Culture & Living
Our in-house bookworms share the fiction and non-fiction that stood out for them this year
Ah, 2020. The year we all stayed home. We dressed down. We Netflixed. We baked banana bread. We Zoomed. And we READ.
As someone who has spent the last few years recommending new reads on Instagram every Sunday (#psiread, @priyankaskhanna), I am happy to report a significant rise in my DMs asking for book suggestions, over the past few months. This year, as we stayed in, isolated from friends and families, and life as we knew it, words provided an escape—to alternate realities. And boy, was that just what the doctor ordered.
When I suggested this idea to the team, I realised that I would have to pick my favourites too. When I look back at the year that was, my most noteworthy new reads would be the binge-worthy Megha Majumdar’s A Burning and Brit Bennett’s A Vanishing Half, in fiction, both writers who were new to me (and in the case of Majumdar, it was her debut novel). In terms of non-fiction, my two worlds collided with The Cartiers, Francesca Cartier Brickell’s expansive tome on her family.
But if I had to list the book that really captivated me this year (not an easy task, with a new baby and a five-year-old), it would be my first ever Edith Wharton—The Custom of the Country, as relevant a conversation now, on society, as when it was written.
I know, I know, that’s more than one pick, but it was a great year for books, as evidenced by the team’s wide spectrum of choices below.
Why: A coming of age story of a young girl growing up alone in the marshes of North Carolina in 1969. It's unlike anything I've ever read. While it starts off as a murder mystery, at its heart it's a love story, and I'm a sucker for happy endings.
2020 book count: 12
Why: During months we spent only surrounded by family, this book takes a nuanced look at the love and compassion, but also the hurt and cruelty between familial relationships that helped put a lot into perspective. I couldn't put it down!
2020 book count: 17
Why: This book is a modern classic. It’s been on my list for the longest time, and I finally borrowed it from Priyanka Khanna, during lockdown.
2020 book count: 7
Why: Currently reading and can't put down Barack Obama's memoir, not simply because it's a detailed account of his presidency giving us more than a glimpse into life behind the walls of The White House and his beliefs, but also because of the little life moments he narrates like a beautiful storyteller that laces through the hard bits like soft silk. Obama's words are like flowers on a paper, his thoughtfulness warms the heart, and his actions motivate.
2020 book count: Lockdown made me pick up my Kindle that was hibernating in my cupboard, so I might've read 15+ books this year with a long pending list waiting to be read on my little device.
Why: This has to be one of my favourites, a book that really made me laugh out loud. An intense roller coaster ride as you delve into the life of the protagonist Eleanor; the character development is outstanding and the story is engrossing. Overall, it is hilarious, quirky, emotional and just plain beautiful!
2020 Book Count: 6
Why: I still remember reading my first Toni Morrison. It thrilled even as it made me squirm, forcing me out of my comfort zone and into learning and unlearning. That's what Moustache is like, an experience of epic proportions. Set in Kuttanad in Kerala, it storms through power and politics with a renegade supersized moustache.
2020 Book Count: About 1-3 books a week, depending on the week.
Why: She writes with her heart. Each chapter is like a mini horcrux on a page. A piece of her soul. Life is like that—messy, a train wreck at times, beautiful at others, and with moments of really memorable meals in between.
2020 Book Count: Not finished some, but total 7
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