Wanderlust in Books: A Book Review

Bloody Scotland has 12 short stories written by Scotland's finest crime writers - what really intrigued me (since I'm not one for crime fiction) is that every story uses one of Scotland's *real* iconic/historic sites to tell a thrilling fictional tale. There are pictures of the said sites, making the reading experience more visual & fun. Also, there's detailed description of the sites (along with visiting times) given towards the end of the book. SO COOL, RIGHT?

About the stories, it has a lukewarm start where classic crime/horror plots are used and since we've read so many of such plots, the book failed to keep me intrigued. Other stories however made up for the underwhelming start.
Some worth mentioning are;

Come Friendly Bombs by Louise Welsh, which touches upon how war changes people & how misery brings out the darkness in even the best of the people. This was a particularly dark & grim tale that I very much enjoyed.

Sanctuary by Sara Sheridan is about a woman who returns to the city she grew up in, to work as a caretaker of Kinneil House. We discover how from not belonging elsewhere, not being able to call a place home she finds her sanctuary in this old monumental house, which may or may not be haunted.                                                                                                                                                                     


All in all, it's a really good mix of stories ranging from psychological thrillers to stories of revenge, murder, what not. Apart from the stories, what I really enjoyed about the book was googling all the sites around which the stories were based, reading up on their history, looking up 27839393 of their images. So virtual trip to Scotland done, and my bucket list for the real trip is set! ;)
If you love visiting other countries via books or are someone who loves dark tales, this can be your next quick read! Thank You, Bee Books for sending a review copy of this book.

Bloody Scotland by Lin Anderson   

View all my reviews 

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September Wrap Up

Turns out juggling final year of medicine and book challenges is harder than you'd imagine. Wait, I'm sure you know it's hard, that was just me trying to be all naive and freakishly optimistic.

Ahh well, although the number of books I've been able to read this year is getting meagre by the day, I'm still proud of the fact that I'm squeezing enough time to read. Yes, I've reached a place where reading for at least 15mins a day has become a luxury, so let's not talk about numbers, shall we?

FYI, that's not a building, it's a pile of books

If you must know, I've read 25 books so far, 5 in September. That's a good enough number for now. And because I find 5 an exceedingly above average number, a wrap-up post seemed like a sane thing to do. Here are my Hum Panch of September:

1) Harry Potter and The Cursed Child by J.K.Rowling: Yes, I joined the party pretty late, at least I arrived (despite the mixed reviews and spoilers), that must count for something. 10 points to Hufflepuff, please (for being the loyal ones). I can sum up my Cursed Child experience in one word, and mind you, I've chosen the word as carefully as Voldy chose jewellery for his horcruxes, and that word is underwhelming. As I've already established, I'm a hardcore Hufflepuff, so my loyalties to Hogwarts, to JKR, to all the characters is preventing me from openly expressing my umm..disappointment? But my lovely Slytherin mate Varsha has reviewed this book over at Fictional Fortress (a book club-blog we run) and I found myself nodding to all of her views and commas and full stops. You can check it out here if you're interested. A 3/5 from me.

A photo posted by Shonazee (@ofinkandpages) on Sep 5, 2016 at 9:53pm PDT

The next three reads were for #MissMarpleReadathon, an exclusive Agatha Christie-MissMarple readathon, started by fellow Hyderabadi Bookstagrammers in an attempt to make me fall in love with the Queen Of Mystery. It has no deadlines, whatsoever. Whenever you're feeling low, in need for some fast paced action, just pick a Miss Marple mystery and join us!

2) The Murder At The Vicarage by Agatha Christie: I was sold after reading this book. It was so different from all the thrillers and murder mysteries I've read. I heart the climax, I would give it the best climax award if I could. The murder of the not-at-all-loved-unanimously-hated/tolerated Colonel Protheroe occurs in an otherwise dull village of St.Mary Mead. Many people seem to have a motive, but there isn't enough evidence. A series of false arrests. Who killed Protheroe? A 4/5 read.

A photo posted by Shonazee (@ofinkandpages) on Sep 12, 2016 at 11:20am PDT

3) The 13 Problems by Agatha Christie: One Tuesday, a mix of experienced, young, influential people gather at Miss Marple residence to discuss murder mysteries. One person narrates what has happened and others are to guess the answer. Miss Marple shocks them all by making back to back right guesses. Some of these are such mind-boggling mysteries, they will leave you numb. It basically is a collection of 13 short stories. another 4/5 read.

4)The Body In The Library by Agatha Christie: I couldn't guess the culprit. I just couldn't. But some how the end seemed way too far fetched. But hey, it makes good mystery so no complaints. 3/5.

A photo posted by Shonazee (@ofinkandpages) on Sep 20, 2016 at 8:48am PDT 

Yes, I get most of my reading done while travelling 

5) Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur:A collection of poems compiled under four headers, loving, hurting, breaking, and healing. These poems are raw with emotion. They are accompanied by rough sketches drawn by Rupi Kaur herself. I just love it. I love all the poems and the sketches, the raw emotions, and the crisp words. I've bookmarked several pages and highlighted what's remaining. I've read them so many times, I can eloquently quote the book. They are written in a very simple language but carry such force within them. If you're looking to indulge in poetry, this makes a fine start. A must read. Definitely my FAV read of this month. 5/5.

A photo posted by Shonazee (@ofinkandpages) on Oct 4, 2016 at 1:32pm PDT

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 That's that. Overall, a good reading month, I daresay.

For lengthy reviews or a peek at my tbr, friend me on Goodreads or Instagram. We could talk about murder mysteries or the pain of losing a loved one or the disappointment of a long-awaited book in your beloved series. I'm always up for a good talk!

What books made to your favourite pile this September? Which book/movie would you give best climax award to? 

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The One with All the Bookmeets

If you've been around for quite some time, then you probably know that books have predominated my life, now more than ever. I've been Bookstagramming for a year, co-started an online book club and a book blog, swapped books with strangers over the internet, made some bookish best friends, basically, my life revolves around books, my Bookstagram, phone, and the internet.

Last week, I hit a milestone in my book journey, I met fellow Bookstagrammers from Hyderabad *in real life* and to call that day amazing would be an understatement. Here I am, laying out what we did the entire day so I can relive it at my will. I met, Paulami aka PGB, who is the coolest of the lot, Juta aka Rijuta, who reminds of those pretty & calm intellectual people, who go to fancy art exhibitions critiquing over art that would mostly make no sense to me, (I very politely called myself dumb, I know) and the love of my life, Tana aka Chetana with whom I've been corresponding for over a year now. She never ceases to surprise me, I've always got an unexpected book/art mail waiting for me at home, thanks to her. I've proposed to her and we're gonna marry, so back off already. Also, she happens to be my fav artist, more about her work later.

Four of us first met at a bookstore, and there were soooo many books around that we just couldn't, just couldn't find the one's we would want to buy. So instead we took goofy selfies and did some #booksoul tags,

Paulami in all her Potter glory

Tana and I reaching for Atlas of anatomy, and falling in love at first site over similar taste in books  *heart eye emoji* 

*background bolly music*

We then went to a fancy tea place that Paulami suggested. And that tea place is now going to be my second home, cause its so comfy and serves awesome chai. Bubble tea, you guys, bubble tea. Awesomest (is that a word?) shizz ever. We had animated anime discussions over fancy chai, lemon pound cake and some fries, and it did not for a second feel like we were meeting for the first time.

Picture Courtesy of the awesome, Paulami.

Feat. Handmade bookmarks by Chetana. You can buy her artwork here.

Another boomerang shot  by Paulami. She's such a good photographer, DAMN

White tea, anybody?

From here, we went on to meet another book club in a park nearby, an initiative of Lord broke, where I happened to meet some equally awesome bookish people, most of who haven't read Harry Potter, so my mission for the year is to induct them all to the fandom. We spoke about Agatha Christie, and these three ladies are the Queens of the Queen of mystery. They've read almost every other Agatha book, and their enthusiasm is so infectious, they brought life to the conversations and I'm going to read my second Agatha, thanks to them.

All the books everybody got for the club meet.Sooooo many boooks *happy sigh*

Finally, we ended our meet at Starbucks, with coffee. (I know, people start their day with coffee, we ended with it cause we're cool like that. Stop judging dude.) Through the animated discussions and overwhelming book recs, I felt so comfortable just being in their company, it was unreal. I'm usually very awk at first meets, I get nervous and I just don't talk. I keep my mouth shut and don't utter a single word. But with these gals, I felt a familiarity, maybe cause it was a bond created by books, idk, but the void in my life of not having people to talk to about books (in person, not over the internet) has now been filled. I can't wait to meet them again or the book club that I'm now a part of. It was a day of books and tea. Of new bonds and friendships.

As I sat there. on the grass in twilight absorbing the dynamic bookish conversations happening all around me, I realized, I was thankful for being a part of the book community. It was the start of a new family, forged by our immense love for books, and for people who read them. And finally, I found a place where I belong.

P.S: I know I've used the word awesome some 3 times in the post, if I'd used it  3 x 2483927359409 times, it would still not do justice to the people & the day and the chai!<3

Have you met any of your virtual friends in real life? Are you a part of any clubs? Share your experiences, I'd love to know!

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First Giveaway

In light of my blog reaching 10k views, and my one year Bookstagram anniversary, (Here's how I embarked on this journey.), I'll be doing a series of not-so-great giveaways (but I really hope you like them) as my humble thank you to the loving blogosphere and book community. I've reached milestones that I never thought I could reach and met people I'll cherish with all my heart. Here's to posting more frequently on the blog and meeting new people from all over the world,

Cheers!
This month, we're reading African Literature at my Fav book club (I'm gonna be a wee bit biased here), Fictional Fortress and since I own two copies of "We Need New Names" by NoViolet Bulawayo, a literary masterpiece which was shortlisted for Man Booker Prize 2013, I thought of introducing this story of Darling into your lives. Hope this book moves and inspires you. Along with the book, I'll also be giving away a hand-made crocheted bookmark.

Book Blurb: (via Goodreads)
A remarkable literary debut -- shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize! The unflinching and powerful story of a young girl's journey out of Zimbabwe and to America.

Darling is only ten years old, and yet she must navigate a fragile and violent world. In Zimbabwe, Darling and her friends steal guavas, try to get the baby out of young Chipo's belly, and grasp at memories of Before. Before their homes were destroyed by paramilitary policemen, before the school closed, before the fathers left for dangerous jobs abroad.

But Darling has a chance to escape: she has an aunt in America. She travels to this new land in search of America's famous abundance only to find that her options as an immigrant are perilously few. NoViolet Bulawayo's debut calls to mind the great storytellers of displacement and arrival who have come before her-from Junot Diaz to Zadie Smith to J.M. Coetzee-while she tells a vivid, raw story all her own.

To add this book to your Goodreads shelf, click here.

Some rules before you enter:
1. Giveaway is for Indian Residents Only
2. There will be only ONE winner
3. Once the winner is picked he/she will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to respond, failure of which will result in picking another winner
4. By signing up, you agree to share your address (which is required to mail the prize)
5. Children under 18 years need Parental approval
6. Enter by filling the Rafflecopter, all entries are optional
7. I reserve the right to disqualify any entry as I see fit

May the odds ever be in your favor!