EID MUBARAK to all those celebrating!
Thanks for this suggestion, Shweths ... have a few movies to mention! Am combining the books and movies post, otherwise there will be too many posts every week to follow.
MOVIES:
OMG Oh My God ... went for this movie expecting a slapstick comedy, instead got a surprisingly good movie on a serious topic, very well made and with fantastic arguments. Paresh Rawal owned it ... Akshay Kumar as modern Krishnaji was excellent.
English Vinglish ... watch this again without any expectations and loved it. A must for all housewives, and for their husbands ... and for anyone who dreams of making things better, of feeling better ... Sridevi's speech at the end of the movie was brilliant.
Arbitrage ... Richard Gere. Susan Sarandon. Need I say more?
On the To Watch list - Argo, Hope Springs, Jab Tak Hai Jaan.
Any reviews of SOTY? Is it worth watching?
BOOKS:
Just started Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. Haven't read a really good book for ages ... suggestions please?
Edited:
Am adding some of the book and author suggestions here for easier reference.
Jeffrey Archer
Room by Emma Donoghue
Nicholas Sparks
Hunger Games trilogy - author please?
Grisham
Dan Brown - da Vinci Code, Digital Fortress
William Dalrymple
RK Narayan, Munshi Premchand
Old favorites I grew up with - PG Wodehouse, Agatha Christie
The Sherlock Holmes series - if you haven't read them do give them a try!
Georgette Heyer - for those new to her books, try These Old Shades and Devil's Cub, Frederica, Arabella, The Grand Sophy, Bath Tangle - all her heroines are spirited, smart and sassy, and her heroes are tall, dark and handsome with some major hangups in life :) but they are also witty and intelligent ... and when they fall, the typical knights in shining armour - no wonder I love them!
Gurcharan Das
Gita Mehta
Anyone tried Anita Desai? I have one of her books, haven't read it yet.
Cecilia Ahern - Love, Rosie and PS, I Love You
James Patterson
Robert Ludlum
Ruskin Bond
Rick Riordan
Jhumpa Lahiri
Chitra Kumari Divakurni
JK Rowling has a new book out - mixed reviews - The Casual Vacancy. My daughter is reading it, will get back with her review.
Ann Patchett - Bel Canto, State of Wonder
Life of Pi
Ayn Rand - Fountainhead - a heavy read but good book.
Another one on my reading list - Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson
Tell me if I've missed out any - I tried to get all the popular suggestions
Thanks for this suggestion, Shweths ... have a few movies to mention! Am combining the books and movies post, otherwise there will be too many posts every week to follow.
MOVIES:
OMG Oh My God ... went for this movie expecting a slapstick comedy, instead got a surprisingly good movie on a serious topic, very well made and with fantastic arguments. Paresh Rawal owned it ... Akshay Kumar as modern Krishnaji was excellent.
English Vinglish ... watch this again without any expectations and loved it. A must for all housewives, and for their husbands ... and for anyone who dreams of making things better, of feeling better ... Sridevi's speech at the end of the movie was brilliant.
Arbitrage ... Richard Gere. Susan Sarandon. Need I say more?
On the To Watch list - Argo, Hope Springs, Jab Tak Hai Jaan.
Any reviews of SOTY? Is it worth watching?
BOOKS:
Just started Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. Haven't read a really good book for ages ... suggestions please?
Edited:
Am adding some of the book and author suggestions here for easier reference.
Jeffrey Archer
Room by Emma Donoghue
Nicholas Sparks
Hunger Games trilogy - author please?
Grisham
Dan Brown - da Vinci Code, Digital Fortress
William Dalrymple
RK Narayan, Munshi Premchand
Old favorites I grew up with - PG Wodehouse, Agatha Christie
The Sherlock Holmes series - if you haven't read them do give them a try!
Georgette Heyer - for those new to her books, try These Old Shades and Devil's Cub, Frederica, Arabella, The Grand Sophy, Bath Tangle - all her heroines are spirited, smart and sassy, and her heroes are tall, dark and handsome with some major hangups in life :) but they are also witty and intelligent ... and when they fall, the typical knights in shining armour - no wonder I love them!
Gurcharan Das
Gita Mehta
Anyone tried Anita Desai? I have one of her books, haven't read it yet.
Cecilia Ahern - Love, Rosie and PS, I Love You
James Patterson
Robert Ludlum
Ruskin Bond
Rick Riordan
Jhumpa Lahiri
Chitra Kumari Divakurni
JK Rowling has a new book out - mixed reviews - The Casual Vacancy. My daughter is reading it, will get back with her review.
Ann Patchett - Bel Canto, State of Wonder
Life of Pi
Ayn Rand - Fountainhead - a heavy read but good book.
Another one on my reading list - Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson
Tell me if I've missed out any - I tried to get all the popular suggestions
um, Dia.. u meant MOVIES rite?? and while we're at it, can v have post for books that we are reading?? coz, i neither watch movies, nor m i hooked with any other serial!!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletereally sorry dia...I'm at my fiance's place and he's logged in on his gmail account and I replied from his account by mistake.. :P ROFL.. please ignore this account.. :P
Deleteanyway, have loads to say abt english vinglish.. :)) have watched it twice already and totally loved the concept..the execution is brilliant too!! :) will come up with more later..
and thanks a lot for this space and for opening this topic.. we can totally stay in touch this way.. :))
YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! We got movie corner and like Krish suggested books corner, no one will go anywhere, thanks Dia!!!*hugs*
ReplyDeleteMovies:
sat through Avengers last week, Hubby insisted on ordering it on Tata sky, he tried watching twice and fell asleep within 20 minutes of it TWICE, no kidding and Since I didnt want one movie to go waste, I ended up watching it, bit confusing the characters and all but the ensemble cast is incredibly good, so sat through it.
Just finished watching Batman Begins....was always a huuuuuuge fan of batman more than the spidey or the superman.
Quick review of the trilogy
Batman begins. Christian Bale as Bruce wayne-Batman, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox,Michael Caine as Alfred and Gary Oldman as Gordon....Bloody Brilliant.
It takes you from where it all began, so even if you are completely clueless about Batman, you will get the full idea.
Dark Knight. A bit longer movie, gripping but good all the same. You either die a hero or watch yourself become a villain is the theme of the movie.
Dark Knight Rises Best and last of the series, absolutely brilliant. Zabardast Twist at the end.
If you like Action movies, Do not miss them.
List of movies to see
Inception my cousin swears by it and another christopher Nolan movie after batman series toh banta hai boss.
Bourne Legacy ONLY for Jeremy runner, loved the guy in MI4, never watched the first three bourne movies, a bit too loyal to the books, dunno if I will watch it, maybe.
Have watched all three Batman movies ... absolutely LOVED Dark Knight ... I think the fact we knew Heath Ledger was dead when we watched the movie prevented us from getting very scared of the Joker! But it was a brilliant movie!
DeleteLOVED The Dark Knight Rises ... beautiful!
INCEPTION - if you haven't watched it, don't miss it!!! An absolute beaut of a movie ... you actually need to watch it twice to decipher a lot of things.
Also watch PRESTIGE by the same director - the man is brilliant!
Am now also waiting for SKYFALL - the next Bond movie.
Aww i loved Avengers...! maybe its coz i'm a huge fan of the comic books... the writing was damn funny, the direction nicely handled...and i'm not kidding, the entire theater laughed out loudly when Hulk bashes up Loki... :D did u watch the individual movies of the characters before, shwetha? that gives a better insight...
DeleteBatman trilogy is the best no doubt...The Dark Knight Rises of kind of like the end to an era from 2005...the ending was great, too...that awesome moment when u learn that the auto pilot was fixed :D
I love Avengers...it was a fab movie!! i have to catch up on the Batman series!!
Deleteshweths, inception is damn good. i loved it. the climax left my head spinning. do watch. if not for anybody atleast for dicaprio *sigh*
ReplyDeleteKrish, I will probably watch it soon I hope, my cousin loved the movie and has watched it atleast 4 times. I am watching it for Nolan the director actually and ofcourse want to know what the fuss is about*wink*
DeleteYYAAAYYY!!! MOVIES!!! Thanks Dia!! *HUGS*
ReplyDeleteShwets..watch Inception..i love love love it!!!i can watch it 'n' number of times and not get bored...
ahem..i have to watch a lot of movies..missed so many!! so English Vinglish is recommended huh?? will watch it soon i hope!
am looking forward to Jab Tak..looks interesting...oh and Skyfall as well..Bond!!! :D
anybody here watches tamil movies???
ReplyDeleteNope Krish..i know a song i was obsessed with though!! it was 'Enkadal Solla' (hope i spelled that right :)) ..that was the only song i heard for weeks..without knowing what it meant!
Deleteyeah... its one of my fav too. En Kaadhal Solla Neram Illai.. means i have no time to tell you i love you.
Deletei'm guessing it is this song u r referin to...
Yes yes..its a lovely song...
Deleteguess i hav to wait for a book's corner to b able to do any amt of bak bak...
DeleteDia will open one soon!! i am now reading a book called 'Room' by Emma Donoghue..its about a 5 year old boy living in a room with his mother and does not know of a world outside...
Deletemy last book was a message in a bottle by nicholas sparks. quite a heart wrenching tale!
Deletenow m reading mark of athena, by rick riordan..
my last book was the hunger games trilogy...nice books all three of 'em, bot IMO the last book was quite stretched...my favourite is the first...
Deletehey Misha..i am going to start reading those soon!! i have a long list of books to read...anyone read 50 Shades of Grey?? i still have to...
DeleteKrish, count me in...
DeleteJeff aracher, Grisham....
I have read first three of sparks books..altho i liked them...the sadness in stories...kept me away from exploring more...
I like to read travellogues too...becos much of the time, my reading is non-fiction...love In Xanadu by William Dalrymple
I like to read about places..esp the far east and russia south america...
it is my wish to once travel to Peru, to see machu pichu...have the wanderlust...want to make trips around the exotic places of the world...luckily as a family, we all love it but obviously as indviduals, we also have diff ideas of where to go...i love the historical, kid and hubby enjoy the adventurous...so kabhie inki suno kabhie woh humari sune..hehehe
but i am also all agog for a girl gang to travel to such places...girls do consider it....
i din't have patience for grisham. altho i have to say i tried reading only one book, the client i think. i didnt like it much... felt archer would have handled it in a much more better way... all the court scenes, archer is the master story teller, esp when it comes to court scenes, ref prisoner of birth!
Deleteabout sparks, its the other way round for me. it was the sadness that attracted me towards the books.
not much for travelling... i'm easily prone to motion sickness and allergic to restaurant foods. i would probably be spending half the time in loos. i hve already told my mom ki i want ghar jamai ;P
I agree Jeff archer is a master story teller..what grisham does is bring the knowledge of the profession into the book...actually for a good grppin book that is not so necessary...u can leave out specifics yet the weaving of the idea can make it real...this is where archer is ahead, in my view too...
Deleteexactly.. grisham loses the story in the process of going for technicalities!
DeleteAnita, one of my friends read 50 Shades of Grey...she didnt like it much...main leads are unimpressive... female lead has no self respect, male lead into heavy 'weird' stuff...
Deletei had read 50 shades before it was published .. it was a fanfiction that made the cut into the publishing world.. and it is too heavy if you are used to only M&B romances.
DeleteS&M is not digestible to 90% of the world population, and truly, dont google that if you cannot stomach violence and really dark stuff.
Oh Dia please do not watch SOTY..all my collegues saw it and they did not have one nice thing to say...it has 17 year olds driving, doing drugs, smoking and all..and all three cannot act!!
ReplyDeletedid you see the spoof for one of the songs?? it is hilarious!! posting the link...
http://mumbaiboss.com/2012/10/17/video-student-of-the-year-spoof/
Oh thanks Anita ... I was bugging my hubby to download it - we get very few Hindi movies in HK and only for a couple of days so I missed it on screen. Will avoid - otherwise husband se joote padenge, ki kya movie dikhayi!
DeleteDia definitely padenge!! :D
Deletei am being told KJ bought everyone to write lovely reviews!!!
Thanks Dia for this new one on books and movies..
ReplyDeleteWishing all EID MUBARAK..just thought of a lovely story onEid by Munshi Premchand,a well known Urdu
/Hindi writer of 1920 30s namely Eidgah ..read it..you'll find it beautifully written.
Will welcome more suggestions on books.
Thanks again Dia.
Hey Anon, are you new or have you forgotten to write your name? :)
DeleteThere was a story by Premchand ... it was about a little boy and how he bought a chimta for his grandmother at a fair. Is this the same story? It was very, very touching.
Yes Dia, it is the same story..this story and Kabuliwala by Rabindra Nath Tagoreare two of my favourites..they still bring tears to my eyes tho I ve read them umpteen times in the last thirty years ..read them first as a teenager.
DeleteYes I am new tho I got hooked on yor blog on IPKKND at recommendation of a friend who just chanced upon it.Thanks a lot.ive enjoyed reading all the discussions on it.i am writing for first time and am touched you replied.Thank you again.
Meera
Hiya Meera*hugs and welcome*
DeleteAND can we have the name of your friend too, is she a silent reader or a Bak bak one*question mark as my keyboard keys random ones are on a strike suddenly*
hey meera, welcome to the blog....
Deletemeera, welcome!
DeleteDia,Shwetha,Rekha and Jaya,
DeleteThank. You all for your warm welcome. Both my friend have been silent readers and this was the first time I plucked up courage to write..I also love R.K Narayan The malgudi days.also like Jeffrey archer.do not like violence ..prefer goodness in the characters..am a softie.
Thank you all again.
Meera.
Meera, welcome to both you and your friend ... we're all very friendly people here, we don't bite - unless you get in the middle of one of our impassioned arguments about Anjali :))) ... so feel free to post!
Deleteawesome idea of making posts for movies n books...!
ReplyDeleterecently watched English Vinglish...agree with all of you, beautiful movie...the breaking down scene of Sridevi outside the coffee shop was brilliantly executed...
also watched Looper...starring Bruce Willis and Joseph-Gordon Levitt...good sci-fi action movie, although the time travel stuff is confusing at one point...excellent acting, joseph does a good job at acting and looking like Willis...(although a LOT of make-up was used on him to make him look the part) Emily Blunt from the Devil Wears Prada also has a role.
WOW!! Great we get to discuss books.. lets c if any body can stop me from rambling now ;)
ReplyDeletebut before that, Dia u shud probably turn these posts into pages.that way they are accessible without us having to go thru the archives. the pages will be visible on the right side bar. i think you can add upto 10 pages.
so now books. the last book i read was Message in a Bottle, by nicholas sparks. i love all of nicholas sparks book for its simplicity in writing and portraying feelings. he brings out tears to your eyes. if you havent ever read any book, i suggest you read them. my personal favourites are The Last Song, The Weding, A walk To Remember, A bend in the road, Nights at Rodanthe... i would probably name all of his books. the best thing about his book is though it is usualy put in the genre of romance, it delves into something very deep. and in every book a different kind of love is portrayed. though i have to warn you, not every story has a happily ever after... but its a sad beautiful tragic story.
i mentioned this book in my member introduction post. the shiva trilogy. all you symbologists people would love it. i used to think Chetan Bhagat was the only hope for indian english writers, i have tried other books too... i don't enjoy chik-lits much... they dont touch me in any way. i tried ravinder singh's book, all of them kinda feel like same. about CB i like his fist 3 books, but the fourth book wasn't all that good and i washed my hands off him with revolution2020. the title is damn misleading... i expected something and ended up having to read a clichéd love triangle.. so amidst all of these disappointments came amish tripati's Immortals of Meluha. i had no expectations, actually i though i wouldn't be able to read more than a couple of chapters. me friend forced me to read it. but when i started, i dint put it down before i finished. its damn engaging. two books have been released the second is secret of nagas. you'll find most of the hindu myhtical creations in flesh, alive, breathing and doing stuff. the story line is, we know lord Shiva as Maha Dev, meaning lord of lords. what if he was a mortal man, raised to that pedestal because of his character and deeds? Read on to find it.
the next book i will suggest is Love, Rosie by Cecilia Ahern. i wont say much about this book, the book spans over 400 pages, and the entire story is told in the form of letters, emails, note, text messages between mostly the main leads, sometimes others. its amazing! she has another book, PS I Love You. this book is also great. here the female protagonist is helped by her late husband on leading a life after him, by letters.
finally to my two fav authors, James Patterson and JEFFREY ARCHER! if you like crime thrillers, Patterson should not be missed. esp his Cross series. you know Arjun was probably conceived based on Alex Cross, the main protagonist of Cros series. like arjun, cross couldnt save his wife from being brutally murdered, nor could he punish those responsible for it. but i guess the similarities end just there.
any Jef Acher fan here? i'm waiting to get a copy of sins of father. needless to say the new series is one heck of a story... i think somebody mentioned it, sheetal may hav had a one night stand with arnav, but then got married to some one else. the child may then belong to arnav, just like in only time wil tell. if you have never read any of his books, try reading sons of fortune and prisoner of birth. my fav.
there are just so many books, but i guess m boring you all to death... may be in nxt post!!
I love shiva trilogy. Do u have any idea when the third book is releasing.
Deletenope... sry. the last i heard it was supposed to be released towards the end of 2012... i guess we are nearing the the release...
DeleteCB books i have not read and the only one i managed to read was Two states and even tho i am in a south-north combo situation, i could not relate to it at all except in a superficial way...obv it was a fun take and so i should not any serious perspective,just a leg pullin fun effort..
Deleteon that alone i could not build any fascination for his writing...his literary skills average...for me that is the first level of fascination for a writer...
CB has a strong urge to use profanity very frequently. i dnt tolerate unnecessary profanity, esp when it could be totally avoided. just coz u use the F-word doesnt make you COOL... it gets sickening after a while... he probably things profanity connects with teens, i strongly object
DeleteJeffrey Archer ... another of my favorite authors. Have you guys read Kane and Abel and the sequel - The Prodigal Daughter? I read them years ago, and loved them. Kane and Abel was made into a tv serial on Sony by Yashraj, they kept it limited to a fixed number of episodes, and it was really quite good. Kismet was the name.
DeleteI have read the first few chapters of CB's Two States - I felt the writing was very average, like Rekha says, his literary skills are very average, the language doesn't draw you in.
Oh, how can I forget Georgette Heyer, her descriptions, her detailing, the descriptions of emotions, so subtle and understated, the humour - fantastic!
Kane and Abel was actually my first JA book if memory serves me right... but I have not read the prodigal daughter...only read the connection..somehow did not pursue it..actually since it is a story from the childrens' perspective, it would have made for a great read..maybe i will take it up..
DeleteI have read Jhumpa Lahiri..she is among the sharper writers from the Indian diaspora. With some of the Indian diaspora writing, my issue has been the tendency to focus too much on stereotyping of Indians/asians living abroad...initially there is a draw for the ones who have in some situations and curiosity for others..however later u realise that many times it is just a something written to fill pages without any depth in that view..
with Jhumpa, i feel she has at most times explored it in a meaningful way...they don't seem an intrusions in the narrative...they flow well...be it namesake or her first book Interpreter of Maladies....I loved Unaccustomed earth very much...
In each of her books, story..there comes a time, when just a sentence spoken very casually by the characters seems like a profound truth....
Chitra Divakaruni B...have read, three of her books, SOMH, (the ref to sandy is from there), arranged marriage, and the mistress of spices..liked only SOMH...Spices, i did not much understand at all...the idea did not carry thru to me strongly, idk why...and arranged marriage..was just another story for me...nothing lasting....
i have never read GH, i have only heard of her...since u girls recommend it, should give it a try...
kane and ebel was EPIC!!! loved it to bits. read the sequels too, prodigal daughter and shall we tell the president. i felt prodigal daughter a bit dragging, but shall we tell the president was crisp and engaging.
Deletehave you read not a penny more not a penny less??
Yes...loved it.....
Deleteeven shall we tell the president also very much
in fact, for the short genre, to cut a long story short was fantastic...my respect for JA grew after this becos while writing a novel is difficult, i think the real challenge is in a short story in respect of earning praise for completeness and novelty in a short narrative....i also love Ruskin Bond a lot...in fact i grew up on Ruskin bond stories, the best way to introduce children to reading...imo
Have loved Ruskin bond and RK Narayan, for the simplicity in their prose but profoundness in meaning.
I used to read out swami and friends to my daughter...
One of my favourites of RKN the vendor of sweets, painter of signs, waiting for mahatma...actually so many of them
I also loved his non-fictional work reluctant guru....even tho they were short essays...to me there were an nice insight to the man....
I loved Kane and Abel!!one of Archer's best works!!
Deletei don't like CB..his writing does not keep me interested...i feel he tries too hard to connect..i did read two of his books..and regretted it later!
Hey Dia,
ReplyDeleteI am so glad we can discuss books in this corner...
I mostly read non-fiction but from time to time read fiction as well...
I am readin Gurcharan Das atm "the difficulty of being good- on the subtle art of dharma"...
in fact he is one of my fav authors...i have read almost all his fiction and non-fictional works..just waitin to read his new book "India grows at night" after this.....
On the fiction side, i would recommend Gita Mehta's books if u guys care esp for the short short genre....one of the books that i loved is River sutra...a collection of stories based on the river narmada.
Anon, thanks for reminding me of Eidgah, remembered reading a translated version by Khushwant singh long ago...a sweet lovely tale...a kind of a Power of suggestion story....things that always attract me in a tale....
will do more bak-bak on books...its an area i love...
Krish, u r reading Rick Riordan....my teen reads it..., has finished the mark of athena, got me to purchase it for the first day it was out here in UK, 2nd oct, in fact she spent the whole day in school only thinking abt it and we went from school to buy it...
are his books something we will like too?
rick riordan presents greek, roman and egypt mythology in modern very much believable terms. you'll enjoy it. the only draw back of his books, that i felt are characterisation. more specifically transition of characters. you knw in HP series, you could literally feel the characters grow into adults. i loved the fifth part for that very thing... you really could believe that 3 17 year old kids will take up a journey to hunt down horcruxes and finish off voldemort. the change in behavior, language, manner made them look very life like. HP never looked like fantasy for me.
Deletesomewhere the reality feel of characters lacks in rick riordan books. otherwise they are gripping tales of fantasy which are worth getting lost into.
Yes...Iagree about HP...when HP came about, i scoffed and said "anyone can write anything out the realm of imagination" and ofc that was a silly thot of mine...i meant to put it down to what tamilians call "achha pati kadhai" like a kuch bhi buno story and wondered wat the fuss is about and then I came to Know what the fuss is really about...
DeleteHP has been a fantasy tale to me...again i go back to the power of an idea...HP epitomises that....my daughter is a potterhead...and we love to have discussions on the characters...she is ofc more into it ..To think of it, I kept buying the books when it first came, she was too young to read and imagine then ur kid reads with u and the last we read and saw together..
I meant HP has never been a fantasy tale to me too..
Deletei was like that too. my entire school would go crazy at the mention of potter. i used to mock at them and swore i would never read these books. my class used to be a madhouse during recesses. it was enough to prick my curiosity. and once i started there was no look back. thank god i started reading only after the last part was released. i read all 7 books back to back. and wrote a couple of FFs too. participated in endless online discussions.... i was ttly possessed!
Deletebut the movies, damn it they never get anything right do they... i'm no fan of dan radcliffe or emma watson. rupert is okay... and i hated gambon... the dumbledore of first two parts fitted the role. gambon felt like he never got the hang of the role. heard he never read the books
Chalo, catch up with u guys in a while, hubby does not want to miss out on a morn walk...dragging me off the lappy...says apne doston ko bolon, thodi der baad chat karogi...."see ya"
Deletethks Dia once again
Krish,
DeleteI showed my kid ur post on Rick riordan; i do sometimes ask her what fascinates or keeps kids enthralled in one fantasy tale after another...sometimes my pet peeve is can we ever get u guys to appreciate something in the realm of believable imagination" (but maybe i am responsible for this trait in my kid...power of an idea..there i go again")she does a fair bit of other reading too now
Krsih, on reading ur comment she wanted to write to u a response so i let her type her response below
Quote
I believe that the characters are quite different from HP probably due the different environments that they are set in, as in Camp Half-Blood is not like Hogwarts and does not have someone like Dumbledore to guide them or make any inspirational quotes, although, there is a continuation of the Percy Jackson series in the form of Heroes of Olympus where Percy takes a considerably more responsible role....
Since the series is basically for teens, the author may not have got into the depth of characterization, as we teens would not really appreciate the depth as much, we'd rather read a sarcastically funny and action-packed story...Just my point of view
Unquote
when i read this I asked her than how come HP being a book for children majorly has this in depth characterisation...she looked at me and said u have answered ur own question..."thats why HP is not only a book enjoyed by one set of audience" probably she has a point
when we visited the Potter Studio, we were taken thru the fascinating journey of the beginning of HP to its current state....truly an epoch making event this whole Potter thing..Bless all those who gave the thot a voice and what a powerful voice it has been for us...
i totally agree with ur daughter rekha! a very fair point. i am not complaining about the lack of depth in percy jackson or other characters.. it only feels like sometimes they act way out of their age! and its not just about responsibility (yes, i read mark of athena too!), i felt it lacked a touch of innocence, thats all!
Deleteand regarding HP, yeah not at all comparable by any standards! she is definitely right!
and i wasnt criticizing about rick riordan (meant no offense), like she said, teens would obv love it... its funny, sarcastic and fast paced.. u asked me if you'd like it... i gave you my point of view only keeping the older generation in mind.
no yaar...offence ki kya baat hain. i was just asking her in terms of comparison becos i do feel that not necessary that every good work of art gets the same amoutn of appreciation...its like destiny or co-incidence. so i wanted to know whether the lack of in-depth characterisation is a cause for less acceptance..
DeleteHP is a phenomenon, actually stupid of me to try a comparison..
she also did not take the comment otherwise..she only wanted to write becos of the transition aspect...she actually agrees but says the author may have skipped it for this reason.
and u can imagine my faltu brain...
DeleteI have not even read Rick riordan and i am wanting to pick a fight with my daughter...chumma fun on a sunday morn....
i guess its just me getting paranoid. i tried telling the very same thing(lack of depth) to a friend, an ardent fan of RR works... he did not take it lightly, and fought vehemently... i was only being cautious as to not hurt her feelings. and she may be right, i guess its the author's creative freedom. his characters and his choice as to how what he deems fit to be shown!
Deleteha, Rekha.. there you go, u sound just like my mom! her fav pass time is picking fights with me too. have fun! may be you should percy jackson a try :)
DeleteHarry Potter ... that would merit an entire post! My kids have grown with those books, and I have read all the books with them. My kids and I are MAJOR HP fans ... To the extent that when the last three books came out, we bought two copies of each book, because neither of them could wait to read them - and I had to wait for one of them to finish before I could get my hands on it, because I drew the line at getting three copies!!!
DeleteMy daughter started reading them when she was 9, I used to read them out as bedtime stories to my son because he was too little to read them but he wanted to ... then we got him the audio books to listen to and I don't know how many times the kids have HEARD the books. The three of us would discuss them to death ... I think Harry Potter books have a lot of meaning to draw. Of course you all know that they were meant to be a hidden parallel to the persecution of Jews by the Nazis, but some of the life's lessons there were really beautiful. Like how to face Dementors - or your biggest fears - with strength from the people you love.
I haven't read RR, again recommended by my kids, but I didn't get hooked.
Has anyone read Jhumpa Lahiri and Chitra Kumari Divakurni? Both write well. I like Jhumpa Lahiri's short stories.
btw rekha, since you said your daughter likes to read fantasy, has she read the artemis fowl series? by eoin colfer? if not i'd like to recommend it!
Deleteshe hasn't read the series....thks..i will tell her...
Deletehow stupid of me to have forgotten my manners.. here i'm spamming non-stop wihtout even stopping to thank Dia.. apologies first and then THANK YOU DIA for this wonderful place!!!
ReplyDeleteOn jab tak hai jaan, the song "saans mein teri" is growin on me altho i don't like the mukhda but shreya Ghosal's voice is doing the trick for me and after a long time, i am going to love sRK in a movie...did not like him in some of his last movies...i dunno why i think i am goin to love him in ths movie......
ReplyDeletei know what u are saying... i abs loathed SRK in Ra.one. it was one mega flop after all the hype. he dint connect with the audience at all...
Deletebut i just know i'll like him in JTHJ... after all its his forte!! i liked the poem... the trailer... i even saw an arhi vm on the trailer.. i'm moe favoured towards jab thak hai jaan....
i am looking forward to this movie only because SRK is back to doing what he does best!!!
DeleteDia,
ReplyDeleteYou look to be in a generous mood;can i be greedy and ask u if we can discuss music as well here?
You have to be a mind reader ... I was just going to add that. :)))
DeleteAm sitting down to watch Sa Re Ga Ma Pa ... so I'm wondering whether I should add it in the discussion on shows or here.
I watched the GIMA awards repeat today ... there was a short tribute to Rajesh Khanna through his songs ... uff, the man had some AMAZING songs picturised on him!
DeleteYeh Sham Mastani ... we were discussing Kati Patang in IPK.
Pyaar Diwana Hota Hai mastana hota hai ...
Zindagi kaisi hai paheli hayee
The list is endless! All the songs from Anand and Amar Prem are eternal favourites!
WOW Dia...all classics
DeleteI am so glad we can use this place to talk of music too...
BTw wanted to know from any of u girls which is a gud site if i want to know the true meaning of some urdu words... i struggle to get a close meaning...
For example i was listening to the song from Bazaar a week ago..
dikhayi diye yu bekhud kiya...its not an easy song to decipher from the lyrics..it has contrary meaning esp if u watch the song...there is an element of sufism in the song that makes u wonder what is being actually conveyed...its fascinating...i am trying to compile a close meaning of the song from the perspective of the movie...
Dhink chika dhinka chika, we can discuss everything here itself, no chance of us losing touch*touch wood*
ReplyDeleteDiaaaaaaaa, ITNA kar diya hai, yeh bhi kar do plzzzzzzzz
Organise the topics as the following
Other shows we are watching
Books we are reading
Movies we are watching
Music we are listening
4 Separate topics, so it is easy for everyone to come and discuss, so that in future if one is looking for a good book or movie to read, they can go to that particular section and pick one
Hugs bey!!!!!! loads and loads of hugs!!!
Shweths ... bey, look at the top right! Have done so already, except for music, which I will add as a separate page, but we discuss it everywhere so that will be a tough one to keep it separate. It will come into Shows because of the music reality shows, and into Movies because of songs ... tough to pigeonhole it.
DeleteHave kept movies and books together because so many good books have movie versions or inspirations.
Dia,
ReplyDeleteChecked in to see how you all are doing and saw this thread - I am a compulsive reader and looks like most here are :)
Jeffrey Archer - good writing - read almost all his books upto A quiver full of arrows...I think my fav is Not a penny more, not a penny less :)
Shiva trilogy - the first one was a letdown for me - may be due to heightened expectations-felt the plot had so much potential but the narration was mediocre - liked the second a lot better mainly because of the philosophical debates with Vasudev - though the people who liked the first found the second slow.Have to see how he closes it - I think the plot is now given away for the 3rd based on the pattern of the first two and the Vasudev conversations ..have to wait and see..
Did not see a mention of Ann Patchett- loved her Bel Canto - a beautifully told story - a must read for most ladies here - think you will all like it :)
Also liked her State of Wonder - a story set in the amazon that goes into the ethics of bioresearch ..
An all time fav - Life of Pi by Yann Martel - Symbolism galore - can read it many different ways :)
Divakaruni's Conch bearer was good - but read it when i was getting a surfeit of that brand of fantasy - HP, Eragon so did not quite impress as much...
Jhumpa Lahiri's works are good :)
Rekha,
Have not read Gurucharan Das - will have to check him out ---thanks :)
Non-fiction - mostly sciency stuff on psycho-neurology- what makes us tick, physics, space etc...
Do not find time to get to the movies - The last one I saw was Eega - the telugu version of makkhi - good fun and very creative- the kids were falling off their seats- was surprised to see it fail in hindi:)
hey Sri gud to "see" you
Deletejump right in....
On gurcharan das, do read Indian unbound and elephant paradigm...
on non-fiction, the one thing i actually avoid is sciency stuff..dima hi nahin uske liye mere paas....hehehe
did makkhi fail? oh its such a lovely movie....
sri,
Deletewhen i read ur comment - waht makes us tick...physics space...it reminded of an author's books that i read on a friend's recommendation and which i loved
Richard Bach..i have read two of his books...the more famous Jonathan Livingstone Seagull and also One
absolutely loved both, former a novella
Tho nothing to do with science, a book that shaped my consciousness in the younger days or should i say something that causes u to relook at a lot of things around u, to introspect was "to kill a mockingbird" by harper lee...not high on literary content but moved me a lot...
Ayn Rand anyone??? not many like her books but i absolutely lover her characters!!
ReplyDeletei have not read too much non-fiction..will have to try some..
i grew up reading Robert Ludlum, Robin Cook, HP and others..i really used to enjoy Ludlum..Bourne being one of my favourite characters!!
i am a huge HP fan..love Ron!! we used to have long discussions in college..and straws would be our wants and all day we'd go 'Expelliarmus'..so much fun!!!
read Twilight to see what the fuss was all about (a few girls i knew wanted to go to some parts of Europe to find vampires and get bitten!!)..somehow did not like them all that much..the final book was alright..guess the teens love them!!
Anita,
DeleteFountain Head remains #1 on my fav books and I loved Atlas Shrugged as well but the rest of her books were not as good :)
i know what you mean..Anthem was ok-ok..but Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged are my fav's!!i re-read them quite often...
DeleteWow!
ReplyDeleteI have to go through all your post sin detail and pick out some good books.
Thanks, all of you.
My favourite series is 'The Lord of the rings'.
I enjoyed reading Mark Twain and Wodehouse in my teens.
These three are forever classics for me, because my reading habit took a major break after that.
I got cured of Potter mania somewhere around the last book or the one before that. So much so, I don't remember what was all the madness about it. I think I will still like the first three books, may be it is time to re-read it.
The other author I absolutely love is Eric Segal- Love story, The Class, Doctors...
Among the new writers, I like Chetan Bhagat, but I feel his last chapters are a let down. 'Three mistakes ' was good.
Sometime last year I read 'Memoirs of a Geisha'. I found it an excellent book and would like to recommend it to all of you.
Hmmm.. looks like it is time to raid my bro's book collection.
*hugs* all of you.
I remember liking Geogette Heyer books in college.
DeleteDia, could you name a few of her best books?
Dia,
ReplyDeleteFasting feasting was one book of anita desai, i liked decently..it started off well...i can't now remember the story for some reason...its worth a read..the other book of Anita desai that i have read is In custody...its a bit slow but an decent read again...if u interested in poetry, u may like the book...
I have another book of hers..a village by the sea but have not read it yet..she is definitely better than her daughter.Kiran desai's Inheritance of Loss was horrible...i could not ge thru more than 100 odd pages...if anyone has read it and has nice things to say,i would love to have that perspective becos i want to know how that book won the Man booker prize, another author i have no patience for is Arundhati Roy, never understood the fuss about her book when it came about...read 15 pages and never looked at it again...
I also liked The Japanese wife by Kunal Basu...it was a nice read...
On non-fiction, i will recommend the argumentative Indian...will take some time to read it becos it requies focus do it only when you have the time...
also jawaharlal nehru's discovery of India and glimpses of world history...takes a lot of time but its lovely...take my word for it...
I am a huge fan of JNNehru as a writer not politician..
I bought my daughter a book by him "letters from a father to a daughter" I would recommend any reader having a young child to definitely make them read it...its fantastic..
Dia,
Deleteon autobiographies, please do add Lee Iacocca to the list..idk if people know much about him...i read his book in my twenties and i knew of his contribution but even if they don't know, its a gud old fashioned goodness read...a must according to me...
the other to read would be anne frank The diary of a youn girl
I have heard a lot about nelson Mandela's autobiogrpahy tho i haven't read it...
I read MY experiments with truth by MK Gandhi...again a very powerful book...if u can set aside some preconceived notions...it is a thot provoking book
One more must read is "go kiss the world" by subroto Bagchi....Mindtree's entrepreneur..its an amazin read...
Rekh,
DeleteJN as an author, someone had suggested 'Glimpses' to me recently. Thanks for the reminder. I will take up that suggestion on 'letters' too.
Anne Frank: One of my fav books too.
God of small things: Try reading it again. I was not so much for the story, but her language is absolutely captivating. I was actually going to mention it in my list.
Satyajit Ray?
I read Pather Panchali a few years back. I loved it.
Kiran Desai- Hullabaloo on the guava orchard-it was her debut novel, and the only one I have read.
It was a good read.
err..correction.
DeletePather Panchali- book is by Bibhuthibhushan Bandhopadhyay
Rekha,
DeleteInheritance of loss - man, what a waste of time - I did read thru all of it trying to figure out why it got the Booker :)
Autobiographies -
Wings of Fire - Abdul Kalam
On letters to kids - I loved Shobha De's Speedpost
John Steinbeck is another powerful writer - his Pearl left me shaken...
Someone mentioned Memoirs of the Geisha - a wonderful read:)
Sri...
DeleteI was ready to send a letter to the the committee after reading 100 odd page and gave it up the silly idea tho...i rant over it when i have a chance....i went crazy with the old man, girl and the cook....all of them drove me crazy...never understood a single point and imagine i thot the title was so intriguing...i still have her book...it looks like a new one
Su, I am told Sarat chandra Chatterjee's books are very gud..ofc i can only read the translations but Srikanta was a gud read so was Choker bali by RNTagore.
Parineeta is a book by SCC...ofc i couldn't get the book and haven't read it but with translations there is one problem, once u know the story..not much to look forward in a book....the prosaic beauty in the original tale is lost to u...so i read only if it is recommended
Dia,
ReplyDeleteSome more of my recommendations
George Orwell : Animal Farm (An absolute must read)
Paulo Coelho : Alchemist , Zahir
Hermann Hesse : Siddhartha - short novel is available free online
Philosophy : Some favorites that bear re-reading
Erich Fromm : The Art of Loving (this was an amazing gem I found at a discount bookstore)
Osho: Awareness
The next two are more hindu philosophy centric...
Eknaath Eswaran : Upanishads
Rajiv Malhotra : Being Different
General Non-fiction
Freakonomics
Alchemist, beautiful book!! wanted to mention it myself :)
Deletehaven't read Zahir... will give it a read.
If anyone here likes animals..they should read James Herriot...all things series....lovely books almost all
DeleteHey Rekha, i just logged into tell you about a book Three weeks with my brother by Nicolas Sparks. its a non-fiction and the author along with his brother go on a world trip. if my memory serves rite, they visit a lot of historical places, including Machu Pichchu. thought you may like it.
ReplyDeleteI've got exams spanning over a period of TWO MONTHS :(( so may not be able to come online and after today's epi i have ttly given up on IPK... i'm sure exams will help me detox!! so tata! c ya after exams!!
PS: plz wish me luck, this is my final year :))
I know of this book...i will check up....sure thks
DeleteALL THE BEST KRISH..do well in ur exams, keep dropping by...okay?
All the best Krish :)
Deletebest of luck krish, do tapkofy whenever you can now that we have more loads of stuff to discuss:)
Deletekrish, all the best for your exams!
DeleteKrish, all the best for your exams! Keep dropping in when you can.
DeleteWow, I am bookmarking this one.
ReplyDeleteAdding a few from my end:
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
Losing my Virginity - Richard Branson
Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
It Happened in India - Kishore Biyani
The Polyester Prince - Hamish McDonald (mixed feelings!!)
The Immortals of Meluha & The Secret of the Nagas - Amish (a different view on mythology and history though it is just a simple story)
The Chronicles of Narnia - Fun light read (I actually read it when I was pregnant instead of Dr. Spocks :))
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
To Kill a Mocking bird - Harper Lee
The R Document - Irving Wllace (light suspense book;
Jane Austen - for the language
The Devil Wears Prada
Erich Segal
Bond series - Ian Fleming - as a school going kind I enjoyed them and still have On Her Majesty's Secret Service that I read when I just need a read and nothing to apply my mind to
Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom
Other Stories Wise & Otehrwise - Sudha Murthy
The Glass Palace - Amitav Ghosh
In an Ancient Land - MAitav Ghosh (mixed feelings)
Mahabharata - C Rajagopalachari
The Saint Steals Diamonds - agina read it in hugh school - a swashbuckling robin hood
One - Richard Bach
Archer, Sheldon, Robin Cook and Grisham I read when in uni and now they do not engage me
Books I have but am yet to read
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
Steve Jobs bio by Walter Issacson
The Last Song - Nicholas Sparks
Turning Points - APJ Kalam
The Resurgence of Satyam - Zafar Anjum
Maximum City - Suketu Mehta
Freakonomics - Jon Stewart
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
Enid Blyton :)
Agatha Christie
Book I wonder about:
The White Mogul - William Dalrymple
RK Narayan - because my cousing hijacked my copy :(
A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket
P.G.Wodehouse
Coelho didn't engage me though I did read a few.
Chitra Rani Divakaruni I have only read Mistress of Spices
Most Indian authors thus far have been only an ok experience.
Arvind Adiga I thought was overrated.
Movies to see:
The Dark Knight Rises
Skyfall - Bond Series
The Dirty Picture (cos its Vidya)
Iron Man 2
Gangs of Wasseypur
Barfi
Movies I liked:
Shanghai
Kahaani
Oh My God
Iron Man
Tamil movies I haven't seen in a long while as no info and easy access.
SN: Dia I did not know of the hidden Jewish Nazi symbolish in HP. I loved the way you spoke of fighting a dementor with the strength of the ones you love.