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5 Books on Mughal influence and intermingling
Plus, the Amar Chitra Katha titles on Babur, Akbar, and Shah Jahan, as well as tales from the Mughal court involving Birbal and Tansen, among others.
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How novels are like time machines
Recently, Lebanon lived through two time zones at once. For years, however, novels have slowed time down, speeded it up, and travelled across past, present, and future.
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Lessons on writing from Amitava Kumar, Mohammed Hanif, Tahmima Anam, and others
A new volume edited by Deepa Anappara and Taymour Soomro offers advice for writers of colour and those who read them.
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International Booker 2023 longlist | Perumal Murugan’s haunting tale of caste oppression
After Geetanjali Shree's 'Tomb of Sand' won the 2022 International Booker Prize, another Indian novel is in the running for the International Booker this year.
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Your Driver is Waiting book review: A debut novel influenced by Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver
Many films have been inspired by novels. Priya Guns’s Your Driver is Waiting is inspired by a film.
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How books on failure are basically books about success
And why both books about success and failure have inherent limitations, and very limited uses.
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Make it new: The challenge for authors in a ChatGPT world
The generative AI program may become a collaborative tool for novelists, but it is incapable of originality. That’s the opportunity authors can grasp.
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How to decide what to read next
The more the number of books published, the harder it seems to come across just the right one. How is a reader to choose?
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What readers and writers can learn from the techniques of classical and jazz pianists
In a typical jazz composition, the left hand strikes chords to create harmony and rhythm while the right hand picks out the melody. Using this as a metaphor, in fiction, the right hand would take care of the characters and plot while the left creates a thickening weave of allusion and counterpoint.
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Pico Iyer’s search for paradise
The writer’s new collection of essays describes visits to Iran, India, Japan and elsewhere to find competing visions of utopia.
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The enduring relevance of All Quiet on the Western Front
The Oscar and BAFTA nominations for the new adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s novel are reminders of its powerful message.
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The Written World and the Unwritten World review: More memos for a new millennium
A new collection of non-fiction by Italo Calvino offers many pleasures, touching upon folklore, fantasy, science, and the writing life.
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There’s no need to have great expectations of books
It isn’t necessary for every book to be a masterpiece, to shift perspectives, and to be raved about on social media.
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Age of Vice book review: A novel for Kalyug
Deepti Kapoor’s 'Age of Vice' is an ambitious if sprawling thriller that portrays unpleasant Indian realities with verve.
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Looking back at a literary year that never was
An imaginary report on a utopian 2022 in the world of books and reading.
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A graphic memoir of working in the oil sands of Alberta
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Why readers should read like writers
Being alert to the elements that go into writing a book makes the experience of reading even more pleasurable.
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Offended sensibilities and the abuse of power
Aliesa Ganieva’s satirical novel portrays how authoritarian regimes win consent, and the corruption that follows in its wake.
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Goals are for football, not reading
Setting targets of the number of books to read only makes the end larger than the means.
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Inside the country hosting the World Cup
John McManus’s 'Inside Qatar' examines the lives of outsiders and citizens in the wealthy Gulf state.
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A writer’s struggle to stay away from social media
Jordan Castro’s slim debut novel deals with the predicament of an author trying to finish his manuscript but unable to stay offline.
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Use and abuse of storytelling
In a world where everyone is telling stories, it would be wise to investigate how they are framed and the power they have over us, says literary scholar Peter Brooks.
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Why Permacrisis is the Collins Dictionary Word of the Year
After combing through billions of words, the dictionary editors chose one that captures the experience of lurching from one unprecedented event to another.
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Citizens deserve plain language
New Zealand’s Plain Language Act promotes clear, comprehensible statements when communicating with the public. We should all take a leaf from it.
