The Whimsy Bookworm: A Book Blog from India

Hello, hello, Another weekend in the Lockdown! Since most of us are staying home, I thought I'd share a few movies and series that I've been enjoying recently, in case some of you are at a loose end in terms of what to watch! 1. The Baby-Sitters Club  Whether you grew up reading the books or not, The Baby-Sitters Club (streaming on Netflix)  is guaranteed to make you feel warm and fuzzy and make you miss your childhood friends!  Especially, for those of us, who grew up in the simpler times of the 80s and 90s, the bonds between a gang of girls and the simple things that bring them joy will warm the cockles of your heart! Seriously, this is such a wholesome (without being corny) and heartwarming show! Watch it! Show it to your kids! Just watch it! 2. Desperados  In the mood for watching something hilarious? Look no further! Desperados on Netflix is a laugh riot!!!  After Wes drunkenly sends an angry email to her new, pe...

Hello June!  Be good. Be Kind. Be Rainy. Very, very rainy. Please! Be Healthy.  It has been so unbearably hot in Bombay this past week and my heart is craving rains and everything else that comes along with it- pakoras, cosy days spent at home, being curled up under a blanket with chai and a good book! Ah!  Our plans for June are to stay home!  The Lockdown has been eased in various parts of the country, but not in Bombay (for very good reasons), given it is, unfortunately, the Covid-19 capital of India! So, it is best to stay in and not go out anywhere unless we absolutely have to! I reckon it is good to minimise outings and not go anywhere that is too crowded.  As far as reading goals go, the two types of books/genres that I want to read this month are diametrically different from each other- fully cozy ones or intense psychological thrillers/ murder mysteries. No in-between for me! *grin*  So, here's hoping June 2020 ...

We just finished binge-watching Paatal Lok on Amazon Prime Video and here are our 10 reasons why this web series is an absolute must-watch! 1. Paatal Lok is a layered and nuanced cop drama. The basic premise of the show centres around the four hired "killers", who are arrested by the Delhi Police for an assassination attempt case just as they were leaving the city. The case is then handed over to the inexperienced local thana inspector, Hathi Ram Choudhry, who, along with his rookie junior, Imran Ansari, sets about to solve this case and get to the bottom of who these four hired guns are and who hired them to kill a top, honest journalist. 2. So, while Paatal Lok sounds like a thriller or a whodunnit it is so much more! It is a searing reflection of our times- of the harsh reality of caste politics, of religious discrimination, of dirty politics and it shines a light on the privilege of urban, middle-to-upper-middle class Indians, who live in a cocoon, blissfully u...

Hello!  Even in ordinary circumstances, books are my solace. When life seems unbearable or even mildly inconvenient, I turn to books to pull me out of my world and transport to somewhere, anywhere else.  So when the world is a hot mess, like it is right now, of course I find comfort in my shelves, in stories and people having a much better time than any of us.  Especially now, books are my everything. Well, books and Vim Liquid...my jhadu and my magical skinny mop...but books are right there on the top of my list..I promise. I also think that now is perfect time to read happy books.  Books full of joy, heart warming characters, fuzzy feelings and just oodles and oodles of comfort. Hence this post.  A post dedicated solely to some Happy Book Recommendations.  I will say though, I don't often read that many happy books.  Murder. Mayhem. Moodiness.  :)  Angst.  History.  I am quite surprised that...

The Here is not where I'd thought I'd be. None of us did.  It's not perfect.  It's hard and getting harder still.  But there is nothing we can do but sit tight and try to find comfort in the things we find ourselves surrounded with.  For me here is Home.  A home full of books, day dreams, trinkets, stationery, dry flowers and memories of happier days.  Here is where I am. And where I hide.  Some glimpses of home.  A shelf of mostly Maa's things.  Little delicate figurines I have grown up around and spend most of my childhood scared of breaking into a million little pieces.  :(  The little damsel in the lilac dress I did accidentally drop and behead but thanks to the magic of glue and my sister's nifty skills she was brought back from the dead. And I saved from a scolding of a lifetime!  Llama Love.  A beautiful and happy corner of home.  This little guy always makes me...

Hello, hello! I hope the Lockdown (round 3 this time!) is treating you well! I hope you are physically and mentally well and are managing to find food to eat and entertainment to keep yourself engaged whilst cooling your heels at home! Basically, I hope you are safe and healthy! My sister and I have been re-watching some wonderful and, might I add, recently uploaded to YouTube, classic Doordarshan serials from the 1980s. For any non-desi readers, Doordarshan is India's public/ government broadcaster. Before the advent of cable TV in India, which happened with the onset of the Gulf War in 1990, Doordarshan or DD was the only entertainment option for TV viewers all over the country. Surprisingly, it turned out some very high quality, progressive, "modern" content. Don't believe me? Watch some of these shows that I am recommending below and see for yourself! *grin* 1. Trishna is the best Indian adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice. If yo...

Hello!  Ah! April.  Where do I even begin?  What a month!  Once again I find myself thinking long and hard at finding things I loved this month and my first impulse was to skip listing faves for this month and let this shitfest of a month be gone and done with. But honestly, even in all this mess, all this uncertainty, fear and anxiety there have been small moments of respite.  Little silver linings.  Finding bread.  Making malpuas .  A perfectly done pocha . A breezy day.  Long afternoon naps.  Cold showers.  Writing again.  Even in all this darkness there were moments of light.  So here are some of my favourite things from this month.  1. Colouring: I can happily just zone out and colour for hours on end and never be bored or lost in my anxious thoughts. This little colouring book has kept me happily occupied and happy for most of this month. So glad I am a little hoar...

Hello?!  And how are we today?  I hope you are safe and sound and keeping yourself distracted and happy.  I am doing alright.  There are good days and there are days that don't seem to end.  I am her today to make those long days seem a little bit better.  I have 6 books series to jump into right now and escape to.  Most of them are thrillers, 5 out of 6 are  detective series.  One is a saga of family and secrets.  All of these books are perfect to binge on right now, you could read them one after the other and make the most of these days. Seriously, step away from the distressing News and pick up a new books series.  1. The Sam Wyndham Series by Abir Mukherjee: This series is the one I am currently right in the middle of. There are 4 books out in total and I have read the first two books this month and might just go ahead and finish off the the remaining books before the month is up. My sister has...

Hey all, Hope you guys are staying home and staying safe! We've been home since early March and it feels like a different life where we used to go visit bookstores and restaurants and just be out in the world! Sigh. So, what do you do when you find yourself at home with a little too much time on your hands? Well, you turn to the TV and to online streaming service providers for some fun content. Without any further ado, here are some movies and series that we've been enjoying recently... Panchayat on Amazon Prime Video is a hilarious and heartwarming story of a young Engineer, who finds himself in a tiny village in Uttar Pradesh as the Secretary of the local village Panchayat. The idiosyncrasies of the villagers, the challenges of adjusting to village life and just the sheer madness of a bureaucrat's life make for a hilarious viewing! Solid performances and several laugh-out-loud moments make this series a must-watch! Breeders on Hotstar is a hilarious Bri...

Blue skies and open spaces to just breathe in.  Flowers. Both outside and at home. Things I Miss.  1. Not worrying constantly.  2. Ordering food on days I didn't feel like cooking.  3. Ice-cream. 4. Travel Plans.  5. Iced drinks.  6. My car. She's sitting unused and unloved.  7. Mail.  8. Packages. Little happy things to open up.  9. Flowers.  10. Seeing my parents. They are in another state, on the other side of the country and I don't know when I'll get to see them next.  11. Wearing cute clothes.  12. Wearing make-up.  13. Buying physical books.  (Not that I need new books but I miss treating myself to a new book every now and again.)  14. Going out without having a mini panic attack.  15. Making any sort of plans for the future. I HATE not knowing what the rest of this year is going to look like.  16. People.  ...

Hello!  How are thing with you?  The last few days have gone by in a blur. I swear, I intended to be better at blogging during this time. Write more. Do more reviews.  But..honestly...between all the house work, cooking and worrying constantly being productive is too much of an ask.  I applaud anyone who's making the most of these days and learning something new and diminishing their TBR, but me..I am allowing myself to feel the things I am feeling, losing myself in a good book or two and just cooking up comfort food.  That's how I am coping.  A journal entry apt for this occasion.  Our lockdown has been extended till the 30th of April, it came as no surprise. My city is struggling, the cases are above 1000 and this lockdown is absolutely necessary. Devastating but needed. I am no stranger to being homebound. I am happy to be home. It's just this whole stress and worry and scarcity of things that bothers me.  Add to ...