Books of January
The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien
The first time I read the book was when the trailer came out. I could not resist the temptation of reading it again after watching the movie and I was mildly surprised that a minor conversational reference to the stone giants turned into a huge cgi sequence in the movie. Reading this again after The Song of Ice and Fire reaffirmed my faith in Tolkien as the master of the genre.
Animal Farm, George Orwell
All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.
This is British satire at its best. It is better if you go ahead with this book knowing absolutely nothing about the story. How it evolves will be a surprise and you’ll love it when you realise what it really means.
Immortals of Meluha, Amish Tripathi
Several people recommended this book. I thought I’d have to order it from flipkart but I found a Kindle version that was much cheaper. Now I wish I spent that money on filter coffee instead. The writing is bad. The language feels disconnected from the story and characters. The book is riddled with bastardized versions of beautiful sanskrit words. The conversations look like they’ve been copied from a B-grade hollywood movie. Here’s a sample for you. Feast on it.
Vidyunmali and Mayashrenik were in their private gym, preparing for their regular sword training.
‘Vidyu…,’ cajoled Mayashrenik.
‘Don’t “Vidyu” me, Maya. You know this is wrong.’
The book has a great premise but all the promise that comes with it goes unfulfilled. Perhaps an indian language, rather than English, is more apt to the whole setting. If you are looking for historical fiction, I’d recommend a better series - Empire of the Moghul.
Genesis (as seen* in Wikipedia)
* By my illusionary self.
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Submitted by Jitter
Who really knows? Who will proclaim it?
Whence was it produced? Whence is this creation?
The gods came later. Who then knows whence it has arisen?
That out of which the creation came, may hold the reins or not.
Perceiving all from above, that alone knows the beginning or may not.
- Nasadiya Sukta, Rig Veda
Delightful song.
(Source: Spotify)
Crash Course on World History #37 : China’s Revolutions
Modern China was formed as a democratic dictatorship. Which means, people have the right to vote but there is only one guy to vote for. #ROFLMao
Walter talks to Siri.
Totem
- JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT: You should make a totem that you’ll never actually use for anything. It was Leonardo’s wife’s idea to help her recognize a dream.
- ELLEN PAGE: This is the same wife that went crazy and killed herself because she couldn’t recognize a dream, right?
