Bookmarks and Popcorns

Genre: Children’s book Author: Ruskin Bond Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I was first introduced to Ruskin Bond in the Reading Comprehension section of my English exam. The passage spoke about how he launched his book and distributed signed copies after. I thought the whole thing was made up. A British descent named Ruskin “Bond” who writes stories based in India! Everything about it seemed made-up for the kid in me. Had I read a different passage about him, would I have picked up his books sooner? The Blue Umbrella is the story of Binya, a little girl who exchanges her lucky leopard’s claw pendant for a pretty blue umbrella that is more of a prized possession than a useful one. She, a little girl, takes it along with her everywhere she goes and everyone who sees the umbrella envies her. There is a person ( Ram Bharosa)  in the village who does more than just envy her. What happens to the umbrella? Will Binya lose it or have it forever? What is so special about this umbrella that it deserves a bo

Genre: Romance Author: Rohit Sharma Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ “The truth is, everyone, no matter how rich or poor he is, is skirmishing with this battle called life. Whether we win it or lose it, depends upon if we surrender, or we stay strong and positive.” Love is something that means different things to different people. But no, it is not an illusion. Love, to me, is magic. It has the power and force that science cannot explain. Power and force to create, destroy, survive, and thrive. It could be your dream or your nightmare or mere sight. What is it to you, is up to you to decide. Moving on from that serious intro, tell me, have you ever wished for the beads of your dupatta to get caught in some guy’s watch or bracelet? Have you wondered why you have never bumped into a guy and let your books fall so that you both could pick them up in slow motion? Yeah, I know da. Me too! Well, here’s a story that made me wonder why I hadn’t tried the Titanic Suicide scene yet. (Jk. I did not wonder t

  Genre: Coming of age, Romance Author: Debashrita Manik Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ I know I have given a rating of 3 stars. But it’s more 2.5ish. “Accept the things to which fate binds you and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.” - Marcus Aurelius This is a quote I came across on Pinterest while I was searching for a quote on Fate. And I really liked this one, and it seemed the perfect fit for the book The Fate I Cherished. The Fate I cherished is the debut book of author  Debashrita Manik.  The book tells the story of Pihu – a girl from Cuttack, Odisha, who has the perfect husband and a settled life. Pihu has recently launched her debut book. She feels delighted and blessed for everything she has, except for one thing. She constantly misses her best friend who had left her. Who is this best friend? Why did she leave Pihu? Was Pihu’s life always this perfect? Pihu had a lot of plans for her life along with her best friend. But fate took a di

October month is the month for my spooky buddies. You all know why! It’s the month of Halloween. Of course, we don’t particularly celebrate Halloween in India. It’s not a holiday for us. But years have passed. Earth has revolved a lot more number of times. Cultures have influenced in many ways. Some Indians celebrate Halloween by throwing costume parties. But most of us just sit and watch horror movies just like the rest of the world. Why? Come on! We live in a digital world and our virtual life is more happening than our real life. And when we have a more happening virtual life, we will easily get charmed by the rest of the world and enchanted to join them. I am not saying I am very proud of this aspect of me. I am just saying I know I am not alone in living this life. If you are shy and ashamed and admit to this part of your life. It’s okay. You don’t have to admit it. Just stick around because, you know, birds of a feather, go crazy together. Anyway, as I was saying, Halloween t

  Genre: Non-fiction Author: Raina Singhwi Jain Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ “If I were to look over the whole world to find out the country most richly endowed with all the wealth, power, and beauty that nature can bestow – in some parts a very paradise on Earth – I should point to India” – Max Mueller. As I have mentioned before, India, being the most populous democracy with the coexistence of various cultures, faces many questions and problems that arise day by day in large numbers. But did you know that there was once a time when India was called The Golden Bird? India was one of the richest lands brimming with its treasures. Every country wanted to trade here and looked up at this land. But this was way past when no one had invaded; before India was named so by the British. After all the invasions, India’s economy dropped massively. There was another country with a similar story – China. China took thoughtful steps and worked immensely to not just bring up its economy, but also to be a ri

Genre:  Romance, Classic, Victorian Literature Author:  Charlotte Brontë Rating:  Read the disclaimer Disclaimer: I don’t usually rate classics. But if I did, I would be rating Jane Eyre 10/5 stars. Does that make sense? Why would I rate it like that? But then, this is not a review, it is more of a book discussion. And this discussion is going to reveal why I would rate Jane Eyre so. Read on. Jane Eyre, O, you girl! How could I explain how much you gravitate my adorations and respect! I don't know why the school did not encourage us to read this as much as they did Sherlock Holmes. I don't know why parents or elders did not talk about this as much as they did Pride and Prejudice. Jane Eyre should be a must-read to every girl out there. A plain-looking, simple girl who is one of the best characters ever. But firstly, let me tell you why. Jane Eyre, orphaned at a very young age, was taken into her maternal uncle's house and mistreated by her aunt and her son. But sh

  Genre: Crime fiction Author: Chetan Bhagat Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ “Love seemed elusive to us, but we had something else. We had friendship, which in many ways is even more beautiful than love.” I know I have given a rating of 3 stars. But it’s more 2.5ish. Okay. I have this book because my friend gifted it to me. And he gifted it to me because I asked him to. You have to understand that I was a huge fan of Chetan Bhagat as a teenager. I had developed a habit of reading his books ASAP. Song: Dharala Prabhu Title Track (by Anirudh Ravichander) Now I am finding it hard to get rid of this habit. You know it’s unfair how an author starts disappointing you more and more  after you have fully become his fan. It’s not fair because when you become someone’s fan, there is this inbuilt loyalty in your adorations for that person’s work. And loyalties are hard to ditch just like that. Okay, enough with my whining. Let’s jump to the business. One Arranged Murder is a story of 2 detectives who w

Recently, 2 of my friends saw my Amazon account and were surprised to see that I have only 3 reviews. And I was surprised that they found it unbelievable and I kinda know why. The thing is... I don't often buy books online. Why? Well, my mum never liked the habit of buying or hoarding books. So, when I was in my fifth grade, my sister introduced me to a lending library near my house. But my library days would require its own post. So let's skip that for now. During my college days though, I started saving. I would save a portion of my pocket money and buy a book from a little store near my college that sold second-hand books. My dad noticed this and took me to book fairs ever since. Even in book fairs, I chose to buy many second-hand books rather than a few new ones. The first time I bought a book with the utmost satisfaction, was when I had a job and bought a brand new book from a bookstore near my house with the money I had earned. I have been buying books and stationer

  Genre: Fiction, Romantic comedy Author: Siddarth Raj Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.” – Helena, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Almost everyone who goes to college for the first time will have a mind prepared for crushes and proposals, for love and heartbreaks. Not everyone will find love but the ones who do will assume it to be everything. After all, this could be the one, right?! Never Date a Senior Girl is a book I won in a Giveaway. I was very excited to read it, for the concept was unique and it was the first giveaway that I had won. When at last I started to read the book, 10 pages later, I was no more an adult. Instead, I was the 14-year-old girl who had run to the library after discovering Chetan Bhagat and Durjoy Dutta, and picked every Indian Author’s romantic comedy books one by one because of the mere surprise that Indian authors could write so well and loving the way the stories and people wer

  Genre: Gothic fiction, romance, tragedy Author: Emily Brontë Rating:  Read the disclaimer Disclaimer: This is not a review. Rather consider this a discussion. Yet, it might contain the storyline because I feel not many have read Wuthering Heights, merely because it’s not being spoken about much. I always wanted to read Wuthering Heights because of the contrast in people’s opinions about this. This mainly tingled my curiosity when I noticed some people who normally liked romance novels hated this book, in spite of it majorly being a romantic novel. Initial part of the book, left me wanting more because this is the first Gothic Classic I read. But after finishing the book, I closed it and stared at it for a while, saying nothing, thinking nothing. Lockwood is a new tenant at Thrushcross Grange. He visits his landlord, Heathcliff, at Wuthering Heights where he meets some unwelcome, incongruous people. He stays there that night only to be frightened by a ghostly presence. Subsequ

  As a kid, I was not told many stories except for a few Indian Mythological ones. I still remember my friend's reaction when I told her that I have never read fairy tales and asked, "What is Sleeping Beauty?" Two years later, in my fourth grade, we had a period called Library. 👀 An entire 40 minutes in the school library, with books. That was the most absurd thing I had heard back then. But then, when the period actually arrived, when I stepped into the most clean and quiet place in the school, I discovered that just piles of books stacked against the unreachable length and breadth of 4 walls, could be the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Forty minutes later, when we were asked to return the books and head back to our class, I was sad. I, someone who ran at the idea of reading, felt like a piece of gum stuck to a chair and that huge table, unwilling to detach myself from there. I felt belonged. I felt a lot of things. But there was this one feeling that rushed over

Genre: Historical fiction Author: Uday Singh Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I don’t want to be one of the majority that don’t seem to care about others. I don’t want to be adding to the problem; I want to be a part of a solution.” India, being the most populous democracy with the coexistence of various cultures, faces many questions and problems that arise day by day in large numbers. This book takes aim at a problem and answers many questions. Pokhran is the story of Chaintanya who was born a few months after the Smiling Buddha nuclear test held in the underground of a remote village in Rajasthan named Pokhran. The test was a success, but at a cost paid by the people of Pokhran is left unattended. Chaitanya is born disabled. Taken care by a loving sister and a stern father, Chaitanya goes through a lot at a very young age. Lost innocence and blood-bound passion are things hard to change. When his father is killed for trying to uncover the nuclear fallout to the world, Chaitanya is forced to

  Genre: Psychological Fiction Author: Anna Burns Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Another book of which I could not ascertain or classify the genre and had to Google it. The genre suggested is also not something I completely agree with.) All of us have a habit that makes us unique. That makes us stand alone. Not a habit that many or anyone else has. A habit that is not offensive or bothering anyone in any way. Just you and your harmless habit. Imagine being judged by that habit. Imagine being judged, categorized, classified, and objectified by the society merely because of that habit. Milkman is the story of a girl with such a habit. In a society where mundane is preferred over an interesting lifestyle, lives the protagonist, an 18-year-old girl who is rumored to be in a relationship with Milkman who is twice as old as she. The rumor, being spread by her first brother-in-law, has tormenting and cascading consequences. Some of which, even prove to be fatal. Will she save herself from these rumors