June Wrap Up: #mugglestowizards Part One

We wanted to revive reading in the club, and what better way to start than with Harry Potter!
A lot of us have grown up with this magical world, waiting for the letter, hoping to be the next Quidditch legend, while others have magically resisted the charm till much later. This June & July, we made the resisting a little difficult by hosting two month long Harry Potter readathon, with movie marathons, giveaways, what not! (We're hosting the readathon along side Mahima from incorrigiblemusings and Chetana from Chetanaholla)
And the response we received has been phenomenal! With the first four books read, three movies watched, and two giveaways down, June has been quite magical.
Here's what transpired this month,

The Announcement: 

A photo posted by Fictional Fortress (@fictionalfortress) on May 25, 2016 at 7:56am PDT

Readathon started with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and the first prompt for the giveaway was, "Your Journey To Hogwarts", this story by Chetana warmed our hearts, go on , read on if you haven't,

It was in September of 2000, when I was 11, that I first laid eyes on Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I was excited because my dad had just gotten back from a trip the night before and if I was lucky he would sometimes bring me and my sister books. I an upstairs to my parents bedroom and lo and behold I find a stack of books on their bed. I saw a book about a couple of books down the stacks whose name I couldn't really see, but I could see a "ha" and half of an r. I thought it was a Hardy boys book which was exciting in and of itself but when I picked it up it was this book with a boy expressing bewilderment in front of a train. I had never heard of it so I have it a go. I devoured that book and fell in love with this world that Rowling created. The next time I was at a book store I had to pick up the next couple of the books in the series that were out. I have to thank my dad for introducing me to this world and my mom for not getting pissed at me for constantly reading this series and buying the books. I read the 1st HP book close to 10 times in the first couple of years I'd gotten it and I still reread the series every couple of years. This was my journey to Hogwarts. I'm taking part in the #mugglestowizards Read-a-thon being held by @fictionalfortress 

A photo posted by Chetana (@chetanaholla) on May 31, 2016 at 11:20pm PDT

Another beautifully put "Your Journey To Hogwarts" post by Pologeebee,

Remember your first HP read? My journey to Hogwarts started on a random day and on a random street in Calcutta. Well the street isn't that random. Not like 4, Privet Drive though. It was Esplanade, Calcutta. I was walking with Baba and saw Harry Potter books being sold at a shop. An uncle had told me about it and I was willing to spend my father's money on it. It was a random choice. I came home and forgot about it. It was sometime later that I picked it up and just couldn't read more than the first few pages. It was forgotten again, just like Riddle's diary. Finally, I picked it again and this time I did not let go. Seven books, eight movies, some extra books, arrival of a new movie spin off and a play later, it has stayed with me. Hogwarts is home and it will remain so forever. As Rowling said, "Whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home." Welcome aboard! #mugglestowizards

A photo posted by PGB (@pologeebee) on Jun 1, 2016 at 10:44am PDT

Some went as far as displaying their Letter To Hogwarts on Muggle net, we wonder what Ministry Of Magic will say about this,

My journey to Hogwarts: One day I got my letter and I was in. That's it.😉 ~ There's a Harry Potter readathon going on and I couldn't post earlier but today's the last day of book one.

A photo posted by Arzoo🐾 (@arzoobibliophile) on Jun 8, 2016 at 7:30am PDT

Some made art in celebration of the readathon, do you see our happy tears? Do you?

A photo posted by K (@driftingfirefly) on Jul 3, 2016 at 11:41am PDT

A photo posted by Parinitha P (@pari617) on Jun 4, 2016 at 1:28am PDT

A photo posted by The Daily Drawphet | Snigdha (@thedailydrawphet) on Jul 4, 2016 at 8:22pm PDT

Some other beautiful pictures that turned up during the course of the read-a-thon,

A photo posted by Sumedha (@i.rock.books.rule) on Jun 7, 2016 at 10:06pm PDT

A photo posted by Amrita (@bookishreveries) on Jun 22, 2016 at 3:54am PDT

A photo posted by Shefali. (@shefalirane) on Jun 25, 2016 at 12:04am PDT

Was quite a month, wasn't it? Well, July is going to be even better with last three books, four movies, and FOUR MORE GIVEAWAYS!

If you haven't joined the readathon yet, what are you waiting for? Join us now, it's never too late to read/re-read Harry Potter. All you have to do is get your HP books, read them, post about them using #mugglestowizards. That is all.
See you then?

Book Review: The Lovers Dictionary by David Levithan

When I first saw this book at the used bookstore, I realized that I'd seen it around on Bookstagram. I didn't know what it was about, I usually don't know what the books I'm going to read are about since I love diving into the unknown. But I didn't want to buy a book I wouldn't enjoy, so I decided to read a couple of pages in the store while bae scourged the piles of dusted books for something I'd like.

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 As soon as I read the first few pages I knew that this book was a keeper. I knew that I would from time to time flip pages and read out randomly from it. That some definitions would stay with me, that some would make me want to flip the book in the middle of the night to read precisely what's written. It's a quick read, an hour/ an hour and a half tops. What I love about it is how the author has given us the story of two unnamed characters through different definitions, different phases of a relationship. Each page has one word, and a random snippet of the relationship that fits the definition of that word. Some definitions are one line long, some a paragraph and others a page long. The book literally is written in a dictionary form.

The author has turned the mundane moments into something you'd yearn for yourself in future. The comfort of being around someone you love. The nasty truth behind happily ever afters which isn't all roses but a lot of thorns. A lot of self-doubts, insecurity. Jealousy. A lot of being sure just to become unsure again. Of how the fights are continuous. But also of how you have somebody to share morning kisses with, or start your day with champagne cause why the hell not? It's the mundane beauty of relationship conceived from the first flirty dates to the cozy nights spent in each other's embrace. 

A very cute & adorable story of most relationships.

Have you read The Lover's Dictionary? Did you like it?

Reading Schedule 2016

Now, we used to announce our monthly book themes & book in spotlight a week before the new month begins, but we've realized that it doesn't give our readers enough time to buy/borrow the books and/or set their TBRs for the month, so here we are, with a reading schedule for rest of the year. This will give you plenty of time to arrange for the books and set your TBRs.

Let's dive straight into it, shall we?

June-July: It's Pottermania at Fictional Fortress. We're reading all the seven books, watching 8 movies + hosting 6 giveaways! You cannot ask for anything better, can you?
For reading schedule, go here.
For movie schedule, go here.
To join the readathon, all you have to do is start reading the books and post about them online using the tag #MugglesToWizards. For more info, check our Instagram out.

August Theme: You asked for Historic Fiction, you get Historic Fiction.
Our Pick: Such A Long Journey, Rohinton Mistry.

Buy on Amazon

Add to Goodreads

September Theme: It's the month of Banned Books! Let's be the rebels we are and read the gems that have been banned.
Our Pick: Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie.

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October Theme: We'll be reading books along the theme of Mental Health during Oct.
Our Pick: Em and the Big Hoom, Jerry Pinto

Buy on Amazon

Add to Goodreads

November Theme: Graphic Novels month it is!
Our Pick: Munnu by Malik Sajad

Buy on Amazon

Add to Goodreads

December Theme: Holiday Theme Books read along.
Our Pick: Instead of a book, we pick Ruskin Bond. The snow capped mountains and pine trees call!

Buy his books on Amazon

Add his books to Goodreads

To participate in any of these read-a-longs all you need to do is pick a book revolving around the given genres/themes, read & post about them online using #ficfortressreads.
The "Our Picks" are the books we recommend you pick & the ones that we will be reading in the said months :)
           
We hope you join us in reading these themes and books as well as in discussing them at the end of the respective months. Happy Reading!

BOOK OF THE MONTH REVIEW - MRS. DALLOWAY BY VIRGINIA WOOLF

 Genre : Classics, Fiction, Feminism, Women Literature

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Mrs. Dalloway was written by Woolf in 1925, when the world, particularly Europe, was experiencing a lot of changes in all fronts. The story is set in those days of modernism; and revolves around a woman named Clarissa Dalloway, the wife of a rich influential bureaucrat, who loves throwing parties and socializing. The entire story is set in a day of Mrs. Dalloway's life, where each character tells a story about his or her life. Each character directly influencing Mrs. Dalloway, looks back on a day when they were younger, when Clarissa turned down her friend, Peter Walsh's proposal for marriage. Mrs. Dalloway is one of the classics which have been widely read and appreciated around the world.
What I loved the most about Mrs. Dalloway is it's representation of the characters. A typical London morning in 1925 will have all the prominent characters in the novel. Clarissa is a socialite who arranges parties and indulge in socializing with high class families to share gossips and talk about life in London. What is even more special about the timeline is that it is set in 1925 which means the story encapsulates the old fashioned ways of living and the new modernist approach to life. Clarissa Dalloway, is taught from her early childhood how to become the perfect wife in a rich household, and that just represents how women had a certain role in lives. While she is not happy about the ways of life, she has not been able to break out of it. On the other hand, several characters, break out of the perception to become independent and "different" from the women in that time.
The novel has no chapters, just a steady flow of thoughts which jumps from one character to another to form an entire day of activities, impressions and views. Every thought, every view has a specific opinion on life in 1920s, every argument had different approaches and every view had its consequences. Every character has a personality so strong and so different, it's hard to talk about just one character. A character, Septimus Warren Smith is particularly interesting in the story, who is apparently written as a double to Clarissa. While both of them doesn't appreciate the way of life, Septimus breaks out of it by killing himself. And when Clarissa comes to know of it, she describes it as a defiance; she sees it as a way of escaping from the world of mishaps and misfortunes.
Virginia Woolf is a genius, and someone who has read at least one of her works will agree with me when I say this.

-NIVEDITA

Guest Review: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Since May was a #readclassics month at Fictional Fortress, one of our lovely club members, Kadbury (she blogs at Writer and Tales) is taking over to review Crime and Punishment for us (there's also some exciting giveaway info at the end, you're welcome)
Over to you, Kadbury;

Book Title: Crime and Punishment

Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky

Genre: Classic Lit

This is one of those huge books that everyone sees in a shop and gets intimidated by. Yes, it’s a classic written by a Russian author. First off I would like to warn all readers that the names and pet names of every character can be slightly confusing. Some editions have a list of all the names and pet names of each character at the start or end of the novel. My suggestion is that you buy one of these editions.

This book is large in size but the story as a whole is not hard to understand and is pretty universal. It raises questions regarding morality, crime and justice and these are answered to an extent. It isn’t packed with philosophy and is pretty straightforward so everyone can understand it.

Our titular character, Raskolnikov is the quintessential individual who finds fault with everything in the world. He has a high opinion of himself and his ideals and is plagued with thoughts of putting his ideals into practice (like some other individuals we find around us *cough* Trump *cough*) .It is his ideals and warped world view that lead him to perform an unconventional unlawful act. The book explores his psyche and his worldview after his consciousness becomes ruptured.

Crime and Punishment is an exploration of society and the psychology of an individual removed from society. It tries very hard to find a balance between being preachy and being too philosophical. There is a clear dichotomy between religious faith and idealism. Even if you don’t want to go into the depth of the story ,on the surface it is a nerve wracking narrative that keeps you on the edge of your toes . It is not a whodunnit but the suspense is palpable throughout.

The multiple side stories are engaging (sometimes more than the main story) but all the characters and their narratives get tied together towards the end. Parallels can be drawn between the minor characters and the main. Each character and plot point serves a purpose.The characters are a microcosm of society as a whole.Realism was after all Dostoyevsky’s strong suit.

Towards the end, I started getting a little fed up with the protagonist but all other characters managed to save the narrative (And there were many). As a reader, I would say that at a point you get frustrated with the protagonist and stop enjoying the story. The female characters in the story are also too conventional and I didn’t like any of them. The questions raised by the story make it worth a read but I wouldn’t say it was an enjoyable read throughout.

For those of you interested, I'm giving away Penguin editions of Crime & Punishment, and Fathers & Sons (as pictured above) on my blog,  to participate in the giveaway, go here.

What are your Favourite classics?

Book review: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

Genre: Retelling, Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

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“Some things exist in our lives for but a brief moment. And we must let them go on to light another sky.”

I have to be honest, when this book first started getting hyped up, prior to its publication even, I wasn’t interested. But lately, I’ve been in the mood for books set in the Middle East, retellings of the Arabian Nights, so I had to pick this one up. Suffice to say, this one actually lived up to the hype. Everything about this book, the plot, the writing, the characters, and the world-building was fantastic.

Each day, the Caliph of Khorasan; Khalid weds a new girl and at dawn, she is executed. When Shahrzad’s best friend falls victim to this, she volunteers as the next bride and vows to kill the Caliph and avenge her friend’s death. The night of her wedding, Shahrzad extends the date of her execution by telling stories to the Caliph. This way, she manages the impossible feat; she lives to see the next day. And the next. And the next. Quickly, Shazi realizes that nothing is what meets the eye and Khalid is more than what the world thinks him to be; a ruthless, cold-blooded killer, who has his own skeletons in the closet.

"This boy-king, this murderer . . . she would not permit him to destroy another family. To rob another family. To rob another girl of her best friend–of a lifetime filled with memories that had been and never would be."

I absolutely love the setting of this book. It's a Middle Eastern/Arabian setting that's wonderfully depicted. Renee incorporates such rich culture and customs into her book from the food to the decorum, the speech to the costume, and the tales to the geography. This book is big on sensory details. And her writing style makes it all the more colorful and enticing. I felt as if I were transported to another place, another time, where golden sands buried powerful secrets.

Shahrzad (Shazi); the Calipha of Khorasan

She has made it my list of favorite female protagonist. She’s feisty, smart, bold and reliable. You can always count on her to not do something stupid. Her sarcasm, bravery, stubbornness and lack of indecisiveness made her a refreshingly wonderful main character.

Khalid, the Caliph if Khorasan, the King of Kings

To me, it was clear from the beginning that Khalid wasn’t mindlessly murdering girls so I didn’t out rightly hate him like Shazi did. Khalid is enigmatic and elusive. He's thoughtful and caring behind his icy facade. His closed off and standoffish attitude made it hard to relate to him but once we get a glimpse behind that icy facade, you can’t help but adore him.  Khalid is the kind of character that grows on you as more about his past is revealed. He's a well-rounded and complex character that I really loved by the end of the book.

The romance in this book is beautiful. It develops slowly, from hate to grudging acceptance to love. Their relationship is that kind that transcends all odds and I was rooting for them despite everything being against them.  Khalid had a bleak childhood and Shazi is the perfect contrast to that and Khalid in turn checks Shazi's reckless nature and they just fit like puzzle pieces. 

“What are you doing to me, you plague of a girl?” he whispered.
“If I’m a plague, then you should keep your distance, unless you plan on being destroyed.” The weapons still in her grasp, she shoved against his chest.
“No.” His hands dropped to her waist. “Destroy me.” 

The other characters that I really enjoyed seeing were Despina, Shazi’s haindmaiden, Jalal; the captain of the guard and Khalid’s cousin whom I absolutely adored. His unwavering loyalty to his family was inspiring.

There was just something really special about the story. This one mainly focused on Khalid’s secret and the romance and yet the plot was unique. Not much of action takes place but there were lots of hints here and there that I’m sure will be addressed in book 2.

This isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but I do suggest giving it a try if you’re looking for something unique with a strong heroine and some good romance. 

Hacks To Buy Books For Cheap Online

If you're viewing any article on this blog, then it's quite fitting to assume that you're a bookworm. So are we. And being a bookworm is more of a lifestyle choice as most of you would agree. Each bookworm has his own resource to read books from. Some borrow from libraries, others from their book-hoarder friends and few others download ebooks.
If you happen to be the book-hoarder of your group, then this post is for you. If you're planning on starting your own lil library (read: book hoarder noob), then this post is for you too. Being a book hoarder doesn't come in cheap, but here are ways you can save some monies and make wise choices while adopting books from online sources.
*For Desi Bookworms only*

1) Compare:
Comparing prices from all the online shopping portals is rule number 1. We know, it's tedious and who the hell has got the time? Well, let me make it easy for you, presenting:
India Bookstore, a website which will compare book prices for you. Just type the name of the book you're looking for in the search bar and voila! compare and buy the desired book from the site offering it for the lowest price.
Your welcome.
The only problem here is that the site doesn't include Snapdeal, in which case you might want to do the work and check the price of the book yourself.

Indiabookstore is available as an app for android users.

2) Book Deals:
We all love us some online good book sales. But the problem is we often get confused as to what to buy and if the price could go any lower yada yada. Cue Book Deals For Broke Bibliophiles, this facebook group handled by the mysterious and equally brilliant Broke, not only notifies you of ongoing sales but also highlights/posts the best deals that are available. How awesome is that? Ironically, most people have turned broke after joining this group because, books.

Bow before thy master Broke

Apart from book deals, there are readathons and book meets and so much bookish fun! If you're not a part of this group, you're missing out on the book party life, so join now!

You can also find the deals on Broke's twitter handle, @BookDealsIndia and for some interesting book recs, follow Broke on Instagram at broke.bibliophile

Broke also has an app called BookThief, available for android users. Download the app and get notified of the best book deals. Such Technology. Much Awesome!

3) Money-back:
This hack will not only help you in book shopping but for other kinds of online shopping as well. Goodfind, is a site which provides cash back if you shop via their site. This video will help in understanding how >>



To register on Goodfind , please use this referral link, thank you!

4) Used Books:
If you don't mind buying used books, then you might find BookChor appeasing. This site sells used books, most of the people we know who bought from the site have had a very good experience. They send bookmarks and handmade notes along (sometimes free books too), how cute is that? And you can get books for as cheap as 30 bucks! Yes, you read that right, 30 bucks! Free shipping above Rs.200/-
Use the tag #bookchor on Instagram to check book hauls of people who've purchased from them.
BookChor is also available as a mobile app for android users.

Another great way to buy used books is via OLX. I bought a hardcover of A Dance with Dragons for Rs.300, hardcover you guys! So, keep an occasional check for you might stumble upon some really good negotiable deals on really good books.

The Hardcover I bought from OLX for dirt cheap, jealous much?

Those were the hacks, hope you found them useful. I was not paid to endorse these sites and have only mentioned them since I've found all these very useful in my very fervent online book shopping. And if you happen to use any of these hacks, do let me know how you liked them or if they were of any help!

Do you know of any other hacks, share them with us! :)