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The Urban Reader

Year: 2019

> 2019
Review: Circe by Madeline Miller

AuthorSurbhi SinhaUpdated onDecember 14, 2019December 7, 2020 CategoriesBook Review0 Comment

Review: Circe by Madeline Miller

“When I was born, the word for what I was did not exist.” Circe (pronounced K-ee-r-ke) is a woman. She is a lover. She is a witch. She is an outcast. She is a destroyer. She is a survivor. I have had a hard time deciding on how to introducing Circe to you. I initially …

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Review: Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

AuthorSurbhi SinhaUpdated onDecember 14, 2019December 7, 2020 CategoriesBook Review0 Comment

Review: Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

“I happen to like the strange ones. People who look normal and leads normal lives – they’re the ones you have to watch out for.” Reviewing Kafka on the Shore is no small feat. It’s a metaphor, it’s a feeling, you walk into its storm and when you come out, you’re not the same person …

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Ghost Lover by Lisa Taddeo I’m a huge Lisa Tadd Ghost Lover by Lisa Taddeo

I’m a huge Lisa Taddeo fan. I like how her books tend to make most people uncomfortable. In my reviews for her previous works - Three Women and Animal - I’ve written about how she talks about sex and female desires without judgement, while also being fully aware of how truly judgemental society is. 

She doesn’t attempt to make sex or desires “pretty” or “orchestrated”, she depicts them to be as they are for someone. She writes with a certainty that everyone has desires that can’t be talked about at a wine party or at the dinner table or even during casual conversations, there are desires people don’t admit to, they hide them. But not Taddeo, she chooses to talk about them instead and if you ask me then I think that, that makes her brave.

So far, Taddeo has written a non-fiction through Three Women and a thriller fiction through Animal. Now, she comes with a collection of short stories- Ghost Lover. As someone who has read everything Lisa Taddeo has ever written, I had high hopes. Like I’ve said before I like how her writing challenges her readers to be uncomfortable and sit through the reality of others. I love how her tales are dark and twisted.

In her book, Taddeo writes, “When a moment is upon you, the best you can do for it is to imagine it in the past.” That’s exactly what I’d like to do with this book too - “Imagine is in the past” because the moments I’ve spent reading these stories have been disappointing.

While she’s stuck to her usual themes, even been clever with the plot lines of a few… I believe that Lisa Taddeo is an author whose writing in the long form is what works for her stories.

I really hope to read more of her but not in the short format. Thank you @bloomsburyindia for sending me an advanced proof copy of her latest. 

Folks, the book comes out on 14-June, check it out if you’re intrigued by her writing too.

#theurbanreader #ghostlover #threewomen #animal #ghostloverlisataddeo #threewomenlisataddeo #animallisataddeo #bloomsbury #bloomsburyindia #lisataddeo #womendesires #womenfiction #shortstorywriter #bipocbookstagram #bookreview #unitedbookstagram #literaryfiction #delhiblogger #delhibookstagrammer
Heaven by Mieko Kawakami Summers in India start i Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

Summers in India start in early April instead of mid-April now. I picked up Heaven by Mieko Kawakami towards the end of May which meant we had the rest of summer still left and she described this year’s summer best, “It was as if this summer would last all year, until another summer finally took its place. The days retained all of the humidity and heat and brutal sunlight of summer at its peak, refusing to relent.”

This book - shortlisted for @thebookerprizes - is my introduction to Kawakami’s writing, translated from the Japanese by Sam Bert & David Boyd. But this book is not my introduction to bullying, which happens to be the major theme of the story.

Two middle schools kids - Eyes & Kohima - bullied by their peers find friendship because of their shared experience. Eyes is our MC but it’s not his real name, his name is never revealed.

Each of the kids have a sign, a sign which defines them, a sign which represents them beyond their looks. This is what Kojima believes at least. She also believes that weakness is strength.

On the other hand, one of the bullies, Momose believes, “Nobody does anything because they have the right. They do it because they want to.” “People do what they can get away with.” He believes power is strength.

Throughout the book, the author poses questions & contradictions about the world we live in, she goes on to say, “For people to actually live by some golden rule, we’d have to be living in a world with no contradictions. But we don’t live in a world like that.”

The book isn’t long, it isn’t slow either, but it is heavy. I’d add trigger warnings for: bullying & abuse. Some actions are really graphical & descriptive which one cannot avoid but I would recommend pausing, placing the book down & taking your time to get back to it.

I see why the book’s shortlisted - it’s philosophical, focuses on one theme & the writing is undoubtedly brilliant but I don’t think it’s going to win The Booker.

I do recommend the book, because in life, you’re either the bully or the one getting bullied OR the silent spectator but would you be the one to stand up against the bully? Why or why not? Ever given that a thought?
How High We Go in the Dark by @sequoia.n The sto How High We Go in the Dark by @sequoia.n 

The story begins by introducing you to the Batagaika Crater in Siberia. It’s a real crater folks, many also call it the mouth to hell or doorway to the underworld. I highly recommend you read up on it because it started making the news again today.

A group of scientists located near the crater are studying about its impact to the planet, how it’s related to climate change & what they can do to save our planet as we know it.

You have to give it to the author’s imagination. From discovering the remains of a thirty thousand year old girl, who exposes the world to a virus which until now was frozen within her. To creating an euthanasia park called City of Laughter where the infected children are lulled into unconsciousness prior to stopping their hearts on a roller coaster. To introducing a talking pig. To creating elegy hotels for families to curl up next to the corpses of their loved ones to heal, to say goodbye safely. To having robo-dogs which holds recordings and voice of those no longer alive. To accidentally planting a stable micro black hole in a man’s brain. To launching into space in search of a second home in the universe. To learning how to communicate with one another after the pandemic passes by.  To finding solace in VRs because real life is too hard. To creating a company called Eden Ice which offers a “new death” by creating ice sculptures - creating beauty out of tragedy they call it - as an alternative to burial and cremation. To creating small communities who call themselves  Grave Friends with those who’ve survived. 

I’d say that each chapter could be read as a short story, entirely on its own. But I’d recommend you to read each chapter in the already established chronology. Short stories are mostly open-ended, but Nagamatsu does the impeccable job of tying up all the loose threads perfectly in his last chapter “The Scope of Possibility”.

This book without a doubt has made it to my list of most favorite books. It’s a book full of so much grief and hope. It’s about community and communication. How do you say hello when all you’ve ever know is to say goodbye, when death becomes a way of life?

contd.
Curious Tales from the Desert by Shaguna and Prart Curious Tales from the Desert by Shaguna and Prarthana Gahilote

There’s magic in reading folk tales, especially from a land as diverse as ours. The Gahilote sisters through these collected folk tales take us through the desert lands of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Sindh and Multan.

Curious Tales from the Desert is a collection of 16 folk tales, all having an essence of magic, wisdom and money to them. A haggling pandit, a wisdom seller, two witches, a talking sparrow, a man who charges money to talk, many foolish husbands, many wise wives are a few of the characters you’ll come across while reading them. 

But the take away from these stories aren’t simply that we should believe in the possibility of magic or in the wisdom they impart. The best part is the rich cultural intricacies that are depicted through them. The authors in their introduction rightly mention, “Folk tales, in their essence, are not just about a story but a  repository of the local culture, its traditions, vegetation, food, mannerisms, history and more. That is why if we lose a folk tale, we lose a whole section of recorded folk culture with it.”

This book is most appropriate for children and they even make for a perfect bed time story. So, if you have kids at home, nieces or nephews, pass on a copy to them. Go a step ahead and read to them - these rare folk tales from our deserts.

I’d like to thank @penguinsters @penguinindia for sending across a review copy of these curious tales. And thank you @gahilotesisters for compiling these set of tales for us.

#curioustalesfromthedesert #ShagunaGahilote #PrarthanaGahilote #storytelling #Penguinsters #raisingreaders #folktalesfromIndia #theurbanreader #bipocbookstagram #flatlayindia #desertstories #indiandesert #thardesert #rajasthanistories #gujaratistories #sindhstories #multanstories #folktales #flatlaysquad #delhiblogger #delhibookstafam #delhibookstagrammer #delhibookstagram #indianblogger #bookreview #childrensbooks #storiesforkids #bedtimestories #penguinbooks #penguinkids
Teething by Megha Rao Irrespective of how you cam Teething by Megha Rao

Irrespective of how you came to know of Megha Rao, whether it was through her snippets in Terrible Tiny Tales, her spoken word performances at Kommune, her podcast Poems To Calm Down To or through a friend - you are aware of the power in her words, you are aware of the emotions they evoke.

With her new book she continues to hold that power. Teething is a story told in verse, but here’s the thing, the story isn’t just about Kochu or his sisters - Achu and Mol. Teething could very much be a story of anyone and everyone. Megha Rao has written a book which has a little something for everyone.

It explores themes of acceptance, healing, heartbreak, exploring lost innocence and growing up. It also consists of EP and you can experience Megha Rao recite a few of em too, on Spotify (ofc under the name teething). 

For those who like me are hearing about EP for the first time, allow me to introduce what it is to you too. EP stands for 'Extended Play,' meaning that an EP is longer than a single but shorter than an album. They typically feature between 2-5 songs and are under 30 minutes in length. The second part of the book focuses on this.

The words make you feel many emotions, rage, grief, joy and some will even make you feel seen. I found a couple of favourites too. Raja Ravi Varma tops that list, it was like reading a letter written for anyone who needed to be reminded to love themselves. I felt when she wrote, “I’m not saying don’t grieve. I’m saying don’t stay there. We romanticize brokenness because when you’re broke you still want to feel beautiful. So you call the fragments poetry.” and “You’ll learn along the way that it is not the brokenness that’s beautiful, but the bravery.” 🖤

Another favorite was Off to College where she wrote, “So chin up, climb on. Because the world will break you, and you will take your revenge by healing.”

What Rao did with her poems was remind me, teach me all over again of how to love and take care of the people I love. A few others that stood out for me were The Art of Metaphors, Body Outlaws and Oru Nadan Crush.

contd. in comments…
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake aka Alexene Farol Fo The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake aka Alexene Farol Follmuth

Before I begin to tell you what the book’s about, allow me to get this out of my system - WTF happened in the end!?!? Can we please have the next book release already?

If you remotely enjoy reading adult sff and dark academia, this book should be on your list. You like reading about academic rivalry in a mysterious magical society instead of a school? Read this. Love to read about complicated morally grey characters? Hellooo read this!

The Caretaker of the Alexandrian Society, Atlas Blakely every decade recruits six of the best medeians around the world to join the powerful and mysterious before mentioned society. The Six this time - Libby Rhodes, Nico de Varona, Reina Mori, Tristan Caine, Callum Nova and Parisa Kamali.

Each of these characters have their own set of magical specialities, each one is initially annoying but later you bond with them as they bond with each other. Libby is too sweet, too naive and too anxious. But she’s brilliant too. Nico is obnoxious and at the same time extremely caring. Reina is a loner but she’s the only one with the right priorities, she wants to read as many rare books as the library will offer. Tristan is your guy who has it all and yet has nothing. Callum was my least favorite character but he is talented and he most certainly is dangerous. Parisa was one of the most interesting characters in my opinion, she had a certain depth to her which the other characters lacked and she had a back story which I want more of!

The book is divided in eight parts, each titled aptly. Since it is dark academia after all you’ll find enough Greek myth references, philosophy on life and death, discussions on time, matter and ofc time travel. Did it get overwhelming at any point, yes it did a few times but none of it was difficult to move on from. My only complaint is that while I didn’t see that ending coming, it was a bit dragged out. A brilliant ending nonetheless.

The only correct way to describe The Atlas Six would be to tell you to look at it as a crossover between the popular German TV show Dark and X-Men. Do I recommend? Yes!

Thank you @panmacmillanindia for the review copy.
Raj Kapoor: The Master at Work by Rahul Rawail as Raj Kapoor: The Master at Work by Rahul Rawail as told to Pranika Sharma is a timeless book about a timeless man.

Through the pages of this memoir you’re taken back many decades, to a time when the master, the exceptional filmmaker, the enigma Raj Kapoor lived for films. 

This memoir is an ode to Raj Kapoor by his mentee Rahul Rawail, who has endlessly expressed his gratitude for having had the opportunity to learn his art under the maestro himself. Reading the many instances where Mr.Rawail learnt his art simply by being in the presence of such a man made me just a tad bit jealous. Mostly because I feel in today’s fast paced world where everyone is for themselves, we’re missing out on opportunities to have mentors who would teach us simply by being themselves, today finding a mentor as such is supremely rare.

The book goes on to share lessons on filmmaking which can be learnt from Raj Kapoor’s style of working, especially his super hit movie Bobby. Rahul Rawail also talks about how he incorporated his learnings as a director in his own movies - Love Story, Betaab, Arjun and Dacait. There are simply so many trivia worthy stories within these pages & I was awestruck by many.

My most favorite chapter in the book was Lesson 1: Concepts and Inspirations. This chapter reinforces the fact that inspiration can come from anyone, anything & at any time & place. I LOVED reading about how the many inspirations and motivations he had to create some iconic scenes in Bollywood history.

Another chapter which was a favorite: The Obsessions and Eccentricities of the Genius which highlighted what a grand life this icon has lived. Raj Kapoor was most certainly an obsessive man, he obsessed over his Black Label Whiskey, his food & ofc his movies. He lived life king-size and on his own terms. He was aware of his stature & used it to his advantage when ever he could. A man like that not only draws attention but also admiration. One can tell his obsessions are what made him a genius! But the most important lesson to be learnt from his obsession over films is that he put the experience of his audience above all.

Thank you @bloomsburyindia for the wonderful review copy.
When it comes to talking about diversity, most of When it comes to talking about diversity, most of the time it’s like walking on thin wire. You never know which way the conversation may turn.

When asked what diversity is, some say it’s difference in opinions, some said it’s differences among group of individuals based on race, culture, sexual orientation, some included socioeconomic status, gender and even academic/professional backgrounds. My favorite response was “diversity is about empathetic curiosity”.

Diversity as a concept is relative. Change the location pin and the PoV changes, change the demographic and again the PoV changes. On most occasions sadly, diversity simply becomes about the meaning fed by Western media.

Diversity is a paradox:
“We are each unique and like no one else. We are each like some people and unlike other people. We are each like all other people.”

Another take on diversity which I want to bring your attention to is openness to differences - in people, cultures, and perspective. In the age that we live today, thoughts are becoming binary and as Elif Shafak said in one of her TED Talks, “binary oppositions are every where and slowly and systematically we’re being denied the right to be complex”. 

Diversity isn’t necessarily meant to be difficult, as a reader in fact finding books which are diverse simply means reading about people who’re different than me - different from how I look, talk, eat, think, live, etc. I become that location pin and relative to me everything that’s different from me, that doesn’t define me becomes diverse. While this may sound egocentric, but that’s exactly why it’s relative. Which means, me reading a book about an old white man  with a huge heart (quite literally) from Sweden is a diverse book for me because idk the culture referenced in the book so well.

This is why there is an emphasis to diversify your reading so as to attain a sense of experience which is different from one’s own. This doesn’t go on to say don’t read books you relate to but rather to intentionally find space for books which depict different experiences as well. There most certainly will be different takes on what I said which I would love to hear, so please do share them!
How often have you come across a book where you’ How often have you come across a book where you’ve ended up liking the supporting characters more than the main ones?

For me, Daisy Jones & the Six was one such book. The MCs - Daisy Jones and Billy Dunne - didn’t steal the spotlight as much as supporting characters- Camilla Dunne and Teddy Price - did.

Reading this story - structured as the transcript of a music documentary and knowing the cast of the upcoming TV adaptation I am even more excited to watch it!

Daisy Jones & the Six captures the rise and fall of the named rock band during the 70s. The book is absolutely rock ‘n roll. It captures the struggles of being a rock star, of keeping a band together, of keeping yourself sane through the highs & the lows, of accepting that life is not black and white.

Sure reading about the rock stars - Daisy and Billy - was something, but reading about Camila, Simone and Teddy was SOMETHING ELSE entirely. I ask you to read this book not because of the rock stars but because of the people who had their backs, the people who called them out when needed, the people who stayed.

This is most certainly a perfect summer read, in fact I feel that way with all of Taylor Jenkins Reid book’s that I’ve read so far. So read it this summer & don’t compare is to Evelyn Hugo because there can’t be anyone, any story like her(s). 

I’ll end this with one of my favorite quotes from the book:
“I had absolutely no interest in being somebody else's muse.
I am not a muse.
I am the somebody.
End of fucking story.”

I read this book with a bunch of folks at @theauthorisedbookclub & I look forward to discuss it with them!!

Have you read the book? Do you intend to now? Share your thoughts in the comments!

#theurbanreader #bipocbookstagram #daisyjonesandthesix #daisyjonesandthesixedit ##daisyjonesandthesixquotes #daisyjones #billydunne #camiladunneanddaisyjones #maliburising #thesevenhusbandsofevelynhugo #evelynhugo #summerreads #summerecommendation #rocknroll #rockstar #rockband #delhibookstafam #taylorjenkinsreid #taylorjenkinsreidbooks #theauthorisedbookclub #marchbotm #femmemarch #loneliness #bookstagram #unitedbookstagram #readingrecommendations #bookstoread #summervibes #bookinabag
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chulbolpandey🐼@chulbolpandey·
24 Jun

With Roe vs Wade overturned , let’s rewind what we know about Indian Abortion Law.

Abortion in India has been legal under various circumstances for the last 50 years with the introduction of Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act in 1971.

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theurban_readerThe Urban Reader@theurban_reader·
12 Jun

There’s a giveaway on till 17-June-22 for a Handivity Designs booksleeve on my Instagram page. Go participate if you’d like to win one. 👍🏼💕

https://instagram.com/p/CesVrPjrjtF/

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walkngbookfairsWalking BookFairs@walkngbookfairs·
31 May

⭐ GIVEAWAY ALERT ⭐

We are giving away 5 copies of #100poemsarenotenough to 5 lucky readers to celebrate 5 years of this fabulous book ✨

To enter ⭐ Follow ⭐ Like ⭐ RT
⭐ Leave a comment about your fav poet

Winners will be announced on 6 June. India only ⭐

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theurban_readerThe Urban Reader@theurban_reader·
1 Jun

Retweeting on Twitter is like saving posts on Pinterest, a way to come back to a few later if you need to.

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rachsymerachel syme@rachsyme·
31 May

It’s a summer day. You have a long drive ahead of you. No work to do. Cold bevs in the car. Windows down. You have to put on an album that sounds exactly like summer to you and listen to the whole thing, no skips. What are you playing?

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