Book Review: The Widows of Malabar Hill

I’m going to be honest, I judged this book by the cover. But it was in favour of the book. Something about the purplish hues and a embossed, veiled woman with a briefcase on the cover drew me to the book. It had the elements but was still not the cover of a typical South…

Book Review: The familiar sorrows of Karachi in Kartography

South Asian fiction has been one of my favourite genres ever since I started reading. Even when I lived in Pakistan, it would be a welcome change from the dominant Western literature we would be exposed to in our schools. So reading a familiar name or street in an English-language novel would be a big…

Book Review: Sophia of Silicon Valley

There is no other genre of books I crave than a buzzing young professional's story. Sophia of Silicon Valley satisfied this craving to the fullest being the powerful, roller-coaster ride of a story about a young businesswoman. Anna Yen has carefully crafted the Young family, who is an immigrant family in California, living the American…

Book Review: Danielle Steel’s “Fall from Grace”

This was my first time reading a Danielle Steel novel. After seeing it in bookstores, airport stores and news stands countless times, this one held my attention at Indigo Bookstore in the 2 for $15 paperback shelf.  I was looking for something with strong female characters, a chic setting and yet a gripping storyline and Falling…

Book Review: When Life Gives You Lululemons

I am unabashedly a Lauren Weisberger and specifically, Devil Wears Prada series fan. You can gauge my love for the books here. So when news of the third book When Life Gives You Lululemons (WLGYL) dropped on the Internet, I dropped everything and started following the release date. Alas, at the start of summer I acquired my…

Not chick lit, chic lit: The Devil Wears Prada and stories of strong women

There was once someone, somewhere who thought stories of young women following their dreams while trying to find love, navigate relationships and reach goals in life are stories limited to female readers only. And we ended up with a genre colloquially called 'chick-lit'. More so than it being a genre, my disappointment is with its…