Madhuri
This was such a sweet book. Would gift it to a young person or even a friend as a pick-me-up.
Ah, I loved this book so much, I rented the movie immediately after finishing the read. I was curious to see the story imagined on screen. This is one where the book conveys so much more than the movie. Wonderfully written with such raw emotions and the suspense hits you right in the middle instead of the end which is a surprise you are not prepared for.
A children's book based on the true story of the Urban Art Trail in East Village, San Diego, California! I have always wanted to visit this place that is filled with wall murals and poems in calligraphy on the sidewalks. I am glad to have read this book which introduced me to this sweet and commendable community art initiative by the authors.
Recommended as a pick for Silicon Valley Reads 2021: Connecting...
It felt like I was reading a really really long Wikipedia article. I learnt a lot about the brilliant and accomplished Blackwell sisters but I'd probably never reread this book hence the 3-stars. I wish it was written in a way that inspired women to overcome hurdles and be pioneers in a patriarchal society. Instead, it was presented as just a collection of facts about their lives.
A collection of short stories that share a common theme of “what if”, easily one of my favorites this year. Will definitely check out other works by this author.
I really liked Dear Girl by Amy but this book kinda made me feel isolated lol. I'm not sure I'd recommend it for kids, it's not always easy to make friends.
Love the illustrations and got to learn some very interesting details about life in Lebanon during their civil war.
Started off strong, I enjoyed the story till almost 2/3rd way through but the ending turned filmy and predictable. The characters were believable, the depiction of India was authentic and real, the family drama was brilliant. I am encouraged to try other books by this author.
It was an engaging story. The only problem I have is that there is mention of Ranchi as the capital of Jharkhand in the year 1999 which I believe is inaccurate, the state was only formed in 2000.
Imagining a 19th century Bombay and following an interesting cast of characters made this an easily addictive read. I enjoyed the historical setting of this story, especially the references to war and battles happening across the country. The crime/mystery element of the plot was quite amateur but I believed the incredulity of it given the time period. Looking forward to reading the sequel, the first book has set a good premise so far.
If you like philosophical picture books like The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, then this one's for you.
I don't think I learned anything new from this book except for loop quantum gravity. It was more philosophical than I expected. Some of the quotes that left an impression on me:
“We are perhaps the only species on Earth to be conscious of the inevitability of our individual mortality. I fear that soon we shall also have to become the only species that will knowingly watch the coming of its own collective demise, or at least the demise of its civilization.”
“We are made of the same stardust of which all things are made, and when we are immersed in suffering or when we are experiencing intense joy we are being nothing other than what we can't help but be: a part of our world.”
“Life on Earth gives only a small taste of what can happen in the universe.”
I don't understand if the story itself was this badly written or the translation failed but I did not enjoy this at all.
My first experience reading Sijo. It's a slow realization as we read through this poetry, which is a profound conversation between a teacher and her students about the importance we associate with material things in life.
The Good Girls is a narrative non-fiction work about a tragedy that occurred in 2014 in a small Indian village where two young teenagers were found hanging from a mango tree. TW if you are planning to look up on the internet, there are graphic images of the hanging so beware of stumbling upon one, I suggest searching for the ‘Badaun case' on Wikipedia directly. Other trigger warnings include suicide, rape, murder, casteism, etc.
It's a wonderfully researched and written journalistic work, the author narrates the audiobook as well and she is probably my favorite Indian narrator by far. Very few audiobooks do justice to the narration of bilingual text without introducing awkwardness to the colloquial words. Sonia does a fantastic job of sticking to her natural accent in both English and the few sentences/words of Hindi in this book.
If you are a non-Indian looking to learn about this case or in general interested in a true crime story based in India, this might not be the easiest introductory book. It is transfixing and very well told but requires that you have a basic understanding of the culture and terms used in the book. I would highly highly recommend it to people who are comfortable reading Indian books already. In the end, the story left me shattered but well informed.