read it during my summer vacation-brilliant!

to vivlio taxidevei gia iceland..

The book arrived today:) thanks so much bellivas:)

Finally got around to read this one, very different from what I thought it would be.

A wishlist book for CatharinaL, hope you will enjoy the book :)

Thanks, Bjorg! The book was waiting for me in the mailbox today. Talk about quick delivery!

Looks just as exciting as I'd pictured it... I first heard about The White Tiger from my friend who's a religion/philosophy teacher and travels to India rather regularly—he was quoting a passage from the book that made me curious. I'll start reading asap, can hardly wait.

Also, a BC label in Greek: I hadn't seen these before, makes good practice for my elementary Greek studies.

I'll mail your Agatha Christie parcel the next time I go to the post office (later today or tomorrow).

I have never been to India, but I have experienced a gross all-inclusive holiday resort lifestyle elsewhere, in a third-world country. The White Tiger brings to focus everything I've ever seen or heard of the realities of life, and everything I've imagined life would be like for a huge part of the world's population. It's a remarkable book, and one that's quick and absorbing to read... but matter-wise definitely not an 'unlimited reading pleasure' as described by a Stern review.

This is sharp writing, so sharp that the sharpness itself makes me want to read on. Adiga lays the groundwork for understanding some of the mechanisms of the slums, the mechanisms of the caste system, the mechanisms of 'development' (read: a self-trapping system) in India—but he does not offer us a key, a starting point, the people or things to blame. I like the way religions, philosophies, poetry, and education are brought to focus: they are not downright discussed but rather just floating there, ready for the reader to pick up and start thinking, without sentimentality.

Someone once said cities are like cancer growths. In the vile world Adiga describes, everything in India seems to be on a crash course: without beginning, without end, incontrollably growing, and grossly contradicting each other. It seems an upside-down world where everything else is being developed and improved but the people. However, instead of being made to feel vaguely guilty, depressed, or hypocritical, the (Western) reader is taken directly to the terrifying core—but also shown crippled beauty and a budding promise in however insane the protagonist's world is. This is a work of fiction, yet a strong manifesto against ignorance and towards education without corruption.

I have plenty of other things on my mind, too, but it takes a while to have them sorted out... I just finished reading, and I'll probably come back and update this journal entry later on. For now, I just want to say thank you for a memorable reading experience!

I'm taking this one with me to tonight's local BC meetup.

If the book doesn't find a new reader there, it'll go to the book trading shelf in the lobby of Main Library Metso instead.

Picked this up from the book trading shelf - just to add BC instructions (label) in English or in Finnish. I'm not sure how many people would understand the instructions in Greek... I'll release the book somewhere after that. (I happen to have one copy of this book in my TBR pile already, so I'm going to read that one.)

On the BC shelf.
http://www.kahvilapikkupeikko.fi/

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BC-sivuston kielen saa halutessaan vaihdettua sivun ylälaidan vihreässä palkissa olevasta valikosta. Suomenkielinen keskustelufoorumi: http://www.bookcrossing.com/forum/30

Otin mukaani kahvila Pikku Peikon BC-kirjahyllystä. Vaikuttaa mielenkiintoiselta kirjalta ja aion lukea sen/I picked this up from the BC shelf in café Pikku Peikko. It seems like interesting book and I will read it.

9.8.13: Finished reading this some time ago. I'll release this soon.

In the bookcrossing shelf/ pääkirjaston bookcrossing kärryssä

Löysin kirjan Turun pääkirjaston bookcrossing hyllystä ja kannet näytti houkuttelevalta, niin otin matkaan. Luin ensimmäisen kappaleen, jonka jälkeen kirja unohtui ja muutti mukanani Pohjois-Ruotsiin. Lukeminen tökki ensin ja parin vuoden aikan tuli luettua muutama sivu silloin tällöin lisää. Eilen sitten pääsin sisään kirjaan ja luin sen yhdeltä istumalta loppuun. Oli kyllä todella mielenkiintoinen lukukokemus ja jotain aivan muuta mitä kansien perusteella odotin, positiivinen yllätys kuitenkin :) Bookcrossing oli minulle uusi juttu ja ihmettelin kirjassa olleita lappuja, nyt kirja jatkoi luokkakaverille luettavaksi ja katselen täältä päin paikkaa mihin sen voisi sitten vapauttaa...