A list of new releases

Fiction:

Fighter Cock: by Sidharth Singh. Set in an untamed, wild city in central India, this is the story of sex and drug addict Raja Karianath and his famed “fighter cocks—the perennial champions in the brutal, illegal sport. There is also his bastard son and challenger Teja, and Sheru, a young man hired by Raja to do his dirty deeds, a man looking to make a name for himself. It’s a well-written, cutthroat novel the likes of which have rarely been seen in India. Violent and political, it takes a hard look at the concept of patriarchy and is not for the weak-hearted, but offers a fast-paced ride nevertheless.

Hard Like Water: by Yan Lianke, translated by Carlos Rojas. This one is hard to explain in a few words, but let me try: it is the story of socialist revolutionary ideas and sexual fervour in China. Gao Aijun and Xia Hongmei are forbidden lovers, having a passionate affair, hidden from their spouses and the village. They build a literal tunnel connecting their houses, sing revolutionary songs, and make love. But when the villagers find out, the lovers are up against not only their people, but also the doctrines of the party they so eagerly support. Will they make it out alive? It’s a typical Lianke novel filled with surprises and wry humour, and highly readable.

Animal: by Lisa Taddeo. Joan is just done with men, having spent a lifetime being at the horrific end of their actions. But when a shocking act of violence is perpetrated in front of her by a man, there’s only one way she knows she can deal with it—by returning to LA to examine the terrible event she witnessed as a child, while discovering that she has it in her to actually...fight back. This is a dark, impactful story about anger and power and revenge, made unputdownable in the capable hands of Taddeo, who published the brilliant ‘Three Women’ a couple years ago to great global praise.

Anti-Clock: by VJ James, translated by Ministhy S. Sample these opening lines from the book’s jacket copy and tell me you don’t want to rush to your nearest indie and snatch yourself a copy: “Hendri, the coffin maker, has one goal in life: to see the dead body of his nemesis Satan Loppo being lowered into the coffin he has painstakingly carved. For it was Loppo who defiled his beloved Beatrice, and let loose his hellhound Hitler upon Hendri, giving him a permanent limp.” The story traverses a plethora of subjects, including culture infused with politics and religion, and was a Malayalam classic long before its acclaimed English translation was published.

The Secret Keeper of Jaipur: by Alka Joshi. The much-awaited sequel to the bestselling ‘The Henna Artist’ takes us to the next stage in the lives of Lakshmi and Malik. While the former is married and living in Shimla, the latter is falling in love and constructing a state-of-the-art cinema at the Jaipur Royal Palace. But Malik soon realizes that power and money still play a significant role at the place he works. When the cinema’s balcony tragically collapses, he discovers darker things are at play. Joshi is a master of character study and has delivered a marvelous sequel to her phenomenal debut.

Non-fiction:

The Anthropocene Reviewed: by John Green. Who knew Green would practically become a household name? Even people who don’t know anything about his books have heard of him. The wildly popular and multi-faceted author and doer of one hundred other things has rolled out his first non-fiction book. It is an insightful and personal collection of essays based on his groundbreaking podcast. In it, he “reviews different facets of the human-centered planet on a five-star scale—from the QWERTY keyboard and sunsets to Canada geese and Penguins of Madagascar.” Buy it for his storytelling and the complex issues he deals with, including humanity’s relationship with the natural world.

Languages of Truth: by Salman Rushdie. Bringing together pieces written between 2003 and 2020, this essential collection of essays covers Rushdie’s intellectual reckoning with a period of much tumult. He delves into a wide variety of subjects, including the nature of storytelling as a human necessity, the nature of “truth”, the amazing malleability of language, the creative forces that join art and life, and casts a fresh eye on migration, multiculturalism, and censorship.

Sach Kahun Toh: by Neena Gupta. Neena Gupta is not only an excellent actress, but also a joyous, feisty person who knows how to live life with all her heart. In this candid, free-flowing tell-all, she takes us from her childhood in Karol Bagh to her move to Bombay, the struggles of finding work, her unconventional pregnancy and single parenthood, and her rise to stardom at a later age. She writes just like she talks: very personally and with involvement, baring her life to her readers while having a lot of fun at the same time.

Cultish: by Amanda Montell. What makes cults so intriguing, scary and powerful? When we look at Scientology or QAnon, we’re curious to know what it is that makes so many people follow such groups blindly, and wonder if it could happen to us. Montell is here to tell us that, in a way, it already has...

The key to creating an intense ideology and subsequent community is language. “In both positive ways and shadowy ones, cultish language is something we hear—and are influenced by—every single day.” Montell excels at storytelling and presents original research in this fascinating book, a must-read for everyone, especially considering the times that we live in.

The Lover Boy of Bahawalpur: by Rahul Pandita. The journalist and award-winning author of ‘Our Moon Has Blood Clots’ tells the true and thrilling story of how a team of extraordinary NIA sleuths solved the Pulwama case, connecting seemingly unrelated dots and tracing them all back to Masood Azhar, a Jaish-e-Mohammed operative and the mastermind behind numerous such operations. A noteworthy book on Kashmir and the rise of terrorism in recent times.

Quick fixes, aka a few varied recommendations:

Romance! Honestly, everyone should be sprinkling these in their reading lives to feel happy and alive and just a little bit mushy. Here are some of my faves:

The Wedding Photographer: by Sakshama Puri Dhariwal. Journalist and part-time photographer Risha Kohli finds herself seated next to millionaire Arjun Khanna on a flight. And what’s more, her next gig is Arjun’s sister’s wedding, the biggest, fattest Indian wedding in town. But as their attraction for each other grows, they both have some qualms. Arjun is worried Risha might be using him for a scoop for her newspaper, while Risha just doesn’t want Arjun to jeopardize this sweet gig she so desperately needs. Hijinks, as is their wont, ensue.

The Kiss Quotient: by Helen Hoang. Stella Lane is a math whiz who has way less dating experience than an average 31-year-old. The fact she has Asperger’s and French kissing seems to confound her doesn’t help. So she enlists a “professional” for help and practice: Michael Phan, escort, who can’t turn Stella’s offer down. There’s a lot of steam and heart in this one, an enjoyable experience from start to finish—along with great representation.

The Wedding Date: by Jasmine Guillory. Alexa Monroe agrees to go to a wedding with a guy she met in an elevator: Drew, who has to go through the excruciating pain of attending his ex’s wedding, but is not going to do it without a date. What happens next, we can all perfectly well imagine, but it is still such a treat to read!

Boyfriend Material: by Alexis Hall. Luc O'Donnell is kinda famous—his divorced parents are rockstars. When a compromising photo brings him back into the public eye in an unhappy way, he knows what he needs to clean up his image: a respectable, normal, nice relationship. Enter Oliver Blackwood, barrister, vegetarian, and as far away from scandal as possible. Will these opposites attract enough to click? Only one way to find out. ❤️

Note: Reading Habit is curated by our book editor Anushree Kaushal. Want to send along recommendations, feedback or just say hi? Email her at kaushalanushree@gmail.com.