Tag: Reads 2023

Three Books based on Indian Mythology

It is quite a coincidence that I am finally writing about three books based on Indian mythology that I read in the past three years in the week in which India is celebrating the construction of the Ram Mandir after a wait of five centuries. The Immortals of Meluha by Amish (2008) How does one … Continue reading Three Books based on Indian Mythology →

Last read of 2023: The Deadly Jest by Virgil Markham (1935)

As 2023 draws to a close (where did it go?) I am scribbling a few lines about my last finished read of the year: Virgil Markham's The Deadly Jest. https://www.dustjackets.com/pages/books/17913/virgil-markham/deadly-jest-the The book opens with an avaricious and unnamed English Lord who wants a particular object for his collection and is willing to try even illegal … Continue reading Last read of 2023: The Deadly Jest by Virgil Markham (1935) →

Friday’s Forgotten Book: What Came to Cinderella by Curtis Yorke (1926)

"I must have freedom," she declared. "My life embraces so much. I have so many interests. While you - you poor little soul - you are merely a - a veritable Cinderella." "Oh well, we know who came out on top in that story," laughed Faith good-naturedly. Faith Norman, the eponymous Cinderella, lives in an … Continue reading Friday’s Forgotten Book: What Came to Cinderella by Curtis Yorke (1926) →

Friday’s Forgotten Book: Scandal at the Home Office by Frank A. Clement (1937)

This Friday's Forgotten Book happens to be an obscure title: Scandal at the Home Office by Frank A. Clement, published in 1937. Chief Commissioner of Police, Admiral Lord Arthur Kippering, has plans of an evening out. First theatre with his wife and daughter, Lady Doddington and then dinner. However, he receives a call from the … Continue reading Friday’s Forgotten Book: Scandal at the Home Office by Frank A. Clement (1937) →

Cold Cambodia: The Four Faces by Han Suyin (1963)

"It's the cold war, isn't it? Even is we think we cannot possibly be involved, we get sucked into the maelstrom." Sometimes you pick up a book based on where the story is located. Thus, it was with this book. I had never heard of the author or the book but since the action takes … Continue reading Cold Cambodia: The Four Faces by Han Suyin (1963) →

SSW: Missing from their Homes (ed.) H.E. Bates (1936)

The premise of this anthology is very interesting. Apparently before the news on BBC, there used to be S.O.S. read out for people missing from their homes. Eleven authors conjure up eleven scenarios for such people. "Before I read the news here are eleven S O S's" (With acknowledgement to the B.B.C.) The anthology opens … Continue reading SSW: Missing from their Homes (ed.) H.E. Bates (1936) →

German Classic: Stud. Chem. Helene Willfuer by Vicki Baum (1928)

But that was the way with Life - now and again things went so well, that out of the deepest darkness sprang up happiness, unforeseen, profound and penetrating. The focus of German Literary Month this year was Austrian Authors. That gave me a chance to start reading Vicki Baum, an Austrian writer, who had been … Continue reading German Classic: Stud. Chem. Helene Willfuer by Vicki Baum (1928) →

Nonfiction November: The Golden Boy of Centre Court: How Bjorn Borg Conquered Wimbledon by Graham Denton (2021)

Before John McEnroe ended his reign, vanquishing him in three of the four grandslam finals they clashed in, Bjorn Borg was the premier tennis player of the world winning six French Open and five Wimbledon titles at a time when the two surfaces played very differently and there was barely a fortnight to switch your … Continue reading Nonfiction November: The Golden Boy of Centre Court: How Bjorn Borg Conquered Wimbledon by Graham Denton (2021) →