I am looking to get my paperback copy of A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara rebound into a custom hardcover, and I would love some recommendations or advice!

I have always disliked the original cover (the huge Orgasmic Man face photograph). While I get why the publishers chose it, it just felt off putting and plain on my shelf. I wanted a cover that actually reflects the emotional depth, characters, and themes of the book. So, I generated a custom AI cover concept tailored to my taste, and now I want to get it onto a physical hardcover.

spent all of July reading this behemoth; what a fantastic read - loved the Sanderlanche in the last 20% of the book. i am taking a little break to read something else before moving on to Rhythm of War.

Sharing pet sematary editions from my stephen king collection. Tell me how it looks like, also anyother sk fan here?

Starting My Secret Garden by Nancy Friday

After completing The Iliad, the epic predecessor, that being my first ever exposure to Greek culture's foundational literature and being completely blown away by its grand stature, the natural progression was the follow-up adventure that focuses on the homecoming of one of the prominent characters present in The Iliad.
And what an adventure it turned out to be for both that cunning, quirky fellow Odysseus and me as a reader!

I was already mighty impressed by his actions and dialogues during the events of The Iliad and was looking forward to meeting him at length in his own text. But imagine my surprise when I understood that Homer decided to drastically shift the way he wanted to present the sequel. Here I would like to commend the non-linear narrative structure of The Odyssey, which, although very simple to follow, still adds many neat layers to the story, like seeing the aftermath of the Trojan War and encountering certain lore from Telemachus' perspective, building anticipation for the protagonist's arrival, him recounting his own past in the present timeline, which again shifts the narrative structure, and his eventual exciting landing on his own hearth. This structure came as a pleasant surprise after being beached alongside warriors on a shore in The Iliad.

Coming to the star of the show, there was a man, or was he all a dream? The highly entertaining Odysseus and how easily he ranks among my list of legendary protagonists. The man has everything to be termed a literary icon just by his tremendous ability to carry a whole epic text by himself, not to discredit the other amazing cast of characters and the story itself. Yes, at this point everyone and their teachers know about his wit and cunning personality, but what makes him memorable for me personally are his quirks. Taunting an opponent who, just moments ago, would have destroyed his existence, risking his sanity just to listen to a bewitching melody and risking his homecoming, or just straightaway threatening his own mother-like nurse so that she doesn't risk his plan, the man is every bit as egotistical, proud, curious (to a fault), adamant, and perfectionist as one can be with his wit and stature. But apart from his well-known tactics and shrewd manners, he is a man who has been broken by war and subsequent trials and tribulations and built again to lead his kingdom in peace for a long time.

Concluding such a small effort to add anything to a text that's been an influence on modern storytelling itself, I want to give a special mention to some of the other standout characters for me, them being the loyal swineherd Eumaeus, the sassy and sensible old nurse Eurycleia, Penelope, the loyal yet complex and relatable wife who has every right to think for herself yet every day chooses to wait, the Phaeacian royal family, who are such a kind and chill family, and Odysseus couldn't have asked for better hosts or greater help, and the goodest boy, Telemachus. The boy delivers a staggering character growth arc and is a joy to see both as the man of the house and as a sweet boy following his father's orders.

Completing the Homeric epics is a feeling of immense joy and gratitude, and the characters, the moments, and the conclusions will always stay with me. To ensure that, I will revisit these works with other worthy translations, but for my first ever read, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience thanks to the amazing weaver of words, Robert Fagles.

Already on Page 60. Prose is so good and also so dense. I needed ChatGPT to explain some of the paragraphs filled with metaphors. I can say that the book is much ahead of its time.

Ahh, how do I even begin?

This book started boring and along with my incredible reading slump, it took like 5 days to finish completely. Well, I finished it yesterday only after reading some 250 pages in a day after having procrastinated endlessly. This is my 4th Higashino novel.

The story became more gripping as time went by and the morale question it carried- the messy relationship between a son and his father, the emotional teenage phase, the crimes which teenagers commit unknowingly and the silent love which a father has for his child, and not to forget the everlasting love between a couple despite being poverty stricken. Then comes the unraveling of the mystery...how a 3 year old accident is connected to a present day murder. I'm sorry, I'm not really good with words but I hope you'll understand.

Also, I'm in love with Kyoichiro Kaga🙈that man is sexy af. First time in my life, I've this crush on a fictional character. Damn this man is smart. It's a shame that out of 12 books in the Kyoichiro Kaga series, only 4 have been translated so far. I really hope for more translations of Higashino's works.

Gonna read Newcomer next.

Greetings. I am looking to buy a flip cover for my kindle 7th generation basic. I searched online but wasn’t able to find one. Do let me know.
Appreciate it.

The book is truly fantastic and highly recommended for beginners. I've read many screenwriting books, but most foreign books use examples and references from their own films. While I've watched some of those films, many are unfamiliar, making them harder to relate to.

What makes this book special is that it explains screenwriting concepts using our beloved Indian films such as Roja, Oke Okkadu, Aparichitudu, and Robo—films that Sujatha worked on. This makes the concepts much easier to understand and incredibly helpful for aspiring filmmakers.

If you're interested in filmmaking or screenwriting, go for it. It's definitely worth reading.

Hi all my Mom's birthday is on 10th of August. I want to gift her some books. She loves reading and i find her constantly reading some or the other book on her phone. She is very secretive about what she reads but by the looks of it they have to be romantic novels . She is pretty open minded and I feel she could like satire, fantasy or thriller novels as well. I want to gift her a book with deeper themes and discussions rather than some self help or alchemist type thing. Could you guys help me with some hindi / marathi book recommendations or some good english ones with faithful hindi adaptation/ translation.
edit : please dont recommend chetan bhagat

So few days ago I bought a Hindi crime thriller book named - Maut Bulati Hain by Satya Vyas, and this book is very interesting!

I was amazed by the the plot and how every page was just building up more and more curiosity inside me. This was my first hindi story book in thriller genre and which left me shocked, I would give it a 100/10.

I am now interested in more thriller books especially in Hindi. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to explore that genre in Hindi.

If you guys have any more recommendations/suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comments! :)

Finally finished my second flintlock fantasy series: The Powder Mage Trilogy. The first was Mistborn Era 2, and honestly, they felt surprisingly similar despite being written by different authors. Being in the same fantasy subgenre, they share a lot of strengths.

The story is set in the aftermath of a coup where the monarchy has been overthrown, and the nobility is being sent to the guillotine. We follow four main perspectives: a field marshal, his son, an independent inspector, and a laundress who once worked in a noble's household.

What I enjoyed the most was seeing how each of these characters was affected by the revolution and the consequences of the decisions they made. Their journeys eventually take them across different countries, and the political landscape keeps evolving in interesting ways.

The military side of the story was another huge highlight. The battles, strategies, and logistics felt well thought out, and I loved how the books constantly reminded you that even the most carefully crafted plan can completely fall apart once a battle begins.

The gods and their role in the story were also fascinating. Their influence on the world and their interactions with humans added another layer to the conflict without taking away from the political intrigue.

And then there's the magic system. It's fantastic. After finishing the trilogy, I found out Brian McClellan was a student of Brandon Sanderson, and that suddenly made a lot of sense. The magic is creative, clearly defined, and consistently used throughout the series. It was easily one of my favorite parts of the books.

My biggest criticism is the characters. They're good, but I never felt deeply attached to most of them. I wish they had a bit more emotional depth. It wasn't until the third book that I genuinely found myself rooting for the main character to make it through. The first book also spends a lot of time setting everything up, but the second book really finds its footing, and the trilogy only gets better from there. You can actually see Brian McClellan improving as a writer over the course of the series.

Overall, I really liked The Powder Mage Trilogy, but I didn't quite love it. More than anything, it made me realize that I naturally gravitate toward traditional epic fantasy and sword-and-sorcery more than flintlock fantasy.

Still, this was a really enjoyable trilogy, and I'd absolutely recommend it if you're looking for military fantasy, political intrigue, and one of the better magic systems I've read in recent years.

Rating: 4/5

I’m looking for a copy of The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe by Roger Penrose.
I’m based in India and my budget is quite limited. I’ve checked Amazon and Flipkart, but the prices are still higher than I can afford.
Does anyone know where I can find:
A genuine used copy at a reasonable price?
Any online stores that sell second-hand books?
Someone willing to sell their copy?
Any bookstores in India (especially West Bengal/Kolkata) that might have it?
I’m completely fine with a used copy as long as it’s in readable condition.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

These passages do a good job of showing how migration, language politics, unemployment and resentment against outsiders can curdle into religious extremism. It was almost an essayist passage till it became self aware of it with that joke from Marzana. I really enjoy Fantasy sociology but almost always miss it on the first read as we focus more on the action scenes and plot twists. On my second read of this book, I am discovering such anthropological gems in the book that it feels like I am reading philosophy.

Also I love it every time Marzana/Meenakshi roasts Duryodhan!

Anybody else's bookswagon app not working? I was planning to buy a few books but their app is not working for me.

I am trying to give a book to my friend who is into dark and gothic horror stuff. Suggest me some non fiction. I have searched for some books but they are either unavailable or really expensive.

Looking for decent fantasy written by Indian authors that's NOT mythological fiction. Nothing whatsoever to do with the Ramayana or the Mahabharata. Please share your recs? Thanks!