Cardamom.Design

Category: All things Books

  • A Walk Around Harvard Yard

    A Walk Around Harvard Yard

    I enjoy walking around Harvard Yard, admiring each building as it takes on a different hue with every passing season. Winters are an especially beautiful time to walk around the campus with no lines of eager visitors waiting to rub the famous gleaming shoe on John Harvard’s statue. I try to imagine the yard in […]

  • A Palace for Book Lovers

    A Palace for Book Lovers

    If I had to choose a library anywhere in the world, the Boston Public Library is my hands-down favorite. As a student, I spent many hours here, studying, seeking shelter from the biting cold and admiring its architectural wonders. Adding to its iconic stature is its central location in Copley Square and its distinction as […]

  • What’s in a name?

    What’s in a name?

    Hamnet Shakespeare died at age 11, but scarcely anything was recorded about the boy’s life. Through her poignant and lyrical storytelling, Maggie O’Farrell breathes life into this long-forgotten tale. I started the book with hesitation, not wanting to be overwhelmed by the tragedy of a boy’s early death. I am glad I read it–the book’s […]

  • American Story

    American Story

    Among the many fascinating places worth visiting in Washington DC, the Library of Congress is one of my favorites. This is the world’s largest library, with an amazing collection of over 171 million books, recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts. Every title copyrighted in the U.S. makes its way into the library. Set in this […]

  • Make Way for the Ducklings

    Make Way for the Ducklings

    Long after our children have grown up, some books we read to them remain with us. Make way for Ducklings written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey is one of my favorites. Every time I walk around Boston Common, I’m excited to see these ducklings, dressed in seasonally themed attire. Nancy Schön’s sculpture is a tribute […]

  • By the Book, The Patient Assassin

    By the Book, The Patient Assassin

    When I think back to my visit to Amritsar a few years ago, there are three things that come to mind. The serene beauty of the Golden Temple, the mouth-watering rich food and the poignant visit to Jallianwala Bagh, the site of the horrific massacre of innocent people during the British Raj. On April 13, […]

  • By the book, The Splendid and the Vile

    By the book, The Splendid and the Vile

    There are so many books and movies about the second world war. The Splendid and the Vile is unique in its research and detail. Sourced from the diaries of Churchill’s secretary, his daughter Mary, and other documents, Larson takes us into hidden corners of English society during the Blitz. As I read the book, I […]

  • Literary walk, Central Park

    Literary walk, Central Park

    Often described as the only straight line in Central Park, the promenade along the literary walk provides a leisurely stroll among rare and majestic American Elm trees. On this visit, during the pandemic, there were no artists painting caricatures; no buskers playing tunes; no hot dog vendors and no throngs of tourists. It was just […]

  • By the book…A Burning

    By the book…A Burning

    With a dream debut, Megha Majumdar’s novel A Burning has climbed up the western bestseller lists. The book covers a lot of hot topics that the publishing industry classifies as a ‘contemporary India novel.’ What appealed to me most about the book was the character development. Jivan, Lovely and PT Sir are characters that will […]

  • Setting up the twists and turns

    Setting up the twists and turns

    Do you recall the way you felt when you first started reading mysteries, like a good old Agatha Christie? Turning each page with anticipation, awaiting a twist that was sure to make you gasp. The Silent Patient brought back those memories of summer reading. The references to Greek Mythology and the back stories of the […]