pen.books.and.scalpel

Although 2022 has been a year of a mixed bag, personally and professionally, it has been a tremendous bookish year for me. I had always stayed in my comfort zone of historical fiction, women's and contemporary fiction In the past. But this year, not only did I explore more books in other genres like non-fiction, mythology and thrillers, which I usually don't pick up, but I also enjoyed reading them to a great extent. I also completed my reading goals for the year, another new habit I started this year. There were a lot of books that I loved, and a few were underwhelming as well. Below is a list of the books close to my heart and my top 5 books of the year 2022.  BECOMING BY MICHELLE OBAMA This has to be my best pick for the year, hands down. Even months after finishing the book, I still feel the lines lingering in my head. A must-read memoir from one of the most potent and admirable women. It's not just her personal account. It's also every woman's voice suppressed ...

What is your idea about entrepreneurship? Who is an entrepreneur, according to you? If you are planning to become one or want to know more about it, pick this book up immediately.   In this travelogue, the author has travelled to almost all of India to give us an idea about Indian culture, heritage, food habits and much more. She and her friends have interacted with and documented the lives of common people they came across every day during their journey. The book is written in 14 parts, and each part talks about its power over entrepreneurship, like the power of nature, food, inclusivity, knowledge etc.   The book speaks extensively on each topic, and my most favourite part was the power of food. The explanation of how India being a significant producer of milk and grains, also has 14% of the malnourished population was informative. The chapters about the description of thali and the transition from India being the Annapurna and annadaata to Annapurna's hungry had my heart cr...

This was one of my highly anticipated books of 2022 since it is a retelling of the Tamil literature "Ponniyin Selvan" written by Kalki. This book is a fine balance between mythology and historical fiction.   The story is about choosing the next Emperor when Sundara Chola falls ill. The crown prince, Karikalan and his brother, Arulmozhi Varman, are the rightful heir to the throne. But the chieftains plan to capture the throne with Madhuranthaka and crown him the next king. Meanwhile, the Pandyas are plotting against the Cholas and are determined to destroy the kingdom. Nandhini wants revenge from the Chola family for the injustice caused to her. So she weaves her own web to trap the Cholas.   Vandhiya Devan- Karikalan's best friend, works as a spy and carries messages across the seas to save the Chola family. He falls for Kundavai- Karikalan's sister, the mastermind of the Chola kingdom working in the background. Who will finally ascend the throne? Will the Cholas be a...

“ What size glove, Madam?” Asked my surgical technician assistant.   "A 7.5 and a 7," I replied. He smirked and picked them up for me. He looked very eager to spit out something to me.   An operating theatre is always full of people at any given time. It's a large team that manages an operation theatre. There is the surgical team with the primary surgeon and the assistant surgeons; the nursing team, who assists the surgeons; the anaesthetist team; the technicians and the housekeeping team. And every now and then, medical and nursing students flood the OT and stand curiously to watch the surgery.   It's not like those shown in the daily soaps where you can enter the theatre and demand to treat your husband yourself. It's a highly sterile zone and is prohibited for anyone except the patient and the OT team.   "Mam, your gloves." The technician said, holding out the pair for me. The doubt in his eyes was still evident. We don't have a name for him yet. ...

BOOK NAME: Hyderabad ( Book 2 of the partition trilogy) AUHOR NAME: Manreet Sodhi Someshwar GENRE: Historical fiction  PUBLISHER: Harpercollins BOOK BUY LINK :  https://www.amazon.in/Hyderabad-Book-2-Partition-Trilogy/dp/9356291136/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1669108376&refinements=p_27%3AManreet+Sodhi+Someshwar&s=books&sr=1-1   Let me take the pleasure of introducing you to a book with its unique take on the partition. It is the tale of a once-happy family that became devastated and broken due to the cunning tactics played by its members. Some wanted to be even, but some just wanted to remain odd. Separation was inevitable, as they say. But some responsible adults fought for their unity and woefully failed at it. As destroyed as they were, the children had to decide to go with one of them or stay independent. Many books earlier have spoken about the other offspring who is still in turmoil, but this one is about the fascinating member of all. The cheerful and chirpy daught...

BOOK NAME: The Storyteller AUTHOR NAME: Dr. Hamna Labeeb (formerly published as Sana Rose) PUBLISHER: Bigfoot publications GENRE: Psychological Thriller Can you think of a book written by a female author that depicts domestic violence, childhood trauma and mental health problems to near perfection while maintaining a beautiful romance in the plot? A book that was loved by 100% of its readers? A book where no abuse was justified, mental trauma and suffering were not glorified and did not hero worship the main lead?  Yes, it is THE STORYTELLER by DR. HAMNA LABEEB (previously known as SANA ROSE). If you were thinking about any other book, that's precisely why we need more book lovers and bookstagrammers than PR teams. Like many other young women, Zara has PTSD because of her troubled childhood. But unlike others, we know her story here. Zara thinks she knows her mother, Lara, too well. She has a fluctuating relationship with her mother, who keeps reminding her of those events that cou...

BOOK NAME: Valli AUTHOR NAME: Sheela Tomy ( translated by Jayasree Kalathil) PUBLISHERS: Harperperennial BOOK BUY LINK:  https://www.amazon.in/Valli-Novel-SHORTLISTED-PRIZE-2022/dp/9356290156 GENRE: Ecofiction Travelling is learning, they say. We can all agree on quotes saying travelling leaves us speechless and turns us into storytellers. But imagine visiting a place without knowing its history and secrets. Have you ever wondered why some locals are always dismissive of tourists? Have we tried seeing through their eyes and thinking from their perspective on why there should be any friction at all? That is because some of them might be mourning the loss of their lands and people when we stand mesmerised by the majestic beauty of those enormousness hills covered in green carpets. When we are drowning in the charm of the foreign land, we would have never known the history of enslavement and encroachment hidden under that vastness. The waves that wash our feet and leave us dizzy on ou...

BOOK NAME: LIFE AND POLITICAL REALITY: TWO NOVELLAS AUTHOR NAME: SHAHIDUL ZAHIR (TRANSLATED FROM THE BENGALI BY V. RAMASWAMY AND SHAHROZA NAHRIN) GENRE: LITERARY FICTION PUBLISHER: HARPER PERENNIAL NUMBER OF PAGES: 192 BOOK BUY LINK: https://www.amazon.in/LIFE-POLITICAL-REALITY-Two-Novellas/dp/9354892302 TRIGGER WARNING: murder, rape, mutilation, war crimes   This book was my first ever one based on Bangladeshi literature. My love for translated fiction has only grown immensely after I finished this book. Books like these prove that translated works are the best to read diverse books. As the title suggests, the book consists of two novellas where political life is real life and vice versa.   BOOK SUMMARY: The first narrative,' Life and political reality, ' is based on Bangladesh's liberation war of 1971. The story goes back and forth in the timeline from 1971 to 1985 when the protagonist Abdul Mojid's sandal snaps one fine day when walking through the Nawabpur ro...

My experience with mythological fantasy books was not so great in the past, probably because I did not get my hands on the right ones. But fortunately, this book experience turned out to be pretty impressive. It’s a contemporary mythological fantasy focused on redefining religion and spirituality. Aman is among the eleven souls chosen (rather kidnapped) by Sanaka to undergo a mission in the hidden valley of the Himalayas. It is the house of Hindu Gods and is home to several other souls, including immortal yogis and mythical creatures. The King of the Gods passes a contentious order to the Eka (leader) to save the land. But will carrying out the command be as easy as it sounds? What’s the secret even the king of the Gods is unaware of? Will the eleven chosen souls be able to bring out the truth and save the land and get back to their real lives? PROS : A first-of-its-kind Indian fantasy adventure set in the contemporary world with its mythological roots intact. -I liked the way it tried...

I will start this review a huge thanks to @_ebc.online_ book club for introducing me to this book. I received this book as a part of my book club discussion this month and it was so good that it turned out to be a revelation to me. From the title, I thought the story of the book will be same as any other thriller where there’s a villain and a damsel in distress who will either fight her way through or there is some hero for her rescue. But this book is not that simple. The book did have a villain who holds a young girl captive and people trying to rescue her. But the motives of each of them and the plots are twisted. This was definitely one of the books that I found very unputdownable and thought provoking. PROS: The book was very fast paced and it was never interrupted by any unwanted plot lines in between. A bold political thriller which shows the reality of communal and ethnic violence in India. This book is perfect for a weekend binge read. The dual POV from both the protagonist a...