No bookies please...

It has transpired at last. The deadly human game of Tag, played so gallantly on level ground, has now caught up with me. So I got a tag, then what?? If it had a Heuer following it, my life would have been made. Well, so be it. The baton is received with grace, and what follows is my lap of the sprint which this topic is becoming. All I hope is this sprint is legit and there are no stakes involved, which explains the topic (apart from being a feeble attempt at a pun). The tag was passed on by Neelam, and the response follows…

Books that I liked the most:

Now I understand what the selectors felt like while picking the Indian team… anyways, here goes…

1. The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R.Tolkien

This is, well,

One book to rule them all

One book to unwind them

One book to enchant them all

And in the process bind them

Any doubting Thomas’s, just click here.

2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams

If you like Sci-fi, read this. If you like comedy, read this. If you like satire and sarcasm, read this. If none of the above choices applies to you, read it anyway. This is a book you don’t want to miss for the world (which is destroyed anyway, so what the heck).

3. Neuromancer – William Gibson

The book which sparked off the cyberpunk genre of writing, the book which coined the terms cyberspace and matrix for the first time, the book which inspired the Matrix movies. It’s gripping; it’s psyching, its path breaking. Just plug into this book, and let you mind do the rest.

4. 1984 – George Orwell

This one gave me nightmares. Scarier than The Exorcist, more chilling than the spine of a deep sea eel, this story of a future Earth ruled by an all-pervading, omniscient government will ruin you calm existence and plunge into a terrifying nightmare with no possible escape. This one is not for the weak-hearted.

5. The Foundation Series – Isaac Asimov

Simple language, simple characters, mind-blowing details. Isaac Asimov is the God of sci-fi. Seven books in the series, each one a masterpiece. Read calmly, no need for excessive brain work, but be prepared for the unexpected for nothing is what it seems to be.

Authors I like:

1. J.R.R. Tolkien – He created Middle Earth and Eressea out of thin air, and weaved a mythology around it all. He truly is the Lord of them all.
2. Douglas Adams – Hilarious. Capable of bringing a smile onto anybody’s face.
3. Isaac Asimov – Master of sci-fi. Makes you wish you were born too early.
4. Jim Corbett – For those amazing man-eater tales.
5. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – For creating the analytical genius Holmes.

Unusual books that I liked:

1. Matrix Warrior – A philosophical study of how to escape the Matrix and attain Nirvana.
2. The Tao of Physics – An illustration of the parallels between modern physics and Eastern mysticism. Very illuminating.

Cartoons I like:

1. Calvin and Hobbes – Hilarious. Terrific. A laugh riot. Out of this World. Need I say more?
2. Asterix – Attila the Hun’s big mistake. Goscinny and Uderzo’s revenge. This comic is ferpectly outstanding.
3. Tintin – If you don’t like this, then scram, you Bashi-bazouks, you iconoclasts, you lily-livered lizards, you…
4. Peanuts – For sheer humor.

Books that I want to read:

1. I, Cyborg (been hunting for this one for years now)
2. Shalimar the Clown (its Rushdie after all)
3. Ulysses (the size and Joyce’s skill are scary)
4. Pebble in the Sky (Asimov’s first novel. Out of print last time I checked).

Books that I have left halfway thru and want to complete:

1. Finnegan’s Wake (Joyce at his craziest)
2. Black Holes and Baby Universes
3. Homer’s Iliad (fell asleep :p)

Currently reading…

The Journey of Man - A Genetic Odyssey – Spencer Wells explains how the different races evolved from a single man.

That’s it then… My lap is ended, and the baton will go to Fail, the poor soul who is boiling in the coolest Dept., and Mando, who recently immortalized me in the world of cyberspace literature. Enough then… there are a couple of wars to be fought!!!