I had an unexpectedly long recuperation from an illness and
what better time to catch up with my reading. Note for Kindle users, after the
last software update on my Kindle, I now find that I can purchase e-books
directly from my Kindle. No messing around with my laptop, etc. While I mostly read fiction (in my favourite genre – Crime
Fiction), I did also get some non-fiction reading done.
I am sure that most have heard of Stieg Larssen and at least
some of you would have read Henning Mankell, however Jo Nesbo is right up there
with the best of them as a Scandinavian writer of detective fiction, and I don’t
mean that Nesbo stands out among Scandinavian writers only, he would hold his
own in any forum.
The few books that I have read (I try to go in order of
their publishing and am now up to #5) tend to introduce new locales, for
example the first book is set almost completely in Australia, the second in
Thailand, and so on. Nesbo has a style all of his own and we identify with him
though may be not empathize as much as say with Mankell’s Wallander.
All in all, the books are gripping, the plot usually moves along briskly and what I have observed is that we feel that we are heading to a denouement but we are still only half way through the book. Though people who are not fans of detective fiction may think that the genre follows a predictable pattern, Nesbo does stand out as different, primarily because of the characters, plots and locations.
Strongly recommended: 4/5 *
I digress, this is not about QI but the two books written by the team behind QI, the first being the Book of General Ignorance. This book turns conventional wisdom on its head and many things that we have assumed as facts are debunked and the appropriate explanations given, almost always in ea humorous manner. Each factoid has featured in an episode of QI.
The second book is only indirectly associated with QI where its researchers have put together a fantastic set of quotations categorized by topic. This is one gem that it is worth having a hard copy of so that one can dip into it at random (this is one disadvantage of a Kindle, browsing is difficult).
The Martian Chronicles – Science Fiction – Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury is one of the early ‘thinking’ science fiction
writers and this collection of short stories packs a punch that is
disproportionate to the size of the stories. All the stories are set on Mars
and told from the point of view of humans who have gone as explorers/settlers
or native Martians. Each story is guaranteed to provoke a reaction and it is
hard to simply move from one story to another, one needs to take some time to
digest what one has read,, the mark of a truly great writer. The fact that the
book is written in 1950 does not date it at all and the themes discussed are
relevant even today. Regardless of whether you like science fiction or not, I
would highly recommend this collection, you will thank me for it.
The Winning Way – Anita and Harsha Bhogle
I must admit that I bought this book primarily because it
was co-written by Harsha Bhogle than any great expectations from the content.
The primary message is that sports is a great metaphor for conducting oneself
in the business world and that teamwork is the holy grail that all of us need
to strive for. Having said this, the book finds more and more inventive ways of
packaging this central idea (both Bhogles being IIM A alumni, this is not
difficult). I don’t doubt their intentions in writing this book however the
content quickly becomes very lightweight. I would have expected more from both
of them.
Sadly, I would classify this as management self-help, a category which I loathe.
Many books by Sue Grafton (alphabet series), and a sampler by Janet Evanovich and Sara Paretsky.
I had become a fan of Kinsey Millhone the investigator in the Sue Grafton books and liked the gritty, no nonsense style. I stuck with her for close to ten books before they became formulaic to me and once the novelty of Kinsey herself wore off, I became dissatisfied with the plotting. Finally I have called a halt to it and no longer plan to read the rest of the books. However I would suggest that for someone who has not read Sue Grafton, browsing a couple of her books is well worth it, though I would not recommend committing to reading the series.
I felt that I was not reading enough female crime fiction writers and hence picked up a book each by Sara Paretsky and Janet Evanovich, both turned out to be perfectly adequate books by themselves but did not hook me enough to want to know more about their central characters and read beyond the first books. Possibly my loss, but possibly not!
Final teaser:
Jo Nesbo – Oslo based Harry Hole series
I am sure that most have heard of Stieg Larssen and at least
some of you would have read Henning Mankell, however Jo Nesbo is right up there
with the best of them as a Scandinavian writer of detective fiction, and I don’t
mean that Nesbo stands out among Scandinavian writers only, he would hold his
own in any forum.
I have primarily read his Harry Hole (pronounced Ho-books which are about
an Oslo police detective called Harry Hole who has a talent for detection and
also getting into trouble. Harry is also an on and off alcoholic, who seems to
be able to switch his addiction off at will, though he tends to lapse at the
most inopportune of moments. Hole is an alcoholic in the way Rankin’s Rebus is
not (Rebus loves alcohol, Hole drinks to get smashed).
As with most fictional detectives, Hole has his own code that he lives by, hang the department that pays his salary. The first couple of books tell us why Harry Hole turned into an alcoholic and that is as unexpected a twist to a main character in a detective series that you can find (no spoilers here!).
As with most fictional detectives, Hole has his own code that he lives by, hang the department that pays his salary. The first couple of books tell us why Harry Hole turned into an alcoholic and that is as unexpected a twist to a main character in a detective series that you can find (no spoilers here!).
All in all, the books are gripping, the plot usually moves along briskly and what I have observed is that we feel that we are heading to a denouement but we are still only half way through the book. Though people who are not fans of detective fiction may think that the genre follows a predictable pattern, Nesbo does stand out as different, primarily because of the characters, plots and locations.
Strongly recommended: 4/5 *
From the makers of QI: The General Book of Ignorance and The
QI book of Quotations
If you don’t know what QI is, then you need to immediately
get off this page, do a google and prepare to watch hours of YouTube videos
which will make you laugh till your insides burst. QI is hosted by the
inimitable (National Treasure he has been called) Stephen Fry (also called the
smartest man in Britain). Forget his erudition, the panel that QI puts together
is usually as high quality (Alan Davies being a permanent member) and I can
only imagine the pressure on someone who gets invited.
I digress, this is not about QI but the two books written by the team behind QI, the first being the Book of General Ignorance. This book turns conventional wisdom on its head and many things that we have assumed as facts are debunked and the appropriate explanations given, almost always in ea humorous manner. Each factoid has featured in an episode of QI.
The second book is only indirectly associated with QI where its researchers have put together a fantastic set of quotations categorized by topic. This is one gem that it is worth having a hard copy of so that one can dip into it at random (this is one disadvantage of a Kindle, browsing is difficult).
Other miscellaneous reading:
The Martian Chronicles – Science Fiction – Ray Bradbury
The Winning Way – Anita and Harsha Bhogle
Sadly, I would classify this as management self-help, a category which I loathe.
Many books by Sue Grafton (alphabet series), and a sampler by Janet Evanovich and Sara Paretsky.
I had become a fan of Kinsey Millhone the investigator in the Sue Grafton books and liked the gritty, no nonsense style. I stuck with her for close to ten books before they became formulaic to me and once the novelty of Kinsey herself wore off, I became dissatisfied with the plotting. Finally I have called a halt to it and no longer plan to read the rest of the books. However I would suggest that for someone who has not read Sue Grafton, browsing a couple of her books is well worth it, though I would not recommend committing to reading the series.
I felt that I was not reading enough female crime fiction writers and hence picked up a book each by Sara Paretsky and Janet Evanovich, both turned out to be perfectly adequate books by themselves but did not hook me enough to want to know more about their central characters and read beyond the first books. Possibly my loss, but possibly not!
Teaser:
I have recently discovered Inspector Wexford (I know, what
was I doing all this time, when I profess to be a detective fiction fan!),
however after reading a couple, I am somewhat hooked. Stay tuned for an update
in the next blog post.
Final teaser:
I have now read six of the nine Bernard Samson books (Game,
Set, Match and Hook, Line and Sinker). Here is a writer who is possibly not
appreciated as much as his peers (John Le Carre, Graham Greene, etc.) and after
reading the six books all I can say is that Deighton’s spycraft is equal to any
of them. Deighton and Samson deserve an entire post to themselves, so stay
tuned!
As always, thanks for reading and do write back with your comments!
