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Pranjali Wakde

81 Posts
The Battle of Disturbing Genres – Bizarro Fiction & Ero Guro!

The Battle of Disturbing Genres – Bizarro Fiction & Ero Guro!

Literature is no short of weird genres, ranging from New Weird and Literary Nonsense to Ergodic Literature and Incoherent Writing. The books of such genres evoke the most intense emotions in readers, challenging their perception of the bizarre. But standing somewhere on this range are two genres, possibly the weirdest of all – Bizarro Fiction and Ero Guro. The two genres come from opposite ends of the world but have similar yet different characteristics at the same time. One thing is for sure – both Bizarro Fiction and Ero Guro will unsettle you in the most bewitching way possible!  …
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The 3rd Survivor: A Unit 22 Thriller Author: Mainak Dhar

The 3rd Survivor: A Unit 22 Thriller Author: Mainak Dhar

As an avid reader of military thrillers, I was intrigued when I picked up "The 3rd Survivor" by Mainak Dhar. With its promising premise of a covert military unit and a high-stakes mission, I was ready for an adrenaline-pumping adventure. However, while the book delivered on some fronts, it fell short in others. The story revolves around Unit 22, a group of operatives who undertake missions that officially never happened. When their latest operation garners unwanted media attention, they are sent into hiding at a remote base. But just when they think they can catch their breath, they are thrust…
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7 Celebrity Memoirs You Should Read in 2023

7 Celebrity Memoirs You Should Read in 2023

Celebrities are an anomaly in the truest sense of the word. It’s because the world sees them only how they want to show themselves. Because apart from their reel-life persona, would you claim to know how they are in real life? Of course not! The appeal of knowing about the lives of celebrities is always there, even if you aren’t that much of a fan. To see if they have an equally glamorous life off-screen or if they have the same harrowing ups and downs as you and the rest of the world. To get to know them intimately enough…
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7 Best Book Boyfriends of All Times

7 Best Book Boyfriends of All Times

It’s not a secret that when readers get immersed in their books, the characters start to haunt their real lives. Wishing fictional families and friends becomes a part of your daily life, and so does envisioning the book scenarios. But the most common practice is to daydream about book boyfriends! Books have given us many boyfriends, from the charming Mr. Darcy to the borderline-toxic Edward Cullen. All of them have made us laugh and cry, whine with pleasure and dance with joy. And ultimately, they have made every reader wish that they were real and with you. Since there are…
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Dark Romance and its Rise to Popularity

Dark Romance and its Rise to Popularity

If you search for the top three trending book genres of 2023, you will find that romance holds one of those thrones. Moreover, if you deep search, you’ll find dark romance and fantasy romance are most requested and reviewed on NetGalley and GoodReads accordingly. Romance, with its shades of soft love and sensual lust, and with its happy endings or hopeful open conclusions. Why does it seem to be in trend, with no inkling of leaving people’s to-be-read pile anytime soon? That is because many authors – budding or seasoned – have stepped in to darken the lines of this…
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8 Newsletters to Subscribe to if You are a Writer

8 Newsletters to Subscribe to if You are a Writer

The idiom where there’s a will, there’s a way, is perfectly true in the context of content. That’s because content is dynamic and fluid and can weasel its way to you if you want it! But while content is reaching corners of the world, filtering it out to your needs is becoming more difficult. There is a solution, though, in the form of newsletters! But wait, what is a newsletter? The word newsletters is tossed all around the internet (hint: LinkedIn) like it’s something everyone already knows. But many of us don’t know what it is all about. Generally, businesses…
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What is Gaslamp fantasy?

What is Gaslamp fantasy?

The nature of genres is never concrete; developments take place almost every day, making its entire concept fluid and dynamic. One of the lesser-known genres that embrace this essence in the truest sense is Gaslamp fantasy. This genre is technically a sub-genre of Steampunk Fantasy, which, in turn, belongs to the parent genre of science fiction.  In simple words, gaslamp fantasy brings together historical fiction and fantasy. Thus, the books in this genre have a Victorian or Edwardian setting, gothic elements, and a fantastical plot. As you can imagine, there will be ballrooms, polite manners and witty conversations, but also supernatural…
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How to write morally grey characters?

How to write morally grey characters?

Gone are the days when characters used to be completely good or downright evil. Nowadays, readers love books about characters living in the grey area between black and white. For example, there are sympathetic villains who are obviously evil but evoke sympathy in readers. Then there are the anti-heroes, who take the crooked path to achieve something good, and anti-villains, who exhibit heroic traits but are still clearly the bad guys. And there are also the pragmatic idealists, who uphold their morally pure image, but won’t hesitate to break some (or many) rules to maintain that! You know what all…
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The Fae-ntasy Side of Literature – What are Fae Books?

The Fae-ntasy Side of Literature – What are Fae Books?

Literature is all-encompassing, but one just doesn’t realise how immersive it can get. Not only does it borrow from reality, but it also draws from folklore, mythology, people’s random thoughts and dreams. The latter gets explored in detail until a whole topic – or even a sub-genre – is birthed! You will see such a discourse around fictional creatures, such as vampires, werewolves, and faeries.   What is Fae? Faeries, also shortened as fae (or fey, fay, fairy, and fair folk), is a mythical creature appearing in folktales mainly across Europe. There is no single source of their existence –…
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Advanced Reader Copies – What is it, and how to get one?

Advanced Reader Copies – What is it, and how to get one?

Sometimes, when you look up the details of a soon-to-be-published book, you will see a handful of reviews gracing the comments section. That leads you to think – how did these people read the book when it hasn’t even hit the literary world yet? And that leads to the next question – what are these books called, and where can you get them for yourself? Well, these books are called Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs) or galley. Authors and publishers circulate these copies among people like bookstagram influencers, reviewers, and book bloggers. These people review the book and post their opinions…
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