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Mara
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« Reply #1230 on: July 22, 2010, 03:23:05 PM » |
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it'll take our young smiter, er, member a while to get used to us. Kheekhee. Oh and I like your new avvie Kazmi-- quite appropriate.  I'm trying to get my hands on a copy of Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention, from Fire to Freud by Peter Watson. If anyone has a digital copy of it, please share on Dropbox. |
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« Last Edit: July 22, 2010, 03:31:37 PM by Mara »
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“Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” - Anton Chekhov
“If there’s an afterlife, I can picture Plath and Cobain prowling through it together.” - Alicia Ostriker
“Often, I only hear the splashing of a goldfish lost in the drainage, circumnavigating the copper entrails of a city unwilling to listen.” - 'Bestiary', Christian Ward
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toK
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« Reply #1231 on: July 22, 2010, 06:43:14 PM » |
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Haha, I've no idea what you mean by 'quite appropriate' but thankies anyway  |
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'I have a new philosophy. I'm only going to dread one day at a time. ' Charles M. Schulz
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Mara
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« Reply #1232 on: July 25, 2010, 05:19:58 AM » |
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welcome |
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“Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” - Anton Chekhov
“If there’s an afterlife, I can picture Plath and Cobain prowling through it together.” - Alicia Ostriker
“Often, I only hear the splashing of a goldfish lost in the drainage, circumnavigating the copper entrails of a city unwilling to listen.” - 'Bestiary', Christian Ward
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MP
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« Reply #1233 on: July 25, 2010, 01:43:33 PM » |
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The Mind of Q. This, this is why self publication is never a good idea. Ick. Bad. Terrible. A chore to get through. I'm actually remembering Ali Sethi at this point which, considering how The Wish Maker was about nothing and this is about something, is sad. Very sad.
There is no such thing as getting published later; unfortunately, there is such a thing for getting published too early; Kamila Shamie with her icky City by the Sea and now Khadija Khan with The Mind of Q. What puzzles me more is not that it was published (lots of bad lit abounds, unfortunately) but that the media outlets that covered its release raved about it...along with Kishwar Naheed. I have the utmost respect for Ms Naheed, but not sure whether I can forgive her for this.
Ugh.
Stay away. Don't come near this thing with a 2 ft pole.
Meanwhile, my reading of The Case for God (Karen Armstrong; she who wrote 'The History of God') continues, proving a better read, as always. The woman has the uncanny ability to pull you in. Nothing dry about her work.
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Where is the focus on the arts? On the bright and creative minds of tomorrow? If there’s no environment, it will never have a chance for true cultivation. We’re here for the artists, the photographers, the writers, cynics and poets of today and tomorrow. Have something to say? Say it, already! |
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Mara
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« Reply #1234 on: July 25, 2010, 04:37:03 PM » |
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Now I've got to read this one-- I'm intrigued.
Karen Armstrong is THE bomb. Did you attend her lecture at Islamic Uni when she was in Islamabad, MP?
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“Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” - Anton Chekhov
“If there’s an afterlife, I can picture Plath and Cobain prowling through it together.” - Alicia Ostriker
“Often, I only hear the splashing of a goldfish lost in the drainage, circumnavigating the copper entrails of a city unwilling to listen.” - 'Bestiary', Christian Ward
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MP
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« Reply #1235 on: July 25, 2010, 10:55:14 PM » |
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Nope, I entirely missed it. Didn't know who she was back then, curses. Just got into her this last year; since December, in fact.
I read her 'Islam, A History' along with 'Muhammad', which were rather interesting as well. Recommended reading. I find it far more fascinating when non-Muslims write about Islam. They're a lot more objective about the whole thing, helps put things into better perspective.
Am mid-way through A History of God, and would like to continue but The Case for God is still a bit more accessible than History; because the former was chock full of dates and shizzle which tends to distract you from the actual reading. Am enjoying Case, after which will proceed to take up History.
Meanwhile, I learned that she calls herself a "freelance monotheist" which is fascinating, lol. She is a monotheist but believes in all the revealed religions, which again, makes for fascinating experiences. She's started this thing called the 'Charter for Compassion', in which several key scholars from the world's three main religions are working on how to work through things harmoniously. A very needed thing in this day and age, imho.
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Where is the focus on the arts? On the bright and creative minds of tomorrow? If there’s no environment, it will never have a chance for true cultivation. We’re here for the artists, the photographers, the writers, cynics and poets of today and tomorrow. Have something to say? Say it, already! |
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Mara
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« Reply #1236 on: July 26, 2010, 04:30:34 AM » |
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i like that-- "freelance monotheist". made me smile for some reason.
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“Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” - Anton Chekhov
“If there’s an afterlife, I can picture Plath and Cobain prowling through it together.” - Alicia Ostriker
“Often, I only hear the splashing of a goldfish lost in the drainage, circumnavigating the copper entrails of a city unwilling to listen.” - 'Bestiary', Christian Ward
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« Reply #1237 on: July 26, 2010, 05:47:55 AM » |
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It is rather interesting, isn't it?  |
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Where is the focus on the arts? On the bright and creative minds of tomorrow? If there’s no environment, it will never have a chance for true cultivation. We’re here for the artists, the photographers, the writers, cynics and poets of today and tomorrow. Have something to say? Say it, already! |
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« Reply #1238 on: July 31, 2010, 12:02:33 AM » |
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Currently reading: Mrs Dalloway. I don't know why I didn't take to it before. Next up, continuing The Brothers Karamazov. I might just retry Kamila Shamsie's Burnt Shadows. Hmm.
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Where is the focus on the arts? On the bright and creative minds of tomorrow? If there’s no environment, it will never have a chance for true cultivation. We’re here for the artists, the photographers, the writers, cynics and poets of today and tomorrow. Have something to say? Say it, already! |
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Mara
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« Reply #1239 on: July 31, 2010, 12:15:08 AM » |
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You've got to read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Raynd, MP. Awesome, awesome book. Didn't quite agree with the sentiment behind half of it but the narrative in the later half more than makes up for it.
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“Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” - Anton Chekhov
“If there’s an afterlife, I can picture Plath and Cobain prowling through it together.” - Alicia Ostriker
“Often, I only hear the splashing of a goldfish lost in the drainage, circumnavigating the copper entrails of a city unwilling to listen.” - 'Bestiary', Christian Ward
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« Reply #1240 on: July 31, 2010, 09:49:55 AM » |
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Just finished Roald Dahl's autobiography Boy...such an amazing book, they even had Cadbury dairy milk in the 1930's!, inspiration for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory |
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"Forget all the rules. Forget about being published. Write for yourself and celebrate writing."
Melinda Haynes
"Lisa, if you don't like your job you don't strike. You just go in every day and do it really half-assed. That's the American way."
Homer Simpson
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Mara
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« Reply #1241 on: July 31, 2010, 10:20:48 PM » |
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Ah, I loved that book when I read it back in, 5th grade, I think it was. Some truly heart-breakingly sad yet funny stuff in his life. Have you read Going Solo, UC? It's the sequel to Boy. I liked it a lot 'cause it deals with his life in the Royal Air Force and being an Air Force brat my self I could totally relate |
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“Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” - Anton Chekhov
“If there’s an afterlife, I can picture Plath and Cobain prowling through it together.” - Alicia Ostriker
“Often, I only hear the splashing of a goldfish lost in the drainage, circumnavigating the copper entrails of a city unwilling to listen.” - 'Bestiary', Christian Ward
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« Reply #1242 on: August 02, 2010, 10:04:21 AM » |
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haha Mara I re read Boy when in fact I should have been reading Going Solo , actually I have both the books, I had read Boy ages ago at that time after reading Boy, Going solo seemed boring to me and I had stopped reading after the first chapter, a couple of days ago I was trying to locate Going solo but came across Boy and re read it...let's see now if I can manage to finish going solo too
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"Forget all the rules. Forget about being published. Write for yourself and celebrate writing."
Melinda Haynes
"Lisa, if you don't like your job you don't strike. You just go in every day and do it really half-assed. That's the American way."
Homer Simpson
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« Reply #1243 on: August 02, 2010, 10:18:52 AM » |
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I read Going Solo first, too, and tossed it away till I read Boy years later. And then I picked up my old book, read it, and went back to Boy, and then came back to Going Solo, and kept going back and forth because Dahl never, ever gets old. And now I'm reading a collection of his short stories - Skin and Other Short Stories, and they're pretty impressive. Impressive and haunting. I love Dahl. I remember reading Uncle Oswald five years ago with my best friend; we were shocked by his humor but couldn't help giggling along ... sigh. Good ole' days.
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I've always wondered why the world is such a pain in the ass sometimes. Then my family corrected my thinking and got me wondering why I was such a pain in the world's ass. Whatever.
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« Reply #1244 on: August 02, 2010, 10:28:20 AM » |
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The best thing about Dahl is that when he writes it seems like your grandfather is telling you a story from his own time and as I am a big fan of real life sixty year old stories by my Dadi and Nani, how could I not be a fan of Dahl? |
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"Forget all the rules. Forget about being published. Write for yourself and celebrate writing."
Melinda Haynes
"Lisa, if you don't like your job you don't strike. You just go in every day and do it really half-assed. That's the American way."
Homer Simpson
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