Library@Koota

Discover Something New

Happening at the Library

June 2024

This June we have a a wide range of interactions planned with you.

  • Curator of the Month
    The Library@Koota launches its newest initiative – a way for you to shape the library. From this month on – our books now come with a personality!Introducing: Curator of the month!
    Every month one of our members will curate the books we get and share their passion for these books and the thoughts and ideas they prompt.
    Your requests for books are still welcome.
    This month’s curator:
    Sruthi Krishnan , a writer and researcher whose book loving heart sees no genre and beats for both Nisha Susan and Noam Chomsky.
  • Book Talks
    We have two book talks this month.

    • 1700 in 70 by Gita Balakrishnan, which is her book launch!
    • Script Your Life Your Way by Sumita B and Ragini Rao
  • Game night

Follow our broadcast group to be updated on more events. To become a member email us on meet@courtyardkoota.com

Our June Picks

What is the connection between Scheherazade’s storytelling, pauses in a
Beatle’s album, and lullabies for an insomniac Count? In Musical Offering, Luis Sagasti speaks of music, the pauses, the silences, the compositions, and the creators, while weaving different stories from across the world in and out. It is what the title claims to be, an offering to music, full of play and sparkling insights.What is the connection between Scheherazade’s storytelling, pauses in a Beatles album, and lullabies for an insomniac Count? In Musical Offering, Luis Sagasti speaks of music, the pauses, the silences, the compositions, and the creators, while weaving different stories from across the world in and out. It is what the title claims to be, an offering to music, full of play and sparkling insights.

Ground beneath her feet is the story of Vina Apsara, where he mixes a
made-up history of rock-n-roll, musings on photography, and observations about our tempestuous relationship with rockstars (we love them till we don’t), in a way that came to be seen as classic Rushdie – a breathless play of language, history, and snark. Given that his defiant memoir Knife just released, it maybe a good time to revisit this book, for history should not remember him as a man marked for assassination; he is a storyteller, first and foremost.

In Tokyo Zodiac Murders, you, as the reader, will get the same clues as the detectives, and at one point, the author breaks the wall and asks you, the reader, now you have everything to solve the mystery, what happened? It is delightful and frustrating, depending on whether you manage to solve the mystery, but irrespective of that, it is what a good mystery book offers you, the joy of discovering a hidden order behind a seemingly bizarre world.

As of writing this blurb, the elections are still underway. All the colour and chaos of
politics and elections forms the backdrop of Battle for Bittora, by Anuja Chauhan. It is one of her earlier novels, and the side characters are a particular delight.

Whenever someone says romance novels, there’s a large audience that goes eeeeee. From turning up noses to raising brows, different facial muscles are exercised to demonstrate one’s literary legitimacy. The rest, and that’s a considerable rest gleefully devour these books.

Kohei Saito is a Japanese philosopher who was catapulted into the limelight when his book Capital in the Anthropocene became a bestseller in Japan in 2020. The Degrowth Manifesto is his latest book, and deals with the themes of capitalism, ecological catastrophe, and what we can do in such troubled times.

 

In an interview, Tomi said that growing up, she did not see any Black
princesses, and wanted to write stories that she could read and enjoy. Growing up, she struggled with what to write, because of the violence and heartbreak continuously witnessed by the African American population in the United States. She was also sure that she did not want to write a book that people read because it was about ‘important issues’; she wanted people to read her book because it told a d*&% good story. And she wrote the Children of Blood and Bone series — a book set in the mythical world of Orisha, where the heroine, Zelie, fights to restore magic. The story draws from Yoruba gods and folklore, and manages to refract contemporary politics, its violence and inequities on to her fantasy novels.

This is the second book of the series by Tomi Adeyemi.
This book will be released mid June 2024 and will be at the Library. We have pre-ordered it.

Beyond Books

The  Library @ Koota was initiated by the community, and has now evolved into a a more layered program.  A community space that goes beyond books and information, it encourages participation and creation of experiences that inspire learning. Apart from being home to books and films, the library is a platform for sharing skills and knowledge from within the neighborhood.

The library has grown into a space for professionals as well as amateurs to share their passion and expertise. Authors sharing their work, through readings and workshops, presentations on topics of interest, activities for different age groups.  Working in tandem with the prevalent theme at Koota, we have seen science fiction complement the theme of astronomy and a session on Kenneth Anderson during wildlife month.  We hold events to inspire and spark the imagination and that bring the community together. Book picnics, Game nights, theme based events all bring the lively energy required to sustain an idea like this.

We have a fledgling collection of titles across genres, for all age groups. The Library functions on an annual subscription model and the resources are used to purchase new books. We also receive books from members that add to our burgeoning collection. We have a cosy reading room where members are welcome to spend time reading and discussing. The children’s corner with bean bags and cushions is a popular hangout.

At the Library

Book Talks

Authors and Readers Sharing
Nisha Susan in conversation with Rahel Rao

Author signings

Meet the Author
KR Meera at Courtyard Koota

Game Night

Play to Party

Game Night

Pick your table

Book Picnics

Fun in the Park

Book Picnics

Fun in the Park

Themed Events

Community gathering

Community Singing

Sharing music, Sharing joy

Themed Events

Community gathering