My Year in Books
So it almost the last month of 2020 and I am sure that every single one of us cannot wait for the year to get over. Though, I must confess that I did love the idea of social distancing; made the introvert in me so happy and gave me more time to get under the covers and read a book. Books have always been my best friends anyway. Sadly though I haven’t been able to even come close to hitting my Goodreads Challenge Target for the year. But what I did mange was to have an interesting year when it comes to reading. So here are some of my favorite reads for the year
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Most of the people that know me, know that I have always idolized Princess Diana and if you didn’t know it I am telling you now, “I Idolize Princess Diana, and I swear this isn’t “The Crown” effect”. To me she isn’t perfect, but real and that is what I like about her. No one ever came close to the idea of ‘The People’s Princess’ in my mind. That is until 2007 and the world and I were introduced to Michelle Obama. “When they go low, We go high”, Its a mantra we can live by. So the fact that I just managed to read this book in September, comes as a bit of a shock even to me. But I am glad I did not pick it up as soon as it was out and ride teh wave, I am glad I waited. The best part is that I was in no hurry to finish it; I just didn’t want a glimpse in the world, I took my time living it. And the writing made it so easy to just revel in. Becoming is not just an Autobiography, or just a retelling of a period of her life. It is the story of a person growing into the best version of herself and being proud of the person she had become. And of all the many things to take away from this book, the reader must take away at least that.
Cassandra Clare (Mortal Instruments, Infernal Devices And Dark Artifices)
Finally, I have managed to read all the 3 series. I read all 12 books back to back. I know fans of the Shadowhunter World will say that I am late to the party, with the show ( I really hated it) and the movie (don’t think I’ll watch it) and all the hype around it. But this is another case where I am happy that I came late to the party. Knowing how hyped up this was, gave me a perspective that I would not have had if I had read it before. So my thoughts on the stories – the characters and their emotional struggles are what I most related to. The moral conundrums, emotional dilemmas and the relationship tangles in this world have been etched out so well in the books. The show killed so much of the books and the world.
Born A Crime By Trevor Noah
A book I read around August, was just what I needed to read then. Being a deep and intelligent story about the early life of Trevor Noah I had a certain expectation from this book. In my defense, I have been following Trevor for a while now, and I have seen some of his shows. So I was expecting a different perspective and a different take. But in spite of that the book was a revelation. The stories from his life, serious stories, difficult stories yet put across as easy to read. This is a book I believe has the capacity to change thought processes and I would recommend you to read the book.
Thrillers
My list would be incomplete without crime stories or Psychological thrillers on there. This is my favorite genre to read, write and live with. So here are a few of my favorite reads in this genre.
One of Us Is Lying by Karen M McManus – A more than intelligent story, totally true to its genre.
Six Graves to Munich by Mario Puzo – This book was the one right before Godfather and if you haven’t read either you are missing something.
Birthdays for The Dead by Stuart McBride – A father investigating his own daughter’s investigation – that is the brilliance of the book.
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn – I have a special place in my book library for her books. She ahs a way of getting into your mind as a reader and playing mind games with it.
Into The Water by Paula Hawkins – After Girl On The Train I was so looking forward to read this, and the best part about it was that it was in no way similar to the previous book. I will let you be the judge of if that is a good or a bad thing.
Guilty Pleasures
Yeah well we all have our guilty pleasure reads. Romance is that genre for me. So these were my guilty pleasure reads for the year
Loving Lauren by Jill Sanders
All of Me by Leanna Morgan
Arranged Murder by Chetan Bhagat (Don’t Even ask me about it, its called guilty pleasure for a reason).
