My reading plan for this summer is to make a substantial dent in my TBR list of more than 500 books. Its getting ridiculous – I want to read those but keep grabbing everything new that I see in my library and almost always being disappointed, especially with the newer thrillers going around. So guys please keep me in check!
Fiction
1. The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
Definitely the best book I read last month. Its unfair but I absolutely love books about writers and the book industry and adding a thriller to that was a perfect mix. Its about a writer whose best selling book is actually based on a plot and story his student told him before he died. Now technically, he hasn’t actually taken anyone else’s work but the moral issues with the situation is something that my book dreams are made of!
2. The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
Honestly, its about time I reduce the number of thrillers I read. The more I read the more I want to read less of these and make a bigger dent in my TBR list instead. The problem is you go into a thriller expecting a shocking twist or some kind of real drama which was hyped up in the book – and it usually fails to deliver. Every thriller cannot be Gone Girl or Verity so maybe I need to manage my expectations or stop reading thrillers for now.
Anyway, I guess you have an idea of how I felt about this book. It was decent enough read, not particularly engaging after the first 50-70 pages, picked up a little bit again but then ended up flat and basic.
3. Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi
This was on the Booker list a few years ago and I had wanted to read it ever since, especially since the writer is Indian and the book is based in India as well. The main focus of the book is the mother of the narrator and her relationship with her mother who is quite an eccentric woman. The book covers lots of interesting dynamics – I liked reading about the relationship of the narrator with her husband, the whole ashram episode, narrators relationship with her MIL and so on. Its an interesting, weird and unsettling book.
4. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
This book was billed as a funny one. I did not find anything about the book funny. Its a story about a woman, again similar to the Eleanor Oliphant kind of woman who is slightly awkward socially who has worked in a convenience store her whole life – that is the only job she has ever done. The internalised sexism, low confidence attitude, the obsession with mindless capitalism and her general depressing life was just so off putting to me, which I guess was the point since she was perfectly happy with it. It made me feel so judgemental and annoyed.
5. People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd
I enjoyed this one a lot. Its a great insight into influencer life and culture and its a really fun read. Even someone like me who has so much understanding of it and very much involved in this culture, its quite shocking to read about how much of it is faked and PR. In all honesty, the thriller aspect of the book felt a little forced but the background of blogging and influencer culture made it a great read.
6. The Girls by Lisa Jewell
This was another thriller but I definitely appreciated this more than the Paris Apartment. I do love books with domestic background like this. The background is a apartment complex like space with a common garden where the children play and one specific family that has a open door policy where all the children hang out. I thought it was really well written and even without any major dramatic twists and turn it kept me going.
7. Adele by Leila Slimani
I have liked a lot of stuff Leila Slimani has written, especially Lullaby which was a creepy, uncomfortable book and extremely well written. I like the female protagonists she creates since they are quite unlikable and interesting and quite unfeminine as per the most basic of social standards.
8. The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
I have wanted to read Colson Whitehead for quite sometime – he has been on my TBR list for quite sometime. This book won the Pulitzer prize for fiction in 2020 and its a slim volume. Its a hard book based on the issues of child abuse and racism so not a light read. Its based on real events which makes it even harder. Its very well written since even with such a difficult subject it kept me hooked and I finished it in a day or two.
9. The Maid by Nita Prose
This book was doing the rounds on every reading list and when I saw it in Borrowbox I reserved it for myself. The protagonist is very similar to Eleanor of Eleanor Oliphant Is Fine with some social interaction and EQ issues. I can’t say I would recommend the book particularly but again, one of those books you don’t really remember a year on and decent enough way to pass time waiting for the tube.
So thats the list for now. Hoping there will be more TBR books getting covered in my list going forward. Make sure you also check out Jama and do some summer shopping. This is definitely perfect uniform for lounging and reading.
– Anisha
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