tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797142411273149412024-03-05T19:21:38.181+05:30The Book Worm by Debolina Raja Indian book bloggerDebolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.comBlogger557125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79714241127314941.post-3592008245259862102023-01-02T12:39:00.000+05:302023-01-02T12:39:08.177+05:30All The Books I've Read in 2022<div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>long walk to freedom by nelson mandela - outstanding and sooo inspiring!</li><li>shuggie bain by douglas stuart - thoroughly enjoyed</li><li>bhaalobaashaar barandaa (the verandah of love) by nabaneeta dev sen - loved it </li><li>ted bundy: the only living witness by stephen g michaud - captivated</li><li>ted bundy conversations with a killer by stephen g michaud - captivated</li><li>the paradoxical prime minister by shashi tharoor - what a well researched and honest book</li><li>a little princess by frances hodgson burnett - beautiful </li><li>conundrum by anuj dhar - mindblowing and what a revelation</li><li>delhi 4 shows talkies of yesteryear by ziya us salam - nostalgic</li><li>kashmir at the crossroads inside a 21st century conflict by sumantra bose - heartrending</li><li> the name of the rose by umberto eco - not as awesome as other works</li><li>lying in wait by liz nugent - alright</li><li>victim without a face by stefan anhem - wow</li><li>beautiful boy a father's journey through his son's addiction - loved and reread and watched</li><li>crying in h mart by michelle zauner - beautiful and heart touching</li><li>revenge wears prada the devil returns #2 by lauren weisberger - very disappointing </li><li>girl a by abigail dean - wow</li><li>the joy luck club by amy tan - what a cultural pot</li><li>dead man's daughter by roz watkins - absolutely loved</li><li>a little life by hanya yanagihara - loved it</li><li>the nine lives of pakistan dispatches from a precarious state - very enlightening</li><li>cry wolf by hans rosenfeldt - now a favourite author!</li><li>the marriage plot by jeffrey eugenides - alright </li><li>the little book of lykke the danish secret for the world's happiest people by meik wiking - best!</li><li>in the heart of the country by j m coetzee - favourite author</li><li>until the darkness comes by kevin brooks - crap</li><li>the midnight line by lee child - alright</li><li>mr nice and mrs sparks by judy marks - loved the detailed research and angle</li><li>the black book by james patterson - wowed! first read by the author and now favourite!!</li><li>chai chai by biswanath ghosh - nostalgic and wow</li><li>butter chicken in ludhiana travels in small town india by pankaj mishra - below average</li><li>the house of gucci a sensational story of murder, madness, glamour and greed - the movie was wow, book was very okay</li><li>vulglar favours the assassination of gianni versace by maureen orth - wow and the series too!</li><li>mayapuri by shivani - favourite author but this was a disappointment</li><li>the witch's trinity by erika mailman - oh wow, blown away and favourite author!</li><li>say you're one of them by uwem akpan - what a beautiful book, hearttouching</li><li>the seven husbands of evelyn hugo by taylor jenkins reid - has been sent to the trash</li><li>persuasion by jane austen - beautiful and classic but tough read</li><li>crossroads by jonathan franzen - wow and very well character portrayals, favourite author</li><li>three cups of tea one man's mission to promote peace one school at a time by greg mortenson - very touching and inspiring</li><li>adarsh hindu hotel (in original bengali format) by bibhutibhushan bandopadhyay - loved it</li><li>the psychopath test by ron jonson - very very depressing and disturbing, won't recommend</li><li>boyhood scenes from provincial life by j m coetzee - favourite author and loved it</li><li>the thursday murder club by richard osmon - superbly disappointing </li><li>the red and the green by iris murdoch - quite a boring descriptive piece</li><li>chalta phirta pret (read in original hindi format) by manav kaul - favourite author and absolutely loved!</li><li>deewar mein ek khirki rehti hai by vinod kumar shukla - did not like unfortunately </li><li>prem kabootar (read in original hindi format) by manav kaul - absolute love!</li><li>the brothers karamazov by fyodor dostoevsky - </li><li>rooh by manav kaul - favourite author, absolutely loved and must-read </li><li>shirt ka teesra button by manav kaul - favourite author, one of the best books i have ever read </li><li>thheek tumhaarey peechhey by manav kaul - favourite author and absolutely loved, must-read </li><li>akbar of hindustan by parvati sharma - interesting history facts</li><li>unfinished portrait by agatha christie - very beautiful, unlike the typical christie style</li><li>our moon has blood clots, the exodus of the kashmiri pandits by rahul pandita - one of the most amazing books i have ever read, leaves an impression, must read</li><li>first person singular by haruki murakami - very interesting and favourite author</li><li>on the beach by nevil shute - beautifully written</li><li>laal chowk by rohin kumar - must read, amazing and one of my favourites, non-fiction reportage</li><li>curfewed night by basharat peer - must read and loved!</li><li>true crime story by joseph knox - incredible! what a find and what an amazing story but real!!</li><li>the last queen by chitra banerjee divakaruni - found it too overhyped, was okay</li><li>karta ne karam se by manav kaul - outstanding, favourite author, must read</li><li>wobegon boy by garrison keiller - super loved, amazing portrayal of the country living and life</li><li>rumours of spring, girlhood in kashmir by farah bashir - amazing</li><li>born with wings by daisy khan - interesting but many boring parts too</li><li>the copenhagen trilogy childhood, youth, dependency by tove ditlevsen - amazing, new favourite author</li><li>mary, after the queen, memories of a working girl by angela hewins -</li><li>two caravans by marina lewycka - super interesting, descriptive, witty and beautiful</li><li>a still life by josie george - beautifully written</li><li>born with wings the spiritual journey of a modern muslim woman by daisy khan - alright</li><li>marie after the queen, memories of a working girl by angela hewins - alright</li><li>freedom by jonathan franzen - loved and favourite author</li><li>the elephant vanishes by haruki murakami - loved and favourite author </li><li>kashmir as i see it from within and afar by ashok dhar - interesting </li><li>azadi by arundhati roy - too much propaganda, did not like and do not like the author, too overhyped</li><li>corrections by jonathan franzen - favourite author </li><li>anti clock by v j james - alright </li><li>my kashmir in peace and turbulence story of a native in exile by b l kaul - good but many errors in language and publishing </li><li>julius by daphne du maurier - amazing and favourite author </li><li>the afghan by frederick forsyth - interesting</li><li>v is for vengeance by sue grafton - nice pulp fiction</li><li>the way things were by aatish taseer - interesting</li><li>princess margaret by tim heald - very interesting </li><li>what we talk about when we talk about love by raymond carver - very very awesome and favourite author now </li><li>after sappho by selby wynn schwartz - alright </li><li>naukar kee kameez by vinod kumar shukla - amazing and favourite author </li><li>mai, silently mother by geetanjali shreee - beautiful</li><li>when we cease to understand the world by benjamin labatut - interesting</li><li>and then one day, a memoir by naseeruddin shah - interesting and honest </li><li>feel robbie williams by chris heath - nice</li><li>the wisdom bridge by kamlesh patel - very interesting </li><li>the taming of the queen by philippa gregory - very interesting </li><li>october junction by divya prakash dubey - nope</li><li>the book of bihari literature by abhay k - interesting and varied</li><li>the girl who came back by susan lewis - nope</li><li>the adventures of tom sawyer by mark twain - classic and loved</li><li>shirt ka teesra button by manav kaul - rereading favourite author and most favourite book of 2022</li><li>antima by manav kaul - rereading favourite author and one of the most favourite book of 2022</li><li>amsterdam by </li><li>will you please be quiet, please by raymond carver - outstanding and favourite author</li><li>pony by r j palacio - outstanding and favourite author</li></ol></div>- Debolina Raja Debolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79714241127314941.post-84533886236853598262022-01-20T10:51:00.002+05:302022-01-20T10:51:18.048+05:30All the books I read in 2021<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZiU2Y9a0q2pgRNy5X2htlLDsDgNjNjzx54ugClX6sp6X_fHCocY_tjxVpSIS9QVXxlW36oETDgayn85ncM_uLcq74NOWLcgLZK16rU_l1aAWrbgVmSGW_tDkHEtKnCLKrs0bq7ID1kdI/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="582" data-original-width="486" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZiU2Y9a0q2pgRNy5X2htlLDsDgNjNjzx54ugClX6sp6X_fHCocY_tjxVpSIS9QVXxlW36oETDgayn85ncM_uLcq74NOWLcgLZK16rU_l1aAWrbgVmSGW_tDkHEtKnCLKrs0bq7ID1kdI/w333-h400/image.png" width="333" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>1984 by George Orwell</li><li>Satkahon by Samaresh Majumdar</li><li>i'm travelling alone (holger munch & mia kruger #1) by bjork samuel</li><li>the tata saga: timeless stories from india's largest business group by penguin books</li><li>walking: one step at a time by erling kagge - loved it, definitely recommend, favourite author!</li><li>snowblind (dark iceland #1) by ragnar jonasson</li><li>the little book of hygge: the danish way to live well by meik wiking - stunner</li><li>why we sleep by matthew walker - super interesting</li><li>the familiars by stacey halls - very okay</li><li>the owl always hunts at night (holger munch & mia kruger #2) by bjork samuel</li><li>ghachar ghochar by vivek shanbhag - extremely interesting and nostalgic</li><li>kari by amruta patil (birthday gift from my bestie) - stunning</li><li>the devil all the time by donald ray pollock (birthday gift from my bestie) - absolute fav! </li><li>zodiac unmasked by robert graysmith - gripping!</li><li>madame bovary by gustave flaubert - interesting</li><li>the boy in the headlights (holger munch & mia kruger #3) by bjork samuel</li><li>on the trail of the serpent the life and crimes of charles sobhraj by richard neville - gripping!</li><li>the princess of burundi by kjell eriksson </li><li>why we sleep: unlocking the power of sleep and dreams by matthew walker</li><li>my life with osho by azima v. rosciano - okay</li><li>in the company of the courtesan by sarah dunant </li><li>go set a watchman by harper lee - alright</li><li>a gentleman in moscow by amor towles - liked</li><li>susegad: the goan art of contentment by clyde d'souza - loved !!!!!</li><li>the underground railroad by colson whitehead - alright</li><li>antima by manav kaul - beautiful </li><li>the memory police by yoko ogawa - okay</li><li>cold spring harbor by richard yates - very interesting</li><li>iris: a memoir of iris murdoch by john bayley - loved!</li><li>east of eden by john steinbeck - loved</li><li>guru dutt: an unfinished story by yasser usman - in love!! </li><li>the innocent man by john grisham - must read</li><li>you can heal your life by louise l hay - positive </li><li>home deus: a history of tomorrow by yuval noah harari - super interesting and fascinating</li><li>tumhaarey baare mein by manav kaul - beautiful</li><li>dominion: the making of the western mind by tom holland - super interesting</li><li>an unofficial rose by iris murdoch - must read </li><li>private lives of the mughals of india by r nath - historical, super interesting and many facts revealed</li><li>chaudah fere by shivani - loved it, favourite author</li><li>tibet with my eyes closed by madhu gurung - powerful and insightful</li><li>haunted castles by ray russell - gothic, absolutely loved it</li><li>the order of time by carlo rovelli - quite interesting</li><li>lanny by max porter - super intense and simply wow</li><li>so you've been publicly shamed by ron jonson - simply wow and what a powerful look at society in today's times </li><li>a line to kill by anthony horowitzz -loveddd, favourite author</li><li>the night watchman by louise erdrich - alright</li><li>stranger in the shogun's city: a japanese woman and her world by amy stanley - okay</li><li>young hearts crying by richard yates - loved</li><li>winter by ali smith - absolutely quirky and loved</li><li>say nothing: a true story of murder and memory in northern ireland by patrick radden keefe - very interesting</li><li>red pill by hari kunzru - quirky</li><li>quicksand by malin persson giolito - sadly, while the series on netflix is exceptionally good, the book is written like an average YA - big disappointment</li><li>sach kahun toh by neena gupta - a must read</li><li>indubala bhaater hotel by kallol lahiri - outstanding </li><li>1232 kms: the long journey home by vinod kapri - gut wrenching, shows how priviledged we are each day of our lives!</li><li>the first phone call from heaven by mitch albom - heart touching</li><li>regrets none by dolly thakore - must read and a trip down nostalgia lane</li><li>brief answers to the big questions by stephen hawking</li><li>the nutmeg's curse: parabels for a planet in crisis by amitav ghosh - frightening</li><li>if on a winter's night a traveller by italo calvino - quirky</li><li>aparajito by bibhutibhushan bandopadhyay - beautiful classic</li><li>the perfect father: the true story of chris watts by john glatt - heart and gut wrenching</li><li>no regrets: the guilt-free woman's guide to a good life by kaveree bamzai - superb!</li><li>mahabharata unravelled by ami ganatra - veryyyy interesting</li><li>the man who loved books too much by allison hoover bartlett - found too slow unfortunately</li><li>the mammoth book of true crime by colin wilson - absolutely loved and a must if you are a true crime lover, and also of vintage cases that were baffling!</li><li>the beckhams by andrew morton - fun, easy, light and insightful</li></ol></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>- Debolina Raja Debolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79714241127314941.post-37186650448508218992021-07-27T12:04:00.005+05:302021-07-27T12:04:57.120+05:30Reading Hindi and Bangla books this 2021<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLRJFaZFlDj6PVbadsZg_kTbnzZd9ZpqbH1dS60X5Ob7OLrLu8iX62x8ZnLHmJ7L2SgVfl66MsmUohht2ZxaQqP12XQ1JKYFzfb_4onkyJWkjYWRRXT6z2VFamV71rASJ5RctVTvf3mFE/s568/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="568" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLRJFaZFlDj6PVbadsZg_kTbnzZd9ZpqbH1dS60X5Ob7OLrLu8iX62x8ZnLHmJ7L2SgVfl66MsmUohht2ZxaQqP12XQ1JKYFzfb_4onkyJWkjYWRRXT6z2VFamV71rASJ5RctVTvf3mFE/w400-h368/Capture.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><i><a href="https://www.instagram.com/debolinaraja/?hl=en" target="_blank">@DebolinaRaja</a></i></div><div><br /></div><div>Being a Delhiite, I have always loved the feel of the Hindi word. For me, Hindi has a kind of lilting beauty, a lyrical language that has its own music, a beautiful mix of sounds and emotions that evoke a sense of home in me.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hindi has always been my language, even though I have always only studied in English medium schools, have always had English as a main language. And even though I have been born to parents whose main language is Bangla, or Bengali, I have always been more comfortable in Hindi than I am in Bangla.</div><div><br /></div><div>Since I can read and write, as well as understand both Hindi and Bangla, and of course English, it only made sense to me that I discover more gems in these original languages, instead of me trying to read these works in translated English versions. </div><div><br /></div><div>So, starting last year and continuing this year, I am definitely reading a lot of Hindi and Bangla books, and absolutely enjoying them too! Friends and family have been giving me some amazing recommendations, so that is helping a lot.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also, as far as reading English books is concerned, I do talk about books (amongst other things) on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmhh1BVLe2x9BlbxkcPmlIw" target="_blank">my YouTube channel</a>, and I have been fortunate to have some amazing recommendations from my wonderful YouTube friends from around the world. So if you are interested, you can definitely check that out too. </div><div><br /></div><div>Right now, I am reading quite a few books at the same time:</div><div>Chaudah Phere by Shivani - Hindi</div><div>An Unofficial Rose by Iris Murdoch - English</div><div>Private Life of the Mughals of India by R. Nath - English</div><div>Tumhaarey Baarey Mein by Manav Kaul - Hindi</div><div><br /></div><div>Absolutely stunning books all of the above. Let me know if you have read any of these, or plan to, and do let me know which books you are reading now, and some interesting recommendations too!</div><div><br /></div><div>Have a wonderful day and happy reading :) </div><div><br /></div>- Debolina Raja Debolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79714241127314941.post-19778579825165020362021-02-02T15:22:00.002+05:302021-02-02T15:22:19.916+05:30All the books I read in 2020: 103 books !!!! #Goodreads <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIZc-4O-H5MmFrH198ZmB7nvemZxhz_ZUi-6FGhjGVqztLru_xl79qdsoxzt7lu8io3l3Srg8DgHlSEzhtL9mbOAGEKYn3XVfMcHaXeg1bb3gQhtOnGmaV5U7yXpS7zsocUbSfcVila0g/s776/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="776" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIZc-4O-H5MmFrH198ZmB7nvemZxhz_ZUi-6FGhjGVqztLru_xl79qdsoxzt7lu8io3l3Srg8DgHlSEzhtL9mbOAGEKYn3XVfMcHaXeg1bb3gQhtOnGmaV5U7yXpS7zsocUbSfcVila0g/w640-h370/Capture.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Hello you all, and hope everyone is having a good time reading and enjoying books of choice.</div><div><br /></div><div>I had a great year last year in 2020. If nothing else, then it was surely a very good year for me in terms of the books I read, as well as how many books I read.</div><div><br /></div><div>After being on the Goodreads Reading Challenge for so long (I have been doing this since 2011!!!), I finally decided to take a break from putting myself up to a reading challenge this year. Instead, as I said earlier, and also in my video here, I want to read at my own pace, without thinking of how many books I am finishing.</div><div><br /></div><div>For now, here are all the books I read in the year 2020. I will add a word or two next to each book which will give you an idea of whether or not I liked the book, and I hope this can help you choose a few books for your upcoming reads. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here goes...</div><div><br /></div><div><i>I am sharing the images as well as the list in the end. I am not sure that the images will correspond with the numbers, so please excuse that. This is just for your ease, as you can choose to check the images or read the list, or both :) </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>The books in list format:</div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>shera satyajit by satyajit ray - loved </li><li>the most beautiful walk in the world by john baxter - beautiful</li><li>trigger mortis (ian fleming) by anthony horowitz - loved it, favourite author</li><li>bombay brides by esther david - nice</li><li>freedom by amnesty international - beautiful </li><li>a year in provence by peter mayle - beautiful</li><li>more bloody horowitz by anthony horowitz - loved it, favourite author</li><li>the rule of four by ian caldwell - okay</li><li>in true blood by truman capote - interesting</li><li>what the dog saw by malcolm gladwell - okay</li><li>austerlitz by w g sebald - disturbing</li><li>bottle of lies by katherine eban - interesting</li><li>kohinoor by william dalrymple - loved it fav author</li><li>the matchbox by ashapurna devi - nice</li><li>an era of darkness by shashi tharoor - loved it, favourite author</li><li>cilka's journey by heather morris - disturbing</li><li>the life of a stupid man by ryunosuke akutagawa - interesting</li><li>made in india by milind soman - of course loved it and very interesting because of the many aspects he talks about</li><li>chokher bali by rabindranath tagore - nice</li><li>kane and abel by jeffrey archer - re-read</li><li>schindler's list by thomas keneally - nice</li><li>the color purple by alice walker - very nice</li><li>lagom by niki brantmark - must read</li><li>lagom by linea dunne - must read</li><li>all the bright places by jennifer niven - beautiful</li><li>imaginary friend by stephen chbosky - okay</li><li>executive orders by tom clancey - okay</li><li>a beautiful mind by sylvia nassar - beautiful</li><li>blue shoes and happiness by alexander mccall smith - loved it, favourite author</li><li>carter beats the devil by glen david gold - very interesting</li><li>the anarchy by william dalrymple - loved it, favourite author</li><li>the goldfinch by donna tart - re-read, loved it, favourite author</li><li>ninety seven poems by terribly tiny tales - very cool</li><li>caste matters by suraj yengde- nice</li><li>humble pi by matte parker - super interesting</li><li>fried green tomatoes at the whistle stop cafe by fannie flag - warm</li><li>the king's general by daphne du maurier - nice</li><li>the gargoyle by andrew davidson - re-read</li><li>becoming by michelle obama - must read</li><li>the lives of others by neel mukherjee - nope!</li><li>chanakya and the art of getting rich by radhakrishnan pillai - interesting</li><li>true history of the kelly gang by peter carey - nice</li><li>the orphan master's son by adam johnson - interesting</li><li>to kill a mockingbird by harper lee - re-read</li><li>mrs dalloway by virginia woolf - re-read</li><li>the tenant of wildfell hall by anne bronte - loved it, favourite author</li><li>two lives by vikram seth - loved it</li><li>the hate you give by angie thomas - nope!</li><li>the trial by franz kafka - interesting</li><li>you by caroline kepnes - nope!</li><li>aristotle and dante discover the secrets of the universe by benjamin salire anez - okay</li><li>my dark vanessa by kate elizabeth russell - must read</li><li>animal farm by george orwell - must read</li><li>buried lies by kristina ohlsson - okay</li><li>the flood by kristina ohlsson - okay</li><li>satyajit ray on cinema by satyajit ray - interesting</li><li>the handmaid's tale by margaret atwood - loved it, favourite author</li><li>playlist for the dead by michelle falkoff - okay</li><li>i am not your negro by james baldwin - very interesting</li><li>sadie by courtnie summers - nope!</li><li>they both die at the end by adam silvera - okay</li><li>a good girl's guide to murder by holly jackson - nope!</li><li>the nightingale by kristin hannah - nope!</li><li>girl woman other by bernardine evaristo - must read</li><li>gordon ramsay humble pie - loved it</li><li>aami robi thakurer bou by ranjan bandopadhyay - very interesting</li><li>kitchen confidential by anthony bourdain - very interesting</li><li>the carpet weaver by nemat sadat - okay</li><li>on earth we're briefly gorgeous by ocean yvong - okay</li><li>giovanni's room by james baldwin - must read</li><li>the killing joke by anthony horowitz - loved it, favourite author</li><li>the pearl by john steinbeck - loved it</li><li>sweet bean paste by durian sukegawa - okay</li><li>elizabeth is missing by emma healey - loved it</li><li>magpie murders by anthony horowitz - loved it, favourite author</li><li>moonflower murders by anthony horowitz - loved it, favourite author</li><li>one amazing thing by chitra banerjee divakaruni - nope!</li><li>the host by stephenie meyer - nope!</li><li>the everything store jeff bezos and the age of amazon by brad stone - interesting</li><li>the edible woman by margaret atwood - loved it, favourite author</li><li>men without women by ernest hemingway - nice</li><li>the time keeper by mitch albom - loved it, favourite author</li><li>meyebela by tasleema nasreen - loved it</li><li>the guernsey literary and potato peel pie society by mary ann staffer - loved it</li><li>my girlhood by tasleema nasreen - loved it</li><li>the golden house by salman rushdie - interesting</li><li>big little lies by lianne moriarty - interesting</li><li>born a crime by trevor noah - very interesting</li><li>poskem by wendell rodricks - interesting</li><li>nine perfect strangers by lianne moriarty - nope!</li><li>the sea the sea by iris murdoch - loved it</li><li>we the living by ayn rand - interesting</li><li>silence by erling kagge - must read</li><li>the harem within by fatima mernissi - okay</li><li>dark matter by blake crouch - okay</li><li>ikigai - okay</li><li>the accusation by bandi - interesting</li><li>sula by toni morrison - loved it, favourite author</li><li>metamorphosis by franz kafka - interesting</li><li>expensive people by joyce carol oats - interesting</li><li>hillbilly elegy by j d vance - loved it</li><li>rup marich rahasya by shirshendu mukhopadhyay - nope!</li></ol></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The books in image format:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUwvN_qZTEGbwQIdbdZ8_CyTY7S4H9tcYK9VDuDjhe53K4AV0HRUaG-oHPWPotVsrpf1OEgdhqhkQ1yk7IL773nAJbk7LE4ex3RUWENDUbfBgzfH2EDeIK5Prbs_4uDQHDC_VPDAsUrtc/s660/Capture1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="493" data-original-width="660" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUwvN_qZTEGbwQIdbdZ8_CyTY7S4H9tcYK9VDuDjhe53K4AV0HRUaG-oHPWPotVsrpf1OEgdhqhkQ1yk7IL773nAJbk7LE4ex3RUWENDUbfBgzfH2EDeIK5Prbs_4uDQHDC_VPDAsUrtc/w640-h478/Capture1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZlQPSD7GCyLPt4pbNsDB_L2ThVEJzEwli_tmn-NPniqqcjssh7RCNdd-oPL19qOcAHOmR0tEfanJEATjObKz8YioxbO6iVxGodc73qmOi5QS_NpZMkNfk7q4wW1n69Y_q0ZRPO2v1wUc/s671/Capture2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="671" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZlQPSD7GCyLPt4pbNsDB_L2ThVEJzEwli_tmn-NPniqqcjssh7RCNdd-oPL19qOcAHOmR0tEfanJEATjObKz8YioxbO6iVxGodc73qmOi5QS_NpZMkNfk7q4wW1n69Y_q0ZRPO2v1wUc/w640-h514/Capture2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh82OyWCbobU8XIW-872238V2Boe00x5xodrwJ3eYQJ36dbySPc2NwNWO7KK-ruFa-M9GO2Kgg_oT2XjBtovCGOFWzAswIu68RgMGLnNGrkpQJrD-H3Dzx-wAo1qP3IORU0KK0JYAN51UM/s657/Capture3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="657" height="532" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh82OyWCbobU8XIW-872238V2Boe00x5xodrwJ3eYQJ36dbySPc2NwNWO7KK-ruFa-M9GO2Kgg_oT2XjBtovCGOFWzAswIu68RgMGLnNGrkpQJrD-H3Dzx-wAo1qP3IORU0KK0JYAN51UM/w640-h532/Capture3.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIliqySbDqYgL8bo74io6dyTCGevClxmis6Imgtcu4BRH6Vss9-P-AKwx6ajrBvXI9X2Au6XXHaC1-PrhyQE_MIcJKpqUm2ywdPcjfrMueWS44hIT8H1ADqCPCmoDp7eqbw4iV4iARC4/s632/Capture4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="632" height="544" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIliqySbDqYgL8bo74io6dyTCGevClxmis6Imgtcu4BRH6Vss9-P-AKwx6ajrBvXI9X2Au6XXHaC1-PrhyQE_MIcJKpqUm2ywdPcjfrMueWS44hIT8H1ADqCPCmoDp7eqbw4iV4iARC4/w640-h544/Capture4.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMa1MMsXI1uBGBxayfsZDREyDSZPDULvgaQaQz5aXIlO6X73Zp151X3z6RzCaor0I8eLBZgPmq7Rydfea8_vxHzeT-FYIqblH9VWvqEqi9f32Zmo4NEXC9d7eIrCnAjnVB2uuZu30lFZw/s652/Capture5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="652" height="534" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMa1MMsXI1uBGBxayfsZDREyDSZPDULvgaQaQz5aXIlO6X73Zp151X3z6RzCaor0I8eLBZgPmq7Rydfea8_vxHzeT-FYIqblH9VWvqEqi9f32Zmo4NEXC9d7eIrCnAjnVB2uuZu30lFZw/w640-h534/Capture5.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGpJk9LKRqRTPfnk1WwzORVYTvkZTCP1UrQ7rceAItZYpsjZJY56tVg6sksgp3rET7v3NNgipUB6CVhSdKtZrfSqZu0sDxE8d7if11r5u60G3EK1WD0Tgz2Q70UTgRhhSJTs5HFXDDSI/s640/Capture6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="640" height="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGpJk9LKRqRTPfnk1WwzORVYTvkZTCP1UrQ7rceAItZYpsjZJY56tVg6sksgp3rET7v3NNgipUB6CVhSdKtZrfSqZu0sDxE8d7if11r5u60G3EK1WD0Tgz2Q70UTgRhhSJTs5HFXDDSI/w640-h540/Capture6.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKljqfti1IkWWVN89khXzNO-JCKbB-XS8XTmPvwXx2iCG1LoXX5n0BUaxRPrQZ48lJC_QIyulG-OkmnVAUrLgC8rbaoe-G1ApdJVxTFer0kfE0MkKjaeHNnmV7-s7XZ8ymDSzp-DbcORE/s628/Capture7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="628" height="564" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKljqfti1IkWWVN89khXzNO-JCKbB-XS8XTmPvwXx2iCG1LoXX5n0BUaxRPrQZ48lJC_QIyulG-OkmnVAUrLgC8rbaoe-G1ApdJVxTFer0kfE0MkKjaeHNnmV7-s7XZ8ymDSzp-DbcORE/w640-h564/Capture7.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-A-xPrOvH5_FmDWR5d1dGTSratiYTvhE04AQN8BLxsd6TIp2W9mCO9jv2vLJLwayrAk2j6ZFuo02jhLoItqSs0jZzK5Xx1Rk8YegeHDuxyioTWjDD8fbPnzoGhutLr3fQebix2JU3ogE/s413/Capture8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="413" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-A-xPrOvH5_FmDWR5d1dGTSratiYTvhE04AQN8BLxsd6TIp2W9mCO9jv2vLJLwayrAk2j6ZFuo02jhLoItqSs0jZzK5Xx1Rk8YegeHDuxyioTWjDD8fbPnzoGhutLr3fQebix2JU3ogE/w640-h282/Capture8.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>- Debolina Raja Debolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79714241127314941.post-46960117242829668712021-01-07T14:01:00.000+05:302021-01-07T14:01:02.265+05:30Why I Am Taking A Break from the Goodreads Reading Challenge in 2021<div>A very veryyy Happy New Year everyone :) </div><div><br /></div><div>I hope you all have a happy, healthy and book-full year this time :) </div><div><br /></div><div>As for me, I managed to read 103 books in 2021...the highest I have read in a single year since I started taking the Goodreads Challenge in 2012. I usually read about a 100 books, but managed to wrap up 2020 with 103 books completed. Not bad, right? </div><div><br /></div><div>But as we begin 2021, I am taking a break from the Goodreads Reading Challenge, not from reading, mind you! If you are wondering why, you can find out a bit more about it <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYTzjoB9Q70" target="_blank">here on my video</a> :) </div><div><br /></div><div>Today is the 07th of January 2021 and I am on the 2nd book. But let me already tell you that this will take a longggg time for me to finish, as I am reading a bengali book titled Shaatkahon by the author Samaresh Majumdar.</div><div><br /></div><div>I can read and write Bengali, but it takes me a lottttt of time to read the bengali script and to understand as well, hence the extra time that it takes. But I am loving the book, and even though it is huge, heavy, more than 700 pages long and a tall book, plus in small font, you can very well imagine the time it will most likely take me to read it. But I am already immersed in the story and am living with the characters and loving or detesting or not liking them, given how many interesting people there are :) </div><div><br /></div><div>So for now, this is the update. I have been missing in action for quite a while now, but this year will be back more regularly, or at least try to. </div><div><br /></div><div>Also, I will very soon share a list of all the books that I read in my 2020 Goodreads Reading Challenge. </div><div><br /></div><div>Keep reading and stay happy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lots of love, hugs and positive vibes</div><div>Debo </div><div><br /></div>- Debolina Raja Debolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79714241127314941.post-62806045824898249512020-10-10T13:08:00.006+05:302020-10-10T13:10:13.719+05:30The Pearl by John Steinbeck: Review and Thoughts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6kzPxYKGRmjALJLiFpx1qMMqmOSKyAd3_hig0Ar9aAJF4xOHT5CcD-G_hN96cP4ADWp4AN2OGpVIRBJj1A4_CfbyteaDjURAiyfYn6gRgfhKH9Dbmcipx6ZfmNt_fPAAqm6DMhS9eD5g/s2048/20201010_122813.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1651" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6kzPxYKGRmjALJLiFpx1qMMqmOSKyAd3_hig0Ar9aAJF4xOHT5CcD-G_hN96cP4ADWp4AN2OGpVIRBJj1A4_CfbyteaDjURAiyfYn6gRgfhKH9Dbmcipx6ZfmNt_fPAAqm6DMhS9eD5g/w516-h640/20201010_122813.jpg" width="516" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>This masterpiece by John Steinbeck I picked up on my recent trip to the old and used book market at Fort, Mumbai.</div><div><br /></div><div>This was a much-needed outing, as it has been months that I stepped out of the house and went somewhere, especially to buy books. For me, there is really no joy in buying books online - you just can't get the feel of holding the book and feeling it call out to you. But that was the only safe way to go about it, once the deliveries began.</div><div><br /></div><div>So coming back to the book I wanted to share about today, let's get a few more details:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The story</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>The story of The Pearl (1947) revolves around the main protagonist Kino, an extremely poor pearl diver in a beach village in Mexico. Kino lives on the beach with his wife and baby son. They are part of the 'outside' beings of the city, looked down upon when they are not altogether invisible to the richer and higher class of society. </div><div><br /></div><div>While there is desperation and massive poverty, life goes on for Kino and his family, till the baby comes in urgent need of medical care. There is no money to pay the doctor, who will not provide any of his medical assistance unless he is sure of a good amount of money in return. Kino being of the lowest order in the social class stands no chance, and must find a way to provide for the medical care.</div><div><br /></div><div>On a desperate mission to find something precious that can give him some money to help his baby son, Kino dives in search of pearls, and comes up with 'The Pearl of the World', a pearl so huge that no one seems to ever have seen or heard of.</div><div><br /></div><div>Things will surely go well now, and Kino and his family's future will be safe, happy and no more in need. But can that really happen?</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwnWwZHsKJ_nRZ5jSTmlrF44oL97u3Yf6rhK1yI66wBlkRpNaYWY6gTnk3HwYEo_2Gu7Ypy5XX2NTjuAfQlu1vJFMU3NiXkB2Yqisz9VTRIiidFyGwyjrkuG1MoFARmnh8IyQfPfkRxDc/s2048/20201010_130128.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1823" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwnWwZHsKJ_nRZ5jSTmlrF44oL97u3Yf6rhK1yI66wBlkRpNaYWY6gTnk3HwYEo_2Gu7Ypy5XX2NTjuAfQlu1vJFMU3NiXkB2Yqisz9VTRIiidFyGwyjrkuG1MoFARmnh8IyQfPfkRxDc/w570-h640/20201010_130128.jpg" width="570" /></a></div><br /><div><i>The beauty of buying old loved books is that I always find something interesting, beside the book! This copy is full of such notes in the margins and through the text, which gave a lot of insight into who was reading it earlier :) </i></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Themes </b></div><div><br /></div><div>There are lots of themes in this short story by James Steinbeck. One of the main theme that goes on through the story is that of the <b>wide disparity between the classes</b>. </div><div><br /></div><div>For the higher classes, the lower ones are invisible, not really to be counted as humans. They need to be out of sight, not seen around in 'respectable' parts of the city and definitely not come in any form of contact with those of the higher, richer, priviledged classes.</div><div><br /></div><div>For the lower class, people from the higher classes have an almost god-like existence. They are humans, but in some way they are not really real, they belong to that level of respect and richness and class that can only be dreamt about, not really achieved.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Greed</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Greed is another theme that runs through the story with a destructive force. Greed for the pearl, greed for what all it entails and can help you achieve, greed that gives birth to suspicion, anger, violence, hatred, fear and a lot of negativity that many of the characters had not really displayed earlier. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Oppression and distrust of native/foreign cultures</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Natives or those from foreign cultures are seen with distrusting eyes. People are wary of what they are not familiar with, and there are many feelings this gives rise to, causing many shifts and imbalance in society.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>The importance of family</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Right from the start of the story, the author talks about the importance of family and how it can help shape your day and life. The feeling of stability and safety of family, the safety net of being with your own and the confidence and strength it gives the story's protagonists is stressed upon multiple times through the story.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Role of power</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Class and power constantly appear in the story. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The book</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWWTJA9_zPNhQTLuxUFI776qJTUPsqeymABfAJdb8Ipqpnx6r4U5REh-8HViLDjLzZ9BHLkq0CdYhA_qI1t4a-hEVTVVWxiRa_gp8N3kf7JjG7YCWw6cJ2-6KmrWGOggx0h3mUNi6CnkM/s2048/20201010_130144.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1853" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWWTJA9_zPNhQTLuxUFI776qJTUPsqeymABfAJdb8Ipqpnx6r4U5REh-8HViLDjLzZ9BHLkq0CdYhA_qI1t4a-hEVTVVWxiRa_gp8N3kf7JjG7YCWw6cJ2-6KmrWGOggx0h3mUNi6CnkM/w580-h640/20201010_130144.jpg" width="580" /></a></div><br /><i>Gorgeous illustrations throughout the book </i></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>This is a short story, with barely 119 pages, some of which are entirely illustrations. You can easily finish it in one quick sitting. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>A little about the author :)</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>John Steinbeck's works are known for their very own style, which involves a keen look at society and very strong observation. Also, most of his works focus a lot on the entire ambience and give a detailed description of the surrounding, the people and the mood, making it easier for the reader to feel a part of the story.</div><div><br /></div><div>Born in America, he is a known name in Western classics. I first heard of his works when I was reading a review about one of his major works, The East of Eden, which I have, but sadly and unfortunately have yet to read. </div><div><br /></div><div>He won the Pulitzer Prize for his masterpiece The Grapes of Wrath that was published in the year 1939, as well as the Nobel Prize in Literature in the year 1962. </div><div><br /></div>- Debolina Raja Debolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79714241127314941.post-86936914276750604332020-09-28T10:00:00.025+05:302020-09-28T10:00:04.027+05:30The Humble Pie My Autobiography by Gordon Ramsay: First Page Mondays<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwm_goip5MMsv_o0EUmoISE6o1By-G8Hv3aZuKuDphiY0dyDsM1ZM1nhuW0cQAnKFa9eSJzxTexiZJeK2_AYEI6oD8eO2jJY40He6CguVvvleTLJVdEpOsi0fkArBF3lQH_H0s85k6fG0/s500/gr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwm_goip5MMsv_o0EUmoISE6o1By-G8Hv3aZuKuDphiY0dyDsM1ZM1nhuW0cQAnKFa9eSJzxTexiZJeK2_AYEI6oD8eO2jJY40He6CguVvvleTLJVdEpOsi0fkArBF3lQH_H0s85k6fG0/s0/gr.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41R+a4mmZ9L.jpg" target="_blank">image source</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>FOREWORD</div><div><br /></div><div>IN MY HAND, I've got a piece of paper. It's Mum's handwriting, and it's a list - a very long list - of all the places we lived until I left home. I look at this list now, and there are just so many of them. My eye moves down the page, trying to take in her spidery scribble, and I soon lose track. These places mean very little to me: it's funny how few of them I can remember. In some cases, I guess that's because we were hardly there for more than five minutes. But in others, it's probably more a case of trying to forget about them as soon as possible. When you're unhappy in a place, you want to forget about it as soon as possible. You don't dwell on the details of a house if you associate it with being afraid, or ashamed, or poor - and as a boy, I was often afraid, ashamed, and always poor.</div><div><br /></div><div> Life was a series of escapades, of moves that always ended badly. The next place was always going to be a better place - a bit of garden, a shiny new front door - the </div><div><br /></div><div>.................................</div><div><br /></div><div>- Debolina Raja </div><div><br /></div><br />Debolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79714241127314941.post-17548617225957046542020-09-21T10:00:00.001+05:302020-09-21T10:00:12.860+05:30On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong: First Page Mondays<div>I</div><div><br /></div><div>Let me begin again.</div><div> </div><div> Dear Ma,</div><div> I am writing to reach you - even if each word I put down is one word further from where you are. I am writing to go back to the time, at the rest stop in Virginia, when you stared, horror-struck, at the taxidermy buck hung over the soda machine by the restrooms, its antlers shadowing your face. In the car, you kept shaking your head. "I don't understand why they would do that. Can't they see it's a corpse? A corpse should go away, not get stuck forever like that."</div><div><br /></div><div> I think now of that buck, how you stared back into its black glass eyes and saw your reflection, your whole body, warped in that lifeless mirror. How it was not the grotesque mounting of a decapitated animal that shook you - but that the taxidermy embodied a death that won't finish, a death that keeps dying as we walk past it to relieve ourselves.</div><div><br /></div>- Debolina Raja Debolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79714241127314941.post-84338289093541269582020-09-18T16:04:00.007+05:302020-09-18T16:06:34.522+05:30Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin: Review and My Thoughts on the Sexual, Homophobic Issues, Racism, Class Divide and More<div class="separator"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPgG1NlYI1QvULSpnMLI9PBz4f5pVeiRq3wU_NUtSAyUHtD-923xcXLhfXe7LRuNAd37ihxzR1HZ-_h0BDNtRkRAaNBuQ3rlDY77e5_OxkhMqu4MRhg_S0AQ6PTXq6nzPfYgQfaQjPi1Y/s2048/20200918_150423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1448" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPgG1NlYI1QvULSpnMLI9PBz4f5pVeiRq3wU_NUtSAyUHtD-923xcXLhfXe7LRuNAd37ihxzR1HZ-_h0BDNtRkRAaNBuQ3rlDY77e5_OxkhMqu4MRhg_S0AQ6PTXq6nzPfYgQfaQjPi1Y/w452-h640/20200918_150423.jpg" width="452" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>My love for reading classics began during my Bachelor's Course in English Literature, when I was introduced to these beauties.</div><div><br /></div><div>I have loads and loads of classics that I pick up now and then and read and re-read, but somehow, I have never really read anything by James Baldwin till recently, and I am quite surprised how I ended up missing such good work!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0vq0m94-dIVsSD14XQd-NPyn2DFN4CjvuRVVMRPIjpZdPplYUyB572AK8xSNkxLW_6Yvcw4oUDon-EBmiESrRwyjzNWx1A_yiCvzbgPIY1azp19Msmc3FzPu_LZrjAX8gqtNetv9032k/s2048/20200918_150502.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1852" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0vq0m94-dIVsSD14XQd-NPyn2DFN4CjvuRVVMRPIjpZdPplYUyB572AK8xSNkxLW_6Yvcw4oUDon-EBmiESrRwyjzNWx1A_yiCvzbgPIY1azp19Msmc3FzPu_LZrjAX8gqtNetv9032k/w361-h400/20200918_150502.jpg" width="361" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>What the book cover says:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>Love can be dishonest</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>When David meets the sensual Giovanni in a bohemian bar, he is swept into a passionate love affair. But his girlfriend's return to Paris destroys everything. Unable to admit to the truth, David pretends the liaison never happened - while Giovanni's life descends into tragedy.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>There are essentially two protagonists - David and Giovanni.</div><div><br /></div><div>But you can very well call 'love' as the third protagonist here, because it is love in its myriad forms and shades that plays the most crucial role in the entire panning out of the story.</div><div><br /></div><div>Love can be sensual, sudden, life threatening, dooming, uplifting, inspiring, crazy, beautiful, threatening, safe, tragic and simply take up all your life, metaphorically as well as literally. Which is exactly how these protagonists deal with it.</div><div><br /></div><div>The beauty of this book is not only in the story that pans out, but in the setting, in the details that the author brings to us as if through a magnifying glass, looking in on all the details, from the tiniest spot on the wall to the more visible signs and happenings around.</div><div><br /></div><div>The title 'Giovanni's Room' can be misleading if you think that the story takes place in a room and that is where it lives and ends. The story actually takes you places, across continents, literally as well as through thoughts, memories, nostalgia and sights, smells and sounds. It takes you travelling through various parts of Paris and France, through back alleys, streets, pubs and clubs, diners, cafes, marketplaces, homes, neighbourhoods and all those places you may or may not visit for real, but will surely visit through James Baldwin's creation.</div><div><br /></div><div>What pulled me into the book is definitely the pathos and the strength that love displays here, the pull, magical and at the same time deadly. But what kept me glued inside the book was the fact that I could actually see myself inside the story, standing right next to one of the protagonists as he stands next to a window and looks out, reminiscing, describing, thinking, missing.</div><div><br /></div><div>I took a swig out of their wine glass when they did, I could see myself laying down on the bed next to them as they tried to make space by moving away the books and getting some space to themselves, I was right there next to them at the bar counter and at the dining room table, looking out as they played out their love, their anger, their dreams, I was right there. </div><div><br /></div><div>The book is magical and mesmerizing, and if you read it, you can never forget the protagonists or the feelings they went through. </div><div><br /></div><div>The book is really very tiny, with just 150 pages, and you can easily finish it in one reading, though this one reading may take you a good many hours. Why? Because it is not a casual read, but one of those intense works that will pull you in the lives and times and the ups and downs of the characters, and take you through each and every emotion they felt - a lot to give to a book, but something that makes it even more worth it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Like I said, even though it is a mere 150 pages, you will live a lifetime through this book. Give it your time.</div><div><br /></div><div>A few books before this one I finished reading I Am Not Your Negro, again by James Baldwin. What can I say, I am appalled at how I missed out on his works till now! </div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs7yDYY5HYpomF7U-ucaoLck30x1mJiqaarnKhLw9jaCRj1rN3AmV-7Li9hdgUDyBC6BSbE8TcOCaMpAIplV0KBWvb4qnORhmlLgqi6QheMm9iIezyq3miSXKdR53LepJTmgAsbe__Nv0/s2048/20200918_150512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1725" data-original-width="2048" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs7yDYY5HYpomF7U-ucaoLck30x1mJiqaarnKhLw9jaCRj1rN3AmV-7Li9hdgUDyBC6BSbE8TcOCaMpAIplV0KBWvb4qnORhmlLgqi6QheMm9iIezyq3miSXKdR53LepJTmgAsbe__Nv0/w400-h338/20200918_150512.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj9J7Jj9KWQsPhQyvfNRMXD_h5-ZiNSBSBonGK2Hpvwka1J0KzO_19FguReGuqjwjrR4LMh037vX2SnIiTaUlJiNJKaXnpwe6Zg_VoSN37VA_RyZeO2xPaCjtnukrsaBEK2I9zPg2xRvg/s900/0222-JamesBaldwin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj9J7Jj9KWQsPhQyvfNRMXD_h5-ZiNSBSBonGK2Hpvwka1J0KzO_19FguReGuqjwjrR4LMh037vX2SnIiTaUlJiNJKaXnpwe6Zg_VoSN37VA_RyZeO2xPaCjtnukrsaBEK2I9zPg2xRvg/w400-h266/0222-JamesBaldwin.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.csmonitor.com/csm/2019/02/0222-JamesBaldwin.jpg?alias=standard_900x600" target="_blank">image source</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Author James Baldwin was born on the 2nd of August 1924 in Harlem in New York City. And I feel so cool right now thinking that I got a chance to walk around in those streets and in those neighbourhoods where this genius had been born and had lived. He died in the year 1987 in France, yet another country that I have been lucky enough to explore, and of course fell in love with.</div><div><br /></div><div>He was a novelist, an activist and a playwright, who openly discussed about topics such as racism, sexuality and the problems society brings up, class distinctions and the ensuing issues. His works often also deal with the political pathos as well as touch upon the psychological pressures that not many would openly talk about.</div><div><br /></div><div>The one thing I realized after reading two of James Baldwins' works is that once you read them, they will stay with you, and even though you may not remember everything in detail, you will remember his personal touch on each subject. Imagine being categorized as a Negro/Black and Gay, checkboxes that people like to easily attach to you, without bothering to know you as a person. This is why James Baldwin emigrated to Paris at the age of 24, where he lived till his death.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's a shame that not much has changed even today in terms of racism, homophobia, class divide and so on. Will we ever learn? Who knows. But if you can, do give this book a read. And do try reading other works by James Baldwin as well. </div><div><br /></div><div>- Debolina Raja</div>Debolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79714241127314941.post-47974982821596822152020-09-14T10:30:00.001+05:302020-09-14T10:30:06.130+05:30The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows: First Page Mondays<div>PART ONE</div><div><br /></div><div>Mr Sidney Stark, Publisher</div><div>Stephens & Stark Ltd</div><div>21 St James's Place</div><div>London SW 1</div><div><br /></div><div>8th January 1946</div><div><br /></div><div>Dear Sidney,</div><div><br /></div><div> Susan Scott is a wonder. We sold over forty copies of the book, which was very pleasant, but much more thrilling from my standpoint was the food. Susan managed to get hold of ration coupons for icing sugar and <i>real eggs </i>for the meringue. If all her literary luncheons are going to achieve these heights, I won't mind touring the country. Do you suppose that a lavish bonus could spur her on to butter? Let's try it - you may deduct the money from my royalties.</div><div><br /></div><div> Now for my grim news. You asked me how work on my new book is progressing. Sidney, it isn't. <i>English Foibles </i>seemed so promising at first. After all, one should be able to write reams about the Society to Protest Against the Glorification of the English Bunny. I unearthed a photograph of the Vermin Exterminators' Trade Union, marching down an Oxford street with placards screaming 'Down with Beatrix Potter!' But what is there to write about after a caption? Nothing, that's what.</div><div><br /></div><div> I no longer want to write this book - my head and my heart just aren't in it. Dear as Izzy Bickerstaff is - and was - to me, I don't want to write anything else under that name. I don't want to be considered a light-hearted journalist any more. I do acknowledge that making readers laugh - or at least chuckle - during the war was no mean feat, but I don't want to do it any more. I can't seem to dredge up any sense of proportion or balance these days, and God knows one can't write humour without them.</div><div><br /></div><div> In the meantime, I am very happy that Stephens & Stark is.....</div><div><br /></div>- Debolina Raja Debolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79714241127314941.post-14936831022811314962020-09-07T10:30:00.001+05:302020-09-07T10:30:00.633+05:30First Page Mondays: The Carpet Weaver by Nemat Sadat<div><br /></div><div><i>Part One</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>KABUL</div><div><br /></div><div><i>August 1977 - April 1978</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>I</div><div><br /></div><div>'THE ONE THING I know is that Allah never forgives sodomy,' my godfather Zaki jaan pronounced. This was around ten o'clock, during a brief interlude in the pop musician Akbar Ramish's performance - a gig that Maadar had arranged in honour of my sixteenth birthday.</div><div><br /></div><div> The other men at the table, clothed in heavily starched dress shirts, clinking their glasses and praising Zaki jaan for his provocations. They took long, satisfied swigs of whiskey, paying no heed that Allah also forbade the drinking of alcohol.</div><div><br /></div><div> 'It's immoral, impure, unpardonable and wretched,' he continued. 'And if we let them get their way, then others will find the courage to continue down their path. We can't let any one of our boys become a .....' he paused and uttered in a hushed tone, <i>'kuni.'</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>He slammed his fist on the table, as if to give his point more force, and the subsequent rattle of the plates echoed up into the sweltering air of that August night.</div><div><br /></div><div> Baba, alerted to the sound that set off, looked over to where I stood, between the table that Zaki jaan and the men were seated at and the one where my best friends, Faiz - Zaaki jaan's son - and Maihan and others were. Baba's gaze then travelled across the banquet hall of the Spinzar Hotel, over the glare of.....</div><div><br /></div>- Debolina Raja Debolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79714241127314941.post-38576766979975964732020-08-31T11:00:00.001+05:302020-08-31T11:00:10.011+05:30First Page Mondays: Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa<div><br /></div><div>I</div><div><br /></div><div>A sweetly scented breeze blew along Cherry Blossom Street.</div><div><br /></div><div> Sentaro stood over a hot griddle inside the Doraharu shop, as he did all day everyday, cooking pancakes for his dorayaki. Cherry Blossom Street was a run-down commercial strip in a depressed part of town, a street more notable for empty shops than the cherry trees planted sparsely on either side. Today, however, perhaps because the flowers were in full bloom, there were more people about than usual.</div><div><br /></div><div> Sentaro looked up to see an elderly lady in a white hat standing on the roadside, but immediately turned back to the bowl of batter he was mixing. He assumed she was looking at the billowing cloud of cherry blossom on the tree outside the shop. When he next looked up, however, she was still there. And it wasn't the flowers, but rather Sentaro himself that she seemed to be observing. He nodded automatically in greeting. The woman smiled stiffly and shuffled closer.</div><div><br /></div><div> Sentaro recognized her face. She had been at the shop a few days earlier. </div><div><br /></div><div> 'About this,' she said, raising her hand with a slow, .....</div><div><br /></div><div>- Debolina Raja</div>Debolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79714241127314941.post-91195576370483690342020-08-24T10:00:00.001+05:302020-08-24T10:00:07.650+05:30First Page Mondays: Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin <div><br /></div><div>I</div><div><br /></div><div>I stand at the window of this great house in the south of France as night falls, the night which is leading me to the most terrible morning of my life. I have a drink in my hand, there is a bottle at my elbow. I watch my reflection in the darkening gleam of the window pane. My reflection is tall, perhaps rather like an arrow, my blond hair gleams. My face is like a face you have seen many times. My ancestors conquered a continent, pushing across death-laden plains, until they came to an ocean which faced away from Europe into a darker past.</div><div><br /></div><div> I may be drunk by morning but that will not do any good. I shall take the train to Paris anyway. The train will be the same, the people, struggling for comfort and, even, dignity on the straight-backed, wooden, third-class seats will be the same, and I will be the same. We will ride through the same changing countryside northward, leaving behind the olive trees and the sea and all of the glory of the stormy southern sky, into the mist and rain of Paris. Someone will offer to share a sandwich with me, someone will offer me a sip of wine, someone will ask me for a match. People will be roaming the corridor outside, looking out of windows, looking in at us. At each stop, recruits in their baggy brown uniforms and colored hats will open the compartment door to ask <i>Complet? </i>We will all nod Yes, like conspirators, smiling faintly at each other as they continue through the train. Two or three of them will end up before our compartment door, shouting at each other in their heavy, ribald voices, smoking their dreadful army cigarettes. There will be a girl sitting opposite me who will wonder why I have not been flirting with her, who will be set on edge by the presence of the recruits. It will all be the same, only I will be stiller.</div><div><br /></div><div> And the countryside is still tonight, this countryside reflected through my image in the pane. This house is just outside a small........</div><div><br /></div>- Debolina Raja Debolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79714241127314941.post-40333915680417495072020-08-17T10:00:00.001+05:302020-08-17T10:00:07.323+05:30First Page Mondays: Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6mWoxJj65RrBQ_2aMY0Dt0pEYKtRBnw9A4ahZXL8n3lppn2HWc7Mqn8qoBbrH58sEgYuW-xE1Tk14Q1s8_fbipIJ8Yem4oPVPTMOcCpn7gdpW9-ArhcWpN3atU6e7N-dQ_n3hbF3gOZU/s2048/20200811_184540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6mWoxJj65RrBQ_2aMY0Dt0pEYKtRBnw9A4ahZXL8n3lppn2HWc7Mqn8qoBbrH58sEgYuW-xE1Tk14Q1s8_fbipIJ8Yem4oPVPTMOcCpn7gdpW9-ArhcWpN3atU6e7N-dQ_n3hbF3gOZU/s640/20200811_184540.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>I finished reading this book last week and you can <a href="http://debolinasbooks.blogspot.com/2020/08/playlist-for-dead-by-michelle-falkoff.html" target="_blank">read the review</a> on my previous post if you wish.</div><div><br /></div><div>All my years of watching TV made me think it was possible you could find a dead body and not know it until you turned the person over and found the bullet hole or stab wound or whatever. And I guess in some ways that was right - Hayden was lying under the covers, tangled up in a bunch of his lame-ass Star Wars sheets (how old were we, anyway?), just like he always was when I slept at his home.</div><div><br /></div><div> Hayden had always been a hard sleeper; sometimes I had to practically roll him out of bed to get him to wake up. Which wasn't easy - he was short and kind of round, and while I'm a lot taller, I'm more of a string bean kind of guy, and when he was out cold he was hard to move. When I saw him lying there I sighed, trying to figure out how to incorporate the apology from the night before, the apology I'd come over to give him, with the apology for dumping him out of bed onto the floor.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>And that's it.....the first page of the book...</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div>- Debolina Raja</div>Debolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79714241127314941.post-55690145932349321112020-08-11T19:27:00.003+05:302020-08-11T19:40:40.433+05:30Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff: Review and thoughts on YA books<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnZSOyxLSFhcu1nosgkwQmQUOMnqE2UhukxjrtMNDlW3rcJjNU3LiQGN7K8CUjq-nmfONNL0MCXd2IsPNQsgjX-UJIfIVKVpg36gkY508Sjj2t5SYrtw0g3giN6qjm2Shl81kQSLPkBO0/s2048/20200811_184540.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnZSOyxLSFhcu1nosgkwQmQUOMnqE2UhukxjrtMNDlW3rcJjNU3LiQGN7K8CUjq-nmfONNL0MCXd2IsPNQsgjX-UJIfIVKVpg36gkY508Sjj2t5SYrtw0g3giN6qjm2Shl81kQSLPkBO0/s640/20200811_184540.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>So here I am, holding up a copy of the YA book Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff. </div><div><br /></div><div>There was a time I was massively into YA, even when i was in no way meant to be even near the age group of what is now known as the YA age, which I honestly don't know the details of. Of late, I find most YA books pretty kiddish, and obviously because I have long exceeded any tolerable limits of coming close to the YA age. </div><div><br /></div><div>I am way older, let's admit.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyways, I did not pick this book for myself, but ended up reading it as I had to first read and review it to understand exactly what age group this would be good for, and if this actually can be given to the pre-teen and very young teens. </div><div><br /></div><div>Okay, so I just did a quick search online and here what it describes the YA age group as: 12 to 18 years.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1JAnWeIm-swrZJiLzl71SizZdNB8bkggDRBzeJKqpA8UJJ-n9IeFy7Qrxrdc2TYQ-O58nIeVaMeGtBFvJ4-yimL1Vmdhfc3whtInnnwOOoMMbqm46Ml0ParSj1s6F6vWyvtE5m8Org_4/s703/Capture.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="234" data-original-width="703" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1JAnWeIm-swrZJiLzl71SizZdNB8bkggDRBzeJKqpA8UJJ-n9IeFy7Qrxrdc2TYQ-O58nIeVaMeGtBFvJ4-yimL1Vmdhfc3whtInnnwOOoMMbqm46Ml0ParSj1s6F6vWyvtE5m8Org_4/s640/Capture.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This is honestly quite concerning, as the more I am reading these YA books, the more I realize these are nothing that anyone less than at least 16 years should be reading. </div><div><br /></div><div>I mean, it is one thing to talk about various socially relevant and important topics such as depression, suicide, anxiety, rape, sex and so on, but creating entire books around these topics for kids who are actually just children is somewhat quite disturbing to me. </div><div><br /></div><div>Agreed that most of these books are quite interestingly written and do talk about socially relevant issues, and even things that happen in the real world, but come on.....why push these on kids as young as 11, 12, 13 and so on? </div><div><br /></div><div>Let's got on to this book in question.</div><div><br /></div><div>Take a look at the back cover:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBPvz9ok99tow0OizyIYVl6Nom1sXWbns1kFXjs9miCmeXT5dAXWLmJMA5OLCmCZqRTNGLQupdvpJXzvY4Z_0gcz_JfNhbXZj99PtlRDuDcSDVVvHO1kowkmIsj1tANESECqvRJDwQUaY/s2048/20200811_184551.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBPvz9ok99tow0OizyIYVl6Nom1sXWbns1kFXjs9miCmeXT5dAXWLmJMA5OLCmCZqRTNGLQupdvpJXzvY4Z_0gcz_JfNhbXZj99PtlRDuDcSDVVvHO1kowkmIsj1tANESECqvRJDwQUaY/s640/20200811_184551.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>The cover says:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>For Sam. Listen, and you'll understand....</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>What the back cover says:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><i>This is what Sam knows:</i></div><div><i>There was a party.</i></div><div><i>There was a fight.</i></div><div><i>The next morning his best friend, Hayden, was dead. And all he left Sam was a playlist of songs and a suicide note.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>As he listens to song after song, Sam tries to face up to what happened the night Hayden killed himself. But only when he takes out his earbuds and opens his eyes to the people around him - including a complicated, secretive girl - will he be able to piece together Hayden's story. And maybe have a chance to change his own.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Part mystery, part love story - this is a debut novel about loss, rage and finding hope when hope seems like the hardest thing to find.</i></div><div><br /></div><div>The first thing that came to mind when I picked up the book was that it definitely takes inspiration from another book we have all now come to know about. I read it way before the book got adapted to the series and got even more popular. The book I am talking about is of course Thirteen Reasons Why, where the protagonist kills herself and leaves behind 13 cassette tapes that have all the clues leading to the students who were responsible for her taking her life.</div><div><br /></div><div>While there are differences in this story, Playlist for the Dead, the main theme is the same - a young teen kills himself/herself mainly due to bullying, and leaves behind a trail of hints to find out who (all) is responsible. Also, it looks like a recurring theme that the parents are either too busy to notice, or just unable to understand what is really going on with their kids' lives. Maybe it would be good if these parents did not just hand over such YA books to their kids and instead spent more time with them, in the real life, while they were alive, instead of contemplating what they had done, once the kids killed themselves.</div><div><br /></div><div>In this story, a young kid Hayden kills himself after an unsupervised teen party where he is bullied (which seems to be a norm in the US and is quite disturbing in itself). He is found by his best friend Sam, who then has to find out the responsible ones by listening to a playlist that Hayden left behind for Sam to listen to and understand. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's a nice story and well-written and a nice book, but in no way is it suitable for anyone who is between 12 and 15. </div><div><br /></div><div>There was no YA genre earlier, but even then, kids were reading well. Families who have reading values have always taught the same by example and always will. We don't really need publishing houses to come up with such ridiculous titles to sell these adult-ish books to young kids and teens. It's disturbing that at an age when kids should be reading more positive, happy, cheerful and inspiring content, they are instead being fed such negative and dark content, just because they are marked YA and are being sold in this category so that the publishers and authors can make more sales and more money.</div><div><br /></div><div>However, I did love reading the Hunger Games and Divergent series and thought they were quite interesting, with their talk about confidence and positivity and survival and fighting it out and so on. </div><div><br /></div><div>If you are a real adult and a real grown-up, not a 15 or 16 year old who pretends to be or thinks of themselves as a grown up, then you can definitely give this book a try.</div><div><br /></div><div>And also, it is perfectly fine to give this a miss by the way. You won't really miss anything.</div><div><br /></div><div>All said and done, it's sad that these themes seem to be a trend and are taking over the otherwise good content. </div><div><br /></div><div>If you have read this, do let me know your thoughts. </div><div><br /></div><div>And if you too feel the same way about the way YA books are being brandished purely to make more money, do share in the comments here.</div><div><br /></div>- Debolina Raja Debolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79714241127314941.post-57059210943819591162020-04-11T12:54:00.000+05:302020-04-11T12:56:15.725+05:30Re-reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt: Lockdown Reading List<br />
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<i>Please don't mind my messy work desk, it's full of books and more books and journals and wires (the only thing I hate), notebooks, pens and more. </i><br />
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Earlier on in the blog and on my other social media channels I had shared that I was trying to do a no-buy this year, especially for books.<br />
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While I do have a lot of interesting books that I have never read and that are waiting for me to read them for the first time, there are of course some amazing ones that need to be re-read (by me at least).<br />
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The book I am currently reading again, in fact just started yesterday, is <b>The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. </b><br />
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The book came out in the year 2013, I read it in 2014, then sometime again but I don't remember when, and am now reading again now in 2020. The movie adaptation also came out in the year 2019, but I did not get a chance to watch the movie, will try though.<br />
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If you are interested to read it, I am sure it will be on some reading channels in case you don't have the book in a physical form, you can check out the cover jacket here:<br />
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The Interational Bestseller<br />
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'A modern epic and an old-fashioned pilgrimage, a nimble thrill-seek and a heavyweight masterpiece' - <i>The Times</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Aged thirteen, Theo Decker, son of a devoted mother and a reckless, largely absent father, miraculously survives an accident that otherwise tears his life apart. Alone and rudderless in New York, he is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. He is bewildered by his new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don't know how to talk to him, tormented by an unbearable longing for his mother, and down the years he clings to the thing that most reminds him of her: a small, strangely captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the criminal underworld.<br />
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As he grows up, Theo learns to glide between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty labyrinth of an antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love - and his talisman, the painting, places him at the centre of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.<br />
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<i>The Goldfinch </i>is a haunted odyssey through present day America and a drama of enthralling power. Combining unforgettably vivid characters and thrilling suspense, it is a beautiful, addictive triumph - a sweeping story of loss and obsession, of survival and self-invention, of the deepest mysteries of love, identity and fate.<br />
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It's a beautiful big book, just the way I love, all of 771 pages long, and I'm absolutely enjoying re-reading it again :)<br />
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If you are reading something as well, do let me know the name of the author and the book and I will try and read it too!<br />
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Take care, stay indoors, stay safe.<br />
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- Debolina Raja<br />
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<br />Debolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79714241127314941.post-558982816451332862020-04-03T10:21:00.001+05:302020-04-03T10:21:29.226+05:30Midnight Sun by Faiz Yusuf: What To Read Online During the Lockdown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5wiMskhmXUH9UIhqJfr1mKfzzSEGiUs5PT3zC0xHXoAN_1RPVD_NFHKcLjqXVWdWLBYyrJ9uA56UQmLrl5mbAWuzXHO0j_zL9UKeR5co7MSwO-_gti06OQUBrgB0ZN9vmicVpuV8ZxmM/s1600/Front+and+Back+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1147" data-original-width="1600" height="457" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5wiMskhmXUH9UIhqJfr1mKfzzSEGiUs5PT3zC0xHXoAN_1RPVD_NFHKcLjqXVWdWLBYyrJ9uA56UQmLrl5mbAWuzXHO0j_zL9UKeR5co7MSwO-_gti06OQUBrgB0ZN9vmicVpuV8ZxmM/s640/Front+and+Back+Cover.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yes, I know that I am on a no-buy for books this year, and I am not buying any books this year (unless I end up finishing all the books I already have with me first).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Last week I was contacted by this young author Faiz Yusuf whose book <b>Midnight Sun </b>is coming up soon. I have featured the book cover here, and already the blues and the whites are giving me a feeling of calm and serenity. I love going through poetry on and off, and I can tell you that if it was not for the condition I have put up for myself, I would have gone ahead and bought the book myself. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There are about 32 poems in the book. What I loved about the style of poetry is that while they may seem quite easy to understand, you can also read through them to delve into the deeper meaning.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As with most poetry, Faiz also gives you the chance to interpret the poems as you wish, and to add your own stories, memories and thoughts to the words he has shared. I think when a poem or piece of writing can do that for you, it instantly makes a connect. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The book is a collection of feelings, of experiences that the young author has gone through in his own life, of experiences he knows most of us have already gone through as we metamorphose from one phase to the next, feelings we move in and out of in our every day routine. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The author Faiz Yusuf has very sweetly offered to share a copy of the book with me, but as of now, I have asked him to hold on to that, purely because of the social distancing because of which I am not allowing anything new to enter the house. But the best part is that you can also download an E-book version if you are not able to get the physical copy of the book immediately.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The book is published by Emerald Publishers. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Take a look at the trailer for the book here:</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVMGp_Ep9i8&authuser=0" target="_blank">Book Trailer</a></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqmeLCqFhf62ct2igb-svZT8_7jBr_RDRdtwEDC0Vo16ayEVsaU0okFPEBCtFIw3Njabw5GZVJzKMTUewi5eTrNTmqnLtNUwL0ZvBIperSND0IoknULcNV01LRhdm5R_YQPsYqbjnXjAo/s1600/Faiz+Picture+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="588" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqmeLCqFhf62ct2igb-svZT8_7jBr_RDRdtwEDC0Vo16ayEVsaU0okFPEBCtFIw3Njabw5GZVJzKMTUewi5eTrNTmqnLtNUwL0ZvBIperSND0IoknULcNV01LRhdm5R_YQPsYqbjnXjAo/s320/Faiz+Picture+2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">About the author:</span></b><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: white;">Three-time published author of <i>The Farrago</i>, <i>Pictures of Life</i> and <i>Supernova</i></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: white;">Ex Marketing Intern at HarperCollins Publishers India and Penguin Random House India</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: white;">Part of the Times of India Junior Editorial Board</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: white;">Part of former RBI Governor of India, Dr Raghuram Rajan’s super-lead campaign for his recent book</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: white;">Assisted former Chief Election Commissioner, Mr Navin Chawla under the apprenticeship of Dr Mukund G. Rajan for his Q-Ecube ESG fund. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: white;">Written for various publications such as The Pioneer and The Kochi Post. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: white;">R</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: white;">ecently </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://g.co/kgs/e5iHU7&source=gmail&ust=1585968196961000&usg=AFQjCNHqzX_901tWIcHwgURIQ6e2TMUkbA" href="https://g.co/kgs/e5iHU7" style="background-color: white; color: #954f72;" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #1155cc;">featured on Google Cameos</span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: white;">. </span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The book comes at a time when we are all keeping ourselves at home, and social interactions are getting lesser and lesser. Of course this ends up having an effect on our mental health too. So, if you can get your hands on the book, I would suggest you check it out, as these are simple words you can easily go through in your busy schedule, anytime in the day, when you want to do nothing more than to relax, gather your thoughts and take some time out for yourself.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Take care and be careful everyone. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- Debolina Raja </span>Debolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79714241127314941.post-64999114431587099782020-03-05T10:44:00.001+05:302020-03-05T10:44:51.710+05:30Why I Am Not Buying Any Books in 2020: No-Buy Year?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>This is a veryyyy old pic, but I shared it because I love it. Let's just say, this is a very tiny part of the books that I have.</i><br />
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A lot of you may already have seen the current trend of no-buy that has suddenly picked up this year, the moment we entered 2020.<br />
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Sounding at risk of jumping on to the bandwagon, let me confess here that this was on my mind for quite some time now, much before we entered 2020, and yes, while it sounds cliched, I do have my reasons.<br />
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So from the title you already know what I am going to talk about here.<br />
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This year, in 2020, I have decided that I will not buy any more books. I am taking a I think first-time-ever break from buying books, and trust me, even if it's just the start of the 3rd month of the year, I am already finding it difficult to not look at books and to stop myself from buying any.<br />
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Why am I doing this?<br />
Simple. I have wayyyyyyyy toooooooo manyyyy books already! And yes, before you catch me out, I will confess that I started the year by BUYING BOOKS, but that was at the Jaipur Lit Fest (and I am giving myself that much leeway please). In fact, if you don't believe that I am serious about this, I did not even buy a single book this year for my birthday, which is (!!!!!!) unbelievable of me! :D<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B8F4BrOpU6A/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">I can never be loaded with enough books and book bags. Being inside a bookstore or amidst books is what makes me happiest (and in nature) and it shows (!). Weighed down literally by the weight of the books but couldn't be happier. And that too at the iconic Jaipur Lit Fest! What fun. My (obviously) fake MK Michael Kors bag, the Jaipur Lit Fest tote and the Namita Gokhale tote, All filled to their seams with books. YAYYYYY. #bookstore #books #buyingbooks #jai #zeejaipurlitfest2020 #jaipurlitfest2020 #india #litfest #lovebooks</a></div>
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A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/debolinaraja/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" target="_blank"> Debolina Raja</a> (@debolinaraja) on <time datetime="2020-02-03T04:45:40+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Feb 2, 2020 at 8:45pm PST</time></div>
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<i>Books I bought at the Jaipur Lit Fest this Jan!</i><br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B7zw9KaJ26M/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Hands laden with bags of books is one of the best feeling after attending a literature or book fest. And that's just what I am doing here. In one hand, I have my Freida Kahlo tote from @purkalstreeshaktisamiti that I'm loving so much and being asked about. In the other I have my Zee Jaipur Lit Fest 2020 tote, as colorful, vibrant, beautiful and interesting as the festival itself. If you're here and want to get one, take a look at the stalls near the Festival bookstore, you may still be able to grab one. Didnt realise how the tote and the tee look kind of similar. Here I am standing outside the Delegate Hall. No, I didnt get the higher category pass but was just walking around here. In the backdrop is a beautiful palace wall in white and blue which sadly didn't show up in the pic. The boots are really really old, almost 5 6 years old, bought from a small store in Delhi and much used and loved. #zeejaipurlitfest2020 #jaipurlitfest2020 #litfest #literature #literaturelover #booklover #bookbags #purkalstreeshakti #tote #jaipur #pinkcity #india #festival #event #fun #travel #literaturefestival #tattoos #tattoosleeve #vibrant #colours #happy</a></div>
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A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/debolinaraja/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" target="_blank"> Debolina Raja</a> (@debolinaraja) on <time datetime="2020-01-27T03:57:33+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jan 26, 2020 at 7:57pm PST</time></div>
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<br />
<i>Loaded with the books!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
And yes, I also got some books for my birthday as gift (which I usually get each year!) from one of my bestie who especially picked those up for me because she knew I would love them and also knows that I am not buying any books this year. Also, in her own words, because I am not buying books this year, it is easier for her to pick something for me, because otherwise, I almost always have the latest good ones. So yes, amazing her and lucky me ;)<br />
<i><br /></i>
So yes, I am definitely going to not buy any more books this year, not as long as I finish the TBR (To Be Read) list I have already for the year. Once that is over, which will take time because there's a lot (!!!!), I know it will be difficult to stop :)<br />
<br />
In the meanwhile, I am controlling my book-buying urge by doing this:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Avoiding getting inside bookstores</li>
<li>Avoiding loitering outside bookstores!</li>
<li>Taking a detour the moment I see a bookstore</li>
<li>Checking out books online and adding it in the cart, then quickly pushing it to the Save For Later section</li>
</ul>
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<i><br /></i>
- Debolina Raja Debolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79714241127314941.post-22052527005735440842019-11-04T13:18:00.000+05:302019-11-04T13:18:54.301+05:30Kargil: Past Perfect, Future Uncertain? by Vivek Chadha<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN56hvbjMm7gDCUWJdMMDWuKLpJ1LnORHzu2jy4FLe9yxEO7_Y4Z3ygrkyuhFNm8UFZeX7hAFsdLaxRTregZliZ3weFay6qUe7UKDG0TvNZSHDVu7beToT-9zGZMrOTrmrYXxFDTiq9c4/s1600/k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="410" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN56hvbjMm7gDCUWJdMMDWuKLpJ1LnORHzu2jy4FLe9yxEO7_Y4Z3ygrkyuhFNm8UFZeX7hAFsdLaxRTregZliZ3weFay6qUe7UKDG0TvNZSHDVu7beToT-9zGZMrOTrmrYXxFDTiq9c4/s400/k.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EBbj0ZkUEAA1GLx.jpg" target="_blank">image source</a></td></tr>
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<br />
Recently, I was sent the book Kargil: Past Perfect, Future Uncertain for a read and review.<br />
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To be honest, I hadn't come up across the book at the stores or online yet, but once I received it, it seemed like quite an interesting read.<br />
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Before I move over to more details, here's a look at what the book is all about:<br />
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<b>Kargil: Past Perfect, Future Uncertain? by Vivek Chadha</b><br />
<b>Publisher KW Publishers </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
IDSA's name also comes along with the publishers, IDSA is Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi, and I am not sure whether they are also partly the publishers or have a part in the book. However, the fact that IDSA is associated with this book makes it more genuine, and the author has made sure to insert relevant reference notes throughout the book, for those who may not feel ready to take everything on face value.<br />
<br />
<b>The cover jacket:</b><br />
The Kargil conflict was fought over 20 years ago. However, it continues to remain relevant for strategic analysts, military historians, academics, armed forces personnel and diplomats. This book delves into the structures, planning processes and procedures adopted while pursuing diplomacy, higher direction of war and strategic communications, on both sides of the Line of Control during the Kargil conflict. In doing so, existing arguments are challenged and alternative conclusions drawn. This includes the debate around the decision not to cross the LoC during operations, the decision making process involved with the employment of air power and limitations of existing strategic communication structures of the armed forces, as observed during the conflict.<br />
<br />
The second part of the book employs Kargil and the succeeding 20 years, as the basis for analysing the changing character of war. This includes a study of its implications on the notion of victory and shifts needed while pursuing diplomacy, higher direction of war and strategic communications. It also introduces the concept of finite and infinite game theory to conflicts in the sub-continental context, in an attempt to contextualise it through a fresh perspective.<br />
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<b>Number of pages: </b>210<br />
<br />
<b>About the author</b><br />
Colonel Vivek Chadha (Retd) is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA). After serving in the army for 22 years, where he gained experience with both the physical conduct and doctrinal evolution of counter terrorism, he joined IDSA in 2011. His publications include <i>Even if Ain't Broke Yet, Do Fix It: Enhancing Effectiveness Through Military Change </i>(2016); <i>Lifeblood of Terrorism: Countering Terrorism Finance </i>(2014); <i>Low Intensity Conflicts in India: An Analysis </i>(2005); <i>Indo-US Relations: From Divergence to Convergence </i>(2008); <i>Company Commander in Low Intensity Conflicts </i>(1997). He co-edited the <i>Asian Strategic Review </i>for four years and is on the editorial board of the <i>Journal of Defence Studies. </i>The author runs a YouTube channel on defence and security issues called <i>Indian Defence and Security.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
I will begin by saying that if you are looking for a light read, then this is definitely not the book for you. This book is about war, about what it does to people and countries, those involved and those nearby, the implications it has on humanity, on the world, and the repercussion it creates for generations to come. None of this is a light hearted matter, and so, this book too is not that.<br />
<br />
It is a book of reality, a book about conflict, about war plans, about those who give up their lives ensuring we live ours, the way we want, most of the time without stopping to think of them who so valiantly guard our borders and our lives.<br />
<br />
There is a lot that happens in the book, and I am not the best person to put it in words here, but instead, the cover jacket would have given you the idea of what it is. To give you some more idea, I am sharing the first page of the book here, so that you know how it reads...<br />
<br />
Introduction<br />
<br />
The Kargil conflict was a significant milestone as its relevance goes beyond India's military and diplomatic victory. It showcased the most striking factor that the common man was made aware of during the conflict - the gritty resolve and selfless devotion to duty of an average soldier. The acts of bravery witnessed during those few days, brought back the reality of war. Therefore, it did not come as a surprise, when Naresh Chandra, quoted a US General's impressions of the war in Kargil:<br />
<br />
Mr. Ambassador, what I have heard and read about the operation. I don't mind admitting that my marine officer will not do what your boys have done, which is a terrific confession. Scaling heights only to be shot. Seeing their colleagues fall and still going by rope and climbing, knowing that 80 percent 75 per cent, you are going to be shot. And if you reach on top, you have to be ready for hand to hand combat. What these boys did, I don't think the ordinary public realises.<br />
<br />
Few people indeed do. Yet, despite perhaps not understanding the nitty-gritties of combat, the common man and woman did get invigorated by the stories they saw on their televisions. By 1999, the 1971 Indo-Pak war had become a somewhat distant memory for the youth. The conflict in Kargil provided a focal point that reinforced the admiration for the men in uniform.<br />
<br />
Not only did it capture the imagination of people in India, the conflict also raised the morale of the armed forces like little else had in the recent past. The dogged persistence of fighting terrorism produced only occasional successes.<br />
<br />
...........................................................................................................................<br />
<br />
I would say that the book is quite heavy, and not one to carry on a vacation, or to read as you commute (unless you are one of those who does not distracted easily and can read through the deep words and content presented here). This book demands your time and full attention, as only then you will be able to grasp some of the intricate workings of the Army and what all goes behind, before and after those war images that you see, and the true picture of the Kargil War we all have seen through the eyes of the media.<br />
<br />
Here is a chance to actually read about it from someone who is an expert at what he does..<br />
<br />
Now that I have read it, I am definitely passing it on to my father.......<br />
<br />
- Debolina Raja</div>
Debolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79714241127314941.post-27226259564678750592019-09-16T10:28:00.003+05:302019-09-16T10:28:44.061+05:30Permanent Record by Edward Snowden: Telling His Story for the First Time, from his side of The Story<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
If the name Edward Snowden means anything to you, and if you've followed what all the man was accused of and went through, then you probably have read a lot of coverage on what all went on and what made him an exile and much much more.<br />
<br />
But how much have you really heard from his side, or how much of his side of the truth and the series of events that actually took place do you really know about?<br />
<br />
If any of this has been something that interested you in the past, then get ready to read up everything from a real and live perspective, from Edward Snowden's own point of view....<br />
<br />
The man, who went from being a spy to an exile to a conscience of the internet, is coming out with his memoir that will reveal his journey through it all.<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;">At once a thrilling spy story, including never-before-disclosed details of how he smuggled the evidence out of the government’s lawlessness, and a powerful account of his life-altering decision to expose the misdeeds of the intelligence agencies, </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;">PERMANENT RECORD</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"> is a crucial memoir of our digital age, destined to be a classic. It is also a love story, revealing for the first time details of the life of Snowden’s partner, Lindsay Mills. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;">Above all, it is a deeply moving and vivid portrait of one man’s struggle to live his deepest values, despite great personal sacrifice and the loss of home.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
Titled <b>Permanent Record </b>and published by Pan Macmillan, the book is set for release on the 17th of September 2019 and will also be available as an e-book.<br />
<br />
- Debolina Raja</div>
Debolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79714241127314941.post-82914855713291778632019-09-16T10:01:00.000+05:302019-09-16T10:02:54.324+05:30JEFFREY ARCHER is back with NOTHING VENTURED, but why is this book different??<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All you Jeffrey Archer fans, if you've been following his work for long, you know that he is one of the best detective and thriller writer of all and our times..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here he is again, with his latest book that's titled NOTHING VENTURED.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But if you're thinking this is yet another detective story, that's where you're wrong. This new offering from the master storyteller is not a detective story - it’s the story of a detective. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is not a detective story, this is a story about the making of a detective . . .</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">William Warwick has always wanted to be a detective, and decides, much to his father’s dismay, that rather than become a barrister like his father, Sir Julian Warwick QC, and his sister Grace, he will join London’s Metropolitan Police Force.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After graduating from university, William begins a career that will define his life: from his early months on the beat under the watchful eye of his first mentor, Constable Fred Yates, to his first high-stakes case as a fledgling detective in Scotland Yard’s arts and antiquities squad. Investigating the theft of a priceless Rembrandt painting from the Fitzmolean Museum, he meets Beth Rainsford, a research assistant at the gallery who he falls hopelessly in love with, even as Beth guards a secret of her own that she’s terrified will come to light.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While William follows the trail of the missing masterpiece, he comes up against suave art collector Miles Faulkner and his brilliant lawyer, Booth Watson QC, who are willing to bend the law to breaking point to stay one step ahead of William. Meanwhile, Miles Faulkner’s wife, Christina, befriends William, but whose side is she really on?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*********************************************************************</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a book you'd love to read and talk about..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So if you haven't grabbed your copies yet, check out your nearest bookstore right away!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- Debolina Raja </span></div>
Debolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79714241127314941.post-77714072202191403282019-05-06T08:30:00.000+05:302019-05-06T08:30:02.688+05:30First Page Mondays: Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<br />
I picked up this book at the Barnes & Nobles outlet in New York near Times Square, and honestly, this is the only book I got from there.<br />
<br />
I did read a few pages of this one, and for now, here is a look at the first page..<br />
<br />
PROLOGUE<br />
<br />
OUTSIDE THE GUARDED ENTRANCE, reporters clicked like a pack of wolves. They wanted names and locations, any links to the Mob, every newsworthy detail for tomorrow's front page.<br />
<br />
The irony wasn't lost on me.<br />
<br />
In the hospital waiting area, on the same chair for hours, I raised my head when a doctor appeared. He spoke to a nurse in a hushed tone. His full mustache, peppered like his temples, vibrated with his words. My shoulders coiled into springs as I searched for a look, a suggestion of the worst. Tension heightened around me from others fearing the same. The sudden quiet was deafening. But then the doctor resumed his strides, his footfalls fading around the corner. Once more I sank into my seat.<br />
<br />
The air reeked of disinfectant, bleach, and the cigarettes of nervous smokers. From the tiled floor came a shrill scrape, a chair being dragged in my direction. Tiny hairs rose on the back of my neck from more than the sound. Upon learning of my involvement, an officer had warned me a detective would soon be here to talk.<br />
<br />
- Debolina Raja </div>
Debolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79714241127314941.post-13442412149602497082019-04-29T08:00:00.000+05:302019-04-29T08:00:11.817+05:30First Page Mondays: Suits by Nina Godiwalla <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
TRAINING<br />
<br />
As I walked up to JP Morgan, I didn't see anyone around except the sidewalk food vendors. At every third corner, a massive semi would drive up to a street corner and a vendor would hop out, open the back of the truck, and push his little rectangular steel food cart down the ramp. I kept pace with the ColdSodaWaterSnapple guy, the Shish Kebab guy, and the Nuts 4 Nuts guy. They were a global collective - Pakistan, China and Guatemala - who had adopted New York as their new home, paving the way for their kids' futures. I was on my own journey from Texas, off to conquer Wall Street.<br />
<br />
Before I arrived in New York, my dad impressed upon me that subways were places where people could get knifed in broad daylight, so I walked from Thirty-fourth Street and First Avenue to Wall Street. In Texas, I had never been on any public transportation, other than a Greyhound a few times, so the New York City buses with their transfers and the trains with theirs were so intimidating that I decided to walk. It made me feel more in control. Plus, Manhattan's 2.3 mile width was less than the width of my suburban neighbourhood outside Houston. Looking at the map, I estimated it would be an hour's walk, but I left three hours early just in case. "It's always better to play it safe," my dad had said.<br />
<br />
- Debolina Raja </div>
Debolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79714241127314941.post-73637540928266332092019-04-24T13:53:00.001+05:302019-04-24T13:53:31.319+05:30Reading as I travel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BvWbBYSFfVE/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">The best way to spend the day in my favourite place in the world... #goa #beach #readingnow #readingatthebeach #booklover #vacation #sand</a></div>
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A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/debolinaraja/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" target="_blank"> Debolina Raja</a> (@debolinaraja) on <time datetime="2019-03-23T12:11:11+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Mar 23, 2019 at 5:11am PDT</time></div>
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<i>Reading at a shack on Candolim Beach, Goa, India</i><br />
<br />
It's been a long time I came here .... I have been traveling a lot.... and quite enjoying the break from everyday life...<br />
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And yes, I have been reading up a lot as well...<br />
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I will be back soon, and this year, I promise to make up for all those lost book reviews that I never really sat down and shared...and will talk about all those amazing books that I read...<br />
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Till then, have lots of interesting reading time and let me know what you are reading too :)<br />
<br />
- Debolina Raja </div>
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Debolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79714241127314941.post-64203128978615203292019-03-05T11:26:00.002+05:302019-03-05T11:26:38.458+05:30How many books did I buy at the flea book market?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BuidY4nlSvQ/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">And another truckload of #books from the #bookfair at the #mela #fair on #palmbeachroad ... #booklover #nerd #bookworm</a></div>
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A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/debolinaraja/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" target="_blank"> Debolina Raja</a> (@debolinaraja) on <time datetime="2019-03-03T07:51:21+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Mar 2, 2019 at 11:51pm PST</time></div>
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<br />
I know I have not been here regularly for quite some time now, but actually, I was lost in my book world, and am also gearing up for quite a few travels..<br />
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So for now, the good news is that I have been visiting flea book markets a lot, and have got about 14 kilos of books (yesss!!!!!) to add to my collection..... Still wondering and trying to figure out how I will make all that extra space (coz none of my thousands of books are going away anywhere)...<br />
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For now, here is a sneak peek into some of the books that are on top of one of the cartons...i will soon do a complete book haul and share the details of all the books I got... amazing finds I got and even got to complete my collection of a terrific South African writer I really love.... wonder how people give away such amazing gems ... good for me though ;)<br />
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See you all soon...and if you have the time, do let me know what books you are reading or are planning to read soon!<br />
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Till then, have fun and stay happy!<br />
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- Debolina Raja </div>
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Debolina Raja http://www.blogger.com/profile/10195496661712239247noreply@blogger.com0