Tired of reading the news and having nothing but depressing news all over again and again ? Sadly, this is the current state of affairs that the COVID-19 situation has left us all in and unfortunately we gotta ride the tide. There are endless articles that go on about how you can make more productive use of your time, pictures of folks trying new recipes, baking, gardening, yoga and work out and no telling on how our social media feeds have been flooded by these and the related ads.
But hey, we can make this easier for all of us. The best part of choosing reading to make use of time that we all seem to have at hand right now is to take our attention off the gadgets around us and detox in the safe hands of a paperback. It can help improve concentration and alleviate stress and, transport us into the virtual worlds weaved by authors – especially now that real travel has become a thing of the past.
Looking on the positive side, may be, you can convert all the hours that were otherwise spent on the road in traffic honking away into productive reading time. We have been asked by several of our friends on reading suggestions and we decided this was indeed something we could do to help those friends might want to get started with some serious reading.
Here are some chosen books we think you may enjoy indulging in during these troublesome days. Stay safe and happy reading! This too shall pass!
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The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
A gripping emotional story of friendship and betrayal told in the background of the a war torn Afghanistan, The Kite Runner makes it to the top of our charts among the must read books. The plot revolves around Amir and Hassan, childhood friends and experts at flying kites and how one act of betrayal by Amir in the hope of winning his fathers affection turns their lives around and haunts him life long. The protagonist of the book is Amir and the story is told by him as a work of fiction as he returns to Kabul from the safety of America and tries to set things right – his own way of finding redemption from the chain of events that were set off from his one mistake from the youth. The book also sends a message that we all probably need an assurance on now – that everything will fall in place eventually. That good will always prevail over the evil. Buy your copy of The Kite Runner here.
A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini
We have another winner from Khaled Hosseini for the second spot for our top reads this season. If “The Kite Runner” told the story of friendship between two boys and their relationship to their fathers, “A Thousand Splendid Suns” takes on the life of Mariam and Laila and how their paths cross in the background of battles fought in Afghanistan. The development of the characters Mariam and Laila follows a steady progress as Mariams initial hostility towards Laila shifts slowly into a motherly love for this younger second bride of her cold and rude husband. It is only amplified by the arrival of Aziza, Laila’s little daughter. There is love and loss depicted through words told by refugees of war crisis that can melt any heart. This book is another great writing by Hosseini and is highly recommended. Buy your copy here.
Girl With the Dragon Tattoo – Steig Larsson
If you have set your hands on this first book in a series of three popularly known as “The Millenium Series”, chances are that you will not stop until you have finished every book in the series penned by Larsson. Lisbeth Salander is popularly known among fiction readers as the “most original and memorable heroines to feature in a thriller series”. The computer prodigy Lisbeth along with journalist Michael Blomkovist sets off on adventures that uncover mysteries and riddles that they solve despite their odd dynamics. There is just about the perfect ratio of mystery, love, revenge – all of them added in the very right proportions to form a concoction that can keep any reader hooked. Be warned – The trilogy is immensely addictive and can take up precious days from your life because it is a no-put-downer. Buy your copy of the book here.
The Hunger Games – Suzzie Collins
A dystopian world where winning means fame and fortune and losing means certain death. 12 districts, 24 contestants and one barbaric game where only one can emerge the winner. When Katniss Everdeen steps into volunteer instead of the Capitols pick that chose her sister as candidate, she resigned herself to die. But she has been a survivor before and survival is her natural instinct. But this is the Hunger Games, and to survive, means to kill every other contestant. The book that also went on to launch a famous movie franchisee of the same name is a simple no-put-downer with action and twists packed all along. If you can ever stop yourself at book 1, we would be surprised. So buy your book here and read on – and “May the odds be ever in your favour!”
The God Father – Maria Puzo
It should come with no surprise that the story of the greatest Don of all times Vito Coreleone has to make into our list of top book suggestions. For most people, this book is already familiar by the world famous classic movie “The God Father” from 1972. The movie topped all film rankings for almost five decades. If you haven’t watched the movie yet, or you fancy a read of the original book by Maria Puzo on which the movie was made, do buy this book and start reading. What definitely stands apart in a book versus the movie is the portrayal of characters and the depth at which only a book can take you to. The book traces the life and generations of the famous Corleone family, the greatest of mafia families to have made it big on the shores of America. Read our complete review of this book here.
After The Crash – Michael Bussi
On a winter night in 1980,a plan crashes along the Swiss- France border and is envolped in the flames leaving everyone to perish, except for a 3 month old baby who happens to be the sole survivor. Two families, one rich and one poor claim her. After 2 decades , when the private detective involved in solving the mystery accepts his failure and tries to end his life,he uncovers the truth , but he is killed before he could tel anyone his discovery. With twist and turns,the plot is put in the form of a puzzle and you begin to solve the puzzle which get the full picture only at the end of the book. this one is one of our top picks for thrillers. You will for sure be as addicted as we were , until you find the true identity of the child. For a translated version, this may not be a great piece of literature, but a definite page turner. Buy your copy here.
The Silent Patient – Alex Michaelides
Alicia Berenson shoots her beloved husband Gabriel one fine evening and then she refuses to talk for years. A forensic psychotherapist Theo Faber is intrigued by the mystery shadowing the murder and want to help cure Alicia. Will he succeed in unearthing the deep secrets and understand what made Alicia shoot her husband – this forms the backbone of Alex Michaelides best seller “The Silent Patient”. This book categorized as psychological thriller is not fast paced and dramatic, but goes at a slow but interesting pace. An absolute thriller with twists that are hard and fast and the author has beautiful uncovered the truth layer after layer. Despite the mixed reviews on GoodReads, we found this book interesting. Buy your copy of the book here
This House Of Clay And Water – Faiqa Mansab
Set in the current day Lahore, this is a story of three souls who seek love, freedom and identity. Nida, Sasha & Bhangi are the three principal characters who meet at a Darga, by chance.The protagonists belonging to a conservative society choose to be atypical. Friendship, love, betrayal and humiliation pays them a visit and they travel towards an end that is unexpected leaving you teary eyed.The book is full of beautiful prose, taking you through the streets of Lahore and for an Indian reader, it might be interesting to read about the less explore urban lives of the Pakistanis. A must read book that gives you a pulse of the city of Lahore and the position of women in the conservative society. Our detailed review of this book is here. You can buy a copy of this book here.
Goat Days and Manja Veyil Maranangal – Benyamin
The original book written in Malayalam by the very famed Malayalam author who goes by the pen name Benyamin delivers this nail biting and investigative story line that takes us between the island of Diego Garcia and Kerala in search of the life of Christy Anthraper. The author and his friends start untangling the mystery behind the disappearance of Christy whose comes into their life as a part of manuscript from an autobiography sent by mail from an unknown sender. The key to resolving the story lies in how they find the subsequent copies of the script they received. To know who has the next piece of manuscript, the author and his friends must decode the clues within the lines of their copy of manuscript and follow the footsteps of Christy. Buy your copy of this book in English or Malayalam and get reading. Our detailed review of this book is here.
All The Lives We Never Lived – Anuradha Roy
Some books let you feel the raw emotions of the characters at the turn of every page, paint a picture of the places the characters lived and take you on a journey that stays with you for days after you have finished the book. Here is one such great piece of writing by Anuradha Roy taking us through the lives of Gayathri Sen with her undying passion to set herself free and embrace the wild, Walter Spies – a free spirit in pursuit of music in nature and Myshkin who narrates the story through the letters from his mother he finds decades later – Some portions of the story are definitely going to be heart wrenching and leaving you wishing you could reach out and comfort the protagonist of the story. Find the complete review of the book here. Do not miss ordering this book here and making this one of your must reads from indian authors.
We hope you like our selection of top 10 books. Are there any books you think that must have been on this list ? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments column below.
Stay Safe and wear the masks to keep yourself and your loved ones safe during these tough times. Happy Reading!
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Off the top of my head!
The Glass Castle- Jeannette Walls
The Things They Carried – Tim O’Brien
The Devil’s Highway – Luis Alberto
Into Thin Air – Jon Krakauer
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I liked The house of clay and water very much, thank you recommending.
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