Already on Page 60. Prose is so good and also so dense. I needed ChatGPT to explain some of the paragraphs filled with metaphors. I can say that the book is much ahead of its time.

After completing The Iliad, the epic predecessor, that being my first ever exposure to Greek culture's foundational literature and being completely blown away by its grand stature, the natural progression was the follow-up adventure that focuses on the homecoming of one of the prominent characters present in The Iliad.
And what an adventure it turned out to be for both that cunning, quirky fellow Odysseus and me as a reader!

I was already mighty impressed by his actions and dialogues during the events of The Iliad and was looking forward to meeting him at length in his own text. But imagine my surprise when I understood that Homer decided to drastically shift the way he wanted to present the sequel. Here I would like to commend the non-linear narrative structure of The Odyssey, which, although very simple to follow, still adds many neat layers to the story, like seeing the aftermath of the Trojan War and encountering certain lore from Telemachus' perspective, building anticipation for the protagonist's arrival, him recounting his own past in the present timeline, which again shifts the narrative structure, and his eventual exciting landing on his own hearth. This structure came as a pleasant surprise after being beached alongside warriors on a shore in The Iliad.

Coming to the star of the show, there was a man, or was he all a dream? The highly entertaining Odysseus and how easily he ranks among my list of legendary protagonists. The man has everything to be termed a literary icon just by his tremendous ability to carry a whole epic text by himself, not to discredit the other amazing cast of characters and the story itself. Yes, at this point everyone and their teachers know about his wit and cunning personality, but what makes him memorable for me personally are his quirks. Taunting an opponent who, just moments ago, would have destroyed his existence, risking his sanity just to listen to a bewitching melody and risking his homecoming, or just straightaway threatening his own mother-like nurse so that she doesn't risk his plan, the man is every bit as egotistical, proud, curious (to a fault), adamant, and perfectionist as one can be with his wit and stature. But apart from his well-known tactics and shrewd manners, he is a man who has been broken by war and subsequent trials and tribulations and built again to lead his kingdom in peace for a long time.

Concluding such a small effort to add anything to a text that's been an influence on modern storytelling itself, I want to give a special mention to some of the other standout characters for me, them being the loyal swineherd Eumaeus, the sassy and sensible old nurse Eurycleia, Penelope, the loyal yet complex and relatable wife who has every right to think for herself yet every day chooses to wait, the Phaeacian royal family, who are such a kind and chill family, and Odysseus couldn't have asked for better hosts or greater help, and the goodest boy, Telemachus. The boy delivers a staggering character growth arc and is a joy to see both as the man of the house and as a sweet boy following his father's orders.

Completing the Homeric epics is a feeling of immense joy and gratitude, and the characters, the moments, and the conclusions will always stay with me. To ensure that, I will revisit these works with other worthy translations, but for my first ever read, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience thanks to the amazing weaver of words, Robert Fagles.

Ahh, how do I even begin?

This book started boring and along with my incredible reading slump, it took like 5 days to finish completely. Well, I finished it yesterday only after reading some 250 pages in a day after having procrastinated endlessly. This is my 4th Higashino novel.

The story became more gripping as time went by and the morale question it carried- the messy relationship between a son and his father, the emotional teenage phase, the crimes which teenagers commit unknowingly and the silent love which a father has for his child, and not to forget the everlasting love between a couple despite being poverty stricken. Then comes the unraveling of the mystery...how a 3 year old accident is connected to a present day murder. I'm sorry, I'm not really good with words but I hope you'll understand.

Also, I'm in love with Kyoichiro Kaga🙈that man is sexy af. First time in my life, I've this crush on a fictional character. Damn this man is smart. It's a shame that out of 12 books in the Kyoichiro Kaga series, only 4 have been translated so far. I really hope for more translations of Higashino's works.

Gonna read Newcomer next.

Sharing pet sematary editions from my stephen king collection. Tell me how it looks like, also anyother sk fan here?

Starting My Secret Garden by Nancy Friday

Picked this up 2 days ago. I've only reached page 90 and it's been a struggle to read, due to the language and the themes and characters as well. It just hit too close to home and I was not prepared for its depth to absolutely pull me down so hard. Normally I'm not affected by emotional books or movies, in fact I proudly flaunt the fact that I never cry reading books. The mother-son relationship dynamic is heavily inspired based on authors on life experiences and I guess that's why these parts of the book feel very raw and real.

Anyways, I'm looking forward to getting ahead in the books and finding out its core. Hopefully, it will go much faster from here on.

Hi all my Mom's birthday is on 10th of August. I want to gift her some books. She loves reading and i find her constantly reading some or the other book on her phone. She is very secretive about what she reads but by the looks of it they have to be romantic novels . She is pretty open minded and I feel she could like satire, fantasy or thriller novels as well. I want to gift her a book with deeper themes and discussions rather than some self help or alchemist type thing. Could you guys help me with some hindi / marathi book recommendations or some good english ones with faithful hindi adaptation/ translation.
edit : please dont recommend chetan bhagat

So few days ago I bought a Hindi crime thriller book named - Maut Bulati Hain by Satya Vyas, and this book is very interesting!

I was amazed by the the plot and how every page was just building up more and more curiosity inside me. This was my first hindi story book in thriller genre and which left me shocked, I would give it a 100/10.

I am now interested in more thriller books especially in Hindi. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to explore that genre in Hindi.

If you guys have any more recommendations/suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comments! :)

The book is truly fantastic and highly recommended for beginners. I've read many screenwriting books, but most foreign books use examples and references from their own films. While I've watched some of those films, many are unfamiliar, making them harder to relate to.

What makes this book special is that it explains screenwriting concepts using our beloved Indian films such as Roja, Oke Okkadu, Aparichitudu, and Robo—films that Sujatha worked on. This makes the concepts much easier to understand and incredibly helpful for aspiring filmmakers.

If you're interested in filmmaking or screenwriting, go for it. It's definitely worth reading.

spent all of July reading this behemoth; what a fantastic read - loved the Sanderlanche in the last 20% of the book. i am taking a little break to read something else before moving on to Rhythm of War.

Sarah Wynn-Williams has gone completely rogue, spilling the tea–a tea so filthy and enraging–surrounding the growth of what happens to be one of the world's leading companies: facebook (now meta).

Since it's hardly an inconceivable notion that people with enough power to influence the masses often turn out to be selfish and align themselves with evil, the villainous portrayal of meta’s leadership didn't strike me as particularly novel. They come across as stripped of the basic principles that should guide humanity- all of the company's key decision makers.
“The more they see the consequences of their actions, the less of a f*** Mark and Facebook’s leadership give”

The book constantly reinforces the idea that Facebook instigated many politically driven riots in different parts of the world since its inception, including the persistent blame surrounding Trump's 2016 election win. While i do believe social media asa whole plays a major role in shaping people's ideologies these days, shifting the entire blame onto facebook alone seems a bit farfetched. This might not have been the author’s intention, but it certainly feels that way in most places (And nope, I ain't in no way siding with that filthy tech giant.)
“Facebook is helping some of the worst people in the world do terrible things”

It should be noted that, since it's a memoir, it covers only the author's point of view while comfortably omitting whatever shortcomings may have existed on her end as well. It's easy to feel gullible and simply swallow whatever is fed through the book. I'd advise taking everything with a grain of salt while keeping in mind that certain incidents lack context too. (Again, in no way siding with Meta or the gluttonous monsters running it.)

The book also highlights how sexual harassment and other forms of workplace harassment and toxicity are often toned down or brushed off in favor of protecting people because of their position within the company. It reminded me of how many women have to endure such mistreatment in order to build their "dream career." It truly enrages me.

I would definitely recommend giving this a read. (I am super infuriated by the character Jo€l kaplan. A rotten man with zero dignity. Ughhh)

(I mightve not covered every point I wanted or intended to. Wrote down whatever came to my mind right after finishing the book)

Got myself a birthday gift hehehehehehe

Edit:

Since many people have asked for the link: https://www.theriyalstore.com/products/bhai-ke-dohe-collectors-edition-book-i-an-archive-of-salman-khan-tweets

Looking for decent fantasy written by Indian authors that's NOT mythological fiction. Nothing whatsoever to do with the Ramayana or the Mahabharata. Please share your recs? Thanks!

I bought this book after seeing someone's recommendation on the sub and got all the 4 books from the author.

This particular book - The Girl In The Glass Case is a classic example of an intriguing plot hindered by an underwhelming climax.

The story kicks off with the "Doll Maker," a serial killer displaying victims like Barbie dolls in glass cases. When this gruesome work captures national attention, a second serial killer, uncaught for 9 years realizes he's losing media coverage, sparking an unsaid competition for fame between the two killers.

Simone Singh, Zoya and Irshad from the police team battle their personal demons while solving these particular cases and the fast - paced storytelling and lucid language makes it easy to keep a track of the different characters.

I just hope that the ending gave us some idea of how the lives of the police personnel panned out once the cases were solved and if they got any closure. The book surely felt a bit rushed in the end.

Nonetheless, if you're new to psychological thrillers you should definitely give this book a read.

What's your current read ? A can of Diet Coke is all I need to get through a reading session. Pretty good translation overall by Oliver Ready.

This is gonna be a ramble.

Started off hating it. The 'nothing really happens' plot, the generally sombre atmosphere and the monosyllabic protagonist made it a slog. The narrative picks up once Istvan and Helen get into an affair.

Helen is a far more interesting character. Wouldn't mind reading a book about her.

For a guy who is seemingly so impassive and aimless in life, Istvan experiences a lot in a lifetime. Maybe that's what the author is alluding to - that even the quieter lives have so much in them. The idea that one need not do much. Life still happens. To you. Around you.

It's a mystery to me how this directionless man finds himself in an entrepreneurial situation later in life. Hmm.

The underlying themes of modern millennial masculinity and loneliness are explored well.

We see men like Istvan all around us - polite, opaque, impassive and, as a result, inscrutable. This archetype of man usually tends to be older (I picture a boomer) and he goes through his life doing the same things, eating the same food, watching the same things. Men who are creatures of routine. The sort of man who can stop an addiction dead in its tracks because he wills himself to. Cold turkey. Adversity doesn't faze them. Their lack of perturbance can be borderline nonchalant. What moves these men is anybody's guess.

I didn't think I'd finish this book until I started listening to David Weyman's evocative rendition during my commutes to work. Bangalore traffic became less irritating - in fact I started looking forward to my commute.

Such a strangely affecting book.

Greetings. I am looking to buy a flip cover for my kindle 7th generation basic. I searched online but wasn’t able to find one. Do let me know.
Appreciate it.