Makrand's Reading Bench - 2021

[Makrand]

Exactly like 2020, this year as well I'd be planning my 2021 reads and posting reviews in this thread.

Thank you for visiting The Reading Bench this year again.

This year my focus would be on:
- Book series which I haven't finished or popular series that I haven't started with yet.
- Indian regional reads (I'd love some recommendations in this area)
- Snakes & Ladder's challenge along with some Buddy reads

Of course, it goes without saying anyone can comment, join, rant on this virtual bench :)

[Makrand]

Books from series
1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
2. The Girl Who Played with Fire (Millennium Series)
3. Ready Player Two
4. The Rosie Effect
5. The Secret of the Nagas
6. The Hunger Games
7. The Bourne Identity

Personal Picks
1. Beartown (Thank you GR Santa Brendon :D)
2. Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood (Thank you BotNot's Secret Santa :D )
3. If on a Winter's Night a Traveler
4. Interpreter of Maladies
5. The Road
6. Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror, Vol. 1
7. Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror, Vol. 2.
8. Uzumaki: Spiral Into Horror, Vol. 3
9. The Wasp Factory
10. Infected
11. Dune

Indian Literature/ Authors, Regional Picks
1. Cobalt Blue
2. Train to Pakistan
3. Cuckold
4. Poonachi
5. Shivaji: The Great Maratha
6. Insomnia: Keep Your Eyes Open
7. Goat Days

Snakes & Ladders Challenge
1. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Read a book that I've added on GR in this week

July August Challenge
1. The Pledge
2. Unusual Ways to Die: History's Weirdest Deaths
3. The Stranger
4. Coraline
5. Project Hail Mary

Buddy Reads
1. Ghostwritten - With Gorab & Manju
2. Number9Dream - With Gorab & Manju
3. The Song of Achilles - With Vidhi
4. The Night Circus - With Vidhi
5. Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata - With Vidhi

CURRENTLY READING:
1.
2.

COMPLETED:
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Snakes and Ladders Log
Roll #5:
Position - 18
Prompt - LGBT+
Book - The Song of Achilles
Rating - ★★★★

Roll #4:
Position - 15
Prompt - Historical fiction set in Asia/Africa/South America
Book - Shivaji: The Great Maratha
Rating - ★★★★★

Roll #3:
Position - 10
Prompt - A book with your favorite setting
Book - Ghostwritten by David Mitchell
Rating - ★★★★☆

Roll #2:
Position - 8
Prompt - Indian Protagonist
Book - Train to Pakistan by Khushwant Singh
Rating - ★★★☆☆

Roll #1:
Position - 5 -
Prompt -The first book that you felt like reading when you visited Goodreads today/this week
Book - The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Rating - ★★★★☆

[Ahtims]

Good luck 😃

[dely]

All the best also to you! As I wrote also to Smitha, I hope that next year I will have more time to follow all these interesting personal discussions and also comment.

[Makrand]

Em*bedded-in-books* wrote: "Good luck 😃"

Thank you!

[Makrand]

dely wrote: "All the best also to you! As I wrote also to Smitha, I hope that next year I will have more time to follow all these interesting personal discussions and also comment."

Thank you :)
Would love some recommendations from you.

[Kavitha]

All the best, Mak :)

I started liking Trevor Noah's videos. Hope to read Born a Crime soon

[Richa]

Nice picks. I may join you with Harry Potter series.

[Makrand]

Thanks Richa!
Yep, I'd love to do a BR :)

[Em Lost In Books, EmLo is my Name, PIFM is my Game]

Good Luck, Markand!

you have picked some nice books for next year. :)

[Makrand]

Em Lost In Books wrote: "Good Luck, Markand!

you have picked some nice books for next year. :)"

Thanks M!
Good luck with your reading progress for 2021 too!

[Gorab, TheGunman]

nice list Mak. So many i want to pcik from your list and gatecrash into a BR :)
Ready Player 2 we should definitely BR... and lure in others too - J if possible.
Millenium series only acquisitions happened this year, havent started yet. would be fun to read in your company.
Cobalt Blue - another Indian book recommended and liked by many... will try joining on this one too.

beartown, born a crime, winter's night .... feels like i can copy paste and rename it as my own thread!

[Gorab, TheGunman]

good luck with all your challenges.

[Makrand]

Wow! I love doing BR's. Ofcourse you're welcome to steal and setup a BR date too! It would be fun.
Thanks.
Would need a lot of Indian regional recommendations from you this year :)

[Nayana]

All the best Makarand! I loved born a crime.

[Makrand]

Thanks Nayana. Good luck with your reading progress as well.
Yep, quite excited about the book :)

[Bela]

Loved your list Mak!
I have read most books from your series list. But might join you in BR in one of the personal list.
I always love to steal a couple of titles from your reading list 😜.
Happy reading in 2021 !

[Makrand]

Bela, ofcourse You are Welcome to steal as well as join me for BR's :)
Hope you have a Happy reading time In 2021 as well!

[Kru]

That's a nice list, All the best Mak

[Makrand]

Thanks a lot Krubha! Good luck to you as well :D

[dely]

Makrand wrote: "Thank you :)
Would love some recommendations from you."

Unfortunately, I can't help with series or Indian regional literature.
But I've seen that you added an Italo Calvino among personal picks... this is already a good start! :D
If you want more Italian (or European) authors, just ask!

[Makrand]

dely wrote: "Makrand wrote: "Thank you :)
Would love some recommendations from you."

Unfortunately, I can't help with series or Indian regional literature.
But I've seen that you added an Italo Calvino among p..."

Sure thing Dely.
Thanks :D

[Girish, The Good cop]

Good luck Mak!

(If on a Winter's night a traveller is a personal favorite of mine!)

[Makrand]

Girish wrote: "Good luck Mak!

(If on a Winter's night a traveller is a personal favorite of mine!)"

Thanks G! I am already too excited to start that ever since I've heard about it. Fingers crossed

[Pallavi]

that's a very good list... all the very best :)

[Makrand]

Pallavi wrote: "that's a very good list... all the very best :)"

Thank you Pallavi and good luck with your 2021 reading as well :D

[Gorab, TheGunman]

Makrand wrote: "Wow! I love doing BR's. Ofcourse you're welcome to steal and setup a BR date too! It would be fun.
Thanks.
Would need a lot of Indian regional recommendations from you this year :)"

here's one reco i think you should try:
Goat Days

[Makrand]

Gorab wrote: "Makrand wrote: "Wow! I love doing BR's. Ofcourse you're welcome to steal and setup a BR date too! It would be fun.
Thanks.
Would need a lot of Indian regional recommendations from you this year :)..."

Thanks Gorab. Liked the blurb, will add this to my 2021 plan :)

[Makrand]

I've picked up Cobalt Blue as the first book of year 2021 since this perfectly fits in the Indian Regional reads category.

Authored by Sachin Kundalkar and translated by Jerry Pinto, this book is a bomb loaded with surprises! I am excited to see what lies ahead although I am getting a feeling that the ending is not gonna be a happy one!

[Arpit]

Well this book is in my tbr too. Have heard good reviews about it. Hope you enjoy reading it !

[Makrand]

Arpit wrote: "Well this book is in my tbr too. Have heard good reviews about it. Hope you enjoy reading it !"

Yeah, so far so good! Will post a review once done. Happy Reading Arpit!

[Makrand]

I am quite ecstatic that the year started on a beautiful note, unlike last year.
Cobalt Blue turned out to be an amazing book filled with love, grief and Life as natural as it can be!
Here's the first Review of the year!

I have picked up The Picture of Dorian Gray as my next book which has risen out of Snakes & Ladders challenge. My record with Classics hasn't always been good. Hoping this turns out to be a memorable experience

[Akanksha]

Makrand wrote: "I am quite ecstatic that the year started on a beautiful note, unlike last year.
Cobalt Blue turned out to be an amazing book filled with love, grief and Life as natural as it can b..."

I had been meaning to reread Dorian Gray for months now. I'd have loved to join you had I not been neck deep in finishing my thesis 😞

[Makrand]

Akanksha wrote: "Makrand wrote: "I am quite ecstatic that the year started on a beautiful note, unlike last year.
Cobalt Blue turned out to be an amazing book filled with love, grief and Life as nat..."

It certainly must be a good one if you're thinking of re-reading. Hope you finish your thesis soon and good luck with that :)

[Sharadha]

Lovely review for Cobalt Blue, Mak! I've picked it up for Snakes and Ladders challenge and the rave reviews (including yours) have got me pumped to get done with it. I wish I could have read it in Marathi but I don't know too much of it hehe Why didn't you read it in Marathi though?

[Makrand]

Sharadha wrote: "Lovely review for Cobalt Blue, Mak! I've picked it up for Snakes and Ladders challenge and the rave reviews (including yours) have got me pumped to get done with it. I wish I could have read it in ..."

Hey Shar!
Yep, i had seen your message regarding the book in Snakes and Ladders thread. Yes, it's a fine book, i think you'll definitely enjoy it. Also, exactly like you mentioned, while reading I realised that I should have read the original Marathi version instead.
But anyway, whenever it's time for a re-read I'll pick the original for sure. Also, please feel free to ping for any unknown Marathi words from the book :D

[Sharadha]

Also as a side, Cobalt Blue wiki page says that it will be adapted into a Netflix film with Kundalkar directing it. Now I NEED to read it before the film comes out so I can visualise what I have read better. I would have thought that it was already adapted into a multi-lingual film (can definitely see Anurag Kashyap/Gauri Shinde/Onir/Bejoy Nambiar/someone in their ilk wanting to undertake a project like this) but it just seems more authentic for Kundalkar to oversee it. Plus Netflix feels like the ideal platform for this adaptation.

[Sharadha]

Makrand wrote: "Sharadha wrote: "Lovely review for Cobalt Blue, Mak! I've picked it up for Snakes and Ladders challenge and the rave reviews (including yours) have got me pumped to get done with it. I wish I could..."

I will, for sure! :D Was lovely to see Pinto leaving some of the more authentic words as is in the text, adds to the cultural legacy of the novel imo. Wow, what a nice way to start the new year on GR :) Super happy for you!

[Makrand]

Sharadha wrote: "Makrand wrote: "Sharadha wrote: "Lovely review for Cobalt Blue, Mak! I've picked it up for Snakes and Ladders challenge and the rave reviews (including yours) have got me pumped to get done with it..."

Yes, it kept the authenticity of the novel intact. Although, not directly specified, it's completely based in Pune, the same city I am in right now so it was even nicer to relate to the places.

Thanks a lot and wishing you have a memorable reading year too Shar! :D

[Makrand]

Second book of the year and it turned out to be a fascinating read as well. The Picture of Dorian Gray was a bit meandering at the start due to it's lengthy philosophical discussions and I was unsure where the plot is headed but later I started enjoying the book and eventually loved the way it ended. Here's the Review

[Gorab, TheGunman]

both solid ones! good choices you are making this year!

[Makrand]

Gorab wrote: "both solid ones! good choices you are making this year!"

Thanks Gorab, fingers crossed :)

[Ahtims]

good ones, Mak. Liked cobalt blue , Dorian Gray underwhelmed me as I was in awe of the book and expected much more.

[Makrand]

Em*bedded-in-books* wrote: "good ones, Mak. Liked cobalt blue , Dorian Gray underwhelmed me as I was in awe of the book and expected much more."

Thanks Doc. Yeah Cobalt Blue was a gem and Dorian had less weightage on plot and more on the philosophical thoughts which Oscar put up properly in the end, so I was sort of okay with that :)

[Girish, The Good cop]

Both good books mak. Dorian Gray - a lot more sinister interpretations are there for the book given how Oscar Wilde became notorious. For a casual reader - it is just a simple story.

Cobalt blue was one of the books of the year for me in 2020! Glad you liked it.

[Makrand]

Girish wrote: "Both good books mak. Dorian Gray - a lot more sinister interpretations are there for the book given how Oscar Wilde became notorious. For a casual reader - it is just a simple story.

Cobalt blue w..."

Thanks Girish!
Yeah pretty weird thoughts in Dorian Gray. Shocking rather.
Cobalt Blue was quite nice and deeply overwhelming. :D

[Sankara Jayanth]

Great review for The Picture of Dorian Gray :)

I liked the book and I usually love the sort of writing and themes that are present in this book, but hardly remember any of the plot unfortunately other than the obvious mystery of Dorian Gray's eternal youthfulness, so I'm kind of baffled and I'm scratching my head when I see you describing it as scandalous, the plot points slip my mind :D. Have to re-read it some time. Would be great if you can share more on the scandalous/shocking part with a spoiler tag, I'm curious because of my dementia and I don't want to re-read the book right now :D

[Makrand]

Sankara Jayanth wrote: "Great review for The Picture of Dorian Gray :)

I liked the book and I usually love the sort of writing and themes that are present in this book, but hardly remember any of the plot unfortunately ..."

Haha, Happens ;)
Well, I was referring to (view spoiler)[The gruesome murder of Basil Hallward (The painter), threatening Campbell (The scientist who used chemicals to dispose of dead Basil) and the feeling of mirth upon knowing that Jim (Sibyl Vane's brother) dies in an accident (hide spoiler)] which shocked me eventually reflecting Dorain's thought process and the way he changed from an utterly innocent soul to (view spoiler)[a murderer (hide spoiler)]

Rings any bells ?

[Makrand]

Train to Pakistan was not a pleasant read for me. I was aware of the brutal killings in 1947 however, this book perfectly describes the turmoils and thought process of the people affected due to this.
I was a bit bummed doe to the abrupt end since the train incident could have been described in a bit more detail. Also, the fate of the rest of the people was left hanging which could have been closed. But again, the book was more about the incident that the plot!
Here's my Review

[Makrand]

After spending an entire childhood listening to the heroic tales of Shivaji Maharaj, I am picking Shivaji: The Great Maratha up again to refresh and relive those good old days when my father would narrate these tales to me as bedtime stories.
#nostalgic