November is like dream, a lot warm, a little crisp in air, days become shorter and nights are long and calming. Mysterious myst envelopes you in morning and night. A best combination, cold and crispy but not chilling.
“She had always loved that time of year. The November evenings had a sweet taste of expectation, peace and silence.
And she loved most of all the quiet of her house when the rain fell softly outside.
She made her tea with orange spice, and reread with joy her book, which reminded her of her childhood.”
“Little Women” – Louisa May Alcott
So I have curated this November Book Of the Month carefully, with all the spice.
Hang The Moon by Jeanette Walls
Arrays of emotions beautifully blended with her subtleties, Sallie Kincaid, a no nonsense character, astonishingly brave, and also vulnerable, emotional, kind, sensible at the same time, as nonchalant as tumultuous inside her heart, a finest character, she won’t leave you easily.
Sallie Kincaid is the daughter of the biggest man in a small town, the charismatic Duke Kincaid. She came to her father’s big house at the age of 19. She was abandoned when she was just 8yrs old, a motherless child. A fatal accident happened when Sallie tried to teach her step brother to be more like her dare devil father which made Duke to send Sallie to her aunt’s house.
She was cast out for 9 years and when she came back a lot of things changed. Sallie wanted to reclaim her space into the family, she wanted to unwrap the truth of her mother’s death but she didn’t know what fate was kept for her. She didn’t know how much power the big house poses, and she wasn’t ready for the rapid changes that happened in her life. But one thing that never changed, she was alone till the end.
The feminine urge for belonging, to be felt belonged, and also indomitable needs for personal accomplishment, personal space, creating one’s own identity in the Prohibition-era, a shocking transformation happened in early 19’s Virginia. Sallie Kinkaid is 19 years old but more like a mature woman. Masterly depicted with lucid narrative, a story that wouldn’t fade with time.
Evocative and riveting story telling adorned this novel with a vibe like fast paced thriller. Novels like this are made to stay forever.
After finishing it, I was thinking about the whole story again….Perhaps I am inclined to Sallie more because of her loneliness.
Delhi Heritage Top 10 Forts by Vikramjit Singh Rooprai
Do you enjoy reading coffee table books?
Delhi Heritage Top 10 Forts by Vikramjit Singh Rooprai
is a spectacular collection of 10 forts, Delhi’s heritage icons and architectural gems.
Along with pictures, roadmap and historical background this book is a delightful read and a precious collection for your bookshelf.
It’s a beautiful pictorial coffee table book that gives you pleasure of virtual traveling.
And who doesn’t enjoy traveling in winter, so here’s a list for you to visit Forts.
Vikramjit Singh Rooprai was born in Manama (Bahrain) in 1983. He started his career as a Software Engineer, while he was still in School. Instead of going through a regular college, he preferred getting a job based on his practical experience and few certificate courses. He continued his education through distant learning and reached high ranks in his corporate life. In 2009, he fell in love with Delhi’s Heritage and established www.monumentsofdelhi.com. In 2010, he launched The Heritage Photography Club. He started writing a book in 2014, and it took him 5 years to complete his research, before he could produce his first book from the series “Delhi Heritage Top 10”.
Vikramjit is currently an Educator, who is teaching Science and Maths through History and History through Poetry & Theater. He runs Heritageshaala, where his team sets up Heritage Labs in schools and colleges.
The ForestBorns by Vardhini Amin
With charming words and riveting plot Vardhini Amin spins a magical world around the readers. She whisked you to a mesmerizing hidden world that is filled with whispering trees and magical ancient secrets.
Nobody knows that every moonlight night lively plant souls roam free. But, they should not travel too far or they may perish forever! This magical world was unknown to humans until one day Siah, a fiery young tree soul, embark on a perilous journey to save her kind. In the winding paths of the woods, she encounters Avni, a young girl who often visits the sandalwood grove for solace. Siah and Avni must follow their own quests to preserve the harmony of their worlds. Until, in a twist of fate, a remarkable connection blooms between the two, and the forest witnesses a miracle in the face of danger – and life finds a way.
When sandalwood smugglers threaten destruction, Siah and Avni came to know something unimaginable, the fate stored for them some heart touching secrets. Forestborns rooted for the undeniable bond between nature and mankind also making us believe in magic, some magic lives within us but we are oblivious about it.
With spectacular adventure and thoughtful storyline this book teaches us about life, bravery, resilience and love for our earth. A great book for young readers.
Age: 11+
Genre – YA Fantasy Adventure
The Details: Shortlisted for the 2024 International Booker Prize by Ia Genberg
It is a short book that immaculately written, envelopes a whole feeling of a novel. A strikingly melancholic book dipped in dark hue of memories.
The book follows a moving narrative of an unknown woman, she was bedridden with high fever and an urge to revisit her past grasp her while re-reading a novel, a note from her ex-girlfriend inside the book led her to the down memory lane.
One after another memories were coming through pages, with every condensed chapter a new memory, a new person came out from the foggy past. Every memory is like reopen a new painful message of loneliness, an urgency of social life and finding lost connection is visible and poking us with soft nudge.
When a person leaves, what is the leftover stay after is a concerning matter which we always fear to think about. That gloomy recollection is not always gloomy, sometimes they are bright with happy times and stay with us as glorious souvenirs of a good life and keep us moving.
I liked the constant responsible respect for every detail of physical life written with compassionate tone making it an evocative journey. A tingling note of pain and surprise realisation always accompanied us when we went through echoes from the past.
The final story was quite a surprise as the narrator tells us here like a hollow was tightly capped, but suddenly reopen a dried wound and blood started flowing through veins.
The memories are like pieces of a broken puzzle waiting to recreate the pattern that is called life.
No wonder why it is shortlisted for @thebookerprizes. Highly recommended to literature lovers.
The Spice Gate by Prashanth Srivatsa
It is a gorgeous adventure to the fantasy world, written to let you embark on a magnificent journey that thoroughly explores action, emotions, freedom fight, adventure and love. I was in awe while reading, it never feels like a debut novel rather it makes a skilful impact on readers hearts with great dominance.
It’s a story of Amir, he wants freedom from spice slavery and Relics of a mysterious god, the Spice Gates connect the eight far-flung kingdoms, each separated by a distinct spice and only accessible by those born with a special mark. This is not a mark of distinction, but one of subjugation: Spice Carriers suffer the lashes of their rich masters and the jolting pain of the Gates themselves.
Amir is a Spice Carrier dreaming of escape. But something is stirring in the inhospitable spaces between the kingdoms. As Amir makes his plan for freedom, he’s drawn into a plot that threatens to unravel the power keeping the gates in balance.
Gods, assassins and thronekeepers all have a vested interest in the spice trade, and Amir will have to decide what kind of world he wants to live in … if the world survives at all.
The ability to create an imaginary world with a pen is not an easy job and author did that with swiftly playing word games. The stunning lucidity of his writing enabled rollercoaster ride for the readers making it unputdownable.
Discrimination and racial conflict is the primary theme of the plot and every chapter unravels new intriguing depths in story while giving it a beautiful gait that corroborates a smooth reading pace.
A 400 page package of enthralling reads waiting for fantasy readers to pick it.
That’s all folks, this is it for now. Wait for the 2024 wrap up edition, I am currently working on that project 
See you soon..