Books I have read

I recently joined Library Thing and have created a list of books I have read till now. Although its impossible to remember all the books in the last 10-15 years, I have syill managed to remember a good portion of them.

You can see my list here - http://www.librarything.com/catalog/vishalp

Will keep updating it now & then. I am also planning to include short reviews of the books in the comments section. That is, if time permits.

Requests to Movie goers

1) Please Please Please keep your kids at home: Isn't it plain obvious that little kids are going to cry when the movie starts thanks to the darkness and loud sound. You are not only scaring the innocent child but also inconveniencing others in the movie hall.

2) Please learn about the movie you are watching before deciding to watch it. And if it doesn't meet your expectations, please dont crib in the "Movie Hall".Here are some of the snippets of conversation I heard while watching A Wednesday at Inox last Sunday:

At the start of the film -
"Story kya hai?"

"Pata nahi - bolte hai timepass film hai. Apne ko kya hai. Dekhte hai."

"Arre maine suna hai isme Jimmy Shergill hot dikhta hai?"

15 mins into the film -
"Isme heroine hai kya?"

During the interval:
"Yeh toh buddhe logon ka picture hai"
"Haan yaar. main toh bore ho gayi"

At the climax when Naseruddin Shah is giving his speech:
"Yeh kab khatam ho gaa"
"Baadme hum Pizza Hut jaayenge"
"Mummy ko phone lagaa tension karti hogi"

Unfortunately, I was sitting next to these esteemed ladies and they completely ruined the film for me. They just wouldn't shut up. Apparently they had anticipated a masala potboiler and were disappointed.

I know for some people going to the movies is more of an outing/timepass than serious movie watching. But atleast you can shut your mouth and let others watch the film in silence.

And pls dont get me started on cell phones ringing during the movie. That is another long rant for another day.

Movie Review - A Wednesday

Rating - 4/5

Breathless in "Bomb"ay

Fast paced. No Songs. Stellar performances. Tight script.

What more could you ask for in a thriller.

A few observations I made during the film:

1) The director has clearly side tracked the communal issue. That is by not identifying Naseeruddin Shah's religion, he has tried to avoind any cynicism in the film. This has worked in his favour.

2) The final twist in the story seemed just a little bit implausible. Something like Rang De Basanti. But while the second half of RDB was completely stupid, this had some semblance of feasibility.

3) In the beginning we are shown Naseruddin Shah leaving a bag in CST station. What happened to that?

4) Also, I did not understand the Jimmy Shergill's opening scene. He came across as a bad cop (helping the guy get out of jail into the hospital) but then throughout the film he is all goody goody.

All in all, a good film worth a watch.

Book Review - Unaccustomed Earth

Rating - 5/5

Outstanding. Mature writing. Engrossing stories.

This is Jhumpa Lahiri's third book after The Interpreter of Maladies (Short stories) and The Namesake (Novel).

I read The Interpreter of Maladies a year back and was very impressed by Lahiri's writing. Although her stories are open ended, the prose is very good and you are hooked in the first few pages.

The basic premise is the same in all her stories - bengalis staying in America or returning from America to India. But this common setting is just incidental. The real core of each story is the observations on human relationships - father & daughter, monthers and daughters, brothers and sisters.

While this time the stories are longer, they have more depth and the prose has improved by leaps and bounds.

If I were to rank her books, I would put Unaccustomed Earth on the top followed by The Namesake and last but not the least The Interpreter of Maladies.

The Amulet of Samarakand

This is the first part of a trilogy called 'The Bartimaeus Trilogy' by Jonathan Stroud.

It is far different from Harry Potter.

Though a bit predictable, it is a wonderful read nonetheless.

Rating - 3.5/5

Amazon

Stock Screener

Google Finance has a nifty little stock screener for U.S. companies. It's amazing. Check out the link below

Google Finance Stock Screener

I am so hoping they come up with a similar one for Indian Stocks :-)