THE SHELF / 6 books that I read at the end of last year… I hated 5 of them

Lessons in Chemistry is a powerful read for anyone who feels alone in a male-dominated world. For those who have been vilified for having a voice, dignity, and the courage to exist unapologetically in a world that resists change, this novel proves galvanising.

There is a curious bite to the air now. Notwithstanding the terrifying levels of AQI that threaten to permanently damage our lungs, heart, and brain, the air feels promising—of new beginnings, of renewed potential, of reevaluating the old and embracing the new.

First on our list, we have the fiction debut of Jennette McCurdy, author of the widely fascinating and heartbreakingly hilarious memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died (Simon & Schuster, 2022). A 17-year-old is the protagonist of this story, a girl with too much hunger and not enough steadiness, who walks into a creative writing classroom and latches onto the one adult who seems to notice her.

On January 18, 2026 novelist and essayist Md Ashanur Rahman was awarded The International Creative Arts Award 2025 by the International Creative Arts, Language & Development Research Centre of the University of Dhaka for his outstanding contribution to literature and its role in Enriching Minds and Inspiring Lives. 

The six-week intensive program offers beginners and budding writers mentor-led guidance in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, focusing on Bangladeshi cultural narratives

To love is to hold the knife To love is to do the math To love is to carry a box full of fruits To love is to buy flowers, Either way you carry the burden of it, of love.

One morning, God asked His angels to make a heart. They did not know what a heart was.

So, Ma and I had our eyes glued to our screen while Reaz smeared toothpaste over his face and chanted slogans in front of his school.

The book features 15 chapters covering essential topics such as attachment styles, love languages, and shadow work.

On the chilly afternoon of January 10, Bookworm Bangladesh, in collaboration with Voices Shaping Society, hosted the book launch of The July Resolve, a collection of 36 narratives that depicts the strength and struggles of people from all walks of life during the Monsoon Revolution of 2024.

Kazi Nazrul Islam’s Bangla poem “Bidrohi” (first published in January 1922), in Bijli magazine during British colonial rule, is more than just anti-imperialist literature—it is a striking philosophical rendition.

Spectral land—you are bleeding hollow; flesh and bone at the precipice of ruin,

This story spans for two volumes, separated in 14 chapters. Yet the author deliberately gives the reader the insight into other characters, or rather the abettors before Hibari, the victim herself. It is only in the later chapters do we catch a glimpse of Hibari’s inner world, and it is heartbreaking.

Like many American kids who grew up between 1981 and 2011, I dreamed of becoming an astronaut and orbiting the Earth in a Space Shuttle.

You know that feeling when you crack open a new book and you’re convinced that this is the knight in all its paperback shining armour that will save you from your reading slump? Yeah.

There are two things that struck me the most in the book: firstly, Eranux's thoughts during the funeral, and secondly, her statement about her mother’s appearance after Alzheimer's Disease had gripped her.

A book talk on Zeba Rasheed Chowdhury’s latest work, the translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam into Bengali, published by Matribhasha Prokashwas held on 27th December 2025, at Bookworm Bangladesh.The event was hosted by scientist and writer Dr. Abed Chaudhury.

In my wildest imagination, away from all rhyme or reason, I weave my realm, unbridled and free, craving for the unfelt and extreme, by all standards but my own.

The afternoon sun presses down on Dhaka like a heavy hand. Heat rises from the asphalt in shimmers; buses wheeze as though gasping for breath. Rickshaw bells jangle against each other in the thick, damp air.

Rest in peace, esteemed RKA madam. Your presence endures in the pages you wrote, the students you shaped, and the quiet brilliance you gifted to our literary world.