The Ultimate Pride Month Book List

The Ultimate Pride Month Book List

This Pride Month, Hachette Book Publishing India Pvt Ltd has gathered some of the best books featuring LGBTQIA+ characters and experiences. Less by Andrew Sean Greer WHO SAYS YOU CAN’T RUN AWAY FROM YOUR PROBLEMS? Arthur Less is a failed novelist about to turn fifty. A wedding invitation arrives in the post: it is from an ex-boyfriend of nine years who is engaged to someone else. Arthur can’t say yes – it would be too awkward; he can’t say no – it would look like defeat. So, he begins to accept the invitations on his desk to half-baked literary events around the world. From France to India, Germany to Japan, Arthur almost falls in love, almost falls to his death, and puts miles between him and the plight he refuses to face. Less is a novel about mishaps, misunderstandings and the depths of the human heart. WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION 2018 The Color Purple by Alice Walker The classic, PULITZER PRIZE-winning novel that made Alice Walker a household name. Set in the deep American South between the wars, THE COLOR PURPLE is the classic tale of Celie, a young black girl born into poverty and segregation. Raped repeatedly by the man she calls ‘father’, she has two children taken away from her, is separated from her beloved sister Nettie and is trapped into an ugly marriage. But then she meets the glamorous Shug Avery, singer and magic-maker – a woman who has taken charge of her own destiny. Gradually Celie discovers the power and joy of her own spirit, freeing her from her past and reuniting her with those she loves. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters The book that inspired Park Chan-wook’s astonishing film The Handmaiden. Shortlisted for the Orange Prize and the Booker Prize London 1862. Sue Trinder, orphaned at birth, grows up among petty thieves – fingersmiths – under the rough but loving care of Mrs Sucksby and her ‘family’. But from the moment she draws breath, Sue’s fate is linked to that of another orphan growing up in a gloomy mansion not too many miles away. Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters Piercing the shadows of the naked stage was a single shaft of rosy limelight, and in the centre of this was a girl: the most marvellous girl – I knew it at once! – that I had ever seen. A saucy, sensuous and multi-layered historical romance, Tipping the Velvet follows the glittering career of Nan King – oyster girl turned music-hall star turned rent boy turned East End ‘tom’. Affinity by Sarah Waters ‘Affinity is the work of an intense and atmospheric imagination . . . Sarah Waters is such an interesting writer, a kind of feminist Dickens’ – Fiona PittKethley, Daily Telegraph. Set in and around the women’s prison at Milbank in the 1870s, Affinity is an eerie and utterly compelling ghost story, a complex and intriguing literary mystery and a poignant love story with an unexpected twist in the tale. Following the death of her father, Margaret Prior has decided to pursue some ‘good work’ with the lady criminals of one of London’s most notorious gaols. Surrounded by prisoners, murderers and common thieves, Margaret feels herself drawn to one of the prisons more unlikely inmates – the imprisoned spiritualist – Selina Dawes. Sympathetic to the plight of this innocent-seeming girl, Margaret sees herself dispensing guidance and perhaps friendship on her visits, little expecting to find herself dabbling in a twilight world of seances, shadows, unruly spirits and unseemly passions. The Night Watch by Sarah Waters Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and for the Orange Prize and the Booker Prize. Moving back through the 1940s, through air raids, blacked out streets, illicit liaisons, sexual adventure, to end with its beginning in 1941, The Night Watch is the work of a truly brilliant and compelling storyteller. This is the story of four Londoners – three women and a young man with a past, drawn with absolute truth and intimacy. Kay, who drove an ambulance during the war and lived life at full throttle, now dresses in mannish clothes and wanders the streets with a restless hunger, searching… Helen, clever, sweet, much-loved, harbours a painful secret…Viv, glamour girl, is stubbornly, even foolishly loyal, to her soldier lover… Duncan, an apparent innocent, has had his own demons to fight during the war. Their lives, and their secrets connect in sometimes startling ways. War leads to strange alliances… Tender, tragic and beautifully poignant, set against the backdrop of feats of heroism both epic and ordinary, here is a novel of relationships that offers up subtle surprises and twists. The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize. This novel from the internationally bestselling author of The Little Stranger, is a brilliant ‘page-turning melodrama and a fascinating portrait of London of the verge of great change’ (Guardian). It is 1922, and London is tense. Ex-servicemen are disillusioned, the out-of-work and the hungry are demanding change. And in South London, in a genteel Camberwell villa, a large silent house now bereft of brothers, husband and even servants, life is about to be transformed, as impoverished widow Mrs Wray and her spinster daughter, Frances, are obliged to take in lodgers. For with the arrival of Lilian and Leonard Barber, a modern young couple of the ‘clerk class’, the routines of the house will be shaken up in unexpected ways. And as passions mount and frustration gathers, no one can foresee just how far-reaching, and how devastating, the disturbances will be. This is vintage Sarah Waters: beautifully described with excruciating tension, real tenderness, believable characters, and surprises. It is above all a wonderful, compelling story. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo *The Grishaverse will be coming to Netflix soon with Shadow and Bone, an original series!* Nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2017, this fantasy epic from the No. 1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of the Grisha trilogy is gripping, sweeping and memorable –

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 French Beauty: Bora Bora

French Beauty: Bora Bora

The world has so much to offer and explore that there are so many places that we have never even heard of. Even the most minute of spaces around the earth is beautiful, surreal and could be dream destinations to tick on your bucket list. One such place is the French Polynesian group of islands- Bora Bora. Location Not a very common tourist place, it is an archipelago located around 2600 miles south of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The real name in local dialect is “Pora Pora”, which means the firstborn. It is the most well-known and celebrated island of French Polynesia and is a leading beauty. The main island is surrounded by a lagoon and a Barrier reef. In the centre of the island lies the remains of an extinct volcano which rises in two peaks- Mount Otemanu and Mount Pahia. The main settlement of the island is Vaitape located on its western side. This island runs mainly on the basis of tourism, with very little resources of itself. Best time to visit Since the island lies in the South Pacific Ocean, the temperature is usually between 25-30°C throughout the year. Occasional sea storms or weather phenomenon usually happens around the months of November- April. However, during this time the tourist traffic is less and you may get cheap rented rooms. Ideally, the best time to visit Bora Bora is from June to October, when the temperature is fine and normal to enjoy water sports without hindrance. How to reach? Reaching Bora Bora can be a little exhausting, but fret not. Here are some suggestions for you all: From India, there are no such direct flights. The only direct flights also have a stoppage at Singapore or Auckland. This is going to be really expensive and may cost around INR 1-2 lakhs per person, from Mumbai or Delhi. All the flights will first go to Papeete and then the Air Tahiti will fly you to a small islet of Motu Mute, from where you can go to the Bora Bora Island on a boat. The cheapest way to travel from India will be to take a flight from southern India. Flight from Bangalore to New Zealand will cost around INR 45000. From there, you can go to Bora Bora on a cruise or flight. You can travel by water only when you are in any nearby island or place like Honolulu etc. Where to stay? Bora Bora is very small and thus all the hotels, resorts and overwater bungalows are very close to each other. There are numerous private islands as well, where you can honeymoon with your partner. Some ideal locations to stay can be: Sofitel Bora Bora Private Island: This exclusive island offers accommodation among the beautiful crystal-clear beach waters. Royal Bora Bora: This resort has a restaurant and has got 3-star reviews offering spacious and comfortable accommodation. Village Temanuata: This is a low-key bungalow kind of resort offering kitchens and a beach for sightseeing nearby. Maitai Polynesia Bora Bora Resort: This is the ideal budget accommodation for budget travellers, with low room rates. Pearl Beach Resort Bora Bora: This is the ideal resort for those tourists who want to experience the traditional Tahiti Architecture. Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort and Spa: This resort cum spa offers some amazing massaging and spa services for a cosy Living. It is a 5-star deluxe property and provides a luxurious residence. Destinations and Places to see The place has a lot to offer in terms of major tourist attractions. Do take a look at all these below-listed destinations: Matira Beach: This is the most famous beach in Bora Bora and also around the whole world. It is a public beach and has been even labelled as the most beautiful of all beaches. It has pure white sands and aqua, turquoise waters which make it look heavenly. It is not very crowded and people can watch Sunset and do water sports over here. There are many cafés and restaurants around it, serving local food. The Matira point on this beach is famous for a heavenly view of the Sunset with pink and orange hues in the background. Mount Pahia: This is the second-highest mountain peak on the Island and is located in the centre of the island. Tourists can take a boat ride around the mountain and enjoy the natural beauty of the place. The peak remains shrouded in the white clouds and around it is the beautiful Pacific waters. White Valley: As the name suggests, it is a paradise for all the diving lovers with its alluring white sands all around. This valley has much to offer in terms of rich coral and marine life and has many exotic sand dunes, shells and coral formations. Various types of fishes are also found here. Leopard Rays Trench: This is another diving site, wherein people can go underwater and watch the giant, amazing Manta Rays. The white bottom has many wonderful creatures whom you can watch and click on your camera too. Maupiti: It is a small coral atoll which has a volcanic island in the middle. Maupiti is known for its raw beauty and has interesting angles from where you can see the surroundings from the highest peak of this place. There are other sites like Mount Otemanu on which you can go for rock climbing or trekking. There are many war memorial sites too which depict the role of Bora Bora in World War II. Local Cuisine The Bora Bora has a unique cuisine with the intermixing of Japanese, French and Italian Styles. There are many restaurants in this Island along with some local Street side stalls as well. The food is made in ovens which are dug deep inside the ground. After the raw food is wrapped in Banana leaves, it is made to cook in-ground for hours. This type of feast is called Tamaaraa. Since it is an island, the main diet food is fish. Poisson

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 City doctors warn against usage of mask during exercise or running

City doctors warn against usage of mask during exercise or running

With the Health department planning to open jogging tracks inside apartments, it will soon be a common scene to find people back on jogging tracks inside apartment complexes with masks on. Currently, many joggers and runners are flocking parks and roads with masks on. However, the city doctors say that it is not a nice idea to wear masks. Well-known pulmonologist Dr. Ganesh Pratap from Prakriya hospital said, “If you are an athlete or a regular jogger with no pre-existing lung or heart disease, then exercise up to brisk walk and yoga are accepted. But definitely not running and jogging with masks on. Because during exercise, our muscles demands 20 times more oxygen supply. To supply this need, heart and lungs together work at 20 times to supply the demand. As we breathe air through our nose, wearing mask will be like obstacle and causes throttling which constrains the immediate need of oxygen supply.” Dr Suriraju (Medical Director of Regal Hospital) said, “Any mask reduces the flow of air and hence reduces the blood oxygen levels. One can become more easily fatigued while exercising with face mask. This is because of reduced oxygen to muscles and as compensation body uses a different method (anaerobic or oxygen-free metabolism) to produce the required energy. However, over a period of time, the body tries to compensate and becomes increasingly efficient to utilise the available oxygen. Exercising with a mask is like an extra layer of stress on the body that may be useful to some or detrimental to others.” He also added that the individual may get certain specific symptoms such as light headless, tingling, numbness, breathlessness. This may occur more frequently during the initial period of starting to exercise. The symptoms may reduce when the body gets adjusted to the new mode of exercising. Regal Hospital’s intensivist Dr Shashi Bhaskara said, “The need for exercising depends on what the individual has been accustomed to. Reduced exercises for an individual who has a vigorous fitness regimen or lack of exercises for someone with minimal workout regimen before the pandemic may cause harm to the body. This harm may be anything form just unhealthy weight gain with its accompanied medical complications to psychological disturbances due to the change in routine. The pandemic situation may last for a while and one cannot wait for it to end to stay healthy. Adequate exercises have always been beneficial for health.” Neeraj Lal (vice-president and cluster-head of Rainbow Children’s Hospital) suggested that it was better to exercise in home as much as possible, there won’t be any need of using mask if your home is not over crowded. “If you want to exercise outside home, prefer areas where no one is there or you are socially distanced for more than 10 mts and you can unmask yourself and continue your workouts. But as soon as you come across people, one should have to wear their mask back,” he said suggesting that house hold works are the best replacement for gym workouts. Doing yoga at stagnant place or slow walk is well accepted. Cardio workouts requiring high calorie burn should be avoided wearing mask especially in elderly and pre-existing diseases. Always prefer open areas to exercise where one can unmask and do their work outs.

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