I am black here. When I downloaded the gif, for some reason it shows with white's perspective. Anyway, my opponent just had his queen in h6 for half of the game, only to sacrifice it to avoid checkmate for two more moves.
Whoever my opponent was, I apologize for the evil laugh :P
I am reading Neal Stephenson for the first time. And his writing style is fascinating. Just yesterday, I read this passage and I couldn't stop laughing for 5 mins. Now I will remember this whenever I am in Sweden and or if I meet any Swedish person.
This book deserves a place in every school and university library. It will surely light that spark in countless curious minds. The story of solving a 350-year old math problem is told like a detective story. It's not just the story of one person who solved the problem, but almost a history of how math evolved over the years.
The author begins the story with Pythagorean brotherhood, the glory of the Library of Alexandria, and geniuses like Euclid and Diophantus. As the story progresses, he unravels the different concepts and inventions that were required to prove the theorem. And don't worry, it is well explained in layman's terms. The best part of the book, for me, was the stories of many unheard mathematicians who contributed so much to the field but rarely remembered.
I'd have loved to see a bit more of mathematical proofs and equations in the appendix to understand more, but it's no big deal. ChatGPT showed me some proofs and it was absolutely brilliant.
I'd highly recommend this to everyone and those who are math enthusiasts, this book is a must read for you!
From the cover and the title, one might assume this is a story about a series of murders and the mystery surrounding them. While it is, that's not where its greatest strength lies. The heart of the book is its discussion of mathematical concepts, logical connections, and rare coincidences.
Readers may figure out the mystery at some point, but understanding how all the pieces come together is what keeps you turning the pages. Some readers might complain that the book is full of mathematical jargon, but I loved that part of the book. My main complaint is about the miserable attempt at expressing romance. It feels like it was written by a teenager at best. There is no character development to make the brewing romance between two people feel believable or earned. But if you ignore that aspect, the book is still an enjoyable read.
There is also a bit of magical realism that caught me off guard. Although unnecessary, it was well written. Since it's a relatively short book, I wasn't expecting deep character arcs or getting emotionally invested with main characters. And I'd recommend others to do the same if you pick up this book.
Overall, I'd rate it 4/5. It is a book written for mathematicians. I enjoyed reading about the Pythagorean brotherhood, Fermat's Last Theorem, and the many philosophical discussions that becomes part of the story.
Those who have already read this book, what are your thoughts on it?
This book was the definition of immersive writing. Just the first couple of pages were enough to get me hooked. It took me through this strange, mysterious story told in a beautiful manner.
The premise of the story is this: A father takes his 10-year-old son to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books—a gigantic labyrinth of a library that collects old, rare, and forgotten books. The book that the son, Daniel, chooses leaves him mesmerized and wanting to learn more about the author. But he soon realizes that someone is after this author's books and is burning them. As a reader, you follow Daniel's journey, going through an emotional rollercoaster as and when the new information gets revealed, and you become emotionally invested in everything that goes on in his life.
This was nothing short of a movie. A movie with fleshed-out characters. There is no lack of humor, and no lack of tragedy. You wonder, you laugh, you cry, you get impressed, and you go through a whole range of emotions. It ended up being one of my absolute favourite books.
To those who have read this book, what was your favourite part? Any favourite character? For me, it's Fermín. He's such a fantastic character. Absolutely loved him.
Bear with me, please.
I'm currently reading a non-fiction that's quite heavy in subject matter, so I decided to read a lighter fiction in parallel to keep my brain from getting exhausted. The Chanakya's Chant had been sitting on my shelf for almost 8 years, so I finally decided to give it a try.
I cannot stop cringing at some of the lazy writing, and ngl, the storytelling feels like an action masala flick from bollywood or tollywood. Look at the passage in the image. There's this character, Chandini, who has just moved to Oxford and meets a couple of her roommates. Then, in the very next scene, she's suddenly a great orator participating in an Oxford debate. The first speaker even introduces her as the next prime ministerial candidate of India. For a second, I honestly thought a page was missing.
The story had an intriguing premise, but I feel like I'm reading a story written by a teenager. I'm only into 100 pages, and there have already been several moments like this. Characters grow into something remarkable without the story showing us how they got there. It would have been much better if the author had spent more time and effort in fleshing out the characters and made us care for them.
Does the book get better from here? Is the overall story worthy enough to read 300 more pages of this? I'd love some input.
I bought this book out of sheer fascination, stemmed from its description of the insane story of two major contributors to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary: a professor who served as the dictionary's editor and a madman who lived in an asylum.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. The book places less emphasis on the story itself and focuses more on how the dictionary was made.
But let me be clear: the book is not bad. It is just not what I expected it to be. I would have preferred it to be narrated more like a story, but it has the tone of a journalistic record. Having read Atlantic, I am not new to Winchester's writing style. However, I feel it suffers here from heavy redundancy, overdramatic imagery, and the usage of archaic words (perhaps that is intentional to suit the Victorian era, but I'm not really a fan of that style).
The story, and the mega-project of creating an all-encompassing dictionary, are absolutely intriguing. It is difficult to imagine the life of a mental asylum patient in the nineteenth century, let alone one who spent more than thirty years confined to one. The book paints a vivid picture of that world and the mental turmoil that accompanied it. The intricate and elaborate process of creating the first comprehensive English dictionary is explained in great detail as well. In fact, that accounts for almost half the book.
The book is approximately 200–220 pages long, but it could easily have been at least fifty pages shorter and, in my opinion, would have benefited from it. I'd give it a 3/5.
Have any of you guys read this one? What are your thoughts?
**** SPOILER ALERT ****
I completed this book just 10 minutes ago, and I’m still emotionally stranded in its tale of adventure, scientific experiments, and friendship. I know I am late to the party, but I just wanted to write something about it.
My inner nerd was thoroughly impressed by the scientific accuracy and plausibility presented throughout the story. And mind you, it’s not just superficial science — Andy Weir makes sure to provide detailed explanations for every unexpected phenomenon the protagonist encounters. But the science is only one part of what makes this book exceptional.
The soul of the story is undoubtedly the unexpected friendship between two beings who are completely alien to each other. From the moment they meet in the emptiness of space until the very end, their relationship made me laugh, cry, and deeply care about everyone involved.
It’s also an incredibly easy book to read. The narration keeps you engaged even if you don’t fully follow all the scientific details. The writing is witty, filled with clever one-liners, dad jokes, and science humor. Almost every chapter contains twists, thrilling moments, or funny conversations that keep you on edge.
This was my first sci-fi novel because I always thought… well, it doesn’t matter now what I thought. Maybe I was just a smartass, assuming I knew better. Now, I regret being so naïve. I’m definitely reading "The Martian" later this year, and I’ll be looking for more sci-fi novels to satisfy my inner nerd.
Overall, I just want to say:
“Amaze, amaze, amaze!”
PS: I read the digital copy, so the image has been edited by ChatGPT to include the PHM cover.
I’ve had these on my list for a while and finally bought them yesterday. Now I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed. I’d really appreciate some honest, raw opinions about these books.
If you’ve read all or any of these books, how would you rate them?
I know i can get reviews and descriptions about these books on goodreads, reddit and other platforms. But i just want to get personal, raw opinions.
One of my favourite childhood memories is listening to jungle stories from my grandmother during summer holidays. My granny’s house was right in the middle of the forest in the Western Ghats, where it wasn’t rare to hear wild animal calls. All those memories flooded back when I read The man-eating leopard from Rudraprayag by Jim Corbett.
This book is not just a story of a leopard or how it was hunted on account of its human-killing spree; But also a story of careful observation and patience and understanding. In today’s modern era, most of us have lost the ability and interest in observing nature. How many of us stop for a moment and notice a bird singing on a spring morning? How many of us notice an army of ants marching to a war?
The earth has music for those who listen, and Jim Corbett certainly knows how to listen. Through this book, he captures the many faces of nature—unyielding at its core—at times ruthless and at others peaceful. As I read chapter after chapter, I could sense the humility and deep love for nature and animals, as clear and refreshing as the mountain streams he vividly describes. In the midst of the chaos of a man-eating predator hunt, you come across descriptions of mountains and ravines, beautiful sunsets, the mating calls of wild animals, and the subtle signals of other animals warning of a predator’s presence. These details draw you in instantly, and place you right in the middle of the forests of the Himalayas. It is terrifying, fascinating, and profoundly immersive, and reminds us of both the beauty and the brutal realities of the natural world.
Speaking about the narration, the author doesn’t waste time at all. There is no beating around the bush. There is a brief explanation of the geography of the Garhwal region, and off you go—the story begins. Oh wait! There is one chapter named Terror, which is unforgettable. A chapter dedicated to showing the reader how terrifying it was to live in the Garhwal region when the man-eater was active—and let me tell you, the chapter does its job to perfection. With a string of short stories, the author shows us just how dangerous this man-eater was..a bloodthirsty, merciless beast!
I was baffled, amused, terrified, and intrigued while reading this book. It also reminded me a lot of K.P Tejaswi's writing in Kannada. Throughout the book, I felt as though I was being told a story over a bonfire at the edge of a forest—a forest I am not yet ready to come out of. I will probably bask in the hangover of this book for a couple of days, reminiscing about the beauty and brutality of nature and animals.
Anyway, this turned out to be a book that I will keep recommending to people for a long, long time. And I’d gladly give it 5 stars.