literature
Geek literature from the New York Times or the recesses of online. Our favorite stories showcase geeks.
Book Review: “Bland Fanatics” by Pankaj Mishra
Pankaj Mishra’s book “Bland Fanatics” is basically our answer to Edward Said’s “Orientalism” - well, at least the first few essays are. Often presented as overtly pretentiously worded articles, Mishra actually fails on the key points of his argument, often skirting around the issue and addressing things that are possibly less important. However, there are things that I agree with when he does make a point and certainly, there are important arguments to be had here - I am just wondering whether Mishra has his own priorities, considering his political sway, a little bit mixed up for the time being. Sentences and paragraphs inside Mishra’s essays are often overly word-heavy and require to be broken down to understand them, which is something else I take issue with. Mixed within political jargon and inaccessible writing, Mishra has managed to create a barrier between himself and the common reader who possibly did not go to university or has not got the education required to understand the ins and outs of politics in the modern world. The real question here is: does Mishra fail to actually enforce his point as he commits himself to word-heavy sentences and paragraphs? Is this entire book just one big irony?
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
"The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe
I first read this story when I was a younger child because I used to have some tapes of the stories of Edgar Allan Poe read by the likes of Vincent Price and Christopher Lee (yes, I was a fairly odd child). Oh, and when I say ‘child’, I mean about nine years’ old, or roundabout that age. I used to play these tapes on my radio and cassette player and well, they scared the absolute crap out of me. After a while, as I grew up, I got these ‘tapes’ on a digital file and managed to put them on an MP3 player that plugged into my desktop computer. I no longer had to wind my cassette tapes with a pencil just to listen to scary accents reading my favourite gothic stories. The one story that always terrified me though was “The Cask of Amontillado” - it wasn’t “The Raven” or “The Pit and the Pendulum” and no, it wasn’t “Tell Tale Heart” or “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” - it was always “The Cask of Amontillado”.
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
Want to read more books like Lord of the Flies?
William Golding’s 1954 novel, Lord of the Flies, is about the society and descent into mayhem created by a group of young boys stranded on a desert island is one of the most consequential works of literature from the 20th century. However, if you’re looking for more books like Lord of the Flies, it can seem like a daunting task. The novel Lord of the Flies went on to influence many other books and media, while three film adaptations based on Lord of the Flies were released over the years.
By The Bookish Elf6 years ago in Geeks
"The Hours" by Michael Cunningham
I did not get around to reading this until I was twenty-two years’ old and yet, it was a great book and I found the experience almost overwhelming. I was actually reading it for university and because I had to, but for some years before - one of my friends had been recommending it to me for an awfully long time and I had not actually read it off their recommendation (I’m pretty sure that annoyed her, but at least I eventually read it!). When I first read it, I was sitting bored out of my mind in a class on historical theories of western philosophy and someone was talking about Schopenhauer to which I thought ‘what is the point? we are all just going to die anyway…’ (laughs in Schopenhauer). Unfortunately enough, I’d already read the text on western philosophy that we were studying some years before and so, I began a new text, zoned out and thanked god that there were a lot of other students in the class. “The Hours” by Michael Cunningham was one of the greatest and most beautifully post-modern books I’d read since “Cloud Atlas” by David Mitchell.All about the great influence of Virginia Woolf on the lives after and considerably similar to her own, this book covers the lives of three women that are about to become intertwined only in their own experiences of womanhood, grief, goodness and their want to be more than themselves. I was fascinated by the language and even though I wasn’t a huge fan of the movie, I was definitely a huge fan of the book that was written like a symphony. It is truly a masterpiece of post-modern fiction. My first reading experience at twenty-two was well worth it and I often thank god that I left it for as long as I did. I thoroughly believe in reading books at the right time in order to get the right experience and this was definitely one of those books you need to do that with. It has such incredible atmosphere, the characters are so thorough and beautiful and the way in which it is written has such incredible description. It is one of the best written books of the last twenty years and yet, not many people I know have actually read it. Even the other people on my course didn’t seem to bother. I have no idea why - it was an amazing book.
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
"Invitation to a Beheading" by Vladimir Nabokov
Often, people ask me what my favourite Nabokov novel is and I have to say that the one I have read that is most unlike his other works is possibly “Invitation to a Beheading” because it represents something that is familiar to us in his bibliography that is written in an entirely different way. We get the question of morality and happiness, the difference between right and wrong and then, we get it written in a style that is often described as “kafkaesque” though I beg to differ. I first read this book when I was sixteen years’ old and nearing the summer of my life before sixth form. It was a scorching hot day and reading Nabokov whilst drinking juice was often considered the high life of the teenage literary nerd. This book is about a man called Cincinnatus C. who is due to be executed and often, we experience the various morality filters of different characters, including guards, family members and the protagonist himself. The characters I always associated most with the morality question were the protagonist, Cincinnatus and a man called Pierre, who mostly plays the sort of almost villainous shadowy trait of humanity in which we do things we are not proud of but often do them anyway. Pierre seems to represent not only morality, but the obsession and want to do something good, but the decision to do what one wants instead. It’s almost very Nietzsche of him I think. This book is written in a style that often, I would not associate with Nabokov - it written almost exclusively in an omniscient style, but also with an aspect of trickery. It is like Nabokov is trying to trick us into an ending. Some may say that the ending is anti-climatic but I believe that it is often more philosophical than we first think and subsequent readings have shown me this.
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
10 YA Book Quotes That Will Give You All The Feels
Have you ever read a quote that you couldn’t get out of your head? That seems to explain your life to you in ways you couldn’t understand until you read it?If you’re into making that kind of discovery, check out this 10 YA book quotes we’re currently digging from these unforgettable YA novels.
By YASH GOYAL6 years ago in Geeks
My Dark Vanessa
★★★★★ My Dark Vanessa follows the narrative of 32 year old Vanessa and her reflection on the relationship she had with her teacher, Mr.Strane at the age of 15. As another former students comes forward with accusations of her abuse by the same man, Vanessa is forced to question what she believed to be the great love of her life.
By Book Slugs6 years ago in Geeks
Today's Book Spotlight
Today's Book Spotlight is Beyond Twilight With the release of Stephenie Meyer’s Midnight Sun, the interest in vampires is returning and so are the interesting and diverse books of other vampire writers that tell of stronger female characters than Bella in Twilight.
By Spirit Guide Communication through the Art of Divination6 years ago in Geeks
Review of 'Outrun the Wind'
Synopsis The Huntresses of Artemis must obey two rules: never disobey the goddess, and never fall in love. After being rescued from a harrowing life as an Oracle of Delphi, Kahina is glad to be a part of the Hunt; living among a group of female warriors gives her a chance to reclaim her strength. But when a routine mission goes awry, Kahina breaks the first rule in order to save the legendary huntress Atalanta. To earn back Artemis's favor, Kahina must complete a dangerous task in the kingdom of Arkadia-where the king's daughter is revealed to be none other than Atalanta. Still reeling from her disastrous quest and her father's insistence on marriage, Atalanta isn't sure what to make of Kahina. As her connection to Atalanta deepens, Kahina finds herself in danger of breaking Artemis's second rule. She helps Atalanta devise a dangerous game to avoid marriage, and word spreads throughout Greece, attracting suitors to go up against Atalanta in a race for her hand. But when the men responsible for both the girls' dark pasts arrive, the game turns deadly.
By Cyn's Workshop6 years ago in Geeks
Book Review: “Chasing the Light” by Oliver Stone
As we are all probably well aware by now, Oliver Stone is one of my favourite directors ever with his film “JFK” (1991) being one of my favourite films of all time. He has directed amazing movies like “Any Given Sunday” and the legendary “Platoon” which is based on his own experiences as a soldier in the Vietnam War. But little do we know about what happened before all of this great directing. Oliver Stone lets us into his life in which there are many, many setbacks for him. His perseverance through broken relationships, both family and in love, failed odd jobs and many more left him without money and often without hope. But, this man still managed to find the time to write out scripts upon scripts which were rejected each and every time. Of course, there was no doubt that one day, he would write a script that would become a great movie as we read this book after a lengthy, successful career. Oliver Stone writes passionately about his experiences, with vigour, reality and does not seek to be anything he is not. He tells his story in words that all can understand and all will come to understand the story behind this legend which is one of constant kicks and punches. In the end though, he does not give up.
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Geeks
Review of 'Vicious Spirits'
Vicious Spirits is an incredible sequel that expands upon the folklore that started this series. However, this scope of this novel has expanded by adding in Junu’s and Somin’s perspectives of the novel. These additions add more richness to the novel, allowing the depth between the dynamics to grow.
By Cyn's Workshop6 years ago in Geeks
