Reading as a form of resistance: Some anecdotes from the 1971 war

After the war, the library authorities placed advertisements requesting people to return any books from the library that they might have in their possession, but the response was poor. The library's hundred-year-old collection was lost forever.
23 March 2023

5 new books that explore family life in fiction

Among the new books we’re excited to read this season, these March releases hold special promise. 
22 March 2023

In her new book, Maria Chaudhuri reimagines Pohela Boishakh for kids

Illustrated by Kazi Istela Imam, Nobo Opens a Door embraces the occasion of Pohela Boishakh—an event that is dear to many.
22 March 2023

Into the rhyme and reason of poetry

To be human is to be a poet. And I will tell you why.
21 March 2023

'Teestar Kanna' brings Teesta shoal residents to tears

Poet and writer Ishor Dulon Roy, author of Teestar Kanna, told The Daily Star that many of his relatives live on the Teesta shoal. Once they were all rich, all now lost to the river erosion.
20 March 2023

‘Monstrous fancies, misshapen dreams’: My ambivalence with ‘Dorian Gray’

“How tragic it would be if you were wasted”, made me smile in a melancholic way. I know moments when “unnecessary things are our only necessities”. And I’ve not been hesitant to give “rebellion its fascination” and “disobedience its charm.”
19 March 2023

Home and its place in Bangla literature

When we study the effects of urbanisation on formerly relevant concepts of home, newer images pop up and we find them coexisting with the previously established one.
18 March 2023

Will you hear my wishes

Today, I am no dead man. But I am not happy, I will not lie to you.
17 March 2023

A memoir that helps understand development

Perhaps the most important contribution of the book lies in providing intimate insights into how NGOs work in Bangladesh.
16 March 2023

Can ideology win over desire?

Set in 1990s Dhaka against the backdrop of the military occupation, the novella follows the lives of a young university professor, his wife, and their house help, Phulbanu. The story is narrated entirely from Phulbanu’s perspective. 
16 March 2023

5 new books to read this week

Set in the backdrop of a nameless forest, the narrative of the play 'Ekti Moragachh O Charjon Narir Shopnobhongo' revolves around characters of William Shakespeare’s creation.
16 March 2023

A diverse longlist for the 2023 International Booker Prize

Novels from India, the Caribbean, Ukraine, Spain, Bulgaria, Ivory Coast, France, Germany, Mexico, Sweden, China, Norway and South Korea in the longlist.
15 March 2023

How Netflix’s ‘Shadow and Bone’ adaptation can be improved

Season 2 of 'Shadow and Bone' will be out on Netflix on March 16—how can it do better justice to the texts than Season 1?
15 March 2023

Grow Your Reader Foundation raises the 'Flag of Peace'

Grow Your Reader Foundation instals mobile, street, and online library stations in different corners of Bangladesh, and has been providing teacher training facilities since 2016.
13 March 2023

Ghazala Wahab to speak at ULAB Lit Salon on Tuesday

Also a journalist, Wahab will speak about her nonfiction, Born A Muslim, a book that talks about the increasing political irrelevance of Muslims in India and the importance of feminist interpretations of the Quran, besides highlighting other relevant socio political issues.
12 March 2023

Advice for Pliny the Elder, Big Daddy of Mansplainers

Great Man, now that you are dead, allow me to squeeze your hand. The sage bushes in Umbria are heavy with bees, so I’m killing them with hypnosis.
10 March 2023

Where are indigenous women’s stories?

Indigenous women are read even less. There are multiple root causes–lack of editorial support for indigenous authors writing in their mother tongues, the predominance of oral traditions, gender inequality and bias.
10 March 2023

24 hours, granted

I spent the whole day running on the roads near Ramna park. Riding a bicycle alone through the narrow alleys of Mohammadpur without the fear of anyone jumping out at me from the corners.
10 March 2023

A festive Friday thanks to Gulshan Society Book Fair

Organised by Shayaan Seraj, the Convener of Gulshan Society, the fair includes book stalls by The University Press Limited (UPL), Bookworm Bangladesh, Baatighar, Prothoma, Nymphea Publications, among others. 
10 March 2023

“A well-read woman is a dangerous creature”. Is she really?

It concerns me that Tate’s apologists range from impressionable boys in my grade 9 classroom to 30-something-year-old single dads. My own mother calls me a ‘feminist’ with such chagrin in her tone, it begins to feel like a slur.
10 March 2023