We have all been bitten, at some point in life, by the “love” bug. Certain “in your face” traits are absolutely hard to overlook. But certain hidden facets (of the bug) reveal their true self only after you’ve been battered and shattered, crushing many a dreams and aspirations.
Ankit Uttam, a published author/ software engineer, reveals the true nature of the bug in a very realistic manner in his first published work – Beyon...
Childhood and early adulthood are amongst the most cherished phases of our lives. We indulge in really goofy, crazy, silly, yet amazing stunts that, usually come too naturally as a part of growing up. And it’s funny how thinking about some incidents that made you cry back then now bring a smile on your lips. A great way to relive most of our memories, in today’s fast-paced, workaholic schedule, is by reading Shaiju Mathew’s debut novel – Knocked ...
Ahmed Faiyaz, Managing Director, Grey Oak Publishers and a prolific writer with a deep insight to relationships, as they exist today in the urban cities, shares his thoughts and views with BookChums. Beginning with the mundane/clichéd question: When, where and how did the writing bug bite? I’m not sure actually, to be honest. I guess being a voracious reader (as I am) is what pushed me towards writing in the first place. Back when I was 10 years o...
An economics graduate from Wellesley College Massachusetts with an MBA from Columbia Business School, Ira Trivedi is the personification of beauty and brains. After having interacted with her during the Jaipur Literature Festival 2011, we were more than eager to interview her and know about her experiences of being an author, a model and about her internship at JP Morgan. This is what she shared with us. What made you participate in the Mis...
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...
Despite a college romance being released every other day, love stories today have very few takers. And this is completely justified because these stories don’t have any depth – no pain, no longing, no determination, no romance, no feeling at all. The lovers are not committed; are not passionate for each other the way lovers of a romantic flick were known to. Love stories were known to motivate people, to win their love. But the stuff being churned out now, is...
Like most first-time-writers Shrenik Mutha’s novel Broken Hearts has a strong autobiographical influence. The novel talks about love, separation, loss, happiness and romance. Dressed in a white blazer and white trousers, this suave, attractive looking guy, spills the beans as he says, “This love story has originated from my own life,” and blushes just as he was seated between his friends and was being teased about his lady love. We seldom meet ...
Not many budding authors end up harnessing the power and potential of social media platforms. And we were pleasantly surprised when Harsh Snehanshu smartly “crowdsourced” the title of his new book. Wait…we shouldn’t be doing all the talking. Here’s Harsh talking about his inspirations, ideas, wit, social media and more! What inspired/provoked you to write “Oops! I Fell In Love…just by chance”? How did you stu...
5th July, Mumbai. Landmark at Inifinity Mall was crowded as ever. But this time it was Landmark garnering most of the attention. And why not!?! Anurag Anand’s fifth novel, a fictional one, Reality Bites was launched at Landmark by eminent personalities of tinsel town – Sudhir Mishra (Director), Randeep Hooda (Actor) and reigning Pantaloons Femina Miss India World 2011, Kanishtha Dhankhar. (L to R: Randeep Hooda, Anurag Anand, Sudhir Mish...
Of late, I’ve noticed quite a few online and offline book clubs spring up. But not many takers. So I got thinking as to why someone should (or not) join a book club. Come to think of it, there are quite a lot of advantages of being an active book lover. 1. Freedom Of Expression Oh, this sure ranks #1 for me. The freedom to express your opinions about the book, the characters, the plot, the author –to a larger audience is quit...
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...
We have all fallen in love when we were 17. We have all experienced the happiness, positivity that first love brings in our lives. But when the same love fades away, we have all cried, felt extreme sorrow and vacuum. But when Pune-based teenager Shrenik Mutha, fell in love with ‘his angel’ and things did not work out for them, he choose to write a novel Broken Hearts based on his diary. The book was released a couple of months ago and has been praised liber...
A "lesser known poet", a brilliant author, and an extremely charming young girl - Ismita Tandon Dhanker made waves with her debut novel- Love On The Rocks earlier this year.
BookChums got talking with Ismita and here's all that we found out.
We saw your blog and it has some real good poetry. So let’s begin with the clichéd one first – when and how did you start writing poetry?
Poetry happened to me at the age of twenty-six when I went ...
Reviewers claim that Chitralekha Paul’s writings are similar to Jhumpa Lahiri and Anita Desai’s treatment and writing style. The dilemmas, issues and small pleasures of the protagonist of Delayed Monsoon, Abhilasha, has given critics and reviewers enough reason to applaud this lawyer-cum-writer’s debut venture. The way in which Abhilasha and Arvind fall in love, the anticipation of meeting her beloved for the first time (she fell in love with Arvind onl...
Romance, Love, Passion. What more do you need on cold winter days as you snuggle up in bed, enjoying your vacation with a warm mug of hot chocolate and a lovely romantic book?!
Sometimes I feel the characters have come alive with each line of intimacy and desire, making each romantic read an unforgettable one.
The sometimes unconventional settings, the moods and the description of the scene evoke the senses.
The hero, I believe, is all out to get her lady love. ...
Not many authors choose to write for a cause. While most fiction writers are happy talking about relationships and other humdrum stuff, Saptarshi Basu, is a new author who is writing to make a difference.
Through his writings Basu is determined to make things better for people around. His latest book titled Autumn In My Heart, touches upon the sensitive issue of student suicide.
Bookchums chats up with the author of Love, Logic And The God's A...
Continuing the list of romance novel, here are a few more to keep you engrossed this weekend!
A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux
Vacationing in England with her lover, Robert, and his spoiled teenage daughter, heroine Dougless Montgomery is abandoned by them in a remote country churchyard near the tomb of Nicholas Stafford, an earl who died in 1564. Almost immediately, an armor-clad swashbuckler materializes--Nicholas himself, reincarnated in the ...
Rightly said, “never judge a book by its movie” stands tall and true with so many books and their weird movie versions. Here’s a list of some books that ruined the reading experience of the books.
The Time Traveler's Wife
The Time Traveler's Wife was the debut novel of American author Audrey Niffenegger. It is a love story about a man with a genetic disorder that causes him to time travel unpredictably, and about his wife, ...
Reading is an expensive pass time. Considering we read books (talking about fictions here) once, we really need to pick them carefully. For instance, I remember buying Mistress Of Spices and was stuck with the book. I had paid a reasonably large sum for it and it was such a drag. It was then that I made a promise to myself to buy books only after reading book reviews. In other words I pledged to begin judging a book by its review (and not movie) before I bought it.
...
All it really takes to hook a person to a good book, is the opening line.
Though they are stand alone sentences, they lure and entice (sometimes quite literally) the readers to discover more.
I recently happened to glance at the opening passage of Gary Shteyngart’s forthcoming novel, Super Sad True Love Story and it read,
“Today I’ve made a major decision: I am never going to die. Others will die around me. They will be ...
Debutant author Parinda Joshi is one talented lady. Armed with a Masters in Computer Science to an MBA in marketing and working in Analytics along with being a blogger for GQ and a professional photographer, she has entered the world of fiction by penning an urban, young romance set in two very vibrant cities. Needless to say that she has been able to play all these roles with élan.
BookChums caught up with this young author to know how Live From London ha...
“Let us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table;”
- From The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (TS Eliot)
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock has always been regarded as the hallmark of modernist poetry and most of us would agree. It draws a vivid picture of Prufrock who is given to procrastination, has a sense of aging and unrequited love, and pinched by ind...
Rajeev Ranjan, who has been serving as an Indian Coast Guard Officer for the last 15 years one fine morning began scribbling his thoughts and ideas in a secret little notebook that lay by his bedside. Slowly he started finding this activity de stressing and he continued to write. After a gap of some days when he opened the book, to his surprise he felt that the book had some potential. After his brother seconded his opinion, Rajeev developed his work and thus was born A ...
21st December 2011, Pune.
As I walked in to Landmark for the book launch and reading session of Judy Balan’s debut novel - Two Fates: The Story Of My Divorce, I looked around to see if I could spot her. Amidst the crowd she easily passed off as a kid...alright a teenager! Yes, you read me right. A teenager. A young, chirpy one (and I’m tempted to add bubbly too) at that. Her smile, definitely infectious…and her book – o...
As I walked in to the bookstore for the launch of Judy Balan’s debut novel, Two Fates: The Story of my Divorce, I was greeted with a sweet smile and a hint of a rollicking time!
I managed to get Judy’s time and attention before the launch and indulged in a candid interview.
On enquiring about the ideation of the story, she was quick to respond, “I happened to be in a store and noticed Drink, Play, F@ck, the parody of Elizabeth Gilbert&rsqu...
The first time I met author Manasi Vaidya was at a book launch event in Pune. She happened to tell me that Penguin was releasing her romantic comedy No Deadline For Love under the Metro Reads section. As soon as I got back to office, I read her blog, I fell in love with her writing style. Her topical subjects, situations and reactions were incredibly funny. From how she ran to the loo to key in her novel or how she came across a group of daughter-in-laws who faked linger...
People know him as "a Chartered Accountant and Management Consultant by accident, a civil servant by day and a writer by night. A voracious reader and a lover of cinema. And of course the Managing Director, Grey Oak Publishers."
But this barely sums up the personality of author Ahmed Faiyaz.
Those familiar with his previous work will vouch for his insight to observe and meticulously jot human emotions and relationships. And with his latest offering Scammed: ...
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...
Ever since there have been humans on earth, or more precisely, the male and female species, there has been the omnipresent fatal attraction that goes around by the name of love. It is thus no wonder that writers from time immemorial have featured love in their stories. One of the few early examples includes Indian poet Kalidasa and his poems Sakoontala and Meghdootam. The latter is the tale of an estranged couple, and a cloud who acts as a messenger to the husb...
Love is an emotion of exultation, of extreme happiness, bordering on delirium and superficial onlookers may term it as insane, as many things of the heart are so readily termed. As far as books are concerned, the most popular of the love stories are the oft-repeated boy-girl romance sagas.
Look at the most downloaded book of love st...
A bunch of writers and a book-loving audience made for an entertaining exchange of words, ideas and humour. For this was a book launch of the now popular Urban Shots short story collection series held on February 22, 2012 at the Landmark Store, Pune. The latest collection is titled Urban Shots: The Love Collection. The book features 31 stories by 27 authors; eight of these writers were present at the event along with well-known writer Ahmed Faiyaz and actress K...
Love stories continue to stimulate us, and if we go by the number of times Thomas Bailey Aldrich’s Rivermouth Romance has been downloaded, you would get an idea of the hold love has over us. The book has been downloaded 394 times within a month of its availability on the BookChums eBook section. Aldrich (1836-1907) was an American poet, novelist, traveler, and editor.
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This week we speak with author Astha Suneja who has authored two fictions: Owe You My Fate and Yes... I Flaunt My Diamond. This young author talks about blogging and what inspires and compels her to put pen to paper.
You work with TCS and writing is not what is demanded of you professionally. So how did you go about releasing two novels in quick succession?
I have always had my interests in the field of communication. In spite of having a technical academic degr...
Primarily associated with theatre, teaching and writing, Hina Siddiqui's story 'Making Out' made it to the recently released story story collection: Urban Shots: The Love Collection. Here is the interview of the writer who is currently based out of Pune.
How did writing come to you?
I don't know... it's like an instinct really... when in doubt reach for the pen... or keyboard nowadays. Stories are important to me and they are always buzzing ar...
From where do words flow? If words flow from the mind as thoughts, then from where do these thoughts come? Surely, there must be a place from where these thoughts float into one’s mind. I like to call it ‘the realm of heightened awareness’. In this realm, feelings, likes, and dislikes are kneaded into dough of words to appear coherent. The ink of consciousness stains the paper with tales of angst and joy. This I believe is the birthplace...
Noted Israeli author, Sam Vaknin is synonymous with varied portfolios of work from being the editor-in-chief for the online magazine, Global Politician to writing the widely-acclaimed book, Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited, a treatise and discussion on narcissism. He has also worked as an economic advisor for governments in Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern and Central Europe and he served in the Israel Defense Forces. And the list goes on; he...
April 23, 2012, Pune, India: BookChums interviewed Sam Vaknin, editor, columnist, psychologist, financial advisor & consultant, and author of the popular book, Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited. This book is a treatise on narcissism and explores the depth of the Narcissistic Personality Disorder and how individuals afflicted with this disorder tend to abuse others; thereby destroying relationships. In this witty and crisp interview, he described his writings ...
In continuation from last week's blog - Guest Blog: Is Your Story Worth Telling - Part I, getting a fiction novel published in this day is a piece of cake provided you have a good manuscript. No more sending query letters and manuscripts to heavy-weight publishers and wait for their response that may or may not come. The Publishing industry is in the throes of witnessing the rise of the new age running ‘Literary Agencies’, which help pitch y...
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