Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth…’ This statement by the French (of Algerian birth) philosopher, writer, dramatist Albert Camus provokes. Think about it. Readers often ponder over what they read, why they read, how they read, and the train of thoughts that follow.

You never know what will come your way, when and where. That certainly goes for information, possibly the most searched ‘item’ going, which is possibly the reason why the world is enmeshed in a web of agents and double agents. This brings to mind the American MAD

To be perfectly honest, I visit my local bookstore simply because it’s in the neighbourhood. Each time, I drop by hoping that it will yield bountiful treasures. That hope is often belied, but I persist because the two bookstores in my city that I used to visit

January 26 and February 18. The first is Republic Day. And Republic Day celebrates the date on which the Constitution came into effect, back in 1950. That’s the day, this year, that I started reading a book published on August 15, 2022. The Last Heroes: Foot Soldiers

We are familiar with the word, bibliophile. It describes a person who loves books and possibly also collects them. However, it’s only this morning that I discovered what describes a person who loves words. Upon reflection, it’s a no-brainer: of course it is ‘logophile’, from the Greek

Every once in a while, comes time to revisit shelves overflowing with books, some read, mostly unread, purchased for various reasons: because the jacket looked inviting, because this is just the author I’m looking for, because it is highly recommended, and sometimes just on the whim of

Before Ponniyin Selvan was a film, it was a book in five parts, and before it was a book, it was serialised in a Tamil magazine called Kalki, starting October 29, 1950, concluding May 16, 1954. Kalki was a magazine started by Kalki. And Kalki was the

My heart leaps up when I behold / A rainbow in the sky: / So was it when my life began; / So is it now I am a man; / So be it when I shall grow old, / Or let me die! / The Child

I am not a writer. I don’t know why I am here.’ That’s how Gita Ramaswamy began her conversation onstage. At the end of the session, she received a standing ovation from the audience. She, clearly, was the star of this year’s edition of the Ooty Literary

Konkani writer Damodar Mauzo’s stories gently lead the reader deep into a world of real experiences — multilingual, multicultural, multireligious — laced with irony. If you are looking for a quick read that’s easy yet mindful, pick up The Wait and Other Stories by

Yes, Tomb of Sand is utterly, butterly original, all 700-odd pages of it. It’s no wonder that Geetanjali Shree, whose novel has won the International Booker Prize this year, has infused the Indian literary scene with new energy. This is the first time that a novel originally