reading habit

Books Editor’s Note

I want to start by noting that the extraordinary and incredible ‘Tomb of Sand’ by Geetanjali Shree, translated by Daisy Rockwell, was longlisted for the International Booker Prize, the first ever novel translated from Hindi to make it to the list. The conversation around translations has become more important recently—publishers are being implored to pay translators more fairly and recognize their contributions more publicly, while Booker-winning translator Jennifer Croft has refused to sign with a publishing house if they won’t put her name on the front cover of the book she translates. It’s an issue worth paying attention to if you’re interested in the literary world. In the meantime, go give ‘Tomb of Sand’ a read if you haven’t already, and then pick one of the following books, all great, all out very soon. 

A List of New Releases

Fiction:

The Candy House: by Jennifer Egan. The protagonist of the latest from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of ‘A Visit from the Goon Squad’ has developed a controversial technology that lets you access every memory you’ve ever had and share it in exchange for access to the memories of others. The repercussions of such a service are felt across multiple characters over several decades in this spellbinding, thought-provoking novel that sounds like it might be eerily close to our near-future. (April 5)

The No-Show: by Beth O’Leary. O’Leary has slowly become one of the most beloved rom-com darlings of our times, and for good reason. ‘The Flatshare’, her 2019 debut, was lovely, and her latest sounds no different. Siobhan, Miranda and Jane are strangers who have only one thing in common: they’ve all been stood up on Valentine’s Day and, unbeknownst to them, by the same man. But who is this mysterious man who they all might be falling in love with? I, for one, can’t wait to find out. (April 5)

Young Mungo: by Douglas Stuart. Stuart won the Booker Prize for his debut, ‘Shuggie Bain,’ a couple of years ago, making his second outing that much more anticipated. This one is a lyrical, beautifully written tale that deals with themes of working-class life, the bounds of masculinity and dangerous young love between two men. (April 5)

Sea of Tranquility: by Emily St John Mandel. Mandel’s moment began with her debut, ‘Station Eleven,’ six years ago, and it just hasn’t stopped. The latest addition to her fantastic oeuvre spans centuries and concerns three central characters, all tied together by an occurrence in a patch of North American wilderness. A novel of “art, time, love and plague,” it promises to be as magical as anything Mandel has done before. NB: ‘Station Eleven’ was recently adapted to much acclaim and stars Mackenzie Davis and Himesh Patel. (April 14)

Kaikeyi: by Vaishnavi Patel.This is the most anticipated and lauded international debut of the season. Patel takes a smaller character from the Ramayana—a tale at least a little familiar to all of us—and gives her a rich, complex backstory, beginning from her life as the only daughter of the kingdom of Kekaya and taking her all the way to becoming a warrior, a diplomat and a queen. Comparisons to Madeline Miller’s ‘Circe’ have already been made and I cannot wait to jump straight into this one. (April 26)

Non-fiction:

Ancestor Trouble: A Reckoning and a Reconciliation: by Maud Newton. Newton comes from a wild and unconventional Southern family, with stories you’ll have to read yourself to believe. In her quest to truly understand her family and ancestry, she dove deep into not only census archives and oral stories, but also the realm of genetics and epigenetics, intergenerational trauma and the multi-billion-dollar genealogy industry. It makes for an astonishing and moving read. (March 29)

Phantom Plague: How Tuberculosis Shaped History: by Vidya Krishnan. In the definitive social history of the disease that killed George Orwell and Eleanor Roosevelt and affected Desmond Tutu, Amitabh Bachchan and Nelson Mandela, Krishnan’s expert original reporting shows, among other things, how superstition and folk-remedies for tuberculosis eventually made way for a scientific cure, which was incidentally unavailable to black and brown folks at first. A fascinating account of the disease through the lens of medicine, politics and anthropology. (March 31)

Superpowers on the Shore: by Sejal Mehta. Mehta tells the mesmerising story of the shorelines of Mumbai that is host to “some magnificent intertidal species—solar-powered slugs, escape-artist octopuses, venomous jellies, harpooning conus sea snails, to name just a few.” A book like this is not only full of surprising, sometimes even fun, facts, but it also serves to make us more aware of the wonderful creatures we share the earth with and what we can do to make sure they thrive as much as we do. (April 18)

Unmasked: My Life Solving America’s Cold Cases: by Paul Holes. True crime as a genre seems to be having a reckoning of late, with calls to consume true crime fare more responsibly (and justifiably so.) Paul Holes, the detective who found the Golden State Killer—subject of ‘I’ll Be Gone in the Dark’ by Michelle McNamara and the documentary of the same name—seems to be doing something different through this memoir, as he puts the focus on himself solving both cold cases and modern crimes. I’m curious to see how it’ll turn out. (April 21)

Finding Me: A Memoir: by Viola Davis. Davis is an internationally beloved star that you know from her iconic roles in ‘How To Get Away With Murder,’ ‘The Help’ and most recently, ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.’ In this memoir, she charts the course of her life, from her impoverished childhood in South Carolina and winning a scholarship to Juilliard, to her becoming the first African-American to win an Oscar, a Tony and an Emmy award. (April 26)

Poetry:

The Penguin Book of Indian Poets: edited by Jeet Thayil. Promising to be the definitive anthology of Indian poetry in English, this epic volume spans 75 years and brings together a treasure trove of voices from across the world “to present an expansive, encompassing idea of what makes an ‘Indian’ poet. Included are lost, uncollected, or out of print poems by major poets, essays that place entire bodies of work into their precise cultural contexts, and a collection of classic black and white portraits by Madhu Kapparath.” And, I mean, will you look at that stunning cover. (April 18)

Quick fixes, aka, a few varied recommendations

If you would like to read true crime that has truly changed the discourse around the genre, you should pick up ‘The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper’ by Hallie Rubenhold. In the book, Rubenhold attempts to shift the focus on to the lives of the five known victims of the infamous killer, who’ve so far been dismissed as prostitutes and sex workers in a narrative built around the mythification and glorification of murderer instead. An eye-opening book if there ever was one. 

Book adjacent rec of the week: I like the straightforward premise of Book Freak, run by Mark Frauenfelder. Every week, Mark reads a work of non-fiction and extracts a handful of useful advice to share with the rest of the world. The latest issue presented four pieces of advice from ‘Algorithms to Live By’ by Brian Christian. Mark covers everything from the famous works of Daniels Pink and Kahneman to lesser-known books. 

Bookish adaptation to watch out: Guys, I come bearing no new adaptations I’ve been watching, but an old one that everyone’s going to yell at me for coming to too late. Yes, it’s ‘Bridgerton.’ It’s based on the regency romance series of novels by Julia Quinn and I. Am. Obsessed. However, I will steel myself to watch ‘A Dog’s Way Home,’ out today on Netflix, which is absolutely sure to make me cry. It is based on the book of the same name by W Bruce Cameron.  

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