The Jaipur Literature Festival 2011 was more than just a festival for me. It was a celebration of ingenious minds. And it gave me an opportunity to know many wondrous authors and writers of the country. Amongst them all, I prominently grew a certain fondness for Sonia Faleiro. And it’s not because we share the same name. It was the kind of substance she brought with her - her second book (and her first non-fiction offering) “Beautiful Thing: Inside th...
We did not know much about this brilliant, “new-age” author, Aditya Sudarshan, apart from the fact that he has penned two books – A Nice Quiet Holiday and Show Me A Hero; written a play, Sensible People, and several short stories and television scripts. He also writes literary criticism for The Literary Review and other publications. Having reviewed his second novel - Show Me A Hero recently, we managed an interview with the tall, dark and handso...
Former Miss India turned author Ira Trivedi was in the city to launch her latest novel There’s No Love on Wall Street at Crossword Store, ICC Towers. The novel is about a pre-med student Riya Jain who decides to shun the unglamorous ‘spirit and the dissections’ to become a ‘banking babe’. Ira Trivedi, the author of this bestseller, shares, "I have worked on Wall Street myself and have seen the world of investment banking closely. T...
There is something about Aashish Mehrotra that cannot be missed. And we are not talking about the twinkle in his green eyes. Along with those mysterious, soulful peepers, the fact that he is a film writer, producer, assistant director and a short story writer, all rolled into one, will force anyone to sit up and take notice of this talented young man. When most teenagers prefer to chill, Aashish choose to work as an Assistant Director for a TV show at the age...
Starting this week we would be posting a series of blogs on how readers could appreciate a book better. Every week we shall pick out two of these parameters and talk to you a little about them. These pointers are sure to tell you that along with the story there is a lot you can read and enjoy in a book. For instance, the character sketches, sub plots, writing style, tempo, vocabulary / choice of words, background, autobiographical references etc. too speaks volumes about...
Anurag Anand, a marketing professional by day and a passionate writer by night (wait…does that make him sound like some “pseudo Superman/Superauthor”!??!) – recently launched his fourth book –The Quest For Nothing. It is a contemporary love story, tracing the trials and tribulations in the relationship of a young working couple in light of the never ending career aspirations and the zest to succeed professionally. And for those who still...
Last week we spoke about how the author's writing style and character sketches within any given novel enrich the book reading experience. This week we shall touch upon autobiographical traces and visuals, something that again adds greatly to the entire reading experience. Autobiographical traces Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence is a good example of semi autobiographical work. The setting, premise and characters of such novels borrow heavily from ...
A man is known by the company he keeps. And a book is any day good company. It reveals more about your character. It reflects your tastes, your desires, your perspectives, and a bit of the real you. Books have a deeper impact on your mind and heart. They become a characteristic trait. Research shows that most of the successful people, read. And read books that broaden their perspective and their knowledge and their thought process. They have more information; learn fr...
We hope you are enjoying the series of health books we are doing. In the last two weeks we spoke about the books that concentrate on healthy food and a healthy fitness regime. This week we shall chat up about the books that concentrate on mental health and well being. Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values by Robert M Pirsig One of the most important and influential books written in the past half-century, Robert M Pirsig's &q...
Humor does rule the world. At least my world. Reading humorous pieces livens up our day. It breaks the monotone of work and life. Most problems can be fixed with a dose of laughter. But what I like most about humor pieces is the fact that the point under scrutiny is communicated with much effect and quite intelligently. It also reflects a bit of the writer’s character trait. A writer with a good sense of humor will make sure his/her pieces amuse people....
With the number of fiction books being released in the market, it is no surprise that people from all walks of life are trying their hand at writing stories. The purpose behind writing could be to educate, entertain, or simply narrate a tale that they feel deserves to be spoken about. But before any more writers decide to take the plunge we would like to tell you the qualities you need to make it big as a well-read writer. Discipline: For every writer to...
Shabia Ravi Walia, like every woman, dreamed of being a mother. However, it was not easy for her. She waited for 3 years to conceive after she decided to make an addition to her family. And her first book - Mamma Mania - is an account of all that happened from the time she decided to go for it till it really happened. The book is part funny, part emotional and completely informative. From the funny incident of acting pregnant when she was not, to moments of ...
For years together man has found great company in books. Books are known to narrate a story, surprise readers and also make them laugh. But a good book can do a lot more than this. There is a thin line of difference between a good and a great book. Here’s how you can differentiate between them. You know you have found a great book when… Every time somebody turns on the TV set, you go in the other r...
Hussain S Zaidi’s books – Black Friday and Mafia Queens Of Mumbai – are controversial, packed with saucy details from the underworld and are full of drama and action to say the least. The non-fictional accounts of the incidents and lives of the people are so spicy, interesting, well-researched and varied that these books are bound to put any fiction to shame… We chat up with journalist-author Hussain S Zaidi who wrote his books after keepi...
While some authors are synonymous with comic-fantasy fiction, it is worthwhile to spend some time looking for books by lesser-known comic-fantasy authors too. One could stumble into a book that is equivalent to a Thursday Next or a Nursery Crime . Such a book could be a pleasure to begin with and open a reader’s mind to a new frontier of imagination. It thrills the senses and leaves the reader yearning for more of such literature. Comic fantasies bring humor i...
Tartan Noir’s Origin
The Tartan Noir genre can be traced to Scotland and Scottish authors: right from James Hogg’s book, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824) and RL Stevenson’s novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886). While Hogg’s novel is an eccentric blend of the gothic, crime, horror, and psychology, Stevenson wrote about a split personality with a major twist-in-the-tale and metamorphosi...
You know a book has lived up to its promise when it engulfs you in a world of its own and keeps you there till the very last page.
This is especially true for Mystery, Suspense, Thriller and Crime novels. If they keep you captivated for hours together and give you goose bumps, rest assured that your time was absolutely worth it.
The mesmerizing “who-dunnit” reads, or the old fashioned mysteries complete with red herrings, or the more contemporary puzzle ...
Continuing the list of top mystery / suspense novels, here are the remaining ones that make up for a thrilling read.
A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sherlock Holmes makes his debut in the mystery of a corpse found in a run-down, abandoned house. He encounters a strange clue, the word RACHE written in blood on the wall near the body. Only the astute mind of Mr. Holmes can make sense of such a cryptic clue.
...
Good children’s books have wooed many adults. The story, well-etched characters, marvelous imagination have compelled many individuals to stack their classics and chick-lit right at the bottom and pick up the rich collection by revered authors like Anant Pai, RK Narayan, JK Rowling, Christopher Paolini and Ruskin Bond.
Interestingly Dr Louise Joy, a Cambridge University academic, had reasoned that traditional children's tales are popular among older readers ...
It's not often that you get to read a book so powerful that keeps you up, and moves in your mind even after you are done reading it.
Prey By The Ganges, by Hemant Kumar, is one such novel, with its far-reaching imagery and an utterly spine-chilling thrill.
I couldn't resist the opportunity to interview the author to know more about the ideation and the writing process.
Here's all that the author shared with us.
To begin with, we suddenly saw Hemant ...
• "[Mother Teresa] was not a friend of the poor. She was a friend of poverty. She said that suffering was a gift from God. She spent her life opposing the only known cure for poverty, which is the empowerment of women and the emancipation of them from a livestock version of compulsory reproduction."
• “[George W. Bush] is lucky to be governor of Texas. He is unusually incurious, abnormally unintelligent, am...
When I had just started off as a writer I would hear these admired editors say: “Your writings style is different… Your style is now like that of a professional writer… “ Okay, now I knew this was something positive and something I could be proud of, but what does ‘writing style’ mean is something I could never exactly gather. Maybe it is the words you choose, maybe it is your unique style similar to your fashion sense or maybe it is...
“A country without a memory is a country of madmen.”
George Santayana
When Francis Fukuyama wrote The End of History and the Last Man, most people wondered about the phrase in itself: that with the collapse of the Berlin Wall, it literally brought socio-cultural evolution to a standstill. Most debate on the infamous time when the iron curtain was pulled down in the rest of Eastern Europe. Yes, the Eastern Bloc was disintegrated; however his...
No. I am not an aging granny who cringes and lectures students to stop creating a nuisance. Nor am I that lady who sits in the reading hall and continuously does a tch tch when I hear people discussing recipes or boyfriends or the TV soap… But not adhering to norms of social decorum definitely irks me beyond measure. I am not against enjoying or having fun, but doing so in a library in a way other that devouring books is a heinous crime. Here’s a checkl...
The store was full of literary banter. The people on the dias were discussing about books, new trends in publishing, and how crime stories are truly entertaining. All this and much more happened at the book launch of Salil Desai’s second literary offering, Murder on A Side Street, at Crossword Store, Senapati Bapat Road on a balmy Friday evening.
Dharmendra Jai Narain popularly called D. J. Narain, director of FTII, and Abhay Vaidya, Resident Editor, Daily N...
To an aficionado of archaeology and for a good archaeology read, the first book that comes to mind is Agatha Christie’s Come, Tell Me How You Live. In her own words, she said that it was not meant to be taken seriously. She said that it was a ‘light-hearted and frivolous’ read and that she meant to relive the ‘poignant remembrance of our days in Arpachiyah and Syria’; however it also set an interest in archaeology among children in several p...
Love’s Journey is the debut novel of Rashmi Singh, a freelance Personality Development and Soft Skills Trainer at Faridabad.
From talking about her personal and professional life to her take on love, Rashmi gives us an insight on present day society woes and much more. Read on.
Tell us a bit about your professional background. How did you steer towards becoming a Personality Development and Soft Skills Trainer?
I had been quite active during my school/colle...
Friday, 20th January, 2012
Landmark, Pune:
I was recently invited to the book launch of two of the most awaited anthologies -
Urban Shots Crossroads and Urban Shots Brightlights.
I walked in to the store, towards the book launch area, recognizing a few familiar faces, and smiling at the new ones.
I could sense the excitement. It reminded me of the launch of the first Urban Shots anthology by Grey Oaks and the launch of Down the Road th...
In this blog, we make an attempt to highlight some of the best short-story writers. Moving into the abyss of psychoanalysis, Leo Tolstoy (September 9, 1828 – November 20, 1910) wrote some of the best short stories. The Imp and the Peasant’s Bread is an example of Tolstoy’s concept of good and evil. He highlighted the naivety and goodness of human nature juxtaposing evil. His thoughts and characterization bordered on the ascetic and the real and his writ...
Most creative writing experts argue that writing is all about evolving and improving continuously. It is also about beginning from a certain end and imagining the unimaginable. It is also about describing what it feels like or something that a person should never feel. This is the first of a three part creative writing programme for all you budding creative writers to follow and hone your writing skills. And remember this is just the beginning…
Exerci...
What makes a man turn to crime? I’ve often asked myself this question. Why is it that I commit murders and revel in dead bodies?
Well you could blame it on my upbringing – I was brought up in circumstances where crime was a way of life. My mother devoured Agatha Christhie, my father adored Alfred Hitchcock. As a school boy I was introduced to Sherlock Holmes and the Hardy boys and in college I fell into the violent company of James Hadley C...
Steven Lyle Jordan focuses on sci-fi literature. He has worked as an illustrator, writer, graphic artist, and a web designer. He publishes his own books. Some of his most-prominent writings include Evoguia, Verdant Skies, Verdant Pioneers — Sequel to Verdant Skies, The Kestral Voyages: My Life, After Berserker, The Kestral Voyages: The Lens, The Kestral Voyages: The House of Jacquarelle, Chasing the Light, As The Mirror C...
April 30, 2012, Pune, India: BookChums interviewed Sci-fi author, Steven Lyle Jordan whose writings include Evoguia, Verdant Skies, Verdant Pioneers — Sequel to Verdant Skies, The Kestral Voyages: My Life, After Berserker, The Kestral Voyages: The Lens, The Kestral Voyages: The House of Jacquarelle, Chasing the Light, As The Mirror Cracks, Worldfarm One, and Despite Our Shadows. In this buoyant interview, ...
Sagarika Chakraborty dons several hats. She cooks, writes, researches on gender studies, has practiced corporate law and recently completed an MBA from the Indian Business School at Hyderabad. In this interview, she discusses her childhood, her interests, her writings, and her passions straight from the heart. A Calendar too Crowded is her first book.
- Tell us about your childhood. Tell us about the places in which you’ve lived.
I had a typical...
May 14, 2012, Pune, India: BookChums interviewed Sagarika Chakraborty, author of A Calendar too Crowded. In this interview, she discussed her childhood, her interests, her writings, and her passions straight from the heart.
A Calendar too Crowded is Sagarika Chakraborty’s first book. It has been inspired by myriad women she has interacted with during research paper writing from all walks of life. She described her intention behind narrati...
The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun.
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
By WH Auden (1921 – 1973)
Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes was synonymous with his widely acclaimed writings such as The Death of Artemio Cruz, Aura, The Old Gringo, and Christopher Unborn...
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