Satyajit Ray - The Inner Eye - Biography of a Master Film-Maker - W Andrew Robinson

16/100 of #100bookpact

The Inner Eye

Started reading it and I just want it never to end.
If you have read it or if you have loved any of his works (I saw them all back to back last year) and have blown away like I did. You will know what I am going through right now.
This one is a encyclopedia on Cinema (World Cinema).
A must must read for all "Cinema" lovers.
Let me finish, cherish, delve in it some more and come back with my thoughts.
Imagine he was inspired / touched deeply by Kurosawa's "Roshomon" - And it is just unbelievable to read what Kurosawa thought of Ray's first movie "Pather Panchali" and his other works - Kurosawa Said: ‘Not to have seen the cinema of Ray
means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon.’ I just cant imagine what Ray must have gone through reading those terrific words from someone he looked up to for inspiration is simply "WOW".

Unbelievable is the legend of Satyajit Ray who brought India its first Oscar and guess who pushed the Academy to honor him with one? Martin Scorcese in company with Ismail Merchant.
This book is like a encyclopedia on Ray not (Only) because of what it contains but also because of its last 70+ pages dedicated to his Filmography, Writings, Articles, Radio Shows etc. They have lined up almost everything he has done in his life with full credits to everyone. Thats what makes it a collectors item.

But the most important part of this Biography is that it makes sense (more of it) to those who have seen his movies - As I mentioned I saw them all back to back some time ago - they all came flashing in my memory as I read about their making in the book.

Do not miss this at any cost.
Go get it and love him more.
Now that I have finished a book on him - Time for me to read his books. 

Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden (Book)

15/100 of #100bookpact
Memoirs of a Geisha

Everytime a book comes to a close - its such an amazing good and bad feeling that I just want to go on and on and on... But as everything has to come to a conclusion - this one does too.

Its futile to say this one too became or becomes one of my alltime favorite reads as there is so much amazing literature yet to be picked up by me. But right after reading "Diary of a young girl (Anne Frank)" - this one has an uncanny resembles to that one but with a superb happy ending (or we can call it never ending). If you havent read this - you've got to now - as it is totally amazing account of Geisha's life in age old Japan which is too good to be missed. The characters are so amazingly carved out that I am now dieing to see them in flesh (Guess need to see the movie now which was highly acclaimed).

The Rozabal Line - Ashwin Sanghi (Book)

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The Rozabal Line

My friend gave me one of "Ashwin Sanghi's" book (Chanakya Chant) and as I googled his name came across this one as being his first which he wrote sometime back and to my shock n surprise it was compared with "Dan Brown's -  The Da Vinci Code" - which again I haven't read yet (I know its a crime). The subject that it deal with is too good - Jesus lived in India - I had to read it.

Initial 50 pages were painful where I thought couple of times of dumping it as too much was happening which made no sense as I was having a hard time remembering the episodes but once I crossed a good 100 pages - it all suddenly starts making lot of senses and then there was no looking back. Comparison with Dan Brown that too being his first book in itself is a great achievement - I wont do that as I am yet to read any of his works which I would do now.

This one is a breeze as I finished it in flat 48 hours and two sittings only. Am I impressed? yes I am. Its good but not great as pretty predictable after a certain point but works as its mere 200 pages and I totally loved the Japanese connection as that kept me hooked to the most part. I will definitely recommend it to those going for a overnight train journey or for those lazy weekends when you have nothing better to do.

Now I am gonna go and pick up his other two books and read em back to back. 

Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand (Book)

13/100 of ‪#‎100bookpact‬

This became almost the thickest book in the history of my reading to be completed in the fastest possible time (I guess the thickest will be "Gone with the wind' which again I loved totally). And I must say what an amazing piece of literature this one turns out to be which took the test of all my patience still kept me hooked and ends with a note where I actually was looking forward to another 50-60 pages that I should have gone and told us readers more. If you have read her other book (The Fountain Head) - it is actually very tough to decide who the reader likes (loves) more between "Howard Roark" and "John Galt" the way she has sketched these two immortal characters is seriously top notch - am totally bowled over.

Written with the times of Economic and Industrial Apocalypse of the world (specially America) in background because of some corrupt people - its too good and gives a thorough lesson on what the humanity should not go through. It is written in such details as I mentioned earlier that takes a good test of one's patience but I guess it was required as by the time it comes to the end - it all makes big time sense and the length does total justice with the characters. I guess that is one of the reasons why no one has attempted to make a movie on this one yet - adjusting all that in 3 hours of run time will be practically impossible.

It will now remain as one of my all time favorite book that I will highly recommend to those serious readers who love reading "Life Changing" books. If you have read it - I am sure you would know what I mean and will agree with me too. I so much am looking forward to her other works (wishing she had written more).

Scion of Ikshvaku - Amish Tripathi (Book)

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Scion of Ikshvaku

This is on record the first book almost in a decade or more that I have finished in less then 24 hrs. Picked it up last night and it deprived me of a good days sleep today - finished it off faster then I had imagined I would ever do. Also, I believed that I was a born Atheist but this guy is turning me out to be a believer of sorts. Another couple of books from him will make me quit my job and send me packing to Himalaya's. I better stick to Fiction I guess.

I had always laughed on people when I read that they indeed queued in front of bookshops before they release another Harry Potter book - now I actually know how it feels as I am totally hooked to this series and unfortunately this one is the first of a trilogy I guess. The next book of the series is yet to get released. Even when this is written on the life of "Lord Ram" which is already a beaten to death story for us Indians. Still its so hooking that more they "who done it" it belongs to the genre of "How done it" - if you know what I mean. It had me in splits, grinning ear to ear, made me sit straight and take notice, at one point a tear actually rolled down my eyes (the Bharat episode) and had me breathless while reading the war scenes.

If you havent read this one or any of his works - its high time you picked up some. No ratings will do justice with this guy. Too good to be missed. 

Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn (Book)

11/100 of #100bookpact

Gone Girl

The problem with reading a book on which a movie is already made or vice-versa is that you already know the ending or how its going to progress but the good part with a book is that its always Elaborate. Thats what I love about them - time and again almost everybody maintains that a book is always (almost) better then a movie - even if you keep the same writer for its script - it doesnt have that magic on you the impact a book as on its reader.
In this books case - I had great fun imagining Rosamund Pike as Amy (too good) and Ben Afleck as her Husband Nick - almost all the time their faces kept roaming in my memory as the book progresses so much so that now I want to watch the movie again just to see is it any good. Although when I saw it the first time (the only time) I totally liked it - I guess.

If you havent read this book - you've gotta get it and read it - its simply too good - I wont call it a thriller but yes the pace is good and it almost kept me hooked for the most part.