Annie Kapur
Bio
200K+ Reads on Vocal.
English Lecturer
đLiterature & Writing (B.A)
đFilm & Writing (M.A)
đSecondary English Education (PgDipEd) (QTS)
đBirmingham, UK
Stories (1992/0)
"Kafka was the Rage" by Anatole Broyard
The first time I ever read âKafka was the Rageâ by Anatole Broyard, I was sitting on a coach on my way to a university trip for five days of intense work. I was in the second year of my undergraduate degree and had just about turned twenty yearsâ old. My first experience of reading it was brilliant and I read the whole thing in one sitting, much to the confusion of my lecturer since I was the only one not talking on the coach ride. It ended up with me talking to my lecturer about how good the book was - and it was awesome. âKafka was the Rageâ really influenced my world view of how the planet worked after the second world war. It made me believe less in the fact that everything went back to normal and believe more in the fact that there were actually a great number of problems after the war, especially concerning these displaced soldiers pretty much left to their own devices. It is one of those stories that simply touches you with its realism.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
A Filmmaker's Guide to the Best Films: David O. Selznick
David O. Selznick is synonymous with the Hollywood Golden Age. He was one of the foremost producers for films by Alfred Hitchcock, Carol Reed, Victor Fleming and many more. As one of the biggest producers in Hollywood at the time, David O Selznick managed to make a big name for himself. He worked on films that today are known as classics of their genre and some of the greatest films ever made.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
"Tess of the DâUrbervilles" by Thomas Hardy
It has been just about ten years since I first read Thomas Hardyâs magnum opus âTess of the DâUrbervillesâ and I read it mostly because it was everywhere. I remember it being in bookstores with these amazing clothbound covers on the copies and I managed to save come money in order to get myself one. This was how I discovered the book. I was simply in a bookstore looking at the clothbound edition of âAnna Kareninaâ when near it was Thomas Hardyâs âTess of the DâUrbervillesâ and simply realising I hadnât read it and it looked interesting, I bought it. (Since I also already had a copy of âAnna Kareninaâ - nobody was letting me buy another one). My first reading experience of âTessâ was pretty disturbing because I found myself really upset for a few days afterwards because of the way I believe Tess was treated unjustly. The book managed to change my opinion of what could happen to people who were the protagonists of their own novels, and I thought that sort of stuff only happened in Shakespeareâs plays. How wrong I was.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
World Refugee Day: Ten Books on Refugee and Immigrant Voices
Every year on the 20th of June, World Refugee Day is celebrated internationally as it is a day where we respect and honour the most vulnerable members of our society who constantly risk their lives in hope that they can find safety.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
"Doctor Faustus" by Christopher Marlowe
I first read this book when I was twelve yearsâ old and Iâm going to admit that it was very difficult to read, even as a girl who had already studied Shakespeare by that age - I had some difficulty and had my dictionary on hand and my Latin dictionary on hand when they were required. I discovered this book literally because I found it. When I say I found it I mean that I was looking through the Shakespeare books and it was amongst them. I thought it looked fairly interesting and so I picked it up and began to read. I understood nothing and so, I took it home to the comfort of my dictionaries. For the next twelve years, I would read âDr. Faustusâ at least once every year because of the fact it had enthralled me and I was always one of those people who were trying to work out whether I was seeing an actual ending or one of the possible endings to the play. Itâs an intriguing script with a ton of grand references, speeches and monologues. I love the entire thing and to this day, it is my favourite play of all time.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
African Myths of Origin
âAfrican Myths of Originâ is a book that concerns the different regions of Africa, their creation stories and theme-based narratives. Themes of hunting, food, humanity, morality, death and dying, the Gods, supernatural ability, war and battle, masculinity vs. femininity and others prove that these stories are not only well-written and sophisticated but also prove that these narrators understand the very essences of human existence. Along with the ability to make it into an entertaining narrative, a lot of these stories echo and almost Biblical experience of life. The outline of the book is to treat these historical stories as a part of a geographical location and an entire population of people. The most notable thing is how all of these themes link together to make a narrative that contains a teaching, a tale and characters who are relatable to any time and place. As the narrative states on the theme of hunting: âthe original human lifestyle is foraging mixed with hunting.â (p.3). Thus showing that the nature of humans looking for food is not only important thematically to the stories, but is also a quintessential part to every human no matter upon place, time etc. Past, present and future, humans will always require food to survive and this is only one of the bases of human existence that is seen in the book.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Futurism
"The Thorn Birds" by Colleen McCullough
It has been a few years since Iâve read âThe Thorn Birdsâ by Colleen McCullough. I read it for the first time when I was nineteen and it was the first book I read before I started university reading from then on for a few months. I discovered the book after a re-read of Margaret Mitchellâs âGone with the Windâ that I was doing in order to compare the book to the movie and see exactly what I really thought about the casting choice for Scarlett OâHara. I was told online by someone on Reddit that âThe Thorn Birdsâ was basically the Australian version of âGone with the Windâ and that it would make me emotional in the same way. And it didnât. It made me far more emotional than Iâd ever been with âGone with the Windâ. I was actually so emotional that whilst I was at work, I finished the book and had to excuse myself so that I could go and cry in the foyer. The book managed to change my opinion on how epic a 20th century novel could really be and to this day, even when I think about it - I can feel the same tears start to well up in my eyes. Only if there was more communication between some of the characters, most of this mess would not have occurred and everyone would be okay.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
âFurious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Leeâ by Casey Cep
This book is something I read purely because for a while, I had been interested in what this has to do with Harper Lee. By the time I read it, I knew what the book concerned, but I hadnât got a clue what that had to do with the writer Harper Lee except for the writing of âTo Kill a Mockingbirdâ. So, when I did read it, I paid extra attention to the first two sections in which Casey Cep seeks to teach the reader about racial politics in the courtroom during the early 20th century in the Southern States of America. It is by no means a pretty sight but it is able to tell the reader why Harper Lee felt that, especially in the state of Alabama, it was important to write a book that struck the heart of the political community, their wrongs and the way in which they treated certain skin colours as worse than others even when under oath.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
"Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley
I read âFrankensteinâ by Mary Shelley primarily because it was on the syllabus for GCSE Literature whilst I was at school. I found it on a reading list online and thought I would spend the summer trying to understand the angles of it, even if we didnât study it - I thought it was a good exercise in my ability to read and understand an older text. I was thirteen yearsâ old and it would prove one of the most intense experiences of my life. It took me only one day to read the entire book. I just could not drag myself away from these extensive narratives. Over ten yearsâ later when I would be in the midst of teaching this book, I found I had the same passion and the same vigour for the novel I had felt in my teen years. It made me feel almost so young again. This book would become to a thirteen year old what a best friend that accepts a freak becomes to the freak. It became a statement of power. It became to me what I had never really had too much of before - it would become my friend. Especially the Monster. The Monster would be my very best friend.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Horror
20 Books of 2020 (Pt.31)
Welcome to part 31 of our journey! You will have noticed that part 30 ended on a great note and we covered some of the new projects I'm working on this year. What I wanted to go through today is communities of reading and what they mean for people who enjoy books. I want to go through the pros and cons briefly and look at ways in which reading communities may be able to improve their aspect on inclusion.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
"Interview with the Vampire" by Anne Rice
It has been just about twelve years since I first read âInterview with the Vampireâ by Anne Rice and what a great year it was. I became so obsessed with the Vampire Chronicles series that I began to draw comic strips dedicated to depicting the storyline of each of them. I drew out each character in some sort of manga style and used the dialogue from the book and yes, I began with Daniel and Louis finding each other in that San Francisco apartment and Daniel having the living shite scared out of him. âI am flesh and blood but not humanâŚâ God I love that part because you get all excited that it is really about to go down for the next series of over ten novels. The way in which I discovered it was through the film. I hadnât actually seen the film but I had heard that it was good and I knew there was a book to it and so I wanted to read the book first. By the time I read the book, I put off seeing the film and âQueen of the Damnedâ until I had finished the series. Back then only up to âBlood Canticleâ was out and I had to wait ages for the next books. This first book in the series changed my entire perception of what vampire fiction could be and that modern fiction could also be beautifully written in a style that was both provocative and suggestive.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks
âLotte in Weimarâ by Thomas Mann
Thomas Mannâs âLotte in Weimarâ is often considered to be one of his many masterpieces and in my opinion it is Mannâs greatest novel. There are many key factors that one has to concern themselves with when looking at this statement of âmasterpieceâ though and what makes Thomas Mannâs work a âmasterpieceâ. It is both artistic and well-constructed. It is character-driven and context dependent. But, context dependent as it may be, it is transcendent of its times, moving into our own and into the future with ease of access and applicable to the situations that will always concern humans - love, death, time and influence. When we have a look at this character-driven narrative, at first we believe that it is Lotte herself that is driving this narrative forwards with her focus on her want for her old life, whereas it is actually Goethe who drives the narrative with his aspect of celebrity though he does not appear physically for quite some time in the novel. Lotte is a woman of her time but she is also a woman who requires control of her own future, it is a question of whether she actually gets this because she is famed as the woman who is constantly associated with Goethe. The image of women and womanhood in the novel is a strange one because we have so many varying personalities. First of all, we have the personality of the self-driven woman who is Adele, the new and true-blooded Weimar woman. Then we have the opposing side which is basically Lotte - the woman who wishes herself to be self-driven but constantly finds herself hanging on to her past. There is little for Lotte in her future except returning to this past in order to confront it and the reader will always know that this is something that drives her. Her self-drive does not come from feigning a modernisation of herself as a woman, but rather treating herself as having an individual story in which certain plot points require editing, revisiting, revising and confronting in her autobiography and saga of romance.
By Annie Kapur4 years ago in Geeks