My Random Rants

Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality imagines Harry Potter having an Oxford professor(something related to oxford) as a foster parent rather than the Dursleys. He also reads Science Fiction. Harry as a result of this upbringing learns to question everything. When he gets an invitation from Hogwarts he applies logic, deduction and what not to the magical universe. He asks a lot of questions that I did at the time. Why do the wand movements, the enunciation of the spells matter so much? Why does everything to do with magic have to be so precise, so measured? It takes a lot of the concepts of Harry Potter and twists them around. Time Travel, the nature of magic, spells are all dissected. Along the way the Stanford Prison Experiment, reasoning from negatives all find their way. If you a are a quidditch fan(which includes me) be ready to have it crumpled up and thrown into a waste paper basket. A fantastic read. Download the book here (It is fanfiction so no legal issues)

The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway is a beautiful novel. Its a quick read but also a deeply moving one. This book concerns itself with the time when the city of Sarajevo was under Siege, when crossing the street was a life or death thing(Some might argue that it always is :) ). There is a square in the town which was shelled as a result of which 22 people died(Not a very large number in the context of things). A cellist decides to play in the square for 22 days as a tribute to the 22 who died and each day he plays a piece called Adagio.(Hear the piece, then read the novel) There is really nothing more I can really write but I think it suffices to say that this is the best novel that I have read in a long time. You can buy The Cellist of Sarajevo here .

I liked the tales of Beedle the Bard. These are essentially fables for wizarding kids although muggles such as me who are well versed with the world of Harry Potter can enjoy them too. The stories themselves seem simple, almost childish but it is Albus Dumbledore's expert commentary which makes reading it truly worthwhile. A quote from the book. Humans have the knack of choosing things which are precisely the worst for them :). A nice quick read. A must for fans of Harry Potter. Incidentally I read Beedle the Bard while waiting for my sis at the airport :)