Whimsy Bookworm Musings

My journey with novels and other story books started right from pre-school. For some reason, my relatives and friends knew that I’d turn out to be a voracious reader (or maybe they wanted to inculcate a reading habit). Either ways, my birthday gifts comprised books like Arabian Nights, Folk Tales and a LOT of Enid Blyton. As I stepped into primary school, my mother made it a point to stock my bedroom with series of Famous Five, Secret Seven, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Agatha Christie and P.G. Wodehouse. By now, I’m sure that some of your pasts resonate with mine.

When you’re brought up in a family of Bengali bibliophagists, there’s hardly anything that you can do, to escape the stream of books that flood your room. My current family tree starts with my great grandma, who bagged a scholarship for English Language. My grandmother, a college-level English professor, played a crucial role in introducing me to several classics. Although I found my first read (David Copperfield) slightly monotonous, I was hooked on to subsequent classics. The Tale of Two Cities, Little Women, Treasure Island, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Robinson Crusoe, Animal Farm, Matilda, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Kidnapped, Alice in Wonderland, Heidi, Black Beauty, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Jane Eyre, The Prince and the Pauper, The Secret Garden, Pygmalion, Pride and Prejudice, King Lear and Oliver Twist -to name a few. As I grew up (the eager beaver that I am), I explored books like The Godfather, Lolita, Macbeth and Gone with the Wind.

The Harry Potter craze hit me during my 5th Grade (like it did, to many other middle and high school students). I must confess that I was so obsessed with the series, that I used to visit a Crossword Book store after class, and sit for hours together- resolute to finish the first 6 books that were available, devouring every bit of the unexpected that J.K Rowling had intricately weaved in her spell-binding novels. Unfortunately, my mom caught me red-handed and fortunately, she enrolled me at a neighbourhood library. Towards the end of my 7th grade, I had topped Math in my batch; I used my cash prize to buy The Deathly Hallows- one of the best gifts that I could give myself. I could go on about the Potter series, but let’s keep that for another day :)

My High School days were about Robin Cook, David Baldacci, Jeffrey Archer, John Grisham, Lee Child, Christopher Paolini, C. S. Lewis and Dan Brown novels. Alongside, I was glued to the ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ series, thanks to a close friend at secondary school (Pinko ❤).

Over the years, I’ve come to realize the importance of switching genres (a mantra to creative thinking and enhancing one’s general knowledge). Hence, you’ll find my choice of books fairly random. After all, if each book is a journey in itself, wouldn’t you like to travel across different worlds?

You will find a list of reads that I deem impactful and compelling. Note that this is subjective, since I’ve compiled the list based on my personal reading escapades. There maybe a LOT many others; please feel free to write to me in case you have any suggestions. Since a lot of my fellow bookworms have influenced my reading choices, I’ve included credits too. At the moment, I have made an attempt at penning my reviews for two novels. In the near future, I certainly hope to review the rest elaborately :)

You must be wondering why I chose to share my book list. For starters, take a second to contemplate the number of hours you spend in reading a book to completion. And, when I say reading, this does not imply browsing or cursory glances. In this regard, I believe each book is a valuable investment of time. Thence, one must choose novels judiciously.

From my experience, personal recommended reads have worked out in my favour, when compared to the generic Google guru. For instance, I’d choose books from Gates Notes, Oprah’s Book Club Lists and my aunt’s recommended reads over a thousand random reviews. Therefore, I thought of compiling my list of fairly good reads. I really hope that you gain inspiration from this and share your list with me too!

Note: Look out for ⭐.

By far, this has been one of the best compilation of suggested reads. Most of the novels are etched in my hippocampus. The following are must-reads!

Author: Anthony Ray Hinton
Pages: 255
Release Date: March 2018

I began my 2019 by experiencing feelings of hope, sympathy, admiration, grief, utter disappointment, joy and relief in 48 hours. All thanks to Mr. Hinton! From his his darkest times during 30 years on death row, to times where he found hope and freedom using his imagination- this simple narrative highlights a true story with underlying themes of humanity, optimism, benevolence and friendship.

Author: Sue Monk Kidd
Pages: 384
Release Date: January 2014

Author : Donna Tartt
Pages: 784
Release Date: September 2013

Author : Rohinton Mistry
Pages: 624
Release Date: 1995

Author : Sue Monk Kidd
Pages: 336
Release Date: November 2001

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