Accidental Blogger
A general interest blog
Category: Books, Authors & Poems
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The roster of AB bloggers includes at least two full-fledged journalists (Ruchira and now Andrew). Since its inception, Ruchira has entertained her appreciation for books by writing about them at some length, if not precisely by reviewing them. Consequently, it was no surprise to receive recently this brief alert from Ruchira: "It is the same…
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Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Colombia’s only Nobel Laureate, recenty visited his home town of Aracataca which he immemorialized as the fictional town of Macondo in his literary tour de force One Hundred Years of Solitude. Garcia Marquez, who lives in Mexico City, returned to his place of birth after twenty four years and for the eighty…
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My co-author Anna (who has been missing from the blog for a while), recently said in an email, "Your tireless effort on the blog never ceases to amaze me." I assured her that the tireless effort is actually exhausting. Which is why I am woefully out of blogging ideas this morning. Unlike my usual practice…
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It seems odd to write the profile of a long dead author with Current Affairs as one of the tags. By the end of this post you will know why it is entirely appropriate here. In my second or third year of college, seeking a break from chemistry text books, I stumbled upon a novel…
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Kiran Desai had won the Man Booker prize for her novel The Inheritance of Loss well before I got in the queue for the book at my local library. I was impressed by her achievement (another Arundhati Roy in the making, perhaps). Most of the other Booker prize winners were among my favorites, so my…
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A partial list of biographies I have read in recent months. I won’t attempt in-depth reviews except to say that I enjoyed all of them, some more than others. Galileo’s Daughter by Dava Sobel : The title of the book notwithstanding, this book is not about Galileo’s daughter but an excellent profile of her illustrious…
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Readers may have wondered why with ever unfolding shocking news about the Bush administration’s shenanigans, I have mostly stayed away from politics in recent days. I have been writing about books, art and other "soft" stuff while Bush-Cheney-Rove’s "a scandal a day" administration comes under congressional and journalistic scrutiny. The reason for the paucity of…
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Those with young children, nieces, nephews, siblings or friends might find this useful . Thanks to Andrea of Just One More Book for the link.
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I ought to be writing a substantive post about books (or something else). But I am just not feeling up to it. Instead, I decided to fill up blog space with some light weight (but hopefully not boring) observations about books I have read more than…
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Only the Eyes are Mine: At the very beginning of Usha Alexander’s debut novel, Sita, the central character makes the quiet observation described in the title of the book. Looking at herself in the mirror when she is old and sick, she glances back at her whole life lived on two continents and recognizing nothing…
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I can’t put this strongly enough: What Is the What is an absolute must-read. Reviews and such here. The novel, written by Dave Eggers, is the fictionalized autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan. As a six (or so) year old in Marial Bai, a small Dinka village in southern…
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Came across this charming little travel tale (via Amardeep) in the New Yorker. Polish travel writer Ryszard Kapuscinski reminisces about the first time he stepped out of his homeland and landed in … India (via a short stop in Rome). The India he describes is of another era – from the 1950s. Much has changed…
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Molly Ivins, the feisty political humorist and Texas tough lady died today after a long battle with cancer. Ivins, who gave George W. Bush the unforgettable nickname Shrub, was 62. Ivins’ specialty was speaking truth to power, never aiming her satire at the powerless. "The touble…
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Loyal reader Matt, who likes to have fun with words, also writes children’s verses. He and illustrator Shannon Wheeler have a book in mind – whenever a publisher becomes willing and available. Meanwhile, Wheeler who draws weekly comics for alternative newspapers, has used one of Matt’s rhymes in his latest creation. You can see it…
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On Sunday afternoon on C-Span’s book TV, I heard author Chris Hedges discuss his book, “American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America” . He listed the inroads the Christian right has made into various national institutions. The far right social agenda was familiar – anti-women, anti-gay, anti-science, xenophobic. But what really got…
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