Walking BookFairs

Hidden behind a white papier-mache mask, wearing a black bodysuit and with a voice modulated to sound something like a little girl’s, is Japan’s latest literary superstar. Almost nothing is known about Uketsu – a made-up name that means “rain hole” – who first gained fame posting surreal videos on YouTube: clips of asparagus that turns into fingers when chopped; strips of meat pegged out on a washing line; eight ears spinning on a wheel.

Then, in 2020, Uketsu posted a 21-minute mystery story based on a series of floor plans, and was told he should turn it into a novel. Since then, his books have become blockbusters in Japan: three of the country’s Top 10 fiction bestsellers last year were by him. Now the first of his novels to have been translated into English, and we are thrilled to have his newest book at our bookstore for readers.

Strange Buildings

A lonely hut in the woods.
A murder house.
A hidden chamber.
A mysterious shrine.
A home in flames.
A nightmarish prison…

Each of the buildings in this book tells a chilling story. Each one is part of a puzzle.

Look closely... and you’ll see that everything is connected.

All leading to a truth so horrifying you won’t want to believe it.

Millions of readers have become addicted to solving Uketsu’s dark mysteries.

Strange Buildings is the strangest, and darkest, of them all.

Come, get your copies at Walking BookFairs!

[Horror, Mystery, Japanese, Psychological, Uketsu, Books, Bookstore, Read More Books, Independent Bookstore, Read Diverse Books, Walking BookFairs]

Join us for a book discussion with renowned journalist and author of “Odisha: 500 Years of Turmoil, Mayhem, and Subjugation,” Bhaskar Parichha at Walking BookFairs followed by book signing.

Spanning five centuries, this book presents a detailed exploration of Odisha’s political, economic, social, and cultural evolution. From the decline of medieval dynasties and the Maratha incursions on the British colonial administration and post-independence development, it traces the region’s
complex historical trajectory with depth and clarity. Blending rigorous scholarship with vivid narrative, the book examines governance, trade, agrarian life, religious institutions, and cultural practices, while highlighting the resilience of communities amid wars, famines, and natural disasters. Through careful research and engaging storytelling, it situates Odisha’s history within broader regional and subcontinental dynamics, offering insights into the interplay of power, society, and culture over time.

Book Discussion & Signing - Odisha: 500 Years of Turmoil, Mayhem, and Subjugation

🗓️19 April | Sunday
⏳6 PM to 7 PM
📍Walking BookFairs (Bhubaneswar)
🎟️Open Entry

[New Release, Odisha, History, Indian History, Non Fiction, Books, Bookstore, Book Discussion, Book Signing, Meet The Author, Book Talk, Free Events, Bhubaneswar, Bookstore Events]

‘I learned first-hand how people, flora, and fauna interact. All that breathes on this Earth is interconnected’

🌸

Across a bridge in a quiet neighbourhood in Tokyo, a seasonal cherry blossom sits on the river. Nearby is the Marble Cafe, where a woman writes in a notebook and a young waiter prepares her favourite hot drink. Both wonder about each other and about the other lives of the clientele who frequent this charming little cafe behind the trees...

Taking a walk along the river, cooking the best tamagoyaki, ordering hot chocolate, forgetting to remove our nail polish... The small, everyday acts that we do can lead to unexpected encounters and reverberate far beyond our own lives to make a real difference in the world.

🌸

Hot Chocolate on Thursday by the author of What You Are Looking For Is In The Library, Michiko Aoyama and Translated by E. Madison Shimoda is a heartwarming tapestry of slice-of-life moments that open and close with a woman ordering her regular hot chocolate at the mysterious Marble Cafe.

What happens in between will touch and swell your heart, as we connect with a community of untold unfolding lives.

🌸

This is what readers have to say about the book:

Slipped into my heart and warmed me, just like a cup of cocoa’ *****
‘I definitely recommend this book!’ *****
‘Thursday is the beginning of the second half of the week. I felt restored reading this’ *****
‘Reminds you that everyone is living their own daily joy and pain. Heartwarming’ *****
‘This made me realise how we magically influence each other’s lives without realising it’ *****

🌸

Get your copy at Walking BookFairs!

[Thursday, Fiction, Books, Cosy Books, Michiko Aoyama, Japanese, Read, Bookstore, Healing Books, Walking BookFairs]

Walking BookFairs Film Club invites you to our monthly film screening for April at Walking BookFairs Cuttack on 19 April 5 PM.

“In Search of Palestine - Edward Said’s Return Home” is a film presented by Edward Said, and produced by the BBC in 1998. It captures the interconnection between Said’s personal recollection and the shared memory of the Palestinian people. The film discusses the Oslo accords, ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, settlements expansion, growing apartheid system, segregation within the Israeli state, and other aspects of occupation.

Edward Said (born November 1, 1935, Jerusalem—died September 25, 2003, New York) was a Palestinian American academic, political activist, and literary critic who examined literature in light of social and cultural politics and was an outspoken proponent of the political rights of the Palestinian people and the creation of an independent Palestinian state. In 1978 he published Orientalism, his best-known work and one of the most influential books of the 20th century. Orientalism is considered as a foundational text of postcolonial theory, influencing studies in literature, history, anthropology, and political science.

Among his other notable books are The World, the Text, and the Critic, Nationalism, Colonialism, and Literature: Yeats and Decolonization, Musical Elaborations, and Culture and Imperialism. His autobiography, Out of Place reflects the ambivalence he felt over living in both the Western and Eastern traditions.

[Walking BookFairs Film Club, Monthly Film Screening, April, Edward Said, Postcolonial, Literature, Middle East, Palestine, Documentary Film, Cinema, Books, Bookstore, Events At Walking BookFairs, Free Cultural Event, Educational Event, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar]

This April, we are highlighting a selection of books on nature, wildlife and the environment from our bookshelves at Walking BookFairs 🌱

🌱🌱🌱

The Hidden Life of Trees
Marginlands
Braiding Sweetgrass
Silent Spring
A Book of Simple Living
The Living Mountain
Running Away from Elephants
Wild Capital
Wild Fictions
Speaking with Nature

🌱🌱🌱

Do check them all out when you visit us and get your copies in store 🌱

Buy books from your local, independent bookstores 🌱

[Books, Nature, Wildlife, Environment, Climate Action, Sustainable Future, Mindful Living, Ecology, Non Fiction Books, Read More Books, Bookstore, Shop Independent Bookstores]

Calling one and all! Come, join us to celebrate the day of equality and Ambedkar Jayanti with collective readings and discussions at Walking BookFairs.

💙💙💙

Ambedkar: Collective Readings & Discussions
14 April | Tuesday
4-5 PM
At Walking BookFairs (Bhubaneswar)
Free & Open for All

💙💙💙

[Ambedkar Jayanti, National Day Of Equality, Collective Readings, Book Reading, Book Discussion, Books, Read More Books, Bookstore, Events at Walking BookFairs, Bhubaneswar, Dalit History Month, Educate, Agitate, Organize]

In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones, is the screenplay of the 1989 cult film directed by Pradip Krishen, written by Arundhati Roy.

The film was shown just once on national television in a late-night slot. It lived on as a sort of underground cult film, screened by students in campuses across the country.

Set in a not-so-fictional school of architecture in the year 1974, it is the story of dope-smoking, bellbottom-wearing, vaguely idealistic final-year students in the run up to the submission of their theses. After thirty-eight years, the damaged negative of the film was recovered and restored by the Film Heritage Foundation. This new edition of the screenplay has introductions by Arundhati Roy, Pradip Krishen and Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, founder of the Film Heritage Foundation.

Get your copy at Walking BookFairs!

[Arundhati Roy, In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones, Screenplay, New Release, Cinema, Books, Bookstore, Shop Independent Bookstores, Walking BookFairs]

A recipe for happiness: four women, one medieval Italian castle, plenty of wisteria, and solitude as needed. The Enchanted April, Elizabeth von Arnim’s brilliant, irrepressible book, one of the greatest holiday novels ever written now in this gorgeous deluxe edition, with foiled covers, marbled endpapers, sprayed edges, beautiful paper and finished with a silk ribbon.

Swipe to see all the new books in this series and get yours at Walking BookFairs ✨

Vintage Books

[Vintage Collector’s Classics, Deluxe Editions, Classics, Beautiful Books, Books, Read More Books, Bookstore, Book Recommendations, Shop Local Bookstores, Independent Bookstore]

We had a fabulous, fabulous book club meet for March at the Walking BookFairs Book Club in honour of Women’s History Month. March is always special for us as we get to talk about all the wonderful women writers and books we love and our theme this March was books by Indian women. Conversations at the book club meet centred voices of women in Indian literature as our readers discussed women’s real world experiences in the Indian society and more.

Swipe to see all the books and authors that our readers talked about in March.

If you are someone who wants to explore more writings from Indian women, don’t forget to check out our recommendations in store when you visit.

Our book club meets offline on the last Sunday of every month at our bookstores, do join us!

[Women’s History Month, Women in Indian Literature, Book Club, Offline Book Club, March Book Club Meet, Read More Women, Books, Book Recommendations, Bookstore, Independent Bookstore, Indian Bookstore, Walking BookFairs, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Readers]

April is Dalit History Month at Walking BookFairs.

The Dalit History Month was conceptualized and launched in April 2015 by a team of Dalit women activists Thenmozhi Soundararajan, Christina Dhanaraj, Maari Zwick-Maitreyi, Sanghapali Aruna, Asha Kowtal, and Manisha Devi to celebrate Dalit lives, communities, leaders, histories, movements and achievements.

🌸

“Dalit History Month allows us to look back at our history and remember, reclaim, and rejoice in the contributions and accomplishments of our forebears who consistently fought against caste oppression and gave us the freedom to live our lives with dignity and equal rights. You will hardly find this history in any school textbooks or college syllabus. One needs to look past the popular narrative to see the authentic history of the Dalit community - something that only the community can speak about and narrate. “

~ Sanghapali Aruna
Project Mukti

🌸

Here are some essential reads for our readers in honour of Dalit History Month. Visit us to get your copies.

[Dalit History Month, April, Babasaheb Ambedkar, Books, Book Recommendations, Anti Caste Literature, Dalit Literature, Social Justice, Non Fiction, Bookstore, Independent Bookstore, Indian Bookstore, Read More Books]