I read David Szalay’s ‘Turbulence’ a few years back and loved it. It was a series of interconnected stories of characters that encounter each other on random flights (or something like that). This year, when Szalay again made it to the Booker shortlist, I decided to pick him up. ‘Flesh’ has its flaws but Szalay … Continue reading Szalay’s ‘Flesh’
Some thoughts after finishing Tolstoy's War and Peace: The sheer number of aristrocatic parties and balls featured in the book was mind-boggling. The peasants and aam-aadmi perspectives are conspicuously absent. Tolstoy goes to great lengths to dismiss the 'Great Man of History' theory. For him, its sheer foolishness to describe historical events as grand narratives … Continue reading On War and Peace
Some of the best Non-Fiction (in no particular order) I read this year: The Moral Case of Fossil Fuels (blogged earlier) A Conflict of Visions- Thomas Sowell (blogged earlier) The Untethered Soul - Michael Singer. I've read a lot of books on zen/spirituality/meditation/CBT. But Singer's book still made me nod my head in agreement. The … Continue reading Best Non Fiction of 2023
During the Great Depression, a decade of droughts and severe dust storms caused an ecological phenomenon called the Dust Bowl in the United States. Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado were gripped by mass rural impoverishment. The situation became more fraught as the period coincided with the introduction of mechanized farming pushing thousands into penury. … Continue reading The Dust Bowl
It’s just the 20th of January and I think I’ve already read one of the best books of the year. The main protagonist of Deepti Kapoor’s ‘Age of Vice’ is Delhi. The Delhi of the aughts, the Delhi when Gurgaon, Noida and Greater Noida were yet to become the monstrous suburbs as we know it … Continue reading The Age of Vice
Teaching Maths to my 9-year-old daughter is a test of patience for me. Seeing her struggle in comprehending and sorting the ideas in her mind can sometimes be painful, irritating and poignant at the same time! I learn more about parenting in those few minutes than during any other exercise. I started reading Jon Fosse’s … Continue reading Jon Fosse on learning Math
