Book
Conquering that stack: 5 ways to finish a book in a week
Let's face it. Our to-be-read piles have started to look like a leaning tower of literary Pisa now. If you are a bookworm, you will relate to this one much too well.
BOOK REVIEW: NONFICTION / Stories of survivorship, courage, and hope for a country that cares
A closer look into these stories reveal reasons why cancer continues to be dreaded—it is not just fear of the malady itself, but also the challenges of undergoing treatment through an overburdened healthcare system and its exorbitant costs.
BOOK REVIEW: FICTION / A tale of existential crisis in the modern world
The plot sheds light on a privileged modern experience where time stands still, stopping the clock as the days and nights roll and go.
ESSAY / The ethics of ghostwriting in fiction
Ghostwriting is not new, and Millie Bobby Brown is not the first celebrity to hire a ghostwriter. But, soon after she published her book, she came under fire for using one.
Reflection / Nobody writes like Arundhati Roy
When a dear friend recommended The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, it took me one page to grow up.
ESSAY / The progressive depiction of women in ‘Devdas’
In some ways, Sharatchandra places the blame for Devdas's ensuing sorrow on his lack of courage, made all the more noticeable in comparison to Parbati's courage in breaking social norms despite the dire consequences it could have for her.
Essay / The unclassifiable “monsters” of Guillermo Del Toro’s ‘Pinocchio’
Guillermo Del Toro’s stop-motion animation, Pinocchio (2022) is loosely based on Carlo Collodi’s novel, The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883).
Book Review: Fiction / Western Lane: Grief unfolding on squash court
There is more squash in the book than most readers will take a liking to, but the game sometimes works as a metaphor for the bigger picture.
THE SHELF / 6 wonderful books to celebrate the Women in Translation month
‘Women in Translation’ is an all-inclusive, international project that aims to terminate the continual discrimination faced by non-English female authors, and gives them due recognition.
When readers write the book
This public typewriter experiment was also a personal experience for him as he first fell in love with typewriters when he came across his grandfather’s 1930s Smith Corona. As a struggling writer at that time, this machine was what made writing to him a joyous experience.
No Longer Human: Dazai’s tale of distortion, degeneration, and decay
No Longer Human is perhaps more relevant today than it has ever been.
A life of light and perseverance
While going through Monsur’s autobiography, one’s attention is bound to be drawn to facts about current affairs penned with meticulous precision. He conveys his experience of 1957—the horrendous experience of losing eyesight—along with being victim to the cruelty of harsh remarks.
An invaluable study of Bangladesh's political history
"In Fool’s Paradise" is aptly named as it gives us a glimpse of post-independence Bangladesh, a young nation still struggling to find its identity amidst post-war blows.
In her new book, Maria Chaudhuri reimagines Pohela Boishakh for kids
Illustrated by Kazi Istela Imam, Nobo Opens a Door embraces the occasion of Pohela Boishakh—an event that is dear to many.
'Teestar Kanna' brings Teesta shoal residents to tears
Poet and writer Ishor Dulon Roy, author of Teestar Kanna, told The Daily Star that many of his relatives live on the Teesta shoal. Once they were all rich, all now lost to the river erosion.
‘Monstrous fancies, misshapen dreams’: My ambivalence with ‘Dorian Gray’
“How tragic it would be if you were wasted”, made me smile in a melancholic way. I know moments when “unnecessary things are our only necessities”. And I’ve not been hesitant to give “rebellion its fascination” and “disobedience its charm.”
Children's books everyone should read
Children’s books might end up giving us more as adults than they did to us as children.
The ins and outs of banking, simplified
“I got the courage to start writing and felt that, if the market practices and regulations of a particular issue are in one place it may help the bankers, customers as well as students”, the author writes.
An intimate history of Bangladesh cricket
The information in the book was either in the public domain scattered everywhere, maturing in secret cellars or in somebody's heart never discussed in public. It needed a herculean teamwork of coordination and passion to present the game of cricket.
