The Internet Personified: Like a blister in the sun
I had my book launch this week. Incidentally, I also did a piece on the rise of the "new fangled" book launch for Mint which should be out next week, so launches were generally on my mind. There's been so much stuff happening to me lately, that the book took, not second place, since I am quite proud of it, but I wasn't obsessing about it as much as I normally would.
The party was at Ek Bar in Defence Colony, which is a really nice place for cocktails and food, although I can't afford it on a weekly basis. There was a dramatised reading by a theatre group called Atelier Productions, which had three actors: one playing Satyavati older, one as Satyavati younger and one as the several male characters that exist within the text. It's quite magical watching something you wrote actually come to life on stage, and while it was going on, I kept thinking, "Hmmm, maybe I should write plays now, plays would be fun." But do you know what pays less than novel writing? Plays. (And also poetry, but no one can afford to be a full time poet anymore, unless you got really famous in the 70s or 80s or something.)
Then K and I were in conversation, which was amusing for some, because we were really earnest on stage, and we're very seldom earnest with each other in real life, but he's read all my drafts and helped me edit so he was a good choice to talk to. It was a good launch, all in all. The book is doing pretty well, almost universally good reviews, except this one in India Today, which I am linking to only because it's so ridiculous. First of all, buckets were invented in 3500 BC, so that's so not an anachronism, secondly, tunics were also pretty universal, from cave man time on, thirdly, what is that last sentence? UFF. People should go to book reviewing school, seriously.
This week in stuff I wrote: Speaking of book reviewing school, here's the link to my latest book recommendation column! This is pretty much my favourite gig, and I'm so glad I have it. This week's random theme: madness and melancholy.
This week in My Big Fat List of Escapist Television: I realise that August is the best month to just stay home and watch TV, but it's also the time when everyone's done with their summer holidays and want to meet, so think of this list as stuff to do on that one weekend when you have no plans. Here's what I've been watching, in no particular order:
1) Daughters Of Destiny: A Netflix documentary series, like Making A Murderer, but so much more feel-good. There's this school in Karnataka, that is taking in kids from labourers/migrant workers families and giving them really good educations. All the kids go in at age 4 and leave at 18, and speak fluent English, BUT then they have to tie this in with the families they have left behind---often bending over coal fires, dealing with resentful siblings who didn't get the same chance, dealing with being women, but also educated women, in the small tenements their parents call home. There's a juxtaposition between the world they inhabit for school and the world they emerge out into, and it is so good. I kind of want to go to Shanti Bhawan (which is what the school is called) and volunteer some of my time, but I'm only on episode two, so who knows what the twist is? And there was definitely a twist at the end of episode one. You should all watch it.
2) Superstore: The Office, but like in a Target style superstore. Starring America Ferrara who is always perfect. Funny and also very charming.
3) Younger: Are you guys watching Younger yet? You really should. Sutton Foster (who I loved in Bunheads) is this 40 something woman who finds that it's really hard to get a job when you've been busy with kid and husband and life for the last twenty years. So she lies about her age to get into a publishing house, and then has to live with the lie: she's pretending to be 26. Only Sutton Foster could pull this off with any credibility. Plus, it's all set in the world of publishing, so there are takes on GRRM or Marie Kondo and it's all great fun.
4) Great News: Watched this on the plane back from Germany and loved it. A new Tina Fey produced comedy, about a mom who, much like Sutton, wants to go back into the work force so she decides to intern at a TV studio where her daughter is the executive producer. So funny! So full of warm fuzzies!
Tuesday link list: Haven't been keeping up-to-date with reading, so some of these links are a little... dated. But! Read anyway.
Loved Chiki's list of the seventy best India books to read on Independence Day (or any other day, really.) So many I haven't read! ** Ellen Barry's farewell to India piece is all about MURRRDERRRRR. ** Why are so many kids sick in Gorakhpur? **
Have a great week!
xx
m
Where am I? The Internet Personified! A mostly weekly collection of things I did/thought/read/saw that week.
Who are you? Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan, writer of internet words (and other things) author of six books (suppport me by buying a book!) and general city-potter-er.
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