en-US Mon, 17 Mar 2025 15:32:53 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 573344 108 Percy Bysshe Shelley 1430482842 Shefali 3 3.87 1595
author: Percy Bysshe Shelley
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1595
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/03/17
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]]> 6180678 A unique collection of funerary texts from a wide variety of sources, dating from the 15th to the 4th century BC

Consisting of spells, prayers and incantations, each section contains the words of power to overcome obstacles in the afterlife. The papyruses were often left in sarcophagi for the dead to use as passports on their journey from burial, and were full of advice about the ferrymen, gods and kings they would meet on the way. Offering valuable insights into ancient Egypt, The Book of the Dead has also inspired fascination with the occult and the afterlife in recent years.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.]]> E.A. Wallis Budge Shefali 4 religion-occult 3.67 -1500
author: E.A. Wallis Budge
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.67
book published: -1500
rating: 4
read at: 2015/05/28
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: religion-occult
review:

]]> 3101819
Woolf chooses the year 1910 as the year in which a discernible shift in human relations takes place. This point is important to her because to understand what “real� character is, one has to understand the large context—the British society. In this light, she chooses Mrs. Brown as a metaphor for human nature.
Her analysis highlights the shortcomings of previous generations of writers; in particular the Edwardians and the Georgians, concluding that they also failed to create lasting characters. In this regard, history seems to be on Virginia Woolf’s side: while everyone remembers Mrs. Dalloway, no one remembers a single character created by either the Edwardians or the Georgians. What readers remember instead are the physical settings they created with old tools.

To facilitate the flow of ideas, this version of the essay includes section headings and bold typography. The essay is presented, otherwise, as it was first published.

]]> 24 Virginia Woolf 0848269624 Shefali 5 critical-theory-philosophy 4.14 1929
author: Virginia Woolf
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1929
rating: 5
read at: 2015/09/17
date added: 2023/08/01
shelves: critical-theory-philosophy
review:

]]> 12928281 WITH
A REPLY TO MAHATMA GANDHI
]]> 122 B.R. Ambedkar Shefali 5 4.64 1936
author: B.R. Ambedkar
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.64
book published: 1936
rating: 5
read at: 2014/10/18
date added: 2020/04/27
shelves: favorites, critical-theory-philosophy, indian
review:

]]> 20646758 B.R. Ambedkar Shefali 4 indian
In this book, Ambedkar records the drama of Dalit politics as it unfolded in pre-independence India. He exposes the resistance of Indian National Congress towards active political and social reforms meant to benefit the Untouchables and criticizes Gandhi for his somersaults regarding his position vis-à-vis the Untouchables. He criticizes Gandhi’s support for varna system and his praise for restrictions on inter-dining and inter-marriage and calls him “the most orthodox of orthodox Hindus�. Towards the end, he reflects on the implications of ‘Gandhism� and political dominance of the elite INC on the fate of the Untouchables in independent India, while pointing out the dangers of Gandhi’s deification.

This book is an important one considering that Indians are popularly fed with the story of Gandhi’s endeavors for the upliftment of his ‘Harijans�. The book is also important for entry into the conflicting discourses of Gandhi and Ambedkar which form an indispensable subject matter of any enquiry into Dalit politics and caste issues even today.
]]> 4.00
author: B.R. Ambedkar
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2014/10/29
date added: 2020/04/12
shelves: indian
review:
Dr. Ambedkar is not a man who would rely on rhetoric to persuade his readers. Though the title gives the impression of a heated polemic, this work by Ambedkar is very much in his usual style of giving plenty of facts and evidences before presenting his views. He is a pragmatist, and his writing is completely devoid of the mostly unnecessary references to conscience, soul, sin, penance, God and truth when dealing with political issues � a characteristic of Gandhi’s style, which Ambedkar comes to question in this book owing to the repeated gaps that he finds between Gandhi’s verbal declarations and actions.

In this book, Ambedkar records the drama of Dalit politics as it unfolded in pre-independence India. He exposes the resistance of Indian National Congress towards active political and social reforms meant to benefit the Untouchables and criticizes Gandhi for his somersaults regarding his position vis-à-vis the Untouchables. He criticizes Gandhi’s support for varna system and his praise for restrictions on inter-dining and inter-marriage and calls him “the most orthodox of orthodox Hindus�. Towards the end, he reflects on the implications of ‘Gandhism� and political dominance of the elite INC on the fate of the Untouchables in independent India, while pointing out the dangers of Gandhi’s deification.

This book is an important one considering that Indians are popularly fed with the story of Gandhi’s endeavors for the upliftment of his ‘Harijans�. The book is also important for entry into the conflicting discourses of Gandhi and Ambedkar which form an indispensable subject matter of any enquiry into Dalit politics and caste issues even today.

]]> 11099240

This book contains only this essay.]]> 50 Walter Benjamin 1453722483 Shefali 4 critical-theory-philosophy 4.02 1936
author: Walter Benjamin
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1936
rating: 4
read at: 2016/05/12
date added: 2019/12/17
shelves: critical-theory-philosophy
review:

]]> 19474758 116 Lewis Carroll Shefali 5 favorites, children-lit 3.82 1871
author: Lewis Carroll
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1871
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2019/01/17
shelves: favorites, children-lit
review:

]]> 16148978
*ISBN: 9960792633 ISBN 13: 9789960792637
Author: Saheeh International (editors); Al Muntada al Islami
Publisher: Al-Muntada al-Islami (2001-2004-2010), Abul-Qasim Publishing House (1997), Saheeh International]]> 487 Anonymous Shefali 0 to-be-finished-someday 3.60 632
author: Anonymous
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.60
book published: 632
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/01/29
shelves: to-be-finished-someday
review:

]]> 10185738 Why Marx Was Right is as urgent and timely as it is brave and candid. Written with Eagleton's familiar wit, humor, and clarity, it will attract an audience far beyond the confines of academia.]]> 258 Terry Eagleton Shefali 0 to-read 3.88 2011
author: Terry Eagleton
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 590664 246 Mirza Mohammad Hadi Ruswa 8171673112 Shefali 4 indian 3.55 1899
author: Mirza Mohammad Hadi Ruswa
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.55
book published: 1899
rating: 4
read at: 2016/01/26
date added: 2017/06/03
shelves: indian
review:

]]> 6469978 Españ 1852-1901]]> 22 Leopoldo Alas 1413512712 Shefali 3 spanish-language 3.91 1893
author: Leopoldo Alas
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1893
rating: 3
read at: 2016/12/29
date added: 2016/12/28
shelves: spanish-language
review:

]]> 7192852 read the poem using the link. Nicolás Guillén Shefali 2 poetry, spanish-language 3.33
author: Nicolás Guillén
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.33
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2016/12/22
date added: 2016/12/22
shelves: poetry, spanish-language
review:

]]> 32886428 Gabriel García Márquez Shefali 5 spanish-language 4.31
author: Gabriel García Márquez
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.31
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2016/12/21
date added: 2016/12/20
shelves: spanish-language
review:

]]> 741226 59 Gabriel García Márquez 9580211191 Shefali 4 spanish-language 4.05 1971
author: Gabriel García Márquez
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1971
rating: 4
read at: 2016/12/16
date added: 2016/12/15
shelves: spanish-language
review:

]]> 21894813 304 Julia de Burgos 2914378459 Shefali 5 poetry, spanish-language 4.27 1938
author: Julia de Burgos
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1938
rating: 5
read at: 2016/12/15
date added: 2016/12/14
shelves: poetry, spanish-language
review:

]]> 22429535
The Analects are a collection of Confucius’s sayings brought together by his pupils shortly after his death in 497 BC. Together they express a philosophy, or a moral code, by which Confucius, one of the most humane thinkers of all time, believed everyone should live. Upholding the ideals of wisdom, self-knowledge, courage and love of one’s fellow man, he argued that the pursuit of virtue should be every individual’s supreme goal. And, while following the Way, or the truth, might not result in immediate or material gain, Confucius showed that it could nevertheless bring its own powerful and lasting spiritual rewards.

This edition contains a detailed introduction exploring the concepts of the original work, a bibliography and glossary and appendices on Confucius himself, The Analects and the disciples who compiled them.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.]]> 268 Confucius Shefali 0 to-read 3.78 -475
author: Confucius
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.78
book published: -475
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/12/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 22895299 40 Oscar Wilde Shefali 0 to-read 3.31 1886
author: Oscar Wilde
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.31
book published: 1886
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/09/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 157993
Few stories are as widely read and as universally cherished by children and adults alike as The Little Prince, presented here in a stunning new translation with carefully restored artwork. The definitive edition of a worldwide classic, it will capture the hearts of readers of all ages.]]> 96 Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 0152023984 Shefali 4 children-lit
The story is full of sweetness, though I feel it lacks some wit. And of course, the illustrations, they show how mere scribbling can capture our deepest experiences as long as it captures the idea of how we see it.]]> 4.32 1943
author: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1943
rating: 4
read at: 2016/07/16
date added: 2016/07/17
shelves: children-lit
review:
The pleasure of reading this book got redoubled because I read it at my workplace, where everyone is playing so hard at being a money minting grown up. Workplaces block entertainment sites, but for some reading novels online is entertainment too. :))

The story is full of sweetness, though I feel it lacks some wit. And of course, the illustrations, they show how mere scribbling can capture our deepest experiences as long as it captures the idea of how we see it.
]]> 18456429 What is an Author? is an influential lecture given by French philosopher, sociologist and historian, Michel Foucault, on literary theory. The work considers the relationship between author, text, and reader; concluding that:
“The Author is a certain functional principle by which, in our culture, one limits, excludes and chooses: (�) The author is therefore the ideological figure by which one marks the manner in which we fear the proliferation of meaning.�

For many, Foucault's lecture mirrors much of Roland Barthes' essay Death of the Author.]]> 15 Michel Foucault Shefali 5 critical-theory-philosophy
Foucault describes 'author' as an ideological product meant only for curbing this infinite proliferation of meaning in discourse. The essay asks for a reversal of the traditional idea of author which sees the author as the originating subject, instead the post-structuralist view deprives the author of this authority of creation and sees the subject as something inserted into the discourse in its complex of functionalities and dependencies.

The most interesting part of the essay lies towards the end where Foucault tries to predict the future trajectory of this author-function. He says that with change in society, the author-function will dissapear: "All discourses, whatever their status, form, value, and whatever the treatment to which they will be subjected, would then develop in the anonymity of murmer."

This indeed makes a lot of sense in the face of clamour of voices on the internet. We can already see the shift in the relevant question, as Foucault predicts. The question is not "Who really spoke? With what authority or originality?" but "What are the modes of existence of this discourse? Where has it been used, how can it circulate, and who can appropriate it for himself?"

]]> 3.78 1969
author: Michel Foucault
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1969
rating: 5
read at: 2016/01/23
date added: 2016/05/12
shelves: critical-theory-philosophy
review:
After a close anaylsis of author-function in various fields of study, Foucault demarcates a special category of discursive practice which is not literary, religious or scientific practice. It is in the discursive fields where there exists an endless possibility of proliferation of discourse.

Foucault describes 'author' as an ideological product meant only for curbing this infinite proliferation of meaning in discourse. The essay asks for a reversal of the traditional idea of author which sees the author as the originating subject, instead the post-structuralist view deprives the author of this authority of creation and sees the subject as something inserted into the discourse in its complex of functionalities and dependencies.

The most interesting part of the essay lies towards the end where Foucault tries to predict the future trajectory of this author-function. He says that with change in society, the author-function will dissapear: "All discourses, whatever their status, form, value, and whatever the treatment to which they will be subjected, would then develop in the anonymity of murmer."

This indeed makes a lot of sense in the face of clamour of voices on the internet. We can already see the shift in the relevant question, as Foucault predicts. The question is not "Who really spoke? With what authority or originality?" but "What are the modes of existence of this discourse? Where has it been used, how can it circulate, and who can appropriate it for himself?"


]]> 115476 ]]> 336 Joseph Conrad 0486424529 Shefali 5 3.81 1904
author: Joseph Conrad
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1904
rating: 5
read at: 2016/05/08
date added: 2016/05/08
shelves:
review:

]]> 7588 A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a novel of sexual awakening, religious rebellion and the essential search for voice and meaning that every nascent artist must face in order to blossom fully into themselves.]]> 329 James Joyce 0142437344 Shefali 3 3.64 1916
author: James Joyce
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.64
book published: 1916
rating: 3
read at: 2016/05/07
date added: 2016/05/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 17690 The Trial is the terrifying tale of Josef K., a respectable bank officer who is suddenly and inexplicably arrested and must defend himself against a charge about which he can get no information. Whether read as an existential tale, a parable, or a prophecy of the excesses of modern bureaucracy wedded to the madness of totalitarianism, The Trial has resonated with chilling truth for generations of readers.]]> 255 Franz Kafka Shefali 4 4.00 1925
author: Franz Kafka
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1925
rating: 4
read at: 2016/05/07
date added: 2016/05/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 13589259 327 K.T.S. Sarao 8121512417 Shefali 5 religion-occult 3.82 2012
author: K.T.S. Sarao
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2016/05/03
date added: 2016/05/07
shelves: religion-occult
review:

]]> 201852
Bakhtin uses the category "novel" in a highly idiosyncratic way, claiming for it vastly larger territory than has been traditionally accepted. For him, the novel is not so much a genre as it is a force, "novelness," which he discusses in "From the Prehistory of Novelistic Discourse." Two essays, "Epic and Novel" and "Forms of Time and of the Chronotope in the Novel," deal with literary history in Bakhtin's own unorthodox way. In the final essay, he discusses literature and language in general, which he sees as stratified, constantly changing systems of subgenres, dialects, and fragmented "languages" in battle with one another.]]> 480 Mikhail Bakhtin 029271534X Shefali 0 to-read 4.17 1975
author: Mikhail Bakhtin
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1975
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/02/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 27980624 48 Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay 1519347847 Shefali 2 indian 3.00 1894
author: Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.00
book published: 1894
rating: 2
read at: 2016/02/22
date added: 2016/02/23
shelves: indian
review:

]]> 10746542 An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here

By an acclaimed writer at the height of his powers, The Sense of an Ending extends a streak of extraordinary books that began with the best-selling Arthur & George and continued with Nothing to Be Frightened Of and, most recently, Pulse.

This intense novel follows a middle-aged man as he contends with a past he has never much thought about - until his closest childhood friends return with a vengeance, one of them from the grave, another maddeningly present. Tony Webster thought he'd left all this behind as he built a life for himself, and by now his marriage and family and career have fallen into an amicable divorce and retirement. But he is then presented with a mysterious legacy that obliges him to reconsider a variety of things he thought he'd understood all along, and to revise his estimation of his own nature and place in the world.

A novel so compelling that it begs to be read in a single sitting, with stunning psychological and emotional depth and sophistication, The Sense of an Ending is a brilliant new chapter in Julian Barnes's oeuvre.]]> 150 Julian Barnes 0224094157 Shefali 4
It is the middle part of the book that has the charm to make a young reader see their present itself in the nostalgic light shed from that point in future which hasn't yet arrived. And it can very likely give a sadly bad trip to those in later phases of life.
]]> 3.73 2011
author: Julian Barnes
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2016/02/08
date added: 2016/02/09
shelves:
review:
Quite a brain teaser. For the most part of it, it flows easy and light along the narrator's memories released from half-forgotten cavities. But towards the end, the simplicity of narrative language masks the underhand trick of the author. Even after one has connected the dots and has caught hold of the revelation, the eureka moment isn't going to be as euphoric. The difficulty to unravel the central problem arises solely due to Veronica's cryptic responses to Tony's queries and her unexplained accusations that Tony can never understand anything. The refrain that Veronica belongs to the category of mysterious, impenetrable women doesn't quite vindicate her behavior. This makes her look like a literary ploy stretched to its extreme in usage.

It is the middle part of the book that has the charm to make a young reader see their present itself in the nostalgic light shed from that point in future which hasn't yet arrived. And it can very likely give a sadly bad trip to those in later phases of life.

]]> 6543083 442 Munshi Premchand 0048230839 Shefali 5 favorites, indian
This novel makes the arguments given by proponents of magic realism look lame. As Namvar Singh put it, the genre does not help with the aim of revealing the insides of the nations Other-ed by their colonizers. It only redoubles the mystification. No reality is ordinary or extraordinary to deserve either realism or magic realism to do justice to its uniqueness. Realism is not dull, if the writer has an eye for cutting right to the soul of things.

I must put in a word of praise for the translation by Gordon C. Roadarmel. Some Hindi novels do feel weak when read in English. The dichotomy between the world of the novel and the cultural import of the language creates an awkwardness when the reader creates mental impressions of the story in the reading experience. Maybe they are simply a matter of bad translation, or maybe it is more. But in this translation, I did not feel English caused much damage, definitely not so much to look irksome.]]> 4.09 1936
author: Munshi Premchand
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1936
rating: 5
read at: 2016/02/09
date added: 2016/02/09
shelves: favorites, indian
review:
I am totally blown away by Premchand's dexterity in handling characters! So many characters, but not one is stereotyped or made to look like a caricature. All the major ones change over the course of the novel with the circumstances and reveal new sides to them. He does not try to garner insincere pity for the peasants, nor does he completely demonize the zamindars and other rich people. It is the unencumbered life energy, the medley of emotions and experiences, that runs from page to page. And Premchand is sure a wise philosopher. He does not create a clash of viewpoints and then leave the scene (as has been the fashion of late), he shows the direction, and reveals his convictions regarding the values that are worth living for, slogging for, and dying for.

This novel makes the arguments given by proponents of magic realism look lame. As Namvar Singh put it, the genre does not help with the aim of revealing the insides of the nations Other-ed by their colonizers. It only redoubles the mystification. No reality is ordinary or extraordinary to deserve either realism or magic realism to do justice to its uniqueness. Realism is not dull, if the writer has an eye for cutting right to the soul of things.

I must put in a word of praise for the translation by Gordon C. Roadarmel. Some Hindi novels do feel weak when read in English. The dichotomy between the world of the novel and the cultural import of the language creates an awkwardness when the reader creates mental impressions of the story in the reading experience. Maybe they are simply a matter of bad translation, or maybe it is more. But in this translation, I did not feel English caused much damage, definitely not so much to look irksome.
]]> 13687774 143 U.R. Ananthamurthy 0198077149 Shefali 3 indian
Other than that, the psychological realism in the novel is quite commendable. ]]> 3.81 1965
author: U.R. Ananthamurthy
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1965
rating: 3
read at: 2016/01/29
date added: 2016/01/28
shelves: indian
review:
Now I do get that the focal point for the author was decaying brahminism, but I find it sort of morbid that all women characters in the novel are either dismissed by other male characters as dead fish or seen as so "ripe" that a man wouldn't be responsible for acting on his sexual impulse. The epidemic theme could have been elaborated, but the author plays out the whole tension of the novel through the protagonist's sexuality. So while sex is seen as an affirmation of life, and the path for spiritual completion, the flip side is that women in the novel appear only in their capacity to be sexually available for men. This is why the author passes off stray acts of molestation and indifference to the woman's refusal for sex in the banner of his celebration of sexuality.

Other than that, the psychological realism in the novel is quite commendable.
]]> 105578 Press 2 for broken hearts.
Press 3 if your life has totally crashed. . . .

Six friends work nights at a call center in India, providing technical support for a major U.S. appliance corporation. Skilled in patience–and accent management–they help American consumers keep their lives running. Yet behind the headsets, everybody’s heart is on the line.

Shyam (Sam to his callers) has lost his self-confidence after being dumped by the girl who just so happens to be sitting next to him. Priyanka’s domineering mother has arranged for her daughter’s upscale marriage to an Indian man in Seattle. Esha longs to be a model but discovers it’s a horizontal romp to the runway. Lost, dissatisfied Vroom has high ideals, but compromises them by talking on the phone to idiots each night. Traditional Radhika has just found out that her husband is sleeping with his secretary. And Military Uncle (nobody knows his real name) sits alone working the online chat.

They all try to make it through their shifts–and maintain their sanity–under the eagle eye of a boss whose ego rivals his incompetence. But tonight is no ordinary night. Tonight is Thanksgiving in Appliances are going haywire, and the phones are ringing off their hooks. Then one call, from one very special caller, changes everything.

Chetan Bhagat’s delicious romantic comedy takes us inside the world of the international call center, where cultural cross-wires come together with perfect pathos, hilarity, and spice.]]> 320 Chetan Bhagat 0345498321 Shefali 2 indian 2.49 2005
author: Chetan Bhagat
name: Shefali
average rating: 2.49
book published: 2005
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2016/01/25
shelves: indian
review:

]]> 20450985 Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul doesn't shy away from the big issues either, with essays on suicide, dying young, and drunk driving. This book stems from the knowledge that teens know their own concerns best—thus, much of the book is written by teens themselves, which gives the book a very accessible, informal tone. Also, the authors had each piece evaluated by as many teenagers as possible. The care shows. Teenage Soul is always respectful, and doesn't minimize any of the dramas of adolescence. It does, however, mete out plenty of perspective. This wise, tender, funny book is filled with wisdom useful to teens (and everybody else, too).]]> Jack Canfield Shefali 2 american 3.82 1997
author: Jack Canfield
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1997
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2016/01/25
shelves: american
review:

]]> 976 A conspiracy of staggering brilliance.
A thriller unlike any you've ever read....

When a new NASA satellite spots evidence of an astonishingly rare object buried deep in the Arctic ice, the floundering space agency proclaims a much-needed victory� a victory that has profound implications for U.S. space policy and the impending presidential election.

With the Oval Office in the balance, the President dispatches White House Intelligence analyst Rachel Sexton to the Milne Ice Shelf to verify the authenticity of the find. Accompanied by a team of experts, including the charismatic academic Michael Tolland, Rachel uncovers the unthinkable—evidence of scientific trickery—a bold deception that threatens to plunge the world into controversy.

But before Rachel can contact the President, she and Michael are attacked by a deadly task force…a private team of assassins controlled by a mysterious powerbroker who will stop at nothing to hide the truth. Fleeing for their lives in an environment as desolate as it is lethal, they possess only one hope, to find out who is behind this masterful ploy. The truth, they will learn, is the most shocking deception of all…]]> 556 Dan Brown 0671027387 Shefali 2 american 3.76 2001
author: Dan Brown
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2001
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2016/01/25
shelves: american
review:

]]> 3478
Nicholas Sparks is our very best chronicler of the human heart. His stunning first novel, The Notebook, has been given by friend to friend and lover to lover all over the world as a testament to the timeless power of love. But if we thought he could never again move us so deeply, he now shows us he can-in a story that renews our faith in destiny...in the ability of true lovers to find each other no matter where, no matter when... Message In A Bottle

Thrown to the waves, and to fate, the bottle could have ended up anywhere. Instead, it is found just three weeks after it begins its journey. Theresa Osborne, divorced and the mother of a twelve-year-old son, picks it up during a seaside vacation from her job as a Boston newspaper columnist. Inside is a letter that opens with:

My Dearest Catherine, I miss you my darling, as I always do, but today is particularly hard because the ocean has been singing to me, and the song is that of our life together...

For "Garrett," the man who signs the letter, the message is the only way he knows to express his undying love for a woman he has lost. For Theresa, wary of romance since her husband shattered her trust, the message raises questions that intrigue her. Who are Garrett and Catherine? Where is he now? What is his story?

Challenged by the mystery, and pulled to find Garrett by emotions she does not fully understand, Theresa begins a search that takes her to a sunlit coastal town and an unexpected confrontation. Brought together by chance-or something more powerful-Theresa and Garrett are people whose lives are about to touch for a purpose, in a tale that resonates with our deepest hopes for finding that special someone and everlasting love.

Shimmering with suspense and emotional intensity, Message in a Bottle takes readers on a hunt for the truth about a man and his memories, and about both the heartbreaking fragility and enormous strength of love. For those who cherished The Notebook and readers waiting to discover the magic of Nicholas Sparks's storytelling, here is his new, achingly lovely novel of happenstance, desire, and the choices that matter most...]]> 342 Nicholas Sparks 0446676071 Shefali 2 american 3.99 1998
author: Nicholas Sparks
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1998
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2016/01/25
shelves: american
review:

]]> 693771
Ignited Unleashing the Power Within India goes the logical next step and examines why, given all our skills, resources and talents, we, so obviously capable of being the best, settle so often for the worst. What is it that we as a nation are missing? For at the heart of Ignited Minds is an irresistible the people of a nation have the power, by dint of hard work, to realize their dream of a truly good life.

Kalam offers no formulaic prescription in Ignited Minds . Instead, he takes up different issues and themes that struck him on his pilgrimage around the country as he met thousands of school children, teachers, scientists and saints and seers in the course of two the necessity for a patriotism that transcends religion and politics; for role models who point out the path to take; and for confidence in ourselves and in our strengths.

Who was he to write on so large a theme, he wondered as he started writing this book. But at the end, Kalam's humility notwithstanding, this may well prove to be the book that motivates us to get back on the winning track and unleash the energy within a nation that hasn't allowed itself full rein.]]> 222 A.P.J. Abdul Kalam 0143029827 Shefali 2 indian 4.01 2002
author: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2002
rating: 2
read at: 2010/08/01
date added: 2016/01/25
shelves: indian
review:

]]> 174216 213 Rabindranath Tagore 0140449868 Shefali 3 indian 3.83 1916
author: Rabindranath Tagore
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.83
book published: 1916
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2016/01/25
shelves: indian
review:

]]> 32499 400 John Grisham 0385339704 Shefali 3 american 4.06 1992
author: John Grisham
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1992
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2016/01/25
shelves: american
review:

]]> 968 The da Vinci Code, The da Vinci Code, The da Vinci Code, and The da Vinci Code

While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum. Near the body, police have found a baffling cipher. While working to solve the enigmatic riddle, Langdon is stunned to discover it leads to a trail of clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci -- clues visible for all to see -- yet ingeniously disguised by the painter.

Langdon joins forces with a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, and learns the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion -- an actual secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci, among others.

In a breathless race through Paris, London, and beyond, Langdon and Neveu match wits with a faceless powerbroker who seems to anticipate their every move. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle in time, the Priory's ancient secret -- and an explosive historical truth -- will be lost forever.

The Da Vinci Code heralds the arrival of a new breed of lightning-paced, intelligent thriller utterly unpredictable right up to its stunning conclusion.]]> 489 Dan Brown Shefali 3 american 3.92 2003
author: Dan Brown
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2016/01/25
shelves: american
review:

]]> 105576
The book starts with a disclaimer, “This is not a book to teach you how to get into IIT or even how to live in college. In fact, it describes how screwed up things can get if you don’t think straight.�

Three hostelmates � Alok, Hari and Ryan get off to a bad start in IIT � they screw up the first class quiz. And while they try to make amends, things only get worse. It takes them a while to realize: If you try and screw with the IIT system, it comes back to double screw you. Before they know it, they are at the lowest echelons of IIT society. They have a five-point-something GPA out of ten, ranking near the end of their class. This GPA is a tattoo that will remain with them, and come in the way of anything else that matters � their friendship, their future, their love life. While the world expects IITians to conquer the world, these guys are struggling to survive.

Will they make it? Do under performers have a right to live? Can they show that they are not just a five-point-somebody but a five-point-someone?]]> 267 Chetan Bhagat 8129104598 Shefali 3 indian 3.41 2004
author: Chetan Bhagat
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.41
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2016/01/25
shelves: indian
review:

]]> 2824827
"A sort of frost seems to have descended on the souls of the human agents ... Every confrontation - and the play is a series of confrontations - instead of thawing the ice, leaves it a bigger iceberg.' -R.L.Nigam, in 'Enact']]> 119 R�keśa Mohana 8171671411 Shefali 3 plays, indian 3.84 1971
author: R�keśa Mohana
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1971
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2016/01/25
shelves: plays, indian
review:

]]> 5358 Adaptation for younger readers.

Mitch McDeere is a young, intelligent and ambitious lawyer. When he gets a job with a top tax law firm in Memphis, he is delighted. But he quickly becomes suspicious after mysterious deaths, obsessive office security, and the Chicago mob figure into its operations. The situation only escalates when Mitch discovers that the firm is listening in on his phone calls and that the FBI want to speak to him. Money and power has a price � and it could be Mitch's life.

Adaptation Notes
This adaptation is a simplified text designed in association with world famous educational publishers, to provide a step-by-step approach to the joys of reading for pleasure. The series include original stories, contemporary titles based on today's best-selling media hits, and easily accessible versions of the literary classics from around the world. Each book has an introduction and extensive activity material. They are published at different levels for readers of all skill levels.

Series Editors: Andy Hopkins and Jocelyn Potter

Book Details:
- Difficulty: Level 5 - Upper Intermediate (2300 words)
- Category: Contemporary
- Dialect: British English]]> 76 Robin Waterfield 0582418275 Shefali 3 american 4.06 1991
author: Robin Waterfield
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1991
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2016/01/25
shelves: american
review:

]]> 13270 'What is poetry, how many kinds of it are there, and what are their specific effects?'

Aristotle's Poetics is the most influential book on poetry ever written. A founding text of European aesthetics and literary criticism, from it stems much of our modern understanding of the creation and impact of imaginative writing, including poetry, drama, and fiction. For Aristotle, the art of representation conveys universal truths which we can appreciate more easily than the lessons of history or philosophy. In his short treatise Aristotle discusses the origins of poetry and its early development, the nature of tragedy and plot, and offers practical advice to playwrights.]]> 144 Aristotle 0140446362 Shefali 3 critical-theory-philosophy 3.84 -335
author: Aristotle
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.84
book published: -335
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2016/01/25
shelves: critical-theory-philosophy
review:

]]> 13560337
One of the world's masterpieces, The Cilappatikaram (5th century ce) by Ilanko Atikal is India's finest epic in a language other than Sanskrit. It spells out in unforgettable verse the problems that humanity has been wrestling with for a long time: love, war, evil, fate and death.

The Tale of an Anklet is the love story of Kovalan and Kannaki. Originating in Tamil mythology, the compelling tale of Kannaki—her love, her feats and triumphs, and her ultimate transformation to goddess—follows the conventions of Tamil poetry and is told in three phases: the erotic, the heroic and the mythic. This epic ranks with the Ramayana and the Mahabharata as one of the great classics of Indian literature and is presented for the first time in a landmark English verse translation by the eminent poet R. Parthasarathy, making it accessible to a wider audience.]]> 440 இளங�கோ அடிகள� 0143031961 Shefali 3 poetry, indian 3.91 1892
author: இளங�கோ அடிகள�
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1892
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2016/01/25
shelves: poetry, indian
review:

]]> 18626958 Rabindranath Tagore Shefali 3 indian <br /> 4.37 1899
author: Rabindranath Tagore
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.37
book published: 1899
rating: 3
read at: 2015/05/24
date added: 2016/01/25
shelves: indian
review:


]]> 4835 Haroun and the Sea of Stories inhabits the same imaginative space as Gulliver's Travels, Alice in Wonderland, and The Wizard of Oz. In this captivating novel, Haroun sets out on an adventure to restore the poisoned source of the sea of stories. On the way, he encounters many foes, all intent on draining the sea of all its storytelling powers.]]> 224 Salman Rushdie 0670886580 Shefali 4 indian 3.99 1990
author: Salman Rushdie
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1990
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/01/25
shelves: indian
review:

]]> 15824421
The plot of the drama is drawn from the romantic narratives about the Vatsa king Udayana and Vasavadatta, the daughter of Pradyota, the ruler of Avanti, which were current in the poet's time and which seem to have captivated popular imagination. The main theme of the drama is the sorrow of Udayana for his queen Vasavadatta, believed by him to have perished in a fire, which was actually a rumour spread by Yaugandharayana, a minister of Udayana to compel his king to marry Padmavati, the daughter of the king of Magadha. It forms, in context, a continuation of his another drama, Pratijnayaugandharayana.

The complete text of the Svapnavasavadatta was long lost until it was discovered in Kerala in 1912.]]> 207 µþ³óÄå²õ²¹ 8120805720 Shefali 4 plays, indian 3.77 1929
author: µþ³óÄå²õ²¹
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1929
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/01/25
shelves: plays, indian
review:

]]> 4830 398 Salman Rushdie 0679783482 Shefali 4 indian 3.90 2005
author: Salman Rushdie
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/01/25
shelves: indian
review:

]]> 231534 319 Attia Hosain 0140123504 Shefali 4 indian
At various points, it reminds of Amitav Ghosh's The Shadow Lines, though it never reaches the brilliance of the latter. Several themes are common to both: nationalism, partition, ideas of home and homeland, friction between generations. It is indeed a beautiful novel if one manages to get past the mood dampening character list at the beginning and the initial dry pages. ]]> 3.95 1961
author: Attia Hosain
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1961
rating: 4
read at: 2015/03/08
date added: 2016/01/25
shelves: indian
review:
Perhaps I might have never bothered to read this book if my friend hadn't said to me that while reading he felt Laila was me. It was only the curiosity to know this character that I had been associated with that made me sit with this novel for 3 days.

At various points, it reminds of Amitav Ghosh's The Shadow Lines, though it never reaches the brilliance of the latter. Several themes are common to both: nationalism, partition, ideas of home and homeland, friction between generations. It is indeed a beautiful novel if one manages to get past the mood dampening character list at the beginning and the initial dry pages.
]]> 13397723 In the paper, Ambedkar made a presentation a social phenomenon that emerged from the strategy of the Brahmins who adopted a strictly endogamous matrimonial regime, leading the other groups to do the same in order to emulate this self-proclaimed elite. He said that "the superposition of endogamy on exogamy means the creation of caste".]]> 36 B.R. Ambedkar Shefali 4 4.49 1916
author: B.R. Ambedkar
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.49
book published: 1916
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/01/24
shelves: critical-theory-philosophy, indian
review:

]]> 12461945 152 B.R. Ambedkar Shefali 5 indian 4.48 1948
author: B.R. Ambedkar
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.48
book published: 1948
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/01/24
shelves: indian
review:

]]> 15706381 95 Vijay Tendulkar 8170463149 Shefali 5 plays, indian 3.62 1972
author: Vijay Tendulkar
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.62
book published: 1972
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/01/24
shelves: plays, indian
review:

]]> 109307 246 Amitav Ghosh 061832996X Shefali 5 favorites, indian 3.87 1988
author: Amitav Ghosh
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1988
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/01/24
shelves: favorites, indian
review:

]]> 77730 Calvin and Hobbes book Weirdos From Another Planet!, this power-packed extravaganza of creative energy and imagination feature the childhood fun and fantasy that was a Watterson trademark. Weirdos From Another Planet! is out of this world!]]> 128 Bill Watterson 0836218620 Shefali 5 favorites, american 4.65 1990
author: Bill Watterson
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.65
book published: 1990
rating: 5
read at: 2015/05/27
date added: 2016/01/24
shelves: favorites, american
review:

]]> 1389596 91 Bhagat Singh 8178710609 Shefali 5 4.44 1931
author: Bhagat Singh
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.44
book published: 1931
rating: 5
read at: 2011/10/01
date added: 2016/01/24
shelves: favorites, critical-theory-philosophy, indian
review:

]]> 50683
Uses of the Erotic shines among Audre Lorde's powerful legacy of speeches and essays, and has influenced feminist thinking for more than 15 years. The false dichotomies that Lorde debunks persist in our cultural imagination: the separation of the erotuc from the spiritual and political. Now, Kore Press brings this essay into stand-alone focus, reprinting it in a fine, handbound pamphlet illustrated with photographs by Tucson photographer Camille Bonzani. Designed by book artist Nancy Solomon, the essay is offset and letterpress printed in an edition of 1000.]]> 16 Audre Lorde 1888553103 Shefali 5 4.65 1978
author: Audre Lorde
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.65
book published: 1978
rating: 5
read at: 2015/05/13
date added: 2016/01/24
shelves: critical-theory-philosophy, american
review:

]]> 960
A devastating new weapon of destruction.
When world-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a mysterious symbol -- seared into the chest of a murdered physicist -- he discovers evidence of the unimaginable: the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati...the most powerful underground organization ever to walk the earth. The Illuminati has now surfaced to carry out the final phase of its legendary vendetta against its most hated enemy -- the Catholic Church.

Langdon's worst fears are confirmed on the eve of the Vatican's holy conclave, when a messenger of the Illuminati announces they have hidden an unstoppable time bomb at the very heart of Vatican City. With the countdown under way, Langdon jets to Rome to join forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist, to assist the Vatican in a desperate bid for survival.
Embarking on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that snakes across Rome toward the long-forgotten Illuminati lair...a clandestine location that contains the only hope for Vatican salvation.

An explosive international thriller, Angels & Demons careens from enlightening epiphanies to dark truths as the battle between science and religion turns to war.]]> 736 Dan Brown 1416524797 Shefali 5 american 3.95 2000
author: Dan Brown
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/01/24
shelves: american
review:

]]> 7842814 172 Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay Shefali 4 indian
The character of Rohini appears stereotyped though. She starts off as a virtuous woman stained in character only due to the hardships of her young widow life. But she corrects her error with a readiness for bearing the punishment upon herself. But this nobility of her character is soon forgotten and she is repeatedly described as "wicked", the seductress. This is to say that the latter part of the book forgets her inherent goodness visible in the first half. The same cannot be said for Govindalal. Though his moral fall happens alongside Rohini and ends up exceeding hers, the end of the book redeems him partly with descriptions of his inner world through the seven years of his separation from Bhramar.

But overall it is a breezy, poignant novel. The social and cultural world has significantly changed for us now, so the moral views in the novel may not appear directly applicable or relevant to us. But the novel is worth a read for its handling of beginnings of love, the pain of separation, the self-doubts and self-destruction through love. ]]> 3.81 1878
author: Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1878
rating: 4
read at: 2016/01/25
date added: 2016/01/24
shelves: indian
review:
The way the relationship of Govindalal and Bhramar becomes undone in a whirlwind is quite neatly done. There is certainly a touching quality in their meeting after 7 years.

The character of Rohini appears stereotyped though. She starts off as a virtuous woman stained in character only due to the hardships of her young widow life. But she corrects her error with a readiness for bearing the punishment upon herself. But this nobility of her character is soon forgotten and she is repeatedly described as "wicked", the seductress. This is to say that the latter part of the book forgets her inherent goodness visible in the first half. The same cannot be said for Govindalal. Though his moral fall happens alongside Rohini and ends up exceeding hers, the end of the book redeems him partly with descriptions of his inner world through the seven years of his separation from Bhramar.

But overall it is a breezy, poignant novel. The social and cultural world has significantly changed for us now, so the moral views in the novel may not appear directly applicable or relevant to us. But the novel is worth a read for its handling of beginnings of love, the pain of separation, the self-doubts and self-destruction through love.
]]> 18664682 30 Hans Wilhelm 8439715560 Shefali 4 3.81 1988
author: Hans Wilhelm
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1988
rating: 4
read at: 2016/01/23
date added: 2016/01/22
shelves: spanish-language, children-lit
review:
El primer libro, escrito en español, que he leído. Las ilustraciones parecen muy bonitas, aunque la historia es ordinaria. Es bien para el tiempo libre o para practicar español.
]]> 18479287 The Intentional Fallacy: "the design or intention of the author is neither available nor desirable as a standard for judging the success of a work of literary art."[1] The author, they argue, cannot be reconstructed from a writing - the text is the only source of meaning, and any details of the author's desires or life are purely extraneous. Such thinking essentially states that the authors intended meaning and purpose for the exposition are fundamentally unnecessary to the reader’s interpretation. This view is extremely useful in a postmodern relativistic framework as it successfully makes the reader or the consumer of the story the only authority on its meaning as opposed to the author or creator of the work. The unfortunate side effect is that this view strips the artist themselves of all value; it implies that only the product of their creation is of any importance.]]> 22 William K. Wimsatt Shefali 3 critical-theory-philosophy
This is the kind of essay one should be familiar with in the very beginning of literature course. I don't get why my university was saving it up for the final semester of Masters! ]]> 3.24 1946
author: William K. Wimsatt
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.24
book published: 1946
rating: 3
read at: 2016/01/22
date added: 2016/01/21
shelves: critical-theory-philosophy
review:
This essay is no great matter, but it is simple and makes a fine point. It gives a firm perspective to begin critical examination of any piece of literature. A pastiche of critical opinions is not what critical enquiry means. This essay shows what we should seek when we seek the meaning of a literary work. It guards against being obsessed with the poet/author's "intended" meaning. It draws the fine line of distinction between the internal, private and historical meanings of a text.

This is the kind of essay one should be familiar with in the very beginning of literature course. I don't get why my university was saving it up for the final semester of Masters!
]]> 14940 272 Edward Albee 0451218590 Shefali 4 plays, american 4.07 1962
author: Edward Albee
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1962
rating: 4
read at: 2015/11/04
date added: 2015/12/21
shelves: plays, american
review:

]]> 7943881 36 Ralph Waldo Emerson 0217062113 Shefali 4
"One must be an inventor to read as well."

"I learn immediately from any speaker how much he has already lived, through the poverty or the splendour of his speech."

An important essay. Period. ]]> 3.66 1837
author: Ralph Waldo Emerson
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.66
book published: 1837
rating: 4
read at: 2015/11/10
date added: 2015/12/21
shelves: critical-theory-philosophy, american
review:
"Meek young men grow up in libraries, believing it their duty to accept the views which Cicero, which Locke, which Bacon, have given; forgetful that Cicero, Locke, and Bacon were only young men in libraries when they wrote those books."

"One must be an inventor to read as well."

"I learn immediately from any speaker how much he has already lived, through the poverty or the splendour of his speech."

An important essay. Period.
]]> 91950 The Myth of Sisyphus transformed twentieth-century philosophy with its impassioned argument for the value of life in a world without religious meaning.]]> 192 Albert Camus 0141182008 Shefali 0 to-read 4.25 1942
author: Albert Camus
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1942
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/12/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 17202840
The American Dream addresses issues of childlessness and adoption. The play’s central figures, Mommy and Daddy, represent banal American life. Clubwoman Mrs. Barker visits, and Grandma reminds her of an earlier visit, when she brought an infant. This child did not turn out as Mommy and Daddy expected and so was abused by them until it died. When a handsome but emotionless young man -the American Dream- later arrives, Grandma suggests that Mommy and Daddy adopt him, since his emptiness seems to be what they desire.]]> 89 Edward Albee Shefali 0 to-read 3.32 1961
author: Edward Albee
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.32
book published: 1961
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/12/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 36529
An astonishing orator and a skillful writer, Douglass became a newspaper editor, a political activist, and an eloquent spokesperson for the civil rights of African Americans. He lived through the Civil War, the end of slavery, and the beginning of segregation. He was celebrated internationally as the leading black intellectual of his day, and his story still resonates in ours.]]> 158 Frederick Douglass 1580495761 Shefali 4 american 4.08 1845
author: Frederick Douglass
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1845
rating: 4
read at: 2015/11/01
date added: 2015/12/08
shelves: american
review:

]]> 58345 The Awakening shocked readers with its honest treatment of female marital infidelity. Audiences accustomed to the pieties of late Victorian romantic fiction were taken aback by Chopin's daring portrayal of a woman trapped in a stifling marriage, who seeks and finds passionate physical love outside the confines of her domestic situation.

Aside from its unusually frank treatment of a then-controversial subject, the novel is widely admired today for its literary qualities. Edmund Wilson characterized it as a work "quite uninhibited and beautifully written, which anticipates D. H. Lawrence in its treatment of infidelity." Although the theme of marital infidelity no longer shocks, few novels have plumbed the psychology of a woman involved in an illicit relationship with the perception, artistry, and honesty that Kate Chopin brought to The Awakening.]]> 195 Kate Chopin 0543898083 Shefali 4 american 3.69 1899
author: Kate Chopin
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.69
book published: 1899
rating: 4
read at: 2015/01/29
date added: 2015/11/27
shelves: american
review:

]]> 18405 1037 Margaret Mitchell 0446365386 Shefali 4 american 4.30 1936
author: Margaret Mitchell
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1936
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2015/11/27
shelves: american
review:

]]> 286957
In a private journal, the woman records her growing obsession with the “horrid� wallpaper. Its strange pattern mutates in the moonlight, revealing what appears to be a human figure in the design. With nothing else to occupy her mind, the woman resolves to unlock the mystery of the wallpaper. Her quest, however, leads not to the truth, but into the darkest depths of madness.

A condemnation of the patriarchy, The Yellow Wallpaper explores with terrifying economy the oppression, grave misunderstanding, and willful dismissal of women in late nineteenth-century society.

First published in January 1892 in The New England Magazine.

Excerpt:
Out of another I get a lovely view of the bay and a little private wharf belonging to the estate. There is a beautiful shaded lane that runs down there from the house. I always fancy I see people walking in these numerous paths and arbors, but John has cautioned me not to give way to fancy in the least. He says that with my imaginative power and habit of story-making a nervous weakness like mine is sure to lead to all manner of excited fancies, and that I ought to use my will and good sense to check the tendency. So I try.]]> 62 Charlotte Perkins Gilman 1558611584 Shefali 4 american 4.11 1892
author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1892
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2015/11/27
shelves: american
review:

]]> 12691
Marley quickly grew into an uncontrollable ninety-seven-pound steamroller of a Labrador retriever. Expelled from obedience school, even the tranquillisers prescribed by the vet couldn't stop him.

Yet through the chaos and the hilarity, he won hearts and remained a steadfast model of devotion to his family, even when they were at their wits' end. Unconditional love, they would learn, comes in many forms.]]> 291 John Grogan 0739461192 Shefali 4 american 4.14 2005
author: John Grogan
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2015/11/27
shelves: american
review:

]]> 11486
Then her husband's lover, a flamboyant blues singer, barreled into her world and gave Celie the courage to ask for more - to laugh, to play, and finally - to love.]]> 295 Alice Walker Shefali 5 favorites, american 4.22 1982
author: Alice Walker
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1982
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2015/11/27
shelves: favorites, american
review:

]]> 22567138 � Bertolt Brecht Shefali 0 critical-theory-philosophy 3.69 1949
author: Bertolt Brecht
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.69
book published: 1949
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/11/27
shelves: critical-theory-philosophy
review:

]]> 2956 327 Mark Twain 0142437174 Shefali 3 american 3.82 1884
author: Mark Twain
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1884
rating: 3
read at: 2015/11/24
date added: 2015/11/23
shelves: american
review:

]]> 344574
The Tarot is an eternally fascinating set of strange and beautiful pictures. But beyond this lies a world of potent symbols granting access to a path of self knowledge, personal growth and freedom. These symbols connect us to the great stories of world mythology and the eternal truths of the soul. 'Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom'shows you how to use Tarot as an effective and accessible means of self-enlightenment. The book includes a complete section on how to give Tarot readings, as well as an analysis of the origins, meaning and psychological aspects of Tarot divination.]]> 356 Rachel Pollack 0722535724 Shefali 2 religion-occult 4.31 1980
author: Rachel Pollack
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.31
book published: 1980
rating: 2
read at: 2015/03/01
date added: 2015/11/23
shelves: religion-occult
review:

]]> 399758
In addition to revealing the planets' influence on romance, health, and career, The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need takes a closer look at the inner life of each sign. Celebrated astrologer Joanna Martine Woolfolk offers abundant insights on the personal relationships and emotional needs that motivate an individual, on how others perceive astrological types, and on dealing with the negative aspects of signs. Readers will also welcome the inclusion of new discoveries in astronomy. Lavishly illustrated and attractively redesigned, this new edition is an indispensable sourcebook for unlocking the mysteries of the cosmos through the twenty-first century and beyond.]]> 445 Joanna Martine Woolfolk 1568332319 Shefali 4 religion-occult 4.11 1982
author: Joanna Martine Woolfolk
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1982
rating: 4
read at: 2015/11/01
date added: 2015/11/23
shelves: religion-occult
review:

]]> 19089 "People are almost always better than their neighbours think they are"

George Eliot’s most ambitious novel is a masterly evocation of diverse lives and changing fortunes in a provincial community. Peopling its landscape are Dorothea Brooke, a young idealist whose search for intellectual fulfillment leads her into a disastrous marriage to the pedantic scholar Casaubon; the charming but tactless Dr Lydgate, whose pioneering medical methods, combined with an imprudent marriage to the spendthrift beauty Rosamond, threaten to undermine his career; and the religious hypocrite Bulstrode, hiding scandalous crimes from his past. As their stories interweave, George Eliot creates a richly nuanced and moving drama, hailed by Virginia Woolf as "one of the few English novels written for grown-up people".]]> 912 George Eliot 0451529170 Shefali 4 4.00 1872
author: George Eliot
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1872
rating: 4
read at: 2015/11/23
date added: 2015/11/23
shelves:
review:

]]> 14662 The Red and the Black is a lively, satirical portrayal of French society after Waterloo, riddled with corruption, greed, and ennui, and Julien - the cold exploiter whose Machiavellian campaign is undercut by his own emotions - is one of the most intriguing characters in European literature.

Roger Gard's fine translation remains faithful to the natural, conversational tone of the original, while his introduction elucidates the complexities of Julien's character. This edition also contains a chronology, further reading and an appendix on Stendhal's use of epigraphs.]]> 577 Stendhal 0140447644 Shefali 4 3.91 1830
author: Stendhal
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1830
rating: 4
read at: 2015/11/21
date added: 2015/11/21
shelves:
review:

]]> 67522 400 Emily Dickinson 1593080506 Shefali 4 poetry, american 4.24 1924
author: Emily Dickinson
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1924
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2015/11/20
shelves: poetry, american
review:

]]> 12296 279 Nathaniel Hawthorne 0142437263 Shefali 4 american 3.43 1850
author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.43
book published: 1850
rating: 4
read at: 2015/11/20
date added: 2015/11/20
shelves: american
review:

]]> 395220
“Zami is a fast-moving chronicle. From the author’s vivid childhood memories in Harlem to her coming of age in the late 1950s, the nature of Audre Lorde’s work is cyclical. It especially relates the linkage of women who have shaped her . . . Lorde brings into play her craft of lush description and characterization. It keeps unfolding page after page.�—Off Our Backs

“Among the elements that make the book so good are its personal honesty and lack of pretentiousness, characteristics that shine through the writing bespeaking the evolution of a strong and remarkable character.�—The New York Times]]> 256 Audre Lorde Shefali 5 american
Some parts of this novel are a bit of a drag, but it didn't annoy me much because the novel brought back memories of the days I had spent reading Alice Walker's The Color Purple, almost a year ago. And between the two novels, I can trace some of my own changing relations with gender identity. ]]> 4.39 1982
author: Audre Lorde
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.39
book published: 1982
rating: 5
read at: 2015/05/05
date added: 2015/11/20
shelves: american
review:
How comforting it is to read, once in a while, a book which lays bare the experiences of a woman, inside the body and with the body, in a language devoid of euphemisms or dainty metaphors.

Some parts of this novel are a bit of a drag, but it didn't annoy me much because the novel brought back memories of the days I had spent reading Alice Walker's The Color Purple, almost a year ago. And between the two novels, I can trace some of my own changing relations with gender identity.
]]> 14318 "I'd come from a long ways off and had started a long ways down. But now destiny was about to manifest itself. I felt like it was looking right at me and nobody else." So writes Bob Dylan in Chronicles: Volume One, his remarkable book exploring critical junctures in his life and career.

Through Dylan's eyes and open mind, we see Greenwich Village, circa 1961, when he first arrives in Manhattan. Dylan's New York is a magical city of possibilities -- smoky, nightlong parties; literary awakenings; transient loves and unbreakable friendships. Elegiac observations are punctuated by jabs of memories, penetrating and tough. With the book's side trips to New Orleans, Woodstock, Minnesota and points west, Chronicles: Volume One is an intimate and intensely personal recollection of extraordinary times.

By turns revealing, poetical, passionate and witty, Chronicles: Volume One is a mesmerizing window on Bob Dylan's thoughts and influences. Dylan's voice is distinctively American: generous of spirit, engaged, fanciful and rhythmic. Utilizing his unparalleled gifts of storytelling and the exquisite expressiveness that are the hallmarks of his music, Bob Dylan turns Chronicles: Volume One into a poignant reflection on life, and the people and places that helped shape the man and the art.]]> 320 Bob Dylan 0743244583 Shefali 5 favorites, american ]]> 3.98 2004
author: Bob Dylan
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 2015/02/17
date added: 2015/11/20
shelves: favorites, american
review:
A review here shows how Bob has lifted phrases and even whole sentences from other books. Can I deduct one star from the rating for that? Nah. He is extremely lovable for that which is lovable in him - the poetry immanent in the very way he sees things. And that's enough.

]]> 293918 80 Walt Whitman 142092706X Shefali 5 poetry, favorites, american 4.16 1856
author: Walt Whitman
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1856
rating: 5
read at: 2015/11/12
date added: 2015/11/20
shelves: poetry, favorites, american
review:
Magnificence ...Right from the beginning till the end!
]]> 12368381 34 Harriet Hardy Taylor Mill 1162176954 Shefali 4 critical-theory-philosophy 3.80 1851
author: Harriet Hardy Taylor Mill
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.80
book published: 1851
rating: 4
read at: 2015/11/13
date added: 2015/11/13
shelves: critical-theory-philosophy
review:

]]> 20405351
(Poetry Foundation)]]> 5 Langston Hughes Shefali 4 critical-theory-philosophy 4.40 1926
author: Langston Hughes
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.40
book published: 1926
rating: 4
read at: 2015/11/10
date added: 2015/11/09
shelves: critical-theory-philosophy
review:

]]> 31204 An alternate cover for this isbn can be found here.

Tom Jones is widely regarded as one of the first and most influential English novels. It is certainly the funniest.

Tom Jones, the hero of the book, is introduced to the reader as the ward of a liberal Somerset squire. Tom is a generous but slightly wild and feckless country boy with a weakness for young women. Misfortune, followed by many spirited adventures as he travels to London to seek his fortune, teach him a sort of wisdom to go with his essential good-heartedness.

This 'comic, epic poem in prose' will make the modern reader laugh as much as it did his forbears. Its biting satire finds an echo in today's society, for as Doris Lessing recently remarked 'This country becomes every day more like the eighteenth century, full of thieves and adventurers, rogues and a robust, unhypocritical savagery side-by-side with people lecturing others on morality'.]]> 734 Henry Fielding 1853260215 Shefali 2 3.49 1749
author: Henry Fielding
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.49
book published: 1749
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2015/11/09
shelves:
review:

]]> 16154145 21 Jürgen Habermas Shefali 4 critical-theory-philosophy 3.69 1981
author: Jürgen Habermas
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.69
book published: 1981
rating: 4
read at: 2015/11/05
date added: 2015/11/04
shelves: critical-theory-philosophy
review:

]]> 208050 An Introduction to Metaphysics (Introduction à la Métaphysique) is a 1903 essay by Henri Bergson (published in Revue de métaphysique et de morale) that explores the concept of reality. For Bergson, reality occurs not in a series of discrete states but as a process similar to that described by process philosophy or the Greek philosopher Heraclitus. Reality is fluid and cannot be completely understood through reductionistic analysis, which he said "implies that we go around an object", gaining knowledge from various perspectives which are relative. Instead, reality can be grasped absolutely only through intuition, which Bergson expressed as "entering into" the object.]]> 64 Henri Bergson 087220474X Shefali 0 to-read 3.90 1903
author: Henri Bergson
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1903
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/11/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 379661 278 Henri Bergson 1402199392 Shefali 0 to-read 4.05 1889
author: Henri Bergson
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1889
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/11/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 2840020 32 Ezra Pound 0548457034 Shefali 2 poetry
It is no big news that modernists had unlocked level crazy when it came to acting stuck-up. So Pound is hell-bent on proving how no one knows a shit about beauty and how he is burdened under the weight of not letting the classics die in this age of intellectual "peasants". And those Italian, Greek, Latin, French, etc. words that Pound throws in here and there! Seems like the man was trying too hard to show that he had done his homework and was ready to send everyone in stupor.

At least when Dryden insulted his contemporaries, he managed to crack some good jokes, but Pound takes himself too seriously. He wouldn't laugh, he will wrinkle his nose and shut his eyes, and then blabber in Greek that everyone is blind to beauty. But simply put, this poem sucks. So much for 'Make It New' and 'Imagism'!

]]> 3.73 1920
author: Ezra Pound
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.73
book published: 1920
rating: 2
read at: 2015/10/22
date added: 2015/10/21
shelves: poetry
review:
It surprises me to think just how annoying this poem is. It doesn't read like a nostalgia for classcial beauty, but like an unnatural obsession.

It is no big news that modernists had unlocked level crazy when it came to acting stuck-up. So Pound is hell-bent on proving how no one knows a shit about beauty and how he is burdened under the weight of not letting the classics die in this age of intellectual "peasants". And those Italian, Greek, Latin, French, etc. words that Pound throws in here and there! Seems like the man was trying too hard to show that he had done his homework and was ready to send everyone in stupor.

At least when Dryden insulted his contemporaries, he managed to crack some good jokes, but Pound takes himself too seriously. He wouldn't laugh, he will wrinkle his nose and shut his eyes, and then blabber in Greek that everyone is blind to beauty. But simply put, this poem sucks. So much for 'Make It New' and 'Imagism'!


]]> 841116 The old theory as to the nature of the Chinese written character (which Pound & Fenollosa followed) is that the written character is ideogrammic—a stylized picture of the thing or concept it represents. The opposing theory (which prevails today among scholars) is that the character may have had pictorial origins in prehistoric times but that these origins have been obscured in all but a few very simple cases, & that in any case native writers don’t have the original pictorial meaning in mind as they write.
Whether Pound proceeded on false premises remains an academic question. Let the pedants rave. An important extension of imagist technique in poetry was gained by Pound’s perception of the essentially poetic nature of the Chinese character as it's still written.]]> 64 Ernest Fenollosa 0872860140 Shefali 0 to-read 4.01 1919
author: Ernest Fenollosa
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1919
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/10/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 3219358 240 Lord Byron 1854771213 Shefali 5 poetry 3.18 1992
author: Lord Byron
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.18
book published: 1992
rating: 5
read at: 2015/05/09
date added: 2015/10/06
shelves: poetry
review:

]]> 18747251 599 B.R. Ambedkar Shefali 0 to-read 4.56 1957
author: B.R. Ambedkar
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.56
book published: 1957
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/09/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 12118 80 Luigi Pirandello 0802141943 Shefali 4 plays 3.90 1922
author: Luigi Pirandello
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1922
rating: 4
read at: 2015/09/15
date added: 2015/09/15
shelves: plays
review:

]]> 11013027 19 T.S. Eliot Shefali 5 poetry 4.22 1922
author: T.S. Eliot
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1922
rating: 5
read at: 2015/09/08
date added: 2015/09/08
shelves: poetry
review:

]]> 64410 Galileo explores the question of a scientist's social and ethical responsibility, as the brilliant Galileo must choose between his life and his life's work when confronted with the demands of the Inquisition. Through the dramatic characterization of the famous physicist, Brecht examines the issues of scientific morality and the difficult relationship between the intellectual and authority. This version of the play is the famous one that was brought to completion by Brecht himself, working with Charles Laughton, who played Galileo in the first two American productions (Hollywood and New York, 1947). Since then the play has become a classic in the world repertoire. "The play which most strongly stamped on my mind a sense of Brecht's great stature as an artist of the modern theatre was Galileo." - Harold Clurman; "Thoughtful and profoundly sensitive." - Newsweek.]]> 155 Bertolt Brecht 0802130593 Shefali 4 plays 3.75 1943
author: Bertolt Brecht
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.75
book published: 1943
rating: 4
read at: 2015/09/07
date added: 2015/09/07
shelves: plays
review:

]]> 4593001 102 J. Poster 0335096638 Shefali 4 4.00 1993
author: J. Poster
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1993
rating: 4
read at: 2015/08/29
date added: 2015/08/29
shelves: poetry, critical-theory-philosophy
review:

]]> 23129001 "it is, in my opinion on of the greatest poems in the language.
"The Earth Gods is, perhaps, a book for the mystic, a poet's book for poets, for the initiate and the dreamer of vast dreams. Yet I have known those who pride themselves on being highly practical and feet-on-the-ground, who disown any bent toward the mystical and the occult, to pronounce it a book of wonder and power. And a child of seven to whom I read portions of the poem on request, says unvaryingly, 'read it again!' This perhaps, for the music and the almost unearthly beauty of rhythm." --Barbara Young]]> 43 Kahlil Gibran Shefali 5 poetry
The poetry is exquisite; there are lines and phrases that demand a few moments of reflection before proceeding further for the meaning to be felt. The poem is a dialogue between three gods, all three having a different attitude towards their immortality and powers. They admit that they are merely "earth gods", trapped between humans and something purely divine which is above them. Thus they are versions of how gods are projected. The twist is that here gods, endowed with the sensibilities attributed to them by humans, tell their stories. Amusingly, the first god is under some serious existential crisis, which is unexpected but understandable because the gods that people generally yield to are indeed absurd ones. Bringing misery to people, then occasionally bestowing bounty, making them fear the unseen and surrender to gods--caught in this repetitive cycle, he concludes, "All this have I done, and more. And all that I have done is empty and vain."

Towards the end, the poem reflects on what is love, which is seen as the ultimate thing that justifies the existence--of gods and humans.

"And let love, human and frail, command the coming day."

The illustrations in the book, which I have come to know, were made by Gibran himself, are also striking. ]]> 3.59 1931
author: Kahlil Gibran
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.59
book published: 1931
rating: 5
read at: 2015/01/09
date added: 2015/07/04
shelves: poetry
review:
I spotted this book in the college library when I was looking for a Bob Dylan autobiography which I had wanted to read for quite sometime. But as it happened, the title and the thinness of this book made me wonder what magic it might contain. So I sat down on the floor between the bookshelves (didn't want to be surrounded by the crowd in the reading area) and finished reading it without a halt. And this has become one of my best reading experiences.

The poetry is exquisite; there are lines and phrases that demand a few moments of reflection before proceeding further for the meaning to be felt. The poem is a dialogue between three gods, all three having a different attitude towards their immortality and powers. They admit that they are merely "earth gods", trapped between humans and something purely divine which is above them. Thus they are versions of how gods are projected. The twist is that here gods, endowed with the sensibilities attributed to them by humans, tell their stories. Amusingly, the first god is under some serious existential crisis, which is unexpected but understandable because the gods that people generally yield to are indeed absurd ones. Bringing misery to people, then occasionally bestowing bounty, making them fear the unseen and surrender to gods--caught in this repetitive cycle, he concludes, "All this have I done, and more. And all that I have done is empty and vain."

Towards the end, the poem reflects on what is love, which is seen as the ultimate thing that justifies the existence--of gods and humans.

"And let love, human and frail, command the coming day."

The illustrations in the book, which I have come to know, were made by Gibran himself, are also striking.
]]> 12204 I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."

These deceptively simple lines from the title poem of this collection suggest Robert Frost at his most representative: the language is simple, clear and colloquial, yet dense with meaning and wider significance. Drawing upon everyday incidents, common situations and rural imagery, Frost fashioned poetry of great lyrical beauty and potent symbolism.

Originally published in 1916 under the title Mountain Interval.]]> 49 Robert Frost 0486275507 Shefali 0 to-read 4.28 1916
author: Robert Frost
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1916
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/06/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 296866 27 Lewis Carroll 1402186231 Shefali 3 poetry, children-lit 3.98 1876
author: Lewis Carroll
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1876
rating: 3
read at: 2015/05/28
date added: 2015/05/28
shelves: poetry, children-lit
review:

]]> 57854 Tao Te Ching, the esoteric but infinitely practical book written most probably in the sixth century B.C. by Lao Tsu, has been translated more frequently than any work except the Bible. This translation of the Chinese classic, which was first published twenty-five years ago, has sold more copies than any of the others. It offers the essence of each word and makes Lao Tsu's teaching immediate and alive.

The philosophy of Lao Tsu is simple: Accept what is in front of you without wanting the situation to be other than it is. Study the natural order of things and work with it rather than against it, for to try to change what is only sets up resistance. Nature provides everything without requiring payment or thanks, and also provides for all without discrimination—therefore let us present the same face to everyone and treat all men as equals, however they may behave. If we watch carefully, we will see that work proceeds more quickly and easily if we stop "trying," if we stop putting in so much extra effort, if we stop looking for results. In the clarity of a still and open mind, truth will be reflected. We will come to appreciate the original meaning of the word "understand," which means "to stand under." We serve whatever or whoever stands before us, without any thought for ourselves. Te—which may be translated as "virtue" or "strength"—lies always in Tao, or" natural law. In other words: Simply be.]]> 184 Lao Tzu 0679776192 Shefali 4 religion-occult 4.33 -350
author: Lao Tzu
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.33
book published: -350
rating: 4
read at: 2014/09/21
date added: 2015/05/27
shelves: religion-occult
review:

]]> 1259984 50 Leilah Wendell 0944087035 Shefali 2 religion-occult 3.47 1991
author: Leilah Wendell
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.47
book published: 1991
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2015/05/27
shelves: religion-occult
review:

]]> 159964 The Buddhist scholar and commentator Buddhaghosa explains that each saying recorded in the collection was made on a different occasion in response to a unique situation that had arisen in the life of the Buddha and his monastic community. His commentary, the Dhammapada Atthakatha, presents the details of these events and is a rich source of legend for the life and times of the Buddha.]]> 114 Anonymous 0938077872 Shefali 3 religion-occult 4.26 -400
author: Anonymous
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.26
book published: -400
rating: 3
read at: 2014/09/30
date added: 2015/05/27
shelves: religion-occult
review:

]]> 1708919 Dallapiccola 0714124087 Shefali 3 religion-occult 3.52 2003
author: Dallapiccola
name: Shefali
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2015/05/27
shelves: religion-occult
review:

]]> 231875
"That rare work in fiction . . . the art and the courage are of the highest level."
—The Boston Globe]]> 165 Monique Wittig 080706307X Shefali 3 4.12 1973
author: Monique Wittig
name: Shefali
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1973
rating: 3
read at: 2015/05/27
date added: 2015/05/26
shelves:
review:

]]>