In My Mailbox (53) Bollywood Edition

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren to share what books you received for review, purchased, or checked out from the library during the past week.

Books I'm most excited about: Sideways on a Scooter by Miranda Kennedy

I will be doing a Bollywood/South Asia themed program at my library next month so I am doing some research this week which is why most of my books have something to do with Bollywood, India, or Sri Lanka. I have to show people how to drape a sari (which I haven't done in years) so I need to brush up on that too!

I hope you'll watch the video! It is from the movie Lagaan, one of my favorite Hindi films. The song is "Radha Kaise Na Jale". Enjoy!

From the library:

Indian Cinema: The Bollywood Saga by Dinesh Raheja

This is a beautiful coffee table book with lots of pictures and information about the history of Bollywood films. The woman on the cover is Aishwariya Rai, considered to be the "most beautiful woman in the world" according to Julia Roberts (Roger Ebert also goes on and on about her beauty in his reviews of her movies). She has been on Oprah and was the face of L'Oreal a few years ago.

Bollywood: Behind the Scenes, Beyond the Stars by Nicholas Bradley

King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema by Anupama Chopra

Shah Rukh Khan is the most famous Bollywood actor and while has been called "the Indian Tom Cruise" I'd say his acting ability is better than that! My favorite SRK film is Veer-Zaara about an Indian man who falls in love with a Pakistani Muslim girl who is engaged to someone else.

The Sari by Mukulika Banerjee

This is a fascinating book not just about saris but about the women who wear them. I've already started reading it and though some parts don't flow as well as others it is still really really interesting.

Purchased:

Sideways on a Scooter: Life and Love in India by Miranda Kennedy

I read some good reviews of this in Publishers Weekly and Library Journal and I thought it sounded fantastic so I had to buy it. Hopefully it will live up to my expectations! I can't imagine what it would be like for an American woman to just uproot her life and move to India for five years. I like that the book focuses on women's lives and dating and marriage in India.

Not Quite Paradise: An American Sojourn in Sri Lanka by Adele Barker

I've already read Adele Barker's account of her years teaching and living in Sri Lanka but I had to have my own copy so when the price dropped under $6, I snapped it up. I learned so many interesting things about my parents' homeland from this book, not just about the Civil War but also about the tsunami and its aftermath.

For review:

The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin

I have been wanting to read this since I saw early reviews of it. The synopsis reminds me of Downton Abbey, a BBC miniseries I loved. I received this for review from Amazon Vine.

Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn

I've already read this spin off to the Bridgerton series and thought it was predictable but cute. I loved the friendship between Marcus and Honoria as well as the humor involving the musicale. What an interesting family the Smythe-Smiths are! I received this from Amazon Vine as well.

My Foolish Heart by Susan May Warren

I am currently reading this story about two people with physical and emotional scars. I really like it so far. I received this for review from LitFuse as part of a blog tour.