tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72983616022821274552024-02-21T09:48:07.295+05:30Traffordshire CountyDedicated to the Biggest & Most Popular Football Club in the world - Manchester United!Abhinav C.J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284241380930327538noreply@blogger.comBlogger130125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298361602282127455.post-90518496681022053782016-01-02T00:31:00.003+05:302016-01-02T00:31:29.670+05:302015 - The Year in Reading and the Best Books of the Year<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Hello and welcome back to the fourth edition of the… well, whatever the title tells you that this is going to be. Today, we look back at the year in reading and the best books of the year 2015 – yeah, that’s the one that just went by if you still haven’t recovered from last night’s hangover.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As much as I would love to recount how 2015 was a very eventful year for me – a year of many firsts, to be precise – this is not the platform for such indulgences, unless they are literary in nature. So let us see – first time I didn’t make it to the top 1% of the Pocket readers’ list, first time I did not accomplish my original annual reading target, first time in four years that I took a break from reading out of fatigue. But then, all the above instances can be explained by the fact that I have attained enlightenment as a reader and am not perturbed by the numbers game.<o:p></o:p></div>
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2015 was indeed the year of non-fiction getting its due in my reading preferences – as exactly half of the 36 books I read fell under the category. So much for claiming this would never happen, but the MBA life did cause a seismic shift and given the quality of non-fiction in the shelves of my college library, I’d be the bigger fool for not making use of it in the little time I have left before I am chucked out into yet another life.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Moving on to the best reads I’ve come across this year, the relatively low tally means I did not have much to choose from. So compiling this list wasn’t a tough task as it had been in the preceding years – but the list still has a good mix of all genres. So without ado, here are the ten (plus five) best books I had the pleasure of reading in the days of the year past –<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>The Colonel Who Would Not Repent</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Author: Salil Tripathi<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Publisher: Aleph Book Company [Hardcover]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>First Published: 2014</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Summary:</b> Between March and December 1971, the Pakistani army committed atrocities on an unprecedented scale in the country's eastern wing. Pakistani troops and their collaborators were responsible for countless deaths and cases of rape. Clearly, religion alone wasn't enough to keep Pakistan's two halves united. From that brutal violence, Bangladesh emerged as an independent nation, but the wounds have continued to fester. The gruesome assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country's charismatic first prime minister and most of his family, the coups and counter-coups which followed, accompanied by long years of military rule were individually and collectively responsible for the country's inability to come to grips with the legacy of the Liberation War Four decades later, as Bangladesh tries to bring some accountability and closure to its blood-soaked past through controversial tribunals prosecuting war crimes, Salil Tripathi travels the length and breadth of the country probing the country's trauma through interviews with hundreds of Bangladeshis. His book offers the reader an unforgettable portrait of a nation whose political history since Independence has been marked more by tragedy than triumph.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Review:</b> I had been a regular reader of Salil Tripathi’s columns when I subscribed to Mint and when I learnt that he had written a book on a subject that interested me greatly, the opportunity to read it was just too good to pass. A well-researched chronicle that gives a humanistic account of the bloody massacre that engulfed Bangladesh for not just the Liberation War but decades that followed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The first book I read this year and definitely one I’d recommend.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>The Goldfinch</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Author: Donna Tartt<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Publisher: Abacus [Paperback]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>First Published: 2013</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Summary:</b> Aged thirteen, Theo Decker, son of a devoted mother and a reckless, largely absent father, survives an accident that otherwise tears his life apart. Alone and rudderless in New York, he is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. He is tormented by an unbearable longing for his mother, and down the years clings to the thing that most reminds him of her: a small, strangely captivating painting that ultimately draws him into the criminal underworld. As he grows up, Theo learns to glide between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love - and his talisman, the painting, places him at the centre of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America and a drama of enthralling power. Combining unforgettably vivid characters and thrilling suspense, it is a beautiful, addictive triumph - a sweeping story of loss and obsession, of survival and self-invention, of the deepest mysteries of love, identity and fate.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Review:</b> I read this book at a juncture in my life when I was emotionally vulnerable and honestly, the romance seriously effed up my mind. However, the fact that it could affect me so deeply is the hallmark of a great work of literature and Ms Tartt deserves full credit for writing a story that makes you live, love and suffer like Theo Decker did.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Cold Steel: Lakshmi Mittal and the Multi-Billion Dollar Battle for a Global Empire<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Author: Tim Bouquet and Byron Ousey<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Publisher: Abacus [Paperback]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>First Published: 2008</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Summary: </b>When the world’s two largest steel producers went head to head in a bitter struggle for market domination, an epic corporate battle ensued that sent shockwaves through the political corridors of Europe, overheated the world’s financial markets and transformed the steel industry. Billions of dollars were at stake.<o:p></o:p></div>
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At the heart of the battle were two men: Guy Dollé, Chairman and CEO of Luxembourg-based Arcelor, the world’s largest steel producer by turnover and Lakshmi Mittal, a self-made Indian industrialist and the richest man in Great Britain. Only one could prevail . . .<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Review:</b> A book that comprehensively narrates the battle for world domination in the steel industry – corporate espionage, unexpected twists in the tale and chess-like strategies are all part of what is a rollicking tale. Could’ve been a perfect read if not for the rather abrupt ending, but it deserves a strong recommendation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>New Market Tales<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Author: Jayant Kripalani<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Publisher: Picador [Paperback]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>First Published: 2013</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Summary:</b> There was something about Calcutta in the 1960s and 1970s – a once-glorious city found itself torn by the Naxalite movement. Revolution and history were being staged at every street corner. But not all of Calcutta would succumb to that chaos and confusion. Certainly not New Market. Lives had to be lived, goods had to be sold, money had to be made. Nothing had shaken the historic market since its illustrious beginnings in 1874, not the World Wars, not the struggle for Independence; the market thrived no matter who was in power.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Armed with a fistful of memories, Jayant Kripalani weaves nostalgia into these short stories about the inhabitants of New Market. A sprawling landscape that houses both enterprise and extraordinary people, New Market continues to be something of an institution in Calcutta. And any time is a good time to revisit it by taking a trip down Kripalani’s memory lane and meeting Francis the jewellery maker, Ganguly Gainjeewallah and his activist-daughter Gopa, and a cast of characters who excite you, exasperate you but still win you over.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Review:</b> Jayant Kripalani is a well-known thespian but I picked this one without much expectations. Probably that worked in its favour, for the simplicity of the prose and adept storytelling is a major plus. The infusion of nostalgia and heart make this collection of short stories an undisputed literary triumph.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Author: Haruki Murakami [translated from the Japanese by Jay Rubin]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Publisher: Vintage [Paperback]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>First Published: 1994</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Summary:</b> Toru Okada's cat has disappeared. His wife is growing more distant every day. Then there are the increasingly explicit telephone calls he has recently been receiving. As this compelling story unfolds, the tidy suburban realities of Okada's vague and blameless life, spent cooking, reading, listening to jazz and opera and drinking beer at the kitchen table, are turned inside out, and he embarks on a bizarre journey, guided (however obscurely) by a succession of characters, each with a tale to tell.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Review:</b> This one puzzles and dazzles at the same time. Right up there with Murakami's finest works.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yeah, there’s really no point trying to tell you anything about the book itself. Read it to believe it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>The Bad Girl</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Author: Mario Vargas Llosa [translated from the Spanish by Edith Grossman]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Publisher: Faber and Faber [Paperback]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>First Published: 2006</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Summary: </b>When the beautiful teenage Lily arrives in Lima in 1950, fifteen-year-old Ricardo falls instantly in love with her. She claims to be from Chile, but vanishes the moment it becomes clear that she has lied about both her name and her nationality. A decade later, now living in Paris, Ricardo falls in love with a woman named Comrade Arlette, who is incredibly similar to Lily but refuses to acknowledge that she is the same person. For his whole life, Ricardo seems doomed to keep running into 'Lily', and to keep falling in love with her. Will he ever discover who she really is?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Review:</b> <i>"What </i><i>cheap, sentimental things you say, good boy!"</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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There were no words to describe the profound sadness I felt when I reached the end of what was arguably the most incredible, hopelessly romantic tale I've had the pleasure of reading.<o:p></o:p></div>
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"The Bad Girl" will conquer your heart over and over again. Highly recommended.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Author: Susan Cain<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Publisher: Penguin [Paperback]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>First Published: 2012</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Summary:</b> At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking, reading to partying; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over brainstorming in teams. Although they are often labeled "quiet," it is to introverts that we owe many of the great contributions to society--from van Gogh’s sunflowers to the invention of the personal computer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Passionately argued, impressively researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet shows how dramatically we undervalue introverts, and how much we lose in doing so. Taking the reader on a journey from Dale Carnegie’s birthplace to Harvard Business School, from a Tony Robbins seminar to an evangelical megachurch, Susan Cain charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal in the twentieth century and explores its far-reaching effects. She talks to Asian-American students who feel alienated from the brash, backslapping atmosphere of American schools. She questions the dominant values of American business culture, where forced collaboration can stand in the way of innovation, and where the leadership potential of introverts is often overlooked. And she draws on cutting-edge research in psychology and neuroscience to reveal the surprising differences between extroverts and introverts.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Perhaps most inspiring, she introduces us to successful introverts--from a witty, high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks, to a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the power of questions. Finally, she offers invaluable advice on everything from how to better negotiate differences in introvert-extrovert relationships to how to empower an introverted child to when it makes sense to be a "pretend extrovert."<o:p></o:p></div>
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This extraordinary book has the power to permanently change how we see introverts and, equally important, how introverts see themselves.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Review:</b> I cannot describe what I felt when I watched Ms Cain’s TED Talk for the first time and everything she spoke about resonated so strongly that I was determined to read her book someday. And the moment I arrived back on campus after my summer internship, I found a copy in my college library and I read it, only to rediscover and see myself in an entirely different light. No doubt I am far better a communicator today than I used to be a year ago, but this book helped me learn to accept myself and be proud of who I really am.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Pundits from Pakistan: On Tour with India 2003-04</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Author: Rahul Bhattacharya<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Publisher: Penguin [Paperback]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>First Published: 2005</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Summary:</b> In 2004 the Indian cricket team headed to Pakistan to play a historic series. Accompanying them was young cricket reporter Rahul Bhattacharya. The mood was tense, with political provocations and security fears. But as the arch-rivals met on the field, a rare spirit of bonhomie spread throughout the tour. And in streets and homes in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Multan, the author had many warm human encounters that made the tour unforgettable. This book vividly brings alive the magic of cricket, even as it chronicles an emotional and hopeful time, witnessed by a young Indian discovering Pakistan.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Review:</b> This book is a bit of everything - cricket reportage, memoir, travelogue as well as a piece of work that defines Indo-Pak cricket as we have known it for our lives. An instant classic by all means.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>How Music Got Free: The End of an Industry, the Turn of the Century, and the Patient Zero of Piracy</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Author: Stephen Witt<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Publisher: Viking [eBook]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>First Published: 2015</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Summary:</b> "What happens when an entire generation commits the same crime?"<o:p></o:p></div>
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How Music Got Free is a riveting story of obsession, music, crime, and money, featuring visionaries and criminals, moguls and tech-savvy teenagers. It’s about the greatest pirate in history, the most powerful executive in the music business, a revolutionary invention and an illegal website four times the size of the iTunes Music Store. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Journalist Stephen Witt traces the secret history of digital music piracy, from the German audio engineers who invented the mp3, to a North Carolina compact-disc manufacturing plant where factory worker Dell Glover leaked nearly two thousand albums over the course of a decade, to the high-rises of midtown Manhattan where music executive Doug Morris cornered the global market on rap, and, finally, into the darkest recesses of the Internet.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Through these interwoven narratives, Witt has written a thrilling book that depicts the moment in history when ordinary life became forever entwined with the world online — when, suddenly, all the music ever recorded was available for free. In the page-turning tradition of writers like Michael Lewis and Lawrence Wright, Witt’s deeply-reported first book introduces the unforgettable characters—inventors, executives, factory workers, and smugglers—who revolutionized an entire art form, and reveals for the first time the secret underworld of media pirates that transformed our digital lives.<o:p></o:p></div>
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An irresistible never-before-told story of greed, cunning, genius, and deceit, How Music Got Free isn’t just a story of the music industry—it’s a must-read history of the Internet itself.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Review:</b> The remarkable story of global music piracy and the unprecedented rise of the mp3. A terrific work of investigative reportage that busts the age-old myth that pirated music is a crowd-sourced phenomenon and confirms Witt's storytelling ability in the legacy of Michael Lewis. Highly recommended.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>The Martian<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Author: Andy Weir<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Publisher: Crown [eBook]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>First Published: 2014</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Summary:</b> Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Review:</b> "The Martian" is proof that a well-written protagonist can often make up for flaws in a novel. And when you have someone like Mark Watney - resourceful, gritty and armed with an indomitable sense of humour against the face of overwhelming odds - boy, it is one helluva ride!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A strong recommendation solely for this space-age Crusoe.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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And now we look at the <b>(plus five)</b> section. The illustrious winners of the consolation prize are –<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Cobalt Blue by Sachin Kundalkar [translated from the Marathi by Jerry Pinto]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A beautiful tale of love and loss in which two siblings – brother and sister – both fall for the same man.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
An evergreen tale featuring the adorable oaf Bertie Wooster and his suave valet, the inimitable Reginald Jeeves.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Vikalang Shraddha Ka Daur by Harishankar Parsai<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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A collection of essays and short fiction by arguably the greatest Hindi satirist of all time written during the Emergency era.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Salt and Sawdust by R.K. Narayan<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Features a couple of short stories and a bunch of essays on a range of subjects from literary criticism to culinary chronicles.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Essays by George Orwell<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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It’s George Orwell. Need I say more?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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And so we come to the end of what was… again, check the header of this post. Thank you for reading this and I wish you a very Happy New Year. May the Force be with you in 2016, as it is with J.J. Abrams at the box office. Here’s to another year of great books and fine literature!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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As always, resolve to read better this year. Happy Reading!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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That’s all, Folks!<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Abhinav C.J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284241380930327538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298361602282127455.post-20312521608435769282015-01-01T00:26:00.000+05:302015-01-01T00:27:15.575+05:302014 - The Year in Reading & the Best Books of the Year<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
So! Here we are, back to the Annual
Megalomaniac Festival, starring yours truly as the emcee for the third year in
a row – not that there aren’t any contenders for the position but hey, this is
my moment & I say what I want.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Well, as the title may have
suggested, this is about my reading exploits in the past year & boy, were
there some to tell about. To start with, I took part in a couple of reading
challenges – the <b>Brunch Book Challenge</b> (24 books or more in 2014) & the
usual <b>Goodreads Annual Reading Challenge</b>. Yeah, the latter’s the one in which
you set an impossibly low target for yourself & then pat your own back for
accomplishing it well in time. (For the record, it was 200 days. The Brunch one
was done in 100. But hey, who’s counting?)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I also attended three literature fests
this year – <b>KALAM</b> (Kolkata Annual Literary Meet), <b>Litomania</b> (one on Indian
popular fiction in my college campus) & the <b>Times Literary Carnival</b> (in
Mumbai – best time I’ve had at a LitFest till date), besides finally making it
to the <b>Kolkata International Book Fair</b>, the third largest in the world. Jolly
good time that, but not so when it came to book prices. Still, one should go
there only for the sheer scale of it – it’s simply overwhelming.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Then there was the small matter
of participating in the <b>#387ShortStory</b> Challenge, which entailed reading a
short story by a new author every day. Though it started last year in December,
I valiantly carried on till mid-June before I ran out of stories. The guy who
started it - <a href="http://twitter.com/vivekisms" target="_blank">@vivekisms</a> – was still at it last time I checked his blog &
since he’s awesome, I recommend you follow him if you love books. In the
meantime, all that short fiction catapulted me back into the top 1% of readers
on Pocket, so that’s another feather in my cap.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Feathers in my cap remind me –
hell, my photo was published in <b>HT Brunch</b> too! They called me their ‘top reader’
& all in their Reading Special Issue, which was nice but the best part were
the books they sent me over the year & now I’ve even made it to their top
24 readers of the year & I’m getting a reading hamper from them & I’m
just so amazing – yeah, kinda makes you jealous, no?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Of course, all this
self-aggrandizement would be incomplete without telling how I found a new
literary fraternity in this wonderful book review blog called <b><a href="http://betweenthelines.in/" target="_blank">Between The Lines</a></b>,
run by my handler <a href="http://twitter.com/bassyc" target="_blank">@bassyc</a>. For those who wonder why being BTL is a great place
to be, you can check out my Instagram feed (<a href="http://instagram.com/thebongone" target="_blank">@thebongone</a>).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Now that we are done with all the
other stuff, let’s talk about the books, shall we? Well, unlike last year, I
did not pick up a single graphic novel or novella to boost my reading stats so
all I read were proper books. I’d say this was the year of non-fiction, which
was mostly due to my endeavour to expand my horizons through my college
library, which has a non-existent shelf titled ‘Fiction’. (Biggest mystery
however is that how a copy of <i>The Bourne
Ultimatum </i>found its way in there.) My pace too slowed down since term began
in mid-August, as I managed about 4 books a month after that. Pathetic, I know.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Sure, there were some highlights –
a couple of firsts, actually. I read a Bengali novel this year (yeah, could you
please applaud a bit louder there?) called <i>Chander
Pahaar</i> (Mountain of the Moon) by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay, a classic by
all means. And then there was a collection of poetry too, which made it to THE
LIST & so I will talk about it in a while.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
And the time is now! You can of
course check out the previous specimens of my narcissistic tendencies on this blog itself, so spare me the trouble of any more links. And I won’t keep you waiting anymore – here you have
my list of the ten best books I have read in 2014, in chronological order:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Beastly Tales from Here &
There</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Author: Vikram Seth<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Publisher: Penguin Books India [Paperback]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>First Published: 1991<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Summary:</b> From the impish to the brilliantly comic, Vikram Seth's
animal fables in verse can (like Diwali sweets) be enjoyed by young and old
alike. Familiar characters in a new and magical form, such as the greedy
crocodile who was outwitted by the monkey or the steady tortoise who out-ran
the hare, here take their place beside a newly minted gallery of characters and
creatures who are quirky, comical and always fun. Of the ten tales told here,
two come from India, two from China, two from Greece, two from Ukraine, and
two, as the author puts it "came directly to me from the Land of
Gup." This is a book that displays astonishing versatility of the poet who
gave us The Golden Gate and All You Who Sleep Tonight. The flair and delight of
<i>Beastly Tales from Here and There</i> is
proof that Vikram Seth can try on most unusual clothes without in the least
losing his unique poetic identity.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Review:</b> I was attending my final event at KALAM & Vikram Seth
read an entire poem from this collection - I instantly fell in love with it.
Though he wrote this for children, I bet you won’t be able to resist the charm
of this wonderful collection of poetry. Beauty lies in simplicity & this is
a gem by all means.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
For those interested, you can
read <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/884931271" target="_blank">my attempt to review this in verse</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Delicacy<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Author: David Foenkinos [translated from the French by Bruce Benderson]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Publisher: Harper Perennial [eBook]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>First Published: 2009<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Summary:</b> Natalie and François are the perfect couple, and perfectly
happy. But after François dies suddenly, only seven years into their still
blissful marriage, the widowed Natalie erects a fortress around her emotions
into which no one can gain access. Until the most unlikely candidate appears:
Markus, Natalie’s Swedish, geeky, and unassuming coworker.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Review:</b> I don’t read a lot of romance but this one’s up there with
the very best I’ve encountered. Quite a page-turner too - finished it within a
day itself. This heart-warming tale of finding love in the unlikeliest of places
will leave you enchanted. Perhaps the most enjoyable book I’ve read in 2014.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Author: Michael Lewis</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company [Paperback]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>First Published: 2002<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Summary:</b> Billy Beane, general manager of MLB's Oakland A's and
protagonist of Michael Lewis's <i>Moneyball</i>,
had a problem: how to win in the Major Leagues with a budget that's smaller
than that of nearly every other team. Conventional wisdom long held that big
name, highly athletic hitters and young pitchers with rocket arms were the
ticket to success. But Beane and his staff, buoyed by massive amounts of
carefully interpreted statistical data, believed that wins could be had by more
affordable methods such as hitters with high on-base percentage and pitchers
who get lots of ground outs. Given this information and a tight budget, Beane
defied tradition and his own scouting department to build winning teams of
young affordable players and inexpensive castoff veterans.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Lewis was in the room with the
A's top management as they spent the summer of 2002 adding and subtracting
players and he provides outstanding play-by-play. In the June player draft,
Beane acquired nearly every prospect he coveted (few of whom were coveted by
other teams) and at the July trading deadline he engaged in a tense battle of
nerves to acquire a lefty reliever. Besides being one of the most insider
accounts ever written about baseball, <i>Moneyball</i>
is populated with fascinating characters. We meet Jeremy Brown, an overweight
college catcher who most teams project to be a 15th round draft pick (Beane
takes him in the first). Sidearm pitcher Chad Bradford is plucked from the
White Sox triple-A club to be a key set-up man and catcher Scott Hatteberg is rebuilt
as a first baseman. But the most interesting character is Beane himself. A
speedy athletic can't-miss prospect who somehow missed, Beane reinvents himself
as a front-office guru, relying on players completely unlike, say, Billy Beane.
Lewis, one of the top nonfiction writers of his era (Liar's Poker, The New New
Thing), offers highly accessible explanations of baseball stats and his roadmap
of Beane's economic approach makes <i>Moneyball</i>
an appealing reading experience for business people and sports fans alike.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Review:</b> I'm gonna paraphrase & repeat what Nick Hornby wrote in
his review of this book in The Believer - I understood about one in every four
words of this book. That is because I'm no baseball fan, though my only
interaction with the sport has been the TV video game I used to play as a kid,
besides the occasional movies like the one based on this book & the Clint
Eastwood-starrer "<i>Trouble with the
Curve</i>".<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
And yet I found it totally
enthralling - for in between the baseball terminologies & stats that didn't
matter that much to me lay an inspiring tale of how a few good men found an
'efficient' (mind you, that's the magic word) way to run a Major League
Baseball club. It is the classic story of David versus Goliath, in which David
might eventually lose but not before it has proved a point to the big boys - he
is always in there with a fighting chance with his humble sling.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
That is perhaps the hallmark of a
great sports book - you might not know much about the sport or maybe even hate
it, but the book succeeds in leaving a lasting impression on your mind.
Needless to say, "<i>Moneyball</i>"
is a wonderful, delightful read & highly recommended. Like Hornby states -
if you love baseball, you will enjoy it four times more & probably explode
when you're done. A must read for those who read sports literature.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Author: Stieg Larsson [transalted from the Swedish by Reg Keeland]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Publisher: Maclehose Press [Paperback]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>First Published: 2005<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Summary:</b> A murder mystery, family saga, love story, and a tale of
financial intrigue wrapped into one satisfyingly complex and entertainingly
atmospheric novel. Harriet Vanger, scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest
families, disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged
uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading
journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided
by the pieced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap
into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Review:</b> Honestly, I had absolutely no plans of reading this book in
the near future. It so happens I had sneaked off to Flora Fountain (Mumbai's
finest second-hand books market) to see if I could get hold of a copy of
Murakami's "<i>The Wind-Up Bird
Chronicle</i>". After a successful outing (and a lighter pocket), I
happened to spot a copy of this book lying in front of a bookstore as I walked
back, available for what seems a throwaway price in hindsight. Tempted, I
bought it & immediately regretted it, unable to concentrate on reading Bolano
anymore. Three days later, I was reading this & I was completely hooked.
Kismet? I guess.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I had watched the movie before
& I liked it so much that there have been repeat viewings, which meant I
was quite familiar with the plot & the characters. Plus this being a
possible murder mystery in one aspect, it meant I already knew 'whodunit'.
Watching the movie first however has never been much of a hindrance, going by
my experiences of reading "<i>Life of Pi</i>" or "<i>Shutter Island</i>"
(both are favorites).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Coming to the book, it actually
helps that the events of this book are set through a longer frame of time,
allowing the tension to rise besides giving most of the Vanger family members
(the female ones, especially) as well as Erika Berger flesh, blood & soul -
the movie gave them short shrift for all I know. So overall, I'm pleased to say
this is the best book I've encountered in the crime/mystery/noir genre since
reading Tom Rob Smith's stunning debut novel "<i>Child 44</i>" a couple of years ago.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Kafka on the Shore<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Author: Haruki Murakami [translated from the Japanese by Philip
Gabriel]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Publisher: Vintage [Paperback]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>First Published: 2002<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Summary:</b> <i>Kafka on the Shore</i>,
a tour de force of metaphysical reality, is powered by two remarkable
characters: a teenage boy, Kafka Tamura, who runs away from home either to
escape a gruesome oedipal prophecy or to search for his long-missing mother and
sister; and an aging simpleton called Nakata, who never recovered from a
wartime affliction and now is drawn toward Kafka for reasons that, like the
most basic activities of daily life, he cannot fathom. Their odyssey, as
mysterious to them as it is to us, is enriched throughout by vivid accomplices
and mesmerizing events. Cats and people carry on conversations, a ghostlike
pimp employs a Hegel-quoting prostitute, a forest harbors soldiers apparently
unaged since World War II, and rainstorms of fish (and worse) fall from the
sky. There is a brutal murder, with the identity of both victim and perpetrator
a riddle—yet this, along with everything else, is eventually answered, just as
the entwined destinies of Kafka and Nakata are gradually revealed, with one
escaping his fate entirely and the other given a fresh start on his own.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Review:</b> As a reader for the past 10 years or so, I've read a few
books & I think it's natural that one begins to nurture certain conceptions
about what a novel could be like at best. And then once in a while, I read
something that seems to knock on my forehead & say - well mate, I think
everything you've believed till now is wrong & so let me open your mind to
all kinds of possibilities. Last year, it was David Mitchell's "<i>Cloud Atlas</i>" which did that to me.
Now add "<i>Kafka on the Shore</i>"
to this illustrious list.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I don't need to give you the
summary in my own words, but I'll give you this - there is something extremely
personal about reading "<i>Kafka on the
Shore</i>". It so happens that when I expressed my desire to read Murakami
for the first time on Twitter (in the quest of recommendations), one guy told
me how he was at his wit's end after reading this book. Though I read two books
by Murakami before I picked up this one, what he said was always at the back of
my mind. When I was singing the praises of this book on Twitter once I was
done, this guy asks me, "So, what was it about?" And then when I
pondered how best I could present my thoughts, it struck me - there is no one
except Murakami himself who could provide a perfect explanation to what this
book is all about. His constant refusal to do so means everyone who reads &
tries to make sense of it is totally on his/her own & till then, perhaps
the best thing we can do to discover the ultimate truth would be to read this
again & again & again.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
"<i>Kafka on the Shore</i>" is lyrical, addictive, mind-boggling awesomeness.
Read it to believe it. Highly recommended.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>The Sceptical Patriot<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Author: Sidin Vadukut<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Publisher: Rupa Publications [Paperback]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>First Published: 2014<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Summary:</b> India. A land where history, myth and email forwards have
come together to create a sense of a glorious past that is awe-inspiring...and
also kind of dubious. But that is what happens when your future is uncertain
and your present is kind of shitty—it gets embellished until it becomes a totem
of greatness and a portent of potential. Sidin Vadukut takes on a complete
catalogue of ‘India's Greatest Hits’ and ventures to separate the wheat of fact
from the chaff of legend. Did India really invent the zero? Has it truly never
invaded a foreign country in over 1,000 years? Did Indians actually invent
plastic surgery before those insufferable Europeans? The truth is more
interesting—and complicated—than you think.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Review:</b> "<i>The Sceptical
Patriot</i>" is very much a book about bias - the biased selves we Indians
tend to slip into every time someone famous or not-so-famous says about the
supposed achievements of our country, depending on who it is & what has
been said. And it is this very bias that often results in a sense of pride that
is somewhat misplaced on many occasions - Sidin Vadukut's first work of
non-fiction is an exploration into the validity of some of these very
instances.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
What distinguishes this book from
any other book aiming to sift fact from fiction is the author's recounting of
past experiences from his life to explain his interest in a particular legend.
Or citing anecdotes & analogies to shed more light on his own approach - at
times even to counter-question it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Laced with the trademark wit
& humour of the bestselling Dork Trilogy and the much-loved Cubiclenama
columns, it is a funny, enjoyable & sensible - if somewhat superficial -
book on the Indian outlook towards pop-history. If you're looking for a read
that will engage & enlighten your mind, your search ends here.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 114.75pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 114.75pt; text-align: justify;">
<b>A Fine Balance<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Author: Rohinton Mistry<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Publisher: Faber & Faber [Paperback]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>First Published: 1995<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Summary: </b>The time is 1975. The place is an unnamed city by the sea.
The government has just declared a State of Emergency, in whose upheavals four
strangers - a spirited widow, a young student uprooted from his idyllic hill
station, and two tailors who have fled the caste violence of their native
village - will be thrust together, forced to share one cramped apartment and an
uncertain future.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
As the characters move from
distrust to friendship and from friendship to love, <i>A Fine Balance</i> creates an enduring panorama of the human spirit in
an inhuman state.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Review:</b> <i>“But rest assured:
This tragedy is not a fiction. All is true.”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Words fail me when I try to write
about this. Few have written about Bombay & the Emergency era like Mistry
has in what is possibly his finest work. Just read it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Author: John le Carre<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Publisher: Penguin Books [Paperback]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>First Published: 1974<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Summary:</b> The man he knew as "Control" is dead, and the
young Turks who forced him out now run the Circus. But George Smiley isn't
quite ready for retirement—especially when a pretty, would-be defector surfaces
with a shocking accusation: a Soviet mole has penetrated the highest level of
British Intelligence. Relying only on his wits and a small, loyal cadre, Smiley
recognizes the hand of Karla—his Moscow Centre nemesis—and sets a trap to catch
the traitor.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Review:</b> There have been few books I had wanted to read so
desperately as this one. I had watched Tomas Alfredson’s brilliant 2011 film
adaptation & even the BBC series starring the legendary Alec McGuiness as
Smiley & yet this book did not fail to surprise me as I reached its conclusion.
Easily one of John le Carre’s finest Cold War-era works ever.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 225.65pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 225.65pt; text-align: justify;">
<b>Alone in Berlin <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Author: Hans Fallada [translated from the German by Michael Hoffman]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Publisher: Penguin Modern Classics [Paperback]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>First Published: 1946<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Summary:</b> This masterpiece - by a heroic best-selling writer who saw
his life crumble when he wouldn't join the Nazi Party - is based on a true
story.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
It presents a richly detailed
portrait of life in Berlin under the Nazis and tells the sweeping saga of one
working-class couple who decides to take a stand when their only son is killed
at the front. With nothing but their grief and each other against the awesome power
of the Reich, they launch a simple, clandestine resistance campaign that soon
has an enraged Gestapo on their trail, and a world of terrified neighbours and
cynical snitches ready to turn them in.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
In the end, it's more than an
edge-of-your-seat thriller, more than a moving romance, even more than
literature of the highest order-it's a deeply stirring story of two people
standing up for what's right, and each other.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b>Review:</b> Brilliant, vivid &
heart-wrenching portrait of wartime Germany through the eyes of a middle-aged
couple trying to honour their dead son’s memory. Highly recommended.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b>The Upside of Irrationality<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b>Author: Dan Ariely<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b>Publisher: HarperCollins [Paperback]<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b>First Published: 2010<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b>Summary:</b> In his groundbreaking book <i>Predictably Irrational</i>, social scientist
Dan Ariely revealed the multiple biases that lead us into making unwise
decisions. Now, in <i>The Upside of
Irrationality</i>, he exposes the surprising negative and positive effects
irrationality can have on our lives. Focusing on our behaviors at work and in
relationships, he offers new insights and eye-opening truths about what really
motivates us on the job, how one unwise action can become a long-term habit,
how we learn to love the ones we're with, and more. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
Drawing on the
same experimental methods that made <i>Predictably
Irrational</i> one of the most talked-about bestsellers of the past few years,
Ariely uses data from his own original and entertaining experiments to draw
arresting conclusions about how and why we behave the way we do. From our office attitudes, to our
romantic relationships, to our search for purpose in life, Ariely explains how
to break through our negative patterns of thought and behavior to make better
decisions. <i>The Upside of Irrationality</i>
will change the way we see ourselves at work and at home and
cast our irrational behaviors in a more nuanced light.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b>Review:</b> Remains one of the most insightful,
deftly-written & undeniably brilliant books I’ve come across this year.
This is the kind of book that causes a paradigm shift in the way you look at
the world & I cannot recommend it highly enough.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
So there we
have it – the ten best books I have read all year. But like every other time,
the best-of list is never enough, is it? Here are some more books that deserve
a special mention –<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b>The Siege</b> by Adrian Levy and Cathy
Scott-Clark<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
A top-notch
work of investigative reportage into how 26/11 unfolded.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b>Ghalib Danger</b> by Neeraj Pandey<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
A proper
Bollywood-style thriller by one of the most promising & original
storytellers in contemporary Hindi cinema.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b>The Great Unknown</b> by Sankar [translated
from the Bengali by Soma Das]<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
“<i>Chowringhee</i>”
might be the writer’s most renowned work but the first book in the Shankar
trilogy captivated me far more.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b>The Stand</b> by Stephen King<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
Would’ve made
the top ten list if not for its rather unconvincing ending. Still, King’s
magnum opus.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b>Flash Boys</b> by Michael Lewis<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
A David versus
Goliath tale in the backdrop of Wall Street.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b>The Lincoln Lawyer</b> by Michael Connelly<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
An exquisite
page-turner & a fine introduction to ace lawyer Mickey Haller.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b>Teresa’s Man and Other Stories from Goa</b>
by Damodar Mauzo [translated from the Konkani by Xavier Cota]<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
A beautiful
collection of short fiction that deserves a wider readership than it probably
will get.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
And that’s it!
Thank you for bearing with me all this while & I hope you enjoy all these
books as much as I did, if not more. Here’s to hoping that 2015 will be a much
more fruitful year in terms of reading – for the joys of literature lie in reading
not more but better books.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
Happy Reading!
And a Happy New Year!<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;">
That’s All,
Folks!<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Abhinav C.J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284241380930327538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298361602282127455.post-63811417482756742602014-05-11T19:55:00.000+05:302015-04-30T00:24:48.731+05:30Short Story Gone Long: Kafka on the Floor<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3041666666666667; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Note: Before you start to read this story, let me say what follows is an act of self-indulgence. Like my previous attempt at writing fiction, this is long. As in, looooooooonnnnnnng. Some of it is autobiographical, some of it is made up & some of it is a mix of both. That being said, the idea behind it was deliberately given free rein & so maybe the length got a bit out of hand. But I've tried to put a bit of heart into this & I hope you find it too.</i></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3041666666666667; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.3041666666666667; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">First there was just me. And then there was Kafka.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Maa has never been much of an animal lover, but she does love birds. I know that for a fact because since the time I was a kid, I was used to hearing my name called out from the balcony just when I was about to lose myself in a book. Now it so happens that this banyan tree right across the yard was the abode of many birds, such as black and white cormorants (two different species of the same bird, mind you), cranes, the common ones like crows, magpies, nightingales and mynahs as also the occasional screeching-but-never-too-visible parrot. At first, it felt irritating to be made to rush from one end of the flat to another just to 'appreciate the gifts of nature' but over time I have come to develop a grudging affection for the flying species.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This balcony is also the site of another of Maa's passions - gardening. Incidentally, this was exactly where we made the acquaintance of Kafka.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">To water her plants everyday, she filled this small bucket and poured water onto those green beings and whatever was left of it after they had had their fill, she poured it into this small plastic bowl which was occasionally used to keep those tiny crystals of manure she bought from the nursery.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So one fine day, I remember hearing the sound of footsteps getting louder as if coming towards my room (the kind when someone's walking quickly and trying not to make a lot of noise) and before I could turn my head to see who or what it was, Maa comes rushing in & says, "Get up, quick! I have something to show you. The other balcony, now!"</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I hurry behind her and just when I'm about to walk into the balcony past her standing near the doorway,, she grabbed my hand and pulled me back before whispering into my ears, "Look at the bowl!"</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And then I saw it. A crow perched on the marble slab of the balcony wall with its back towards us, plucking some water out of the bowl with a quick nip (or dip, whatever it did with its beak) and then raising its head as if looking at the sky, as the water slipped down its throat into his bowels.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Now imagine my predicament at that very moment - I had been made to get up to come watch a crow quenching its thirst just as Jane Eyre was about to go on that walk with Mr. Rochester and romantic tensions between the two were simmering like anything. Disappointed big time, I walked back to my book without offering any comment, fearing saying what I really felt would provoke an unnecessary argument and hurt her feelings. Unaware of this, she followed me into my room and said, "It would be quite nice if birds come to our balcony like that, wouldn't it? Like people feeding the pigeons." I nodded of sorts and eager to get back to Jane Eyre I remarked, "Maybe he could be your version of Kakeshwar Kuchkuchey or my version of Speedy."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before I proceed with the story, a bit of digression into the lives of Kakeshwar and Speedy. Both happen to be fictional characters and unconsciously the reason for the affection Maa and I have for crows. Kakeshwar Kuchkuchey, in Maa's words, is the "clever, calculating and cunning crow" from the Bengali short story "</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Hajabarala</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">", Sukumar Ray's classic tale filled with absurdist humour. (Maa always seemed to used those three adjectives to describe KK. I learnt much later in school it was a figure of speech. Which one? Go figure.) And Speedy is the protagonist of Ruskin Bond's short story "A Crow For All Seasons", a hilarious one about a crow who lives on a tree at the edge of an Anglo-Indian family's house.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Getting back to the story, Maa decided to keep two bowls filled with water instead of one, perhaps to attract more crows to our balcony. The next day, however, we had no crows in our balcony. Unfortunately for Maa, I thought, she might have overestimated the crow's intellect based on her experiences with fiction.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">But the day after, it was there again. I was going to the balcony when I saw it standing on the marble slab, having a drink. And the crow is a pretty fearless creature - it was aware of my presence (it seemed to look at me, so) and it didn't even blink an eye and fly (atleast I thought so) through the grill until I had gotten really close to it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I went into the kitchen to find Maa and tell her about the crow. Her face seemed to light up as she heard this and she replied, "Well, we better choose a name for him now that he's started to come regularly." Seriously? It had not been two days in a row that the crow had been coming and here we are, deciding to have a name for him. Maa relented a bit but was in no way affected by what I felt. She said, "Well, if he comes tomorrow to drink water from the bowl, we will do the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>naamkaran</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. What say?" Fine, I said. So be it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I wondered if Maa would place a third bowl of water alongside the two already there, as an extra incentive of sorts. It also made me wonder why she was doing all this for the sake of some crow who happened to drop in twice to have a sip. Now that I think about it, I was a bit too young to understand the phenomenon of 'bringing out the child in someone'. How could a child bring out a child in himself, after all? But now that I have grown up a bit, I have learnt is that whenever you see an otherwise perfectly normal adult doing something out of the ordinary, we should not judge them for it and instead just let them be, soaking in some unadulterated happiness in the unusually dull lives they often lead.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Coming back to the crow, I don't know why but I was half-hoping it would come the next day, maybe to liven things up a bit. But the whole day passed, we waited and it didn't seem to come. And then, as the sun was about to set upon this part of the world, surprise - it was back. As if he had heeded what Maa had said earlier and raised the suspense quotient a bit before making his appearance and cawing, "Yo buggers, here I am, eh? Cheerio."</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Thanks to the crow's dramatic last-minute cameo that evening, I had to half-heartedly take part in the enticing activity of naming the crow. Maa wanted to name it KK (in short for you-know-what) and I too made a show of being interested, turning down her suggestion out of hand. I didn't want to call him Speedy since the crow obviously had none of Speedy's awesomeness, atleast until that point. I thought of the Thirsty Crow - the one from the age-old fable - but calling it Thirsty seemed inconvenient and I didn't dare to suggest it. Too bad I didn't have an internet connection back then, otherwise I would have just turned to Google. Not that crow names are similar to baby names, anyway.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And the solution was found in - guess what - fiction. At that time, I was reading this really weird book by some Japanese author with a fancy name which had a teenager running away from home, talking cats, fish raining out of the sky and what not. Now there was this bit in which the teenager I mentioned renames himself as Kafka, who I remember reading as some weird European guy who wrote weird stories. All in all, Kafka also means 'crow' in Czech (atleast the book claimed that) and I told Maa about this, who seemed happy enough to see I was interested. So that's how the crow came to be called Kafka.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The odd thing is that both Maa and I here assumed that the crow was male. How does one tell, anyway? And given how things are in today's world, would that be termed sexist?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">By the time the crow dropping in for his daily fill everyday, I once found one of those tiny marble balls on the way back from school and not knowing where to put it, I dropped it into one of the water-filled bowls and forgot all about it till that evening, only to discover that the ball had vanished. I asked Maa if she had seen it but she claimed to have no knowledge of it and even admonished me for picking up things off the road just like that. I was about to don Sherlock's hat to investigate the Case of the Missing Marble when Maa suggested, "Maybe the crow took it." How was that possible, I asked. He was there in the afternoon and she saw him, she said. As if she recognized him, I mildly sneered not knowing what to say. But she did, she would tell me some other day when I was not being upset. What nonsense, I thought. But whatever had happened with Kafka so far, everything had felt quite extraordinary.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The following day, I come home from school only to find my marble ball, but in the other bowl - not the one I had dropped it into the day before. I put it back where I had originally put it, thinking if Kafka would be interested in playing games. But nothing actually happened and the ball remained right there. Maa proposed a theory that Kafka might have thought it to be something edible but having found it hard to crack, had been honest enough to return it the next day. She thinks as if I'm still as gullible as a four-year-old, I thought. However, for want of a better theory, the case was closed.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As much as Maa seemed to love Kafka, things were not rosy all the time. Two instances come to mind here when Maa got really pissed at that crow of ours. The first time was when I came home to see Maa sitting, looking a bit sad, a bit angry. I asked her what the matter was and I could see she was seething as she said, "That crow! I give that darned creature enough water to drink and he goes on to destroy another bird's nest." What had actually transpired was that the crow had actually ransacked a tailor bird's nest on the almond tree that grows a few feet away from our balcony in search of eggs and Maa had even tried to stop the crow from doing so by throwing stones at it even as the helpless tailor-bird could only sound a never-ending distress call on a distant branch. I tried to imagine what it would look like Maa stoning a crow she seemed to love only till yesterday when she said, "Enough of that crow. No more water for him from now on." How do you even know it was him, I queried. Pat came the retort, "I don't know how my son turned out to be like this? You see, but you do not observe. Can't you see that streak of grey right at the top of his black head? Like the one Aamir did in that film in which he was bald. See for yourself if that crow comes again. Not that I am gonna be good to him anymore."</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">For the next couple of days, Kafka came, Kafka saw, but Kafka did not conquer. But I did manage to see what I wanted to - Kafka did have a bit of the Ghajini-hairstyle on his head. The lonely marble ball lay in the middle of the empty bowl, as if it were the only remains of a dried-up oasis. On the third day, however, I saw Maa filling those two bowls, pouring water from the bucket. So you do have a heart, I attempted a wise crack at the situation. She turned towards me and her grim face instantly made me want to take my words back, but all she said was "Nature is harsh. Doesn't mean we have to be as well all the time." It took me some time to register what she had said that day.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The other time didn't escalate to proportions like the time before, but Kafka had probably decided he felt at home enough to shit on the floor of the balcony. The first time he did it, Maa grudgingly let it pass. But when Kafka emptied his bowels again on the floor in a couple of days, Maa went back to her boycott of the water bowl. This time, it lasted just one day. Kafka never shit on the floor again for what seemed a long time.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Days passed. And then arrived that one time, which was the defining moment of my relation with Kafka. He was perched on the balcony grill - half his body inside, half of it outside - and having his fill when I decided to have some fun. I had this bottle of water fitted with a spray on top of it, the kind you see on Colin Spray bottles. As he was absorbed in his drink, I appeared suddenly in the doorway (like those good ol' Bollywood villains) and sprayed water right into his face. And what played out in the next few seconds still seem as if it were right out of some movie scene, everything in slow motion.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Startled, Kafka tried to escape but in his bid to do so, he struck the back of his head against a part of the metal grill and I thought I heard something crack and he fell straight down into the ground. For a few moments, I stood right where I was, dumbstruck. Then the real world came rushing back to me and I rushed to the grill, trying to see the fallen crow. Nothing. Maa not being at home, I rushed down from our first floor flat to the spot where his fall should've been broken by the concrete surface. No sign was visible, it being a hard surface.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I was never much of a biology person but as I stood there below, I remembered studying that birds did not have anything in their bodies that resembled a vertebrae. Or did they? No, they didn't. And then when I looked up at my balcony, I saw a crow on a branch of the almond tree out of the corner of my eye. Surely that was not Kafka? There was only one way to find out. And so to get a better view of that head, I ran back to my balcony.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">But it was gone by the time I got up there. Had I really heard that cracking noise, or had it been a figment of my imagination, thanks to pop culture? Was Kafka really gone?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">A week passed and there had been no sign of Kafka yet. I had not dared to tell her what I had done fearing her reaction wouldn't exactly help matters, but she didn't really look that upset when I asked her about him a couple of days after the incident. "It's a bird after all, it might have gone off somewhere," was all she said.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I was reading in the room adjoining the balcony when I thought I heard something hit the grill - a flap of wings perhaps? I went into the balcony and everything seemed in its place except...the marble ball. It was no longer in the bowl it had been for an eternity. It was instead in the other bowl. And then I heard him.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It had come from the upper echelons of the almond tree, I was sure. I went up to the balcony wall and craned my neck as much as I could to see the top when I realised there was something beneath my right foot. Looking down, I saw thin strands of a sticky white liquid with a black not-so-solid substance clinging to my heel. That goddamned bird, I thought.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As I walked to the bathroom on mostly one leg trying to avoid leaving footprints of bird shit on the clean floor, I couldn't help but allow myself a big, wide, foolish grin on my face. Had it really been Kafka's call? Or had I imagined it all? I didn't care anymore.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">For that one moment, there was just me. And there was Kafka on the Floor.</span></span></div>
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Abhinav C.J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284241380930327538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298361602282127455.post-15088462855365462622013-12-30T17:19:00.001+05:302013-12-30T17:53:48.593+05:302013 - The Year in Reading and the Best Books I've Read this Year<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Alright, it's the festive season and this is the time of the year I assume this air of self-importance & write about the best books I read in the year, just like <a href="http://traffordshire.blogspot.in/2012/12/the-ten-best-books-ive-read-in-2012.html" target="_blank">what I did in the dying hours of New Year's Eve, 2012</a>. If you were kind enough to read my list from last year, thank you. For those who didn't, well, please do & note that the books in the list were not exactly published in 2012 but they were read by yours truly in that year, so they made their way onto it. I'll be doing the same for this year's list as well, but since I accomplished my best-ever yearly haul till date (90 to be exact), I will feel criminal if I had to restrict the list to just 10 books. So to make it a bit poetic, the list will comprise the 13 best books I read in 2013. (13 - 2013, see?)<br />
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Before I start on the list, let's take stock of what I set out to do in terms of reading at the start of 2013 & what I eventually ended up doing. I read quite a bit of sports literature in 2012 but the focus this year was primarily on fiction, the sports books' count being a meagre 5 out of 90. I have to admit that figure includes short novellas (Fitzgerald's <i>The Curious Case of Benjamin Button</i>, Kafka's <i>The Metamorphosis</i>, Stephen King's <i>Throttle</i> & Nick Hornby's <i>Everyone's Reading Bastard!</i> among others) as well as graphic novels (Herge's <i>Tintin</i> & Mark Millar's <i>Kick-Ass</i>) but everyone needs a break at times from serious literature & if you think I was slacking a bit, I wasn't. Here's the proof -<br />
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Yeah, the actual amount exceeds even that since these stats arrived in my mailbox in mid-December & I've continued to read long-form pieces on Pocket. Though I haven't read The Great Gatsby yet. Yeah, shame on me. Next year, definitely.<br />
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Thanks to the <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/720419" target="_blank">Goodreads Reading Challenge</a></b>, I backed myself to pick up writers I'd never read before - some of them being <b>Jhumpa Lahiri</b>, <b>Haruki Murakami</b>, <b>Gabriel Garcia Marquez</b>, <b>Orhan Pamuk</b> & <b>Chuck Palahniuk</b>. My initial target was set at 50, but I completed that in just over six months which induced me to raise it to 75 & that was accomplished by the end of October as well. So thank you Goodreads & everyone present on my friends list there, for you have been very helpful through your recommendations, reviews & discussions.<br />
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I also finally bought a tablet computer (which is no big deal though I'll try to make it sound like that) in June & that has given me access to hundreds of books I only imagined I would buy someday. That's right - I perhaps bought around 200 books (from used-book stores) in the period from September 2012 to June 2013 but my crazy buying habits declined considerably after the purchase of a tab. That being said, I still feel the buzz when I walk into a bookstore that I'd probably never feel when I browse through the Aldiko app shelves on my tablet.<br />
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Enough of the digression, though 'The Year in Reading' is clearly mentioned before 'The Best Books I've read' in the title of the post itself. Let me proceed with my list of the 13 books I felt were the best ones I've read in 2013. Every book on the list possibly has its merits & limitations, so the order I'm sticking with is chronological i.e. the order in which I read them this year. Here you go -<br />
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<b>Animal Farm</b><br />
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<b>Author: George Orwell</b><br />
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<b>Publisher: Rupa Classics Library [Paperback]</b><br />
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<b>First Published: 1945</b><br />
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<b>Summary:</b> Manor Farm is like any other English farm, except for a drunken owner, Mr Jones, incompetent workers and oppressed animals. Fed up with the ignorance of their human masters, the animals rise up in rebellion and take over the farm. Led by intellectually superior pigs like Snowball and Napolean, the animals vow to take charge of their destiny and remove the inequities of their lives. But as time passes, they realize that things aren't happening quite as expected...<br />
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<i>Animal Farm</i> is, on one level, a simple story about barnyard animals. On a much deeper level, it is a savage political satire on corrupted ideals, misdirected revolutions and class conflict - themes as valid today as they were sixty years ago.<br />
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<b>Review:</b> I remember reading it in the college library the day after I returned from our college trip to Hyderabad. I finished it under two hours & by the end, my mind was blown. On the face of it, it looks like one of Aesop's Fables but it's actually a hard-hitting work of political satire in which Orwell criticizes Stalin's highly-flawed Communist philosophy & tears it apart to shreds through dexterous use of allegory. One runs out of words admiring the way Orwell does it. 'Animal Farm' is a masterpiece of English literature & The Economist was not much off the mark in its praise - "<i>Some classics are more equal than others.</i>"<br />
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<b>The Sense of an Ending</b><br />
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<b>Author: Julian Barnes</b><br />
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<b>Publisher: Jonathan Cape [Hardcover]</b><br />
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<b>First Published: 2011</b><br />
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<b>Summary:</b> Tony Webster and his clique first met Adrian Finn at school. Sex-hungry and book-hungry, they would navigate the girl-less sixth form together, trading in affectations, in-jokes, rumour and wit. Maybe Adrian was a little more serious than the others, certainly more intelligent, but they all swore to stay friends for life.<br />
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Now Tony is in middle age. He’s had a career and a single marriage, a calm divorce. He’s certainly never tried to hurt anybody. Memory, though, is imperfect. It can always throw up surprises, as a lawyer’s letter is about to prove.<br />
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<i>The Sense of an Ending</i> is the story of one man coming to terms with the mutable past. Laced with trademark precision, dexterity and insight, it is the work of one of the world's most distinguished writers.<br />
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<b>Review:</b> I was bit unhappy with trying to make sense of the ending of this aptly-named Booker Prize-winning novel, but I love how the story unfolds - the now-sixty-something narrator Tony Webster first gives us a version of his side of events (as in whatever he manages to infer from memory) & tells us about his school life, friends - in particular Adrian Finn (the most pivotal character in this book) & his romantic forays during his youth. Just when you start drawing out your conclusions about the characters' personalities, a letter arrives out of nowhere & sets wheels in motion, of which nothing good can ever come out. As the letter manages to refurbish Tony Webster's memories about his relationship with Veronica among other events, the true nature of every character is revealed as the novel progresses there onward.<br />
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Where this novel's brilliance is most evident is how it manages to tell a rather long story in 150 odd pages. In fact, you never get the feeling that it's such a short read. All in all, 'The Sense of an Ending' by Julian Barnes is a must read for fans of literary fiction & those who are looking to grab a slice of life's innumerable tragicomedies. Highly recommended.<br />
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<b>Life of Pi</b><br />
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<b>Author: Yann Martel</b><br />
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<b>Publisher: Canongate [Paperback]</b><br />
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<b>First Published: 2001</b><br />
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<b>Summary:</b> After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, one solitary lifeboat remains bobbling on the wild, blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orangutan... and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger.<br />
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The scene is set for one of the most extraordinary works of fiction in recent years.<br />
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<b>Review:</b> I'm not an atheist. I'm not agnostic. I'm not deeply religious. And I'm not much of a spiritual person either. But when I consider this book as a work of literature, I'm lost for words. This book is essentially a fantasy novel, but there are so many other elements in this novel. There's science fiction. There is magical realism. There's fable & there's allegory. There is spiritualism & there is religion too - two concepts which are separated from one another by a marginally thin line. When all these elements are combined together - you either get an incredible mess of philosophical shit that would be hardly understood by anyone, or you get an extraordinary tale of adventure, survival & courage in the face of adversity. And the latter is what Yann Martel's Booker Prize-winning novel 'Life of Pi' exactly is.<br />
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It doesn't matter whether you've watched Ang Lee's excellent movie adaptation. It's not very dissimilar, but I still reckon you read this book just because it's such a fantastic story on so many levels. Highly recommended & a must read for readers across all genres.<br />
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<b>Look at the Birdie</b><br />
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<b>Author: Kurt Vonnegut</b><br />
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<b>Publisher: Vintage Originals [Paperback]</b><br />
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<b>First Published: 2009</b><br />
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<b>Summary: </b><i>Look at the Birdie</i> is a surprising and often hilarious collection of stories set in post-war America, a world of squabbling couples, high school geniuses, misfit office workers, and small-town Lotharios.<br />
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Though written early in his career and never published before, these stories showcase all Vonnegut's trademark skills - a deep sense of humanity, a sharp eye for the absurd and humour in the most unlikely of places.<br />
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<b>Review:</b> The stories in this compilation dabble in a variety of genres - ranging from sci-fi to romance to whodunit to allegory to Depression-era coming-of-age tales to life's tragicomedies. There is a maverick inventor who creates a billion-dollar talking machine that delves into the darkest recesses of one's mind ('<i>Confido</i>') & then they are tiny beings who fly around in a spaceship that looks like a paper knife ('<i>The Nice Little People</i>'). You have a dull, boring PR officer whose bright new assistant gives him love & his life back ('<i>FUBAR</i>'), a squabbling couple who have lost love on account of one spouse finding fame ('<i>Shout About It from the Housetops</i>') & then you see two naive rich love birds having their first brush against poverty in the Depression era ('<i>King and Queen of the Universe</i>').<br />
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There are two tales of crime & mystery too - '<i>Ed Luby's Key Club</i>' moves at the blistering pace of a thriller while '<i>The Honor of the Newsboy</i>' is a classic whodunit. And let's not forget the one from which the compilation gets its title, where a once-upon-a-time quack finds a new way to make his living. My personal favourite, however, has to be '<i>The Petrified Ants</i>' - all I can say that for me, it's somewhat of a crossover short story equivalent of George Orwell's two greatest works. I'm not kidding.<br />
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In each of the stories here, you find that touch of humanity in the narrative, the raw emotions, the deep understanding of how people react to different situations & Vonnegut's uncanny ability to find humour in the unlikeliest of places. The storytelling is simplistic & straightforward but yet so good & pleasant to read. Highly recommended for those who enjoy short stories & fans of the author, for it does provide valuable insight into the making of one of America's greatest post-war writers.<br />
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<b>City of Thieves</b><br />
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<b>Author: David Benioff</b><br />
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<b>Publisher: Sceptre [Paperback]</b><br />
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<b>First Published: 2008</b><br />
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<b>Summary:</b> In the coldest winter in history, in a starving city under siege, two prisoners are thrown together on a desperate adventure.<br />
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Lev, a shy, chess-loving teenager and Kolya, a charismatic chancer.<br />
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They are given one week to complete an extraordinary mission: to scout the ravaged countryside and find a dozen eggs.<br />
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Or come back empty-handed, and die.<br />
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<b>Review:</b> I really didn't think I could be shocked by anything in Stalinist Russia after 'Child 44', but I was wrong. In a city cut off from all supplies and suffering unbelievable deprivation, Lev and Kolya embark on a hunt to find the impossible. A search that takes them through the dire lawlessness of Leningrad and the devastated surrounding countryside creates an unlikely bond between this earnest, lust-filled teenager and an endearing Lothario with the gifts of a conman.<br />
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Set in the backdrop of the siege of Leningrad during WWII, 'City of Thieves' is an intimate coming-of-age tale with an utterly contemporary feel for how boys become men. It is a mix of all the right ingredients in just the right amounts & you're never bored or distracted once you're into it. A terrific & brilliant book - an absolute page-turner from start to end.<br />
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<b>Norwegian Wood</b><br />
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<b>Author: Haruki Murakami [translated by Jay Rubin]</b><br />
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<b>Publisher: The Harvill Press [eBook]</b><br />
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<b>First Published: 1987</b><br />
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<b>Summary:</b> Toru, a quiet and preternaturally serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before. Toru begins to adapt to campus life and the loneliness and isolation he faces there, but Naoko finds the pressures and responsibilities of life unbearable. As she retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself reaching out to others and drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman.<br />
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A poignant story of one college student’s romantic coming-of-age, <i>Norwegian Wood</i> takes us to that distant place of a young man’s first, hopeless, and heroic love.<br />
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<b>Review:</b> Perhaps the novel that I connected with the most on an intimate & extremely personal level. That perhaps explains why I failed to write a review for the book on Goodreads at the time & am still unable to. Laced with Murakami's beautiful & surrealistic writing, this is a heartwarming tale of love, loss & life. If you're looking to pick up Murakami for the first time in 2014, this is probably the best place to start.<br />
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<b>Em and The Big Hoom</b><br />
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<b>Author: Jerry Pinto</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Publisher: Aleph [Paperback]</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>First Published: 2012</b><br />
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<b>Summary:</b> In a one-bedroom-hall-kitchen in Mahim, Bombay, Imelda Mendes – Em to her children – holds her family in thrall with her flamboyance, her compelling imagination, her unspoken love, her sometimes cruel candour. Through this, her husband, to whom she was once ‘buttercup’, her son and daughter learn to cope with her mania and her frequent wish to die.<br />
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A searing, and at times darkly funny, study of mental illness, Jerry Pinto's first novel is also a deeply moving story about love and family relationships.<br />
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<b>Review:</b> Jerry Pinto took twenty-five odd years to write his debut novel but when he finally managed to finish it, you can only stare in amazement (after you've read it, of course) at his marvellous achievement. Writing a book about mental illness is pretty much equivalent to walking a tightrope, but Pinto infuses this story with just the right doses of humour, love, frustration, sorrow & nostalgia. Winner of the Hindu Literary Prize & the Crossword Book Award for Fiction, this is a gem of a book & I highly recommend it for its sensitive handling of a difficult subject.<br />
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<b>On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft</b><br />
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<b>Author: Stephen King</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Publisher: Pocket Books [Paperback]</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>First Published: 2000</b><br />
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<b>Summary:</b> "Long live the King" hailed <i>Entertainment Weekly</i> upon the publication of Stephen King's <i>On Writing.</i> Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer's craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King's advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported near-fatal accident in 1999 -- and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, "On Writing" will empower and entertain everyone who reads it -- fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told.<br />
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<b>Review:</b> Part memoir & part writing manual, Stephen King gives us a modern classic of sorts in 'On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft'. Having been touted by fans & critics alike as the undisputed king of storytelling, King starts off by explaining the reason behind writing this book in the first place. He then moves on to telling us about his journey towards becoming the writer he is today - his childhood, inspirations from pop culture in his adolescent years & the struggling phase of his career as he barely managed to make ends meet. In 'Toolbox' & 'On Writing', King lists down the essentials one would require to become a successful writer as far as popular fiction is concerned. He covers aspects like vocabulary, grammar, dialogue, narrative pace among others while illustrating the points he makes with the help of numerous excerpts from his own works as well as those of others. In the final third of this book (On Living), King narrates the near-fatal road accident he suffered in agonizing detail & how writing eventually helped him recover both physically & mentally.<br />
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Recommended for those who love to read, highly recommended for those who intend to pursue a career in writing & a must read for those who wish to discover the love of doing both.<br />
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<b>Shalimar the Clown</b><br />
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<b>Author: Salman Rushdie</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Publisher: Vintage [Paperback]</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>First Published: 2005</b><br />
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<b>Summary:</b> Los Angeles, 1991. Maximilian Ophuls ius knifed to death on the doorstep of his illegitimate daughter India, slaughtered by his Kashmiri driver, a mysterious figure who calls himself Shalimar the Clown. The dead man is a World War II resistance hero, a man of formidable intellectual ability and much erotic appeal, a former United States ambassador to India, and subsequently America's counter-terrorism chief. The murder looks at first like a political assassination but turns out to be passionately personal.<br />
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This is the story of Max, his killer, and his daughter - and of a fourth character, the woman who links them all. The story of a deep love gone fatally wrong, destroyed by a shallow affair, it is an epic narrative that moves from California to France, England, and above all, Kashmir: a ruined paradise, not so much lost as smashed.<br />
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<b>Review:</b> I've been a reader for some time now & I've read a few good books but none of them have made me realise the power of fiction. Until I picked up 'Shalimar the Clown'. By all means, Salman Rushdie is no mean writer. What he does is that he weaves an epic narrative that transcends time, space as well as continents as we follow the lives & fortunes of the major players of this tale.<br />
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We see ourselves transported back in the past, to a time when Kashmir was still what the Great Mughal emperor Jehangir pronounced as 'Paradise on Earth'. We're then whooshed away to Europe, where bloodshed & strife is rife in the midst of World War II, as a young Max Ophuls establishes his reputation as a master forger in the Resistance against the Nazi forces & through his acts of daring and espionage, he is elevated to hero-like status. There is Shalimar the Clown, who ditches his vocation of a public performer & turns to terrorism to avenge the betrayal of the love of his life. And there is that woman - the Woman - a free-thinking spirit feeling trapped in a closely-knit community, who wishes to fly away to distant lands & like the legendary Anarkali who desires the forbidden love of a prince. Finally, an integral part of the story despite technically being a sub-plot in itself - Kashmir. Being of Kashmiri descent himself, the issue of Kashmir is obviously close to Rushdie's heart & as we watch the paradise turn into living hell for its residents as Kashmir is hammered & smashed by militants as well as that uniformed military force that calls itself the Indian Army, whose actions are no less questionable than those of the extremist groups.<br />
<br />
'Shalimar the Clown' by Salman Rushdie is undoubtedly an important book & I highly recommend it for anyone who wishes to understand the Kashmir issue. A must read for fans of literary fiction & should you decide to read this, be prepared to be mesmerized by one of the most sublime storytellers of our times.<br />
<br />
<b>The Lowland</b><br />
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<br />
<b>Author: Jhumpa Lahiri</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Publisher: Knopf [eBook]</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>First Published: 2013</b><br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b> Born just fifteen months apart, Subhash and Udayan Mitra are inseparable brothers, one often mistaken for the other in the Calcutta neighborhood where they grow up. But they are also opposites, with gravely different futures ahead. It is the 1960s, and Udayan—charismatic and impulsive—finds himself drawn to the Naxalite movement, a rebellion waged to eradicate inequity and poverty; he will give everything, risk all, for what he believes. Subhash, the dutiful son, does not share his brother’s political passion; he leaves home to pursue a life of scientific research in a quiet, coastal corner of America.<br />
<br />
But when Subhash learns what happened to his brother in the lowland outside their family’s home, he goes back to India, hoping to pick up the pieces of a shattered family, and to heal the wounds Udayan left behind—including those seared in the heart of his brother’s wife.<br />
<br />
Masterly suspenseful, sweeping, piercingly intimate, <i>The Lowland</i> is a work of great beauty and complex emotion; an engrossing family saga and a story steeped in history that spans generations and geographies with seamless authenticity. It is Jhumpa Lahiri at the height of her considerable powers.<br />
<br />
<b>Review:</b> 'The Lowland' resonated with me far more than some works of fiction I've rated five out of five stars before. Maybe because I'm a <i>Probashi Bengali</i> (expatriate Bong) myself & I can empathise with the kind of emotions some of the main characters of this book go through as the plot progresses. Like 'Norwegian Wood' by Haruki Murakami, I was able to relate to the characters much better because of the phases of life they happen to be in, which perhaps struck a chord.<br />
<br />
'The Lowland' by Jhumpa Lahiri certainly makes for a compelling read. Highly recommended if you wish to experience the work of a writer unafraid of exploring complex relationships of blood & bond, creating difficult situations & indulging in moral dilemmas.<br />
<br />
<b>The Great Indian Novel</b><br />
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<br />
<b>Author: Shashi Tharoor</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Publisher: Penguin [Paperback]</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>First Published: 1989</b><br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b> In his award-winning, internationally acclaimed debut novel, Shashi Tharoor has masterfully recast the 2,000 year-old epic, The Mahabharata, with fictional but highly recognizable events and characters from twentieth-century Indian politics. Chronicling the Indian struggle for freedom and independence from Great Britain, Tharoor directs his hilarious satire as much against Indian foibles as the bumbling of the British rulers.<br />
<br />
<b>Review:</b> Shashi Tharoor's debut work of fiction is essentially a retelling of the Indian epic Mahabharata, but it falls in the realm of political satire by drawing parallels with major events in India's political history during the freedom movement as well as in the post-independence era.<br />
<br />
The author deserves to be applauded for deciding to reinterpret & present Indian history in a different light and his courage (yes, in a country where many people seem to lack a sense of humour when it comes to 'culture') in assuming an irreverent attitude towards some of India's greatest political leaders throughout the narrative. Also, credit must go to Tharoor for making brilliant use of prose as well as verse as a literary device, which pays homage to the epic itself. Tharoor also indulges in exploring the relevance of the Hindu concepts of dharma & karma in today's world, questions the writing of our official history books & leaves the small matter of the motto 'Satyamev Jayate' (Truth Alone Triumphs) open to discussion.<br />
<br />
'The Great Indian Novel' is without doubt a great Indian novel & I'm certainly in agreement with those critics who have hailed this book as arguably one of the finest works of fiction as far as post-modern Indian literature is concerned. A must read for every Indian who doesn’t mind having a laugh at those we usually revere.<br />
<br />
<b>A Most Wanted Man</b><br />
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<br />
<b>Author: John le Carre</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton [Paperback]</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>First Published: 2008</b><br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b> A half-starved young Russian man in a long black overcoat is smuggled into Hamburg at dead of night. He has an improbable amount of cash secreted in a purse around his neck. He is a devout Muslim. Or is he? He says his name is Issa.<br />
<br />
Annabel, an idealistic young German civil rights lawyer, determines to save Issa from deportation. Soon her client's survival becomes more important to her than her own career. In pursuit of Issa's mysterious past, she confronts the incongruous Tommy Brue, the sixty-year-old scion of Brue Freres, a failing British bank based in Hamburg.<br />
<br />
A triangle of impossible loves is born.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, scenting a pure kill in the so-called War on Terror, the spies of three nations converge upon the innocents.<br />
<br />
Poignant, compassionate, peopled with characters the reader never wants to let go, <i>A Most Wanted Man</i> is alive with humour, yet prickles with tension until the last heart-stopping page. It is also a work of deep humanity, and uncommon relevance to our times.<br />
<br />
<b>Review:</b> I still haven't figured out what it is that makes me like John le Carre's works. I mean, he's the only one among my favourite authors whose books are more than often overflowing with excruciating & tireless amount of detail & the writing verging on being boring & tedious at times. And yet, when I get to the end of it, it all seems worth the effort. And then Le Carre surprises me by something like 'A Most Wanted Man', that seems to carry none of the aforementioned traits.<br />
<br />
'A Most Wanted Man' is in line with the trend of Le Carre's pessimism & sense of doom regarding the West (esp. the Bush-Blair era) that has been ongoing since the brilliant 'The Constant Gardener' & continued in the tragicomic 'Absolute Friends'. In fact, one could say it surpasses both works on that count, for one feels engulfed by this sense of sadness on finishing this book. Brimming with tension till the final page, this is a book that only reaffirms that even in the post-Cold War era, John le Carre's ability to write books that are deeply relevant with the times is unparalleled.<br />
<br />
<b>Soccer in Sun and Shadow</b><br />
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<br />
<b>Author: Eduardo Galeano [translated by Mark Fried]</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Publisher: Byliner Classics [eBook]</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>First Published: 1995 [updated in 2013]</b><br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b> Eduardo Galeano’s <i>Soccer in Sun and Shadow</i> has established itself over the last decade as one of the most celebrated books on the world’s greatest and most popular game. Readers all over the world have been drawn to the hundreds of magical stories that Galeano conjures and to his confession, "Years have gone by and I've finally learned to accept myself for who I am: a beggar for good soccer. I go about the world, hand outstretched, and in the stadiums I plead: 'A pretty move, for the love of God.' And when good soccer happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don't give a damn which team or country performs it."<br />
<br />
In this new edition, which encompasses Galeano’s reflections on the 2010 World Cup, tragedy spins a continuous thread through these pages - remember Andres Escobar, the Colombian defender, whose own goal lost his country a game in the 1994 World Cup and was subsequently gunned down in Medellin? - but where there is shadow there is also the bright sunlight of joy and beauty, of the Italian striker whose shorts in the run up to a penalty kick in the 1938 World Cup fell down around his knees he pulled them back up, and with the goalkeeper and stadium in pleats of laughter, scored the goal that saw Italy to the final. Galeano concludes that "soccer is a pleasure that hurts, and the music of a victory that gets the dead dancing is akin to the clamorous silence of an empty stadium, where one defeated fan, unable to move, sits in the middle of the immense stands, alone."<br />
<br />
<b>Review:</b> I'm still to write a review for this on Goodreads, but I can safely say this is arguably one of the most compelling books ever written on the Beautiful Game. Eduardo Galeano's riveting commentary on the history and politics of soccer discusses everything from the leveling of the Twin Towers to the death of the sole survivor of that extraordinary match between British and German soldiers in 1915, robotic soccer in Japan, the mass-production of the game as a sign of the decline of civilization, the amazing success of Senegal and Turkey in recent World Cups, and how Nike beat Adidas.<br />
<br />
And there we are done with <b>CJ's Thirteen</b>, but that cannot be all, can it? I would feel criminal if some more were not given their due, for they too did not fail to delight me. Here are some more worthy of a mention -<br />
<br />
<b>Complicity</b> by Iain Banks<br />
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<br />
A roller-coaster ride involving murder, sex & dark secrets buried in a forgettable past.<br />
<br />
<b>A Long Way Down</b> by Nick Hornby<br />
<br />
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<br />
If anyone can make suicide a laughing matter, it's got to be Hornby.<br />
<br />
<b>Enigma</b> by Robert Harris<br />
<br />
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<br />
A WWII spy thriller set in the backdrop of Bletchley Park, the hub of English code-breakers.<br />
<br />
<b>The Devotion of Suspect X</b> by Keigo Higashino<br />
<br />
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<br />
Not your classical whodunit murder mystery.<br />
<br />
<b>One Day</b> by David Nicholls<br />
<br />
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<br />
The most heartwarming romantic novel I've read this year.<br />
<br />
<b>Cloud Atlas</b> by David Mitchell<br />
<br />
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<br />
Transcends genre & time in the most surrealistic manner literature could have imagined.<br />
<br />
<b>A Prisoner of Birth</b> by Jeffrey Archer<br />
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<br />
Entertainment, entertainment, entertainment. A Bollywood-ish masala thriller with high-tension courtroom drama.<br />
<br />
<b>Provided You Don't Kiss Me</b> by Duncan Hamilton<br />
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<br />
A extremely enjoyable & insightful memoir of the legendary Brian Clough by his one-time closest media-confidante.<br />
<br />
<b>11.22.63</b> by Stephen King<br />
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<br />
A fun-filled, rollicking time-travel saga in which the protagonist attempts to prevent the JFK assassination.<br />
<br />
<b>My Autobiography</b> by Alex Ferguson<br />
<br />
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<br />
Come on, it's Sir Alex Ferguson. How can he be not on the list?<br />
<br />
<b>Shantaram</b> by Gregory David Roberts<br />
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<br />
For the sheer magnitude & extra-ordinariness of it. A profound tribute to human willpower.<br />
<br />
And finally, we come to the books I reviewed on request this year & the best book would be anointed as the '<b>Discovery of the Year</b>' (we're getting used to fancy names by now). There were three serious contenders for the prize - <b>A Virtual Love</b> by Andrew Blackman, <b>The Hangman's Replacement</b> by Taona Dumisani & <b>The Shadow Throne</b> by Aroon Raman. And the winner is -<br />
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<br />
Yes, it's Aroon Raman's debut novel that takes the honours!<br />
<br />
And that's it for this super-long post. Pray forgive yours truly for being a bit cocky & probably irritating the heck out of you (in case you sincerely read the whole of it instead of just skimming over the titles) coz you don't carry along any grudges into the New Year, do you?<br />
<br />
That's all Folks!<br />
<br />
Here's wishing you, dear Reader, a very Happy New Year 2014. Happy Reading!</div>
Abhinav C.J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284241380930327538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298361602282127455.post-69774780831776073242013-07-25T16:58:00.000+05:302013-07-25T16:58:01.341+05:30Van Persie hungry for successRobin van Persie says Manchester United are hungrier than ever to win silverware ahead of the new season.<br />
The Dutchman moved to Old Trafford last summer and made an immediate impact, firing a total of 35 goals in all competitions as the Red Devils reclaimed the Premier League title from local rivals Manchester City.<br />
<br />
Although the Manchester clubs have largely dominated English football over the last two years,<a href="http://www.bet365.com/news/en/betting/football"> the latest </a>Premier league betting suggests the upcoming campaign promises to be one of the most intriguing of recent times following the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson from the United hotseat and the return of Jose Mourinho to Chelsea.<br />
<br />
David Moyes has been handed the task of replacing Ferguson and it’s been suggested by <a href="http://www.bet365.com/news/en/betting/football/premier-league/rodgers-talks-up-suarez-value">some punters who</a> bet on football that the Scot’s failure to win a major trophy during his time at Everton could see United lack the killer instinct that they always had under his compatriot.<br />
<br />
Despite being yet to do any real business, the Red Devils are expected to bring in a number of new stars to Old Trafford in the next few weeks in a bid to build a side capable of competing in Europe.<br />
<br />
Van Persie is likely to be at the forefront of their challenge this season and says he and his team-mates are hungrier than ever to win yet more silverware for the club.<br />
<br />
“I still have more years left and it's not like I'm saying, 'Yes, we won the league so that's me done'. I want more now. It makes me hungrier,” he told the Sun. "I was hungry last year but now I'm more hungry. We have a great bunch of players so we can win more and do better.<br />
<br />
"Last season we won the league and that was great but this time we want to win the league and more as well."<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298361602282127455.post-20473202868203930592013-05-07T13:49:00.000+05:302013-05-15T13:50:35.374+05:30Where do United go after Fergie?With the news Sir Alex Ferguson will be calling time on his spell at Old Trafford this summer, <br />
Manchester United are set for what could be their most turbulent time for over the 26 years.<br />
By turbulent, that does not mean the Premier League giants are set for a dip in form or success in the coming years but having had so much stability at the helm under Ferguson, it’s going to take some time for adjustment at the Theatre of Dreams.<br />
The combination of the Scottish tactician and chief executive David Gill, who is also set to step aside this summer, has brought about so much success for United on and off the field over the last few decades.<br />
Ferguson has by no means left his beloved United in the lurch and having claimed the Premier League title from rivals Manchester City this season, the Red Devils are very much in a good place.The only issues to deal with will be the <a href="http://betting.betfair.com/football/premier-league/waynes-world-might-still-start-and-end-at-old-trafford-130513-201.html">Wayne Rooney transfer</a> saga. The England man has requested to leave for a second time and although that had been turned down, it remains to be seen whether he will be in a red shirt at the start of next season.<br />
There will be plenty of speculation as to who will take over from the 71-year-old this summer but again stability has to be the key for this club.<br />
The <a href="http://betting.betfair.com/football/">football betting odds</a> suggest Everton boss David Moyes is the frontrunner to take over. He has long been tipped to succeed his fellow Scot and the pair have had a close relationship ever since Fergie tried to employ him as his assistant way back in 1999.<br />
Continuity in management has been a key factor in United’s success over the years and just because Ferguson enjoyed a reign which started in the mid-eighties until now, does not mean that like many of their rivals they must go through a host of managers in a few-year stints.<br />
The selection of the next manager at Old Trafford is undoubtedly a huge decision but whoever is given the chance to take the helm at one of the biggest footballing institutions in world football, he will have all the tools and the infrastructure to continue where the great Sir Alex left off.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298361602282127455.post-92134087890254154862013-04-22T15:29:00.000+05:302013-04-26T15:30:03.077+05:30Fergie expects tough Villa testManchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is expecting a tough test when his side take on relegation candidates Aston Villa on Monday.<br />
A victory could see United crowned Premier League champions, depending on if Manchester City lose at Tottenham on Sunday, but it certainly won’t be easy for the Red Devils, with Villa having just as much to play for at the other end of the table. That said punters<a href="http://www.bet365.com/news/en/betting/football/premier-league/van-persie-set-for-bench-duty"> who bet on Premier League games</a> have probably had their title bets paid out such is the dominance of Fergie’s men this season.<br />
With five games to go Paul Lambert’s men currently sit 17th in the Premier League standings, three points above Wigan but at this stage of the season every point matters, especially with them still play Chelsea before meeting the Latics on what promises to be a dramatic final day of the campaign.<br />
<br />
Having lost just once in the last five, confidence is also high within the Villa camp and they certainly won’t be afraid of United, having opened up a 2-0 lead during the teams meeting earlier this season, only to eventually lose 3-2. Some <a href="http://www.bet365.com/news/en/betting/football/premier-league">brave punters who bet on football</a> have already backed a shock result at Old Trafford.<br />
Ferguson knows his team won’t have it easy against the plucky Midlanders and expects his players to come under plenty of pressure against one of the country’s most exciting young sides.<br />
"We expect a scrap," the Scot told reporters. "The least you expect is for a team to fight for everything when they're down there.<br />
"Villa showed against Stoke that they have a bit of life about them and they should have won their game against Fulham last week.<br />
"When I saw the structure of those teams, they looked really positive selections. A lot of teams in that situation may pick a team to get something out of the game. Paul Lambert picked a team to win. There is a distinction," he added.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298361602282127455.post-88611935924426424972013-03-28T21:05:00.002+05:302013-03-28T21:31:28.097+05:30Book Review: 'A Virtual Love' by Andrew Blackman<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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When this year gets over, I'm
going to write a post mentioning the 10 best books I read in 2013, just like
last year. I'm not sure this book will make that list, but it is surely a
strong contender for the 'Discovery of the Year' honours.</div>
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Real & online identities
entwine with each other in Andrew Blackman's second novel - 'A Virtual Love'.
Jeff Brennan is an average guy at best, working in the IT Support section of a
law firm. His namesake is <st1:country-region w:st="on">Britain</st1:country-region>'s
numero uno political blogger, famous for his balanced views & his
anonymity. So when Marie, an avid reader of the blog, assumes that the
'average' Jeff Brennan is 'the Jeff Brennan' & he doesn't correct her
perception, a romance develops between the two on the basis of one lie. Jeff
thinks he's found the perfect girl when his illustrious namesake decides to
make his first public appearance, throwing his life into jeopardy. Will he tell
Marie the truth?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Andrew Blackman won the 2008 Luke
Bitmead Writers Bursary for his debut novel 'On the Holloway Road' & though
I haven't read the book, I've come across favourable reviews from those who
have read it. The good news is that 'A Virtual Love' doesn't disappoint either.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The style of narration in this
book is not new to me, having read a couple of books written in a similar
manner earlier this year. Each chapter is narrated by one particular character
in this novel, but what's different is that not one single chapter is narrated
by the protagonist Jeff Brennan (the average one). What this ensures is that his
character is sketched by all those characters who form a part of his social
life - his grandfather Arthur, his girlfriend Marie, his best friend Jon, his
work colleagues Annie & Dex & even the namesake blogger gets to voice
his side of events. I also liked how Blackman successfully portrays the true
nature of Jeff's manipulative friend Marcus through extracts of the latter's
Twitter feed. Characterisation in this novel is indeed praiseworthy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
What I liked most about this book
was this sense of nostalgia that abounds especially when Jeff's grandfather
Arthur takes on the mantle of narrator. I loved how the character talks about
his past life as a journalist, how people around him have changed & how he
feels like he's still frozen somewhere in an earlier time during his
conversations with his grandson. The comments made on the subject of
'generation gap' with references to technology & online social networking
through Arthur's character are very relevant to our times & I'm somehow
glad that Blackman explores these themes in depth & with immense clarity.
That sense of confusion in Arthur's mind regarding the difference in real &
online identities of today's youth is immaculately captured in words.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
There were also some parts that
struck a chord, such as the incident when Jeff tries to teach Arthur about
operating the computer, which sort of reminded me of my own efforts to teach my
mother about using Facebook. Another one is how Jon feels deserted & left
out when Jeff enters into a relationship with Marie. Thumbs up to the way these
underlying sentiments are expressed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
What annoyed me about this book
was its ending. It's not that the author plays too much with it, but I just
couldn't bring myself to like it. It seemed like it was too abrupt & that
the author just wanted to give a rather swift conclusion to the whole affair. I
also thought that the plot loses a bit of steam in the second half, which was
frustrating.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
3.5 to 4 stars for this
well-written novel by Andrew Blackman. It's not an extraordinary book, but I'd
say you read it for the sense of nostalgia & because it is so much more
than just real identities getting entangled with virtual ones. Recommended.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
P.S. I won an eBook version of the novel in a personal giveaway by the author
through his blog, and I solemnly state that it does not affect my review of the
book in any way.</div>
</div>
Abhinav C.J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284241380930327538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298361602282127455.post-72256638070752495152013-03-19T00:10:00.005+05:302013-03-19T00:10:54.039+05:30Vidic refuses to claim title race is over
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri;">Manchester
United captain Nemanja Vidic insists the title race is still far from over
despite his side extending their lead to 15 points on Saturday.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">United have dominated the Premier League
for most of the season and their 1-0 win over Reading, combined with Manchester
City’s defeat at Everton, means they now have a huge advantage going into the
final nine games of the campaign. Indeed many punters <a href="http://www.bet365.com/news/en/betting/football/premier-league/">who </a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.bet365.com/news/en/betting/football/premier-league/">beton premier league games</a> have seen their title bets paid out
by some bookies, convinced United will finish top of the pile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">However, United also led this time last
season, but a series of poor performances allowed the Citizens to cut their gap
before Sergio Aguero’s last minute goal saw Roberto Mancini’s men clinch the
title in dramatic manner on the final day.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">After the Red Devils won at the Etihad
Stadium in December, the two sides are still to play for a second time this
season and their return meeting will undoubtedly provide City with the perfect
chance to cut the gap.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">If any team can play their way back into
contention it’s certainly the champions, who on their day have ability to
totally blow their opponents away, almost at will.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Having lost out last season, Vidic knows
how dangerous City are and has told his team-mates that they cannot afford to
get complacent in the final months of the campaign.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">"It is a big gap and we shouldn't
let that change. We have the title in our hands," said Vidic to<a href="http://www.bet365.com/news/en/betting/football/premier-league/smalling-ready-for-busy-run-in"> </a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.bet365.com/news/en/betting/football/premier-league/smalling-ready-for-busy-run-in">premierleague betting news reporters</a></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">. "What happened last season is the reason why sometimes you can
feel the fans get nervous.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">"But I don't think we should allow
that to happen again. We can't allow that to happen again.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">"But we still have some tough away
games at places that are traditionally hard for us so nothing is finished yet,”
he added."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298361602282127455.post-57057281710102508012013-03-08T15:15:00.001+05:302013-03-08T15:15:26.324+05:30McClaren tips Rooney to stay at UnitedFormer Manchester United assistant manager Steve McClaren says he fully expects Wayne Rooney to remain at Old Trafford, despite the recent speculation linking him with a move away from the club.<br />
<br />
The striker was sensationally left out of the starting line-up for the Red Devils’ Champions League clash with Real Madrid on Tuesday and now a number of high-profile pundits, including former United skipper Roy Keane, as well punters <a href="http://www.bet365.com/news/en/betting/football/premier-league">who bet on Premier League transfers</a>, have tipped him to move on in the coming months.<br />
<br />
Rumours have been rife that Rooney himself has hinted that he wants to leave the club and its thought that the board will be willing to listen to offers in the summer, with a number of top sides monitoring his progress.<br />
<br />
However, it would be a huge decision for the former Everton youngster to take, as there are only a handful of teams who would be able match his massive ambitions.<br />
<br />
One of these would be crosstown rivals Manchester City, who he was previously linked with before signing a new deal at Old Trafford in 2010.<br />
<br />
Over the decades a number of players have left United at their peak, only to fall from grace and McClaren, who coached Rooney during his time in charge of England, believes the rumours are untrue and expects the striker to stay put.<br />
<br />
“Sir Alex always says there is only one way to go after Manchester United, and that's down. He's right, that's proved,” <a href="http://www.bet365.com/news/en/betting">he said to football betting news reporters</a>. "I know Wayne Rooney and all he wants to do is play football and win, all he wants to do is win trophies.<br />
<br />
“He is a winner and there is no better club to be at than Manchester United if you are a winner. He won't want to leave unless told he can leave.”Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298361602282127455.post-56893856731189794772013-02-28T21:58:00.001+05:302013-02-28T21:58:11.506+05:30Fletcher given assurance over international careerDarren Fletcher’s importance to the Scotland national team has been outlined by new manager Gordon Strachan, who insists the midfielder has a part in the squad when he returns from injury.<br />
<br />
Fletcher is currently recovering from chronic bowel disease surgery and is out of action for the rest of the season. That means that while he misses Manchester United’s campaign for another famous treble this spring he will also sit out of Scotland’s World Cup qualifiers against Wales, Serbia and Croatia.<br />
<br />
These are three huge games for Scotland in their quest to resurrect some pride from their World Cup qualifying campaign and Fletcher will be sorely missed in the centre of their midfield.<br />
<br />
“The quicker he gets back, the better for Manchester United and for me,” Strachan told BBC Radio Manchester. “If you look back at Manchester United over the last six or seven years – any time there's been a big game, Darren’s played in it.”<br />
<br />
Indeed, many fans in the betting world over at <a href="http://betting.betfair.com/football/champions-league/">Betfair Football</a> feel Fletcher’s return to international football could help Scotland qualify if not the World Cup then at least Euro 2016. Under Strachan the team have started well, winning their opening friendly 1-0 against Estonia earlier this month to set the foundations for a successful tenure at the helm.<br />
<br />
What Scotland need going forward is a voice in the middle of the park and although they have Scott Brown to bark out the orders he is a class below Fletcher. The United star has won four league titles and a Champions League medal during his 10-year stint at the club and has developed into a top quality defensive midfielder.<br />
<br />
When he returns this summer Scotland will have their captain and leader back in the team and should start growing into their potential ahead of qualification for France 2016. <br />
<br />
For more information on FA Cup betting, head over to:<a href="http://betting.betfair.com/football/fa-cup/">http://betting.betfair.com/football/fa-cup/</a> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298361602282127455.post-58455978865867560642013-02-25T19:51:00.004+05:302013-02-25T19:51:55.255+05:30Ferguson refusing to get carried away with advantage
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<o:p> </o:p>Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has warned his side
that they cannot afford to take anything for granted despite their substantial
lead at the top of the Premier League table.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After losing the title race last season, the Red Devils have
bounced back in supreme manner this time around, sweeping everyone before them
and now look almost guaranteed to win their 20th league championship. <a href="http://www.bet365.com/news/en/betting/">Indeedmany football betting news sites </a>have already paid out on United winning the league once more.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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However, they also found themselves in a similar situation
this stage last year, only to lose form and eventually finish second behind
bitter rivals Manchester City, following a dramatic last few weeks of the
campaign.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Part of their problem last term was their lack of goals but
they are currently the league’s top scorers charts, with summer signing Robin
van Persie leading the way with 19 strikes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He’s not been the only one on target though and Saturday saw
goals from two unlikely sources, as Rafael and Ryan Giggs found the net to seal
a 2-0 win away at bottom club Queens Park Rangers.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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This moved them further clear at the top of the table but
with 11 games left, there is still plenty of football to play, especially when
you take into account that they are still to face nearest rivals City for a
second time this season. <a href="http://www.bet365.com/news/en/betting/football">Even if punters who bet on premier league markets</a> have made their minds up.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Ferguson has now urged his players not to rest on their
laurels and says they must continue to take things one game at a time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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"We're in a better position today (Saturday) than we
were yesterday," the veteran boss told reporters.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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"It's one game
less and it's really important and the way we can approach it is by winning the
next game and then trying to win the next game and seeing where it takes
us." <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298361602282127455.post-80813402694817428272013-02-19T20:06:00.002+05:302013-02-19T20:06:45.512+05:30Jones Injury Scare Ahead of Real Clash<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Manchester United’s chances of bypassing Real Madrid in the
second leg of their Champions League tie have taken a severe blow after
defensive midfielder, Phil Jones, limped off the Old Trafford pitch on Monday
night.</div>
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Up against a spirited Reading side, United had to work hard
for their victory in the FA Cup fifth round and Sir Alex Ferguson took a gamble
in resting a number of his stars.</div>
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One man to survive the cull was Jones – who once again
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the 40<sup>th</sup> minute, when Jobi McAnuff pounced on a miss-control and the
two players collided.</div>
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Unfortunately, Jones came out far worse than his opponent
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Ferguson’s plans to take apart the Spanish giants.</div>
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For Jones put in a man of the match performance in Madrid
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He also proved his worth for the team during United’s 2-0
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League midfielders on how to man-mark Marouane Fellaini out of the game.</div>
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His loss would be a severe blow for Ferguson, who must find
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defence.</div>
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Carrick has the ability and concentration to fulfil this
role but there is always the danger he will stray forward, forgetting his
duties. Hopefully, United don’t need too much cover to outscore Real on the
night, but with Jones out there is a weakness for Ronaldo and co. to exploit.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>United are 13/7 with <a href="http://betting.betfair.com/football/champions-league/">Betfair Football</a><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> to overcome Madrid. Check out the latest odds, tips, and
news for the Champions League at <a href="http://betting.betfair.com/football/fa-cup/">http://betting.betfair.com/football/fa-cup/</a>.</i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298361602282127455.post-55611953605667036382013-02-05T21:14:00.000+05:302013-02-05T21:14:28.389+05:30Ronaldo praise forewarning fan jibes<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cristiano Ronaldo has spoken out in praise of his former
manager Sir Alex Ferguson before the pair meet for Real Madrid’s clash with
Manchester United in the Champions League next week.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ronaldo, who played more than 190 games and scored 84 goals
for United under Sir Alex, departed the club for a world record £80m back in 2009
and has grown into one of the best players in the world under the Bernabeu
floodlights.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the weeks leading up to this Old Trafford departure, there
were reports he had fallen out with the United manager: the cocky young
wonderkid seeing life differently to the fiery Scot. According to the player,
however, there is no lasting rift:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I still have an excellent relationship with him and it will be nice to see
him again,” Ronaldo told reporters.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He taught me the basis of football. I arrived in Manchester when I was
only 18. He managed my career in the best possible way and for me he is one of
the most important people in football.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Great praise from the Real Madrid star, who’s exit from
Manchester could have gone smoother and there is still a real chance he will
suffer a torrent of abuse from Reds supporters when he faces his former club
home and away this month.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe this was Ronaldo’s way of deflecting the attention the
media will bring to this Champions League clash and for once Ronaldo may want
to stay out of the limelight before a game.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fans <a href="http://betting.betfair.com/football/">betting on football</a> on Betfair are already expecting exciting things when United travel to Spain
next week and should the tie still be in contention come the second leg a wall
of noise will greet the players at Old Trafford. Whether or not the United
faithful have forgiven then former star for deserting them is unclear, but
diplomatic statements like this one can only help Ronaldo’s cause.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For more information, including betting tips, ahead of the
Real v Man United clash, head over to: <a href="http://betting.betfair.com/football/premier-league/">http://betting.betfair.com/football/premier-league/</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298361602282127455.post-88671801466712086352013-01-22T16:18:00.002+05:302013-01-22T16:18:56.150+05:30Ferguson dismisses one-man team jibesManchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is adamant that his side haven’t become a one-man team following the summer arrival of Robin van Persie.<br />
After years of carrying Arsenal with little silverware to show for it, the Dutchman decided to leave the Emirates, sparking a bidding war between some of Europe’s top clubs <a href="http://www.bet365.com/news/en/betting/football">and punters who bet on premier league transfers</a> were left wondering where to put their stake.<br />
United eventually won the battle, with the 29-year-old arguing that his decision was based on the Red Devils’ extra desire to sign him.<br />
Sir Alex’s men missed out on the Premier League title on goal difference last term but it doesn’t like it’ll be the case this time around, with the likes of Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck rediscovering some of their form to aid Wayne Rooney.<br />
However, it’s been RVP who has been the real star, already surpassing the 20-goal mark for the campaign, helping his new side to establish a clear lead at the top of the standings.<br />
A number of these strikes have helped United seal crucial results, leading Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini to suggest that the Dutchman could be the difference in the title race.<br />
<a href="http://www.bet365.com/news/en/betting/football/premier-league/rest-the-cure-for-carrick">Some premier league betting news writers</a> have suggested United rely too heavily on the former Feyenoord man, such is his importance to the team.<br />
Ferguson is understandably delighted with his new star but insists his side are more than a one-man team.<br />
"I don't go along with the idea we have become a one-man team," Ferguson told United Review. <br />
"There was a time in our history when one man did carry us for a while. Eric Cantona kept us in contention with his goals when a few others were off the boil.<br />
"But things are quite different now. Javier Hernandez has weighed in with 12 goals while Wayne Rooney is currently on nine.<br />
"He is absolutely relishing his new challenge. He is the right player, at the right club, at the right time,” he added.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298361602282127455.post-49419443467720699272013-01-20T17:16:00.000+05:302013-01-20T17:16:08.899+05:30Short Story Gone Long: The Lost Star of David<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Alright, this is a new feature on my blog. It's not exactly a short story, but in essence it's still a short story that somehow managed to be longer than what the norm suggests. It's written by this guy called <b>Christopher Jennings</b>, whom I had the pleasure of being acquainted with at the Mumbai LitFest over a discussion on crime noir. He wrote this one and I'm happy to publish this on this modest platform of mine. Hope you enjoy reading it.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Another day at the office.
Paperwork and more bloody paperwork – that’s all he had done for the past 6
years of his life barring Sundays. Where were those promises of a ‘challenging
work environment’ he had heard from that lying bastard MD Sharma when he had
joined this company?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
David Noronha was homeward bound,
having finished a 20-minute-long presentation regarding the market position of
the company. Not that he was bad, either. Not that he was good, having had a
fear of standing up and speaking in front of a crowd ever since PowerPoint made
its way into his life back in college. Atleast he was better at it than that
new Mallu guy - Dishanth Warrier - who seemed to spend more time tailing his
boss and catching onto every word of his rather than working on curbing his
‘uh’ and ‘umm’ every time he did a presentation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Incidentally, the boss was also a
Mallu. Guess the wise men were right, he decided. Birds of a feather flock
together.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The performance appraisal was supposed
to be sometime this week, he thought. He had been expecting a promotion this
time around. The boss had seemed pretty pleased with his work in the past 6
months. He even made it a point to congratulate him on the efforts he had put
into his last two presentations. If not a promotion, he should be getting
atleast a substantial increment. After all, what most companies did was dump
even more bloody paperwork upon you once you got a promotion. David had been
stuck at Executive for the past two years. Two and a half, he corrected himself
almost immediately.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Mumbai local trains were rather
peaceful around this time of the day. Or night, whatever you call it. He
checked his watch. Twenty minutes past nine. Just a couple of minutes before
Ghatkopar arrived, which was where he lived. Then a short distance walk to his
home, maybe 10-15 minutes at most. For those who still aren’t aware, most
Indians measure distances in time. The classic ones are those while giving
directions. David chuckled to himself at the thought.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
He had phoned his girlfriend
Neeti earlier, letting her know he would be late. She said she understood. By
her tone on the phone, he didn’t understand what it was exactly she understood.
Never mind, he decided. She knew he often had to work long hours. She was an active
volunteer for an NGO and she too often had to face the same thing. My Neeti’s
got a heart of gold, he thought.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
In the midst of his thoughts, he
didn’t realize that he was finally at the entrance of his building. He reached
his apartment, remembering to take the stairs on the way up - just as Neeti had
told him to. He knocked on the door and moments later, he saw the face of his
pretty girlfriend. Suddenly, he felt an urge to embrace her and kiss her like
he did in the good old days of their relationship, with passion. But his tired
body would only allow a mere peck on the cheek, which he did.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
An hour later, after he had had a
bath and eaten what his tired body would permit him to, he went and sat on the
sofa, in front of the idiot box. He remembered one of his colleagues mentioning
the T20 World Cup was on. Let me watch that, he thought.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
“You won’t ask me how my day
went?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
That was his girlfriend Neeti - who
else could it be after all. She came and laid her head on his lap, lying down
on the remaining part of the sofa. This was something that happened everyday,
David reminded himself. Once dinner was done and he tried to watch television,
Neeti did this and asked him the same question.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
David obediently asked, “So how
did your day go, Neeti?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
And Neeti switched onto her usual
self, the talkative Neeti. How captivating she had been back then in college,
he thought as he watched her. Those lovely lips of hers, her smile she gave to
those in front of her every twenty seconds when she talked – he had fallen in
love with her the moment he saw her speak at a Rotaract Club meeting. Love at
first sight, as some might call it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Neeti stopped all of a sudden and
asked him, “What are you smiling at? Are you even listening? C’mon, tell me –
what was I talking about just now?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
David honestly had no clue of
what she was talking about. His thoughts had wandered and Neeti knew it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
She rose from the sofa and said
rather disdainfully, “You don’t have time for me anymore. You’re no more the David
I fell in love with.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
And before he could say anything,
she stomped off to the bedroom.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Women, he thought, and their
moods. She will be alright by tomorrow morning, he decided. Then he would try
apologizing for his lack of attention at night.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
By the time he had finished switching
channels and switched off the idiot box so that he could retire to bed, Neeti
was asleep. She was sleeping on the farther side of the bed, her face looking
away from him. He wished he could see her lovely, peaceful face before
succumbing to sleep, but all he got was disappointment.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
*___*___*</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The next morning when David woke
up around seven, Neeti was not there. He looked at the calendar and discovered
it was a Friday. Darn, it was the day of her early morning yoga classes. Monday,
Wednesday and Friday – bloody hell. How could that slip off his mind? Usually,
Neeti woke him up before leaving but today she didn’t. Still cross over last
night, he decided. He’ll have to think something of cheering her up before he
came home tonight - he made a mental note of it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
He got to office a few minutes
before half past nine, which was when his day at the workplace started. As luck
would have it, the first thing he saw when he stepped into the office was the pretty
young female intern. He smiled at her and she smiled back at him, with a nod of
acknowledgement. Sonali, her name was. One of his colleagues had once told him
that he had heard from a female co-worker that Sonali had confessed to finding
David ‘hot’ in some silly game called ‘Truth or Dare’. David had laughed when
he first heard this, but he secretly knew that he was rather ruggedly handsome.
However, now he looked like a bit inflated shadow of his former self.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
It had not been an hour that he
was told - the boss had called a meeting of his department and everyone had to
assemble in the conference room in ten minutes. Performance appraisal, the
first thought that came to his mind. He hurried to the conference room, half in
anticipation, the other half also in anticipation as he rushed to grab a seat.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
After a wait of 20 minutes or so,
the boss came in. He started out with how the department had been doing in the
past few months and how they could improve on their current showing. Get to the
real stuff man, David cussed in his mind. The boss went on about this new move
by the top management to introduce a new ‘Employee of the Month’ to recognize
hard-working employees for their contribution and everyone around him clapped.
What the fuck are they clapping for, David again wondered. These managerial
bastards think as if this gimmick makes any fucking difference to the
employees. All talk and no pay, that’s what this was all about.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
“And the first-ever ‘Employee of
the Month’ in our department is Mr. David Noronha! David, come on! Come up
here, right in front of everyone!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
David was suddenly jolted back to
reality on hearing those words from his boss, and as some of his fellow
co-workers shouted ‘Yo David, you’re the man!’ and ‘Congrats Dave!’ while he
made his way to the front. Once he got there, the boss congratulated him on
this ‘wonderful achievement’ and spoke in glowing terms of how he had been such
a diligent employee in the past few months and how the Personnel managers had
been pleased with his performance. David felt himself go red in the face, out
of both awkwardness as well as pleasant embarrassment.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
“And finally, there is one more
important announcement. I am happy to announce that there has been a promotion.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
David felt a sudden gulp in his
throat. The big news – this was what actually mattered.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
*___*___*</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
“He has worked really hard in
recent months and I have been personally impressed by his perseverance. I’m
sure that each of you feels the same and so this should not come across as a
surprise.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I’m already standing here, David
thought as he sensed his expectations rising. He tried to keep them down at the
same moment but he couldn’t. He caught a quick glimpse of some of his
colleagues and even they were looking at him, with the same feeling of
expectation. God knows I’ve worked hard for this and I deserve it, David
thought.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
“And the new Senior Executive
is…”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
He was already thinking of how
Neeti would respond to this double bonanza of sorts. She would be so happy when
I tell her this tonight.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
“…Mr. Dishanth Warrier!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
David felt his knees almost give
way as he watched Dishanth walk to the front, gloating to himself in pleasure
while the others half-heartedly clapped. As he saw the boss shake Dishanth’s
hand and say something in Malayalam in the latter’s ear, David felt like
punching both of them in their faces. Bastards, the whole lot of them. He
clenched his teeth to suppress his feelings until the meeting was over and
rushed to the washroom once the boss had departed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Anil, one of the few guys in
office David was ‘friends’ with, came behind him while he washed his face
repeatedly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
“Hard luck, Dave. Most of us feel
you should’ve been promoted. I feel really sorry for you, man.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
David neither looked at him, nor
did he say anything. Anil understood he wanted to be left alone, and so he did.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
It was not long before it was
lunch hour and David was sitting all alone on a table at the cafeteria. Out of
the corner of his eye, he should see some of his co-workers look at him
constantly and suddenly drop back to their conversations whenever he looked at
them, as if nothing had happened. Even this is a bigger accomplishment than
being the Employee of the Month – being the hot topic of everyone’s
conversation – he mocked himself in his thoughts.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
“Hey David, mind if I sit with
you to have lunch?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
It was Sonali. He thought he
heard someone go ‘Oooh’ when she asked him that. Ignoring that, he looked at
her & gave her slight nod. She sat down in the chair opposite him.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
She tried to make small talk of
how his personal life was but all David could muster were answers in
monosyllables. She then tried to make light of the situation by telling him an
old corporate world joke but again all he could only return her a weak smile.
She kept talking for 10 minutes or so before David rose up and said,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
“Sonali, do you mind leaving me
alone for some time? I’d like to spend some time by myself.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
“But I was just trying to cheer
you up…”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
“And I realize that. Now will you
please leave?” he said rather curtly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Embarrassed, Sonali left the
cafeteria in a huff while everyone else looked on.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
*___*___*</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Back in his cubicle, amidst all
the files and folders, David’s mind again wandered down memory lane. Dreams,
friends, love, life, Neeti – all of it came back to him in a flash. He thought
of his lifelong dream, something he had nurtured ever since he had watched this
movie called ‘Triyatri’ in his early teens. It was a story of three teenagers
who, encouraged by the grandfather of one of them, decided to undertake a
cycling trip across <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region>.
It was one of the first movies he had watched and since then, he always had
this dream of traveling across the country, only on a motorcycle. Motorcycles
were cooler, he opined. After all, even Che Guevara traversed thousands of
miles across <st1:place w:st="on">South America</st1:place> on a motorcycle. He
had bought a Bajaj Avenger back when it was first launched, since he couldn’t
afford an <st1:city w:st="on">Enfield</st1:city>
and it made much lesser noise. He rarely rode it nowadays, apart from short
distances or when he took Neeti shopping.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
He remembered how close he had
been to pursuing his much-cherished dream when he was job-hunting after
graduating from college. He didn’t have much hope of getting a call from either
of the companies he had interviewed for and had secretly packed his bags, just
in case. And then came that phone call from this godforsaken place, which
changed everything. Dreams had to be set aside for the moment and reality took
over.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
He had not unpacked that bag ever
since. Maybe someday he would realize his dream, he believed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
His thoughts turned to Neeti. How
she had laughed when he first told her of this and had remarked jokingly, “Over
my dead body!” But today, he wasn’t sure she had been joking. But he still
loved her. Else, why had he maintained his distance from Sonali, disrespecting
the laws of attraction? He loved Neeti. Atleast he thought he did.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
He felt this sudden urge to be
near her. Only she could raise his damp spirits in such a situation. Maybe when
he will get home, they will have their own little joke about him being awarded
Employee of the Month and he will be happy again. He couldn’t wait any longer.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Normally he would leave office by
eight but today was different. It was just a few minutes to six and David was
already on his way home. Once he reached Ghatkopar, he entered the first gift
shop that came his way and bought a bouquet of orchids for Neeti, her
favourite. This would be the best way to apologize for last night, he decided.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
He walked up to the door of his
apartment, only to find it was ajar. Forgetful Neeti, he thought. But he was in
no mood to pay attention to such trivial matters. Now, all he could think of
was how much he loved his girlfriend. He went in.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
And then when he heard him.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
*___*___*</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
At first, he thought he was
mistaken. Maybe I’m hallucinating, he thought. Rough day at the office, after
all. But then he saw her. And him.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
She was with another man. It was
her yoga instructor, getting cozy with her. A romantic rendezvous, as she would
call it. Horrified seeing his girlfriend, he shouted,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
“Neeti!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
What ensued in the next few
minutes are now etched in David’s mind like a blurred memory. Even to this day,
David marvels at the composure he showed that evening. He had first asked the
yoga instructor to leave immediately, without raising his voice for once. Once
he had left, Neeti had pleaded to him to give her a chance to explain, but he
wouldn’t hear any of it. He said he wanted to know nothing, and he just wanted
her gone by morning. She might go to her parents, her friends or the yoga
instructor or whomever she wanted to, but he wanted her gone.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
For the first time since they had
moved in, he and Neeti slept in separate rooms.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
*___*___*</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Six months had passed since that
day.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Another day at the office.
Paperwork and more bloody paperwork.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Dishanth Warrier had been
promoted to the position of Deputy Manager for his ‘hard work’ and
‘perseverance’. David was still stuck at Executive, having won two more
‘Employee of the Month’ awards in the same amount of time. Bunch of Mallu
bastards - the whole lot of them, he cussed under his breath.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Back in his cubicle, it was not
long before David was again lost in his thoughts. He had thought about that
blurred memory every day since Neeti left.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
He didn’t sleep much that night
but when he woke up, Neeti was indeed gone. She had left a note for him on her
dressing table, but he hadn’t bothered to read it. Maybe he should have. He had
just picked it up and tossed it into the waste bin.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
She had called him many times
later to provide an explanation. David had tried to ignore her calls but one
evening when he had come back from office, Neeti was waiting for him at home.
She had begged him to listen to her, and he had acceded to her pleas. Then she
had gone on about how he had so little time for her, how he was always so busy
working, how her yoga instructor had been there for her when she needed him and
whatever she could complain about. He didn’t remember exactly what she had said
anymore. Like all good men, he had not uttered a single word till Neeti said,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
“Well, say something. Say
something, David!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
All he had said in reply to her,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
“Are you done? Then you can get
your stuff sorted and move out with it as soon as possible?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Neeti had left with all her stuff
that night. He had not heard from her since then.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
He finished his share of office
work as soon as possible and slipped out of office around seven. It was another
hour before he got home. He had to prepare dinner for himself but he wasn’t in
the mood, like most days in the last few months. Another meal at the Chinese
joint, he wondered. He was already getting bored of the cuisine, which once
used to be among his favourite ones.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
There was still over an hour
before he usually ate his dinner. Out of boredom, he decided to switch on the
idiot box. He kept on changing the channel, watching without any particular interest
until he suddenly realized that he was seeing a familiar picture in front of
him. On a movie channel that is well known for its broadcasting of classics, it
was ‘Triyatri’ that he was watching at that moment. It had been a long time
since he had last watched that movie, perhaps years. Memories flooded back
instantly, happy memories. Not of Neeti, not anymore. But of the time he had
spent planning his cross-country road trip.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
And suddenly, he knew as if it
were something of great cosmic significance. Today, he was sure of it just like
he had been before he had taken that phone call.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Neeti was gone. To hell with her.
What about his job? To hell with that godforsaken job. He could always find a
better one, he thought. All his life, he had been weighed down by academic
pressures, parental pressures, peer pressures, relationship pressures and work
pressures. Somewhere amidst all this he had forgotten what he had been like -
the David who had once dreamed of traveling and writing about his adventures on
a blog. He tried hard to remember the last time he had done something without
the burden of those pressures, but he was unable to. Somewhere along the way,
that David had been lost.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
His bags had not been unpacked
ever since. Needs a bit of dusting, David thought. The Bajaj Avenger in the
parking lot downstairs was there too, having waited for this moment as if it
had been the only purpose of its existence. Only it will need refueling, and it
was good to go. Atleast he thought it was.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
He was going in search of the
lost one. He was going in search of David Noronha.</div>
</div>
Abhinav C.J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284241380930327538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298361602282127455.post-37994951038469458272013-01-04T22:28:00.000+05:302013-01-04T22:28:08.192+05:30Rooney to come through tough spellIt’s fair to say that before his recent injury, Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney was having a below-par spell for the Premier League frontrunners.<br />
The England international was one of the favourites in the <a href="http://betting.betfair.com/football/premier-league/">Premier League betting</a> to collect the golden boot this season but has struggled to hit the heights.<br />
He had a game to forget against Swansea City last month at the Liberty Stadium and was given the hook by manager Sir Alex Ferguson.<br />
Summer signing Robin van Persie has been taking much of the limelight at Old Trafford and rightly so.<br />
The former Arsenal skipper has scored 16 goals in the Premier League so far and in recent games has formed a decent partnership with Mexican international Javier Hernandez, who has been chipping in with a few goals of late.<br />
With Rooney out on the sidelines for a further two weeks with a knee injury, it’s not been the easiest spell for the former Everton starlet, who moved to the Red Devils back in 2004.<br />
Ferguson has admitted it has been a blow to lose one of his stars to injury.<br />
He said: "Wayne is still injured. It is not serious but it is going to take longer than we thought, probably another two weeks.<br />
"He won't be fit for Liverpool. Hopefully another couple of weeks will sort it out. Nonetheless, it is a loss. You always want your best players available."<br />
But with Rooney not at the peak of his powers punters who <a href="http://betting.betfair.com/football/">bet on football</a> suspect it’s probably a better time to have the 27-year-old out on the sidelines than when he is banging in the goals.<br />
There is no doubting Rooney’s ability and when the Three Lions striker gets back to full fitness, he will undoubtedly be causing problems for defenders and goalkeepers once again.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298361602282127455.post-29120625234091496142012-12-31T23:10:00.000+05:302013-01-01T14:15:05.607+05:30The Ten Best Books I've Read In 2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
There were two things I originally
intended to do as far as this post is concerned. I wanted to write this post on
Christmas (given I got an unexpected week-long break from college) but I fell
ill right on the first day. And secondly, I pondered over including all the
great books I’ve read this year rather than a top-10 list but it’s just too
much of an effort.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 143.25pt; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Now that I’m finally feeling
okayish and 2012 isn’t over yet at the time of writing (atleast not in <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region>), I’m
gonna write about the ten best books I’ve read this year. This list isn’t like
most lists which include books only from the current year (I’m penniless as far
as that is concerned, okay?) but this list will include titles that have been published
before and much, much before.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
So in no particular order, here
goes my list of the ten best books I’ve read in 2012 –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Band of Brothers </b><i>[Pocket
Books]</i><b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH8LOoYuUcP7j77RMf8HIdA1iSduVdVD9W4IpshRVFVQDXqDDrEB2cvALmOZ-kjDxU8-imU-g5PvLFp_TOEM9Oyjm_R-uVoNC5bKZX81N1_qdJygvaDYocUNQPhNRIWjtcAgaT5qnYlkcv/s1600/band_of_brothers_book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH8LOoYuUcP7j77RMf8HIdA1iSduVdVD9W4IpshRVFVQDXqDDrEB2cvALmOZ-kjDxU8-imU-g5PvLFp_TOEM9Oyjm_R-uVoNC5bKZX81N1_qdJygvaDYocUNQPhNRIWjtcAgaT5qnYlkcv/s320/band_of_brothers_book.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p> </o:p><b>Author: Stephen E. Ambrose</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>First Published: 1992<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Summary:</b> They came together, citizen soldiers, in the summer of
1942, drawn to Airborne by the $50 monthly bonus and a desire to be better than
the other guy. And at its peak -- in <st1:city w:st="on">Holland</st1:city> and
the <st1:place w:st="on">Ardennes</st1:place> -- Easy Company, 506th Parachute
Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Divison, U.S. Army, was as good a rifle
company as any in the world.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
From the rigorous training in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Georgia</st1:country-region> in 1942
to the disbanding in 1945, Stephen Ambrose tells the story of this remarkable
company. In combat, the reward for a job well done is the next tough
assignment, and as they advanced through <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>,
the men of Easy kept getting the tough assignments.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
They parachuted into <st1:country-region w:st="on">France</st1:country-region> early D-Day morning and knocked out a
battery of four 105 mm cannon looking down <st1:placename w:st="on">Utah</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Beach</st1:placetype>; they parachuted into <st1:city w:st="on">Holland</st1:city> during the <st1:city w:st="on">Arnhem</st1:city>
campaign; they were the Battered Bastards of the Bastion of Bastogne, brought
in to hold the line, although surrounded, in the <st1:city w:st="on">Battle</st1:city> of the Bulge; and then they
spearheaded the counteroffensive. Finally, they captured Hitler's Bavarian
outpost, his Eagle's Nest at <st1:city w:st="on">Berchtesgaden</st1:city>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
They were rough-and-ready guys,
battered by the Depression, mistrustful and suspicious. They drank too much
French wine, looted too many German cameras and watches, and fought too often
with other GIs. But in training and combat they learned selflessness and found
the closest brotherhood they ever knew. They discovered that in war, men who
loved life would give their lives for them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
This is the story of the men who
fought, of the martinet they hated who trained them well, and of the captain
they loved who led them. E Company was a company of men who went hungry, froze,
and died for each other, a company that took 150 percent casualties, a company
where the Purple Heart was not a medal -- it was a badge of office.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Review:</b> Okay, I did say this list is in no particular order but
this was on top of my list. The book might require a bit of patience at the start
but once you are into it, there’s no letting go. A tale of bravery, courage,
friendship and brotherhood (as the name suggests) in the midst of adversity and
triumph. Look out for the ‘million-dollar-wound’. A MUST READ for those
interested in history of the World Wars. I’d recommend it to everyone.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1048643.Band_of_Brothers"><span style="background: white; color: #215625; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9.0pt;"><br />
</span></a><b>Child 44</b> <i>[Pocket Books]</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://paulcuddihy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Child44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://paulcuddihy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Child44.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Author: Tom Rob Smith<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>First Published: 2008<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Summary:</b> Stalin's
<st1:place w:st="on">Soviet Union</st1:place> strives to be a paradise for its
workers, providing for all of their needs. One of its fundamental pillars is
that its citizens live free from the fear of ordinary crime and criminals.<br />
<br />
But in this society, millions do live in fear . . . of the State. Death is a
whisper away. The mere suspicion of ideological disloyalty - owning a book from
the decadent West, the wrong word at the wrong time - sends millions of
innocents into the Gulags or to their executions. Defending the system from its
citizens is the MGB, the State Security Force. And no MGB officer is more
courageous, conscientious, or idealistic than Leo Demidov.<br />
<br />
A war hero with a beautiful wife, Leo lives in relative luxury in <st1:place w:st="on">Moscow</st1:place> - even providing a
decent apartment for his parents. His only ambition has been to serve his
country. For this greater good, he has arrested and interrogated.<br />
<br />
Then the impossible happens. A different kind of criminal-a murderer-is on the
loose, killing at will. At the same time, Leo finds himself demoted and
denounced by his enemies, his world turned upside down, and every belief he's
ever held shattered. The only way to save his life and the lives of his family
is to uncover this criminal. But in a society that is officially paradise, it's
a crime against the State to suggest that a murderer-much less a serial
killer-is in their midst. Exiled from his home, with only his wife, Raisa,
remaining at his side, Leo must confront the vast resources and reach of the
MBG to find and stop a criminal that the State won't admit even exists.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Review:</b> I count myself lucky the day I came across this book in a
second-hand bookstore. A fast-paced crime thriller based on real-life events
and set in Stalinist Russia, this is an absolute page-turner and its
no-nonsense prose from the very start pulls you into the world Tom Rob Smith
envisions. This is not just another crime thriller - it provides excellent
insight on how difficult and terrifying life was in Soviet Russia during the
Cold War. This book is an achievement given it was Smith’s debut novel and it
was duly recognized through a host of awards and nominations such as the Man
Booker Prize longlist and the winner of the CWA Steel Dagger, to name a few. I
recommend this as a MUST READ for everyone, especially for fans of crime
fiction.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i>(‘Child 44’ is the first instalment of the Leo Demidov trilogy and it
is followed by two acclaimed instalments – ‘The Secret Speech’ and ‘Agent 6’.)</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Schindler’s Ark</b> <i>[Sceptre]</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3b4I2Ivz9EKN5IgNBBD2Syhl-qzigEa7YmZA5TDIPnpqlFpaW_6otMm85AUmUPPGqGdGx2laB1h_pmzu-hGay-3PJiI2dUAwWfhEgwttKSG1CKJDeBmfnziiEJz5loq2-MoAG-tSJZew/s1600/Schindlers-List-book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3b4I2Ivz9EKN5IgNBBD2Syhl-qzigEa7YmZA5TDIPnpqlFpaW_6otMm85AUmUPPGqGdGx2laB1h_pmzu-hGay-3PJiI2dUAwWfhEgwttKSG1CKJDeBmfnziiEJz5loq2-MoAG-tSJZew/s320/Schindlers-List-book.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Author: Thomas Keneally<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>First Published: 1982<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Summary:</b> In the
shadow of <st1:place w:st="on">Auschwitz</st1:place>, a flamboyant German
industrialist grew into a living legend to the Jews of Cracow. He was a
womaniser and heavy drinker who enjoyed the good life, yet to them he became a
saviour.<br />
<br />
Thomas Keneally's Booker Prize-winning novel recreates the story of Oskar
Schindler, an Aryan who risked his life to protect Jews in Nazi-occupied <st1:country-region w:st="on">Poland</st1:country-region>, who
continually defied and outwitted the SS, and who was transformed by the war
into an angel of mercy. It is an unforgettable tale, all the more extraordinary
for being true.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Review:</b> This is one of those few books that moved me to tears quite
a number of times. An extraordinary book that was the result of the efforts of
Poldek Pfefferberg, a Schindler survivor, who made it his life’s mission to
ensure that Oskar Schindler’s story did not remain untold. Thomas Keneally
traces the story of Schindler with the backdrop of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region> during WWII and does it
brilliantly. Filled with horrifying incidents of cruelty as well as endearing
moments of kindness, this book is a masterpiece and will stay with you for a
long time. A MUST READ for readers across all genres.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Nineteen Eighty-Four</b> <i>[Jainco
Publishers]</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.pagepulp.com/wp-content/216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.pagepulp.com/wp-content/216.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Author: George Orwell<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>First Published: 1949<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Summary:</b> Hidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling
Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith skilfully rewrites the past to suit the needs
of the Party. Yet he inwardly rebels against the totalitarian world he lives
in, which demands absolute obedience and controls him through the all-seeing
telescreens and the watchful eye of Big Brother, symbolic head of the Party. In
his longing for truth and liberty, Smith begins a secret love affair with a
fellow-worker Julia, but soon discovers the true price of freedom is betrayal.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Written in 1948, 1984 was
George Orwell's chilling prophecy about the future. And while the year 1984 has
come and gone, Orwell's narrative is timelier than ever. 1984 presents
a startling and haunting vision of the world, so powerful that it is completely
convincing from start to finish. No one can deny the power of this novel, its
hold on the imaginations of multiple generations of readers, or the resiliency
of its admonitions. A legacy that seems only to grow with the passage of time.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Review:</b> I’ve read only two of George Orwell’s works – the other one
being his memoir ‘Down and Out in <st1:city w:st="on">Paris</st1:city> and <st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place>’. And he’s already
one of my all-time favourite novelists. Orwell gives us a vivid picture of what
‘hell on earth’ would look like in this terrifying dystopian science fiction
novel. The technologies described are synchronous with quite a number of the
ones seen in today’s world and many words used in this novel have found their
place in English vocabulary. ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ is a book that will remain
a great work of modern literature for generations to come.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>To Kill A Mockingbird</b> <i>[Mass
Market Paperback]</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://stkarnick.com/culture/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/mockingbird.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://stkarnick.com/culture/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/mockingbird.jpg" width="199" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Author: Harper Lee<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>First Published: 1960<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Summary:</b> The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy
Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it. To Kill A
Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when
it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961
and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.<br />
<br />
Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mockingbird takes
readers to the roots of human behavior—to innocence and experience, kindness
and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos. Now with over 18 million copies
in print and translated into forty languages, this regional story, by a young <st1:state w:st="on">Alabama</st1:state> woman, claims
universal appeal. Harper Lee always considered her book to be a simple love
story. Today it is regarded as a masterpiece of American literature.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Review:</b> Not much remains to be said
about this book. This is another one that made me numb. A book full of
unforgettable characters and a narrative that makes you question whether the
goodness in human beings can inspire social change or not. A timeless classic
that again falls into the MUST READ category and transcends readers across all
genres.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Inverting the Pyramid</b> <i>[Orion
Books]<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://mediasnobs.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Inverting-the-Pyramid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://mediasnobs.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Inverting-the-Pyramid.jpg" width="203" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Author: Jonathan Wilson<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>First Published: 2008<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Summary:</b> For soccer fans, following, discussing, and arguing about
the tactics a manager puts into play are part of what makes the sport so
appealing. This fascinating study traces the history of soccer tactics back
from such modern pioneers as Rinus Michels, Valeriy Lobanovskyi, Catenaccio,
and Herbert Chapman. Along the way, author Jonathan Wilson, an erudite and
detailed writer who never loses a sense of the grand narrative sweep, takes a
look at the lives of the great players and thinkers who shaped the game, and
discovers why the English in particular have proved themselves so
"unwilling to grapple with the abstract." This will be a modern
classic of soccer writing that followers of the game will dip into again and
again.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Review:</b> This is a book for those looking for something far more
intellectual than reading one of those footballers’ ghost-written
autobiographies that are churned with alarming regularity every year. Jonathan
Wilson’s masterpiece of football literature gives us a detailed account of the
evolution of tactics and provides valuable insight on how and why some teams
have continued to play a certain style of football over decades. A MUST READ
for all football fans.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><b>Manchester</b></st1:city></st1:place><b> United: The Biography</b> <i>[Sphere]</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://bookxcessblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Manchester-United-The-Biography-Revised-and-Updated-by-Jim-White.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://bookxcessblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Manchester-United-The-Biography-Revised-and-Updated-by-Jim-White.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Author: Jim White<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>First Published: 2008<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Summary:</b> Following the club’s extraordinary journey from its birth
in the railway works of Newton Heath to its current status as the biggest club
in world soccer, this is a fascinating history of a remarkable team. The
key stages in Manchester United’s history are covered: the Munich Air
Crash of 1958, which saw the best part of an entire team (the Busby Babes)
being killed; becoming the first English team to win the European Cup in 1968
(with Bobby Charlton and George Best); the dominance of the club in the Premiership;
the controversial sale to American tycoon Malcolm Glazer; right up to Moscow
2008. By drawing on the recollections of everyone from players and managers to
fans and backroom staff, enough new material has been unearthed to
interest fans and casual supporters.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Review:</b> There are Manchester United fans who take more interest in
reading every autobiography of Wayne Rooney but prefer to remain blissfully
unaware of the history of the club they support. Jim White does a spectacular
retelling of the history of Manchester United Football Club like a fan (yes, a
fan) possessed and gives us a book that every Manchester United fan across the
globe will cherish for the rest of his life.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time</b> <i>[Vintage]</i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://jessiemac.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/the-curious-incident-dog-in-night-time-Mark-Haddon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://jessiemac.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/the-curious-incident-dog-in-night-time-Mark-Haddon.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Author: Mark Haddon<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>First Published: 2003<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Summary:</b> The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is
a murder mystery novel like no other. The detective, and narrator, is
Christopher Boone. Christopher is fifteen and has Asperger's Syndrome. He knows
a very great deal about maths and very little about human beings. He loves
lists, patterns and the truth. He hates the colours yellow and brown and being
touched. He has never gone further than the end of the road on his own, but
when he finds a neighbour's dog murdered he sets out on a terrifying journey
which will turn his whole world upside down.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
This improbable story of
Christopher's quest to investigate the suspicious death of a neighborhood dog
makes for one of the most captivating, unusual, and widely heralded novels in
recent years.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Review:</b> The book’s most unique aspect is the narrative – it’s
exactly how you would imagine a teenager with Asperger’s Syndrome. Christopher
Boone endears himself to you over the course of the book and the prose ensures
that the book is never too difficult to read. This book won the Whitbread Novel
of the Year and a nomination on the Booker longlist among others and to sum it
up, it’s a children’s book not for children.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Inside Steve’s Brain</b> <i>[Portfolio]<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347651234l/2363692.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347651234l/2363692.jpg" width="231" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Author: Leander Kahney<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>First Published: 2008<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Summary:</b> Steve
Jobs has turned his personality traits into a business philosophy. Here is how
he does it.<br />
<br />
It’s hard to believe that one man revolutionized computers in the 1970s and ‘80s
(with the Apple II and the Mac), animated movies in the 1990s (with Pixar), and
digital music in the 2000s (with the iPod and iTunes). No wonder some people
worship him like a god. On the other hand, stories of his epic tantrums and
general bad behavior are legendary.<br />
<br />
Inside Steve’s Brain cuts through the cult of personality that surrounds
Jobs to unearth the secrets to his unbelievable results. It reveals the real
Steve Jobs - not his heart or his famous temper, but his mind. So what’s really
inside Steve’s brain? According to Leander Kahney, who has covered Jobs since
the early 1990s, it’s a fascinating bundle of contradictions.<br />
<br />
Jobs is an elitist who thinks most people are bozos but he makes gadgets so
easy to use, a bozo can master them.<br />
<br />
He’s a mercurial obsessive with a filthy temper but he forges deep partnerships
with creative geniuses like Steve Wozniak, Jonathan Ive, and John Lasseter.<br />
<br />
He’s a Buddhist and anti-materialist but he produces mass-market products in
Asian factories, and he promotes them with absolute mastery of the crassest
medium, advertising.<br />
<br />
In short, Jobs has embraced the traits that some consider flaws - narcissism,
perfectionism, the desire for total control to lead Apple and Pixar to triumph
against steep odds. And in the process, he has become a self-made billionaire.<br />
<br />
In Inside Steve’s Brain, Kahney distills the principles that guide Jobs as
he launches killer products, attracts fanatically loyal customers, and manages
some of the world’s most powerful brands.<br />
<br />
The result is this unique book about Steve Jobs that is part biography and part
leadership guide, and impossible to put down. It gives you a peek inside Steve’s
brain, and might even teach you something about how to build your own culture
of innovation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Review:</b> I was initially not hoping too much for this book, having
gone looking for Steve Jobs’ official biography or ‘i-Con’ at the annual Strand
Book Fair. As luck would have it, both were sold out by the time I got there
and so I settled for this book. And what a pleasant surprise this book proved
to be! Leander Kahney dissects every chapter in the life of Jobs the
entrepreneur with aplomb. The best thing about this book is that you don’t need
to make notes while you’re reading or done with it – there is a comprehensive
section dedicated to that after every chapter. Apple fans and those who wish to
understand the marketing genius of Steve Jobs – this is the book for you.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>About A Boy</b> <i>[Penguin Books]<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx0AMOw6Gf9DCulxFi3_vMazDPOCUIpwB9f1lFYHppg-1p6wmp-tOwSQAGB3DUDy1Fyf2EzgL-72rUJTC9HmVQJUbe7JdV9vR_DydLqGtCOOmbVlAAJWpLSnMW-_wCtFaBipuT3EkA6kM/s1600/aboutaboy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx0AMOw6Gf9DCulxFi3_vMazDPOCUIpwB9f1lFYHppg-1p6wmp-tOwSQAGB3DUDy1Fyf2EzgL-72rUJTC9HmVQJUbe7JdV9vR_DydLqGtCOOmbVlAAJWpLSnMW-_wCtFaBipuT3EkA6kM/s320/aboutaboy.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Author: Nick Hornby<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>First Published: 1998<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Summary:</b> Will is thirty-six, comfortable and child-free. And he's
discovered a brilliant new way of meeting women - through single-parent groups.
Marcus is twelve and a little bit nerdish: he's got the kind of mother who made
him listen to Joni Mitchell rather than Nirvana. Perhaps they can help each other
out a little bit, and both can start to act their age.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Review:</b> Most fans of Nick Hornby’s novels will claim his first
novel ‘High Fidelity’ was his best but I rate ‘About A Boy’ higher. ‘High
Fidelity’ was a story of extremes (no complaints) but ‘About A Boy’ is a much
more refined novel in many ways – the characters, the relationships and the
manner in which Hornby makes this novel work is astounding to say the least. A
light-hearted novel that will make you laugh out with its irrepressible humour,
awkward situations and characters you just can’t stop loving.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
So that’s the ten best books I
discovered this year. But hey, that’s not all! There were quite a few more that
deserve a mention alongwith the aforementioned books and they are as under:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>The Damned United</b> by David Peace</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
A brilliant ‘factional’ account
of Brian Clough’s ill-fated reign at Leeds United that lasted 44 days.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>The Constant Gardener</b> and <b>Absolute
Friends</b> by John le Carre</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The first is a political thriller
so unlike John le Carre’s earlier novels while the latter is vintage stuff.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>The Catcher in the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rye</st1:place></st1:city></b>
by J.D. Salinger</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
One of the funniest books I’ve
read in my life. Would’ve enjoyed it much more had I read this some five years
ago when I was still a teenager.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:placename w:st="on"><b>Shutter</b></st1:placename><b> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Island</st1:placetype></b>
and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><b>Mystic</b></st1:placename><b> <st1:placetype w:st="on">River</st1:placetype></b></st1:place> by Dennis Lehane</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Both books are engaging and
absolute page-turners. For those who love suspense and American noir.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Serious: The Autobiography </b>by John McEnroe</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
A cracking read about the life of
tennis legend John McEnroe that gets better with every page you read.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
That's all Folks!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Wishing you a very Happy and Prosperous New Year 2013!</div>
</div>
Abhinav C.J.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284241380930327538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298361602282127455.post-52474548987754760782012-12-31T19:06:00.004+05:302012-12-31T19:06:42.376+05:30United are Comeback Kings
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Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher has revealed
that he thinks that other teams fear the Reds going into the closing stages of
games and that gives his side an advantage.</div>
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Fletcher, who has recently returned to the United side after
nearly a year on the sidelines with a bowel complaint, has won the Premier
League title four times during his career and over that time he has seen his
team put together many memorable comebacks. "The never-say-die attitude is
ingrained in this club," said Fletcher. "It comes from the players,
who believe in themselves, and opposition teams, who fear it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Manchester United certainly have a reputation of snatching
points from losing positions and this season they have already taken 21 points
from games that they have been behind in- 6 points more than their nearest
rivals Manchester City. Coincidentally, their lead over City in the Premier
League currently stands at 6 points, and Fletcher is clear that the fighting
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"The club has such a history of it you almost expect
it to happen. We have a great bunch of players with a great attitude” Fletcher
said. “We will fight right to the very
end. And the history of the club definitely plays a part.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Manchester United not only have a reputation for having a
never-say-die attitude in individual games but also in long, drawn out fights
for the title. Sir Alex Ferguson has been written off too many times before, only
for his side to de-rail a rival’s bid for the title. After last season’s
failure to pick up any silverware United certainly seem to have the bit between
their teeth and if they continue to show the form that they have in recent
weeks then they won’t need to worry about overhauling anyone this year...they
could have the title wrapped up by Easter.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.bet365.com/news/en/betting/football">Do you like to bet on premier league matches</a>? Then make sure you head over to bet365, where you will find all the
latest odds,<a href="http://www.bet365.com/news/en/betting/football/premier-league/benitez-coy-on-lampards-future">football betting news</a>,
features, promotions and expert opinion.<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298361602282127455.post-17715876621607606532012-12-31T15:44:00.001+05:302012-12-31T15:44:09.085+05:30Ferguson Right to keep Nani<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Sir Alex Ferguson once again had to deflect speculation
linking Nani to a rival Premier League club after rumours surfaced on <a href="http://betting.betfair.com/football/world-cup/">Betfair</a>
suggesting that the Portuguese winger was set to leave Old Trafford this
January.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Speaking at a press conference in late December, the
Manchester United manager denied any reports linking Nani with both Arsenal and
Tottenham Hotspur and instead insisted the 26-year-old was still part of his
squad plans.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: JA;">“We need a Nani. He offers something different from the other players,”
said Ferguson. “Yes he has a future. Absolutely. Why would I want to let him
go?”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: JA;">Indeed, Ferguson does need Nani but as nothing more than a backup player,
as better men either develop or are signed in his place. Nani has never fully
lived up to the hype that surrounded him when he moved to Manchester in 2007
and had made just 11 appearances for United this season at the time Ferguson
was quizzed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: JA;">Antonio Valencia, Tom Cleverley, and Ashley Young all start before Nani and
all perform to a higher standard when required, stimulating rumours the winger
was set to depart this January.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: JA;">But why should Ferguson sell to a Premier League rival one of his talented
assets? While Nani may not be getting games at Old Trafford, he is nevertheless
a good player and would improve both Arsenal and Tottenham’s squads; it would
be folly for Ferguson to bolster a rival’s team, something he very rarely does.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: JA;">The last time he sold to Arsenal it was Mikael Silvestre, who turned out to
be awful, while Teddy Sheringham was an old man when he was allowed to move on
a free to White Hart Lane in 2001.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: JA;">No, if Nani is to depart United, he will go either abroad or to an English
club not challenging for European places. Arsenal and Spurs do right to look
elsewhere and not waste their time with a player whose manager would only sell
for an over-inflated amount of money.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Fond of gambling on football? Make your New Year’s
resolution to engage in <a href="http://betting.betfair.com/football/in-play/">football in-play betting</a> on Betfair.</i></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298361602282127455.post-75040335056394819902012-11-26T19:10:00.001+05:302012-11-26T19:10:16.346+05:30Carrick hails Scholes influenceManchester United midfielder Michael Carrick has plenty of experience of first class football but he has admitted he is still learning all the time from veteran Paul Scholes.<br />
Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson has been keen to use Scholes’ influence since bringing him out of retirement last season.<br />
The 38-year-old has been used sparingly this season but did start in United’s 3-2 victory over Aston Villa.<br />
Scholes continues to be rock solid in the middle of the park for United and it’s no wonder why Ferguson has been keen to keep the former England international going as long as possible, despite being <a href="http://betting.betfair.com/football/italian-football/rumours-guardiola-to-man-city-sneijder-to-man-united-261112-39.html">linked with Wesley Sneijder</a> yet again .<br />
Carrick is another big admirer of the veteran and has admitted his influence even spreads to the older members of the squad at Old Trafford.<br />
The 31-year-old said: "Paul Scholes is a genius. It is fantastic to play with him.<br />
"Whether he realises or not, he has helped me enormously just by watching him and taking things in.<br />
"We all know what he can do. But there are some things you simply cannot teach. You can learn but some of the stuff only he can do."<br />
United have made a strong start to their Premier League campaign and are well placed in the <a href="http://betting.betfair.com/football/champions-league/">Champions league betting</a> after securing their passage to the knock-out stages with two games to spare. if they were to claim their 20th league title, there would be little doubt that Scholes would have had a big impact on that success.<br />
Whether it’s scoring the goals, making an impact off the bench or just giving advice on the training paddock; it would be hard to put a price on how much Scholes’ influence is a positive at Old Trafford.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298361602282127455.post-17606019139017643972012-11-21T17:06:00.003+05:302012-11-21T17:06:37.816+05:30Ferdinand Coy over New ContractManchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has revealed that he is in no rush to sign a new contract, despite his current deal coming to an end in the summer.<br />
Manchester United have a history of nurturing their star players to eek extra years from tiring legs, with Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes <a href="http://www.bet365.com/news/en/betting/football">both playing regular soccer games well into their late thirties</a>, and Sir Alex Ferguson believes that, at 33, Ferdinand could still have at least another couple of seasons in him yet. <br />
Despite Ferguson’s confidence, Ferdinand would rather re-assess at Christmas before committing his future to United. "The best thing to do is look at it at Christmas, then again in the summer to see how I am feeling and go again from there” Ferdinand said. "But hearing the manager say things like that definitely puts a spring in your step." <br />
With Ferdinand’s England career seemingly over he is now free to concentrate on his club football and he seems convinced that his omission from Roy Hodgson’s Euro 2012 squad has helped him to ensure that he has been consistently available this season. <br />
"I think it has but I will have a better idea in December and January when the games start coming thick and fast," he added. "That's when it really hits you, you know the hard work has to start and you begin to think about the home stretch.”<br />
Given recent events off the field, Rio Ferdinand could be forgiven for wanting to walk away from football at the end of this season,<a href="http://www.bet365.com/news/en/betting/football/premier-league/ferguson-issues-welbeck-backing-"> despite many Premier League predictions tipping him to stay on</a>. <br />
Whilst Ferdinand will no doubt look back at his England career with some regrets he has enjoyed huge amounts of success at Old Trafford and, if this is to be his last season, he will surely be pushing to ensure that his club career ends in triumph rather than fizzling out in the way that his time with the national team did.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298361602282127455.post-61565169236616241202012-11-05T17:30:00.003+05:302012-11-05T17:32:09.099+05:30Vidic is a Big Miss for FergieManchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that his talismanic captain, Namanja Vidic, is now likely to be out until Christmas.<br />
Vidic underwent knee surgery in September and had initially hoped to be back by mid-November but it nows seems that Ferguson is resigned to losing the Serbian international for a few more weeks yet.<br />
"I think we're talking around December for Vidic," <a href="http://www.bet365.com/news/en/betting/football/premier-league/vidic-ruled-out-until-christmas">Ferguson told sport news reporters</a>. "Maybe around Christmas time."<br />
31-year old Vidic missed much of last season after injuring his knee against Basel in December and he was forced to watch as his side endured their first trophy-less season since 2004-05. <br />
It is impossible to say whether or not Ferguson’s side would have won anything last season had Vidic been fit but they were only one point away from retaining the title. Had Vidic been available for more of the season, they would surely have seen out <span id="goog_1577363553"></span><a href="http://www.bet365.com/news/en/betting/">one or two of the soccer games that they really should have won<span id="goog_1577363554"></span></a> towards the end of the year and they could have won the league at a canter.<br />
Last season Ferguson called upon a number of deputies to step in to Vidic’s shoes, but none provided the reassurance that the big Serb brings. Having failed to bring in any extra cover in the summer, Ferguson will again be relying on the likes of Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones to partner Rio Ferdinand at the back. <br />
<br />
Given the injury problems that all of United’s defensive options have experienced their squad is beginning to look a little thin. Whilst Vidic’s absence doesn’t seem to have cost Ferguson just yet, he will be praying that the former Spartak Moscow man comes back as soon as possible. <br />
<br />
If Vidic doesn’t make it back in December then it’s just possible that the Old Trafford faithful might have to put up with another fruitless season in 2012-13.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298361602282127455.post-39839093913392332032012-10-19T16:28:00.000+05:302012-10-30T16:28:26.636+05:3010 years of Wayne RooneyTen years on from his wonder goal against Arsenal, the young scamp that turned so many heads in British football has developed into a marmite player that splits opinion throughout the footballing world.<br />
Wayne Rooney has graced the Premier League for a decade now and fans and pundits alike in the betting world have been considering whether or not the Liverpudlian has fulfilled his early potential.<br />
Of course he has.<br />
Rooney, like him or loathe him, has been a consistent wonder to watch over the past 10 seasons. That goal against Arsenal when he was just a spotty youth of 16 in an oversized Everton shirt was just the start of things to come. A handful of goals for his boyhood club was enough for Sir Alex Ferguson to invest a reported £20m in the striker and that hat-trick debut for Manchester United is something very few Reds fans will ever forget.<br />
People ask how you gage success and trophies and goals usually come pretty high up. Fast forward to the<a href="http://betting.betfair.com/football/premier-league/">Premier League 2012-13</a> and Rooney has lifted four league titles and two FA Cups with United, plus the 2007/08 Champions League crown. <br />
<br />
His 200 club goals are no mean feat for a player who’s best position is widely regarded as behind the main striker, and 32 in 78 England appearances is a record very few can beat.<br />
Compared to others of his generation, neither Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo nor Lionel Messi of Argentina have managed to lift a major trophy for their respective countries so criticism that Rooney has not yet done it for England can be dismissed.<br />
Indeed, if you want to know just how well Rooney’s career has gone so far then ask an average United fan. He may have had his scrapes in the past, but Rooney’s passion and drive to play for the team has endeared himself to the Old Trafford faithful over the years – certainly punters logging onto <a href="http://betting.betfair.com/football/leedixon/lee-dixon-goals-look-a-certainty-as-united-go-to-chelsea-261012-11.html">http://betting.betfair.com/football/leedixon/lee-dixon-goals-look-a-certainty-as-united-go-to-chelsea-261012-11.html</a> agree.<br />
He is able to play in various striking combinations with a number of team-mates and this all-round quality proves Rooney has fulfilled the trust Sir Alex put in him all those years ago.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298361602282127455.post-18389255499454053822012-10-15T17:06:00.002+05:302012-10-15T17:06:19.263+05:30Is it time for Vidic to move on?<br />
Nemanja Vidic’s future at Manchester United looks increasingly uncertain amid rumours two of Europe’s top clubs are chasing him, following his drop down the Old Trafford pecking order thanks a fresh injury on top of his eight-month lay off last season.<br />
<br />
Vidic, a firm favourite with the United crowd, endured a serious knee injury during his side’s 2-1 defeat to Basel in the UEFA Champions League group stage and played just five games until limping off again last month.<br />
<br />
His spell on the sidelines has given fellow centre-halves Jonny Evans, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling the opportunity to prove themselves in his position and all three have not looked out of place at the back, especially <a href="http://betting.betfair.com/football/premier-league/premier-league-tips-bets-for-sundays-3pm-kick-offs-071012-155.html">in last weekend’s convincing 3-0 win at Newcastle</a>.<br />
<br />
With United reportedly looking to further strengthen their defence in January, there may be little room for Vidic and with increased speculation both Juventus and Barcelona are interested in the 30-year-old it may be time for Vidic to move on.<br />
<br />
Although many would view a transfer as an admittance that his career is on the wain, switching to another of Europe’s top clubs would certainly have its benefits. Both Barca and Juve would offer a slower game for Vidic to wind down his career and he would still play Champions League football.<br />
<br />
Financially, his weekly wage would unlikely depreciate as Patrick Vieira – reportedly on £130,000 a week at Inter Milan despite being 30 when they signed him - can testify, plus the Serbian would benefit from a hefty signing on fee.<br />
<br />
For United, they could expect a decent transfer fee for a player that struggles with his fitness and could reinvest such a sum in a young defender for the future, boosting their <a href="http://betting.betfair.com/football/premier-league/">Barclays Premier League title odds</a> in the process.<br />
<br />
Vidic does still have his qualities but with his age and injury record Sir Alex Ferguson may well cash in on the defender before he runs out of stream for good.<br />
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