reading habit
Books Editor’s note
I’m quite excited today because my bag of new releases this morning is bursting at the seams. There’s quite a few of them—some from January, others coming out this month—so let’s dive straight into it.
A list of new releases
Fiction:
Dada Comrade: by Yashpal, tr. Simona Sawhney. A classic of Hindi literature and a pioneering political novel in the language, this forceful tale brings together Harish, a revolutionary in pre-Independence Lahore, Shailbala, his comrade and lover, and Dada, Harish’s former mentor and now rival.
To Paradise: by Hanya Yanagihara. This, from the author of the heartbreaker ‘A Little Life’, has been hotly anticipated. It is a grand, sprawling tale of three different versions of America across three centuries, borrowing themes and notes from one another. Yanagihara takes us through the AIDS epidemic, a vision of totalitarian rule, the illusion of free love, and so much more.
The Christie Affair: by Nina de Gramont. This sounds fantastic. A re-imagining of Agatha Christie’s infamous eleven day-disappearance, told from the point of view of Christie’s husband’s mistress, fictionalized here as Nan O’Dea.
Devil House: by John Darnielle. A one-hit wonder true crime writer has been given the chance to resuscitate his career by living in and writing about the notorious Devil House, where a pair of grisly murders took place in the 1980s. What’s not to love?
When I'm Gone, Look for Me in the East: by Quan Barry. A pair of estranged twin brothers are tasked with finding the reincarnation of a great lama, who’s somewhere in Mongolia. In this ‘road trip’ novel like no other, Barry keenly explores themes of individual faith, the immortal soul, love, sex and brotherhood.
Must Love Books: by Shauna Robinson. Love stories set in the publishing world are not new, and yet I devour every single one of them. Nora is a poorly paid editorial assistant who decides to secretly moonlight for a rival publisher to make ends meet. But what will she do when a bestselling author, over whom both houses are fighting, is thrown into the mix?
Love Marriage: by Monica Ali. Set in London, this is the story of Yasmin, soon to be a doctor, engaged to Joe, who’s from an upper-class family. There’s a huge gulf between their worlds—and their sexual experiences. As their wedding day nears, long-held secrets come out, including one involving her parents’ “love marriage”, as Yasmin had believed all her life. A page-turning comedy if there ever was one.
Poetry:
Alexa, What is There to Know About Love?: by Brian Bilston. You come for the title, you stay for the breathtaking poems about love of all shapes and forms: familial, romantic, long-distance, digital.
Empty Nest: Poems for Families: edited by Carol Ann Duffy. The former UK Poet Laureate has selected 99 poems on parenting in this gorgeous anthology. A beautiful selection of modern and classic poems featuring Elizabeth Bishop, Simon Armitage, Shakespeare, Imtiaz Dharker and many more beloved masters of verse.
Non-fiction:
You Don’t Know Us Negroes and Other Essays: by Zora Neale Hurston. Encapsulating over 35 years of work, this is the first comprehensive collection of essays, criticism and articles by the legendary Zora Neale Hurston, a journey through the evolution of her captivating writing style.
I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home: by Jami Attenberg. In this funny, dazzling memoir from a brilliant, lauded novelist, Attenberg tells us the story of how she grew into the writer she is today, travelling across the world and facing hardships, challenges, joys and moulding experiences. This is for everyone who’s drawn towards their creative calling in the midst of a chaotic life.
Rebels Against the Raj: Western Fighters for India’s Freedom: by Ramachandra Guha. From the preeminent biographer of Gandhi and historian of modern India comes the story of seven foreigners—four British, two American, one Irish; four men, three women—who chose to join India’s freedom movement fighting for independence from British colonial rule. An engrossing, informative read.
Let’s Get Physical: How Women Discovered Exercise and Reshaped the World: by Danielle Friedman. Exercise is universal, and yet, like everything is else, sexism in the industry has always been present. This fascinating history explores the rise of women’s exercise, the extraordinary female pioneers who shaped the industry, and how exercise became not just about physical strength but also personal autonomy.
How to be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question: by Michael Schur. The creator of ‘The Office’ and ‘The Good Place’ has written a book trying to answer the question “How can we live a more ethical life?” That’s enough for me to hit the order button.
Control: The Dark History and Troubling Present of Eugenics: by Adam Rutherford. Over time, the principles of eugenics have been embraced by countries across the world, and while it was a huge political movement decades ago, its disturbing legacy continues to this day. Rutherford documents the many attempts by the powerful throughout history to “dictate and dominate reproduction and regulate the interface of breeding and society.”
The Stasi Poetry Circle: The Creative Writing Class that Tried to Win the Cold War: by Philip Oltermann. 1982. East Germany. Morale is down; the spectre of a nuclear war looms. Rather than using guns or bombs, the Stasi develop a programme to fight capitalism by forming a book club, consisting of a small group of spies, soldiers and border guards. In it, they wrote their own poetry and were taught verse, metre and rhetoric by East German poet Uwe Berger as a way to win the culture war. The results of this experiment would turn out to be unexpected. A fresh history of the period and a gripping tale.
Quick fixes, aka a few varied recommendations
I am reading ‘The Moor’ by Laurie R King, the fourth in the Mary Russell-Sherlock Holmes series. It’s an homage to the iconic ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ and every bit as delightful as the first three books in the series.
I’m excited to watch ‘Inventing Anna’, out soon on Netflix, based on an article by Jessica Pressler in the New York magazine about the bonkers story of Anna Delvey, a scammer, posing as a rich German heiress, who tricked NYC’s elites out of hundreds of millions of dollars.
I’m a sucker for personal essays, and I recently stumbled upon an excellent, curated repository of some fantastic personal narratives from across the internet on Memoir Monday. As a sample, check out ‘Age Hacker’, which I recently read and adored.
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.
