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Dear Fellow Reader,

I have shifted my blog from blogspot to wordpress. I hope you enjoy the new blog as much as I do, and continue to show as much love and appreciation you've shown to this blog. 

New domain: https://readingglassess.wordpress.com/

In a few seconds, it will redirect you to the new blog.

Thank you and keep visiting me.

Lots of Love & Luck,

Reading Glasses

The Power Politics

Antonio Gramsci, an Italian philosopher and theoretician, coined the popular term “hegemony”.  Hegemony simply means the dominance/ governance of one social group over the others. This literary term can been used and perceived in many different ways. According to me, hegemony prevails in all aspects of our life whether it is gender or politics.

This dogma when applied to the present scenario holds more than a little value. The Indian publishing industry too is very hegemonic in nature i.e. divided into two noticeable groups– the influential or the governing and not-so-influential one. Books published by publishing houses such as Penguin Books, Random House, Rupa Publications, Harper Collins, Leadstart Publishing House, Westland Publishers among several others are always creating or making news. We are all huge Penguin fans and keep track of its new releases, special days, etc. But do we give any thought to the independent publishing houses prevailing in India? We are barely aware of their presence as well as their work. Several small publishing houses are doing brilliant groundbreaking work, but their achievements and success is deeply buried and crushed within this power play.

They [independent/ small-time publishing houses] seem to be nothing more than lifeboats adrift in a sea of bestsellers – providing a lifeline for unknown talents, for subjects that have been neglected or rediscovered and for a whole lot of other crazy stuff. 

The above quote fits perfectly. For palpable reasons the small time publishing houses do not have such resources and capital to create as much publicity and awareness as their counterparts. They sure do face a lot of problems marketing their books, getting more readerships, etc., but how often do we give them a chance? Publishing houses such as Zubaan Books, Blaft Publications, Indus Source, Queer Ink Publishers among several others are making history with their cutting-edge fiction and non-fiction books. But how many of you guys have heard about them, and about the kind of books they publish? The finest thing about these publishing houses is their passion. The innate desire to discover the buried treasures in Indian literature is what keeps them determined. These indie publishing houses are more absorbed in creating and bringing out the forbidden/ untouched content. They are not consumerist by nature; it is more of quality books than quantity– providing the readers with diversity and multiplicity in terms of story.

Isn’t this anything but a power play?  

We reside in a capitalist society where we are so engulfed by the big shots that we rarely glance or give others a chance. There is indeed a dire need to break-free from this hegemonic rule and look at everyone equally. There is no doubt in the fact that Penguin Books, and several other big publishers provide us with exciting and enthralling stories, but we need to unearth new forms of literature, look beyond the ordinary and these independent publishing houses are doing just that.

21 Bookish Questions with Reshma Krishnan

Thrilled to announce 21 Bookish Questions with the author of Fade into Red Reshma Krishnan. She is also a contributor for some of the well-known magazines such as National Geographic, Travel Plus, and Harper's Bazaar among many others. But above all she is a reader.

Reshma wasn't aware of 21 Bookish Questions, prior to the interview. But after watching the video, she seemed pretty psyched to be a part of this. She loves horror and fantasy, and admits to reading a lot of trash. We had a lot of fun while filming this video, discussing our sacred love for books. Thank you Reshma for being a part of 21 Bookish Questions.

In this 3 minute video, watch me ask Reshma some really intriguing 21 Bookish Questions!

If you are a writer, poet, blogger, or simply a fellow bookworm, I need you. Do drop me an email at foramdhruv92@gmail.com or you tweet to me @readin_glasses. I am looking forward to hearing from you. 

What’s in the box?

Book accessories are one of the few things that a bibliophile cannot resist. We are always hunting for a quirky bookmark, a cute diary, reading lamp, a penguin mug/ canvas bag, etc. These little embellishments more than just enhancing our reading experience provide us with this deep inner satisfaction.

My Big Red Bag, women oriented webzine, have come up with this thrilling and exciting Story Box. Hina & Gauri, the duo who started this webzine, believe that a woman has more faces to her personality than just fashion and beauty. She is ambitious, driven, energetic, movie/ series buff, master chef, bookworm and much more. The Story Box applauds each and every facet of a woman’s personality. A box full of cool, peculiar and exclusive products personally handpicked from all over the country. 

MBRB’s Book Lover Story Box is just perfect for us nerds! It celebrates the geeky and goofy side of us. 

A fashionable case of beautiful and practical things put together exclusively for a book lover. It includes a hand stitched journal with luxurious unlined paper (apt for scribbling our favorite quotes), an intricate brass bookmark (we never have enough of those), and specially designed coasters with quotes from some well-known women writers (woah!).

Hand stitched journal designed by Secret Ink

This metallic bookmark designed by Anand Prakash

One-of-a-kind coasters exclusively for MBRB
by Soulscapes

This Book Lover Story Box enriches our entire reading experience. Be it a Birthday, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day or just a bright sunny day, this curated/ customized box of love makes an ideal gift. 

Kudos to Hina and Gauri for this brilliant initiative. As I always say, happiness comes in boxes whether it is a package from Amazon or from My Big Red Bag!

Satiate your hunt and pamper not yourself but the hoarder within you with this chic box.

I am absolutely loving mine, are you? You can buy your Book Lover Story Box here.

21 Bookish Questions with Minnati Zaveri

As my ongoing web series with My Big Red Bag, this time I went to interview my dear friend Minnati Zaveri.

Minnati is a self-confessed book hoarder. She believes that reading provides the mind a quiet burrow where every turn of a page seems nothing short of a magic between her fingers. We both have a lot in common- hoarders, Murakami & Prufrock lovers, and chai addicts. Only thing I will never understand about her is despite being a die-hard Murakami fan she is a complete dog person!

Watch me ask Minnati Zaveri random 21 Bookish Question!

If you are a writer, poet, blogger or simply a fellow bookworm, I need you. Do drop me an email at foramdhruv92@gmail.com or you can tweet to me @readin_glasses. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Major Bookish Blunders

I have a confession to make. You probably may want to banish me from calling myself a book-lover after reading this post. But, Lord, have mercy!

I read this article on Books Riot about “Dangerous Consequence of a Book Life” where these Rioters were confessing about their major bookish mishaps. Well, being a clumsy person I too have had my fair share of accidental “blunders” as well. While the Rioters talk about how their mishaps took place as they were so engrossed in reading, I am talking about blunders that have taken place with me while I was busy being ignorant.

I have a habit of carrying what I am currently reading everywhere I go. Initially when I started working, my boss gave me a book to read. I had to be extra extra careful since she is extremely particular about her books. Once, I removed the book from my bag, and to my astonishment I noticed that the front cover of the book was fully bent!! Can you imagine my horror?!

I immediately put it under the fattest book I could find for six hours straight. Though the results were not that great but it didn’t seem as obvious as it was before.

(Talk about making an impression!)

You must have noticed how fat books have thicker spine and it is practically impossible to read properly. I had borrowed an expensive fat novel from a friend of mine. My friend is batshit insane about her books. While intently reading, the book “accidentally” got a crack in the spine.

(Yes, please take a moment of silence.)

It is weird how most of my blunders happen when I borrow books from others. Most of my friends who are particular about their books have stopped lending them to me, but most of the time I avoid asking anyone else for a book because I fear their reaction once I return them the book.

My Harry Potter collection is the oldest in my shelf. Since we (my sister and I) had the entire collection (1-7), all of our friends used to borrow them. So you will easily find maggi, tea, milk , and what-not stains in the book. While turning a page quickly I have even “accidentally” torn the page and then sellotaped it back together.

(In my defence, I was a kid.)

My tote bag is open, meaning it neither has a zip/ flap or a magnet button. Swoosh comes the rain and there goes my book!

I have had times when I have spilled the entire cup of coffee on the book lying on the table.

I have plenty of such random stories. My books and I share a very unique relationship. Despite treating them badly they always love me, no matter what. What else could I ask for?

I am assuming that none of you have had such blunders, it definitely is a blasphemy. But, if you did have such episodes do share and provide me with comfort while I go hide!

21 Bookish Questions with Sana Shaikh

It has been a while since I posted my ongoing series of 21 Bookish Questions with My Big Red Bag on my blog.

In this video, I went to interview Sana Shaikh who is leading two lives- graphic designer by the day and a literary character during the night. Since her reading style is completely different from mine, doing this video with her was all the more fun.

Watch Sana answer 21 totally weird bookish impromptu questions, and find out if you have anything common with her.

You will find Sana pouring her heart out on a page when 

not day dreaming about cats.

 

If you are a writer, poet, blogger, or simply a fellow bookworm, I need you. Do drop me an email at foramdhruv92@gmail.com or you can tweet to me @readin_glasses. I am looking forward to hearing from you!