As Mr. Watts turned around to face us, the book open at the graveyard scene, Daniel stuck up his hand.
‘Yes, Daniel?’ said Mr. Watts.
‘What’s it like to be white?’
Monthly Archives: December 2012
Selling board games for charity (3)
This is simply a final reminder before the year end.
Funds raised so far – EUR65
The games (all in english) being sold are:
(I am only looking for buyers living in Cyprus, preferably Nicosia, and the prices (which are non-negotiable) don’t include any shipping costs.)
1. Power Grid (EUR25) – Very good condition, played 2-3 times.
2. Dominion (EUR35) – box is damaged, cards in excellent condition.
3. Here I Stand (EUR40) – Like new, never been played. Cards are sleeved.
4. Forbidden Island (EUR10) – Like new.
5. Castle Ravenloft (EUR40) – Very good condition. Cards are sleeved.
6. Carcassonne: Inns & Cathedrals (EUR5) – Very good condition (expansion)
7. Carcassonne: Traders & Builders (EUR5) – Very good condition (expansion)
8. Carcassonne (base game) (EUR15) – Good condition. This can only be purchased together with the above two expansions.
9. Bohnanza (EUR15) – Like new.
Brideshead Revisited
“There is proverbially a mystery among most men of new wealth, how they made their first ten thousand; it is the qualities they showed then, before they became bullies, when every man was someone to be placated, when only hope sustained them and they could count on nothing from the world but what could be charmed from it, that make them; if they survive their triumph, successful with women.”
The joy of gift giving
Christmas presents shopping done. I always try and get everything by the end of November. Most of the shopping i do online but also some locally.
I know we are supposed to be austere when it comes to spending but i can’t help it. I enjoy buying presents. It’s also remarkable what you can buy even on a very tight budget, with great presents ranging from EUR5-EUR15.
I love the gifting process. I spend hours thinking of the right present to give to the right person as i try to visualize how the person will react to it. Not so much at the time the present is actually unwrapped but how it is treated and enjoyed days, weeks and even years after that.
Of course there are times when the gift is not a success. A book which is never read. A board game that is never played. But this makes me even more determined to get it right next time. A gift should ideally be representative of the giver and something which the recipient truly appreciates.
I experiment every now and then with gifts which may open people’s eyes or open doors to new experiences. Presents that they would never have bought for themselves. But if it’s not happening then i am not insulted or anything. I don’t take myself that seriously. It just means that the gift was wrong and there are so many other options to try next.
The giving of presents should of course aim to make people happier. Even just for those few minutes. Ultimately though, it forces us to get a better understanding of the people we are giving the presents to. What their interests and hobbies are. To listen to their desires and needs all year round. I’d like to believe that’s what they mean by “it’s the thought that counts” .
Merry Christmas!
Books in 2013
Following last week’s book stats eye opening exercise i have made the following mini resolutions for the year 2013:
- Read more female writers (>30%)
- Read more international writers (>30%)
- Choose a book with friend, read it at approximately the same pace and discuss it on a regular basis. A mini-book club.
- Listen to at least 3-5 audiobooks.
- Ask at least one friend to choose a book for me to read. Preferably something outside my comfort zone.
- Re-read at least 1 book
Is anyone else setting some reading resolutions for 2013?
Books in 2012
2012 been an excellent year for books even when compared to 2011 which was a very good year. I’ve been fortunate to read quite a few magnificent books, mostly fiction. Some i would even consider for my personal lifetime top 10 list. I have also managed to re-read two books which was a wonderful experience and it’s something I’d like to do more often.
I registered to Goodreads along with some friends who are also bookworms and it has encouraged me to read even more and also find out about books i would not have noticed otherwise.
My hope and wish for 2013 is to read the same book at the same as a friend of mine and exchange views during the course of our reading.
Must read
- The Sense of an Ending, by Julian Barnes – How i loved this book. I read it while listening to the audiobook and it was magical. It will make you question how you see your past, present and future.
- The Way We Live Now, by Anthony Trollope – Again, similarly to The Sense of an Ending, this book blew me away. The writing is magnificent and different from what i am used to. One of the best books i’ve ever read.
- When Nietzsche Wept, by Irvin D.Yalom (re-read) – I first read this in the summer of 2003 and it had a tremendous impact on me. It was with trepidation that i decided to start re-reading it as i was afraid of being disappointed the second time. But it was even more powerful this time and helped me through a hard time, for a second time in my life.
These two books below are my must read non-fiction books of 2012. Both are short but what they lack in length they make up for it with the spirit in which they were written. Two truly inspirational books.
The final two books are not in the same league as the ones above, but they were so entertaining while i read them that i decided to include them in the must read section.
Highly recommended
- The Black Dahlia, by James Ellroy
- American Tabloid, by James Ellroy
- Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
- Operation Mincemeat, by Ben Macintyre
- The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rules, by Richard Mcgregor
- With The Old Breed, by Eugene B. Sledge
- Fermat’s Last Theorem, by Simon Singh
Recommended
- Hard Boiled Wonderland and The End of The World, by Haruki Murakami
- Snowdrops, by A.D. Miller
- A Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin
- Black Dogs, by Ian McEwan
- 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey
- Burnt Shadows, by Kamila Shamsie
Not recommended
- How to be good, by Nick Hornby (audiobook)
- The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
- How we decide, by Jonah Lehrer (re-read – audiobook)
- What the dog saw, by Malcolm Gladwell
Avoid
- The Venus Fix, by M.J. Rose
- Battle Royale, by Koushun Takami
Burnt Shadows
“He missed women, though he’d hardly ever thought of them as being a significant presence in his life.”
Hansa Teutonica – board game
Last week i posted my top 10 games of 2012. It seems the post was a week too early as i would have included Hansa Teutonica on that list. At least in the top 3 spots, if not higher.
After 3 plays this is one of the best euro games i have played, not just this year, but ever. It’s certainly on par with Puerto Rico and Caylus.
It plays fast (i.e. 60mins) and i have played it with a relatively slow group and the time is indeed accurate. So you can easily play two very satisfying games back to back in one night. Also the individual turns are quick because players don’t have that many actions/activities to do. So, you have enough time to plan your turn but not too much downtime.
There are so many ways to play and win this game. Just messing around with the different strategies is fun in it’s own right. This is something i don’t see very often. Of course that could change once we play it some more.
The mechanics are not complicated. Although there are many ways to score points, in fact we made a few mistakes when we played it, it’s easy to understand once you have a few games under your belt.
I was in a hurry when i read the rules of Hansa Teutonica and i did not explain it as well as i would have liked. However, i think this game can be taught to more casual gamers who are up for something more challenging. It plays very well with 4 (which is the number i played it with) and I’ve heard that it’s best with 5.
I’ve already ordered the expansion map as i know this game will see a lot of table time. It’s just a great, great game and i can’t wait to play it over the holidays.
Watch Tom Vasel’s review here to get an idea of how the game is played.
“The key to the uniqueness of Hansa T. is the direct player interaction. Many Eurogames have some level of conflict, but it is usually costly to the attacker, punishing to the defender, and generally intended to be a last resort or a suboptimal strategy. In Hansa Teutonica it is actually beneficial to be “attacked.” There is some cost to the attacker, but it is not inhibitive. More importantly, though, the compensation to the player who was attacked is substantial. Players often spend their entire turns trying to get in each others way, hoping to be knocked aside. The net result is a Eurogame with far more interaction, tension, and adrenaline than any other that I have played.”
Books in 2012 – the stats
I was preparing the post for Books in 2012 review and i started writing down some interesting stats for the first time. Then i thought it would be a good post on its own. I read a total of 26 books, compared to 15 in 2011.
Fiction 65% (17) Vs Non-fiction (9) 35%
As far as the fiction and non-fiction decision is concerned this is primarily based on my mood and it is not something I’d like to forcefully change although i’d like to keep this ratio to at least 70-30 either way.
2011 – Fiction 60% (9) and Non-Fiction 40% (6)
Male writers 92% (24) Vs Female writers (2) 8%
However, i definitely want to read more books written by female writers. To be honest i had not realised that i had ignored them in my reading, by such an extent. This was the most surprising stat to come out of this exercise.
2011 – Male 93% (14) and 7% Female (1)
Anglo-Saxon writers 81% (21) Vs Other Nationalities writers 19% (5)
The nationalities of the writers is a similar situation with the gender stat but it is not as bad. The bias towards Ango/Saxon writers is very clear. In other years my reading was a more international affair.
US – 12
UK – 7
Australian – 2
Japanese – 2
Austrian – 1
French – 1
Pakistani – 1
2011 – Anglo/Saxon 87% (13) and Other 13% (2)
Electronic 50% (13) Vs Paperbacks 42% (11) Vs Audiobooks 8% (2)
This is the final one and there are two interesting things here with one being misleading. The trend to e-books is clear but not the extent as the stat of 42% of books read in the paperback format indicates. This was because of my deliberate bias towards the unread physical books in my backlog in order to give them away. So i expect this to fall significantly in 2013. The more interesting stat however is the 8% of audiobooks. Especially as one of the 2 books i read was only in the audiobooks format. Again, i want to try a few more before i make the decision to stick with this format or not.
2011 – Ebooks 93% (14), Paperback 7% (1) and Audiobooks 0% (0)
Burnt Shadows
“Why have the English remained so English? Throughout India’s history conquerors have come from elsewhere, and all of them – Turk, Arab, Hun, Mongol, Persian – have become Indian. If – when – this Pakistan happens, those Muslims who leave Delhi and Lucknow and Hyderabad to go there, they will be leaving their homes. But when the English leave, they’ll be going home.”
Sajjad Ali Ashraf
Incoherent Thoughts 