So which book is it ?

A fun game for readers.Here is a list of 10 lines picked from books you would have definitely read.Let's see how many of you can identify the book.

1) I was looking for the key for years but the door was always open.

2) To a person sitting in the office or a living room,a picture of winter mountain sunset is just a picture.To me,it was the experience of taking the picture.

3) It is our choices that show what we truly are,far more than our abilities. 

4) Wandering around our America has changed me more than I thought.I am not me any more.At least i am not the same me I was.

5) May you not rest,as long as i am living .You said i killed you-haunt me then.

6) Nothing in any life,no matter how well or poorly lived, is wiser than failure or clearer than sorrow.And in the tiny precious wisdom they give to us ,even those dreaded and hated enemies,have their reason and right to be.

7)Man's greatest virtues are to be found in what is called  the gutter;the underworld;and what gangsters do is sometimes the same as what heroes do.

8)What is good,Phaderus and what is not good-need we ask anyone to tell us these things.

9)I was surprised,as always,by how easy the act of leaving was,and how good it felt.The world was suddenly rich with possibility.

10)We can never lose the things we live for.We may have to change their forms at times,if we have made an error,but the purpose remains the same and the forms are our's to make."

11)Boys ,Laila came to see treated friendship the way they treated the sun:it's existence undisputed;its radiance best enjoyed ,not beheld directly.

Would love to know the books you were able to identify.

The catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger- Book Review

I would rate this one as a depressing book but much less than ,"The God of small things." Probably the controversies and the Honors(2005- Times magazine -100 best novels written since 1923 and  it was named by Modern Library and its readers as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.)  

It's hard to like someone like Holden Claufield.I could associate few things but not all. Especially the part where he calls each and everything in this world as phony. It is not easy to get kicked out of schools again and again and the most difficult part is to face your parents after that.A night when he could stand no more and just walks out of his school to New York. His stay at New York and all his attempts to get over his depression. 

You can read this book for a completely different experience and to understand how mind can drift.

Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer - Book Review

"Guy handed me a beer , Caroline gave me a hug , and the next thing I knew I was sitting on the ice with my face in my hands and tears streaking my cheeks,weeping like I hadn't wept since i was a small boy . Safe now, the crushing strain of the preceding days lifted from my shoulders, I cried for the lost companions , I cried because I was grateful to be alive , I cried because I felt terrible for having survived while others had died."

  This is the second book by Jon that I read , the first one was , "Into the wild".( click to read review). This book is an ultimate lesson to life. A story , rather a sad story where everyone lives for himself , where u turn and leave people to die , u turn away just 300 feet from the peak , where your wrong decision affects the entire group, where you just give up and die, where u hallucinate and talk to strange people, where all of a sudden you turn blind , where u never remember that you spoke to your dearest friend. A thrilling book and covers minute mountaineering details. 

Rightly shortlisted for "The boardman tasker prize for mountain literature."

About Everest : In 1852 Radhanath Sikhdar , working out of the Survey's Calcutta bureau , had discovered the highest mountain in the world.. Later in 1965 when the computations were confirmed , it was bestowed the name Mt. Everest , in honor of Sir. George Everest , a surveyor general. Since 1852 , it took the lives of 24 men , efforts of 15 expeditions and the passage of 101 years before the summit of Everest would be finally be attained on June2 , 1953.

"Reaching the top of Everest is supposed to trigger a surge of intense elation; against long odds, after all , I had just attained a goal I'd coveted since childhood. But the summit was really only the half way point. Any impulse that i might have felt toward self-congratulation was extinguished by the overwhelming apprehension about the long, dangerous descent that lay ahead."

The author was sponsored by the Outside magzine to cover the issues involved with climbing Everest but one never knew that this expedition would soon be known as, " The everest disaster." The author covers everybody in the expedition and gives a detailed description of everyone. The day of the summit assault was as an auspicious one and the leader of the group Rob Hall had successfully led many expeditions. But one never knows what can happen to you in Everest. among the people who made it to Everest , not everyone was luck enough to return back. Many were caught in struggle with life and death , while some men just walked out of their death many succumbed to the fatigue, cold , lack of Oxygen at such high heights.The description makes me shiver. 

Trip Milestones:

Phakoing - March 31, 1996 - 9,186 feet

Lobuje -    April 8 , 1996 - 16,200 feet 

Camp One- April 13, 1996 - 19,500 feet

Camp two- April 28, 1996 - 21,300 feet

Lhoste Face- April 29, 1996 - 23,400 feet

Camp three- May 9 ,1996 -24,000 feet

Southeast Ridge- May,10,1996 - 27,600 feet

Summit - 1:12 p.m., May 10 1996 - 29,028 feet.

"The one greatest advantage which inexperience confers on the would be mountaineer is that he is not bogged down by tradition or precedence. To him, all things appear simple, and he chooses straightforward solutions to the problems he faces. Often, of course , it defeats the success that he is seeking , and sometimes it has tragic results , but the man himself doesn't know this when he sets out on his adventure."

One Life to Ride- Ajit Harisinghani- Book Review

I have heard so many many people speaking about  the dangers of biking in  Ladhak but when Ajit can do it at the age of 54, I surely can do it. This book has not only given the confidence but also has enlightened me more about the climatic conditions , dos' and dont's and the fact that if you have courage you can surely do it.

"But now I am actually riding my dream , the road speaks to me one-to-one.I didn't know roads could talk. This one does,exuding warmth and welcome."

Best  way to read this book is to just feel that you are there on the bike, riding all alone. His feelings , the description of the landscapes and the food (Most of the times it was rice and dal), the dhabas where he had his food, the tea and sutta stops, the places he stopped to stay at night makes you feel that you are there traveling with him.. The talks with the jawans , the sufi baba , other motor cyclists was thrilling.Somehow this book has increased that desperation to get started. 

Good that I read this book before my trip to the same place in June. I read a lot about the various places mentioned in the book:Hemis Festival , Nubra valley ,Rohtang Pass, Khardung la .

"And I realize mine has got hit in an unexpected ambush.For the 21 days that I've been riding , I've kept myself entertained in a self sufficient kind of way. I have had numerous conversations with myself,sung aloud many songs inside the dark buble of my helmet,crooned out to lovers past and lost and lately ,I've been roaming with the Gods. But now i am empty of all internal dialogue."

Man's search fore meaning - Viktore E Frankl - Book Review

"Human life , under any circumstances , never ceases to have a meaning , and this infinite meaning of life includes suffering and dying,privation and death."

The first part of the book deals with the life at a concentration camp. It forms the base for the second part where the author explains with examples the psychology behind a man's search for meaning.An important point that he brings forward is about the will to live. The will to live in the adverse concentration camp conditions was a very difficult thought to come and mostly people surrendered to fate. The people who had a goal , something they wanted to do, some unfinished task, some loved one were the only people who could manage to think positively and survive amidst all the suffer  But there were many who lost all hope and these were the first to be taken to the gas chambers or died from illness.

"They lacked less from the lack of food or lack of medicine than from the lack of hope,lack of something to live for."

He speaks of three methods to realize a meaning in life and elaborates on the same: a) By creating a work or doing a deed. b)By experiencing something or encountering someone and c)By the attitude we take towards unavoidable suffering."

Overall a great book to read . To know about the meaning in your lives give it a read.

"Our generation is realistic, for we have come to know man as he really is. After all, man is that being who invented the gas chambers of Auschwitz,however, he is also that being who entered those gas chambers upright,with the Lord's Prayer or the Shema Yisrael on his lips."

Papillon-Henri charriere- Book review

"Man's highest virtues are to be found in what is called the gutter,the underworld;and what gangsters do is sometimes the same as what heroes do."

Henri charriere(Papillon) was a French citizen who was sentenced for a killing that he did no commit. The book is about his quest for freedom, his escapes from prison,help from the people whom he met in these escapes, solitude and against the French law which did not give a convict a chance to rectify his mistake and live an honored life. Accused of a crime which he did not commit and his desire to be free was the driving force in all his adventures.He was a good sailor and the description of his journeys in the sea is mesmerizing.

He made his first escape from Saint Laurent Du Maroni to the Pigeon Island. Sailed for 13 days on sea to Trinidad to curaco where he lived in an Indian tribe (Gojara). He had a great time there but still his fight for freedom made him leave the Indians.But his break cost him and he was again imprisoned and sent to Santa Marta Prison. Here he attempted 4 unsuccessful attempts to escape and due to bad conduct was sentenced to 2 years of solitary confinement. After the confinement he returned to the Saint Joseph island where he was a prisoner but had the freedom of fishing , gambling,cooking but not that of escaping. But the idea of escaping was still there and had almost build a raft. At the last moment he was betrayed by a fellow prisoner and was condemned to 5  more years of solitary confinement.But he got lucky and came back from the term in just 19 months.He asked the authorities to send him to Devil's Island. It had already been 11 years of prison with only 7 months of freedom and he was getting impatient. He managed to escape from this island on a raft made of jute and coconuts.He reached George town and then a series of events led him to Venezuela.He was sent to El Dorado Prison .He got lucky and the government changed  and it was here that he attained his freedom. The body agreed to give him one year of freedom and if he behaved well he would be free. A new country , different from France gave him the opprtunity to begin his life as a good man. 

"But there is something truly wonderful about cutting a home baked cassava or maize loaf in two when it's insufficient for your own family ; sharing a meal - that was not enough in the first place - with a stranger, a fugitive from justice into the bargain."   

2 States(Chetan Bhagat)-Book Review

 

The book is a quick read and the best place to read it is while traveling.Chetan bhagat has specialized in writing time pass novels same as our Bollywood directors .No doubt someone will pick up this book and turn it to a movie.

The best part of the book is the section on Chennai.I think we people can appreciate this part more. Regarding the love story, i am not very sure , because things in life do not happen as shown in the book.But for some it does happen so good luck to all those who are trying. The writing is witty and the description of a typical Punjabi culture and Tamil culture seems quite realistic.

However marriages are really two states (not the literal meaning) , it takes a lot for thoughts to match.

Atlas shrugged -Book Review

 

"I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine."

Ayn Rand in this book speaks about the philosophy of objectivism ( that the proper moral purpose of one's life is the pursuit of one's own happiness or rational self interest). It talks about the struggle of few people who were too good but they were being forced to give up their goodness at the cost of society's greed. They started quitting one by one to follow what appeared to them to be the rational.A entire new place was born where everything was perfect.among these good men were two people Dagny taggart and Hank Rearden who decided to fight against what society wanted them to do.In spite of government restrictions, irrational policies , they tried to produce as much they could . But one by one each of the unit's started collapsing, skilled labor gave up their jobs, raw materials supply was stopped and taxes were imposed.Finally they succumb to the pressure and return to a place where everything was  perfect.

There is a chapter in the book called as John Galt speech, it is a must read and one can read it and appreciate it even without knowing the context. Probably that was the best read of the thick book (1074 pages). This chapter talks about rationality,honesty,,justice,independence,integrity,productiveness and pride.It clearly defines and explains each of these terms and explains it in the story's context.

Would quote a few good lines from the book "

"We can never lose the things we live for. We may have to change their forms at times, if we have made an error , but the purpose remains the same and the forms are our's to make."

"Dagny, it's not that I don't suffer,it's that I know the unimportance of suffering , I know that the pain is to be fought and thrown aside, not to be accepted as part of one's soul and as a permanent scar across one's view of existence."

"If you wish to achieve full virtue , you must seek no gratitude in return  for  your sacrifice , no praise, no love , no admiration, no self-esteem,not even the pride of being virtuous,the faintest  trace of any gain  dilutes your value."

Book Review

Name:Tuesdays with Morrie

Author:Mitch Albom

I liked the book a lot. It is so beautifully written, discussing the basic questions of life.A non-fiction story of a professor and a student .The professor is suffering from ALS(amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and  is soon  going to die. But he enjoys  his death and tries to be motivated as much as he can. They  talk about  world, feeling sorry for oneself,regrets,death,family,emotion,the  fear of aging,money,marriage,culture and forgiveness.The answers to each of these questions  is very thought  provoking.

I have written down the questions and  will give it  a thought from time to time. But one thing is clear  every one in  his life comes across a  Morrie  who  shows you the  way and leaves it to you to make a choice.

Some lines from the book were really wonderful and so i quote a few of them here

"Dying is only thing to be sad over ,Mitch.living unhappily is something else.So many of the people who come to visit me are unhappy"

"' But by throwing yourself into these emotions, by allowing yourself to dive in, all the way, over your head even, you experience them fully and completely. You know what pain is. You know what love is. You know what grief is. And only then can you say, 'All right.' I have experienced that emotion. I recognize that emotion. Now I need to detach from that emotion for a moment."

"Have  you ever really had a teacher ?One who saw you as a raw but precious thing,a jewel that, with wisdom,could be polished to a proud shine? if you are lucky enough to find your way to such teacher ,you will always find  your way back.Sometimes it is only in your head .Sometimes it is right  along their beds."

Book Review

Book Name :Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance.

Author:Robert M Pirsig.

This was one book which was difficult to understand. The title seems like it will talk much about biking but it is predominantly philosophy.

It is an unforgettable narration of  a summer motorcycle trip across America's North West(Idaho,Montana,Dakota,Minnesota) undertaken by a father and his young son.

In the book the author talks about quality, defines it , explains it , reasons it and ultimately sticks to a definition and tries to explain it. His say on quality was,"quality is the continuing stimulus which causes us to create the world we live in. All of it. Every last bit of it."

He talks about two basic approaches in life. First is the romantic approach where he gives the example of his friend who never takes much interest in understanding the parts of the bike and always prefers to go to a mechanic for getting the bike repaired. The approach is the classical approach where  you  know everything about your bike and  you try to maintain it every time .In the same context he talks about quality where he classifies  quality into Romantic and  Classic. He further subdivides the classic into Subjective(Mind) and Objective(Matter).

It will be better to quote some of the best lines :

"To live only for some future goal is shallow.It's the side of the mountain which sustain life,not the top.Here's where the things grow.But of course without the top  you  can't have nay sides.It's the top that defines the sides."

"What is good,Phaderus ,and what is not good-need we ask anyone to tell us these things."

"Coastal people never really means to the landlocked inland people -what a great distant dream it,is present but unseen in the deepest level of subconsciousness, and when they arrive at the ocean and the conscious images are compared with the subconscious  dream  there is a sense  of defeat  at  having  come  so far  to be stopped by a mystery  that can never be fathomed.The source  of  it all.

Book Review

Book name:Angela's Ashes(Winner of the Pulitzer prize)

Author: Frank McCourt

The book is about Mccourt's childhood.The place is Limerick,Ireland where it constantly rains and it is hard to keep dry. 20 years of pain and suffering.His father was a alcoholic and drank away whatever money he had. 3 of his 7 siblings died of hunger and malnutrition.He himself escaped death when he was lucky to fight back from a terrible Typhoid. Then he had a terrible Conjunctivitis as a outcome of picking so much of coal.

He lived in a house infested with rats and pests. The lavatory of the street was near the entrance of his home and any normal man would have long died of the stench.For many years they  managed from the money they got from the Christian societies.Having tea and bread for years and a Pigs head for Christmas dinner was a shame.He liked his father in the morning when he would tell him stories but hated him when he made them sing patriotic songs in the night after getting drunk.

Slowly he grew older and at the age of 15 he got a job as a telegram delivery boy. Then he did a couple of other jobs but the purpose was to save money for New York. The book ends with him leaving for New York where he begins a new life.

Stories

Every time I read a book it seems that a part of the Book's story is my own story.

Between I am reading,"Angela's Ashes" now.

Book Review:Into the Wild

Book Name :Into the wild
Author:Jon Krakauer

Many people may call him foolish, many will say him unprepared and many will quote it as a preposterous act.But Chris McCandless was a hero to all whom he met on his trip to Alaska.Even some of is friends at college were a fan of him.It is rare that a young boy just leaves his comfortable life and walks out alone into the wilderness.

I enjoyed reading the book especially the texts quoted by the author from various sources.All I suggest is that everyone should read this book once.

Though there are many a quotable text in the book but I quote here a few:

"The joy of life comes from our encounter with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."

"You are wrong if you think that joy emanates only from human relationships. God has placed it all around us.It is in everything and anything we might experience.We just have to have the courage to turn against our habitual lifestyle and engage in unconventional things."

"I have lived through much, and now I think I have found what is needed for happiness . A quite secluded life in the country with a possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them, then work which one hopes may be of some use;then rest ,nature books,music,love for one's neighbor-such is my idea of happiness."

Mini Library

Always wanted to have a big library for myself, made a good start.
The books you can find, but not borrow :

The Magician's Assistant- Ann Patchett
The undercover Economist-Tim Harford
By the river Pidera I sat down and wept-Paul Coelho
The Broker-John Grisham
Emma-Jane Austen
Pride And Prejudice-Jane Austen
Lord of the Rings-J.R.R. Tolken
How to talk to anyone-Lowndes
New testament
The Almighty-Irving Wallace
Brida-Paul Coelho
My experiments with truth-M.K. Gandhi
The Company of woman-Khushwant Singh
A brief history of time -Stephen Hawking
The testament -John Grisham
Angela's Ashes-Frank Mc Court
Lovely Bones-Alice Seebod
Next-Michael Chricton
Learn to live Vol. 1 and 2
The appeal-John Grisham
Digital Fortress-Dan Brown
Atlas Shrugged-Ayn Rand
The garden of forking path and other stories
The innocent man-John Grisham
Papillon-Henri Charriere
Jeeves Ominibus-P.G. Woodhouse
The Fourth Estate-John Irving
The Power of positive thinking-Norman Vincet
The day of the jackal-Fredrick Frosyth
The inheritance of loss- Kiran Desai
Sunstroke-Jessie Kellerman
Hanibal rising-Thomas Harris
The Godfather-Mario Puzo
The chamber of secrets-J.K.rowling

Book Review

Book : The company of woman
Author: Khushwant Singh

Hard to imagine that such a erotic book was written by octogenarian. I liked the book, not because of the porn content but much because of his writing. The story talks about the sexual fantasies of Mohan , but for sure Mohan symbolizes the genre.

Overall a Sunday well spent.

Book Review

Book: Brida
Author:Paul Coelho

This was the fifth Paul Coelho book that I read and like the others I liked it a lot.
The book is about a girl's quest for knowledge. It talks about the tradition of the Sun and the Moon.
It talks about love and finding your true soul mate.Life teaches everyone a lesson and sometimes all one needs is a good teacher and the passion for it. A tale of love where a teacher who loves his student can not speak his heart out because he knows that is not his destiny.
Over all a book you may read sometime though it may not be that inspirational.
"I will always remember you, and you will remember me, just as we will remember the evening, the rain on the windows, and all the things we'll always have because we cannot pocess them.

Book review

Name : Rising Sun
Author:Michael Chricton

A Chricton bestseller , well researched book and was fun to read. Especially the economics involved in a death mystery was astonishing.

Book Review

Name: The Book Thief
Author: Markus Zusak

"People observe the colors of the day only at
its beginning and ends,but to me its quite
clear that a day merges through a multitude
of shades and intonations, with each passing
moment. A single hour can consist of
thousands of different colors.Waxy yellow,
cloud spat blues. Murky darknesses.In my line
of work I make it a point to note them."

Who else other than death can narrate another story , another book written in the world war -2. The interesting story about a girl is mind blowing. Her journey from one book theft to the other covers phases of her life which is hard to imagine. A very touching and at many instances highly philosophical.
Overall I will rate this as a great book and a must read.

Book Review

Book Name: Oliver Twist

Author: Charles dickens

The book was published in 1837-8 and no doubt it is read even today. A simple story presented in a shrewd manner by the author. The story is about a parish boy who is very ill treated in his childhood. The description of his childhood fills one with grief and hatred towards the guardians of Oliver. Then circumstances make Oliver land in a band of robbers. Then a series of events turns his fate and luckily he comes in good company.

Though there are not many twists and turns in the book but it makes you realize that there is an Oliver in everybody. Circumstances may sometimes make one do the wrong but again integrity of character is something which never fails one in life.

P.S.: Thanks Galib for gifting the book.

Book Review : The Room on the Roof

Book: The room on the roof\Vagrants in the valley

Liked this book a lot firstly because it was Ruskin Bond . Secondly the places described in the book are very familiar. The book centers around the life of a lonely boy for whom events change so fast . Love , tragedy , humor , friendship all in the same book. The feel of Dehradun , haridwar and rishikesh , the valley , river , rain , etc was great. Overall a book which is fun to read and can be read in one go.