Re: [silk] What are the books you've gifted?

[Keith Adam]

>My "here, you​ MUST read this!" books:

>Phantoms in the brain - VS Ramachandran


I bought this book, gosh, twenty years ago I think.  I bought at the same time 
Complexity by Roger Lewin (which I've read several times).  I never got round 
to reading Phantoms in the Brain but it will now be the next book I read.

My books would be

- The Story of San Michel by Axel Munthe.  I've bought this for many of my 
friends and family.
- Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer.
- Ringworld by Larry Niven.
- In Search of Schrodinger's Cat by John Gribbin.

Keith



This email was scanned by Bitdefender

Re: [silk] What are the books you've gifted?

[Bhaskar Dasgupta]

He's still reading them. I'm guessing he's done about 10-11 of them so far? 

> On 6 Dec 2016, at 5:28 pm, Venkatesh H R  wrote:
> 
> Bhaskar - that was quite a list. Nice touch - giving him 19 books. Maybe
> I'll do the same some day. I wonder though, how many of these he has read
> :) Oxford I know from personal experience is a dizzying experience, and
> while he surely would have encountered some of the books in his reading for
> the PPE, there would have been several distractions!
> 
> Deepa - my father always raved about the William books and so I read a few
> of them in my late teens. Quite enjoyed them, and I think they've aged well
> too. Can't be said for so many other children's books including the Enid
> Blytons.
>> On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 9:05 PM Deepa Mohan  wrote:
>> 
>> Funny how we give children books to implant some ideas in their heads,
>> and they come away from the reading with something completely
>> different. I gave my daughter some reading to introduce her to the
>> fact that two of her great-grandfathers had been given the Order of
>> the British Empire...and she was full of "your family were slaves of
>> the British" afterwards! It made me take another look at my family,
>> with a new perspective.
>> 
>> On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 9:01 PM, Bhaskar Dasgupta 
>> wrote:
>>> After loads of consultations, got this set for my eldest cost centre's
>> 18th birthday
>>> 
>>> 
>> http://dailysalty.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/so-what-do-you-give-boy-on-his-18th.html?m=1
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
 On 6 Dec 2016, at 3:03 pm, Rajeev Chakravarthi 
>> wrote:
 
 I try not to gift books to people unless I know what they like to read.
 
 However, for kids' birthdays, I go with one of the following -
 1. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
 2. The Magic Faraway Tree
 3. The Wind in the Willows
 4. Anything from the Paddington Bear series
 5. Anything from the Geronimo Stilton series (seems wildly popular with
>> children)
 
 I have noticed that parents are also grateful for Amar Chitra Katha
>> titles as presents - more so than the kids themselves.
 
 
 
 Regards
 
 Rajeev
 
> On Dec 6, 2016, at 19:37, Namitha Jagadeesh 
>> wrote:
> 
> My "here, you MUST read this!" books:
> 
> Phantoms in the brain - VS Ramachandran
> Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me - Ellen Forney
> Ocean at the end of the lane - Neil Gaiman
> The thrilling adventures of Lovelace and Babbage - Sydney Padua
> 
> 
> 
>> On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 11:06 AM, Udhay Shankar N 
>> wrote:
>> 
>> On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 3:03 PM, Thaths  wrote:
>> 
>> How about your list, Udhay?
>>> 
>> 
>> I was looking for the "here, you MUST read this!" kind of book.
>> 
>> An incomplete list from my perspective:
>> 
>> Godel, Escher, Bach (multiple times)
>> Infinity and the Mind
>> Jonathan Livingstone Seagull (including to my then-fiancee-now-wife)
>> Kamala Subramanian's Mahabharatha
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> 
>> ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
>> 
 
>> 
>> 

Re: [silk] What are the books you've gifted?

[Sriram Karra]

On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 2:57 PM, Udhay Shankar N  wrote:

> Another book recommendation thread. This time, I am interested in the books
> that made enough of an impression that you gifted them to one or more
> people.
>

One-time gifts are not that interesting. There was one book that made such
a deep impression that I bought 15 copies and gave it to anyone I thought
would be interested. That was Hesse's Siddhartha. It took a few years for
me to realize that not even one of them had actually read it. That put an
end to my missionary zeal, alright :)

Re: [silk] What are the books you've gifted?

[Venkatesh H R]

Bhaskar - that was quite a list. Nice touch - giving him 19 books. Maybe
I'll do the same some day. I wonder though, how many of these he has read
:) Oxford I know from personal experience is a dizzying experience, and
while he surely would have encountered some of the books in his reading for
the PPE, there would have been several distractions!

Deepa - my father always raved about the William books and so I read a few
of them in my late teens. Quite enjoyed them, and I think they've aged well
too. Can't be said for so many other children's books including the Enid
Blytons.
On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 9:05 PM Deepa Mohan  wrote:

> Funny how we give children books to implant some ideas in their heads,
> and they come away from the reading with something completely
> different. I gave my daughter some reading to introduce her to the
> fact that two of her great-grandfathers had been given the Order of
> the British Empire...and she was full of "your family were slaves of
> the British" afterwards! It made me take another look at my family,
> with a new perspective.
>
> On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 9:01 PM, Bhaskar Dasgupta 
> wrote:
> > After loads of consultations, got this set for my eldest cost centre's
> 18th birthday
> >
> >
> http://dailysalty.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/so-what-do-you-give-boy-on-his-18th.html?m=1
> >
> >
> >
> >> On 6 Dec 2016, at 3:03 pm, Rajeev Chakravarthi 
> wrote:
> >>
> >> I try not to gift books to people unless I know what they like to read.
> >>
> >> However, for kids' birthdays, I go with one of the following -
> >> 1. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
> >> 2. The Magic Faraway Tree
> >> 3. The Wind in the Willows
> >> 4. Anything from the Paddington Bear series
> >> 5. Anything from the Geronimo Stilton series (seems wildly popular with
> children)
> >>
> >> I have noticed that parents are also grateful for Amar Chitra Katha
> titles as presents - more so than the kids themselves.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Regards
> >>
> >> Rajeev
> >>
> >>> On Dec 6, 2016, at 19:37, Namitha Jagadeesh 
> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> My "here, you MUST read this!" books:
> >>>
> >>> Phantoms in the brain - VS Ramachandran
> >>> Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me - Ellen Forney
> >>> Ocean at the end of the lane - Neil Gaiman
> >>> The thrilling adventures of Lovelace and Babbage - Sydney Padua
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
>  On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 11:06 AM, Udhay Shankar N 
> wrote:
> 
>  On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 3:03 PM, Thaths  wrote:
> 
>  How about your list, Udhay?
> >
> 
>  I was looking for the "here, you MUST read this!" kind of book.
> 
>  An incomplete list from my perspective:
> 
>  Godel, Escher, Bach (multiple times)
>  Infinity and the Mind
>  Jonathan Livingstone Seagull (including to my then-fiancee-now-wife)
>  Kamala Subramanian's Mahabharatha
> 
> 
> 
>  --
> 
>  ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
> 
> >>
>
>

Re: [silk] What are the books you've gifted?

[Venkatesh H R]

For fiction, I've stopped recommending books, but in non-fiction the only
book I've gifted multiple times is:
Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman

It's a book about the obsession of reading, written with a light, wry touch
- can be read from the beginning, middle or end, and from one of the best
essayists around.

Other books I want to gift but never have:
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Any book by Malcolm Gladwell
Any essay collection by Ramachandra Gyha

On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 8:33 PM Rajeev Chakravarthi 
wrote:

> I try not to gift books to people unless I know what they like to read.
>
> However, for kids' birthdays, I go with one of the following -
> 1. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
> 2. The Magic Faraway Tree
> 3. The Wind in the Willows
> 4. Anything from the Paddington Bear series
> 5. Anything from the Geronimo Stilton series (seems wildly popular with
> children)
>
> I have noticed that parents are also grateful for Amar Chitra Katha titles
> as presents - more so than the kids themselves.
>
>
>
> Regards
>
> Rajeev
>
> > On Dec 6, 2016, at 19:37, Namitha Jagadeesh  wrote:
> >
> > My "here, you​ MUST read this!" books:
> >
> > Phantoms in the brain - VS Ramachandran
> > Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me - Ellen Forney
> > Ocean at the end of the lane - Neil Gaiman
> > The thrilling adventures of Lovelace and Babbage - Sydney Padua
> >
> >
> >
> >> On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 11:06 AM, Udhay Shankar N 
> wrote:
> >>
> >> On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 3:03 PM, Thaths  wrote:
> >>
> >> How about your list, Udhay?
> >>>
> >>
> >> ​I was looking for the "here, you​ MUST read this!" kind of book.
> >>
> >> ​An incomplete list from my perspective:
> >>
> >> Godel, Escher, Bach (multiple times)​
> >> ​Infinity and the Mind
> >> Jonathan Livingstone Seagull (including to my then-fiancee-now-wife)
> >> Kamala Subramanian's Mahabharatha​
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >>
> >> ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
> >>
>
>

Re: [silk] What are the books you've gifted?

[Deepa Mohan]

Funny how we give children books to implant some ideas in their heads,
and they come away from the reading with something completely
different. I gave my daughter some reading to introduce her to the
fact that two of her great-grandfathers had been given the Order of
the British Empire...and she was full of "your family were slaves of
the British" afterwards! It made me take another look at my family,
with a new perspective.

On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 9:01 PM, Bhaskar Dasgupta  wrote:
> After loads of consultations, got this set for my eldest cost centre's 18th 
> birthday
>
> http://dailysalty.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/so-what-do-you-give-boy-on-his-18th.html?m=1
>
>
>
>> On 6 Dec 2016, at 3:03 pm, Rajeev Chakravarthi  
>> wrote:
>>
>> I try not to gift books to people unless I know what they like to read.
>>
>> However, for kids' birthdays, I go with one of the following -
>> 1. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
>> 2. The Magic Faraway Tree
>> 3. The Wind in the Willows
>> 4. Anything from the Paddington Bear series
>> 5. Anything from the Geronimo Stilton series (seems wildly popular with 
>> children)
>>
>> I have noticed that parents are also grateful for Amar Chitra Katha titles 
>> as presents - more so than the kids themselves.
>>
>>
>>
>> Regards
>>
>> Rajeev
>>
>>> On Dec 6, 2016, at 19:37, Namitha Jagadeesh  wrote:
>>>
>>> My "here, you MUST read this!" books:
>>>
>>> Phantoms in the brain - VS Ramachandran
>>> Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me - Ellen Forney
>>> Ocean at the end of the lane - Neil Gaiman
>>> The thrilling adventures of Lovelace and Babbage - Sydney Padua
>>>
>>>
>>>
 On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 11:06 AM, Udhay Shankar N  wrote:

 On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 3:03 PM, Thaths  wrote:

 How about your list, Udhay?
>

 I was looking for the "here, you MUST read this!" kind of book.

 An incomplete list from my perspective:

 Godel, Escher, Bach (multiple times)
 Infinity and the Mind
 Jonathan Livingstone Seagull (including to my then-fiancee-now-wife)
 Kamala Subramanian's Mahabharatha



 --

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

>>

Re: [silk] What are the books you've gifted?

[Bhaskar Dasgupta]

After loads of consultations, got this set for my eldest cost centre's 18th 
birthday

http://dailysalty.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/so-what-do-you-give-boy-on-his-18th.html?m=1



> On 6 Dec 2016, at 3:03 pm, Rajeev Chakravarthi  
> wrote:
> 
> I try not to gift books to people unless I know what they like to read.
> 
> However, for kids' birthdays, I go with one of the following -
> 1. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
> 2. The Magic Faraway Tree
> 3. The Wind in the Willows
> 4. Anything from the Paddington Bear series
> 5. Anything from the Geronimo Stilton series (seems wildly popular with 
> children)
> 
> I have noticed that parents are also grateful for Amar Chitra Katha titles as 
> presents - more so than the kids themselves. 
> 
> 
> 
> Regards
> 
> Rajeev 
> 
>> On Dec 6, 2016, at 19:37, Namitha Jagadeesh  wrote:
>> 
>> My "here, you​ MUST read this!" books:
>> 
>> Phantoms in the brain - VS Ramachandran
>> Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me - Ellen Forney
>> Ocean at the end of the lane - Neil Gaiman
>> The thrilling adventures of Lovelace and Babbage - Sydney Padua
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 11:06 AM, Udhay Shankar N  wrote:
>>> 
>>> On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 3:03 PM, Thaths  wrote:
>>> 
>>> How about your list, Udhay?
 
>>> 
>>> ​I was looking for the "here, you​ MUST read this!" kind of book.
>>> 
>>> ​An incomplete list from my perspective:
>>> 
>>> Godel, Escher, Bach (multiple times)​
>>> ​Infinity and the Mind
>>> Jonathan Livingstone Seagull (including to my then-fiancee-now-wife)
>>> Kamala Subramanian's Mahabharatha​
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> --
>>> 
>>> ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
>>> 
> 

Re: [silk] What are the books you've gifted?

[Deepa Mohan]

I suppose it would not be cool to say that I simply love the William
books by Richmal Crompton...and lke Kate Fenton says about Georgette
Heyer (another of my favourites) "have read (the books) to tattered
shreds". (I have the set given to my aunt as a school prize to prove
this statement.

To let the thread drift, I love the illustrations by Thomas Henry. Any
other illustrators who have become illustrious...like Tenniel, or in
my local ambit,  "Jay" (Jayaraj) and "Gopaludu" for Tamil magazines?

On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 7:37 PM, Namitha Jagadeesh  wrote:
> My "here, you MUST read this!" books:
>
> Phantoms in the brain - VS Ramachandran
> Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me - Ellen Forney
> Ocean at the end of the lane - Neil Gaiman
> The thrilling adventures of Lovelace and Babbage - Sydney Padua
>
>
>
> On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 11:06 AM, Udhay Shankar N  wrote:
>
>> On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 3:03 PM, Thaths  wrote:
>>
>> How about your list, Udhay?
>> >
>>
>> I was looking for the "here, you MUST read this!" kind of book.
>>
>> An incomplete list from my perspective:
>>
>> Godel, Escher, Bach (multiple times)
>> Infinity and the Mind
>> Jonathan Livingstone Seagull (including to my then-fiancee-now-wife)
>> Kamala Subramanian's Mahabharatha
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
>>

Re: [silk] What are the books you've gifted?

[Rajeev Chakravarthi]

I try not to gift books to people unless I know what they like to read.

However, for kids' birthdays, I go with one of the following -
1. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
2. The Magic Faraway Tree
3. The Wind in the Willows
4. Anything from the Paddington Bear series
5. Anything from the Geronimo Stilton series (seems wildly popular with 
children)

I have noticed that parents are also grateful for Amar Chitra Katha titles as 
presents - more so than the kids themselves. 



Regards

Rajeev 

> On Dec 6, 2016, at 19:37, Namitha Jagadeesh  wrote:
> 
> My "here, you​ MUST read this!" books:
> 
> Phantoms in the brain - VS Ramachandran
> Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me - Ellen Forney
> Ocean at the end of the lane - Neil Gaiman
> The thrilling adventures of Lovelace and Babbage - Sydney Padua
> 
> 
> 
>> On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 11:06 AM, Udhay Shankar N  wrote:
>> 
>> On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 3:03 PM, Thaths  wrote:
>> 
>> How about your list, Udhay?
>>> 
>> 
>> ​I was looking for the "here, you​ MUST read this!" kind of book.
>> 
>> ​An incomplete list from my perspective:
>> 
>> Godel, Escher, Bach (multiple times)​
>> ​Infinity and the Mind
>> Jonathan Livingstone Seagull (including to my then-fiancee-now-wife)
>> Kamala Subramanian's Mahabharatha​
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> 
>> ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
>> 

Re: [silk] What are the books you've gifted?

[Namitha Jagadeesh]

My "here, you​ MUST read this!" books:

Phantoms in the brain - VS Ramachandran
Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me - Ellen Forney
Ocean at the end of the lane - Neil Gaiman
The thrilling adventures of Lovelace and Babbage - Sydney Padua



On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 11:06 AM, Udhay Shankar N  wrote:

> On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 3:03 PM, Thaths  wrote:
>
> How about your list, Udhay?
> >
>
> ​I was looking for the "here, you​ MUST read this!" kind of book.
>
> ​An incomplete list from my perspective:
>
> Godel, Escher, Bach (multiple times)​
> ​Infinity and the Mind
> Jonathan Livingstone Seagull (including to my then-fiancee-now-wife)
> Kamala Subramanian's Mahabharatha​
>
>
>
> --
>
> ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
>

Re: [silk] What are the books you've gifted?

[Udhay Shankar N]

On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 3:03 PM, Thaths  wrote:

How about your list, Udhay?
>

​I was looking for the "here, you​ MUST read this!" kind of book.

​An incomplete list from my perspective:

Godel, Escher, Bach (multiple times)​
​Infinity and the Mind
Jonathan Livingstone Seagull (including to my then-fiancee-now-wife)
Kamala Subramanian's Mahabharatha​



-- 

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

Re: [silk] What are the books you've gifted?

[Suresh Ramasubramanian]

I gifted someone a set of Heinlein novels, used.  Stupid of me, but I was young 
and impressionable back then and thought they were great.  [Well, they are, if 
you carefully blank your mind out to the weird and wonderful politics and enjoy 
them for what they are]

Other than that, I usually gift people prints of paintings and such, not books.

--srs

On 06/12/16, 2:57 PM, "silklist on behalf of Udhay Shankar N" 
 wrote:

Another book recommendation thread. This time, I am interested in the books
that made enough of an impression that you gifted them to one or more
people.

Go!

Udhay

Re: [silk] What are the books you've gifted?

[Karen Fernandes]

Listed in order of personal favourites and book-gifts that ALWAYS work:
1. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski (This is not a book. This is an
experience.)
2. The Little Prince by antoine de saint exupery
4. The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy (The hardcover edition)
5. Asterios Polyp / Bone / Adi Parva / Maus / Palestine
6. If On A Winter's Night A Traveler... By Italo Calvino
7. Cosmiconomics, also by Italo Calvino

Cheers!

(Sorry for not replying below the line or whatever that is. I got too
excited.)


Karen.

On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 3:03 PM, Thaths  wrote:

> On Tue., 6 Dec. 2016, 8:28 pm Udhay Shankar N,  wrote:
>
> > Another book recommendation thread. This time, I am interested in the
> books
> > that made enough of an impression that you gifted them to one or more
> > people.
> >
>
> Here are a few that I loved so much that I gifted them to friends and
> family:
>
> * Samanth's Following Fish
> * Art Spiegelman's Maus series
> * Rushdie's Midnight's Children
>
> How about your list, Udhay?
>
> Thaths
>
> >
>

Re: [silk] What are the books you've gifted?

[Thejaswi Udupa]

On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 2:57 PM, Udhay Shankar N  wrote:

> Another book recommendation thread. This time, I am interested in the books
> that made enough of an impression that you gifted them to one or more
> people.
>

Books are what I usually gift people. But more than the book impressing me,
what I look for is to maximise the probability of them liking the book. And
this usually depends on how much I know and understand the person.

(Ideally, this is how all gifting should work)

Re: [silk] What are the books you've gifted?

[Thaths]

On Tue., 6 Dec. 2016, 8:28 pm Udhay Shankar N,  wrote:

> Another book recommendation thread. This time, I am interested in the books
> that made enough of an impression that you gifted them to one or more
> people.
>

Here are a few that I loved so much that I gifted them to friends and
family:

* Samanth's Following Fish
* Art Spiegelman's Maus series
* Rushdie's Midnight's Children

How about your list, Udhay?

Thaths

>

[silk] What are the books you've gifted?

[Udhay Shankar N]

Another book recommendation thread. This time, I am interested in the books
that made enough of an impression that you gifted them to one or more
people.

Go!

Udhay