{"id":187,"date":"2007-09-18T12:05:57","date_gmt":"2007-09-18T07:05:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smritiweb.com\/navin\/miscellaneous\/book-reading-meme"},"modified":"2007-09-18T12:09:45","modified_gmt":"2007-09-18T07:09:45","slug":"book-reading-meme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smritiweb.com\/navin\/miscellaneous\/book-reading-meme","title":{"rendered":"Book-Reading Meme"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>My blog is not really a blog. More than anything else, it is a glorified bookmarks list. My friend Deepa chided me once that this blog does not really give any insight into the real me &#8211; i.e. what my opinions are, what I stand for, etc. A few days back, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ribbonfarm.com\/2007\/09\/13\/book-reading-meme\/\">Venkat tagged me<\/a> with a book-reading <a href=\"http:\/\/www.webraw.com\/quixtar\/archives\/2006\/01\/blogging_101_the_blog_meme.php\">blog-meme<\/a> which gives me the opportunity (excuse?) to go all I-me-myself on you. So here goes:<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Books that changed your life<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 As a kid, instead of studying, I would read <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Yakov_Perelman\">Ya. Perelman&#8217;s<\/a> books: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.archive.org\/details\/physicsforentert035428mbp\">Physics for Entertainment<\/a>, <em>Figures for Fun<\/em>, and a book on algebra whose name I forget. Interestingly, as a result, I ended up doing really well in my exams without really studying for them. I must be one of the few people who ended up high up in the IIT-JEE rankings without ever having read <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&amp;location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FFundamentals-Physics-David-Halliday%2Fdp%2F0471232319%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1189745168%26sr%3D8-1&amp;tag=witgivthemova-20&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325\">Resnick and Halliday<\/a> or any of the other bibles of cracking JEE.<\/p>\n<p>Even today, whenever any kid I know shows some interest in Physics or Maths, I give them a set of these four books.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Books you\u2019ve read more than once<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Douglas Adams&#8217; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&amp;location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FHitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy-Douglas-Adams%2Fdp%2F0345391802%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1189745689%26sr%3D8-3&amp;tag=witgivthemova-20&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325\">Hitchhiker&#8217;s Guide to the Galaxy<\/a>. For a few years, I would keep this by my bedside, and just before fallling asleep, I would open a random page and start reading. A great combination of humor and insight.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Book you would take to a deserted island<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 A notebook. I don&#8217;t really see myself reading some book over and over and over again on a deserted island. I could however spend lots of time writing things.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Book that made you laugh<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Jerry Seinfeld&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&amp;location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FSeinlanguage-Jerry-Seinfeld%2Fdp%2F0553569155%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1189745885%26sr%3D1-6&amp;tag=witgivthemova-20&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325\">SeinLanguage<\/a>.  Another great combination of humor and insight, this time in the most trivial things. All done in tiny bite-sized chunks that are easily digested.<\/p>\n<p>And of course, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/search?ie=UTF8&amp;keywords=p.g.%20wodehouse&amp;tag=witgivthemova-20&amp;index=books&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325\">P.G. Wodehouse<\/a>, especially the Jeeves series, definitely needs to be here. And <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/search?ie=UTF8&amp;keywords=Mark%20Twain&amp;tag=witgivthemova-20&amp;index=books&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325\">Mark Twain<\/a>, especially his <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&amp;location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FComplete-Short-Stories-Bantam-Classics%2Fdp%2F0553211951%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1189746187%26sr%3D1-2&amp;tag=witgivthemova-20&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325\">short stories<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Book that made you <strike>cry<\/strike> want to kill yourself<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 I don&#8217;t really get depressed from reading books. But there were some that did make me cry. The one I really remember is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&amp;location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FKRAMER-VS%2Fdp%2FB000EPJNZ4%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1189746467%26sr%3D1-1&amp;tag=witgivthemova-20&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325\">Kramer vs. Kramer<\/a>. But that was a while back. More recently, I think I&#8217;ve just stayed away from books that might have had a deep emotional impact. Not sure why.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Book you wish you had written<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 This doesn&#8217;t really match my style of thinking. When I read a good book, I don&#8217;t go &#8220;I wish I could write like this&#8221;. So nothing in this category for me.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Book(s) you wish had never been written<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 I wish 99% of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0452011876?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=witgivthemova-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0452011876\">Atlas Shrugged<\/a> had never been written. I do find the central argument of the book interesting, but having to wade through the 1000+ pages of one-dimensional characters, repetitititive repetitions of the same argument over and over and over again, and a fairly silly plot, is just torture. Nobody should have to read that. It would be much better as a short story.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Book<strong>(s)<\/strong> you\u2019re currently reading<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Roger Zelazny&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&amp;location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FLord-Light-Roger-Zelazny%2Fdp%2F0060567236%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1189746596%26sr%3D1-1&amp;tag=witgivthemova-20&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325\">Lord of Light<\/a> (thanks Ganesh). Francine Prose&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&amp;location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FReading-Like-Writer-Guide-People%2Fdp%2F0060777052%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1189746652%26sr%3D1-1&amp;tag=witgivthemova-20&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325\"> Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them<\/a>. This was a rather eye-opening experience for me &#8211; since I don&#8217;t have any background in arts or literature (being a science and math person all through) I was completely unaware of how writers use language to achieve the impact they want to. And this book helped me start looking in the right places.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Book you\u2019ve been meaning to read<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0781206618?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=witgivthemova-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0781206618\">Outline Of History<\/a> by H.G. Wells. Another topic that I hated while I was in school, but now find very interesting.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Book you have been meaning to finish<\/em><\/strong> &#8211; J.A.B. van Buitenen&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&amp;location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FMahabharata-Book-Beginning-Bk%2Fdp%2F0226846636%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1189747863%26sr%3D1-3&amp;tag=witgivthemova-20&amp;linkCode=ur2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325\">Mahabharata<\/a> series. It is an (incomplete) unabridged translation of the Mahabharata. I read the first couple of volumes and found them fascinating. The unabridged version has some really cool things that are missing from the shorter versions like <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/8172763689?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=witgivthemova-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=8172763689\">C. Rajagopalachari&#8217;s book<\/a> (which I love by the way). You get a real feel for why Krishna is so godly until you read his decimation of an opponent&#8217;s argument in full unabridged glory. But it&#8217;s just too long, and parts (especially the ones that deal with ancestry and lineage) are very boring. Someday&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>And now I tag <a href=\"http:\/\/worldofpablo.com\/\">Paul<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/people-n-places.blogspot.com\/\">Rujuta<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/krishashok.wordpress.com\/\">Krish Ashok<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My blog is not really a blog. More than anything else, it is a glorified bookmarks list. My friend Deepa chided me once that this blog does not really give any insight into the real me &#8211; i.e. what my opinions are, what I stand for, etc. A few days back, Venkat tagged me with &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/smritiweb.com\/navin\/miscellaneous\/book-reading-meme\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Book-Reading Meme<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,12,4,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogging","category-general","category-miscellaneous","category-writing"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Book-Reading Meme - Navin Kabra&#039;s Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smritiweb.com\/navin\/miscellaneous\/book-reading-meme\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Book-Reading Meme - Navin Kabra&#039;s Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"My blog is not really a blog. More than anything else, it is a glorified bookmarks list. 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