read/reading/to read
Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it. ~P.J. O’Rourke
2010 reading list
currently reading:
1. Pedagogy of the Oppressed – Paulo Freiere
i feel convicted at every turn of the page – i don’t know how freiere writes this so that every word, every comma and every point is compelling. one of the most thought-provoking books i have ever read. read only if you can take feeling guilty.
2. Unleashing Nepal – Sujeev Shakya
i know it’s been out for a while, but i tend to read too many at once so this has been on my night table for ages … it’s fun, interesting and one non-fiction contemporary work on/of nepal that is NOT political. so that’s very refreshing.
3. Aba Yesto Kahile Nahos – Baburam Acharya
i am struggling with this. i’ve only read one other book in nepal (and that took me one whole year). but it’s an intereting take on nepal’s historical events. reading it for my nepali class. so many words i’ve never heard of.
4. Ghumne Mechmathi Andho Manchhe – Bhupi Shercha
beautiful poetry that is insightful, witty and so wonderfully written. really enjoying this.
5. Seto Gaajal - Homnath Subedi
okay poetry (on the life and thoughts of the Diaspora).
6. A House of Mr. Biswas – V. S. Naipaul
i’d expected this to be much better than the first few chapters have proven to be … hopefully will finish this before 2011!
thoughts on books read this year:
1. Dangerous Wives & Sacred Sisters – Lynn Bennett
absolutely fantastic! lynn’s thorough ethnography and enigmatic writing informs me of all i know of traditional hindu customs and culture. a really interesting and easy read. ekdum recommended!
2. Everything is Illuminated – Jonathan Safran Foer
awarded the guardian first book award in 2002 – need i say more? it’s delightful!
3. Contentious Politics & Democratization in Nepal – Ed. Mahendra Lawoti
really really good collection of 13 different articles on various facets of nepal’s politics and the nature of it being contentious. well-written stuff of well-developed thoughts. really really liked it!
4. Arresting God in Kathmandu – Samrat Upadhya
after reading and loving manjushree thapa, sushma joshi, manan karki i knew it would be weird to not read upadhya, so i did. not exactly impressive, but i like how he sees kathmandu. he makes me realize i live in a busteling city that is exciting and oh so alive.
to read next:
1. Nepal’s Failed Development – Devendra Raj Pandey
2. Mystery of Capital – Hernando De Soto
3. Creative Destruction -Tyler Cowen
4. The State and Society in Nepal – Prayag Raj Sharma
5. The Idea of Justice – Amartya Sen
6. A Land of Our Own – Suvash Darnal
7. Dead Aid – Dambisa Moya
8. Why the Rest Hates the West – Meic Pearse
need to locate/purchase(hint hint…books make good birthday gifts, yaknow…; ) :
9. What is the What – Valentino Achak Deng
10. On Affirmative Action – Kanya Adams
11. Decolonizing the Mind – Ngugi Wa Rhirongwo
12. Citizens & Subjects – Mahimud Mandnai
13. Seasons of Flight – Manjushree Thapa
i think i read more books in one month last year than i have read in the past six this year – pathetic, i know – but, i am back in school and drowing in coursework and readings, so bear with me. and also, leave me a comment if you’ve reading something amazing – whether it was well-written or compelling or just plain interesting!
norrbu
July 30, 2010 at 4:51 pm
An ordinary person’a guide to the empire – arundhati roy.
[Reply]
nepaliketi Reply:
August 1st, 2010 at 6:49 pm
oooh i do love her, thank you =]
[Reply]
gskhanal
August 11, 2010 at 10:25 am
The monk who sold his ferrari – Robin Sharma
[Reply]
nepaliketi Reply:
January 25th, 2011 at 4:54 pm
@gskhanal, oooh nice one, i’ve heard good stuff about this too! thanks!
[Reply]
I.P.Adhikari Reply:
November 3rd, 2011 at 1:36 pm
@nepaliketi, I didn’t find anything new in this book. There are dozens of other books that are very good, inspiring and readable. In this category, the books by Wyne W. Dyer’s “Your erroneous zones” is excellent, so are the books by Dale carnegi and Og Mandino.
[Reply]
Runil
November 8, 2010 at 4:38 pm
Might as well add Karnali Bluez then… I hear it’s good, though I am neverr gonna read Nepali novels…
[Reply]
nepaliketi Reply:
November 9th, 2010 at 8:15 am
kina ra?
[Reply]
Runil Reply:
November 11th, 2010 at 10:51 am
Haha… I know this discussion should be in some other post but since I brought it here anyway… If you were a dude, you’d prolly have wsaid something like ‘oh, karnali bluez? Is it any good?’ and stuff, but you sooo got right where i wanted to take…
So anyway… I read more Nepali books than like anyone else… Prolly read 40(?) nepali novels and so many other interesting Nepali books.. I had more Nepali children books than English story books, though I could read english better, but I liked nepali.. I loved it.. I don’t know anyone else who’s got as good a collection of Nepali Balsahitya as me, or Nepali humor collections than me. I actually read those books as a kid…
Enter the SLC. I got sub-60. A bangladeshi dude who’d started from Ka kha ga just three years previously got 82. Nepali books suck. Ive read, what 300(? okay they include LOTS of terry pratchetts and asimoves but they count, right?) since SLC and not a Single frikkin’ Nepali book… I am looking for ‘Tribhuvanki Erika’ (it’s a real love story about king tribhuvan and Erika Luchetag, his swedish physiotherapist) and ‘On the clouds with a King’ by Erika Luchetag.. But, whteverrr….
The end
[Reply]
nepaliketi Reply:
January 25th, 2011 at 4:58 pm
@Runil,
first off, sorry for the massive time lag in my responding to this – somehow missed it re chha.
as for your comment re nepali books and all that … i’ve read all of one called “chhapamar” and if i told you how long it took me you would lose all respect for me as a human being … i’m planning to read another one soon.
so…. once i’ve read 300 i’ll get back to you! ; )
ps commented twice on your blog and lost them both so now i’m boycotting commenting on your blog. kind of.
Arun
December 14, 2010 at 10:50 am
Any idea where i can find Baburam Acharya’s ‘Aba Yasto Kahilyai Nahosh’? Been looking for it, but can’t seem to find it in the market….
[Reply]
nepaliketi Reply:
December 14th, 2010 at 4:02 pm
hmmm not sure what you mean by “the market”…but have you tried the bookstore-on-the-street in front of RNAC (where all them tempos are)? if not, what about that “communist” bookstore in putalisadak? … i put communist in quote bc all the books on display are very red, red as in it’s all about maoist/communism/socialism and so on. in the meantime i’ll ask a commie friend of mine for their suggestion ; )
[Reply]
Arun Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 1:27 pm
@nepaliketi, Thanks. Looks like Ratna Pustak Bhandar may have that book.
But currently reading Baburam Acharya’s Shree 5 Prithvi Narayan Shah ko Sankchipta Jivani and it is a fantastic read. It gives you a glimpse of Nepal that existed 300 years go.
[Reply]
Sandeep
January 24, 2011 at 12:12 am
Red – Orhan Pamuk (Great book)
Stranger to History – Aatish Taseer (A agood read)
Burnt Shadows – Kamila Shamsie (Currently reading, so far so good)
[Reply]
nepaliketi Reply:
January 24th, 2011 at 6:42 pm
@Sandeep, hmmm haven’t read either of the latter two, will add it to my list after i finish my current one! thanks for sharing =D
[Reply]
prabesh
January 26, 2011 at 4:50 pm
The Monk who sold his Ferrari- Robin Sharma, yu definitely should give it a try, its great.
[Reply]
nepaliketi Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 5:52 pm
@prabesh, oh, i’ve heard of this one lots. will add, thanks!
[Reply]
Prayash
February 2, 2011 at 12:43 am
Manjushree Thapa’s “Forget Kathmandu” and “A Boy from Siklis”
Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers”
Arundhati Roy’s “The Checkbook and the Cruise Missile”
Jhumpa Lahiri’s “Interpreter of Maladies”
That might be all the books I’ve read in the past year or so. I can’t say a word for anything else.
[Reply]
nepaliketi Reply:
February 2nd, 2011 at 6:15 am
@Prayash, read thapa’s ‘forget kathmandu’ in 2007, awesome writing as expected. haven’t gotten around to ‘a boy from siklis’ … to be honest, i like trees but i’m not like the nature-y type – do you think i’d still like it?
roy’s maladies were delight.
will look into the others, thanks for the suggestions!
[Reply]
Prayash Reply:
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:10 pm
@nepaliketi, Though heavy on conservation and particularly community based forestry, it is as much an inspirational story about a village boy as it is about Nepal’s struggles for conservation amidst the empty efforts to protect hunting grounds for Nepal’s elites. You decide
I don’t consider myself a tree hugger either 
I love momos as much as you do.
Lahiri’s “Interpreter of Maladies” as you know is a good mix of immigrant stories. I of course will have a bias towards such stories being in a similar footing myself. Like you said it’s absolutely a delight. I loved them. I forget the stories after a while and go back and read one or two time and again.
Roy’s nonfiction work (which is all her work except “God of Small Things”… i liked this too btw) is thought provoking as always and it’s hard not to have some sort of an effect on one’s psyche. She has forewords from Noam Chomsky speaks for itself.
Gladwell’s ‘Outliers’ is a work of non fiction too. He has an interesting take on how people, who are exceptionally successful, are not only because of their hard work but they are a creation of an exceptionally improbable sequence of events and circumstances. I found his argument very convincing.
Anyways, happy reading and if you decide to choose one of my recos after your busy semester is over, let me know.
[Reply]
nepaliketi Reply:
February 5th, 2011 at 4:42 pm
@Prayash, it kind of sounds like karna shakya’s soch … i love her writing, so even if “conservation” kind of sounds like a lullaby to me your praises puts it on my shelf.
i don’t know of gladwell but seeing as you read my blog you must know i love to gloat and well, i.have.met.noam.chomsky. for shizzle. probably one of the msot exciting days of my entire life =D
also, i finished up in dec and i’m back to being a working girl!
shesaid
February 19, 2011 at 7:13 am
Norwegian Wood – Haruki Murakami
Persepoli – Marjane Satrapi
The Bridget Jones’ s Diary – Helen Fielding
** The third one is blindblowingly hilarious especially for female readers. Only if you don’t mind profanity of course.
[Reply]
nepaliketi Reply:
April 1st, 2011 at 4:44 pm
@shesaid, mmmm i LOVED persepolis. have you watched the video? equally wonderful. and yes, the diary…it’s one of my embarrassing have-reads ; )
[Reply]
prakriti
April 1, 2011 at 5:06 am
@nepaliketi: only yesterday did my dijju suggest me to read you.. i was talking about this public transport and she said you blog about such day -to day stuffs… went i found you..fortunately i found more interesting stuffs to read..
had been in india since past six years…just done with my +2 and am back to ktm, the level of writings that the indians showed.. i felt it lacked in nepal.. like the daily editorials and articles would be much more interesting there… jug suraiya.. heard of this name?? he writes for the times of india and many others..
but you interest me.. thankyou..and keep it up..
[Reply]
nepaliketi Reply:
April 1st, 2011 at 5:48 pm
@prakriti, hi prakriti! i’m always happy to meet another reader so do thank your didi for me.
congrats on finishing high school and welcome back to the homeland =D if you want some other fantastic reads (that will run india for its money) have a look at some on my blog roll – dear kathmandu, she thinks to herself, kgb, thinkinink, maichyang – they are all such solid writers. enjoy and see you again!
[Reply]
niva
April 19, 2011 at 3:04 am
@nepaliketi: i read ur blog a while ago n forgot abt it n bumbed into it again today while browsing, now i’ll b cuming back more often, nice writing.
just finished reading “a kite runner” by Khalid Hosseini (i hope i’ve spelled it correct , pardon me if not )
now waiting for “like a flowing river” by Paulo Coelho
[Reply]
nepaliketi Reply:
April 20th, 2011 at 1:26 pm
@niva, hey niva – i’m glad you read and forgot me….hahaha, at least you are honest. but, yes, please do come back and drop me your thoughts. i write at least twice a month so i will be updating once in a while! hosseini’s kite runner is dammi but i think a thousand splendid suns is something else. i read it on a flight and bawled the hours through. eventually mero passenger-neighbors got over me and my tears! haha as for coelho i read two and to be honest, i do not understand why he is a big deal. the zahir was okay but the alchemist was painful to go through for me…
[Reply]
niva Reply:
April 24th, 2011 at 8:58 am
@nepaliketi: yea i did 4got abt ur blog, now eveytime i log into computer, i use bery basic fone so cant surf much of net in there i make an effort to pop by
n e’m so glad there’s @ least someone in the whole world who think’s the alchemist was painful to read n y he’s such a big deal!!! havnt read much of him tho, still waiting for the delivery, totally agree wid u abt kite runner, cudnt put it down, finished it in a go ( had to read al day al nite tho, my 2 days off went there, worth it though!!)
[Reply]
nepaliketi Reply:
May 10th, 2011 at 9:14 pm
@niva, oh it’s not just me – http://www.thinkinink.wordpress.com (one of nepal’s very best fiction writers, i think) agrees!
sadikshya sharma
September 25, 2011 at 11:53 am
“The fountainhead”by ayn rand
[Reply]
nepaliketi Reply:
October 5th, 2011 at 10:28 am
@sadikshya sharma, thanks! will check it out ; )
[Reply]
YogicFlying
October 4, 2011 at 6:46 pm
How’s about Jeremy Rifkin’s “The Third Industrial Revolution.”
You will feel as light as a feather to have read it, coz you will choose to lose pudge without skipping the snack!?!
[Reply]
nepaliketi Reply:
October 5th, 2011 at 10:28 am
@YogicFlying, okay i’m all about feeling light ; )
[Reply]
YogicFlying
October 6, 2011 at 9:10 am
@nepaliketi,
Mero website http://blogger.com ma alikati heri deo la!
[Reply]
Sashi Shrestha
October 10, 2011 at 8:50 pm
Considering you being feminist…Woman at Point Zero by Nawal EL Saadawi is a MUST read for you…MUST MUST read actually…it completely changed the way I look at women now..(i mean no..i still look at ‘em lovely girls…but while talking to them..its a whole different view.)
Another would be A Fine Balance- Rohinton MIstry (selected for the Booker prize)…another long but gripping read..i finished those 600 or so pages in about a day or two..absolutely brilliant…
[Reply]
nepaliketi Reply:
October 10th, 2011 at 9:24 pm
@Sashi Shrestha, hey thanks so much for the good suggestions. definitely added to my reading list!
[Reply]
Suraj Bishankha
December 2, 2011 at 10:03 am
hey nepaliketi its my pleasure 2read ur artical on republica! Suggest to read the buk SHE, MASAN, SOLD, EAT PRAY AND LOVE, ANABRITA, KARAGAR, AL BUK OF BANARA GIRI, KRISHNA DHARABASI, DHURVA CHANDRA GAUTAM, SHANKER LAMI6ENE….. …LA TA ENJOY THE BUKFAIR ALSO IF NOT!
[Reply]