The Whimsy Bookworm: A Book Blog from India

Book: Playing With Fire Author: Tess Gerritsen Pages: 250 Read on: Kindle Read in: 3 hours Plot Summary:  The first time Julia Ansdell picks up  The Incendio Waltz,  she knows it’s a strikingly unusual composition. But while playing the piece, Julia blacks out and awakens to find her young daughter implicated in acts of surprising violence. And when she travels to Venice to find the previous owner of the music, she uncovers a dark secret that involves dangerously powerful people—a family who would stop at nothing to keep Julia from bringing the truth to light. Things I Liked: Quick List:  1. I have read many books by Tess Gerritsen and I even enjoy the TV show Rizzoli & Isles, which is loosely based on the characters of Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles created by her. If you don't know much about Tess Gerritsen, she is a mystery writer with a sharp focus on the medical aspects of the case, given Gerritsen's background in Medicine. So, this b...

Book: Strangers to Ourselves Author: Shashi Deshpande Pages: 365 Read On: Paperback How Long it Took Me To Read: 3 days Plot Summary:  She is an oncologist whose days are driven by the desire to alleviate pain. He is a rising star in the musical world, whose life is governed by his art. Yet, all it takes is one meeting for everything to change. Set in Mumbai, Shashi Deshpande's new novel tells the story of an unlikely love between two unusual people. Tender and tempestuous by turns, it draws you into the conflicts, languid pleasures and sharp sorrows of falling in love with a stranger who can never entirely be yours. General Thoughts: I really enjoy Shashi Deshpande's writing. Even though her books are often drenched in melancholia. But I love the way she writes and the people she writes about. This is her newest book and I liked the sound of it. Also this seemed almost like a love-story, so I was curious to see how Shashi Deshpande treated a lov...

Book: The Mystery of Hollow Places Author: Rebecca Podos Pages: 304 Read on: Kindle Read in: 2 hours Plot Summary:  All Imogene Scott knows of her mother is the bedtime story her father told her as a child. It’s the story of how her parents met: he, a forensic pathologist, she, a mysterious woman who came to identify a body. A woman who left Imogene and her father when Imogene was a baby, a woman who was always possessed by a powerful loneliness, a woman who many referred to as “troubled waters.” Now Imogene is seventeen, and her father, a famous author of medical mysteries, has struck out in the middle of the night and hasn’t come back. Neither Imogene’s stepmother nor the police know where he could’ve gone, but Imogene is convinced he’s looking for her mother. And she decides it’s up to her to put to use the skills she’s gleaned from a lifetime of reading her father’s books to track down a woman she’s only known in stories in order to find him and,...

Book: Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda Author: Becky Albertalli Pages: 303 Read On: Paperback How Long it Took Me To Read: 2-3 days Plot Summary:   Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised. With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot ...

Hello!  Day 3 in Landour began with delicious coffee and fantastic views.  :) A cozy breakfast nook at Rokeby Manor. Hike Trails.  Reading Ruskin Bond in the woods!  Bliss!  Shades of pink. My floral backpack and my pink Vans.  Day 3 was spent in Dhanolti Eco Park, a beautiful hiking trial/ woods.  I loved my time here. I walked and hiked and took a million pictures and took deep breaths to just soak up the clean air.  It was blissful being surrounded by nature and trees and just so much greenery.  Even the drive up and down to Dhanolti was splendid. And I especially loved seeing kids on their way to school. Seriously children in the hills walk such distances to go to school. And I thought I had it bad walking to school in the Bombay rains.  This was yet another lovely day in the hills!  :)

Book: Ambushed Author: Nayanika Mahtani Pages: 155 Read On: Paperback How Long it Took Me To Read: 2 days Plot Summary:  10-year-old gadget geek Tara braces herself for the dullest summer ever when her father whisks her off to a sleepy tiger reserve in the Himalayan foothills, where Nothing Ever Happens. She couldn't have been more wrong. A walk through the woods sends Tara on an adventure of a lifetime, as she stumbles upon a gang of poachers. A tigress and her cubs must be saved and Tara's only accomplice is her mysterious new friend, Satya. But can she trust him? And will this unlikely pair save the day?   General Thoughts:  The author very kindly sent me this book for review.  While I did  receive this book for free, this has no bearings on my thoughts on this book and my overall review.  Things I Liked:  1. The writing was good, engaging and the author did a great job at both getting inside the head and heart...

Hello!  Back with another little-ish book haul. I haven't quite been binge book buying lately and that is totally fine by me.  But I found myself at Crossword last week and couldn't resist these titles.  Some of them I've wanted, while others were more on the whim purchases.  Let's see what I'v added to my bookshelves this month.  Books Bought:  What Milo Saw by Virginia Macgregor  Primal Woman by Sunil Gangopadhyay  Temple and Mosque by Munshi Premchand  An Unrestored Woman by Shobha Rao  The Best Bengali Stories Ever Told Edited by Arunava Sinha  My sister spotted this book and read a bit of it in the store itself. Sound adorable and cute and should be a fun read.  Sunil Ganguly is an author I've read very little of. Like one book and some short stories here and there.  My whole family recommends his works highly and I want to delve more into his writing, this collectio...

1. Piggy Pigloo Bookmark/// I am in love, in love with this delightful bookmark from Haathi Chaap. It's made from recycled Elephant Poo. I've had loads from things from them over the years and this newest addition. So freaking cute!  2. Summer Style/// Come summer and all I want to wear is cotton, muslin and easy breathable fabrics. I wore this very orange and yellow soothing number this week. I wore some of my favourite silver jewellery to accompany the kurta.  Kurta- Fabindia  Rings- Bangalore  3. Dachshund Socks from Forever 21/// Got these babies yesterday and I am in love. I have a thing for socks. I can never resist a cute and quirky pair of socks.  4. Peach Ice-Tea + Mason Jar/// I've been loving making my own ice-tea this summer. I brew a large batch of tea in the morning, cool it down and put it in the fridge. And for the rest of the day I have delicious tea on hand. :)  5. Reading and Journalin...

Book: After The Crash Author: Michel Bussi Pages: 432 Read: The paperback pictured above Read in: 5 odd days (the book was a drag) Plot Summary:  On the night of 22 December 1980, a plane crashes on the Franco-Swiss border and is engulfed in flames. 168 out of 169 passengers are killed instantly. The miraculous sole survivor is a three-month-old baby girl. Two families, one rich, the other poor, step forward to claim her, sparking an investigation that will last for almost two decades. Is she Lyse-Rose or Emilie? Eighteen years later, having failed to discover the truth, private detective Credule Grand-Duc plans to take his own life, but not before placing an account of his investigation in the girl's hands. But, as he sits at his desk about to pull the trigger, he uncovers a secret that changes everything - then is killed before he can breathe a word of it to anyone.  Things I Liked: Quick List: 1. The premise of the book was interesting, if slightly fa...