The Stranger/The Outsider -by Albert Camus

Definitely one of those unique books that can throw you overboard and keep you thinking for long. It’s been some time since I have read this one but today I feel like , there’s this strong urge to share what it was like to have completed this well known classic work.

The Stranger by Albert Camus is for sure one of those rare books that are quite different to what authors generally offer these days but maybe it’s because of the fact that , it’s about a guy who is quite different from the “normal” chap according to our definition. He doesn’t pretend because he certainly doesn’t feel there’s a need for that. And all we can think about the consequences we may have to face if we decide one day , that whatever the F$@#  happens , I am not gonna pretend a single thing from now on. Like I said , it’s not just impossible but light years away from impossible ,to merely state it on a literal basis.

Won’t give away much about the book , but like the plot says , a man involved in a beach murder which is more likely unexplained in terms of motive. That’s what the book is about. Is dat all? I wouldn’t justify the book’s depth if I say that. Like the author stated “It’s about the nakedness of man faced with the absurd.”

 Certain lines and paragraphs are so deep that you certainly feel like closing the book for a minute and better think about the truth/importance of what just was thrown at your face.

We pretend just in order to stay in the so called “Society” and to avail what comes with it. In that way we certainly no longer remain Original to ourselves.

Don’t tell me , none of you have ever  felt a strong resistance to things…. to behave in a certain way or let say ..react in a way to certain things in a different way…but we abide to norms and stupidity that makes us not “Us”. We lie ‘coz we can’t speak up…we don’t say the truth at times ‘coz that would make us total jerks in front of the “Normal” society. Then you don’t belong to the guild , do you?

We never truly speak about what we actually feel or think. We just say what others want to hear from us. If you do then what you become is a total Stranger to the fraternity or most specifically a complete “Outsider”.

A book which requires deep analyzing and makes us question about our identity. 

The First Book - part 2

I am not sure many of you who are reading this current post right now , are familiar with my previous post entitled  “ The First Book” ,(It was my third blog post) any which ways I will share the link here  and for the people who won’t be checking out that , I will give a brief introduction here itself..right away.

The First Book … basically sheds light on the first book that you ought to pick up of an author , which is most likely his/her one of the best works , so that you still have the urge to read other works after finishing it.

I came across this very idea when I started reading . I used to do a lot of research before checking out a specific author’s work ‘coz the first work to which you are exposed to can turn out in different ways. If you pick up a good piece then a win-win thing and anyhow if you don’t pick up an interesting enough one then you might get deprived of the other better works of the same author, if present. So , I thought “What the heck…I should share this thing so that others get every bit of a worthwhile stuff”

So here I am , trying to put up a list consisting of the “First Book” that you ought to check out by a specific author.

In my last post I shared the books by “Stephen King” “Ray Bradbury” “James Patterson” “Jeffrey Archer” “Agatha Christie” “John Grisham” “Harlan Coben” “Issac Assimov” “Michael Crichton” “Dean Koontz” , So this one should exclude the above mentioned names right…. Okay then ..here we go..

Ø  Raymond Chandler – As legendary as this author is , there are plenty of books mostly in the genre-Noir , Hard-Boiled , Mystery .. that are considered as one of the best books or thrillers of all time. So among his works, it’s fair and justified to start from the beginning ..obviously right?..So “The Big Sleep” starring or let say introducing Detective Philip Marlowe is the first book that I would pick up , if I were you. Laconic Dialogues are my favorite in his works.

Ø   Neil Gaiman – This is one author who has done it all. He has written child books ,screenplays for motion pictures/TV-Series,  epic fantasy novels/comics and amazing fiction works. “Neverwhere” and “American Gods” are the one’s to begin with in the novel category. To be exact “American Gods” should be your first insight. And I wouldn’t feel content if I don’t mention his comic/graphic novel masterpiece which changed the way how people thought about comics. “The Sandman” series is definitely a graphic novel worth checking out. It’s more like an essential reading for individuals who love graphic novel. I would say even if you hate graphic novels , still give “The Sandman”series a try.

Ø  John Sandford – This is one author who most of the people don’t know about. Or he doesn’t get the fan following he deserves. He is more like a lil.less famous when compared to the writers in the same genre like Michael Connelly, James Patterson, Lee Child to name a few. His “Prey” series is just super awesome. I must admit that I like his “Prey” Series way way better than the books by Michael Conelly , may it be his Series featuring “harry Bosch “ or the ones featuring Mickey Haller , the criminal defense attorney . John Sandford’s first in the “Prey” Series ..    ”Rules of Prey” has to be the first book.

Ø  Gillian Flynn – She is definitely one of the many famous thriller writers present right now. With no doubt , her book “Gone Girl” has to be the first book you pick up and make sure you pick it up before October  2014,  if you are one of those people who either watch a movie adaptation or read the original book. The movie version is being directed by none other than the director mostly known for his killer thrillers , David Fincher.

Ø   Albert Camus – This respected author received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957. My words won’t even come close to the respect he deserves for the masterfully crafted work done by this great author. There are so  many classics penned down by him , for starters “The Stranger” also known /published as “The Outsider” deserves a special mention. And it certainly becomes our first book that we ought to check out.

I have tried my level best to not be biased here according to my likings .The list is a result of recommendations and research and of course after I have read them . After checking ‘em out only , I decided that they deserve to be the first work any avid reader reads no matter what or let say a book aficionado’s first choice! ;)

Read On!

Book Review: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Hello Everyone!

I am so glad that I finally read Fahrenheit 451.This was the reaction that i had somewhere in the back of my mind moments after I read the last page. FYI I read this book sometime back, last year maybe but i had this review scribbled down minutes after I finished the book but never got a chance to post it .But now today’s the day. No more delay. J

 I am not the kinda guy who just reads classics ‘coz they are classics & you are suppose to read them sooner or later. I want them to be atleast interesting. I read the plot “Guy Montag , a fireman & his job is to burn books. A world where Firemen start fires & specially burn books as they are outlawed” & man , I thought this is definitely gonna be my next read.

                        

                                        

Starts like:

“It was a pleasure to burn.

It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed “ .....

And I was hooked. It’s pretty rare that you develop interest right away from the first couple of pages. For years people are trying to decode or atleast understand the true message behind this classic work by Late. Mr. Bradbury. The visionary piece of writing is what grabs your attention throughout. This book was published in 1953 & the writer was able to assume & predict the things 50 years from then . At that time it was just fictional but if you read it now i.e. 60 yrs from its publication then you are surely gonna be astonished to see how the writer was so sure about where the world is headed. Poetic writing is what I like the most about Mr. Bradbury which in this book lacked a little making it a quick & an easy read. Writing is crisp though. This book never feels as if you are reading a classic(in a “doesn’t bore you” sense)  because it is so fresh & way ahead of its time that anybody who prefers staying away from classics can also give it a try. As most of you must have heard , this book is about censorship & a dystopian world that reflects our present &future. I certainly didn’t feel anything irrelevant about it. Book is short & to the point. It is certainly gonna be a great read for a bibliophile because ???..hmm??...Read it & know it for yourself :p. Saying more about it would just be a spoiler & that would do injustice to this great book.

A classic which reads like as if somebody travelled 50 yrs into the future &  jot down this amazing work.

I personally felt Mr. Ray Bradbury’s writing was visionary, unique & captivating.

R.I.P  Mr. Ray Bradbury. Great Work!

Some quotes from the book :

“The good writers touch life often. The mediocre ones run a quick hand over her. The bad ones rape her and leave her for the flies.”

“The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us.”

P.S. – Mr. Bradbury wrote an early 25,000-word draft of Fahrenheit 451 in nine days on rented typewriters in a basement at UCLA.

A fact I think you guys should know J

Read on!

Go-to websites:Books

The following are the frequent sites that i refer to inorder to come to a decision regarding books
The first choice is probably the most frequent site that i visit in the category & the others that follow are also pretty good to help you choose.

> For deciding my next read or to plan which one's to pick up on my next visit to the book-store, my go-to sites or i must say here's our go-to sites as can be seen from the membership itself.
All the below mentioned sites in this category are equally good & preferring which one of ' em is totally on one's taste .All these sites have a large community to help you decide your next good read.

http://www.goodreads.com/

http://www.shelfari.com/

http://www.amazon.com/

http://www.librarything.com/

 http://www.yournextread.com/

The first book

Most of us who are new to the world of books often start our wonderful journey to this awesome world getting to know about various authors via various sources.

People always get confused & tend to skip or take a pass when it comes to choosing the first  book written by a specific author. Even I had this dilemma  , so I used to do a lot of research & stuffs on the internet , used to visit a couple of blogs but still if I couldn’t decide the first book to read then I would just go with the ratings. Sometimes it worked & sometimes it didn’t .

If you don’t choose the first book of the author that you always wanted to read wisely , then that could really deprive you of the better work of that same author & you happen to regret about it  later after many years.

So I felt like composing a list of 10 authors with at least two options for starters from each …I have provided 2 books for almost every author in the list just inorder for you guys to have a back- up if someone ends up not agreeing to the first choice.

And i’ve added a couple of bonus books that you oughta read if you get a chance to in the near future…

So the first question that pops up in your mind is how would I narrow down a list to 10  when we have so many great authors to check out sooner or later…There are some authors who’s best work is known to many…like everyone knows Tolkien for writing “The Lord Of the Rings “ or J.K.Rowling who created Harry Potter…so why to state the obvious right…so I decided to put up a list of authors who had a lot of bestselling books..the authors in the list  may/may not be classic writers…may or may not be genre specific but they are definitely worth checking out..or let say this is a random list of certain authors that you stumbled upon & found something worthwhile…

The following list is made on personal choice & after a lot of research on the net.. I respect & appreciate everybody’s individual choice ..have tried my level best to not be biased here on personal favorites basis..So I’ve restricted my list to genres like Mystery, Suspense, Thrillers, Sci-fi as these are the widely read ones …. So the list goes as follows :

Stephen King –The world’s greatest living  suspense, science fiction, horror and fantasy fiction writer, with well over 500 million copies of his books being sold worldwide. Plenty of his novels have been made into movies .That being said , his  best work till date is considered to be “The Stand “ …& the other option that you can check out for starters is “Different Seasons “ which is a combination of 4 stories , so everyone can start with ”different seasons” thinking that they would atleast like 2 or 3 out of the 4 or all the 4..depending on the respective tastes..

Ray Bradbury – “ Fahrenheit 451 “ ..this one is definitely the best book to get in touch with the writing style of Mr. Bradbury…& the other option for starters can be “The Martian Chronicles “…it depicts his beautiful way of writing combined with a sense of poetry… both books complement the writing style of Ray Bradbury.

James Patterson – “Along came a spider “…this has to be the first book of his that you pick up ‘coz it is the first book of the series featuring the character that made Patterson famous:Alex Cross….Other option being “1^st to die “ is equally thrilling for a James Patterson ‘s first book..i felt you do ‘ve so many options to choose from on the basis of genre..can choose “The Angel Experiment ” if you like young adult fiction or can pick up “Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas “ if you like  romantic & melancholous stuffs.

Jeffrey Archer – I personally could never choose which is his best work…some may say “Kane & Abel”..some may say “A  Prisoner of Birth “…but for starters I’d say “A Prisoner of Birth”..it being a stand-alone  novel & it truly keeps you wanting to read more from the very author…”Kane & Abel” is considered to be his best work by many.. a great book to start ..it is the first book of a trilogy..u ought to check out the trilogy as well..gr8 author indeed…

Agatha Christie – Often referred  as “The Queen of Mystery “ has so many great works to choose from..So “And then there were none” being a stand-alone novel plus one of her best works known becomes an easy 1^st choice…other option can be obviously the first in the series of  her widely known character Hercules Poirot  “The Mysterious affairs at  Styles”….Her Miss Marple series are also widely known to readers across the world.

John Grisham –…One’s who are into thrilling courtroom dramas tend to prefer John Grisham(I personally don’t lyk this genre )..Many of his works are adapted into Movies..many of us must ‘ve heard about “The Firm” starring Tom Cruise or “A time to kill” starring McConaughey..as these movies indeed did do justice to the books so it is ok to have watched the movie first ..u don’t ‘ve to regret about it..So a good book to pick up not adapted to a movie is “The Street Lawyer” (made into a TV movie but who counts that as a movie & it is not that good too so.. :p :p) . Not considering this as his best work but u would know about Grisham’s way of writing.

Harlan Coben  – His books are widely known for suspense & the twist factor. His books no matter how long are always considered a quick read. To start with you can read “ Tell No One ”…gr8 story..nice plot & keeps you guessing  throughout… Another good book to start with is  “Gone for Good”.

Isaac Asimov  - I decided to read this writer’s work ‘coz I loved the movie I-Robot ..He is famous for his foundation series . His “Robot” series are nice & intriguing too. So for starters it is good to start with “Foundation” the first book in the foundation trilogy.

Michael Crichton  – The creator of Jurassic Park . Need i say more!..Seen the movie Jurassic park ( everyone has ) ,so i started with “The Andromeda Strain” . So that would be my suggestion as the

first book to the ones who don’t prefer reading a  book  after seeing a movie adaptation of the same.

Dean Koontz  – Known to most of us as one of the most popular & successful suspense writers alive .His tales of horror , mystery , adventure has earned him the praise of critics & readers worldwide. So for a dog-lover the first book ought to be “Watchers” & for the ones otherwise checkout  ”Intensity”. His “Odd Thomas” series  are the best for people who wanna start a series right away.Trust me you won’t regret it.

So that concludes the list…

Bonus books as promised with the cover that I own .. These are some of the awesomest books that I ‘ve come across lately!!! :

City Of Thieves by David Benioff – Definitely in my top 10 favorites. Highly recommended.

The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1) by Patrick Rothfuss – Once u start with this , I am pretty sure you can’t stop yourself from continuing the series.Reads like a wind indeed.

The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastards, #1) by Scott Lynch – Same goes with this , the first book of the trilogy would urge you to continue. A superb read.

 

P.S. – I will keep updating the above lists  as I continue reading …