Join the book club as we read Dating Dr. Dil

Folger Book Club is pleased to announce our next book discussion – Dating Dr. Dil by Nisha Sharma on Thursday, November 7, at 6:30pm (ET).

This session will feature a presentation by Dr. Anandi Rao, a lecturer (assistant professor) in South Asian Studies at SOAS, University of London. Her work lies at the intersection of postcolonial studies, gender and sexuality studies, translation studies and Shakespeare studies. She is a Folger Short Term Fellow for the academic year 2024-2025.

Participation is free. Click below to reserve your spot.

All discussions will be held in Zoom and we will also share the discussion questions, supplemental materials, and suggestions for sips and snacks in advance.

Hope to see you there!

Register for the session

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.

Register for the session

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.

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.

Catch up with Edith Holler

Not able to join us for October's discussion of Edith Holler by Edward Carey? The Folger Spotlight has introductory and supplemental material—including discussion questions—to help you explore the book or even host your own conversation.