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Month: February 2021

> 2021 > February
Review: Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard

AuthorsurbhiUpdated onFebruary 18, 2021February 18, 2021 CategoriesBook Review0 Comment

Review: Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard

Fireheart Tiger by Aliette De Bodard is a sapphic romantic high fantasy novella. But it’s also so much more than that. Adding to that, the cover of the book is exceptionally beautiful! Set in a Vietnam-esque world, our main character Thanh is the youngest princess of Bình Hải who was kept as a captive princess …

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Review: The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

AuthorsurbhiUpdated onFebruary 5, 2021February 5, 2021 CategoriesBook Review0 Comment

Review: The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

Have you ever had a hard time reviewing a book? Have you ever read a book you can’t make up your mind about? The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang is that book for me. The Poppy War is set in a world inspired by 20th century China and is based on the second Sino-Chinese war. …

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Anxious People by Fredrik Backman This story is a Anxious People by Fredrik Backman This story is about a lot of things, but mostly idiots. I specifically am thinking about the idiot who happens to be the guy who was supposed to pack for me an undamaged book or maybe the idiot is the Amazon delivery guy who damaged the book during transportation. You see when this book was handed over to me I had no idea who had sent it, mainly because before I checked the gift slip I noticed the ripped dust jacket - immediately naming the entire logistics team at Amazon as a bunch of idiots. But why would someone mess up my order, a gift from someone? Obviously it had nothing to do with me, because "it's always very easy to declare that other people are idiots, but only if you forget how idiotically difficult being human is." Anxious People isn't just about a bunch of idiots it's about a bank robber. Seven strangers. And it's about a really bad idea... It's also about an apartment viewing, a hostage drama, a bridge, a rabbit and about three women in a closet, but that's not just about all. This story is about a love story. Several, in fact. Entire review on my blog. Link in bio! Anxious People surprises you, it involuntarily brings out the empathetic side of you. Imagine how the world could be the slightest bit more better if we were empathetic to not only fictional characters but also to the people we come across in our day-to-day lives. So, for whatever reason the logistics team must've been having a grand couple of messed up days which led them to deliver a damaged gift. I also think that they were all probably trying their best to keep moving and keep doing what needed to be done. Despite what they must've been going through personally in the middle of a pandemic. Who do you call a friend? For me it's those who know what you need before YOU even know you need it. Thank you @booksqueaks 💛 Thank you for being that friend for me. ❤️ I buddy read Anxious People with my favourite @rexallica and I wouldn't have read it any other way. Sorry for being bad at group activities, but I'm working on it. 😅🌻 #theurbanreader #bipocbookstagram #anxiouspeople #fredrikbackmanbooks #fredrikbackman #anxiouspeoplefredrikbackman
TGIF folks! 🤩 in the old normal i remember fri TGIF folks! 🤩 in the old normal i remember fridays would mean casuals, chole bhature and the eager anticipation of the weekend. in the old normal i would pack my office bag to fill it with essentials - wallet, notepad, pens, moisturizer, lipstick, umbrella, water bottle, lunchbox AND obviously a book! sometimes, i would even carry 2-3 books to fill my drawer up at the beginning of the week. so of course i need a bag which would carry ALL the things i would need throughout the work day and my books too. Zouk with their initiative of #MyProudlyIndianFrame inspired me to think of the proudly Indian books around me and appreciate them. today, i'm sharing some of the books from my collection which i would carry with me to work. they are all written and translated by our Indian authors. Zouk too is a 100% proudly Indian sustainable brand and they’re celebrating this month with books! they have a great collection of bags. they're sturdy and spacious and in the new normal when i will have to carry additional sanitizers, masks and wipes, i know i can count on @zoukonline to fit them in too! you can use my code IGURBANREADER15 to get a discount if you plan on making a purchase too! check em out they have a great collection! #theurbanreader #zouk #booksandbags #bagsandbooks #bipocbookstagram #workbags #officebags #delhibookstagrammer #delhibookstafam #onlineshopping #indianbookstagrammer #indianblogger #blogger #bloggerindia #indianbrand #shoplocalindia #shopsustainable #sustainablefashion #sustainableliving #vocalforlocalindia🇮🇳 #vocalforlocal #indianstartups #unpaidad
"Do anything, but let it produce joy." It's anoth "Do anything, but let it produce joy." It's another week and here's another #BookstaNews post for you all! 1) To begin with, for #theurbanreadalongs we'll be reading Plain Bad Heroines by Emily Danforth the entire second half of this month. You can still join in. We start tomorrow. 🤗 2) Earlier this week, Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim @elimpix came out and if you've read my review you know I highly recommend it. It's a fairytale reimagining but let's just say it's even better than the original! 💖 3) Next week, there's a new sapphic fantasy novel coming out! She Who Became the Sun by @shelleyparkerchan and I cannot wait to get my hands on it finally! ✨ 4) This week I discovered Robbi's handle - @book.to.bowl - and I am in love! She recommends food alongside every book! Sometimes she even shares a short recipe for them too! I definitely recommend you check her handle out! 💛 5) I'd like to lastly recommend you to check out @thewordyhabitat 's blog which is turning into one of my favourite blogs because of how candid she is in 'em! She talks about her blogging journey in her latest and it's a fun even nostalgic read. 😄 6) Also, I'm late to the show here but if you're in need for some spirited, funny and cute movie to watch this weekend, I'll recommend Raya and the Last Dragon. It's an animated one but you can guess that my first reason to recommend it is because there's a dragon in the movie! My next reason is because of its perfect portrayal of optimism and hardwork! 🥰 I'm thinking of making #BookstaNews a bi-monthly thing instead of a weekly one so see you two weeks from now! 🌻 #theurbanreader #bipocbookstagram #unitedbookstagram #bookrecommendation #movierecommendation #indianbookstagrammer #indianblogger #delhibookstagrammer #delhibookstafam #representationmatters #shewhobecamethesun #sixcrimsoncranes #shelleyparkerchan #elizabethlim #thewordyhabitat #bookishfeatures #parisbystarlight
//readalong announcement// hey everyone! i hope y //readalong announcement// hey everyone! i hope you've all been doing well this week, it's mid week already but i wish we'd get summer vacations like the europeans get one every summer. something employers here should think about. 🤭 now coming to what today's post is about, well i asked if you guys wanted to have another #theurbanreadalongs and you all said yes, we voted on the books and Plain Bad Heroines by Emily Danforth was a clear pick for most of you! 😎 swipe to check the reading schedule planned and if you want to join in simply comment below or DM me so i can add you to the chat group! 😄 remember any format of the book is welcome - physical copy, ebook or an audiobook! everything counts! 💕 i am excited to be hosting another readalong with you guys after so long, especially for this dark gothic chunk of a novel! we might even have a clubhouse discussion at the end of the readalong too, who knows. ✨ lastly, bless the morning sunshine for allowing me to capture this perfect picture (it's perfect to me 😋). 😍 Oh and yes! Thankyou @chapteronebookstores for getting us this beautiful illustrated edition! 👌🏻 #theurbanreader #theurbanreadalongs #bipocbookstagram #flatlaysquad #flatlayphotography #morningcoffee #readalong #readalongannouncement #plainbadheroines #emilydanforth #gothicbooks #delhibookstagrammer #delhibookstafam #chapteronebookstores
//bookstagram & algorithms// hiii. good morning. //bookstagram & algorithms// hiii. good morning. have you had your morning cup of coffee/tea yet? have you shaken off that Monday morning feeling yet? so i was pondering over bookstagram this weekend. i was mainly concerned about what instagram's focus on reels and videos will mean to a majority of us. here's what i realised. take a long hard look at your handle. look at your audience. do they come here for your reels or do they come here for your reviews? does a majority of your audience who genuinely engage with you do it because you make recommendation list videos or because you write fabulous captions or take mind-blowingly amazing aesthetic pictures? instagram isn't taking away the photo sharing feature and it's algorithm has always been... not favorable to say it bluntly. but you've continued to grow (no matter the pace). you've continued to grow in so many ways than just numbers. so take a long hard look at your audience, remind yourself why you started all this in the first place and take a deep breath before challenging yourself to do better with every post you share. i lost so many followers over the weekend and while it is disheartening, i've also been reminded by many many folks on the gram that my efforts don't go unseen and i am most grateful for those kind of communications that i've have built since joining this community. so have a good week ahead, have a day if nothing else but don't give up on your handle or yourself. you've been doing great so far! ❤️ #theurbanreader #bipocbookstagram #instagram #bookstagram #delhibookstagrammer #delhibookstafam #flatlaysquad #flatlayphotography #mondaymotivation #mondaymood #mondaymorning #coffee #indianbookstagrammer #indianblogger
Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim Let me begin Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim Let me begin by saying that there isn't one thing that I didn't like about this book. It's perfect! 👌🏻 Six Crimson Cranes is a wonderful East Asian reimagining of The Six Swans also known as The Wild Swans by the Grimm Brothers. It's a high fantasy set in the kingdom of Kiata where Shiori lives with her six brothers, her emperor father and her step-mother. The tale begins on the day which will most likely be the day of the dismal end of Shiori's future. Shiori our MC is a rebellious and resilient princess who doesn't want to get married and has recently learnt of her magical powers which she must keep a secret - magic is banned in Kiata. From here on her life takes a turn for the worst, her stepmother turns her six brother into cranes and places a wooden bowl on her head which prevents her from performing any kind of magic. Moreover, she isn't even allowed to utter any sound from her mouth as each sound will lead to the death of a brother. This is a slow-burn enemies to lover romance kind of story with dragons, an awesome sidekick and a perfectly paced plot! I've read retellings and reimaginings before but they've always been disappointing. To put it simply, Six Crimson Cranes is anything but a disappointment. I loved the entire story, I'd love to be a part of this world - which is set in the same world as in the Blood of Star duology, I'd love to eat all the cakes and soups and I loved the most that the ending was not rushed and that there is no major cliffhanger. The ending is always tricky for authors and very rarely do you find stories where you'll be satisfied with them, but Elizabeth Lim does this perfectly. In fact, she even makes sure you look forward to the next book with just as much enthusiasm. Six Crimson Cranes has definitely made it's way to one of my favourite reads this year and I most highly recommend you to read it too! I'd like to thank @tbrbeyondtours and @elimpix for the e-ARC and for having me on this amazing book tour! #theurbanreader #bipocbookstagram #elizabethlim #tbrbeyondtours #sixcrimsoncranes #tbbbox #thebigbookbox #delhibookstagrammer #delhibookstafam #LetsReadOwnVoices
Animal by Lisa Taddeo When the cover reveal for A Animal by Lisa Taddeo When the cover reveal for Animal happened in October last year, I knew that I must read Taddeo's fictional debut. I had earlier last year buddy read her non-fiction work Three Women with @the_pundlit and was amazed by her writing style. So thank you @bloomsburyindia for sending across this dark and twisted tale. If you've read a Taddeo before you're probably aware of how her books talk about sex and female desires without judgement while being fully aware of how judgemental society is in reality. I won't lie, Animal was a challenging read. But not in terms of the pacing or the writing style, both as expected from Lisa were perfect. The challenge lies in accepting the MC Joan, accepting her reality. She's not likable. But her story will leave you shocked by the amount of trauma that is uncovered through the course of the book. Joan's thoughts are surprisingly relatable. This quote from the book explains it well: "You are all of us. You are the parts of us that no one wants to admit." Her thoughts are directed to a "you" in the book and she's most raw and vulnerable to this "you", but who is this you is what keeps YOU hooked. So, I found the ending to be a bit rushed. While the author ties up the loose ends, there are many questions which I am still sitting on right now. On the other hand, this book is an experience and I'll most probably be sitting on those thoughts and questions for a while. The author ensures that you feel uncomfortable. She doesn't attempt to make sex and desires pretty, they are what they for someone. I would like to emphasise that this book is a hard one and it won't be everyone's cup of tea, it is definitely not recommended for anyone younger than 16 & there are many triggers (rape, miscarriage, murder are just some of them) which you will want to watch out for before picking it up. Taddeo is a truly talented writer. Her stories evoke rage, makes you reflect and consider before passing any judgments. Her story clearly depicts what it means to be a woman in a man's world. Most people have uncomfortable desires and most choose to hide them, but Taddeo chooses to write about them instead and I think that's brave.
//celebrating my best friend// now this isn't a b //celebrating my best friend// now this isn't a bookstagram post but seven years ago i didn't know i'd have a bookstagram account in the first place. infact seven years ago on this day i had no idea that this stranger was going to turn out to be my best friend. so here goes... dear nishita, this day is one which i have over the years waved off as any other day, haha i'm sorry and also not sorry about that. earlier this year you reminded me we'll have been friends for seven years now and i waved that off too because over the years i've lost friends I've known for longer, because with you numbers don't matter, in the first seven days of knowing you i knew numbers would never matter. but today is a special day for you every year (not that it isn't for me 🤣) and this year i won't wave it off, infact i'll celebrate it with you instead. thankyou for the laughs, the giggles, the sadness, the anger, the annoyingly adorable moments, the stupid and the embarassments. thankyou for trying to make me to study chemistry and mechanical engineering AND probability. thankyou for all the times you've not tripped or fallen or hurt yourself cause you were being you. thankyou for the times we've messed up as friends and staying in the mess so that we deal with it instead, for watching the night sky in search of shooting stars to wish on, for being my loudest cheerleader. thankyou for choosing me unconditionally. thankyou for holding me together on days i'd almost fall apart and thankyou for being vulnerable on days you felt like you'd almost fall apart. thankyou for the million laughs because of the million stupid crazy things you've done. but most of all, thankyou for showing me through your actions and words what it means to be a friend. a best friend. i didn't need seven years to know you'll be family or that you'll be the one i'd call to hide a dead body. every year i don't celebrate the day i celebrate you. your kindness, your love for blue, the wonder in your eyes when you see lights and even the moments when you try to climb trees which can't be climbed. so today is to you! 🥂 i love you ❤️ ps, i know our friendship is the stuff of legends, hehe 🤭
The Mystery of the Parsee Lawyer by Shrabani Basu The Mystery of the Parsee Lawyer by Shrabani Basu This book is my first true crime non-fiction story (I'm looking at you @belladonnaoflavender ). It's a crime which takes place in England during the era of British colonial rule in India. This story is about George Edalji. A successful lawyer who has been accused of mutilating horses for which an improper investigation occurred and George was sentenced for a crime he didn't commit. You're probably thinking, what's the big deal? There are lots of stories about crimes with wrong convictions. What's so different about this? George for starts was biracial. His father Shapurji Edalji was born to a traditional Parsee family in Bombay. Shapurji later converted into Christianity and move to England, married a white woman Charlotte and eventually became the first South Asian vicar of a church in the country. This was 1876. The same year George was born. George's skin color, his heritage and religion were the main reasons why he was targeted to begin with. Racism was the main reason he was sentenced in 1903 with doctored circumstantial evidence against him. This is a story of a man who wanted justice for himself and he wrote to the author of Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle to help prove him innocent. This is a story which shouldn't be lost to time. This is a story which reveals systematic racism within the police in England in the early 20th century. This is an unfortunate story of yesterday which sounds a lot like today. Shrabani Basu must be commended for picking up this story again and for her brilliant investigative journalism which came forth through the book. She wrote a story which she didn't want buried and forgotten as just another casualty of the British Empire. And that's why this story is not just any story. The book will seem like it rambles on with too many details sometimes, but read it like a Sherlock Holmes mystery and you'll come to see why the details matter. I truly appreciate that the author doesn't seem to presume that her readers will know about the events that occured and weaves a delicate back story for more insight into every event. Thankyou @bloomsburyindia for the #gifted copy.
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theurban_readerThe Urban Reader@theurban_reader·
27 Jul

Almost EVERYONE predicted Klara and the Sun to be on the list. So guess I'll be starting there.

Let's find out what the hype is. 👍🏻

The Booker Prizes@TheBookerPrizes

We are delighted to announce the #2021BookerPrize longlist! Watch chair of judges Maya Jasanoff introduce the 13 books selected with her fellow judges @horatiaharrod, @nataschaandsons, Chigozie Obioma and Rowan Williams, and read more here: https://bit.ly/3y9lvmO

#FinestFiction

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theurban_readerThe Urban Reader@theurban_reader·
27 Jul

Why are books so expensive?

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theurban_readerThe Urban Reader@theurban_reader·
26 Jul

What do booktwt people do when they hit an x number of followers to celebrate?

I need 1 more to hit a 100... took me 7 months, is this normal?

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theurban_readerThe Urban Reader@theurban_reader·
26 Jul

I was so excited to start reading this book, even hosted a readalong for it but I'm DNF-ing it for now because of how much the pace fluctuates. But is it creepy and kinda scary? YES!

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theurban_readerThe Urban Reader@theurban_reader·
26 Jul

The way companies use the word sale all year round doesn't even make me excited about any one of them anymore.

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