Exploring the Bookish World

Hello everyone! 2018 is almost over. This year, I had set my Goodreads goal to read 50 books. And I successfully surpassed the number. I have managed to read 65 books this year! I am super happy and excited.😃 I plan to read a lot more in 2019. Let's see how much I can read. Out of the 65 books that I read in 2018, I have put down below my top ten books. I absolutely loved these books. The list below is not arranged in any particular order. All these are in my list of favourite books. Without any further ado, let's begin the list. 1. When Breath becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi.         Blurb:   At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade's training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, the next he was a patient struggling to live. W hen Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi's transformation from a medical student asking w hat makes a virtuous ...

Ballad of Kaziranga is a beautiful book originally written in Assamese by Dilip Chandan. It is translated in English by Parbina Rashid. The book beautifully narrates the story of three people and their experiences and journey in the forest of Kaziranga. Kaziranga is a forest region in Assam, North-Eastern region of India. It is a World Heritage Site, and the sanctuary is home to two-thirds of world's One horned-rhinoceros, which is on the verge of extinction and needs to be conserved. The book perfectly describes the beauty of this place and it reminded me of my trip to Kaziranga a few years ago. The plot is interesting and beautifully written. The main characters in this novel are Arunabh, his cousin brother Amal, and his friend Rishi. Amal has a plan of opening a resort for tourists adjoining the forest of Kaziranga. Read the book to know more about the journey of these three people and of course, Kaziranga! The book is very informative and descriptive. I got to kno...

The Bag: A Novel by Arup Kumar Dutta is a detailed story which mainly focuses on the lives of mainly three central characters of the novel - the dreaded United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) insurgent Hiren Bora, his twelve-year-old step brother Okon, and Senior Police Inspector Lahiri. Each one of the characters is a victim of certain circumstances, not particularly as a result of their own deeds. The story is set in the socio-political backdrop of Assam. The portrayal of the conflict zones of North-East India is very realistic. The constant tension due to political unrest, the complexities of the relationship between Hiren Bora and his adolescent younger brother - strikes a chord within the readers. As the story unfolds, the readers can't help but empathise with the problematic socio-political situation which forced Hiren to resort to arms. His younger brother Okon's story is emotional as well. Both of them shared a deep bond and Hiren's joining the militant ...

Invisible Ties by Nadya A. R. is a beautiful and emotional tale of a girl, Noor. It narrates the journey of her life and how certain incidents and situations completely changes her as a person. The book has a beautiful cover. It shows an exquisite mirror, which plays a significant role in the novel. The plot is quite emotional and gripping. Noor is a girl from Karachi. From her childhood, her mother was very self-absorbed and did not pay much attention to her. However, when it came to making decisions, she was the one. She decided about her daughter's life without even asking about her thoughts. From the beginning of the novel, the character of Noor seems very mysterious. A robbery at her house, her chauffeur, Joseph's murder and the subsequent kidnap of her mother had a serious impact on her emotionally. She was shaken after this incident. The fact that Joseph died protecting her life had a hard-hitting effect on her. After this incident, at the persistence of h...

In the literary world, lately, there has been a lot of work on Mythology. The number of books on mythology, especially Indian Mythology is on the rise. I guess in recent times, the Indian readers are interested very much interested in reading this genre.  Ashwatthama's Redemption: The Rise of Dandak by Gunjan Porwal is a mythological fiction. Mythology has always been a subject of interest to me and is one of my favourite genres. I really liked the way the author has narrated the tale of one of the lesser known and not-so-much discussed characters of the great Indian epic Mahabharata, Aswatthama. The story takes place a hundred years after the great war of Mahabharata, Kurukshetra war. As the story begins, we see that the Kingdoms of Avanti and Surparaka comes to know about the trouble brewing in the forest of Dandak. To prevent the rise of Dandak, Rana, the Prince of Avanti and Vikram, the King of Surparaka seeks the help of Ashwatthama. Then the three of t...

Hello everyone! Hope you all are doing great. I am back with another Author Interview Session. And today, we have with us the National Bestselling Author, Kevin Missal. He is the author of 'Kalki Trilogy'. I loved the first book of the series, Dharmayoddha Kalki. Here's the  link to my review of the book for those who haven't read it yet. And I am really eager to read the next book, Satyayoddha Kalki . Check out the Cover Reveal post on my  blog. Dharmayoddha Kalki by Kevin Missal Satyoddha Kalki by Kevin Missal So readers, get ready for an interesting 'Author Interview Session'.  Me: Hello and welcome to my blog. Congratulations on your new book.  What started you on the path to writing? Kevin: I read a lot of Archie comics then I read these unabridged versions of the classics at the age of 12 that kick-started my writing.  Me: Tell us something about your new book. Kevin: It’s the seq...

The Diary on the Fifth Floor is Raisha Lalwani's debut novel. The story is gripping and thought-provoking. I was hooked to the book until I finally finished reading it. The book is totally unputdownable. The plot revolves around a lady named Savannah Khanna. As the story begins, we see that she came to a hospital to visit Dr Rama Berry, a psychiatrist. Initially, she was a little hesitant to talk to the doctor about her problem. But the doctor made her feel comfortable and made her open up. Savannah ends up giving her personal diary to Dr Berry. In her diary, Savannah wrote her thoughts and various incidents which she came across. But, all her writings had one thing in common - each one of them began on a pleasing note, but the ending shows the unpleasant side of humanity, cruelty, selfishness.  All of her diary entries had negative vibes in them. To know what happens next, read the book! The writing style of the author is absolutely amazing. The language is lucid and it...

Oxford Bookstore on 16th of November 2018, opened the fourth edition of Apeejay Bangla Sahitya Utsob at Jorasankho Thakurbari, the birthplace of Gurudev Tagore, inaugurated by eminent writers Shankha Ghosh , Samaresh Mazumdar and Mazharul Islam  from Bangladesh . India’s first festival debuting in 2015 exclusively dedicated to Bangla literature, ABSU is presented in association with Patra Bharati Group and supported by Rabindra Bharati University. The opening ceremony of its fourth edition held in the courtyard of Jorasanko Thakurbari was graced by Prof Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury, Vice Chancellor, Rabindra Bharati University; Tridib Kumar Chattopadhyay, MD Patra Bharati Group of Publications and Swagat Sengupta, Director Apeejay Bangla Sahitya Utsob and CEO Oxford Bookstores. The inauguration was followed by the launch of Tagore’s ‘Golpo Guchcho O Shob’ by Shanka Ghosh with a keynote address on ‘ The Future of Bangla Literature’  by Mazharul Islam .  ...