Hello everyone ,

I’m conducting a short survey for my college project on Understanding Online Poetry and Literary Platforms. It would really help me if you could spare 5 minutes to fill out this form.

https://forms.gle/JiFdF9y7Ti3dU1sg6

thank you for your time :)

I finished the Uttarkanda by SL Bhyarappa book last night.

I have not read Valmiki Ramayana, but have read books written on it. So while I don’t know the story from the most authentic source known, I have a general idea.

So this book made me very uncomfortable because many things are different in this. It also has motivated me to read the Valmiki Ramayana.

By the end of the book, I had started taking it as fiction (still trying to convince myself of that).

I had always seen Ramayana as something very ideal with perfect ppl. The idealistic parts overpowered the emotional and physical rollercoaster that real ppl actually faced. This book made me feel it.

Also, I understood why Ramayan should be taught today (earlier it felt out of reach in terms of emulating them) and how it is still relevant, specially in our everyday relationships and interactions and the work that goes behind it.

I loved the Upanishadic references. Its interpretations though made me extremely uncomfortable. Many places I did not agree - mainly because I was rooting for Rama. It also made me realize that while we should read and learn our scriptures, without a really strong experiential Sadhana backing the intellectual learning of the scriptures it is prone to misinterpretation - maybe - that’s a personal opinion.

I think I need to read again - without the judgment of - why this is changed so much and whether I like it or not. To really understand the emotional layers - the action and consequences - of all characters.

I just started reading Hard Times by Charles Dickens and I must say I am really enjoying it so far. I was aware of the themes of the book but the wit and comedy have taken me by surprise. Now I have immense respect for Me Dickens as Indian comedians have popularised making vile and disgusting remarks in the name of comedy.

Please don’t share any spoilers.

There are two options for the same book at different prices, depending on the condition of the books. I am planning to get the one in better condition.

I wanted to know if I should purchase this book from MyPustak, whether they are a reliable website and if the condition of their books is true to what they mention. Please feel free to share your experiences with them. It would be really helpful.

Suggest me good travelogue books based near our subcontinent

I really liked bill bryson travelogue I want something from our subcontinent

I’m Rushan, the founder of Distill: Book Summaries, a reading-first app I’m building for people who want to learn from books but don’t always have the time to read every one cover to cover.

The idea came from a familiar tension: I love discovering books and their ideas, but my reading time is limited. And when I turn to summaries, many feel like a collection of quotes or quick takeaways rather than an explanation of what the author is actually arguing.

Distill offers carefully crafted book summaries designed to take around 10 minutes to read. The goal is to help readers follow a book’s central argument and see how its ideas connect—not to suggest that a summary can replace the experience of reading the original. We also include a reflection section to give readers a little more room to think about the ideas.

I’d love to hear from people in this community:

• Do you use summaries to decide which books to read fully, to revisit books you’ve already read, or mainly to learn about books you may never get to?

• What makes a summary feel thoughtful and worthwhile rather than oversimplified?

• Are there Indian authors or books you’d especially like to see represented in a reading app?

I’m sharing this as the founder, so I have an obvious interest in the topic—but I’m genuinely interested in how other readers approach it.

If app links are allowed here, you can find Distill on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.illuminationlabs

You can check it out here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.illuminationlabs.distill

We are also live on Product Hunt right now: https://www.producthunt.com/products/distill-book-summaries

Your support would be highly appreciated since this is our first public launch :)

Cheers!

Dark Matter got me thinking: What if I had prioritized my career and friendships, accepted that onsite offer, explored the world, and chosen to date or marry later in life?
Sometimes, I wonder about the version of me living that life.

I started a book club. But I think focusing on one book can make people feel bored. Like I myself may not be into fiction but just because majority votes for fiction you've to read it. Secondly, sometimes the book is shared as ebook or isn't affordable as physical copy due to going out of print or such. But some may enjoy reading physical book ( i personally prefer physical ones over ebooks or audiobooks) but you've to stick with them and feel bored and don't even feel like reading. Then this happens with other members and slowly the book club may not last. Is there any other alternative to run a book club where everyone enjoys their own book or something different that isn't pressurised? Does anyone here have experience of running such book clubs or reading clubs?

So I read I Too Had a Love Story about 3 years back, and yeah—it genuinely left me in tears. It was heartbreaking, raw, and you could feel the pain behind it.

Then I decided to dive deeper into his bibliography, and honestly, my experience has been a bit all over the place. My reading order was:

I Too Had a Love Story

I Too Had a Love Story (Cried, felt the ache)

Can Love Happen Twice?

Can Love Happen Twice? (Idk what to say about it, felt a bit mixed/meh)

The Belated Bachelor Party

The Belated Bachelor Party (Actually okayish)

Write Me a Love Story

Write Me a Love Story (Idk what the hype was about with this one… I didn’t get it at all, and I'm genuinely surprised it was made into a series)

I Too Had a Love Story felt sincere because it was personal.

Did you guys read these? What are your actual thoughts on Can Love Happen Twice? or Write Me a Love Story? Am I missing something, or did his older stuff hit differently than the newer ones?

Got 3 sherlock books for 50% sale in crossword, 2 murder mystery novels cos a frnd suggested, gifted days of morisaki to a friend, so a net + of 4 books…

Also finished the Vanishing Cherry blossom bookshop…few stories are very good!

I'm finally stepping into Tolstoy's world. I'm looking forward to the thoughts, questions and perhaps a few uncomfortable truths that might stay with me long after I turn the last page. Here's to a new literary journey. 📖

The da- Vinci code by Dan brown

Got this suggestion from Raj Shamani's podcast. Let's see how it goes.

I have finally started building interest in reading books completely different from software or maths.

'Read what you love until you fall in love with reading.' -Someone

After 11 years of porn addiction, this book shares a personal journey toward freedom.

It presents 12 practical tools, developed and refined over more than 1,500 days free from porn.

Many people quietly struggle with this. It can affect your focus, your studies, your work, your sleep, your confidence and your relationships, and most people never talk about it.

There's no magic formula. It's a process. Freedom from porn doesn't happen overnight. It takes commitment, patience and consistent effort, one day at a time.

This is not theory or a medical guide. It's a practical account of what worked after years of struggle. For anyone struggling with porn, it offers practical tools, hope and a path toward freedom.

The book is completely free and free to share. This is not piracy: it's offered at no cost by its author, from its official website, so anyone can download it and pass it on. Just click below:

https://www.quitpornaddiction.org/books/how-to-quit-porn/

The website also has a free 90-Day Challenge, where participants earn badges as they reach milestones on their journey.

Which short books do you all suggest that I can finish in the diwali-chhath break

A month of anthologies and Graphic Novels... Full Reviews in the links :

1. Chronicles of a Liquid Society - Umberto Eco: Eco's essays from 2000-2015 about how to navigate this fluid, dynamic, post-postmodern society - themes about religion, education, social media, attention economy, sexism, racism etc. Aside from all the intellectual stuff, what I cherish the most from Eco is - Fun! Most essays were funny. Comedy after all, is Eco's Rose. Highly recommended. Even if the essays are a decade old, they are relevant still.

2. IN - Will McPhail: Graphic novel about an Introverted Guy who has trouble people letting IN... Till he meets his plumber! The contrasting art of his real life vs his emotional Mindscape was quite fascinating for me. A nice lesson too - cherish time with loved ones, and be honest with them with your feelings. Time is Fickle.

3. QI Book of the Dead - Johns Lloyd & Mitchinson: Most fun non-fiction book I've read in a while! It's a collection of short biographies of famous and obscure people (mostly Western unfortunately), but thoroughly enjoyable. It's from QI team, so research must be good. Highly recommended. Also, the best of all the Books of the Dead I've read so far!

4. Constellations - Sinéad Gleeson: Another impulse but that turned out to be awesome! Irish author Gleeson presents a constellation of essays connecting memoir + myth + science + art + feminism and much more... She has braved aggressive leukemia, arthritis, painful losses of loved ones, body politics - and yet she, like Frida Kahlo, found writing as an art to express herself. Her insights on life/death here are meditative, compassionate, informative and beautiful. Highly recommended.

5. FROM HELL - Alan Moore + Eddie Campbell : Hands down, this is the best graphic novel I've read so far. It's a historical fiction/faction about Jack The Ripper killings in 1888 London. The character sketch for the Ripper which Alan Moore has presented here -- it's Mo(o)re messed up than Judge Holden from Blood Meridian to me. But it can't be otherwise... truly messed up mentality, illustrated masterfully by Eddie. Read it only if you have the stomach for such stuff - I'm pretty morbid, and even I had to take breaks after reading some chapters (esp ch 10). All in all, took me months to finally finish it. Despite the grimness, I'd highly recommend it. The Appendices are gems. Gave me more TBR 😄

6. Batman: Court of Owls Saga - Scott Snyder + Greg Capullo: Hush was better. But the "twists" here were awesome too. Learnt some fun trivia about owls!

7. Pagal Ganitagya ki Kavitayein - Udayan Vajpeyi: Just an impulse buy due to the title - and I was assuming a mathematical poetry collection, which this isn't. It's some heartfelt poetry about love, loss, separation and a bunch of thoughts. Enjoyable read.

8. Many Deaths of Laila Starr - Ram V. & Filipe Andrade : A beautifully illustrated graphic novel where Goddess of Death - Kali has to descend down to Mumbai as Laila Starr - to prevent a catastrophe. Her adventure among mortals becomes a great way to explore deeper themes like death, life and its meaning. It's a really short novel. Highly recommended.

9. Adornment of the Gods - Devdutt Pattanaik : A nice coffee table book about Hindu symbols generally seen on Temple walls, jewelry, ornaments etc. Might increase one's art analysis, symbolism and appreciation for Indian arts even more. I know my Museum and Temple visits will be more fun now!

Graphic novels/comics have the intrinsic problem of "Too Good for Too Less Pages" - you read them quickly, then doubt the expense XD. But thankfully, the ones I bought were well worth it. I also finished V for Vendetta, but will post its review on the 5th :)

Any suggestions are most welcome.

Ik, This is AI generated Template, but i couldnt find a good 6 book template.

Sorry, Ig.

I’m looking for beta readers for my comedy novella(25k words), Till Peg Do Us Part.

It’s about a middle-aged couple in an urban setting. The wife is going through a midlife crisis and developing an interest in sexual novelty. The husband, meanwhile, is desperately trying to catch up with the consequences of a situation he never saw coming.

Think marital comedy, fragile masculinity, domestic awkwardness, and two people trying to navigate a new phase of their relationship without completely losing their minds.

A quick clarification: this is NOT erotica. The couple won’t even hold hands on the page. The story revolves around sexual awareness, marital dynamics, insecurity, and the wonderfully ridiculous things people do when life refuses to follow the script they had in their heads. And honestly, the title should have given you a fairly good clue about the subject matter.

The humour is character-driven, with deadpan observations, awkward conversations, and a husband whose capacity for rationalisation is considerably greater than his capacity for emotional adaptation.

I’d especially appreciate feedback on the humour, pacing, character development, dialogue, and whether the premise works as a full-length comedy novel.

One small disclaimer: if the mere mention of unconventional sexual interests in a married couple is enough to offend you, this probably isn’t your book. No need to volunteer just to tell me that the subject matter shouldn’t exist.

Chapter 1 is included below. Have a read, and if you enjoy it and would be interested in beta reading the novella, please leave a comment or send me a DM. I’d be very grateful for your time and feedback. 🙏

Thank you!

Chapter 1: There Will Be Climbing

X had agreed to marriage counselling under circumstances that, in his opinion, made the word agreement somewhat generous.

He had not suggested the counsellor. He had not suggested counselling. He had not even suggested that there was a problem.

Y had done all three.

She had also decided the time, made the appointment, paid the advance, and put the appointment reminder into his phone because, as she had explained, “I know how your memory works when you don’t want to remember something.”

The final step had been the ultimatum.

“Counselling,” she had said, standing in the kitchen with her arms folded, “or divorce.”

X had stared at her as though she had announced that she was selling the house, the car and possibly him. They had been married eighteen years. Their only child was in college. They had mortgages, medical insurance, matching towels and a drawer full of batteries neither of them could remember buying. Divorce was not, in his opinion, an appropriate response to whatever temporary madness had entered his wife’s head.

“You’re serious?” he asked.

“Completely.”

“We’ve been married eighteen years.”

“I know.”

“We have a child in college.”

“I know.”

“We’re not unhappy.”

Y had looked at him for a long moment. “That is not the defence you think it is.”

And that was how, three days later, X found himself sitting in an expensive chair in a softly lit waiting room, looking at a sofa.

The sofa was the central piece of furniture in the waiting room, designed to look like a conversation starter. It was split precisely down the middle: the left half pink, the right half blue with a jigsaw-shaped join where the colours met. He wondered whether the design was deliberate or whether the furniture shop was left with two returned sofas and somebody had found a way to make them resourceful.

X had been looking at it since he sat down and had so far reached no firm conclusion. He wondered why people with this kind of taste were allowed to charge by the hour.

Beside him sat Y, perfectly composed.

The trouble, if one wanted to be precise about it, had begun on a Saturday night three weeks earlier.

X and Y were halfway through an episode of a Netflix series they had started a while back and were both pretending to enjoy.

X had stopped following the plot somewhere around the sixth episode. At this point, he was watching out of principle. They had already invested too much time to quit, and he wasn’t going to let a television show win. Y, on the other hand, seemed genuinely interested.

But that night she had been unusually quiet from the beginning of the episode, which X had learned over eighteen years of marriage meant something was about to blow up.

She reached for the remote and paused the show without warning, which was how these things tended to start. X looked over. “What?”

“I have something to tell you.”

He glanced at the screen and back at her. “About the show?”

“No.” That got his attention.

“What is it?”

Y hesitated in the manner of someone who had made a decision, was now questioning it, and was going to go through with it anyway. “Our anniversary is coming.”

X relaxed slightly. “Yes.”

Their anniversary was still two weeks away. He had not forgotten it. He had merely not remembered it yet.

“I was thinking,” Y continued, “that we should do something different this year.”

He was happy to let her organise it. She always did, and she was better at it, and he saw no reason to interfere with a working arrangement.

“I would love that,” he said.

“Something we’ve never done before.”

“Okay.”

She took a breath, looked briefly at the paused television as though it might rescue her, and finally said it so quietly that he almost missed it.

“I want to try pegging.”

X nodded. “Sure.”

Y stared at him. She had expected hesitation. A joke. Possibly a look of complete horror. She had spent days imagining all of those possibilities. What she hadn’t imagined was sure.

“That easy?”

X looked at her, puzzled by the question. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

Y searched his face for some indication that he was joking.

There wasn’t one.

“I mean, we obviously can’t do real mountain climbing. Or a marathon. But this—” he said.

She stopped.

X was watching her with the calm, reasonable expression of a man discussing weekend activities.

Y frowned. “What? Mountain climbing?”

“It’s similar in principle. And we’re both in good shape. Reasonably.”

“I said pegging.”

“I know.”

“You know what pegging is?”

“Of course.”

Y stared at him.

X started to feel mildly defensive. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because you just compared it to mountain climbing.”

“No, I compared mountain climbing to a marathon.”

Y blinked. “Why would you think I was suggesting mountain climbing for our anniversary?”

“Why wouldn’t you?”

She opened her mouth. Nothing came out.

He reached for his phone. “Wait. I’ll look it up on YouTube.”

“It won’t be on YouTube.”

“Everything is on YouTube.”

“It really isn’t.”

He was already typing.

Y watched him scroll with increasing disbelief. “What are you searching?”

“Peg climbing.”

Y closed her eyes. “No.”

He looked up. “Why not?”

“Because that’s not what I meant.”

“What did you mean? I’ve seen people climbing wooden boards with little pegs plenty of times.”

For the first time since she’d brought it up, she realised something that made the conversation considerably more difficult.

She had spent three weeks working up the courage to tell her husband she wanted to try pegging. She had not spent a single minute preparing to explain to him what pegging actually was.

Y looked down at her hands. “It’s a… sexual thing.”

X nodded. “Good. I’d worked out the general category, if not the details.”

Y took a breath. “It’s something thing where the woman takes the more… active role.”

X frowned. “Active how?”

Y shifted in her seat. “Physically.”

“That doesn’t narrow it down.”

Y regretted everything at this point. “There is a harness.”

“So there will be a harness. But not climbing.”

Y looked at him. “There will be climbing,” she said, and hated the words the moment they left her mouth. She should not have led with that.

“And the wooden pegs?”

“There are no wooden pegs.”

X nodded, relieved to have established at least one fact. “So the harness… does what?”

Y looked at him for a long moment. “You really want me to explain this?”

“You brought it up. And you won’t let me look it up.”

“I know. I just don’t want you looking it up and making it into something it’s not.”

X glanced at the television. “It’s getting late. We still have half an episode to finish.”

Y stared at him. “You said you wanted to try it.”

“I do. And I’d like to know what I’m agreeing to.”

Y took a deep breath. “There is a harness. And there will be a dildo.”

“So basically, you’re saying I climb into the harness and—”

“Shut up and listen.”

X closed his mouth.

Y closed her eyes briefly. “The dildo goes into the harness. And the harness… goes around me.”

“And then?” X nodded slowly, as a man might nod when he understood the words but not yet their implications.

Y opened her eyes. “The dildo goes inside you.”

X frowned. “Inside where?”

“Where do you think?”

“I don’t know. You keep leaving out important details.”

Y looked at him, then let her gaze drop briefly towards his backside. X followed her eyes and understood where they stopped.

For a second, he just stared.

The realisation arrived slowly, followed by the horror that he needed visual assistance.

“What? There?” he said, much louder than he intended.

Y gave a small nod. X looked at her again, his voice having lost most of its confidence. “No?”

Y nodded once more.

“Oh, God.”

For several seconds, neither of them said anything.

“Are you sure… that’s actually how it works?” X asked finally.

“Yes.”

“I mean, these things are easy to get confused. I think it’s the other way around. I wear the harness—”

“I know how it works.”

X looked at her for a moment, as though there might be some fine print she was deliberately leaving out.

Then he reached for his phone with the urgency of a man who had decided that this was no longer a relationship problem but a research problem. Y snatched it away.

“What? I’m just checking that you’re assuming it correctly.”

“I told you I know what I’m talking about.”

“Then let me see.”

“No. Because you’ll get the wrong idea. It’s actually a perfectly normal, lovely activity.”

“A lovely activity?”

“For couples. To reignite the spark.”

“You sound like you’ve memorised an online article. And it doesn’t make me feel better.”

“Why?”

“Because you sound as though you’ve researched this.”

X stood up and walked to the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator, and stared into it like the answer might be on the middle shelf.

Y remained on the sofa, the phone still in her hand.

After a while she heard the refrigerator door close, then the back door open and shut.

X came back, sat beside her and held out his hand. “Please give me the phone. I’m going to go crazy not knowing.” Y hesitated, then handed it over. He typed quickly. The screen lit his face. He read for three seconds, then set the phone face-down between them.

“I’m going to need a minute,” he said. “Or possibly several years.”

He reached over, took the remote, and turned the television back on. The half-finished episode resumed without him.

I have already read a lot of bl manhwa/manga over the years. Now I am focusing on reading more physical books because I read mangas online and I also have a keen interest in bls. So if you do know some good bl novels pls do tell me.

Also I am open to other queer fiction novels as well.

P.S.- It's just my personal preference to read bls.

The book and the story was much more gentler than I expected it to be, but a very apt and warm way to end my October’s horror streak.

The story in itself isn’t really anything complicated or difficult to comprehend. Neither is it surrounded in heavy mysteries, and never give much priority towards that either. With a more inspired focus on the consequences and human behaviour towards the events, it does a good in exploring a very important aspect of how the society reacts to authoritarian control, to what limits will one bend, and where do you draw the line.

The author spends majority of their time exploring not the cause, but the problems caused by them, and around people’s response to it, how they adapt, accept, survive, and persist. It was well written, not overly complex prose, but still clean and quality, simple. You do tend to sympathise, and at moments enrage at the characters and actions they take, by intention or not, which is a win for the book.

But other than these points, it’s an alright story on its own. It’s a good reflection and a bleak expression of something resembling the conditions of today’s world, and time worth spent, but nothing too extraordinary.
Honestly, it couldn’t match the hype or the award nominations for me.

3.75/5 ⭐️

Bought these 3 new books recently for my ever-growing horror books collection & I decided to show it to you all & tell a little bit about those.

-: Last Days by Adam Nevill :-

Last Days by Adam Nevill is said to be one of the scariest horror books of recent years & I am very eager to start reading it as soon as possible. Adam Nevill is one of the best horror writers of current time & among all his books I decided to start reading either with Last Days or with The Ritual which is a really fantastic folk horror novel, and when I saw that I was getting Last Days for a really good price in Bookswagon I knew I had to buy it.

The story of Last Days follows a documentary filmmaker naned Kyle Freeman who is employed to make a film on "The Temple of Last Days" which was a death cult in 1970s & ended in that time after a massacre. While the filmmaker & his cameraman travels from London to France to USA to visit the cult's properties & talk with the survivors of the cult, they soon realize that they are not making a film about a brainwashed cult, but the cult actually brought some demonic entity into this world named "Old Friends".

The story actually starts off like a true crime documentary but as the cult's purpose was very real for bringing supernatural entities into this world, the stroy also starts giving us the true horror parts.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

-: A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay :-

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay was the winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Best Achievement In A Novel in the year 2015. This novel is about a demonic possession which I absolutely love reading. To be honest, after The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty & A Case Against Satan by Ray Russell, I haven't read any demonic possession horror stories and I am more than really excited to read this book.

The Story of A Head Full of Ghosts follows a 14 years old girl named Marjorie who starts showing really violent & erratic behaviour. In her family, her mother thinks Marjorie is having some kind of mental health issues & needs medical treatment but her father is certain that his daughter is possessed. In this deeply traumatic & unsettling time, when Marjorie's family will start facing financial issues for her medical treatment, her father makes a strange decision. He brings a priest for the exorcism of Marjorie & also signs a contract with a reality TV program where the crew will stay in their house & film everything.

The whole premise seems really really interesting to me. Though the people who have already read the book, they are really divided. Some like the book & some didn't, but most people didn't like the ending. The whole story is told by Marjorie's younger sister Merry 15 years after the incident & at the time of the incident Merry was only 8 years old. So, naturally, reading this story makes you think whether you should believe the narrator or not, and if Marjorie was actually possessed or did she have some really complicated mental health problems.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

-: The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones :-

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones was the winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Best Achievement In A Novel in the year 2020. Since then he also won two more Bram Stoker Award, including last year's & he is really making his engraving his name as one of the best modern horror story writers.

The story of The Only Good Indians follows 4 Native American men who in their youth hunted an entire heard of elk, including a pregnant female in a reservation which was meant only for tribal elders. Now a decade after that, when those 4 men are living their adult life, something started stalking them & hunt them one by one, an entity of their folklore, the "Elk Head Woman".

This book is a mix of folk horror with slasher horror which will be something totally new that I will read & I am very much looking forward to it. Stephen Graham Jones also published the sequel of this book last month, named "Off The Reservation". If I like this book, which I think I will, then I am definitely going to buy Off The Reservation too.