The Whimsy Bookworm: A Book Blog from India

 Hello, hello! This year has been a bust as far as the Indian movie scene was concerned (for us). We watched a few good ones, though and so, are sharing those as solid recommendations to enjoy over a long weekend!  Laapataa Ladies (Lost Ladies): Hands down, the best movie of the year! Won't be writing much here because we have a whole post about it. Read it ! :) Streaming on Netflix.  Kill: A gory, thrilling, slick action flick that's made in India! Fast-paced and so, so, so thrilling. Streaming on Netflix. Watch it!  Stree 2: A sequel that is not a sophomoric disaster! Yes, please! This movie takes us back into the Stree universe, except, we have a new villain and also, some new allies. A fun, spooky watch, for sure! Streaming on Prime Video.  Munjya: A nicely made horror movie inspired by the myth/ legend of the Brahmadaitya- the belief that if a Brahmin youth days within 14 days of his sacred thread ceremony, he becomes an evil spirit/ entity. Highly recommen...

 Hello, hello, We come to you today with the very highly anticipated list of our favourite thrillers/ crime fiction books of 2024! This is what a lot of you have been waiting for, so, without any further ado, let's get into it!  The Gathering by CJ Tudor: If you are a fan of vampire fiction and enjoy thriller, then is the perfect book for you to pick up! Set in a world where vampires (called vampyrs in this book) are known to exist and, seemingly, co-exist with humans, there is a murder of a 15-year-old boy in a small town in Alaska and a cop is sent from the capital to investigate. An atmospheric, interesting and engaging thriller. Full review can be found here .  The God of the Woods by Liz Moore: One of the best books I've read this year. It is a historical crime thriller book set between 1975 and, then, the late 1980s. It is based in a summer camp where a little boy goes missing in 1975 and then, years later, his younger sister goes missing as well. A very atmospheric...

 Hello, hello, Today, we will be sharing our Top 12 documentaries of the year.  This year was a major non-fiction viewing year for us. Somehow, movies and series (fiction) across languages were so disappointing! Anyhoo, let's get to it!  1. Taken Together: Who Killed Lyric and Elizabeth? is a heartbreaking, thought-provoking and very nicely made documentary about the dual abduction of cousins- Lyric and Elizabeth from a small town in Iowa. This was a rare case of double abduction and the documentary delves into theories, possible suspects and even unearths a few interesting connections with other cases. Highly recommend. Streaming on Jio Cinema. 2. Worst Ex Ever & Worst Roommate Ever are two amazing and scary documentaries about horrible exes and terrifying roommates. This is episodic and so, there are multiple horror stories shared by those who have experienced these! Streaming on Netflix.  3. Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter is an amazing documentary and story ...

 Hello Loves!  Let's kick-off my Yearly Book Favourites.  Yay! And like always, we are starting with the kids.  I read quite a few children's books this year, every time I needed some simple comfort and hope and joy, I turned to kid lit and found exactly what I was looking for.  Here are some of the best of the best.  TOP CHILDREN'S BOOKS of 2023:  1. How the Earth got it's Beauty by Sudha Murty: My first read of the year, I wanted to start the year with something light and warm and sweet. This little picture book delivered on all accounts. So good. And so beautiful.  2. How the Mango Got it's Magic by Sudha Murty: Another picture book about Mangoes and myth and sweetness.  Perfect for little kids and the art is lovely too.  3. The Gopi Diaries Growing Up by Sudha Murty: The third installment of the Gopi Diaries, a book series about a dog and his humans. I love these little books and I love seeing Gopi and his shenanigans. Too cute and...

 Hello, hello! Sharing our favourite movies (a mix of Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam and English) of 2022 with you.  These are across genres like thrillers, drama, dramedies, horror-comedies, action and such.  As we wind down the year and, hopefully, you have a little more time on your hands, these movies are good ones to watch!  Without further ado, let's get into it!  We will be back with our Top OTT series faves across fiction and non-fiction very soon!  Enjoy! 

 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, 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 ...

 Hello, hello, Today we bring to you the Top 10 thriller books of 2021.  As a genre, thriller/ crime/ murder mysteries is a big favourite of ours and today we will be sharing some of our absolute favourites of 2021! Let's get into it, shall we?  1. 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard is the perfect thriller for 2021! It tells the story of a couple that meets at the beginning of the lockdown in 2020 and move in. At the end of the lockdown, after 56 days, one of them is found dead. A twisty, gripping book this one! The full review can be found here . 2. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave is an interesting story about a woman whose husband just takes off one day leaving her a cryptic message to "protect her". Her being his sixteen-year-old daughter. Why did he take off? What does the daughter need protecting from? The full review can be found here .  3. The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood is a fun and interesting, nicely done murder mystery. A 77-year-old woman...

Hello Loves!  Here we are at the very end of 2020 and I think most of us are happy to see the end of this year. It's  been one hell of a ride hasn't it? Yet, here we are.  We survived what this year threw at us. If a year ago someone told me that come March the whole world would be forced indoors and sanitisers would be our new best friend and I'd buy so many masks, I'd ask you what you had been smoking?!  Yet we were thrown a curve ball and we survived.  It sucked.  We complained.  Worried.  Cried.  Found comfort in food and books and sleep and TV shows.  MY YEAR IN BOOKS  When it came to books I had a mixed bag of a year.  I honestly thought I'd read so much more, since we were going to be home but the stress and anxiety about this pandemic made reading harder on some days and overall I think read quite less this year.  But honestly I am not going to be hard on myself for my not-so-stellar reading.   It was goo...

 Hello, hello! Today I will be sharing my favourite crime/ mystery/ thriller books of 2020!  This year we (sister and I) read a lot of Thrillers and a fair amount of Horror too. I guess this year was a horror it felt nice and oddly comforting to visit and for a brief period of time be immersed in the world of someone else's horror and worry. It makes for a perfect escape. My sister, especially, read a lot of thrillers and read them in quick succession. So this list is mostly her top reads of 2020.  This a collection of books that range from the classic murder mystery to a few nice little experiments and departures from the classic formats of the genre. All of these will, however, keep you engaged, engrossed and guessing! Let's get into it, then!  1. Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling): Full review can be found here . This was the first cold case for Cormoran Strike and Robin and, boy, was it a complicated one! 40 years ago, a young GP leaves her prac...

Hello Loves!  Today I am here to list some of my favourite Indian Fiction Reads of 2020. I read a lot of Indian books, they are certainly my favourite kinds of books to read, there is so much talent in our country and so many incredible writers. So picking just a few faves is a little bit of a struggle.  Oh, not all of these books were released in 2020, some are older gems that I Read this year.  Cool.  Chalo let's jump in.    1. The Greatest Works of Rabindranath Tagore: This was my first read of 2020 and it was a good way to kickstart my reading year. Tagore is a Bengali home staple. I have always been surrounded by his work, whether songs or poetry or his stories. I haven't read a lot of his work. But over the last few years I've tried to fix that. I loved this collection of stories, I picked it up at my local book fair and read it in the first week of January. I really enjoyed it and I highly recommend it.  2. The House of a Thousand Stories by Ar...

  Hello, hello!  2020 has been the year of staying home and binging on web series and movies! So, like every year, I have rounded up the Top 10 Indian fiction OTT shows for 2020. These are, mostly, Hindi language shows with two Bengali shows also making it into this list.  Let's get into it!  Pataal Lok streaming on Amazon Prime Video was, in my opinion, the breakthrough series of 2020! We've reviewed it in detail here and highly recommend you watch the show, if you haven't already! It is not just a crime thriller but a full blown, searing social commentary on today's India and its many uncomfortable truths.  Panchayat   also streaming on Amazon Prime Video is a funny and entertaining show about a young man from a big city, who moves to a tiny village when he takes up a job as the Secretary of the local village panchayat. The quirky characters, their shenanigans and the adjustment process our protagonist goes through makes this show a must-watch.  Asu...