Books

The books I've read. From 2008 onwards. I also maintain a list on Good Reads.

Honor Harrington Series by David Weber (2010/08)

Pretty decent read overall. But, I did not like the author's habit of spending too much time in his characters' head. Also, his worldview is limited to southern USA (he is from SC). There is only so much of present day USA political views projected into thousand years into the future one can tolerate before starting to skip all the long rants about present day politics.

I started skipping long, overwrought paragraphs after book 5. I've read the first nine books so far (2010/09).

Watchmen (2009/03)

Wanted to read this book before I watched the movie. I have read 4 chapters so far. I like the non-linear narrative and non-simplistic treatment of super-hero personality.

Memoirs of a Geisha (2008/11)

A good book. Life of a geisha in pre WW II Japan.

Anathem by Neal Stephenson (2008/10)

A sci-fi novel unlike any other I've read. Loads of mathematics and physics. I read through the book in an attempt to finish the book. There is lot of material there which is completely inaccessible for math-light readers. For me, it only serves as a reminder of things to study. A good read for math, science and computer science geeks. Recommended.

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (2008/08)

I read a book by Indian author after a long gap. My earlier reading of Indian authors had left me slightly weary of them. But The namesake was quite a good book, even though the theme is well worn (Immigrant families in US). I did go back and re-read many parts of the book, which in my scale, is a very good. Recommended.

Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb (2008/05)

The book I started reading on my flight from India to the USA. Took another month or so to finish. It is a book on the effect of randomness on life and how most humans are fooled by the mind to see patterns where lot many times the events are, in fact, random. A good read. Recommended.