The Whimsy Bookworm: A Book Blog from India

  Book: Heartstopper Vol. 5  Author and Illustrator: Alice Oseman  Pages: 336  How Long it Took Me To Read: An Hour  Plot Summary:   Nick and Charlie are very much in love. They've finally said those three little words, and Charlie has almost persuaded his mum to let him sleep over at Nick's house ... But with Nick going off to university next year, is everything about to change? By Alice Oseman, winner of the YA Book Prize,  Heartstopper  encompasses all the small moments of Nick and Charlie's lives that together make up something larger, which speaks to all of us. Review: I binge read the first four volumes back in 2021, right before the series premiered on Netflix and I loved it- like everyone else on the planet. These books are just so warm and wholesome and sincere and the characters seem to painfully real. What I love most about these books is that the teens in these books feel and act and talk and come across as real teens. Confused, un...

Using the Holocaust as a metaphor for relationship/ marital problems is just wrong. No excuses can be made for the blatant insensitivity and cruelty of the makers of Bawaal in using one of the most brutal, despicable, horrible genocides in modern history as a metaphor for relationship troubles. No. Nope. This is not how you incorporate any traumatic historical event into a "love story."  If you want to learn more about the Holocaust and read the heart wrenching accounts of those who survived it and also some sensitive works of fiction inspired by the real events that took place in the German concentration camps of Auschwitz, Treblinka etc., then these 10 books are an absolute must-read.  1. Maus by Art Spielgelman is an absolute must-read if you want to know a survivor's account of what it was really like in Auschwitz. Spoiler alert, it wasn't at all like matrimonial troubles. If there is only one book that you'd like to read out of all our 10 recommendations, the...

  Book: The City of Palaces (also published outside of India as The Sleeping Dictionary )  Author: Sujata Massey  Pages: 488 Read: On Kindle  Read in: ~5.5 hours  Plot Summary:  An orphaned girl.   A cruel twist of fate.   A spectacular adventure. Bengal, 1930. Young Pom’s life changes forever when her family is wiped out in a devastating flood. She becomes a maidservant in a British boarding school where she discovers her gift for languages.  Amidst the drudgery of her duties, she finds unexpected friendship and experiences the stirrings of first love. However, tragedy strikes and she is forced into hiding.  Alone and desperate, she is recruited into a brothel for English officers. She hopes this secretive, decadent world will shield her from the demons of her past.  But fate intervenes, and our heroine is on the run again—to Calcutta, the city of palaces, where she finds herself caught up in the rising tide of Indian nationalism. ...

Book: Magic in Mussoorie Writer: Atul Sethi Art: Vikas Upadhyay Publisher: Penguin Random House Pages: 64 Read On: Paperback How Long it Took Me to Read: 1 hour Plot Summary:  Nakul Sahej and his friend Kuku stumble upon an antique book while on holiday in Mussoorie. The book turns out to be a magical one that transports the two back in time to the Mussoorie of over a century ago. Meeting historical personalities of that time-like Sir George Everest, who lives in a sprawling estate on the outskirts of Mussoorie, as well as the young maharaja of Punjab, Duleep Singh, who has been exiled by the British and is spending a summer in the hill station-Nakul and Kuku get involved in an intriguing adventure that sets off a series of events which can change the course of history!   Action-packed and unputdownable, this thrilling adventure is the first in a series of comic books set in the Garhwal Himalayas. Things I Liked: 1. A book of magic, adventure, time...

Book: The Ammuchi Puchi Author: Sharanya Manivannan Illustrator: Nerina Canzi Pages: 32 Publisher: Puffin Read On: Paperback How Long it Took Me To Read: Half an Hour Plot Summary:   Aditya and Anjali love listening to their grandmother's stories, particularly the scary one about the ghost in the tree. But the night their grandmother passes away, all her stories seem to lose their meaning. Then something happens that is more mysterious and magical than any story. Could their grandmother still be with them after all? Stunningly illustrated and told in gorgeous, poetic prose, this is a poignant and moving story about bereavement and healing. Review: I am partial to books about Grandmothers.So any book, in any genre about a Grandmother invariably gets added to my bookshelves. This one was on my radar for precisely this reason and the art looked stunning. Grandmothers are the best! I loved my Thamma something special and still feel lovely when people say...

Book: Indira Author: Devapriya Roy Illustrator: Priya Kuriyan Publisher:   Context,  Westland Books  Pages: 144 Read On: Paperback Edition How Long it Took Me To Read : 2 days ( I read slowly to savour it!) Plot Summary:  In a government school classroom in Delhi, young Indira Thapa is set an unusual assignment by her favourite teacher: to write an essay around her name. Who was Indira Priyadarshini, the person after whom her grandfather named her? And why her? What is her legacy as India’s first—and only—woman prime minister?   Over the course of a long, hot summer and a curious friendship with an artist who is working on a biography of Mrs Gandhi, young Indira gets tangled up in the life and times of her memorable namesake. Sometimes by design and sometimes by accident, story after story comes alive—about a childhood spent in Allahabad growing the Vanar Sena, of a youthful romance with the charming Feroze Gandhi, of stints in jail a...

Book: Three Thousand Stitches Author: Sudha Murty Pages: 256 Publisher: Penguin Read On: Paperback How Long it Took Me To Read: 2-3 days Plot Summary:  So often, it's the simplest acts of courage that touch the lives of others. Sudha Murty-through the exceptional work of the Infosys Foundation as well as through her own youth, family life and travels-encounters many such stories... And she tells them here in her characteristically clear-eyed, warm-hearted way. She talks candidly about the meaningful impact of her work in the devadasi community, her trials and tribulations as the only female student in her engineering college and the unexpected and inspiring consequences of her father's kindness. From the quiet joy of discovering the reach of Indian cinema and the origins of Indian vegetables to the shallowness of judging others based on appearances, these are everyday struggles and victories, large and small. Unmasking both the beauty and ugliness of human n...

Hello!  A few weeks back I did a Wishlist post featuring some bookmarks I had found online and fallen in love with. Soon after, my sister and I decided to make a little order and get some of these beauties. Seriously, there is no such thing as too many bookmarks. The more the merrier!  :)  Let's  see some of the beauties that have come to light up my reading experience.  :)  We also got some of these stickers as a freebie. Such a nice surprise.  This princess was a freebie that was kindly sent to us.  Isn't she the cutest?  Cacti lovin'! I loved these the first time I saw them and we just had to have them!  Sloth!  :) I am so in love with him.  Elizabeth & Darcy!  I mean come on, how could I resist?!  Sheep cutie.  I loved their sweet little faces.  Apart from the sheer adorableness of these bookmarks, I a...

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!  How has your weekend been?  Mine was a slightly busy one.  My sister has had to travel on work and we spent some time doing some prep for her travel and running some errands.  We also managed to watch some movies and discover new TV shows to fall in love with!  :)  Thought I'd share and recommend some of the things I've enjoyed lately.  1. Jessica Jones: I am a Marvel fan and watch pretty much everything that comes from the Marvel universe. :) My sister is a bigger and more avid comic book adaptation fan. If I have to choose between Marvel and DC I'd probably choose Marvel.  My sister watches stuff from the DC-verse too.  She watched and loved Daredevil, another Netflix series earlier in the year and quite liked it. Jessica Jones is the newest offering from the DC-verse, she is  a super-hero/ private investigator. With a traumatic past looming large and the threat of Killgrave keeping her on...

Hello!  I have been reading a few comic books here and there and I haven't been talking about them on the blog.  So I figured I'd just talk about some of the comic books I've been loving.  Book : Revival  Writers: Tim Seeley and Mike Norton  Premise: For one day in rural central Wisconsin, the dead came back to life. Now it's up to Officer Dana Cypress to deal with the media scrutiny, religious zealots, and government quarantine that has come with them. In a town where the living have to learn to deal with those who are supposed to be dead, Officer Cypress must solve a brutal murder, and everyone, alive or undead, is a suspect.  Review: Such a fun and atmospheric read. This comic book is genuinely creepy and scary in parts. Plus there is lots of mystery and suspense regarding why these people are coming back to life. I really enjoyed this comic and I am very interested in seeing where this story goes and see all the things ...

Hello!  How is this Tuesday treating you?  I am doing OK, and devoting most of my time today in reading a major chunk of my current read. The Strangler Vine by M.J. Carter. It's a massive book- 408 pages- and I am hoping to hunker down and read a significant chunk of it today.  I hate it when books take me longer than 2 days to read, it's unreasonable but true. I don't even care how long the book is I want it read in two days. And I have been reading this book since Saturday morning. I was busy-ish over the weekend and I did read a comic book last night but I just want to make progress with this book. I am enjoying myself reading it so that's not an issue at all.  Now on to Comic Books...I am not an expert or anything and I am very new to the whole comic book party. But I am enjoying myself and see myself read more these gems in the time to come.  I get most of my comic books through my friend T, he lovesssss Comic Books and I borrow the on...