How All Systems Red by Martha Wells dispelled my fear of sentient machines

17/04/202117/04/2021Leave a comment

Many Science fiction books and movies feature sentient robots or Artificial Intelligence that has evolved to gain consciousness. These stories often end up in a man versus machine theme. The robots may crave power and think they are superior to the fragile humans and decide to kill them off. Or they may enslave humans in a matrix to use us as a source of their power supply. They may even decide to end some humans for the sake of preserving humanity as a whole.

There is differing opinion on how close we are to Artificial Sentience or Machine Consciousness. Continue reading →

My Reading Challenges of 2021

26/02/202102/04/20212 Comments

Alright, I know I’m almost 2 months late with this post but better late than never, right? Last year, I signed up for many reading challenges with ambitious (read unrealistic) goals. Then I fell into a reading slump like many others and ended up removing some challenges till I got down to just three. In 2021, I’m trying to be mindful of the fact that life has its own challenges and can get in the way of my reading challenges.

I am planning to focus on classics and non fiction. After a whole year of a self imposed book buying ban, I got the penguin little black classics box set and will start reading them in 2021. So I will be adding these books to my challenges.

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Book Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

30/10/20202 Comments

This story is set in, as you may have guessed, a circus. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves. As the title suggests, it opens only at night and arrives without warning. Within its black-and-white striped tents is a magical and utterly unique experience. The descriptions of the setting was the main focus of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style.

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My Reading Slump in the Time of Corona

16/08/202007/12/20207 Comments

Like many others, I’ve been having a hard time reading this year. Trying to keep up with the news, being anxious about the state of the world, taking precautions like washing hands and obsessing over cleanliness in general leaves you physically and mentally drained.

Also, I just could not bring myself to read books and gush about them during a pandemic. It would be similar to Nero fiddling when Rome burned. Not that I have the power of an emperor to make a difference to the situation, but it still felt that way. Continue reading →

40 Book Recommendations over 1000 pages to get through the Quarantine

12/08/202012/08/2020Leave a comment

Hey there! Tired of staying at home during the lockdown/self-isolation/quarantine/whatever you want to call this situation? If you are like me, you are probably having a hard time processing strings of words longer than a blog post and finding creative ways to procrastinate your reading habit. Maybe you are reading more than usual and the act of finishing a book a day is making you realise how long you haven’t stepped out of the house.

If you fall in the latter category, then fret not. I’ve collated a list of books over 1000 pages across genres to make you forget that you are in quarantine. (Yup, I just procrastinated my reading by compiling a booklist)

Book Review: On Immunity – Eula Biss

19/04/202027/06/2020Leave a comment

This book is a collection of essays from the author’s perspective as a doctor’s daughter and a mother. It informs the reader about immunity, viruses, history of some diseases, clinical trials and vaccination. It also explains the concept of herd immunity and the process involved in finding a vaccine for a disease. All these are very relevant to the current crisis of coronavirus. Continue reading →

Revisiting the Pale Blue Dot

14/02/202015/02/2020Leave a comment

Today, February 14, 2020, is a very special day. It marks the 30th anniversary of the “Pale Blue Dot” image. This is a picture of Earth taken by NASA’s Voyager-1 after passing Neptune on its way out of the solar system. In this image, Earth appears as a speck of pale blue light. You could even say it looks like a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

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How to make your reading habit less expensive

26/01/20202 Comments

This post is part 3 of the Reading 101 series. Say you’ve taken an interest in reading, formed a reading habit and learned to make time for reading. Sooner or later you will find that it can be pretty expensive to sustain a reading habit. Depending on whether you like to read only physical books or if you are okay with any format of books, there are ways to make your reading habit cost less or nothing at all. Continue reading →

Book Review: Equal Rites by Sir Terry Pratchett

15/01/202016/01/20205 Comments

Equal Rites is the third book in the Discworld series and the first one in the witches series. The story starts off with a dying wizard passing on his power to the newborn Eskarina Smith without knowing that she is a girl. Continue reading →

2020 Reading Challenges

01/01/202002/12/20208 Comments

2019 was not the best year for me in terms of reading. I spent most of the year not reading much. Then in November, I suddenly got the motivation to read more and took up a media diet plan. I quit binge-watching videos and have been reading a short story and a poem every day. This has rekindled my passion for reading and I’ve decided to sign up for the following reading challenges this year. Continue reading →

3 Simple Tips To Make Time For Reading

31/12/201917/01/20203 Comments

It is New Year’s Eve! The time of the year when people who either don’t read much or have drifted apart from their reading habit take up a resolution to read more. It is also the time when many bibliophiles decide what reading challenges to sign up for in the upcoming year and wonder if they can read ‘X’ number of books. Whichever category you belong to, it can be difficult to find time for reading. Continue reading →

7 Tips To Form A Reading Habit

23/04/201817/01/20207 Comments

This is Part 1 of my Reading 101 series. If you are one of those people who really wished they read more books but could not start and/or maintain a reading habit, then this post is for you. Even if you are a disbeliever and think reading is only a substitute for sleeping pills, do try the tips below and you just might cave in and enter the wonderful world of literature. Continue reading →

42 Quotes from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

29/06/201604/10/20212 Comments

If you’re not familiar with the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (or H2G2 in short), you’re probably wondering why I’m listing 42 quotes from a series. It is not a multiple of 5 or 10, not a prime number, there is nothing special associated with it, so it’s kind of odd to list 42 quotes right? Well, the answer is at the end of the post. And if you read the Hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy, which I strongly recommend, you may also develop a liking for this number.

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Thoughts on “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

27/03/201621/05/20209 Comments

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery is a French children’s book. This classic is suitable for readers of all ages. I’d particularly urge adults to read it. The story is narrated by a pilot who crashes his plane in the Sahara desert and encounters the titular little prince. The little prince tells the narrator thought-provoking stories about his planet and his travels.
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