By Enid Parker

Dubai-based author Neha J Hiranandani says it was her search for positive role models for youngsters in India that led her to write Girl Power!, a comprehensive, colourful look at inspiring women from around the country. From an ‘amazing astronaut’ to the ‘coolest of coolies’ to a ‘warrior queen’ and a ‘daredevil doctor’, among many others, Girl Power!, available locally at Borders, Mall of the Emirates, celebrates women who lead by example, break the mould, battle against all odds, and refuse to be boxed into stereotypes.

Continue reading Get your Girl Power! On to battle odds →

By Anamika Chatterjee

And they lived happily ever after…

There is something oddly comforting about seeing light at the end of a fictional tunnel. That light, in most 19th century novels, was marriage, and Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 classic Little Women had not been vastly different, even if it inspired a generation of American women writers. Yes, it is a literary masterpiece for various reasons, but remains largely compliant to the popular narrative trope of the day: worshipping a feisty protagonist and then sealing her fate with marriage.

Continue reading Big lessons from Little Women →

By Enid Parker

Being a wordsmith, and a bibliophile, I guess it’s not surprising to anyone that I own a lot of notebooks. But my myriad, ever-growing collection has a teeny-tiny problem. A lot of my notebooks remain empty, even after years.

Continue reading Greetings from a notebook shopaholic →

By Enid Parker​

Whenever Christmas season comes around, there’s one book from my collection I have to re-read… Little Women. One of my favourite classics, Little Women was written by American author Louisa May Alcott and originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869. Because the story of Little Women begins with Jo March and her sisters Beth, Amy and Meg having a funny, sweet and heartfelt conversation on Christmas Eve, it always strikes a chord and envelops me with warmth during this time of year.

Continue reading What makes Little Women a festive fave →

By Rohma Sadaqat

A little over a week ago, I wrote about overindulging one’s self at a book fair and then coming home to the absolutely mammoth task of making space for new books on an overflowing bookshelf.

Continue reading I read it right when I ‘booked’ a trip down memory lane →

By Rohma Sadaqat

There comes a time in every bookworm’s life when they have to face some hard facts. They’ve just run out of space on their bookshelves to even fit a weekly magazine, and it’s either time to either clear out some tomes or apply the brakes on any upcoming purchases. Now, if any of you are like me, you’d find it hard to say goodbye to your beloved novels. So, the first option was surely out of the question. The second one sounded more reasonable and lesser of two evils; after all, there are other ways of procuring books without buying them – you can borrow them from fellow bookworms and also swap them.

Continue reading Even if I don’t have space on my bookshelf, I’ll make it! →

By Purva Grover

My family takes pride in our ownership of an analogue weighing scale. We’re fit, but not obsessed with inches. So the scale has little to do with our fitness goals. It stays hidden under the bed throughout the year. Its occasional outing and pride moment arises when it’s time for me to make a return trip from New Delhi to Dubai. We brush the dust off the scale and realign the scale to ‘zero’. I am weighed. That’s the harsh step one. Next, I, the passenger, weigh myself again; this time holding my suitcase. We’re obsessed with grams (when flying), not inches.

Continue reading This year, I flew back with 29.05kgs and 34 books →