Episodes

  • Anita Desai in Book Stop | Book Stop | Episode 38
    Jun 17 2024

    In this Bookstop episode, Suneetha Balakrishnan introduces you to Indian English writer Anita Desai. Anita Desai was a well-known figure in the field of Indian English writing before Salman Rushdie and Arundhati Rai. The wonderful literary works of author Anita Desai take readers on unforgettable journeys. Her writing has received three Booker Prize nominations.

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    9 mins
  • Is nobel prize transparent and credible ? | Bookstop | Episode 35
    May 4 2024

    In this episode of Book Stop, Suneetha Balakrishnan talks about one of the most prestigious awards in the world, the Nobel Prize. Each year, a year of preparation goes into selecting the Nobel laureates. But is the procedure as transparent, open, and well-maintained as we believe? Suneetha Balakrishnan talks about how the Nobel Prize is given to wrong people sometimes due to Judjes prejudistic mind and some other factors.

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    10 mins
  • A mirror reflecting the ages; Well-known diaries in history | Bookstop | Episode 34
    Apr 16 2024

    Suneetha Balakrishnan discusses some of the well-known diaries in in this episode of Bookstop. Writers' diaries are arguably the most popular. This list includes several notable people including Frida Kahlo, Helen Keller, Virginia Woolf, and Sylvia Plath. There are hundreds of diaries available everywhere that were written during times of crisis and conflict in the world. These notes enable us to learn about and experience the pain that a great number of people endured. There are, however, diaries that were written with no intention of being published and went on to become famous worldwide. In their diaries, girls, such as Anne Frank and Helene Berr, used to write about their goals and hopes. But agony and fear were all that remained after that. Many had to leave the dairy and the world soon after. However, these journals now serve as a mirror of history.

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    7 mins
  • Will 'Until August' weaken Marquez's literary collection? | Bookstop | Episode 33
    Mar 26 2024

    This week on Book Stop, Suneetha Balakrishnan discusses Gabriel García Márquez, the renowned novelist, and his most recent book, "Until August.". His last novel was published a decade after Márquez's death. After Márquez's death in 2014, multiple drafts, notes, and chapters of the last novel he attempted to write were kept in his archives at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin.


    It was from there that his kids discovered 'until August', and they decided to publish it. He finished this book in his last years, struggling with words and letters as his memory gradually faded. He wrote at least five drafts of it himself. He made multiple edits and rewrites. Ultimately, he decided never to publish it. But nevertheless, his children released this work in spite of Marquez's decision.


    However, there was a wave of both expectation and criticism over "until August" in the literary world. People who love Márquez, including Salman Rushdie, are deeply concerned about the book. And why is that?

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    9 mins
  • From Sophia Tolstaya To Anna Dostoevskaya; 'The Wives' who were forgotten by the literature world | Book Stop | EPI 32
    Feb 24 2024

    Suneetha Balakrishnan introduces several not-so-celebrated people in the literary world in this episode of Book Stop. You might think it is about some writers who received little or no attention. but here it is about some women who were the wives of world-famous writers.

    Some of them invested everything they had in their husband's career. while some couldn't Grow their careers because all they had were miseries and struggles. but they Kept supporting Their husbands by whatever means they had. Some of them had sadder tales to tell. Some ended up giving all their ideas and abilities to their husbands, even after they had the power to dominate the literary world. Want to know more about it?

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    10 mins
  • Russia's greatest 20th-century author: Andrei Platonov | Book Stop | EPI 31
    Feb 2 2024

    This time at Bookstop, Sunitha Balakrishnan introduces you to renowned Russian author Andrei Platonov. Andrei Platonov is Regarded as one of the finest writers of the 20th century. The outside world did not start to hear about him or discuss him until the 1990s. In Soviet Russia, his art was banned. His writings were tightly suppressed even though he was a committed communist. Despite receiving fame in Russia, he died without publishing any of his most notable works. At the age of fifty-one, he passed away. What did he write specifically to rile up the Soviet leadership?

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    8 mins
  • An iconic love lyric spanning a century: the prophet | Ep 30
    Jan 11 2024

    The Prophet, a well-known work by Lebanese-American poet and author Kahlil Gibran, is being introduced by Suneetha Balakrishnan in this episode of BookStop. It is Gibran's most well-known composition. The Prophet is one of the most translated and best-selling books of all time, having been translated into over 116 languages. Printing of it has never stopped.


    The Prophet was written a century ago. Kahlil Gibran authored The Prophet in 1923; it was first published in Arabic and then in English. According to Mary Haskell, a friend of Gibran's, it is the most loving book ever written and will be embraced as the necessary guidance for future generations. What kind of strength did the prophet Khalil Gibran possess?

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    13 mins
  • Artificial intelligence and the literary world in 2023 | EP 29
    Dec 18 2023

    In this episode of BookStop, Suneetha Balakrishnan discusses the advancements that happened in the writing industry in 2023. This year will be remembered as significant in the literary world, regardless of any literary awards or the ascent or decline of literary personalities.

    A significant problem that will impact the literary world was acknowledged in 2023, and it sparked talks, writings, strikes, and legal disputes against it.

    Artificial intelligence is that problem. Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and the Authors Guild were all frightened upon discovering the threat. How was this catastrophe received by the literary community?

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    7 mins