Exploring the Bookish World

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...