After my 2023 Annual Binge-Read of the Vince Flynn Series, I find myself featured in the Vince Flynn January 2024 Newsletter under Fan of the Month.
Welcome to Paradise by Twinkle Khanna | Book Review
A collection of five short stories, each centred around women, Welcome to Paradise explores the depth of grief, loneliness, deception and heartbreak. Set in middle-class Bombay, these are poignant observations on the realities of life.
A Cotswold Family Life by Clare Mackintosh | Book Review
For 8 years, Clare Mackintosh wrote for Cotswold Life about the ups and downs of life with a young family in the countryside. In this memoir she brings together all of those stories - and more - for the first time. From keeping chickens to getting the WI drunk, longing for an Aga to dealing with nits, she opens the door to family life with warmth and humour and heart.
CULTure at Zomato by Deepinder Goyal | Book Review
In this short, sharp, witty book originally written for Zomato employees, get an insight into how one of India’s most exciting and successful companies works, and what it does to create the culture of excellence that makes it break barriers – time and time again.
How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin | Book Review
In 1965, when Frances Adams was seventeen, a fortune teller told her that one day she'd be murdered. Thus began a lifetime of trying to prevent the crime that would be her eventual demise. No one took Frances seriously for sixty years until, of course, she was murdered.
When her great-niece Annie arrives, she is thrust into her great-aunt's last act of revenge against the sceptics. As Annie gets closer to the truth, she starts to fear she might inherit her aunt’s fate instead of her fortune.
Jagadish Chandra Bose: The Reluctant Physicist by Sudipto Das | Book Review
J.C. Bose, acknowledged as the first scientist of modern India, was a polymath: inventor of the radio, alongside Marconi, held the first patent for a semiconductor device and first to use millimetre waves for radio communication. In plant neurobiology, he discovered plants respond to stimuli.
Both favoured and disfavoured by the English, loved and hated by his acquaintances, mythified and forgotten by his countrymen, Bose was a contronym. This book is an attempt at demystifying the ‘Boseian’ myth.
Whale by Cheon Myeong-kwan | Book Review
A woman sells her daughter to a beekeeper for two jars of honey. An old crone, who sold simple meals out of her home, is rumoured to have amassed a fortune but dies before anyone can learn the truth. An unusually large baby born in the harsh winter but named ‘Girl of Spring’ is mute, yet she can communicate with elephants. These are the women, connected by time and fate, who set this sweeping, multi-generation fantasy tale in motion.
The Art of Belonging by Eleanor Ray | Book Review
When unexpected circumstances bring Grace's estranged daughter, Amelia, and granddaughter, Charlotte, to live in her home, complicated feelings start to emerge, revealing a messy and emotional past which drove this family apart.
It will take a school mystery, an exquisite miniature railway and some brave decisions to help them each find not only themselves, but also each other - and to appreciate what it truly means to belong together.
The Soul of Gift Wrapping by Megumi Lorna Inouye | Book Review
Inspired by the Japanese art of giving, the author transforms gift-wrapping into a gratitude practice wherein the act of wrapping, giving, and receiving a thoughtful gift, can be a creative, caring experience for both the giver and receiver. With detailed, illustrative techniques, and using simple, everyday materials, one can learn to create unique gift presentations.
Obsessed with All Things Korean | 2023
My obsession with South Korea is only increasing year by year. From language, to food, to culture - it all started with Kdramas. Here, I share another year's recap of all things Korean in my life with a watchlist recommendation of Kdramas and Kmovies I enjoyed in 2023.
Here’s Looking at you, Books | 2023
It's that time of the year again when I take an analytical look at my reading stats and share my top favourite books from the ones I read in the last year.
Keeping Pace with 2023 | #BrunchBookChallenge
I finally get a moment from the roller coaster that was 2023 and revisit the list of books I read, and some accomplishments, as I step into a new year.
The Mitch Rapp Series by Vince Flynn / Kyle Mills | Book Review
For the 2024 edition of #AquaFlavoursBingeReads I read the Mitch Rapp Series written by Vince Flynn, and continued by Kyle Mills after Flynn's death. This was a set of 23 books, including Flynn's stand-alone debut novel, which I read between October and November, wrapping up my 2023 reading.
Knife Skills for Beginners by Orlando Murrin | Book Review
When chef Paul Delamare agrees to help his old friend Christian by teaching at an exclusive residential cookery school in Belgravia, the only thing he expects his students to murder is his taste buds. But on the first night someone turns up dead and the police are convinced Paul - good with a blade and first on scene - is the culprit. If Paul can't solve the mystery fast while his students are sharpening their knives, as well as teach them how to make a perfect hollandaise sauce, he'll be next.
OrphanX Series (Books 6-8) by Gregg Hurwitz | Book Review
I finally catch up with the last three books in the OrphanX Series and am already counting down the months till the next instalment.
Aquamarine Flavours 