Bookmarks and Popcorns

  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 ...

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: 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...

  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...