The Whimsy Bookworm: A Book Blog from India

  For the last time in 2022... Hello Loves!  And just like that, 2022 is over.  This was a good year. Overall, for most part this has been a decent year for me.  I spent six months with my parents in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal.  And then after 20 months away from home, I came back home, to Mumbai. To my books and my flat and set about finding my way back to my old life,  Before we get to books, let's just talk life shall we?  2022 was different.  Better, so much better than 2021.  I lived in two places.  I spent time with my parents.  Came back home.  Mostly stayed home, I haven't quite shaken off my pandemic mindset, I am hoping to step out and do more in life.  I shopped for little and big things.  Still mostly bought from small businesses.  Got an iPad Mini. A new addition to my reading step-up. I do plan on doing more with it and not just using it to read.  I cooked so much. Like a lot.  Then in April,...

 I am so grateful that translated works of literature exist! If not we would not have access to so many great books written in a language that we don't speak or read!  Here are my top 5 translated literary fiction books of 2022:  The Korean Wave has brought us great music, TV and film content over the past couple of years. I love that now we also have access to some South Korean books that have been translated into English!  Three of my top 5 translated works are South Korea-related. Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin is originally written in French but is based in the South Korean beach resort town of Sokcho in the non-touristy and bleak winter season. A brilliant little novella that delves into themes of belonging, loneliness and love, Winter in Sokcho is truly bleak and beautiful.  The Hundred Choices Department Store by Ginger Park tells the story of a small town in Korea, the department store and the family that owns it as well as what happens when Russ...

   Hello Loves!  December ends in a few days but my reading for this month, well mainly for this year is all done and dusted.  Ho gaya.  I got to 225 books and it feels like the perfect number to stop at. So I have stopped and reading will now commence only in the New Year.  So I figured I'd get my Reading Wrap-Up for December out of the way and not save it for the end of the month.  So here we are.  December was a good reading month. I read 12 books. I bought nearly the same amount of new books. I allowed myself to be a little indulgent and buy as many books as I wanted to..within reason of course. I also went to a bookshop and came back with five books, which was so wonderful after over two years of no book shop visits!  I read enough.  I read well.  And I did a ton of bookish posts and overall this was a good month reading wise.  OK, let's jump into all the books I read this month.  BOOKS OF DECEMBER 2022:   1. Our...

 I am a fiction girl, through and through. Always have been and it's safe to say I always will be.  I do however try to read a little more non-fiction every year. Just to try something a little different and venture out of my comfort zone.  This year I did very good on said resolution to read more non-fiction here and there, I read more non-fiction than I normally do and I have really enjoyed mixing it up.  So here's my FAVOURITE NON-FICTION READS OF 2022:  Here we go in no particular order:  1. Sapiens, A Graphic History Vol. I by Yuval Noah Harari: I read this back in January and this is the book that everyone has read but I never got around to reading the..non-graphic version, so I figured I'd pick up the graphic novel version and I am glad I did and I loved this book and this style of story telling so much. Can't wait to read Vol. II at some point and if you haven't read this condensed lesson in human history and our beginnings, you absolutely must pic...

 Hello Loves!  2022 has been the year of Historical Fiction for me. My sister has always enjoyed reading from this genre, and in the past whenever I've shared one of these posts- you know, Top Historical Fiction Reads, it's usually always just been her picks. I almost never read from this genre and not because I have something against it, I don't, I am just not drawn to this particular type of book. But something changed in 2022, I just fell in love with all things historical fiction, especially Indian Historical Fiction.  Here are our (my sister and mine) favourite HISTORICAL FICTION BOOKS FOR 2022:   1. The Mendicant Prince by Aruna Chakravarti: The life and death, and then mysterious return of the Sanyasi Raja is a tale that every Bengali has an opinion on. Or you've heard of his remarkable life and the court case that went on for years. It is something I've grown up hearing about and so when this book popped up on my radar, I knew I had to read it. I initially ...

 Hello Loves!  Getting back to sharing my favourite reads of 2022.  Before we jump into adult fiction and historical fiction and literary fiction, I thought let's go age wise and get the kid lit and YA books out of the way. I didn't read a whole lot from this particular genre but the ones I did read I loved a lot and they deserve a post of their own.  So let's go.  In no particular order, here are some my favourite books from YA and Kid-Lit:  1. I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys: I adore everything this author ever writes. She exclusively writes historical fiction, set in turbulent times usually and from the perspective of young people. This book took us to a part of the world and a time period I knew next to nothing about, apart from the very, very basic facts. I recommend pretty much all of her books and this one is so so good.  I have a done a full review, so I won't go on about it. You can read it HERE .  2. Heartstopper Vol. I to IV by Alice...

  Book: A Bend in the Ganges  Author: Manohar Malgonkar  Pages: 418  Publisher: Harper Collins  Read On: Paperback Edition  How Long it Took Me To Read: 4 days  Plot Summary:  India, 1939. Gian, a Gandhian pacifist, commits a murder; Debi-dayal, an ardent revolutionary, is caught while setting fire to a British plane. Both men are sent to the Andamans penal colony. In the beehive life of the prison, they work in opposite camps-pro-British and anti-British. During World War II, when the Japanese take over the islands, all the convicts suddenly find themselves free. Gian and Debi manage to return to India only to get sucked into the violence of Partition. An epic saga of a nation in transition, A Bend in the Ganges, now available in a stunning new edition, depicts the cataclysmic events leading up to Partition and the conflict that arises between ideologies of violence and non-violence. Things I Liked:   1. I loved reading books set in In...

 Hello, hello, We are halfway through this week and barely 10 sleeps away from Christmas!  Wanted to share the books my sister and I are currently reading because they are really good and, also, they are by the same author- Manohar Malgonkar.  Both of these are historical fiction (from our perspective) and they were originally written in English as well.  These are the two books... My sister is reading A Bend in the Ganges, which I have already read and really loved! It is based in the years between 1939 to 1947 and documents the lives of two friends/ peers/ college batchmates- one a revolutionary and the other a Gandhian- as they navigate Kala Paani and the rising communal tensions once released.  I am reading 'The Princes'. A really interesting book about a fictitious princely state in modern India, the impact of our independence on the princely state- them having to merge with the Republic of India. This is not a topic that is often written abo...

 Hello, hello, It is that time of the year again! The one where we revisit the books we're read and loved and share a Top 10 genre-wise list of recommendations with you!  So, without any further ado, let's get into our Top 10 Crime Thriller/ Crime Fiction Books of 2022!  1. The Christie Affair by Nine de Gramont is a wonderful mystery-in-a-mystery about the 11 days in 1926 when Agatha Christie went missing without a trace. Full review can be read here . If you enjoy historical fiction and mysteries, then this is a book you'll love. 2. The Maid by Nita Prose is a story about a neurodivergent maid, Molly, who works in a 5-star hotel and is pulled into the murder of an infamous guest. The book follows her journey to clear her name, make friends and live her best life. A off-the-beaten-track type of murder mystery with great characters as well. Read our spoiler-free review here . 3. The Appeal by Janice Hallett is an epistolary-ish book where two law students get to the ...

  Book: Independence  Author: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni  Publisher: Harper Collins India  Pages:  350 How Long it Took Me To Read: 2 days  Plot Summary:  THREE SISTERS. THEIR UNBREAKABLE BOND. AND A NATION ABOUT TO BE BORN. Here is a river… Here is a village… Here is a grand old mansion… Here is the country that contains them all… India. August, 1946. Everything is about to change. Priya, Jamini and Deepa, Dr Nabakumar Ganguly’s daughters, live in Ranipur, Bengal, safe from the rising turbulence in the country. When their father is killed on Direct Action Day, their world turns upside-down. Priya, the youngest, intelligent and idealistic, is determined to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a doctor, no matter how difficult. She is fortunate to have the support of zamindar Somnath Chowdhury, her father’s best friend. Jamini, devout, dutiful and talented, helps her mother stitch kanthas to make ends meet. Hungering for affection even as she...

 Hello, hello, Hope your Saturday has gotten off to a good start!  We spent our morning eating some yummy fudge from the Bombay Sweet Shop (highly recommend!) and reading. A slow Saturday! So, with that, let's get into what we are reading this weekend, shall we?  I am reading Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng.  Here's a quick plot summary :  Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving but broken father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. Bird knows to not ask too many questions, stand out too much, or stray too far. For a decade, their lives have been governed by laws written to preserve “American culture” in the wake of years of economic instability and violence. To keep the peace and restore prosperity, the authorities are now allowed to relocate children of dissidents, especially those of Asian origin, and libraries have been forced to remove books seen as unpatriotic—including the work of Bird’s mother, M...