Dear book lovers, perphaps, you could share with us some of your favorite summer readings. Pico Iyer is one expressive writer (author of "Video Night in Kathmandu") I have read and loved:

ABANDON
By Pico Iyer.

ýKill me now, for I long to be with the One I love!ý John Macmillan, an English graduate student of Islamic mystical poetry, determined to view the world in Sufi light hears these words in the somber lecture hall of his California University. In Pico Iyerýs novel, ýAbandoný, the protagonist struggles to understand the more obscure work of the prolific Sufi poet, Rumi. Set against the backdrop of a sunny California, Macmillanýs insatiable desire for some rare but elusive Sufi manuscript leads him through Spain, India and Iran. Equally disorienting is his attraction to the elusive but neurotic Camilla Jensen who seems to float in and out of his orderly-thesis-writing life at the most inopportune times. The story is a merger of Sufi mysticism, spiritual confusion and romantic love ý all of which give a new but parallel meaning to the word ýAbandoný. ýAbandonýýThe state where the true Sufi, the passionate lover and the spiritual travelerýall, give up reason, passion and faith to understand the all consuming desire for knowledge.

At this new age era when new age spiritualism has taken a gigantic hold in the West, Iyerýs book seems timely. Iyer, who was born to Indian parents and educated in England, now lives in Japan; no doubt, his very lifestyle aids him in his depiction of cross cultural mergers and transitions. A keen observer and a sensitive writer, Iyer, in his ýVideo Night in Kathmanduý, reflects on the effects of modernity in traditional societies. A well traveled ýnowherianý, as he refers to himself in his other book ýThe Global Soulý, Pico explores worldwide displacement while experiencing the ýglobal villageý where cultural fusion serves to overwhelm the senses at an alarmingly rapid rate.

"You are the violation of my vows,

My apostasy, my faith.

I shatter myself and you,

I bend to pick up the pieces.



You move me.

Out of stasis.

I see your reflection in the mirror.

I can't tell me from you.



No, no closer.

Stay away!

Already you are as close to me

As the fire to the flame."

(A Sufi Poem from "Abandon", a book by Pico Iyer)

Sounds like a definite good read Star.
"I see your reflection in the mirror.
I can't tell me from you." deeeeep.

My summer reading was rather vain. 'The Da Vinci Code,' the best seller by Dan Brown (Angels and Demons). Too much thriller and theatrical orientations. However his attention to detail helps you live the experience and his EYE OPENING, JAW DROPPING secrets (claimed to be real) are worth major discussion. On my recent trip in Amtrak, it was an immediate ice breaker with a lady savoring the fun of the novel.

A must read for the general audiences, a fresh change for the literate minds.

hmm..Sitara, sounds like a great book..

.my summer reading..

i tried to read this book called, history of sexuality an introduction by foucoult , i acutally just flipped the pages and hurried to the end, but i really liked the arugement abt repressive hypothesis on the book. this talks abt sex only being good for reproduction for past hundred years...its a great book, and gives readers the idea of how sex we sud be openly talked abt rather than supressing it..ooh well..tehi ho..its a good Philosophical book to read...

Dwi you are the man.....................i have dying to talk aout dan browns da vinci code man......................i read that book i became fan of his and i bought his 3 others book ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,dude i find someone who studied that book............that book takes u to the jorney from france to italy with the hidden secrest of palagrism and gives u bit a sight from leonardo da vinci......................

i have a bigtime respect man..........join the club..........hey they are going to make movie on it

A short excerpt from Dan Brown's Da vinci code-

Physiologically speaking, the male climax was accompanied by a split second entirely devoid of thought. A brief mental vacuum. A moment of clarity during which God could be glimpsed. Meditation gurus achieved similar states of thoughtfulness without sex and often described nirvana as a neverending spiritual orgasm rey.

Fantastic writers of this generation both Pico and Dan brown.

Nice going, birdie num num!
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Ahh.. Rumi poems are always good...

From Rumi - Fountain of Fire


"show me your face
i crave
flowers and gardens
open your lips
i crave
the taste of honey
come out from
behind the clouds
i desire a sunny face
your voice echoed
saying "leave me alone"
i wish to hear your voice
again saying "leave me alone"
i swear this city without you
is a prison
i am dying to get out
to roam in deserts and mountains
i am tired of
flimsy friends and
submissive companions
i die to walk with the brave
am blue hearing
nagging voices and meek cries
i desire loud music
drunken parties and
wild dance
one hand holding
a cup of wine
one hand caressing your hair
then dancing in orbital circle
that is what i yearn for
i can sing better than any nightingale
but because of
this city's freaks
i seal my lips
while my heart weeps
yesterday the wisest man
holding a lit lantern
in daylight
was searching around town saying
i am tired of
all these beasts and brutes
i seek
a true human
we have all looked
for one but
no one could be found
they said
yes he replied
but my search is
for the one
who cannot be found"

I read "The Da Vinci Code" at one go during my flight to Asia. Definitely intriguing storytelling. I had always been fascinated by Leonardo Da Vinci but reading about "The Priory of Sion" and its obsession with Goddess worship has increased my desire to visit the Louvre. Someday, I hope to.
Along the same line and in keeping with secret societies: Guess what, over the weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting a member of the "Free Masonry". It was interesting!


Confused, sounds like an interesting read. Did it help de-confuse you? ;)

Kalebhut, any other readings by Iyer?

Scatterbrain, "Fountain of Fire" by Rumi has some of my favorite poems. Alas, poetry can only hold beauty and significance when emoted from the depths of the heart. I recall a line from "Reading Lolita in Tehran"-- the professor says to her broken hearted student (and to paraphrase)..."Break your heart, for only then can the light enter it to dispell the darkness!".

I read this intriguing book on Vipassana meditation by William Hart. It is an awesome book based on the teaching of the famous Goenka guy. I also re-read Jack Higgins Thunder Point. For some reason I just love that guy's works!

haha Sitara, i am a lost man, maybe somday, someone can make me confused - no - more, till then i will remain confused..:)

ooh yah, its a good book, it also has a second part to it, its called the history of sexuality , the use of pleasure...which i havent read yet..

anywaz..what abt the book we want to read..hehe..i want to read Discartes, "Cortigo Ergo Sum", Principles of Philosophy, as soon as i get a break from this busy and boring life, i will read it..

save Earth, bro sounds like a interesting book....i have heard of Goenka, isnt he one of those liberal, with no religion guy...mann, i surely need to check that book out...

Nope sitara- no other books by pico iyer. video night in ktm is the only 1 i've read so far. If u like video night, you may also enjoy snow leopard by Peter Mathiessen.

some other books-
Globalization and its discontents- Joseph E. Stiglitz
The impressionist- Hari Kunzru
Animal farm- George Orwell

happy reading

Guru of Love is good by Samrat Upadhaya.. its just to read about something u know about..the surrounding of Nepal.. but it does give a not so positive view of Nepali society

This summer, I finally got a taste of the much talked about V.S. Naipaul. Many of former sajhaites would spend helluva lot of time and energy discussing his books and I think Paschim had even written a review of one of his books somewhere. Anyways, I read "Half a life" over the span of 3 months, mostly during the subway rides to and from my work in NYC this summer.

I think he's one of the few writers who can make writing seem so easy! And I did really enjoy the book, in parts. I wasn't entirely gripped by the plot though. Some moments in the book were moments of truly astute reflection and skillful probing into the human (and male) psyche. Otherwise, nothing sensational. Did like some of the historical knowledge I gained!

I noticed practically everyone reading "The Da Vinci code." Was definitely a huge summer hit, I suppose. Maybe I will get around to reading it sometime next summer when the heat and hype has long subsided! : )

This summer was more about movies, munching, and merry-making in Gotham city than about burying my nose in a book! Frankly, I was sick of books after a year of grueling academia! : ( But Kudos to those who can pluck up the courage to pick up another book after returning the year's "loan" to the university and local library! : )

Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

I have read this book more than 30 times... and every time I read it I feel something new... I find something new.... What a book is this!!!

Blue Memosa- Parijat
This nobel is english translation by P. Devkota ... I really want to have a copy .... mine was lost.... do someone want to share it??

Norwegian Woods- Haruataka Murakami
It give you chill running through your body... no not this is not ghost story novel... a novel... of a shades of life... novel how in reality people live.... Terrific

I hear you Moneyminded. How was Angels and Demon?

Kalebhoot, I don't think Dan Brown is such a good literary writer. He sure is a good historian with an eye for detail. His thriller are often too filmie, no wonder a movie is being made.

Simpy, the charm of the book might fade by next year. Besides you might here a lot of spoilers along the way.

kalebhut, Animal Farm was one of the greatest book i have read...harip book thiyo..snowball and k re nepoleon..haha..what a satire to russian revolution..dammi thiyo..

I concur with DWI. Dan Brown does nothing for me. He might be a history buff, but he ain't no raconteur.

aaaaaaaaaaaah... so many read and none that I can recollect fondly :( ... Although these days I am about to meet 5 people in heaven...

reading lolita in tehran
its the memoir of a former university of tehran prof of literature, and her little cabal of students who met in secret to read western works

I agree with DWI and Thugged out that "The Da Vinci Code" is not rich in language and/or Literary expression. He has an exceptional plot which capitalizes on many of the "conspiracy theories" and secret societies. His strength: he brought history of Renaissance art and the occult to mainstream readers. I believe his wife is an art historian and his father, a professor of Mathematics.

So Thugged Out, what else have you read?

Clickerclick, how was "Blue Memosa"?

SGal: I finally got to read "Half a Life" and it left me with a bitter taste in my mouth! What a waste of life for the 50 year old protagonist to have lived a life " that was not his"!!!! It struck a raw nerve for me because I have some friends who've lived without taking responsibility for their life and life's choices.

SaveEarth, I have read a review on "Vipasana Meditation" by the same author but never got to read the actual book.

"Reading Lolita in Tehran", a powerful book, passionately written.

Wateva: what do you think of that book "Five people ....."? Scary no?! It gave me the chills: every action has a known and an unknown repercussion!!!!!