The Whimsy Bookworm: A Book Blog from India

  Book: The Bombay Prince  Author: Sujata Massey  Pages: 400  Read on: Kindle  Read in: 4 hours  Plot Summary:  November 1921. Edward VIII, Prince of Wales and future ruler of India, is arriving in Bombay to begin a fourmonth tour. The Indian subcontinent is chafing under British rule, and Bombay solicitor Perveen Mistry isn't surprised when local unrest over the royal arrival spirals into riots. But she's horrified by the death of Freny Cuttingmaster, an eighteen-year-old female Parsi student, who falls from a second-floor gallery just as the prince's grand procession is passing by her college. Freny had come for a legal consultation just days before her death, and what she confided makes Perveen suspicious that her death was not an accident. Feeling guilty for failing to have helped Freny in life, Perveen steps forward to assist Freny's family in the fraught dealings of the coroner's inquest. When Freny's death appears suspicious, Perveen knows she c...

  Book: Dark Tales: Ghost Stories from India  Author: Venita Coelho  Pages: 184 Read on: Kindle  Read in: ~2.5 hours  Publisher: Penguin  Plot Summary:  A collection of 10+ dark, horror, paranormal stories based on ghost stories from India, you won't want to read these in the dark Two men with dangerous secrets find that they have an uninvited guest staying with them . . . A cursed bride forced into an unlucky marriage . . . A mysterious child with an angelic face seems to have misfortune follow him around . . . In this collection of eleven very dark and twisted tales, Venita Coelho lays bare the underbelly of contemporary India. Get ready to gasp and cringe in horror as you have the rug pulled out from under you! This is a book you won't want to read after dark. Things I Liked:  1. This collection of short stories had me at 'ghost tales'! Long time readers of this blog will know of my undying (pun unintended!) for all things horror! So, when I fo...

 Hello Loves!  I have always been a notebook hoarder. I have a tiny cupboard back home full of little treasures we've collected lovingly over the years. If I see a beautiful notebook, I honestly have a hard time resisting it.  Especially if it's handmade.  When I came across Alluvial a few months back, I loved their aesthetic and wanted to get a few of their journals.  So we ordered three.  A beautiful chikankari  (hand embroidery style native to Lucknow) one for my sister.  A batik tiny journal for me, which I've already started using.  & A printed journal in the most earthy tones.  I am super happy with these notebooks.  Let's see them shall we?  Look how beautiful the work is.  We have lived in Lucknow for five years and therefore have very fond associations with chikankari . We own kurtas in every possible colour and so when we saw this sublime notebook we couldn't pass it up.  This tiny guy makes me so happy...

 Hello Loves!  This weekend finds me reading two books at the moment.  One I am breezing through.  The other I've been reading very slowly since Wednesday.  They are both very, very different from each other and I am enjoying them both but in different ways. Let's see what my reading looks like this weekend.  Antigona and Me by Kate Clanchy: I am more than way through this book and it's something I am reading slowly. Partly because sometimes the subject matter can be a little too intense and sad.  This is a nonfiction book about a refugee from Kosovo and her story of living in Britain with her children and adapting to her new home. It is also about how being a woman refugee can be a mixed bag, missing home, learning a new language, a new culture and holding on to vestiges of your former life- even parts that were painful and traumatic.  The book also talks about the domestic abuse Antigona faced in her marriage and how so much this cruel abuse wa...

 Hello Loves!  I took an unintentional break from blogging this week.  Well.  Life was a little busy and somehow I didn't end up posting her.  Well. This has been a largely good week.  I read a lot.  Mostly horror.  Watched a lot of Malayalam films.  Art Journaled.  Got some books in the mail. It was restful and nice.  Here are some things that have made me very happy this week.  New journals to fill up with words and art.  These are from Alluvial India. A new discovery that I have already gone back to for more.  & My sister's new Kindle case. It's from Amazon, from a brand called Swook.  Pretty packages. Bookmarks from Hastnirmit by Mansi.  Look how beautifully she'd packaged everything?! My biggest joy has been creating little spreads in my tiny journal.  I do three to four pages in one go and it's been a great way to unwind and be present.  Plus it's so much fun.  And finally much joy ...

Hello Loves!  This week for Stationery Sunday I want to share some seriously adorable things.  Bookmarks & Some matching truly adorable mini-art.  I ordered some bookmarks from Tori a few weeks ago to support the Covid Relief they were contributing to. A win-win situation, support a fundraiser to help people and get something absolutely beautiful. I got a set of embroidered bookmarks (I will share those soon too) and these guys. I am so happy with everything. But these little guys just blew my mind and so they made to the blog first. The embroiled bookmarks are lovely too and I'll be sharing them soon.    I mean, just look! So freaking adorable. I cannot stop looking at them.  So tiny.  So cute.  And these were a very, very thoughtful and kind extra goodie she sent me, for my journaling.  I am so touched!  :)  Thank you so much Sharmistha.  Of course, the bookmarks themselves are lovely.  Floral aesthetics for life! I ...

Happy World Environment Day.  Nature is the one thing we all have in common, something we all have to share and cherish.  I can only hope we learn to treat our environment better and take care of it and save it our future generations.    Plants and Flowers always cheer me up!  Pretty leaves.  There is so much beauty, tranquility and joy to be found in nature.  :) 

  The Family Man's second season released on June 4th and since my family and I really enjoyed Season 1, we pretty much binged it today in one sitting!  So, here is a quick review:  Things I Liked:  1. The Family Man is an action-packed, espionage thriller series. Season 1 introduced us to the team members of TASC- an elite team within one of India's intelligence agencies. The team's job is to monitor and assess threats to national security as well as neutralise these threats. The leader of this rag-tag team is Srikant Tiwari aka Sri (played with a brilliant mix of wit, gravitas and vulnerability by Manoj Bajpayee), who is our family man  with a wife (played so beautifully by Priyamani) and two bratty-cute-smartass kids. He tries to keep his work life as a spy completely separate from his life as a regular, easy-going family man.  So, each season focuses on the impending threat to the country as well as an exploration of Sri's family life- his wife- S...

  I've been noticing banner ads for Mare of Easttown  on Disney+ Hotstar for a while now and I honestly don't know why I didn't start watching the show immediately because it is a genre that I immensely enjoy- crime thriller.  Anyway, I got to it a bit late (when it was already 5 episodes down) but binged all 5 over a couple of nights. The show had its finale this week and I thought it would be good to share my review.  Things I Liked:  1. A female protagonist who felt very real. Mare (Marianne) is a single mother, who is also raising her grandson. Her son, Kevin, died of suicide a couple of years ago and Mare has still not come to terms with his passing. She is prickly, not openly affectionate, struggling but also focused on her job and family. She is very real. She is coping the best she can without any self-pity or even taking the time to allow herself to heal. Also, as a bonus, the highly competent and utterly beautiful Kate Winslet has played Mare so perfec...

  Book: In Plain Sight  Author: Mohamed Thaver  ∫ Pages: 264 Read: The paperback review copy kindly sent by HarperCollins India; the views are entirely my own  Read in: 3 hours  Plot Summary:  When the rapes and murders of three minor girls remain unsolved for months, a frustrated DCP Sawant calls in Police Inspector Waghmare. Renowned as Mumbai police's 'investigation machine', Waghmare is rumoured to solve crimes in his dreams.  As the investigation progresses and every promising lead runs into a dead-end, Waghmare gets an uncanny feeling that the killer is watching them closely and anticipating their every move to toy with them. Then, when the body of a fourth girl is found, Waghmare and DCP Sawant are both saddled with doubts about Waghmare's fabled investigation skills.   Told from the perspective of rookie crime reporter, Rohan,  In Plain Sight  is a police procedural set in the terrifyingly surreal world of crime and retribution ...

  Hello June!  Hello Rains!  Hello Blog Birthday!  My Blog turns 8 this year.  8!  I am rather surprised that I have managed to keep with this blog and shared my love for books, bookish things, art and small businesses I love and some glimpses of my lifestyle.  I have loved every minute of it.  Thank-you for coming along for the ride.  June also marks the anniversary of my sister joining the Corporate World many moons ago. So we had two things to celebrate today.  And we got a dark chocolate cake to celebrate.  :)  Something sweet to celebrate these joys.  I also cooked dinner for the family. Dal fry and chilli paneer and rice.  Simple but delicious.  Today I am feeling particularly grateful for all the blessings in this little life of mine.  Books.  Bags.  Flowers.  Rains.  Life may not be perfect but is it is full of blessings that I am grateful for.  I started my reading month wit...