Category Archives: Books

Book reviews of the Unreal kind. Here, I discuss the books I have read, and share my impressions with my readers. I read mostly non-fiction or classics. And when I say read books, I mean listen to them in audiobook (always unabridged) form. Audiobooks have the ability to make your commute or gym workout something you look forward to, rather than dread. When reviewed, they present a disadvantage though, that they cannot be referred to. Thus quotes from them become paraphrasing, names get misspelled and so on. Please excuse such shortcomings…

Note that these are not real reviews. Most of these books are so well-known that they are really beyond reviews. So my Unreal reviews are more like my impressions and thoughts, often containing spoilers.

The Unreal Universe

Posted on September 29, 2010 by Manoj

I recently made my first book available on Amazon. I thought I would post this article, which is a good summary of the book. This article was published in a magazine in Singapore. Continue reading →

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On Rationality and Delusions

Posted on September 25, 2009 by Manoj

What do we mean by rationality? Why do we think it is a good thing to be rational? Continue reading →

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Principles of Quantitative Development

Posted on September 15, 2009 by Manoj

A review of my forthcoming book, “Principles of Quantitative Development,” to be published by John Wiley & Sons in Feb 2010. This review is written by Shayne Fletcher, Executive Director, Nomura, and author of “Financial Modelling in Python,” reproduced here with permission. Continue reading →

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Blind-Sight

Posted on August 22, 2009 by Manoj

Blind-sight is an interesting neurological syndrome, and a philosophical conundrum. It shows how we may have senses that we are not consciously aware of. If there are senses that we can be unaware of, how sure can we be of the “sensed”? Or of our “delusions”? Continue reading →

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A Plausible God

Posted on August 17, 2009 by Manoj

Here is a concept of God that doesn’t violate the known principles of science, and should therefore be consistent with the so-called scientific worldview. Mind you, plausibility of the concept says nothing about its veracity; but it may say something about it being a delusion. Continue reading →

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The God Delusion

Posted on August 13, 2009 by Manoj

An unreal review of the book The God Delusion. [...]The book gave me a strange feeling of dissatisfaction. You see, you may believe in God. Or you may not believe that there is a God. Or you may actively believe that there is no God. I fall in this the last category. But I still know that it is only my belief, and that thought fills me with a humility that I feel Dawkins lacks.[...] Continue reading →

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Helen Keller

Posted on August 9, 2009 by Manoj

The story of Helen Keller is the story of the dark reality that traps you in the absence of your senses. It is also an illustration of the role of language in breaking out of that darkness. Continue reading →

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Humboldt’s Gift by Saul Bellow

Posted on January 27, 2009 by Manoj

To say that Humboldt’s Gift is a masterpiece is like saying that sugar is sweet. It goes without saying. I will read this book many more times in the future because of its educational values (and because I love the reader in my audiobook edition). I would not necessarily recommend the book to others though. I think it takes a peculiar mind, one that finds sanity only in insane gibberish, and sees unreality in all the painted veils of reality, to appreciate this book. In short, you have to be a bit cuckoo to like it. (If you like the book and still maintain that you are not cuckoo, well, you just feel that way because you are!) Continue reading →

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The Razor’s Edge by W Somerset Maugham

Posted on January 19, 2009 by Manoj

This brief look at possibly the best book I have ever read is perhaps my last post in the book review series. At least for a short while, as I’m beginning to find it a bit hard to keep up with all the demands on my time now, what with my next book efforts and everything. Besides, the books have already said it all better, haven’t they? Continue reading →

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Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Posted on December 29, 2008 by Manoj

I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I did not realize that Catch-22 was caricature, the first time I read it. I thought caricatures are visual. I was wrong, of course. Here is an unreal review of this masterpiece that needs to be more widely read. Continue reading →

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The Unreal Universe – Reviewed

Posted on December 7, 2008 by Manoj

This post is a collection of reviews of my first book The Unreal Universe. As I’m beginning to work on my second book (Principles of Quantitative Development, commissioned by Wiley-Finance), I felt that these thoughts on my first book might be of interest to some of you. Continue reading →

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The Age of Spiritual Machines by Ray Kurzweil

Posted on November 5, 2008 by Manoj

The Age of Spiritual Machines, an insightful book, forces us to rethink what we mean by intelligence and consciousness, not merely at a technological level, but at a philosophical level. Continue reading →

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Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Posted on October 18, 2008 by Manoj

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, reviewed here more from a philosophical rather than a literary perspective. Continue reading →

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Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Posted on August 16, 2008 by Manoj

This essay (perhaps not right to call it a review) is inspired by Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. A modern day classic that hardly needs any more endorsement, this book is bound to change the way you look at the world, and live your life. Continue reading →

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The Moon and Sixpence

Posted on August 1, 2008 by Manoj

In The Moon and Sixpence, Maugham chronicles the life and adventures of Paul Gauguin — an artistic genius who stepped outside the bounds of morality to fulfill the yearnings of his soul. This review of mine (which contains spoilers) is more of an account of my impressions of the book. Continue reading →

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1984

Posted on July 16, 2008 by Manoj

My impressions of George Orwell’s 1984.

[...]In 1984, the immediate story is of a completely totalitarian regime. Inwardly, 1984 is about ethics and politics. It doesn’t end there, but goes into nested philosophical inquiries about how everything is eventually connected to metaphysics. It naturally ends up in solipsism, not merely in the material, metaphysical sense, but also in a spiritual, socio-psychological sense where the only hope in life becomes death.[...] Continue reading →

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