Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: April 2023. (All Bengali Books in April)

 

Hello Loves! 

April has whizzed on by and it's time to talk about all the books I read this month and my thoughts and opinions on said books. 

I try to read mostly Bengali books in April for my annual celebration of all things Bengali in honour of Bengali New Year, some years I read only Bengali books and don't stray off topic, while others I do find myself reading books from other places..and that's OK. I never want my reading to be so rigid and constrained that I can never have any wriggle room. 

Reading is something I do for pleasure and joy and reading what I want and when I want is something I stick to at all times. 

OK. 

So this month I read some 11 books in total. 

7 from Bengal and by Bengali writers. 

4 from elsewhere. 

I had a little bit of slow reading month (by my standards) and it's OK. I did other things and really slowed down with my reading and read some serious and heavy books that I had to slow down and sit with. 

It was a good reading month. 

Read a classic. 

Read two debut novels. 

Read a lot of Lit Fic. 

And a few thrillers. 

Sounds perfect to me. 

OK, let's jump right in and get into everything I read this month! 

I will first talk about all the Bengali Books and then talk about the rest. 

:) 

BOOKS OF APRIL 2023: 

1. Four Chapters by Rabindranath Tagore: Started my month with the OG, the King of Bengali Literature- Tagore. 

I haven't read a ton of his work, pretty much all of his poetry is unknown to me. I have heard it being recited by various family members and I am fairly well versed with his music, being Bengali Tagore is an indelible part of our lives. I want to read more of his writing. This slim little novella was something I enjoyed quite a bit. I enjoyed this fairly modern and it's very relevant point of focus. A hyper nationalist leader who expects undying and total loyalty from his followers and often leads them astray for his own selfish interests. A love story in part and a story of three very strong and memorable characters. A very strong woman, who chooses to serve her nation and forsake marriage and any traditional role for women in her day, and I especially loved how Tagore wrote his very flawed and grey antagonist. 

Very very good stuff. 

There have some film adaptations that I am curious to watch. 

4/5 

2. Dirty Laundry by Disha Bose: From Tagore's Bengal to modern day Ireland. This book is set in a tiny village in Ireland and talks of modern motherhood and how three different women approach mothering and female friendship. It shows three very different kinds of mothers, a social media mommy blogger and a self-proclaimed expert, an Earth mother, crunchy type mom and an Indian immigrant (a Bengali woman from Calcutta) who is just a mom trying to do her best. And then there is murder. 

I loved how this book looks at motherhood and the very different approaches to it and how toxic social groups and cliques can be. A lot of what you read here is immensely relatable, and more so if you are mother and mingle in with other moms. No one here was perfect and pretty much a lot of the characters were deeply unlikable, but it didn't put me off. 

I enjoyed this quite a bit and flew through it. 

4/5 

3. An Element of Fog by Boudayan Sen: This book set in an elite boarding school in the South of India in the 1990s and a part of it's split narrative is set in the same region in 1870-ish. We see a British Pastor making his way through India, trying to find his flock and we see a lonely Bengali teacher and school administrator in the 90s trying to find love and companionship and lasting friendship. 

This is a moody and slow and atmospheric read. 

The thing I found most interesting is that it's very rare for me to read a book about a man's inner life and loneliness. I read so many women authors and I am more inclined to do a deep dive into a woman's mind and life, so this book felt  like such a different experience for me. I really should pick up more books about men and them being vulnerable. 

That personal epiphany aside, I did enjoy it's writing and the gentle journey of this tale. 

Perfectly enjoyable. 

3/5 

4. Not Quite a Disaster After All by Buku Sarkar: It's funny how I first heard of this book. I saw it on Zoya Akhtar's IG. And it looked and sounded like something I would enjoy. From the very start, maybe because of the cover, this gave me some very strong Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri vibes. And you know your girl loves all things JL! So I promptly got my hands on it. 

This book is told through a few vignettes, a few little snippets and glimpses into the lives of two women, well mostly one woman. It shows her at various points in her life, childhood, young adulthood and proper womanhood. 

I liked this, not equally and not throughout it's short run but I did enjoy it. But this is the kind of book you have to be in the mood for and pick up at the right time and I also think this perhaps not something that will be universally loved. 

Pick it up if you enjoy books that are move vibes than plot. 

I liked it. 

I don't think I loved it. 

3/5 

5. One Small Voice by Santanu Bhattacharya: Some books you read at just the right time. And some books feel like they were written for you. This one right off the bat had me so invested and hooked. It's set in two cities I have called home- Lucknow and Mumbai. And set in time periods I have very strong memories and associations with. 

Lucknow in 1992 and Mumbai in the early 2000s and then on out. It talks of India and it's changing social and political climate and how that affects people and communities and relationships. 

Pick this up if you want to read something sharp, well-observed and well-written. 

I really enjoyed this book and I have a lot of thoughts and I will do a full review of this one. So stay tuned for that. 

3.5/5 

6. A State of Freedom by Neel Mukherjee: My second book by the author and one I enjoyed so very much. This one is a book told through linked stories, not very obviously interconnected but tenuously so. And I really liked that about it. The connections between the stories and the characters weren't very in your face obvious. Set in rural Bengal, Calcutta, Mumbai, Jharkand and in homes of middle-class Indians and those struggling to eke out a living, this book takes into worlds and homes we know and those we know exist but perhaps don't think too much about. 

This is a heavy read. Parts of it will make your heart heavy and sad and angry and so much of what you read here, you will want to mull over and sit with. 

I loved it. Even the parts that made me uncomfortable. 

4/5 

7. The Adventures of Feluda Vol. II by Satyajit Ray: Ah! A thing of joy. I started re-reading this volume on Nobo Borsho, I couldn't think of a better Bengali book to spend my special day with. I had intended to read a story or two but once I started I just couldn't stop. I have been reading this every night before sleeping and honestly, it's a been such a good way to end the day. 

5/5 

Always a good time. 

Now for the non-Bengali reads. 

8. City of Incident by Annie Zaidi: I read and loved Prelude to a Riot and ever since this book came out I know I wanted to read it. And this slim little book packs a punch. 

12 stories. 

12 people. 

6 men.

6 women. 

1 city. 

Mumbai. 

These gingerly inter-connected stories were such a love song to this city of mine. It showed us pretty much every strata of society, was fairly diverse and showed this teeming city in all of it's beauty and brokenness. 

I loved it. 

4/5 

Now let's talk about the three thrillers I read this month. 

9. The Angel Maker by Alex North: I read this in the very beginning of the month and I went into this with such high hopes. I have read two books by this author and loved them both. He writes a mix of thriller-mystery + supernatural shenanigans and I am a big fan of these genres come together. Give me a good dose of spooks and murder and I am all in. So I felt like this would be a good time. 

Alas, that was not the case. 

I really, really didn't enjoy this. 

It wasn't good. 

1/5 

10. Tell Me What Really Happened by Chelsea Sedoti: This one is a YA thriller. Told entirely through Police Interrogation, this was a unique way to tell a story. 

5 teens to camping and one of them dies and the rest are all suspects. 

Fun. Interesting and very, very entertaining. 

3.5/5 

11. The Donut Legion by Joe. R. Landsdale: This one was a fun ride, a little bit about a small-town, a missing ex-wife and a cult. Fun. Buddy read this one with my sister and we both enjoyed it. 

3.5/5 

💜💜💜💜💜💜

Ah! 

11 books. 

Mostly all good. 

I had a good month of reading. 

Hope April was kind to you too. 

:) 

Weekend Reads: What My Sister and I Are Reading this Weekend.

 Hello Loves! 

How is the weekend treating you? All good I hope. This long weekend my plan is to read some and write a little and set up my planner and journal pages for May. 

I hope this is a nice longgg weekend for all of us. 

I also hope to binge some shows and films and have myself a good old time. 

For reading this is what we are reading. 

The Adventures of Feluda Vol. II by Satyajit Ray: I am 56% through my beautiful book, gosh Feluda is always such a good idea and perfect summer reading in my books, and my plan for this weekend and the end of April is finish off these volume of stories that I've been slowly reading since the middle of the month. I read a story every few days and read a little before bedtime and it's honestly been such a happy time. 

If you haven't had the joy of reading these books, please pick one up. These are Bengali classics and perfect for kids and adults alike. 

 I cannot recommend these stories enough. They are full of adventures, mysteries, travel and information about so many different things. Ray was truly a genius. 

My sister is reading.. 

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters: This is book about an indigenous Canadian child who goes missing from a berry farm in the 1960s and its a mystery about who took her and what became of her and her family in the aftermath of her abduction. My sister is a little bit in and really enjoying the story and the time period it's set in. 

Friday Favourites: Summer in the City.

Hello Loves! 

Today's batch of Friday Faves is just all things Mumbai. 

I don't love summer. 

But I do love the gorgeous summer skies and that incredible light. I also love how my city looks in the early days of summer, all bright and beautiful and lit up. 

Here are some pictures of summer days and summer night in the city.  

Iconic. 

The streets of Colaba hold a piece of my heart. 

Iced-coffee after a spot of book shopping. Bliss. 

The Subko at Kitab Khana is giving me life. 

Talking of Kitab Khana...a forever favourite. 

All lit up and how. 

:) 

Whimsy Wear: Summer Blues.

Hello Loves! 

Summer Styles in my books is all about comfort and Cotton. 

Wear the softest and comfiest things and hope to keep the heat at bay. 

I recently worse this very blue and airy outfit and this is what I want the rest of my summer to look like. 

Rings galore. 

Wore some of my old silver rings. 

A rug on a friends terrace. 

An armful of bangles. 

Snacks. 

My sister's bag sitting pretty. 

My gorgeous little Tuesday Sling from Chiaroscuro. 

All kinds of blues. 

Pockets of peace. 

No such thing as too much silver. 

DETAILS: 

Kurta: Farida Gupta 

Bag: Chiaroscuro 

Rings: Amber Jewels and Shops in Bangalore 

Silver and Meenakari Bangles: Jaipur Silver Shops (I don't remember the names anymore)

Cloth Bangles: Art n Light Studio 

Book Review: Twelve Secrets by Robert Gold

 

Book: Twelve Secrets 

Author: Robert Gold 

Pages: 448

Read on: Kindle 

Read in: ~4 hours 

Plot Summary: The day his older brother was murdered was the day Ben Harper's life changed for ever.

In one of the most shocking crimes in national history, Nick and his friend were stabbed to death by two girls their own age. Police called the killings random, a senseless tragedy.

Twenty years on Ben is one of the best true crime journalists in the country. He has left the past behind, thanks to the support of his close-knit hometown community. 

But when he learns about a fresh murder case with links to his brother's death, Ben's life is turned upside down once more. He soon finds himself caught in a web of lies, one that implicates everyone around him. And on his quest for answers, Ben discovers one very important truth:

Everyone has secrets.
But some secrets are deadlier than others.

Things I Liked: 

1. Old crimes. Old secrets. Unravelling past mysteries. That is what this book is all about and every aspect of the book is perfectly executed! So, so, happy to have stumbled upon this fast-paced, thrilling, taut thriller. With a very interesting premise and some very likeable characters, this is a thriller that checks all the boxes. 

2. Ben Harper's brother, Nick, was killed twenty years ago at the age of 14 by two girls from his class for no good reason. A ritualistic killing for which Nick and his mate, Simon, were chosen randomly. Ben (aged 8 back then) and his mum somehow put the pieces of their broken lives back together and moved on with great difficulty. Ten years after Nick's murder, Ben's mum died, seemingly jumping in front of a train. Ben still lives in his childhood home and in the same town, where many people have hidden many secrets about the two girls and the reasons behind the murder of the two boys. 

So, this book delves into multiple cold cases- the murders of Nick and Simon, the death of Ben and Nick's mum, the death of one of the girls who'd killed Nick and some other older crimes and with so much happening, there is never a dull moment. 

3. Really liked the investigative process and the gradual unravelling of the secrets in this book. Ben, helped by police constable, Dani Cash, start looking into the past crimes, meeting residents of the village and finding out new information related to these crimes. 

4. There are nice red herrings and the killer/s and motives are not very obvious, which is always a nice thing when you read so much of the genre and are a bit jaded! :) 

Rating: 5/5 

Highly recommend! Do read this book! 

Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: March 2023 (Femme March).

 Hello Loves! 

I know, I know..this post is beyond late. I don't even know what happened, I read such amazing books in March and I was dyinggg to talk about them. But..well. Here we are. Almost at the end of April and talking about my March reads! 

I guess better late than never. 

Chalo, let's just jump into my March books. 

I read 16 books in March and all written by women in honour of International Women's Day and Women's History Month. It's the easiest reading goal/theme/challenge because I end up reading a ton of women's writing in any case. So this month is a month of easy, breezy and happy reading for me. 

I read some incredible books and let's just jump right into it. 

Let's go. 

BOOKS OF MARCH 2023: 

1. Daughters of Madurai by Rajashree Variyar: Loved this book about a mother and daughter and deep seated family secrets. Did a full review for this this, which you can read here. 

4/5 

2. I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai: I loved this book, it reminded me ever so slightly of Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld, since it's set in a post boarding school, but this one has a murder mystery and so much pitch perfect conversation about rape culture and the post me-too world. Read if you enjoy reading about boarding schools, how women (especially young women) are treated in our world and read about the world after we've started having some conversations about consent and agency. 

So good. 

4/5 

3. Beguiled by Ruchika Soni: A memoir..of sorts. I read this because it'a true life account of a woman's experience with marrying a conman and narcissist. I was OK. Of course, this is someone's lived experience and I am not going to comment on her life and what she has lived through and survived...but..I wasn't the biggest fan of the writing and how this 'story' was told. 

2.5/5 

4. The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff: This one has been long listed for this year's Women's Prize and from the outset did sound quite lovely and just the thing I'd enjoy. Set in rural Gujarat, it's about a woman who everyone thinks killed her husband. She didn't but there is nothing she can do to dispel people's opinion of her. So she lives with it, the infamy and side eye and she thrives. Sets up a little business and really enjoys living an independent life. Trouble starts when other women in the village, especially those with abusive husbands seek out her expertise in doing away with their husbands too. 

I really thought I was going to love it. The women helping women, rural lives and women fighting against society and social norms and asserting themselves. 

Well..something about this felt so off. The way these women spoke to each other seemed so inauthentic and God, could the writer just shut up about how dirty this village was? Like really, just SHUT UP. Rural doesn't automatically mean dirty. A ton of rural folks work very hard and are very house proud. They might have small homes but they have clean homes. This book was so painfully and obviously written for a western reader and it just went hard on how dirty the streets are. I am not being hyper sensitive and I am well aware that poverty doesn't look pretty or neat, but to go on and on and on about dirty Indian homes and villages..come on. Have you even been to an Indian village? Have you? 

I am so done with writers, vaguely Indian or otherwise not stepping foot in the country and writing a book perpetuating stereotypes. 

Ugh.

Nope. 

1/5 

5. Blue Women by Anukrti Upadhyay: A collection of short stories mostly about women- strong women, odd women, clingy women, mums and daughters and wives and peculiar women, I love everything I've read by the author and this was no different. I love how she writes women and how she writes about situations and relationships and longing. So good. 

4/5 

6. True Biz by Sara Novic: I loved this book, sooooo much. I love books that take me into a world and a lives I know next to nothing about. This amazing book took me into deaf culture and how they live and feel about the hearing world and the certain extraordinary measures and treatments used on deaf kids. I knew so little about this and this book gave me so much to think about and sit with. Set in a Deaf school, this book shows us this world through the eyes of several characters, the head of school who's a hearing child of deaf parents, a young teenager who's deaf but has had next to no training in ASL and lives with her hearing parents who don't quite know how to deal with her and several others in this community. 

I loved it so much and I highly recommend you pick it up and maybe watch CODA after. 

4/5 

7. Paati Vs. Uncle by Meera Ganapathi: This book was such a joy to read. Perfect summer reading, for kids and adults and I am such a sucker for any book centered around a Grandma. 

4/5 

8. Salt Houses by Hala Alyan: I tried to keep my reading as diverse as possible, in general and when I was reading women's writing. This book had been on my radar for so long. And it was worth the wait and worth the praise it's garnered. Set in Palestine and outside, this is a family saga told from multiple perspectives. A tale of family, identity and displacement. I loved it. Please pick it up, literature is often such an incredible way to learn about people's history and lived experience and trauma. 

4.5/5 

9. A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf: A perfect book for Women's History Month and to celebrate women's writing. A classic and still relevant piece of writing and thought. 

3/5 

10. The Blind Matriarch by Namita Gokhale: A book that took me straight out of March 2023 and right back to those blurry and confusing days of March 2020 (shudder!). 

Did a full review for this one too. 

You can find it here. 

4.5/5 

11. A Likely Story by Leigh McMullen: I love books about books and writers and publishing and I have a special spot for books set in New York. This book has all of these combined. A super famous writer Dad and his daughter who's struggling to find her own voice and become a writer and a found manuscript and the ins and out of a society marriage. Ufff. So good and layered and messy and infuriating in bits but so real. I loved this book and it's very flawed people and I flew through it. 

4/5 

12. Dear Medusa by Olivia A. Cole: A book told in verse about a survivor of sexual abuse and a world that is way better at slut shaming girls than believing them. Read with caution. TWs for SA and Bullying. 

3/5 

13. Up All Night, Edited by Laura Silverman: I then read an anthology of short stories, all based on a common theme of shenanigans that happen in the middle of the night. This has a mix of genres, some stories were romantic, some were slice of life and some were a little murdery and thrillery. This was such a mixed bag, not all stories were great. Some were very skipable, while others very enjoyable. 

3/5 

Then I read some smut. 

:D 

14. The Deal Dilemma by Megan Brandy: This was so OK and even the steamy scenes weren't exactly hot. 

2/5 

15. What Was Meant to Be by Q.B. Tyler: An age-gap romance and it was OK. Steamy enough. 

3/5 

16. In Nightfall by Suzanne Young: A YA vampire book. God, it's been so long since I had read a vampire book! This one is a good, light and easy summer read. Two siblings find themselves spending the summer with their reclusive grandmother in her peculiar small town where things are not quite as they seem. This was fun enough. Slightly unbelievable and far fetched but entertaining enough. 

3/5 

💛💛💛💛💛💛💛

A good reading month. 

A mix of things--- 

Literary fiction. 

Thrillers. 

YA. 

Smut. 

Kid Lit. 

World Lit. 

All good things. 

March was really a fun reading month. 

:) 

Vignettes: Days of April! (Journals, Feluda, Coffee and Planner Pages.)

 Hello Loves! 

I've been missing from this space for a while now. Nothing really, just life getting in the way and summer kicking my butt and making me slow down like never before. For most of April I've had some random ache in my neck and then the heat is making me all kinds of lethargic. 

Life has been slow but good. 

I've been hunkering down and reading and reading some amazing books for All Bengali Books in April. 

I can't wait to do a Wrap-Up at the end of the month. 

We did a spot of celebrating for Nobo Borsho and reset our home. 

It's been good. 

Slow and hot and good. 

Here are some glimpses of what this month has looked like. 

Finding comfort in Starbucks and oh look new journal that is a thing of beauty. I didn't buy any new clothes for Bengali New Year but I did treat myself to some books and some new stationery bits and bobs. 

This one is from The Stitchery Room on IG. 

Planner Pages for the last week of April. 

How has time just flown by?! 

This year I hope to finish off some of my older stickers that I have hoarded for a while now. So being a little too generous with my sticker use lately. 

Summer in the city. 

Favourite bits of my city. 

The bylanes of Colaba and a ton of memories. 

Iced-coffee is upon us and keeping us sane. 

The Mug is from Nestasia if you were wondering. 

I have been spending most of my summer afternoons, lying in bed curled with my current read. There's juice, water and a bowl of fruits and my curtains are pulled to block out the sun. 

Bliss. 

I don't do very well in summer. I have to figure out ways to keep myself happy till the rains show up. 

And this summer is kicking us all to the damn depths of misery. I cannot even begin to fathom what May holds for all of us. 

God help us all. 

My current read: Making my way through the second Volume of Feluda's stories and these stories are just pure delight and comfort. I started reading this on Nobo Borsho, so the 15th, and initially I thought I'd read a couple of stories but I've been chugging along and don't see myself stopping till I am done. 

Such wonderful and wholesome stories. If you haven't read them before, please please pick them up. 

My view as I lay reading in bed on summer afternoons. 

:) 

How have you been holding up? 

Good?

My plan for this last week of April is get back to regular Blogging. Finally do my March Reading Wrap-Up and find some books to finish off All Bengali Books in April in style. 

:) 

Have a good week ahead folks. 

Book Haul: Books of January 2023 + Mini-Reviews.

 Oh Boy! 

This post is sooo super duper late! 

I don't even know why?! I love book hauls, I love watching people haul books and you know I love buying books! And 2023 has (so far) blessed me with some happy little book buying moments. 

January was especially bountiful and full of books. 

Quite unexpected but lovely. 

I bought two books to kick start my New Year. Both Bengali. Both classics. Both gorgeous. 

These are my first book buys of the year. 

I like starting my New Year with a spot of book buying to herald in a year of books and reading. 

These two are classics and you can't go wrong with them.

I read Four Chapters earlier this month, to kickoff my All Bengali Books in April and I really liked it. It's short but sharp and wonderful and still so relevant. I think a film adaptation or two exists and I am quite keen on finding it and watching it. Hopefully soon, will report back on how we get along. 

Next I went to town and hit two bookshops and hit them good. 

So here is my Haul from Kitab Khana and Bargain Book Hut. Two old faves of mine and ones I always pop into when I am in that part of town, aka South Bombay. 

I've read two books by this incredible writer and I am excited to read more of his work. This one set during the first War of Independence, 1857 sounds incredible. I am going to read this in May. I think I am going to love it. It's also a slice of history I know about and know a lot about and I am always interested in reading more and leaning more. 

Another addition to my Greatest Stories Ever Told collection. 

I have the Bengali, Odia and Urdu stories and I want to get more. Getting the Marathi one makes sense, since I was born and raised in Maharashtra and I do know the language, so reading the translation will read better...you know. I hope to some day have all the books in this series. 

This is another book I am keeping aside for May. 

Bought two books by Stephen Alter. A writer I've read before and loved. 

I've already read and LOVED Death in the Shambles, it's the perfect cozy murder mystery set in the hills and I cannot recommend it enough. Pick it up if want a comfort read with a solid mystery to boot. 

Good fun. 

Read a non-spoiler Review HERE. 

Birdwatching will be read soon, maybe on a hot summer day when I need to escape the Mumbai humidity and heat and run to the mountains. 

I have read everything Anukrti Upadhyay has written and I have enjoyed all of them. This collection of short stories was very good. Odd, strange, moving, sharp and very well written. I love how she writes women. 

I enjoyed all the stories and some more than others. 

If you've never tried her writing before, this is a great way to sample her craft and get introduced to her style. 

You will not be disappointed. 

(This book was a review copy from the publishers. Thoughts and opinions are all mine.) 

The great thing about browsing in the book shop is coming across books you've never even heard of. This book is one such case. I stumbled upon this and it sounded interesting and I picked it up and started reading it pretty much immediately. I went in expecting a thriller or sorts, a literary thriller but what I got was so different, yet something I am glad I read. 

This is a story set in a village in South India, a well loved teacher is accused of brutally killing a local bigwig. We then hear about her (the teacher) and her life from numerous people, her parents, her grandmother, her best friend, her husband and her brothers. We even see her...in glimpses in the before and after. 

This is story we've all seen in headlines and on the News. An unthinkable crime and no one believes the victim. 

This was moving and unsettling and thought provoking. 

TWs for SA and Violence. 

A Sudha Murty is always a good idea. 

Picked this, read this and loved it.

Reviewed it too. 

Another great read. I had my eye on this one for a while and I am glad I finally found my way to it. 

It's a great way to brush up on my favourite period in history and learn about the new-ish discoveries made in this arena. 

I also bought a collection of Shirley Jackson's short stories...I don't think I snapped an individual picture. 

This is everything I bought in January. 

Some amazing books. 

BOOKS BOUGHT////  

The People of the Indus by Nikhil Gulati with Jonathan Mark Kenoyer 

The Devil's Wind by Manohar Malgonkar 

Birdwatching by Stepher Alter 

Death in the Shambles " 

The Greatest Marathi Stories Ever Told Edited by Ashutosh Potdar 

Where the Mayflies Live Forever by Anupama Mohan 

The Magic of the Lost Story by Sudha Murty 

Pather Panchali by Bhibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay 

Four Chapters by Rabindranath Tagore 

Dark Tales bu Shirley Jackson 

The Blue Women by Anukrti Upadhyay (gifted) 

🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄

I've already read six books out of this bunch. 

Go me! 

What to Watch this Long Weekend: OTT Recommendations

 Hello, hello!

A long weekend is just a few hours away from us and if you, like us, plan to just chill and be home, then we have got you sorted with some really interesting OTT recommendations. 

Without any further ado, let's get into it, shall we? :) 

Documentaries

If you enjoy documentaries, then these three on Netflix are definitely ones that you should watch:

MH370: The Plane That Disappeared looks into various theories behind the mysterious disappearance of the Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared into thin air in 2014! An interesting look at multiple conspiracy and scientific theories that speculate on what could've happened. 

Waco: American Apocalypse is a look at the 51-day stand off between the FBI and a cult based out of Waco, Texas. The documentary sheds light on what went on for those 51 days and how, in the end, the tragic events that unfolded at the compound came to pass. A nice true crime documentary. 

Challenger: The Final Flight is a look at the events leading to the tragic crash of the Challenger orbiter in 1986, which was shown live on TV traumatising an entire generation of adults and children. A no-holds-barred look at NASA's less-than-perfect facade and the risks it was willing to take in order to get ahead in the space race. 

Bengali Web Series 

Shwetkali on Zee5 is a fantastic thriller series. A loving joint family and their close family friends visit an old palace (that is being converted into a luxury hotel) to celebrate the engagement of their respective children. However, this palace has a dark history connected to the idol of a white Goddess Kali and as the family settles into the half-renovated palace, sinister things start to happen. A truly fantastic show and is available with English subtitles! 

Buker Moddhey Agun on Hoichoi is a murder mystery series from Bangladesh. Almost 20 years ago, the top movie star of Bangladesh died under mysterious circumstances. A few weeks ago, an out-of-work character actress comes out on a YouTube video to allege that he was murdered and she knew by whom. The police get involved and try to reconstruct the life, relationships and happenings in that actor's life back in the day to unearth what really happened to him and by who's hand. A really different kind of a crime thriller. 

Indubalar Bhater Hotel on Hoichoi is a sweet, heartwarming and nostalgia inducing story of Indubala, who moved to Kolkata after her marriage and the struggles that she'd had to overcome with the help of her cooking skills, some kind people and her determination. Such a lovely, lovely show! Available with subtitles for everyone to watch! :) 

Movies

 Chor Nikalke Bhaga on Netflix is an unexpectedly good crime thriller! I don't want to spoil it and so, won't say anything else, but do watch it! 

Gaslight on Disney+ Hotstar is a decent thriller with supernatural elements and is something you can turn to if you don't find anything else to watch. It is not amazing but it is not very awful either. 

Christopher (Malayalam) on Prime Video is a masala cop thriller/ drama starring Mammooty and is definitely worth a watch! Available with subtitles. 

We Have a Ghost on Netflix is a family-friendly, kid-friendly movie about a family, who discovers that they have a ghost in their new home. The ghost is not able to move on and the younger son of the family is determined to help him learn how he died and reunite with any remaining family members so he can have closure. A heartwarming, sweet and fun movie. 

Have a good long weekend, peeps! 

Hello April 2023 + Life Lately!

 

Hello April! 

Hello Bengali New Year! 

Hello Reading only Bengali Books in April! 

Hello Summer! 

Hello Mangoes!!! 

I hope you are wonderful April! 

Be Good. 

Be Kind. 

Be Gentle. 

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

Hello Loves. 

I took some time off from Blogging. Life has been busy. I missed my Monthly Reading Wrap-Up for the first time ever in...years? 

Damn. 

I will get that up soon, promise. I read some nice books in March and I want to talk about them. Soon. That post is coming soon. 

I had just the best weekend. I went out, Bandra and SoBo- Bookshops, Cafes, Silver Shops and hanging with people and so much fun conversation and just good times. 

I am so happy. 

As much as I love being home, it's nice to step out, dress up and do things. 

:) 

Here are some glimpses of my life lately...

My Tuesday Sling from Chiaroscuro and I went out on town. 

She is tiny and fits a decent amount of stuff. 

Love wearing an armful of bangles. 

Ringsssss. 

Old favourites. 

Summer Fits. 

Yellow for Spring/Summer is a no brainer. 

15 floors up. 

Spent all of Friday on a terrace/balcony situation and it was glorious. 

Sweet things. 

Finally went into Napa Dori and bought a few treats and late birthday gifts for sis and me. 

:) 

Haul coming soon. 

We've been meaning to go to to Napa Dori for years but for some reason, usually because we end up there after closing time, we never went in. But on Saturday we made it a point to go see and get ourselves some goodies. 

Some Cheesecake. 

April has started on such a good note and I hope the rest of the month continues on such a happy note. 

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Have a fabulous April Loves. 

I hope it's just what you need it to be. 

🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿