Aravind SundaramLockdown has successfully brought back the love for Reading. There has been a shift in the reading pattern of the bibliophiles and they now are inclined towards newly accepted genres like speculative fiction, genre-focused commercial fiction, sci-fi, etc. Though there is a long list of books to be read this year and beyond, we bring to you the best 5 books to read in 2021.
Illusions of Control
The genre of Speculative fiction has successfully occupied people’s minds in a relatively short period. Author Mahesh Ratnam Rajan has come up with a collection of short stories in the aforementioned genre.
The tagline of the book, ‘Stories of beings with a hero complex’ aptly describes the book. This anthology comprising of 7 stories; Talent, Luxury, Extermination, Savior, Pursuit, Catharsis, and Whisperers has been published by Notion Press.
The e-book is accessible on Kindle and is priced at 99 INR, the paperback version can be purchased on Amazon, Flipkart, and Notion Press’ websites at a convenient pricing of 349 INR. The book has also been launched internationally and will be available in the US, UK, Singapore, and Malaysia along with the Indian market.
The eBook however, can be purchased worldwide through Kindle. Presently, it holds 92nd position in Amazon’s ‘Short stories’ category ranking. Mahesh Ratnam Rajan’s stories examine the darkest trends of our future while never losing sight of the tenacious human spirit. The primary characters of the tales aren’t always heroes. Still, they crawl ever upward through the muck, fighting tooth and nail for life, liberty, and love. Whether they can make it out in one piece is another question entirely. This is among the must read list of books for everyone.
Unfinished
The Quantico actor is the one dynamic face behind Unfinished, it is a 2021 Indian memoir by the actor, Priyanka Chopra. It is described as a “Collection of stories, personal essays, and observations” The book has interesting and important moments and incidences of the actor’s life. In the recent interview with Oprah Winfrey, she confessed that she can leave behind the insecurities of her 20s. The actress, singer, producer, and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador have revealed about her twenty-year-long career.
Three thousand stitches
It’s a story where the author, Sudha Murty describes how she wanted to eradicate the devadasi system and left no stone unturned to reach her aim. Unveiling the beauty and ugliness of human nature, real-life stories in this collection is a reflection of a life lived with grace. Her trials and tribulations as the only girl in an engineering college and the inspiring consequences of her father’s kindness are an integral part of her story. Get ready to take a good ride of reading about her struggles and victories, large and small.
White Feminism
White feminism, written by Koa Beck. It is a “practice” and “state of mind” in which gender equality is a matter of personalized autonomy, perpetual self-optimization, and supremacy. Beck says, “All you need is a better morning routine, woman’s pencil skirt, this conference, that newsletter.” It’s a topic that remains devastatingly relevant. Her book is a call to action that looks onward to how we can and we must course correct, dismantling feminism that wasn’t made for us and building a more inclusive movement.
Aftershocks
The memoir, Written by Nadia Owusu who was abandoned as a toddler, her mother, an Armenian-American woman, a larger-than-life Ghanian diplomat who died when Nadia was just 13 years old. This angle of the story alone can make you deep dive into reading this story. Owusu describes her upbringing in this memoir, her dazzling journey of growing up everywhere and nowhere. It’s a remarkable story of the lasting legacies of trauma and grief, a perfect non-linear journey of healing.
Take a resolution to read more and more books this year to enhance the level of empathy in your new self. Happy reading!
Image by Hermann Traub from Pixabay
Aravind Sundaram
