Books and Beyond with Bound - 2.15: Tara and Michelle - Why We Read What We Read

2.15: Tara and Michelle - Why We Read What We Read

11/24/20 • 34 min

Our hosts discuss their reading preferences and the Indian literary scene in this season finale.

Tara and Michelle bond over their shared love for books and reading - how did they fall in love with books, what kind of stories do they like to read, and how has the pandemic affected their reading habits? Most notably, they finally read Arundhati Roy’s ‘The God of Small Things’ in 2020!

They discuss how they decide what to read next - is it based on research, recommendations from friends and writers, or curated lists and prizes like JCB? Tara confesses her newfound love for historical fiction like ‘American Wife’ by Curtis Sittenfield, while Michelle loves stories like ‘A Clockwork Orange’ by Anthony Burgess that challenge her as a reader. Tara shares how she is warming up to audio books during the pandemic. Michelle misses reading books during her daily train rides to work. They chat about the role of book reviews and why everyone should be able to read what they love - a fitting message for a season finale!

'Books and Beyond with Bound' is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D'costa of Bound talk to some of the best writers in India and find out what makes them tick.

Tara Khandelwal is an editor and the founder of Bound. Check out her latest newsletter - https://tara489.substack.com/p/coming-soon

Michelle D’costa’s poetry and prose has been published in over 50 literary journals. Check out her latest published works - https://michellewendydcosta.wordpress.com/writer/
Mentions: Resh Susan aka thebooksatchel on Instagram, Senior Reading Raccoons on Facebook

Book Recommendations: ‘Becoming’ by Michelle Obama, ‘The Twentieth Wife’ and ‘A Feast of Roses’ by Indu Sundaresan, ‘Rodham’ by Curtis Sittenfield, ‘The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman’ by Denis Thériault

Follow Bound on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter: @boundindia

Follow our podcast on Instagram: @boundpodcasts

You can check out our website at https://www.boundindia.com/podcast/

‘Books and Beyond with Bound’ is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D’costa uncover how their books reflect the realities of our lives and society today. Find out what drives India’s finest authors: from personal experiences to jugaad research methods, insecurities to publishing journeys. Created by Bound, a storytelling company that helps you grow through stories. Follow us @boundindia on all social media platforms.

Our hosts discuss their reading preferences and the Indian literary scene in this season finale.

'Books and Beyond with Bound' is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D'costa of Bound talk to some of the best writers in India and find out what makes them tick.

Tara Khandelwal is an editor and the founder of Bound. Check out her latest newsletter - https://tara489.substack.com/p/coming-soon

Follow Bound on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter: @boundindia

Follow our podcast on Instagram: @boundpodcasts

You can check out our website at https://www.boundindia.com/podcast/

Previous Episode

2.14: Tara Kaushal - Going Undercover To Find Out Why Men Rape

Find out how she conducted research for 7 years for her daring nonfiction book.

Tara and Michelle talk to Tara Kaushal about her path-breaking nonfiction book, “Why Men Rape: An Indian Undercover Investigation”, published by HarperCollins. She tells us how she was inspired by her personal experiences and the Delhi gang rape case to write about this critical and sensitive issue that affects the lives of thousands of women in India even today.

Tara Kaushal shares her experiences researching this topic for 7 years, how she was able to build relationships with the 9 men she interviewed, and the toll it took on her life. She gives some excellent tips for researchers and non-fiction writers, such as identifying the right people to interview, designing questions that they will be willing to answer truthfully, and separating Tara - the person from Tara - the investigator. Tara (our host) is amazed that Tara (our guest) asked 250 questions to each man! Michelle wants to write her own research-based book someday!

'Books and Beyond with Bound' is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D'costa of Bound talk to some of the best writers in India and find out what makes them tick.

Tara Kaushal is a writer and media consultant based in Mumbai, India. She received the Laadli Media Award for gender-sensitive writing in 2013-4, and won a Femina Superwomen of the Year Award in 2018.

Mentions: Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny by Kate Manne, Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion by Paul Bloom, Too Many Men, Too Few Women: Social Consequences of Gender Imbalance in India and China by Ravinder Kaur

You can get your copy of her book here:

https://www.amazon.in/Why-Men-Rape-Undercover-Investigation/dp/9353577276/

Tune in every Wednesday for a new episode.

Follow Bound on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter: @boundindia

Follow our podcast on Instagram: @boundpodcasts

You can check out our website at https://www.boundindia.com/podcast/

Next Episode

3.1 Tara and Michelle - On How To Beat The Reader's Block!

We are back with season 3! Tara and Michelle discuss what creativity means to them and how they have developed small habits or rituals to help them be more relaxed and productive.

Tara and Michelle’s first creative act was writing fanfiction! Tara wrote Enid Blyton fanfiction while Michelle was inspired by R. L. Stine’s Goosebumps series. They discuss why reading newspaper articles, short stories, and newsletters is as important as reading books. Michelle sets annual reading goals instead of resolutions. Tara uses cooking and yoga to inspire her creativity. How did they start their own newsletters? How to get out of a reading slump? And is reading a form of self-care? Tune in to find out!

Recommendations:

The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Literary Magazines: Wildness, Out of Print, Jellyfish Review
Graphic Novels: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, Burma Chronicles by Guy Delisle
Business Books: Range by David Epstein, Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
Notes On A Scandal by Zoe Heller

'Books and Beyond with Bound' is the podcast where Tara Khandelwal and Michelle D'costa of Bound talk to some of the best writers in India and find out what makes them tick. Read more: https://boundindia.com/books-and-beyond-podcast/

Tara Khandelwal is an editor and the founder of Bound. Check out her latest newsletter - https://tara489.substack.com

Michelle D’costa’s poetry and prose has been published in over 50 literary journals. Check out her latest newsletter - https://michelledcosta.substack.com/

Tune in to our brand new podcast ‘The Book People’: https://boundindia.com/the-book-people-podcast/

Download our FREE research report on ‘Demystifying Indian Publishing’: https://boundindia.com/demystifying-the-indian-publishing-industry/