"Borrowed books and umbrellas are seldom returned. By some mysterious process, they become the permanent property of the borrower." Does that remind you of your book or umbrella that you thought you misplaced?

Laughing Through Life by Ruskin Bond is a collection of humorous stories, essays, anecdotes drawn from Ruskin Bond’s life and his observations of the characters and situations he encountered in his life.

This book comes with twenty short and quick stories that will make readers laugh, giggle, and cherish the little moments of the characters' lives in this diverse collection. The essence of the book lies in laughter, as the author suggests, "Laughter of all kinds is good for the soul, even if it sometimes comes at your own expense."

“History tells us what people do; historical fiction helps us imagine how they felt,” a quote by Guy Vanderhaeghe is truly represented in the book I am going to share about in today’s episode.

Bimbisar's curse is a tale from ancient India. As the name suggests, this story is about Bimbisar's life and the curse he received on his journey of expanding his kingdom. It begins with Bimbisar's days in the dungeon, which eventually led to the curse coming to reality at the end. While reading the book, the plot would take the reader from the present to the past and circle back to the present state of Bimbisar in the dungeon. The golden age of the Magadh empire, when Bimbisar became the ruler who followed matrimonial alliances to expand his kingdom, enhancing his power and strength to take revenge on his father's embarrassment. This story will take the reader on a ride from one son who fought for his father to the sons becoming the reason for their father's death, the curse befalling Bimbisar, and his upcoming generation.

This discussion has been enriching in many ways, not just for me but for every reader, author, publisher, and everyone who loves the world of books.

From sharing his journey to unveiling some secrets of the book industry, Ajitabha has been an amazing guest on this show.

Buy his latest book from here: https://amzn.to/4mJ2bFD

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What are books meant for? To travel without moving an inch. Do you agree? I am sure you do, that is the magic of fiction to take you places which are untouched, unexplored and beyond your imagination.

And among the many journeys literature offers, few are as intimate and universal as the search for identity and belonging.

About the author:

Jhumpa Lahiri was born in London and raised in Rhode Island. Her debut, internationally-bestselling collection, Interpreter of Maladies, won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, the PEN/Hemingway Award, The New Yorker Debut of the Year award, an American Academy of Arts and Letters Addison Metcalf Award, and a nomination for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. It was translated into twenty-nine languages. Her first novel, The Namesake, was a New York Times Notable Book, a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist, and selected as one of the best books of the year by USA Today and Entertainment Weekly, among other publications.

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In discussion with Siddharth Maheshwari, about his latest books and his journey.

Buy his book from here : Twisted, Tangled and Trapped

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From laughter to suspense, and from culture to crime, today’s book has it all, with a protagonist whose nose is sharper than any detective’s mind.

It is an intriguing story where the protagonist's sense of smell plays a crucial role in unfolding the mystery as if smell in itself is a character.

The Scratch and Sniff Chronicles by Hemangini Dutt Majumder is a humorous delight, mystery novel that blends Bengali tradition with a touch of Gothic literature.

The story starts with the introduction of the protagonist, Ollie, where the author reveals how she got her name, Olympia Ghoshal Chatterjee. To begin with the life of Ollie, there is chaos, drama, an eerie atmosphere, ghostly appearances (not in real though), and the essence of the smelling sense that made her unique. Often, she landed in trouble because of her strong sense of smell, but in the end, it helped solve a series of murder mysteries by catching the culprit who was creating terror and fear in their ancestral mansion, Neelbari, in Chandannagar, and it even prevented two murders.

"Things are never as they seem." This quote hit home for me, because it’s not just about things; it’s about people and places too.

Have you ever met someone who seemed one way, only to reveal a completely different side… maybe even deceiving you? I’m sure you’ve crossed paths with such people at some point.

The book in focus: Six Days in Bombay by Alka Joshi.

About the Author:

Alka Joshi is the internationally bestselling author of the Jaipur Trilogy, which includes The Henna Artist, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur and The Perfumist of Paris. She has a BA from Stanford University and an MFA from California College of Arts. Talking about her debut novel, The Henna Artist, it immediately became a NYT bestseller, was Longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, & is in development at Netflix as a TV series.

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A House Without Windows by Nadia Hashimi is a heart-wrenching and compelling thriller novel that transports readers to the lifestyle of Afghanistan, exploring themes such as justice, resilience, womanhood, and turmoil.

Review

The story follows the life of Zeba, a wife and mother of four children, who ended up in Chil Mahtab, a jail for women in Kabul, when she was found with blood on her hands and her husband lay with a hatchet stuck in his skull. Accused of a crime which she might or might not have committed, without throwing any tantrums, she followed the police. She waited for her trial in jail amongst other women who were spending their time in Chil Mahtab for petty crimes like running away with a lover, carrying a baby out of wedlock, and so on. Such was the life of women in patriarchal Afghanistan.

The storytelling takes readers on the journey of Zeba's life, focusing on the judicial system, societal norms in Afghanistan, and the lives of women in a male-dominated society. In this book, the author meticulously and straightforwardly demonstrates the multiple perspectives about Zeba's life (from past and present, her family dynamics), her lawyer's condition in judicial trials because of his origin, and other women she met in jail, allowing readers to feel empathy for the injustice they all faced. It might appear as a whodunit, but there's more to grasp and feel while reading through the book.