Apart from gallons of rains, pitchers of tea and platters of fried food, monsoon also gives us a chance to stay indoors, curl up in bed and pick our favourite books which are being added every month to our ‘must read’ list. Staying in a fast paced city like Mumbai, seldom one gets a chance to do so and when you do, it shouldn’t be missed. While you prepare your list, take a sneak peek at books lined in our reading library this monsoon.
1. Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey
Emma Healey makes her writing debut with this thriller- mystery novel. Inspired from a small incident that took place in real life, Emma gives her readers a deep insight about dementia patients through this book. Maud, the protagonist is an ageing dementia patient who has lost her grip on life yet is convinced about her missing best friend Elizabeth and is keen to solve the mystery of her disappearance only to discover that her own sister Sukey is missing too. Forgotten clues, vivid memories of her past and no-one-to-believe her story, this tale is captivatingly a page turner
2. The Fault in our Stars by John Green
You may have watched the movie but it fails to surpass this amazingly written love story of a sixteen year old girl and a seventeen year old boy. Sounds cute? Only until you realize that they both meet in a cancer support group and fall in love only to discover that though they don’t have time, they have each other. Ensure your tissue box is at reach even before you start reading the novel for you don’t know when you might just need it.
3. Look Who’s Back: A Merciless Satire by Timur Vermes
Did you ever wonder how Adolf Hitler would react had he been born in 21st century? Well! This book takes the pleasure of introducing the world to Adolf Hitler who after 1945 wakes up in the year 2011 only to find no Nazis around, the Chancellor is a woman and his land flooded with immigrants. Gradually in the book he himself becomes a star via YouTube as his video goes viral. Laughing already? Let me not reveal more to spoil your fun. Black humor and politically incorrect, this book will definitely leave your spine tickling mercilessly.
4. Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham
The Lorelai Gilmore of Gilmore Girls pens down her first novel that is charming, fun and an easy read. Set in the early 1990’s, it is about a struggling actress who moves to New York searching for her big break in acting. After spending two and a half years already with nothing meaty in her hand apart from few seconds’ appearances in TV commercials, Franny Banks is running out of time and money both. Join the journey of Franny as she discovers life, love and herself.
5. Angarey: 9 Stories & A Play
A collection of Urdu short stories first published in the year 1932 during the British Raj, it created a furor as the book blatantly spoke of hypocrisy that dominated the British Raj and Islam. The young and bold voices published in this book belonged to Sajjad Zaheer, Ahmed Ali, Rashid Jahan and Mahmud-uz-Zafar. As expected, the book was burnt and banned by the British. Now translated for the first time in English, the book retains it originality and has become a must read for every book lover.
Already have a favourite? Which one are you going to read first?
Leave your thoughts in the comments below.