Book Bloggers Nook ft. Darshayita

Hey there!
I’m here, like I told you in my previous post, with a BBN interview. If things go right, I might post another one before this month ends.

Now let’s get this interview started.

Meet the Book Blogger
Find Darshayita On
Interview
Check out these posts by Darshayita

Meet the Book Blogger

Today I’m interviewing an Indian Blogger who has been part of this community for 5 months. She is keen on reading books from the Eastern part of the world and is an eclectic reader who’d read from History to anything except Self-help. Besides reading, she paints and embroiders.

Welcome, Darshayita.

You can Find Darshayita On

Blog • Instagram • Twitter • Goodreads

➼ Tell me a bit about yourself and your blog?

I have been reading since I could and it is kind of an escape mechanism for me. 2020 was a difficult year and to be honest, books saved me. I have never had anyone to share my passion for reading with. One random day, I had the idea of starting a blog on WordPress just for myself, to put my thoughts about the books I read into words. I was not looking for an audience. That is why you’ll see my blog name is so ordinary yet unordinary. I was at home and it gave my days direction. I am grateful that averyoriginalusername exists out there on the web.

I: It’s wonderful that you decided to start your blog, a place to share your thoughts on books and connect to readers. I’m delighted to have you on my blog today. Sorry to hear that 2020 was difficult. I hope things got better this year.

➼ What are the types of bookish content that go onto your blog?

My bookish content generally includes book reviews and recommendations. I tend to also include new information that I learned from a particular book in its review. This is my way of answering back to the opinion that reading fiction is a waste of time. There is another section on my blog dedicated to reading a book from each country around the world. My main purpose is to make readers aware that literature exists in the Eastern part of the world too. I have seen mainstream Indian markets being flooded with books from authors belonging to first-world countries in the West. I intend to showcase the less heard of voices on my platform.

I: Whoever says “reading is a waste of time” should be banished from Earth. You’ve pointed out a very important thing here, and I’m guilty of that. But It’s great that you speak about books that many haven’t heard much from the Eastern and other corners of the world.

➼ How has blogging affected your reading and writing?

There is no easy way to answer this question. There is no right or wrong answer. I actually don’t plan what I read. I am a big-time mood reader. So it is my blogging that gets affected by my reading.
When it comes to writing the answer is pretty straightforward. I was unemployed, it is because of my blog that I could move to a new city and start a full-time job.

I: I can relate to that; writing blog post affects my reading big time. I’m happy to hear that you got your job because of your blogging. Congrats!!

➼ Your booksta aesthetics are vibrant and incredible. How do you manage to juggle between these two platforms?

Besides reading, I like playing with colours too, be it in any form or medium. That is where I find an outlet for this passion of mine, through Instagram. Coming to how I separate the two platforms and juggling between them, I really don’t. Generally the basic content is the same. The only difference being the length of it. So I make sure to sit down and publish content on both the platforms at the same time.

I: Sharing the same content on your blog and Insta is a brilliant idea; I’m going to borrow that someday. I hardly do that, but I guess it’ll help us sync the contents on both platforms.

➼ It’s amazing that you have an “I read a book from each country in the world” page on your blog and booksta. What are some of the books from your TBR that you’d wish to see on this page ASAP?

This part of my reading journey requires some research and I generally choose a country and then the book. So, to answer your question, the three countries that I really want to feature in the near future on my platform would be Brazil, Malaysia, and New Zealand.

I: I read the Iceland one, Magma. I haven’t read anything from Brazil yet, so I’m looking forward to seeing what you’d pick.

➼ Have you embroidered anything bookish-related? If you have any pics of them, please feel free to share them with us.

Oh not yet! But you just gave me an idea to do so in the future. Would definitely share it with you once finished.

I: Haha, it’s alright. Will be waiting for it happily.

➼ What reps do you search for and want to see more in books?

Let me list out some of them:
* LGBTQ+ characters in the main plot.
* Books that address mental health issues in a mature way and not just to make a character interesting
* Stories about and characters from the global East that are not Westernized.

I: Splendid. I undestand what you’re saying when it comes to mental health reps.

➼ If you have to choose between a new edition of your favorite book or a most-anticipated release, which one it’d be?

It would hands-down be an anticipated release because I am not a big collector of editions, nor do I keep a tab on them. Most books I have a physical copy of are second-hand anyway.

I: Quite reasonable.

➼ A book that you’ve read and want to see it adapted on screen.

I recently read The Orders Were to Rape You: Tigresses in the Tamil Elam Struggle by Meena Kandaswamy. The book was originally supposed to be a documentary but due to predictable reasons it could not be made. I would really like the documentary to see the light of day someday in the Indian subcontinent.

I: It sounds poignant; sad that it couldn’t be made into a documentary, but hope that someday they might turn it into a doc.

➼ A book that you had a hard time deciding the rating? Why?

I had a hard time deciding the rating for an essay by Arundhti Roy. While I found myself agreeing with the content, the rawness with which the points were put forward made me think twice about the thin line between text and propaganda.

I: Sometimes the line between text and propaganda is thin, so I get it.

➼You’re in a library with floor-to-ceiling shelves. Which aisle would you probably spend hours in?

One will definitely find me in the history and mythology aisle. Also there should be overlapping of genres and elevators stopping at every shelf. I am lazy that way.

I: That’s fantastic. I’d be happy to spend hours in a library like that too.

Thanks for chatting with me and it was wonderful interacting with you, Darshayita. I’m looking forward to reading more on your books around the world page.