Desi Delicacies: Food Writing from Muslim South Asia (Pan Macmillan India, 2020) is a delightful anthology edited by Claire Chambers—no stranger to the lifestyle of Muslims.

It happened on a slow morning during my university English literature class. We had just finished reading one of Roald Dahl’s lesser-known short stories, “Skin”, published in The New Yorker in 1952. The lecturer called upon the class to present their analyses of the short story. When it was my turn to speak, I became tongue-tied as my mind slowly went blank. It had been close to four years since I had picked up a book.

In memory of eminent writer, scholar, academic, diplomat, and freedom fighter Professor Abu Rushd Matinuddin (1919-2010), the Abu Rushd Memorial Committee has decided to introduce the Abu Rushd Literary Award from this year. Any novel published in Bangladesh in the last three years will be considered for this year’s award. The winner will receive one lakh taka and a certificate of recognition.

The Water Dancer (Random House, 2020) follows the life of one Hiram Walker, whose biological mother is a slave and father a slaver. Born as a slave bound to the shackles of a plantation in Virginia, Hiram is unique from the others who work beside him. He has a sharp and photogenic memory. And as he grows up with a pang of grief left by the absence of his mother, he discovers another life-changing superpower: Conduction, a form of teleporting through time and space and inspired by Harriet Tubman’s phenomenal work of secretly ferrying slaves to freedom. His extraordinary powers bring him under the mercy of some privilege—like private tutoring alongside his white half-brother—that other slaves cannot enjoy.

In the American South, until the 1960s, Jim Crow laws legalised racial segregation in every sphere, starting from education to transportation. It took the Civil Rights Movement and a series of Supreme Court decisions and laws passed by the Congress to finally dismantle the nightmarish structure that legally kept African-Americans shackled well into the 1960s. The shadow of these laws loiters even today.

After three successful years of sehri-time storytelling, Sehri Tales is back with their annual month-long “boot camp for creativity”. The fourth iteration started off with the prompt “Mercy” on April 14, 2021.

Bangladesh, the former East Pakistan, may have separated from India in 1947, but the centuries of shared history, society, politics, culture, and religion remain etched in the countries’ fabric. Some decades later, Bangladesh, too, carved out a space for themselves, becoming an independent nation with the help of India’s military operations in December of 1971. Thus, the Liberation War connected Bangladesh and India as historic allies, a relationship that has carried over through the years, with varying congeniality. Fifty Years of Bangladesh-India Relations: Issues, Challenges and Possibilities (Om Publications, 2021), evaluates these “contested” relations between the two countries from various perspectives, from both a contemporary and historical standpoint.

I’ve lost count of the number of people who have recommended Jennifer Mathieu’s best-selling book Moxie (Roaring Brook Press, 2017) to me. All I ever saw about the book were torrents of positive reviews on social media, one following another.

All things colourful make up the Bangla New Year—boisterous celebrations of nature, art work, music, food, the quintessential Bangali warmth, and the Mongol Shobhajatra as its crowning jewel

Very few visitors were seen on the last day of the Boi Mela yesterday, it being a working day.

Poet and novelist, Shahosro Shumon, who has recently met with great acclaim following his poem, “E jatray beche gele”, has published a new book on the relativity of success and how modern society has come to measure it in monetary terms.

On March 16, 2021, renowned writer Jharna Rahman was awarded the Ananya Shahittya Puroshkar 1427 for her remarkable contribution to the field of Bangla literature. The award ceremony was held at the Poet Sufia Kamal Auditorium in the Bangladesh National Museum, attended by chief guest Syed Manzoorul Islam and special guest writer-director Faridur Rahman. The ceremony was chaired by Tasmima Hossain, editor of Anannya and Daily Ittefaq.

The results of the essay competition organised by Gyantapas Abdur Razzak Foundation, conducted virtually through Zoom, were announced on April 5. Each of the winners has been awarded with certificates and cash prizes.

Sales are starting to look up at the Boi Mela compared to the beginning of the lockdown. More visitors, most wearing face masks, were seen at the book fair premises yesterday given the availability of public transport.

The New World, as started by Spanish and Portuguese authorities followed by the Dutch and the English, was built on the amputated bodies of countless indigenous and Black people.

As a lover of books and music, it is no surprise that I would pick up Anubhutir Abhidhan (Addhayan Prokashoni, 2021), a book of musings, stories, and poems written by Tahsan Khan— singer, songwriter, actor, teacher, and also a mentor to many in Bangladesh.

One year ago, I was tracking cases of a novel coronavirus as it was spreading all across the world. One year into the pandemic, COVID-19 needs no introduction.

Despite Klara and the Sun (Faber, 2021) coming out on my birthday, and soft science fiction being not only a genre I regularly read but write, I found myself with no real connection with the Nobel Prize-winning author’s latest work.

Reading has proven to be a popular habit for all ages during this pandemic. From hardcopies to ebooks to audiobooks, readers now have the opportunity, and time, to discover other genres and enjoy new titles. But if you’re looking for some entertainment that goes beyond reading, these book-related activities might help you stay occupied at home as we brace ourselves for a week of lockdown.

Written by Jubair Shawan and published by Kharimati Prokashani, the poetry collection Mrittu Amader Protibeshi (Death is Our Neighbour) was recently launched through a virtual programme. In addition to the author, the event was attended by artist Razib Datta, who designed the book’s cover art. Among other guests were poet and publisher Monirul Monir, documentary filmmaker and translator Ashfaqul Ashekin, Bengal Stories CEO Alamin Rumi, Surjeet Sarker, and Mahmuda Shwarna. The official unveiling of the book followed a discussion session with online viewers.