‘A book is a dream that you hold in your hand.’ – Neil Gaiman
It’s that time of the year again when I reflect on the months gone by and chronicle Readomania’s annual publishing journey. After the Annus Horribilis that 2020 was, we all hoped and prayed for a better 2021. But, that was not to be. India was debilitated by the deadly second wave of the Covid pandemic. Post the peak horror, things started to look slightly promising, but now a new threat looms large—the dreaded third wave heralded by the lethal Omicron. However, I believe that no matter how dark and gloomy the night, morning will come. It has no choice! So, we tread on in our endeavour to bring smiles to people’s faces by telling meaningful stories.
We started 2021 with the release of seasoned actress, Susmita Mukherjee’s BAANJH—Incomplete Lives of Complete Women. It is a collection of eleven hard-hitting stories based on the author’s observations, that takes you on a journey into the world of women from the society fringes as well as the high echelons—with entitled husbands and regressive labels; with high-power jobs and insecurities; with obsessions and mental issues; with open views on marriage and divorce; with oppressive employers driving them to the hilt; where lines of morality blur between the girlfriend and the wife. Susmita makes you gasp, ponder, empathise, and look at life like never before. The brilliant cover designed by our ace designer, Sourish Mitra has been long-listed by the Oxford Bookstore Best Book Covers Award, 2021.
The ever-prolific Sutapa Basu had two amazing releases this year. With The Cursed Inheritance, she ventured into the world of sleuthing. Anahita Sarkar, who has grown up in London, is bequeathed a mansion in Kolkata that she has never seen. She travels to the City of Joy to dispose of her inheritance only to realise that it has deep, dark secrets. As she enters the mansion, these secrets become enigmas that pursue her; a grand house that speaks to her, an intriguing visitor who knows a little too much, a friendly foe who wraps secrets in riddles, and a mysterious past that is cursed—putting at stake her family’s reputation and her own values. Can she dig deeper to unravel the mystery and turn the cursed inheritance into a blessing?
Her next release, under our Reado Junior imprint, was Princesses, Monsters and Magical Creatures, the English translation of the Bengali children’s classic, Thakurmar Jhuli by Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumdar. More than a century ago, Mitra Majumdar collected folktales from across Bengal and rendered them into a unique collection of children’s fiction, titled Thakurmar Jhuli. Enjoyed by children over the ages, the anthology became synonymous with the cultural heritage of the region. Princesses, Monsters, and Magical Creatures promises to take readers to an enchanting land sprinkled with flying horses, speaking birds, cunning foxes, indestructible monsters, bold princes, and even bolder, beautiful princesses. This beautifully illustrated book is a must read for children.
Bestselling author, Dr Manjiri Prabhu too had two wonderful releases this year. The Adventures of Mithoo: The Journey of a Magical Kitten was published in January under our Reado Junior imprint. Mithoo, a magical and mischievous kitten, lives in the beautiful world called Omland. Despite several warnings, Mithoo cannot control his naughty impulses and is banished to the land of humans. Mithoo lands in Manaspuri with one goal in mind—counter his long list of mischiefs with good deeds and return home. But, as days pass, he meets interesting people and finds himself caught in thrilling yet sad situations. Torn between the love for his homeland and his moral duty, Mithoo has a tough decision to make. Will he return to Omland finally? Fun and heartwarming, The Adventures of Mithoo will make you smile, hug cats, and love life.
Dr. Prabhu’s magnum opus, The DOGtrine of Peace: A unique path to spiritual awakening and enlightenment, was released in July. When two magical beings decide on a spiritual goal, one with a wagging tail, but both with a unique soul… The way to inner peace lies in our heart…and in the company of dogs. With this belief, Dr. Manjiri Prabhu has poured a lifetime of her work with dogs and her learnings, into a spiritual adventure, The DOGtrine of Peace, a novel blueprint for spiritual awakening and enlightenment. Rich with anecdotes, interviews, and experiences, of dog-lovers, scientists, and animal activists from across the globe, this is a powerful book of love and compassion for those who seek a unique spiritual path.
Stefano Pelle’s The Adventures of Lucky Singh: A Curious Urban Dog, is another Reado Junior treat for dog lovers. Lucky Kumar Singh is a little dog rescued by a benevolent man who lives in a sprawling bungalow. Curious with an indomitable adventurous spirit, Lucky ventures out of home to explore the neighbourhood and beyond. In doing so, he befriends other dogs, a fox, and even a wolf! He rescues a runaway zebra, fights burglars, and is soon trained and inducted into the canine squad. His days are always enjoyable. but incomplete. He misses his canine family. Will he ever meet them again? The Adventures of Lucky Singh will take you on a ‘pawsome’ ride of thrill and adventure and make you fall in love with dogs all over again.
“Non-stop action…never a dull moment.” That is how Ruskin Bond describes former top bureaucrat Tino de Sa’s The Curious Case of the Nandikote Nawab, a thrilling adventure for young readers (Reado Junior 2021). What sinister mystery lay behind the disappearance of the Nawab’s royal property papers? The Nawab of Nandikote is visiting Banpuri, a mofussil railway town in central India, in order to finalise the sale of some of his lands. Mike and Theeq are holidaying with their friends Nik, Tara, and Zee. A series of strange things begin to happen: a lurking stranger, a cryptic message, a midnight rendezvous, a military depot, the enigmatic Begum Syeda, a crumbling haveli. The friends undertake a bit of determined detective work, solving clues and laying a trap, only to uncover a monstrous plot. Set in the backdrop of the Kargil conflict, this intriguing thriller will appeal to children and adults alike.
Eminent cardiologist, Dr. Rishi Sethi wrote, The Sage, a poignant saga of soul searching. Nikhil did not understand many things Krishna said to him then. He was not stupid, but he was young. Like we all were once in our lives. Not stupid, but young!” Reunited with his past while on a trip back to India, Nikhil goes back and forth to the memories of his childhood friend and mentor, as he attempts to resolve his life’s conflicts. However, fate plunges him into situations that challenge every concept taught to young Nikhil, and he is drawn on to a dramatic journey of self-discovery across continents. Does Nikhil get the answers he has been looking for? Or does Life continue to puzzle him? This is a must-read book!
Career sailor turned author, Beetashok Chatterjee, after enthralling his readers with Driftwood (Readomania 2019), published The People Tree this year. This is a collection of fourteen stories, a veritable potpourri of tales, each different from the other in style and substance. From the Khalistan insurgency in Punjab to a glimpse of the Mumbai underworld. From a doomed love affair in Hyderabad to a mature gay relationship. From a lifelong friendship formed in unusual circumstances to the pangs of a schoolboy crush to robbing an art museum, there is something in this collection for everybody. And more. Love, loss, survival, lust, deception, greed, Chatterjee has covered them all.
Vignesh Sivasankar gripped us by the throat with The Ten Commandments of Evil. The Ten Commandments are said to have been written by God; but the DEVIL has its own version too. Do you want to read? A childless couple is gifted with twins who turn out to be sinister. A girl with an extra-sensory condition starts smelling death. A psychopath chooses a death sentence than to get petrified by walls that speak. The Ten Commandments of Evil is a compilation of ten stories, wherein the forces of evil rummage the lives of ordinary people, leading to a mind-boggling catastrophe. The stories are dark, spooky, hair-raising, spine-chilling, and shockingly terrifying. Sivasankar ventures into a dark neverland, offering a deeply rewarding antidote to understanding the mysteries of the unknown.
Do you want to delve into the complex landscapes of human emotions and relationships? From crime to the supernatural, angst of adolescence to marital discord, from unrequited love to divine pardon, from fighting patriarchy to funny wee-wee experiences. Veteran educator Sumita Banerjea’s Chowringhee Charms: Timeless Tales from the East is full of an interesting bunch of characters—from benign spirits, to quirky octogenarians, from adventurous kids to loving reptiles, from lovers seeking second chances to careless parents. Her tales touch on human frailties with amusement. Others deal with sombre social issues, without any moral judgment. Chowringhee Charms will magically transport you to the country’s East and give you an interesting glimpse of the lifestyle, psyche, strengths, and foibles of the people there.
What do you get when you mix the distilled wisdom of our scriptures, lessons from the success stories of organisations, persons, and products, hidden gems of our ancient arts of manifestation, with the life (and near-death) experiences of a soldier-scholar? In Nine Mantras for Happiness and Success, Major General Anand Saxena brings to you nine tangible steps to simplify the formidable task of being happy and successful. The mantras in this book will resonate with people of all ages and stages in life and will help to remove mental blockages which often act as fetters to realise our unlimited potential. It takes a soldier to write a book that will help you sail through these uncertain times.
We had quite a few interesting Readomania Singles releases this year.
Master storyteller Udayaditya Mukherjee wrote two e-books this year. The year is 1880.
Captain Roger Grace, the youngest officer in charge of the garrison of Fort William, must find out a new place to test canons and rifles. Would Sunderbans be an answer? The year is 2019. Somen Putitundi, the Area Manager in Kolkata of a Condom company, is fed up with his job, and honestly, his life. All he wants is to get lost in the pages of history. Are you willing to venture into the wild and find what connects these two men who lived more than a century apart? Read Once Upon a Time in Sunderban to find out.
Sally Hamilton, a London-based celebrated author, comes to Mumbai for the release of her latest book. Just as she plans her launch, Roshan Sahni, a cine-star of yesteryears, commits suicide. Meanwhile, Mrs Sheetal Waghmare—an elderly crime-fiction lover and a fan of Hamilton's writing—reads her book and sees a possible connection between the actor’s death, the famous author, and her story. What is the connection and how does it involve Sally? Was the death just a suicide? Karma, By Chance is a gripping mystery is Udayaditya Mukherjee that will keep you guessing.
Rituparna Ghosh wrote an interesting story: The Boy with the Guitar. Ever since Dev got his guitar at the age of 10, all he wanted to do was to make music. Now at 23, he was just the boy with a guitar who has sold his soul to the devil in order to survive. He is not a nice man to know, definitely not for girls who radiate joy and remind him of sunshine. Roomani, with an overbearing boyfriend and a controlling elder sister, has seen a glimpse of the sad lonely man underneath the boy with a guitar. She makes it her mission to make Dev smile. But would her Clownessa act be enough? As Dev and Roomani cross each other’s paths, love blooms, trust is built and broken and emotions create havoc. Does this love story see a happy ending?
Ghosh followed this up with The Boy with a Secret. Ten years ago, Nirav’s ‘coming out’ set a chain of events, that resulted in his sister Saanvi’s death. The freak tide at the beach might’ve claimed her life, but Nirav knew he was responsible for her being there. Now the Pandemic has forced Nirav to return to the town he grew up in-Loutolim, Goa. Where everything is a reminder of his crime and what could have been. Surrounded by Saanvi's memories and love long lost, the only way out of this guilt is to revisit the past. Would Nirav ever be able to let go of his guilt or will the past destroy him?
Ushasi Sen Basu came up with the third installment of her popular ‘Mo Series’—The Flatmate (Mo Series, Book 3). Mo, the amateur sleuth, visits Hyderabad where she happens to meet an old school friend who has been plagued with the strange feeling of being followed. A hunch, nothing more; which quickly develops into something more sinister. Mo is thrown into a strange mystery that involves shadowy stalkers, doppelgängers, cats that wait patiently for missing owners and eccentric flatmates. Will Mo solve this case as she explores 'The City of Nizams'?
The versatile Ushasi also wrote an anthology of spooky tales—Down a Dark Alley. Eight stories—between the realm of natural and supernatural; between the realm of perception and reality; between the realm of what is and what might be—all ending in an unexpected way that will baffle you. Down a Dark Alley is a collection of tales with plot twists so unpredictable that will set your brain on fire and leave you gasping for more. Get ready to be surprised!
Seems Readomania authors outdid themselves with horror tales this year! Bestselling author Ramendra Kumar penned Shriek and Other Spooky Tales and made readers gasp. A TV screen that showcases terror that’s about to happen, a cat that unleashes retribution, a Peepal tree with a deep sense of empathy, a desperate father willing to murder to resurrect his child, a man who steals from corpses, strangers who return from the dead, two players with an obsession for chess…eleven tales of horror which explore the unchartered territories of abnormal, the unnatural, and the surreal. The book is a collection of spooky stories—eclectic in content as well as treatment. It is filled with chills & thrills, horror & trepidation, suspense, and mystery.
Another spooky anthology, Shadows Never Lie, was written by the very talented Deepti Menon. The human mind is often the most dangerous place to be within, especially when it houses emotions like hate, prejudice, rage, and above all, envy. Shadows Never Lie is a collection of thrilling stories that have a hint of menace patterned on the mysterious outcome of envy and rage. Get ready to delve into the dark recesses of the human mind, that can be twisted beyond imagination.
Sanghamitra Bose penned Unbelonging: Stories We Never Tell, which narrates stories of loss, betrayal, and trauma that transform into conflicting emotions of guilt, longing, and sorrow to the extent that the protagonists are forced to re-examine the very foundation of their being. Set against a backdrop of South East Asian communities, their unique nuances are interwoven into the fabric of each story as they explore the concept of emotional displacement brought about by life experiences. Be prepared to be taken on a journey through South East Asia and a whirlwind of emotions as you read this book.
We shall begin 2022 with Anupama Jain’s Kings, Saviours and Scoundrels, a melting pot of entertaining kathas, selected from one of India's oldest classics, Somadeva's Katha Sarita Sagara. Look out for that!
In 2021, Readomania birthed the Young Author Program—an innovative program designed to support young writers who have a flair for writing. YAP offers budding writers the opportunity to be mentored by published authors and publishers through a series of writing workshops. Importantly, it offers a safe space wherein you work alongside other writers, secure in the knowledge that you are fully supported. At the end of the workshops and a demanding writing schedule, the writers go on to traverse the journey to becoming published authors whose work is available for the world to devour. We published three anthologies under this program—Talespin, You Have My Word, and Stories We Never Tell.
I am so proud that Readomania kept churning worthy titles in all genres and catering to hungry readers and making them happy in a year that has been tough on everyone. I am just grateful that Readomania survived the maelstrom that nipped many a small business. We were struck badly but we are still standing. And, for that, we deserve a pat on our backs.
I love my job. We don’t just make books, we enrich lives. And, that is our pledge going forward—we shall keep telling great stories and bring hope and happiness to all.
I, on behalf of Team Readomania, wish everyone a healthy and hopeful year ahead. May good literature continue to make us introspect and make the world a better place!
Read something nice, write something beautiful...
INDRANI GANGULY
December 2021
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