Bookmarks and Popcorns

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 ...

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 ...

  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 detecti...

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...