I need to say this upfront. Magical realism is not the kind of writing I usually pick up. I like my stories a little more grounded, a little less slippery. But Shame worked for me in ways I did not expect. Not all the way through, and not without resistance, but enough to stay with…
Ken Follett has been writing big, bold stories for decades. He knows how to take real history and turn it into something that keeps you up way past your bedtime. His books are not just about wars and politics. They are about the people caught up in all of it. The small choices that big…
There are names we hear in history podcasts that we forget once it ends. And then there are names that deserve to stay with us, not because someone told us they matter, but because when we look closely, we realize they shaped things far more than we ever knew. Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan is one…
There are books you read, and then there are books you live with for a while. Lotus in the Tide belongs to the second kind. This poetry collection does not demand your attention with loud emotions or dramatic turns. Instead, it asks you to slow down, breathe a little deeper, and notice what you might…
The Ramayana is a story most of us know before we even read it. We grow up hearing about Ram’s exile, Sita’s abduction, and Ravana’s defeat. We know how it begins and how it ends. So when a writer decides to retell it, the challenge is not about revealing what happens next. The challenge is…
Agatha Christie understood something most mystery writers miss. Evil does not need fog or storms or shadows to thrive. Sometimes it flourishes best in broad daylight, on a beautiful beach, among people sipping drinks and soaking up the sun. Evil Under the Sun proves this with brilliant precision. This is a novel where paradise becomes…
R. K. Narayan’s retelling of the Ramayana is not trying to dazzle you or challenge what you know. It is not written to shake up old ideas or present bold new readings of an ancient story. Instead, this book does something quieter and perhaps more generous. It opens a door. It invites you into one…
This is a spoiler-free review of the second book in the Arsène Lupin series. Think of it as a heist story meets detective fiction, where the thief is the star and everyone else is just trying to keep up. The whole thing reads like a playful rivalry between brilliant minds, written with a smirk rather…
When most people think of the Taj Mahal, they think of love. They think of a grieving emperor who built the most beautiful monument in the world for his dead wife. It’s a story we’ve heard so many times that we accept it without question. The marble, the symmetry, the reflection in the water. All…
There are some books that arrive quietly, without fanfare, yet carry within them questions that refuse to leave you alone. The Legend of Virinara is one such book. It does not shout. It does not rush. Instead, it unfolds like an old story told beside a fire, where the flames cast long shadows and the…
There is something powerful about watching someone ordinary become extraordinary. Not because destiny handed them a crown, but because circumstances forced them to grow beyond what they thought possible. The Immortals of Meluha captures this transformation in a way that feels immediate and real, even when wrapped in the language of myth and legend. This…
Kiran Desai’s Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard is a small book with a lot of noise. Not the heavy kind that demands attention, but the cheerful, chaotic kind that sneaks up on you and makes you grin. It’s a story about a man who climbs a tree to escape the world, only to find the…