Recently discovered this great writer Harlan Coben. I am enjoying his books! They are thrillers set in USA and I love his stand-alone novels. Unfortunately, I did not like his Mickey Boliter series which are apparently very popular(blame me and not this writer! ). Hope Harlan lives long and comes up with more and more such thrillers to keep me happy!
Also read the fiction novel, "American Dervish" by Ayad Akhtar about a middle-class Pakistani family in USA. It was realistic(and what a sad reality for Pakistani wives who have to put up with the value systems in their families !) flowed smoothly and moved me.
It is so sad that sufism is being systematically stamped out by the stupid, concrete-thinking, morons who advocate for a harsh, brutal, unjust interpretation of the Koran. (the violent, idiots are taking control in many countries east & north of India and stamping out modern and moderate muslims)
It is also sad that one of the lovelist religions of the world, Zoroastrianism, whose birthplace is in Iran too is dwindling slowly.
Buddhism, another lovely religion advocating for non-violence and one which held sway in Afganisthan, too has been stamped out in that country.
My comments on the dwindling of Zoroastrianism & Buddhism have nothing to do with American Dervish.
September 2012: Tried two new authors this month i.e. Lee Child (Reacher series '61 hours') and Karin Fossum('Black seconds'). Stopped reading Lee Child's book after a few pages and found Karin Fossum's book good but the pace of Black seconds was a bit slow.
Now reading the books set in modern Russia i.e. Red to Black by Drydan and his next book Moscow Sting. Will briefly tell what I think of these books when I finish.
The reason I gave up Lee Child's 61 hours is that I find the books written in first person, more often irritating than not. The first person writing seems to make me think the person is bragging and that puts me off. Also something about the style of Lee Child put me off. I am realizing how difficult to be a hero and write in first person and not sound boastful! Few authors who have written in first person have impressed me...To kill a mockingbird ofcourse is the best of these first person books. I also like Dick Francis books, several of which seem to be in first person. Books by James Hadley Chase and Alistair Mclean in first person too are pretty good. I will add more to this list as I recall them.
I am planning to revisit the Perry Mason books and Donald Lam series of Erle Stanley Gardner shortly. I am getting sick of the new crime fiction books. The Perry Mason series are so refreshing to me now...the crime is so straight forward, the motives are straightforward, the people are so real and believable, the author focuses on the plot and wastes little space and words on descriptions. The minimal presence of sex, absence of perversions such as pedophilia, motiveless cruelty, torturing, etc make these books 'not-sickening'. Another great thing : it is only the bad person who gets murdered in most Perry Mason series! The absence of computers, the greater presence of people and their skills than reliance on science makes the characters in the Perry Mason books interesting.
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Also read the fiction novel, "American Dervish" by Ayad Akhtar about a middle-class Pakistani family in USA. It was realistic(and what a sad reality for Pakistani wives who have to put up with the value systems in their families !) flowed smoothly and moved me.
It is so sad that sufism is being systematically stamped out by the stupid, concrete-thinking, morons who advocate for a harsh, brutal, unjust interpretation of the Koran. (the violent, idiots are taking control in many countries east & north of India and stamping out modern and moderate muslims)
It is also sad that one of the lovelist religions of the world, Zoroastrianism, whose birthplace is in Iran too is dwindling slowly.
Buddhism, another lovely religion advocating for non-violence and one which held sway in Afganisthan, too has been stamped out in that country.
My comments on the dwindling of Zoroastrianism & Buddhism have nothing to do with American Dervish.
September 2012: Tried two new authors this month i.e. Lee Child (Reacher series '61 hours') and Karin Fossum('Black seconds'). Stopped reading Lee Child's book after a few pages and found Karin Fossum's book good but the pace of Black seconds was a bit slow.
Now reading the books set in modern Russia i.e. Red to Black by Drydan and his next book Moscow Sting. Will briefly tell what I think of these books when I finish.
The reason I gave up Lee Child's 61 hours is that I find the books written in first person, more often irritating than not. The first person writing seems to make me think the person is bragging and that puts me off. Also something about the style of Lee Child put me off. I am realizing how difficult to be a hero and write in first person and not sound boastful! Few authors who have written in first person have impressed me...To kill a mockingbird ofcourse is the best of these first person books. I also like Dick Francis books, several of which seem to be in first person. Books by James Hadley Chase and Alistair Mclean in first person too are pretty good. I will add more to this list as I recall them.
I am planning to revisit the Perry Mason books and Donald Lam series of Erle Stanley Gardner shortly. I am getting sick of the new crime fiction books. The Perry Mason series are so refreshing to me now...the crime is so straight forward, the motives are straightforward, the people are so real and believable, the author focuses on the plot and wastes little space and words on descriptions. The minimal presence of sex, absence of perversions such as pedophilia, motiveless cruelty, torturing, etc make these books 'not-sickening'. Another great thing : it is only the bad person who gets murdered in most Perry Mason series! The absence of computers, the greater presence of people and their skills than reliance on science makes the characters in the Perry Mason books interesting.
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