Hello!
Here we are on the last day of the year and it's time to list my favourite reads of the year.
This was a good year for reading.
Not consistently good but good.
There were some months when my reading life was on fire. And others where life took precedence and my reading slowed down.
But overall, 2019 was a good one.
I read 205 books.
A number I am most happy with.
I read a lot!
:)
I read physical books and a lottttttt of ebooks. I have a sneaky feeling that I read more ebooks than physical ones and that's new for me. With a 3 month long vacation, where I was away from my home and my personal library, my Kindle was a lifesaver. And ebooks being generally cheaper than their physical counterparts was kinder to my wallet too.
When it comes to book buying I feel like I was quite well behaved this year.
I bought books when I wanted to and bought books I wanted to read, but I don't remember going overboard with my book buying.
I also bought a fair amount of old/used books, another new development in my life.
I think overall, I bought around 50 new books this year...I am sure not more than that. In 2020 I want to keep a solid list of books I buy, both physical and ebook, so by the end of the year I know exactly how many books I bought.
But this year I think I bought less than 50 books in total...wait..maybe...
Ok..enough babbling.
Here are my favourite books of 2019.
In no particular order..
1. My Sister The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite: This was my second read of the year and what a smashing way to start my year. This was such a smashing read, a mix of a thriller (only slightly) and a story of sisters and secrets and a bunch of serial killings.
So good. A quick read and immersive and fun.
4.5/5
2. Dark Circles by Udayan Mukherjee: Another story of siblings and family secrets (I can't resist a book about family drama/secrets). This one was brilliantly written and broke my heart but in the best way possible. I cannot recommend it enough.
5/5
3. The Inheritors by Aruna Chakravarti: This might just be the best book I've read all year. It's made up of all things I love best in books- good writing, a Bengali family, multi-generational saga. This book just made me so happy. A multi-generational family saga, told via different members of the same family over a period of a 100 years. From rural Bengal, to Delhi to Berlin, we see the same family go through the usual ups and downs in life and while navigating family and social changes. Everything from the freedom struggle and to widowhood and the ill-treatment of women, marriage and relationships. Sweeping in its scope and beautiful and sensitively written. I loved this book so much. I wished there was more of it. So good!
5/5
4. Tell Her Everything by Mirza Waheed: A confessional. A book that is bound to make you pause and think. About ethics and personal responsibility. A book I read in, pretty much, one sitting.
4/5
5. Night of Happiness by Tabish Khair: This book broke my heart and I didn't see it coming. A story of a man who lives a quiet life, works hard and doesn't complain. Till one evening he does something that completely unsettles his employer, so he decides to look into his past and then we, the reader, get to dive into this life story.
So good. A quick read and immersive and fun.
4.5/5
2. Dark Circles by Udayan Mukherjee: Another story of siblings and family secrets (I can't resist a book about family drama/secrets). This one was brilliantly written and broke my heart but in the best way possible. I cannot recommend it enough.
5/5
3. The Inheritors by Aruna Chakravarti: This might just be the best book I've read all year. It's made up of all things I love best in books- good writing, a Bengali family, multi-generational saga. This book just made me so happy. A multi-generational family saga, told via different members of the same family over a period of a 100 years. From rural Bengal, to Delhi to Berlin, we see the same family go through the usual ups and downs in life and while navigating family and social changes. Everything from the freedom struggle and to widowhood and the ill-treatment of women, marriage and relationships. Sweeping in its scope and beautiful and sensitively written. I loved this book so much. I wished there was more of it. So good!
5/5
4. Tell Her Everything by Mirza Waheed: A confessional. A book that is bound to make you pause and think. About ethics and personal responsibility. A book I read in, pretty much, one sitting.
4/5
5. Night of Happiness by Tabish Khair: This book broke my heart and I didn't see it coming. A story of a man who lives a quiet life, works hard and doesn't complain. Till one evening he does something that completely unsettles his employer, so he decides to look into his past and then we, the reader, get to dive into this life story.
Ah!
I remember reading it one sitting, completely and utterly riveted. A relevant story for our times. About tolerance and loss and grief.
5/5
6. Leila by Prayaag Akbar: A dystopian that felt quite pretty concurrent. It was unsettling and scary and I hope to God the future is nothing like how this novel predicts. I saw the Netflix adaptation which I have some thoughts about, which I'll get into in a separate post. I did like it but it's so much different than the book but they did capture the bleakness of the book very well.
4/5
7. A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum: I love reading about other countries and other cultures and how people live in said cultures. This book, set in Palestine and New York takes us inside the lives of Palestinian women and how isolating and and stifling some lives can be. This one was an interesting and at times a hard read. It was brilliant.
4/5
8. Milk Teeth by Amrita Mahale: A brilliant book about my home- Bombay. Set in the 90s it's set in a GSB Konkani family, it's about two friends who have just gotten engaged. It's also about communal violence, secrets, identity and life in a housing society. This book felt alive and so deeply familiar, this world is one I know well. It was full of nostalgia. A book I can't recommend enough.
4.5/5
9. Gun Island by Amitav Ghosh: A new Amitav Ghosh is a blessing.
A full review can be found HERE.
10. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren: A romance! I am not a big romance reader but this book hd me smiling the whole time I spent with it. It was good fun and the right kind of mush. I enjoyed it immensely.
4/5
11. The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne: This book! I read this during Pride Month and it was just the most perfect read, for Pride in particular and even generally. This book made me cry, smile and did a fantastic job of taking us inside the life of it's protagonist. I loved this book so much. Please pick it up.
5/5
12. Left from The Nameless Shop by Aditi Rao: This book was all heart and simplicity and joy. It just made me happy. Set in a small village in the south in the 1980s, this collection of inter-connected short stories was the perfect read if you need a heartfelt and moving read.
5/5
13. The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali: Loved this book, set in Iran and the US, its the story of first love and missed chances.
Full review HERE.
14. Belonging by Umi Sinha: Another multi-generational story. This one set during the British Raj in an Anglo-Indian family. We see the three characters up close and personal and see their lives play out against all kinds of upheavals. The 1857 Mutiny, the first World War and it's aftermath. I loved this book and each of these characters we get to know, through letters and journal entries. It was heartbreaking parts, to see lives torn apart by poor choices (in some cases). It also dealt with issues of prejudice, racism and the sense of what home means.
So good.
4/5
15. Bhaunri by Anukrti Upadhyay: Bhaunri is beautiful and haunting and odd. Set within the tribal nomadic community of blacksmiths in Rajasthan this is a story of love but obsessive love. Of going too far. Of pining for attention. It's domestic drama at its finest.
4.5/5
16. The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay: A fantastic book. That has won a bunch of awards, all very well-deserved.
I did a full review for this one too.
Read it HERE.
17. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy: This book took me by surprise, I had no intention of reading it anytime soon. But one sleepless night, I started reading it on my Kindle and just fell in love! Such an amazing book and I felt like I read it at just the right moment in our history. Kashmir, dispossessed farmers, communal violence and community and finding your people. It was so good and I am SOOOOOO glad I found it at just the right time.
5/5
Most certainly one of the best books I read this year.
18. The Other Americans by Laila Lalami: A immigrants death changes the lives of those around him. There is a little bit of mystery as to how this man was killed, but it is mainly about family, the immigrant experience and race and racism. Subtle and moving and good. So good.
4/5
19. The Secrets Between Us by Thrity Umrigar: Ah! This book was pure joy. It just made me happy, the kind of happiness that comes from reading a good book.
Reviewed this one too.
Read it HERE.
Honestly, this book and it's prequel The Space Between Us are simply incredible books that you have got to read.
Ah!
And we are done.
This year has seriously been full of books. And for that I am so grateful.
205 books, not bad at all.
:)
Here's hoping 2020 brings more good books and more joy.
:)
Happy New Year's Eve Folks.
Have a good and safe evening.
Hope 2019 has been a good one for you too.
See ya next year.
&
In the next decade!!!
:)
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