reading habit

Books Editor’s note

Delhi got a little respite from the scorching heat with some much-welcome rain in the past couple of days, but in my mind, I am in another city, another country altogether. Helping me get there are some terrific travel books and articles I’ve been flipping through/reading lately. Here’s a handy list in Washington Post for you guys to get you started on your own dreaming. Any travel books you’ve loved lately? Please let me know, I really want more of them. In the meantime, here are some upcoming books to get your next month sorted.  

A List of New Releases

Fiction:

The Woman in the Library: by Sulari Gentill. This locked-room mystery is checking all my boxes. A woman’s scream rips through the quiet air of the Boston Public Library. As the place goes into shutdown until the problem is resolved, four strangers strike up a conversation, edging towards friendship. Little do they know that one of them is a murderer. Yes please!!! (June 7)

Mother Ocean Father Nation: by Nishant Batsha. I am very intrigued by what’s being called a “riveting debut.” Set in a Pacific Island in 1985, it is the story of two Indian-origin siblings, Jaipal and Bhumi, torn apart by a military coup—one runs away, while the other is forced to flee. Moving from the South Pacific to San Francisco, it’s a story of power and oppression and, at its heart, of identity and familial bond. (June 7)

With a Mind to Kill: by Anthony Horowitz. I’ve already sung Horowitz’s praises in previous newsletters, so it’s no surprise that I am very excited for this one, his third take on James Bond. The Cold War rages, and our hero is in custody, accused of murdering M. When an enemy group hatches a plan to use Bond to change the world order and the balance of power, Bond, as usual, must save the day while coming to terms with his own demons. (June 9)

Jezebel: by KR Meera, tr. from Malayalam by Abhirami Girija Sriram and KS Bijukumar. In Kerala, a courtroom drama plays out. At its centre is Jezebel, a young doctor, struggling against a cruel patriarchal society and messy divorce proceedings born out of a marriage full of secrets. A meditation on the independence of women and their freedom to live their life as they want, this astounding new novel from Meera uses the Biblical story of Jezebel as a parallel to highlight the injustices and double standards a woman must face every day in her life. (June 20)

Lapvona: by Otessa Moshfegh. A new Moshfegh has become something of an event, what with ‘Eileen’ and ‘My Year of Rest and Relaxation’ changing the landscape of literary fiction. This latest outing is set in a village in a medieval fiefdom and features Marek, a young, motherless boy, the son of a shepherd; the town’s corrupt lord and governor, Villiam; the town priest, Father Barnabas; and Ina, the blind village midwife who breastfed Marek when he was born and is feared by the village folk as a godless person. Religion and faith are central themes in this novel that’s bound to be polarizing. (June 23)

Non-fiction:

James Patterson by James Patterson: The Stories of My Life. Patterson is a literary superstar, with hundreds of books to his name, and this memoir takes us through a life filled with writing international bestsellers, turning his name into a brand and meeting (and working with) the likes of Bill Clinton and Dolly Parton. Look at that title—his fans are going to love this book. (June 6)

The Last Days of Roger Federer: And Other Endings: by Geoff Dyer. The title of the book was scary for a second, but the concept is fascinating. It attempts to answer the question: what happens to the work of athletes and artists when they age? Dyer thinks about his own “late middle age” against the backdrop of the last days and works of writers, painters, footballers, musicians and tennis stars, including Nietzsche, Bob Dylan, Bjorn Borg and Beethoven. (June 9)

Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks: by Patrick Radden Keefe. Keefe, a journalist, has become a reliable and innovative writer of non-fiction accounts, with his books ‘Say Nothing’ and ‘Empire of Pain’ winning numerous awards and accolades in the past few years. In his new book, he collects twelve of his most thrilling articles, originally published in the New Yorker, about “crime and corruption, secrets and lies, the permeable membrane separating licit and illicit worlds, the bonds of family, the power of denial.” The perfect summer read, if you ask me. (June 28)

Birdgirl: A Young Environmentalist Looks to the Skies in Search of a Better Future: by Mya-Rose Craig. If you need a break from the pace and demands of all the technology and bad news we’re constantly surrounded by, this book is for you. Mya-Rose—Birdgirl—is a British-Bangladeshi birder, environmentalist and diversity activist. In this memoir, she talks about discovering her passion for birdwatching at a young age, travelling to every continent to see regional birds, becoming aware of the ways we’re slowly destroying our planet and deciding to devote herself to campaigning for the survival of the natural world. (June 30)

An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us: by Ed Yong. Yong is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of ‘I Contain Multitudes’ and a lauded science journalist. Here, Yong encourages us to go beyond our own senses and try to see the world the way it is perceived by other animals. “We encounter beetles that are drawn to fires, turtles that can track the Earth’s magnetic fields, fish that fill rivers with electrical messages, and humans that wield sonar like bats.” I, for one, will be queuing up at the bookstore for this. (June 30)

Quick fixes, aka a few varied recommendations

I am delighted to report that ‘The Night Circus’ by Erin Morgenstern was phenomenal, and urge everyone who hasn’t read it to pick it up. I am currently reading ‘Lessons in Chemistry’ by Bonnie Garmus, and I am so properly in love. It’s about a willful, no-nonsense and incredibly smart chemist-slash-single mother in 1960s America who finds herself the star of an uber popular cooking show. Many things, including a takedown of institutional sexism, ensue.   

My book-adjacent rec of the week is the BBC’s Bookclub audio series, because I recently devoured this interview with Amor Towles talking about one of my favourite books, ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’. So many brilliant authors are there, including Tana French, Kazuo Ishiguro and Erin Morgenstern (yes!).

I watched it a few weeks ago and absolutely loved Marvel’s ‘Moon Knight’, based on the comic books of the same name. ‘WandaVision’ may have been distinct and revolutionary and ‘Loki’, a fan favourite, opened up new doors for the MCU, but there was something so refreshing and charming about Oscar Isaac switching between tripping over his feet in an English accent and kicking butt in an American one that I still think about it, weeks later. May Calamawy is stellar as well, and I cannot wait to see what these two do in the next season and how they fit into the larger universe.

I am also *very* excited to watch ‘Emma.’—which is finally on Netflix—soon, based on the novel of the same name by Jane Austen. This latest adaptation (2020) stars the fantastic Anya Taylor Joy and has had everyone in raptures, plus I am always a sucker for light period dramas and/or Austen adaptations so I am one hundred percent here for it.

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.