I am now initiated into the brilliant, lyrical world of Toni Morrison. I had expected an innocent story about friendship from what I had heard about this book. But Sula is not meant for casual reading, it requires patience. The best part about Sula is it‘s poetic prose. The descriptions in the book are so vibrant that you can feel every emotion, taste every flavour and connect with every character. Overall it‘s an incredible read.

Hello there.

In case you guys were wondering, I am still here. Still reading. The last couple of months have been exhausting. So for now I am trying to get back into the swing of things. I am currently reading The Book Thief. I am more than half way through and loving the book so far.

It was a little different from other books by Murakami as it does not contain any element of magical realism that characterise his works. The theme of the book is the central character‘s longing for the past, his selfishness and the inability to move past trauma. The prose is lovely but I found this book to be unremarkable. I think I am done for a while with mysterious, disappearing women and selfish, horny men so no more Murakami for me in 2020.

Look who had a great time reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being! Set against the background of the Prague Spring of 1968 and the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, the book has an interesting intersection of historical fiction and philosophy. It emphasises on the point that life lacks any ultimate meaning and is light but we make it heavier by finding meaning in it. It was a delight from the first page to the last & I‘d recommend it to all

Sputnik Sweetheart is a fast paced quick read and has a comparatively simpler narrative as compared to other Murakami books. Even though his books leave the reader wondering and confused, reading Murakami always has a meditative effect on me and Sputnik Sweetheart was no different. It‘s a great read but definitely not his best work

A simple young man who loves reading and listening to music falls in love with a girl. The girl loves another elder woman and is somehow trapped in a dark place. The boy tries to redeem the girl but fails. Now insert sexual desire, random boners and cats to this. Sounds familiar? I thought so too. The story of Sputnik Sweetheart is quite similar to Norwegian Wood but unlike the latter, the theme of SS is loneliness, longing and unrequited love.

War and Peace is the story of five Russian families in the backdrop of French invasion of Russia.The war parts of the book are about Napoleon‘s invasion of Russia in 1812 and the peace parts are about the effect of War in the life of the characters.As the book progresses there is less of narrative and more of philosophical and historical discussion. Reading it I could understand why Tolstoy was hesitant to call War and Peace a ‘novel‘. Continued⬇️

Took me around three months but I finally finished War and Peace. It was my literary goal for 2020 and it feels great to have it off my bucket list. I am going to let this epic mammoth piece of literature sink in and hopefully write a review this weekend.

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was condemned for all eternity to roll a rock up a mountain only to have it roll back down when he reaches the top.Sisyphus struggles perpetually without hope of success and is the ideal absurd hero according to Camus.
This book is an essay on what Camus calls the absurd and it discusses the philosophical problem of suicide. In the last part of the book Camus has analysed Kafka‘s works and is extremely interesting.

Finished reading this beautiful, heartbreaking book by Alice Walker and absolutely loved it. This book is about an African American girl Celie who is abused all her life. Celie‘s life is worse than that of a prisoner until she decides to turn her life around and take charge of her destiny. I loved 2 things about the book- first the ending when Celie finally gets what she rightly deserves and second the strong female characters, crazy but strong😅

The Forty Rules of Love has two parallel narratives- one based in 2008 with the story of a forty year old woman named Ella and the other based in 13th century with the story of Shams who is said to be the inspiration behind Rumi‘s poems. The book presents a blend of the two stories connecting the past with present.I liked the part about Shams and Rumi but Ella‘s story made me cringe a little.It can be read for the love of Rumi and all things Sufi.

I finally got a chance to stack all my legal fiction together. I haven‘t read one in a while but I plan on re reading some of these next month. I started reading legal thrillers in law school and became a Grisham fan. John Grisham‘s name is considered to be synonymous with modern legal fiction. Some of my favourites by him are A time to Kill, the Litigators and the Firm.

Finished reading this novella by Tolstoy. The book is about the slow painful death of one Ivan Ilyich. The description of his pain and the challenges he is facing due to his terminal illness is very moving. The book also delves into how little the death of a colleague, a friend and even family member can matter for some people. It is a devastating story showing the true face of humanity and one that will definitely leave a lasting impression.

Ramayan is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India. The FoE is a re-telling of Ramayan from Sita‘s perspective. The story of Ramayan is known to every Indian by heart and yet this book is very special. The book does justice to many strong female women of the time who have been forgotten or overlooked by tradition. It is tragic and heartbreaking but gives a unique perspective on the age old tale. Recommended to all mythology lovers.

Brida is about a 21 year old girl and her quest for truth. The book has witches, magic spells and rituals but not the Harry Potter kind. It revolves on the idea of soulmate and how no matter what we achieve in life, it will be incomplete if we haven‘t found our soulmate. The book has some great lines about life. Thing is i found some parts of the book to be boring &the way love and soulmates are presented did not appeal to me.Still worth a read.

This is my first Agatha Christie. And then there were none is an exciting quick read. The story is gripping and it kept me guessing till the end.

This was not what I expected. I am not sure if I fully understood what the author tried to convey. I guess Siddhartha‘s life ultimately depicts that salvation comes from within and we do not need a teacher for attaining nirvana. The message is powerful but I still don‘t get the hype about this book. This may be because I have been distracted and read it without much concentration.

Might read it again after some time.

I started reading War and Peace this month and within 2 days with little progress I wanted a break from it. So I picked up the Silent Patient. And it turned out to be truly riveting. I read it cover to cover. The story is gripping and the language very simple. Definitely one of the best psychological thrillers I have read so far.

Little Women is a book to treasure. I read it way back in high school and have wanted to read it again for a long time. I love everything about this book right from the story, the language and the characters especially Jo‘s. The story is very relatable and made me feel instantly connected with some of the characters. The incidents in the book will definitely remind you of some similar occurrence in your own life. Truly a satisfying read.

‘It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.‘

I had not heard about this book until recently. My copy arrived today and I thought of just flipping through but I ended up reading it. It definitely made me relive my childhood for I share the pilot‘s and the Little Prince‘s view about grown ups. This is definitely one of those heart warming books that I shall read over and over.

This was a fun, quick read. It took me two sittings to complete it. It‘s a story of a thirteen year old kid lawyer who decides to fight against an infrastructural project which might disrupt the lives of a lot of people in his town of Strattenburg. Hence, the name The activist. The plot is very average not as good as the first book of Theodore Boone series. Also, there‘s hardly any courtroom drama which is what I love most about Grisham.

This book is so underrated. Frankenstein is a beautifully written tragic tale about over ambition and vengeance. It can be considered a work of early sci-fi. I had a lot of misconceptions about the story probably owing to the cartoons based on Frankenstein but the book is very different. I am glad I read it.

The book is well written and the plot interesting but somehow I didn‘t like it as much. Deven,a Hindi professor who is an Urdu poetry lover decides to record the works of a distinguished Urdu poet Nur. In doing so, he becomes not only the custodian of Nur‘s verse and genius but also of all his personal problems.
I liked the part abt Deven and Murad‘s friendship as it depicts how even old friendships can be toxic and survive only because of habit.

Finally my June haul😻 I wanted to read more classics and a few contemporaries so here I am. With courts re-opening I am not able to read as much as I want but that doesn‘t stop me from hoarding. 😅

Anyone spotting any favourites or any recommendations?

This book will take you on an arduous journey.Midnight‘s Children has an extremely dramatic plot nothing short of a Bollywood film but what makes it so special is that the story is a perfect blend of magic, history, humour and tragedy. It deals with very complex emotions & exposes the reader to various nuances of human behaviour.

P.S a heads up for everyone-this book will drain your life force. I am not kidding guys 🙈 it‘s an exhausting read.

Currently reading this gem of magical realism. The tone of the book is self reflexive and the story is deeply connected to actual historical events of 20th century India. Midnight‘s Children is not exactly a tough read but just like One Hundred Years of Solitude it‘s a slow one.

Thanks for the tag @Tanisha_A

1. These are pics from my walk this morning. I am so glad that finally parks are opening up because I love my early morning walks.
2. I would like to be Jay Gatsby from the Great Gatsby for a day🙈
3. Favourite book of May 2020 is definitely Anna K.

Thanks for the tag @RamsFan1963

1. Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh in India
2. Anna Karenina
3. There‘s no ideal length but I really enjoy quick reads which can be completed in a day or two.
4. @Severnmeadows @ramblingsofareader @Catherine_Willoughby @thevagabondlawyer @Powered_By_Plants

THT depicts a terrifying dystopian society where women are repressed, their freedoms curtailed and they‘re reduced to the role of child bearing n rearing. The book disappoints the reader in so much as it does not explain how the entire socio-political fabric is changed in a matter of days. Frankly there‘s so much hype about this book I expected it to be as good as 1984. Nevertheless THT is incredibly thought compelling and I‘d recommend it to all.

Lolita is a difficult read but it‘s totally worth th effort. The narration is so powerful that it makes the reader sympathise with Humbert‘s cause even though it is as disturbing as it gets. Since I was not aware how the book ends I found the twists in the second part of the book to be interesting. Also it would‘ve been fascinating to read the story from Lolita‘s perspective as she‘s no ordinary prepubescent girl and has a rather complicated mind.

I am half way through Lolita and what I really like about this book is Nabokov‘s unique writing style where the protagonist (as deranged as he is) seems to be in constant conversation with the reader. What really amuses me is that there are instances where he almost senses my emotion and somehow makes it a part of his narrative. But Nabokov‘s ornate writing style makes it a difficult read and makes the dictionary an indispensable part of the book.

The Great Gatsby is a fast paced, quick read which is exactly what I wanted after Anna Karenina. Only some parts were way too quick and I couldn‘t fully understand where the characters were in one go. So I had to read some parts twice.
It is a tragic, heart rending story depicting the extent of Jay‘s devotion to Daisy. Fitzgerald‘s description of a hot sunny day literally made me sweat and I am saying this sitting in India in the month of May😅

I can‘t believe I waited so long to read this. I have never read a more thorough book. Anna K has some very interesting characters and I loved how Tolstoy gives a detailed description of the thought process of these characters. Some parts of the book are said to be autobiographical esp. the ones relating to Levin. Intertwined with the plot is Russian polity, laws and agriculture. One can actually learn a thing or two about Socialism from Levin.

I have been reading Anna Karenina this week and I wanted a break from all the Russian politics 😅 so I picked up Playing for Pizza. Playing for Pizza is a very simple and quick read. It‘s kind of no brainer to be frank. Football lovers are definitely going to enjoy it. This is my first non legal fiction by Grisham and I have to say Grisham is much more fun in the courtroom.

I just finished reading The Wanderer by Khalil Gibran. I loved The Prophet and was eager to read his other works. Gibran always has such a calming effect on me. I find his writings to be very simple dealing with the most complex of emotions. The wanderer exposes us to some very fascinating ideas about everyday things and compels us to think.

Never got a chance to read Animal Farm as a high school kid as most people do. I read it in my first year at law school and it left a lasting impression on me. Time to revisit the Animal Farm.

‘... if you feel you are in a black hole, don‘t give up:there is a way out!‘ - very comforting words by none other than Stephen Hawking

Hello fellow book lovers. I found out about Litsy a couple of days ago and I am trying to figure it out. I just finished One hundred years of Solitude and thoroughly enjoyed it. This was my first exposure to Marquez‘s work and it took a while to get acclimatised to his writing style but ultimately it makes for a very satisfying read.