Comments on: Me Meme http://www.stochastica.net/2005/06/10/me-meme/ Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly; Man got to sit and wonder 'why, why, why?' Wed, 27 Apr 2011 18:28:33 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: i, prash » Blog Archive » Me too! Me! Me!! http://www.stochastica.net/2005/06/10/me-meme/comment-page-1/#comment-1566 i, prash » Blog Archive » Me too! Me! Me!! Mon, 11 Jul 2005 18:41:35 +0000 http://www.stochastica.net/2005/06/10/me-meme/#comment-1566 [...] Me too! Me! Me!! ok, so karthik book-tagged me, which is not so bad considering i was waiting to be tagged and if it didn’t happen soon, i would have done it myself. (this reminds me of the people who think they sing well: once they are in a party and the small talk is over, they get a kind of glazed look in their eyes and they will refuse to say anything unless someone requests them to sing that “titanic paattu”. of course even if no one requests them , they will route the topic around until it settles on songs and somehow that titanic movie - “so nice movie, no?” anyway it’s bound to happen: for the next 5 minutes you will be treated a very indian-accented rendition of a very dion-y song. of course, everyone should clap in the end … good heavens!) [...] […] Me too! Me! Me!! ok, so karthik book-tagged me, which is not so bad considering i was waiting to be tagged and if it didn’t happen soon, i would have done it myself. (this reminds me of the people who think they sing well: once they are in a party and the small talk is over, they get a kind of glazed look in their eyes and they will refuse to say anything unless someone requests them to sing that “titanic paattu”. of course even if no one requests them , they will route the topic around until it settles on songs and somehow that titanic movie — “so nice movie, no?” anyway it’s bound to happen: for the next 5 minutes you will be treated a very indian-accented rendition of a very dion-y song. of course, everyone should clap in the end … good heavens!) […]

]]> By: DoZ http://www.stochastica.net/2005/06/10/me-meme/comment-page-1/#comment-1095 DoZ Wed, 29 Jun 2005 03:36:24 +0000 http://www.stochastica.net/2005/06/10/me-meme/#comment-1095 I completely understand. I've also shifted allegiance from paper-backs to Hardbounds, much to my parents' consternation. The heart got tired of bleeding at the sight of all those paper-backs spewing out pages... What would I consider my top favorites? That's the TOUGHEST question you can ask a bibliophile... But I'll try, so here goes: - The Blind Assassin - my most favorite Atwood - Leave it to Psmith - the thought of Efficient Baxter in lemon colored pj's reduced to throwing flower pots at Lord Emsworth's window can still reduce me to tears of laughter - A Widow for One Year - can't resist a good cry - The Golden Gate - for convincing me that poetry isn't only for English majors - Catch 22 - the only book where I laughed and cried at the same time - a feat I thought only Shivaji Ganesan could pull off - A Short History of Nearly Everything - an absolute page turner & laugh-out-loud-er for a non-fiction book - When we were orphans - even though it gets sorta mad towards the end, it has its moments of beauty... Well, I can go on & on & on. Terribly sorry about taking a month and then some to respond to your 'tagging' me. I haven't read any of the books on your list. Will check out The Man who Knew Infinity after so many endorsements... On my list are 'Saturday', 'Never Let me Go', ‘Guns Germs and Steel’, & its sequel, ‘The Big Bang’. And of course, I have reserved my spot outside Barnes & Noble come July 16th for the next Potter :) I completely understand. I’ve also shifted allegiance from paper-backs to Hardbounds, much to my parents’ consternation. The heart got tired of bleeding at the sight of all those paper-backs spewing out pages…

What would I consider my top favorites? That’s the TOUGHEST question you can ask a bibliophile… But I’ll try, so here goes:
– The Blind Assassin — my most favorite Atwood
– Leave it to Psmith — the thought of Efficient Baxter in lemon colored pj’s reduced to throwing flower pots at Lord Emsworth’s window can still reduce me to tears of laughter
– A Widow for One Year — can’t resist a good cry
– The Golden Gate — for convincing me that poetry isn’t only for English majors
– Catch 22 — the only book where I laughed and cried at the same time — a feat I thought only Shivaji Ganesan could pull off
– A Short History of Nearly Everything — an absolute page turner & laugh-out-loud-er for a non-fiction book
– When we were orphans — even though it gets sorta mad towards the end, it has its moments of beauty…

Well, I can go on & on & on. Terribly sorry about taking a month and then some to respond to your ‘tagging’ me.

I haven’t read any of the books on your list. Will check out The Man who Knew Infinity after so many endorsements… On my list are ‘Saturday’, ‘Never Let me Go’, ‘Guns Germs and Steel’, & its sequel, ‘The Big Bang’. And of course, I have reserved my spot outside Barnes & Noble come July 16th for the next Potter :)

]]> By: Karthik http://www.stochastica.net/2005/06/10/me-meme/comment-page-1/#comment-936 Karthik Mon, 13 Jun 2005 06:56:13 +0000 http://www.stochastica.net/2005/06/10/me-meme/#comment-936 I liked the Man Who Knew Infinity a lot, mostly because the subject that it chose to deal with was extremely interesting. Kanigel was very thorough in his research, but as a writer he was just competent. There was nothing in the book that made me want to read more books by the author – on the other hand, I was looking for more books on Ramanujan. Kanigel had a tendency to beat around the bush a little bit, and he seemed too <em>nice</em> to criticize anyone in the book. Hardy’s obvious selfishness, Ramanujan’s stubbornness (pigheaded, someone calls him in the book), his mom’s overbearing nature etc. were all mentioned in passing and then glossed over. He was trying to be fair I suppose, but sometimes equivocating too much can be a little boring. I’ve heard quite a few people say they didn’t like A Confederacy of Dunces (or didn’t like it enough). Not sure why, but the book worked for me – I laughed a lot. ("The portions where he finds a job in a failing textile factory, and one of his extremely old co-workers thinks he is a girl were hilarious…")I think of Vernon God Little as a contemporary Confederacy. If the two of you like whacky science based books, you should check out Neal Stephenson. His older books (Snow Crash, Diamond Age etc) are easy introductions to cyberpunk, and there are lots of good books in this genre (William Gibson too). I used to hate conventional science fiction, but these books are irreverent tales with a dose of technology. Once I get back to the US (or maybe I will get to go to India from Penang), I will buy Fermat’s Enigma... I liked the Man Who Knew Infinity a lot, mostly because the subject that it chose to deal with was extremely interesting. Kanigel was very thorough in his research, but as a writer he was just competent. There was nothing in the book that made me want to read more books by the author – on the other hand, I was looking for more books on Ramanujan.

Kanigel had a tendency to beat around the bush a little bit, and he seemed too nice to criticize anyone in the book. Hardy’s obvious selfishness, Ramanujan’s stubbornness (pigheaded, someone calls him in the book), his mom’s overbearing nature etc. were all mentioned in passing and then glossed over. He was trying to be fair I suppose, but sometimes equivocating too much can be a little boring.

I’ve heard quite a few people say they didn’t like A Confederacy of Dunces (or didn’t like it enough). Not sure why, but the book worked for me – I laughed a lot. (“The portions where he finds a job in a failing textile factory, and one of his extremely old co-workers thinks he is a girl were hilarious…”)I think of Vernon God Little as a contemporary Confederacy.

If the two of you like whacky science based books, you should check out Neal Stephenson. His older books (Snow Crash, Diamond Age etc) are easy introductions to cyberpunk, and there are lots of good books in this genre (William Gibson too). I used to hate conventional science fiction, but these books are irreverent tales with a dose of technology.

Once I get back to the US (or maybe I will get to go to India from Penang), I will buy Fermat’s Enigma…

]]> By: tilo http://www.stochastica.net/2005/06/10/me-meme/comment-page-1/#comment-933 tilo Sun, 12 Jun 2005 21:57:26 +0000 http://www.stochastica.net/2005/06/10/me-meme/#comment-933 Did you like the confederacy of dunces that much? I don't remember lking it too much and I am from N.O. I will give it another shot. Loved the man who knew infinity, of course Did you like the confederacy of dunces that much? I don’t remember lking it too much and I am from N.O.
I will give it another shot.

Loved the man who knew infinity, of course

]]> By: Gayathri http://www.stochastica.net/2005/06/10/me-meme/comment-page-1/#comment-932 Gayathri Sun, 12 Jun 2005 15:58:30 +0000 http://www.stochastica.net/2005/06/10/me-meme/#comment-932 The Man who knew Infinity is an awesome read. Great buy! After I read it, I was hooked onto biographies of mathematicians and physicians for a long long time. Also tried reading Kanigels "One Best Way..". Didn't get through more than a couple of chapters. Guess any writer, no matter how brilliant, needs a good subject, and it's hard to beat Ramanujan! The Man who knew Infinity is an awesome read. Great buy! After I read it, I was hooked onto biographies of mathematicians and physicians for a long long time. Also tried reading Kanigels “One Best Way..”. Didn’t get through more than a couple of chapters. Guess any writer, no matter how brilliant, needs a good subject, and it’s hard to beat Ramanujan!

]]> By: prash http://www.stochastica.net/2005/06/10/me-meme/comment-page-1/#comment-927 prash Sat, 11 Jun 2005 18:32:05 +0000 http://www.stochastica.net/2005/06/10/me-meme/#comment-927 great! now, that i have been tagged i will think up some great books that i have never read so people will think i am smart ;-) keep pinging for my meme - will do it soon... great! now, that i have been tagged i will think up some great books that i have never read so people will think i am smart ;-)
keep pinging for my meme — will do it soon…

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