21, Male, New Delhi

[setonfire]

A Big Hello to all here. Have been a member for a long time now but haven't posted yet. Always kept postponing it in order to make a good opening. Finally today I decided something - I will be myself, no point in trying to impress. If I fixate on a perfect first post, its never gonna come. Right Chris?

I am a student of History at St. Stephen's College, New Delhi. Reading is something I'm addicted to. Well addicted doesn't mean I've read a lot I'm really amazed by some members here. I mean are you supermen/superwomen? How can you read so much? Anyways you all are my idols. History requires a lot of reading and our professors really make us work. Reading makes me become sane after visiting the mental asylum called history. I read just about anything that people suggest me. I have a few friends doing English Honours who suggest me authors and books. Recently somebody suggested me Dean Koontz's Velocity. Brilliant book, the author really brings the plot alive...I'm digressing here, gotta concentrate

Well New Delhi is a great place to be. Any of you who have been here would know that. Going for a drive at 3 in the night is something I really love. Actually I'm from another place which is wonderful in its own way. Its Mussoorie in Uttaranchal. Up in the Himalayas, close to God, if such an entity exists.

I want to be a government ambassador some day. Visting new countries, meeting new people, learning about different cultures is my passion. My reading habit reflects that. I try to read a variety of authors from different countries, even if away from the mainstream.

I will not be able to contribute much to the discussions here but I will try. Looking forward to a fruitful time with you all here.

Bye for now.

[Ophelia]

Hello Setonfire, and welcome to BT as a posting member!

As you may know we're interested in and curious about our "lurkers". I hope more of them will follow your example.

Also I am personally very interested in attracting members from other parts of the world, people like you can add in their perspective and viewpoint: even if you do not start with complex philosophical issues, I hope you will go on posting, beginning with what appeals to you most.

About the amount of reading people do, I can't speak for other people, but this is what I can say about myself: when I am really interested in something, fiction or non-fiction, I can read very quickly. This is not necessarily always an advantage, as I come to the end of a good book too quickly and it makes the hobby expensive.
Also, to put things into perspective, while I was a student the amount of personal reading I did was close to zero: I was really kept busy by doing the reading professors set for us and then writing papers about it.

You mention that you study history; this is something I'm extremely interested in, as this was my second favourite subject, after English, when I was a student.

I had an amazing history teacher in my first year at College in Versailles.
One of the many things I remember from her is that she had very strong political views, which she didn't mention as such, but she always made sure that she presented different analyses of a particular topic by explaining which was "right-wing" and which was "left-wing".
This opened new vistas for me: in high school history was just history, and I thought it was studying facts as in physics or geology.
I suppose there must be other ways of analysing history than just through political lenses, but it was extremely important for me to be shown that it was not just a matter of facts, and that nothing was neutral about teaching history.

How about you? What are your favourite periods in history?
What is it about history that makes it seem a "mental asylum" to you?
How do your professors analyse the subjects?

[Penelope]

How can you read so much?

I have read so much because I am so old, Setonfire!

[setonfire]

Ophelia,
Well I too had a similar view of history when in school. History is taught in college with an entirely different approach. Its not mere facts and events. A lot of analysis and examination of various perspectives. I am in third year of my 3 year undergraduate course. I have Modern Europe, History of China and Japan, Mughal and Modern India as my subjects. We have 5 professors and each one has a different approach. The are two professors for Modern India; one deals with economic history, rest taken care of by the other. These two focus on the different schools of history. The one who teaches us economic history focuses on the Marxist interpretation and the other one on the subaltern aspect.
History of China and Japan has very little historiography and is pretty much straight forward.
Ophelia maybe I should have used a better word in place of mental asylum. I meant that after a whole lot of history readings, taking out some time to read other stuff is a good break.

Penelope,
That means I have some more time But I got to really improve my speed. There's so much to read!

[jales4]

Hi setonfire,

I enjoy history on an amateur level. I started out with local history, moved into Canadian history, and have just begun reading about ancient history.

Two books that I have been trying to start are "Ideas A History From Fire to Freud" by Peter Watson and "A History of God" by Karen Armstrong.

When reading books like this I to be able to read for half an hour or so without interuption. Hard to do with teenagers and a husband.

I get about one week a month when everyones shifts and schedules give me an afternoons at home alone.

Welcome to BookTalk! Jan.

[Penelope]

Jales: Yes, at some stages in life, it is difficult to find the time to read with concentration. Fortunately, I get some times now when I can totally absorb myself in more demanding books than I have been used to.

This is fortuitous because my front tooth came out yesterday evening whilst I was cleaning my teeth - and instead of going to sleep feeling depressed about it......I lay and thought about the difference between Colonialism and Imperialism - thanks to Ophelia

[Loricat]

Ophelia says:

when I am really interested in something, fiction or non-fiction, I can read very quickly. This is not necessarily always an advantage, as I come to the end of a good book too quickly and it makes the hobby expensive.

Oh! True words!! Another disadvantage is that I find when I try to read slowly, I get bogged down in the deeper meaning, and will not finish a book.

Anyway, Setonfire -- welcome to the world of posting. No reason to be shy here, everyone is quite friendly.

[Chris OConnor]

Well, you finally did it. You've introduced yourself. And you've done a fantastic job of it too. Welcome to BookTalk.

I feel silly saying this but I know absolutely nothing about New Delhi. What makes your 3:00 am drive so amazing? I've love to hear more about your life in New Delhi.