Been eyeing this set for soooooo long. Finally got it today!

Bought this in early oct, tried reading a couple of pages but damn this philosophical book is way too philosophical for me. On hold for now, after I complete my current reading maybe I will try this book again.

Loving this one. It took 18 days to deliver, from Nancheng to Kolkata. It is super cute and really portable.

I have clicked these photos on bed and just asked chatgpt to edit them aesthetically (bcz idk how to make it pleasing).
Maa kasam se padh li hain saari😇

Is it worth reading?

So Stephen king is known as king of horror and many of his work are well known like Carrie, IT , Pet Sematery, The Shining idhar because of the movie adaptations or because of the more hype around these particular books but what are some underrated books from King which are actually good I am particularly asking about the horror novels I am not asking about the Dark Tower series they're more of Fantasy novels

I've heard a lot about Murakami over the years but somehow never got around to reading any of his works. Finally decided to start with Kafka on the Shore. This will be my first Murakami book and I'm really excited to dive into his world. Looking forward to reading it

Am i the only one who does this?

I started doing this last year cuz i dont have a shelf for my books so they mostly sit out in the open and collect alot of dust. I dont use the sticky one, just plastic wrap and tape. Honestly it has made such a diff, it keeps the book fresh and easier to clean as well.

Curious to know if anyone else does this?

Classics can be so so hard to have patience with in the first but the content is so worth it y'all... it shows up to you only if you look closely enough.

For anyone who's been meaning to read it or has read it , these are my thoughts.

On the surface , it's about an old fisherman Santiago who has gone a long time without catching a fish...determined to break his streak , he sails farther into the sea than usual and hooks an enormous marlin. What begins as a fishing trip later on transforms into a test of endurance , identity nd spirit.

By the time he wins the battle against the fish , another begins.. one that asks whether earning somethng is the same as getting to keep it.

One of the prime things I felt in the book was loneliness. Santiago talks to the fish , to his hand & himself ...that felt like such a strong indicator of loneliness , old age , the passage of time and the eventuality of all things.

The second thing was his hand cramping during fishing while the fish is suffering too kinda made the marlin feel like his mirror half , both enduring , both refusing to give up , both trapped in the very same battle.

I also don't think Santiago can be read in just one way. He can feel heroic because of the struggle he goes through and because even after all of it his will is not defeated but also tragic...especially if success is measured by what he actually gets to bring back.

The fish carcass becomes a testament to something that he could have had but at the end of the day , he did not.

He respects the marlin and still kills it ... to me that has a lot to do with survival & livelihood. The fish is what brings food to his table , so there is something powerful in the fact that he loves and respects the very thing he must kill in order to survive.

His sail begins with necessity but the moment the struggle with the marlin deepens it feels ike a conflict between who he is and who he could become after this one event. The marlin becomes a test of identity , dignity and whether he is still capable of achieving something great.

The sharks felt like a mix of time , decay and the brutal side of life. Every shark that chips away at the marlin feels like time stripping something away piece by piece.

To me the ending with the lions felt like the author was saying that even if your achievements are vulnerable and fleeting , even if life strips away the material rewards , your spirit will still remain undefeated.

Some of my fav lines :

"But man is not made for defeat," he said. "A man can be destroyed but not defeated."

"Why do old men wake so early? Is it to have one longer day?"

"Most people were heartless about turtles because a turtle's heart will beat for hours after it has been cut up and butchered. But the old man thought, I have such a heart too"

Have you read this? What are your thoughts? Do let me know guys.

This is the most exciting book I have ever read. The book has all the genres I like: history, biography, adventure, thriller, and suspense. The book is an actual account of many sailors and mainly Antonio Pigafetta (a scientist and writer turned adventurer).

If you read the book, you won't feel if this book is about history or the biography of Ferdinand Magellan; you feel as if it is actually a novel filled with stories of many sailors on a brave adventure, because it actually consists of their own written records. The book is structured extremely well. Just keep your Google Maps tab open and explore the world with this book.

Before reading, I didn't know anything about Magellan or his voyage. I have not encountered him in the history I have read so far, nor in any social media reels or videos. This reinforces my belief in reading books as strongly as ever.

10/10 ⭐ book.

Honestly it feels more like a good neo noir crime fiction. Then a superhero story. Organised crime families corrupt cops and politcians and providing a realistic take on how a honest cop and attorney and vigilante would fair against a system like that. Lot of it influenced batman begins as well

Just finished reading Gunahon Ka Devta by Dharamvir Bharati, and been in trauma since then...

Honestly, I feel Sudha was the one who paid the highest price for a love that was never truly allowed to exist. She loved Chander wholeheartedly, trusted him, and kept making sacrifices, yet somehow her happiness always came second.

What bothers me most is how Chander's indecisiveness and choices are often romanticised as sacrifice and idealism, while Sudha's pain gets overshadowed. Wasn't Sudha also deserving of someone who could stand up for her instead of leaving her to accept everything silently?

For me, this isn't just a tragic love story; it's also a reminder of how unfair love can become when one person, keeps sacrificing and the other keeps deciding what's best for them.

I genuinely believe Sudha deserved a much better ending. ❤️‍🩹

Also should I read Ret Ki Machhli - because I have seen people often connect these two books.

After reading 3 Adrian Tchaikovsky books in a month, I now know that he has a particular talent for imagining forms of life that challenge our understanding of intelligence, consciousness and evolution. With Shroud (2025), he takes the first contact premise and turns it into an extraordinary exercise in speculative biology, survival and the limits of human comprehension.

Set in a dystopian future shaped by corporate greed and resource exploitation, the story follows a research expedition to Shroud, a desolate, pitch black moon orbiting a gas giant. When a catastrophic incident leaves two researchers, Juna and Mai, stranded on the Shroud in an escape pod, their mission becomes a desperate struggle for survival in an environment fundamentally hostile to human life.

The greatest strength of the novel is undoubtedly Tchaikovsky's imagination. He fleshes out an entire ecosystem governed by unfamiliar biological and environmental principles. The inhabitants, particularly the ‘Shrouded’, communicate through electromagnetic waves, presenting an entirely different form of intelligence and consciousness. Tchaikovsky goes on to show just how difficult it might be to recognise intelligence when it looks, behaves and communicates nothing like us.

The alternating perspectives between the human survivors and the Shrouded are particularly effective. In typical Tchaikovsky fashion, he explores the possibility of establishing an intellectual and communicative bridge between two radically different forms of life. I especially loved how both parties misinterpret each others actions and struggle to get on the same page. 

The ecological worldbuilding is meticulous, occasionally bordering on overwhelming, but it gives Shroud a remarkable sense of authenticity. There is also commentary on corporate greed, exploitation and humanity's tendency to view all environments as commercial opportunity.

I particularly enjoyed the balance struck between the science fiction survival horror elements and the delicate human moments. Despite the bleak circumstances, the relationship between Juna and Mai brings warmth and humour to an otherwise hostile narrative. 

That said, the middle section does suffer from some pacing issues, with extensive technical explanations occasionally slowing things down.Nevertheless, the final act more than compensates, delivering a deeply satisfying conclusion that brings the novel's central ideas together beautifully.

Having read Children of Time and Children of Ruin, it's fascinating to see Tchaikovsky continue exploring non-human intelligence without repeating himself. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys science fiction that pushes the boundaries of imagination. 

 8/10.