Folger Book Club convenes on Thursday, November 7 with a discussion of Dating Dr. Dil by Nisha Sharma. To get ready for the conversation, we compiled some introductory information on this contemporary romance version of The Taming of the Shrew.
What is Dating Dr. Dil about?
Kareena Mann dreams of having a love story like her parents, but she prefers restoring her classic car to swiping right on dating apps. When her father announces he’s selling her mother’s home, Kareena makes a deal with him: he’ll gift her the house if she can get engaged in four months. Her search for her soulmate becomes impossible when her argument with Dr. Prem Verma, host of The Dr. Dil Show, goes viral. Now the only man in her life is the one she doesn’t want.
Dr. Prem Verma is dedicated to building a local community health center, but he needs to get donors with deep pockets. The Dr. Dil Show was doing just that, until his argument with Kareena went viral, and he’s left short changed. That’s when Kareena’s meddling aunties presented him with a solution: convince Kareena he’s her soulmate and they’ll fund his clinic.
Even though they have conflicting views on love-matches and arranged-matches, the more time Prem spends with Kareena, the more he begins to believe she’s the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with. But for Prem and Kareena to find their happily ever after, they must admit that hate has turned into fate.
Critical Reception
“In this 2022 modern take on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, Nisha Sharma tells a romantic story that also addresses misogynistic beliefs in some South Asian cultures about how women are expected to handle marriage, sex, and relationships.” —Time
“A loose adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew, the inaugural installment of Sharma’s If Shakespeare Was an Auntie trilogy is replete with endearing references to Indian, specifically Punjabi, culture. Kareena and Prem are engaging protagonists, and the relationships they each share with their closest friends are fresh and fun.” —Kirkus Reviews
“This book is rom-com gold: steamy, hilarious fun with tons of swoony, emotional scenes.”—Ali Hazelwood
Why did we choose this book?
The Folger Shakespeare Library’s collection explores not only Shakespeare’s life and works, but also the plays’ historical context, source material, critical and performance histories, and the ways in which they inspire and are adapted by contemporary novelists. Folger Book Club explores connections between contemporary fiction and the Folger’s mission, collection, and programming.
An increasingly popular genre, romance has been gaining in critical attention and readership in recent years as well as diversifying the types of love stories being told. Dating Dr. Dil sets Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew within a South Asian community in New Jersey, exploring ideas around familial obligation and cultural pressures.
About the author: Nisha Sharma
From the author’s website
Nisha Sharma, pronouns she/her, is a YA and adult contemporary romance writer living in the Philly suburbs with her Alaskan husband, and a plethora of animals named after characters in literature. Her books have been included in best-of lists by The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Cosmopolitan, The Washington Post, Time Magazine and more. Before she left the corporate world, Nisha spearheaded DEI initiatives at billion dollar companies. She has continued her advocacy work by fighting for marginalized authors in publishing. When she’s not writing about people of color experiencing radical joy or teaching about inclusivity, Nisha can be found hitting the books for her PhD in English and Social Justice. You can find her online at Nisha-sharma.com or on TikTok and Instagram @nishawrites.
Content Transparency
Dating Dr. Dil includes explicit sexual material.
November’s Bookstore Partner
We are thrilled this month to partner with Busboys and Poets, a restaurant, bar, bookstore and community gathering place. First established in 2005, Busboys and Poets was founded by owner Andy Shallal, an artist, activist, and restaurateur. After opening the flagship location at 14th and V Streets, NW DC, the neighboring residents, and the progressive community embraced Busboys and Poets, particularly activists opposed to the Iraq War.
Busboys and Poets is now located in nine distinctive neighborhoods in the Washington D.C Metropolitan and Baltimore areas. Busboys and Poets is a cultural hub for artists, activists, writers, thinkers, and dreamers.
You can purchase from their bookshop.org or Libro.fm site.
We would like to thank the following organization for its generous support of this program
Join us for an upcoming event
Little Books, Big Gifts: The Artistry of Esther Inglis
Early Music Seminar: A Mass for Christmas Eve
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
Folger Book Club: The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
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