The Whimsy Bookworm: A Book Blog from India

1. Pens in my pencil case. I especially love the cute little duck pen, he always puts a big smile on my face each time I open my pencil case.  2. Daisy/// Happiness is indeed a bunch of smiling daisies.  3. Winter Warm Drinks/// I am so happy for winter to arrive. To have warm cups of coffee again!  I am cold coffee drinker for most of the year but I cherish the few months in which I make a switch to hot coffee and hot chocolate.  4. Coffee + Journals/// A moment of quiet and a moment to gather my thoughts and pen them down.  Things I cherish most in this chaotic world.  5. Pretty Pandals/// Ah! Durga Puja pandals are such a thing of joy.  Hope you guys are having a wonderful Friday. And I hope you guys have a lovely weekend too!  Mine will hopefully include some spooky books and spooky movies!  And some Diwali cleaning.  :)

Hello!  Time to share a little haul of books on here. These 3 books were picked up during Durga Pujo.  In between pandal hopping, I managed to take my family to Kitab Khana to pick up my most awaited release of the year--- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets!  I was so happy I could take my parents to my favourite book shop in my city.  Let's see what I've added to my bookshelves!  Books Bought:  Tanya Tania by Antara Ganguli  Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler  Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling and Art by Jim Kay  I've read 2 out of these 3 books and Vinegar Girl is pretty high up on my TBR.  Also, how freaking beautiful is the cover art for Vinegar Girl?  Happy Reading Folks :) 

Book: The House by the Lake Author: Ella Carey Pages: 234 Read in: 3 hours Read on: Kindle Plot Summary:  Anna is content with her well-ordered life in San Francisco. But her world is turned upside down when her beloved grandfather, Max, reveals a startling secret: Anna is part of an aristocratic family who lost everything during World War II. What’s more, Max was forced to leave behind a precious item over seventy years ago in their estate in old Prussia. It’s now his ardent wish that Anna retrieve it. Anna burns with questions as she heads for Germany: What memento could be so important to her grandfather? And why did he keep their history hidden? As she searches for answers, she finds herself drawn to Wil, a man who may hold the key to unlock the mystery. Together they discover that her family’s secrets are linked with an abandoned apartment in Paris, and these secrets go deeper than she ever imagined. Alternating between 1930s Europe and the present,  Th...

Book: Tanya Tania Author: Antara Ganguli Pages: 202 Read On: Paperback How Long it Took Me To Read: 1 day Plot Summary:   Last night there was a snowstorm that made my window disappear. I woke up gasping at the heater. This is my first letter in three years. First letter since I left Pakistan. First letter since Nusrat.  Tanya Tania  is a story about two young women coming of age in two countries that are coming of age. Tanya Talati in Karachi and Tania Ghosh in Bombay, daughters of college best friends, write to each other of what cannot be said to anyone else: a mother who has gone from quiet to silent, sex that has become a weapon, a servant with unforgettably soft hands and a country beginning to play with religion. When Tanya's brother receives a kidnapping threat, she sets in motion what no one could have predicted, least of all Tania, who finds herself alone in a forbidden bazaar in Bombay, listening to the sounds of a riot torn city coming clos...

*Picture-heavy Post* Today, I want to share with you a new stationery subscription box that we received a couple of weeks ago. For those of us who are new to stationery subscription boxes, these are monthly subscription boxed filled with stationery goodies like pretty paper, washi tapes, paper clips, stamps, pencil cases etc. Basically, everything you need to decorate and prettify your planners and journals. The subscription box we're talking about today is called ' The Planner Society Kit ' and it is one of the prettiest subscription boxes we have ever seen! Let's jump right into it! Look at the pretty brown paper box it comes in! So pretty!  Here's what we saw when we opened it up.. a pretty pencil case and a paper bag (look at the pretty print on it!). So, Christy- the #girlboss behind the Planner Society Kit designs the prints for the kit every month. The 'theme' for this kit (September kit, btw) was purple.. so, everything is ti...

Powai Pujo. Love the colours of this Proteema.  Powai Pujo Pandal.  What My Sister Wore.. Kurta- Global Desi  Dupatta from Shantiniketan  Kolhapuris- Colaba Causeway  The Shivaji Park Pujo. This Pujo was on a such a smaller scale this year. The pandal was so much smaller as compared to the last few years.  The oldest Pujo in Bombay at Tejpal Hall.  A glimpse of what I wore.  Shahi Tukda at Bademiyan. It was so freaking delicious!  This was my Saptami in a nutshell. 3 Pandals. Long drives. Traffic. Prayers. Dinner at Bademiyan. (The food was very average though!)  And lots of people watching and quality time with my folks.  :)  A good way to kick off my festive season. 

Book: A House Without Windows Author: Nadia Hashimi Pages: 415 Read On: Paperback How Long it Took Me To Read: 2-3 days Plot Summary:  For two decades, Zeba was a loving wife, a patient mother, and a peaceful villager. But her quiet life is shattered when her husband, Kamal, is found brutally murdered with a hatchet in the courtyard of their home. Nearly catatonic with shock, Zeba is unable to account for her whereabouts at the time of his death. Her children swear their mother could not have committed such a heinous act. Kamal’s family is sure she did, and demands justice. Barely escaping a vengeful mob, Zeba is arrested and jailed. Awaiting trial, she meets a group of women whose own misfortunes have led them to these bleak cells: eighteen-year-old Nafisa, imprisoned to protect her from an “honor killing”; twenty-five-year-old Latifa, a teen runaway who stays because it is safe shelter; twenty-year-old Mezghan, pregnant and unmarried, waiting for a court order t...