The Whimsy Bookworm: A Book Blog from India

 Hello Loves!  How have you been?  Safe I hope.  Well I hope.  These days nothing feels real.  Nothing feels good.  April didn't go according to plan. April kicked our ass.  My reading took a beating.  I planned on reading a whole lot of Bengali literature this month and read a lot.  Well, from April 11 onwards my sister fell sick.  On the 16th I started showing symptoms.  Then everything went for a toss.  My books kept me sane and kept me company. I read a fair amount and let's talk about my April Reads.  Oh, I didn't read all Bengali books. I dipped out of my chosen genre and read some other books as well.  Here's what I read in April.  1. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri: Started my month perfectly with the perfect book. I re-read this book after a long time, for the third or fourth time. And it was just as exquisite as I remembered. This book will break your heart and sink into your skin.  A lovely, lovely book. 4/5  2. Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl: A bit of a di

  Book: The Therapist  Author: B.A. Paris  Pages: 304  Read on: Kindle  Read in: 3 hours  Plot Summary:  When Alice and Leo move into a newly renovated house in The Circle, a gated community of exclusive houses, it is everything they’ve dreamed of. But appearances can be deceptive. As Alice is getting to know her neighbours, she discovers a devastating secret about her new home, and begins to feel a strong connection with Nina, the therapist who lived there before. Alice becomes obsessed with trying to piece together what happened two years before. But no one wants to talk about it. Her neighbors are keeping secrets and things are not as perfect as they seem. Things I Liked:  1. The premise of the book, like most of B.A. Paris' books, was very interesting. A couple move into a new house in a posh gated community with a mysterious past. Their neighbours are cautiously friendly but a bit cagey about the history of their house, something, which Alice noticed early on and was concerned

Hello Loves!  A few weeks ago my sister bought this gorgeous leather notebook cover and surprisingly it came with an A5 notebook that my sister didn't need.  So I quickly claimed it to use as a Writing Journal.  A place to scribble and write and a place to make a list of stories I want to tell.  But of course, before all of that, I had to make it as pretty as possible.  So I did just that.  I am super proud that most of what I used came from beautiful packaging from VnV Shop .  I re-purposed an envelope.  & And the packing paper.  Why waste such perfectly beautiful things?!   This is the cover.  Used a postcard from Sunny Skies and Starry Eyes .  And a Girl Sticker from my favourite La Dolce Vita.  All the little stickers  and flower ephemera are Ali Express a long time ago.  A closer look.  Perfect writerly vibes.  This is most of the material I used.  All from Vnv Shop.  And now for the inside pages.  I loved making these pages so much.  A little art journaling sneaked into

Hello Loves! Today has been a day and a half.  Early this morning my sister tested positive for Kutti Karuna.  She had been sick since Sunday evening and got tested on Tuesday and the results came in this morning.  She is luckily feeling pretty normal. She doesn't have a temperature. Or body ache.  Her blood oxygen level is also good.  So we are hopeful that she on the mend.  Keep her in your prayers.  :0  I am of course stressed beyond words but trying to stay positive.  Talking about staying positive.  Look at these happy little pouches we recently got from Tanuka Draws.   Look at these spunky women!  Tanuka makes art prints, bookmarks, totes, notebooks and pouches.  It's all lovely.  And look how beautiful the packaging is?!  Almost too cute to want to even open.  Absolutely darling!  Tanuka's art is so vivid and lovely.  And her women so spirited.  I had got some bookmarks from her before and this time we got ourselves some tote bags and these pouches.  My sister is usi

 Hello Loves!  & A Shubho Nobo Borsho to You.  Also a Happy Vishu, Ugadi and Gudi Padwa and Baisakhi to everyone. (Albeit belated!) I love this time of year.  All of us have something or the other to celebrate.  New Year.  New Beginnings.  Ramzan.  And we could all do with some joy right about now!  New Year plans are quite sedate this year, which is no surprise.  I mean given how things are...there is no going out or celebrating with people.  I am grateful to be home with the family.  Maa has cooked some delicious food and I'll be making us some dinner.  :)  Now on to what we are reading today.  Well, I have been celebrating Nobo Borsho all month long through my books.  Reading only Bengali Books in April.  Currently I am somehow reading 3 books at once!  Something I never ever do!  Ever!  Here's what I'm Currently Reading:  The Restless Waters of the Icchamati by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay: I am a little over 70 pages into this book.  I have had this book since 201

 Hello Loves!  Want to share some very unique brooches with you today.  I fell in love with Kai Studio's creations at first sight. The colour palette and the wonderful mix of clay and embroidery.  It's too beautiful for words.  They also make keychains, earrings and necklaces,  some of which I am going to get next.  :)  This time we got two little fishy beauties.  A Bengali getting Maach, of course!  Look how pretty!  Siting pretty with my current read.  Matching quite well!  A chunky fishy.  Look at her sweet face!  So pretty!  Mini- Review:  1. These brooches are light weight and perfect to wear and not have the fabric of your clothes pulled down  or snagged.  2. The quality is great.  3. They are so freaking cute, I cannot even! I honestly want to get them all.  4. They have a lot of options to choose from. You can get the same design as a brooch, pendant or even earrings.  5. The delivery was swift too.  So beautiful!  Go check out  Kai Studio and get yourself something un

Things I Miss.  Home!    Two happy girls.  My books.  My precious books.  Sweet faces.  My corner full of books.  Can you tell how much I miss my books!?  Backpack.  Stationery bits.  A sloth.  Kindle.  More books.  All red spines.  My cost bed.  Cushions and plushies galore. The view out my bedroom window on a rainy day from last year.  Hello Loves!  I've been away from home, Bombay, for six months now.  Six months.  I miss home.  I miss my books.  My bed.  My plushies.  My old life.  Don't get me wrong, I love being here too.  I do.  And I am so grateful that we have a place to be and stay safe when things back home seem to be on fire.  But ghar to ghar hai na.  I don't even know when I'll be able to head back. Not any time soon, not when things are so bleak.  I will be here and find joy in life here.  :) 

Book: Every Vow You Break  Author: Peter Swanson  Pages: 320  Read on: Kindle  Read in: ~4 hours  Plot Summary:   Abigail Baskin never thought she’d fall in love with a millionaire. Then she met Bruce Lamb. He’s a good guy, stable, level-headed, kind—a refreshing twist from her previous relationships. But right before the wedding, Abigail has a drunken one-night stand on her bachelorette weekend. She puts the incident—and the sexy guy who wouldn’t give her his real name—out of her mind, and now believes she wants to be with Bruce for the rest of her life. Then the mysterious stranger suddenly appears—and Abigail’s future life and happiness are turned upside down. He insists that their passionate night was the beginning of something much, much more. Something special. Something real—and he’s tracked her down to prove it. Does she tell Bruce and ruin their idyllic honeymoon—and possibly their marriage? Or should she handle this psychopathic stalker on her own? To make the situation wo

Hello Loves!  The Bodhi Journal has been a very happy discovery.  We've ordered quite a few things from them in the last few months.  This was our first batch of things we got from them.  Some beautiful postcards.  Stickers.  & A whole Botanical Kit, which is full of ephemera, paper bits and stickers.   I am so happy there are incredible places to buy stickers and stationery from in India.  Makes my stationery-loving heart very happy.  :)  Some floral stickers in multiple sizes and shapes.  So utterly gorgeous.  I've used a few of these already in various journal spreads.  More stickers. I especially love the circle stickers.  Slightly larger stickers.  These are great to use in my junk journal which is an A5 size.  So, so beautiful and perfect.  The quality of these is good too.  A kit is a good way to kickstart some art journaling and junk journaling.  Plus perfect to do up your planner pages.  This is how everything came packed.  So pretty, I hardly had the heart to open

  Book: The Family Tree  Author: Sairish Hussain  Pages: 528  Publisher: Harper Collins  Read On: Kindle  How Long it Took Me To Read: A Week (with several breaks)  Plot Summary:   Your roots can always lead you home… Amjad cradles his baby daughter in the middle of the night. He has no time to mourn his wife’s death. Saahil and zahra, his two small children, are relying on him. Amjad vows to love and protect them always. Years later, saahil and his best friend, Ehsan, have finished University and are celebrating with friends. But when the night turns dangerous, its devastating effects will ripple through the years to come. Zahra’s world is alight with politics and activism. But she is now her father only source of comfort, and worries she’ll never have time for her own aspirations. Life has taken her small family in different directions – will they ever find their way back to each other?  The family tree is the moving story of a British Muslim family full of love, laughter and resil

 Hello Loves!  I recently came across these super cute calendar bookmarks on Amazon from the brand Seedhi Jalebi .  I got these to use in my journal and not quite as bookmarks.  These bookmarks are cute and printed on really nice and thick paper.  Aren't these adorable?  Also Hedgehogs!  :)