In my opinion a writer's(successful writer that is) life is so attractive.However,writing is a tough tough art.How do you write something which people would want to read?How do you even know what people want to read about?However,there are some talented and exceptionally skilled folks who have somewhat figured out this mystery and whatever they write is a success.
The world of writers and their ilk is a crowded place.There are so many wannabees,so many aspiring writers.And on the world wide web almost anyone can call himself a writer for that matter.
I have delved into the works of numerous writers since childhood as books have always been very dear to me.As a child I remember reading the great works of English literature-Dickens,Robert Louis Stevenson,Jules Verne,Mark Twain to name a few.Enid Blyton with the great series of famous fives,secret sevens,five find outers and others remains an all time favourite though its hard to spot any of her works especially here in America. I also loved the Sherlock Holmes stories and have read and reread them and can still enjoy them. RK Narayan's Swami and Friends is another all time favourite.
There was a time I used to be very interested in business books and I read quite a few-Lee Iacoca's Made in America,Akio Morita's Made in Japan,an engrossing book on Apple computers,Jack Welch's book about GE,Lou Gestners Elephant's can dance.I got bored even though these were all great works about careers of exceptionally talented people however the paths that these books tread were more or less the same. It doesn't excite me anymore.
There are numerous books I have started reading,lost interest and left midway.Some have been boring like hell and I persisted with them as long as I could. Then there have been some absolutely fascinating but make very slow reading like the Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance.This is one amazing work I have still been unable to read through after many attempts. It must be the most unusual book I have read ever.
I love books which are witty and funny at the same time.Bill Bryson books are recent favorites as they are great to read.A walk in the woods,I'm a stranger here myself,Travels down under make great reads.I somewhere read about Bryson that even if the guy writes about something as boring as laundry lint he will make you laugh. I certainly can vouch for that. I am currently reading his Life of the thunderbolt kid-a memoir about life in America in the fifties.
The world of writers and their ilk is a crowded place.There are so many wannabees,so many aspiring writers.And on the world wide web almost anyone can call himself a writer for that matter.
I have delved into the works of numerous writers since childhood as books have always been very dear to me.As a child I remember reading the great works of English literature-Dickens,Robert Louis Stevenson,Jules Verne,Mark Twain to name a few.Enid Blyton with the great series of famous fives,secret sevens,five find outers and others remains an all time favourite though its hard to spot any of her works especially here in America. I also loved the Sherlock Holmes stories and have read and reread them and can still enjoy them. RK Narayan's Swami and Friends is another all time favourite.
There was a time I used to be very interested in business books and I read quite a few-Lee Iacoca's Made in America,Akio Morita's Made in Japan,an engrossing book on Apple computers,Jack Welch's book about GE,Lou Gestners Elephant's can dance.I got bored even though these were all great works about careers of exceptionally talented people however the paths that these books tread were more or less the same. It doesn't excite me anymore.
There are numerous books I have started reading,lost interest and left midway.Some have been boring like hell and I persisted with them as long as I could. Then there have been some absolutely fascinating but make very slow reading like the Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance.This is one amazing work I have still been unable to read through after many attempts. It must be the most unusual book I have read ever.
I love books which are witty and funny at the same time.Bill Bryson books are recent favorites as they are great to read.A walk in the woods,I'm a stranger here myself,Travels down under make great reads.I somewhere read about Bryson that even if the guy writes about something as boring as laundry lint he will make you laugh. I certainly can vouch for that. I am currently reading his Life of the thunderbolt kid-a memoir about life in America in the fifties.
I also love reading cricket related books with their inside stories of famous matches and players.Sunil Gavaskar's one day wonders is fantastic. I recently read Sachin's biography but it was more replete with stats than the man himself.John Wright's Indian Summers seems to be an intriguing read with his take on the Indian team and the board.There are not many good writers writing about cricket unfortunately. A book on "sidhuisms" anyone?!
I have at several times attempted reading VS Naipaul and always given up with exasperation. I find his writing style too complex and elaborate.Its the complexity which puts me off.I mean you can sound all classy,sophisticated and regal but I would any day take someone whose narrative gives you an impression that the author is more or less speaking to the reader.Khushwant Singh is a writer that excels in this genre. His books make for addictively pleasurable reading specially his essays compiled in "Not a nice man to know" and his memoir "Love,Lies and a little malice".I rate him as a very accomplished and a thoroughly enjoyable author.
I also have a special liking for memoirs and biographies.Sometimes its amazing to see the parallels when you read an autobiography and you also go on to read the same person's biography.As in the case of Mahatma Gandhi's "My experiment's with truth"-as honest and sombre account of oneself as one can dare to make public.Louis Fischer's Gandhi at the same time is a fantastic biography presenting Mahatma's life from many other angles which are not conceivable when someone writes an account of himself.Another fascinating biography is Genius on the life and times of Richard Feynman.Feynman though gave fabulously original and creative lectures which later were compiled into several books never cared to write a memoir.I guess it would have sounded something damn boring for a person who hated authority and hypocrisy of any sort.
The subject of books being made into blockbuster movies is another interesting subject to boot.
It must be an incredibly difficult proposition to condense a lengthy book into a 2 hour movie with taut screenplay,interesting characters and all without loosing the guiding theme of the original work.Perhaps this is the reason that books are almost always better than the movies that adapt them.Rarely has been a movie made that has paralleled the book if not exceeded its charm.The Lord of the Rings trilogy is a perfect example of this.It actually made people sit up and take notice of the marvellous epic that Tolkein created almost a century ago.
Gifted writers you see are a marvellous and a rare species.We are thankful for their work.
The subject of books being made into blockbuster movies is another interesting subject to boot.
It must be an incredibly difficult proposition to condense a lengthy book into a 2 hour movie with taut screenplay,interesting characters and all without loosing the guiding theme of the original work.Perhaps this is the reason that books are almost always better than the movies that adapt them.Rarely has been a movie made that has paralleled the book if not exceeded its charm.The Lord of the Rings trilogy is a perfect example of this.It actually made people sit up and take notice of the marvellous epic that Tolkein created almost a century ago.
Gifted writers you see are a marvellous and a rare species.We are thankful for their work.
1 comment:
Look for autobiography of Sidhu in his 3 years behind bars.
You should contribute to editorials of news papers. Tried writing a book?
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