CraxMe Readers Book Club

Still a newbie

The process for any kind of upgrade is too confusing and tedious.. After so many hours still a newbie.. Feels like running naked in full public voew.. Sigh..

Which Author's writing do you write most????

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal

First reason to pick this book was obvisous - its title. I was sure that this would be containing some really good stories, and it really has ! But still, have been reading many good reviews about it, I was curious how the story has shaped because it was shaped around widows ! And the author surely knows how to keep you engaged, not just by title but by the flow of the story as well. Set in England, this immediately reminded me of those Hollywood movies set in either USA or UK, telling fun tales of our beloved NRIs. Exactly on the same theme, this book sets some amusing, some shocking and some beautiful moments of the people who has set in foreign countries but still there hearts sits back in their motherland. I wasn't expecting a multi-dimensional story telling or some Tharoorian language. Simple and flowing language is, for a change, a relief to read every once in a while. Occasional humor and tender moments makes the story alive. And not just (brilliantly done) erotic tales, the parrellel tale of lead characters like Kulwinder, Nikki and even Arvinder, makes us bond with them and move with them as the story moves forward. Certainly a satisfying read, surely looking forward to the movie version, as I have read somewhere that movie rights are already bought. Bring it on !

List of Mahabharata-inspired literature

I have tried to put together a list of Mahabharata-inspired literature, but, of course, it is far from exhaustive. Please feel free to drop in names of books which I should add here. Adi Parva – Churning of the Queen by Amruta Patil After Kurukshetra by Mahasweta Devi And Now Let Me Sleep by P.K. Balakrishnan Arjuna: Saga of a Pandava Warrior by Anuja Chandramouli Asura: Tale of the Vanquished by Anand Neelakantan Duryodhan by Kaka Vidhate (original in Marathi) Gandhari Ki Atmakathha by Manu Sharma Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik Karna's Wife: The Outcast's Queen by Kavita Kane Mahabharata by C. Rajagopalachari Mahabharata by William Buck Mahabharat Ki Ek Saanjh by B.B.Aggarwal. Mrityunjaya, the death conqueror: The story of Karna by Sivaji Savanta (original in Marathi) Parva by S.L. Bhyrappa Rethinking the Mahabharata by Alf Hiltebeitel The Aryavrata Chronicles: Govinda (Book 1) The Aryavarta Chronicles: Kaurava (Book 2) The Book of Yudhishthir The Cult of Draupadi Vol I by Alf Hiltebeitel The Cult of Draupadi Vol II by Alf Hiltebeitel The Difficulty of Being Good by Gurucharan Das The Forest of Stories by Ashok K. Banker (MBA1) The Great Golden Sacrifice of The Mahabharata (Hardcover) by Maggi Lidchi-Grassi The Great Indian Novel by Shashi Tharoor The Mahabharata (2 Vols):A Modern Rendering 01 Edition (Hardcover) by Ramesh Menon The Mahabharata: An Inquiry in the Human Condition 1st Edition (Hardcover) by Chaturvedi Badrinath The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic (Paperback) by R. K. Narayan The Mahabharata (Volume - 1) by Bibek Debroy The Mahabharata by Meera Uberoi The Mahabharata: Re-Imagined by Trisha Das The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni The Pregnant King by Devdutt Pattnaik The Second Turn by M.T.Vasudevan Nair (original in Malyalam) The Seeds of War by Ashok K. Banker (MBA2) Thus Spake Bhishma by M.M.Thakur Women of the Mahabharata by Badrinath Chaturvedi Yajnaseni by Pratibha Ray Yudhishthir and Draupadi by Pavan K. Varma Yugandhar by Shivaji Sawant Yuganta by Irawati Karve

The Dark Maidens by Rikako Akiyoshi

[table=98%] [tr][td][img=318,0]http://18.191.111.248/forum/201807/19/151323vblkdo3zdobkbe30.jpg[/img] It's always an wonderful experience, reading a translated book. Especially Russian and Japanese. The mystery around those two cultures are something that keeps me interested throughout. I have never heard about this writer untill you guys came up with this as group read. And I thank you for this recommendation. Such a novel idea (atleast for me, as reading this author for the first time). And interesting setup for the whodunnit makes it an engaging one and makes you want to finish it at one go. (Which I didn't though). It took me on a ride while one by one story kept opening more and more possibilities for the murder and in the end, gosh ! What a reveal ! Well, any more recommendations from this author ?[/td][/tr] [/table]

Is book subscription these days really worth?

Can we have a discussion here about the book subscription box these day we get every month with goodies . They are pretty costly in India .But do they send books which I like or randomly coz their books might not be my taste . Are they really worth? Thanks Sudeshna

◢ Welcome to the new «Readers Club» section ◣

[i=s] Edited by cynic at 23-9-2018 03:52 PM * [backcolor=RGB(255, 255, 224)] [table=98%,#FFFFE0] [tr][td] [[attach]81374[/attach]](https://www.craxme.com/forum-180-1.html) The wait is over! The new Readers Club section is finally here, a natural evolution of our successful group. We're sure you have already checked it out. A vote of thanks to the admin team and a big shout out to our group members. Over the past few months, we have become a mini-community of sorts - sharing opinions and ideas, agreeing and disagreeing, and debating and discussing. We hope you all will continue your support and participation in the new section. The basic functionalities and activities of the book club are the same, with some interesting new features and activities. All book club members are requested to kindly move on to the new Readers Club section. This group will complete its closing process in two weeks. The group will be locked, but not deleted. After the closure, you would still be able to access all its content. Please read About «Readers Club» section / Rules, Recommendations for Use and Quick Guide. before continuing. If you have any doubts or queries about the new section, drop us a message at CHAT thread for the READERS CLUB section Let us move to the Readers Club, and continue to make our book club a success. As always, see you at the Readers Club.:) [/td][/tr] [/table] [/backcolor]

Book request

[i=s] Edited by arjuns1988 at 1-11-2020 02:09 PM * Is this right forum?

Our very own Gareebon-ka-Sherlock!!

So how was brainstorming with those maddening clues?:hope Did you feel like throwing something at the mods? (Don't pretend we can read ya!:fee) So here are the winners, yes you read that right! We got two, two winners people. :greedy @nike1234 @lonefighter But this is not even it! There is something big coming up. So stay tuned!!! evil smiles scratch that evil laugh :trick:deride

Worst book you have read

So we all have had a dose of books in the range of worst to best. We had a thread on books which we could not finish - but that was not necessarily beacsue it was worst(we wouldn't be able to judge fully till we completed it). So which is the worst book that you have read? and can you give reasons in brief? You may have more than one book too in that list. Not taking 'worst' in its literal sense(meaning we can group more than one book in that category).

Dances with Wolves Series- Micheal Blake

[i=s] Edited by divey at 21-9-2018 10:00 AM * Dances with the wolves is a brilliantly written book, simple yet compelling. It was written almost three decades before people were mesmerized by Steven Speilberg's Avataar and the portrayal of indigenous people. The book revolves around a young US army lieutenant John Dunbar who is posted in a remote fort which was abandoned by his comrades. Here he lives alone until he encounters native Indians and then gradually he becomes an integral part of their tribe. Book explores how a conquering force which justifies its means in the name of bringing civilisation to the unexplored land, brutally suppresses nature, killing and plundering at will and destroying the delicate balance that people living in that place have forged out in centuries. This has been the norm since humans first ventured into unchartered territory and is still continuing when we read tribes protesting against setting up big refinaries and steel plants in their backyard. The book explores the journey of Young John as to how he struggles with his loneliness and fights to find his way and purpose in the greater scheme of things and how he transforms into the young Comanche warrior. The book was written as a screenplay inspiration and also has a sequel which looks more promising than the first part for it explores the life of young officer after he was made part of the tribe and he settled to live with them. Thus it also satiates the curiosity that what happened after "Happily ever after". Will share my views for the sequel soon. P.S. The book was later adopted into academy award winning movie in 1991 with the same name though there are many differences in both You can explore the book here https://www.craxme.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=13080&highlight=dances%2Bwith%2Bwolves

Does historical fiction have an obligation to be factually accurate?

We have discussed about memoirs being "spiced up" to be more saleable. And if truth is indeed such a grey concept. What about historical fiction? Does historical fiction have an obligation to be factually accurate? It is "fiction" after all. Does it need to be true to its place & time, or is it okay to take a few creative liberties? What are your thoughts on this?