Rumpole and the Angel of Death

This was recommended by Varali. Usually I like her choice so I picked up the book. But then I had forgotten her penchant for English humour! It is too subtle for me. So I didn't really complete this compilation of short stories by John Mortimer.

Too bad. I like Woodhouse better than this guy is the only consolation for me!

Life, the Universe and Everything

What can I say? It was brilliantly Humourous. Just what was the man on to come up with stuff like this? The bizarre names he comes up with for characters itself is a subject of study. And in this book he converts Cricket into a intra galaxy war of "Krikkit" simply awesome!

I bought this book, an omnibus with six of his books in 2005. Despite my urge to finish of the series, I have been savouring one book at a time. It is simply is more fun this way.

No rating n all, I simply love this book :)

An example for the usage for the phrase "pustakada badanekaayi"

It is not a very literary post but interesting nevertheless one thinks...Quoted here is none other Uppi aka Upendra from Sandalwood. Roughly translated it means Love is nothing but bogus :) I wonder how come most such statements are found on the back of the Bangalore autos?

The ugliness of the Indian Male and other propositions

Needless to say the title prompted me to pick up the book. Mukul Kesavan is a professor of history with a penchant for cinema and he is humourous too. The book is a collection of his essays on topics ranging cinema, documentary and how chennai might as well be another country.

Although I expected the entire book to be about the title, the array of topics wasn't disappointing in any way.

I only differed with his views on the choice of subjects for documentaries. It makes a very ineresting read.

My rating 3 on 5

City of Djinns - William Darlymple

What a revelation this book was! This is my first WD Book and I wasn't disappointed.

I was impressed with the kind of history he managed to rake up. So many things I didn't know about Delhi. Honestly I am not a big fan of the city and the book didn't change that either but a lot of it's attitude and behaviour was put in perspective. I was a bit intrigued that the book largely covered only the Mughal era and no sign of any Hindu rulers anywhere. Then during the course of the book I realised the Mughals came in to Delhi in the early 13th century and held on till 18th, that is the british rule. He briefly delves into the Mahabharath period (in the BC he says) towards the end. I have always wondered about Mahabharatha whether it is fact or fiction err mythology may be the right word. WD kind of points that it might be a fact that has been embellished over the centuries and is in the current form of grandeur and divinity. I was very impressed with WD's deligence through out the book. And made me wonder why I never researched anything this determinedly...

There were times when I got bored of the royal ways of life but the book always draws you back into it.

My rating 4 on 5

Nancy drew - The treasure in the royal tower

Yeah yeah yeah I am a bit old for this. But it is the only teenage fetish I have held on to :)

It is a quick read, gives my gray cells something to solve :)

Can't rate them though. It is purely for fun.

The best 125 Meatless Pasta Dishes

I love cook books! I only try about 2.5 of them from every book but I still love reading them. Looking at the yummy pictures, imagining the taste of the spices and aromas. And sometimes if I really like it make them too.

My latest fetish being Italian food and since very little meat is part of my diet I thought this book would be interesting. The edition I picked up had no pictures so I was very disappointed. I like to to know how the food turns out or rather how it is supposed to turn out. But it made a very interesting read nevertheless because it talks about the basics of pasta making. Right from the different kinds of pastas, sauces, the equipment. Some of the cheese based recipes sounded delicious. I have it written down. Hopefully I will try them sometime soon.

My rating 3 on 5 (mostly cos of no pics)