literature
Geek literature from the New York Times or the recesses of online. Our favorite stories showcase geeks.
Book Review: "The Romantic" by William Boyd
William Boyd is perhaps known as one of the greatest writers of this age and, if any of you have read “Any Human Heart” then you will know that very well. To be honest, I have only read one other book by him apart from this novel being reviewed and his magnum opus, but I am sure to read more of his novels in the future, especially after this particular experience. So without further interruption, I am simply dying to tell you all about this wonderful novel about a man named Cashel Ross. He was born in 1799 and has had the most wonderful adventures.
Annie KapurPublished about a month ago in GeeksEmbracing Verbatim
Today, let's delve into the fascinating world of the word, "ver." This adverb holds the power to capture the essence of communication by using precisely the same words as the original. Imagine being able to recount a conversation, a speech, or a moment with absolute precision, word for word, without any alteration or interpretation. In our quest for accuracy, we often seek verbatim accounts to ensure the integrity of information shared. It's not about summarizing or paraphrasing; it's about preserving the authenticity of the spoken word. Just like a skilled actor who can recite lines flawlessly, verbatim allows us to mirror the exact expressions and nuances of language.
Sanjana DixitPublished about a month ago in GeeksBook Review: "The Death of King Arthur" by Peter Ackroyd
When it comes to Peter Ackroyd, I have read my fair share. I practically devoured his book Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem in about two hours a few years' ago. It was one of my favourite books of that year. I then went on to read his book The English Ghost and even after that, his biography of William Shakespeare. But there was also another side to me during this entire time: I was (and still am) a huge fan of Arthurian Legends.
Annie KapurPublished about a month ago in Geeks- Top Story - March 2024
My Unpopular Literary Opinions
I have a vast amount of fairly unpopular literary opinions. From books that I feel have been overhyped to classics that I think are just people trying to sound intelligent without having any real value. From clichés and boring genres that take on no other form whatsoever to writers who are really not as great as everyone thinks they are. Here are some of my most unpopular literary opinions made flesh. I hope that you enjoy them and that we can maybe have a balanced discussion about it. (Also, please don't hate me. These are just opinions and are in no way representative of anything factual at all).
Annie KapurPublished about a month ago in Geeks Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
‘Jane Eyre’ is possibly one of the most influential books of all time from being written by a woman in a time where women’s writing was not just disrespected but women were discouraged from participating altogether in the activity. Fuelled by her short but incredible life, Charlotte Bronte would sit in an inn in Manchester and write up the novel that would become one of the most widely recognised female protagonist novels in the world. Not only that, but it also serves us with a great story about a woman overcoming obstacles in the face of adversity. To be known as one of the greatest novels ever written might be good enough for ‘Jane Eyre’ but it is also one of the most celebrated works of fiction by a female writer. It is testament to the achievements of women.
Annie KapurPublished about a month ago in GeeksBook Review: "Theorem" by Pier Paolo Pasolini
Pier Paolo Pasolini is one of those names that went down in cinema history because of his amazing contribution to European cinema. Films such as Oedipus Rex based on the Theban Cycle play by Sophocles gave rise to Pasolini's fame and reputation for perfection as a filmmaker. Unfortunately, Pasolini's life was ended while he was still relatively young. At the age of 53, Pasolini was brutally accosted and murdered in a terrifying and graphic way which I have chosen to leave out here. But, based on a play script that was made into a film and then written into a book of prose and poetry, Theorem is a strange outlook on life's unexpected events and how they leave us feeling changed.
Annie KapurPublished about a month ago in GeeksBook Review: "The Sea of Tranquility" by Emily St John Mandel
Reddit Book Club Pick Month: March 2024 “I think, as a species, we have a desire to believe that we’re living at the climax of the story. It’s a kind of narcissism. We want to believe that we’re uniquely important, that we’re living at the end of history, that now, after all these millennia of false alarms, now is finally the worst that it’s ever been, that finally we have reached the end of the world." - The Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel
Annie KapurPublished about a month ago in GeeksBook Review: "The Terror" by Dan Simmons
'...as old as God and twice as powerful..." I had heard about this book because of the TV Show that Ridley Scott made about it and before you ask, no I had not actually watched the show at all and I have not as of yet. I always thought that a horror novel this long could not possibly have that key simplistic storyline that gets developed by its atmosphere. And then I remembered how much I enjoy Stephen King novels. Another thought I had was: am I going to enjoy this? It doesn't seem like it's for me. And that is always my concern; is it a book for me? I have never thought too much of books about the sea unless they are written like Moby Dick or The Odyssey because those are absolute classics of the genre. Nevertheless, I would come to realise that The Terror is awesome in its level of brutality as it follows on from the classics before it upon the sea and in the depths of the mind.
Annie KapurPublished about a month ago in GeeksBook Review: "Watermark" by Joseph Brodsky
“Local fog in Venice has a name: nebbia. It obliterates all reflections ... and everything that has a shape: buildings, people, colonnades, bridges, statues. Boat services are canceled, airplanes neither arrive, nor take off for weeks, stores are closed and mail ceases to litter one’s threshold. The effect is as though some raw hand had turned all those enfilades inside out and wrapped the lining around the city... the fog is thick, blinding, and immobile... this is a time for reading, for burning electricity all day long, for going easy on self-deprecating thoughts of coffee, for listening to the BBC World Service, for going to bed early. In short, a time for self-oblivion, induced by a city that has ceased to be seen. Unwittingly, you take your cue from it, especially if, like it, you’ve got company. Having failed to be born here, you at least can take some pride in sharing its invisibility...” - Watermark by Joseph Brodsky
Annie KapurPublished about a month ago in GeeksBook Review: "Paris" by Julian Green
“Paris is a city that might well be spoken of in the plural, as the Greeks used to speak of Athens, for there are many Parises, and the tourists’ Paris is only superficially related to the Paris of the Parisians. The foreigner driving through Paris from one museum to another is quite oblivious to the presence of a world he brushes past without seeing. Until you have wasted time in a city, you cannot pretend to know it well. The soul of a big city is not to be grasped so easily; in order to make contact with it, you have to have been bored, you have to have suffered a bit in those places that contain it. Anyone can get hold of a guide and tick off all the monuments, but within the very confines of of Paris there is another city as difficult to access as Timbuktu once was.” - Paris by Julian Green
Annie KapurPublished about a month ago in GeeksBook Review: "The Old Devils" by Kingsley Amis
At one time this had come after instead of before putting his underpants on, but he had noted that that way round he kept tearing them with his toenails. ... The socks went on in the bathroom with the aid of a particular low table, height being critical. Heel on table, sock completely on as far as heel, toes on table, sock round heel and up. .... Pants on in the bedroom, heel and toe like the socks but at floor level, spot of talc around the scrotum, then trousers two mornings out of every three or so. On the third or so morning he would find chocolate, cream, jam or some combination from his bedtime snack smeared over the pair in use and he would have to return to the bathroom specifically to its mirror for guidance in fixing the braces on the front of the fresh trousers, an area which needless to say had been well out of his direct view these many years. - The Old Devils by Kingsley Amis
Annie KapurPublished 2 months ago in GeeksLord of the Flies by William Golding
Published in 1954, ‘Lord of the Flies’ is one of the most decorated novels of the 20th century. It is a survival story that challenged the survival stories of its age and brought towards us a realistic depiction of the collapse of civilisation through a plane crash on an island that involved young children. R.M Ballantyne had already written his novel ‘The Coral Island’ which tells of how young boys who were stranded worked together to overcome adversity, making the most of a sort of boy-scouts situation. Golding read it and thought that this is not the way it would go at all. He wrote his own version entitled ‘Lord of the Flies’ which not only went on to become more successful but, Ballantyne’s novel has practically fell into obscurity now.
Annie KapurPublished 2 months ago in Geeks