The Whimsy Bookworm: A Book Blog from India

I got all these book off of Amazon and once again they arrived in like 12 hours! Super amazing. I've already read and reviewed Imaginary Girls and I can't wait to get to the rest of these, I love that most of these books are supposed to be well-written pieces of literature...yay! I've heard nothing but great things about them!  There will be one more January Book Haul...I just got some books in the mail today...I know..I have a problem! But my birthday is in 18 days and I like to buy books to distract myself from the gloom and doom of the upcoming birthday! Gah!  Tell me if you've read any of these books and what you think of them? 

Book: The Great Indian Novel Author: Shashi Tharoor Pages: 423 Time it took me to read: Over the course of three days Plot Summary:  In this award-winning, internationally acclaimed novel, Tharoor has masterfully recast the 2,000 year-old epic, The Mahabharata, with fictional but highly recognisable events and characters from twentieth-century Indian politics. Chronicling the Indian struggle for freedom and independence from Great Britain, Tharoor directs his hilarious satire as much against Indian foibles as the bumbling of the British rulers.  Thoughts and Review: I read 'The Great Indian Novel' for the first time in college.. in my First Year (as we say in India) or my Freshman Year (as our American friends call it). One of my closest friends- Mich- recommended the book to me and even gave me her copy. I had not read too many Indian authors (writing in English) at this point and so, was slightly sceptical. Well, sceptical till I read the first three pages and

The books in this haul are mostly Bengali authors. I have heard family and cousins talk about these authors all my life and I am so glad I am getting to read some of their works due to the wonderfulness that is translation! These books are all from Flipkart and I got them pretty much in the first week of the month. There will be a part II of the January books because I did get more books over the rest of the month. So come back for that. I have read one other book by Ibn-e Safi in like 2012 I think...it was a fun read with a very retro cover. It read like a 1950s Bollywood film and I like that kinda thing, so I deeply enjoyed that book. I am excited to read this one too. Should be fun! This little book is just plain beautiful! Cloth bound and golden edged pages! Love it! I have actually read and massively loved this book! Will do a full proper review soon! This steamy little book was banned when it first came out in 1966 (I think). It deals with adultery and I

Book: Torn Author: Cat Clarke Pages: 372 How Long it Took Me Read: 1 day. Plot Summary:   Alice King isn’t expecting the holiday of a lifetime when she sets off with her classmates on a trip to the Scottish wilderness, but she’s not exactly prepared for an experience beyond her darkest nightmares…   Alice and her best friend Cass are stuck in a cabin with Polly, the social outcast, and Rae, the moody emo-girl. Then there’s Tara – queen of mean. Powerful, beautiful and cruel, she likes nothing better than putting people down.  Cass decides it’s time to teach Tara a lesson she’ll never forget. And so begins a series of events that will change the lives of these girls forever... A compelling story of guilty secrets, troubled friendship and burgeoning love.  General Thoughts and Review: I have read one more book by Cat Clarke in the past. It was called Entangled and I picked that book purely based on it's cover. I thought it was OK but I didn't love it or anyth

Book: Imaginary Girls Author: Nova Ren Suma Pages: 365 How Long it Took Me to Read: 2 days...ish! Plot Summary:   Chloe's older sister, Ruby, is the girl everyone looks to and longs for, who can't be captured or caged. When a night with Ruby's friends goes horribly wrong and Chloe discovers the dead body of her classmate London Hayes left floating in the reservoir, Chloe is sent away from town and away from Ruby. But Ruby will do anything to get her sister back, and when Chloe returns to town two years later, deadly surprises await. As Chloe flirts with the truth that Ruby has hidden deeply away, the fragile line between life and death is redrawn by the complex bonds of sisterhood. What I Liked: There were so many things I adored about this book.  The writing was really good, better than so many other YA books. The quality was above and beyond a YA book. In fact, this book is not what I'd categorize as strictly YA, it has several teenage charact

Book: Frost Author: Marianna Baer Pages: 396 How Long It Took Me to Read: 2 days. Plot Summary:   Leena Thomas’s senior year at boarding school starts with a cruel shock: Frost House, the cozy Victorian dorm where she and her best friends live, has been assigned an unexpected roommate—eccentric Celeste Lazar. As classes get under way, strange happenings begin to bedevil Frost House: frames falling off walls, doors locking themselves, furniture toppling over. Celeste blames the housemates, convinced they want to scare her into leaving. And although Leena strives to be the peacekeeper, soon the eerie happenings in the dorm, an intense romance between Leena and Celeste’s brother, David, and the reawakening of childhood fears all push Leena to take increasingly desperate measures to feel safe. But does the threat lie with her new roommate, within Leena’s own mind…or in Frost House itself? General Thoughts and Review: I love boarding school stories. I guess anyone who

Book: Little Face Author: Sophie Hannah Pages: 368 Time it took me to read: 7-8 hours across 2 days Plot Summary:  The first time Alice Fancourt goes out after their daughter is born, she leaves the two-week-old infant with her husband, David. When she returns only two hours later, she swears the baby in the crib is not her child. Despite her distress, David is adamant that she is wrong. The police are called to the scene. Detective Constable Simon Waterhouse is sympathetic, but he doubts Alice's story. His superior, Sergeant Charlie Zailer, thinks that Alice must be suffering from some sort of delusion brought on by postpartum depressions. With an increasingly hostile and menacing David swearing she must either be mad or lying, how can Alice make the police believe her before it's too late? Thoughts and Review:  I enjoyed the core premise of this book and the way the narrative built up. A new mother steps out, albeit rather reluctantly, for the first time a

Book: Joyland Author: Stephen King Pages: 280 How Long it Took Me to Read: 2 days Plot Summary :  Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny, in the amusement park called Joyland and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever. He also makes friends, grows up, heals his broken heart and tries very hard to spot the ghost of the girl killed in the park.   General Thoughts and Review: This was my first proper Stephen King book, I have read a collection of short stories- which were rather nice and proper out and out horror stories. I love horror and watch pretty much any horror movie I can get my hands on. Last year, I wanted to read horror, but for some reason I didn't enjoy the few horror books I picked up. Weirdly enough it never occurred to me to pick up the the one person whose

Sharing some more favourites this Friday. This month has been really busy for me, in terms of work, but I have been able to sneak in some reading time. Been loving a new quiet hours of reading every night.  I am not a big fan of lip glosses, mostly, because I don't like their texture, but these Apocalips from Rimmel London are, as the kids say, the bomb-dot-com! So buttery, silky and smooth. Love the berry coloured one that I picked up- shade is called Galaxy.  Tea Center is the perfect spot for a late lunch, snack or just getting yourself a cuppa whenever the whim strikes. Highly recommend the Apple Butter Tea and the Watermelon Ice Tea. So, so good!  Have been running off to work and such with a PBJ these days. The Peanut Butter & Co. Crunchy PB is just so delicious! Pair it with any odd jam, I love the Bon Maman Strawberry preserve, and enjoy the most delicious PBJ sandwich! :)  Been good with journal-ing so far this year.. Been wr

Book: I Capture the Castle Author: Dodie Smith Pages: 566 Time Taken to Read: 9 hours across two days Plot Summary:  ' I write this sitting in the kitchen sink...' This is the diary of Cassandra Mortmain, which tells of her extraordinary family and their crumbling castle home. Cassandra's father was once a famous writer, but now he mainly reads detective novels while his family slide into genteel poverty. Her sister Rose is bored and beautiful, and desperate to marry riches. Their step-mother Topaz has habit of striding through the countryside wearing only her wellington boots. But all their lives will be soon be transformed by the arrival of new neighbours from America, and Cassandra finds herself falling in love... What I Liked: I loved the Mortmain family and their crazy, slightly off-beat life in the giant, falling-apart castle. The Mortmains don't have any money- in fact, things are so bad that they take money from their maid's son- Stephen- to

Book: The Madman's Daughter Author: Megan Shepherd Pages: 468 How Long it Took Me to Read: 2 days. Plot Summary:   In the darkest places, even love is deadly. Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true. Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. T

Book: Asylum Author: Madeleine Roux. Pages: 310 How Long it Took Me To Read: 2 days..rather 2 sittings. Plot Summary:   For sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford, New Hampshire College Prep is more than a summer program—it's a lifeline. An outcast at his high school, Dan is excited to finally make some friends in his last summer before college. But when he arrives at the program, Dan learns that his dorm for the summer used to be a sanatorium, more commonly known as an asylum. And not just any asylum—a last resort for the criminally insane. As Dan and his new friends, Abby and Jordan, explore the hidden recesses of their creepy summer home, they soon discover it's no coincidence that the three of them ended up here. Because the asylum holds the key to a terrifying past. And there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried. Featuring found photos of unsettling history and real abandoned asylums and filled with chilling mystery and page-turning suspense, Madeleine Roux&

Cute little bracelets bought from Blur. A fork for a foodie and pink glasses for a geeky girl.  A cuddly little friend- a just can't pass up cute things and this little polka dotted teddy bear with fuzzy ears just had to come home with me.  Though originally a pin..it has since broken and now will just stay in my bag and keep my company on my adventures.  A slim little simple notebook to keep track of my writing this year. I intend to jot down story ideas and even scribble some plots and peoples. I loved the simplicity of this notebook.  And finally, just the cutest things I've ever seen. Magnetic bookmarks from the Little Miss and Little Mr. series. I am a fan! I have coffee mugs, toys and miniatures toys from this line and I just love them!!! I could only find Little Miss Chatterbox and Mr. Tickle, I hope I find some of the other creatures and have a little bit of a collection going.  These are a few of my favourite things I've rec

Picked up some super cute books at the end of the year. I found myself in Crossword Bookstore with a few hours to kill and spent them happily book browsing.  I just died over the gorgeous covers of the Tagore and Bankim Chandra books! The cover art is just beautiful and I just couldn't leave them behind. I am so excited to read both those books.  Ah book hauls! They make me so happy!  I spent all of..well most of today doing a massive book case re-org and if you know me you know playing with my books makes me deliriously happy.