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Okay, where do I start from? My thoughts are scattered here and there, freaking everywhere. And I am so pumped-up. It’s like I am struck with a bolt of Athalar’s lightning; the shockwaves of it have send my emotions on a tizzy so intense that I am still in a daze. And these are all just the aftermaths of reading the most electrical charged book ‘House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas. Just imagine, if the after effects of reading this tome of 796 pages was so potent. How was the entire experience? Let me tell you; it was a roller-coaster, that didn’t stop until the last page. And the last page was a promise for more adventures to come. Weirdly though, despite it being a fascinating read; I had this love and hate relationship with this book. Why, you ask? And I say the beginning of Sarah J. Mass’s book ‘House of Earth and Blood, was torturously slow. It took 200 pages to make sense of the characters and the imagery world building. But once past that biggest hurdle, it was the most exciting fantasy-slash-whodunnit book I read in a long, long time. And what’s more, it had both the genres, I love devouring. So yeah, I slowly started falling in love with this book. Each turn of page brought me closer and closer and closer to characters Ruhn, Hunt and Bryce. But it took time for me to fall in love with them. I found them a bit aloof. Cold, if I may say so. Bryce, especially. A snarky and a snobbish of a person. I seriously did not like her. Everytime she came into the scene, I wanted to bang some sense into her; tell her not to be so heartless. But then there came a moment in the book, that made me realise that she, after all is a human; shaped by the fear and experiences of the past. Thenceforth, I completely and irrevocably fell in love with Bryce and the book. And, and, and did I tell you about Danika? Ooo She is my most favouritest character. Though she had the minutest role, but the impact she had on me was earth shattering. I so wish, she had a bit bigger role. What’s more, cherry to this yummilicious cake is Sarah J Maas’s beautiful,beautiful writing style. I wouldn’t have ploughed further 50 pages in the beginning, if not for her writing style. And thanks the Gods, that I read this epic of a book, or otherwise I would have missed on something so amazing. Sarah J. Maas’s House of Earth and Blood, is a book that should be read slowly with your eyes, heart and soul. It is a heaven for Fantasy and mystery readers.
It was an exhilarating evening at Taj Palace, New Delhi that saw a heart-warming celebration of women on Women’s Day. Times of India and JK Papers joined hands to celebrate women authors who have added value and creativity to the literary space. The AutHer Awards 2020 was attended by the who’s who of the town and the hall jam packed with authors, academicians, publishers, bureaucrats, politicians, artists and book lovers, cheering at the winners was a sight to behold. And the awards went to…….. The awards were handed over in 4 categories and consisted of a trophy and cash prize worth Rs 1 lakh each. There was a Lifetime Achievement award and a Popular choice award too. In the category Fiction the award went to Madhuri Vijay for her book, The Far Filed (Harper Collins Publishers India)-(Literary Fiction) and Sutapa Basu for The Curse of Nader Shah (Readomania)- (Historical Fiction). The Best Author Non-Fiction award went to Saba Dewan for her book Tawaifnama (Westland). The Best Author Debut award was split between Rudrakshi Bhattacharjee for This is how it took Place (HarperCollins Publishers India) and Rehana Munir for Paper Moon (HarperCollins Publishers India). The award was given to Rudrakshi posthumously who passed away at the young age of 16. It was an emotional moment for the entire gathering when her parents Debasree Bhattacharjee and Ratnadip Bhattacharjee received the prize on her behalf and said how happy and incredulous she would have been to receive it. Bijal Vachharajani was given the Best Author Children’s award for her book A Cloud called Bhura (Speaking Tiger). The Popular Choice Award went to Sutapa Basu for garnering maximum number of votes online. Legendary author Nayantara Sahgal was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award that was received by her daughter who read out a soulful message by Nayantara, thanking TOI for giving her an award that she had never received earlier-a Lifetime Achievement Award for her contribution as a woman author. Times Group CEO Raj Jain who graced the occasion with his presence, emphasised on the need of focussing on the contribution of women and said, “Since times immoral women have always played an integral role in all aspects of life and indeed have been at the forefront of the creation and origin of existence. Sadly though, they have always been praised out of fringes and have never been a part of the mainstream social and historical narrative.” The journey of the awards The books were chosen, post multiple layers of screening, out of a whopping 850 entries submitted by both publishers and individual authors for the coveted national award, the first of its kind in India. The jury considered books by women published in India between December 2018 and November 2019. Eminent writer and politician Shashi Tharoor who was the Chief Guest of the event, said: ” Of course, things have changed very much, but the fact fundamentally remains that too much of our history, too many of our stories have been written simply by men and if you look at the global picture, the vast, vast majority of published writings have not just been written by men but by white men. Therefore the literate public have looked at the world or have been shaped and conditioned by perspectives of these men.” The jury The chairs for the AutHer Awards jury consisted of author Ashwin Sanghi (Fiction), actor and author Sonali Bendre (Non-Fiction), columnist and author Shobhaa De (Debut), and author Bulbul Sharma (Children’s books). The other jury members were author Jaishree Misra (Fiction), author and former Deputy Secretary, Sahitya Akademi Gitanjali Chatterjee (Fiction), author Yasser Usman (Non-Fiction), author and journalist Manimugdha Sharma (Non-Fiction), author and comic writer Arjun Gaind (Debut), Co-founder of ScoopWhoop Rishi Pratim Mukherjee (Debut), actor, compere and Director of The Study School Shivani Wazir Pasrich (Children’s books), and author Ramendra Kumar(Children’s books). Vinita Dawra Nangia, Literary Director, AutHer Awards beautifully summed up the need for having a special award for women authors, “Why should there be an award for women authors? This is to encourage them and recognise their talent because men still seem to have a disproportionate advantage in the field of publishing. It was 174 years ago that Bronte Sisters wrote under the pseudonym of a man because it was felt women writing fiction would not be acceptable in men and although a lot has changed after that, but women continue to use pseudonyms and initials and men dominate the bestselling lists. We need to change all that.” The AutHer Awards was hosted by popular stand-up comedian Papa CJ who interspersed his conversation with humorous anecdotes and added a lively nuance to the gala evening.
Stifled Oneling by Dr. Stifled Oneling Books are born out of the tragedies and stories that surround us. Writing itself is a cathartic process that helps us deal with our demons. “Contemporary happenings” in the life of a Stifled Oneling !! by Dr. Oneling, is one such book born out of the woes. Over 150 pages long, this book is divided into ten chapters and an epilogue. Each chapter caters to different social evils from monetary issues to redundant religious superstitions to feminism, education and taboos, this book questions almost everything and leaving us rattled in the process with more questions in its wake. The book presents to us these woes of society but doesn’t get preachy. The author maintains that the aim of this book is to educate the masses about these issues and she knows that the change doesn’t come overnight. The concepts are all etiological factors – fear, society, and human ego – the three factors that cause the social struggles, the author discusses at length in this book. When I talk about the writing style of the author, it is quite lucid but hard-hitting. The author’s words drive home the point it harps on. The book is a quick read and one can see it more as essay-esque writing. I loved reading the author’s thoughts about the on-going issues. It gives the readers a vision to view these social norms that are sometimes forced upon us traditions. In my view, this book deserves to be read and understood, if you consider yourself a responsible citizen of this nation. This book pursues a solution and the ranting of the author comes out as a cry to wake us up. And halfway through reading the book did I understand, why did the author titled the book Stifled Oneling. Overall, this book give its readers a new dimension to think and contemplate our so called societal norms that ranges from religion, money, taboo, feminism. Kudos Dr. Oneling.
The smart balance By Ankita Aurora I guess this is the book I was waiting for. A perfect read to start the year with. In todays so called wireless world we are badly entangled to social media & glued to our gadgets. People have started travelling just for the sake of uploading pictures & using the most trending hashtags. Girls use tons of make-up to reach #nomakeup look & kids using #wanderlust #travelislife don’t even appreciate the culture/ nature around. The Author however uses interesting # in her book, making us actually #think. She addresses the most important issue (i.e. work life balance or actual vs virtual life,) that we are facing today in detail & tell us methods to overcome it. The new age disorders & syndromes are well explained too. The content of her book shows how well researched her writing is and how well read the author is. She mentions recent researches & facts every now and then in the book, making it really informative. I also loved the suggestive read/ talks she gave at the end of the book She also uses diagrams & tables to explain her point well. The real-life examples & #todo activities are also useful & doable. This book looks a bulky read but was worth reading every page. The topics are well divided into chapters and creates a good flow. Language is really easy & font size soothing for your eyes. Overall, I will give this book 5/5 for the topic she chose to write and the efforts she put it into. This book is definitely going into my must-read list of 2020
The Things We Fear By Sharit Sinha This one starts off with the dramatic incident of two collegians in the nearby Cemetery and the birth of Zombies. Cut to their HGRE College where the quiet, brooding Harsh is bullied by the College Football Star Rohit and his cronies as his girlfriend Rita watches in glee. A humiliated Harsh assaults Rohit not paying any heed to his timid friend, Deep as Lata, the college newspaper editor encourages him to fight back. Enter the main college bully Rudra Pratap who thrashes Harsh for daring to hit his man, Rohit. Talk about clichés galore. In an unexpected turn events, enters our Superhero and new entrant, Neel. He’s here to do what he does best- fighting zombies, witches and vampires while also taking down the odd Bully or two. Naturally the Ghostbuster soon becomes their Savior. A strange twist of faith results in this motley group of 6 suddenly finding themselves in a most unlikely adventure when they have to face their own deepest, darkest fears discovering strength, friendship and brotherhood in the most unrealistic circumstances as they rush to save themselves from the ultimate witch- Akshita. Recommendation: Having started off reading about Zombies, I was totally dismayed and skeptical about this one. To make matters worse, the language wasn’t all that great. It took me a good 100+ pages to actually start getting into the book despite its supernatural theme. That’s when the story picked up with friendships being formed and inner conflicts being addressed. The characters suddenly became a bit more interesting what with them having to deal with their inner most demons. As they say, Horrors lie not just in the obvious ghosts and monsters but in ordinary people and their evil actions as well. Rating: 2.5/5
The Chennai Killings by Chital Mehta Inspector Vikram has been reeling ever since his younger sister, Priya’s mindless murder 2 years ago. Despite trying his best to move on, he seems to be stuck in limbo unable to accept the grief as the cold blooded killer seems to have gotten away. Anusha, his wife keeps reminding him of his duties to her and their 7-year-old son Aarav but Vikram just can’t let go of the past. The spine chilling murder of another collegian, Sandhya leads to Vikram being assigned to the case. This one seems to hit a bit too close to home. As he goes about trying to piece together the murder, he comes upon the most unlikely connections between the two victims. As the plot unravels with the entry of new characters, Vikram tries his best to keep it together and not let his emotions cloud his thoughts and perceptions. While dealing with the girl’s family members and friends, the Inspector slowly starts connecting to dots in order to figure out the whole agenda behind the sinister death. Vikram edges closer and closer towards discovering the real truth; one that will finally set him free or will it really? Does he make sure that Justice is served or does the culprit manage to get away with it all? Recommendation: A gripping read that kept me guessing till the very end. Initially the plot felt fairly simplistic with more focus on the play of human emotions rather than any real mystery. I mean, the murder itself didn’t feel like there was any real mystery and that’s wherein the true brilliance lies. The well-defined characters and respective backstories were enjoyable and have been pieced together without letting the tautness of the main plot drop. However as the plot unfolded, a series of events and characters enfolded quick and fast. Not once could I have predicted the final twist. This one turned out to be a brilliant book that I practically read from cover to cover. Good thing it wasn’t too long. Rating: 5/5
Publication: Bloomsbury India Publishing Pvt. Ltd. Page Count: 360 pages Review: Fiction This book starts off where we would usually expect most to end. After all, it’s not every day that one would start off reading about the death of the main protagonist. I mean isn’t that the most unlikely if not shocking way to begin a book. The sudden and unexpected death of Uthaman in Bahrain sets off a whole flurry of events. The initial actions and reactions of his friends, workmates, employers and of course his family are expressed in such a matter of fact manner that one can simply look on in a detached manner. According to Hindu customs, over the next 42 days, the Soul takes its time to get ready and move on to the next realm of its onward and upward journey. That is when the final rites are performed and the soul is set free. Over this period, the Author takes us back and forth telling us about the short life of Uthaman. The youngest and eagerly awaited boy born after several sisters in an idyllic village of Kerala. His journey from childhood to college is interspersed with glimpses of young love followed by the inevitable hurdles, responsibilities and youthful dilemmas. Despite his initial reluctance, Uthaman does take on the mantle of responsibilities though unfortunately succumbing way earlier leaving behind the distraught women and innocent son who regroup and slowly build on their inner quiet strength. Recommendation: Despite its morbid theme, this novel turned out to be quite the page-turner. Simply yet beautifully written, the author manages to keep you engrossed right till the very end. The characterization is well defined and you can actually imagine as the events unfold. Though inherently a tragic book that deals with a young death, you still find some kind of hope and peace by the end. Not really philosophical but you do get insights about Hindu traditions and culture. Rating: 3/5
Who can ever give you company throughout your life, I know no one can, but cant we walk a few steps together. – Ahmad Faraz This novel doesn’t last long reading wise but it makes you think. Think about people, situations, dreams and chase towards those dream. When I saw this 65 pages novel, I thought this is a piece of cake, to eat in one gobble but the taste of the author’s narration is still lingering around. I would have loved to read more of this story and that is the only complaint I have about this novel The Lost Gold by Kaushikk Yegnan If pain doesn’t provide visible proof.You suffer, and suffer alone, for lack of proof. This novel is about sportsman’s 69 years journey across the Olympics of times in the search of the lost gold. As a child protagonist Andrei Kaufmanns attends the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and from there his love for long jump and dream of winning Olympic gold begins. In between because of World war II, he could not win Gold and chase towards Gold medal begins.Author has not written about big war story instead it’s about small stories which seems insignificant in world’s history which describes human pain and emotions affected because of war. If love could move mountains, a mother’s love could realign the universe. My favorite part of novel was a story about Andrie’s servant Bretta and her 4 year old son Boris.It wasn’t a happy story but it is still replaying in my mind.‘The most painful state of being is remembering the future, particularly the one you’ll never have! – SOREN KIERKEGAARD ‘.In these 65 pages father – son relationship, Mother’s devotion for her only son, journey of sportsman towards his dream and many more feelings are covered which makes you wonder about life and many other things.For this gripping novel of worst times of human history world war II I would like to rate 4.5 out of 5.
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