The Whimsy Bookworm: A Book Blog from India

Hello Loves!  This year I decided to actively participate in Japanuary, a reading challenge/theme where people read some Japanese books in January.  I knew I didn't want to ONLY read Japanese books all month long, that kind of commitment I only make for Indian Books in August. But I wanted to read a handful books from Japan. And I did just that. I honestly thought I'd read like one book but to my surprise I read 6 books and now let's talk about them.   1. The Premonition by Banana Yoshimoto, translation by Asa Yoneda: I read Kitchen by the same author last year, after hearing nothing but great things about it for ages. I didn't quite love as much as so many other people seem to. I liked it enough but I didn't love it.  So I picked this one up with some trepidation.  This novella is a story of young woman of nineteen, who uncovers a big secret related to her family and herself.  OK not a real Spoiler Alert but she finds out she was adopted into her fam...

  Hello August!  I am so happy you are here!  August used to be a pretty ordinary month in my corner of the world. Apart Independence Day, it held no real importance in my life.  Till 2013!  When I decided to celebrate Independence Day allllll month instead of just on the 15th.  I started my annual Indian Books in August and have never looked back.  I also include some subcontinental reads, because this month holds a lot of value for all of us. So I try to include some reads from Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is one of my favourite reading months of the whole year and I read books I am anyways drawn to the most.  I am so happy to kickstart my reading this month!  I have a tentative TBR for this month. Something I've been brewing for the last few months. Keeping books aside to read this month.   I am tres tres excited.  Here's my TBR for this years Indian Books in August:  1. Home and The World by Tagore (or some of his short...

 Hello Loves!  March is nearly done and it's time to talk about everything I read this month.  March was all about reading women's voices and words for #FemmeMarch  I read only women and women translators all month long and it was wonderful.  Let's jump in shall we?  1. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri: I started my reading month right with one, if not the top favourite book of mine. I love this book. I read it back when it first came out and it honest to God changed my life. This is easily my most recommended book.  Seriously, if you haven't read it please do.  It's incredible.  5/5 I will always, always come back to this book for multiple re-readings.  2. A People's History of Heaven by Mathangi Subramanian: A book I started reading in February and put it aside to pick it up in March.  A story about a group of feisty girls from a slum in Bangalore who are growing up, finding themselves, fighting for their rights and form...

HELLO FEBRUARY!  Be Good.  Be Kind.  Be Gentle.  Be Fun!  My favourite month in the entire year is here!!!  Birthday Month!  Let's do this!  I am so excited for this month to be here. While I may no longer we madly excited for my birthday, I do like to do a little something special all month long.  So in bid to make February as wonderful as possible I plan on reading only my Favourite Authors and Books all month long. I think my birth month deserves no less. So I'll be reading.. Amitav Ghosh. Ruskin Bond.  JK Rowling.  Murakami. Agatha Christie.  John Steinbeck.  Jhumpa Lahiri.  Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.  And others.  My TBR is currently under construction but this is the main gist of it.  Only the best for February.  To begin on the best bookish month, I've started with a forever favourite Harry Potter.  I bought only ...

Hello!  How is this weekend treating you?  Mine started early and bright, thanks to the manically windy day we are experiencing in Bombay. No complaints though, it's lovely nevertheless.  Weekend means a whole lot of reading. And this time it includes some Buddy Reading with my favourite person to buddy read with, my sister!  This weekend we are both jumping into two thrillers by the same author Tanushree Podder, I recognised her name and remembered that I have read one book by her beforehand, a historical fiction set in Mughal times called Escape from the Harem and quite enjoyed it.  Last night, I was browsing through Amazon, as you do and came across a new thriller by an Indian author and was intrigued. I had over INR 200 sitting in my account as an eBook credit and I decided to get the the first book in the series to embark on. Eventually, we got both books and spent only INR 130 out of our pockets. Not a bad deal.  Here are the boo...

Hello August!  Hello Indian Independence Day!  Hello Reading only Indian Books all month long!  Hello Rains!  Hello Festivities!  & Hello me Blogging EVERY SINGLE DAY this month!  :O  I am so beyond excited for August to be here. It is one of my favourite months of the year because there is something celebratory about this month. The month the shaped my country and gave millions of Indians freedom from the colonisers. I still feel giddy and emotional thinking about our Independence Day, the current state of affairs notwithstanding. I've always felt that celebrating our Independence shouldn't just be confined to one day, instead I celebrate all month long. Via books, my love language.  So in celebration of India and Independence Day, I read only from India and the Indian Subcontinent this month. I have done so for the last 6 years, my own quiet bookish celebration. This year is no different. I am so stok...

Hello April! Hello Summer! Hello Bengali New Year!  Hello Reading Bengali Books all Month Long!  Hello Elections!  April promises to be action packed.  Be Kind April. Be Good.  Be Gentle.  Be Peaceful & Happy!  I am so excited for April, it's the kind of summer I can endure. The days when it's hot but not killer hot. Where the evenings still hold a hint of spring.  April also means reading Bengali books. If you are new here, let me catch you up. Every year, for the past 4 years or so, I've been reading Bengali Books all month long in April, in honour and celebration of Bengali New Year- Nobo Borsho, I read both books written originally in Bengali and then translated and I read books by Bengali authors writing in English. I support all sorts of Bengali writing and literature. :) Now.. as excited as I am for this, I might, just might not do exclusive Bengali books.  For most par...

Hello March!  Hello Spring!  Hello Holi!  Hello Spring Blooms!  ⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘⚘ Be Kind.  Be Peaceful!  Be Wonderful!  ~~~ March also means a month dedicated to reading only Women Writers for #femmemarch and #femmemarchfest  I am yet to pick out my TBR.  But I have picked out my first read-- Peril At End House by Agatha Christie, I mean if I am going to read only women all month long, I will start with one of my faves. And there is no one quite Dame Christie.  ~~~ March also means my mother's birthday.  We celebrated a little quietly this year with this delicious KitKat cake and Chinese food.  :)  ~~~  MARCH GOALS///  1. Read good books and read 12 books or more.  2. Go to a museum.  3. Write everyday. Even if it's free flowing thoughts.  4. Blog regularly. I have been slacking quite a bit on the blogging front and it's ...

Hello!  Honestly, I can't quite remember the last time I made TBR. It has easily been months.  But on the 1st of this month, I woke up early in the morning, had breakfast with my parents and began to stare at my bookshelves and pulled out some books I wanted to read this month. My birthday month, as it happens to be! As I stacking up the books, I noticed a curious thing, all of them were in the red/pink colour spectrum.  Huh..interesting?!  So I figured why not just stick to a colour scheme for a change and pick only red..largely, red and maybe some pink spines for February. I mean, it is only fitting, it being the month of love and all that.  So here is my little Red/Pink TBR for February.  I say little because I have only 8 odd books on this TBR, which is little by my standards, I read some 17 books in January and I want to slow down a little bit on the reading front this month and do some other things.. So let's jump into it shall...

Hello August!  Hello Independence Day!  Hello reading books from the Indian Subcontinent all month long!  :)  August has become one of  my favourite months of the year thanks to my Reading Theme of the month. For the last 5 years, I've been dedicatedly reading books from the Indian Subcontinent in the month that marks the independence of both India and Pakistan and even the erstwhile- East Pakistan, now of course Bangladesh celebrates it's independence in December. This month has significance for this entire subcontinent of ours and I like to celebrate all month long in the best way I know. BOOKS!  My Line-up for this year is pretty impressive if I say so myself.  I have books from Pakistan. Bangladesh. Sri Lanka.  And of course books from every possible corner of India!  I am stoked!  My full TBR will be coming tomorrow. Once I can find my pesky camera and actually snap some pictures!  ...

Hello March!  Hello Spring!  Hello Reading only Women Authors for #FemmeMarch in honour of Women's Day!  Be Kind March.  Be Gentle and Peaceful.  Bring Joy and Contentment.  I hope March is a much better reading month than February was. I want to get back on track with my reading and bookishness.  MARCH GOALS 1. I also want to get my entire Jaipur travelogue up on the blog.   2. Read 12 books.  3. Share my January and February favourites on the blog.  4. Try some new coffee shops.  5. Indulge in some bookshop hangs.  6. Watch some films.  7. Journal and Art Journal more often.  I hope March is a good month for you and me. 

With October here and Halloween vibes being super strong, I want to start a new series on my blog, Spooky Review...where I mostly want to review mystery/thriller/spooky books all month long! I will also be sharing some horror film recommendations as well.  To start off this series I want to talk about the latest horror novel I read- Bird Box.  Let's jump right into it.  Book: Bird Box Author: Josh Malerman Pages: 305 Publisher: Harper Collins Read On: Kindle How Long it Took Me To Read : 2 days Plot Summary:  General Thoughts: I have had this book on my Kindle since it first came out and it got so many positive reviews and generated a whole lot of buzz. I tried reading it a few times over the years but for one reason or another I never made it past the 5% mark. A few days back when I was struck with a bout of insomnia, I scrolled though my Kindle and settled down with this book and this time I made it through the entire book in 2 sitti...