Tuesday, November 09, 2004

My love affair with English continues....

Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss

I am at a total loss for words to describe the book so I'll leave you with some promotional statements and media reviews....

"If Lynne Truss were Roman Catholic I'd nominate her for sainthood. " - Frank McCourt, author of Angela's Ashes and Tis

"A wonderful little treatise... Witty and entertaining as well as informative." - Terry Eagleton, Irish Times

"Lovers of good English have thought of ourselves as isolated outposts… Lynne Truss has emerged as our champion." - William Hartston, Daily Express

..And if that did not help you decide to pick this one up, sample some lines

“No matter that you have a PhD and have read all of Henry James twice. If you still persist in writing, ‘Good food at it’s best’, you deserve to be struck by lightning, hacked up on the spot and buried in an unmarked grave.” A little extreme, I feel: boiling in oil would be quite sufficient.

Very, very strongly recommended!!
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Four Incredibly Good Reads. One Conclusion.

The key to a successful short story is definitely NOT the proverbial twist in the tale (most often 'forced') or alluring word play (Thesaurus power). These might contribute in their own way but what surely works is the ability to conjure up situations and characters that we can all identify with. And before we realise whats happened, the fine line between fiction and reality has all but disappeared and we are so hopelessly involved that we find ourselves rushing ahead to find out what happens next.

These 4 stories had precisely the aforementioned effect on me. Delightful works ! Ensoii !!

Of Single Girls and ‘Double Degree’ Prospects! by Deepanjali Pandey

I know I am in deep, cranium-level shit when I find myself agreeing to cook, clean, care, lose weight on the ass, gain it on the breasts, earn a five-figure paycheck, tone down the hair, the laugh, the 'attitude', never abuse (i.e. verbal/ tobacco / alcohol), read management tomes, drape my head on hometown visits (his, naturally), act coy in front of his friends, gratified in front of mine, gush 'intellect' to his corporate colleagues, and homely inanities to his sisters, rear well-read children, love his body hair, balls, bedroom, boardroom, bathroom habits… and to the rest of the world… always appear a genial host, generous lover and genteel wife.

for full story, read here

However by G S Ramasubramanian

To be perfectly honest with you, I don't even remember how and when we met. It's not as unbelievable as it sounds. She was my friend's fiancée's friend, and we had gone out together as part of the same group on a number of occasions before we actually said a word to one another. I guess we recognized each other's existence, and weren't exactly averse to talking, but just didn't feel like expending the energy to start a conversation, just to get acquainted.

for full story, read here

"First Night" nightmares by Lykos Magee

“Sambandhi, I hereby spread my dear daughter's legs to accept the gift of your son's member.”
“And it is my pleasure to herewith introduce my son's erect lingam into the moist welcome afforded by your daughter.” My father then holds my organ at its base and ceremoniously forces me to penetrate my newly wedded wife.

for full story, read here

Seduction by Priya Thiagarajan

The house is dark. Somehow that depresses me. I grope for the light switch. The living room comes to light as I turn the switch on. I automatically walk towards the table where the flower vase is. I take the drooping flowers out of it and replace it with the bunch of fresh flowers I have in my hand. Nice, big, yellow chrysanthemums… trying to shed sunlight into my perpetually dark apartment.

for full story, read here

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Issues of morality apart, IMHO Seduction was jes writn 2 provoke...Deepanjali seems more of a male-basher...Lykos's work is strikin' but de innokwusly named However turned out 2 b de surprise package.. zimbly mindblowin' -- Strategic intent -- ROTFL :D

Will chooz 2 ignore de punkchoo book reco :D

Jes wonderin' veres de time 2 read so many books???

Ekta said...

Hey!
Just happened to see this book-ESL the other day in Barista and was wondering what its all about. Now I know!...will be my next pick!

Btw...have found this recent liking for anita nair books...not in the genre of being called a classic but keeps u occupied.

Latest one being ladies coupe-though must warn u..if ur one of those " Naah I dont read feminist sounding books.." this ones not for u!

Jupe said...

Sowms,
A very very humble request..Don't type in THAT english here..I get worked up when I see some awful ways to spell words...

Allow me to correct you but Deepanjali is NOT exactly a male-basher...Read some of her other works esp her entry for that define LOVE on-the-spot story contest.. She's totally in her elements there...Yes, HOWEVER is my favorite but for totally different reasons.. Hema rockssss... reminds me so much of Di...chuck de...

Time.. well...weekends..Its only footer and books...Would you believe I haven't gone for a movie in a month..But yes, Veer Zaara is releasing this weekend here..Bans can go take a hike.. Jes imagine...A Yash Chopra movie with a 20 yr old...God save me ;-)

Ekky,
When it comes to literature Iam not sexist :-p In fact I've even read Jaishree Misra... Btw, isn't Ladies Coupe the story where a South Indian woman runs away from home and in the train meets 5 diff ppl and its their story after that.... Vaguely remember a pal of mine reco'ing it..Can i borrow it once u r thru ? Of course you can have ESL :-))

Anonymous said...

So prosaic ! Is this how you ask a gal out Jupes ? :O

'Allow me to correct you' but I happen to be 21 :D

Jupe said...

There you go..assuming again that i was referring to YOU :-P
Mebbe I found myself another juvenile ;-)

And lady, whichever way you look at it, you are 20. I don't see why you wanna 'grow up' so fast :-))

Anonymous said...

Yoo luvbirds r havin' coochy coochy fights huh......Naan udraen joootttttttt ! (Rash, means m scootin')

Anonymous said...

(SOW) Thanks for the help in Tamil! When do our classes start? I'll need them asap!

Jupe said...

SHUT-THE-F*&^-UP Sowms :-((((

Kiddo, saaf saaf batao...are we on or not ?

Anonymous said...

Not till you 'actually' ask!!
If you do that, I'm ready to even reconsider NAACH (Do I see you SALIVATING Jupes?)

Jupe said...

Who are u trying to fool buster ? U probably jes realised that AB Jr is a much hotter bet so u wanna change plans...Don't forget I am 7 yrs elder :-p

Neway since i am stuck, might as well do it...

Sweetheart, can i please have the honor of your company on Friday ? - a love-struck, anxious Jupe

Jupe said...

Anush,
Actually I'd read Deepanjali's stuff before but I discovered the rest of the stories thanks to you.. Came to your blog from RJA's...Since our tastes seemed to match, tried out some of your other Favorites too..Nice choices ! You from Shanmuga ? Thats great... Me from RECT but a few years senior to you...

Jes curious, i didn't leave a trace so how come you landed up here ?

Soums,
See..U get itchy when I spell ur name rong.. So do I when u screw up spellings in my fave lang.. Do we have a deal ? :-)

RA,
If the Kannada Sena or wotever has its way, we wont be at the movies on Friday.. In which case, I didn't ever ask you out :-p

Ekta said...

Bingo!!
Thats the one..u got it right!
And slight correction--she doesnt run away..just takes away!:-)
Sure u can borrow it and of course If I get ESL in return..will let u know when I finish it..am still enroute!