Read the delightful story of a young couple learning to find meaning in “a little love, a little togetherness and a little happiness”; browse a funny journey of casual parenting that turns life upside down for a mother who didn’t expect to expect; delve into an anthology of graphic stories; and finally, enjoy some fresh poems from a young novelist-poet.
These are the best books for your weekend:
1. Book: Little Things
Author: Dipen Shah
Publisher: penguin
Price: € 199,-
Pages: 207
Little ThingsImage: Flipkart/Books
The book “Little Things” is an adaptation of Dice Media’s web series of the same name and has a simple message: no big things need to happen. A little love, a little togetherness and a little luck is all you need.
Whether coping with a bad day at work, trying out a new restaurant, or experiencing FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) over a weekend, protagonists Dhruv and Kavya experience a series of simple yet charming incidents. This book offers a glimpse into the life of a young couple who find meaning in the ‘little things’.
The author, Dipen Shah, was born in Mumbai and spent his childhood in Doha. He likes comedy and wants to be a comedian someday.
2. Book: I Didn’t Expect It
Author: Richa S. Mukherjee
Publisher: HarperCollins
Price: €299;
Pages: 331
Nothing can deter Tara, who lives a blessed life in the maximum city with her husband Abhimanyu and is at the peak of her career in her 30s – not even a dirty best friend or a food-burning nemesis in the form of her maid.
And then Tara finds out she’s pregnant, and suddenly all that well-mannered composure crumbles. It doesn’t help that she has an equally nervous (if supportive) husband by her side. Now Tara must face her parenting concerns as she navigates friendships, marriages and careers, all the while coping with the fact that her mind and body steadily feel like they belong to someone else.
3. Book: Longform: An Anthology of Graphic Narratives
Editors: Sarbajit Sen, Debkumar Mitra, Sekhar Mukherjee, Pinaki De
Publisher: HarperCollins
Price: Rs 1499
Pages: 400
The first part of the anthology tells graphic stories that undermine the conventional narrative; stories about ordinary people; autobiographies; travel stories – and these stories make comics a regular fixture on a reader’s bookshelf. The title “Longform” was inspired by an essay by Joe Sacco about the shrinking space to tell long graphic stories.
The anthology takes us through the streets of Rome and Kolkata, modern Tehran and ancient Bhutan, dystopias just around the corner, imaginary cities and kaleidoscopic dreamscapes. The performers presented here include household names from India and elsewhere such as Prakash Moorthy, Barroux, Venkat Shyam, Allen Shaw, as well as emerging artists.
“Longfrom is exactly the impetus and catalyst Indian comics need now to build for the future. Its quality and sincerity will certainly connect with a local and global readership eager to discover where comics take us next. “, said the curator of Comics. and writer Paul Gravett writes as an endorsement.
4. Book: The Profane
Author: Satyajit Sarnan
Publisher: HarperCollins
Price: Rs 299
Pages: 104
A concoction of art, politics, religion and mythology, the poetry collection “The Profane” contains poems of heartbreak and disillusionment, of loneliness and mortality, as well as passion for life on Earth in all its mud and glory. Kurt Cobain, Napoleon and Amir Khusro meet on the pages of this collection – and Homeric tough guys get what they deserve.
In the third series in the poem titled “Let me tell you about Delhi”, Khusro is addressed directly, albeit too late. “Khusro, your bazaars had flowers and incense/herbs and fertilizer, silk and cotton. We’ve opened/thrown the doors to a world of plastic, to wear/and decorate, to hold and to decorate… “
Together, the poems provide an enjoyable read about the often ignored aspects of our daily lives.