Discovering Virginia Woolf, The Critic

A connection on LinkedIn shared a new book by Virginia Woolf published by Times Literary Supplement and I decided that I must buy and read this book of hers. Titled Genius and Ink, Virginia Woolf on How to Read, it is a selection of her essays and criticism for the Times Literary Supplement, to which… Continue reading Discovering Virginia Woolf, The Critic

Open Sesame… Big Other is Here

We have allowed so much technology into our lives, we are hardly conscious of it. From checking our mobile phones for messages from the time we awake, to streaming a film before going to bed, our entire day is lived in a technology bubble or envelope. We have never ever questioned its relevance, nor the… Continue reading Open Sesame… Big Other is Here

The Anarchy: A Cautionary Tale of Capitalism

I have never understood the recent trend (a decade or more) of subtitling book titles, and I suspect it’s the publishers’ tactic of trying to boost book sales. But in the case of William Dalrymple’s recent tome, The Anarchy, the subtitle actually does more justice to the subject: The East India Company, Corporate Violence and… Continue reading The Anarchy: A Cautionary Tale of Capitalism

Travel, In Ways You Never Imagined

As someone who loves travel, I must say that Olga Tokarczuk’s book, Flights, opened up new vistas in my mind about how to think about it. Part travelogue, part meditation on time and journeys, part historical storytelling, it is hard to even call it a novel, which is what it is. The genre-defying Flights is… Continue reading Travel, In Ways You Never Imagined

A Paean to Thymos

Over a year ago, I had written a post on identity politics as it exists around the world, including in India, and in it I had referred to an excerpt from Francis Fukuyama’s new book, Identity, that I happened to read online on Quillette. I had then said that I would like to read the… Continue reading A Paean to Thymos

When Lady Courage Wields Her Pen

Let me start by confessing that I am embarrassed that it has taken me a year to read the books that I had bought last year, and write about them. There has just been so much to read through the year, that I kept putting off reading the books that I had bought at last… Continue reading When Lady Courage Wields Her Pen