Hello!

Hi there!
So, I see you landed up on my blog. I would like to inform you that I no longer blog on this platform. I have shifted my blog here ( just click on here).
You can still contact me via the contact form and the mentioned email id.
Hope to see you on my new blog!
Happy Reading!!
- Ravneet Kaur (ravneetkaur113@gmail.com)

Book Traveling Thursday #1: A Book Worth the Hype

Book Traveling Thursday is a weekly discussion post where we pick up a book that fits a predetermined theme and explore the various cover editions and chose our favorite and least favorite editions. This week's theme is 

Hype is not always a bad thing. Choose a book that was worth the hype.

The book that I chose for this theme is The Book Thief.  A short gasp escaped from everyone's mouth when they would know that being the crazy reader I am, I still haven't read this masterpiece. Some people would also roll their eyes in order to show their intellectual superiority.I hate these people because they bring a bad name to the community of readers. Hey! We don't judge other readers on the basis of what they read. Seems like I am drifting from the topic. Let's come back!  So, when I went to book fair in January this year, my friend literally shoved this book in my face and told me to read it ASAP. And after reading it, I only regret not reading it sooner. Reading it was like an emotional roller coaster. I remember reading it one sitting ( yes, I am proud of myself) and crying my heart out. Now, I try and get my friends to read this one if they already haven't. 

Book Covers available in India  

                                                                                                                                         

                                                                                    

Covers I like the Most:

 The first one is the Vietnamese Cover, the middle one is an anniversary edition, and the one at extreme right is Portuguese one. I love all of these covers because they symbolize the story in one way or the another. 

My least Favourite Cover:

I hate the movie-tie in editions of the books because they steal all the focus from the book and give the spotlight to the movie. Books over movies, any day!

See you next Thursday with another book!

Tell Me Something Tuesday #1: Authors I want to read

Tell me SomethingTuesday is a weekly discussion post where a wide range of topics from books to blogging is discussed. And this week's question is:

Who are some authors you have been meaning to read?

Fernando Pessoa- He is a Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, and editor.  I got to know about this author from a friend who told a very interesting story about him. So apparently, Fernando Pessoa created around 75 alter egos of himself. And he used to mess around with his girlfriend writing her letters using the names of his alter-egos. His girlfriend would also play along but after some time, she left him. This intrigued me very much and I decided that I got to read his work.

Chinua Achebe: He was a Nigerian poet, writer, professor, and critic. I got to know about him through the works of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I have read

two of her books and they were amazing. She says she is inspired by Chinua Achebe. Not only that, I have seen various acclaimed writers praising him too. So, I am really excited to read him soon.

  

Saadat Hasan Manto: He was an Indo-Pakistani writer, playwright, and author. He is considered among the greatest writers of short stories in South Asian History. He was an iconoclast of his time and it reflects in his writings. He faced court trials several times for obscenity in his writings in both India and Pakistan. 

    

Sudha Murty: Sudha Murty is an Indian writer and philanthropist. She is a computer engineer by profession. When she was studying, she was the only girl in her class because girls were not encouraged to study engineering. Despite all the odds, she emerged as a gold medalist.She was the first woman to be hired as an engineer in that company. After that, she took to writing books and has been a phenomenal success. I find her very inspiring and that's why I have been meaning to read her for some time.

Sarah J. Mass: She is an American Fantasy author. Her books are a rage everywhere from bookstagram to booktube.She is the New York Times and the USA Today bestselling author of the Throne of Glass series. Her latest trilogy A court of Mist and Fury is getting popular among readers. I have had so many people recommending her books to me that I finally decided I should give it a try. 

Other authors include Salman Rushdie, Italino Calvino, Albert Camus. Mulkraj Anand. Tell me in comments which authors you have been meaning to read. 

                                                                                                      

Mailbox Monday #1 : Lolita

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.  I thought that this is a great way to show what books will form my TBR.

So, the book that I got last week in my mailbox is a giveaway prize I won through Instagram. Look at that cover though! I love it. The book is called Lolita and it is authored by Vladimir Nabokov. It gained the stature of a classic quite quickly. The plot of the novel goes something like this: a middle aged professor is sexually attracted to a 12- year old girl and goes to the extent of marrying her mother to be close to the girl. Quite scandalous! This book was published way back in 1955. Interestingly, this book is added to the Time's Magazine List of 100 best English language novels published from 1923 to 2005. I am looking forward to reading this book so much. 

Book Review: At The Teahouse Cafe

At the Teahouse Cafe is a collection of 15 essays by Isham Cook recounting his experiences in China.

I was very excited to read this book since I know almost nothing about China and its culture and I am not disappointed. The author talks about various issues ranging from education to health to customer service in China. I was a little skeptical of essays being of purely academic nature which get a little boring sometimes but the author did not disappoint there too. 

He draws extensively from his own experiences which make essays quite interesting to read. He is funny and sarcastic, which is icing on the cake. The tone is conversational and he lets the readers take a peek into the culture of China. He does not shy away from talking about sex or what is wrong with the education system in China. You will often find comparisons between China and USA, and China and Japan. The essay on differences between Starbucks in China and Japan is my absolute favorite along with the last essay where he talks about racism and yellow fever.

 My rating: 

 PS: I got a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review via BookTasters