India

Homecoming and Family Revelations

The Museum of Failures by Thrity Umrigar

December 28, 2025 by Jen K Leave a Comment

I read a few Thrity Umrigar novels a few years ago and quite enjoyed her writing. I just kind of fell out of the habit of reading this type of genre of novel so even though I like the author, I would choose other books from my TBR. Remy Wadia hasn’t been back to visit Bombay since his father died 3 years ago. He and his mother have always had a difficult relationship, and even now, he isn’t back to see her but to speak […]

A first female wheelchair athlete

The Girl Who Figured It Out: The Inspiring True Story of Wheelchair Athlete Minda Dentler Becoming an Ironman World Champion by Minda Dentler

December 24, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

The story The Girl Who Figured It Out: The Inspiring True Story of Wheelchair Athlete Minda Dentler Becoming an Ironman World Champion by illustrator Stephanie Dehennin and author Minda Dentler (the Minda Dentler of the story) is not necessarily a new idea as we have had stories about people overcoming the odds due to race, gender and disabilities before. However, Dentler’s story is unique because it is hers. It is also unique because I have never really seen a book that had this exact subject. […]

An old man returns to his childhood home — a book review but also my earnest request for more Hollywood movies about Partition

The Persistence of Memory by Urvashi Butalia

December 6, 2025 by denesteak 2 Comments

In my search to learn more about the partition of India after it gained independence from the British, Urvashi Butalia was a writer recommended by a Pakistani journalist friend who had done some reporting on this issue. Ten minutes of Google and I was able to find The Persistence of Memory, which ended up being a quick and satisfying read. Butalia follows Bir Bahadur Singh as he travels to Pakistan in his 70s, eager to return to his home village Thoa Khalsa for a visit […]

I wonder if they say, “Break a leg” for good luck in India?

The First Girl on Stage: Tunga Dances the Yakshagana by Shruthi Rao

December 2, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Are you looking for a good story about breaking the gender barrier with a subject not many might know about. The First Girl on Stage: Tunga Dances the Yakshagana by Shruthi Rao and illustrator Devika Joglekar might be what you are looking for. The girl of the story becomes obsessed with the dances she sees on stage. The swirling, the costumes, the colors, the excitement she copies all the time. At first, her family finds it amusing, then not so much, as she continues to […]

“Love is sharing your popcorn.” —Charles Schultz

A Salwar Kameez for Ambika by Arti Pandey

Samina Goes to a Wedding: Celebrations from a Bangladeshi Marriage by Farida Zaman

November 20, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Somedays I think I must be one of the top 100 romantic skeptics. I mean, I love a good happily ever after, but I’m also the person who, when I see a public proposal, I’m the one saying, “Just say no! But if you do, get a good prenup!” So when I recently found two picture books about weddings as online reader copies, I almost passed them by. I mean, I’m all for a wedding (I mean let me eat cake) but reading about them? […]

“A poem was pinned under Hoshiar’s picture of young Duleep: “I have been thrown into a far-flung place, had everything, all that I once cherished, my Kingdoms and my very life taken from me. I am now in a foreign place, so far from my people. So far from my homeland.”

The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge, and India's Quest for Independence by Anita Anand

October 13, 2025 by Pooja Leave a Comment

A Indian freedom fighter waited more than two decades to exact revenge for the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre which was ordered by the British Raj – but the story is more complicated and less cinematic than it has been often depicted since. At the start of this book, the author notes that as the descendent of Indians, she had to set aside her natural aversion to the British Raj and admiration for Udham Singh to tell the story in as unbiased a way as she could. […]

beereadsbooks
on A family can be two sisters, one of those sister’s descendants, two other sisters, a magic whale, a sentient island, an omnipotent museum, and academic papers
Sounds weird! Looks beautiful! On to the TBR it goes!
beereadsbooks
on Les Amis Des Chats
As a long-time nonprofit professional, I'm intrigued at the mixing of fantasy and fundraising. Plus, what a gorgeous cover!
Emmalita
on What if Cinderella was a handsome Jewish man and the prince was a determined and beautiful heiress?
I remember enjoying this one. And you’ve reminded me that I have an arc for the third book.
Jen K
on “What I am is the Indian who can’t die. I’m the worst dream America ever had.”
I haven’t read this one but I got sucked into vampires early, probably around 2nd grade with a kids series...
ElCicco
on “What I am is the Indian who can’t die. I’m the worst dream America ever had.”
Yes! My first of his and I appreciate the rec since I would like to read more of his work...

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Homecoming and Family Revelations

A first female wheelchair athlete

An old man returns to his childhood home — a book review but also my earnest request for more Hollywood movies about Partition

“Love is sharing your popcorn.” —Charles Schultz

“A poem was pinned under Hoshiar’s picture of young Duleep: “I have been thrown into a far-flung place, had everything, all that I once cherished, my Kingdoms and my very life taken from me. I am now in a foreign place, so far from my people. So far from my homeland.”

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