Hello Loves!
My favourite month is over already and it's time for my reading wrap-up.
February was a good month in my life. Reading-wise it was a little bit of a mixed bag. I read some good books and then, for about a week or so, I didn't really read anything. I had a lull of sorts and had a lot of starts and stops. Just nothing was clicking. I took a bit of break from reading. I started and stopped on some of my faves too- Ruskin Bond and Ray. So you know I was in a weird mood, plus I was sick and in pain. So books weren't my way to self-soothe.
So, I only managed to read some 10 books and two delightful Champaks.
I am happy with the reading. Some months you just consume other kinds of stories and this month I definitely found myself watching more films and TV shows and reading a little less, it's OK. It happens.
FEBRUARY READING WRAP-UP:
1. Mahabharata for Children by Upendra Kishore Roy Chowdhury: I, finally, read a version of the Mahabharata that a lot of my cousins grew up reading and which was their first exposure to the epic. I am always up to reading any and all adaptations and version of this great epic and this one, while comprehensive enough, didn't exactly blow my mind. I found it a bit choppy. It's narrative structure wasn't my favourite and I felt it had a lot of the elements missing, which is not the worst because it's meant for children and it did cover the important things...yet overall this wasn't my favourite spin on my all time favourite story.
3/5
2. The Bride's Mirror by Nazir Ahmed: The first Urdu bestseller that took the readers of 1868 by storm and sold a whole lot of copies. In so many ways this story of two sisters married to two brothers and all the petty politics of their marital homes, is so relevant. Some of the issues and ins and outs of an Indian home are still the same. The themes and the emotions and the follies are all still relevant. So in that aspect this is a classic that holds its own and its relevance all this time later. As I started reading this I kept finding this story so familiar and soon enough, and a little Googling later, I realized that I have seen the TV adaptation of this story. A Pakistani TV show called Dulhan ka Aaina is a modern adaptation of this story.
Overall this was an interesting read but the translation wasn't my favourite but I mean it's done by a white man so I am sure he did the best he could.
3.5/5
3. The Christie Affair by Nina De Gramont: Based on Christie's own Gone Girl situation back in 1926, this is a fictionalized take on Dame Chrisitie's life and marriage and has a very Christie-esque murder mystery to boot. A full review for this book is up and you can read it here.
I did enjoy this book a lot. I wasn't the biggest fan of our main protagonist nor did I particularly care for the ending.
3/5
4. The Greatest Short Stories of Leo Tolstoy: I finally read my first proper foray into Tolstoy. I am surprised by incredibly accessible and easy these stories were to read and I actually quite enjoyed it. I am all set to finally read Anna Karenina later this year. Let's do this!
4/5
5. Wahala by Nikki May: Another book I absolutely enjoyed and breezed through. I always love stories about friendships and this one did a very good job of showing the intricacies of old female friendships.
A full review can be found here.
4/5
6. How to Tell the Story of an Insurgency by Aruni Kashyap: Going back to Assam is always a good thing. It's a place I've been to several times through books and stories. I loved this book and a did a full review for this one too. Read it here.
4.5/5
7. Chhotu by Varud Gupta and Ayushi Rastogi: I went into this book with some pretty high expectations and frankly I am not sure I loved this as much as I had hoped to. The story and the art is decent enough. Yet...overall I found myself a little..less than charmed. Not my favourite.
2/5
8. More Adventures of Kakababu by Sunil Gangopadhyay: The second volume of Kakababu and Shontu's adventures and this was such a fun time. Chasing yetis, finding spies and fighting dacoits. Stories full of adventure and thrills. I loved this and I also recommend the film adaptations by Srijit Mujherjee if you haven't seen them yet.
4/5
9. Sapiens - The Birth of Humankind, A Graphic History by Yuval Noah Harari: I finally read a book that everybody has read and loved. I was looking to pick it up when I saw that a graphic novel version exists of the same and figured I'd give it a read instead and I am so glad I went this route, I will maybe some day read the actual book-book. But this beautiful book was a great way to learn some new things about human history and it gave me so much to think about, I can't wait to read the second volume of this book.
4/5
10. Blood Island: An Oral History of the Marichjhapi by Deep Haldar: My last read of the month left me numb. In a good way, in the way that I think books should more often. Books should shake us and teach us about something, especially things in our past and things that affected so many people. I knew nothing about Marichjhapi. Nothing. And this book took me to a place and time and a people that we all should know about. I am glad that books and reporting like this exists.
4/5
~~~
I hope you had a good month.
Reading and otherwise.
:)
I read OK I think.
Read 10 books.
2 Graphic Novels.
A classic.
A nonfiction.
A good mix of books.
:)
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