The Whimsy Bookworm: A Book Blog from India

 Hello Loves!  Here we are on the very last day of 2021.  What a year it's been, huh? What a beastly little year! Good thing is I am happy to see it leave and I am happy to have survived it. Literally, I am grateful to be alive and grateful to have kicked Corona Kameeni to the curb. Uff! This year was zeher in parts and sukoon in bits.  Let's talk about something good:  aka my reading in 2021.  Reading my one solace in every situation and every year!  This year I read 200 books.  A neat little number no?! I got to 200 a few days ago..a little before Christmas and then just took time off from reading. I took a holiday from reading and just focussed on other things and spent time blogging and making a ton of lists and cooking and being.  200 is a good solid number and more than that I feel very at peace with everything I read this year.  So let's look at my annual  YEAR IN BOOKS  200 BOOKS.  I read a mix of ebooks and physic...

 Hello Loves!  Today let's look at some amazing literary fiction reads of mine from 2021. Some amazing books you need to read! And all of these books, in spite of being Literary Fiction they are all very, very accessible and very easy to read and love.  Let's just jump in shall we?  1. The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai: This book just...broke my heart and these people, these characters just held my heart and will always stay with me. So so good. Seriously this might be the best thing I read all year.  Set in Vietnam  for nearly a century this powerful novel is a family saga and a swift lesson in Vietnamese history and everything they've had to survive. I am so so so happy I read this book and  I implore you to pick it up if you haven't already. This is something I will definitely re-read in the future. Absolutely luminous and amazing! But go in knowing there will be tears involved.  2. Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri: I mean..of course Lahi...

 Hello, hello, I am for most part a fiction reader and a fiction lover. I have always been drawn to fiction more than any other genre under the sun. Lately, in the last few years I've tried to branch out and read and incorporate more non-fiction in my life. I don't think there will ever be a time when the scales will dip towards non-fiction in my life but I would like to read more from this varied genre.  Non-fiction books are interesting because they tell real stories about people from different walks of life. This year, I read some really interesting ones across sub-genres and I thought I'd share my favourites here.  Let's get to it, shall we?  1. Childhood Days by Satyajit Ray: This year was Ray's Centenary and a lot of things went Ray themed. I started my reading year with Ray and read a lot of his work. So of course I read his childhood memoir too. Full of stories from his earliest years, some memories of his father and his childhood home up to his early years ...

 Hello, hello, This has been a year of great international TV shows! We've had some really good ones streaming even in India and so, without much ado, here is our list of favourites from 2021.  1. Only Murders in the Building: Oh my God! Hands down my absolute favourite show this year just so so so good. It's equal part funny, warm, goofy and a solid mystery. I love everything about this show and am currently re-watching it because it's just the thing to binge this time of year. I love these characters and I can't wait for season two and be reunited with these darling people. Please watch it if you haven't, it's streaming on Disney Hotstar.  2. Wanda Vision: Some MCU to save the day and give us a much needed revisit with out favourite people. This show is a whole other ballgame, very different from what Marvel has done so far. A hat tip to sitcoms from the golden era of American sitcoms and so enjoyable and kickass. Brilliant, this is streaming on Disney Hotst...

 Hello, hello, Today I'd like to share my favourite Hindi OTT shows/ series of 2021. Let's get into it, shall we?  1. The Family Man (Season 2): The action moves to Chennai this season where some erstwhile members of the LTTE attempt an assassination and our team of TASC officers race against time to stop them. The second season is as full of thrills, humour and edge-of-your-seat moments as the first. Plus, a lot of loose ends from Season 1 were also closed. The Family Man is streaming on Prime Video.  2. Your Honour: A judge will break all laws to save his son from a terrible fate. A fast-paced, thrilling series about the extent to which a parent will go for their child. Your Honour is streaming on SonyLiv.  3. Candy: A boarding school in a hill station. A pervasive drug problem. A teenaged boy brutally murdered. A mythic creature hunting young people in the woods again. A teacher with demons of his own struggling to stop this brutal killer. A really good web s...

 Hello Loves!  Today I am throwing it back to the time in March when I made a little day-trip to the hills. The only time I went to the hills this year. Hai what a tragedy! Hopefully 2022 has me in the hills more and longer.  I had crossed Margaret's Deck a lot of times but for one reason or another we never stopped for a cup of tea, mainly because we are either excited to just get to Darjeeling or we usually stop at the Kurseong Tourist Lodge for momos and sandwiches, so it feels a little silly to stop so soon after. But for this time we were determined to stop and see this much hyped place for ourselves.  Here are some pictures from our short stop over.  Ah! An aesthetic paradise. This view meets your eye the moment you walk in.  A little plant display.  My cup of hot chocolate. I was hoping to grab a cup of coffee but they don't serve any, which makes sense it's a tea place, they offer a variety of teas and cocoa. This is the view from the deck. Mou...

 Hello Loves!  :)  Merry Christmas to you and yours. I hope you've had a good day and some cake and maybe even a present or two under the tree.  :)  I have some beautiful presents underneath the tree and like any true blue bookworm, I, of course, have a book haul. Because why wouldn't I buy books? This book haul is full of books that have sat on my Wishlist for absolute ages. So since it's the end of the year I decided to just bite the bullet and myself some amazing books.  Let's see my lovely Christmas Book Haul.  A stack of books I am 100% certain I'll love.  A low-risk book haul, if you will.   Some of these books were kinda pricey but 'tis the season to treat yourself.  Ah!  And some of these book are so big and juicy and perfect.  :)  A Ruskin Bond book is a thing of joy. Got this beautiful book which has all glossy pages and some beautiful illustrations. I cannot wait to read these stories and be enthralled by the go...

December is one of my favourite months.  There is such joy and calm in these days few days of the year.  This December has been a good one.  Full of things I love and adore.  Cold nights.  Candlelight.  Books.  Blogging. Cake.  Christmas in the air.  I couldn't be happier or more grateful.  :)  Here are some snippets of my December clicked randomly on my 'big' camera. I miss getting my Canon camera out to take pictures of my days and adventures. I am hoping to use it more in 2022.    A typical night in our world.  Candle lit. And something to watch on the laptop. I think this was my sister watching Grey's Anatomy.  Glow.  A little Christmas book haul, because of course I bought some books for cheer and good vibes.  :)  Book haul coming super duper soon.  :)  I am so excited to read this mammoth book soon.  Rings and lights.  These rings from both from Quirksmith.  A happy a...

 Hello Loves!  I feel like 2021 has been the year of the short story for me. I read a LOT of short story collections this year. Which in itself is not out of the ordinary, I have always enjoyed short stories but this year I have found more comfort in short stories than before. Maybe some of it has to do with after Covid effects, when my attention was easily muddled and I preferred reading a short story instead of diving into a full length novel.  So here are my absolute favourite short story collections from 2021.  1. Immoderate Men by Shikhandin: I picked this book on such a whim. I thought to myself, well you only seem to read about women and their stories, won't it be nice to read about men for a change? I am glad I had this fleeting thought and that lead to this book and I am so glad I read this little gem. The stories here are about men in all sorts of shapes and forms. Good, creepy, sad, lost and so incredibly real and flawed and beautifully written. I loved th...

 Hello, hello, Today we bring to you the Top 10 thriller books of 2021.  As a genre, thriller/ crime/ murder mysteries is a big favourite of ours and today we will be sharing some of our absolute favourites of 2021! Let's get into it, shall we?  1. 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard is the perfect thriller for 2021! It tells the story of a couple that meets at the beginning of the lockdown in 2020 and move in. At the end of the lockdown, after 56 days, one of them is found dead. A twisty, gripping book this one! The full review can be found here . 2. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave is an interesting story about a woman whose husband just takes off one day leaving her a cryptic message to "protect her". Her being his sixteen-year-old daughter. Why did he take off? What does the daughter need protecting from? The full review can be found here .  3. The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood is a fun and interesting, nicely done murder mystery. A 77-year-old woman...

 Hello Loves!  Since I listed my favourite Children's Books yesterday, today we look at some of my favourite Young Adult Books I read in 2021.  I really like the list I have curated here. A mix of India and elsewhere.  Amazing books, good for teen and great for not-teens.  Let's get started.  1. The Truly Devious Series by Maureen Johnson: OK this is a little bit of a cheat since it's three books instead of one, but this whole series was read, well binged in pretty much one swift week. Three books all great.   This series revolves around a cold case from 1936. Iris Ellingham and her daughter, three-year-old Alice, left for a drive on a  spring  day in 1936. They never returned home. Iris' husband, industrialist and millionaire, Albert Ellingham, left no stone unturned to find his wife and daughter, but to no avail. Ellingham Academy, the special school for gifted children and home to the Ellinghams, which is still open after a...

 Hello Loves!  How is this Monday treating you? Can you believe this is the last full week of 2021! Where does time go?!  Well, let's kickstart this week with a list of my favourite kidlit of 2021.  I love reading Children's Books. They are my idea of comfort, joy and something to read when life seems a little too sad, when I want to read something simple yet profound and comforting I turn to Children's Books. A hallmark a good Children's Book is that it works for both kids and grown-ups.  :)  Here are some of my favourite Children's Books from 2021.  1. The Railway Gang by Ruskin Bond: Of course we kick things off with Ruskin Bond who is a forever favourite. This little book was a thing of joy. Stray dogs living in a railway station and the kind people they interact with. Sweet, wholesome and a great way to show kids how life is for strays animals in our country and teach them how to be kind to the animals on the street.  4/5  A quick little...