tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post4229072895462480657..comments2024-03-27T14:57:37.031+05:30Comments on Jabberwock: Quotes from the bestseller machineJabberwockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-67974241552458093232016-03-25T09:06:40.429+05:302016-03-25T09:06:40.429+05:30"Don't get me started quoting passages fr...<i>"Don't get me started quoting passages from Srishti books, it can go on forever.</i>"<br /><br />But the title of your post is about quotes, so why not? The ones you've quoted are priceless - but they do fulfill one important criterion of what most people think of as essential for a work to be 'literary': they make you think. To wonder what the writer meant to say. I had to read the first and the last quote a couple of times before I could even guess what the writer was trying to say. <br /><br />Okay, to sign off, some stuff from a book called <i>FLAKE</i> (which is an acronym for <i>Friendship, Love, And Killer Escapades</i>:<br /><br />He squashed the face of the green button and confabbed with her momentarily.<br /><br />Befuddlement prevailed in his mind-palace.<br /><br />He dressed himself dapperly and skedaddled to Shantana Bakery.Dustedoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00614804804521341182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-13033989640641150082016-03-24T12:06:57.044+05:302016-03-24T12:06:57.044+05:30yes, Anuja has done lots of good work. In fact, I ...yes, Anuja has done lots of good work. In fact, I was a bit irritated by how she was clubbed together with RS and RS for this session, just because all of them were "popular" writers; but then that's how lit-fests work...Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-2610141078751703182016-03-24T12:04:40.597+05:302016-03-24T12:04:40.597+05:30Aparna: yes, it can work both ways, of course. I h...Aparna: yes, it can work both ways, of course. I have been in situations where I have felt paralysed by the high quality of the work done by another writer who works in my field (reviewing, culture writing), but there have also been times when I have looked at a middling culture piece published in a respectable magazine/newspaper and thought "Hell, if they publish this sort of thing, why should I be so diffident about pitching ideas to them?"Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-5692048686543859832016-03-24T11:56:01.390+05:302016-03-24T11:56:01.390+05:30Madulika: nooooooooo!! Don't get me started qu...Madulika: nooooooooo!! Don't get me started quoting passages from Srishti books, it can go on forever.<br /><br />Okay, just a few from one of my all-time favourites, <i>That Kiss in the Rain...Love is the Weather of Life</i>:<br /><br />"Random lightning appeared as evil chuckles of destiny on the pitch-dark face of the sky while the echo of thunders that followed seemed to carry the etiquette of her once said words."<br /><br />"The insect of writing a novel was born in my Department of Brain during my graduation days."<br /><br />"His engrossment didn't allow him to see a car approaching the couple...fear locked the voluntariness of all his senses."<br /><br /><br />Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-82321956943422242722016-03-24T11:29:04.157+05:302016-03-24T11:29:04.157+05:30Agree with you SO whole-heartedly, Jai. I cannot i...Agree with you SO whole-heartedly, Jai. I cannot imagine how a writer can write well without ever having read. What frightens me more, however, is that there are thousands of readers who actually think very highly of writing like this. I've just finished reading a book (which, by the way, has an average Goodreads rating of well over 4 stars), and which contains gems like "Her deep bosoms provided a beautifully rounded silhouette."<br /><br />Sigh.Dustedoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00614804804521341182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-62079646505474065342016-03-24T10:51:26.968+05:302016-03-24T10:51:26.968+05:30A couple of small mistakes in my comment above. Bl...A couple of small mistakes in my comment above. Blame it on my iPad's unnecessary auto- correct, done wrongly. In- literary should have been un- literary. New writers, not writer.<br /><br />Might as well add that I absolutely loved Those Pricey Thakur Girls, from Anuja Chauhan. Hilarious, intelligent, sweet, empathetic -- exactly how Inlove it. Will happily recommend this book. Need to read her more, the other books.<br /><br />Somehow I have never felt the urge to read Ravi Subramanian. Heard him once, at a Chennai Litfest. OK. At least he sounded better than Chetan Bhagat ( and I have like his very first book; read two more which I found to be ok).lalsubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17644970512067728345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-60864328453668351232016-03-24T08:03:05.497+05:302016-03-24T08:03:05.497+05:30Loved your article or writers, new writer who have...Loved your article or writers, new writer who have not been readers....<br /><br />I have read exactly one Ravinder Singh book out of curiosity -- and I am not sure I want to read him again. While he does hold your attention, manages to tell a tale-- that's about it. There is absolutely no literary quality worth the phrase-- but that's ok, because his customer base is not into such frivolous stuff. But a lot of the book was actually full of extremely poor language, grammar, style -- things that matter to me. But yes, he has made money through his in- literary books, while I make pocket change through my occasional review.��<br /><br />To me, being a reader is very very important. The more you read, the more you understand humanity. And that is something Ravinder Singh and his fans need to understand.lalsubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17644970512067728345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-41660942076885445742016-03-24T00:39:47.046+05:302016-03-24T00:39:47.046+05:30Here is blog from a reader who has devoured the cl...Here is blog from a reader who has devoured the classics and is very humble and self-effacing. Not at all the pretentious literary snob one hears about. In fact reading his writing makes me want to read the classics and really find things to love in it....<br />https://argumentativeoldgit.wordpress.comNJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02676333722319085849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-3287714529548500682016-03-24T00:09:49.247+05:302016-03-24T00:09:49.247+05:30It is refreshing to read (in your article) a balan...It is refreshing to read (in your article) a balanced view of both sides. <br /><br />Totally agree with: "When you start reading from an early age... it makes you humble – it might even make you diffident about your own work, which can be a problem." I am not really a good writer or anything, but used to write and still do, but the more I read, the more I look at my own "creations" with distaste and think - this looks too amateurish. And then, by chance, I read a couple books - on Kindle by non-Indian authors and in paperbacks, by Indian authors. And then I wonder if I should be reading more of such just to muster up a bit of courage and put my book through Kindle publishing.<br /><br />Lastly, a lot of people confuse readability with sub-standard writing. But then again, as "writing" is not science, there are different parameters (or none at all) in grading quality when it comes to writing. I guess it gets more complicated with a book/write-up being treated as a product that needs to be marketed and the usual product questions like "who is it for?" and "where do we sell it?" becomes evident.Aparnahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17465535925292456208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-71223183905299541752016-03-23T22:17:21.980+05:302016-03-23T22:17:21.980+05:30Yes, I enjoyed Chetan's first two books (and g...Yes, I enjoyed Chetan's first two books (and got pilloried once when I wrote a post saying this).Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-66569343134857962362016-03-23T22:14:12.313+05:302016-03-23T22:14:12.313+05:30'not inspired enough to continue' - happen...'not inspired enough to continue' - happened to me when I started one of Anuja's books. I expected to enjoy it -- didn't. <br /><br />Quite the opposite happened with CB! I had no problem reading 5 Point Someone<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-88004039988327369982016-03-23T17:59:08.004+05:302016-03-23T17:59:08.004+05:30Well, this post does raise a familiar pang in my h...Well, this post does raise a familiar pang in my heart.<br />Anyway, no matter what, I'll stick to my belief that it is because of all the lovely books that I've read that my writing has got its weight.<br />But I guess, these days lighter is better. Lighter flies higher!Jyoti Arorahttp://jyotiarora.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-47362699856755247292016-03-23T17:02:05.020+05:302016-03-23T17:02:05.020+05:30Read around half of the first one, wasn't insp...Read around half of the first one, wasn't inspired enough to continue.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-86401580500599579372016-03-23T16:50:31.392+05:302016-03-23T16:50:31.392+05:30Have you read any of the books by Ravinder SinghHave you read any of the books by Ravinder SinghTheGirlNextDoorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04606038361051959570noreply@blogger.com