pen.books.and.scalpel

BOOK NAME: DINNER AT THE HOMESICK RESTAURANT AUTHOR NAME: ANNE TYLER GENRE: DOMESTIC/ LITERARY FICTION PUBLISHER: VINTAGE BOOKS BOOK BUY LINK:   https://www.amazon.in/Dinner-Homesick-Restaurant-Anne-Tyler/dp/0099916401 BOOK COVER IMAGE BOOK REVIEW Remember when your grandma used to tell you stories as you followed her like a shadow before falling asleep in her warm, comfy hug? Well, yes, I do. Watching my Nani narrate me stories as I gape at her with dreamy eyes bewitched by the characters in her tales, the effortless narration as if she had done it a hundred times already or even lived through it, the vivid and lifelike dramatics and the turn of events is a photographic memory etched forever in my brain. And yeah, I think if my Nani had ever decided to publish her tales, they would have sounded just like this book.  Anne Tyler's storytelling, too, feels so intimate; just that Tyler telling you her story will not put you to sleep but will make you very much alive. The char...

BOOK NAME: WILD WOMEN - SEEKERS, PROTAGONISTS AND GODDESSES IN SACRED INDIAN POETRY AUTHOR NAME:  EDITED AND COMPILED BY ARUNDHATHI SUBRAMANIAM GENRE: POETRY ANTHOLOGY PUBLISHER: PENGUIN INDIA BOOK BUY LINK:   https://www.amazon.in/Wild-Women-Seekers-Protagonists-Goddesses/dp/0143464906 BOOK COVER IMAGE  BOOK REVIEW As a fiction lover, I think the idea behind an anthology is just brilliant. It's the only place where you get to read either multiple voices or multiple stories in a single volume. The variation in each story or poem brings out the best in each writer or just elevates the prowess of the author. This anthology, too, is wonderfully edited and compiled by the author and poet who has also contributed to the book. This book features over 200 sacred poems by a total of 56 authors across the nation. It starts with a few prominent names from before the 1000 BCE up until recent times. Not only does the book feature women's voices, but it also spotlights sacred poems...

BOOK NAME: THE FORTY RULES OF LOVE AUTHOR NAME: ELIF SHAFAK GENRE: HISTORICAL FICTION  PUBLISHER: PENGUIN BOOKS BOOK BUY LINK:   https://www.amazon.in/Forty-Rules-Love-Elif-Shafak/dp/0241972930 BOOK COVER IMAGE BOOK REVIEW I waited almost two long years to get my hands on this book until I finally decided to read it. But maybe because I was reading it after patiently and impatiently waiting for a long time, the book turned out to be a sour experience for me. I know this is one of the most loved books by most readers or, let's say, by almost all of bookstagram.  About the book, there is Ella Rubinstein, who is the protagonist in one half of the story. Ella is a mother of three, unhappy in her marriage and is currently working on her client's manuscript 'Sweet Blasphemy', based on the story of Rumi and Shams of Tabriz, the other major part of the book. While Ella finds the book intriguing, she starts investing her time in finding the one behind the story instead of ac...

BOOK NAME: THE MOUNTAINS SING AUTHOR NAME: NGUYEN PHAN QUE MAI GENRE: HISTORICAL FICTION  PUBLISHER: ONE WORLD PUBLICATIONS BOOK BUY LINK:   https://www.amazon.in/Mountains-Sing-Que-Phan-Nguyen/dp/161620818X BOOK COVER IMAGE BOOK REVIEW Women are tough, especially when they are in a position to protect their families and friends. And people who think otherwise should definitely read this book. This multigenerational war saga is an ode to such women whose stories were either forgotten or overlooked. This rippling, dual narrative told from a Vietnamese point of view of the internal turmoil called the Great Land Reform, and the war that happens later is sure to leave you devastated and humbled. It's been a while since I finished this book, probably sometime last month, and it's still one of the most difficult reviews I will ever write. Reasons: one, because it was way too traumatic, and two, because it is a slightly challenging read as compared to many other historical fictio...

BOOK NAME: THE ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF LENNI AND MARGOT AUTHOR NAME: MARIANNE CRONIN GENRE: CONTEMPORARY FICTION  PUBLISHER: PENGUIN BOOKS BOOK BUY LINK:   https://www.amazon.in/One-Hundred-Years-Lenni-Margot-ebook/dp/B08F7SS35N BOOK COVER IMAGE  BOOK REVIEW Are you done with the list of the most devastating books ever known to readers, and you feel empty right now and have no idea what to do next? Worry not; I am here with another recommendation that will tear your heart with its uplifting yet tragic dramedy. This book has stayed in my TBR for so long because I didn't want to get it over with so soon. But I realised it was time when I desperately needed a book with some delicious comedy and a heartbreaking plot. Lenni, a seventeen-year-old Swedish girl settled in Scotland and diagnosed with a life-limiting condition, finds it hard to cope in the Mayward. She keeps nagging the nurses and Father Arthur with her never-ending questions. Things are mundane until she meets an...

It won't be wrong to say that India is the capital of the world for iron deficiency anaemia. The number of cases every year in India alone could win you elections. The worst part of it is that the most affected are women and adolescents.  Iron deficiency anaemia is the condition when the body's iron is so low that it causes a drop in haemoglobin level. Haemoglobin is the component that is responsible for carrying oxygen through blood cells to all organs. This haemoglobin is formed by iron that we consume and from the reserves in the bone marrow, and when the iron intake is less, the process is hampered. This is more prevalent in developing and underdeveloped countries, where the malnourished population is higher. Now, if the leader focuses on new strategies and unwanted "developments" instead of improving the nutrition and living conditions of the citizens, then this is bound to happen.  Iron deficiency anaemia happens when the nutritional intake of iron is poor, with...

Did you just wish me a 'hale and hearty' life while hiding the 259-plus cardiac symptoms that you chose to ignore? Ah, well, I see. But can we really talk about the hearty part of your life instead of mine? First of all, please don't call me out for including ischemic heart disease or a heart attack under the conditions that are common in women. Because they aren't. Heart attacks are more common in men because, for once, the estrogen in our body decides to stand up for itself like a protagonist who has survived domestic abuse for so long and offers protection against heart disease. But the problem really is that more women develop health attacks after the estrogen wears off, which is after menopause, and it doesn't stop with just that. More women die of attacks than men who have the condition. Not very surprisingly, heart attacks are underreported in women, and studies are also more on men than women to comment on the gender bias exhibited by the condition. With my ...

I am pretty sure you are tired by now to know the number of conditions that prefer women over men. After all, being so awesome to the level that even ailments find you attractive is just on another level. Gallstones are no less, and they, too, are more common in women. The first time they taught us a pneumonic to remember who would likely develop this condition, I was so frustrated and "galled". You know who they say in the books are more likely to develop the condition - the 5 Fs: Fat (rapid weight loss, obesity), Fair (white population), Fertile (those who have had more kids), Female and over Forty. Now tell me, if this doesn't irritate you, what else will? Unfortunately, this holds true and is widely proven. Gallstones just mean there are stones in your gall bladder, which is an organ responsible for storing bile, helping in the digestion of food and absorption of nutrients. Medically, they call this condition cholelithiasis, which is popularly called gallstone disease...

BOOK NAME: WORK-LIFE BALANCE - MALEVOLENT MANAGERS AND FOLKLORIC FREELANCERS AUTHOR NAME: BENJAMIN CHEE AND WAYNE REE GENRE: FOLKLORE  PUBLISHER: DIFFERENCE ENGINE BOOK BUY LINK:   https://www.amazon.in/Work-Life-Balance-Malevolent-Folkloric-Freelancers/dp/981184559X BOOK COVER IMAGE BOOK REVIEW This is not just my second Singaporean folkloric literature but also my second illustrated book after The Handmaid's Tale. This book is based on Singaporean folkloric characters like the Pontianaks, Mephistopheles, Manananggals, Ba Jiao Guis, Raksasis, Toyols and more. What happens when the mythical characters are faced with real-life problems that happen in the corporate world today? When a multinational company rises overnight, the mythical characters are at risk of losing their jobs and must fight against malicious forces to resist becoming regular corporate employees. This book was a combination of prose and illustration and was very short when looking from a comic point of vie...

For the first time in so many days, I hope I will finally make sense to most of you as fibroid uterus is a relatively common diagnosis. It is said that almost 70-80% of women have fibroid uterus at some point of life even if they don’t have symptoms. I can easily count the number of women in my extended family and friends' circle who are diagnosed with fibroid uterus and still lead a symptom free life. Fibroid uterus is a condition where small lumps develop inside the uterus from its smooth layer. Almost all fibroids are benign, meaning they are non-cancerous and don't turn into one unless that 0.01% comes into play in the extremely unfortunate. So don't panic when your doctor refers to your condition as a tumour, as most of them prefer to call it a tumour, irrespective of whether it's cancer or not. Unlike most toothpaste advertisements, we even claim that fibroids never turn into cancer, which is 100% of the time. So what's there to worry about? Why should we talk...