Hello Loves!
My reading wrap-ups have sadly fallen off the radar in the last few months. I think I did my last wrap-up in May and then June came along and I read some 26 books and there was so much to talk about and I just didn't!
Odd!
But it's always been bugging me, this whole not sticking to doing wrap-ups. So maybe, just maybe I'll do a manic catch up at some point or maybe not...it's a lot of books to talk about!
But for today I want to do a mini catch-up of sorts and at least talk about my reading in the last two months.
So here I am talking about the books I read in October and November of 2021.
:)
BOOKS READ IN OCTOBER OF 2021.
October was a good reading month. I read a mix of two genres primarily and it was my reading goal going into the month, to read some Bengali lit in honour of all things Durga Pujo and then get into the mood for Halloween with all things spooky and creepy. And to a large extent I managed to do just that.
:)
Here are my October Reads:
1. The Girls Never Leave by Sarah Glenn Marsh: Started my month with an out and out horror. Set in a haunted house this book was about a home with a sinister past where young girls go missing and perhaps never really leave. Set in a summer, this book was a perfect mix of spooky and a mystery lurking around the corner. I quite enjoyed this book and read it in a few sittings too.
3/5
2. Name, Place, Animal, Thing by Daribha Lyndem: Read. Loved. Reviewed. A short and quick and nostalgic read and I really enjoyed a lot.
4/5
3. The Ritual by Uttaran Das Gupta: This book was a good mix of both my reading themes for the month: spooky and Bengali. Set in Calcutta in 1989, this book is among other things about cults, intolerance, murders and a bunch of good cops trying to find answers. Quite enjoyable and engaging, I especially liked being in the Calcutta of the late 80s and I think the writer has done a great job of capturing the city in all it's glory. The mystery aspect was quite easy to guess and the main perpetrator was quite easy to see from a mile away, it didn't take away (at least for me) the joy of the read.
3/5
4. Small Town Monsters by Diana Rodriguez Wallach: This book is sold as being a combination of The Conjuring and The Vow, I was sold when I heard The Conjuring because that's a horror film I love..very much. This book is clearly like the Conjuring because our main character is clearly someone like the daughters of Ed and Lorraine from the Conjuring universe. This book had me pretty hooked in the first half or so but then somewhere past the 46% mark I kinda maybe lost interest and the book began to drag a little bit. :( It was sufficiently spooky though, I just wish the pace had kept up a bit.
2.5/5
5. An Invitation to Die by Tanushree Podder: This is the third book in the Colonel Acharya series, a book series set in the hills and in a small town where a motley group of very charming people live and Colonel Acharya solves a crime or two. I read the first two books in the series last year and really enjoyed the cozy murder mysteries. Hills. Kind and kooky characters. And a murder or two thrown in. What's not to love?! So when the third installment of the book series was out I knew I had to get it. This one still has the trademarks of the series, we are back with the characters from the previous books and introduced to several others and a murder mystery. I liked it. It was just as I expected it would be and was perfectly enjoyable. Pick this up if you like cozy murder mysteries. The culprit is very, very easy to guess..so don't go into these books expecting a mind bending mystery. These are happy, cozy and easy reads. Perfect for this time of year.
4/5
6. The Illuminated by Anindita Ghose: This was my main Pujo read. I spent my Pujo with a nuclear and Probashi (a Bengali who lives outside of Bengal) Bengali family like mine. This book came with a lot of rave reviews and a lot of buzz when it released and since it's premise sounded promising and like something I would enjoy I was keen on reading it. Luckily I got it for pretty darn cheap on the Kindle and read it in a few days. Essentially this is a story of a mother and daughter, each grappling with the death of the husband/father. It's about a void left with the passing of a loved one. It was also about the lives and stories of these women. And it was about our world...India today, religious fanaticism, moral policing and particularly how women are viewed in this country of ours. There was a lot going on this book and a lot of unpack and sit with. I enjoyed it. Just not quite as much as I thought I would. The writing was good. Really good in fact and I will definitely look forward to what the writer writes next. There was just a few things I didn't quite love about this book. I felt some things just fell a little flat. I didn't really grow to like the daughter character at all. At all. The mother, I wish we spent more time with her and her story instead. The ending too felt a tad bit rushed and a bit out there for my taste.
Overall a perfectly average book for me. It was nice. Quite nice. Just not brilliant like everyone was making it our to be.
3/5
7. Mortuary Tales by Kashif Mashiekh: This was another book I meant to read for absolute ages, well since it came out a few months ago because it sounds like something I will absolutely love. Stories told in morgue from a veteran morgue employee to the new hire. I love! I went in to these stories expecting all kind of horror and spooks and I did get a little of that action, but there was also so much more and so much more variety and nuance. Stories of murders, gangsters, life lessons and bonds and love and sadness and hope. There was much more than I had thought going in. Was I a little disappointed on the finding out this isn't all out horror fest? Maybe. But what I eventually got from this book was perfectly acceptable and very enjoyable.
4/5
8. Rumours of Spring by Farah Basher: Just read this book. Just pick it up. I had my eye on it since it came and out and I am so glad I finally picked it up. A memoir about growing up in Kashmir in the 90s. A girlhood in Kashmir during the most turbulent time in it's history. Scary, alarming, moving and really, really affecting. I think it's always good to read about lives and stories so different from one's you know and have lived. Good to bear witness to the suffering of others and educating yourself. Just walking for a little bit in their shoes and seeing their story and perspective. This is a very quick read but it's one that will stay with me for a while.
4/5
9. Murder in Seven Acts &
10. Greenlight by Kalpana Swaminathan: I read my first Lalli Mystery earlier in the month and found out about this new (to me) sleuth and knew there were a ton of books featuring her so I quickly got on Book Chor and got me some of her books. I got three to start me off and I am excited to read more. Lalli is an ex-cop, an older woman with wits and brains and a trusty bunch of friends and family who help her in her crime solving. I have two more of her books sitting on my shelves that I hope to get to soon. These were fun and some cases rooted in reality and true crimes. Fun!
3.5/5
11. The Bird with The Golden Wings by Sudha Murty: A collection of short stories meant for younger readers, steeped in magic, life lessons and trademark Sudha Murty wit and joy. I breezed through these stories with a big smile on my face. A joy to read. Plus beautiful illustrations. A good pick for kids and grown-ups.
4/5
12. The Missing Hours by Julia Dahl: I quite randomly stumbled upon this book and boy am I glad I did. It is so firmly set in our world, especially the world women live in. Where no one seems to believe us and it's so easy to blame women for misfortunes that befall them. The protagonist in this book is someone who is easy to dislike, she is young, beautiful and privileged. She is like a character out of Gossip Girl. One night she goes out. The next morning she has no memory of what happened, No idea what happened to her. But she can only imagine what might have endured. Slowly the missing pieces come back and she is about to get mad and then..maybe get even.
I loved this book. And honestly cannot recommend it enough. Seriously, pick it up!
4.5/5
13. The Narayanpur Incident by Shashi Deshpande: A story set in August 1942 in a small town in India and a group of children who want to play their part in the freedom struggle. A quick and good read about how real people lived in the that time and how every life was affected by the wave of nationalism and so many people, so many families gave up so much for our fought for freedom.
4/5
14. Spooky Tales by Tanushree Podder: These stories were just lovely. So much fun! And spooky and just what the heart needs around Halloween.
4/5
I also read a few Feluda Stories around Pujo.
15. The Locked Chest by Satyajit Ray
16. They Royal Bengal Mystery "
17. The Key "
These were all re-reads and re-loves.
5/5 Forever.
October was a good reading month. I read a lot and read some really good books.
:)
Now on to November we go!
BOOKS OF NOVEMBER 2021
This month I read a good mix between fiction and non-fiction and I have already talked a lot about my non-fiction reads in my previous post, so here I'll only be talking in depth about my fiction reads.
1. Empress The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan by Ruby Lal: Started #nonfictionnovember right with a book on history. I cannot remember the last time I read a tome on history and this was so much fun and for a moment it felt like I was back in college and back in my history classroom. I really enjoyed this book so much. Mughal India is one of my favourite periods in history, one I have always enjoyed studying about and this was exactly my cup of tea. Enjoyed it immensely and it made me want to read more historical nonfiction.
4/5
2. A Gallery of Rascals by Ruskin Bond: A collection of stories old and a few new about not-so-perfect folks. Aka some rascals. Always a joy to read Bond and this one was a delight from start to finish.
4/5
3. Sitayana by Amit Majmudar: This was my Diwali read because I wanted to spend my Diwali with Sita. These stories about the Ramayana but from so many different perspectives really made this a much more rounded and nuanced read. We hear from the usual suspects: Hanuman, Lakshman, Mandodari and Surpanakha but we also hear from so many little and oft forgotten characters in the great epic, like even the little squirrels who helped built the Ram Setu and some of the rakshasis guarding Sita. I liked this book so much than I had thought I would.
4/5
4. The Railway Gang by Ruskin Bond: A picture book about stray doggos who live in a railway station. My heart!!! So lovely and so full of love and feels.
5/5
5. White Noise by Andaleeb Wajid: An e-short I read via my Kindle Unlimited subscription, a story about a young family moving home and the wife who is distraught about leaving the family home and unable to understand her husband who is happy to choose money over memories.
3.5/5
6. The Echo Chamber by John Boyne: I LOVED this book. LOVED. It might just be the best thing I've read all year. Funny. Hilarious, really. So firmly set in our present world, this book is about everything I (and I am sure so many of us) find infuriating, especially when it comes to social media. The uber-wokeness, the performative wokeness and those just looking for a reason to be holier than thou and denounce anyone and anything who doesn't match their impeccable standards. Uff. This book was a hoot and so relevant.
5/5
Please pick it up.
7. The Temple Road by Fazlur Rahman: A memoir of doctor from a village in Bangladesh to his journey to the US. I quite enjoyed it. Especially this parts set in his village and his childhood.
3.5/5
8. Brothers by Manju Kapur: I have read quite a few books by Manju Kapur and I find her work quite wonderful and melancholic. They are mostly about women, middle-aged women to be specific and her characters are very relatable. This book therefore was a little bit of a rogue bullet. It's primarily about men. Brothers. There is of course a pivotal woman character but for most part, it is a story about men. Powerful me and powerless men. A story of a brother killing a brother. Something that is shocking, of course but isn't it a tale as old as time? Our history is full of brothers who killed each other, for thrones, money and women, The brothers here are perhaps no different. They each covet what the other has with disastrous outcomes. A book that so many of us will find relatable, don't we all have family members jealous and envious of our good fortunes? Resentment and bitterness within families were captured so well and is something Kapur does so well.
3.5/5
9. Women, Dreaming by Salma. Translated by Meena Kandasamy: Stories set in a village in Tamil Nadu about women, Muslim women and their lives and dreams and how men and society want to control every aspect of their existence. This book can be best described as a bunch of interconnected vignettes and stories about a handful of women in this village and how each of them hopes for a better life and future. This wasn't an easy read but I think as a woman it's important to read about how so many other women live and survive in our country. Sad, moving, infuriating and so relevant.
3/5
10. Faces in the Water by Ranjit Lal: A young adult book about a young boy who stumbles upon a horrible family secret. Gurmi thinks his family only has boys but one summer changes everything. He finds a well on the family farm and finds our what happens to the girls in the family. Terrifying if you think about it but we all know how terrifyingly true this horrible curse of female infanticide is. This book is a good way to talk to your kids about this repugnant social evil.
3/5
11. The Whistling by Rebecca Netley: A ghost story with some very familiar elements and tropes. This book reminded me quite a bit of The Turn of the Screw, a new governess comes to a mysterious house to look after a mysterious child. Hmm..we've been here before. Here instead of two precocious children there is one mute girl. Who following the death of her brother has stopped talking. There is something off in this house, a silence and a strange whistling. This book was perfectly atmospheric and creepy and there was a little bit of mystery too. Perfectly enjoyable and a good read for this time of the year.
3.5/5
12. A Lonely Harvest by Perumal Murugan, Translated by Aniruddhan Vasudevan: I read One Part Woman back in 2015 (I swear it feels like it was last year) and I knew of the two sequels of it that existed. I think it's such a genius idea to write two versions of the sequel and give the story two outcomes. I read this version first, the one where Kali dies and Ponna is left behind to deal with the aftermath. I want to pick up the second sequel soon. Maybe in a month or two. So this version of events sticks for a bit. I really liked this book. The best part was the women in this book, so many incredible women who stick together and support each other and Ponna.
4/5
13. Nylon Rope by Sujatha, Translated by Suganthy Krishnamachari: I love pulp fiction. The spicy and action packed stories and those books with those colourful and garish covers that were sold on railway platforms! So fun. I first read Tamil Pulp fiction back in 2012 and since have read a few more here and there. I read Anita The Trophy Wife by the same author back in 2018 and when I saw Kindle Unlimited had this title I got it and read it quickly. This is short read about a cad murdered in his flat in Bombay in 1968 and the police investigation into his death and the women wronged by him. Quick and fun, this was a good read.
4/5
14. Red Handed 20 Criminal Cases That Shook India by Souvik Bhadra and Pingal Khan: I am always up for some true crime, these were mostly known to me cases still it was enjoyable to read about them, especially since this book focused more on the legal aspects of said cases.
3/5
15. Lovers of Rampore by Ashok Chopra: A book I won in a giveaway from Penguin India. So thank-you Penguin for sending this my way and because of which I read something a little out from my usual picks. A little love, well a lot of love. Different kinds of love. Old and steady love. Passionate love. Hurried and varied love. A few stories packed into this book. I liked it. It was a good change from what I normally read.
3/5
16. Angaaray by Ahmed Ali, Sajjad Zaheer and Rashid Jahan, Translated by Snehal Shinghavi: A short collection of short stories written in Urdu and published in 1932. It caused quite a furor when it came out and was even banned. I can see why. These stories seem way ahead of their times and hell, even now they'd probably upset some folks! I really enjoyed these stories, some more than others but overall this is a great collection of stories.
4/5
17. My Body by Emily Ratajkowski: My last read for Non-Fiction November was a little bit of mixed bag.I enjoyed some aspects of this book, the writing was quite good and powerful. Yet somewhere along the way it started to get a little repetitive. Maybe it's because unlike the writer I am not a world famous supermodel, worried about her body and how men see me and judge me. Of course some aspects of this are common to all women but this constant focus on one's body is very, very unrelatable to me so after a point it felt a bit..jarring.
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And we are done!
My last two months worth of reading is all wrapped-up!
:)
Hope you find a book or two to read from this list.
Hope you've had a good reading month too!
See soon...like very soon with more book reviews and BLOGMAS which starts tomorrow.
:)
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