Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Makers of Modern India - Rmachandra Guha
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Wallander
Based on the novels by the Swedish author Henning Mankell, who created the character of Inspector Wallander.
Kenneth Branagh returns to British television as Kurt Wallander in the second series of the BBC's adaptations of Henning Mankell's novels. The three new films were shot on location in Ystad with a mix of British and Swedish actors, continuing the successful formula of the first series.
Watch the serial and read his books, available at bookandborrow.com
Mister Monday
Breathtaking new magical adventure series from the author of Sabriel. Seven days. Seven keys. Seven virtues. Seven sins. One mysterious house is the doorway to a very mysterious world where one boy is about to venture and unlock a number of fantastical secrets.Arthur Penhaligon is not supposed to be a hero. He is supposed to die an early death. But then his life is saved by a key shaped like the minute hand of a clock.Arthur is safe but his world is not. Along with the key comes a plague brought by bizarre creatures from another realm. A stranger named Mister Monday, his avenging messengers with bloodstained wings, and an army of dog-faced Fetchers will stop at nothing to get the key back even if it means destroying Arthur and everything around him.Desperate, Arthur escapes to the mysterious house that has appeared in town a house that only he can see. Maybe there he can unravel the secrets of the key and discover his true fate.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Jesus Christ Superstar
Poor Jesus, luckily he had his long curly hair to hide behind. Arjun Thomas...any day better!!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Untitled
Haruki Murakami's latest addition to bookandborrow is The Wind-up Bird Chronicle.
Japan's most highly regarded novelist now vaults into the first ranks of international fiction writers with this heroically imaginative novel, which is at once a detective story, an account of a disintegrating marriage, and an excavation of the buried secrets of World War II.
In a Tokyo suburb a young man named Toru Okada searches for his wife's missing cat. Soon he finds himself looking for his wife as well in a netherworld that lies beneath the placid surface of Tokyo. As these searches intersect, Okada encounters a bizarre group of allies and antagonists: a psychic prostitute; a malevolent yet mediagenic politician; a cheerfully morbid sixteen-year-old-girl; and an aging war veteran who has been permanently changed by the hideous things he witnessed during Japan's forgotten campaign in Manchuria.
Gripping, prophetic, suffused with comedy and menace, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is a tour de force equal in scope to the masterpieces of Mishima and Pynchon.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Blackberry
The BlackBerry is — quite literally — everywhere. President Barack Obama admits he can't live without it. Oprah Winfrey declared on her show that the BlackBerry is one of her "favorite things." BusinessWeek put the case for owning one bluntly in an article entitled "No BlackBerry: No Life." Launched in 1984 by Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsilliewith on a $15,000 loan, Research in Motion (RIM) has grown into one of the largest and most profitable companies in the world. The reason: the BlackBerry. RIM had sold more than 50 million BlackBerrys by 2009 and sales of the handheld device generates annual profits in excess of $11 billion. BlackBerry: The Untold Story of Research in Motion is bestselling author Rod McQueen’s fascinating and absorbing biography of the device’s incredible popularity, as well as a never-before-seen glimpse into its origins and development — and the geniuses who were its inspiration.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Latest Arrival: The Case For Books - Robert Darnton
About the author:Robert Darnton (born May 10, 1939) is an American cultural historian, recognized as a leading expert on eighteenth-century France.
He graduated from Harvard University in 1960, attended Oxford University on a Rhodes scholarship, and earned a Ph.D. (D. Phil.) in history from Oxford in 1964, where he studied with Richard Cobb, among others. He worked as reporter at The New York Times from 1964 to 1965. He was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 1982, and was President of the American Historical Association in 1999.
He joined the Princeton University faculty in 1968, and was Shelby Cullom Davis Professor of European History. Darnton is a pioneer in the field of the history of the book. He currently is writing about electronic publishing. He is founder of the Gutenberg-e program, sponsored by Mellon Foundation.
His brother is the retired New York Times editor and author John Darnton, and his father was the war correspondent Byron Darnton.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Tiger Hills
Sarita Mandanna was born and brought up in India and worked in Hong Kong before moving to the US. She is a private equity professional with a PGDM from the Indian Institute of Management and an MBA from Wharton Business School.
But her indepth knowledge about the fauna and flore of Coorg, and the culture of the people along with three strong characters and the subtle yet powerful attraction between the two protoganists is indeed very interesting.
Definitely a must read if you like long sagas.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Book Title: Anna, The Life and Times of C.N. Annadurai
On 6 March 1967, fifty-eight-year-old Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai became chief minister of Madras state, when his party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), swept to power for the first time. Marking the pinnacle of his public life, it reflected his popularity among ordinary people who revered him as Anna, or elder brother. This rich biography illuminates his many lives—as a charismatic leader of modern India, as a stalwart of the Dravidian movement, as the founder of the DMK, as spokesman for the South—besides documenting his abilities as an acclaimed orator and littérateur in Tamil and English, and as a stage actor.
The book does not shy away from the controversies that surrounded the Dravidian movement and candidly examines Anna’s complex relationship with Periyar. It records Anna’s move to form the DMK in 1949, his split with Sampath in 1961 over the party’s strategy and course, and his disillusionment with the corruption and power politics he witnessed as chief minister.
Kannan draws on Anna’s considerable body of writing, the memoirs of other leaders and authors in Tamil, including critics like the poet Kannadasan, Jayakanthan and P. Ramamurti, apart from secondary sources. Featuring luminaries like Rajagopalachari and Kamaraj, Kalaignar Karunanidhi and MGR, among many others, Anna offers a warm and rounded portrait of a man who showed the way for the democratic expression of regional aspirations within a united India.
Book title : Temple
Deep in the jungles of Peru, the race of the century is underway. A race to locate a legendary Incan idol an idol carved out of a strange kind of stone. A stone which in the late 20th century could be used as the basis for a terrifying new weapon. The US Army wants it at any cost but they are not alone....
The only clue to the idol's final resting place lies in a 400yearold manuscript. Enter Professor William Race, a brilliant young linguist, who is unwittingly recruited to translate the manuscript and lead the Army team to the idol. And so begins the mission that will lead Race and his companions to a mysterious stone temple hidden in the foothills of the Andes. A temple seething with menace and danger. But it is only when the temple is opened that Race and his team discover that they have broken a golden rule: Some doors are meant to remain unopened.
From the author of Ice Station comes a sensational new adventure that will literally leave you gasping for air.
Matthew Reilly is a New York Times best-selling author of eight novels that have been published in eighteen languages in twenty countries. He has sold more than 3.5 million copies worldwide. The author in focus for bookandborrow this week is Mathew Reilly.
The New York Times Bestsellers in the fiction category – April 30
1. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, by Stieg Larsson.
2. THE LAST SONG, by Nicholas Sparks.
3. THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE, by Stieg Larsson.
4. JUST TAKE MY HEART, by Mary Higgins Clark
5. DEAD AND GONE, by Charlaine Harris.
6. FATALLY FLAKY, by Diane Mott Davidson.
7. GONE TOMORROW, by Lee Child.
8. HERO AT LARGE, by Janet Evanovich.
9. DEAR JOHN, by Nicholas Sparks.
10. BLOOD GAME, by Iris Johansen.
11. A ROGUE OF MY OWN, by Johanna Lindsey.
12. SILENT TRUTH, by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love.
13. CEMETERY DANCE, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.
14. LION'S HEAT, by Lora Leigh.
15. HOME IN CAROLINA, by Sherryl Woods.
16. DEADLY DEALS, by Fern Michaels.
17. THE SIGN, by Raymond Khoury.
18. FIRST FAMILY, by David Baldacci.
19. BORDERLINE, by Nevada Barr
20. KINDRED IN DEATH, by J. D. Robb.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Book Title: The Vampire Diaries
Elena Gilbert is alive—again.
When Elena sacrificed herself to save the two vampire brothers who love her—the handsome, brooding Stefan and the sleek and dangerous Damon—she was consigned to a fate beyond death. Until a powerful supernatural force pulled her back.
Now Elena is not just human. She has powers and gifts that were bestowed on her in the afterlife. What's more, her blood pulses with an overwhelming and unique force that makes her irresistible to any vampire.
Stefan wants to find a way to keep Elena safe so that they can make a life together. Damon, however, is driven by an insatiable desire for power, and wants Elena to rule as his princess. When Stefan is lured away from Fell's Church, Damon seizes his chance to convince her that he is the brother she is meant to be with...
But a darkness is infiltrating the town, and Damon, always the hunter, is now the hunted; he becomes the prey of...
Vampire diaries have now been made into a popular TV serial.............
the 3 R's
The gadget that seems to have found its way into almost every one's hand is the cell phone. From school children to grand parents, from corporate giants to street hawkers, the cell phone has become one of the simple bare necessities of life. Cell phones may have brought us closer but not necessarily dearer. Whatever maybe it has certainly rung the death knell of the bullying unpleasant phone line man.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Tamil books at bookandborrow
Washintonil Thirumanam was another book. In the early 60's how the Tamil Brahmins settled in US conducted the weddings of their children. There was no compromise on anything. Betel leaves, coconuts, small plaintains and banana leaves to serve food were flown into the US to the shock of the Americans. When this book was published, it generated a lot of curiosity about the life and customs our people followed in US.
real books vs kindle/IPad
I am not being a retrograde here, all I am saying is reading online or on kindle or I Pad does not come anywhere near the same feel and enjoyment as reading a real book. The pleasure one derives while holding a brand new crisp book,the smell of the paper, a hot cuppa and a comfortable sofa is something I love.
Vacation musings
The children of today are involved either in such activities organised by their parents or they keep themselves busy watching television, playing video games and the more sophisticated amuse themselves with Wii and X Box.
Reminiscence of yester year games makes me feel that today's children have missed out something of value and joy that we cherished in our childhood. Vacation meant playing games like gilli,goli (marbles),kathadi(kites), bambaram (tops),hide and seek, robber and police,hopscotch, cycling and swimming. Our rural cousins played in addition to this, pallankuzhi and kuzhangkal etc..These games would seem alien to the children of today. Many of us spent the evenings listening to Radio Ceylon as there was no TV. We read comics such as Phantom, Mandrake, and Chandamama. Enid Blyton's Famous Five and Five findouters and the Dog, Secret Seven were read by the young ones while the older kids stealthily read James Handley Chase and some even had a sneak preview of Harold Robbins. Libraries were very few and we used to cajole and beg our parents to take us to the library.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
As you enter the store the first thing that hits you is a calm , serene feeling. I dont know whether any of you feel this, but I do, everytime I walk into Landmark I get a bit overwhelmed. I feel little oppressed. Much as I love books and I love to browse and look at all the books and magazines around me, I am happier when I walk out. At Landmark,there is some sort of a restricted space around you. In B&N you can breathe in and out and never get the claustrophobic feeling.
After I walk in and browse around a bit, usually I choose one of the books on the shelf where they have the top ten from the NY Times best seller list. Everytime I do that I am delighted to note that most of the books there are already in our library bookandborrow.com. The girl with the dragon tattoo and The girl who played with fire by Steig Larrson were sitting snugly in the front book shelf. More later..........
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Confessions of THIS middle aged woman!!
I borrowed Townsend’s Confessions, and delighted in
her inimitable humour…but every now and then she had a crack at her cat and I wasn’t so amused…I couldn’t decide whether she really loved her cat or not!
Anyway, my cat Bif decided….i caught him studying the open page with a twitching tail. I drifted off, with a jigsaw puzzle of words in my head….and when I awoke, I found this strange stain on the book…and an even stranger smell…
Oh well….i guess it was time Townsend was reviewed by a feline
reader!! I think he gave it the tails up.
Confesssions of a Middle Aged Woman, by Susan Townsend
is a witty collection of typically Townsend observations on a variety of topics.