The Whimsy Bookworm: A Book Blog from India

  Hello May!  Hello Summer!  Hello Mangoes!  & Hello Summer Reading!  :)  I'll be honest, May is not my favourite month. Not by a long shot, but this year, I am determined to not be a fuss about summer and make the most of my days. Drink iced-drinks and be good about not cribbing too much. Waise bhi, complain kar ke kya hi hoga?!  May is for afternoons spent in cold rooms and reading to my heart's content. May was also the time for summer vacations and family time and making some of my favourite memories.  And of course Summer Reading! I am still working on my TBR for May and with all the reading I am hoping to do this month..I am currently reading 3 books.  3 books, it's not in nature to read multiple books at once but here I am reading three very different books.  3 Rays, Stories from Satyajit Ray: May 2nd was Ray's 101st birthday, so of course I read some of his work. I finally picked up this beautiful book and read 200 pages of ...

 Hello Loves!  Historical fiction is one of our favourite genres to read and an easy way to travel back in time. This year we read a wide variety of books set across various periods of time. Apart from literary historical fiction, another historical sub-genre we indulged in this year were historical thrillers.  A crime caper set in the world from long, long ago.  We are doing this as a separate list because we had enough books to merit a Top 5 list and if you like thrillers but maybe haven't delved into historical fiction, these books might just be the ticket to get you interested and, hopefully, be a gateway to read more books from this genre.  So here are our TOP 5 Historical Thrillers of 2021 .  1. The Bombay Prince by Sujata Massey: Perveen Mistry is a woman we've grown to love. It's always a delight to step back in time and visit her in a Bombay very different from the one I live in. Her stories have been a favourite since the first book in the series...

Book: Kanpur Khoofiya Pvt. Ltd. Author: Richa S. Mukherjee Pages: 296 Read: Paperback edition (pictured above) that was kindly sent for review by HarperCollins Read in: 3 hours Plot Summary:  Meet Mr Prachand Tripathi, private investigator and owner of Kanpur Khoofiya Pvt Ltd. Accustomed to tracking down missing pets and cheating lovers, he is about to have his world change completely when a new case requires him to tail actress Shailaja Kapoor.  What seems like a simple request turns into a dramatic dive into her murky past, wading through which is not going to be easy. Or safe.  Soon Prachand and his wife, and partner against crime, Vidya, fall under the glare of the police as Shailaja Kapoor is abducted right before their eyes. Now he must put his skills to the test before they become victims at the end of a dark and dangerous game. Things I Liked:  1. First of all, I am a big fan of India-based original detective stories! I truly believe t...

Hello!  This is such a rainy weekend, it's made perfectly for staying in and reading.  And that is exactly what I plan to do.  So far my weekend has included, sleeping in.  Lemon Rice for lunch.  Coffee.  & Reading.  This is what my sister and I are reading this weekend.  I am reading two books actually, one a physical book and another on my Kindle, that I tend to pick up  before bedtime. So I can read easily and not be fussed about holding up a hardback book when I am sleepy.  THE CARPET WEAVER BY NEMAT SADAT: I am very little into this book, like 40 odd pages. It's set in 1977 in Afghanistan. It's about a boy coming of age  and grappling with his queerness in a world where it's impossible for him to be his true self. Love. Shame. Family. Political changes and so much more make up this book.  I am really enjoying it so far in.  PLOT SUMMARY:   Afghanistan, 1977. Kanishka...

Book: Into The Water Author: Paula Hawkins Publisher: Penguin Pages: 402 How Long It Took Me: 3 days Plot Summary:  In the last days before her death, Nel called her sister. Jules didn’t pick up the phone, ignoring her plea for help. Now Nel is dead. They say she jumped. And Jules has been dragged back to the one place she hoped she had escaped for good, to care for the teenage girl her sister left behind. But Jules is afraid. So afraid. Of her long-buried memories, of the old Mill House, of knowing that Nel would never have jumped. And most of all she’s afraid of the water, and the place they call the Drowning Pool . . . General Thoughts: I have to be honest and say that I was not a fan of The Girl on The Train. I thought it was a little too convenient and in parts way too outlandish. So when this book was announced I was only very mildly interested. But I read the premise and my interest went from mild to high. Anything about witches drowning, cree...

Book: City of Death Author: Abheek Barua Pages: 263 Publisher: Juggernaut Books  Read On: Hardback How Long it Took Me To Read: 2 days Plot Summary:   On a muggy monsoon afternoon Sohini Sen gets a call from the chief minister's office. A young woman from a well-connected family in the city has been found brutally murdered. Sen is brought back from a bureaucratic wasteland to the thick of the action. An intelligent and intuitive investigator who struggles with addiction and depression, Sen is ill-prepared for an investigation that is a political minefield with TV anchors and tabloids baying for blood. As various interested parties, armed with power and money, try to manipulate the murder enquiry. Sen is forced to question the very possibility of justice.  A moody atmospheric novel that is as much about the Indian city and the dark depth of the human mind as it is about crime and investigation, City of Death marks the debut of a brilliant new voice...

Book: Murder at Rutherford Hall  Author: P.B. Kolleri  Pages: 226 Read: Kindle ebook via Kindle Unlimited Read in: 2 hours  Publisher: Notion Press Plot Summary:  Set in 1946 England, Murder at Rutherford Hall starts with a woman in white running out of the mist with blood (not hers) covering her hands. After a few days, the body of the Lord of the manor is found and then there are a couple of other deaths, which Jeremy Richards, retired Scotland Yard Detective and Rachel Markham (the dead Lord's niece) team up (unwittingly) to solve.  General Thoughts: We stumbled up P.B. Kolleri's work during our stay at La Villa Bethany in Landour. We were growing their cozy and well-stocked library when we saw the second book in the Rachel Markham series on a shelf. Sunita, the  owner of La Villa Bethany, told us that that particular shelf housed the works of all the authors who had stayed at the homestay and enc...

Hello!  How does a bookworm celebrate Diwali? Well..she buys some books!  :) What did you expect?!  I bought some books from Amazon during their Diwali sale.  I got some of the books I had on my wish list for a little bit.  Let's see what I've added to my bookshelves lately.  Books Bought  The Trap by Melanie Raabe  Chain of Custody by Anita Nair  Queen of Dreams by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni  One Point Two Billion by Mahesh Rao  The Pearl That Broke It's Shell Nadia Hashimi  I am so excited for this bunch of books.  I love Nadia Hashimi's newest book The House Without Windows last month and loved it and had to read more by her.  The Trap is something I found via Instagram, it sounds wonderful and I can't wait to read it. My sister is reading it right now. Anita Nair's Inspector Gowda books are good fun..this is the second one in the seri...

Hello! It's time to share another new book haul on here.  I got all of these books from Crossword late last month. They had a bit of a sale, not the best sale but still one that meant I got the Agatha Christie books- 3 for the price of 2. Not too shabby. :) Slight Rant: What was shabby was the staff at Crosswords just constantly, constantly pushing some Black Card...some sort of a  rewards system that you have to pay for upfront and then on you get a discount on subsequent purchases, which to me is not worth it! They do it every time-- harp on about the scheme. Every single time...even once you say no. They go on and on and on with their sales pitch! Like seriously! Take no for an answer. So annoying. It makes me want to never go back to the bookstore just to avoid this annoyance. :(  I also picked up this gorgeous book by Oprah which I've already read and loved. It is such a wonderful read, full of wisdom and charm and such inspirin...

Hello!  And it's time for my favourite sort of post to do, a book haul!  This being my birthday month I am all about buying books and buying them guiltlessly.  :)  I went to Kitab Khana last week and honestly bought books I have wanted for a long time and I just picked them up. This is my bookish resolution for this year is to buy books I want to read and not just go for cheap/affordable books. So even if a book is slightly pricey I am going to get it if I really want it.  :)  Let's look at the books I got and the two fashion magazines, I used to be a big fashion magazine addict but only read them sporadically now. I also got my sister this absolutely stunning A6 notebook set from  the Victoria and Albert Museum Shop that Kitab Khana stocks near their till.  :)  Books Bought.. The Reader- Bernhard Schlink A Meditation of Murder- Robert Thorogood Cutting for Stone- Abraham Verghe...

Book:  The All Bengali Crime Detectives- II, The Mysterious Death of Probhat Sanyal Author: Suparna Chatterjee. Pages: 256 Read On: Paperback How Long it Took Me To Read: 2 days Plot Summary:   A ghost that was ostensibly spotted in eerie Makaibari—one of the oldest tea gardens in Darjeeling—finds its way to modern-day Calcutta, to the home of Probhat Sanyal, the erstwhile manager of the tea estate. ‘The ghost has returned!’ exclaims a horrified Sanyal, whose sudden death raises questions. Was the phantom-sighting merely a figment of his imagination? Or was it connected to solid facts? In The All Bengali Crime Detectives-II, an eclectic mix of four retired Bengali men return to solve this new mystery, and recreate what might have happened one night in Makaibari, so many years ago. Even as our crime detectives forage for clues, a colourful array of characters demand attention—from Poltu, the roadside Romeo, who works on his romantic advances; to the local ...

Hello!  Time for the first book haul of 2016.  I haven't bought any books since November end. December was no book buying month for me. It just happened that way. It wasn't a plan or anything.  Since January I've been itching, ever so slightly, to buy some new books.  Just a few.  I got one fiction book... The All Bengali Crime Detective-II, The Mysterious Death of Probhat Sanyal. I have wanted this book ever since it came out in the end of 2015. The author very sweetly wrote me an email telling me of the book's release. :) I meant to get it and read it as my first read of 2016 but December was crazy busy I didn't end up ordering it.  But better late than never. I have read it already and I will do a review super soon. :)  The rest of this haul is Adult Colouring Books! They are all the rage. And for good reason!  I've wanted these babies of ages...but all the famous, super hyped ones are sooooooo fre...

Hello!  For years now, I've put a lot of thought into picking my first read of the year.  Maybe it's a bookworm thing. Thinking and deciding very carefully over the book I pick as my first read of the year.  I might be slightly superstitious but I think the first read shows how the rest of year.  Read a good book in the beginning of the year and the rest of your reading year goes well. Start the year with a bad book and it kinda spells doom for the rest of the year. :(  I might be crazy..but this is how my mind works.  So after a lot of thinking and staring at my bookshelves for a good while..I decided on Sherlock Holmes to kick start my 2016 reading!  The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  I can't think of a better book.  Detective stories.  Classic. Engaging.  Sherlock.  What's not to love?!  Also with the brand new episode of Sherlock is making me so ...

Hello!  Weekend is here and I am so glad for this week to be over!  My plans for this weekend are simple..Read and watch a TV show I've been loving!    My current read//// Another Man's Wife by Manjul Bajaj. A collection of short stories set in India and by an author I've never read from before. So I am excited to read this book. I am only a few pages in but I do like the writing style and the stories all seem interesting. Next Read/// It's time to delve back into the world of Feluda again. I love Feluda and Ray's stories are always delightful  to read and re-visit. It's been a little over 6 years since I read this and I am excited to get back to this. :) Weekend Watching/// UnReal---I discovered this show this week and I am so in love and obsessed with this show. It's based on the behind the scenes of a reality TV show which is supposed to be like The Bachelor. It shows the contestants and their struggles and politics and a...

Hello!  This weekend I am doing something a little different and something for the very first time!  A READATHON!!!!  I plan on binge reading and trying to read as much as possible!  The thing is I have the house to myself this weekend..so the plan is to read and read and read!  Also this weekend I will hopefully read my 100th book of the year and thereby finish my GoodReads Reading Challenge! :) I am super happy to report this. Honestly. I knew I'd reach this challenge but I didn't think I'd reach it by June. Even though i completed my last year's challenge in June as well but this year I was travelling for the first two months and only read like 8 books in January and 10 books or so in February. So I was thinking I'd eventually get to my goal of reading 100 books but I am pleasantly surprised that I've reached here in June already.  So in order to celebrate I am going to do my first ever Readathon and get my reading on. :)  ...