Oh So Emo! is a children’s book that can work wonders for people of every age group to help understand their complex emotions in simple words. The book starts with how some monks have to change their location due to Chinese soldiers entering in their homes to take over the area. Doji one of the monks is the youngest of them but holds wisdom of worth more than that and has a speaking bird named Sku to whom he has been sharing with all his teachings to part to the world when time comes. When the monks started walking towards a safer spot for them Doji asks Sku to go and look for his first student who needs his help to understand their emotions.
The stories in the book are woven around children who are unaware of the emotions they feel and how they are impacting them. The book not only holds stories but also dedicated pages for different emotions that one feels, the words we use to describe them, things one can do to not let it consume you and affirmations and space for the reader to pen down their thoughts too. Each emotion is well explained in simple words so that anyone who reads it understands that they are not as big as we make them. Emotions can be controlled or understood and can have a positive impact on our life if handled properly.
The book for me was full of impactful things said so simply that they didn’t seem that difficult. My major takeaway from the book is one does have to be in full control of their emotions but can still not let them overtake them if handle them in the right manner, we are humans and are tend to feel things and even overthink too but can’t change the things we have no control over but we can at least control how they impact us.
What a beautiful children’s book that cannot only be a good fit for all readers but also act as a guide to understand the emotions we tend to make very complex and let them overwhelm and consume us.
I recommend everyone to read this book, it might not answer all your questions but will obviously be of some help.
PROMPT – I was cleaning my cluttered desk and found the document beneath a pile of papers….
I was cleaning my cluttered desk and found the document beneath a pile of papers – CONTRACT OF RELATIONSHIP. As they say old habits die hard, I don’t think mine’s gonna die ever. I am habitual of keeping this carefully at various places so that when I need them I’m never able to find it easily. Sometimes I have to let it be and I’m not able to find the thing. Looks like this document has been one of them.
I can’t believe this is still there. I thought I threw it all away when the relationship ended but I guess a few things are hard to let go right, like this one. Manan and I were in a relationship for 1.9 years to be precise and I broke up with him when I was under the understanding that I was loosing feelings for him and the things weren’t the same for me anymore. The way we loved each other was crazy, a fairytale, bollywood romance, a nice romantic novel story like the ones I’m obsessed with reading but the relationship’s fate was kind of also the same. Obviously it wasn’t easy for me to break such news to him nor was it to take it up for him.
But sometimes in haste you make some decisions that you can never forget about your whole life. Before I go more down the memory lane I wanted to check out this contract.
Contract of Relationship ❤️
This is to certify that Ms.Kishika Khurana has deeply, madly fallen in love with this ohh so gorgeous human being i.e., Mr. Manan Chawla. Not only are you a handsome, charming man but also a man who knows how to treat his girl and swoon her off her feet and make her feel loved, valued, understood and heard while never forgetting to respect her.
Through this contract I would love to ask you to be mine for forever and ever and ever 💋 I know I’m cheesy and dramatic but isn’t it the same with both of us which helped us vibe the very first time we started talking. I’ll tell you the rest of the speech once we meet but for now if you accept my love for you please sign this contract and send me back.
Kishika❤️ Manan❤️
Poor guy!! I made him sign it digitally and send it to me. But he did it with all his heart, that’s how much in love we were. I don’t think I have ever forgotten him and the things he made me feel.
But the way things ended took a toll on me even though I was the one who called it all off. The pain I saw in his eyes, his tears broke me.
‘Di, what are you doing here going through these old papers? I’ll sort it out for you later, I had kept them there since I was searching for an important document I had kept somewhere’, Shena my younger sister said.
Guess this habit of keeping things and not finding it when needed the most is in the family..
‘Why are you smiling like that? Smile later ok all you want but right now I need your help in the kitchen’, she said and rushed out of the room.
I quickly kept the contract in my drawer and went to the kitchen.
Blogchatter is a community that I adore not just its members but also the A team. They have helped me read, write and talk about various things in the past year which otherwise wouldn’t have been the same if I wasn’t a part of this beautiful community.
Another season of Heartstopper is here which also means that Isaac is giving all the reader audience more amazing books to look forward to.
Isaac is an avid reader and can be seen reading multiple books across the season.
Here’s the list of the book he is reading in season 2:
1. BOOK LOVERS BY EMILY HENRY
One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn’t see coming…
Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.
Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.
If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.
2. THE AWAKENING BY KATE CHOPIN
The Awakening, originally titled A Solitary Soul, is a novel by Kate Chopin, first published in 1899. Set in New Orleans and the Southern Louisiana coast at the end of the nineteenth century, the plot centers on Edna Pontellier and her struggle to reconcile her increasingly unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood with the prevailing social attitudes of the turn-of-the-century American South. It is one of the earliest American novels that focuses on women’s issues without condescension.
3. I LOVE THIS PART BY TILLIE WALDEN
Two girls in a small town in the USA kill time together as they try to get through their days at school. They watch videos, share earbuds as they play each other songs and exchange their stories. In the process they form a deep connection and an unexpected relationship begins to develop. In her follow up to the critically acclaimed The End of Summer, Tillie Walden tells the story of a small love that can make you feel like the biggest thing around, and how it’s possible to find another person who understands you when you thought no one could.
4. ACE OF SPADES BY FARIDAH
Gossip Girl meets Get Out in Ace of Spades, a YA contemporary thriller by debut author Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé about two students, Devon & Chiamaka, and their struggles against an anonymous bully. All you need to know is . . . I’m here to divide and conquer. Like all great tyrants do. ―Aces When two Niveus Private Academy students, Devon Richards and Chiamaka Adebayo, are selected to be part of the elite school’s senior class prefects, it looks like their year is off to an amazing start. After all, not only does it look great on college applications, but it officially puts each of them in the running for valedictorian, too. Shortly after the announcement is made, though, someone who goes by Aces begins using anonymous text messages to reveal secrets about the two of them that turn their lives upside down and threaten every aspect of their carefully planned futures. As Aces shows no sign of stopping, what seemed like a sick prank quickly turns into a dangerous game, with all the cards stacked against them. Can Devon and Chiamaka stop Aces before things become incredibly deadly?
5. THE OUTSIDER BY ALBERT CAMUS
The Outsider (The Stranger) is Albert Camus’s first novel. First published in 1942, the novel is a representation of Camus’s absurdist world view. The novel is about an emotionally detached, amoral young man named Meursault. Meursault does not cry at his mother’s funeral, does not believe in the society that persecutes him. God. He kills an unknown man without any apparent motive. Meursault is considered as a threat to society and is sentenced to death. Ultimately, he comes to accept the ‘gentle indifference of the world.’
6. AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS BY JULES VERNE
One night in the reform club, Phileas Fogg bets his companions that he can travel across the globe in just eighty days. Breaking the well-established routine of his daily life, he immediately sets off for Dover with his astonished valet Passepart out. Overcoming setbacks they race against the clock.
7. WE ARE OKAY BY NINA LACOUR
You go through life thinking there’s so much you need. . . . Until you leave with only your phone, your wallet, and a picture of your mother. Marin hasn’t spoken to anyone from her old life since the day she left everything behind. No one knows the truth about those final weeks. Not even her best friend Mabel. But even thousands of miles away from the California coast, at college in New York, Marin still feels the pull of the life and tragedy she’s tried to outrun. Now, months later, alone in an emptied dorm for winter break, Marin waits. Mabel is coming to visit and Marin will be forced to face everything that’s been left unsaid and finally confront the loneliness that has made a home in her heart.
8. LES MISERABLES BY VICTOR HUGO
Blurb- Out of extreme poverty Jean Valjean steals a loaf of bread and then spends many years trying to escape his reputation as a criminal. In later years he rises socially and is a respectable member of society; but policeman Javert will not allow him to forget his past and is determined to expose him.
9.THE LITTLE PRINCE BY ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPÉRY
All grown-ups were once children.. but only few of them remember it.?It?s the Sahara Desert and a pilot has crashed his plane. When suddenly a young boy?with golden hair and a loveable laugh and who claims to have fallen to Earth?appears before him and asks him to draw a sheep, what does he do? He draws it!Thus begins this poetic and sublime adventure, an enchanting fable, which encloses in its heart the teachings of love, loss, loneliness and friendship.The fourth-most translated book in the world, the Little Prince has been adapted to multiple art forms and has managed to resonate in the hearts of its patrons every single time.
Do you still have that face etched in your memory? Every detail, every curve, even the curve of their smile and the warmth it made you feel in your chest is still fresh in your memory?
You don’t have the pictures with you anymore but honestly you don’t even need them because those moments are still fresh in your mind and heart. It’s so fresh that you can describe all the tiny details too and the listener can feel themselves in that moment with you.
Actually, you know what not just the smile but those shining eyes, the way they looked at you and only you. Like they never had them for anyone else. The way their cheeks turned red when people used to tease them by your name. The way those lips just called your name, felt honey to your eyes, a name that was just meant for you. The shoulders that were there for you to lean on always, your constant support.
Yes, things didn’t work out the way you both wished for but you never lost the respect you had for each other. It’s still there and both of you are not the villains of each other’s story, the time is.
They still walk into your memory with that smile and those glittery eyes looking at you, might even be seeing through your soul and ready to give you that shoulder again to lean on and support you. But you can’t, just can’t accept them again as you have moved on. But you can’t also let the memory go, as they were your sliver of sunlight through all of your darkest days that kept you going. That made you believe that yes things would get better if they are by your side.
Even though you have moved on in your life, sometimes you like to visit those memories in your heart, visit that person because they help keep you sane even till this day during all the chaos life is.
These people are the ones who are called ONCE IN A LIFETIME people. The things they have made you feel you cannot ever again feel the same way in anyone ever, the warmth they made you feel stays even after it has been years without them, they are still there with you and will always be till the time to prefer to hold onto them.
The above piece is a part of my work in progress novel.
Please do leave your feedback in the comments when you read this.
Entering the Maze is the translation of the autobiographical fiction of Krishnagopal Mallick. The book is divided into four parts- Introduction, The Difficult Path, Senior Citizen and Entering the Maze.
The introduction is the reader’s first look into Krishnagopal’s life and work and of course him. Each part of the book has a different thing to offer but what remains common is the brave and bare style of writing. The young protagonist in the book has various sexual experiences over the time period of a year. Capturing the themes like desire, exploring oneself, complex emotions Chatterjee has done an amazing job to bring Mallick’s work to the English reading audience.
The book also provides a first hand view into the old Kolkata and its slow mundane life. The first story ” The Difficult Path” includes in-depth descriptions of the College Square and the various groups of people visiting it at different times, shows Mallick’s love for Kolkata and also transports the reader to that place. I really liked how the writing feels raw and grips you.
The second story “Senior Citizen” is about an old man seeking sexual pleasure in the expected places and thereby getting threatened for his actions.
“Entering the Maze” , the novella is the story of the coming of age of a 15 years old boy discovering his sexuality.
Mallick openly mentioned himself as homosexual and didn’t use the modern day terms ‘queer’ or ‘gay’. He was away from political correctness, challenging societal norms. The frankness in his work was a very unique aspect and unusual for his time, making him one of a kind. The translator Niladri Chatterjee has beautifully captured his work in its honest and true sense and brought to the readers a queer account that had been long forgotten.
Read this queer fiction to explore the work of Krishnagopal Mallick and also to understand why translations are important.
The Ex Factor is the story of Oinks short for Oindrila, a Bengali girl, who loves to create more chaos in her head on top of the ones in her life. Everyone seems to seek her time and attention at the same time – from her parents , pets, boss to her cousin and best friend. Her life faces turbulence when Vivek, her long-time crush( Mr whose name should not be taken) makes an unexpected entry back into her life.
The writing style of the book is very simple and very casual. The language of the female MC would make you go ughh.. because she cusses a lot. To me it felt like the main characters in the book are not Oinks and Vivek but Oinks and her mind.
The storyline is predictable and failed to leave an impact on me. There were almost no to very little character descriptions as well as development. I failed to put a face to any of the characters even till the end of the book. While the blurb of the book feels exciting the book just keeps on growing dull. I’m a Punjabi and there are a few remarks that didn’t sit well with me.
The author has also tried to put in LGBTQIA+ representation in the book, I wish it was explored more.
It felt like the author was so annoyed by someone that they made them the female MC. She is mostly in her own head rather than in the real world which got very irritating for me as a reader after a point of time. I’m a sucker for good romances but this book didn’t work for me.
To the Moon and Back is a collection of 40 poems that capture the poet’s personality, drawing the reader into her collage that is creative, wild, untamed and whimsy.
In the foreword, Vir Das said, ” Love is pain, in both the chest and ass. It is a pain in the ass to find it, and we all know what a pain in the ass it can be while it sticks around. And yet nothing hurts more than when it leaves you, because it WILL not leave you, even after it’s gone. That free fall to the bottom of your chest and the incredible climb back out of the darkness it bestows are where the greatest songs, movies, books, sonnets, and sugary carb-loaded snacks are born.” I couldn’t agree more. I was hooked to the book from there itself.
The poems in the book beautifully talk about different feelings and emotions like love, loss, bonding, nature, nostalgia, regrets, loving yourself etc. Each poem gives you some food for thought. Each of them is different in its own way taking the reader to a different world. They are written in modern lyrical poetry style. While I have many favorites in the book, some poems left me confused too. The book had its ups and downs as some poems failed to leave and impact and left me wondering about the idea behind it. The language is simple and helps you flow through the poems. I’m surely going to revisit my favorites in the book.
Overall, it was a good read for me and I would recommend you to try it.
” Places of worship are synonymous with businesses in the Kaliyuga. You settle for the lies that dictators have fed us throughout our miserable lives. This system is a masterplan by the capitalists of today, supposed legends of tomorrow, but tyrants in reality.”
Kaliyuga, Harsheath Chauhan
If you think this book is a tale of the win of good over evil, it’s not or maybe it is? It is many things beautifully woven together.
The book talks about Kalki avatar and Kali. In many Hindu texts, it is mentioned that in Kaliyuga, the tenth avatar of Lord Vishnu would reincarnate on Earth to kill Kali and establish Satya Yuga.
On one side there is Gautam Yadav an eighteen-year-old, prophesied Tenth Avatar of Lord Vishnu and on the other a cryptic and shady man who claims to be the Kalki Avatar. But who is really he claims to be and who’s the imposter? Or are they just two sides of the same coin?
Author Harsheath has created a unique world of its own, crafting perfect misfits characters( like Gautam, Veeraram, Professor, Vijay Chauhan etc) to give life to the story. The writing style is engaging and gripping. The base and build-up is well implemented. Each character has their own background story which helps understand their actions better in the later parts of the book. It shows how clear the author was in his mind on how he wanted each layer to unfold.
I enjoyed the book because I knew the references mentioned from the Hindu mythology and could relate. If someone who isn’t aware of the Hindu mythology reads this book, they might need more information than what is provided in the list of characters. I would have loved to recommend this book for every age group but unfortunately can’t as there is a small scene with the professor I wouldn’t recommend children below 14 years to read.
I loved the book more because of the multi-linear narrative in the first half. My favorite parts of the book are the satires. I was really impressed how Harsheath mentioned the ozone layer and how it needs to be taken care of.
Everyone just go and get your copies of this book. What are you waiting for?
I was driving through the heavy rains when I saw him crossing the road. I just couldn’t believe my eyes, turned around and tried looking at him again till I was sure it was him, it was Ahaan only. I followed him with my eyes till as far as I could since I was waiting for the signal to turn green. This couldn’t be really right, he died years ago in a car accident. My mind was going crazy at the thought of him coming back from the dead. As the signal turned green I found the nearest parking spot and parked my car. Pulled out an umbrella from my bag and got down to follow Ahaan. I had to confirm if I had mistaken someone else for him.
As I started running towards the direction I saw him go, I was receiving weird glances from the passersby. My expressions would have given away my feeling of dread. Ignoring it all, I just ran towards the narrow street I saw him entering. He was visiting a library, Solitude Library, the board outside read. I went inside too. Putting my umbrella aside I looked at my reflection in the entry door and took a few deep breaths to calm myself. I couldn’t find him inside, not at least in the distances my eyes could cover standing at the reception.
“Hi ma’am, how can I help you? “, the receptionist asked. It startled me of course but I couldn’t let it come on my face.
“Hi, so I just saw the board outside and couldn’t stop myself from checking out this place. I love reading. Could you please help me know more about your library?
Happy to see a potential customer in me she started explaining everything to me. From the book borrowing options to sit in the library and enjoy your book in silence with tea, I knew it all. When she told me If I would like to take a round of the place to decide before joining the membership program I immediately nodded. Yes I loved books but I couldn’t get distracted from the reason I came here.
I had to fill the entry register before entering the main premises. I checked the names above mine and saw Ahaan’s name there, a chill ran through my spine. How could it be possible that this man who has been dead for the last two years is now suddenly back from the dead and visiting a library? I wrote the time quickly and went in.
Pc- pinterest
I could smell his cinnamon and musk perfume and I was sure this was his because he used to get this fragrance personalized. While I was faking checking out the books collection my eyes were searching for him only. He surely wasn’t on the floor I was so I climbed up the stairs to the second floor. As I turned right, I saw him, the same as before. Not even a single thing had changed. He was still that tall, dark and handsome guy with the smile that could brighten my day and make me feel wanted to be held in those safe arms. The one I had loved with all of my existence. But God hadn’t blessed our relationship the way we had thought. While he was coming to meet me one day his car was hit by an over speeding truck and he died on spot.
But I could see him perfectly fine sitting and reading there at the table. I went straight to him and patted him on his back. When he turned around and saw me his face had turned pale like he had seen a ghost. With tears waiting to open the flood gates in my eyes all I could say was I missed you. Looking at his expressions it was clear he was as shocked as I was at seeing him. He held my arm and guided me towards the side of the shelves. I was waiting for him to say that he also missed me but what I heard him say made me go numb. “How the hell are you here? You were dead. I made sure of it” , he said, tightening his grip on my arm. I couldn’t believe what I had just heard. “Why would I die? I’m here alive. It was you who died in that car accident two years ago. When I saw you today I couldn’t believe my eyes that you were alive and I have been living as your widow”, I somehow said it all in one go. He laughed menacingly, I had never seen this side of his. He looked at me with that look in his eyes and said.” So this is the bullshit that they have feeded you with and not revealed what I did. I didn’t die love, you did because I wanted you dead. But I can see some part of you is still here so let me finish it all once and forever.”
He was choking me with every ounce of power he had. I was fighting for my life at that moment wishing I wouldn’t have followed him here. I was breathing heavily with his hand on my throat and kicking him with all the little bit of force left in me. He wasn’t letting me go. I knew I would be dead soon.
I heard Ahaan say baby tea is ready and I couldn’t understand anything. It all was so confusing, maybe I was hallucinating in my last moments about some food memories. I felt myself fall with a thud and woke up finding that I had fallen asleep while reading a recent thriller and Ahaan was right there, alive with tea in his hands for both of us. I was still breathing heavily.
Hooked with Books 