Power
"'You know,' she said slowly, 'I like you Lin.'
She stared that green fire into me. I felt myself reddening slightly, not from embarrassment, but from shame, that she'd said so easily the very words, I like you, that I wouldn't let myself say to her.
'You do?' I asked, trying to make the question sound more casual than it was. I watched her lips close to a thin smile.
'Yes, you're a good listener. That's dangerous, because it's so hard to resist. Being listened to - really listened to - is the second-best thing in the world.'
'What's the first best thing?'
'Everybody knows that. The best thing in the world is power.'
'Oh is it?' I asked, laughing. 'What about sex?'
'No. Apart from the biology, sex is all about power. That's why it's such a rush.'
I laughed again.
'And what about love? A lot of people say that love is the best thing in the world, not power.'
'They're wrong,' she said with terse finality. 'Love is the opposite of power. That's why we fear it so much.'"
From my current read, Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts
MP3's...
Levitation - More than Ever People (zSHARE)
Prefuse 73 - Pagina Cinco (zSHARE)
Tom Jobim & Astrud Gilberto - Agua De Beber (zSHARE)
Nouvelle Vague - Dance with Me (zSHARE)
Burial & Four Tet - Moth (zSHARE)
The Millioners - Up to You (zSHARE)
at 8:30 AM
9 Comments
I'm sold. Added it to my next amazon order.
zeecu: :))
hey erzulie....i just read that recently as well....can't say I thought much of it....but shall hear what u think when your done with it.
olivegreen: sure :) i don't know but i've always had a preference for books in first person...don't know why...feels more personal for some reason...it also depends on the book but again, always preferred reading "I felt like..." instead of "He felt like..." Much more of a story person than books a la "Blink"
"The world is like a ride in an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it you think it's real because that's how powerful our minds are. The ride goes up and down, around and around, it has thrills and chills, and it's very brightly colored, and it's very loud, and it's fun for a while. Many people have been on the ride a long time, and they begin to wonder, "Hey, is this real, or is this just a ride?" And other people have remembered, and they come back to us and say, "Hey, don't worry; don't be afraid, ever. Because this is just a ride." And we...kill those people. "Shut him up! I've got a lot invested in this ride, shut him up! Look at my furrows of worry, look at my big bank account, and my family. This has to be real." It's just a ride. But we always kill the good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok. But it doesn't matter, because it's just a ride. And we can change it any time we want. It's only a choice. No effort, not work, no job, no savings of money. Just a simple choice, right now, between fear and love." Bill Hicks.
Shantaram is an epic novel. His is an almost riveting read but like Vikram Seth's " A Suitable Boy," before it it is humongous. Frankly, I have neither time nor the inclination to remain a patient listener, and for that long. Put it down to a severe craving for chocolat and all things sugary, which has given me, among other things in Life, an "attention span deficit disorder." Take for instance, Ayn Rand's 'The Fountainhead' that I picked up in 2005 I am still to finish reading it in 2009. Heaven knows, how I managed to finish reading - 'Atlas Shrugged' in a span of two and half months flat. I don't doubt it for a minute I am a slow reader which is why nowadays I only stick to reading lite weight books :) the likes of "The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work","Lake Wobegon" or somesuch.
Sat on my reading list now are Suketu Mehta's,'The Maximum City' and Wilfred Thesiger's 'Arabian Sands'.
Oh, and I can't wait to tell you how excited I was to see Gregory David Roberts in the flesh - him and his wife, Princess Francoise Sturdza of Switzerland who had come a visiting my friends humble Irani cafe, "Leopold" just a few blocks down the corner from where I live in Colaba.
Off the shelf; do bookstores in Kuwait arrange book readings every once in a while and have you guys got your own book clubs that are reasonably active?
anon: :)
zizou: wow, it's amazing that you saw roberts! and no, there are two main bookstores in kuwait that sell English books (virgin and muthana bookstore); i think book clubs are held in private institutions ie schools, universities, private groups, etc.
Say, isn't that a picture of Canadian born Indian model turned actor, Lisa Ray? Too bad she is down with multiple myeloma,though.
bad things: no, that isn't lisa ray, it's isabella rossellini, an italian actress and former model, amongst other things:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_Rossellini
(she's 57 years old in that picture that's featured on the wikipedia page above; shows you how age really gets to a woman)
and i did NOT know that lisa ray has myeloma. i loved her in "water." that really is too bad (!) i want to see her recent movie "Cooking with Stella," Deepa Mehta's brother's in it (directed or acted in it).
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