Reading Wrap-Up: January 2021.

Hello Loves! 

January comes to an end now and with that it's time to wrap-up my reading for this month. 

My Reading Life in January was rather nice. 

Slow. 

But nice. 

I read only 8 books and I say only because I read some 15 books in January last year. 

But this month I took my time with my reads and didn't rush through any of my books. 

Something I want to do through the rest of the year too. 

I read four physical books. 

&

Four ebooks. 

I read some kid lit. 

Some literary fiction. 

A spot of translation. 

Some world literature. 

Lots of short stories. 

Verse. 

Young adult. 

A very mixed bag and I hope and pray that the rest of the year follows suit. 

:) 

 

1. The Magic Moonlight Flowers and Other Stories by Satyajit Ray: I started my year right and with one of my favourite writers- Satyajit Ray. These stories were delightful and warm and a fun and full of magic and wonder and good people meeting happy endings. I cannot think of a better way to kick start a new year. 

4/5 

2. The Complete Adventures of Feluda Vol. I by Satyajit Ray: I continued my foray into Ray and picked up my favourite stories featuring my favourite Indian sleuth. Feluda is a Bengali staple, a hero, a sleuth and an all around renaissance man. I haven't read these stories in a while and I was really, really missing them. So I bought the ebooks versions of these books and got my reading started. I haven't re-read allll the stories in this volume yet and I am not rushing through them anytime soon. I want to read them all through February and enjoy myself thoroughly. 

5/5

I also watched, well re-watched a ton of the Feluda films this month and nothing makes me happier. 

3. French Lover by Taslima Nasrin: I took a long time to read this book. Like over a week and I occasionally strayed and read other stories here and there but I always came back to this story about a young Bengali woman finding her way in Paris. Navigating a less than perfect arranged marriage, making new friends, starting a new job and well acquiring a lover or two. Nila's journey and story had me invested and gripped and took me on a ride through her changing emotions and her unusual life path. I liked her for most part and this book was one I enjoyed too. It was quiet and full of angst but I was surprised by how much I liked it. 

4/5 

4. The Women Who Forgot to Invent Facebook and Other Stories by Nisha Susan: This book came highly hyped and like a lot of hyped books this one unfortunately fell a little flat for me. A lot of people seem to love it and I can see why, but as far as I am concerned this book felt a little try hard. Like it was desperately trying to be a bit more..a bit more edgy and bit more irreverent. Not bad. Just not nearly as good as I had thought it would be. 

2.5/5 

5. Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls by Lynn Wiengarten: Two best friends. 

Co-dependant. 

Slightly toxic. 

Estranged. 

Till one of them ends her life and the other is left figuring out the mystery of her death and life. 

Fast paced and engrossing and with a decent twist in the end. Perfectly enjoyable. 

3.5/5 

6. Unforeseen Desires by Anil Chopra: Set in Dehradun in the 1970s in the middle of the Emergency, this is the story of a young doctor coming of age amidst a tumultuous time. Office politics, love, companionship and worries about the future and an accusation of theft all come together to give us a vignette into an important time in our  main protagonists life. Heart felt and moving and sparse and real, this book was wonderful in many quiet and poignant ways. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I picked it up on bit of a whim and mainly because I found the cover very pretty. Glad the insides were just as pretty. 

4/5 

7. Jungle Nama by Amitav Ghosh: An Amitav Ghosh book is a cause of joy. This one, his first book in verse, expounds on the legend of Bon Bibi and Dokkhin Ray. I have a done a full review on this one so I won't go on now. Lovely in every which way. 

4/5 

8. Secret Son by Laila Lalami: A young man growing up in the slums of Casablanca is in for a shock when he finds out that his father, who he assumed was dead, is in fact very much alive and shockingly wealthy. So a reunion occurs between father and son and young Youssef's life is completely altered. 

This book really pulls you in and takes you along for a ride of chasing fortunes, shifting loyalties and class and wealth and a young man trying to see where he belongs. 

Well-written and moving. A good way to end the month. 

4/5 

What a good month it's been. 

A month with a lot of Ray and Amitav Ghosh too. 

Hope your reading month has been good too. 

Happy Reading folks!