Books read in 2021

 Hello, a happy 2022 to everyone.

Continuing the habit, here is a list of books I read in 2021.

1.    The English Patient (Fiction) by Michael Ondaatje; Was a disappointment. There is consistency in the last 3 years, as the first book continues to fail to impress. I do not understand all the acclaim the book had gathered. Probably I am too dumb to appreciate this book. Am taking nothing away from the author. We did not click, that’s all.

a.    Started on 3^rd January and Finished on 20^th January

b.    Recommended by Self

2.    People, A-Z drabbles for every occasion (Fiction) by Natasha Ramarathnam; The foreword says drabbles is a story of 100 words, not about 100, not nearly 100 but exactly 100. Trying to write a story in exactly 100 words will be a task. And then you raise the bar by saying I will to 26 by running through the alphabet. Like solving a Rubik’s cube blindfolded. A wonderful task. And that each story is a gem by itself.  I am likely to be biased as I know the author well. But my reviews are usually honest. A breeze of a read. A relief after the previous one which was incredibly slow at times.

a.    Started on 21st January and finished on 21st January

b.    Recommended by the author (How often does one get to say it)

3.    How not to be wrong – the power of mathematical thinking (Non-Fiction) by Jordan Ellenberg; A wonderful book with interesting anecdotes, case studies, and a writing style that is so easy to relate to. Some basic grasp of mathematics is needed, but most possess that. A compelling topic and an easy read. Would strongly recommend this to anyone. Statements like “Linear regression to social science is like a screwdriver to home repair” and “Torture the data till it confesses” are so effortlessly written. At least two or three birthdays are taken care of from the gift point of view.

a.    Started on 22^nd January and finished on 14^th Feb

b.    Recommended by Bill Gates

4.    Buddy and papayi – The true story of an Indie pup and his best friend (Non-Fiction - Biography) by Lalita Pulavarti; What a fantastic book. Tugged at my heart and then ripped it open. Felt personal at so many levels. I can write a 10 000-word review about what this book meant to me but enough is to say that this is BEAUTIFUL. Will surely feature in my top 10 list and maybe this should not have a number. It is above such trivialities.

a.    Started and finished on 14^th Feb

b.    Recommended and gifted by Savitha

5.    Gandhi – The years that changed the world 1914-1948 (Non-Fiction) by Ramachandra Guha; At 930-pages (without notes), it was never meant to be a quick read. But it was a pleasure to read this one. This is one of those books that requires two bookmarks. One for the reading part and one for the notes section. Mr. Guha surely is a fine biographer of Gandhi. He is not a blind devotee to extol everything done by Gandhi as right. He has questioned him often throughout the book. So much new information (at least for me) – Gandhi’s son married Rajaji’s daughter, one of his sons wanted to marry a Muslim that was discouraged by Gandhi, his son converted to a Muslim, his “affair” with Sarladevi Chaudharani, his secretary Mahadev Desai, the Nehru-Patel friction, Jinnah, Ambedkar tussle. A great book. One statement stays with me “Assumption of superiority by any person over any other is a sin”!!!!

a.    Started on 15^th Feb and finished on 6^th April.

b.    Recommended by Ujval

6.    When I hit you (Fiction) by Dr. Meena Kandsamy; “Love is not blind, it just looks in the wrong places”. The last chapters that address the questions “Why did she not walk away” were the best. To preempt what the readers might think and answer them, and not leave it open-ended with the author’s license to addressing the matter is amazing. That she used Tamil in many places makes a closer connection, as it is my first language too. An essential read to men more than women. And if someone concludes abuse only means physical abuse, think again. To me, the message is that a woman must leave a marriage when abuse creeps in, in whichever form! A searing work, and as relevant as <insert most topical issue>.

a.    Started on 6^th April and finished on 10^th April

b.    Recommended by The Guardian

7.    Say Nothing – A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland (Non-Fiction) by Patrick Radden Keefe; History is a delicate matter. When events as recent as 50 years ago can be so unclear and left to multiple interpretations, what hopes do we have on the veracity of the history or how the future generation would read our times as. With spin doctors manipulating contemporary events and doctor existing narratives, it sure looks scary. Back to the book; A lovely well-researched book on the Troubles, reads like crime fiction, with an abduction in the first chapter and the (potential) killer revealed on the last page. Strongly recommended.

a.    Started on 10^th April and finished on 22^nd May.

b.    Recommended by The Guardian

8.    Rules of civility (Fiction) by Amor Towles; What a gem of a book. Quotes galore. Mr. Towles has a grip on writing superlative stuff. “If we only fell in love with people who were perfect for us, he said, then there wouldn’t be so much fuss about love in the first place” – this reminded me of his quote about fate in his second book, the gentleman in Moscow. His command over the language is something extraordinary, comparable to that of Julian Barnes among his contemporaries.

a.    Started on 24^th April and finished on 22^nd May (due to testing positive for Covid, which robbed 15 days of reading time)

b.    Recommended by self

9.    The name of the rose (Fiction) by Umberto Eco; This book probably took the longest time I had ever taken to finish one book. There were multiple reasons. First was my shuttling between two cities for almost 6 months on a daily basis, and then spending another 3 months living in two cities, the workweek in one and the weekend in the other. Secondly, the book was SLOW. The writing style had aged and it is not easy to stay comfortable with the style. And lastly, there were too many theological arguments and debates. But on the whole, his wit and his capacity to weave a stunning story remain intact. Out of the blue pops a statement that clears what scores of pages can’t. His postscript was hilarious. A typical Eco albeit a trying one.

a.    Started on 23^rd May and finished on 3^rd December

b.    Recommended by self.

10. Cold Blood (Fiction) by Robert Bryndza; A birthday gift. I was stuck on the rose for so long, I needed to have a sense of having finished reading something. The book is crap. As expected.

a.    Started on 19^th September and finished on 23^rd September

b.    Gifted by Iveta

11. Kim Jiyoung, born 1982 (Fiction) by Cho Nam-Joo; “If you must read one book this year, let this be the one” has been reduced to a cliché but applies well to this book. What a lovely beautiful book. The last two pages knock off any breath still left inside. One of the most beautiful books I have read in my life. I thought South Koreans can only make weird films and TV series and write even weirder books (a la The Vegetarian) but this one changed that opinion. A GEM.

a.    Started on 4^th December and finished on 5^th December

b.    Recommended by Akshaya

12. The lost decade (2008-2018) (Non-Fiction) by Puja Mehra; A book that a person like me can understand is a sure recommendation. If the policy paralysis destroyed the economy in UPA2 then the speedy implementation of unprepared policies implemented without preparation spelled the doom in Modi’s years. Can you get any simpler than this? And then this line – If Mr. Singh’s government ignored the advice then the Modi government removed the advisers. I learned a lot about Pranab Mukherjee through this book. A great impartial look at just the economy without yielding to the temptation of blaming one over the other.

a.    Started on 5^th December and finished on 23^rd December

b.    Recommended by Ujval

13. Interpreter of maladies (Fiction) by Jhumpa Lahiri; Bit of an anticlimax. The eponymous story and Mrs. Sen’s were brilliant. The remaining 7 stories were just about ok. Describing daily activities, looking for nuances and terrific observations capturing most of the gestures and the activities were all spot on.

a.    Started on 24^th December and finished on 27^th December

b.    Recommended by self