Mansion tales: Bengali author Shankar’s third novel, Ghorer Madhye Ghor, has been translated by author Sandipan Deb and released by Penguin India as Thackeray Mansion [Rs 599].

Billed as a sequel to Shankar’s bestselling Chowringhee, in this novel the narrator is the manager of Thackeray Mansion on Sudder Street, off Park Street. With his keen eye and sympathetic ear, he soon finds himself privy to the stories of a host of fascinating characters who live and work in Thackeray Mansion. Like the mysterious disappearance of Philip sahib’s wife, the hilarious monologues of Poppy Biswas, grouchy Baradaprasanna or how the seductive Sulekha Sen became the respectable Seema Chatterjee, and the love of Dorothy Watts for Tagore.

return of the dragon tattoo: The girl with the dragon tattoo is coming back! The publishers of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy have signed up Swedish writer David Lagercrantz to write a fourth book in the series featuring maverick journalist Mikael Blomkvist and shero Lisbeth Salander. Set to come out in August 2015, the book will be a new story, not a completion of the manuscript that was left unfinished when Larsson died in 2004. The English language rights for the new book have been acquired by Quercus Publishing and MacLehose Press and the book will be distributed in India by Penguin Books India.

Lagercrantz, who has previously ghost-written the autobiography of Swedish football star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, lives in Sodermalm in Stockholm, the neighbourhood that features prominently in the Millennium series.

According to previous reports, Larsson had planned to write 10 books in the series and his estate had also recovered parts of a fifth book among his documents. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl who Played with Fire and The Girl who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest have together sold more than 75 million copies in 50 countries.

However, while Bookworm, and readers across the world, were left aching for more when Book 3 ended with Lisbeth allowing Blomkvist back into her life after many months, there are some things in life — and literature — that should not be tampered with, feels Bookworm. The only quantum of solace? Getting to watch Daniel Craig as Blomkvist (in picture) yet again!

a present for potter: Last week, the Man Booker Prize website ran a very interesting contest — What Christmas present would you choose for your favourite literary character? Three of the best answers won signed copies of the 2013 Booker shortlist. The winning entries were:

A vacuum cleaner for Miss Havisham from Great Expectations.

A year of couple’s counselling for Cathy and Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights.

True Blood Box Set for Count Dracula from Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Bookworm can’t help admiring the oh-so-apt gift ideas. And being the Potterhead that she is, she’s started thinking of gifts she would give her favourite characters from Harry Potter. Wouldn’t this Marauder’s Map throw pillow (picture right) be perfect for Sirius Black? He’s had a hard life and surely deserves all the comfort he can get! What would you pick as a Christmas gift for your favourite Harry Potter character? Tell us at t2@abp.in' t2@abp.in

mad about the parody: After shedding copious tears over the death of the delicious Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, Bookworm is ROFL-ing over its parody, Bridget and Joan’s Diary: Mad About the Toy Boy [Oneworld Publications, ebooks Rs 485].

Bridget and Joan are two young-at-heart ladies in their 80s, living in the Second Best Exotic Magnolia Retirement Home and running up a riot with almost everything they do, be it going to the supermarket or taking down the Christmas lights. The book is written in diary format, just like Bridget Jones, and the tone is as cute as it is quirky. Here are a couple of entries:

THURSDAY JANUARY 3RD

I think I’ll make a nice cup of tea for me and Joan. I just need to find the sugar. And the milk. And the cups. I like my tea like I like my men. Strong, sweet and dark.

Joan: I like my tea like I like my men too. Still warm.

THURSDAY JANUARY 10TH

Had a lovely trip to the supermarket with Joan.

Sherry — 5 bottles

Luxury Belgian triple-chocolate macaroons — 4 packets

Number of times fell into chest freezer — 3

Joan: Had a stressful trip to the supermarket with Bridget.

Teabags — 160

Value custard creams — 1 packet

Number of displays knocked over by Bridget’s trolley — 3

Number of items Bridget attempted to purchase at ‘6 items or less’ checkout — 38

Number of pennies Bridget used to pay for shopping — 649

Number of times retrieved Bridget from chest freezer — 2