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thegirlbythefirelight · 1 year

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To go back to Murakami after what seems like ages (it has been- last year somehow I missed reading any of his books 🫣) is to go back to life. 24 short stories, what our writer calls sprints, written in between his novels, (you guessed it right-marathons) are perfect for anyone who wants to sample his style. On offer are- crows that know the difference between cakes, a one-legged surfer, a couple who take off to Greece on a whim, unexplained disappearances and cats, of course they are Mhrakami's mysterious cats. This was my fifth by him and the one that left me most disappointed. Apart from 3-4 stories, the rest were less nuanced than what I had expected. Short stories lack the room to flesh out their characters, mostly, & someone who prefers character-driven tales vis a vis plot-driven narratives, the commitment they demand and offer is inadequate. Also, I felt at sea with some stories- neither I could understand their meaning nor the metaphor behind them, if any. But. Great if you want bite-sized Murakami morsels. Also great if time is at a premium (when isn't it?). My favourite - If you liked this read: For #magicrealism: •Kafka On The Shore- predictably the better Murakami to start with. •The Invisible Life Of Addie Larue •The Night Circus •The Master & The Margarita • Beloved •Midnight's Children For #Japaneseliterature: •When the Emperor Was Divine •Never Let Me Go •Before The Coffee Gets Cold •The Easy Life In Kamusari #shortstoriescollection #harukimurakami #blindwillowsleepingwoman #japanesefiction #contemporarybooks #fantasyfiction #asianliterature #delhireader #delhibookstagrammer #delhibookstafam #2023readingchallenge #januaryreads #murakamiharuki #murakamibooks #bookaesthetic #indianreaders #indianbookstagram #bookstagramindia #kindleflatlay #booksandtea #winterreads #mybookfeatures #readerslife #alwaysreading #bookdragon #bookishthoughts #alwayswithabook #readingchallenge2023 (at India) https://www.instagram.com/p/CoEWLOirrKz/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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lavinadua · 3 years

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✨Spending my day in my study room, near my book shelf is literally the best feeling ever!! ✨ & the current weather in delhi is adding all the more to it! ❤️ This also makes me feel like buying more books (as usual :P) but I’m waiting to buy books from Janpath when I go there in the coming week!!💟 Hint Hint: A book Haul can be expected 📚 📕What are you currently reading?? 📕 💭Tell me in the comments section below! . ✨Follow @youmeandbooks_ ❤️Like 📑 Save & 🚀 Share _____________________________ #Books #booklover #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookblog #bookstagrammer #nonfictionbooks #bookclub #youmeandbooks #lavinadua #bookreviews #delhibookstafam #delhibookstagrammer (at Gurgaon) https://www.instagram.com/p/CVR_ZWEB1SI/?utm_medium=tumblr

#books #booklover #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookblog #bookstagrammer #nonfictionbooks #bookclub #youmeandbooks #lavinadua #bookreviews #delhibookstafam #delhibookstagrammer

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merrative · 3 years

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Author @sougand_akbarian, in conversation with our avid reader from the community, CA @a.book.is.my.haven 7th March 2021 | 7 PM IST | Instagram Live Sougand Akbarian is a young Iranian translator, TEDx speaker and author based currently in Iran. She is a bestselling translator in Iran of Indian literature into Farsi (Persian). Sougand is also a researcher and scholar in Translation Studies and she already presented and published her papers and articles in national and international conferences in Iran and India. Silky Bansal is a Chartered accountant by profession and an avid reader by passion. She loves the energy that this Bookstagram community is dwelling on and actively shares her about reads! . . Sougand has been to India many times and especially to Delhi as a traveller and interpreter, that is the reason she decided to write her travelogue in the English language based on her Delhi travel as bestseller SouganDilli. We will be discussing around: - About her book SouganDilli - Questions around her writing, translating, Farsi as a language - A fun Rapid Fire questions around reading habits, recommendations and writing habits. - Top 3 all-time recommended reads - About the discussion to be conducted by the author around her literature and translation works with Merrative We are excited about the interview to know about different cultures and Delhi as a city! Do tune in! . . . . . #merrative #bookstagram #bibliophile #readinglife #iranian #iranianliterature #translatedbooks #translation #bookrecommendations #bookreviewer #indianbookblogger #womenwriters #womenauthors #authorcommunity #writerscorner #writingcommunity #authorinterview #delhibookstafam #delhivibes #sodelhi (at Delhi, India) https://www.instagram.com/p/CMBwdgeglQk/?igshid=1g7ynjkfyzgmd

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kavitakane · 4 years

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#MenakasChoice- Was it because she was an apsara that whatever she touched she could seduce? • Born during the churning of the ocean, #Menaka is the most beautiful of all the apsaras in the world, with quick intelligence and innate talent. However, she craves for the one thing she can never have - family. Elsewhere, after severe austerities, a man, now blessed with the name Vishwamitra, challenges the gods and dares to create another heaven. Fearing his growing powers, Indra, the king of gods, decides to put a stop to his ambitions by making Menaka seduce him. . . . Menaka's choice is an amazing tale of an apsara and her life. Its a story of a woman and the choices she makes.🌸 In indian mythology, we must have heard about her as an apsara who had seduced a great rishi, Vishwamitra and apart from that we never really knew about this woman. @kavitakane has given her an identity of her own in this book and beautifully crafted her life's journey. She is fierce and take the ownership of her actions.🙌 I don't want to reveal spoilers as I would like you to read the book as only after reading it, you'll get to know Menaka, her love story with a gandharva Vishwavasu and the great rishi Vishwamitra and the choices she had made. :) . . . #therisingreaderreading📖 #kavitakane #bookreview #kavitakanebooks #mythology #indianmythology #hindumythology #bookstagram #bookstagramindia #unitedbookstagram #bookgram #bookstagrammer #thebookoholics #bibliophile #bookworm #booklover #booknerd #bookishjourney #bookishworld #bookishcommunity #booksandtravel #booksandmore #loveforbooks #booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #delhibookstagrammer #delhibookstafam #myhappyplace https://www.instagram.com/p/B-YUs1hpcXv/?igshid=1xm31fp076o6c

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thegirlbythefirelight · 1 year

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There’s love accumulated over stretches of time that they haven’t met and so you understand that moment when Tom and Claudia are walking in Cairo markets replete with their filth and fragrances, why he wants to buy her something….anything. They both don’t know if there is a future, times being as such, and hope is a flighty word. That desperation to offer something tangible, because who can hold love, is my favourite part of the story. It’s as human as it gets. Penelope Lively’s Claudia- the custodian of lost Hungarians, enterprising, almost fearless, leaving behind her wake of bad decisions, a spunky historian. She is a handful and age has nothing to do with it. As a feisty chit of a girl or as a supposed dowager, lying on white sheets, forgetting the names of things, pretend-sleeping through family visits- there was no point when I wasn’t rooting for her. No two people are born in the same family- siblings meet their parents at different growth trajectories, so each has a different childhood. History is something like that- how the world moves for an Indian is different for how it moves for a Ukranian, a Sudanese, an American. So when Claudia aspires to retell the history of humankind, in effect, it is her version of the world she is offering. Ambitious, much? But then we all think we have a tomorrow and the next year and a life planned till 80, so who isn’t? Travelling through time with Claudia was like diving into the vortex- levels fly past, and everything’s happening simultaneously on them. Lively was right- memory doesn’t care for chronology. Neither is it that clinical nor as neat. I loved the same version of events retold through different character perspectives. Moon Tiger isn’t a romantic read, lest my opening lines put you off. More like a manual for living- if we are going to take up space, might as well make the most of it. PS: The cover. I detest it. #moontiger #penelopelively #delhireader #delhibookstagram #bookerprizewinner #femaleauthors #readingwomen #feministbooks #bookflatlay #delhibookstafam #historicalfiction #smallbooks #recommededreading #womenwhoread #2023readingchallenge #bestbooks2023 #indianbookstagrammer (at India) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn3YEEEL7HZ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#moontiger #penelopelively #delhireader #delhibookstagram #bookerprizewinner #femaleauthors #readingwomen #feministbooks #bookflatlay #delhibookstafam #historicalfiction #smallbooks #recommededreading #womenwhoread #2023readingchallenge #bestbooks2023 #indianbookstagrammer

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thegirlbythefirelight · 1 year

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As I begin to write this, I'm trying to pin down what this story is about- India's first lady doctor or child marriage? Does it catch the Indian women emancipation movement in its nascent stages or capturing the downfall of the last nawab of Awadh is its aim? It's all this. Which is part of its charm & also the reason why it overpowers you. But let's start from the beginning. Krishnosundor & his family leave their village with a promise of better days but life sells them off as plantation slaves. His sister, Bhubonmoni, his two daughters & his wife- their lives form the crux of this story. The first 150 pages pulled me in; the story took off immediately but I found myself emotionally overwhelmed. I asked @pepperandpetals the one who loved this book and gifted it to me, if things get better. She encouraged me to continue reading & I am glad I listened to her. The story is well-researched & apart from the protagonists there are others who held my interest- I mean, Rabindranath Tagore is practising his poetry & Kadambini Ganguly is studying to be a doctor here. The tapestry is rich with memorable characters, sewn with the silk of the Indian history.�� @arunavasinha has done a fantastic job with the translation and I wish @debarati.mukhopadhyay more success with her book. The Indian historical fiction scene is richer because of her work. Trigger warnings: Child marriage, rape, gender & caste issues. #chroniclesoflostdaughters #bengalitranslatedliterature #debaratimukhopadhyay #delhibookstafam #delhibookstagrammer #indianbooks #historicalfiction #translatedbooks #indianreader #indianbookstagrammer #bookstagraminda #translatedliterature #alwaysreading #bookblogger #bookishthoughts #bookdragon #2023readingchallenge #readingchallenge2023 #januaryreads #delhireaders (at India) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnoYS4Vr1MC/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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thegirlbythefirelight · 2 years

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Slower than usual. Going through a lean phase of reading. Still reading but lesser and slower. Which is why the updates have dwindled. Any way I don't attempt to promise regularity because that's too much pressure and I find that I need more breaks from social media than others. How much is too much? Who knows? The time is flying because I am watching all the junk on screens. Some great stuff too. And no, no guilt associated with it. The lean phase will pass. Reading is breathing, after all. Till next time. #nevernotreading #delhibookstagrammer #delhibookstafam #indianbookstagram #indianreaders #whatareyoureading #bookishthoughts #bookstagramnewbie #newtobookstagram #happinessisbooks #bookblogger #readersaesthetic #readingallthetime #readersofinstagram #booksbooksbooks #readerslife #booktags #bookdragon #bookobssesed #addictedtobooks #readingmakesmehappy #readinggoals #readingchallenge2022 #bookishphotography #readerslovebook (at Delhi, India) https://www.instagram.com/p/Chv-n2nLySK/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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thegirlbythefirelight · 2 years

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My younger one started school this month. She had been home far longer than expected and so this development was welcome and a bit surreal. On the day we, she and I, went to check out schools at some point she walked into a classroom and refused to come out. There wasn't a farewell or a goodbye kiss. Hell, I could have done even with a lingering glance. Between her and I, it was me whom her principal was counselling. 😂 I guess this is how birds fly from home- one day nestled between your wings, chittering away a thousand stories and the next soaring towards their own skies, unbelievably certain, unwittingly innocent. So the first day I stayed till school got over. The second too- what if she needed me? She didn't. I have a peninsula of calm that I didn't know how to explore. I didn't remember the last time I had an hour to myself. Now half a day, stretches before me. I haunt the cafes around when the kids are in school. Surprisingly, my part of the city is generous to its artists. I nurse just a mere cup of coffee and read and write and no one disturbs me- they don't present the cheque, they don't even ask if I want something else. They leave me alone. Absolutely. One even offered to open its doors at 8 am, if only I could get going that early. I was speechless, just a smut of a smile in lieu of such indulgence. But then again I shouldn't have been shocked- I have survived in life mostly on the kindness of strangers and generosity of their acts, each one so magnanimous in its thought and effort. And so, I also thank you- for being in my circle of life. When I started out, it was only with the intent to chronicle my reading journey. To find people to whom stories and words mattered. Who would share a part of their life in responding to what I wrote here. Thank you for indulging me. #writingjourney #writersuniverse #bookblogger #bookishthoughts #bookstagramnewbie #bookcollector #bookobssesed #coffeeandbooks #delhibookstagrammer #delhibookstafam #indianbookstagram #indianreader #indianbookstagrammer #booksandwriting #bookstagramfeatures #readersread #alwaysreading #neverwithoutabook #nevernotreading #indianwriters #bookishflatlay #raw_books (at Delhi, India) https://www.instagram.com/p/CgCUZoGrArb/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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thegirlbythefirelight · 2 years

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It is a tale told well. But it is cruel. And sadly, it is so to his family. Karl Ove Knausgard has written or ripped his heart, his life open in this series ‘Min Kamp’. ‘A Man in Love’ is just that- a story about young love, about marriage- the pretty, the tricky bits, about small progressions, little challenges in life- kids, apartment changes, in-laws, tiffs with one’s partner. The tragedies of youth, the permanence of decisions, the wounds we inflict, and those we survive. This story, the series, throws up some ethical questions. Repeatedly I had been astonished by the acuity of Knausgard’s observations about the mundane shards of life. As frequently, the divulged details, his feelings about situations, yes, but more about the people in his life left me shocked and, at times, feeling like a voyeur. We are all unkind, to our loved ones the most, but to put it down on paper and make it permanent is self-destruction of another kind. He remarked once- “When I started out on ‘Min Kamp,’ I was so extremely frustrated over my life and my writing. I wanted to write something majestic and grand, something like ‘Hamlet’ or ‘Moby Dick,’ but found myself with this small life - looking after kids, changing diapers, quarreling with my wife, unable to write anything, really.” That’s simple enough to understand. But how much is too much? It is not easy being a writer’s family. And Knausgard’s work proves that on a very different plane. If you read his interviews, he comes across as such a genuine and gentle person. And so I look at this book differently- we have felt so many of the things that Knausgard writes about- the shames, the frustrations, the horrors of being in situations we have no control over, of people, we are bound to through various threads- and I salute him. His writing is authentic and scary in its leap of faith. He has bled on paper., like how good writing demands you to. He has scarred himself and his family. His work is as real as it comes. #amaninlove #karloveknausgard #norwegianbookseries #delhibookstafam #delhibookstagrammer #indianbookstagrammer #womenwhoread #favouritereads #favouriteauthors #readingallthetime #literaryfiction (at Delhi, India) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfwaQqZvr_y/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#amaninlove #karloveknausgard #norwegianbookseries #delhibookstafam #delhibookstagrammer #indianbookstagrammer #womenwhoread #favouritereads #favouriteauthors #readingallthetime #literaryfiction

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thegirlbythefirelight · 2 years

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I'll make a short work of this. 'How We Disappeared' A 13 year old Kevin is charged with the mission to find the truth about his family's past. The reason? His dying grandmother tells him a secret she almost carries to the grave. At the end of the spectrum is Wang Di, a survivor of the Japanese occupation of Singapore. If you read enough books or watch dramas, you can predict where this is going. The arc of this story encompasses the plight of comfort girls who were held captive, mistreated (putting it mildly) and later abandoned in the face of defeat. I was slightly impatient with the book for having figured out the plot too early and because I had already read a couple of books dealing with the occupation earlier. But that's on me. Is the book well-written? Yes. The characters? Well-formed. The storyline? Fleshed out. It punches all the right spots. If this is your first read about the atrocities committed during the Japanese occupation of Malaysia, Singapore and the region- trigger warning. If you want more material on the occupation: 1. The Rape of Nanking 2. The Narrow Road To The Deep North #howwedisappeared #jingjinglee #japaneseoccupation #worldwar2history #worldwartwohistory #historicalfictionbooks #historicalfiction #asianhistory #singaporebooks #asianfiction #neverwithoutabook #nevernotreading #bookblogger #readingchallenge2022 #2022readingchallenge #octoberreads #readingwomen #readersaesthetic #bookishthoughts #bookdragon #booksaboutwar #booksandcoffee #delhibookstagrammer #delhireaders #delhibookstafam #indianbookstagram #indianbookstagrammer #indianreaders #coffeeandbooks (at Delhi, India) https://www.instagram.com/p/CkKtpYULD1a/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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thegirlbythefirelight · 2 years

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'Into Thin Air' by Jon Krakauer I don't know how to write about this book- every adjective that I think of is saddled with the weight of death. A retelling of the events that unfolded in the deaths of his fellow mountaineers, the book is a personal account by @krakauernotwriting of what happened and make sense of the whys. What worked for me: • Sherpas, local Nepalis who ace mountain climbing, have not been shuffled as footnotes to the mountain climbing experience. They literally set the stage for the non-Nepali folks to climb- from carrying supplies to setting ropes and yet in the 90s a tour guide charged $65000, while the Sherpa who works the hardest made about $2500. Go do the Math. As someone from the subcontinent and from a country whose heritage includes examples of this kind of exploitation, it's safe to say- it made my blood boil. • I knew there are risks in mountaineering- high altitude sickness is something we are advised about while doing our acclimatization when travelling to higher altitudes- but the book delves into that and others in more depth and covers a larger risk base. It was scary- how the body turns against itself when so out of its comfort zone. • Krakauer's writing is fascinating. He has written about a horrific episode with remarkable clarity and coherence. I wanted to devour everything that he has ever written. Sharing one of the pic that I have from the Himalayan range. And another of a quaint railway station in the foothills of Himalayas. Sunday mornings armed with a flask of tea and sandwiches, we would head to this platform and chill. Only two trains frequented this station- one arrived in the morning. Another left at night. This station is neither so laid-back nor as quaint anymore. #intothinair #jonkrakauer #nonfictionreads #nonfictionbookclub #nonfictionbooks #mustreadbooks #bookrecommendations #mountaineeringbooks #womenwhoread #indianbookblogger #indianbookstagrammer #delhibookstafam #delhibookstagram #delhibookstagrammer #delhibookstafam #newtobookstagram #newbookstagram #newbookstagrammer #nevernotreading #bookishthoughts #bookishlove #booksbooksbooks #unitedbookstagram #unitedbookstagramindia (at Delhi, India) https://www.instagram.com/p/CaeJanYLlac/?utm_medium=tumblr

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kavitakane · 5 years

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‘I am halfway through this amazing book on #Ahalya and just loving it!❤’ - #Repost @therisingreader with @get_repost ・・・ How much do you guys love reading while traveling? 📖 . . . I have been to Jaipur, Rajasthan recently and I just loved every piece of it. Jaipur is truly a colorful city. 🌸 Massive forts, beautiful architecture, authenticity and what not. The best part about my trip was, I had the pleasure of reading a few chapters on Princess Ahalya in the huge Amer fort. It literally gave me a different kind of peace and pleasure. Damn! It was such a great feeling, to read about a princess while being in a palace. 😇 Also, I am halfway through this amazing book on Ahalya and just loving it!❤ . . . #therisingreaderreading 📖 #ahalya #ahalyasawakening #kavitakane #kavitakanebooks #mythology #indianmythology #bookstagram #bookstagramindia #bookgram #unitedbookstagram #bookishjourney #bookishworld #bookishcommunity #thebookoholics #bibliophile #bookworm #booksandtravel #jaipur #amerfort #read #readerforlife #booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #delhibookstagrammer #delhibookstafam #myhappyplace #preciselypena🎈 (at Amer Fort Jaipur) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2jPK5opdiS/?igshid=1cmq9rqv8kyei

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