Category: English

  • Richard Osman dropped a new one with a bang, but… We Solve Murders – Review

    Richard Osman dropped a new one with a bang, but… We Solve Murders – Review

    Anyone who knows me and my love for murder mysteries and crime fiction knows that I’m a huge fan of Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series. I’ve been talking about it ever since I first read the books. So, when I heard that he was introducing a new set of sleuths in a new series, I was beyond excited. But, as always, I felt a little nervous picking up “We Solve Murders” —what if I didn’t enjoy it as much as I had the earlier ones?

    Richard Osman dropped a new one with a bang, but…

    Given how high Richard Osman set the bar with The Thursday Murder Club, expectations for his new series were naturally elevated. Fortunately, the first book, We Solve Murders, does not disappoint.

    I listened to the audiobook version, produced by Penguin Audio and narrated by Nikola Walker. Walker’s performance brought the characters to life—Amy, Steve Wheeler, Rosie D’Antonio, Trouble the stray cat, and the rest of the gang were all vividly portrayed.

    The story is engaging and captivating, though there were moments when the plot lost a bit of its grip at times, catching you again with the next plot twist. A few characters felt a bit superfluous, and their presence could have been reduced without harming the story.

    About the book

    • Name of Book: We Solve Murders
    • Author: Richard Osman
    • Publisher: Penguin
    • Publication date: September 2024
    • Pages: 438
    • ISBN: 9780241608371

    My ratings

    Story: 3.5/5
    Writing Style: 4/5
    Cover Design: 3/5

    Overall Rating: 3.25/5

    Where to get your copy

    Should you read it?

    Overall, I’m eager to see where the series goes next. The ending leaves us with a cliffhanger—our protagonists receive a call about another murder, leaving us eager to find out if they can solve it.

    As Rosie D’Antonio said, “We Solve Murders is indeed a good title for a book!

    For more about my views on books, click here.

    This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.

  • Hello, 2025! I am sure you will be good.

    Hello, 2025! I am sure you will be good.

    It’s already the 20th day of the first month when I am writing this one. The days are zooming fast with a lot of things happening around and with me. Before we started 2025, in one of the twitter threads during ’24 wrap up, I mentioned a few of my goals in it. Some of them are personal. Some are professional stuff. I think when I start the blogging journey of 2025, it will be good to expand on them a bit here.

    When I look back at 2024, it has been a mixed bag of joy and sadness, achievements and failures. Some things worked out well, some failed miserably. I know this is what life is, and yet, all of us feel those strong emotions of happiness, sorrow and anger when things go either way! This is what #BeingHuman is, I guess!

    Hey 2025, Let’s do this!

    Coming back to 2025, and what I want to get done in this year. I guess now I have moved on from the resolution phase. Resolutions put too much pressure on me. I feel goals are more accessible, achievable and manageable. You can take a review of your progress, alter your course, and reach the goal. However, in resolution, if it breaks, there’s no turning back.

    So, there are some goals I set for 2025.

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    Personally, I want…

    1. Thankfully 2024 didn’t throw any tantrums regarding health issues neither physical nor mental. I expect the same from ’25. In this year, I would like to be more mindful about my health, both mental and physical. So, I will try to build healthy habits.

    2025 year of self care

    2. All of you who have been supporting and showering me with your love support for this blog are aware about my love for the books. I am a bibliophile through and through. Books are one thing which gives me a lot of joy and peace. I read or listened to 50 books in 2024.

    For this year, I am making one book per week. So, 52 for the ’25.

    3. Blogchatter retreats were highlights for the past couple of years. Varanasi and Kolkata have given me a lot in terms of creativity. I would like to travel more in the coming year. I would like to have some more short trips to get more vitamin sea other than the upcoming #BlogchatterRetreat!

    Seeing more sea in 2025

    Professionally, I want…

    1. I am a professional mapmaker. So when I think about my professional goals, in 2025, I would like to be more creative when I make those maps. I want to make them easier to understand, attractive and interactive using new technologies.

    learning new mapping tech in 2025

    2. 2020 was also the youtube year for many creators including me. I could gain more than 100 followers by uploading videos consistently for 4 months and then momentum just crashed. I wish to take it up again in 2025, with renewed light and may be renewed content.

    Maybe, I will bring in some bookish content to Adi’s Journal YT.

    3. I have been writing poetry for more than a decade. I have my first poetry collection published in 2021. Now, I want to put my first paperback book out for the world to read. Not sure if it’s going to be published by a publisher or by myself. But I want it to take shape this year!

    First paperback?

    Have you guys set any such goals for you? Share them in the comments. Let’s keep motivating each other.

    To read more of my writing, feel free to browse other pages of Adi’s Journal.

  • Solace when it’s chaos all around

    Solace when it’s chaos all around

    It’s all chaos out there when life keeps throwing all kinds of stuff at me. It’s a relentless continuous process, like a constant bombardment of events, emotions, incidents. One after the other. If not personal, it’s something happening around me. Even though it has no bearing on my life, it still affects me. Joyous laughter of kids, hardships of people I see around, a couple holding hands while walking or a mob demonstrating against the establishment for their demands… It all just keeps hitting my brain with signals of all sorts. Some of this angers me, others makes me happy. Something even makes me envious and something makes me content. It’s like a giant roller coaster ride with high peaks, steep slides and sudden turns. Yet there is one thing which brings me solace when it’s chaos all around.

    No doubt it’s magical

    When I open the book and turn those pages, it kind of casts a spell around me. It keeps all those noises out as I take a plunge into the world created by the author. I don’t mean it’s always a fantastic realm which casts this spell. It’s equally effective even if the book is set in the real world, referencing the places I visited or the events we all knew about. The journey of these characters fascinates me. Their emotions touch my heart. I cry if one goes through a heartbreak and if they find happiness, my heart swells with them.

    Sometimes, people taunt me about being a delusional fool who finds comfort by escaping reality. But, it’s not their fault, they don’t understand it at all. The stories which are told and the words written by masters, they bring me joy. It allows me to keep my problems aside for a moment. These words give me much needed time to unwind, relax and free some bandwidth to process my own experiences and emotions.

    And I am a bit selfish too…

    These authors are Dronacharya to my Eklavya. Every book I read brings me some insight about storytelling, nuances of writing and improves my vocabulary. These are the books which gave me the confidence to write my thoughts and put them out for you all to read. Your feedback is another thing which boosts my confidence manifold. I will definitely write about that some other time.

    Today, I would like to thank all my favourite and not so favourite authors who gave me this solace when everything around me is going haywire. You all have pulled me out from very dark places in my life as well as shared my happiness. Your works have been a constant companion in my journey in this world and I hope and pray that this companion will never leave my side even if others have strayed off to walk their own path.

    This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Dr. Preeti Chauhan.

    To read more of my writing, feel free to browse other pages of Adi’s Journal

  • Tryst on a dark misty night

    Tryst on a dark misty night

    Moon spread his arms on sky that darkened,
    and dessert sand uniquely glistened.

    Sand cooled down as winter night approached,
    silence was shattered eerie wind whistled.

    Swept in thick mist from the ocean,
    and it covered the lonesome tavern.

    Soon you could hear, the hooves of camels
    clicking on the lonely road that travels.

    Out it walked from the mystical mist,
    ancient caravan reached tavern like a tryst.

    Got down from behind, a jaded old lad,
    Tavern door flung, and welcomed old hag…

    This post is a part of Blogchatter Blog Hop. Checkout more of my writings here, and to listen to my poetry audiobook, checkout this.

  • Can I ask you to be…, October?

    Can I ask you to be…, October?

    Can I ask you to be..., October?

    I reached my office this morning and turned the calendar. Today’s October 1st, and I was particularly looking for a good start to the day. Lines on the new page were,

    हा कोलाहल
    केवढी खदखद,
    आतल्या आत..

    This chaos
    simmering unrest,
    contained within….

    I was just staring at those lines for some time. Yes, I have written this haiku, back in 2023, when I was writing for the desk calendar of 2024. I had designed this calendar pairing these lines to the months, and yet this particular haiku struck a chord as I turned the page.

    It’s a contrast…

    I kept thinking why would I put these lines for the month of October while designing. I am in exactly the opposite state of mind today. Calm, happy and energised with the nice short trip to Kolkata for Blogchatter Retreat. It was an exhilarating experience. I will write more about that in some other post. Emotions in this haiku are exactly opposite to what I am feeling right now.

    October is the month of celebrations, we usually celebrate Navratri and Durga Pooja during this month with a chance of celebrating some of the Diwali days too. Kolkata was bustling with the preparations of Pujo and every corner now hosts a bamboo skeleton for Pandals. I am sure Gujrat must have already started humming the garba tunes and preparations are in full swing. Even in Pune, there are some preparations going on to welcome Mata ji. Even if October comes with a blazing rise in heat after monsoon showers, these festivities make it bearable.

    October, I have some expectations from you.

    If you may, please be calm and quiet when you are free for these celebrations, I have got 4 new books from Kolkata. I am very excited to immerse myself into Ritwik Ghatak’s writing and show my love to my fellow bloggers who have written stories for “Blogchatter Book of Love” anthology. So, if you please, don’t throw any curve balls onto me and let me read peacefully.

    What? About Tagore’s Gitanjali?

    Yes, I agree, Gitanjali poems are not to be read cover to cover. So, I intent to read them leisurely, one at a time! Thanks for suggesting anyway.

    Books I got from Kolkata, 2024 (One more is in transit)

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    So if I may request, can I ask you to be a bit calmer, October?

    This post is a part of Blogchatter Blog Hop. Checkout more of my writings here, and to listen to my poetry audiobook, checkout this.

  • Truely unexpected begining of Baby Ganesh Agency Investigations

    Truely unexpected begining of Baby Ganesh Agency Investigations

    You probably have guessed from my recent Instagram reel, 2024 seems to be the year of crime fiction for me. The books which I am drawn to are mostly from this particular genre. And yes, I don’t regret it at all! Crime fiction is, by far, my most favourite genre of books to read or listen to.

    This particular one caught my eye while I was browsing on amazon because of its peculiar title and very interesting cover. Particularly that cute grey elephant! This animal has always piqued my interest. “Inspector” in the title sealed the deal and I right away bought my copy of this book.

    But before we dive into more details, let’s first address the elephant in the room, and quite literally…
    Who brings a baby elephant into a murder investigation? Apparently, Vaseem Khan does!

    What more to expect from this!

    You already have a baby elephant in the story, what more do you want? But wait, there is a lot more to the story here. Vaseem has not just created a protagonist Inspector Ashwin Chopra and Ganesh, the baby elephant. He has created a whole universe around Chopra, his family, ex-colleagues, a quintessential khadus “self-declared” leader of housing society, and many more! Every character has a unique story arc which is well-developed as the book progresses.

    Thankfully, the protagonist is not an all-knowing supercop. In fact, he isn’t a cop anymore. A retired cop who has a strong sense of justice and courage to stand for it, with all his limitations, makes it a believable character.

    In a case which seems to be apparent open-and-shut suicide, there’s more than which meets the eye. And Inspector Chopra is hell bent on seeking justice for the young victim! You have to read The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra to know more about it.

    About the book

    • Name of Book: The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra
    • Author: Vaseem Khan
    • Publisher: Mulholland Books
    • Publication date: August 13, 2015
    • Pages: 305
    • ISBN: 9781473612259
    • Kindle e-book Price: ₹ 280

    My ratings

    Stories: 4/5
    Writing Style: 4/5
    Cover Design: 4.5/5

    Overall Rating: 4/5

    Where to get your copy

    Should you read it?

    After reading this whole blog, I am sure you won’t have a doubt that I just loved this book. I am excited to read the next books from this series where Inspector (Retd.) Chopra tackles crime under the banner of Baby Ganesh Agency!

    For more about my views on books, click here.