Nobel Prize for Literature 2010

Hi!
The Nobels have been announced. Peruvian Mario Vargas Llosa has won it this year. After Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who won it in 1982, Llosa is the first South American winner of the Nobel for literature. He is also the first Spanish language writer since Mexico's Octavio Paz in 1990. His debut novel, "The Time of the Hero" was buildt on his experiences at the Peruvian military academy. It won the Spanish Critics Award. However, copies of the novel were burned by the military authorities, who claimed that it was a false account. In addition to numerous novels, he also has many non-fiction works to his credit. He has received several awards and prizes. His doctoral thesis was on Garbriel Garcia Marquez.

Another Nobel of interest to me is the Nobel Peace, which went to Liu Xiaobo this year. Xiaobo is also a writer, a literary critic, and a prominent political activist, who has struggled for human rights in China. He has been prominent in the Chinese democracy movement since the Tiananmen Square killings in 1989. He has been jailed many times, and happens to be in prison at present. Can we hope that the Nobel may lead to his release? The Washinton Post seems to disagree:" In the past, pressured and powerful states have clamped down even harder on domestic dissent in the wake of the Nobel Peace Prize, rather than knuckle under to the Nobel committee.
This is the lesson of the awards to Tibet's Dalai Lama (1989), Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi (1991) and Iran's Shirin Ebadi (2003). "
Let's hope that in case of Liu Xiaobo, things turn out differently, and congratulate the Nobel Laureates!

Best wishes,

Anjali

Central Library IITI on Twitter

Dear All,
Now the Library is on Twitter. All important announcements will be put here, so keep checking the following link:
http://twitter.com/knowledgeforall
The 1st tweet is about the Library Orientation classes to be held on Aug 25 5.30-6.30 p.m. for 1st year students, and Aug 28 10.45-11.45 a.m. for 2nd year students. Everyone is required to attend.

Anjali

The Queen of Crime - Agatha Christie

Dear All,

I am happy to be back here after a long long time. I see that there are 2 new followers. Hello, there! I hope all of you bring your friends too and the group grows.

I have noted your suggestions, and we will get the books suggested by you.

The new sensation in the Library is the Agatha Christie collection, who is known as the Queen of Crime throughout the world. According to HarperCollins, her publisher, she is the most widely published author of all time and in any language, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. In addition to crime novels and short story collections, she has authored 19 plays, and 6 novels under the name of Mary Westmaccott. 'The Mousetrap', her most famous play of all, opened in 1952, and is the longest-running play in history. It is still running at St. Martin's Theatre, London. The shows are at 7.30 p.m. everyday from Monday to Saturday, and also Matinees on Tuesday and Saturday.

My personal favorites from her plays are: 'The Mousetrap' and 'Witness for the Prosecution'. They must be awsome on the stage.
Out of the novels, 'Dead Man's Folly', 'The ABC Murders', 'Why didn' they ask Evans?', 'Cards on the Table', 'Evil under the sun' .. are my favorites. Of course, there are so many more. Many were made into films. I remember watching 'Evil under the sun' , and '4.50 from Paddington' . However, there are so many more.

Both of her famous detectives are very different from the stereotypical detective: Hercule Poirot, the not so young anymore detective, who has a passion for order and method, and prefers to sit and employ his grey cells rather than following footprints in the mud or searching for fingerprints, is very interested in the psychology of the criminal.

The other detective, Miss Marple, is an elderly lady, who seems a fluffy, fluttering kind, but is in fact sharp as a needle, and is always looking for parallels to the personalities from the crime scene from her own experience. Her theory is human nature is the same everywhere.
In addition to the novels and plays, we have her Autobiography. It was published in 1977, a year after her death. Her life seems fascinating, spanning two World Wars. She learnt nursing and worked as a nurse during the war, and her knowledge of nursing is quite obvious from her books. She had been on various archaeological expeditions with her second husband, Max Mallowan, and her knowledge of the subject is reflected in many of her novels. On the whole, her autobiography seems as captivating as her novels.

Bye for now, and see you in the Library Orientation lectures on 25th of August and 28th of August. Check the notice boards on M211 and outside the Library.

Best wishes,

Anjali

Summer Moonshine

Just finished reading 'Summer Moonshine' by P G Wodehouse, one of my favorite authors. I have always felt that he is God's gift to all of us. This book is hilarious. If you have not read it already, grab it, is my advice. See what Lynne Truss has to say about good old Plum:
"You should read Wodehouse when you're well and when you're poorly; when you're travelling, and when you're not; when you're feeling clever, and when you're feeling utterly dim. Wodehouse always lifts your spirits...."

There is a Wodehouse Society in UK which is a treasure trove of information on the author. Check it out at:
http://www.pgwodehousesociety.org.uk

Wodehouse has been criticized by many who think that the world that he depicts in his novels no longer exists and that it is no longer relevant. However, I think that as long as human beings continue to possess a sense of humor, and can appreciate a laugh, a giggle, or a chuckle, dear old Plum would always be relevant, and I sincerely hope that means forever!

Best wishes,

Anjali

Cool Collection!

The new Cool Collection, i.e. books on Literature, Fiction, and some on Philosophy that we have received in the Library has become an instant attraction for the students and Faculty Members. Earlier most of our collection consisted of books on Engineering, and Physics-Chemistry-Mathematics books. The humanities section consisted mostly of books on Economics. It was somewhat dreary, I'll say. (May be not to the subject experts). So actually I am no less happier than the students about these new residents of our library.

We have Shakespeare, Dickens, the Bronte Sisters, Jane Austen, and also contemporaries such as Alice Walker (The Color Purple - ( fabulous book, check it out if you have not read it) ). There are many titles by Ayn Rand. Also present are many Indian celebrities such as Vikram Seth, Arundhati Roy, and Anita Desai.

The dilemma of a Librarian (and especially when one is setting up a library) according to me is that there are so many pressing demands on one's time simultaenously that one hardly gets any time to do what one is really passionate about. I mean, I could go on and on about this cool collection, however, I do remember that there are atleast 10 things that are just waiting for me to finish this already and get on to them.

So more about this in the next. If any of you have read any of the cool collection, please let us have your comments and recommendations.

Best wishes,

Anjali

Good Morning!

Good Morning to all ,

I am very happy to open this channel of communication with our valued users. This is the first step in a series of new initiatives on the part of the Central Library, IIT Indore, to solicit your feedback, comments, and suggestions, so that our quest for knowledge becomes a collaborative enterprise.

With best regards,

Anjali Bandiwadekar,
Deputy Librarian,
IIT Indore