Sunday Miscellany

A few hours after I read the aphorism of Baltasar Gracian about doubling the sources of your joy and pleasure, Gracian popped up again n my life. When I read the aphorism at six in the morning, I got the idea of writing about it in the blog. When 'The Hindu' landed at the doorstep I eagerly picked it up and opened the Sunday magazine for book reviews and stuff like that. There was an essay titled 'The Craft of Difficult Writing' by Swaha Das and Hari Nair.

The essay was about why some writers deliberately chose to be difficult in their writing. One of the writers mentioned in the essay was Baltasar Gracian, for whom, the writers said, 'writing was both lucid and truant, giving and revieving pleasure in every page by playing games with the reader's mind.'

It was a well written essay and one of the rare pieces on writing that are published in the newspapers as I was saying in a previous post.

Later in the day, I was at Abids. I was reluctant to buy any more books this year. But when I saw a good copy of Peter Hoeg's ' Smilla's Sense of Snow' I couldn't resist. I got the book for only twenty rupees. I also saw Namita Gokhale's 'Paro', Peter Mayle's 'A Year in Provence', Scott Turow's 'One L' and a book by Lewis Grizzard. I have all these books except 'Paro' which I hope to pick up next Sunday.

Rest of the day I was on an odd assignment in an office where I spent my time reading Elmore Leonard's 'The Big Bounce' at a stretch. I am eagerly waiting for the next Sunday because it would be the first Sunday of the month and 'The Hindu' would carry 'Literary Review.' It is a long week's wait.

Best Finds of 2007- II

These are some of the books I picked up after I began the blog. I have written about finding these books in the posts under 'Book Junkie'.

AUGUST

-All Fishermen are Liars by Linda Greenlaw
-Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
-Long Quiet Highway: Waking up in America by Natalie Goldberg
-To The Ends of the Earth by Paul Theroux
-Ballad of Sad Café by Carson McCullers
-Dave Barry’s Guide to Guys by Dave Barry
-The Paris Review; Writers at Work
-The Law at Randado by Elmore Leonard
-Paris Trout by Pete Dexter
-Blind Willow, Sleepy Woman by Haruki Murakami

SEPTEMBER

-Thrilling Cities by Ian Fleming
-Bandits by Elmore Leonard
-Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss
-Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury
-Summing Up by Somerset Maugham
-Collectible Fountain Pens
-Just Desserts by Jerry Oppenheimer
-Black Betty by Walter Mosley
-City Primeval by Elmore Leonard


OCTOBER

-Dave Barry Hits Below the Beltway by Dave Barry
-A Call to Memphis by Peter Taylor
-Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
-Claudio Magris- Danube
-The Lifetime Reading Plan by Clifton Fadiman
-Kingdom by the Sea by Paul Theroux
-How to Write a Romance and Get Published by Kathryn Falk

NOVEMBER
-A Writer’s Handbook 2002
-Bandits by Elmore Leonard
-Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth
-Maximum Bob by Elmore Leonard
-God’s Pocket by Pete Dexter -Mr. Paradise by Elmore Leonard
-52’ Pickup by Elmore Leonard
-One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
-Ragman’s Son by Kirk Douglas
-The Hungry Ocean by Linda Greenlaw


DECEMBER

-The Golden Leaf by Doris Lessing
-Sophie’s Choice by William Styron -
-A Short Guide to a Happy Life by Anna Quindlen -
-The Idea of India by Sunil Khilnani
-The Big Bounce by Elmore Leonard
-Creative Writing by Cartier
-On the Road by Jack Kerouac
-At Home in the World by Joyce Maynard
-Our Private Lives edited by Daniel Halpern
-Book Finds by Ian C Ellis
-Best Writing on Writing

Elmore Leonard disappoints with 'The Big Bounce'

I was feeling bored today and I took out Elmore Leonard's 'The Big Bounce' and read it at a stretch. I managed to finish the 325-page book in about four hours. I got the impression that it was one of Elmore Leonard's weakest books. There's no humor, no credible action and the story itself was vague.

It is about a small time burglar, Jack Ryan, hooking up with a young girl, Nancy, who lures him to robbery in her rich boy friend's house. The story is too stretched out and doesn't sound convincing. There is too much of introspection by Jack Ryan and there are scenes in it that seem unnecessary. I was terribly disappointed with this book.

It would have been okay if it didn't have any story but had some humor. There wasn't a line in it that was funny. Quite clearly, one of Elmore Leonard's duds. It felt like he wrote it half-heartedly. But he is a great writer and remains one of my favorite writers. I still have his 'Pronto' to be read.

Worldly Wisdom of Gracian

Daily compulsory reading for me includes reading the sayings of Epictetus or Baltasar Gracian which help me get along in life with less stress and with more ease Last year I had found Baltasar Gracian’s ‘The Art of Worldly Wisdom” at a second hand book store and it is a real treasure. There are three hundred aphorisms in it about how to conduct oneself in life. It is useful advice that comes in handy in dealing with people.

The book, also called a “ Pocket Oracle” is a translation by Christopher Maurier. In the introduction it says that ‘it is a book of strategies for knowing, judging, and acting: for making one’s way in the world and achieving distinction and perfection……Its ideal reader is someone whose daily occupation involves dealing with others….like all aphorisms these are meant to be read slowly, a few at a time.'

I read one aphorism a day and there are several I like very much. Today’s aphorism I read is something that is relevant for anyone. This is the one:

Double Your Store of Life’s Necessities: You will double life. Don’t depend on any single thing, or limit any one resource, no matter how rare and excellent. Double everything, especially the sources of benefit, favor, and taste. The moon is transcendently mutable, setting the limits of permanence, and more still are the things that depend on our frail human will. Store up supplies for frailty. It is a great rule for living to double your sources of happiness and profit. Just as nature doubled the most important and most exposed of our bodily limbs, so should art double the things we depend on.

Gracian makes a lot of sense in that aphorism. There are more that I will post in the future but for the time being we can mull over the above one.

A Great Year

2007 has been a great year for me. It started with a change in posting from a stress-filled job to a relatively peaceful one. I bought nearly two hundred books this year and half of them were wonderful finds. The best find of the year was Julia Cameron’s ‘Right to Write’, a hard-cover edition I found almost by accident. The other significant find was Lynne Truss’s ‘Eats, Shoots and Leaves.’ I’ve listed them in an earlier post and on the last day of the year I will post the second part of the list of best books I found this year.

Writing wise too it has been a wonderful year. I managed to write several chapters of my novel this year and though I had planned to complete it this year it doesn’t seem possible. I plan to complete it by end of January 2008. I also did the NaNo book which also I plan to finish soon. Then, I had several ideas for humorous essays that I am working on and most of them I plan to put on this blog. All of them are Hyderabad centric. Two of my articles were published in 'Wings & Aisles', the inflight magazine of Paramount Airways. Another article on fountain pens was published in a supplement (Quest) of 'The Hindu' in September this year.

Starting this blog was the biggest thing I did this year. I have no idea how many people are reading it but I am writing it nevertheless. Some friends who read it regularly say it is okay. Next year I plan to write better stuff and less frequently. More about this blog in the 100th post on the last day of 2007.

I also made several new friends this year and most of them through books. I’ve met a couple of them after having been in touch with them via e-mail. It was nice meeting them and finding that we share a lot in common. Of course, I’ve deepened my friendship with my old friends. I wonder how life would be without friends and I cannot imagine a life without all my friends.

Travel wise it has been a dull year. I have not been anywhere out of the state and my travels were confined within the state. Almost all the trips were official trips. Next year I plan to do more traveling and also take the family along. I am planning a trip to Goa and I hope it materializes.

The best thing was getting the Mont Blanc Meisterstuck fountain pen. Next year I plan to begin using the pen sometime in February. It was a good year for me and I hope 2008 is going to be even better.

A New Year's Resolution

In the same issue of ‘The Week’ I had talked about in my previous post, there is an article by Shobhaa De titled ’25 Ways to Be Happy in 2008’. She has listed out twenty five things to do that would keep us happy, and the list included things like crying your heart out when you feel like it, getting enough sleep, learning to lose and such advice. It was well written and worth a read. One item in the list that struck a chord in me was the one about listening to music.

I discovered that though I love to listen to good music I haven’t made music an integral part of my life. I listen whenever a song plays on the television but I don’t go out to buy music cassettes or CDs to listen to. I don’t even own a music system. I spend all my money on books.. Reading that list gave me an idea for a New Year Resolution I could do – listen more to good music.

Music has been what I’ve been missing all these years. I never made a conscious effort to listen to good music regularly though I enjoy listening to popular songs. When it comes to music I am an ignoramus. Not any more. It is going to change soon.

In the new year I plan to buy an iPod and load all my favorite songs on it. In fact sometime last month I began making a list of all the songs I liked. I will listen to these songs on the iPod. I will also ask my friends about the music they like listening to and if it is good I will load it on the iPod. I’ve observed that people who listen to music regularly are more relaxed. I will make a determined effort to listen to all the good music out there. I will listen to at least one good song every day from the new year on wards.

But first I have to buy an iPod. I’ve promised to give myself an iPod if I complete the book I am working on. It will take another month for me to finish writing it. Meanwhile I will check out the models and also the songs. Listening to music is one of the easiest thing to do since you do not have to put in any effort. You just sit back and relax. I will cut down on the books and spend more on music

Articles on Publishing

It isn't usual for mainstream magazines and newspapers in India to carry articles about book publishing and writing. Occasionally, The Hindu carries articles on writing and books which are usually reprints from 'Guardian'. 'The Hindu', in its literary supplement sometimes carries good articles on writing by Indian writers. One such article was by Navtej Sarna about a year back.

The latest issue of 'The Week', which seems to be celebrating its Silver Jubilee carried an article, or rather a double article, on how a book will sell. There are actually two issues, said to be a double-issue on account of the Silver Jubilee of the magazine.

In the article by Shira Boss titled 'Making of a Bestseller', the writer informs how Curtis Sittenfeld's first novel- Cipher- was sold to the readers. The article says that no one knows what makes a book a bestseller and concludes with a quote by an editor,' People think publishing is a business, but it's a casino.'

In the second article titled 'Killer Hunt' there are tips on how to pick up a good book while in a hurry. The advice is to read the first sentence and if that grips you then pick up the book. I agree with her advice since it is the first sentence that hooks the reader and writers have been known to agonise about the first sentence.

A Surprise Find

When I stepped out for a walk on Monday evening I hadn't a clue that I'd be returning with three good books tucked under my arms. I set out with the intention of taking a short walk but the short walk got extended and I ended up at the bookstore adjacent to Sangeet theatre. I wanted to just look but I found three books I couldn't resist buying.

The first book I found was 'Our Private Lives' by Daniel Halpern. It is a collection of journals, notebooks and diaries of famous writers like Joyce Carol Oates, Annie Dillard, Oliver Sacks and thirty eight other writers and poets. This is what the blurb at the back says- 'Witty, eloquent, sardonic or pleasantly mundane, these forty selections give us writerly sensibility at its purest, freshest and least constrained."

The second book was also on writing. It was "How to Enjoy Writing" by Janet and Isaac Asimov. I cannot resist buying books on writing and this book is described as 'A Book of Aid and Comfort', things I am looking for while I hammer away at my novel which doesn't seem to end soon.

The third book of the day was a second copy of Julia Cameron's 'The Artist's Way', which I had found at the Book Fair last week. I picked up this second copy to give away. I paid two hundred bucks for these three books. I hope not to pick up any more books this week because my tally of books is nearing 210 and my book shelves are packed. I don't have space to store any more books in my room.

'The Hindu' Disappoints

After reading newspapers for over thirty years I have come to the conclusion that one’s esteem for one’s favorite newspaper tends to fluctuate and doesn’t remain constant. When the paper publishes a nice and interesting article your esteem for the paper rises and when it publishes something you hate, then it plummets.

I do read a couple of newspapers every day but ‘The Hindu’ is a must. It has become a habit over the years. But of late my fondness for the paper is wearing thin because of several factors. In my view the editors seem to believe that its readers do not count to much, contrary to what they write about how they care for their readers and so on. Last week this attitude became clearer and I no longer feel the same towards the paper.

Last Thursday, the front page of ‘The Hindu’ had no news of any kind on except for a full page ad for a real estate venture under the mast head. I thought it was only a cover and that the real paper would be inside. Of course, there was another front page with the regular headlines under the masthead. It was a clever move to make the reader believe that ‘The Hindu’ had not sold out its front page for a silly real estate firm. But a closer look reveals that the back page of the page containing the real estate ad is full of news and even the page numbering reveals that the page with the ad is the front page. I felt a bit upset but not entirely shocked. It was only expected because the papers seem to be giving in to the advertisers more often.

A week earlier, the same ad appeared in ‘The Deccan Chronicle’ on the front page. The front page, journalists say, is sacrosanct because it contains the mast head and no one would dream of putting a full page ad there. But it has begun to happen more frequently, and now one of the last bastions of good newspaper values has also shortchanged its readers by putting advertisers over readers. It was a sad day. I do not know if the management thought about how the readers would feel about the front page ad.

In an article titled ‘The Pleasure Principle’ in the December ’07 issue of ‘The Atlantic’ that I found on Sunday, Michael Hirschorn writes that ‘newspapers should try giving readers what they want not just what editors think they need.’ I guess the editors also decide what ads the readers should see and where when it comes to Indian newspapers. I expect more ridiculous things to happen in the Indian papers in the coming future.

Sunday's Book Haul

It was an unusually hot day in Hyderabad yesterday. I was late in getting to Abids because I noticed the front tyre of my bike was flat just when I took it off its stand. I waited impatiently while the tyre was fixed, my mind on the Joyce Maynard book I had seen last Sunday. I prayed that no one would pick it up and my prayers were answered when I found that no one had got it before me.

Joyce Maynard’s ‘At Home in the World: A Memoir’ was the first book I picked up yesterday. I got this almost-new, hard cover, first edition copy for only twenty rupees and the book ran to almost 350 pages. Judging from the cover and from the random paragraphs I read it appeared a good book. The reviews I had seen on Amazon were also good.

Joyce Maynard was a young writer when she attracted the attention of the reclusive writer, JD Salinger, with her story about life as a young person in the 60’s, that was on the cover of New York Times magazine in 1972. She was eighteen years old when she moved in with Salinger (35 years senior to her) who later threw her out of his house which was a devastating experience for her. This book speaks about her family, her time with Salinger and his influence on her, and the pain that followed their separation, her development as a writer, her marriage, and so on. Maynard wrote this book twenty-five years after the experience with Salinger. The book published in 1998 promises to be a good book and I am feeling really pleased with this find.

I found another good book with the same fellow I picked up the earlier book from. It was Joe Queenan’s ‘Balsamic Dreams’. Somewhere Dave Barry had said that Joe Queenan was one of his favorite writers and I remembered it when I chanced upon this book. I got this hardcover first edition for twenty rupees only. The blurbs say it is a very funny book. Dave Barry is the funniest writer alive and if he says someone is funny then I am going to read that writer.

The other book, the third of the day, was Stack the Deck’s ‘Writing Program’, a basic book on writing. I like to read these kind of books on writing because there is usually at least one thing to be learnt there.

The last find was the December 2007, that is, the latest issue of ‘The Atlantic’. I guess I was the only guy in Hyderabad reading the absolutely latest issue of noted magazine, that is, apart from the guy who sold it off. I got it for ten bucks only but when I got home I noticed that a few pages were missing but there were several articles intact. One of the most interesting articles was on the content that newspaper editors are feeding the readers. More about it in the next post