Online Black Book

Interesting articles, phrases and videos that help me grow

[mansig84]

An unputdownable novel painting Bombay of 1935 and 2019

If there is one book you can read this year, #Zen by #ShabnamMinwalla needs to be that one. #bookreview #yanovel

A deceitfully daunting read, ‘Zen’ by Shabnam Minwalla is best picked during a restful weekend. Once you start reading the book, there is no option but to finish it. Beginning with a late night flight landing in Bombay, it takes you through the city with its sounds, smell and colour, transporting you to right into the setting. Not knowing where the book would lead you, what sets the tone and…

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[mansig84]

The truth about history...

The truth about history…

‘The Dresden atrocity, tremendously expensive and meticulously planned, was so meaningless, finally, that only one person on the entire planet got any benefit from it. I am that person…’  —Kurt Vonnegut   History is written by the victors. Whether be it in ancient history or World War II. Dresden, the ‘Florence of the Elbe’ was raised to dust by the Allied Forces and was not even recorded in the…

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[mansig84]

If you can't find the words to describe what you feel...

A power-packed, 162-page novel, 'Kim Jiyoung, Born in 1982' questions the patriarchal value system which creates gender inequality.

‘I’m putting my youth, health, job, colleagues, social network, career plans and future on the line. No wonder all I can think about are things I’m giving up. But what about you? What do you lose by gaining a child?’

A power-packed, 162-page novel, ‘Kim Jiyoung, Born in 1982’ questions the patriarchal value system which creates gender inequality. Peppered with statistics of gender inequality in…

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[mansig84]

When you want to feel slightly 'uncomfortable'

When you want to feel slightly ‘uncomfortable’

The Discomfort of Evening by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld My rating: 5 of 5 stars

‘I’ll even dare to take off my coat. Even though it will feel uncomfortable for a while, but according to the pastor, discomfort is good. In discomfort we are real.’

Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2020, Marieke Lucas Rijneveld’s debut novel ‘The Discomfort of Evening’ will have you shifting around your…

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[mansig84]

The Best Ways to Support Independent Publishers

We asked independent publishers how readers could best support them. Here are their answers!

Apt for the current times. Wondering if there are any learning on the Indian side of things. 

[mansig84]

When the loss is so great that you can’t help but feel depressed

If you feel this #lockdown has left a hole in your soul, here's a book you should read –

The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Here’s an island where things start disappearing one after the other. After every disappearance, it’s inhabitants sharply feel a sense of loss but it lasts for all of a day and then they don’t even remember what they have lost. All that is left is a hole in their soul. Pretty much like what we feel now. Never has the feeling of a blowing…

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[mansig84]

The New Normal

I’m beginning to lose hope that things will ever get better. I’m beginning to think this is the new normal That dystopian novels predicted. The separation along the lines of religion. The harassment of those who want to earn a living. Of those who are saving lives. The inability to do anything that would make a difference And the constant noise that doesn’t let anything else sink in. The chatter…

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[xiyalan]

Stop thinking too much. Your life will be better hahaha.

[mansig84]

Apt for the times...

[mansig84]

While we all go about taking to our new lifestyles, work timings and mentally preparing ourselves for uncertainty in the near future, here’s a list of resources that could help you reorient your thinking – Photo by Blaz Photo on Unsplash While we all go about taking to our new lifestyles, work timings and mentally preparing ourselves for uncertainty in the near future, here’s a list of resources that could help you reorient your thinking:

[mansig84]

“The Ramayana is also a love story” — Ananya Vajpeyi in conversation with Arshia Sattar

They talk about

Must read...

[mansig84]

Could the coronavirus pandemic lock down Indian publishing for some time?

Online and brick-and-mortar retailers have cut back drastically on orders as customer footfalls and sales dwindle.

The eminent changes in the real world... 

[mansig84]

The moment when you realise the connection between Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea and Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. 😯📕📘📗📙👏👏 #MyBookLife

For those who didn’t know the connection between Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea!

[mansig84]

Interesting literary events in history posted about every day. Extremely well-curated by my literary bible – LitHub

[mansig84]

The First Reviews of Every Margaret Atwood Novel

Penned by Ursula K. Le Guin, Lorrie Moore, Salman Rushdie, Mary McCarthy, John Updike, and more

Brilliant reviews by popular authors on Margaret Atwood’s novels. 

[mansig84]

The Dark Side of the Comics That Redefined Hinduism

How an illustrated-book series beloved by generations of Indian children like myself also reinforced many forms of intolerance

Interesting post for @WAYRT

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#Darkness – My thoughts on Bhisham Sahni’s Tamas ahead of the #BabriMasjid verdict. This was supposed to be the second book I read for the New Book Readathon in September.

[mansig84]

The cause and effect of a revolution

The cause and effect of a revolution

Jasmine Days by Benyamin My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So I just finished reading ‘Jasmine Days’ by Benyamin and was surprised to see that last year’s JCB Prize Winner was actually a translation of an Arabic novel by Sameera Parvin originally titled ‘A Spring without Fragrance’. I know people who have read the book would know this but those of you like me would be taken aback at the power of a good…

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