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How readers—and writers—are finding their book tribe
Book clubs, communities and events have persisted in the 21st century—albeit in different formats, and sometimes with the help of richer media that makes it possible to connect more deeply and quickly with favourite authors and fellow fans.
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Independence Day long weekend: 5 book recommendations for the 5 days
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop & More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, DIY art books, a two-volume set of the best Indian detective fiction, and more recommendations for what to read during the Independence Day long weekend.
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The Shortest History of Sex review: A new book on sex that will charm your pants off
Book review: A scholarly history of sex, from asexual prokaryotes to primate play dates and the storied quest for orgasms - from the writer of The Shortest History of Our Universe.
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Why we all should be reading more crime fiction
Mysteries and thrillers aren’t just a form of escapism. Crime fiction can also offer valuable insights into the state of the world, mirroring the societal anxieties and power dynamics at work today.
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Book review: A Maharashtrian murder mystery based on real events
Atharva Pandit’s Hurda is an arresting debut novel about an investigation into the deaths of three young girls in an Indian village.
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'Mysteries are being told in voices of people who don't fit stock image of Hollywood police detective'
Author of the Perveen Mistry books Sujata Massey on writing mysteries set in 1920s Mumbai, drawing inspiration from Cornelia Sorabji - India's first practising woman lawyer, and support for women writing crime fiction.
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Book review: Vauhini Vara's This Is Salvaged | Outstanding collection of short stories about American life
A polished, precise yet nuanced and deeply moving collection of 10 stories by Vauhini Vara, who also wrote The Immortal King Rao (2022).
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Gurcharan Das: I settled for a modest, natural meaning of moksha - another sort of freedom
Gurcharan Das's memoir 'Another Sort of Freedom' brings to a close his search for a flourishing life based on the classical ideal of four goals of life – the purusharthas - artha, dharma, kama and moksha.
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Women in the Wild book review: A celebration of the journeys of Indian women wildlife biologists
Anita Mani’s Women in the Wild unpacks the life and work of a few stalwart women wildlife biologists, united by a gritty resolve to chase their calling despite the odds.
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Beasts of England review: Ingenious update of George Orwell’s Animal Farm for our times
The engine of the novel is the way that real-life events are transformed into analogies as it cycles through various episodes in the animals’ lives.
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Book excerpts: 8 books longlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize
Mini excerpts from The Bee Sting by Paul Murray; In Ascension by Martin MacInnes; Old God's Time by Sebastian Barry; The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng; A Spell of Good Things by Ayobami Adebayo; The Other Eden by Paul Harding; How To Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney; and Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein.
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Book review of 2023 Booker-longlisted Prophet Song by Paul Lynch: Love in a time of dystopia
Paul Lynch’s Booker-longlisted Prophet Song is a vivid, harrowing novel of a woman and her family in a repressive time.
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Book excerpt: The Shortest History of War by Gwynne Dyer | Why humans fight wars
When did humans start fighting wars and is it possible to stop wars altogether?
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Pakistan’s deep state is at the centre of The Bomb, the Bank, the Mullah and the Poppies: A review
Pakistani planes being used to smuggle nuclear tech into North Korea, Pakistan using Chinese expertise to fill tech gaps in making the nuclear bomb are among the fascinating aspects the book explores.
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Book review: KR Meera's Assassin hooks you with many questions, no straight answers
An English translation of KR Meera's Malayalam novel Ghathakan, Assassin's meandering narrative balances introspection, suspense and social critique.
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How novelists deal with the present
What strategies do fiction writers use when writing about contemporary affairs, and how effective are they?
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Book excerpt: In How Prime Ministers Decide, what India's most controversial PM yet remembered in his final days
In August 1990, India's 7th Prime Minister, V.P. Singh, implemented the Mandal Commission report to reserve seats for the backward classes in government jobs and public universities. In an interview to author Neerja Chowdhury, he said: "Some run governments. I ran history."
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LOTR turns 69: Book nerds reveal which character is closest to their personality
Tolkieners shared what makes them similar to their favourite character, as the first instalment in the Lord of The Rings trilogy – The Fellowship of the Ring – turned 69 on July 29, 2023.
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69 years of LOTR Book 1 | Why we're still reading The Hobbit and Fellowship of The Ring in 2023
86 years after The Hobbit was first published and 69 years since LOTR Book 1 came out, Tolkien is one of the highest selling authors of all time with over 600 million copies sold.
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Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi’s engrossing debut novel revolves around issues of translation and cultural appropriation
Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi’s The Centre covers a lot of ground in showing how languages, cultures and attitudes feed on each other through a machinery of appropriation.
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Puzzles, truths and more reasons to re-read Alice in Wonderland as a grown-up
Plus, what climate change activists might find in a re-reading of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass.
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This International Booker 2023 shortlisted novel foreshadowed the violent protests in France
Shortlisted for the 2023 International Booker Prize, GauZ’s Standing Heavy offers a satirical take on immigrants and consumerism in France.
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Book review: The Wind Knows My Name is another triumph from bestselling author Isabel Allende
The Wind Knows My Name is really two stories in one: the first of these involves the Holocaust, and the second is set amid America's parent-child separation policy for undocumented immigrants under Donald Trump.
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Maugham, Mayhem and Murder in Colonial Penang
Malaysian writer Tan Twan Eng’s new novel recreates the atmosphere of the Far East in the first decades of the twentieth century.
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Why Satyajit Ray's Feluda stories are still so much fun to read
Satyajit Ray's whodunit stories also serves up travelogue and trivia while ensuring that all the bits and pieces fit together - Agatha Christie would have thoroughly approved.
