Shantesh Patil
Reading this book at a time like this is really heartening. Makes you yearn for just one train journey. Made me realise that even before the covid crisis I have never taken a long distance train journey for almost 20 years. Thank you Monisha for letting me live through a train journey vicariously through this beautiful book.
You might see some divided opinions on this book here on Goodreads. I personally loved it. Don't be put off by it's title. It is much more profound that the title suggests. While the first chapter might be difficult to get through because of the swearing. Do stick with it. Before I started reading it the impression I got from it was that this was probably something about the author trying to project his attitude onto the pages of a book and I would probably not be able to identify with it too much. By the end if it I realised that no matter where you live or what you do, what we sometimes percieve as our personal problems are actually experienced in some form or the other by millions all over the world. And we can always learn from their experiences. Books can't change your life just by reading them. But I got enough from this to actually make me question enough about the choices I make about what we truly need to give a f**k about
Greek mythology never really caught my fancy before and while it's a decent book it did nothing to change my opinion on this.
Though this book is most certainly for kids it was something incredibly unique. I can see this being a book I have to get my son to read when he is older. If only math and language could be part of a story learning could have been so much more fun
This is more of an art book than a book but I always knew that going in. The images are absolutely striking in their depictions of the world described here. They literally leapt off the page so many times. Highly recommend for art lovers and scifi fans
A smart thriller that fortunately doesn't get too bogged down in the scientific details of why. Once the base has been established it runs with it and focuses on the emotional fallout.
Must read. Some great stories and a lot of reality checks if you have been in the industry for a while.
I have always loved Ruskin Bond's stories ever since I read his very first one that had appeared in one of my school books. His love for nature always came through. At the same time I was always intrigued about what he was as person. The magic of Ruskin's writing for me was always its simplicity, charm and ability to transport you to the very time and place he is talking about. A British man who gave up his easy chance of settling down in a first world country yet choosing to come back to India intentionally is a real revelation. Reading his autobiography felt like I was sitting across from him while he regaled me with tales of his entire life.
Eye opening in many ways. The title shouldn't really make you guess about how the argument regarding colonialism will go. Nonetheless my primary takeaway really was to address some fundamental misconceptions I had about my country's history
While there were bits of it I did enjoy. I think the audiobook version despite the excellent narration actually detracted from the enjoyment I could have derived from the story
Loved every bit of it. Having visited Kashmir just a couple of months ago made reading this book even more special. It's a book both brutal and funny in equal measure.
One of the best collections of scifi stories I have ever read. A triumph of imagination and creativity, as well a brilliant portrayal of how humanity could be affected by the future.
This was the first book by Jeff that I read, with my only previous familiarity with his work being the movie Annihilation. I absolutely loved his vision of this kind of apocalyptic world
The illustrations are magical and the little snippets from the past are the icing on the cake
I read a lot of books on Tibet this year but this one was the best. I would almost consider this essential reading if you are curious about the region
One of the most breathtaking sci-fi books I have read. Big on ideas, scope and emotions
What Ruskin Bond's writing never fails to do for me is transport me to another time and place and make me feel like I'm his companion along for the ride. That is exactly what I felt here.
This a very different kind of book that plays with all your expectations of narrative structure. I was initially daunted by the length of the novel and wondered how long I would take to complete it. However once I began I found myself reading at a much faster pace than I thought I would. It's a gripping experience that is written from multiple perspectives but not necessarily divided by chapters, but often times within the same page itself. Overall an extremely well produced book with major props to the physical quality of the book too.
This one is a keeper. Short yet profound and something I will likely keep going back to.
The best travel writers make you feel like you were with them on every step of the journey. Dervla is certainly this and more. Her descriptions of places and people are unfettered and honest. This particular journey was undertaken with her six year old daughter in town. Simply remarkable.
This was a tough one to read. Not because of the way it was written or the contents of the book. There was a constant sense of foreboding with every new chapter that I got through. A book like this is an insight into someone's soul.
The fact that a life like this eventually led to what now everyone knows about Anthony Bourdain was heartbreaking. There is one specific chapter in the book that is too eerie in its foreshadowing of the things that happened later. But in the spirit that it is written it doesn't feel that way at all.
While he often says that this book would appeal more to chefs and others from that world, it's an equally fascinating read for regular folks as well. He never shies away from laying the dark secrets of the industry bare and does it in the most entertaining way possible.
2021 is the year I fell in love with travelogues and this one is the most unique one yet. It's set in a time before I was born and in a place I might never probably reach. It's also raw and does not shy away from describing both the ugliness and beauty of a place in equal measure
Great artwork and it has more depth to the story than the title might suggest. Too bad though that it covers only part of the story