So I have absolutely no hesitation in highly recommending both the #DeadTreeBook and #audiobook versions of
Ivan Turgenev's 'A Sportsman's Notebook,' also more popularly known as 'Sketches from a Hunter's Album.'
#books 📚 #Bookstodon #reading #2023ReadingList
#audiobooks #ShortStories #RussianClassics #ScanmanRecommends
The next #book that I've finished #reading in my #2023ReadingList is;
William Dalrymple's first book, written in 1986 when he was a 21-year-old Cambridge undergraduate. The #travelogue / #memoir / #history book, In Xanadu: A Quest.
Though I had misgivings about the author's opinions in several places, I liked the book. Though it happened less than 40 years ago, such a journey would be inconceivable now. That alone makes it a unique read.
Just finished Arundhati Roy's The Doctor and The Saint.
This is a good read even for those who are familiar with Ambedkar and Gandhi's debate on caste. It gives a lot of context, more than just Ambedkar's 'Annihilation of Caste,' speech.
So, it will be an eye-opener for those who are not aware of the debate. Highly recommended if you want to know more about that part of #ModernIndianHistory
🇮🇳 #Bookstodon #books #2023ReadingList #reading #history #IndianHistory #ScanmanRecommends
My book number 6 of the #2023ReadingList was also inspired by #PoongaBookClub @poongabook. Specifically @chenthil's theme of "Classics. With a twist. any work written before 10th century CE." I read
Kalidasa's Kumarasambhavam: The Origin of the Young God.
I went with Hank Heifetz's translation which includes the controversial 8th canto. I really liked Kalidasa's sensuous imagery.
Highly recommended.
#Bookstodon #books #reading #poetry #translations #ScanmanRecommends
Oops. And I also realized now that my hashtag had a typo!
Thank goodness mastodon has an edit feature.
It's my #2023ReadingList. 2023.
I picked up book 7 of the #2023ReadingList on a whim to satisfy this month's "colours" theme in @poongabook.
The Queen Of Jasmine Country by Sharanya Manivannan.
I was pleasantly surprised by the writing and I really liked the book. TBH, I was moved when reading the part where Andal writes the first Thiruppaavai. I especially liked how the author ended the book. Respecting the myth, but making it her—and Andal's— own.
Highly recommended.
Book 5 of the #2023ReadingList was an #EasyReading / #EasyListening #audiobook #thriller that I picked up for the #Pongal holiday weekend because I saw a teaser/trailer in Amazon Prime TV show few months ago and realized it was based on a book.
The Terminal List by Jack Carr narrated by Ray Porter.
It was ok. Not bad, but not great either. Typical Tom Clancy, Vince Flynn kind of stuff. I'm not a big fan. I don't think I'll go back for more of this series.
Book number 4 of the #2023ReadingList is a #GraphicBook The People of the Indus, by Nikhil Gulati and Jonathan Mark Kenoyer.
This was recommended to me by members of @poongabook
Short work, very interesting. Nicely presented. I liked it a lot. Highly recommended. I read the #kindle version in an iPad with the nice interactive zoom functions. I'm actually gifting hardcover copies to a couple of friends. #history #IndusCivilisation #archeology #Bookstodon #books #reading #ScanmanRecommends
This is one of the unfinished #books of 2022 that automatically got added to the #2023ReadingList.
Anatomical Oddities by Alice Roberts is a weird little book. Of course, it lives up to its name and talks about anatomical oddities. But it's more of an exploration of anatomical naming conventions and etymology. That's not to say it's not good. It is. I liked it. A lot. It's a fun read. Recommended for all lovers of #anatomy and medical terminology.
#bookstodon #reading #ScanmanRecommends
Vijay / விஜய்