Opinions, Academic Insights, and Literary Critiques
“Sometimes I feel like I titled this book Kittens and Rainbows, and then I wrote hell.” This quote pretty much sums up what the memoir by Maggie Smith is like. In brief chapters, with some being as short as a single sentence or a few words, Smith chronicles the end of her marriage, the painfully long […]
Creative Careers in Museums by Jan E. Burdick was listed as a required reading for a museum internship that I am about to undertake this summer, and it turned out to be such an enjoyable book that went beyond its academic purposes. Not only does the book highlight different sections of a museum and the […]
I came across this book when it was listed as one of the top thrillers of 2023 by New York Times Books, and needless to say, it does not disappoint. It has all the essential elements of a great murder mystery: protagonist with a questionable past, a creepy house, horrific murders of a wealthy family, […]
If An Egyptian Cannot Speak English tells the story of an American born Egyptian woman, who returns to Cairo following the revolution, and her relationship with one of the activists from the revolution, a photographer from the rural part of the country. They find each other interesting because of their differences, but it is the […]
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett is easily one of the best books I have read this year. The story starts off at a very slow pace, when it introduces the protagonists, twin sisters Stella and Desiree who are light skinned and black. Eventually, the sisters run away from their hometown Mallard and then Stella decides […]
Such a Fun Age is a very timely and relevant portrayal of white savior narrative and the very subtle layers performative activism and woke culture. The writing style flows naturally and is written in a simplistic manner, despite its serious theme which deals with the nuances of race and class privilege. The plot centers on […]
In Books I to V of his treatise On Architecture, Vitruvius chalks out a detailed guideline for all the relevant knowledge an architect may possibly need in the practice of architecture. And this include both theory and practice. While talking about theory, he justifies the need for studying philosophy by saying that it provides answer […]
While we were still reeling from the after effects of the disastrous year that 2020 was, 2021 became the year for healing and more resilience. Amidst all the chaos, I am glad to have survived yet another year of highs and lows, and throughout all of this, I managed to read some remarkable books. Here […]
To understand what it means to live and experience a city that is still reeling from the effects of colonialism, one does not need to look further than Kolkata. Unlike other Indian cities such as Ahmedabad or Chandigarh, Kolkata was not able to adapt the style of modernism that became the referential model for architecture […]
It was a compelling and novel proposition. A young Stanford dropout wanted to develop a blood test analyzer that requires no syringe and only a drop of blood. And thus began Elizabeth Holmes’ journey with Theranos. Soon, her confidence and eagerness to revolutionize healthcare impressed congressmen, military officials and seasoned professionals to invest millions of […]