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siddharthagolu's Reviews (243)
I need to gather my notes before I can write a proper review, however, below are some of my off-the-shelf takeaways/critics of the book:
* Dawkins is too intimidating in his opinions - he hammers on and hammers on until either you have changed your opinion or you get exhausted. Neither sounds good for someone having a constructive argument.
* The crux of the argument is - and this is something that I've wondered for quite some time - keeping aside the hard religious conservatism, why even the so-called liberal values teach us that we should question everything, except when it comes to religion. Religion is somehow the holy grail of the argument (pardon my pun) - you can't just question it, no matter what. That's bewildering, to say the least.
* The problem of "Unquestioned faith is a virtue" and the power of religion to "console" us through the bad times. Believing in God and believing in belief are not the same thing.
* Dawkins is too intimidating in his opinions - he hammers on and hammers on until either you have changed your opinion or you get exhausted. Neither sounds good for someone having a constructive argument.
* The crux of the argument is - and this is something that I've wondered for quite some time - keeping aside the hard religious conservatism, why even the so-called liberal values teach us that we should question everything, except when it comes to religion. Religion is somehow the holy grail of the argument (pardon my pun) - you can't just question it, no matter what. That's bewildering, to say the least.
* The problem of "Unquestioned faith is a virtue" and the power of religion to "console" us through the bad times. Believing in God and believing in belief are not the same thing.
The book essentially revolves around the Dam Project and as Mr. Shibu has an extensive background in hydroelectric projects, he was able to give us a concrete description of everything technical - and that's where, I think, he went wrong. The disconnected storylines had little to offer in terms of their stories - even though we were supplied with a lot of information. I couldn't connect with any of the characters, though I enjoyed their back-stories. Also, the declining level of grammar was the most irritating part and the book wanted a strong editing. It would've been so much better had the author concentrated on developing the characters and their stories instead of focusing on explaining the nitty-gritty technical details.
Nevertheless, this was a debut work of the author and I congratulate him on this achievement. Kudos for his commendable efforts!
Disclaimer: I was given a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Nevertheless, this was a debut work of the author and I congratulate him on this achievement. Kudos for his commendable efforts!
Disclaimer: I was given a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
A phenomenal read, provided you keep in mind many of the assertions Harari makes are his personal opinions.
Save for the last couple of chapters, this was a dreamy journey till the end. Now it's time for another 12-hour marathon rewatch of the whole series!
My first Alan Watts and very surprisingly, I didn't find it interesting enough. I hope I like his other books though, as every single person I meet who knows about Alan Watts highly recommends him. Fingers crossed for The Way of Zen.
Depressing yet strangely uplifting at the same time. It might be pretentious of me to say that I found so much of myself in the 'unnamed' man from the underground, but that feeling of quiet understanding of narrator's emotions compels me to say so. Perhaps I finally found my best friend - who cares if he is a dead Russian author from 19th Century!