November 14, 2016
by Neelima
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Graphic Novels and Pottermania @ BYOB Party in IIIT-Delhi in September 2016 (Part 3)

green-lanternNot surprisingly some graphic novels and fantasy made an appearance at this BYOB Party. Siddharth got  Green Lantern/ New Gods Godhead by Robert Venditti. To understand Green Lantern, you need to know a lot of back story. For instance you need to know about Highfather who is the high priest of the DC universe.

 

one-pieceAniket talked about the bestselling manga series (over eighty books in the series) One Piece written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The story follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, a man who has the properties of rubber because of a fruit he ate. He teams up with a crew of pirates to find the world’s greatest treasure called One Piece. The manga series has been adapted in an animation, a card game, video games, etc.

wardstone-chroniclesArpit spoke about The Wardstone Chronicles, published as The Last Apprentice in the US. It’s a dark fantasy series by Joseph Delaney and the theme is about the seventh son of a seventh son apprenticed to John Gregory to become a figher of supernatural evil. In other words he becomes a Spook. What Arpit liked about the book was the way Delaney approached the topic in a highly original way with his knowledge of chemistry.

 

harrypotterandtheprisonerofazkabanFantasy is a favorite, with Riya talking about the Harry Potter series and how JK Rowling gets her formula right because she talks about the importance of love- be it between friends, teachers and their students, parents and their children, the crux of the world is based on this. There was mention about how Harry Potter was probably the most under-developed lead character of all time, as he hardly ever changed. Things always happened to him without agency on his part. Of course, this led to an overheated discussion about Harry Potter characteristics.

More books in Part 4.

Visual Friday: Books Written in Less than Six Weeks

November 11, 2016 by Neelima | 0 comments

bookswrittenin6weeks-01

 

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November 10, 2016
by Neelima
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Copywriting Blues @ Link Wanderlust

In Write Now: The Lost Art of Copywriting, Paul Burke talks about how creative writing is taking a back seat in the advertising industry.There are some tips in the article about how to write better copy- put a little bit of yourself in it and also write the beginning, write the end and then fill in the middle. Knowing grammar is a plus.

The problem lies with Creative departments nowadays:

Every desk has a keyboard. Everybody types, so everybody writes. Account handlers, clients… everyone. In an unfortunate perfect storm, this has coincided with the decline of writing skills in creative departments. So creatives have surrendered their once-proud ownership of the written word. Yes, everyone’s a writer now. Except, ironically, the people who are supposed to be.

While once writing a TV commercial needed skill, now a jingle or the prospect of dubbing kills any chance of writing finesse from saving the ad.  But because the writing is missing, a good copywriter will always be a plus. Always.

November 7, 2016
by Neelima
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Dystopia and Young Adult Fiction @ BYOB Party in IIIT-Delhi in September 2016 (Part 2)

animal-farmI had read an article recently about the secret appeal to teenagers that lies in George Orwell’s dystopia 1984 and sure enough Orwell was not excluded from this gathering. Animal Farm that describes the secret ministrations of hierarchy was mentioned. “It’s not just a parody of communism, but a parody of any system, even the corporate world.”

if-tomorrow-comesRamya, an ardent Sidney Sheldon fan, talked about If tomorrow comes, Tell me your dreams and Master of the game. What the students surmised from reading these books was that the books revolved around a central female and ideas about the inherent power struggle in a man’s world remains a relevant topic even today. Turns out adolescents like dark fiction. You can read more about this here: http://time.com/3697845/if-i-stay-gayle-forman-young-adult-i-was-here/

da-vinci-codeIf there is a Sidney Sheldon, then a discussion about Jeffrey Archer cannot be far behind. The all time favorite seemed to be Kane and Abel and The Prodigal Daughter. Dan Brown was another favorite, with students heatedly arguing over whether Inferno had the edge over Da Vinci Code. Incidentally, there is an illustrated version of Da Vinci Code as well.

November 3, 2016
by Neelima
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Done with Diversity @ Link Wanderlust

The new buzz is diversity or the lack of it. Marlon James, Book Prize winner last year, says that he’s done with the diversity conversation. There’s a lot of phobias going on in all hemispheres. So do people talk about it, tweet it about, fb about it or watch numbly?

James thinks that whatever we do, conversation misses the point:

“The problem is all this talking. Liberals, in particular love to talk. We debate issues, we explore the conservative angle (despite them never returning the favor), we talk about solutions, we even try to tolerate those who would not tolerate us. The problem with all this conversation, is that it is all we do.”

And this is because the people who are supposed to change don’t sit at the table where the discussions about diversity occur. What exists even in so-called cosmopolitan cities is a kind of glorified segregation- there all kinds of people who live and work in a city like New York or for that matter any global city anywhere on earth. There is a multiplicity of people, not togetherness.

Talking about diversity seems to be a far cry from inclusion. Maybe it’s time for action.

PS: Just found Murakami’s acceptance speech for the Hans Christian Anderson Award. He touches on the theme of accepting shadows instead of building walls. Read it.

 

October 31, 2016
by Neelima
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Lectures and Love @ BYOB Party in IIIT-Delhi in September 2016 (Part 1)

LitSoc, whose coordinators were Vrinda and Taneea, co-hosted the BYOB Party at IIIT-Delhi. It was Professor Dheeraj Sanghi who facilitated it. The party threw light on what twenty first century teenagers read in Indian cities these days. There is a strong feeling among youngsters today that reading books is an inevitable part of success and this is good news for publishers everywhere.

if-this-isnt-nice-what-isWisdom was a theme. The party kick started with a book that Vrinda got by Kurt Vonnegut called If this isn’t nice, what is? The book is a collection of self-deprecating funny commencement speeches that are inspiring for students. Not surprisingly,Vonnegut was a speaker much in demand in his time. He was one of those writers who achieved success later in life. Some of his humor can be lost on you if you don’t understand the milieu in which he wrote, but most of what he says can be understood and enjoyed.

You can listen to him here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9Toxp0OJNc

the-last-lectureKatyayani spoke about The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. If you want to get teary eyed about a man who has six months to live and who comes up on the podium of Carnegie Mellon to speak, think again. His last lecture is filled with humor and practical wisdom about how to achieve your childhood dream.

Here’s a snippet of the poignant lecture:

“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.”

Here’s the link to his lecture which is long and worth your time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo.

me-before-youTaneea read another book with life’s philosophy entrenched called Me Before You. It’s the story of how love can help you overcome something as devastating as paralysis and the joylessness that ensues from losing a part of you.

More books in Part 2.