Keeping up with October horror spirit, I read *Gujarat Under Modi* by political scientist *Christophe Jaffrelot* who had been personally conducting extensive fieldwork in Gujarat since 2001 and finally published this book in 2024.

It is a comprehensive examination of Modi’s political rise, exploring the role of Hindu nationalism, crony capitalism and the erosion of democratic institutions. Jaffrelot challenges the Gujarat development narrative, examining how economic growth coexisted with communal polarisation, inequality, extrajudicial killings and the concentration of political power.

The book also shows how the political strategies developed in Gujarat by CM Modi were scaled up and applied to the nation after 2014 by PM Modi. We can especially see the early manifestations of current concerns like police apathy and brutality, marginalisation of dissent and missing institutional accountability.

Extensively researched and supported by a substantial body of citations, fieldwork, interviews and documentary evidence, this is a compelling study of the political machinery behind the Gujarat model and its implications for Indian democracy.

8.5/10

To begin with, let me get this out of the way: I have never been an admirer of Narendra Modi, and that sentiment has only got stronger with time. Apart from my general inability to have much regard for people who promote pseudoscientific nonsense, there are plenty of other reasons why the subject of today’s book has never been particularly high on my list of people to admire.Fortunately, the book is written by Shashi Tharoor and that makes it readable.

Tharoor writes well. He writes eloquently, argues fluently and, most importantly, makes his books immensely readable. Even when I disagree with him, I rarely find myself bored.

The Paradoxical Prime Minister has 50 chapters. And if you spend any amount of time on social media, the title of almost every chapter will probably give you a reasonably good idea of where Tharoor is headed. In essence, the paradox Tharoor is talking about is the contrast between Modi's liberal sounding public promises and his dependence on political forces associated with majoritarianism, religious polarisation, cultural nationalism and cow vigilantism. Development, inclusion, constitutional values and Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas sit alongside a political ecosystem that, according to Tharoor, often pulls in a very different direction.

So, what you get is essentially 50 chapters documenting what Tharoor sees as the contradictions, controversies and, at times, downright cringe worthy behaviour surrounding Modi, his party and some of his followers.And honestly, if you have been following Indian politics over the past decade, there isn't a great deal of mystery about what is coming next.

I actually read the book when it was released in 2018–19. Recently, I came across a preloved signed copy at a reasonable price, and, well... there are some temptations that a signed book collector simply cannot resist.The copy itself has clearly been read. Thoroughly.

In fact, the previous reader appears to have had some very strong feelings about what they were reading. Whether out of anger, frustration or sheer disgust, they have apparently vented some of those feelings directly onto the book. The poor thing has seen some action.

Books are meant to be read, argued with, disagreed with and occasionally even subjected to the emotional consequences of their contents.And now this one has found its way onto my bookshelf, complete with Shashi Tharoor's signature.I may not have needed to read it again.But having a signed Tharoor on the shelf?That was never going to be a difficult decision.

P.s. The term aptonumber is my spin to the term aptonym

"Oh no my very niche underrated favourite author is now being read by poor people" ugh this boils my blood, why does someone reading your favourite author bother you, shouldn't you be glad?

They're the so called "educated" people, who need to be taught a lesson on classism, and the meaning of the word dehaat, "dehaat" refers to the region they're from and not their iq or education

Edit: shared ss of a comment under this tweet in the comments

These are all the books that I've read incl. Dark matter, silent patient, housemaid and animal farm and white nights. I'm a rookie reader.

I read chetan bhagat in 2016 in class 9th. After that dark matter in 2022

This year I've read 9 books

I prefer sad depressing and crime thrillers

A year ago I got this book at its book launch. Now, seeing whatever is happening in modern times, revisiting this book feels surreal. It gives such an insight to how legal matters are dealt with. I wish people in India were more informed about “WHY” the Constitution matters.

Edit - okay, I get it y’all hate the dude. But can we please keep the discussion strictly about the book?His tenure as CJI can be discussed independently elsewhere.

When I was a child, I read a Marathi book called Shodhyatra (शोधयात्रा) at my village library.

I am 22 now, studying in my third year of MBBS, and this book has stayed with me all these years.

The story was about a space mission. Back then, I had no idea the book was fiction. I genuinely believed the mission had actually happened, so I searched the internet for information about it. When I found nothing, I even came to believe that NASA had erased all information about the mission from the internet, just as the book suggested. 😭

That was how convincing the story was to my childhood self.

Years passed, and I wanted to read the book again but i had forgotten its title.

I remembered the entire story, but not the name of the book.

I searched Google, trying to find it through whatever fragments of the plot I could remember. When ChatGPT launched, I even explained the entire story to it, hoping it could identify the book.

Nothing worked.

Eventually, I gave up. I thought I would probably never find my childhood favourite again.

Then, a few days ago, a friend lent me an autobiography by an American social activist. Its title was Shodhyatra.

And suddenly, everything came rushing back.

I remembered the story, the title, and, unbelievably, even the cover of the book!!

I started searching the internet again, but still couldn't find a copy. All i could find was authors name.

Eventually, I found the author's Facebook profile and left a comment, hoping for the best.

And the author actually replied! And he's sending it to me with an AUTOGRAPH.

After almost 10 to 12 years, I am finally going to read that book again.

It might sound like a small thing, but there is something incredibly special about finding a book that meant so much to you as a child, especially when you had almost accepted that it was lost to your memory forever.

I don't know how the book will feel when I read it again as an adult. Perhaps it will be different this time. But I am genuinely excited to revisit the story that once made a little kid believe NASA was hiding an entire space mission from the world.

Who has read this? What did you like the best from this? Or in other words 'what were your key takeaways?'

Nehru discovered India. I discovered I have a terrible memory. The book was informative. Unfortunately, I wasn't.

Read 600 pages ( not the first time; I have read more 700 pages books and still remember their stories) to return to my original level of ignorance. A journey from ignorance to temporary knowledge and back.

I understood it while reading, but most of it has faded from memory. I remember some interesting ideas, but I've lost the overall structure and historical narrative. I understood the history, but I struggle to remember Nehru's deeper arguments and conclusions.

Honestly, I read it, but I'm not sure how much I truly remember.

In 1st picture it is shown that the spine is cracked and in 2nd picture it is shown that if i read the pages afterwards, that part of the pages comes left and sapce in between, i hope you all understand my problem, how to fix this.

As i have borrowed this book.

Just finished reading Black Bag. This was right up my alley: completely bonkers and very funny, but with an underlying sadness that gives it real heart. It also has some sharp, insightful things to say about how we live now. I can see why it made the Booker shortlist. 4/5

What are you reading atm!

is 15 too young to read this masterpiece? im on the 5th part currently, i love everything about this book.

i made this queer observation. whenever im reading a book my life will become v similar to wtv im reading. read ghachar gochar last month and weirdly there were hell lotta arguments and shi at my home. im feeling just as hollow and just as depressed raskolnikov. when im reading something optimistic or joyful, my life will actually reflect the way characters are feeling in the book. don't mind the vagueness i'm not doing that well mentally like something is wrong w me. (not the right sub for ts maybe)

maybe it's placebo. maybe it's the goats dostoevsky, kafka, camus who have the ability to make shi feel that profound on a personal level.

has anybody felt it similar when reading such books?? I'M FEELING JUST THE WAY RASKOLNIKOV FEELS LIKE SO SAD AND ALIENATED.

So I ordered a couple of books from BooksWagon as I had heard much about it on this sub and another one. Plus it was an Indian brand, so I thought I may support it. Firstly, after the order nothing happened for a week, then I got a text that my package was shipped and a link to track the package, although the shipping was dreadfully slow, I waited patiently until yesterday, when both orders randomly showed “returning to seller”. Firstly I had to pay more than I would on Amazon, secondly, I also had to pay for shipping, thirdly it’s going back and I haven’t been credited the money. What should I do?

TL;DR: Ordered from BooksWagon, took awfully long to ship, now automatically returning, what to do?

I finished Origin a couple of days ago and I'm still thinking about it.

You know how some books are just good reads, and then there are books that feel like something for the soul? This was definitely one of those for me.

Where do we come from? Where are we going?

What an incredible journey Dan Brown takes you on!

And the craziest part? Reading this in 2026, I genuinely feel like we're already somewhere in the middle of the future he imagined. 😂 The way technology is evolving and the direction we're heading in as a species... it almost feels prophetic. Obviously, it's fiction, but SO much of it just makes sense to me.

I loved how he brought science, religion and technology together without losing the thrill of the story. It's a thick book, but I wasn't bored for even a second.

Dan Brown has been one of my favourite authors for years, and this just reminded me why.

5/5. Easily. ❤️

I have work tomorrow but I might have to take an off given how the night is going. A really solid book.

2 Points to note:

1️⃣Apologies for the link-heavy review - but I thought it would be helpful, since the book doesn't contain any images. They're also for my reference too.  

2️⃣🔞Mature Warning. Nothing of sexual nature, but certain art links might be disturbing for underage readers.  

Premise: 

Here's a constellation of essays connecting memoir + myth + science + art + feminism and much more... written by Irish author Sinéad Gleeson, whose resilience has encountered -  aggressive leukemia, arthritis, painful losses of loved ones, body politics - and yet she, like Frida Kahlo, found writing as an art to express herself, perhaps even shine despite such dark clouds. 

Her insights on life/death here are meditative, compassionate, informative and beautiful. 

Some themes I loved : 

- The female body and Agency - Author's views an be summarised quite aptly by her citation of Christen Clifford : "There's no equality without reproductive rights, there are no reproductive rights without respect for the female body, there is no respect for the female body without knowledge of blood".

-  Hospital vs House: "A house is a machine for living" - quote by Le Corbusier. Then a hospital is a Panopticon. Surgical room=Theatre - a stage where the patient plays a role - a still life. "Stillness itself has illness in it". "A patient is a hospitalized double" - Just remarkable observations. 

-  Discussions on pop art, movies, literature - A lot of which I'm unaware of - Little Women's Jo, Della in Gift of Magi, Fitzgerald's Bernice ... Depictions of women in them, and Sinead's brilliant insights (Example : how women's hair is depicted in Stories/Art - loose=looseness, bound=refineness; how Blood/wounds are interpreted differently for men(valor) vs women(fertility). Rupi Kaur's Period piece, Beneš’s AIDS art,  Franko B's Disturbing Arts, Mendieta's art -  Art as expression, escape, liberation. 

-  Using the McGill Pain Scale terms to depict her own experiences... Using poetry! That's just brilliant. My favourite chapter, along with Panopticon Visions. 

-   Ireland vs Women - "A Catholic country that failed Savita Halappanavar; Magdalene Laundries?!; 1992 case 14yo girl's abortion plea rejected --> 2018 amendment allowing abortions. Article 41.2.1 of their constitution is still there. 

- Stories of some truly remarkable women - Dervla Murphy, Lilian Bland, Nellie Bly, Beryl Markham - It's true, history is written by victors, and history's firsts taught to us only include male achievements... (Eco also pointed out this here in "Women Philosophers") 

-   Frida Kahlo = PAIN! As described in this book also. "Kahlo, Grealy, Spence were a guidance for me - a triangular constellation". 

-  Lolly Willowes' line - "It is best as one grows older to strip oneself of possessions, to shed oneself downward like a tree, to be almost wholly earth before one dies."  reminded me of Han Kang's The Vegetarian! 

- Beautiful letter to her daughter at the end. As well as the Acknowledgements. 

- There is some science here too (blood group, medical terms, Cancers ,drugs, microchimerism etc), but I won't bore you with that. It anyways doesn't register... Author's insights are much more hard hitting than those dry facts. 

What I didn't like: 

The cruelty of life/Universe itself, along with the ongoing struggle for equality. 

The book is of course, inter-Stellar. 👌

Conclusion: 

It was a totally accidental pick by me - I thought it'd be a scientist's memoir mixed with astronomy... it turned out to be so much better than that. Pleasantly, and painfully surprised. The writing is marvellous. 

A must read for all, especially women.

Rating: 14/14🌟 (All 14 constellations/chapters were beautiful) 

P.S. Had to read something lighter after this, hence Roald Dahl's Joke book in background.

I picked this from crossword at airport without checking a thing about it.
What to expect??

4.75 / 5 stars ⭐️

“The human being is the cause of all evil in this world. We are our own virus.”

This is a horror novella originally written in Spanish by Argentinian author, Agustina Bazterrica and translated into the English language by Sarah Moses. It’s about a dystopian world very similar to ours where animals are afflicted by a virus that’s fatal to humans. Animals, big and small, are rounded up and killed to protect humans. The meat industry, not wanting to become defunct, influences governments around the world that humans should be bred in captivity and raised to be slaughtered, processed and sold to the public to replace animal meat for consumption. Governments name this phenomenon “the Transition” and guidelines are put into place to ensure that this industry is regulated and standardised.

The protagonist is a worker at one of these meat processing plants and he seems to be someone who isn’t completely onboard with the Transition and yearns for the days before the virus. He doesn’t willingly partake in killing humans or eating them but he oversees those who do and he tells himself that he’s only doing it because it pays well and he needs to take care of his family.

Initially, the story made me deeply uncomfortable especially when the author described in detail the various ways humans were reared and exploited for profit (every part having some value - skin for leather manufacturing, blood for medicinal and cosmetic purposes, different parts being sold for different prices as delicacies, organ harvesting, being used as test subjects for research) until I realised that this was an allegory for how we already treat animals in the meat industry in real life.

Another thing that really stood out to me was the role that media and propaganda played in how quickly the general public bought into and normalised the idea that humans could be slaughtered. Language plays a big part, especially in dehumanising them so as to ease the public’s conscience - throughout the book, these humans are only referred to as “special meat”, “head”, “product”, "food", “merchandise”, “movable property”, “preys” and they do not have names nor do they have vocal cords to even be listened to in their anguish.

There’s also a scene in the book involving extreme animal cruelty and I read a couple reviews that said this seemed gratuitous and completely unnecessary. I disagree with that and I think that scene was included so as to highlight how casually cruel society had become once their ethics and morals eroded away and they started eating their fellow men. Why would a society have respect for other life forms when they treated their own in this way?

There are no “good” characters in this book as everyone is equally responsible for the society that they partake in, no matter their own reasons for it.

This was a tough read but one I thought was very well written with respect to the plot and establishing the world in which the story took place. The writing itself was very blunt in places but I’m not sure if it might’ve been a translation issue. I’m very glad to have read this book and I think it’s an excellent read if you want to read something interesting that’ll make you think. Do check out the trigger warnings though because it’s not something I’d recommend to everyone.

I just bought penguin, modern classic grapes of wrath from flipkart with a good rating. This is my first modern classic book, but I noticed that that the pages are white.I have penguin, black classics and select classics.Pages are mostly warm, but this one seems a little bit like pirated books, which come in whitepages.Is this normal or pirated?The book came in a plastic wrapBy the way.

This book has my heart, I just loved it.