Viswas Nair TK

… all of which has been laid to rest, hopefully. I don’t think I have ever looked forward to a new year being so different as this one. As always, however messy a year might be, the reading and gaming list leaves me with a deep sense of happiness and accomplishment:

Books:

1. Like the flowing river by Paulo Coehlo
2. Eragon by Christopher Paolini
3. Eldest by Christopher Paolini
4. Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
5. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
6. Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
7. Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone
8. Lolita by Vladimir Nabakov
9. World War Z by Max Brooks
10. House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski
11. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
12. Breakfast of champions by Kurt Vonnegut
13. Journey to the center of the earth by Jules Verne
14. Inheritance by Christopher Paolini
15. Vagabonding by Rolf Potts
16. The colors of Magic and The light fantastic by Terry Pratchet
17. Maus by Art Spiegelman
18. Gora by Rabindranath Tagore
19. Anzacs at War Commando Comics 
20. Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

Games:

1. God of War I
2. Portal 2
3. Mortal Kombat
4. Call of Juarez - The Cartel
5. Witcher 2 - Assasins of Kings
6. Resistance 3

Books:

1. Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku
2. Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov
3. Animal Farm - George Orwell
4. Wheels by Arthur Hailey
5. Batman: Arkham Asylum                           
6. Foundation by Isaac Asimov
7. Sin City: The big fat kill by Frank Miller
8. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
9. India A History by John Keay
10. Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov
11. Enders Game by Orson Scott Card
12. The murder artist by John Case
13. Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton
14. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
15. Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
16. Rainbows End by Verner Vinge

Games:

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
2. Chronicles of Riddick - Escape from butcher bay
3. Chronicles of Riddick - Assault on Dark Athena
4. Borderlands
5. The Witcher
6. Just Cause 2
7. Battlefield: Bad Company 2
8. Machinarium
9. God of War 3
10. Unchartered 2
11. Resistance
12. Resistance 2
13. Mass Effect
14. Mass Effect 2                                                                  
15. Dead Space
16. Medal of Honor
17. Call of Duty: Black Ops

One Kashmiri morning in the early spring of 1915, my grandfather Aadam Aziz hit his nose against a frost-hardened tussock of earth while attempting to pray. Three drops of blood plopped out of his left nostril, hardened instantly in the brittle air and lay before his eyes on the prayer-mat, transformed into rubies. Lurching back until he knelt with his head once more upright, he found that the tears which had sprung to his eyes had solidified, too; and at that moment, as he brushed diamonds contemptuously from his lashes, he resolved never again to kiss earth for any god or man. This decision, however, made a hole in him, a vacancy in a vital inner chamber, leaving him vulnerable to women and history. Unaware of this at first, despite his recently completed medical training, he stood up, rolled the prayer-mat into a thick cheroot, and holding it under his right arm surveyed the valley through clear, diamond-free eyes.

Salman Rushdie. Midnight’s Children. There is a reason why this is the Best of booker prize winners. Each word so exquisitely chosen to not disturb the flow of ideas, so pure, so original, so thoughtful. Never have I felt so flattened by the power and beauty of words. If books are written like buildings are constructed, this one would be a Sky Scraper, one of the tallest.