The Whimsy Bookworm: A Book Blog from India

 Hello, hello, Today, we will be sharing our Top 12 documentaries of the year.  This year was a major non-fiction viewing year for us. Somehow, movies and series (fiction) across languages were so disappointing! Anyhoo, let's get to it!  1. Taken Together: Who Killed Lyric and Elizabeth? is a heartbreaking, thought-provoking and very nicely made documentary about the dual abduction of cousins- Lyric and Elizabeth from a small town in Iowa. This was a rare case of double abduction and the documentary delves into theories, possible suspects and even unearths a few interesting connections with other cases. Highly recommend. Streaming on Jio Cinema. 2. Worst Ex Ever & Worst Roommate Ever are two amazing and scary documentaries about horrible exes and terrifying roommates. This is episodic and so, there are multiple horror stories shared by those who have experienced these! Streaming on Netflix.  3. Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter is an amazing documentary and story ...

Hello, hello, Another weekend and another 'what to watch' post on this blog :)  Today's recommendations are a nice mixed bag of true crime, horror and romance! So, let's get into it, shall we?  Nobody Wants This is a rom-com that is an instant throwback to the mid-2000s! Not only because it stars millennial heartthrobs Adam Brody and Kristen Bell but also it is, basically, a classic rom-com. Has several laugh out loud moments and all the formulaic, trope-heavy things that defined the rom-coms in the early to mid-2000s.  Messed up, commitment-averse heroine- check.  Stable, nice-boy hero- check.  He falls first- check.  She falls harder- check.   And, like I said, lots of LOL-worthy moments, mostly stemming from the hero's extremely Jewish family and the heroine's messy-chaotic family.  This is not a perfect show but it is one of the better rom-coms one has seen in a while. Plus it has six very short episodes which I like. I am so over 50 minute lo...

 Hello, hello, After absolutely ages, we are back with a 'What to Watch' recommendation post! Today we are recommending 5 True Crime Documentaries that we recently watched and loved!  Let's get into it, shall we?  1. Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter tells the heartbreaking story of birth mom- Kathy Terkanian- who had given up her nine-month-old daughter for adoption in 1975. She had heard nothing of or from her child (since it was a closed adoption) until 2010, when the adoption agency wrote to her asking for a DNA sample to match a set of female remains found in Wisconsin. It was then that Kathy, who even after receiving the letter had not learnt her child's name, learnt that her daughter has been missing since 1989! The two-episode documentary follows her tenacious search into the whereabouts of her daughter and the shocking revelations that unearth more unsolved crimes!  Very, very good! Absolute must-watch! Streaming on Netflix. 2. Worst Ex Ever: Who hasn't had ...

  Book: Murder in the Family Author: Cara Hunter  Pages: 470 Read on: Kindle Read in: ~5 hours  Plot Summary:  IT WAS A CASE THAT GRIPPED THE NATION  LUKE RYDER’S MURDER HAS NEVER BEEN SOLVED  In October 2003, Luke Ryder was found dead in the garden of the family home in London, leaving behind a wealthy older widow and three stepchildren. Nobody saw anything. Now, secrets will be revealed – live on camera.  Years later a group of experts re-examine the evidence on Infamous, a true-crime show – with shocking results. Does the team know more than they’ve been letting on? Or does the truth lie closer to home? Can you solve the case before they do?  The truth will blow your mind. General Thoughts: If there is only ONE Crime Fiction/ Thriller book you read this year, make it this one! :) Now, on to the review.  Things I Liked:   1. The premise had me at hello! A cold case, a murder of a much younger step-father, no solid leads, promise of a m...

 Hello, hello, Sharing some of our most loved movies and web series of February 2023!  Given we have some long weekends coming up in March, these would be good ones to watch.  Let's get into it!  1. Mr Queen: A K-drama that is absolutely hilarious and adorable but with a hint of palace/ political intrigue! When a 21st century masterchef falls into a swimming pool, he wakes up in the body of a 19th century queen-to-be. Hilarity ensues as he tries to keep the King at an arm's length, try desperate means to get back to his life and fix things in the past all at the same time!  2. Crash Course in Romance: An introverted, workaholic Maths tutor falls for an extroverted, kind restaurant owner. This is, however, not just an opposites attract love story but is also a commentary on the brutal education system in Korea, especially, the cut-throat world of competitive exams, special tuition classes for these exams and the toll it takes on students. There is also a bit of a...

 Hello, hello, Another weekend closer to Christmas! The lights in our building went up today and I am feeling most festive!  If you are looking for some quick stuff to watch tonight and tomorrow, then we've got you!  Here are some movies and shows that we've enjoyed recently!  1. Blur Blur is a thriller movie streaming on Zee5 starring Tapsee Pannu and Gulshan Devaiah. It follows the story of twins- Gautami and Gayatri- who have progressive blindness. When Gautami is found dead, the police think it is suicide but Gayatri refuses to believe it. As she delves more and more into her twin's life in the days leading up to her death, she uncovers some pretty sketchy and dangerous things that confirm her suspicions.  Though a bit of a slow burn, Blur is quite nicely done.  2. The White Lotus (Season 2)  Season 1 of The White Lotus was weird and slightly problematic but fun. Season 2 is even better!  Set in a beautiful resort in Sicily, the series follows...

 Hello, hello!  It is Friday (the 13th, at that) and I hope you are winding down your week and looking forward to the weekend!  If you are planning on spending this hot, hot weekend at home, then we have some OTT series and movie recommendations for you! Let's get into it, shall we?  1. Jhund  A fantastic, heartwarming and inspiring movie about retired sports teacher, Vijay Barse's, journey to create Slum Soccer, an NGO that holds national-level football tournaments for slum-dwelling youth!  Directed by the acclaimed director of Sairat and with realistic, moving, lovely performances, Jhund is an absolute must-watch! Jhund is streaming on Zee5.  2. Anantham (Tamil)  Anantham is a Tamil anthology series that tells the stories of various, different, families that have lived in the same art deco-style house in Chennai from the mid-1960s to present day. Covering different situations, challenges, emotions and struggles, Anantham has something that reson...

 Hello, hello, Shubho Noboborsho to any Bengali person seeing this! I hope the coming year is full of good health and happiness!  Happy Vishu, Bihu, Baisakhi and Pana Sankranti to all our friends from various parts of the country! Hope your coming year is full of good health and happiness!  Blessed Good Friday to everyone observing this day.  So, since this is a long weekend in many parts of the world, I thought I'd share some binge-worthy recommendations.  Let's get into it, shall we?  1. Kakababur Protyaborton Kakababu (the detective created by Sunil Gangopadhyay) is back! This time murder and mayhem find him and Santu during a vacation to Kenya! A good one to watch with kids or even without!  Kakababur Protyaborton is streaming on Hoichoi.  2. Abhay Season 3  Abhay returns for Season 3 and this time with a slew of interesting murders involving a cult! This season was so good! I really enjoyed it!  Abhay Season 3 is streaming on ...

  We just finished bingeing the Netflix documentary 'House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths' . For the uninitiated, in June 2018, 11 members of a multi-generational, typical joint family were found dead in their North Delhi home. There were no signs of foul play and this was a case that didn't fit neatly into any pattern that the cops had come across until then. A mass, multi-generational family, suicide was unheard of in India and the murder of 11 family members, mostly below 45 years of age, with no signs of struggle also seemed impossible to pull off! So, what was it? What caused the deaths of these 11 souls?  That is what House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths delves into and here are two reasons why you must watch this really interesting series!  1. At just three 45-minute episodes, House of Secrets is the perfect length to binge watch immediately. It'll only take a little over a couple of hours and you'll have the satisfaction of watching something genuinely interes...

If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you'll know that my sister and I, we, love crime/ mystery/ thriller as a genre. Not only do we read a lot of crime/thriller books, but we also listen to several popular true crime podcasts . So, it was a no-brainer when we read that Unsolved Mysteries, a popular true crime investigative documentary style show, is being revived on Netflix this month! We couldn't wait to watch it! Long story short, we binged all six episodes quite rapidly and we LOVED it! Here's why we think you'll love it too! 1. The Cases : The cases featured in this Volume/ Season of the show (yes! There is hope that we'll get another volume/ season eventually!) were varied, mysterious, puzzling and gripping! They ranged from missing persons to homicide to hate crimes to even some paranormal activities and each case will make you wonder how it happened and, in some cases, who the perpetrator is and how he/ she managed to get away...

Hello!  You guys, I haven't been reading at all.  Like not a word since the 3rd of June.  :(  Instead, all I've done this week is a non-stop binging machine.  When lockdown started, I was determined to not become a slob and just consume unending hours of films and TV shows. And for 2 months I did well.  Chores. Books. Colouring.  Cooking.  And an occasional film every now and then. Things were good. I felt like I was making a good enough use of this time, I mean apart from staring out the window and quietly screaming inside my head, I was doing OK.  For one reason or another, June has brought out a different side to me.  My sleep cycle, which for once in my adult life was somewhat normal. I have been a night owl my whole life. I am more alert, productive and generally happier at night. I call it my vampire living. I know it's not good for me but it's how I function.  But in the last month, by some mir...

Hello!  The weekend is here and is there a better time to unwind with some TV shows.  I realised it had been a long, long time since I shared my favourite TV shows on here. And I know so many of you love these posts of mine, so without wasting anytime let's jump into some shows I've been loving in recent times.  Most of these are on various streaming platforms, mainly Amazon Prime and Netflix and Zee 5.  1. Abhay /// A cop drama based on true crimes. Edgy and hardcore, this is a cop show that exceeded my expectations. There have been 4 episodes so far and I have immensely enjoyed all of them. The acting is good and it's so nice to see Kunal Kemmu in a serious role.  Highly recommend.  2. Fyre /// This one was oddly satisfying and engaging. I knew very little of the whole Fyre festival debacle when it happened and it's aftermath, yet I was hooked to this documentary. It is so good and so sad and an inside look into a great con. ...

Netflix has really outdone itself this year with the variety of content that it has created and offered to all of us! We have really enjoyed multiple series and movies on the platform this year and here are our Top 10 Netflix movies/ series/ documentaries (in no particular order): 1. Anne with an 'e': Hands down, the most heartwarming, uplifting, sweet, heartbreaking adaptation of the Anne of Green Gables that I have ever seen! Love the show and highly, highly recommend it for cozy winter night viewing! 2. Wild Wild Country: Who knew our Poona-wala Osho got up to such shenanigans in the US?! We didn't! Why was this not talked about in India?! WTF! This is a BRILLIANT documentary on what a cult did in its attempt to wrest power from citizens of a small town in rural Oregon. Plus, Ma Sheela Anand is one living, breathing sociopath! Here is our review of it right after watching it back in April! 3. The Haunting of Hill House: One of the best horror series I have...