Hello, a happy 2026 to everyone.
Continuing
the habit, here is a list of books I read in 2025.
1.
Postwar – A History of Europe
Since 1945 (Non-Fiction) by Tony Judt;
This must rank as one of the best books I have read. Ever. I have not been this
impressed by a book since The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. As a matter of
fact the two books must be made compulsory reading in every curriculum. The
book seamlessly and in an easily readable way, documents the shape of Europe
after the second world war. The initial shock, the slow rebuilding, the loss of
Eastern Europe to communism (what the author calls as " Communism was the
wrong answer to a right question"), the recovery, the setbacks, cultural
transition and cultural appropriation, fall of communism, the gaps between the
rich and the poor, internal conflicts, needless wars, glaring discrepancies,
doctored history that each nation found suitable to remember (or conveniently
forget) it's past, how collaborators played victims, and how long it took for
the Jews to get acknowledged. A massive read. The scope and research is
daunting to even contemplate. And he has delivered them all in such elegant
prose. Superlative work.
a.
Started on 24th November 2024 and
finished on 4th March 2025
b.
Recommended by Self
2.
Orbital (Fiction) by Samantha Harvey: A decent read. But am not sure if it
is a booker prize material. This one statement was wow “ Companionship is our
consolation for being trivial”
a.
Started on 5th March and finished
on 7th March
b.
Recommended by Self.
3.
Freezing Order (Non-Fiction) by Bill Browder; Having read Red Notice, this was on the
list for a long time. Bought it while traveling and ended up starting the book
immediately as I finished Orbital while on the road. Fast read and it comes as
a surprise that someone like Putin is still free in this world. Though, at
times it does appear that Browder comes across as someone who slips into
hyperbole while describing the Russian depravity.
a.
Started on 7th March and finished
on 13th March
b.
Recommended by Self
4.
Invisible Women – Exposing Data
Bias In A World Designed For Men (Non-Fiction) by Caroline Criado Perez; A pertinent book. We all know
about the disservice to women in society and in medicine. This book delves
deeper and exposes so mant atrocities. From badly designed cars, ignoring
women’s needs while designing solutions, disaster relief (hilarious and sad
account of kitchen less homes built after a Gujarat earthquake), sexual
exploitation, the Catch 22 situation of ignoring women, downplaying them, and
marginalizing them after making token concessions. How women who can’t swim, or
climb a tree are victims during the routine Bangladesh floods, and often they
not only wait for men to come and escort them to safe places, but they need
them to come and tell that there is a cyclone coming! The situation needs to
change and now! They have been ignored for long and it is time to change the
default human from a male. Not to forget the sarcasm dripping from every page.
If women are angry, they have a valid reason to be angry.
a.
Started on 13th March and finished
on 20th April
b.
Recommended by Self.
5.
Sarajevo Marlboro (Fiction) by Miljenko Jergovic; A nice collection of short stories.
First hand experience of having gone through the war. The story Diagnosis is
certainly the best in the collection. One can relate to the absurdity and
admire the capacity to slip into humor in the middle of all that sadness. This
statement from one of the stories will live rent free in my mind forever. “ If
it wasn’t for faithlessness, there probably would not be so much unhappiness in
love”
a.
Started on 22nd April and finished
on 26th April
b.
Recommended by a Sarajevo
shopkeeper
6.
Beloved (Fiction) by Toni Morrison; A huge disappointment. Expected a lot
from the book and the disappointment is complete.
a.
Started on 27th April and finished
on 15th May.
b.
Recommended by self
7.
Migrants – The Story Of All Of Us
(Non-Fiction) by Sam Miller; A
disruptive book. Throws a new idea that sedentarism is the outlier and the
migrant is the norm. The current world’s polarized version of demonizing
migrants and equating them with problems is laid bare for a thorough
introspection. Written in an easy to read manner, and flitting between ancient
Athenians to modern Mexicans, a timely read for the time we live in.
a.
Started on 16th May and finished
on 9th June
b.
Recommended by Shilpa
8.
The Wager – A Tale Of Shipwreck,
Mutiny and Murder (Non-Fiction) by David Grann;
I had to check once again to see that it indeed is a Non-fiction. Imagine a
shipwreck account written by Robert Ludlum and Desmond Bagley, this is one
such. Fast narrative and it painted each scene as if you are watching a film
already. The end – the deviousness of the Brits! A compelling read. Almost Lord
of the flies in places and the scene where Byron’s dog is killed will leave you
sleepless.
a.
Started on 10th June and finished
on 17th June
b.
Recommended by The
Guardian and Mihir.
9.
The Covenant Of Water (Fiction) by Abraham Verghese; Ever since I gifted this book to
Mihir in 2023, I have been waiting to get my hands on the same. Bought one for
myself in 2024 and got around to reading it now. A fan of his writing since the
exemplary Cutting for Stone, this one did not disappoint either. Vast in scope
and captivating prose. The last 5 chapters where everything comes together and
the shattering climax that no one saw coming! A master at work. The dog Caesar
is the only slip in my opinion.
a.
Started on 18th June and finished
on 22nd July
b.
Recommended by Self
10. Mao – The unknown story (Non-Fiction) by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday; A must read to anyone
interested in history. Butchers like Kang Sheng and Mme Mao; acolytes like Lin
Biao and Chou En lai who traded their souls and paid the price. Countless
others who were all used by Mao, elevated to impossible heights and then
sacrificed to fuel his growth. Everything he touched turned to ashes. Only he
could have converted unmitigated disasters like The Long March, The Great Leap
and the Cultural Revolution into monumental milestones. Impossible to believe
how heartlessly he created wars and famines, used USA against the USSR and the
USSR against USA. Even more difficult to believe that those were naïve to
assist his ambitions. A real MONSTER! Even if the authors do come across with
an evident bias which reveals itself in many places, the full context can’t be
faulted. If you are holding someone accountable for 70 million deaths, what
could be the margin of error?
a.
Started on 23rd July and finished
on 23rd November
b.
Recommended by Arko
11. Estuary (Fiction) by Perumal
Murugan (Translated by Nandini Krishnan); We were shifting from Bosnia
to Poland and the prompt packers packed away the Mao that I was reading and I
started this while waiting for our luggage to arrive. An unusual Perumal
Murugan book. Light hearted and with humor! The last three chapters blow your
mind away. This man can write so real life, you often wonder if he spends his
life observing someone else’s life as an invisible man. He is so spot on. The
parody of the coaching institutes was hilarious. I found a new Tamil word for
cheers. The translator has done a magnificent job in translating the words and
the spirit. Perumal Murugan keeps delivering one stunning work after another.
a.
Started on 15th September and
finished on 27th September
b.
Recommended by Self.
12. Mother Mary Comes To
Me (Memoir) by Arundhati Roy; Was
traveling and having finished a book that I was reading, and with the luggage
yet to arrive, it was an easy decision to pick this one up. A satisfying and a
wonderful read. Such a complicated mother-daughter relationship. On reflection,
I do feel that most relations are more than unidimensional. Her writing is so
effortless and so “in-your-face”. She writes clearly conveying se owes nothing
as an explanation to anyone. Already gifted it once. There will be a few more
recipients for sure. Now, time to get back to Mao.
a.
Started on 28th September and
finished on 9th October
b.
Recommended by Self.
13. Gods, Guns and Missionaries – The making of the modern Hindu
identity (Non-Fiction) by Manu S. Pillai;
What a precocious talent. And at such a young age! A book daunting in its scope
but executed so effortlessly. The language is top notch and the wit, precious. Tracing
the modern Hindu identity is a daunting task as one has to tiptoe carefully
around potential landmines. Tracing them in a scholarly way, jumping between
political movement and social movements (often against each other), starting
from how missionaries identified an opportunity as well as how the same came to
unite the Hindus later, gradually building the base and reaching conclusively
to Tilak and Savarkar all have been done in an impeccable fashion. A historian
with an eye on the details and wit at his disposal. Exceptional read.
a.
Started on 23rd November and
finished on 25th December.
b.
Recommended by Self
14. A short history of tractors in Ukrainian (Fiction) by Marina Lewycka; It has been a long time since I read a
good comedy novel. This one was hilarious. Read an article about it on The
Guardian, found it on Allegro and it was delivered the next day. Outrageously
funny, cleverly mixed Ukraine / Stalin / and family secrets. A satisfying read.
This is not just a comedy novel but a clever laying of a complex history and
another proof that laughter is often a means of tackling a complex family
history. And in just 6 pages of War Baby and Peace Baby, the author explains
more than volumes can possibly do. “ You see, Nadezhda, to survive is to win”
is said so effortlessly towards the end, and it captures so much so
beautifully.
a.
Started on 26th December and
finished on 29th December.
b.
Recommended by The
Guardian
15. The story about Vizier’s elephant (Fiction) by Ivo Andric; Bosnia is a lovely country, with a complex
history and interesting people. I happened to spend 8 months of 2025 in that
country exploring its many mountains and waterfalls. Ivo’s much acclaimed
bridge on drina is bought and waiting to be read. This one is a sweet little
book. He is a great observer of human behavior. A short and a quick read. This
one description about people in general “those invisible multitudes who
represent nothing, possess nothing” is so apt and timeless. Applies to any
nation.
a.
Started on 29th December and
finished on 31st December
b. Gifted by Armina
and hence counts as her recommendation.
This
year too I merged my hobby of sketching to give an additional layer of
personalization to my blog. The idea was given by my daughter who in fact
picked it up from a random Twitter post. Thanks to Akshaya and the twitter
handle @mrs_g_rider. Spend some time and zoom in on those names and sketches
and characters……
See
you all again in 12 months’ time.
