Obscure prose
There's something about Indian writers and their reluctance to write books in simple english. No, they have to go for the grad-school level mumbo-jumbo that sends even those of us with a fairly competent vocabulary searching for a dictionary. And each time that happens, overall interest in the book is lost, and it ends up on a bookshelf, joining many other unfinished likenesses. Yeah, I've kind of never kept books that I really liked. I've either lost them due to neglect, or lent them to someone else, or thrown them away when I ran out of space on my desk.
The books that stick around are the ones I'm being forced to read, or ones that I've found okayish, but not so great as to warrant immediate perusal, so, maybe on a rainy day and there's no internet... and there's the irony in it... Whenever someone used to come by my room, at some point the conversation would focus on the books i had so prominently displayed on my shelf. Of course, people would assume I've kept the books there because they're amazing, or worth a reread, and bleh, it's really hard to make small talk about books you haven't got the faintest clue about, even though they're like 3 feet away from you.
So, I devised a workaround for that, sometime after the fifth or sixth such awkward conversation. It's the noncommittal follow-the-lead method.
Q. Oh, you've got xxxx ... have you finished it?
A. Yes, have you read it?
The answer will determine the direction of the remainder of your conversation...
If it's yes, you ask if they enjoyed the book, and what they felt about it.. do not interrupt their answer, the more they talk, the more info you get. Answer any questions they have in between, with a shrug or a 'meh'. Agree with whatever it is they're saying, and you'll have a pretty smooth ride..
If it's no, lend them the book, and say it's pretty great.
Yeah, I've got a whole set of Q/A's which are applicable universally, but I'm too lazy to type em out... maybe some other time.
The books that stick around are the ones I'm being forced to read, or ones that I've found okayish, but not so great as to warrant immediate perusal, so, maybe on a rainy day and there's no internet... and there's the irony in it... Whenever someone used to come by my room, at some point the conversation would focus on the books i had so prominently displayed on my shelf. Of course, people would assume I've kept the books there because they're amazing, or worth a reread, and bleh, it's really hard to make small talk about books you haven't got the faintest clue about, even though they're like 3 feet away from you.
So, I devised a workaround for that, sometime after the fifth or sixth such awkward conversation. It's the noncommittal follow-the-lead method.
Q. Oh, you've got xxxx ... have you finished it?
A. Yes, have you read it?
The answer will determine the direction of the remainder of your conversation...
If it's yes, you ask if they enjoyed the book, and what they felt about it.. do not interrupt their answer, the more they talk, the more info you get. Answer any questions they have in between, with a shrug or a 'meh'. Agree with whatever it is they're saying, and you'll have a pretty smooth ride..
If it's no, lend them the book, and say it's pretty great.
Yeah, I've got a whole set of Q/A's which are applicable universally, but I'm too lazy to type em out... maybe some other time.
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