Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[Kiran Jonnalagadda]

Jumping in late, but I thought Rama 2 was a great sequel. While Rendezvous
with Rama had the mood of a NASA science expedition, Rama 2 modeled reality
TV, giving it legitimacy in my (then) teenage mind. The later books didn't
add much.

Kiran

-- 
Kiran Jonnalagadda

(Sent from my phone)

On Mon, 14 Dec, 2020, 18:50 Alaric Snell-Pym, 
wrote:

> On 12/12/2020 16:56, Ashwin Nanjappa wrote:
> > My reading was severely hampered this year due to our son being at home
> all
> > day. With helping him all day at home we ended up having much less energy
> > at the end of the day for reading or watching something. But I was part
> of
> > a bookclub at work and through that I got to read stuff from outside my
> > "comfort zone". Some of the books I can recommend this year:
> >
> > - Rendezvous with Rama: First book in Arthur C Clarke's Rama series. I
> love
> > that these are short reads and how "hard" Clarke goes into the science of
> > the worlds he creates.
>
> Yeah! That book made a big impression on me as a kid. The sequels aren't
> as good and are very different but are still fun to read in their own way.
>
> But the sheer mystery of Rama, sustained by the limited duration the
> team gets to explore, was epic.
>
> --
> Alaric Snell-Pym   (M0KTN neé M7KIT)
> http://www.snell-pym.org.uk/alaric/
>
>

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[Alaric Snell-Pym]

On 12/12/2020 16:56, Ashwin Nanjappa wrote:
> My reading was severely hampered this year due to our son being at home all
> day. With helping him all day at home we ended up having much less energy
> at the end of the day for reading or watching something. But I was part of
> a bookclub at work and through that I got to read stuff from outside my
> "comfort zone". Some of the books I can recommend this year:
> 
> - Rendezvous with Rama: First book in Arthur C Clarke's Rama series. I love
> that these are short reads and how "hard" Clarke goes into the science of
> the worlds he creates.

Yeah! That book made a big impression on me as a kid. The sequels aren't
as good and are very different but are still fun to read in their own way.

But the sheer mystery of Rama, sustained by the limited duration the
team gets to explore, was epic.

-- 
Alaric Snell-Pym   (M0KTN neé M7KIT)
http://www.snell-pym.org.uk/alaric/



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Description: OpenPGP digital signature

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[Ashwin Nanjappa]

My reading was severely hampered this year due to our son being at home all
day. With helping him all day at home we ended up having much less energy
at the end of the day for reading or watching something. But I was part of
a bookclub at work and through that I got to read stuff from outside my
"comfort zone". Some of the books I can recommend this year:

- Rendezvous with Rama: First book in Arthur C Clarke's Rama series. I love
that these are short reads and how "hard" Clarke goes into the science of
the worlds he creates.

- Dune: Ok, so I finally got around to reading the classic in preparation
for Denis Villeneuve's movie coming next year. The world building in the
first two acts of this book is incredible, though the third act doesn't
compare. BTW for Dune aficionados, watching the documentary Jodorowsky's
Dune is a MUST. The man is positively insane, but it is nothing short of
fantastic to watch.

- The Invention of Nature: Biography of 19th century naturalist Humboldt,
who traveled the world, discovered and catalogued so much of nature that
there are more things/places named after him than anyone else in the world.
I counted tens of places/counties/parks named after him in CA/OR itself.
Beside learning about the man, the book gave me a good mental model of the
global scientific community and how they worked at the turn of the 19th
century.

- How to be an Antiracist: Picked it up inspired by BLM, this was quite eye
opening since I have not read much about racism in the US.

- The Sound of the Mountain: Superlative literature, observation of passing
life, with the peace of a Zen garden. I'm a fan of Yasunari Kawabata after
this.

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[Thaths]

Here are books that made an impact on me in 2020:

We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families
(Phillip Gourevitch) - A book that came out some years ago, but I finally
got to read it recently. I had previously read books about the war in
Eastern Congo and the scramble for resources. This book tees up the things
that happened in Rwanda that dominoed into the conflict in Eastern Congo.

The Tiger and the Ruby: A Journey to the Other Side of British India (Kief
Hillsbery) - Till about 3/4th of the way into the book, I thought it was a
simple book that mixed history and travelogue. I found some bits of it
interesting, and had bits where I disagreed with the focus of the author.
But the final 1/4th of the book was superbly put together. Its ending read
almost like a mystery novel that tried up the loose ends in the final few
chapters. The final parts of the book wrap the stories beautifully and
illustrate the author's craft.

UNIX: A History and a Memoir (Brian W. Kernighan) - No explanation needed

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (Bill
Bryson) - A comforting re-read when the world went into COVID lockdown

The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction (Ursula Le Guin) - A slim volume (you can
find PDFs online). Perfection. Le Guin challenges the male-focused "heroes
journey" narratives and ponders what a different narrative could bring to
literature.

Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs (Camilla Townsend) - I think this
book was recommended by someone in the annual Silklist book recommendation
thread last year. How did the encounter between conquistadors and the
Aztecs look from the Aztec side? Mining some of the earliest written Aztec
primary narratives Townsend does a great job of the tragedy of what
happened.

Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood (Alexandra Fuller)
- Evocative vignettes of a Gothic family horror of growing up White in
Africa.

How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy (Jenny Odell) -  Perfect
meditation for our times. Reflecting on an alternate way of living more
fully and engaging with this world.

Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies (Hilary Mantel) - You don't need me to
tell you how lovely these books are.

Thaths




On Thu, Nov 26, 2020 at 7:59 AM Venkatesh H R  wrote:

> Ah yes Samanth! Very much so. (Didn't realise 'twas you behind
> 'WordPsmith'!)
> Interestingly, a few weeks ago my 8-year-old picked it up where JBS Sr was
> doing experiments on himself and was very much intrigued that people do
> that sort of thing and we went down a little rabbit hole.
>
> On Wed, Nov 25, 2020 at 8:04 PM WordPsmith  wrote:
>
> > Thanks Udhay!
> >
> > Kunda, I hope you’re enjoying the book! 爛
> >
> > > On Nov 25, 2020, at 14:25, Udhay Shankar N  wrote:
> > >
> > > On Wed, Nov 25, 2020 at 3:45 PM Venkatesh H R 
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > - Re-read Frank Herbert's Dune. First read it as a 16-year-old and was
> > >> apprehensive about the second read. So many of our heroes turn out to
> > have
> > >> written sexist, racist stuff or were otherwise total ass* in their
> > real
> > >> lives. But Dune continued to amaze with its vision, its mixing of
> > various
> > >> cultures in the world, the strong secondary and tertiary characters
> and
> > >> pro-environmental message. Now wondering if I should run through the
> > entire
> > >> series ahead of the movie.
> > >>
> > >
> > > Speaking for myself, I loved Dune (although I last read it at least 2
> > > decades ago) but found the other books in the series underwhelming.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >> That's about it. Reading A Dominant Character by Samanth Subramanian
> > >
> > >
> > > Samanth is on silk, so I will take this opportunity to congratulate him
> > for
> > > making it to the NYT notable books of 2020 list [1].
> > >
> > > Udhay
> > >
> > > [1] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/books/notable-books.html
> >
> >
>
> --
> *Get your 'vaccine' from 'fake news', lies, half-truths, manipulated
> truths, propaganda and general B.S. at my media buddhi newsletter
> .*
>
> H R Venkatesh
> Director, Training and Research, BOOM 
> John S. Knight Journalism Fellow 2019
> , Stanford
> University
> Twitter: @hrvenkatesh
>


-- 
Homer: Hey, what does this job pay?
Carl:  Nuthin'.
Homer: D'oh!
Carl:  Unless you're crooked.
Homer: Woo-hoo!

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[Venkatesh H R]

Ah yes Samanth! Very much so. (Didn't realise 'twas you behind
'WordPsmith'!)
Interestingly, a few weeks ago my 8-year-old picked it up where JBS Sr was
doing experiments on himself and was very much intrigued that people do
that sort of thing and we went down a little rabbit hole.

On Wed, Nov 25, 2020 at 8:04 PM WordPsmith  wrote:

> Thanks Udhay!
>
> Kunda, I hope you’re enjoying the book! 爛
>
> > On Nov 25, 2020, at 14:25, Udhay Shankar N  wrote:
> >
> > On Wed, Nov 25, 2020 at 3:45 PM Venkatesh H R 
> wrote:
> >
> > - Re-read Frank Herbert's Dune. First read it as a 16-year-old and was
> >> apprehensive about the second read. So many of our heroes turn out to
> have
> >> written sexist, racist stuff or were otherwise total ass* in their
> real
> >> lives. But Dune continued to amaze with its vision, its mixing of
> various
> >> cultures in the world, the strong secondary and tertiary characters and
> >> pro-environmental message. Now wondering if I should run through the
> entire
> >> series ahead of the movie.
> >>
> >
> > Speaking for myself, I loved Dune (although I last read it at least 2
> > decades ago) but found the other books in the series underwhelming.
> >
> >
> >
> >> That's about it. Reading A Dominant Character by Samanth Subramanian
> >
> >
> > Samanth is on silk, so I will take this opportunity to congratulate him
> for
> > making it to the NYT notable books of 2020 list [1].
> >
> > Udhay
> >
> > [1] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/books/notable-books.html
>
>

-- 
*Get your 'vaccine' from 'fake news', lies, half-truths, manipulated
truths, propaganda and general B.S. at my media buddhi newsletter
.*

H R Venkatesh
Director, Training and Research, BOOM 
John S. Knight Journalism Fellow 2019
, Stanford
University
Twitter: @hrvenkatesh

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[WordPsmith]

Thanks Udhay!

Kunda, I hope you’re enjoying the book! 爛 

> On Nov 25, 2020, at 14:25, Udhay Shankar N  wrote:
> 
> On Wed, Nov 25, 2020 at 3:45 PM Venkatesh H R  wrote:
> 
> - Re-read Frank Herbert's Dune. First read it as a 16-year-old and was
>> apprehensive about the second read. So many of our heroes turn out to have
>> written sexist, racist stuff or were otherwise total ass* in their real
>> lives. But Dune continued to amaze with its vision, its mixing of various
>> cultures in the world, the strong secondary and tertiary characters and
>> pro-environmental message. Now wondering if I should run through the entire
>> series ahead of the movie.
>> 
> 
> Speaking for myself, I loved Dune (although I last read it at least 2
> decades ago) but found the other books in the series underwhelming.
> 
> 
> 
>> That's about it. Reading A Dominant Character by Samanth Subramanian
> 
> 
> Samanth is on silk, so I will take this opportunity to congratulate him for
> making it to the NYT notable books of 2020 list [1].
> 
> Udhay
> 
> [1] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/books/notable-books.html

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[Udhay Shankar N]

On Wed, Nov 25, 2020 at 3:45 PM Venkatesh H R  wrote:

- Re-read Frank Herbert's Dune. First read it as a 16-year-old and was
> apprehensive about the second read. So many of our heroes turn out to have
> written sexist, racist stuff or were otherwise total ass* in their real
> lives. But Dune continued to amaze with its vision, its mixing of various
> cultures in the world, the strong secondary and tertiary characters and
> pro-environmental message. Now wondering if I should run through the entire
> series ahead of the movie.
>

Speaking for myself, I loved Dune (although I last read it at least 2
decades ago) but found the other books in the series underwhelming.



>  That's about it. Reading A Dominant Character by Samanth Subramanian


Samanth is on silk, so I will take this opportunity to congratulate him for
making it to the NYT notable books of 2020 list [1].

Udhay

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/books/notable-books.html

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[Venkatesh H R]

Some books read in the past year that left their mark on me.

CRIME:

Got stuck into a new and fabulous series, the Flavia de Luce series
starring an 11-year-old girl detective. Written by Alan Bradley. Very much
'cozy' crime fiction based in England in the 1950s (but written now). I
read the first two novels in them: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
and The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag. What I love is that the
11-year-old is obsessed with chemistry and has a lab and a unique voice.
She is the narrator and uses chemistry to solve crimes.

Also finished the last of another crime series: the Dublin Murder Squad
series by Tana French. Finished the last in the series which again has been
the best I've read in crime in a long time. Tana French is my new favourite
and she has just come out with a standalone novel.

NONFICTION:

- David Remnick's biography of Muhammad Ali. Brilliant writing about Ali's
ascent to fame. The boxing scenes send a chill down the spine but the
book is really about Ali's politics and is a good companion to the
#BlackLivesMatter movement.

- Rebecca Solnit's two collections of essays - Men Explain Things To Me and
The Mother Of All Questions. Taught me a lot about feminism and men and
opened my eyes.

- Several books on writing (am writing a book): Draft No. 4 by John McPhee
on the writing process and structuring your thoughts. Brilliant stuff. The
Situation and The Story by Vivian Gornick. Working by Robert A. Caro, and
The Writing Life by Annie Dillard. Also reading Amitava Kumar's Writing
Badly Is Easy. They are all uniformly brilliant.

- Atul Gawande's Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance. I'm a big fan of
Gawande's and this is the third book of his I've read, the other's being
Being Mortal and The Checklist Manifesto. I would say this is my favourite.

- Caste Matters by Suraj Yengde. Another mind-opening book which I haven't
quite finished, but have read most of it. Will continue to dip into it here
and there.


OTHER FICTION:

- Re-read Frank Herbert's Dune. First read it as a 16-year-old and was
apprehensive about the second read. So many of our heroes turn out to have
written sexist, racist stuff or were otherwise total ass* in their real
lives. But Dune continued to amaze with its vision, its mixing of various
cultures in the world, the strong secondary and tertiary characters and
pro-environmental message. Now wondering if I should run through the entire
series ahead of the movie.

- The Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. Just can't rave enough about this
book which gave me a lot of joy. This will be my new gifting favourite.

 That's about it. Reading A Dominant Character by Samanth Subramanian and
should finish soon. Ditto with Caste by Isabel Wilkerson.






On Sat, Nov 21, 2020 at 12:43 AM Thaths  wrote:

> Silk listers, I used to turn to you for book recommendations around this
> time of the year. But stopped this practice when I stopped seeing
> engagement. But last year a handful of you said that you missed this annual
> tradition. So here we go again!
>
> What have you read over the last year that has left a mark on you? What are
> you eagerly looking forward to reading over the coming holidays? How has
> COVID19 affected your reading?
>
> I will share my recommendations later in this thread.
>
> Thaths
> --
> Homer: Hey, what does this job pay?
> Carl:  Nuthin'.
> Homer: D'oh!
> Carl:  Unless you're crooked.
> Homer: Woo-hoo!
>


-- 
*Get your 'vaccine' from 'fake news', lies, half-truths, manipulated
truths, propaganda and general B.S. at my media buddhi newsletter
.*

H R Venkatesh
Director, Training and Research, BOOM 
John S. Knight Journalism Fellow 2019
, Stanford
University
Twitter: @hrvenkatesh

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[Ramakrishna Reddy]

On Mon, Nov 23, 2020 at 6:32 PM Venkatesh H R  wrote:

> Books I have read over the past few months
>
> Ohh!! How is Ornit Shani's book? It's on my list to read.
>

It is an easy read. Insightful story of a colossal bureaucratic endeavor,
at a time when they implemented an universal adult franchise.
There are so many things I learned about participatory democracy and
refugee, homeless inclusion into the voter lists.

regards
Ramky

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[sankarshan]

On Sat, 21 Nov 2020 at 21:25, sankarshan
 wrote:
>
> In no particular order
>
> + The Unquiet River: A Biography of the Brahmaputra
> + Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom
> + A Dominant Character: The Radical Science and Restless Politics of
> J.B.S. Haldane
> + Panthers in Parliament: Dalits, Caste, and Political Power in South India
> + Ayo Gorkhali: The True Story of the Gurkhas

inserting another book I found engrossing "The Truth Machines:
Policing, Violence, and Scientific Interrogations in India"

>
> On Sat, 21 Nov 2020 at 00:43, Thaths  wrote:
> >
> > Silk listers, I used to turn to you for book recommendations around this
> > time of the year. But stopped this practice when I stopped seeing
> > engagement. But last year a handful of you said that you missed this annual
> > tradition. So here we go again!
> >
> > What have you read over the last year that has left a mark on you? What are
> > you eagerly looking forward to reading over the coming holidays? How has
> > COVID19 affected your reading?
> >
> > I will share my recommendations later in this thread.
> >
> > Thaths
> > --
> > Homer: Hey, what does this job pay?
> > Carl:  Nuthin'.
> > Homer: D'oh!
> > Carl:  Unless you're crooked.
> > Homer: Woo-hoo!

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[sankarshan]

On Mon, 23 Nov 2020 at 21:34, Udhay Shankar N  wrote:
>
> On Mon, Nov 23, 2020 at 9:00 PM Thaths  wrote:
>
> Apart from caste being an interesting lens to bring to US (and Nazi
> > Germany) society, does the book offer insights about caste in India?
> >
>
> This book (incidentally, by a cousin of mine) is about caste in modern
> India: https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674987883
>

Ah yes! I'd add it as a recommendation (wonder how I missed it in the
first place). I quite liked the approach taken in the book.

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[Venkatesh H R]

> Looking forward to reading.
> Caste: The Origins of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
>
> Currently reading 'Caste'. I'm having to go slow because every chapter is
> stuffed with insights.
>

Apart from caste being an interesting lens to bring to US (and Nazi
Germany) society, does the book offer insights about caste in India? Not
that it has to. The excerpts I have read were good and just looking at US
society through the caste lens itself is quite interesting.

Yes it does offer insights about caste in India. It is a case study of
caste systems in India and caste in USA and Nazi Germany.
It offers a radical understanding of race and a really neat way of
understanding caste in India as well. There are 8 pillars
of caste in the book but I've yet to get there. It's also written very
well. No unnecessary words, very clean prose and a lot of stories.
Narrative non-fiction as it should be.


On Mon, Nov 23, 2020 at 9:00 PM Thaths  wrote:

> On Mon, Nov 23, 2020 at 5:02 AM Venkatesh H R 
> wrote:
>
> > Looking forward to reading.
> > Caste: The Origins of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
> >
> > Currently reading 'Caste'. I'm having to go slow because every chapter is
> > stuffed with insights.
> >
>
> Apart from caste being an interesting lens to bring to US (and Nazi
> Germany) society, does the book offer insights about caste in India? Not
> that it has to. The excerpts I have read were good and just looking at US
> society through the caste lens itself is quite interesting.
>
> Thaths
>
>
> --
> Homer: Hey, what does this job pay?
> Carl:  Nuthin'.
> Homer: D'oh!
> Carl:  Unless you're crooked.
> Homer: Woo-hoo!
>


-- 
*Get your 'vaccine' from 'fake news', lies, half-truths, manipulated
truths, propaganda and general B.S. at my media buddhi newsletter
.*

H R Venkatesh
Director, Training and Research, BOOM 
John S. Knight Journalism Fellow 2019
, Stanford
University
Twitter: @hrvenkatesh

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[Thaths]

On Mon, Nov 23, 2020 at 8:04 AM Udhay Shankar N  wrote:

> On Mon, Nov 23, 2020 at 9:00 PM Thaths  wrote:
> Apart from caste being an interesting lens to bring to US (and Nazi
> > Germany) society, does the book offer insights about caste in India?
> This book (incidentally, by a cousin of mine) is about caste in modern
> India: https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674987883


Thanks, Udhay. I read some sample pages on Amazon and the book reads well
(unlike some academic ones I have tried reading). The IITs are an area of
interest to me (an aunt was one of the first batch of people hired on the
administrative side to build IIT Madras).  Added the book to my To Read
list.

Thaths
-- 
Homer: Hey, what does this job pay?
Carl:  Nuthin'.
Homer: D'oh!
Carl:  Unless you're crooked.
Homer: Woo-hoo!

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[Udhay Shankar N]

On Mon, Nov 23, 2020 at 9:00 PM Thaths  wrote:

Apart from caste being an interesting lens to bring to US (and Nazi
> Germany) society, does the book offer insights about caste in India?
>

This book (incidentally, by a cousin of mine) is about caste in modern
India: https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674987883

Udhay

-- 

((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[Thaths]

On Mon, Nov 23, 2020 at 5:02 AM Venkatesh H R  wrote:

> Looking forward to reading.
> Caste: The Origins of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
>
> Currently reading 'Caste'. I'm having to go slow because every chapter is
> stuffed with insights.
>

Apart from caste being an interesting lens to bring to US (and Nazi
Germany) society, does the book offer insights about caste in India? Not
that it has to. The excerpts I have read were good and just looking at US
society through the caste lens itself is quite interesting.

Thaths


-- 
Homer: Hey, what does this job pay?
Carl:  Nuthin'.
Homer: D'oh!
Carl:  Unless you're crooked.
Homer: Woo-hoo!

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[Lahar Appaiah]

Read a lot of books this year, thanks to the pandemic. The ones that I
really liked were:

1. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, a story about.. a world where
98% of the population have been killed by a pandemic, and the survivors
wander around a post apocalyptic world.

2. Golden Boy and the Bad Old Days of Australian Cricket by Christian Ryan
(some reviewers say it belongs in Beyond A Boundary territory among the
great cricket books).

3. A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine, which won the Hugo award for
Best Novel, and is a superb space adventure that even non sci-fi fans like
me could read.

4. Possession by Kamala Markandaya a rare gem by one of the early
post-Independence IWE writers.

5. Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld, a What-If- Hillary had not married Bill
piece of speculative fiction.

6. Dreamers by Snigdha Poonam, about 7 "under -35 Indians", and their
worldview, life journey, and aspirations - economic, social and political.
Brilliant.

7. Secret History by Donna Tartt- one of the great "campus novels", one
that I finally got around to reading.

8. Chosen Spirits by Samit Basu- a bit of a mixed bag, equal parts superb
and underwhelming. India (Delhi, rather), 10 years or so from now, and in
some kind of Ready Player One world.

9. The Last Odyssey by James Rollins- the latest adventure by one of the
world's great thriller writers.

10. Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan. Supposed to be Sally Rooney-ish (I've
not read Rooney), but I found this a remarkably well written book about a
young woman who chucks it all and goes to Hong Kong.

11. An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears- murder mystery set in 16th
Century Oxford. Ponderous at times, but grand and sweeping.



On Sat, Nov 21, 2020 at 12:43 AM Thaths  wrote:

> Silk listers, I used to turn to you for book recommendations around this
> time of the year. But stopped this practice when I stopped seeing
> engagement. But last year a handful of you said that you missed this annual
> tradition. So here we go again!
>
> What have you read over the last year that has left a mark on you? What are
> you eagerly looking forward to reading over the coming holidays? How has
> COVID19 affected your reading?
>
> I will share my recommendations later in this thread.
>
> Thaths
> --
> Homer: Hey, what does this job pay?
> Carl:  Nuthin'.
> Homer: D'oh!
> Carl:  Unless you're crooked.
> Homer: Woo-hoo!
>

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[Venkatesh H R]

Books I have read over the past few months
1. Churchill's Secret War by Madhusree Mukerjee
2. How India became Democratic by Ornit Shani

Ohh!! How is Ornit Shani's book? It's on my list to read.

3. India's War: The Making of Modern South Asia by  Srinath Raghavan

Looking forward to reading.
Caste: The Origins of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

Currently reading 'Caste'. I'm having to go slow because every chapter is
stuffed with insights.

The Biggest Bluff by Maria Konnikova

On Mon, Nov 23, 2020 at 7:07 AM Ramakrishna Reddy 
wrote:

> On Sat, Nov 21, 2020 at 12:43 AM Thaths  wrote:
>
> > Silk listers, I used to turn to you for book recommendations around this
> > time of the year. But stopped this practice when I stopped seeing
> > engagement. But last year a handful of you said that you missed this
> annual
> > tradition. So here we go again!
> >
>
> Books I have read over the past few months
> 1. Churchill's Secret War by Madhusree Mukerjee
> 2. How India became Democratic by Ornit Shani
> 3. India's War: The Making of Modern South Asia by  Srinath Raghavan
>
> Looking forward to reading.
> Caste: The Origins of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
> The Biggest Bluff by Maria Konnikova
>
> - Ramky
> --
> Ramakrishna Reddy   GPG Key
> ID:67E226F5
> Fingerprint =  BA51 9241 72B9 7DBD 1A9A  E717 ABB2 9BAD 67E2 26F5
>


-- 
*Get your 'vaccine' from 'fake news', lies, half-truths, manipulated
truths, propaganda and general B.S. at my media buddhi newsletter
.*

H R Venkatesh
Director, Training and Research, BOOM 
John S. Knight Journalism Fellow 2019
, Stanford
University
Twitter: @hrvenkatesh

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[Huda Masood]

On Sat, 21 Nov 2020, 21:37 Thaths,  wrote:

> On Sat, Nov 21, 2020 at 7:43 AM Huda Masood  wrote:
>
> > Oh man,
> >
> > The Discworld Series, specifically Small Gods by Terry Pratchett
> > Improving the Flavour of Cheese - Edited by B C Weimar
> >
>
> Wow! Is this  the masterpiece? My
> own White Whale is Kingdon's Mammals of Africa
>

Hahahaha yes! It's bloody expensive and I use it as a reference whenever
I'm traveling any doing farm consultancy work.

Woot woot.

. There is simply no justification
> for me to buy it (or read it from cover to cover). But what is life if one
> doesn't live in hope?
>
>
> > The Mushroom at the End of the World - Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing
> >
>
> Oooh! This seems in the same genre as a book that I LOVED. I will talk
> about it when I post my list.
>
> Thaths
> --
> Homer: Hey, what does this job pay?
> Carl:  Nuthin'.
> Homer: D'oh!
> Carl:  Unless you're crooked.
> Homer: Woo-hoo!
>

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[Ramakrishna Reddy]

On Sat, Nov 21, 2020 at 12:43 AM Thaths  wrote:

> Silk listers, I used to turn to you for book recommendations around this
> time of the year. But stopped this practice when I stopped seeing
> engagement. But last year a handful of you said that you missed this annual
> tradition. So here we go again!
>

Books I have read over the past few months
1. Churchill's Secret War by Madhusree Mukerjee
2. How India became Democratic by Ornit Shani
3. India's War: The Making of Modern South Asia by  Srinath Raghavan

Looking forward to reading.
Caste: The Origins of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
The Biggest Bluff by Maria Konnikova

- Ramky
-- 
Ramakrishna Reddy   GPG Key
ID:67E226F5
Fingerprint =  BA51 9241 72B9 7DBD 1A9A  E717 ABB2 9BAD 67E2 26F5

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[Jitendra Vaidya]

On Sat, Nov 21, 2020, 12:52 PM Keith Adam  wrote:

> Fall; or, Dodge in Hell - Neal Stephenson
>

I am about half way through the book. There are parts that are tedious (as
you expect in an NS book), but I found his exploration of  where we are
headed in terms of the splintered view of reality created by social media
brilliant and disturbing ...


Rgds - Keith
>
>
> -Original Message-
> From: silklist  On
> Behalf Of Thaths
> Sent: 20 November 2020 19:13
> To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
> Subject: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020
>
> Silk listers, I used to turn to you for book recommendations around this
> time of the year. But stopped this practice when I stopped seeing
> engagement. But last year a handful of you said that you missed this annual
> tradition. So here we go again!
>
> What have you read over the last year that has left a mark on you? What
> are you eagerly looking forward to reading over the coming holidays? How has
> COVID19 affected your reading?
>
> I will share my recommendations later in this thread.
>
> Thaths
> --
> Homer: Hey, what does this job pay?
> Carl:  Nuthin'.
> Homer: D'oh!
> Carl:  Unless you're crooked.
> Homer: Woo-hoo!
>

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[Keith Adam]

Fall; or, Dodge in Hell - Neal Stephenson

Rgds - Keith


-Original Message-
From: silklist  On Behalf 
Of Thaths
Sent: 20 November 2020 19:13
To: silklist@lists.hserus.net
Subject: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

Silk listers, I used to turn to you for book recommendations around this time 
of the year. But stopped this practice when I stopped seeing engagement. But 
last year a handful of you said that you missed this annual tradition. So here 
we go again!

What have you read over the last year that has left a mark on you? What are you 
eagerly looking forward to reading over the coming holidays? How has
COVID19 affected your reading?

I will share my recommendations later in this thread.

Thaths
--
Homer: Hey, what does this job pay?
Carl:  Nuthin'.
Homer: D'oh!
Carl:  Unless you're crooked.
Homer: Woo-hoo!

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[Thaths]

On Sat, Nov 21, 2020 at 7:56 AM sankarshan <
sankarshan.mukhopadh...@gmail.com> wrote:

> In no particular order
>
> + The Unquiet River: A Biography of the Brahmaputra
>

That looks interesting! Reminds me of Ganges: The Many Pasts of an Indian
River  which might have been
recommended in Silk.

Thaths
-- 
Homer: Hey, what does this job pay?
Carl:  Nuthin'.
Homer: D'oh!
Carl:  Unless you're crooked.
Homer: Woo-hoo!

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[Thaths]

On Sat, Nov 21, 2020 at 7:43 AM Huda Masood  wrote:

> Oh man,
>
> The Discworld Series, specifically Small Gods by Terry Pratchett
> Improving the Flavour of Cheese - Edited by B C Weimar
>

Wow! Is this  the masterpiece? My
own White Whale is Kingdon's Mammals of Africa
. There is simply no justification
for me to buy it (or read it from cover to cover). But what is life if one
doesn't live in hope?


> The Mushroom at the End of the World - Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing
>

Oooh! This seems in the same genre as a book that I LOVED. I will talk
about it when I post my list.

Thaths
-- 
Homer: Hey, what does this job pay?
Carl:  Nuthin'.
Homer: D'oh!
Carl:  Unless you're crooked.
Homer: Woo-hoo!

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[Thaths]

On Fri, Nov 20, 2020 at 12:22 PM Jitendra Vaidya 
wrote:

> Thaths, you asked about Covid - one of my coping mechanisms has been
> walking 10K steps every day while listening to Kate Baker read SF stories
> over at ClarkesWorld magazine.


Thanks, Jitendra. When the pandemic began I went through all the Jeeves and
Wodehouse audiobooks I had collected over time (my favorite narrator is
Johnathan Cecil) . Since then I have been averaging one audio book a month
(that I borrow through my local public library).



> I became familiar with a lot of excellent SF
> being written in China and Korea through this podcast. Oh that reminds me,
> "Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation"
> compiled by Ken Liu is absolutely worth a read. I particularly enjoyed
> Ken's introduction.
>

I listened to the Three Body Problem series as an audiobook several years
ago and liked them. Speaking of non-Western Sci Fi, what is the state of
Indian speculative fiction these days. I read a short story set in the
Bengal Presidency some days ago, but cannot find the name of the author or
the story.

Thaths
-- 
Homer: Hey, what does this job pay?
Carl:  Nuthin'.
Homer: D'oh!
Carl:  Unless you're crooked.
Homer: Woo-hoo!

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[sankarshan]

In no particular order

+ The Unquiet River: A Biography of the Brahmaputra
+ Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom
+ A Dominant Character: The Radical Science and Restless Politics of
J.B.S. Haldane
+ Panthers in Parliament: Dalits, Caste, and Political Power in South India
+ Ayo Gorkhali: The True Story of the Gurkhas

On Sat, 21 Nov 2020 at 00:43, Thaths  wrote:
>
> Silk listers, I used to turn to you for book recommendations around this
> time of the year. But stopped this practice when I stopped seeing
> engagement. But last year a handful of you said that you missed this annual
> tradition. So here we go again!
>
> What have you read over the last year that has left a mark on you? What are
> you eagerly looking forward to reading over the coming holidays? How has
> COVID19 affected your reading?
>
> I will share my recommendations later in this thread.
>
> Thaths
> --
> Homer: Hey, what does this job pay?
> Carl:  Nuthin'.
> Homer: D'oh!
> Carl:  Unless you're crooked.
> Homer: Woo-hoo!



-- 
sankarshan mukhopadhyay

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[Huda Masood]

Oh man,

The Discworld Series, specifically Small Gods by Terry Pratchett
Improving the Flavour of Cheese - Edited by B C Weimar
The Mushroom at the End of the World - Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing
An Illustrated Guide to the Art of Wire Wrapping - Dale Armstrong

Not sure if this is interesting to anyone.

Huda

On Sat, 21 Nov 2020 at 02:00, Radhika, Y.  wrote:

> Koh-i-noor by Dalrymple
> The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
> A Moveable Feast by Hemingway
> A Zoo in My Luggage by Gerard Durrell
> Tamas (in Spanish)
> Los Surcos del Azar (Spanish)
> La Florida (Play by Victor Sánchez, Available in English translated by Will
> Gregory)
>
>
> El vie., 20 nov. 2020 11:13 a. m., Thaths  escribió:
>
> > Silk listers, I used to turn to you for book recommendations around this
> > time of the year. But stopped this practice when I stopped seeing
> > engagement. But last year a handful of you said that you missed this
> annual
> > tradition. So here we go again!
> >
> > What have you read over the last year that has left a mark on you? What
> are
> > you eagerly looking forward to reading over the coming holidays? How has
> > COVID19 affected your reading?
> >
> > I will share my recommendations later in this thread.
> >
> > Thaths
> > --
> > Homer: Hey, what does this job pay?
> > Carl:  Nuthin'.
> > Homer: D'oh!
> > Carl:  Unless you're crooked.
> > Homer: Woo-hoo!
> >
>


-- 
Huda Masood
+91 9886796967

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[Radhika, Y.]

Koh-i-noor by Dalrymple
The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
A Moveable Feast by Hemingway
A Zoo in My Luggage by Gerard Durrell
Tamas (in Spanish)
Los Surcos del Azar (Spanish)
La Florida (Play by Victor Sánchez, Available in English translated by Will
Gregory)


El vie., 20 nov. 2020 11:13 a. m., Thaths  escribió:

> Silk listers, I used to turn to you for book recommendations around this
> time of the year. But stopped this practice when I stopped seeing
> engagement. But last year a handful of you said that you missed this annual
> tradition. So here we go again!
>
> What have you read over the last year that has left a mark on you? What are
> you eagerly looking forward to reading over the coming holidays? How has
> COVID19 affected your reading?
>
> I will share my recommendations later in this thread.
>
> Thaths
> --
> Homer: Hey, what does this job pay?
> Carl:  Nuthin'.
> Homer: D'oh!
> Carl:  Unless you're crooked.
> Homer: Woo-hoo!
>

Re: [silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[Jitendra Vaidya]

My discovery this year has been the SF author Adrian Tchaikovsky. I read
"Children of Time" and "Children of Ruin" which were both excellent and I
just finished reading "The Doors of Eden" which I thought was very
impressive.

Thaths, you asked about Covid - one of my coping mechanisms has been
walking 10K steps every day while listening to Kate Baker read SF stories
over at ClarkesWorld magazine. I became familiar with a lot of excellent SF
being written in China and Korea through this podcast. Oh that reminds me,
"Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation"
compiled by Ken Liu is absolutely worth a read. I particularly enjoyed
Ken's introduction.

I will probably read Anna Weiner's "Uncanny Valley" over the holidays.

Also, the fantasy writer Brian Sanderson has become a bit boring over the
years but I will probably still end up reading "Rhythm of War" if I find
the time over the next few months ...

-Jiten

[silk] Recommended Reading for 2020

[Thaths]

Silk listers, I used to turn to you for book recommendations around this
time of the year. But stopped this practice when I stopped seeing
engagement. But last year a handful of you said that you missed this annual
tradition. So here we go again!

What have you read over the last year that has left a mark on you? What are
you eagerly looking forward to reading over the coming holidays? How has
COVID19 affected your reading?

I will share my recommendations later in this thread.

Thaths
-- 
Homer: Hey, what does this job pay?
Carl:  Nuthin'.
Homer: D'oh!
Carl:  Unless you're crooked.
Homer: Woo-hoo!