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Month: October 2020

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Review: The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett

AuthorSurbhi SinhaUpdated onOctober 25, 2020December 7, 2020 CategoriesBook Review0 Comment

Review: The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett

I have to begin by saying that I have been jumping to read this book since June this year and if you’ve been a regular customer of the wordsmith who is Ken Follett, you know you will not be left disappointed! I am glad I chose to re-read The Pillars of the Earth (click here …

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Review: Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar

AuthorSurbhi SinhaUpdated onOctober 9, 2020December 7, 2020 CategoriesBook Review0 Comment

Review: Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar

“People had to grow on their own, make their own decisions, good and bad. It was those mistakes and the choice or refusal to learn from them that gave life—and art—their texture, their meaning. It had to be a choice.” Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar is a beautiful coming-of-age story about a girl – Sheetal …

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Review: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

AuthorSurbhi SinhaUpdated onOctober 5, 2020December 7, 2020 CategoriesBook Review0 Comment

Review: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett is an epic masterpiece set in 12th century England encompassing the construction of a cathedral in the small town of Kingsbridge. It is the first novel to the Kingsbridge trilogy and its prequel – The Evening and the Morning – having come out recently, I thought it’d …

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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
Everyday I look at my bookshelf and I manage to fi Everyday I look at my bookshelf and I manage to find a few books which I want to read, a few books I want to bring to #Bookstagram’s attention. - What You Can See From Here is a book in translation. It’s originally written in German by Mariana Leky and translated by Tess Lewis. It’s about time, it’s about how humans behave when they feel like they’re running out of time. I ask you though, aren’t we all running out of time anyway? Aren’t we all living under the delusion that we have enough time? - Where Reasons End by Yiyun Li is another book which talks about loss and grief. It’s a fictional conversation between a mother and a son. My only warning to you would be to remember suicide is a topic of discussion here. From this book, I ask, how do we remember the ones we lose right? - How to Begin by Michael Bungay Stanier is a non-fictional book which starts on the cover, the author really does begin as soon as he can! I absolutely loved that about it and I hope I can begin the book soon too! If you’re asking the question, “but how do I begin?!” every time you start something new, I think this book is for you. These books aren’t popular, I haven’t seen them make their way into BG. I hope they do with my short introductions. Tell me which book intrigued you the most, which one are you picking up/placing an order for already? #theurbanreader #bipocbookstagram #hiddengems #whatyoucanseefromhere #wherereasonsend #howtobegin #booksintranslation #femmemarch #unitedbookstagram #bookstagrammer #delhibookstagrammer #delhibookstagram #delhibookstafam #unpopularreads #life #selfhelp #grief #loss #love #lessonsinlife #mothersonlove #threebooks #summerreads #marchreads #flatlayinspiration #readmore #bookworm #bookrecommendation #qotd
Once I had started reading These Precious Days by Once I had started reading These Precious Days by Ann Patchett I remember asking myself why had I waited so long to read it. Once I finished reading it I remember telling myself I’m not sharing my copy of it with anyone. I’ll ask everyone to get a copy of their own, I’ll even gift a new copy to a few but I’ll not give anyone my copy. To put it simply it’s because this book is a personal treasure, this book is the warmest of hugs and this book is your guide to life which goes on to say, “Things will be ok”. The reason this book was on my shelf wasn’t because I wasn’t interested in read it, it was there watching me read every other book but this one because I came across a review which said something along the lines: “if you haven’t read Patchett’s earlier works, you’ll find your understanding of the essays to be incomplete.” This is untrue. These Precious Days could be your introduction to Ann Patchett & her work, and you won’t find yourself lacking any understanding at all. In fact you’ll find yourself mesmerised by the life she’s led & the beauty of her writing will captivate you. This book is a collection of two dozen essays, put together acting as a memoir which have been written and re-written over a period of time. The author talks about things she’s had, needs & doesn’t want, people she’s loved, all that she’s had to let go & the amount of energy required in letting go. She’s talked on death, on not having children, on lessons learnt & oh how she’s talked about books! What I found to be most drawn to while reading each essay was the kindness & warmth that spills out, the simplicity of how she sees things & her courage to stick with the decisions she’s made in life - not out of stubbornness but cause she simply knew what she wanted & didn’t want. All the essays depict a maturity so humbling which is depicted through her acceptance of her problems but also an awareness that there are bigger problems in the world. This is a treasure which I have found after over two decades. Let me tell you, this is your treasure to find too & I hope you get yourself a part of it soon. Thank you @bloomsburyindia for sending me a copy of this work of art. #femmemarch
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overlyclassyRosé 🧃@overlyclassy·
19 May

I have reached a point in my life where romance books no longer give me that butterfly feeling because my boyfriend does a way better job of it

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theurban_readerThe Urban Reader@theurban_reader·
26 Mar

Until this very moment in my life, I had never thought about it before. But omgggg 😂

Denial Sloss (Rohit)@rohshah07

Dude. Funny thing in K3G is that young Hrithik has only 10 fingers, older Hrithik 11.

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theurban_readerThe Urban Reader@theurban_reader·
23 Mar

In corporate you’ll always come across two kinds of people:
1. who remind you to not burn out
2. who throw you under the bus first chance they get 🤷🏻‍♀️

#corporate #lifeasweknowit

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theurban_readerThe Urban Reader@theurban_reader·
4 Mar

If offices open, I won’t have work clothes cause I don’t fit the ones pre-covid.

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theurban_readerThe Urban Reader@theurban_reader·
28 Feb

Twitter folks, ⁦@allthatissim⁩ and I run a bookclub together where we’re hosting a reading of Daisy Jones and the Six in the month of March 🤩

Head over 👇🏼 and send us a message to join! 💜 https://www.instagram.com/p/CaZwu3IvXTT/?utm_medium=share_sheet

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