A Babbling Booktrovert

BOOK DETAILS: Book Title : Remnants of Separation Author : Aanchal Malhotra ISBN :  9789352770120 Publisher : Harper Collins Genre : Society / Non-fiction  Publication : 2017 Pages : 400 Format : Hardback BOOK BLURB: SEVENTY YEARS HAVE PASSED SINCE THE PARTITION, and a momentous event now recedes in memory. Generations have grown up outside the shadow of the communal killings and mass displacement that shaped the contemporary history of the subcontinent. Despite being born into a family affected by the Divide, artist and oral historian Aanchal Malhotra too had thought little about the Partition until she encountered objects that had once belonged to her ancestors in an Undivided India. A gaz, a ghara, a maang-tikka, a pocketknife, a peacock-shaped bracelet, and a set of kitchen utensils: these were what accompanied her great-grandparents as they fled their homes, and through them she learnt of their migration and life before the Divide. This led h...

Book Title : Invoked - Hymns of War Author : Karan Bhatia Genre : Mythological Fiction ISBN : 9788175110854 Publisher : Notion Press Publication : 2016 Pages : 200 Binding : Paperback Plot : Krishna is a common man, leading a simple and content life with his wife, daughter and parents. A twisted accident leaves the family shattered and exposed to attacks from the netherworld. The attacks are the small, but integral pieces of the bigger picture. As the family fights back and Krishna struggles to prove himself as the man of the house, the darkest chapters from his past re-open, unleashing a torrent of pain and desolation. Krishna decides to embark on a spiritual journey to save his family. My Rating : 3.5 ☆'s Review : First of all I would like to thank the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review. Moving on to the book review... How many pages of reading does it take for you to decide ...

Book Title : We Have Always Lived In The Castle Author : Shirley Jackson Genre : Mystery, Thriller ISBN : 9780141927558 Publisher : Penguin Modern Classics Publication : October 2009 Pages : 160 Binding : Kindle Edition Plot : Merricat Blackwood lives on the family estate with her sister Constance and her Uncle Julian. Not long ago there were seven Blackwoods—until a fatal dose of arsenic found its way into the sugar bowl one terrible night. Acquitted of the murders, Constance has returned home, where Merricat protects her from the curiosity and hostility of the villagers. Their days pass in happy isolation until cousin Charles appears. Only Merricat can see the danger, and she must act swiftly to keep Constance from his grasp . My Rating : 2.5 ☆'s Review : If you had been following my instagram account, you would know that this book was part of our first read along in the "Booktroverts Girl Gang". We picked up the book, for ...

Book Title : Dragon Teeth Author : Michael Crichton Genre : Historical Fiction ISBN : 9780008173067 Publisher : Harper Collins Publication : June 2017 Pages : 295 Binding : Paperback Plot : The year is 1876. Warring Indian tribes still populate America’s western territories even as lawless gold-rush towns begin to mark the landscape. In much of the country it is still illegal to espouse evolution. Against this backdrop two monomaniacal paleontologists pillage the Wild West, hunting for dinosaur fossils, while surveilling, deceiving and sabotaging each other in a rivalry that will come to be known as the Bone Wars. Into this treacherous territory plunges the arrogant and entitled William Johnson, a Yale student with more privilege than sense. Determined to survive a summer in the west to win a bet against his arch-rival, William has joined world-renowned paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh on his latest expedition.  But when the paranoid and se...

Book Title : Release Author : Patrick Ness Genre : Young Adult, General Fiction ISBN : 9781406377279 Publisher : Walker Books Publication : May 2017 Pages : 287 Binding : Paperback Plot : Inspired by Mrs Dalloway and Judy Blume's Forever , Release is one day in the life of Adam Thorn, 17. It's a big day. Things go wrong. It's intense, and all the while, weirdness approaches... Adam Thorn is having what will turn out to be the most unsettling, difficult day of his life, with relationships fracturing, a harrowing incident at work, and a showdown between this gay teen and his preacher father that changes everything. It's a day of confrontation, running, sex, love, heartbreak, and maybe, just maybe, hope. He won't come out of it unchanged. And all the while, lurking at the edges of the story, something extraordinary and unsettling is on a collision course. My Rating : 3 ☆'s Review : Release was my first ever from ...

Book Title : Charlotte Author : David Foenkinos Genre : Biography (Retelling) ISBN : 9781782117940 Publisher : Canongate Publication : 2017 Pages : 224 Binding : Hardback Plot : Charlotte Salomon is born into a family stricken by suicide and a country at war - but there is something exceptional about her. She has a gift, a talent for painting. And she has a great love, for a brilliant, eccentric musician. But just as she is coming in to her own as an artist, death is coming to control her country. The Nazis have come to power and, a Jew in Berlin, her life is narrowing - she is kept from her art, torn from her love and her family, chased from her country. And still she is not safe, not from the madness that has hunted her family, or the one gripping Europe . . . My Rating : 5 ☆'s Review : Charlotte is not just a Jewish girl, she is not just an artist either - Charlotte is an obsession! Her story is laced with melancholy but that depression is a...

Book Title : The Girl In The Spider's Web Author : David Lagercrantz Genre : Crime (Murder) Mystery / Suspense Thriller ISBN : 9780857053503 Publisher : Maclehose Press Publication : 2015 Pages : 437 Binding : Paperback PopSugar Reading Challenge 2016 : 1/(40+1)《a book translated to English》 Goodreads Challenge : 1/40 Plot : Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist return She is the girl with the dragon tattoo - a genius hacker and uncompromising misfit. He is a crusading journalist whose championing of the truth often brings him to the brink of prosecution. Late one night, Blomkvist receives a phone call from a source claiming to have information vital to the United States. The source has been in contact with a young female superhacker - a hacker resembling someone Blomkvist knows all too well. The implications are staggering. Blomkvist, in desperate need of a scoop for Millennium, turns to Salander for help. She, as usual, has her own ...

Yes, yes I know, we are already 10 days into the new year and it's probably too late to be talking new year wishes and resolutions - but hey, never too late than never. So on this note, let's get on with the post, shall we... Another year has gone by and I had tons to be thankful about in the year gone by - but about that in a different post; because this post I want to dedicate to saying my thanks to the #Bookstagram community on instagram. It is only by chance, that I discovered this community but it helped me combine a multitude of things I love which is definitely worth thanking for. Thus with a big thank you to everyone in the community I wish everyone a very happy and prosperous new year. And like every year, this year too has brought with it some 'new year resolutions' but a bit different than all the previous years. In the past, the resolutions have been broken and the excuse given is that resolutions are meant to be broken. And then each year, last re...

Book Title : The Girl On The Train Author : Paula Hawkins Genre : Murder Mystery ISBN : 9780857522320 Publisher : Random House Publication  Publication : 2015 Pages : 324 Binding : Paperback PopSugar Reading Challenge 2016 : 2/(40+1)《a murder mystery-》 Goodreads 2016 Reading Challenge : 2/40 Plot : Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.  And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next,...

Book Title : The Hunger Games Trilogy                   The Hunger Games                   Catching Fire                   Mockingjay Author : Suzanne Collins Genre : Science Fiction ISBN :  9718184771695         9718184774009         9718184776218 Publisher : Scholastic Publication : 2008 - 2009 - 2010 Pages : 1163 Binding : Paperback Plot: The Hunger Games  trilogy takes place in an unspecified future time in a dystopian post-apocalyptic nation of Panem, in the ruins of North America.  The country consists of the wealthy Capitol located in the Rocky Mountains  and twelve (formerly thirteen) poorer districts ruled by the Capitol. The Capitol is lavishly rich and technologically advanced but the twelve districts are in varying states of poverty – the trilogy's na...

Book Title : An Ember In The Ashes Author : Sabaa Tahir Genre : Young Adult Fantasy ISBN : 9780857502896 Publisher : Bantam Press Publication : 2015 Pages : 492 Binding : Paperback Plot : Life is made of so many moments that mean nothing. Then one day a single moment comes along to define every second that comes after.  What if you were the spark that could ignite a revolution? My Rating : ☆☆☆ Review : Truthfully, I couldn't decide, whether I liked the book or not - thus I decided to give an average rating to the book. What wasn't right with the story was: The character and world buildup was very poor The story was dragged in most places unnecessarily Furthermore, the narration seemed very disjointed - in the sense, there didn't seem like a logical end to one part/chapter before the next began; it took me first few chapters to realize what was happening Despite the flaws, the book was gripping and made you want to read fu...

Book Title: The Architect's Apprentice Author: Elif Shafak Genre: Historical Fiction / Architectural Fiction ISBN Code: 9780241004920 Publisher : Viking (Penguin Books) Publication : 2014 Pages : 452 Binding : Paperback Plot : An epic tale spanning nearly a century in the life of the Ottoman Empire. In 1540, twelve-year-old Jahan arrives in Istanbul. As an animal tamer in the sultan’s menagerie, he looks after the exceptionally smart elephant Chota and befriends (and falls for) the sultan’s beautiful daughter, Princess Mihrimah. A palace education leads Jahan to Mimar Sinan, the empire’s chief architect, who takes Jahan under his wing as they construct (with Chota’s help) some of the most magnificent buildings in history. Yet even as they build Sinan’s triumphant masterpieces—the incredible Suleymaniye and Selimiye mosques—dangerous undercurrents begin to emerge, with jealousy erupting among Sinan’s four apprentices. A memorable story of artisti...