Them Karachi Winters

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So the winter just entered Karachi with all the subtlety and tact of a raging bull, past two days ago, and it was a frenzy after that. If you a are a karachite, you get the struggle. We hardly get any winter but when we do, we are whining about the harsher temperatures, you know the drill!

So whats new you ask? Well for starters,I have a reminder for all you book lovers out there ( I cant get any fancy words in the morning, so I apologise in advance for any butchered and/or totally made up words, no caffeine yet) there is the 13th annual book fair happening this weekend from 7-11 December  in Karachi. If you have attended the previous ones you would know how cray- amazing it is. This year they have more than 250+ Pakistani publishers, 15+international publishers.That means around 300+ bookstalls and alot of different genres too. From novels to academics to self help ,historical books,biographies,cook books,religious literature you will get some amazing collection and selection to choose from.These are some of their featured exhibitors.

YDS PUBLISHING Turkey 
ALSTON PUBLISHING HOUSE PTE LTD SINGAPORE
SCHOLASTIC EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL (SINGAPORE) PTE LTD
ROYAL SOCIETY OF CHEMISTRY UK
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS UK
ELSEVIER HEALTH INDIA

 No matter if you are a fan of old paperbacks & that accompanying musty smell, or more of a new,crisp pages just- in your- hands direct -from -the -publishing press lover, there will be something for everyone. On a related side note, do you know the smell of new books is called novel- nice pun though, like your new book is a novel!

 How fulfilling and worthy it was, I can only let you know only after I have visited but my past experiences have been very promising so far and I got some really good books. They had some Indian authors featured in the past but that was just for one year and they had some visa hold up issues, so that sadly wasn’t continued in the coming years. I got this really nice book by an Indian author and I loved the writing style & storyline ; would have really love to read some more. They sometimes have  International authors too but lets see what is happening this year.
I know where I will be spending my weekend, what about you guys? Also based on my book-loot this weekend, I will be doing some book reviews in the coming months InshaAllah.


And how can we forget the mandatory caffeine fix after our book discussion, so on the subject of warm beverages, whats up with espresso machines that are available in Pakistan? I don’t know if it just me, but I just checked out the prices of the different coffee maker ranges and two words- highway robbery, and that after my initial shock of Oh God, No! I'm not a fan of frou frou drinks myself, I'm good to go with a black coffee and on the most luxurious days its Cappuccino, seriously nothing fancier, but that coming out of a 10,000 bucks coffee machine is a bit extreme I think. I heard about the Nespresso range, that was introduced a few years back by Nestle, but that again disappointed me related to the price, albeit their shiny gadget and fancy capsules.I mean, goodbye affordable stuff, what is it Nestle, you are like the Pakistani coffee connoisseurs, I had high hopes!





 So right now, this will have to do, me in my blanket, with a lot of static for my clothes and hair , and start working stat on my seriously enourmous course load getting done. 

 And no, the flavoured chai above is not for publicity purposes, rather free publicity. Im just sharing something that I tried and liked. I had my doubts but I have come to love the flavour. The moment you pour hot water over this, it smells like you lit up a handful of peach scented candles, sensory overload , of the good variety of course!

Im gonna leave you with this toasty Mocha recipe to keep yourself warm, but my free advice - Go get out those winter jackets, shawls,wraps,cardigans,sweatshirts that you get to wear for exactly 2 weeks each year ( thats how long winter lasts for us) and rock them .
May moisturised skin, silky smoother hair and rosy pink pouts be in your winter-y future 😄

Brew one cup of your favorite coffee (don't dare to use instant coffee!). 

Add 2 tablespoons of your favorite milk/dark chocolate bar or two tablespoons of cocoa powder into half a cup milk. Heat for two minutes in a microwave, stirring every thirty second until creamy.  Add the coffee into the mug with the chocolate milk, stir, and top with whipped cream, cocoa and chocolate syrup.

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