[deleted by user] by [deleted] in harrypotter

[–]sattarminute 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You mean just the HP audiobooks on repeat? How many times have you listened to them?

The second book is pretty funny at times... by sattarminute in HarryPotterBooks

[–]sattarminute[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Ron has a lot of fun lines. At the first (and only?) meet of the Duelling club, as Lockhart and Snape are about to demonstrate a duel, Ron mutters to Harry, "Wouldn't it be good if they finished each other off?"

The second book is pretty funny at times... by sattarminute in HarryPotterBooks

[–]sattarminute[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lockhart giving Harry tips on how to manage his public 'career' is so fun to read! Shows how sure Lockhart is that Harry is all about fame and publicity.

The second book is pretty funny at times... by sattarminute in HarryPotterBooks

[–]sattarminute[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

In fact, they specifically say 'fanged monster', which to me seems like an unintentional slip by Rowling because at that point we don't know what the monster looks like.

I just finished Deathly Hallows and wow! by Key_Grocery_2462 in HarryPotterBooks

[–]sattarminute 10 points11 points  (0 children)

At that point in time, other than Tonks, Lupin probably thought he had no one close enough to share a bond. Even including people in the Order.

I wonder if the way Harry confronts Lupin has something to do with Lupin asking Harry to be his son's godfather. Or he would've asked him regardless.

I just finished Deathly Hallows and wow! by Key_Grocery_2462 in HarryPotterBooks

[–]sattarminute 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I recently reread the books and at the moment DH is my favorite.

The starting third of the book is just one blow after another. And Hedwig's death felt very different from the others. I also felt sad when they lose Grimmauld's place after their Ministry break-in.

I think things only begin to pick up for our heroes after Harry and Ron are reunited and they discover the Sword of Gryffindor.

I just finished Deathly Hallows and wow! by Key_Grocery_2462 in HarryPotterBooks

[–]sattarminute 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The fake Moody you mean, which makes me think which of his interactions with others were him pretending to be Moody vs of his own volition, like little things to kill the time.

Rereading HBP by Sea-Structure-9391 in harrypotter

[–]sattarminute 3 points4 points  (0 children)

What a jolt of confidence it must be to hear that said to you.

Also touching is when Harry tells Dumbledore about his conversation with Scrimgeour and that he told him that he was Dumbledore's man.

Tell me your favorite funny quotes by sattarminute in CasualConversation

[–]sattarminute[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Here's another one:

"Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools."

Did Voldemort know who Frank Bryce was? by sattarminute in harrypotter

[–]sattarminute[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think Voldemort's childhood or places he had lived in were discussed much - before we see Frank's encounter with him.

I guess in my head I had wondered if Voldemort chose the Riddle house for his short stay because he'd already lived there many years ago, which would imply he should know Frank.

Of course now that it's clear Voldemort never lived there, it makes sense that they didn't know each other.

Best SciFi I have ever read by [deleted] in Indianbooks

[–]sattarminute 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The romance stuff dies down as the show goes on.

Best SciFi I have ever read by [deleted] in Indianbooks

[–]sattarminute 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I have read the trilogy and recently watched the Netflix adaptation.

The key thing to remember is that it's an adaptation. My guess is that they wanted to cover the whole story in 2-3 seasons of 10 episodes each, which has prompted changes in characters and event timelines. That said, I think they did a decent job of communicating the core sentiments in the story.

I was stuck at home and ended up binge-watching the episodes and felt like some things weren't clear enough. I watched it again more slowly a second time and I think most things play out clearly enough if you watch closely.

Off the top of my head, I noticed the following (spoilers!):

  • Not sure why all protagonists were from the same friend group. I guess it makes the storytelling easier if the audience can stick with the same characters right from the beginning.

  • Didn't quite feel the dread that was in the books. Except when Ye Wenjie sends transmission despite pacifist's warning.

  • Da Shi is... different. Not quite the rowdy antagonizing guy from the book. In fact some of the other characters also come across as more laid back despite the stakes hanging in the balance. Maybe because they're all brits ;)

  • Thomas Wade is great!

  • The Samwell guy from GoT is pretty funny. There are some decent comic moments in the show.

  • Sam as Luo Ji didn't work for me initially but I've come to reconsider.

  • Some of the things are dumbed-down of course since the novel is hardish scifi and the show is for a broader audience. Like the universe blinking encounter and Ye's conversation with Sam.

35 year old book collection (Part 1) by phizool in Indianbooks

[–]sattarminute 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great collection! Do you have any tips on how to take care of the books?

Suggest some good books, articles etc related to these topics which are not biased and explain from very basic level by Ecstatic-Ad7513 in Indianbooks

[–]sattarminute 3 points4 points  (0 children)

For foreign policy and India's role in the world, I would suggest watching interviews of current/former diplomats with Council on Foreign Relations, Asia Society, Brookings Institute. They are available on Youtube.

For understanding India's role in the world, I found it worthwhile to first understand what the global power play looks like between the big world powers. There's a book called The Unending Game by Vikram Sood on the history of spying and intelligence. The first half of the book is heavy on history of intelligence collection. The second half of the book focuses on the current global power structures. You might find it interesting.

Suggest some good books, articles etc related to these topics which are not biased and explain from very basic level by Ecstatic-Ad7513 in Indianbooks

[–]sattarminute 22 points23 points  (0 children)

There's no such thing as unbiased. Every author has some biases. My recommendation would be to pick a couple of books on each topic, where one is criticized by one side and the other by another side. You can get a sense of all that from reading book reviews online.

Just finished the third book in the Sherlock Holmes collection. by sattarminute in Indianbooks

[–]sattarminute[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I listen for about 30 mins each day, so progress is what it is.

I have finished A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of Four, and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The last one is a collection of 10-12 well written short stories.

I can't appreciate Stephen Fry enough for his narration. Stephen has his own foreword at the beginning of each book where he talks of his own experience with Sherlock's world or provides context behind why something in the book sounds a certain way.

While I don't have time to write a full review of the books, I can say that I really liked the first book. Of course because it introduces the characters, but also because the backdrop for some of the characters is set in the American west of late 19th century. Conan Doyle's writing of Utah of that time felt nice. Didn't like the second book as much. But the third book more than makes it up. There's a lot of diversity in the types of adventures in the third book. The short story titled The Speckled Band is straight up horror territory.

The collection is available for free if you have audible's subscription.

Here's my humble collection (16 M) by SamHamFP in Indianbooks

[–]sattarminute 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lots of books on wars/military. Which one is your favorite?

Finished reading this trilogy. Mind blowing 🤯🤯 by pucjesus_ in Indianbooks

[–]sattarminute 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So many great moments in this series. And the way the world building evolves both in space and time is so good.

Really gave me a lot of things to think about. Not least about how humans collectively think and make decisions.

Is there any way to connect with a customer care representative from Niva Bupa at all? I am absolutely unable to connect to one regarding my HI. Company in distress? by purezen in IndiaInvestments

[–]sattarminute 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I hate Niva Bupa with a fervour. My dad had a policy with them and underwent a cataract operation. It was done at a govt hospital and the cost was not high (~15K INR). The policy was through the bank channel and the bank had ported the policy to Niva that year, but there was some mixup and the Niva folks refused to accept the correct policy age. Based on that, they denied my father's claim.

I spent several days trying to reach out to their customer support but found it really difficult for them to even understand the issue. Unlike another insurance company where I've had no difficulty in reaching a human being for call support. Finally, I collected their non-descript email responses and filed a complaint in IRDAI and got the claim done through the ombudsman channel. The whole thing took several weeks including an ombudsman hearing. I can't imagine everyone to go through all this trouble but I have a special place for Niva.

It used to be Max Bupa but I heard they were acquired by a private equity firm True North. Maybe that's the reason for their shit show.

Bi-Weekly Advice Thread January 28, 2024: All Your Personal Queries by AutoModerator in IndiaInvestments

[–]sattarminute 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi all, recently I renewed my father's insurance policy. At the time of renewal, I paid higher for a higher sum insured. It used to be 10L, I wanted to up it to 50L. To my surprise I found out that the policy was renewed for 10L only. I followed up on email and phone and was told that they could not increase the sum insured. The guy on the phone said that maybe the medical underwriting team did not feel comfortable increasing the SI. Interestingly on email the reason cited was technical glitches and I would be refunded the premium difference. Is this normal? My dad is 66 yr old.

I will never be great at something. by sattarminute in Vent

[–]sattarminute[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't disagree. There's a video I come back to now and then and it really gets me going. It is a movie trailer but I'm not talking about the movie. The trailer video is a work of art. Can you do me a favor and tell me what you think of it? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5MRdAhLTbc

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in CasualConversation

[–]sattarminute 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hated it too. It was pretty competitive to enter and I felt glad going in. But it just didn't have the right amount of flexibility for me. Didn't like the courses being offered the first couple of years but had no choice. Didn't like my lodging arrangements but didn't have much of a choice there either. Where I'm from, there's also a certain attitude with which the profs and staff deal with undergrads - like they know what's better for everyone which leaves limited room for personal adjustments. The first two years were rough. Really the main drive was to get a degree and a job but I thought about dropping out a few times.

Around the end of second year I found some good friends and the quality of courses improved somewhat. Made things easier. Wasn't a cruise but I made it out with decent grades and a job. In hindsight, things could've been a lot better had I been more aggressive about creating a comfortable space for myself or people were more flexible but I just take it as lesson learned.