Idle musings

    In the early part of 2026,I read online that the movie director Christopher Nolan was involved in making "The Odyssey" based on the Greek poet Homer's poem. As https://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.com/2004/01/a-beautiful-book-fellowship-of-ring.html and https://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.com/2017/03/my-review-of-name-of-rose-by-umberto-eco.html discuss, I have read books after watching the movies. This time, I was determined not to let that happen. I read Homer's "The Odyssey" first, during my commute to work and back!    On a Saturday, my wife's brother, my wife and I watched the movie in IMAX format. It was a visual and aural treat! During battle scenes and scenes with people, the sound effect was such that our seats reverberated at the sound. It sent my heart racing.     This blog post talks about both, the book and the movie.     The book I read was a translation of the poem in prose form. In the book, the hero is Ulysses; in the movie the her...

 MY FAVOURITE BOOK IN 2025     The end of 2025 is near and 2026 looms large. At work, there is an annual shutdown from 25-Dec-2025 to 31-Dec-2025. It has helped me relax and think about the books I read this year. I have a long commute to work. During the commute, I usually visit X/ Twitter or I read e-books. In 2025, I read a few books like Kafka's "The Trial" and Homer's "Odyssey" (well before the trailer of the movie by Christoper Nolan was launched!).     I have a habit of writing quotes on my whiteboard and sharing them on X/ Twitter, LinkedIn and mobile applications like WhatsApp every Monday. If there is a birthday of a famous person in a particular week, I write quotes by them, though this is not a rule. While searching for a quote, I like to read the original source of the quote to understand the context behind the quote. In the week of Teacher's Day (05-Sep) in India, which commemorates the birth anniversary of India's former President Dr. ...

A couple of months ago, a senior colleague I respect a lot recommended a book for me to read. As an introduction, he said, "The simplicity in the book will lure you into it." He read a few lines from the book to me which are as follows: "About 13.5 billion years ago, matter, energy, time and space came into being in what is known as the Big Bang. The story of these fundamental features of our universe is called physics. About 300,000 years after their appearance, matter and energy started to coalesce into complex structures, called atoms, which then combined into molecules. The story of atoms, molecules and their interactions is called chemistry. About 3.8. billion years ago, on a planet called Earth, certain molecules combined to form particularly large and intricate structures called organisms. The story of organisms is called biology. About 70,000 years ago, organisms belonging to the species Homo sapiens started to form even more elaborate structures called cultures...

A couple of months ago, I finished listening (and reading !) to "Les Misérables", a classic novel written by Victor Hugo, in my commute to and from work in the bus. I ended it with a slight sense of regret that I had missed reading him all these years ! The story is magnificent ! Earlier, I had listened and read "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". That novel was my introduction to Victor Hugo. I like it almost as well as "Les Misérables". This blog post shows my view of these classics. ** NOTE: I have written details of the stories below. If you would like to read the books for yourself, please DON'T read any more of this blog post. ** THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunchback_of_Notre-Dame provides details of the plot and context of the novel. I like the way that the characters like Quasimodo and Esmeralda are described in the novel. Quasimodo is not only a hunchback, but is also partially blind and deaf. Esmer...

It was in 2004 that I purchased the book "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert M. Pirsig. I am a quality assurance professional since 1996 and continue to be extremely interested in my job ! I got to know that Pirsig's book was about quality. Naturally, it made me pick the book up. When I read the book for the first time, I must confess that I quickly skimmed through some of what I thought were the "boring parts" in the book. Since then, I have read the book again a few times. The book has grown on me, particularly the boring parts ! My latest reading started on or around Independence Day in India, i.e. 15-Aug. In the book, Robert Pirsig has described two journeys: one is a physical one, with his son and friends on motorcycles and on feet, hiking in the mountains. The other is a mental one where he explores different attitudes of people and discusses abstract concepts. In my first reading, the physical trip narrated in the book attracted me m...