r/IndiansRead

This is Devotions by Mary Oliver. The book is extremely floppy which I don't mind but I'm not sure if its supposed to be like this. Does anyone else who owns this book know if this is normal? Does the binding hold up well or is it likely to come apart over time?

If you have a copy of Devotions, could you pls pls pls check yours and let me know if it looks similar?

If this is just how the book is designed, I'm happy to keep it. I really don't want to go through the hassle of returning it to Amazon if there's nothing actually wrong with it. I've already had to make 3-4 returns recently, and I'd rather not add another one if I can avoid it.

Has anyone here read this ???

How much u liked it... What wd u say about the ending of the book...

Hii guys,

I'm just a beginner and I have read only 16 books, I read only fast paced, easy reads (like freida's books and Agggtm series) I love sci-fi movies but I have never tried a book and I wanna try this one but I'm not sure if I'll be able to read it so those who have read it please let me know if it's easy and beginner friendly and also I started silent patient after 2 chapters I got bored :)

I've been a fan of the Warhammer 40K franchise since my undergrad days, but didn't have the money, nor the space to build my own library. Started with a job in 2020, began building my own library of other books (over 500 and growing right now). Since 2025 I've started collecting the Horus Heresy series. It's hard to come by, but its been a good hunt so far. Swam through the first two books and currently on the third. I shall hunt for more and add them to my collection.

The picture at the top of the stack is a painting of a Blood Angel my brother made for me on my birthday.

I just received this and it instantly threw me off. I read a lot of books to notice a book that's slightly off. The cover is too glossy, and the pages are just waayyy too white. It feels like I'm reading my schooltime textbook 😭. I have another Ryu Murakami book in the same edition (picture 3) and it looks so different. Look at picture 4, it shows the difference between the page color. Can someone please tell me if this is fake and I should return it, or am I just being too paranoid??

Also, the last page is missing the page numbering and is followed by 5 blank pages, so idk 🤷🏻‍♀️. Help!

Starting one of the most talked about book of dostoevsky "crime and punishment"

ive read white nights from him was pretty much impressed so decided to start this.

lemme know your opinion without any spoilers👀

I finished A Little Life yesterday, and I genuinely don't think I've recovered.

It took me almost two weeks to finish, not because it's long, but because every time I picked it up, I'd have to mentally prepare myself. I already knew it was going to hurt... I just didn't realize how much.

Books rarely make me cry. Emotional? Sure. Actually crying? Almost never.

This one broke me.

I always thought people online exaggerated when they called A Little Life "the saddest book ever written." Turns out, they weren't exaggerating this time.

There were so many moments where I wanted to put it down, not because it was bad, but because I couldn't handle another chapter. I'd literally sit there staring at the next page, knowing something awful was waiting for me.

Jude absolutely shattered me.

More than anything, I just wanted him to believe he deserved the love that surrounded him. Harold, Andy, Willem... they loved him with everything they had. Reading the book didn't feel like watching Jude suffer. it felt like becoming one of the people desperately trying to save him, only to realize you're just as helpless as they are.

And Willem...

> ! The apartment scene, where the only thing he cared about was finding a place with an elevator because "Jude needs one," completely destroyed me. That's one of the purest descriptions of love I've ever read. ! <

The ending left me emotionally empty. Not just because of Jude, but because of everyone who loved him and tried so hard.

I know this book gets criticized for being "misery porn," and I understand why. But that's not why I loved it. I loved it because of the friendships, the quiet acts of love, and the heartbreaking reminder that sometimes you can love someone with your whole heart... and it still isn't enough to save them.

Would I ever read it again?

Absolutely not.

Do I regret reading it?

Not for a second.

If someone asked me whether they should read A Little Life, I'd still say yes.

Just don't underestimate it.

You might finish the book... but I don't think the book ever really finishes with you.

Currently reading this as it rains outside. Such a Thriller that I am unable to put away. Almost finished 120+ pages today itself.

What are you reading this rainy season?

>Premise: 

We follow the trials of a young Kid going across USA-Mexico region(~1850s), doing odd jobs, encountering, escaping and collaborating with shady people. 

Then there's Judge Holden - 7ft menace of a guy, who appears and disappears throughout the story like an apparition. What are his intentions? 

>What I liked/Themes of the story:

• Introduction to the characters. Just Brilliant! The way Holden was introduced, it's a perfect glimpse into the Devilish existence. 
• Atmosphere : constant reminders of a desolate, bloodthirsty, dystopian world. 
• Prose: beautifully haunting of course. 
• The blurb's reviews took the words right out of my mind: the story to me is a blend of a gruesome Odyssey+ Western trope, plus some Biblical/Christian references (I'm sure I didn't get all of them) 
• This is a Man's world, by that I mean, all actions seem to be embodying violent nature of Humans: War, destruction, domination, exploitation, subjugation etc. There are no significant female characters or presence here - i could only remember the lady that served the crew sweets. (Again, contrasting the brutality with kindness). One more instance is by Sarah Borginnis, ch18.  
• Realism: Author took heavy inspiration from the real account of this "scalping of the Apache tribes" phenomena during the 19th c. from Samuel Chamberlain's memoir. So the novel does feel realistic in its gore/inhumanity when it wants to. Even the stuff Holden does sometimes, seems believable, given his overwhelming towering presence over others - we see the incredible stuff he does through others' (terrified) eyes. 
• Biblical undertones: Just naively interpreting this novel, some stuff is almost an inversion of the Bible. The Judge being a False Prophet, Kid seeing a Burning Bush, Old Testament destruction of whole villages/towns (here it's like Holden's God has guided his crew), Baptisms, sermons, Scapegoating etc. 
• A Dark Western Odyssey: Like the cunning Odysseus, we see these men travelling places, encountering monsters(Outlaws/bounties). A Western movie follows usually a charismatic good/gray character, wearing a hat, riding horses and shooting the bad guys, saving a town, following his own moral code...this is all that, just in Hell. Only Morality is Nietzschean. 
• Holy War vs War=Holy: That's some twisted inversion - people fighting not for their God, but worshipping war itself as God. Might is Right. It is Matsya-nyaya in the Desert! 🐟🦈🏜️
• Power of Money and Survival over Morals and Society: Judge's crew despite being racists, defend Black Jackson, because he's a worthy crew member, whereas Town police and people openly reject him. Or how Brown saws off a long beautiful expensive gun, for practicality (close combat), which is incomprehensible to the workshop owner. Pragmatism, Realism, Darwinsim. 
• Speaking of Darwinism, we see Holden's hobbies too - collecting, cataloguing specimens, geology knowledge etc. It all seems left-brainy: cold logic, analysis, manipulation: impulse to measure and conquer the world one sees. (I'm loosely borrowing Ian McGilchrist's ideas here). 
• "Freedom of birds is an insult to me." I can only make out from this that Holden is embodying Mankind. Man in general, his Domain being Land only. Anything unseen/unknown/unconquerable must be Eliminated. The Conqueror's Ideology. 
• Ending: Sad. >!The Kid follows a Middle Path, between the ex-priest and the judge;he wears a hat(Holden) and carries a bible (ex-priest);author takes away that path too... War is perennial. So is the Judge.!< Which is also why...
• Cover Art: is on point! Describes the mood of the novel perfectly, and the man in the hat - leads to multiple interpretations after you finish the novel.👌 {if I could change just one teeny tiny detail to it, it would be bats instead of the eagles}
• Westworld Parallel?!: The Judge has to be the inspiration behind Westworld S1's Black Hat man (William) arc. He saw that world as a game, enjoyed war, and scalped heads! Am I seeing things?! 
• Epilogue: What a way to end this journey, a condensed philosophy of the Judge in a single para. Steel, Fire, Bones: Stuff of Life and Death.

 

>This novel has 24 chapters (incl. Epilogue), same as Homer's Odyssey! Just a fun observation.

• Title: Blood Meridian implies a bloody sunset, but I have come to a different interpretation: A Meridian is an imaginary line, dividing the world into 2 exact halves. Each Place has it's own Meridian, and its own Time. A Blood Meridian, would imply a spacetime where Blood/Survival/War/Death/Life occurs, such that it breaks the World into 2. The events in this story (based on reality) are somewhat like that - events like that have shaped history; i am stretching my imagination here, but the current expansionist bloody zeals could be an illustration of it. From some ancient Blood Meridian, it has spread continually, till maybe all Meridians become so - a cruel validation of the Epilogue. That's my crooked take on the title.

>What I didn't like:

• Repeated descriptions of the atmosphere were irritating, even if beautifully written. So many similes, it got boring for me after awhile. 
• After a few chapters in & getting used to the pattern, you kind of know what's gonna happen. The only surprises for me then, were Judge's Sermons and the journey of the Kid.  
• Spanish dialogues. After a while, i just gave up looking up the translations...except in the final chapter. 
• Judge's Philosophy: My cynical self agreed with a lot of his ideas, but overall, i see it as a war survival tactic, not a general way of life. Like Nietzsche, he demolishes the illusions commonly held, but brings in his own (twisted) metaphysics. Makes for a great story though!

>Conclusion:

For a first reading, I'd say it was an INCREDIBLE experience. I have missed a lot I know, it's very layered. Not possible for someone like me with negligible knowledge of biblical liturgy/US history/Mexican tribes etc to understand it all. That said, I liked what I understood. It's not a novel I'd recommend to everyone (just like Berserk; it needs to be read in a comfort mind state), but it's worth reading atleast once. 

>Rating: 8.5/10

(Maybe deep dives into the layers and references would bump this rating up for me, but I'm not too enamored by it...for now)

>What has been your experience? 

The very first 50 pages of this book I read while making a grave mistake, reading at night when most of the people in my house were sleeping. It took maybe 10 minutes for them to wake up. My sides hurt from laughing. The further you get into the book the more fun it gets.

Sir Terry Pratchett was nature’s gift to humanity. And I can’t even begin to put into words, just how much fun Disc World is. It’s an entire universe built around parodying fantasy tropes (and everything else, and in between) by telling a fantasy story. Spread across 40-ish books between mid to large sizes. Almost all of them can be read out of order, but there are a few sub-series inside the larger discworld that have shared continuity.

Guards Guards! Is the beginning of the night watch sub series in disc world and it’s a damn good one. There are stakes, character development, everything and everyone gets made fun of and there is general sense of whimsy and goofiness that will make you giggle to yourself in a crowded train, attracting weird looks from bystanders.

Without giving any spoilers, I’d say this book reminds me instantly of classic dry British humour, Monty Python sketches and movies (Particularly Monty Python and the Holy Grail), A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Peep Show, etc.

11/10. If you’re going to read just one Disc World book to see if it’s your thing or not, please read this one. Everyone needs a little bit of comedy in their life, once in a while.

I hate Monsoon for a lot of reasons and this is one of them. Gets so annoying when the cover curls up. Somebody please tell me how to stop this from happening, apart for the weight method. 😫

Ordered this book which I had wanted for a long time and luckily it was on sale on Amazon.

But I should have guessed the catch! 🥲 It has dirty marks on the pages that cannot be cleaned!

Replacement is not possible as it is out of stock now and it is too expensive everywhere else, like more than 1.2K everywhere (got this one for Rs 520).

Edit: Guys! i am keeping it after I got Rs 100 as partial refund when I complained about the condition and how there was no option for exchange. 🥳

I finished reading Amitav Ghosh's Gun Island just yesterday, and unfortunately, I did not like it as much as I liked his previous books like The Hungry Tide or Shadow Lines. However, knowing a very large chunk of the story already, thanks to his most recent publication, which has characters of the same storyline, I must admit that I could not help but end up liking the whole book as I reached towards the end.

This is my short review for the same, with some excerpts I found interesting.

The story unfolds the legend of a Gun Merchant from the Sundarbans whom the people call as Bonduki Sadagaar, who travels to different parts of the world and wishes to get away from a fearful curse of the goddess of snakes called Manasa Devi. However, as Amitav Ghosh would naturally do, the novel is filled with way more information than a human brain is capable of understanding when it comes to the ecosystem, environment, and nature. They have discussions on dolphins, spiders, snakes, and whatnot. However, what makes this whole idea wonderfully acceptable and embraceful is the engagement of legends, folktales, and local history with the global phenomenons of migration, and climate change. The connection of the past with the present, and talking about human existence as an echo or a reflection of the past is something that I have always enjoyed reading in the author's work.

Throughout the novel we see the past knocking at your door which might seem as a coincidence, or a chance event but the author constantly keeps that liminal space ready to question reality. It opens up your minds towards realities which are different from one's own and in my opinion, a great part of fiction should do that.

A part where I think the book lacked for me was the limited number of pages dedicated to the legend of the gun merchant. At times, we do see his story running parallelly to that of the characters in present. However, I would have loved to delve more into it, even if it was at the cost of 50-60 extra pages. Given the book was just 280ish pages, I would not have minded a 350-page book with a little more substance.

Reading Gun Island as someone who has read its so-called precursor, The Hungry Tide, and then the so-called successor, Ghost Eye, it felt a wonderful experience as a lot of unmentioned and unexplained things were already known, and thus the connection was almost like epiphanic moments. No matter how much I tried to go into the nitty-gritty of the narrative or the themes of choice, one thing that one cannot ignore when it comes to Amitav Ghosh is the lingering connection with oneself that is left after completing his books.

You feel more connected to yourself, to the animals around you, to the realities of the world, especially with respect to climate change and environmental crisis. What's best about reading this book, Gun Island, is the essence of survival, dreams, and existing, which is so close to being human. Another thing which was absolutely wonderful were the discussions on the change in nature and ecosystem which is tied so closely to human existence that it seems almost natural, while on the other hand it is clearly not.

However, unfortunately, I cannot give it more than 3.5 stars because it's sad to admit that I did feel the story dragging in some parts. And, of course, while reading about events of real life, one cannot help but question what is being written and what you end up seeing in the media. Everything aside, one thing that I can never ever forget after reading an Amitav Ghosh novel is how grounded one feels with their own reality and just ends up questioning the real, supernatural, the ghostly, as well as the physical.

Thankoyuuuu

Bieiei

[3.5/5 ⭐]

So,

I have so much to say but idk how to describe it without spoiling anything..nvm I will let it be a mystery you should read it yourself and experience it.. Tbh it was quite a hard read for me it took me around idk 15 days or more .. It was my first jane austen and actually jane austen rights in such a poetic way that you will definitely have a hard time figuring out what is she actually talking about (it's the same with every book of her) but the plot was good the overall rating I will give it will be a solid 7/10 (cuz it was quite hard to read) ik that classics are a bit hard but it's on a different lvl🤣... But it's good entry book for anyone who wanna get into austen's works..

(Now my google history is filled with chapter explanation and meanings lol)