(4) Facebook rants to make you think about bad English vs good English (11-15)

•  A question on usage from my good friend and former Khaleej Times colleague:
  
  Ajith Varma I am enjoying your rants, sometimes a bit late, but, nevertheless do not miss it, and try to correct myself. I am a little confused about the usage, 'having said that', which I have often heard, specially during a speech, but could not effectively use in my own conversations during a meeting. I like that usage, but do not know if only Indians say so, and if its proper to use. Could you please throw some light on that and give us a few examples, through one of your forthcoming rants? Regards
  November 19 at 4:34pm
  
   
  Ramesh Prabhu
  

  You can use "having said that" at the beginning of a sentence to perhaps soften the impact of what you have said in your previous sentence.
  
  For example, a media critic might say, "I hate what The Times of India management has done to journalism in this country with its marketing tactics. Having said that, I must admit I have nothing but respect for ToI's journalists."
  
  Here's a usage note from UsingEnglish.com:
  
  By Davy B.C.N.
  "Having said that" is a linking phrase or conjunction which people use in different ways to join two clauses. It is quite general and can be used to replace other conjunctions, but I tend to use it when I want to put the opposite view or qualify what I said in the first clause. It is better used at the beginning when the second clause is a new sentence.
  
  I love teaching English. However/Having said that/On the other hand, students can be annoying!
  
  London is a very expensive city. Having said that/Nevertheless I love living there.

  
  

  November 19 at 6:32pm ·

   
  •  
    Ajith Varma Thank you Ramesh. Great, i got it. Its a powerful conjunction if used appropriately. There are a few more like this, which I need to know. When it bothers i will come to you. Having said that, I wouldnt even mind to barge into your classroom, on the sly, conveniently forgetting my age and qualification, as it would be a fantastic experience!!!
    

    
    

    November 19 at 6:36pm

    
    

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    Ramesh Prabhu Rant No. 11: Strapline in Bangalore Mirror: "After clinching India's second gold, Bajarang Lal hopes that government will now come to the aide of rowers". Do BM subs not know the difference between "aide" and "aid"? And do they not know the difference between "prostrate" and "prostate"? A story about prostate enlargement problems referred to the gland as the "prostrate" in the headline, photo caption, text.

    November 22 at 11:05am

    
    

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      Asif Ullah Khan likes this.
      
      

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      Ramesh Prabhu Rant No. 12: Why do we say "bored of (something)" when we should say "bored with (something)"?

      
      

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      Ramesh Prabhu Rant No. 13: Why do we write "(sound) byte" when it should be "(sound) bite"?
      
      UNACCEPTABLE: "Basu makes literary reporting easy — when you meet him, he converses in convenient bytes." Interview/review, Page 58, Tehelka, Nov. 20
      
      ACCEPTABLE: "It might take decades before mankind's overactive output of text has been converted into bytes." Article on e-book readers, Page 50, Tehelka, Nov. 20

      November 24 at 10:31am

      
      

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        Sneha Abraham likes this.
        
        

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        Ramesh Prabhu Rant No. 14: Why do we write "upliftment (of society)" when it should be "uplift (of society)"?

        November 25 at 10:30am 

        
        
        

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          Sheela Bhat and Sneha Abraham like this.
        • •  
            Suthan Kokila Hey Ramesh,
            

            I enjoy your rants.... please publish the whole collection in a book form. I will be the first to buy it.
            

            November 25 at 5:11pm ·
          •  
            Suthan Kokila correction.. publish a book (not book form... LOL)
            

            
            

            November 25 at 5:12pm ·
          •  
            Patrick Michael
            

            Why do we say Held Talks" - “The President and the British Prime Minister held talks at the White House.” Here's one good argument I read and I agree with it:
            
            "When you and your co-workers gather in the conference room, are you “holding talks”? When you call someone into your office, is it to “hold talks”? And when you can’t get in to see the boss, does his secretary say he’s “holding talks?” A meeting is a meeting is a meeting. People meet. Even in the White House."
            Amen to that.

            
            

            November 25 at 6:06pm

    
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    Ramesh Prabhu Rant No. 15: Why don't we know the difference between alternate/alternately and alternative/alternatively? Here is a DNA announcement from the After Hrs. section: "Foodscape and Barcode will now appear alternatively every Thursday". Shouldn't that be "alternately"? 
    November 26 at 12:36pm

(3) Facebook rants to make you think about bad English vs good English (9-10)

Ramesh Prabhu Rant No. 9: When are we going to realise that "ofcourse, atleast, inspite, infact, incase" are TWO words? Today's ToI has "infact" in the lead story in the business section.

November 18 at 10:41am

• Varun Chhabria, Sijo John and Bala Murali Krishna like this.

• Shiv Sujir Of course it will take people at least some time to get it because a large per cent don't even realise their mistake. In fact, many of them make these mistakes in spite of knowing them. November 18 at 10:57am 

Saurav Sen As many would say, the situation on the ground is "much more worse"! :-)

November 18 at 12:30pm 

Patrick Michael And when are we going to make out the difference between its and it's. A very common error among many journalists in spite of repeated reminders. Of course, they always know better, or at least they think they do. In fact, I've given up asking them to correct it. I just do it myself.

November 18 at 4:53pm 

Ramesh Prabhu How right you are, Pat. That was going to be one of my rants.

November 18 at 4:54pm 

Saurav Sen ‎@Patrick: Bingo. Asking a candidate to frame a sentence each with its and it's...is the very first question i have always asked a candidate. And I do feel like keeping a chunk of wall on the table to hit my head against!

November 18 at 4:54pm 

Patrick Michael

While we are at it, more words that bug most. Amid, Amidst. What's the difference? The other words is estranged. Ever heard of a couple who are living apart say they are estranged?? Strange are the words we use.
Again, Hospitalized - Bathrooms get sanitized. Shirts get Martinized. People do not get hospitalized. They’re in the hospital!!!!

November 18 at 5:26pm 

Suthan Kokila not withstanding, paradigm shift .....

November 18 at 6:46pm  

Ramesh Prabhu

Pat: Both 'amid' and 'amidst' have the same meaning, but, to my ears, 'amid' sounds modern, 'amidst' sounds archaic. That is why the style sheet of our college newspaper, Your Opinion, recommends 'amid'. Similarly I prefer 'among', not 'amongst'; 'while', not 'whilst'; 'between', not 'betwixt'.

I didn't get the example you have given for 'estranged'. A couple living apart because they can't stand each other or because they have quarrelled may be said to have become 'estranged'.

Here's a definition and example from Dictionary.com:

to turn away in feeling or affection; make unfriendly or hostile; alienate the affections of: Their quarrel estranged the two friends.

As for 'hospitalize', I know where you're coming from, but this word is in all standard dictionaries and has now become acceptable in formal writing, whether we like it or not.

Here's a definition and example from Dictionary.com. Also check out the 'origin' bit:

–verb (used with object), -ized, -iz·ing.
to place in a hospital for medical care or observation: The doctor hospitalized grandfather as soon as she checked his heart.

Also, especially British, hos·pi·tal·ise.

Origin:
1900–05; hospital + -ize

—Related forms
re·hos·pi·tal·ize, verb (used with object), -ized, -iz·ing.
un·hos·pi·tal·ized, adjective

November 19 at 10:36am 

Ramesh Prabhu

Kokila: 'Notwithstanding' can usually be replaced by 'despite' or 'in spite of'. Here's a usage note from Dictionary.com:

'Notwithstanding', 'despite', 'in spite of' imply that something is true even though there are obstacles or opposing conditions. The three expressions may be used practically interchangeably. 'Notwithstanding' suggests, however, a hindrance of some kind: Notwithstanding the long delay, I shall still go. 'Despite' indicates that there is an active opposition: Despite procrastination and disorganization, they finished the project. 'In spite of' implies meeting strong opposing forces or circumstances that must be taken into account: She succeeded in spite of many discouragements.

As for 'paradigm shift', this cockamamie expression is a gift to us from the jargon-loving IT industry. I don't allow it in the college newspaper.See More

November 19 at 10:44am 

Suthan Kokila Yup. Good stuff. Your rants have made me sit up and watch the words I use. It's also the only time I have made an effort to look at my FB page ... and comment! :-)

November 25 at 5:20pm

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Ramesh Prabhu Rant No. 10: What's with "wee hours"? In two related stories on Page 1 of DNA today, H.M. Chaithanya Swamy writes about an accident that happened "in the wee hours of Wednesday". Mr Swamy, please read "Indlish", by Jyoti Sanyal — scroll down this post to learn why you should not use words and expressions from pre-Victorian literature in a news report. November 19 at 10:52am

Dipankar Paul Mr Swamy's English maybe alright if people read this and find no errors! :P

November 19 at 12:01pm

Ramesh Prabhu ‎"Alright" and "may be/maybe" are going to be upcoming rants, Deep. Thanks!

November 19 at 3:14pm

An excellent example of an interview-based local feature

Commitscion Dipankar Paul (Class of 2009), who was also a co-editor of the college newspaper, recently interviewed Christel DeHaan, the founder of Christel House International, a network of schools in four continents. (Dipankar, a copy editor with India Syndicate, which produces MSN India's content, has taken all the photographs, too.)

The interview is up on the MSN website: "When poverty met Christel DeHaan, and lost".

Isn't that a great headline?

And read that intro (first two paragraphs) again to see how well-written it is, how it complements the photograph placed above it, and how it leads up to the crux of the story in the next three paragraphs.

And also study the transitions in the paragraphs below — don't they work perfectly? 

DeHaan selects the principals of each school herself. She has promised to bear all administrative costs for the rest of her life. She has pledged her $4.3 million home to Christel House after her death.

"I feel blessed to be able to make a difference in the lives of so many children," she says. "The childhood I had was tough."

Tough does not convey half the story. DeHaan was born in Germany at the height of Nazi power. While Hitler was stomping all over Europe, her father, a German soldier, was killed in an American bombing raid.

DeHaan was raised in the ruins of post-War Germany by her mother. "My mother was my inspiration: I have learnt so much from her," she says.

Even though they were living in a time of need, "there was always place at the table. The neighbourhood children would often share our food." DeHaan says her mother never let her feel they were deprived.

And this, DeHaan says, is what brought her to what she does today. She had always wanted to help people, but it was an epiphanic trip to a children's home in Mexico in 1998 that made her realise how to.

In fact, the transitions throughout the article work beautifully. Well done, Dipankar!

DIPANKAR PAUL MAKING A PRESENTATION WHILE AT COMMITS.

• UPDATE (September 5, 2013): Mark Nichol, the editor of the excellent Daily Writing Tips blog, has put together some helpful guidelines for those who want to know how to prepare for an interview and do a good job of it: "10 Interviewing Tips and Techniques".

• UPDATE (October 20, 2013): Read this useful post by my favourite blogger, Maria Popova: "What makes a great interview". 

• UPDATE (December 2, 2013): In Mint Lounge today, Pavitra Jayaraman conjures up an accomplished feature on a regular Bangalore event: the Thursday mass at the city's Infant Jesus shrine. Read it here to understand how to extract the extraordinary from the seemingly ordinary: "Bangalore Bhath".

The awe-inspiring story of India's first paraplegic major-general

Sixteen years ago he was part of a crack team in Kashmir sent to rescue women taken by the Lashkar-e-Toiba as sex slaves.

He recounts killing two terrorists. The third fell face up. “I thought he was dead, but he fired,” he says. “The shot went through my abdomen, my intestines spilled out and my spine broke. I knew I would never walk again. Yet, I shot him dead.” He refused to be evacuated till the encounter was over, sustaining himself on self-administered intravenous drips. He was later awarded the Kirti Chakra.

When we seem to be beset on all sides by stories of rampant corruption at the highest levels of politics and business, this saga in The Week of the unflappable Major-General S.K. Razdan is so awe-inspiring. It serves, perhaps, as a reminder of the triumph of the human spirit. It also reinforces our belief that "positive thinking" works; it's not just a concept.

COURAGE PERSONIFIED: Major-General S.K. Razdan

One year after he was shot, Razdan went back to work. Rekha Dixit, who met Razdan in New Delhi for this profile in The Week, writes:

The general has a demanding career, he often returns by 8:30 p.m. “Fortunately, the Army preferred to see the skills I have instead of the disability,” he says. He is now assistant chief of the Integrated Defence Staff.  His speciality is counterinsurgency.

At work, the biggest challenge is to perform like others; he hates sympathy. “I am lucky I have not received help I didn’t want,” he says. The Vishisht Seva Medal he received last year is testimony to his professionalism.

And take a look at his morning schedule:

Razdan’s day starts early; he does his ablutions without help, then exercises. The self-designed regime includes push-ups, stretches and a session on a self-made pulley-operated gym. In the sunny front yard, Razdan demonstrates his exercises, pulling off his sweatshirt to reveal enviable biceps.

The paragraph continues:

At this moment, his wife, Manju, steps out. “Arrey, what are you doing? Are you Salman Khan?” she says, taking in the scene. “Salman Khan, wow, let me have a glimpse, too,” giggles a neighbour from the balcony upstairs. Manju is in a hurry; she has to run several chores. Razdan reluctantly puts back his shirt. “I will take her to the bank and then we will continue,” he says. He wheels himself to the car shed and shifts without assistance from wheelchair to the driver’s seat. “It is important to know driving,” says Manju. “If I could, I wouldn’t be so dependent on him.”

This is a feel-good story like no other that I have read in recent times.

You can read the profile in full here: "Generally speaking".

PS: The magazine has some heart-warming pictures of Major-General S.K. Razdan that are not on the website.

• Photo courtesy: The Week

If you want to understand the "spectrum scam tapes" controversy fully...

...read these stories on the Outlook website:

Preview The 2G Tapes A petition before the Supreme Courts shows the rot within. It is not just the 2G Spectrum but the entire Republic of India that seems to be up for sale, with the dealers being a group of powerful telemarketers — corporate houses, lobbyists, bureaucrats and journalists

2G Spectrum Scam The Raja-Radia Tapes Four transcripts that were submitted to the SC along with a total of eight recordings in May 2009 covering the cabinet formation, DMK politics and who'd get telecom portfolio

2G Spectrum Scam The Kanimozhi-Radia Tapes The conversations with M.Karunanidhi's daughter M. Kanimozhi about keeping Dayanidhi Maran out from negotiations with the Congress and to get the telecom portfolio for A. Raja

2G Spectrum Scam The Vir Sanghvi- Niira Radia Tapes In these Radia wants Sanghvi to tell the Congress not to negotiate with Dayanidhi Maran. He tells her that while he has been meeting Rahul and can't "get into Sonia in the short term" he would "try and get through to Ahmed"

2G Spectrum Scam Audio The Ratan Tata, Barkha Dutt & Other Tapes Recordings of conversations with the likes of Ratan Tata, Ranjan Bhattacharya, Barkha Dutt, Shankar Aiyar, Sunil Arora, etc. Also read: NDTV's response to article in Open magazine Outlook editor Krishna Prasad, writing on his blog sans serif, explains why the magazine did not air the Niira Radia tapes Vir Sanghvi responds to the Radia tapes On NDTV: Barkha Dutt, other editors on the Radia tapes  Rajdeep Sardesai on the controversy: "A sting in the tale". The New York Times on the controversy: "A Journalist in India Ends Up in the Headlines". 'It should be clear that the real story is about the collusion of business and politics' For the most level-headed response to what some are now referring to as "Radigate", read Salil Tripathi's column in Mint. Excerpts: After you read the transcripts printed in the magazines Open or Outlook and listen to the recordings of the astonishing and entertaining conversations between the formidable lobbyist Niira Radia and some of India’s leading businesspeople, politicians and journalists, it should be clear that the real story is about the collusion of business and politics. Journalists who appear larger than life in their media profile play a small part here — as willing go-betweens, ferrying messages between politicians at Radia’s (and in effect her powerful corporate clients’) request. That isn’t illegal, nor is it necessarily corrupt. But it shows careless judgment and weakens the media’s credibility. *** Dutt and Sanghvi are right; journalists do have to meet all sorts of people, and cultivating contacts and relationships is an essential requirement. Stay too aloof, and stories dry up; but get too close, and you lose perspective. When contacts become friends, lines get blurred. Maintaining access with the powerful does not mean doing away with propriety. Upright judges think before accepting invitations. They know that it is silly to get close to corporate lobbyists and others who might appear in cases before them as litigants. Journalists are no exception. Credibility is the profession’s sole currency. They must listen to all views — but they must also challenge all views.  Read Tripathi's column in its entirety here: "Over the thin red line". Media students — and not a few journalists — can learn much about journalism and journalistic values by reading this piece. "Not so long ago, inside newsrooms, we'd describe these stories as 'plants'. Today, these stories sometimes go under the garb of 'breaking news'." Indrajit Gupta, the editor of Forbes India, writing on his blog, says it's the self-imposed need to hurtle from one sensational story to another that puts journalists at the mercy of spin doctors and lobbyists. An excerpt: At one level, the tapes expose something I’ve suspected for a long time: the level of dependence journalists have developed for a regular supply of “stories” from public relations firms and corporate lobbyists. Not so long ago, inside newsrooms, we'd describe these stories as "plants". Today, these stories sometimes go under the garb of "breaking news". The question to ask is: why are newsrooms indeed under so much pressure to let down their guard? The simplistic answer is that covering contemporary issues in business and policy has indeed become a lot more complex. Any good journalist covering the Reliance gas court case would know just how hard it had become to sift the facts from the slanted and often one-sided views put out by spin doctors from both sides. In that cross-fire, it wasn’t easy to keep your focus on independent, unbiased reporting. Especially when with an explosion of news channels and print publications in the past five years, there is pressure on every publication to outdo the other to "break" stories. Read Gupta's blog post here: "Journalism's Achilles Heel".

(2) Facebook rants to make you think about bad English vs good English (6-8)

Ramesh Prabhu Rant No. 6: Why do we write "miniscule" when the correct word is "minuscule"? (Strangely, the best-edited magazine in town, Time Out Bengaluru, used "miniscule" in its Nov. 12-25 issue, Page 25 — "The number of Indians checking into geo-social networks is currently miniscule...".)
Friday at 11:39am

• Samarpita Samaddar likes this.

Sudhir Prabhu I am liking all these rants. But what about the silly typos in TOI these days? How can they be so ignorant and careless? Which news paper do you think is better? Though I read everything online news paper is a must for me. :)

Friday at 12:05pm 

Ramesh Prabhu Sudhir: In Bangalore, DNA is the best, in my opinion. But every newspaper has its share of typos, its share of Indlish. Here's why: http://goo.gl/rjl0g.

Friday at 12:09pm · · 1 person 

Sudhir Prabhu Nice blog and interesting book. Ordered through flipkart. :)

Friday at 12:33pm · · 1 person 

Sharon George i never knew dat...been using it all my life.

Friday at 1:18pm · 

Samarpita Samaddar Sharon: Are you serious??? 

Sharon George seriously man...in fact its even defined in the online dictionary... http://www.thefreedictionary.com/miniscule check it out

Friday at 3:03pm · 

Samarpita Samaddar OMG! "miniscule - very small; "a minuscule kitchen" -- What is this?!
hahaha Jeez!

Friday at 3:05pm 

Sharon George i know...evry1's confused

Friday at 3:08pm

Ramesh Prabhu

Sharona, Sam: I can't find "miniscule" in standard dictionaries, though it's in the FreeDictionary and also in Dictionary.com as a variant of minuscule. Here's an enlightening usage note from Dictionary.com:

—Usage note
Minuscule, from Latin ......minus meaning “less,” has frequently come to be spelled miniscule, perhaps under the influence of the prefix mini- in the sense “of a small size.” Although this newer spelling is criticized by many, it occurs with such frequency in edited writing that some consider it a variant spelling rather than a misspelling.

Friday at 3:27pm 

Sunil John Valentine Sonawane So Ramesh, shall we use your own argument against you and close this rant with an agreement that it is a variant, especially in India where we tend to spell as it sounds rather than as it was written ages ago by southern (as in Southern England) accented Englishmen?

Friday at 3:57pm 

Samarpita Samaddar Sir: It will be minuscule for me. Always.

Friday at 4:00pm  

Ramesh Prabhu

Sunil: Minuscule comes from "minus" meaning "less", and it has nothing do with "mini", and nothing whatsoever to do with "as it was written ages ago by southern (as in Southern England) accented Englishmen". Accents have nothing to with it,either. So how can we be okay with a misspelling? I am not.

Also, FYI: The "antonym" of "minuscule" is "majuscule".

Friday at 4:16pm 

Ranjini Narayanan Sir, I noticed this in today's (Friday) Bangalore Mirror too. Page 2 last paragraph.

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Ramesh Prabhu Rant No. 7: Sandeep Mishra (Sunday ToI) interviews a sexagenarian slum-dweller in Bhubaneswar and quotes her as saying, "They (her daughter and family) occasionally visit me and extend some pecuniary help." Extend some pecuniary help? Who talks like this? Not me and certainly not a sexagenarian slum-dweller in Bhubaneswar.... I stopped reading the interview at that point. Mr Mishra: Please read Indlish, by Jyoti Sanyal.
 Top of Form

23 hours ago

Sanaa A'esha, Sheela Bhat and Pooja Garg Singh like this.

Suthan Kokila pecuniary? how quaint. btw who is sandeep mishra... sorry for being so ignorant. been out for too long :-)

13 hours ago 

Ramesh Prabhu Kokila: All I know about Sandeep Mishra is that he is the author of the interview published in ToI. I don't know if he is on the staff, though. I blame the subs, too, in this case — the Desk should have changed that line to read: "They help me out by giving me money." Even "They help me financially" would have been better than "They ... extend some pecuniary help."

7 minutes ago

Bala Murali Krishna Ramesh, journalism practice in India doesn't demand that what you put inside quotation marks be the exact same words used. I see it as a larger problem. Coming to pecuniary, it's sure peculiar to use such a word but I suspect we see a lot of it in the Indian press.

2 hours ago 

Ramesh Prabhu

I know, Bala. I used the quote marks here only to indicate how I would have changed the quote.

As for "Coming to pecuniary, it's sure peculiar to use such a word but I suspect we see a lot of it in the Indian press", Jyoti Sanyal explains in "Indlish" our unfortunate fondness for abstruse words when simple ones will do.

2 hours ago · Like 1 person

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Ramesh Prabhu Rant No. 8: Santosh Kumar RB writes in DNA (Nov. 15, Page 5): "The police SAID that Gowda REPORTEDLY told them that she was suffering from depression and was getting treated FOR THE SAME" (EMPHASIS mine to highlight the BAD ENGLISH). Mr Santosh Kumar: Please read Indlish, by Jyoti Sanyal. 

about an hour ago 

Praneetha Shylendra likes this.

Kirti Bhotika OMG! This takes the cake!

about an hour ago 

Sunil John Valentine Sonawane Good English would be "Gowda apparently told the police that she was suffering from depression and was being treated for it"...okay?

about an hour ago

Ramesh Prabhu Better: "The police said that Gowda told them she was suffering from depression and was being treated for it."

about an hour ago 

Ramesh Prabhu Attribution is important here.

about an hour ago

Sunil John Valentine Sonawane I thought "apparently" covers "The police said that Gowda told them"

about an hour ago

Ramesh Prabhu ‎"Apparently" also implies doubt.

about an hour ago

Sunil John Valentine Sonawane Oh yes, I see...also appreciate the voice of journalistic experience!! Hope to see you also talk about the content aspect of journalism besides the form?

about an hour ago

Ramesh Prabhu

Oh, there's plenty about the "content aspect" on my blog, The Reading Room. For example:

1. http://goo.gl/mdisF

2. http://goo.gl/DUeIF

3. http://goo.gl/wNvwg

4. http://goo.gl/Gf3ti

5. http://goo.gl/wCRQ9

Bottom of Form

Plain English may not be on its deathbed yet, going by this email from Commitscion Dipankar Paul (Class of 2009), who is a copy editor with India Syndicate, which produces all of MSN India's content:

There's still hope that 'Indlish' isn't permanent.

I just overheard this in office:

    50-year-old Business Editor: There's this great book, Elements of Style by William Strunk, that I read every day. It's the perfect guide to good journalistic English.

    23-year-old Sports Editor: Can I borrow it?

    BE: No, I gave my copy once to a junior. I never got it back. I had to buy another copy.

    SE: Oh, OK. I'll search for it online.

    Ten minutes later...

    SE: Yup, got it. I just ordered one copy.

    BE: Bravo!

If you are a book lover, how can you not want to possess (and read) Pradeep Sebastian's The Groaning Shelf and Other Instances of Book Love?

I was alerted to this gem of a book by a review in The Hindu Literary Review earlier this month. Referring to it as "a stylish, cultural landmark communicating one man's passion to a larger audience", reviewer Suresh Menon wrote:

Sebastian's essays make erudition accessible, as he discusses the French philosopher Diderot, C.S. Lewis, Amar Chitra Katha, Shakespeare & Co and other bookshops, Umberto Eco, antiquarian books, the first editions of J.D. Salinger's novels, Nabokov, book thieves, collectors and much more with an easy familiarity. And all this is done without once showing off, which is an achievement in itself.

(Read the review in its entirety here: "A modest miracle".)

Well, I just had to get my hands on the book so off I "went" to Flipkart, my favourite online bookstore, to order The Groaning Shelf. Ten minutes ago, it was delivered to me at home. Which is why you are now reading this post. And which is why I am now going to log off so that I can go curl up with my latest possession.

Meanwhile, if you like, you can take a look at my Flipkart wish-list here. And you can check out my library on Google Books.

Do we like the same books?

UPDATE (November 18, 2010): It was serendipity that led me to read Suresh Menon's review of The Groaning Shelf, and I am so grateful. Pradeep Sebastian not only loves books, he also knows how to get other people to love books.

Not every essay in The Groaning Shelf will appeal to all readers, but there's so much in this book that will get you thinking about reading and writing. It is here that I first learnt about Michael Dirda, the Pulitzer Prize-winning critic of the Washington Post Book World who has written many books about the joy of reading. I just had to have one of Dirda's books and I am now reading — and enjoying — Classics for Pleasure, first published in 2008. And Classics for Pleasure has introduced me to another wonderful book, The Lifetime Reading Plan, by Clifton Fadiman, which I have ordered on Flipkart. (Clifton is the father of Anne Fadiman, the author of At Large and At Small and Ex Libris; book-lovers will find both to be delightful reads.)

So thank you, Pradeep Sebastian, for introducing me to new ways of thinking about books and, especially, for reinforcing my belief that we are what we read.

UPDATE (June 4, 2012): Here's another terrific book, which I have just finished reading: Would You Like Some Bread With That Book? And Other Instances of Literary Love, by Veena Venugopal.

Facebook: Boon or bane?

Sometime in September 2009, I came across "How Facebook Ruins Friendships", an entertaining Wall Street Journal article by Elizabeth Bernstein who commented on, among other things, the status messages of Facebook users and the quizzes they were taking with frightening regularity. I sent the link to Commitscions with a note: “Should you read this before you take that next Facebook quiz or update your status message? Tell me.”

And tell me they did:

• From Anagha Gunjal (Class of 2011)

I totally agree with the writer. But sometimes we are so bored or jobless that we change our status message very often. And if you ask me why anyone would want to read your status message, I would say if they did not want to, then they would not be on that social networking site in the first place. It is a good pastime for some.

As for this one particular point in the article — “Facebook can also be a mecca for passive-aggressive behavior. ‘Suddenly, things you wouldn’t say out loud in conversation are OK to say because you’re sitting behind a computer screen,’ says Kimberly Kaye, 26, an arts writer in New York. She was surprised when friends who had politely discussed health-care reform over dinner later grew much more antagonistic when they continued the argument online.” — I have been thinking so much about it lately because two of my friends actually spoke to me over instant messaging on Facebook only to “sort things out”, which they could have done in person. This is like a 'crutch' you use when you want to avoid confronting some unpleasant situations and I do not like it. :(

• From Harish Agarwal (Class of 2004)

Just like the social media, people writing on social media never cease to come up with something new!

• From Anjali Muthanna (Class of 2006)

What I don't understand is that people actually have the option of hiding their quiz results on Facebook. But they continue to publish them on their feeds. I’ve even posted a status message to that effect :)

• From Swagata Majumdar (Class of 2006)

We don’t even realise the nuisance till someone shows us the obvious. I simply loved the line "My question is this: If we didn't call each other on the phone every time we ate before, why do we need the alerts now?" How true! :)

• From Sneha Abraham (Class of 2011)

I don't know about everyone else but when I sign into FB I love to scroll down my home page and read my friends' status messages. In my view people think uniquely and their status messages are little windows into their personalities. I like reading them no matter how zany they may be. :)

In the article, Elizabeth Bernstein says that relationships can be 'ruined' due to these status messages (I refer only to status messages here). I'd like to tell her that if relationships are indeed ruined because of status messages, then those relationships weren't important or strong enough in the first place. I'd like her to mull over that one. I've noticed that in Western countries, people seem to be mostly self-involved and don't care about what others are doing. I'm fine with that, it's their lives, yada yada yada. BUT... how can Bernstein generalise and say that such status messages are complete time-wasters for everyone? I'm sure feelings about status messages would differ from country to country.

And if Bernstein thinks they're useless why doesn't she just go the whole hog and ignore all of them? Honestly, it's not like FB doesn't function until you finish reading some status messages.

As a parting compliment I'd like to tell her to keep her generalisations to herself.

• From Priyanka Saligram (Class of 2009)

I completely agree with the author. Even though I'm not on Facebook, I can imagine how annoying those status messages can get after a while — considering I find them annoying on GTalk itself!

It's like everybody wants to desperately be a celebrity and look like they have a life. Frankly speaking, if someone really had a life, they wouldn't have that kind of time to spend on FB, updating their status.

It reminds me of that T-shirt slogan: Don't worry about what people think of you — because they aren't thinking of you!

• From Padmini Nandy Mazumder (Class of 2011)

I agree with Elizabeth Bernstein completely. I'll check myself before updating my Facebook status message from now on. :)

It's a really good piece. Simple English, yet effective. Thanks for a good weekend read. :)

For (possibly) the last word on this subject, did you know that when you take a Facebook quiz, you're opening up your entire profile and almost all your personal information to whoever wrote the quiz? For more information, read this enlightening article, “Is Your Facebook Profile As Private As You Think?”.

DID YOU 'FRIEND' YOUR BOSS ON FACEBOOK?

The lines between our social and work lives have blurred and more of us are using social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to keep up with friends, cultivate industry ties and find new jobs. But when does the information become too racy, too forbidden and too much?

This is the question posed by L.M. Sixel in a column written for The New York Times and reproduced in Mint. If you use social media, and who doesn't these days, you will find the article interesting and helpful. Read it here. (Sixel also provides useful advice on office etiquette, for instance: this feature on office wear and a column about a website that may be able to solve your pet peeves at work.)

WHY COMPANIES SHOULD NOT BAN FACEBOOK AT WORK
Ban it and lose out on countless opportunities. That is the thrust of Mala Bhargava's column in Businessworld. Here's an excerpt:

Facebook, Orkut, etc. can be compelling time-wasters and a huge amount of fun. But blocking these sites is addressing the wrong problem and taking the easy way out.

What a company should be looking closely at is its performance metrics. If an employee is not doing his or her job, tackle that specifically and head on. That the employee was on Facebook when he should have been working isn’t as relevant as one may imagine. If it weren’t Facebook, it would be something else. Look at overall motivation and engagement with the work, look at whether there’s a supervision breakdown of work, and so on. Look at whether the right people are being hired for the job in the first place. What’s Facebook got to do with it?

Read the column in its entirety here.

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UPDATE (May 26, 2011): There are many things you can do to take control of your Facebook data and the way you use your account. For example, you may want to avoid the unwanted photo tag, cut off the ads, and even remove yourself from Facebook and Google search. Interested? Check out the very helpful feature in Mint by Shweta Taneja: "Take charge of Facebook".

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UPDATE (June 10, 2011):  I feel like gnashing my teeth and tearing my hair out when I see the atrocious spellings in Facebook status updates and comments. So it made my day when Commitscion Sanaa Abdussamad (Class of 2008) sent me the link to a website that features sarcastic, witty, and biting comments on some of the illiterate sentences posted by Facebook users. Click on "The 65 best obnoxious responses to misspellings on Facebook", check out the list, and make sure you don't feature on it one day.

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Also read: "Yes, recruiters are using Facebook and Twitter to screen candidates".