Reading list
October 21, 2007
Here is a list of books i’m currently reading, have already read or plan to read. I try and read a mix of classics, potboilers, historical novels, etc. Book suggestions/comments are welcome.
Currently reading
- Vanity Fair by William Thackeray
- Early India by Romila Thapar
So far in 2010:
Fiction:
- The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron
Humour:
- The Book of Bunny Suicides by Andy Riley
- Return of the Bunny Suicides by Andy Riley (the review above should suffice for this book too)
2009:
Best book: Animal Farm by George Orwell
Worst book: The tailor’s daughter by Ben Antao
The entire list for 2009 can be found here.
2008:
Best book: Family matters by Rohinton Mistry
Worst book: Autumn of the Patriarch by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The entire list for 2008 can be found here.
2007:
Best book: A fine balance by Rohinton Mistry
Worst book: False impression by Jeffrey Archer
The entire list for 2007 can be found here.
February 19, 2008 at 1:33 am
[...] AcademyX [...]
January 11, 2009 at 4:39 am
Great going! You read a lot! Came across your blog while doing a search for Ben Antao’s book…
January 11, 2009 at 5:12 am
Thanks Frederick.
January 11, 2009 at 8:57 am
Frederick brought this blog to my attention. You certainly are a voracious reader [that's an ability I have sadly lost in my old age] Also you picked up some great books to read . However I do not agree with some of your opinions Why are you so scared of Marquez for instance.
How did you come across Ben Antao’s The Tailor’s Daughter? Unlike most of the books this one is not likely to be found in mainstream bookshops. About it you write
“I found The tailor’s daughter remarkable not for its descriptions of casteism in India (which was poorly done) but rather for its vivid descriptions of intimate scenes, something that is rare in Goan books.”
Actually from the standpoint of a Goan, I think The Tailor’s daughter is interesting because it vividly describes the mores of a specific group of Goan Catholics – the low and high caste Africanders, and upper caste Goans at a specific time in Goan history. For intimate scenes, I would suggest Fanny Hill or Madame Bovary .;-)
January 12, 2009 at 6:30 am
Hello Augusto,
How nice to have Goan visitors! Both your names sound vaguely familiar.
> However I do not agree with some of your opinions Why are you so scared of Marquez for instance.
Have you read Autumn of the Patriarch? It is an extremely obfuscated and inaccessible work.
I’m not scared of Marquez. I just disliked one of his books, I read “A thousand years of solitude” and enjoyed it enormously.
> How did you come across Ben Antao’s The Tailor’s Daughter?
One of my relatives got it from her office library.
> interesting because it vividly describes the mores of a specific group of Goan Catholics
As I pointed out in my review the caste system was not described very well. I did not feel any anger at the bias the low-caste characters experienced.
However, when I read the scenes describing caste injustice in “A fine balance” by Rohinton Mistry I was literally shaking with anger!
> For intimate scenes, I would suggest Fanny Hill or Madame Bovary .;-)
.
Ha ha. Let me clarify, I did not read the book for the intimate scenes. I simply found its vivid intimate scenes unusual for a Goan book.
I’ll keep those suggestions in mind though,