The Whimsy Bookworm: A Book Blog from India

  Hello Loves!  April is over and I got to talk about some amazing books I read this month.  20 in total.  A good solid number and a mix of things I planned on reading and some I picked up when the mood struck.  I was doing my All Bengali Books in April, but not really sticking to the All Books part of my Theme.  I read a lot of Bengali books and Authors, but I also read other books and I am OK with not sticking to my theme. Reading must always, always be enjoyable and I am not going make myself stick to something and read something, if I feel like reading something else entirely.  Cool.  Now, let's do this wrap-up in two parts.  First, let's talk about the books I did read for my All Bengali Books in April and then we can talk about the rest.  Let's get started.  1. Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri: Started my month with a forever favourite. Lahiri can do no wrong in my book. And this was my re-read for the month and it was just as sublime as I remembered it to be. Really lov

 Hello Loves!  The last Friday of the month means it's time to list my Monthly Favourites for the month.  I'll be honest, April has been horrendous to me. I am not even joking or exaggerating. April has historically also never been very good to be. It was the month of school results when I was a kid. It was the start of summer, my least favourite time of the year and it was exactly a year ago when I caught Covid and I am still, to this damn day dealing with it's aftermath.  April is not my favourite.  Still, I was excited to jump into this month. Excited to read some good books~ mostly all Bengali and watch a ton of films and make the most of this month. Celebrate Bengali New Year and do small things of joy.  Well, not everything went to plan.  My skin fell apart. Pretty much all of this month has involved acne all over my chin and cheeks. Painful and infuriating.  Then I had some gum issues.  And I have had another flare up of carpal tunnel.  UGH!!  So pain and heat and sa

 Hello, hello, Another week has almost come to an end and with it the hot-hot-hot month of April! How is it almost-May?! Time does fly!  Hope all of you are staying indoors and safe during this unprecedented heat wave that we're having!  If you are spending this weekend indoors, as you should, here are a few movies and web series that you can binge!  1. Reacher  Based on the very popular titular character in several of Lee Child's best selling books, Reacher, is an action-based crime thriller.  Jack Reacher, a retired military police investigator, spends his days moving from one small town in America to another to live a free, "hobo-like" life. He finds himself in the small town of Margrave, Georgia, where one of his favourites blues singer was supposed to have died. His arrival in the small town coincides with two murders for which he is arrested. Reacher, now, has to clear his name and also get to the bottom of the mysterious going ons in this small town.  A fast-pa

  The Golden Days of Summer.  I am not Summer's biggest fan. Not by a mile.  I thrive in winter. Smile when it rains.  Summer is not my friend.  It's when I hide.  Sleep during the day.  Venture out during the evening.  I hide and plan for the rains.  Look at the sky hoping to spot an errant cloud or two.  I don't like summer.  This year I am trying to befriend this inescapable part of life.  Trying to make  the most of these intensely warm days, the sunshine that stabs at your very skin and the heat that embraces you.  I am trying to find the beauty in the flowers that spring out of corners.  Look forward to the mangoes.  And find the usual delight in everything iced and cold.  I am going to be friends with you summer.  I will make peace with you.  :)  Some pictures, or a #photodump of summer mornings. 

 Hello Loves!  This post is soooo ridiculously late it's not even funny. Look at me doing my Birthday Book Haul in April! I actually clicked these pictures in February itself but forgot about them and my sad big camera.  I have been meaning to do this post for a while, because book hauls are some of my favourite posts to read and share. Especially my birthday book hauls that bring me sooo much joy. It's honestly the only time I buy books sans any guilt of any kind. I buy books all year round, of course I do, but I feel so guilty and try not to buy pricey books.  But my birthday is when all bets are off.  Ok enough rambling.  Time for books.  Here is my 2022 Birthday Book Haul.  BOOKS BOUGHT:  More Adventures of Kakababu Vol.II by Sunil Gangopadhyay  I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou  The Firebird by Saikat Majumdar  Chhotu by Varud Gupta and Ayushi Rastogi  The Demoness, The Best Bangladeshi Stories from 1971 to 2021.  Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri  The Calcutta Ch

  Book: The Night Shift  Author: Alex Finlay  Pages: 321  Read on: Kindle  Read in: ~ 4 hours  Plot Summary:  It's New Year's Eve of 1999 when four teenagers working late are attacked at a Blockbuster video store in New Jersey. Only one survives. Police quickly identify a suspect, the boyfriend of one of the victims, who flees and is never seen again. Fifteen years later, four more teenagers are attacked at an ice cream store in the same town, and again only one makes it out alive. In the aftermath of the latest crime, three lives intersect: the lone survivor of the Blockbuster massacre, who is forced to relive the horrors of her tragedy; the brother of the fugitive accused, who is convinced the police have the wrong suspect; and FBI agent Sarah Keller, who must delve into the secrets of both nights to uncover the truth about the Night Shift Murders.  Things I Liked: 1. The Night Shift has been generating a lot of buzz on Bookstagram and so, when the premise seemed interesting,

 Hello Loves!  How has your long weekend been?  Mine was film filled. I watched a ton of stuff and will do another batch of TV and film recommendations soon!  Today to ease into the new week, I am sharing a belated haul of beautiful things from Taaga by Reema .  I got these beauties on my birthday and I took these pictures on my main camera, my Canon camera and I had forgotten all about them. Because sadly, in the last two years I have rarely picked up my camera! Sad!  But today I managed to finally transfer said images and here we are with a beautiful little haul.  I have bought from Taaga numerous times in the last year. I love the prints she stocks and I love the many, many things you can get from her shop.  I have bought everything from Backpacks. Tote Bags, Kindle and Book Sleeves and multiple pouches and even a pencil case. I have loved everything she's made for us and I highly recommend you go check her out and get something beautiful. There is something for everyone at her

 Hello, hello, Shubho Noboborsho to any Bengali person seeing this! I hope the coming year is full of good health and happiness!  Happy Vishu, Bihu, Baisakhi and Pana Sankranti to all our friends from various parts of the country! Hope your coming year is full of good health and happiness!  Blessed Good Friday to everyone observing this day.  So, since this is a long weekend in many parts of the world, I thought I'd share some binge-worthy recommendations.  Let's get into it, shall we?  1. Kakababur Protyaborton Kakababu (the detective created by Sunil Gangopadhyay) is back! This time murder and mayhem find him and Santu during a vacation to Kenya! A good one to watch with kids or even without!  Kakababur Protyaborton is streaming on Hoichoi.  2. Abhay Season 3  Abhay returns for Season 3 and this time with a slew of interesting murders involving a cult! This season was so good! I really enjoyed it!  Abhay Season 3 is streaming on Zee5.  3. Business Proposal  If you are in the

  Book: The Book of Cold Cases  Author: Simone St.James  Pages: 352  Publisher: Berkeley Press  Read On: Kindle  How Long it Took Me To Read: One day (I could not/ would not put it down)  Plot Summary:  In 1977, Claire Lake, Oregon, was shaken by the Lady Killer Murders: Two men, seemingly randomly, were murdered with the same gun, with strange notes left behind. Beth Greer was the perfect suspect--a rich, eccentric twenty-three-year-old woman, seen fleeing one of the crimes. But she was acquitted, and she retreated to the isolation of her mansion. Oregon, 2017 .  Shea Collins is a receptionist, but by night, she runs a true crime website, the Book of Cold Cases--a passion fueled by the attempted abduction she escaped as a child. When she meets Beth by chance, Shea asks her for an interview. To Shea's surprise, Beth says yes. They meet regularly at Beth's mansion, though Shea is never comfortable there. Items move when she's not looking, and she could swear she's

  Book: Where the Crawdads Sing  Author: Delia Owens  Pages: 384  Read on: Kindle  Read in: ~4.5 hours  Plot Summary:  For years, rumors of the 'Marsh Girl' have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl.  But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life - until the unthinkable happens.  General Thoughts: I've had this book lying around on my Kindle since early 2020 when it first started getting a lot of buzz. It was the early days of the pandemic and Where the Crawdads Sing was one of the first books I bought to read during the  nation-wide 21-

  Book: The Drowning Kind  Author: Jennifer McMahon   Pages: 336  Publisher: Scout Press  Read On: Kindle  How Long it Took Me To Read: 3 days  Plot Summary:   Be careful what you wish for. When Jax receives nine missed calls from her older sister, Lexie, she assumes that it’s just another one of her sister’s episodes. Manic and increasingly out of touch with reality, Lexie has pushed Jax away for over a year. But the next day, Lexie is dead: drowned in the pool at their grandmother’s estate. When Jax arrives at the house to go through her sister’s things, she learns that Lexie was researching the history of their family and the property. And as she dives deeper into the research herself, she discovers that the land holds a far darker past than she could have ever imagined. In 1929, thirty-seven-year-old newlywed Ethel Monroe hopes desperately for a baby. In an effort to distract her, her husband whisks her away on a trip to Vermont, where a natural spring is showcased by the new