Exploring the Bookish World

A collection of ten horror stories, Ghosts of The Silent Hills by Anita Krishan is a book which will make the readers shocked and scared. Eerie stories set amidst silent hills and deserted lodges, surrounded by forests enveloped in a deadly silence... The book is divided into two parts. Each part contains five stories each. All the stories are based on true hauntings. Scary, mysterious and spine chilling - these are the words that best describe the stories. It is so gripping that I could not stop reading it once I started. It took me a few hours to complete reading the entire book. What makes the book really gripping is the fact that each of the stories is really realistic and unique in nature. The spooky atmosphere that surrounds the tales left me terrified. The vivid narrative style adopted by the author to pen this book, and the use of simple language make this book an easy read. The plots of the stories are very well constructed. Some of the stories which I really liked a...

An Indian novel published in 2018 and set in various parts of Asia and Europe was uncannily prescient about the possibilities of accidental or otherwise release of biotechnology products and how it can trigger an epidemic comparable to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. In this novel, The Butterfly Effect (Niyogi Books) by Rajat Chaudhuri, North Korean agents steal an untested genetically modified rice variety, from a UK lab and carry it back to Korea, which cross-pollinates crops and triggers an epidemic of rapid ageing across the continent with high fatalities. The prestigious Nature journal reported last week about the arrest of a Harvard chemistry chief for making false statements about receiving research funding from China. It is alleged that he received ` hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Wuhan University of Technology (WUT) in China and agreed to lead a lab there’. Although involvement, if any, of the arrested professor cannot be assumed or rejected at this s...

The World Between Us by Sara Naveed tells a heart-warming tale of love, the journey of the protagonists, and how they overcome the demons of their past. It is very different from the regular cliched plot that romance novels in general have. It is unique and that is what I really liked about this book. Amal is a simple girl who is troubled by the memories of her disturbing past. Although she tries to move forward, she cannot completely let go of her disturbing memories. Qais Ahmed, on the other hand, is very different from Amal. He seems narcissistic, manipulative and arrogant. But Qais has a troubled past too. And that affects his mental health. Qais joins Amal's office and both start to develop feelings for each other. However, the story takes a drastic turn, when they find out that they have a deep connection to the past from which they are trying to move forward. The author has a beautiful style of writing. It is descriptive yet the story proceeds at a fast pace. It ...

Chandan Deshmukh's book, 6 Secrets Smart Students Don't Tell You, answers all the questions that are always asked by students and parents alike: 'How to study better and have a successful academic career?', 'How to succeed and crack exams?' and many more.  This book is a compilation of many advices for students that are really helpful. The book describes each and every aspect of detail pointwise. There are diagrams and flowcharts for better understanding as well. It is quite relatable for students as it discusses the problems that they face. The book is based on extensive research by the author and the tips and tricks seem very useful. It is conversational, funny and quite insightful in nature.  The writing style is very simple with the use of lucid language, making this book an easy read. It is indeed a very useful self-help book. It took me a few hours to complete reading the entire book as it is quite a short read. Overall, it was a good a...

A sweet tale of love, loss, and most importantly, second chances, Sindhura Kotaru's novel, My Crownless Queen  is quite an interesting read. The protagonist, Peter, is a doctor and has his career soaring, his dreams fulfilled, new colleagues in his life, and his friends beside him. But his life takes a turn when he comes for a trip back home. His parents have fixed his marriage with a girl of their choice. But Peter cannot forget the love of his life, Annie, with whom he broke up ten years back. Both of them tried to move on with their lives. But clearly, Peter had not. Although none had tried to contact each other during the past ten years, Peter still had feelings for her. But, what awaits for his is the most unexpected surprise! Will he be able to accept his past and move on, or will fight for what he believes in without any guarantee for happiness? Peter is left with two choices. Either to make peace with his past or to keep dwelling on it. Read the book to know what...

Self-help books are really great and extremely informative. Chandan Deshmukh's 7 Dream Jobs and How to Find Them is one such amazing book. The author, in this book, guides the readers and discusses in detail the various opportunities, challenges and turning point of any career. We spend most of our lives working. And it is very essential for us to like our job. If the job makes us unhappy, neither will it be productive, nor will it give us job satisfaction. A study says that 80% of Indians are unhappy in their jobs. This book solves a lot of unanswered questions that young people find while trying to choose a career option. It talks about human personalities, and how they're suited for certain jobs, and most importantly, how to find a job that gives satisfaction. It is a short and engaging read. It took me a few hours to complete reading this book. The book has detailed descriptions on career and the point-wise analysis makes it easier to read and comprehend. Overal...

The eleventh edition of the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival was held from the 17th to the 19th of January 2020 at five different venues in Kolkata. Various literary events were held, and many bestselling authors, dignitaries, film and theatre personalities graced the eleventh edition of the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival. The first day of the Festival began with the inaugural session on Forgotten Treasures with William Dalrymple and Jawahar Sircar in conversation on the latest book,  Forgotten Masters: Indian Painting for the East India Company by William Dalrymple. The inauguration was followed by discussions and conversations at the various venues of Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival. A special session on what today’s youth want to read with Vivaan Shah, Kavita Kane, Karuna Ezara Parikh and Jimmy Tangree was a unique and interesting one. The next session was In a New Light: Revisiting Dara Shukoh, Sri Chaitanya and Veer Savarkar with Vikram Sampath, Avik ...

Legitimacy of Power: The Permanence of Five in the Security Council by Dilip Sinha is an informative and brilliant piece of work. I have always chosen fiction over non-fiction, but recently as I am reading more of the non-fiction genre, I am intrigued and amazed by the brilliance of this genre. As is evident from the title of the book, it talks about the working and operations of the United Nations, more specifically, about one of its most important organ, Security Council. It is a study of international security cooperation and its international law. It has historical details about how the organisation came into being, with UK, USA, Russia, France and China as the Permanent Five members, and how it has been working since. The book is divided into 16 chapters, each chapter describing the various aspects of the UN, from its formation to the modern times. It is extremely informative and contains a detailed description. Legitimacy of Power is a perfect academic text and is suit...

An interesting collection of micro tales, SHE - Screw Silence! by Reecha Agarwal Goyal, will take you on an emotional journey. It will make you think. Recently, I came across a number of books on micro tales, but this one is unique in many different ways. "Why kickboxing?"                                                                                                                "I plan to knock out patriarchy one day."  As the title of the book suggests, SHE - Screw Silence! is all about equality, feminism, women empowerment, the women raising their voices, and smashing the patriarchy. The book might look like a short, and cute book, but the subject is really deep. Each one of the micro tales...

The eleventh Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival will be held from the 17th of January to 19th of January, 2020. 12 Bestselling Authors, 4 Women Bosses in Publishing amongst over 100 speakers / Poets to grace the 11th edition. AKLF 2020 HIGHLIGHTS · Venues - Allen Park, Park Street, Alliance Francaise, Park Mansions, Max Mueller Bhavan and Tollygunge Club · Voices - 12 Bestselling Authors, 10 Columnists, 4 women bosses in Publishing, Over 100 speakers and poets across genres and age groups. · Writers’ Awards –Prabha Khaitan Woman’s Voice Award in association with Oxford Bookstore will announce its winner. The 2nd edition of the Award that celebrates fresh Indian voices in women’s writing. · Book Cover Design Awards - Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize will unveil its shortlist book covers. This is the 5th edition of the Award in association with Jaipur Literature Festival  · Global representation - Authors fro...

Chinmaya Desai's debut work, The Grandmaster & Other Short Stories is a collection of seventeen short stories. Each one of the stories is unique and has a twist in it. The very first story in the book is 'The Grandmaster'. It is about a chess grandmaster who is accused of losing a World Championship game intentionally. Some of the stories that I liked are - 'The Inspiration', 'G Male' and The Carrot. Each of the stories ends with an interesting quote. The stories are written in simple and easy language and are fast-paced. There were twists in the stories, although the endings were quite predictable. The characters were well portrayed and the narrative style is quite simple. It is a short read and can be completed reading in a few hours. However, there are certain things which I did not like about this book. This book lacks proper editing. There are a few grammatical errors in the book. Certain parts could have been much better. Also, the use o...

The third and the final book of the Kalki trilogy - Mahayoddha Kalki: Sword of Shiva by Kevin Missal is an amazing read. A tale of love, friendship, adventure, blended with Mythology and philosophy - a journey that started in the first book, Dharmayoddha Kalki,  continued through the second book, Satyayoddha Kalki,  finally concludes in the third book, Mahayoddha Kalki. I have been an ardent fan of the series from the time when I read the first book. And was really eager and excited about this final one. The story begins with Kalki Hari arriving at the city of Indragarh to find out that his brother, Arjan has been taken prisoner, his beloved is about to be executed, and the City is embroiled in a horrifying war with the Naga queen and Dakshini king. Armed with a mighty sword forged by a God, he fights to take the city back from his arch-enemy, the evil Kali. But, Kalki, the avatar of Vishnu is at a crossroads. It is his destiny to fight the last battle with adharm an...

With Ash on Their Faces: Yezidi Women and the Islamic State  by  Cathy Otten  is one of the best books that I have read this year. This book is based on extensive interviews with survivors of the Yezidi population. It is a work of extreme research and analysis. It highlights and brings forward the reality of the war-torn areas of Iraq. ISIS's genocidal attack on the Yezidi population of northern Iraq in the summer of 2014 brought the world's attention to the followers of faith with a long history of persecution. Men were killed, and the Yezidi women were taken to the Islamic state to be sold.  This book narrates the plight of Yezidi women and children.  Who are the Yezidis?  Yazidis are an endogamous and mostly Kurmanji-speaking group of contested ethnic origin, indigenous to Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. The majority of Yazidis remaining in the Middle East today live in Iraq, primarily in the Nineveh and Dohuk governorates. In August 20...

The fifth edition of Apeejay Bangla Sahitya Utsob was inaugurated at the Jorasanko Thakurbari, the birthplace of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore on 22nd November 2019  in the distinguished presence of eminent writers  Shankha Ghosh ; Professor  Syed Manjurul Islam  and editor, publisher  Majharul Islam from Bangladesh  and  Pracheta Gupta  along with  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 Apeejay Oxford Bookstores. ABSU is presented in association with Patra Bharati Group and supported by Rabindra Bharati University. Right to left Procheta Gupta, Majharul Islam, Syed Manujrul Islam, Sankha Ghosh, Meher Afroz Shaon The inauguration was preceded by a one-of-a-kind literary discussion with different Facebook Page Groups who work towa...

Andaleeb Wajid's A Sweet Deal  is a sweet and crispy tale of love and dreams. After reading the blurb, I knew this was going to be a light and breezy read. The perfect book to pick up while I was experiencing a reader's block. The pretty pink cover adds to the sweetness of the book! The plot is very well baked and refreshing as well. The story is centred around Rumana, who along with her friend Neharika has given up their corporate jobs to fulfil their dreams of running a successful cafe. Life takes a turn when Daniyal, a rock star chef - who is very handsome and charming, opens a fancy place - 'Daniyal's Desserts' right next to Rumana and Niharika's cafe - Not Too Sweet. Although Rumana and Daniyal have a not-so-romantic first meeting and they definitely do not start on a good note, as Rumana considers him to be their rival; there's something brewing between both of them. Daniyal cannot get her out of his mind, o the other hand, Rumana is constantly...

Quirky, funny and filmy - these are the three words that best describe Vibha Batra's latest book, Bathinda to Bangkok. Previously, I had read and reviewed two of the author's works and I loved them both. Bathinda to Bangkok is a short and refreshing light read. This rom-com tells the story of a successful party planner Mahi. She is the wedding-planner for her Bff Dingy's wedding. Dingy wants to have her wedding in Bangkok. And for her best friend's sake, she decides to arrange her wedding in Bankok. So, a few days before the wedding, she sets off to Bangkok.  She gets the biggest shock of her life when she finds her ex-boyfriend there in Bangkok to plan the wedding as well! To know what happens to Mahi's story, you have to read the book. I absolutely enjoyed reading this book! I was going through a very bad reading slump and this book made me get over it. The character of Mahi has been very well developed. I loved the way she spoke and her desi vibes and...

About Apeejay Bangla SahityaUtsob Apeejay Bangla SahityaUtsob (ABSU), India’s first Bangla Literary Festival (ieUtsob in Bangla) created by the nearly 100 year old Oxford Bookstore in 2015,honours the rich literary tradition of the Bangla language by making it increasingly visible and accessible, building an audience for Bangla books and creating a culture of readership among the new generation. The Utsob is the pioneer of initiating an interactive platform for the voices of Contemporary Bangla Literature at the national and international stage. ABSU not only showcases all aspects of Bangla literature, literary expressions and its impact on various art forms but also aims to encourage youth and familiarize them with the Bangla language. Among eminent personalities who have graced the Utsob in the last four editions are renowned authors like Sankha Ghosh, Shirshendu Mukherjee, SanjibChattopadhaya, Nabaneeta Dev Sen, SamareshMajumdar, Pracheta Gupta, RanjanBandhopadhyay, ...