Thanks for the tag @Lindy A day late but here goes...
1. On my balcony with a cup of Chai and a book/sprawled on a beach/wallowing in a pool. It‘s books or the water for me.
2. Van Morrison‘s Dancing in the Moonlight
3. I‘ve been bitten by a 🐿
@Eggs #wondrouswednesday

Red Rose Apples & some time with a book keep the #lockdownblues away! #junglestories #southindiantribes #eatinglocal #fruitsandbooks

Last night‘s re-read got me thinking. For a moment I juxtaposed this children‘s story on our adult reality - the migrants being the Whos and us urbanites/middle-class/elites/authorities/anyone who is safe and sound as the inhabitants of the Jungle of Nool - and found some unsettling issues. Do the people of Whoville need to be thankful to the people ‘bigger than they‘ who‘ve ‘got to protect them‘? That right there is inequality. Contd.👇🏽

Reading it to my child tonight, I was heartbroken as the message was all too real. My country is currently facing a new crisis - apathy towards migrant workers. I‘m no activist nor do I have the guts or means. There are many like me. Many that aren‘t. Many that are better and bolder. But if anything is to change, we‘ve got to do as Horton says -“Make every Who holler! Make every Who shout! Make every Who scream!” #APersonIsAPersonNoMatterHowSmall

Tonight‘s choice! A lovely tale of Ganesha and how he came to lose his tusk and what ensued. Sanjay Patel‘s fantastic illustrations make this a favourite. #BedTimeBooks #KidsLibrary #NightTimeRitual #ChildrensBooks

This was a good one. An interesting break from my non-fiction binge. But it was also a hard read. It‘s a #murdermystery infused with relatable, recognisable human experience and insight that makes it both unnerving and engaging. It made me want to pause and mull over the cascading effect of words, instances and the why, what and who of it. But also kept pushing me to turn the page. #Whodunit #StephenKingRecommends #LifeLoveAndLoss #pageturner

A banned book, a Pulitzer winner, and a mystery with Stephen King‘s stamp of approval. Got these from my local bookstore. Ever so grateful that they are open in these times. #bannedreads #natureandus #stephenkingrecommends #indiebookstoretotherescue #bookwormbangalore #bannedbooks

Celebrating #WorldBookDay with #BookishTotes. Found these at my #IndieBookStore and bought them along with some new reads! #LockdownEssentials #BooksAreEssential

The #EasterExtravganza readathon has been quite an eye-opener for me. The goal was to read 100 pages a day and that was hard to do in the midst of cyclical house work. But the real villain is social media! I had to step away to get the reading done. I didn‘t complete my goal of 3 books but I did manage 1 and a half! That in a week is new for me. I see this as a win and a means to attempt more disciplined reading. Thanks for hosting this @Andrew65

A day late but here it is...

1. One Part Woman by Perumal Murugan
2. I don‘t know a foreign language but Tamil is my mother tongue and I‘ve read some of Andal‘s poetry.

Thanks for the tag @NeedsMoreBooks

Happy Easter! I‘m getting tucked into these 3 for the #EasterExtravaganza hosted by @Andrew65 My goal is to read a 100 pages a day and by that calculation, I should be done by Friday but giving myself a buffer as this is my first #Readathon! Thanks @NeedsMoreBooks for the tag

#tothelefttotheleft First 7 books on the left of my shelf. There‘s no method to this madness!

This book reads like a thriller at a breakneck pace and then a staggering insight like this 👆🏽will pop up and watch you take a breath. Has me thinking in this time of #SocialDistancing.

“Do you want to know how many times I used to fantasise about going to work? Just once, to leave the house and get on a bus and drift off for half-an-hour, get a coffee, sit at my desk, make some phone calls and put my brain to work on something that doesn‘t involve me pretending to smile at some stupid little game or getting shit all over me? Do you want to know, Ed? Do you?” Quarantine showing men realities of stay-at-home moms through empathy.

If there‘s ever a book to put the current scenario in perspective, it‘s this. Yes, it‘s fiction. But the fear, the raging need to thrive, live, commune and do all those little things we‘ve taken for granted is all too real. This books holds up a mirror to that primeval fear, the gnashing of reality with the cocooned society we‘ve built up, how little is needed to make us fall apart & how little is required to bring us together. #Corona #Quarantine

Can a book be so good that you dawdle as much as you can to stretch out the experience? I‘ve never had to do this before but Sy Montgomery‘s 🐙 insight is such an amazing, delicious read that I don‘t want it to be over! #sosogood

It‘s a telling thing, the title of this book. With all that‘s going on around the world, from climate change to the cascade of misinformation on social media, discernment is the skill we all need. And starting them young is this lovely book that states the harsh truth in an endearing way. My 5-year-old got into ‘what is a fact?‘ ‘Am I a fact?‘ Which in turn led to discussions on hard truths & the concept of many truths. A thought-provoking read.

As an Xmas-aholic, Dec was busy. But the crazy hours meant I could savour this☝🏽book. Muller‘s part 2 in his #Burgher #trilogy is hilarious! The stories from his community are warm, incredible, some uncomfortable, but mostly they make you chortle. So I was glad to eke out the merriment all the way to my new year‘s trip on a farm where I startled kids, adults and curious Turkeys by guffawing uncontrollably many a time. #SriLankan #RailwayMen #LOL

I made quick work of this. It‘s a delicious, twisted tale of sisterhood. It never detracts from the premise but with the unspooling of the story it reveals some interesting aspects of human nature. A good read.

I finished this while vacationing in Goa. It couldn‘t be further from my world of butter garlic prawns & sedate beaches. But this is all I looked fwd to every time I got back to my room. This book of a different time, custom and place is magnificent. The core issue of human lust, belonging, the idea of marriage-property-heir are still very present not only in rural India but across the world. #Booked2019 #IndigenousAuthor #SomethingsAreYetToChange

Thanks for the #LitsyLearn tag @NeedsMoreBooks So here goes...
1. I watch tv shows and movies for a living, love adventure sports, and I have a pet turtle.
2. A Clockwork Orange for its after-effects 3. Yes. Kamila Shamsie when I was in college and attended her writing workshop. Ranjit Hoskote, Ruskin Bond and William Dalrymple. 4. Too Hot

Thank you for all the #LitsyLove @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @ImperfectCJ @Crazeedi @UwannaPublishme @Lovesbooks87 @JoyBlue @throwmeabook @Stacypatrice ❤️ It was wonderful to hear from you all. Thanks for the wishes!

What a phenomenal book! Circe‘s story is retold at the same ‘relentless‘ pace of human life that she admires so much. The writing is delicious! I especially love that of many of Circe‘s struggles, motherhood tops the list. Goddess or not, being a mother is a special kinda test. A thoroughly intoxicating read! #Magnificent #Odysseus #MythologyToldWell

Down with the flu and the only thing to do was read. Sujata Massey‘s fictitious lawyer with super-sleuthing skills is great company! Perveen Mistry may be doing her bit for women‘s empowerment in the 1920s of Bombay. But she‘s every bit relatable! #Booked2019 #FemaleDetective #whodunit #MysteryWithAServingOfDelectableParsiCuisine

Paul Rosolie‘s style is earnest. And one look at his Instagram and you know that the abundant description of his jungle adventures isn‘t purple prose. It‘s as real as it gets. I‘m nearly done with #MotherOfGod. And I‘m looking forward to jump from the Amazon to the forests of India! #JungleLife #WalkOnTheWildSide

Still stewing over my recent read. Are we so inured to the everyday injustices and violence, so beyond hope that even Freddie Mercury can‘t fix? No. Not today. #ChannellingArya #DeathOnTwoLegs #ANightAtTheOpera #Queen

❤️Bangalore 🧡35 💛Entertainment Writer & Editor 💚Married 💙She/Her/Hers 💜Appu is my nickname and I‘m here on the Instagram for books #Gettingtoknowyou

‘For me, living in Lahore, a lowly-rat RJ playing rock music to a few desperate lonely teenage boys, Freddie really lives, yaar. He was one of us and he wasn‘t broken. He did what he wanted, he told everyone—his family, the system, the class—to fuck off. He was gay, weird-looking and desi, and yet he was a righteous magnificent angel.‘ Broken or not, he Lived and continues to do so. #Queen #IWantToBreakFree #IWantItAll

This reads at a breakneck pace. Quite like the city it embodies. Right from the title, the cover to the first page and every one that comes after, sucks you in to the vortex of disparity in time, means, gender and the art of chugging along. Soul-crushing moments jostling ones that make you soar. If I had read this in college, I‘d be shook. #Booked2019 #MuslimAuthorOrMC

“The Sky was washed with clouds in one rainy line after another...” The terrain is different but I was on a highway & had time to ponder over Captain Kidd and Johanna‘s journey. I especially love their symbiotic relationship. Captain Kidd‘s astute empathy stems from his news reading. That‘s my takeaway - that with the current polarised climate it‘s imperative that we read more, explore, disagree even but be aware of perspectives. #ReadToBeKinder

Choked on my tears as I wrapped up this one. A beautifully written story on the need for empathy and acceptance that there are many ways to live and many versions of truth. Jiles‘ writing is just magical! It draws you in slowly and then before you know it the book and you are inseparable.

In bed unwinding to this ☝🏽 More like adventuring into this. I‘m only at Chapter 3 and Rosolie‘s #Amazonian expedition already has me hook, line and sinker! Here‘s hoping I dream of ‘Macaws [that] are like flames in the sky.‘ #JungleAdventure #JaguarTerritory #SoloExpedition #WalkOnTheWildSide #VicariousExplorer

2019 started off with a promise to read more. But it spiralled into a case of #Tsundoku. I realised part of my temptation grew from Litsy - too many fabulous books and too little time! So I stayed away till I sliced through my TBR. ☝🏽though was an impulsive buy. Came via #FleasBookClub. Being a hardcore #RHCP fan, I just had to get it. I didn‘t read it in time for the chat but no regrets. It‘s turning out to be a great read! #NoGuilt #GimmeMore

I‘ve been taking my time with this series. It‘s a credit to the writer that Book 1 by itself is an impressive read. That you can take a break from this genre without forgetting this tale and return to Book 2 with the same fervency. And it doesn‘t disappoint. Hollow City pushes the story to a greater landscape filled with perils both physical and emotional. Can‘t wait to find out how #LibraryOfSouls unfolds! #Fantasy #GenreJuggler #BigPileOfTBR

A #CliFi that reads like a thriller! Ghosh in his inimitable style weaves stories within stories that reel you in tighter with every passing page. Almost every Book of his has transported me back in time. This was no different. But what‘s new to his writing is this sense of urgency. And rightly so. That I‘m yo-yoing between seasonal prompts of #Booked2019 is additional proof that #ClimateChangeIsReal. #SundarbansToVenice #TimeTravel #WeAreInNature

‘What does it mean to be an untouchable?‘ This stunning graphic book narrates events that shaped Ambedkar into a revolutionary, and current incidents to show casteism is alive and kicking. A pragmatic tone backed by facts and fabulous art, it urges us to open our eyes and mind to this aspect of India. #GraphicNovel #Booked2019 #FirstAcknowledge #ThenDebate #EssentialReading #WhyDidWeNotLearnInSchool #LateEnlightenment #MoreThanFatherOfConstitution

A beautifully written #TrueStory of unimaginable torment, unshakeable faith and the indefatigable human spirit. Lots of lessons in here - how little the body needs to survive, how it adapts, how the brain conspires to keep you alive even when it seems impossible and an elucidation that the need to live is a deep-seated driving force that never leaves you even when you think it‘s all over. A humbling #MustRead that will wring you out.

🐐 Days as the boy plays. #Bliss #QuietTime amidst all the rollicking #CurrentlyReading

#Unputdownable The victim is alive nearing the half-way mark, and that ups the dynamics of the characters. Aside: The narrator of my 2nd book of 2019, Nurse Leatheran, is a far cry from the daring & chutzpah of Dervla Murphy. It takes place in a country the latter cycled through. But the impressions formed by the fictional Nurse is poles apart. I guess it‘s proof of the times - one published in 1936, and an adventure undertaken in 1963. #Christie

I was to start with the Spring prompts for #Booked2019 but it was a cold January. And Murphy‘s swashbuckling adventure on 2 wheels fit right in. This is unrefined commentary of a bold, curious, unprejudiced traveller whose words might irk you or you‘d agree with. And that‘s the beauty of it. But mostly you just marvel at her tenacity, the terrain she pedals through and the people she meets. An inspiring way to start 2019. #IrishAuthor #Winter

Ending the year on a High (pile of new acquisitions)! Happy #2019 #Littens!

Thank you, @shobhitgupta for this wonderful book! @MyBookSwapClub #christmasbookswap Murphy‘s narration gives me excitement and anxiety in equal parts. #Unputdownable

I‘ve got my hands in 2 different books (1 murder mystery and 1 biblio mystery that is slow-moving but I‘m keen on finishing it in what‘s left of this year). But when The Book of Life arrived, I had to abandon everything else and dive right in. What a thoroughly enchanting conclusion to a tale fraught with cunning & pitfalls of the heart! I wish it didn‘t end.

Sitting pretty like a Martian with a mud-pack on my face. It‘s only apt that I pick this book from the TBR. #unwind #Sunday #mysteries

Come January it‘s Spring here in India. So here‘s the roundup for my first leg of #Booked2019 @BarbaraTheBibliophage @Cinfhen @4thhouseontheleft Tharoor for Night-Oriented Title, Perumal Murugan for Indigenous Author, Kiedis for Musician, Ghosh on climate change for Social Media Focus (my timeline is filled with updates on Cyclone Gaja) and it‘s a tie between the Anglo-Indian Cookbook & the alimentary canal for Food or Beverage on Cover.

Signed up for #Booked2019 Thanks for hosting @BarbaraTheBibliophage I went through the prompts and I‘m already pulling out books from my TBR to arrange them into seasonal stacks. Can‘t wait to challenge myself in the new year!

This part-fiction part-memoir drew me into the sticky sweet mess that was the life of the Sri Lankan Burghers, quite like the fruit from the tree that surveys their upheavals of joy, sorrow and victories. Be transported to a bygone era and come out of the final page immersed in the antiquities of a unique people. Illustration by Aart-Jan Venema of Geoffrey Bawa, a Burgher and a pioneering Architect.

I binge watched A Discovery of Witches. I like that Palmer isn‘t a raspy smitten kitten like KStew. Though in parts she too, did the breathless act. But who can blame her when it‘s Matthew Goode! So, I wrapped up the series eager to see part 2. It‘s under production so I grabbed the book instead and read at a mad pace. In 48hrs I had been to Elizabethan England, developed a dislike for Marlowe and was left pining for Part 3. A bewitching read!

When the husband picks up an exciting read from the airport book store 💃🏾💃🏾💃🏾 It‘s a standing request and he has never disappointed! The shelf dedicated to these picks deserve a separate post of their own. #FreddieMercury #Queen

Thank you @randomx for these two fabulous books! Excited to get started on them! And thank you @MyBookSwapClub for the experience #DiwaliBookSwap