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The Book Knave, Park Town, Chennai (2026)

10/05/2026

I just visited the most beautiful bookshop - cm - cafe I've even seen, and I gotta share it with y'all.

Tucked into the literary chaos and nostalgia of Chennai’s historic Moore Market is a place that feels less like a bookstore and more like a secret passage into another world — The Raven Academy. Inspired by the gothic imagination of Edgar Allan Poe, the space has quietly become one of the city’s most atmospheric destinations for book lovers.

At first glance, the market around it hums with the familiar energy of old Chennai — narrow lanes, towering stacks of second-hand books, bargaining voices, and the smell of paper that has survived decades. But stepping toward The Raven Academy feels cinematic. Grey walls, antique frames, dim lighting, and a haunted-mansion aesthetic create an experience that is worlds apart from the conventional bookstore. Vogue recently described it as a place that feels “less like a bookstore and more like a secret society.”

What makes Moore Market special is not just the books themselves, but the culture surrounding them. The larger Moore Market ecosystem has long been a haven for students, collectors, and curious wanderers searching for everything from rare editions to medical textbooks and forgotten classics. MOORE MARKET remains one of Chennai’s most beloved spaces for second-hand and specialty books, housing stores such as FAMOUS BOOK SHOP, Paramount Book Stall, and ANNAI BOOK STALL.

The Raven Academy builds on that legacy while adding a distinctly modern personality. Beyond shelves of novels and collectibles, the space embraces aesthetics, conversation, and community. It reflects a newer generation of bookstores — places where people linger, take photographs, discover obscure titles, and fall back in love with reading.

In a time when online shopping threatens the romance of physical bookstores, Chennai’s Moore Market still survives through atmosphere and human connection. And The Raven Academy proves that bookstores do not merely sell books — they create moods, memories, and entire worlds hidden behind dusty shelves.

30/10/2025

So this is my second Murakami read, and I .... don't know how to feel about it?

The single most common complaint I have heard from Murakami readers is that he writes s*x really badly. When I read 'Kafka on the shore', I didn't really pick up much on that sentiment but this time around, I would have to agree.

'Norwegian Wood' by Haruki Murakami, is a haunting, tender exploration of love, loss, and the quiet ache of growing up. Set in 1960s Tokyo, the novel follows Toru Watanabe, a young student navigating the delicate line between memory and desire as he is drawn between two women — the fragile, introspective Naoko and the free-spirited, vibrant Midori.

I resonated closely with Toru's confusion with handling life as you transition into adulthood, even though he's doing it at 20 and I'm doing it at 25. His honesty about his thoughts was such a refreshing quality, because I feel like everyone just assumes that you're not supposed to truly reflect what's going on in your head when you meet people. Everyone just guards their soul with barbed wires, and then they wonder why we've lost the art of human connection.

I also really enjoyed the conversation about death that this book brings up. The whole book talks about it as a part of life, as a soft cradle for eternal sleep, instead of finality and dread. Su***de is a very prominent and recurring event in the book, and Murakami beautifully illustrates the process of dealing with it as someone who's on the recieving end of the grief.

But, as I mentioned above, the one thing that really put me off the plot multiple times was the unnecessary s*x scenes put in, and even those are written in a very weird, disjointed manner. Some of them are understandable in terms of fleshing out romantic interest, but most others - especially the ones involving extremely inappropriate age differences (and there's multiple) - really didn't feel worth the pages.

Still, it doesn't take away from the genius of the author. Murakami writes with a kind of stillness that feels almost musical, each scene soaked in nostalgia and solitude. The novel doesn’t shout its emotions; it hums them softly, like the Beatles song it’s named after.

30/10/2025

Hey bookstafam!

So, here we are, at the end of October, and I just wanted to share this artwork with y'all. I made it for last year's Inktober prompt, called "Boots". I had thought I'd do all the prompts last Inktober, but ended up doing only 3. I then promised myself that I would do the next Inktober for sure.

This year, I really hyped myself up for Inktober. I prepped myself, and was fully intent on going through with it, but when it came to it, I didn't pick up the pen even once.

I am currently going through a depressive episode, and most days I try to do atleat 1 creative thing, but it never came to me just drawing. There's a lot of things like that these days, but I'm pushing myself to get a little better each day, and I'm just letting that take however much time it needs.

Hopefully, I'll be a lot better by best October, and I'll do the full prompt list like I used to do.

Till then, I'll still keep expressing myself in one way or another, and I hope y'all will join me on the journey!

14/10/2025

Some books don’t just tell a story — they hold up a mirror. This one does that with quiet devastation.

An elderly mother goes missing in a crowded Seoul subway station, and her family begins the desperate search to find her. But as the days pass, what unfolds isn’t just a mystery about her disappearance — it’s an unraveling of memory, guilt, and the realization of how little we truly know the people who love us most.

Through the voices of the daughter, son, husband, and finally the mother herself, the author paints a breathtaking mosaic of family life — one that feels painfully universal. We see a mother who gave everything without ever asking for recognition, a woman whose identity slowly faded behind the roles of wife and mother. It’s a portrait of love that’s both immense and invisible, a love that only comes into focus when it’s too late.

Shin’s writing is simple yet piercing — it slips under your skin. She doesn’t dramatize grief; she whispers it. Every page feels like a confession you didn’t know you were waiting to make. The shifting second-person perspective -" you” - during narration, feels like an accusation and an embrace at once — as if the novel is speaking directly to *you*, asking: *Did you ever really see your mother?*

It’s not an easy read — not because of language, but because of the emotions it stirs. You’ll find yourself stopping mid-paragraph, thinking of your own mother’s hands, her silences, her small, unspoken sacrifices. This book lingers long after you finish it — not as a memory of fiction, but as a feeling of longing, of apology, of love that words never quite capture.

If you’ve ever taken someone’s care for granted, this story will quietly break you and then teach you tenderness again.

Highly recommend all of you to pick this up for your next read.

10/10/2025

𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: "The Runaways" by Fatima Bhutto
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This book is one of those rare ones in my library that I went into blind. I had bought it a long time ago because there was a sale and I never really knew anything about its subject matter or author. I finally decided to pick it up recently, and what a journey it has been.

"The Runaways" is a story told through three parallel narratives, in a chronologically fractured manner, via three protagonists - Anita Rose, Sunny and Monty. They are three young Muslims, hailing from three different strata of the socio-economic world, who fall into the clutches of religious extremism and leave behind their worlds to reach the heart of Islamic Extremist Activity in Iraq. Fatima Bhutto beautifully illustrates the mental dialogue that the characters engage in while making this journey, while hinting at the war with their subconscious mind from between the lines.

What I found most impressive about the book, is that not once did the author imply that it's their religion (Islam), that led the youngsters down their path of violence. She has impeccably highlighted, through a very subtle but strong grasp on the narrative, that it is confusion and questions within one's own heart that allow them to be misled by certain people in the society who prey on such vulnerability. Being someone who actively stands against religious prosecution, especially of Muslims, I found answers to a lot of my questions through this book - about how evil, violent organisations are able to recruit young people into their regressive quest for hatred, when all religions speak predominantly of love, compassion and progress.

Anita's quest for power, Monty's quest for love, and Sunny's quest for a sense of belonging, are preyed upon by men who know exactly how to sink their claws into their youth, which is supplemented by things like poverty, loneliness, inability to come to understand ones queerness, and gender based oppression. The author describes in great detail not only the mental, but physical landscapes that the characters find themselves in, which makes this a highly engaging read.

12/08/2025

August is almost halfway out! Really picking up my pace with books these days, so I'm optimistic about getting a better amount of reading done than the first half of this year.

Currently reading - The Runways by Fatima Bhutto

09/08/2025

𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: "13 Reasons Why" by Jay Asher
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I am a certified wannabe. I want to read "philosophical, verbose, and classic books" because people who I think are at a higher intellectual level than me, read them. I look down on the YA genre because "only teens are supposed to enjoy it", and hence, they must be shallow works.

But within myself, it's the exact opposite. I love YA books because you can actually relate to them. I love their warmth, simplicity, and reality. There's no mental gymnastics involved, just a lot of feelings and introspection and the experience of feeling heard by a writer millions of miles away...

So, I'm done pretending, and this book helped me get to that point. "13 Reasons Why" is an incredible work of art, and I'm mad at myself for taking so long to come to it. I literally finished the book in two days! (In a reading slump that too). It's so well written, and more importantly, so well researched, because it has to be an achievement for a Male Author to be able to emulate the female psyche with such authenticity.

The book is a haunting and emotionally charged novel that delves into the complexities of teenage life, mental health, and the far-reaching consequences of our actions. Asher’s writing is accessible and engaging, capturing the inner turmoil of both Hannah and Clay with raw sincerity. While the novel has been praised for sparking important conversations about bullying, su***de, and personal responsibility, it has also drawn criticism for its portrayal of mental health and the suggestion that su***de can serve as a form of retribution. Though controversial, it opens the door to crucial dialogue—especially among young adults—about how our choices impact others in ways we may never fully understand.

The book has been adapted into a TV series now, so Imma go watch that, and hope that they did it some level of justice 🤞. 10/10 would recommend everyone to pick it up.

06/08/2025

𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: "More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop" by Satoshi Yagisawa
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This sequel, much like the first book, is the quintessential Japanese Slice-of-life read. It serves to build emotional depth in the characters that were fleshed out earlier. While it delves into themes of loss and grief, it also brings out themes of hope, living and self-realization.

I enjoyed this book more than the previous one. To me, the exploration of the learning curve that the protagonist goes through in order to accept the loss of a loved one, and to then move on and care for the people left behind, felt like a new experience of emotions that I can learn from and emulate in my own life.

I also loved the stories that allowed us to understand other characters in the book, especially the backstory of Tomoko and her relationship with Takano. The relationship fleshed out between Takako and Wada, and the contrast it showed with respect to Takako's previous relationship, also had strong messages of growth and healing.

Yagisawa's prose is subtle and tender, painting a slow, contemplative portrait of life that invites readers to pause and breathe. While not plot-heavy, the novel’s strength lies in its emotional resonance and the way it celebrates ordinary moments. For fans of cozy fiction, books about books, or stories of gentle transformation, More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop is a quietly uplifting read.

05/08/2025

And .. just like that, half the year has gone by! And I've only read 2 books. My New Year Resolution was to finish my Goodreads Goal of 50 books, so .... safe to say I'm really behind. But who knows, maybe it'll be better in the next half. Wish me luck 🤞

Recently came across the story of Aqua Tofana, and how it was a tool for liberation for countless women back in the day, so I drew something inspired by that, and here's the result! I really can never get human anatomy right lol. Work in progress I guess ✌️

How has the first half of 2025 been for you?

24/07/2025

𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: "Days at the Morisaki Bookshop" by Satoshi Yagisawa
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I think we can all agree that this book blew up on social media because of its beautiful, ghibli-esque cover, and became a special hit with bookstagram because it was a book set in a bookshop - a very popular genre recently. I am also guilty of buying it because of it's cover art and popularity, so I didn't expect much in terms of its content.

"Days at the Morisaki Bookshop" is the story of how a young woman, with a broken heart, finds healing and clarity while living amongst the dusty piles of old and used books at her uncle's 'Morisaki Bookshop'. She only wanted a space to hide from the world when she first moved in, but soon grew very fond of the neighborhood and people around her, and the books ofcourse. In nurturing these new found relationships, she is able to let go of her hurtful past, and find a new future to look forward to.

This book is a quintessential Japanese Slice-of-life read, but when I compare it to others such as Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto, I didn't find it to be very profound, and that's okay. This genre of books helps my brain slow down and smell the flowers, and that's always going to be my primary objective in picking them up. If I do find something profound in meaning within its pages, it's an added bonus. But, I must say, that while the book didn't invoke something deep in me, it resonated with me in the circumstances the protagonist found herself in. I am also dealing with a heartbreak at this time, and it felt comforting to find a story when everything becomes fine in the end, even when my mind tells me it's never going to get better for me. That's why I read in the first place, to find comfort and hope in stories written by an individual very far removed from my life, but going through the same experiences. All experiences are universal, and that other people have made it through, means I can too.

What are your opinions about this book? I would love to know in the comments!

The Book Knave

10/05/2026

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30/10/2025

14/10/2025

10/10/2025

12/08/2025

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24/07/2025

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