The Whimsy Bookworm: A Book Blog from India

Book: A Hundred Little Flames Author: Pretti Shenoy Pages: 386 Publisher: Westland Read On: Paperback How Long it Took Me To Read: 3 days Plot Summary:   Sometimes, a journey back is a step forward.  When 26-year-old Ayan is sent to live with his grumpy old grandfather Gopal Shanker, in a tiny village, in Kerala, he is understandably devastated. What can a sleepy, idyllic village without even Internet connectivity offer a young man?  To make matters worse, Jairaj, Ayan’s domineering father has his own plans and is determined to have his way. Soon, Ayan has to come to terms with the hard realities of life and the blindness of greed as he and Gopal Shanker learn that life can sometimes unravel in unanticipated ways.  A young man, whose life lies ahead of him. An old man, whose life is all in the past. And a few months that change everything.  A Hundred Little Flames  is a charming account of a relationship across generations and also a meditative look at the i

Hello!  Time to do the part II of my Desically Ethnic Haul.  Part- I had all the earrings I got from them, you can go see it if you haven't already.  Today I want to show you guys some gorgeous upscaled necklaces from them and some other miscellaneous items that I fell in love with and got.  I wil say once again I LOVE every thing I received and I will be going back for more!  Now let's jump into it shall we?  Gorgeous isn't she?!  I've already worn her and I love her so much. The vivid pink embroidered flower and the indigo necklace. It's really something special. More pink but this time balanced with some purple and a forest green necklace.  My final necklace has some gold zari embroidered on it and an old coin as well.  I strayed from my up cycled obsession and got some 'trendy' pieces as well.  Some Lotus motif earrings and ring.  These are pretty and the earrings are surprisingly light and sit w

Hello!  Another month is drawing to an end and it's time to catalogue all of the books I bought this month.  November has been a good month of book buying. I Went to Kitab Khana and got all of these books but one from there. I found some books I really wanted for a while and I am so happy with this haul!  So let's jump into it.  Oh! There will be a part II coming soon since I've bought 2 more books and gotten one from a publisher as well. That will come soon!  I read The Dinner by Herman Koch two years ago and really enjoyed it, so when I spotted this vivid red book on the shelves I couldn't resist it. It's about a book within a book and a murder, all good things!  Puffin India was kind enough to send this book my way for a review.  I have read and laughed and loved this book.  A full review is coming soon!  This book was on my radar since 2013 but I had a hard time getting my hands on it. I saw it in Kitab Khana and I had t

Book: The Weight of Lies Author: Emily Carpenter Pages: 382 Read on: Kindle {Via Kindle Unlimited} Read in: 3-4 hours  Plot Summary:  Reformed party girl Meg Ashley leads a life of privilege, thanks to a bestselling horror novel her mother wrote decades ago. But Meg knows that the glow of their very public life hides a darker reality of lies, manipulation, and the heartbreak of her own solitary childhood.  Desperate to break free of her mother, Meg accepts a proposal to write a scandalous, tell-all memoir. Digging into the past—and her mother’s cult classic—draws Meg to Bonny Island, Georgia, and an unusual woman said to be the inspiration for the book. At first island life seems idyllic, but as Meg starts to ask tough questions, disturbing revelations come to light…including some about her mother. Soon Meg’s search leads her to question the facts of a decades-old murder. She’s warned to leave it alone, but as the lies pile up, Meg knows she’s getting

Ring and the setting sun.  A city of lights.  Some favourite stationery bits.  A glimpse into my sister's dori and a happy mail day!  Bag loving.  This bag is from Jaypore.  Cactus on cactus.  The pouch is from Cyahi. The cactus bag charm is from H&M.  Hello!  Hope your week is off to a good start.  Mine was a slow one. After a weekend of writing my butt off I've taken today a little slow.  I am currently 15,300 words into my NaNoWriMo project and I am so happy.  I don't think I will finish my book by month end but I am more than happy to have made a big dent in my book and just to be writing again. I will write well into December and hopefully have my book finished by December 31st.  That way I will have a book done by the end of 2017.  :)

In today's edition of Stationery Sunday, I'll be sharing two new acquisitions with you! The first is a new Field Notes (FN)/ Pocket sized Traveler's Notebook (TN) from Speckled Fawns and the second is a set of floral collage stamps from MyPaperProjects . Here  is the TN. It is in Speckled Fawns' limited edition Stampede leather (that's now sold out) and this TN is so well made! The leather is really interesting and sort of dual-toned and lovely.  I love having an outside pocket as it comes in super handy to tuck in bits and bobs and receipts and things in it. I use this TN for my weekly chores, home-related expenses and tasks tracking.  The stamps are just stunning! I will share what they look like on paper in a future post. I love using them to decorate my memory-keeping pages and do some fun collaging on the pages of my Hobonichi.  A closer look at the decorative clips on top of my TN as well as at the leather of the TN and the sta

Hello!  Time to share yet another Whimsy Wear post.  I wore this predominantly red outfit for Ashtami, so this post is seriously a #Latergram.  But better now than never!  I loved this outfit of mine.  It was comfy and I could walk around and breathe in this outfit. Perfect for a muggy September evening.  Outfit Details///  Kurta- Fabindia  Bag- Either Or, Pune  Ring- Darjeeling  Jootis- iTokri  Silver- Fabindia & Amber Colaba  Beaded Necklace- The Orange Bicycle Bangalore (now closed) 

Hello!  Today I want to share a little haul of some seriously delightful things. Since I got quite a few goodies, this haul will be split into a few parts. This Part - I will include all of the earrings I got from Desically Ethnic ,  a brand I spotted while browsing on Instagram. They have a ton of stuff- clothing, bags, wallers and other accessories and even home decor bits.  I stuck to my favourite and got mostly jewellery and some other miscellaneous things (those will be shared soon.)  For now some beautiful earrings!  Most of these earrings are from their Up-Cycled Collection- where they use leftover fabrics and put them to good use. I think this is such a good idea and I wish more brands sought out ways to reduce their waste and bring out something beautiful at the same time.  I got this pair because something in the blue family goes with everything. And I do own a lot of clothes in shades of blue.  I am always drawn to bright yellows. Yellow is such a

Book: Sold Author: Patricia McCormick Pages: 227 Publisher: Walker Books Read On: Paperback How Long it Took Me To Read: 2 days Plot Summary:   T hirteen-year-old Lakshmi lives with her family in a small hut on a mountain in Nepal. Though they are desperately poor, Lakshmi’s life is full of simple pleasures: playing hopscotch with her best friend, looking after her black-and-white speckled goat, having her mother brush her hair by the light of an oil lamp. But when Lakshmi’s family lose all that remains of their crops in a monsoon, her stepfather says she must leave home and take a job in the city. Lakshmi undertakes the long journey to India full of hope for her new life, proud to be able to earn, daring to hope that she will make enough money to make her mother proud too. Then she learns the unthinkable truth: for 10,000 rupees she has been sold into prostitution. General Thoughts: I am trying to read as much non-fiction as I can manage in the month of Novem

Book: Turtles All The Way Down Author: John Green Pages: 336 Read On: Hardback edition Publisher: Penguin How Long it Took Me To Read : 3 days Plot Summary:   It all begins with a fugitive billionaire and the promise of a cash reward. Turtles All the Way Down is about lifelong friendship, the intimacy of an unexpected reunion, Star Wars fan fiction and tuatara. But at its heart is Aza Holmes, a young woman navigating daily existence within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.In his long-awaited return,   General Thoughts: A John Green book after ages! Like everyone else I was very excited to read something from Green. Plus this book had a slight mystery element attached to it and mental health and struggles with mental illness are an important part of the narrative. My excitement was super high to delve into this book. Thank-you, Penguin for sending this book my way. The book was sent to me for review but my thoughts and opinions are entirely my own

Book: Terribly Tiny Tales Author: Various (An Anthology) Pages: 317 Publisher: Penguin Random House India  Read On: Paperback How Long it Took Me to Read: 4 hours, with several breaks. Plot Summary: A collection of Terribly Tiny Tales from 100 writers. A compilation of some of the best stories from the very popular Facebook Page. General Thoughts: If you've been a fan of TTT then you've heard about this book- that compiles some of the most popular and best loved stories from these flash fiction gems. Review: Things I Liked 1. I will be honest, I am not what you'd call the biggest TTT fan. I don't follow the page on FB, nor do I have the app. I have never really loved the concept of super short fiction. It's just how I am. I prefer pages and pages instead of 140 words. It's not quite my thing. So when this book arrived in the mail from Penguin for a review , I was a little unsure if I would read and enjoy the book. I thought of passi

Sparkle Sparkle!  Lights that were so bright and beautiful but kinda went kaput!  Like seriously, these lights went out with a damn bang!  A flower rangoli and the hand that put it together!  Patakha!  Diwali this year was small, quiet and went by way too soon!  Come back soon Diwali and bring lots of light and love with you.