The Whimsy Bookworm: A Book Blog from India

Hello!  Here we are again. Standing on the last day of 2018, wondering how this year treated us and how it measured against other years. As a read it makes sense to look back at my reading year and mull over the things I read and things I missed. MY READING YEAR IN REVIEW// 1. I read 172 books! Not bad at all. Funnily my own record of books read seems to be at odds with my GoodReads Reading Challenge. According to which I only read 162 books! Weird! I am not too fussed about it, at least not enough to go back and try to see which books I didn't add to my Reading Challenge. 171 is a good solid number. Fewer than last year but a number I can live with. 2. I read more classics and modern classics. I wish I had read more but I still did better than previous years and that brings me joy. 3. I read so much more non-fiction. Go me! 4. Followed quite a few reading themes. Read only women writers for Femme March. Read only Bengali books for All Bengali Books in Ap...

Hello!  I have been sharing my favourite reads of the year in the last week and also mulling over all sorts of favourites. I have read some 170 books in 2018 and while some were ones I simply adored, some made me smile, some scared me and others moved me. Most of the books I read were good. Some though were less than stellar. Others were down right horrible.  Very often on the blog I prefer to talk about the books I loved and want to share and shout about the books I loved and want you to read. Most of the time I tend to shy away from mentioning or talking about the books I didn't love. I may mention them in passing but I feel sorta bad bitching about a bad book.  :(  But...I felt with all the favourites lists, it was only fair that I mention the books that were my least favourite or if I am being honest, the ones I utterly despised!  Now if any book on this list is one you loved, I mean no offence. We are all different and have different taste...

Hello, hello! Anyone who reads this blog will know my deep and abiding love for thriller/ mystery/ crime fiction! So, it goes without saying that we read a lot of books from this genre over the year and, so, obviously, we had to do a Top 10 thrillers of 2018! Without any further ado, let's get into the list! 1.  The Last Mrs. Parrish  by Liv Constantine: A twisty-turn-y psychological thriller about a girl who envies a rich woman and will do anything to get her life. Click on the book name for our review! 2.  The Death of Mrs. Westaway  by Ruth Ware :  A young girl learns that she has inherited a huge amount of money from a grandmother she knew nothing about. When she reaches the family mansion, she steps into a world that is not only completely different from her own but is also full of dark secrets from her past 3. Cross Her Heart: A woman and her daughter are living a quiet and secluded life in small town England. All of this changes when h...

Hello!  Next up for my yearly favourites are my favourite 2018 YA aka Young Adult reads.  I don't read that much YA to be honest, not because of any prejudice of any sort. I think YA books can be just as amazing and just as meaningful and enriching as other literature. I just have for one reason or another been not reading a whole lot of YA fiction. Something to possibly amend in 2019.  These are some of my favourite YA Reads from 2018.  1. ONE BY SARAH CROSSAN: This was one of my first reads of 2018, how apt, given its title. A book written in verse, a very new reading experience for me. A story about conjoined twins and a decision to go separate ways and live a 'normal' life. Incredibly moving and powerful. I loved this book and cannot recommend it enough.  5/5  2. THE HATE U GIVE BY ANGIE THOMAS: There isn't enough I can say about this book that hasn't been said already. A powerful read and a great commentary on race, poli...

Hello!  It's that time of the year..the time to look back and pick my favourite reads of the year.  I am starting with Children's Books simply because this list came to me the easiest and these were some of the absolute loveliest books I read all year.  So let's get started!  FAVOURITE CHILDREN'S BOOK OF 2018.  1. GETTING GRANNY'S GLASSES BY RUSKIN BOND:  This might just be the best thing I read all year round. It was cozy, comforting and heart warming and left me feeling very happy and content. This is the book that I will be reaching to for years to come when I am looking for comfort.  5/5  Incredible and adorable.  Ruskin Bond weaves his magic.  And it's full of darling illustrations.  Perfect reading for a young reader or the child in you.  :)  2. THE WIND ON THE HAUNTED HILL BY RUSKIN BOND: Another Ruskin Bond on the list!  This book is a story of fr...

Book: Karmachari: Short Stories About Ordinary People Author: V.P. Kale Translator: Vikrant Pande Pages: 216 Publisher: Harper Collins How Long it Took Me To Read: 2 days Plot Summary:   You who stand in a queue, who try to board a running local, who tolerate your boss's snide remarks and the trials and tribulations of marital life - you still manage to discuss politics with enthusiasm, to finish a game of cards, to laugh and to make others laugh ... You are a true karmachari. A collection of unforgettable short stories about ordinary people, Karmachari is a mirror held up to society. Set in suburban Mumbai of the 1970s, yet universal, it is peopled by characters we might meet in real life. They come alive under V.P. Kale's sharp but compassionate gaze, and prod us gently towards a world of greater kindness and understanding. Review: Bombay apart from being a bustling metropolis is a melting pot of people from all corners of our country, this adds a spe...

Book: So Much Life Left Over Author: Louis De Bernières Pages: 288 Read: The paperback pictured above Read in: 4 hours or so Plot Summary:  A sweeping, heartbreaking novel following Daniel in his troubled marriage with Rosie as they navigate the unsettled time between the World Wars. Rosie and Daniel have moved to Ceylon with their little daughter to start a new life at the dawn of the 1920s, attempting to put the trauma of the First World War behind them, and to rekindle a marriage that gets colder every day. However, even in the lush plantation hills it is hard for them to escape the ties of home and the yearning for fulfilment that threatens their marriage. Back in England, Rosie's three sisters are dealing with different challenges in their searches for family, purpose and happiness. These are precarious times, and they find themselves using unconventional means to achieve their desires. Around them the world is changing, and when Daniel finds himself in Germany...

Book: The Rabbit and the Squirrel Author: Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi Pages: 65 Read: Hardcover (ARC send by Penguin Random House) Read in: Half an hour (or less) Plot Summary:  The Squirrel's greatest joy is dancing in the forest with the Rabbit-her beloved friend and equal of heart. While the duo is inseparable, fate has other ideas: the feisty Squirrel is forcibly married to a wealthy boar and the solitary Rabbit enlists in a monastery. Years later, a brief, tragic reunion finds them both transformed by personal defeats. And yet, to each other, they are unchanged, and their private world-where sorrow registered as rapture and wit concealed loss-is just how they had left it. A story of thwarted love, and an ode to the enduring pleasures of friendship,  The Rabbit and the Squirrel  is a charmed fable for grown-ups, in which one life, against all odds, is fated for the other. General  Thoughts: I've read both of Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghv...

Book: Pyjamas are Forgiving Author: Twinkle Khanna Pages: 256 Publisher: Juggernaut Books Read On: Paperback How Long it Took Me To Read: 2  days Plot Summary:   There sitting on that porch, that light-eyed man, a pitta like me, was my ex-husband and that woman whose inner element I was unaware of, unless bitch is accepted as an undiscovered fourth dosha, was his young wife. In the serene sanctuary of Kerala’s Shanthamaaya spa where food is rationed, sex forbidden and emotions centred, Anshu meets someone familiar and deeply unsettling – her ex-husband. Bittersweet, funny and wise. Things I Liked:  1. Twinkle Khanna's writing and her own special brand of humour infused in everyday life, people and her astute observations are always fun to read. I really enjoyed her first foray into fiction- The Legend of Laxmiprasad, and knew I wanted to read more from her. This one though sightly more sombre was still full of her witticisms and humour. 2. The set...

Hello!  Someday I hope to be the kind of person that only brings their Kindle on their vacation. Or maybe one book or two. Today is not that day.  I am in my parent's hometown for the next month and more and I have come with 9 books to read while I am here. Now, these books are both for my sister and I, so don't judge too harshly.  I, also, of course have my Kindle as well. So I am all covered when it comes to my reading plans for the next month.  Oh and I came here to find 2 books that were gifted to me by my sister-in-law as part of the wedding gift. So two more books to possibly read.  Yay!  Honestly, nothing could be worse than being here and not having access to new books. Though I could get books delivered here from Amazon..but still I like having my own books with me.  So let's jump into my holiday TBR shall we?  A  short classic novella.  A collection of poetry.  Two short story colle...

Hello!  I took a wee bit of a break on here. Not intentional, it just happened. I had a family wedding. A little day trip and general socialising to do and blogging just had to take a back seat. Add to that my current state of very slow reading and I am generally taking things a little slow. And that is perfectly fine.  Today was a sunny day and my Maa asked me to take some pictures of her mini-garden. My mother would like nothing more than to have a proper garden but given that she splits her time between here and Bombay that is nearly impossible. So for now her plants live in pots and depend on the kindness of others to thrive when my mother isn't here to tend to them.  I can't wait for my mother's dahlias to bloom.  It is something wonderful to have plants in your home.  As for some reading updates//// Started a new book finally. I have been reading Exit West by Mohsin Hamid for what feels like weeks now, it's only been a...