Sunday, August 03, 2008
Blurbing an epic
It is often said that Indians don't have a flair for marketing. A line in the first parva of the great Indian epic - The Mahabharata, suggests that our forbears had a genius for advertising that would be envied by many a book publisher today. Here it is -
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It is often said that Indians don't have a flair for marketing. A line in the first parva of the great Indian epic - The Mahabharata, suggests that our forbears had a genius for advertising that would be envied by many a book publisher today. Here it is -
"What is found here, may be found elsewhere. What is not found here, will not be found elsewhere."What a way to blurb a book! You just have to pick up the book after reading this most extraordinary advertisement :)
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Strange
Ever wondered why so many publishing houses are named after Birds? Heron, Penguin, Bantam, Pelican......
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Ever wondered why so many publishing houses are named after Birds? Heron, Penguin, Bantam, Pelican......
Labels: books
Saturday, August 13, 2005
THE EARLY WODEHOUSE
Was reading Robert McCrum's much acclaimed biography of PG Wodehouse.
Accounts of Plum's brief career in the bank and his travails as a freelance writer are very revealing. Some of the snippents extracted from Plum's By-the-Way column in The Globe 'seem stiff and unfunny' and are a far cry from the virtuoso Jeeves and Blandings novels of the thirties and forties.
Take for instance this piece from one of his columns in the Globe:
Herr Nyman, a poet of the young Finnish School, has been expelled from the native town by the Russian authorities. Their idea is to make him a young Finished poet.
or this:
After forty-six years the widow of an Indian mutiny veteran has just obtained her husband's share of the Lucknow prize money. He was in Lucknow; she is in luck now.
Funny, but seems as though the young Wodehouse was trying too hard to make an impression.
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Was reading Robert McCrum's much acclaimed biography of PG Wodehouse.
Accounts of Plum's brief career in the bank and his travails as a freelance writer are very revealing. Some of the snippents extracted from Plum's By-the-Way column in The Globe 'seem stiff and unfunny' and are a far cry from the virtuoso Jeeves and Blandings novels of the thirties and forties.
Take for instance this piece from one of his columns in the Globe:
Herr Nyman, a poet of the young Finnish School, has been expelled from the native town by the Russian authorities. Their idea is to make him a young Finished poet.
or this:
After forty-six years the widow of an Indian mutiny veteran has just obtained her husband's share of the Lucknow prize money. He was in Lucknow; she is in luck now.
Funny, but seems as though the young Wodehouse was trying too hard to make an impression.
Labels: books
Friday, June 03, 2005
BOOK TAG
Smitten by the meme which originated at Yazad's place.Though no one has tagged me as yet, I am posting my list to relieve the boredom :
Total number of books I own
Close to 500.
Last Book I Bought:
Galahad at Blandings
Last Book I read
The Complete Yes Prime Minister - By Jonathan Lynn and Anthony Jay
Five Books That Mean a Lot to Me:
1. To Kill a MockingBird
An exquisite book. Atticus Finch's address to the jury is the most moving piece of prose I've ever read.
2. The Best and the Brightest
This tome by David Halberstam on the Vietnam War fiasco stands out for its detailed charecter portrayal. Not even in my wildest of dreams could I have imagined people as bright as McNamara and Bundy!
3. Leave it to Psmith
Read it.I shall say no more.
4. India - A wounded civilization
This book ought to be read by every Indian who wants to know all that is wrong with this country.
5. The Valley of Fear
Vintage Holmes.'I am Birdy Edwards' shall forever remain etched in my memory.
Tag five people and have them do this on their blogs:
Sukumar
Zing
Rohit Kaul
Venkat
Deepak
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Smitten by the meme which originated at Yazad's place.Though no one has tagged me as yet, I am posting my list to relieve the boredom :
Total number of books I own
Close to 500.
Last Book I Bought:
Galahad at Blandings
Last Book I read
The Complete Yes Prime Minister - By Jonathan Lynn and Anthony Jay
Five Books That Mean a Lot to Me:
1. To Kill a MockingBird
An exquisite book. Atticus Finch's address to the jury is the most moving piece of prose I've ever read.
2. The Best and the Brightest
This tome by David Halberstam on the Vietnam War fiasco stands out for its detailed charecter portrayal. Not even in my wildest of dreams could I have imagined people as bright as McNamara and Bundy!
3. Leave it to Psmith
Read it.I shall say no more.
4. India - A wounded civilization
This book ought to be read by every Indian who wants to know all that is wrong with this country.
5. The Valley of Fear
Vintage Holmes.'I am Birdy Edwards' shall forever remain etched in my memory.
Tag five people and have them do this on their blogs:
Sukumar
Zing
Rohit Kaul
Venkat
Deepak
Labels: books
