Reading Wrap-Up: October 2022.

 Hello Loves! 

October is over and now we step into the weekend of the year. 

Time just keeps on running on by. 

October was a busy month. 

It started with a festival- Durga Pujo and ended with another- Diwali. 

In the middle there was Lokkhi Pujo and this whole month has been doing things for the home and just letting the festivity wash over you. 

It's a been a good month. 

And when a month is busy, reading takes a little bit of a backseat, as in, it's not something I do a lot of and it's not what I am constantly thinking of. 

I read a lot this month. 

A LOT. 

33 books in total. 

And frankly I am surprised by it. 

But..but but...most of these books were steamy romance books. 

What have I become?! My 14 year old self again?! 

I read a romance novel a night for 15 days straight. 

Straight!!

I think life got busy and I just escaped into my romances, it also helped that I read them so darn fast. I made the most of my Kindle Unlimited subscription and read allll of these books from them. 

Oh, in other reading related and book news, I got an iPad Mini as a Diwali gift from my sister. So I am reading on that as well and loving it so much. 

:) 

And I actually bought some books for Diwali too. 

Haul coming super soon. 

My reading Goals for October were quite simple, I wanted to read as many spooky books as I could. 

And I wanted to read some Bengali books in the start of the month, for Durga Pujo. 

I think I did well on both these goals. 

OK, now let's just jump into the books shall we? 

BOOKS OF OCTOBER. 

1. What Really Happened by Banaphool, Translated by Arunava Sinha: I started my month with a little Bengali classic. A re-read for me. Short stories and super short stories by a master of the snappy short stories. I really enjoyed this book, I did when I first read the book back in 2014 and I loved it just as much this time around. I will say though that I enjoyed the super short stories more than the slightly longer ones. 

4/5 

2. The Bookstore Sisters by Alice Hoffman: Another short story for my next read and my first foray into Alice Hoffman, who I've heard some amazing things about. This was such a comfort read, a bookstore, estranged sisters and a small-town that sounds soooo good. It was so warm and cozy and something I enjoyed very much. 

4/5 

3. Best of Friends by Kamila Shamsie: I love Kamila Shamsie's books. I have read a few of her books. And I really loved them. So every time her new book comes out, I am quite excited to read them. This one sounded so good. So good, a close female friendship and how it changes over the decades. This started so well, it kicks off in Karachi in 1988, in a country on the verge on change. Two close friends and are growing up and their worlds are changing and they are figuring out their place in the world. This first section, which made up for 33% of the book and I loved it. It was vintage Shamsie. Then the book jumps to 2019 in London and that's where the book lost me. I found this whole part was just lackluster and I didn't like it. From this point on my book just fell so flat for me. This is not Shamsie's best, by a long shot and overall this was not good. Something was just off when the action moves into the 21st century. Just off. 

2/5 

4. The Tidal Zone by Sarah Moss: I have been meaning to read Moss for years now. This book has sat on my shelf since 2016 and I am so glad I finally read it. This book is such a striking portrait of parental anxiety and a modern nuclear family. A child has a health scare and we see this family deal with it. It talks of family and health and how unpredictable life can be. So well written and so sharp with it's observations about home and gender roles and life in today's world. I enjoyed this book and I can't wait to read more from Moss. 

3.5/5 

5. The Living Mountain by Amitav Ghosh: A super short read from one of my favourites. Ghosh is always a good idea. A fable about climate change and our relation with the natural world. Short but so good and so layered. 

3/5 

6. Pretty Dead Queens by Alexa Donne: Some Halloween appropriate reading. A YA thriller about a young girl who moves in with her estranged grandmother, who is an uber famous crime novelist. In this small coastal town, she falls into a mystery that resembles her grandmother's first book. A beauty queen is found dead and she must solve her murder and reveal some old long buried secrets. 

This was fun...easy to guess, but a good time read. 

3/5 

7. Taranath Tantrik by Bibhutibhushan, Translated by Devalina Mookerjee:  This was my Bhoot Chaturdashi read. I wanted something spooky and something a little desi as my Diwali read and this one was just the ticket. Seven short stories about black magic, ghouls, ghosts, demons and things that go boo in the night. The first two stories are about Taranath Tantrik and the rest are independent stories and I kinda enjoyed the others a little better. I guess I just prefer stories about ghosts over stories about black magic and tantra. I am glad I finally read this book, I've wanted to get my hands on this since it came out earlier in the year. 

Fun and gnarly. 

4/5 

8. The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson: This is my third book by the author I am a fan. This one is an out and out ode to all things Stephen King and Carrie in particular. You could call it a modern day Carrie re-telling. Only here our protagonist also had the added burden of trying to pass as white, even though she is biracial. 

The book is told via a podcast that's done after the events of meltdown our girl suffers after a dance, ala Carrie. So it's interspersed with things happening and escalating and the Podcast trying to understand what happened and why and explain the supernatural aspects of the situation. This book had my attention from start to finish, it will keep you hooked. 

I liked it, however I found the ending a little less than satisfying. We don't get a lot of answers. A lot is left unsaid and open ended, which in general is not my favourite thing in the world...so I wish it had ended a lot less abruptly. 

3/5 

9. The Dance of Faith by R. Seshasayee: A book about a young Muslim boy and his unending passion for dance and how it goes against every prescribed gender role and religious dikkat. This book shines a light on how constricting and stifling gender roles are in our society. Boys can't and don't dance, like dancing somehow makes you less of a man. Ugh. We need more stories like these, reminders like these. 

3.5/5 

10. Double Exposure by Ava Barry: Another thriller, about an heiress who is the only survivor of her family massacre. Hmm...this one just wasn't it. Kinda obvious. Very far fetched and just very unbelievable. 

2/5 

11. The Books of Indian Ghosts by Riksunder Banerjee: This is what I am reading today, for Halloween, a book about alllll kinds of ghosts found in the length and breath of our country. And I am loving it, so so much. What I love best is how it's a mix between fiction and non-fiction, so you get a little story and then some info about said ghost. Fun. A perfect Halloween read. 

4/5 

OK, those were all the regular books I read, as in non-romance books. 

Now lets get to the smutty books I read this month.

There were very many, many many...

OK let's go. 

I don't have a whole lot to say about these books, I mean nothing to pull apart and critique. They did what they do, they are full of love, romance and so much sexy times. 

I read a lot of books by this author called Rina Kent who has a lot of interconnected books and books set in the same setting, a school, college and even one law practice, it's quite a multiverse. 

12. God of Pain by Rina Kent 

13. God of Malice "

14. Cruel King "

15. Deviant King "

16. Steel Princes " 

17. Twisted Kingdom " 

18. Black Knight " 

19. Ruthless Empire " 

20. Empire of Sin " 

21. Empire of Desire "

22. Empire of Hate " 

23. Reign of a King "

24. Rise of a Queen " 

25. Red Thorns "

26. Black Thorns " 

That's all the Kent books. 

Now for the others. 

27. Wilder Love by Emery Rose 

28. When We Were Restless " 

29. When Wrecked Meets Ruined " 

30. Good Girls Never Rise by S.J. Sylvis 

31. Even If It Hurts by Sam Mariano 

32. The Boy on the Bridge " 

33. Worse than Enemies by J.L. Beck 

Most of these books were a 3 or 4/5. 

Very fun and just perfect little escapes. 

I get why people are so into romances, I get it. I get it. 

Although I think I've had my fill. And in November I might take a break from them, 

So there we go, 33 books read and largely loved. 

:) 

Hope you had a lovely October and read some good books. 

I am off to make the most of today and watch something scary and read the rest of my book. 

:) 

Happy Diwali!

From our home to yours -  Happy Diwali! 🪔✨🎇 

Have a lovely evening! 

Diwali Weekend Binge List: What To Watch on Netflix, AppleTV, Prime Video, Hoichoi

 Hello, hello!

Diwali is almost here! 

Happy Dhanteras to everyone celebrating! 

If you are planning on doing something low-key this weekend, we've got you! Here are some recommendations of movies and web series that you can watch this weekend...

1. 20th Century Girl (Korean Movie | Netflix) 

Remember being in love for the very first time? Or having a massive crush on someone in school? Or just the insane shenanigans that you and your best friend got up to? If you love reminiscing about the past and enjoy nostalgic content, then 20th Century Girl is the film for you! 

Cute, fun, funny and heartwarming, it is just the ticket for the slightly cold nights that we are seeing in India! :) 

2. Shining Girls (AppleTV)

Based on the eponymous book, Shining Girls, set in Chicago in 1992 follows Kirby, the sole survivor of a brutal serial killer, who kills smart, kind and talented women. Basically, 'shining girls'. Kirby teams up with a washed up crime reporter to track down this wily killer before he kills some other lovely woman. 

3. X (Prime Video) 

We started watching X on a  whim because it looked like a slasher film, which we enjoy! :) However, it turned out to be quite entertaining and fun and so, if you are looking for a slasher flick with good performances, then this is the one for you! 

4. Through the Glass Darkly (Prime Video) 

When a teenager goes missing in a small town, distraught single mother, with a missing child of her own, hopes to track down the perpetrator and, in the process, find her own daughter or what happened to her. 

A nice, taut and fast-paced movie that is definitely worth watching if you enjoy crime thrillers. 

5. The King's Jester (Netflix) 

Hasan Minhaj is back and, in this comedy special, is dishing out some amazing insights and petty justice! Hilarious, thought provoking and full of delicious take-downs, this special is a must-watch! 

6. Byomkesh Hotyamancha 

The latest Byomkesh movie is based on a half-written story, which was completed by the director and writer of this movie. So, the upside of this is that if you are an avid reader/ viewer of Byomkesh Bakshi, then at least you won't already know who the killer is! :) 

When the director/ leading man is killed on stage during a modern reinterpretation of the virat pava of the Mahabharata, Byomkesh and Ajit have to find and bring this daring killer to justice! 

So, that were some recommendations of what you could watch this weekend! If you do watch any of these, do let us know on the 'gram! :) 

Have a lovely weekend, folks! 

5 Reasons to Binge Watch The Midnight Club on Netflix

 

We binged The Midnight Club in one sitting yesterday and here are five reasons why you should watch this horror-thriller-mystery series right away! 

1. Set in the mid-1990s in a hospice for terminally ill teenagers in Washington state, The Midnight Club is a cozy, atmospheric, occasionally spooky show that is mostly a thriller-mystery-suspenseful ride rather than an out-and-out horror series. If you are expecting a re-do of the makers' previous series such as The Haunting of Hill House or Bly Manor or Midnight Mass, then you will be disappointed horror-wise. This show doesn't have that many scares at all and is more of a mystery, thriller type show. 

The show follows a group of terminally ill teenagers, who are in residence at Brightcliffe Manor. These kids meet every midnight in the hospice's very well-appointed library and share ghost/ mystery stories in a bid to scare each other and also, to take their minds off their illnesses, aches, pains and impending death. 

So, the show's format is a mix of a story-within-a-story as well as present day events about the manor's mysterious beginnings and also, about the cult that owned this property before it became a hospice. 

2. One of the nicest things about The Midnight Club are the characters. We have eight teenagers- our protagonist- Ilonka, who was Stanford bound before she got diagnosed with terminal thyroid cancer. Then we have Kevin, Amesh, Natsuki, Cheri, Spencer, Anya and Sandra - each from different backgrounds, ethnicities and backstories. They're all so well etched out and we really get to know and bond with these characters throughout the series. While some of these characters start off being unlikeable and annoying, as we get to know them and understand the source of their pain, we grow to really like them. Always nice to have well written characters! 

3. Each of the eight teens tells a story every night, so, apart from the present day events, we also have 7-8 stories ranging from a murder mystery to horror to sci-fi and so on. Each story is very different and the inclusion of these stories makes the show a lot more engaging. We have other events to be spooked by in these stories, which takes the pressure off having multiple scary events happening in the hospice. 

4. The central mystery of the series is about the property and the house where this hospice is located. Ilonka, our protagonist, doesn't want to die. Whilst researching about this hospice, she comes across a news article about a teenager in 1968 called Julia Jayne, who'd come to this hospice to die but was miraculously cured. So, Ilonka gets obsessed with the history of the property where the hospice sits and finds out that in the 1940s, there was a wellness/ healing cult that owned this property, who had perfected a ritual for everlasting life and healing. 

The present day events focus on Ilonka looking for more information on Julia Jayne and to find out how she healed in the hopes that Ilonka might also heal and get on with her life. So, this is a pretty interesting mystery in itself and, mixed together with the midnight story telling sessions, makes for a very compelling and interesting watch! 

5. What I, surprisingly, liked the most was that even though the series was not very scary or horror-y (as I had gone in expecting), it gave me a moving, lovely series, which left me moved and in tears towards the end. We meet some lovely teens, get to see some very interesting stories and follow along on Ilonka's quest to unearth the mysteries of Julia Jayne and the house. Overall, multiple reasons to love the series and binge it immediately! 

Hello October 2022 + October Goals.

 

Hello October! 

Hello Pujo! 

Hello Fall!

Hello Spooky Season! 

I am sooooo happy you are here October. 

Soooo happy to be in the last three months of the year aka my favourite months of the whole year. 

I started my month doing little things in the house to cozy up for the festive season. 

Changed bedding. 

Changed out our cushion covers. 

Brought out my favourite plushies. 

Picked out my reading for Pujo. 

And in the evening we put up lights in our home mandir. 

A perfect little day to start my month. 

Bobesh is here. 

Looking handsome as always. 

Put out some new sheets from Chumbak. 

Lights and Flowers. 

I hope and pray October is good and kind and gentle and wonderful for all of us. 

OCTOBER GOALS: 

1. Have a happy Pujo. Do something fun everyday. 

2. Put up lights in the house. 

3. Make home pretty and cozy for fall. 

4. Read some spooky books. 

5. Watch some spooky films. 

6. Buy some books. 

7. Take more pictures. 

8. Journal everyday. 

9. Blog more regularly. 

10. Read a classic.