I have been overdosing on graphic novels. It started with a train journey home when I needed something quick to read and finish and before I knew it, I was shooting an email to Leaping Windows and asking them for recommendations about the absolutely must reads in the genre they are experts in. I have…
Category: books
Mahabharata in pictures
Just how many retellings of a story can you take? The correct answer for me: As many as possible. And if the retelling happens to be a simplified version of the epic, Mahabharata, presented in a visually attractive format – then bring it on! Mahabharata, put very simply, is about the story of two families,…
Book review: ‘The Lowlands’ by Jhumpa Lahiri
Alfred Hitchcock once said “Drama is life with the dull bits cut out”. It must be true. But sometimes a book can be dramatic, even while being a bit, dull. Jhumpa Lahiri in her last fiction, The Lowlands, talks about the Naxal movement through the lives of two brothers –Udayan and Subhash. Born in a…
Book reviews: We Were Liars and A Man Called Ove
Have you ever wondered about reading challenges? Goodreads, for one, has been something I have followed for the last 5 years. And mostly, I stick to the challenge target. I started with 12 books a year and read 15, went to 25 books and read 30 etc. I gave a conservative estimate of 25 books…
Book review: A Little Life
I am mortally afraid of fat books. 300-400 pages is okay, but when the number crosses 600 and the font size is small enough to make you squint, I know I am in trouble. My friend from Bangalore (let’s call her Madam Book Dragon or MBD) on the other hand does not read short pieces…
A storytelling vending machine
The gloomiest day comes and you have nothing to do to cheer yourself up between your meetings, shopping trips and dates that you must keep with your friends and family. You long for the simplicity of childhood, when on a bad day, your grandmother would sit you down on a couch, give you a cup…
Five things I hated about the Cursed Child
Everyone i know is a Potterhead. Which is great. I love thinking that tons of us grew up wishing to be in the same make-believe world. And that after a long break, suddenly someone decided to hand us an early birthday gift. Which is great of course. Except when it is not. I waited to read Harry…
Book Review: Go Set a Watchman
I remember the first time I read Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. I must have been around 11 and full of idealistic ideas about life, about the world and the future. The book took me by surprise, allowing me to question practices as well as shout at what I thought was wrong. Probably, sitting…
What to read next?
Let me be honest with you. I like reading, but more than that I like planning. I buy books because they have got good reviews, because they were featured in the 100-must-read-books-before-you-die list, because the cover caught my eye while browsing a second hand bookstore, because my friends couldn’t stop talking about the book. Many…
Book Review: OUT by Natsuo Kirino
In recent times I have become quite addicted to thrillers and mysteries. From Jurassic Park, Lost World, Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train to the most recent acquisition – Out by Natsuo Kirino. Before I start talking about the book itself, did you know that there is a difference between mystery, thrillers and suspense?…
Book Review: Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
Some things just make you feel like a child. Or at the very least, makes you remember your childhood. It is ironic that this feeling comes to me on mother’s day which should ideally have been about my mom, your mom or just how great moms are in general. Don’t get me wrong. Moms are…
Is translating cool?
The oldest memory of my grandmother – who happens to be my best friend as well – is her bending over our big wooden desk and writing in long hand. She would fill up page after page in her native language, which though quite similar to what we spoke at home, was really quite complex….
North Wind's Journey 