#Bookstagram

A new trend is creating a rave amongst several bibliophiles. If you have an Instagram account you would know what I am referring to.

Bookstagram is a new fad that is seemingly becoming popular among book-lovers. An account solely dedicated to posting photographs related to books, under the hashtag of bookstagram. It is an interactive portal engaging millions of readers across the world in several giveaways, read-a-thon, book reviews, or favourite quotes from popular books. Love for literature is what binds everyone together.

Much pain is taken by the user to upload attractive photos which take us to a whole new level of book photography. To be honest, these photographs literally call you and make you want to read and posses those not-so-interesting books.

I have tried my hand at this with my normal phone camera. But my attempts are very amateur and nothing in comparison to these experts.

5 brilliant accounts that I follow on Instagram (you too need to follow them): 

Noura AlNaimi (@nouraimi) 

'Grandeur' is the word that best describes her photographs.
 

Ziba.Reads (@ziba.reads)

Her books (photographs) are calling out to you.

 

Mathilde Marie (@relationsheep)

My reading taste is quite similar to hers

 

Elephant Tea (@elephanttea)

Coffee and Books, two things favourite.

 

Lotte Likes Books (@lottelikesbooks)

^ That she certainly does! 

Most of the books on my reading list have been inspired by these people. As I mentioned before, the photographs are just gorgeous enough to lure you. It is also a great way to meet new and fellow book-lovers. The best part about this community is that they are very welcoming and happy to provide you with their inputs, comments and recommendations.

If you don’t have an Instagram account, download the app and make one. It will be worthwhile, trust me. 

Thank You @nouraimi @ziba.reads @relationsheep @elephanttea @lottelikesbooks for letting me share your pictures. You all have an excellent account!

  

 

Reading Challenge- Part 1

In my previous post, I mentioned taking up the Reading Challenge, and also cribbing about how slow my challenge is going. Well, in today’s post I will be talking about 5 books that I have ticked off my reading list. 

A book that was originally written in a different language

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (Translated by Christopher Moncrieff)

Main reason why I chose this book was because I had to do my comparison assignment on Madame Bovary and Lolita. Never miss an opportunity, always grab it.

Verdict: Well, I am no one to comment on a classic. You already know.






A book with non-human characters

Holy Cow by David  Duchovny

I wanted to read this book for a funny read but then I already had a book in mind for that hence shifted this one to this category.

Verdict: This book is really hilarious. I found sarcasm and wit running throughout the book. I will recommend it for a light reading. A book to–be-read-in-between-two-intense-books





A Mystery/ Thriller

The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino

I read the review of this book by Jerry Pinto in the Man’s World Magazine, where he is a guest writer. Thought I should try it out.

Verdict: Gripping. Will keep you engaged till the last page.








A Book that takes place in your hometown

Ravan and Eddie by Kiran Nagarkar

I am too much of a Bombay fan. I love this city to bits. Born and bought up in this city, I consider this place as my hometown. Kiran Nagarkar’s Ravan and Eddie is perfectly suitable for this category

Verdict: After reading this book, it is my favourite book EVER. He will make you fall in love with the book.

A Book that became a movie

 Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

My sister bought this book because she is a huge fan of Fight Club. So, this was an easy option.

Verdict: I love everything weird.

Reading Challenge 2015

I am 4 months late for this post, but who’s counting?

To begin with belated Happy New Year my fellow readers! I realise I have abandoned you for a really long time, but like a lost elephant I am back to my herd for good.

New Year calls for new beginnings, which in turn calls for new readings. Time to discover new books, authors, poems, genres and leave behind our age old stereotypes. My dumb self recently discovered these Reading Challenges that take place all over the internet. There are a wide variety of options available: Goodreads Challenge, Summer Reading Challenge, 50 Books Challenge, and several others. Being a voracious reader and competitive by nature, I voluntary took up one of the challenge that I came across after my thorough research.

I found my Reading Challenge 2015 from this website called POPSUGAR.

This particular challenge aroused my curiosity and got me excited. Options such as: a book you can finish in a day, a book that is last in your reading list, a book by an author who shares same initials as you, etc. seems very very interesting.  

I took my Reading Challenge vow on Instagram; and keep posting snapshots of books I have checked off my list. Though my Reading Challenge is going super slow­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­- due to the intrusion of the real world- I am trying my best.

Challenges are just an excuse to quirk things up a little, making you look beyond your usual choices. I am not one of the best readers with an eye for detail; I am among the average ones just looking to have a good time. Hence, I want to evolve as a reader and broaden my knowledge. I have promised myself that I won’t stick to my comfort zone and take this opportunity to explore.  

Wish me luck for my journey. I will keep you guys updated with my choices and reviews.

Till then Ciao.

Bouna Lettura! 

The Curious Case of a Reader

Reading a book has to be a novel experience. We are constantly reminded of reading a piece of work in complete isolation, without linking it to the writer's personal history.

Don't you think it is extremely difficult to abide by this rule? How can you not be intimidated by the writer? An image is immediately conjured up our minds when we are speaking of a particular author. For example: J.K Rowling- most of us breath the Harry Potter series. When she comes up with a completely new novel, a story line that is poles apart from what she used to write, we end up criticizing her in a bad way. Are we devoiding her of exploring different genres of literature? Of providing her readers/fans with a different world of her's? Can we sour our relationship/bond with her because of this?

Readers play a crucial role in our beloved author's life. The bond is personal and intimate. Every writer speaks differently to his/her reader differently through their piece of writing. Imagine, if tomorrow George Martin comes up with a romance novel or if Dan Brown writes a novel which is not historical or a suspense thriller, what would our reaction be? Their fans would sure as hell be outraged.

Do you realize what we are doing here? We are denying the writer a chance- a chance to write something different, new, a chance to explore, and take risks. Is it fair? Living in a digitally advanced generation, a tweet or a post on Facebook can affect the reading experience of million readers.

There have been long intellectual debates on whether one should read a novel in isolation, with no preconceived notion about the author. Instead, let's ask ourselves if we are doing the right thing? Should we be so critical of the author? Can't we give them a chance to try out something new? Are we that cruel?

Let me know what you think about this. I am open to any kind of views or an experience that you would like to share.

Happy Reading until my next post! 

Mapping Love

'Hubb' is love, 'ishq' is love that entwines two people together, 'shaghaf' is love that nests in the chambers of the heart, 'hayam' is love that wanders the earth, 'teeh' is love in which you lose yourself, 'walah' is love that carries sorrow within it, 'sababah' is love that excludes from your pores, 'hawa' is love that shares its name with 'air' and with 'falling', 'gharam' is love that is willing to pay the price.  

I have learned so much this past year, I could not list all the things I have learned.             

-Ahdaf Souief, Map of Love

I love it when I read works of new authors, the ones I have never read before as it helps me broaden my knowledge on different genres of novels/authors on the block. The same goes with Map of Love by Ahdaf Souief, we were prescribed this book for our term 2 gender paper and it got me pretty excited. Initially when I started to read this book, I was a little bored since I didn't have a clue of what was happening but as I kept on reading, it was hard for me to put down.

The title of the novel is very apt as Souief literally tries to map love. It is an extremely fascinating love story of two different generations, one taking place during the colonial times and the other in the modern era. Set against the colonial backdrop and the impact of European colonialism on a nation with thousand years of culture and history, Anna Winterbourne who is recently widowed finds herself enchanted with Egypt and simultaneously falls in love with Sharif Pasha al-Baroudi. We see history repeating itself years later when Isabel Parker (descendant of Sharif and Anna), recently divorced American journalist, falls in  love with Omar al-Ghamrawi. As the novel shifts to the present, it describes the modern-day aftermath of that period of history in the continuing interference of the West in the Middle East. 

What I really love about the novel is its structure. It doesn't have a normal narrative structure but interweaves Anna's journal entries, newspaper clippings from the past and merges it with the present narration.There is a constant shift from the past to the present and hence makes the readers quite active.The novel can be considered as feminist as mainly women contribute their voice to the story. It is also a post-colonial novel not only because of its fragmented nature but also because it tries to re-shape the past. There is a lot more to the book than what I shared. Being a complex novel, it has multiple layers to it. People with zero knowledge of Eygpt's political scenario might find it difficult to catch up as there are many parts in the novel which goes on to talk about it in detail, but nonetheless you get a hang of it. 

The book is a perfect mixture of history and romance, politics and culture and past and the present. Best I recommend you all to read this novel and experience it yourself. I can guarantee you guys will have a delightful  time reading such a detailed novel. For those who have already read the novel, you are free to discuss this book with me and share your thoughts on it.

Happy Reading until my next post :)

Have you packed your book trunk?

So summer is here! The season of sweaty armpits, mangoes and that of ice-lollies. But the most amazing thing about summer is taking a break and going away, far away from the hullabaloo of the city life. For a book nerd like me, summer equates to a new romance with a new novel. Imagining myself at an isolated island with only books to keep me company, seems like a paradise to me. But the question arises as to what books would make it to my summer reading-list? Have you ever have faced a situation where you are to make a crucial decision regarding what books to pack when you are travelling? Well, after giving it a lot of thought I have listed down a few books that I would read during summer.

  Lord of the Flies  
by William Golding

Being a sucker for classics, this book tops my summer reading-list. I mean, who wouldn't want to read about a group of kids stranded on an island? Jokes apart, it is an extremely powerful read as Golding explores the dark reality of men. I wouldn't suggest this novel to people who want to do some light reading.

Bossypants 
 by Tina Fey

This book has to be in everyone's reading list. It's hilarious, witty and light, which makes it a perfect summer read.

 

 

Harry Potter series 

by J.K Rowling

There hasn't been one summer (after I finished reading all Potter books for the first time) where I haven't reread Harry Potter. These novels are very dear to my heart and my summer would be incomplete without them. 

Perks of Being a Wallflower
by Stephen Chbosky 

This is a novel most of us relate to. It is very insightful and wonderfully written. I don't really love this novel but I don't even dislike it. It is quick read and apt for a summer afternoon on a beach..

 

The Museum of Innocence  

by Orhan Pamuk

"After all, a woman who doesn't love cats is never going to make a man happy" (Orhan Pamuk). I absolutely loved this book, was introduced to writings of Pamuk by a friend of mine. He has a very unique style of writing and summer seems the perfect time to get lost in Pamuk's world of Istanbul.

 

Lolita 

 by Vladimir Nabokov

Do I really need a reason to reread this cult classic? The story and language are what makes this novel a delightful read.     

These are a few books which I would prefer reading on a long lazy summer afternoon with Lana Del Rey's songs softly playing in a background. I know that you nerds have a different and a unique summer reading list and might not agree with mine, feel free to share. Let me know which books you will be packing this summer!

Happy Reading until my next post :)

Murakami Love

Haruki Murakami

Today's blog post is going to be about one of my favourite authors of all time Haruki Murakami. Sadly yes, he is the same guy who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature and didn't win. For those who don't know, Haruki Murakami is one of the most famous Japanese writer. Mostly all of his books are translated into major languages and have gained huge success. He is a typical post-modernist writer whose stories have the theme of alienation, loneliness, magic realism and vague endings.

Kafka on the Shore

My first Murakami book was Kafka on the Shore. This book is beyond my imagination. Every time I read this book I come up with  a different interpretation. It is said that when you read a book you not only read but live the characters and story within and Kafka does that to you. It has a metaphysical theme to it along with suspense, humour, sexuality and magic-realism and the novel also strongly talks about beauty and power of music which is used as a metaphor throughout the novel.

After Dark

After reading Kafka I borrowed another popular book by him from a friend of mine called After Dark. I will not say this was his best work, infact I was quite disappointed after reading this book. I thought he could come up with a better one. This is a very short novel and talks about midnight encounters in Tokyo. The story is pretty deep, philosophical and illusionary. This novel takes the reader to every corner of imagination. 

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle was my second best book after Kafka on the Shore. This book leaves you mesmerised and wanting for more. This book is surreal, mysterious and makes you think deep and question about certain aspects of your life that you normally don't notice. The characters are beautifully crafted and they drift in and out of the novel. Murakami blurs the lines between reality and imagination. The best part is that there are a lot of questions which are left unanswered by the end of the novel (some may find it frustrating), leaving it up to the reader to interpret it. 

The picture below perfectly sums up Murakmi novels for everyone. 

    

Picture Courtesy: Incidental Comics 

Sadly I have read only three of his books uptill now, but I have already bought and borrowed his other two famous books Norwegian Wood and Sputnik Sweetheart and plan to read soon. For all of those who haven't read any of Haruki Murakami novels please read them whenever you get the time, he is one author you wouldnt want to miss. Whereas others who have already read Murakami are free to share their thoughts and tell me their favourite book of his. Would love to discuss my Murakami love with others.

P.S.- I am not open to hatred towards Murakami.

Happy Reading until my next post :)