Turning Over a New Page

To say that 2015 was an eventful year doesn’t do justice to all the events that took place in the last twelve months. From the ISIS declaring war over the world and giving out a horrible demo by massacring innocents in Paris and the Greek debt crisis to the image of a dead three year old Syrian refugee washed ashore highlighting the Syrian refugee crisis.

Back home too, the country has gone through a lot of upheavals. The Dadri lynching, the New Herald case and the raid carried out at the Delhi CM’s office. This year has been nothing but a roller-coaster ride.

The world of literature seems to have fared quite well this year though. Let’s take a look at the hits and misses of 2015.

The year began with E.L. James’ popular book series, Fifty Shades of Grey being turned into a movie franchise starring Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan in the lead roles. The movie was a sleeper hit as fans of the novel thronged the cinema halls to catch a glimpse of the movie. But as many said, the movie did not do justice to the book.

The bestseller of the year, The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, was a really dark take on the life of woman and was considered the Gone Girl of the year.

This was followed by the not one but two offerings from the father of the Horror genre, Stephen King. Finders Keepers and The Bazaar of Bad Dreams were both lapped up by the audience. King is not one to disappoint.

But the highlight of 2015 was definitely Harper Lee’s second book, Go Set a Watchman. Published after her only other published novel, How to Kill A Mockingbird. The entire planet went into a tizzy when Go Set a Watchman released with the books flying off the shelves within hours.

Not only did 2015 see a rise in more people reading books but also the battle between print and digital books. With a lot of people switching over to e-book readers like Kindle, the traditionalists have taken it as a personal blow to themselves. But seems like print is far from the dead as e-book sales have dipped and print continues to be the reigning champion.

Having had a nice recap the only thing that comes to mind is what to expect from the coming year? Our world is a dramatic one, one not devoid emotions at any point of time.

From new literary ventures to new books and literature festivals. There’s a lot to look forward to in 2016.

Jeffrey Archer’s sixth book in the Clifton Chronicles takes center stage as it gears up to release in mid-February. Leaving us hanging on the edge yet again, Archer torturously ended the last book at a cliffhanger, one whose respite can only be quenched when ‘Cometh the Hour’ releases. Make sure to preorder it so that you can get your hands on it before the others do.

Harry Potter fans have a reason to rejoice as J.K. Rowling’s spinoff tale; “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” has been made into feature film due to release in the upcoming year. The movie starring Eddie Redmayne highlights the witch and wizard community of New York, set before the time of Harry Potter.

Patrick Ness’s, A Monster Calls has also been adapted into a movie. The book being a personal favourite, I hope the movie does justice to it!

Let’s stop this at now, I don’t want to give away anymore spoilers. Don’t be bummed out though. You know where you are supposed to be headed when you need to know about books, books and more books.

Make reading more a resolution and enjoy more than one book in 2016. Wishing you a very Happy New Year. Signing out for now, see you next year!

• About the Author

About Pratiksha Acharya

Pratiksha is tolerating her progress into adulthood with great difficulty. A bookworm to the core, she loves reading and debating. When her head is not stuck in a book, she likes to cook, dance and shop. For her, reading is more than a hobby. P.S.- She hates losing out on arguments.