reading habit

Hello readers, and welcome to Reading Habit, your bookish friend and guide through this tentatively hopeful year! 

 

This week, I have put together a list for a cool 2021 reading challenge. I’m seeing fewer new year resolutions in 2021 than I’ve ever seen before, and I can’t say I’m surprised. If you are in the mood for something less structured than our list, may I suggest reading as much, as widely and as diversely as possible be one of your resolutions? I also have a list of new and upcoming book releases. 

 

But before we begin, here is a handy, comprehensive literary calendar from The Guardian, full of some of the biggest bookish events and releases occurring throughout the year. 

 

On to the books now. Keep reading, and support your local bookstores!

 

A 2021 Reading Challenge

Here is my personal take on the very cool Reading Women challenge for this year: two themes per month. If you prefer or need a lighter reading list, feel free to pick the option that appeals to you most.

 

January

Longlisted for the JCB Prize: 

• Undertow by Jahnavi Barua
• A Ballad of Remittent Fever by Ashoke Mukhopadhyay, tr. by Arunava Sinha

Author from Eastern Europe: 

• The Unwomanly Face of War by Svetlana Alexievich (Belarus)
• Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk (Poland)

 

February 

About incarceration:

• Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
• Guantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi

Cookbook by a woman of colour:

• Tiffin by Sonal Ved
• Cravings by Chrissy Teigen

 

March

Protagonist older than 50:

• Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey
• The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

South American author in translation:

• The Murmur of Bees by  Sofía Segovia, tr. by Simon Bruni (Mexico)
• The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende, tr. by Magda Bogin (Chile)

 

April

Reread a favourite:

• Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
• Atonement by Ian McEwan

Memoir by an Indigenous Woman:

• Crazy Brave by Joy Harjo
• Heart Berries by Terese Mailhot

 

May

By a Neurodivergent author:

• The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
• Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde 

Crime novel or thriller in translation:

• Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell (Swedish)
• Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama (Japanese)

 

June

About the natural world:

• Indica by Pranay Lal
• Underland by Robert Macfarlane 

Young adult novel by a Latinx author:

• I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L Sánchez
• Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

 

July

Poetry collection by a black woman:

• All Along You Were Blooming: Thoughts for Boundless Living by Morgan Harper Nichols
• A Bound Woman is a Dangerous Thing by DaMaris B Hill

Biracial protagonist:

• To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
• Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

 

August

Muslim middle grade novel:

• Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed
• Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan

A queer love story:

• Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall
• Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner

 

September

About a woman in politics:

• The Truths We Hold by Kamala Harris
• No Higher Honor by Condoleezza Rice

Rural Setting:

• The Round House by Louise Erdrich
• As Brave As You by Jason Reynolds

 

October

Cover designed by a woman:

• Mars Room by Rachel Kushner (UK, design by Suzanne Dean)
• The Mothers by Brit Bennett (US, design by Helen Yentus)

Arab author in translation:

• The Automobile Club of Egypt by Alaa al-Aswany (tr. Russell Harris)
• Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz (tr. William Maynard Hutchins and Olive E. Kenny)

 

November

By a Trans author:

• Redefining Realness by Janet Mock
• Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

Fantasy novel by an Asian author:

• Hunted by the Sky by Tanaz Bhathena
• The Poppy War by R F Kuang

 

December

Non-fiction focused on social justice:

• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
• Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall

Short story collection by a Caribbean author:

• Everything Inside by Edwidge Danticat
• Love War Stories by Ivelisse Rodriguez

 

A list of new releases

Fiction:

• Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas: One of the most highly anticipated releases of the year, the author of The Hate U Give returns to Garden Heights with the story of Maverick Carter, Starr’s father, set 17 years before the events of the bestselling phenomenon.
• The Last Queen by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni: An exquisite tale of love, bravery and betrayal from the bestselling author of The Palace of Illusions, this is the story of Jindan Kaur, the youngest—and last—queen of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. 
• The Dharma Forest by Keerthik Sasidharan: An extraordinary retelling of the Mahabharata war, the book takes the points of view of Bhishma, Draupadi and Arjuna to tell a familiar story in an entirely new light. The first in a trilogy, it is magnificently unique, highly readable and teaches you something new on every page.
• The Death of Francis Bacon by Max Porter: The highly innovative author of Grief is the Thing with Feathers and Lanny turns his attention to the final days of a great painter, converting his final thoughts into paintings. 
• The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins: Everything Hawkins does is immensely enjoyable, and this delicious, noir twist on Jane Eyre promises to be a sharp, addictive psychological thriller, perfect for fans of Ruth Fare and Lucy Foley.  

Non-fiction:

• A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders: For the last twenty years, the Booker–winner has been teaching a class on the Russian short story to his MFA students at Syracuse University. Through this collection of seven essays paired with short stories from Russian greats, Saunders teaches us about the very real human connection one can make through reading and writing. 
• Locking Down the Poor by Harsh Mander: One of the most conscientious and thought-provoking voices writing today, Mander brings us the stories of the least privileged of us, from the homeless to the migrant workers. He combines hard data with on-the-ground reporting to highlight the gravity of the humanitarian crisis that India is in the midst of today.
• The Good Girls by Sonia Faleiro: In this astounding, revelatory work of investigative journalism, Faleiro tells the real story behind the tragic deaths of two teenage girls and an epidemic of violence against women. 
• The Tale of the Horse by Yashaswini Chandra: Drawing a remarkable connection between Indian history, mythology, art, literature, folklore and popular belief through horses, this debut takes us on an astonishing journey across India and beyond, using an equine vantage point to write a new history of the region and its society, politics and people. 
• Empireland by Sathnam Sanghera: An illuminating new take on British history, showing how much of the modern Britain one knows and understands is rooted in its imperial past, an aspect which today somehow goes unnoticed.