></i></b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>by Herodotus (translated by)), Bhagavad Gita (sermons by Mahatma Gandhi), <i>The Masks of God: Oriental Mythology </i>by Jos<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">eph Campbell, <i>Founding Brothers: The <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">R</span>evolutionary Generation </i>by Joseph J. Ellis, <span style="color: red;"><i>The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;">by Benjamin Franklin</span>, </span></span></b> </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">POPULAR SCIENCE / </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">ECONOMICS</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i> (<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">1</span>):</i> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>(A History and Phil<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">osophy of </span>Fluid Mechanics </i>by G. A. Tokaty)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><i> </i></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">NON-FICTION - OTHER (<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">4</span>):</i><span style="font-weight: bold;"> <i>(</i></span><i>I am OK, You are OK </i>by Thomas A. Harri<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">s</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><i>), <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Ode Less Traveled </span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">by Stephen Fry, <i>My Kumaon </i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">by Jim Cor<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">bett, <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>When Breath Becomes Air </i>by Paul Kalanithi,</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> <i><br /></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><b style="color: red;">MAHABHARATA (by Mahrishi Ved Vyas; translated from Samskrit into English by Kisari Mohun Ganguly) (0/18): </b></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><u>LITERATURE : INDIAN LANGUAGES (<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">9</span>=<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">5</span>+<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">4</span></span></span>; <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">1</span> )</u></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Hindi / Urdu / Punjabi (Fiction/Mythology: <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">4</span></span> </span>+ Poetry: <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">2 </span>+ Non-fiction: <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">1</span>)</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>: </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Jhoota Sach: Desh ka B<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">h</span>avishya </span></b></i></span><b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;">by Yashpal</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">,<i> Talkhiyan </i>by Sahir Ludhianvi, <i>Neem Ka Ped </i>by Rahi Masoon Raza, <i>Meghadoot: Ek Purani Kahani </i>by Hazari Prasad Dwivedi, <i>Seemayen Toot</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>-ti hain</i> by Shr<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">ilal Shukla, </span></span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Aashad ka Ek Din</i> <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">by Mohan Rakesh</span></span></span></span></span><b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, <span style="color: red;"><i>Rashmirathi </i>by Ramdhari Singh Dinkar</span>, </span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><b>Sanskrit (Fiction: 0+ Poetry: <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">2</span>): <span style="color: red;">Bhagavad Gita </span></b></i><b><span style="color: red;">by Maharishi Ved Vyas</span>, <i>Meghdoot</i> by Kalidas</b></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">(If
I am through more than 50% of the book, it goes into the list of the
year past, otherwise it appears in the new list next year. </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #878787; font-family: Times,'Times New Roman',serif; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: initial;"><a href="http://viveksharmaiitd.blogspot.com/2015/01/books-read-in-2015.html" style="background-color: white; color: #878787; font-family: Times,'Times New Roman',serif; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">See here for the books read in 201<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">5</span>, with a selection of my favorite r</a>eads from the year past.</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: black;">Favorite <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">reads of the year 2016</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">1. <i>Life's Good Brother</i> by Nazim Hikmet: <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The novel <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">set in early twentieth century<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> is similar to Nazim's great work <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Human Landscapes: multiple characters and stories, <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">knitted together across multiple decades, <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">the narrative goes back and f<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">orth in tim<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">e with relative ease. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">2. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i>Native Son </i>by </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;">Richard Wright</span>, <span style="color: red;"><i> </i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i>3. Anthill</i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i>s of the Savannah</i> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;">by Chinua Achebe</span><i>,<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <span style="color: red;"><i> </i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i>4.<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span>The Narrow Road to the Deep North </i>by Richard Flanagan</span>, </span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">5. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i>Neon Vernacular </i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;">by Yusef Komunyakaa</span>,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">6. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><i>The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;">by Benjamin Franklin</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">7. Jhoota Sach: Desh ka B<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">h</span>avishya </span></i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;">by Yashpal</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">,</span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span><br />
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Vivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10404411.post-27195482927700066102015-01-18T10:38:00.003-05:002015-01-18T12:20:24.411-05:00Googlies: Conflict of Interest, Selection Puzzles & the Lack of Dashers and Bashers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
"Dhoni Stifled By the Lack of Later Dasher in the Team", says Monga, <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/carlton-mid-triangular-series-2015/content/story/821907.html" target="_blank">in his latest article on Cricinfo</a>. India lost its match against Australia, and it was too obvious that a lack of big-hitter at number six hurt India's chances. Sadly it seems that this could remain the script for Indian losses in this world cup. I believe the selection of the final fifteen was not made on merit. It did not account for either the recent form or level of experience at this level or even fitness of the players. The backroom politics, big money, IPL scum and scams, petty regional and filial feelings, and the obscure love for bureaucratic mediocrity, all are to blame.<br />
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Maybe someone needs to go to the courts, even if it is to the virtual ones, and ask the following questions from Dhoni, selectors, BCCI board, the Sports Ministry and the machinery that punishes tax evaders, rule breakers, etc:<br />
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(a) Dhoni and BCCI selectors: why not pick the in-form batman, all rounder, one of the best finisher in the game, Man of the Series in the last world cup? <br />
For everyone who follows Indian cricket, domestic and international, the very idea that somehow Yuvraj does not make the cut, is quite inexplicable. Maybe as inexplicable as the conflict of interest with a selector father and selected (poor on pitch / poor on paper or POP, POP) son... Yes, we all know. These days, Yuvraj is no selector's Binny, while Stuart Singhs, POP POP is King!<br />
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(b) Bring all your calculators, selection metrics, performance cards from all formats of the game, and justify the inclusion of Stuart Binny over a long list of more consistent performers, both with bat and ball. I can easily list Murali Vijay, Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Rishi Dhawan, Ashok Dinda, Manoj Tewari, etc ). Yes yes, I know, we have a bowling all rounder and POP POP can swing!<br />
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(c) Can somebody explain to me how Srinivasan and Dhoni navigate through conflict of interest issues? Who is not bothered by the fact that BCCI officials are IPL team owners, and run for profit companies that own IPL teams, and the same IPL teams have players who are their employees on roll on their other companies. Can anyone take charge and act soon to punish the teams, the players and the officials involved in the IPL scam? Prime Minister Sir, here is a perfect example to set for fair play and AAP party, here is a perfect example of a labyrinth in the search of a broom.<br />
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(d) What is the criteria for picking selectors and what is the criteria for selection if all the consistent performances in a domestic competition usually go unnoticed and will not get you a call to the national team? How many players in the current team have played their fair share of Ranji trophy and domestic cricket? How many have first class records unmatched by the domestic performers who are consistently overlooked?<br />
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Like most of the fans of Indian cricket, I also keep hoping against hope that in spite of all this, the Indian team will prevail. I also hope it will continue to find a string of stellar performances from Sachins, Rahuls, Anils, Sauravs, Jagwals, who thrive in spite of the system. Even for the World Cup in 2015, I have hopes for one or more exceptional performances from that fiery Kohli, focused Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, persevering yet underrated Rahane, workhorse Ashwin, amazing in ODIs, dud in tests Rohit Sharma, and the Indian Cements employees/ Chennai Superkings mascots (Raina, Dhoni, Jadeja). Sometimes all it takes is two great performances in a match, one from a batsman, one from a bowler, to earn the win.<br />
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But fairness, transparency, respect for both talent and for trust placed by a billion people, are all a different matter. When will be find a voice as a nation to condemn this endless chain of corruption, so widespread that even catches are dropped or picked, balls left or nicked, based on how much someone somewhere has bet on it! The maze of corruption seems draw everyone in. I wonder how will we ever succeed as a nation without getting out of this labyrinth?<br />
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We will watch it all as it unfolds. Yes, the World Cup 2015, too, we shall watch it as it unfolds. With its dashers and bashers. Mavericks and meritorious. Sons and duds. </div>
Vivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10404411.post-5655696152912685842015-01-03T08:38:00.001-05:002015-01-18T12:20:56.060-05:00Neend ke Shahar / नींद के शहर<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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नींद के कई शहर घूम आया हूँ । </div>
जस्बा, जज़्बात, कस्बा, कौम,</div>
सब धुत सोये पड़े हैं । सरेआम </div>
चोर लूट कंधे पर टाँगे गलियों </div>
गलियों से गुजर रहे हैं । कुत्ते,</div>
पुलसिये भी जागे पर अलसाये <br />
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तमाशा देख-से रहे हैं, अधखुली </div>
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पलकों से देख-से रहें हैं । तालीम </div>
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कह कर, बच्चों तक को <br />
छोटी उम्र से सुस्त-दिमागी, </div>
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आलसी-सोच पिलाई जाती है । </div>
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इक्का-दुक्का बल्ब-सा रोशन </div>
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हेडलाइट बुद्धिजीवी सरपट <br />
दौड़ रहा है, मानो कोई बेताल </div>
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पीठ पर चढ़ा उसे सता </div>
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रहा हो, घर-घर का हाल, </div>
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अलार्म घड़ियों का अकाल,</div>
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मुर्गों की कमीं और बदहाल, </div>
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धुत, गहरी नींद में बने बुत, </div>
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लाशों-से निश्चिंत जनमानस </div>
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दिखा कर कह रहा हो, जगा!</div>
हिम्मत है तो जगा के देख !<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/NeendKeShaharSharmaVivek" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="500"></iframe> </div>
Vivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10404411.post-14291778268405323312015-01-01T12:19:00.002-05:002016-12-16T09:47:18.674-05:00Books read in 2015<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read in 2015 (<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">99</span></span></span> = <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">39</span></span></span> + <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">60</span>; NF <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">8</span>) </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><u><span style="color: blue;">ENGLISH FICTION (<u><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">2<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">5</span></span></u>) </span></u><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">FICTION IN </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">ENGLISH TRANSLATION -- (<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">1<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">7</span></span>): Death with Interruptions </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">by Jose Saramago [translated from Portuguese]</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span">, <span style="color: red;"><i>Strange Pilgrims </i>by Gabriel Garcia Marquez</span>, <b><i>Rhadopis of Nubia </i>by Naguib Mahfouz</b> [translated from Arabic], <b><i>A Russian Beauty and Other Stories, Tyrants Destroyed and Other Stories, Details of a Sunset and Other Stories </i>and <i>Nabokov's dozen</i> by Vladimir Nabokov</b>, <span style="color: red;"><b><i>Harlot High and Low</i> by Honore de Balzac</b></span>, <span style="color: red;"><b><i>The S<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">leepwalkers: A Trilogy </span></i></b></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b>by Hermann Broch</b></span>, </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"> <span style="color: red;"><b><i>A</i></b><i><b>rtifices</b>, <b>The Aleph</b>, <b>The Maker</b>, In Praise of Darkness, Brodie's Report, The Book of Sand, and Shakespeare's Memory</i></span> from </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: red;"><b>Collected Fictions</b></span></i></span></span> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><b>by Jorge Luis Borges</b></span><i> </i>[translated by Andrew Hurley]</span></span>, <i>For a Night of Love </i>by Emile Zola </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span">[translated by Andrew Brown]</span></span></span></span>, </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">NOVEL / FICTION IN ENGLISH (<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">8</span>):</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i> </i><i>The Tomb of the Twelfth Imam </i>by Richard Bulleit, <i>Grimus </i>by Salman Rushdie, <i><span style="color: red;"><b>The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov</b></span>,</i> <i>A Reluctant Fundamentalist </i>by Mohsin Hamid, (<i>Drown </i>by Junot Diaz), <span style="color: red;"><b><i>Robinson Crusoe </i>by Daniel Defoe</b></span>, <i>(House of Sand and Fog </i>by Andre Dubus III), <i>Collected Short Stories, Vo<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">lume 3 by W. Somerset Maugham,</span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><u><span style="color: blue;">ENGLISH POETRY (<u>5<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">8</span></u>) </span></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i style="font-weight: bold;">POETRY IN ENGLISH TRANSLATION (<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">10</span>): </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"> <span style="color: red;"><b><i>Metamorphosis </i>by OVID [translated by Ralf Humphries]</b></span>,<i> <span style="color: red;"><b>Human Landscapes </b></span></i><span style="color: red;"><b>by Nazim Hikmet</b></span> [translated from Turkish by Randy Blasing and Multu Konuk], </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: red;"><b>Poems of... </b></span></i><span style="color: red;"><b>by</b></span><span style="color: red;"><b> Nazim Hikmet</b></span> [translated from Turkish by Randy Blasing and Multu Konuk], <span style="color: red;"><i>The Complete Poems</i> by Catullus</span> [translated by Guy Lee], <b><i>Why d<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">id you leave the Ho<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">rse A<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">lone? </span></span></span></i></b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>by Mahmoud Darwish</b> [translated from Arabic by Mohammad Shaheen]</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">English translations of <i>Bhagavad Gita</i> by <span style="color: red;">Eknath Eswaran</span>, <b><span style="color: red;">S. Radhakrishnan</span></b>, P. Lal, Aurobindo Ghosh, Stephen Mitchell, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i style="font-weight: bold;">POETRY IN ENGLISH (<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">5<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">2</span></span>): </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i>The First Part of King Henry the Sixth, </i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i>The Second Part of King Henry the Sixth</i></span>,</i> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i>The Third Part of King Henry the Sixth</i></span>, <b>King Richard The Third</b></i>, <i>Titus</i> <i>Adronicus</i>, <i>The Comedy of Errors, The Two Gentlemen of Verona</i>, <i>Love's Labour's Lost</i>, <i><span style="color: red;"><b>Romeo and Juliet</b></span>, A Midsummer Night's Dream, King John, The Taming of the Shrew, King Richard the Second, <b>The Merchant of Venice</b>, </i></span><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i>The First Part of King Henry the Fourth, </i></span></i></span></span></b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i>The Second Part of King Henry the Fourth,</i></span> King </i></span>Henry the Fifth</span></b>, Much Ado About Nothing, The Merry Wives of Windsor</i>, <i><b><span style="color: red;">Julius Ceaser</span></b>, <b>As You Like It</b>, Twelfth Night, <span style="color: red;"><b>Hamlet: Prince of Denmark</b></span>, Troilus and Cressida, <b>All's Well that Ends Well</b>, Measure for Measure</i>, <i><span style="color: red;"><b>Othello</b><b>: The Moor of Venice</b></span>, <b>Macbeth</b>, King Lear, Anthony and Cleopatra, </i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: red;">Coriolanus</span>, </i></span>Timon of Athens</i>, <i> Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale, The Tempest, King Henry the Eighth, Venus and Adonis, Lucrece, Sonnets, A Lover's Complaint, A Passionate Pilgrim, Sonnets to Sundry Notes of Music </i>and<i> The Phoenix and the Turtle </i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">by William Shakespeare</span></b> or <span style="color: red;"><b>The Complete Works of William Shakespeare</b></span></i> (44), <i>Teaching a Man to Unstick His Tail </i>by Ralph Hamilton, <span style="color: red;"><b><i>Lighthead </i>by Terrance Hayes</b></span>, <span style="color: red;"><b><i>The Kingdom of Ordinary Time </i>by Marie Howe</b></span>,<i> <b><span style="color: red;">The Endarkment </span></b></i><b><span style="color: red;">by Jeffery McDaniel</span></b>,<i> To<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">tem </span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">by Gregory Pardlo, <span style="color: red;"><b><i>S</i></b></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b><i>elected Poems</i> by W. B. Yeats</b></span>, <i>Fractals </i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">by Sudeep Sen, <span style="color: red;"><i>Mystery, So Long</i> by Steven Dobyns</span>, </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><u><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">ENGLISH NON-FICTION (8)</span></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">PHILOSOPHY / RELIGION / MYTHOLOGY </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">(1)</span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><i>The Essential Kabbalah </i>by Daniel Matt</b>,.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">POPULAR SCIENCE / </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">ECONOMICS</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i> (2):</i> <span style="color: red;"><i>The Signal and the Noise </i>by Nate Silver</span><i>, Tipping Point </i>by Malcolm Gladwell, </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">NON-FICTION - OTHER (5):</i><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">(</span><i>Primitive Song </i>by C. M. Bowra<span style="font-weight: bold;">), </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><i> <span style="color: red;">The Artist as a Critic </span></i><span style="color: red;">by Oscar Wilde</span><i>, Dusk of Dawn: An Essay towards an Autobiography of the Race Concept </i>by du Bois, <i><span style="color: red;">From the Southland </span></i><span style="color: red;">by Thomas Lux</span>, <i>W. B. Yeats: Last Poems - A Collection of Critical Essays, </i>edited by Jon Stallworthy, <i><br /></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><b style="color: red;">MAHABHARATA (by Mahrishi Ved Vyas; translated from Samskrit into English by Kisari Mohun Ganguly) (0/18): </b></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><u>LITERATURE : INDIAN LANGUAGES (<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">4</span>=<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">2</span>+2; 0 )</u></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Hindi / Urdu / Punjabi (Fiction/Mythology: 1+ Poetry: 1+ Non-fiction: 0)</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>: </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><b>Rachnavali </b></i><b>by Raskhaan</b></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>, <i>Maansarovar 6</i> by <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Prem Chand.</span></b></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>रसख़ान कृत रचनावली, कन्हैयालाल मिश्र प्रभाकर कृत माटी हो गयी सोना </b></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><b>Sanskrit (Fiction: 0+ Poetry: 1): <span style="color: red;">Bhagavad Gita </span></b></i><b><span style="color: red;">by Maharishi Ved Vyas</span>, </b></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">(If
I am through more than 50% of the book, it goes into the list of the
year past, otherwise it appears in the new list next year. </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #878787; font-family: Times,'Times New Roman',serif; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: initial;"><a href="http://viveksharmaiitd.blogspot.com/2014/01/books-read-in-2014.html" style="background-color: white; color: #878787; font-family: Times,'Times New Roman',serif; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">See here for the books read in 2014, with a selection of my favorite r</a>eads from the year past.</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">Favorite <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">reads from 2015</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">1. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i>The Complete Works of William Shakespeare</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">: <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I had not read most of the</span> historical plays before<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, and was not <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">acquainted</span> as </span>well with Sir John Falstaff as every human <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">being ought to be</span>. </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>2. The S<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">leepwalkers: A Trilogy </span></i></span></span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">by Hermann Broch</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">: <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">It<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> is three novels<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, plus a collection of essays and a few poems, rolled in<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">to one <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">incredible journey into the very soul of at <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">least <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">six </span>exceptional characters<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> from an exceptional time in German history (1888-1918).</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><i> </i></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>3. Collected Fictions</i></span></span> </span></span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span">by Jorge Luis Borges There is no match, and perhaps never will be, to the intellectual audacity and breadth of knowledge that came naturally to Borges. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>4. Robinson Crusoe </i></span></span></span></span></span></span></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span">by Daniel Defoe</span></span> One of the greatest stories ever written.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span">5. </span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>Bhagavad Gita </i>by Maharishi Ved Vyas and its various translations An ongoing obsession for me, to delve as deeply as possible into this celestial song, th<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">is <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">philosophical</span> treasure, this great book of couplets!</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">6. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i>From the Southland </i>by Thomas Lux Before I read Thomas Lux the poet, I <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">met Thomas Lux, the person. Insanely curious, exceptionally generous and well-read. Th<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">is book of</span> <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">non-fiction is both a lens into the working of the mind<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> and <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">heart of this wonderful poet and <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">person, and a timeless collection of sketches about an America we barely see though it surro<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">unds us. The <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">America of fire-breathers, <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">cops, bug-watchers, bridgekeepers and more<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">.</span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i> 7. The Artist as a Critic </i>by Oscar Wilde As witty and wild and joyous as any critical writing can be.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>8. The Signal and the Noise </i>by Nate Silver</span></span>: <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Offers insight into the art and science of prediction.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i> 9. Human Landscapes </i>by Nazim Hikmet </span>World literature is enriched by all the works of Hikmet; he captures melancholy<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, struggles, joys of common Turkish folk.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">10. </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i>Metamorphosis </i>by OVID</span>: </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>11. </i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i>Lighthead </i>by Terrance Hayes Powerful and poignant poems.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i>12. The Kingdom of Ordinary Time </i>by Marie Howe</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i> </i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i>13. The Endarkment </i>by Jeffery McDaniel</span> The <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">range of emotions h<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">is simil<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">es<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, metaphors and line of thought inspire is <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">only matched by his <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">mastery</span> of the craft.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">14. </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>Harlot High and Low</i> by Honore de Balzac</span></span> One must always read Balzac as there is no<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> better way of be<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">com<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">ing acquainted with the joys <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">and <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">failin<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">gs of human beings.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">15. </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>S</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>elected Poems</i> by W. B. Yeats</span></span></span> Gran<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">d</span>master poet<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: red;"><b> </b></span></i> </span></span> </span></span></div>
Vivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10404411.post-43014121562841379192014-08-24T11:38:00.002-04:002014-08-24T11:38:52.579-04:00Bahut din beetay... (बहुत दिन बीते...)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
बहुत दिन बीते… कुछ ख़ास कहा लिखा नहीं । एक ढर्रा है जिंदगी, रोज़मर्रा एक आदत है, और वक्त है किसी नदी सा, बस बहे जाता है, बहे हैं । इस भाग-दौड़ की दुनिया में कोई बैठ कर क्यों लिखे, कोई किसी का लिखा क्यों पढ़े? और पढ़े भी तो हिंदी में लिखा कौन पढ़े?<br />
<br />
यूँ सरपट दौड़ते-दौड़ते, ख्यालों के कितने पनघट पीछे छोड़, मैं एक अरसे से निःशब्द रहा हूँ । काव्य एक साधना है, कल्पना और रचना निःशब्द रह कर भी की जा सकती है, पर अनकही, अनसुनी कल्पना और रचना मिथ्या है । चार कदम भी नहीं चलता, जब शब्दों के झुरमुठ आ आ कर, गुनगुनाने लगते हैं । कोई भँवरों की गुँजन सी, कोई पहले प्यार की चुभन सी, किसी हार की अधभूली टीस, कभी करुणा, कभी क्लेश मेरे अंतरमन के भवसागर में शब्द, वाक्य और छंद ऐसे उठा देते हैं, जैसे समंदर-ताल से निकलने को तैयार बुलबुलें हो । पहले यहाँ -तहाँ बैठ झट से इन मचलते, चंचल, क्षणभंगुर भावनाओं को कागज़ों पर जकड़ लिया करता था पर कुछ महीनों से उस आदत को भी विदा दे दी है ।<br />
<br />
क्या करूँ, काव्य को कलह का कारण, कारक कैसे कहूँ? यह दुविधा मेरे लिए नई नहीं, बरसों से नावों में सवार मैं दो भिन्न से दिखने बाले घाटों की ओर खींचता आया हूँ । आज जैसा कोई दिन आता है, याद दिलाता है कि मेरे अंतर का कवि मेरे पालक और साधक शिक्षक-विज्ञानिक अवतार के जतन या प्रताप से प्रताड़ित या प्रभावित हो मूक हो गया है । इस चुप्पी को तोड़ने के लिए और कवि को कलम और उसके पूरक और प्रेरक पाठकों से जोड़ने के लिए, मैं अपनेआप से वादा करता हूँ, कि कैसे न कैसे हर हफ्ते मैं इसी ब्लॉग पर कोई कविता, कल्पना, टिप्पणी जरूर प्रकाशित करूंगा ।<br />
<br />
प्रणाम<br />
विवेक </div>
Vivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10404411.post-78348355734710942552014-06-28T10:43:00.002-04:002014-07-06T19:54:08.964-04:00Twenty-first Century Buddha<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">In this century of misquoted Buddha<br />
his statues walk into Las Vegas bars<br />
and stare at the bodies abandoning<br />
their worldly disguises.
<br /><br />
Award winning poets <br />
admit spirituality into their poems<br />
by pronouncing his name. <br /><br />
Smiling or sulking, in bronze or wood, Buddha<br />
does not protest when devotees of Herman Hesse<br />
transcend their consciousness<br />
with forlorn fumes. <br /><br />
Always epitomized as good Buddha<br />
leaves his son and wife, midlife<br />
and embraces <i>dhyan</i>-<i>cha'n</i>-Zen, <br />
preaches abandonment. <br /><br />
And ever-idolized Buddha (how ironic!) <br />
finds his monks living under tyrants. <br />
<i>Too meek are lambs, are hunted and must be<br />
by wolves who never turn Buddhists</i>.<br /><br />
In our world, the 'Americanized' Buddha
<br />survives in University halls, <br />
in <i>tantric</i> sex talks, in celebrity balls -<br />
stupefied, satirized, stoned.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">--</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">First appeared in Muse India, 2014 </span></span></div>
Vivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10404411.post-55484677315961945342014-01-18T11:48:00.000-05:002014-01-18T13:04:51.190-05:00Dust by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Dust by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor takes you on an elegiac journey,
introducing you to complex personal histories and tragedies. Set in
northern Kenyan's dust, darkness and daylight, this novel is a memoir of
lives transformed by tribal and political conflicts and colonial
processes and imperialistic excesses. The novel presents a tour de force
narrative about lost fathers, brothers, sons and women and descends
into the labyrinth-like individual stories to present a tale of a
family, country, humanity. <br />
<br />
A sister Ajany returns to Kenya to
find her brother Odidi. She has seen his corpse, but she seeks a
closure, an understanding of Odidi's life before his tragic end. The
siblings grew up in a dusty Kenyan countryside, in a massive house,
where all the books are inscribed with a name of a foreigner or a
stranger, Hugo Bolton. Their mother Akai is a mysterious women, who has
her own complex narrative of love lost and found, that emerges in bits
and parts as we read the novel. Their father Nyipir is a person who in
one life acquires many incarnations, some as he is forced by his own
needs, greed and wants, and many to just survive Kenya's turbulent
times. Servant of a white man, gravedigger, sepoy, cattle thief,
husband, father, a friend to many smugglers and wanderers, a young man
who wanted to travel to Burma to retrieve his father and brother's
bodies to bury them in their own country. There is a fascinating singer
of water songs, Ali Hida Dada, a policemen whose own complex life
journey crisscrosses through the personal histories of Nyipir, Akai,
Ajany, Odidi and a fifth person, Galgalu who is attached to the
Nyipir-Akai household, like a foster son. Isiah Bolton, a son in search
of a father who disappeared in Kenya. There are a handful of other
characters that complete the list: Justina (Odidi's lady love), Selena
(Isiah's mom), a trader (a keeper of secrets) and Chaudhary (a sly
shopkeeper). Each character is developed with acute sensibility and
sympathy, allowing us to see nuances in their personalities, deceits and
shadows, exposing both bitter and sweet versions of their projected and
veiled selves. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Dust is beautifully written book. As the
narrative advances through present or past, Owour delivers many
remarkable, poetic short sentences. Short sentences and paragraphs that
puncture your thoughts. You gasp before you carry on reading. You gasp
first at the beauty of the wordplay, then you grasp the insight or ache
that each needle-shot sentence releases. The novel emerges in all its
intricate and articulate richness through lives transformed by a recent
colonial experience as well as political upheavals and corruption in an
emergent nation. Perhaps you can appreciate this novel more if you have a
native sympathy with the fate of people scarred by colonial pasts and a
present corrupted, manipulated by economic interests of multinational
companies & their local, vocal, powerful, corrupt collaborators.
Some very heartbreaking episodes fill this novel, some heartrending
scenes, some events that fill you with disgust and disenchantment, and
as a counterpoint, there a few passages that bring peace, understanding,
pleasure, closure. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Growing up in India I always knew this dust
that consumed and subsumed
everything, a dust full of broken promises as well as crushed dreams and
desires,
a dust laced with blood and sweat of the tormented and the tormentors, a
dust we miss when we are away from the nation, a dust that masks and
hides hurt, longing, feeling and thoughts. As a writer, I struggle to
show this dust, capture its prevalence and importance. As a reader, I
seek writing that recognizes it, and removes its veil to reveal
narratives that remain concealed in our plain sight. Owuor excels as she
accomplishes this. In Dust, Owuor delivers a phenomenal saga that
touches upon the human condition, deeply appreciative of sibling and
parental affection, deeply conscious of tacit and long-lasting
friendships, keenly aware of events that shape human destiny. The
opening chapter where Odidi runs and runs, the landscapes through which
various protagonists walk or night sounds they hear, Ajany's search for
her brother's past and especially the scene where she finds the spot on
tarmac still covered with his dried blood... are all crafted with the
skill of a seasoned writer.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The overall story, and the novel's
many exceptional passages, are so beautifully crafted and delivered that
I am convinced that the novel is destined for a long haul, to be read
as a classic by our future generations. After the death of Chinua
Achebe, I ached to find some other voice in the world literature who
could write with his clarity and sympathy about the non-Western world. I
always wondered if Toni Morrison's raw and lucid style can be emulated
in fiction written about men and women who live in erstwhile colonized
countries. To place Owuor's book on a similar pedestal is perhaps the
highest praise I can offer for this work. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Undoubtedly Owuor has
delivered a masterpiece, a work of art that inspires and awes you for it
touches many a raw nerve, and brings to light events, ideas, thoughts
that are too murky to be appreciated otherwise. Though the narrative
unfolds in realms and through descriptions unfamiliar to the imaginative
and everyday life of many readers (my explanation for harsher reviews),
I think Owuor's sparkling writing is capable of awakening many eyes,
hearts and minds to such life-stories. Appreciating the novel Dust does
require examination of our own biases, created by our readings and
upbringings. Perhaps we need more novels like Dust if we really wish to
comprehend the cultural and societal changes taking place in many
non-Western nations. Even if the novel treads through threads far from
your experience and comfort zone, read it for its music, descriptions
and haunting prose and marvel at the author for unraveling secrets of
human condition, secrets only a writer from a distant, dusty nation
knows. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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Vivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10404411.post-84179518074169724022014-01-11T21:33:00.000-05:002014-01-11T21:33:27.586-05:00An Olympian Heart<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>
</b>After he turned thirty, without a breakthrough<br />
or a clue to a Nobel-worthy scientific discovery,<br />
without a bestseller book, a Booker or a Pulitzer,<br />
without even a proper job, with uncertainty<br />
as his daily wake-up call and nightmare,<br />
he began to respect the millions: the also-rans,<br />
the have-beens and the almost-theres, the faceless<br />
ants, and the termites in foreign sweatshops.<br />
<br />
He spent an entire week making paper planes<br />
from his unpublished research articles<br />
and poems. Mass circulation of his ideas<br />
using aerodynamics cleared his desk,<br />
ever so cluttered like his mind. Imagine<br />
hundreds of equations and verbs swirling<br />
down to earth like his ideas about science,<br />
art and self! Humbled by the <i>sadhu</i> time,<br />
<br />
he grumbled first about the lost rhyme<br />
and reason of his curious, lyrical self.<br />
To this day, he had considered delayed<br />
gratification a virtue. Now a voice,<br />
his own, classed him as a bygone dream.<br />
<i>Not every fermentation ends up as wine.</i><br />
He consoled himself with a serpentine logic<br />
that mediocrity, after a sustained effort <br />
<br />
at glory, is thermodynamically the most <br />
favored outcome. He finally forgave <br />
his grandma for saying that grazing goats<br />
educates better than his pricy school's<br />
English rhymes, and tie & coats.<br />
After a half-life of borrowed idioms,<br />
he began seeing his unoriginal affairs<br />
as a destiny of desires forged <br />
<br />
by an overhyped education. His toolbox<br />
contains every artifact of acquired fact<br />
and abstract training. Tentatively he prods<br />
on, blowing a longhorn of dote learning,<br />
but now he knows -- creativity is a jackfruit<br />
dessert that not everyone who plants a sapling<br />
gets to taste. To pack his bags and leave<br />
would be an admission of grief or lack of belief<br />
<br />
in his talents and the establishment. No,<br />
he must persist, for existence is an act,<br />
and he resents an exact estimation of his self.<br />
He is <i>a mass of clay-dust like everyone else,</i><br />
<i>and immortality is earned by getting churned</i><br />
<i>in the random eddies of life</i>. Whoever yearns<br />
and stakes his elemental self into the kiln<br />
called life, burns... but only a fraction return<br />
<br />
as gold or God, which the mirror suggests<br />
might not be his fate. After he turned forty, <br />
he learned that forgiving faults and failings <br />
helps in retaining self-respect. <i>Outcomes</i><br />
<i>reveal neither neglect nor unworthiness, not</i><br />
<i>always</i>. Disillusioned by persistent biases<br />
that favor white or black sheep in a flock,<br />
egg-laying hens to an egoistic fighter cock,<br />
<br />
he forged for himself a featureless dream-bowl,<br />
then threw it away. To beg or canvass for votes,<br />
or use family connections or political ploys he felt<br />
would destroy his last caricatures of self-respect.<br />
<i>But if every man were to forgo his dreams, live on facts,</i><br />
<i>we would regress into a song-less, unchanging universe</i>.<br />
He knows he must persist, for all existence is an act,<br />
<i>we are merely players</i> and before the hero/villain is revealed, <br />
<br />
all actors on stage (and some backstage) are suspect.<br />
One breakthrough it takes to light a lamp or an epigram,<br />
one breakthrough! He could be but one step away from the finish.<br />
<i>They who don't ask will never know if the answer is yes or no.</i><br />
He refines his act, but he is circumspect. <i>Victors revise</i><br />
<i>biographies; wipe out the salt of doubts from their cheeks.</i><br />
Since he knows he could yet write himself into a myth,<br />
he braves the daily grindstones, and hopes, and persists.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">-- </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">First published in Muse India, Vol1, Jan-Feb, 2014. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Version 1, Nov 25-28, 2011; V2: July 2012... </span></span></div>
Vivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10404411.post-53653534892994304622014-01-01T03:14:00.000-05:002015-12-25T12:33:15.567-05:00Books read in 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Read in 2014 (95 = 60 + 35; NF 23) </span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><u><span style="color: blue;">ENGLISH FICTION (34) </span></u><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">FICTION IN </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">ENGLISH TRANSLATION -- (22): Oblomov </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">by Ivan Goncharov </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span">[translated from Russian by David Magarshack]</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">, <i>Scenes from Village Life </i>by Amos Oz </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span">[translated from Hebrew by Nicolas de Lange]</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>The Hen who Dreamed She Could Fly </i>by Sun-Mi Hwang [translated from Korean by Chi-Young Kim], <b><i>Manual of Painting and Calligraphy </i>by Jose Saramago </b>[translated from Portuguese], <span style="color: red;"><i>The Last Day of a Condemned Man </i>by Victor Hugo [translated from French]</span>, <i><b><span style="color: red;">The Skin </span></b></i><b><span style="color: red;">by Curzio Malaparte </span></b><span style="color: red;">[translated from Italian]</span>, <b><i>The Rebels </i>by Sandor Marai</b>, <i><b><span style="color: red;">One Hundred Years of Solitude </span></b></i><b><span style="color: red;">by Gabriel Garcia Marquez</span> </b>[re-read; translated from Spanish by Gregory Rabassa]<b>, <span style="color: red;"><i>Portraits of a Marriage </i>by Sandor Marai</span></b> [translated from Hungarian], <span style="color: red;"><b><i>Hadji Murat </i>by Leo Tolstoy, <i>Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings </i>by Firdausi </b>[translated from Persian by Dick Davis]<b>, <span style="color: black;"><i>The History of the Siege of Lisbon </i>by</span> <span style="color: black;">Jose Saramago </span></b><span style="color: black;">[translated from Portuguese by Giovanni Pontiero]</span></span>, <i><b><span style="color: red;">The Universal History of Iniquity </span></b></i><b><span style="color: red;">and</span></b><i><b><span style="color: red;"> The Garden of Forking Paths</span> </b></i></span></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><b>by Jorge Luis Borges</b></span></span></span></b><i><b><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i> </i>[translated by Andrew Hurley]</span></span>,</b> </i><b><i>Akhenaten: Dweller in Truth </i>by Naguib Mahfouz </b>[translated from Arabic by Tagreid Abu-Hassabo], <b><i><span style="color: red;">Money </span></i><span style="color: red;">by Emile Zola</span></b> [translated from French], <i>The Story of a Ship-Wrecked Sailor </i>by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, <span style="color: red;"><i>Leopard </i>by Guiseppe di Lampedusa [translated from Italian by Archibald Colquhuan]</span>, </span></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: red;"><i>Esther's Inheritance </i>by Sandor Marai</span></span></span> [translated from Hungarian], <span style="color: red;"><b><i>The Beginning and the End </i>by Naguib Mahfouz </b>[translated from Arabic]</span>, <b><i>Miser and Other Plays </i>by Moliere </b>[translated from French], <b><i>The Professor and the Siren </i>by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa</b> [ translated from Italian by Stephen Twilley], </span><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i> </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">NOVEL / FICTION IN ENGLISH (12):</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i> </i><b><i>Home</i></b><b><i> </i>by Toni Morrison</b>, <b><span style="color: red;"><i>Dust </i>by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor</span></b>, <b><i>Short Stories and</i></b> <b><i>Jungle Book </i>by Rudyard Kipling</b>, <b><i>Middlesex </i>by Jeffery Eugenides</b>, <i>The Lost Girl </i>by D. H. Lawrence, <span style="color: red;"><i>The Man Who Was Thursday </i>by G.K Chesterton,</span><b> <i>Our Man in Havana </i>by Graham Greene</b>, <i>The Death of Vishnu </i>by Manil Suri, <span style="color: red;"><b><i>Middlemarch </i>by George Eliot</b></span>, <b><i>Frankenstein </i>by Mary Shelley,</b> <b><i>The Thing Around Your Neck </i>by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie</b> .</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><u><span style="color: blue;">ENGLISH POETRY (31) </span></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i style="font-weight: bold;">POETRY IN ENGLISH TRANSLATION (14): </i></span></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>(<b>Javednama </b></i><b>by Mohammad Iqbal</b></span></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><b> [translated from Persian by Arthur J Arberry]</b>),<i> </i><i> <b>Poem of the Deep Song Poema Del Cante Jondo </b></i><b>by Federico Garcia Lorca [translated from Spanish by Carlos Bauer]</b>, <span style="color: red;">Complete Poems by Catullus</span><i>,</i> <i>Poems </i>by Sappho [translated from ancient Greek by Willis Barnstone], <span style="color: red;"><i>Agamemnon</i></span>,<i> <b>The Libation Bearers</b></i> and <i>The Eumenides </i>by Aeschylus [translated from ancient Greek by David R. Slavitt], <i><b>Speaking of Siva [translated by A.K. Ramanujan], Swallowing the Sun </b></i><b>by Rumi [translated by Franklin D. Lewis]</b>,</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><i>The Solitudes</i> by Luis de Gongora [translated from Spanish by Edith Grossman],<i> </i> <b>Gulistan by Sa'adi</b> [translated from Persian], <i>Three Chinese Poets</i> includes verses by Wang Wei, Li Bai and Du Fu [Translated by Vikram Seth]<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">, <i>The Gypsies and Other Narrative Poems </i>by Alexander Pushkin [translated from Russian by Antony Wood], <b><span style="color: red;"><i>THE NATURE OF THINGS </i>by LUCRETIUS</span></b>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i style="font-weight: bold;">POETRY IN ENGLISH (17): </i></span></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><i>A Village Life </i>by Luise Glück, <i>Broken Span </i>by William Carlos Williams<i>, </i></span></i></span></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><b><i>Everything Begins Elsewhere</i> by Tishani Doshi</b>, <span style="color: red;"><i>100 Poems: Old and New</i> by Rudyard Kipling [Selected and edited by Thomas Pinney]</span>,<i> <b>The Old Horsefly </b></i><b>by Karl Shapiro</b>,<i> <span style="color: red;">Selected Poems </span></i><span style="color: red;">by Wallace Stevens</span>, </span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: red;"><i>Selected Poems</i> by Rudyard Kipling</span>, <span style="color: red;"><i>Ink and Chalk </i>by Shadab Zeest Hasmi</span>,<i> Seeney Astray </i>by Seamus Heaney (based on an old Galeic poem), </span><i><b>The Rusted City </b></i><b>by Rochelle Hurt</b>, <i>All You Who Sleep Tonight </i>by Vikram Seth, <i><span style="color: red;"><b>T</b></span><b><span style="color: red;">he Poems of Dylan Thomas</span></b>, <span style="color: red;"><b>Jackstraws</b></span></i><span style="color: red;"><b> by Charles Simic</b></span>, <b><i>Bury My Clothes </i>by Roger Bonair-Agard</b>, <b><i>Maybe it was So </i>by Reginald Gibbons,<i> Geography of Tongues </i>by Shikha Malviya, <i>Midnight Salvage </i>by Adrienne Rich,</b><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><u><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">ENGLISH NON-FICTION (21)</span></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">PHILOSOPHY / RELIGION / MYTHOLOGY </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">(2)</span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"> <i>Mythology </i>by Edith Hamilton, <b><i>A Study of Religions </i>by Swami Vivekananda</b>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">POPULAR SCIENCE / </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">ECONOMICS</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i> (7):</i> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: red;">Truth and Beauty: Aesthetics and Motivations in Science </span></i><span style="color: red;">by S. Chandrasekhar</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">, <span style="color: red;"><i>Capital in the Twenty-First Century </i>by Thomas Piketty</span>, <i>Warmth Disperses and Time Passes: The History of Heat </i>by Hans Christian von Baeyer, <i>Heat and Thermodynamics: A Historical Perspective </i>by T. Christopher Lewis, <i>Thermodynamics of Pizza: Essays on Science and Everyday Life </i>by Harold Morowitz, <i>The Man Who Changed Everything: The Life of James Clerk Maxwell </i>by Basil Mahon, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>Backyard Bugs </i>by Robin K. Laughlin</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">NON-FICTION - OTHER (12):</i><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="color: red;"><i>In Praise of Shadows </i>by Jun'ichiro Tanizaki [translated by Thomas J. Harper and Edward G. Seidensticker]</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">,<i> <span style="color: red;">Reading Rilke: Reflections on the Problems of Translation </span></i><span style="color: red;">by William H. Gass</span><i>,</i></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><b><span style="color: red;"><i>Black Boy </i>by Richard Wright</span></b><span style="font-weight: bold;"><i>, Something of Myself </i>by Rudyard Kipling, <i>(Heretics </i>by GK Chesterton)<i>, Mornings in Mexico </i>and<i> Etruscan Places </i>by DH Lawrence, </span><i>The Hard Thing About Hard Things </i>by Ben Horowitz<span style="font-weight: bold;"><i>, <span style="color: red;">A Matter of Rats </span></i><span style="color: red;">by Amitava Kumar</span>, <i>Salt, Sugar, Fat </i>by Michael Moss, </span><b><i>What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets </i>by Michael J. Sandel</b><span style="font-weight: bold;"><i>,</i><i> Dongri to Dubai: Six decades of Mumbai Mafia </i>by S. Hussain Zaidi<i>.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><b style="color: red;">MAHABHARATA (by Mahrishi Ved Vyas; translated from Samskrit into English by Kisari Mohun Ganguly) (0/18): </b></span>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: blue;"><u>LITERATURE : INDIAN LANGUAGES (9 = 5+4; 2)</u></span></span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Hindi / Urdu / Punjabi (Fiction/Mythology: 3+ Poetry: 3+ Non-fiction: 2)</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>: </i><i> (<b>Vishnu Puran</b>), <span style="color: red;"><b>Jhoota Sach: Vatan Aur Desh </b></span></i><span style="color: red;"><b>by Yashpal</b></span>, <span style="color: red;"><b><i>Basere Se Dour </i>by Harivansh Rai Bachchan</b></span>,<i> <b>Ajatshatru </b></i><b>by Jaishankar Prasad</b>, <span style="color: red;"><b><i>(Saket </i>by Maithalisharan Gupt)</b></span>,<i> <b><span style="color: red;">Kurushetra </span></b></i><b><span style="color: red;">by Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, <i>Saaye Mein Dhoop</i> by Dushyant Kumar</span></b>, <i>Apni Apni Beemari </i>by Parsaain</span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><b>Sanskrit (Fiction: 0+ Poetry: 1):</b> Vishnu Puran</i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">(If
I am through more than 50% of the book, it goes into the list of the
year past, otherwise it appears in the new list next year. </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #878787; font-family: Times,'Times New Roman',serif; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: initial;"><a href="http://viveksharmaiitd.blogspot.com/2013/01/books-read-in-2013.html" style="background-color: white; color: #878787; font-family: Times,'Times New Roman',serif; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">See here for the books read in 2013, with a selection of my favorite r</a>eads in the year past.</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">)</span></span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #656565; line-height: 18px;">Favorite reads from 2014</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">1) </span></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><b>The Skin </b></i>by Curzio Malaparte [translated from Italian]</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>2) </b></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><b>Jhoota Sach: Vatan Aur Desh </b></i>by Yashpal</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>3) </b></span></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><i>Dust </i></b>by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>4) </b></span></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>Capital in the Twenty-First Century </i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span">by Thomas Piketty</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span">5) </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><i> Reading Rilke: Reflections on the Problems of Translation </i></span>by William H. Gass</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">6) </span></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><i>Middlemarch </i></b><i> </i>by George Eliot</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>7) </b></span></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><i>Basere Se Dour </i></b>by Harivansh Rai Bachchan</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>8) </b></span></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><b><i>THE NATURE OF THINGS </i></b>by LUCRETIUS</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><b>9) </b></span><i><b>T</b><b>he Poems of Dylan Thomas</b></i><br />
<i><b>10) </b></i><i><b><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><i>Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings </i></b></span></span></b><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span">by Firdausi [translated from Persian by Dick Davis]</span></span></i><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b>11) </b></span></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><i>A Matter of Rats </i></span></span></b><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">by Amitava Kumar</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">12) </span></span></b></span></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><i>Money </i></b>by Emile Zola</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span">13) <i><b>Leopard</b> </i>by Guiseppe di Lampedusa [translated from Italian by Archibald Colquhuan]</span></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i> </i></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>14) <b>Portraits of a Marriage </b></i>and <i>Esther's Inheritance </i>by Sandor Marai</span></span><b><i> </i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><b><i>15) The Beginning and the End </i></b>by Naguib Mahfouz.</span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
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Vivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10404411.post-49297605105650758552013-12-29T21:55:00.001-05:002013-12-29T21:55:46.523-05:00Book Review: The Log from the Sea of Cortez by John Steinbeck<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Log from the Sea of Cortez by John Steinbeck is a phenomenally
engaging and complex account of a scientific expedition by one of the
greatest American novelists. The science itself makes it a worthwhile
read, but what tugs most at
your heartstrings, and fires most sparks in your head is exceptional
prose that
serves a cocktail of science, philosophy, anthropology and history. The
Log from the Sea of Cortez succinctly presents Steinbeck's beliefs about
humanity,
vanity, intellect, progress, technology, morality and society, and thus
this book provides a key to deeper understanding of Steinbeck's novels,
life and work. <br /><br />At the simplest level, the book recounts a 4,000
mile voyage on a sardine boat out of Monterey, California around the
Baja peninsula into the Sea of Cortez. This expedition, undertaken by
Steinbeck with his biologist friend Edward Ricketts, was aimed at
collecting a wide range of marine animals and observing them in their
pristine condition. The curiosity-driven adventure provided Steinbeck
and Ricketts an opportunity to explore marine lifeforms and their subtle
adaptations in various gulfs, bays, estuaries and reefs along the
shores of the Sea of Cortez. The book describes daily events and labor
that contributed to a rich harvest (or collection) of many species of
crabs, shrimps, anemones, corals, sea cucumbers, sharks, string rays,
mussels, clams, and other marine animals. <br />
<br />Many critics and in fact, Steinbeck himself, have recognized that
the biologist Ricketts exercised a great deal of influence on the
creative and imaginative life of Steinbeck. This log and the complete
text of The Sea of Cortez are obvious examples of their collaboration.
Based on self-consistent evidence, it is clear that Steinbeck himself
was a seeker of deeper knowledge of the scientific and biological world
around him, and that his interaction and friendship with Ricketts
broadened his perspective on science, life and humanity. In our
contemporary world, there are fewer than ever individuals who are
equally comfortable in discussions that involve bot literature and
science. Steinbeck seems equally deft in writing about both realms.<br />
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The book is full of passages about research and science that
are gems in their own right, and I am sure many scientists would enjoy
reading these. Example sentences: "There is a curious idea among the
unscientific men that in scientific writing there is a common plateau of
perfectionism. Nothing could be more untrue. The reports of biologists
are the measure, not of the science, but of the men themselves." Or
these sentences from another chapter: "It is difficult, when watching
the little beasts, not to trace human parallels. The greatest danger to a
speculative biologist is analogy. It is a pitfall to be avoided -- the
industry of the bee, the economics of the ant, the villainy of snake,
all i human terms have given us profound misconceptions of animals."
Somewhere else in the book, Steinback writes: "There is one great
difficulty with a good hypothesis. When it is completed and rounded, the
corners smooth and the content cohesive and coherent, it is likely to
become a thing in itself, a work of art. It is then like a finished
sonnet or a painting completed. One hates to disturb it." <br /><br />There are particularly powerful and evocative discussions and
passages about the distance and difference between the timeless, archaic
culture of the Native American (aka American Indians) and the hasty,
wasteful, money-minded culture of urban Americans. Steinbeck explored
similar themes in his other books and in the script he wrote for a
documentary titled "The Forgotten Village" (1941).<br /><br />Steinbeck the writer is as soul stirring here as he was in The
Grapes of Wrath. Likewise, his world view expressed in this log will be
in conflict with the same people who labeled him as a socialist or a
communist. Though many people see Steinbeck as a propagandist who spews
venom against the rich and the ruling elite, a critical examination of
Steinbeck's writing here shows him as a person who wants to see reality
as it 'is'. This reality, be it socio-political realm or biosphere,
contains weak and strong, preys and predators, survivors and dead.
Though Steinbeck writes about humans or marine animals like a detached
observer, his sympathies seem to lie with the underdog. Perhaps that is
the reason for his popularity around the world. <br /><br />
The book reaffirms my belief that great scientists and artists
have both
caliber and appetite for acquiring knowledge in diverse realms. I think
the travelogue is an inspirational text and a valuable resource
that should be read by all practicing or aspiring marine
biologists. It is a must read for
anyone who really cares about the writing of Steinbeck, and I dare say,
for all scientifically-minded people. </div>
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Vivek Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00794419464988884719noreply@blogger.com0