The Whimsy Bookworm: A Book Blog from India

2015.  A year of 220 + books. Of over 120 films.  Of 2 months of travel.  Of seeing family.  Of going back to my family owned Tea Gardens.  Of experiencing..spring, summer, winter and monsoon. Of coming up with and ruminating over so many story ideas.  Of being happy with simple things.  Of being anxious over little things.  Of being sad over things big and small. A year of living. Of learning. And being.  You were decent to me, 2015.  I bid you farewell with a smile and gratitude.  ~~~~~~~~~~~~ A little something I wrote late last night on my Tumblr. I was sitting in my bed, all warm and comfortable and looking back at the year that really seems to have just whizzed by me.  I remember December 31st 2014 so clearly it's absurd.  I remember being in my kitchen. Whipping up a meal for my sister and me.  My sister had an insanely busy time at work and so I was doing a s...

Hello!  I love reading Indian books.  Well...duh! You already knew that!  And I am Indian so why not read and love from my own country?  I read a lot...a LOT of Indian books this past year. More than books from any other country or region.  And I had a very hard time picking my top 5 reads.  But here they are my favourite Indian reads of 2015.  1. Drowning Fish by Swati Chanda: A book I picked up ever so randomly and was really sucked into the story and the lives of the women in this family. So good. Such a ride and really emotional as well. It deals with East Pakistan, the formation of Bangladesh and love and loss and tragedy and family and holding on to the past. So very good! A full review can be found HERE.  2. Flood of Fire by Amitav Ghosh: A genius. A conclusion to a trilogy this was a magnificent book. A full review can be found HERE. So good. Read Ghosh and just fall in love with his writing and story ...

Hello!  2015 has for me been a year of reading and loving Short Stories.  I love Short Stories for a variety of reasons... They are great for busy days. Dip in and out. Great for when you don't want to get into a full fledged novel. A great way to try a new author.  A great way to try a bunch of authors in case of an anthology.  Great option for reading in travel.. again dip in and out and not get too caught up.  Here are the short-story books I loved best in 2105...in no particular order. Since I read a lot of Indian Writing in 2015, most of these books are by Indian writers.   1. My Lawfully Wedded Husband and Other Stories by Madhulika Liddle: I adored this collection of stories with a twist. Great writing and stories that leave you with a gasp. So good and such a fun ride. Read the full review HERE .  2. Slasher Girls and Monster Boys by Various Authors: This was my Halloween Read for the year and such a f...

Hello!  When it comes to books I am a fiction reader through and through.  I have always been drawn to fiction books and for years I didn't read any non-fiction.  But in the last few years in a bid to read from other genres I have turned to non-fiction titles.  I especially enjoy memoirs and true life accounts.  I don't read as many non-fiction books as I would like to but here some books I really enjoyed from this genre in 2015...  1. Wildflower by Drew Barrymore: A newish read for me and one I read in one sitting and really enjoyed. It was utterly charming. I did a full review on this book, which you can read HERE .  2. Aarushi by Avirook Sen: A sensational case that to this date remains shrouded in mystery and conspiracy theories. I might not agree with everything the author has said in this book but I enjoyed this book immensely and it got me thinking. And I read this book in one sitting as well. A full review can be...

Hello!  Hope your Christmas was a Merry and Bright one.  Mine was a quiet one. Just how I like it.  Time spent with family.  Eating yummy grubs that my Maa cooked.  Eating guava cheese.  Watching Home Alone and The Martian.  A good Christmas.  Can't quite wrap my head around the fact that Christmas has come and gone.  And in a few days 2015 will be done with.  I hope the last few days of 2015 go well and all of you have a festive last few days of the year. 

Hello!  Today it's time to list some of my Literary Fiction Top 5 reads.  We, the sister and I, were really lucky to have read some amazing books this year.  And while choosing the Top 5 contenders for this list we actually came up with more than just 5 books.  Not a bad thing at all. It just means we read great books and just couldn't narrow down the list.  Let's see the books we loved in this genre...in no particular order!  1. All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr: A spectacular war story. Full of wonderful characters and some lovely writing. This Pulitzer Prize winner is a gorgeous novel that I highly, highly recommend. A full review can be found HERE .  2. A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler: A simple, easy and very engaging story about a few generations of a family and their lives and loves and conflicts and so much more. A book I loved immensely. This was on the short list for the Man Booker this year....

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We read several thrillers this year and some of them were very, very good. So, here are the our Top 5 Thrillers of 2015! Some obvious ones are missing from this list, like, The Girl on the Train  and that's because the twist-in-the-tale at the end of the book was way too convenient and predictable. Plus, between you and me, I am a little sick of these "Gone Girl" clones! I didn't even like the original to begin with and all the wannabe Gone Girls are just irksome! Mini-rant over! Let's dive into the Thriller books that we loved this year! 1. The Lake House by Kate Morton: A historical fiction wrapped in a mystery with a love story or two thrown in for good measure. This book hits a couple of sweet spots for those of us who enjoy all these genres. Plus, Kate Morton writes beautifully! 2. Dead Scared by S.J. Bolton :  Serial suicides, a university setting, good characters, breakneck speed and a great mystery at the centre of it all. This was the...

Hello!  I had to really think hard while coming up with this Top 5 list. I didn't read nearly as many comic books/ graphic novels as I would have liked to this year. Not nearly as many as I read last year. But the ones I read I enjoyed and I really want to read more in 2016.  Once again in no particular order let's see the Graphic Novel's and Comic Books I loved best in 2015.  1. The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami: A sweet, strange and whimsy little book that has beautiful art and some very Murakami elements. The full review for this book can be found HERE.   2. Harappa Files by Sarnath Banerjee: An interesting and fun read full of wonderful art. A beautiful book. I immensely enjoyed it. Full review can be found HERE.   3. The Fade Out by Ed Brubaker and Sean Philips: A film noir setting and a bunch of murders. All good things! Old Hollywood, shade characters and a script writer trying to make sense of it all. A ...

Hello!  Another Top 5 post, this time let's see some of the Young Adult books I've loved this year.  Truth be told, I didn't read that much YA this year. Not as much as I've read in the past few years.  So while coming up with this list I actually had to struggle a fair bit and think hard while thinking about the five books I liked best.  Here in no particular order here are 5 books I liked best in the YA genre.  1. The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel: I read this book pretty early in the year, while I was on my 2 month holiday in my parent's hometown. I remember getting it on my Kindle and turning to it on a night I was running a high fever and couldn't sleep. I didn't really even remember the plot of this book when I started reading it and just knew it was YA. But as I read the first few pages I really began to enjoy the book and it's premise.  A dystopian YA, something that was all the rage a few years ago and something I hadn't...