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Have you ever read a book and wished you had read it sooner? Do you have a book that you wish you could forget the story of just so you can reread and enjoy it all over again? Is there a book the lines of which made you feel seen and heard, almost like the author was in your head? ‘The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches’ by Sangu Mandanna is that book for me. I loved every word of it. I wish I had picked it up months ago when I first saw it at the bookstores and not waited for as long as I did. 

The book was slightly reminiscent of ‘The House on the Cerulean Sea’ by T.J. Klune which I had loved. Klune’s story was about a ministry worker who arrives to check in on some children with magical powers. In The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, Mika Moon, a 30-year-old witch, is invited to the mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches (Rosetta, Altamira, and Terracotta) how to control their powers. The characters and setting also felt somewhat similar to Klune’s book. But both the books have their own unique charm, and while I’d recommend both to those who haven’t read them, I’d recommend Mandanna’s book if you want a light, feel-good read. 

When Mika arrives at Nowhere House, she meets its inhabitants and is immediately charmed, despite Terracotta’s attempts to drive her away. She knows she’s there to teach the three children and thus only there temporarily but she’s never felt so at ease and at home as she does there. Ian, Ken, and Lucie, the people who reside there, make her feel welcome and loved. Then there’s Jamie (who like Terracotta doesn’t want Mika at the house) who she’s increasingly becoming interested in. She thinks there’s a good heart masked by a brooding personality and scowling face. 

But teaching the children to control their powers doesn’t seem to be the only issue at Nowhere House. Ian confesses that Edward is coming and that’s not good. Edward is Lillian’s attorney. Lillian is the owner of Nowhere House, and the one who brought the children there. She’s a witch and an anthropologist who travels extensively for work. And she hasn’t been back in over a year. Ian worries that if Edward sees the children when Lillian isn’t around and something happens to tip him off to the fact that these aren’t normal children, they will be taken away forcefully as Edward doesn’t like anyone at Nowhere House. He’s always been looking for a reason to throw them out of the house and he will have found one.  

Mika doesn’t have much time to make sure the children learn how to keep their magic in check. Then there’s also the issue of Primrose. She’s the oldest witch, one who is self-tasked with the job of keeping all the other witches safe. She believes the only way to do that is for every witch to stay alone, without the company of other witches since a lot of magic together can be troublesome. There are three (four including Mika) witches living together at Nowhere House and if Primrose were to find out they’d all risk being separated. The only reason Primrose hasn’t figured out yet is because Lillian has cast protective spells over the house. Without Lillian to recast the spells, Mika fears Primrose will eventually find out and enforce her rules. 

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is a simple, heartwarming story of found family and love. The characters are endearing, making you want to give each of them a tight hug and tell them that everything will be okay. The writing is good. There are many lines and passages that you will want to mark or reread—they strike a chord. There’s just enough tension in the story to keep you hooked. You want to know how things will unfold but you aren’t stressed about it, which is a really good, comforting feeling when you are snuggled up with a book. 

Fantasy fiction

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60018635-the-very-secret-society-of-irregular-witches 

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

Sangu Mandanna

Published: 2022

Publisher: Hodderscape

Pages: 318, Paperback

One of the things I love about being a reader is people always ask me for recommendations and that way I get to talk about the books I love. Whenever I have book discussions with friends and colleagues, I find that most people tend to stick to a particular genre. There’s a friend who loves rom-coms. A colleague is obsessed with fantasy. My boss will only read non-fiction. He thinks spending time in imaginary worlds is for those who aren’t happy with their lives. I vehemently disagree but that is a topic for another time. I love fiction. The genre doesn’t really matter as long as it’s a good story and it’s well written.

A couple of weeks ago, a colleague asked me about the book I was reading at that moment. When I told him I was reading a memoir (‘Crying in H Mart’ by Michelle Zauner), he was clearly surprised. He said I always seemed to be reading a variety of things. Sometimes it was self-help, sometimes it was psychology, and other times even children’s books like ‘Matilda’ by Roald Dahl and ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ by Madeleine L’Engle. This is something I have been doing intentionally. As a reader, I want to read across genres and read authors from all over the world.

This wasn’t easy. There was a time I’d have to find materials online or ask a cousin or a friend to send certain books from the US. But now bookstores in Nepal have started stocking a wide range of books. I was surprised to find an entire bookshelf worth of graphic novels (manga) at Bookverse in Civil Mall in Sundhara, Kathmandu. Even Pilgrims in Thamel has quite a good selection of comics. So, it’s now easier than ever before to want to read something and have immediate access to it—which really leaves us with no excuse no to read anything and everything.

While discussing the importance of reading and reading different authors and topics, a few of my colleagues and I came up with a list of 10 books that we felt we should all read—books that would give us a better understanding of the world around us and the times we live in. We have made a pact to read these books within one year. It might be a little too ambitious given we all have full time jobs (and are also reading other things simultaneously) but we are committed to completing the challenge. We made sure to include books from different genres. With special permission from our little unofficial book club, I’m sharing the list with you all with the hope that these books will inspire us to become more attuned to and accepting of people’s differences.

The Stationery Shop of Tehran by Marjan Kamali

Roya and Bahman are in love. They quickly get engaged and are looking forward to a life together. But then the coup happens in Tehran and the two get separated. When Bahman doesn’t come to meet her as planned one day, Roya is devastated and leaves for California where she meets Walter and gets married. But she can never forget Bahman and this dictates her entire life. ‘The Stationery Shop of Tehran’ is essentially a love story but it’s also about a woman’s strength to overcome life’s challenges. It’s a story of hope and resilience and how the past shapes you but doesn’t have to define you.

In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park

Yeonmi Park is a North Korean defector—someone who escapes from North Korea into either China or South Korea. Park was born in the North Korean city of Hyesan, which is close to the Chinese border. North Korea is under the brutal regime of the Kim dictatorships. When Park was 13, she and her mother fled to China. ‘In Order to Live’ is her harrowing account of her life in North Korea as well as her time in northern China when she was trafficked by gangsters running prostitution rackets. It’s an eye-opening read and will tell you a lot about an isolated part of our world. Trigger warning: There are references of extreme sexual and physical assault.

The Idea of Justice by Amartya Sen

This book was published in 2009 but the ideas presented here are as relevant today as they were back then. Sen, Nobel Laureate in economics and thinker, gives great insight into an aspect central to human life and democracy. Sen’s idea of justice isn’t about creating a perfectly just society. It’s about finding ways to remove injustice prevailing in society. The book is over 400 pages long and has footnotes and a long preface too but we have sworn not to be intimidated by its size as Sen’s concepts and ideas are critical to how we view and understand social justice and contemporary jurisprudence.

Severance by Ling Ma

This slim book is a dystopian novel that we would have probably thought was a bit too far-fetched before the Covid-19 pandemic. Shen Fever sweeps across New York City and there is utter chaos—a fungal infection is turning people into zombies. But Candace continues her routine at a publishing company. She coordinates with overseas Chinese factories (rumored to be the source of the microspores of Shen Fever) who print and source their Bibles. The story reminds us that we live in bleak, unpredictable times where nothing is impossible. The book goes back and forth in time, alternating between Candace’s office job and her travels across post-apocalyptic America.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson

I read this book a few years ago and I didn’t like it much. But everyone I know, including my husband, raves about it. It will completely change your attitude, they argue. I thought it was a bit too cliché but I’m going to give it another shot. In this 2016 nonfiction self-help book, American blogger and author Mark Manson argues that life’s struggles give it meaning and says that most self-help books offer meaningless positivity which is neither practical nor helpful. The book presents a strong case for not trying too hard to be happy. Rather, it focuses on letting things slide and not trying to control everything. Manson argues that we should only engage in those things we can control and not be bothered by everything that happens to us.

The Lives of Strangers by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an award-winning author and poet. She mostly writes on Indian experience, contemporary America, women, immigration, history, myth, and the joys and challenges of living in a multicultural world. Her books have been translated into over 29 languages, including Hindi, Japanese, and Dutch. All of us had read ‘The Palace of Illusions’ and we had loved it so we thought a book by Divakaruni would refresh us while we were reading some heavy topics while also opening our eyes to different cultures and people’s experiences around the world. ‘The Lives of Strangers’ is a collection of short stories that delve into the immigrant experience and the complexities of relationships.

Why Men Rape by Tara Kaushal

This book, according to a friend who knows the author, is a labor of love and meticulous hard work. Kaushal has traveled extensively through India, talking to both victims and perpetrators of violence. She has interviewed those who have been accused of rape and men involved in gang rapes as well. Many times, she received threats and had to seek police protection. Kaushal argues as well as shows through anecdotal evidence how patriarchy and misogyny have armed men with a deep sense of entitlement, one which leaves them unable to understand the meaning of the word no. We thought this would be a good book to understand the psychology of men who choose to commit violent crimes as well as discuss an issue that is so often swept under the carpet in Nepal.

Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree

Geetanjali Shree is the first ever Hindi writer to win the International Booker prize. She’s 65 and she’s been writing for about 30 years. ‘Tomb of Sand’, translated by Daisy Rockwell from her book Ret Samadhi, is her fifth novel. The novel is about a depressed 80-year-old, whom we get to know as ‘Ma’. At the beginning of the book, she refuses to get out of bed. Then things take a strange turn. She disappears, and when she turns up later, just as unexpectedly, she’s full of life, ready for adventure. It’s a long read, at over 600 pages but the chapters are short and the story moves swiftly as we follow Ma in North India and Lahore in Pakistan, where she lived as a girl. 

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

I read that Joan Didion wrote ‘The Year of Magical Thinking’ in 88 days. It chronicles the first year after her husband’s death when grief and loneliness were her constant companions. The couple had been married for 39 years when John Gregory Dunne had a massive heart attack. Didion was mixing a salad in the kitchen. It’s a melancholy memoir about love and loss that makes you value life and your loved ones. We thought reading it would help us prioritize the people we love and spend more time with them rather than scrolling the phone or rushing through life. The book, a colleague said, makes us realize that life is fragile and try to come to terms with it.

Minor Detail by Adania Shibli

The first part of the novel is set in August 1949, a year after the Nakba, as an Israeli officer oversees the clearing of the Negev Desert and the establishment of the border with Egypt. During routine patrol, some soldiers encounter a group of Arabs and immediately kill the men. They bring a young woman back to camp with them where she is repeatedly gang raped and eventually murdered. In the second part of the book, set in the present day, an unnamed woman reads about the crime in the newspaper and feels compelled to try and find out what happened. We all agreed that this book was an important, eye-opening piece of fiction that we must all read. We are planning to start our reading journey with this one. The book is short but it’s intense and examines the effect of violence.

“We are supposed to begin as the apple of our mother’s eyes. But I was more the maggot in the apple.”

Some opening sentences like the one from ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ by Charles Dickens (It was the best of times, it was the worst of times), and Lolita by Vladamir Nabokov (Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins) have become the most famous lines in literature. Opening sentences hold a lot of promise. It’s also perhaps the most important words of the book as it sets the tone of the plot. It’s what hooks the readers and starts the book with a bang, and that’s a lot to ask from the first few words. Most authors, if not all, feel the pressure to start off with a brilliant sentence. Not all get it right. For me, Joanne Glen definitely does in her novel ‘All My Mothers’.

The opening sentence is the reason I picked up the book despite it being the wrong size. The copy I have doesn’t have the regular book dimensions. The length to breadth ratio is off, making it difficult to hold when the book is open. I don’t know about other readers but I have to enjoy the shape and feel of a book while reading it. All My Mothers is one of those rare books that I didn’t like holding in my hands but I got sucked into the story and loved every word. And my love affair with the book started with the first line.

Eva Martinez-Green is an only child. It wouldn’t be a problem if her parents were involved in her life. But her mother has mental health issues and her father leaves, unable to cope with a volatile wife. Eva feels unwanted, like she doesn’t belong. She’s also unsure about where she comes from and wants answers. Her longing for a motherly figure is so strong that it becomes the guiding factor of her life’s trajectory. She meets women who challenge her idea of how a mother should be, forcing her to confront her demons.

The book is heavy with themes such as generational trauma, displacement, loss, and longing. But despite an overall melancholy vibe, the book won’t upset you. There’s a sense of hope that’s heartwarming. The chapters are short so it feels like the story is moving fast and you’re not bored at any point. Eva is a fully fleshed out character. There’s no aspect of hers that isn’t explored. She’s naïve, jealous, smart, forgiving, and even horrible at times—she’s you and me. You can relate to Eva even if you haven’t had a complex childhood as she has had. If you have, reading All My Mothers will give you some closure for sure. It will make you look at people as humans and accept that there are and always will be flaws in all of us.

Fiction

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57207910-all-my-mothers 

All My Mothers

Joanna Glen

Published: 2021

Publisher: The Borough Press

Pages: 471, Paperback

I’ve always loved eating out. I mean, who doesn’t, right? You have a variety of choices, and it’s quick and hassle-free, unlike cooking which can be a painstaking affair. Also, the mushrooming of restaurants in Kathmandu and Lalitpur means you don’t have to go far from home or your workplace to find a nice place. Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and Thai, the options are endless. Restaurants have also gotten good at promotions on social media. You see a lot of food content that it’s impossible not to want to check them out for yourself. That is how I recently found myself at the rooftop of a newly opened beer bar in town and for lunch at another café nearby in the same week.

When I first started working, I used to spend a good chunk of my salary eating out, even if I regretted it later and vouched to do better—meaning eat the meals my mom made at home more than I dined at restaurants. But the lure of pizza, momos, and burgers were often too great to ignore. Looking back, I think I ate out almost every other day. There was always one excuse or another—a friend to meet, a new place to try out, or a craving that just had to be satiated right then and there.

My mother, a medical doctor, often asked me to refrain from eating fried foods at restaurants as she didn’t like the fact that most eateries reused oil while cooking. I recall she used to tell her patients that many of their health issues were because of the bad food they were consuming. She still says that. As most teenagers or young adults, I agreed to stick to momos or non-fried items just to get her off my case. Eating out always meant indulging in fried food and various sugary concoctions. The need to eat out was made worse by the fact that, in Kathmandu, going out with friends generally meant chilling at restaurants. Things are slowly changing but I feel there still isn’t all that much to do. But then, restaurants are everywhere.

Fast forward almost two decades later, I still get attracted by discount offers and promises of a refreshing new cocktail. There was a time when my husband and I had sort of made a pact to eat at a new restaurant every week. We had decided not to go to the ones we usually went to but to try out new places. However, my husband and I have now drastically cut down on eating out. We’ve done so for multiple reasons but primarily because of quality inconsistencies at restaurants.

Many times, we have gone to restaurants to have a particular dish and found that the taste changed every time. It’s so disappointing. We attribute this to changing cooks as people migrate abroad for better opportunities or the restaurant’s lack of quality checks. This one time I ordered pancakes at a café I loved near my home in Lalitpur, and it was quite literally just flour and water. It tasted like rubber. When I complained, they said it was how it has always been. But the pancakes there used to be fluffy, thick, and sweet. I have since then stopped going there and started making pancakes at home. It’s cheaper. I have control over the ingredients and I love that. And it tastes way better, if I may say so myself.

Another time, a friend and I had pizza at a popular pizza place and we could barely lift the slice without half of it dropping onto our plates as the cheese was heavy and melting. The crust to cheese ratio was totally off and we had ordered a pizza we usually shared. That wasn’t how it was supposed to be. The staff, however, were apologetic and asked us if we would like another. But our appetites and moods were ruined.

Eating out has become an ordeal, and not the exciting adventure it used to be. It has also become a whole lot more expensive than before. Most restaurants have hiked the prices with no reason or explanation whatsoever. In many places, the prices have gone up and the portion size has been reduced. The food also feels stale sometimes. A few friends own restaurants and cafes and we know they batch make and freeze curries and pies to be used for a few days.  

During the Covid-19 lockdowns my husband and I found ourselves replicating the food we had at restaurants at home and discovered that we could make most of the things at less than a quarter of the price. There are plenty of resources like BuzzFeed Tasty and YouTube that can teach you to whip up gourmet dishes in no time at all. By choosing to eat out less often, we have cut down on our food expenses as well as ensured that the food we eat is nourishing and fresh.

In ‘Maybe Next Time’ by novelist and screenwriter Cesca Major, we meet Emma Jacobs. She is a literary agent. She loves her job which is basically reading books and discovering new authors. She has a loving husband, Dan, and two wonderful children, Poppy and Miles. But she’s always rushed—her phone pings all the time, she has meetings to attend, and books to get published. She loves her family but she, like most of us, has unknowingly placed them at the bottom of her priority list. She and Dan had a deal, which was to write a letter to each other on their anniversary. Emma always forgets. She has, even though she will never admit it, taken her family for granted.

Then one day everything changes and her family and life will never be the same again. But she finds herself stuck in a time loop. The same day keeps repeating itself but the outcome is unchanged. If she can fix her mistakes, will she be able to rewrite the future? The metaphysical aspect of the story makes you contemplate life and how you are living it. As Emma tries to do things differently to change the course of her life, she starts noticing how focusing on unnecessary things was complicating her life for no reason. Knowing what she knows about how the day will end, she is forced to slow down and take pleasure in all the little things, and value those she loves.

I have a shelf dedicated to my favorite books. It has books like ‘Matilda’ by Roald Dahl, ‘A Man Called Ove’ by Fredrik Backman, ‘Circe’ by Madeline Miller, and ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ by Delia Owens among several others. These are books that I will recommend to everyone I meet, think about with love and longing, and absolutely refuse to lend when someone invariably asks for them. I don’t want to part with them. Not now. Not ever.

Maybe Next Time went right on this shelf after I finished it. Come to think about it, it could easily be in my top five all-time favorites. I must admit I didn’t like the cover art. Plus it was a love story and I’m not much into that genre. However, it was a Reese’s Book Club pick and I tend to like books that the club chooses. So, despite the glaring orange title on a light yellow and blue backdrop (all clashing horribly), I got the book. As shallow as it sounds, I believe these things matter. I’ve often not bought books I’ve been wanting to read because it didn’t feel right—something about the pages or the cover would be off.

But this time I’m glad I didn’t because Maybe Next Time is so good. The writing is smooth and you breeze through the story. The storyline keeps you hooked. You are always wondering what Emma will do next. It makes you think about life and, as cliché as it sounds, teaches you the value of the present moment. Nothing but the present is guaranteed, and the book, for me, hammered in that point like no other story has ever done. The movie adaptation is in the works and I can’t wait to see how it turns out. I’m sure it will be a tearjerker though, just like the book.

Four and a half stars

Fiction

Maybe Next Time

Cesca Major

Published: 2023

Publisher: Harper Collins

Pages: 376, Paperback

Summer is here and I couldn’t be more grateful for longer days and shorter nights but the heat makes me not want to do things. It kind of limits the things me and my husband can do during the weekend. Hikes are out of question. So are picnics or short trips around Kathmandu because of all the pollution.

I find it difficult to concentrate so I feel listless during our weekly movie nights. My husband doesn’t like it when either the fan or the air conditioner is on. The room feels oppressive even with the windows open. The only thing I can seem to focus on are, thankfully, books. But even there, it seems like I have a certain preference. And I found out that it wasn’t just me.

I was talking to some colleagues recently and, while on the subject of books, they mentioned certain books made summer heat more bearable. Or so it seemed. Long, tragic stories were out and fun, lighthearted books were in. All of us liked reading something upbeat to tackle the monotony. We started giving each other recommendations of what we had enjoyed over the past couple of weeks and I thought it made for such a great list that I decided to share it.

So, this week, I bring to you some summer book recommendations, guaranteed to make you not regret skipping that family lunch or a day out with your friends and instead enjoy lounging in bed with a tall glass of iced tea next to you. Since most people I meet tend to like reading physical books compared to e-books, I’ve only included ones that can easily be found at local bookstores in this list. The five books here will fill your days with cheer and put you in a good mood.

Beach Read by Emily Henry

This is Emily Henry’s debut novel that came out in 2020. Since then, she’s gone on to publish a few other works but ‘Beach Read’ is arguably the most popular. We meet January Andrews, a romance writer, when she is given a key to her father’s secret beach house—one that he shared with another woman during his marriage. January heads there with hopes of using the time to write her next novel while clearing out the house. She finds out her college rival, Augustus Everett, lives next-door. Gus is a ‘serious’ writer who thinks romance is fickle. Since both of them are struggling with their work, they strike a deal—January must write a ‘serious’ novel while Gus must come up with something with a happy ending. Read the book to find out where that leads them and be ready to be sucked up in their world.

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Rachel Chu has no idea just how filthy rich her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, is, when she agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with him and attend a family wedding. The culture shock she gets when she meets his family is made worse by the fact that Nick happens to be one of Asia’s most eligible bachelors. Then there’s Eleanor, Nick’s mother. She has strong feelings about the kind of woman her son should marry, and Rachel doesn’t fit the bill. Reading ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ feels a little like watching an Indian television serial. It has all the glamor, drama, gossip, and scheming—just perfect for a hot summer weekend. It’s outrageously funny, addictive, and filled with moments that will make you gasp in awe and surprise.  

Wicked by Gregory Maguire

While we were talking about books to read this summer, a lot of fantasy recommendations came up. Books by Sarah J. Maas and Sabaa Tahir came up quite a few times. But the one I chose to include in this list is ‘Wicked’ because all of us agreed it had an old-world charm and made most of us nostalgic about our childhoods. As children, most of us have read ‘The Wizard of Oz’. Wicked is a retelling of that favorite childhood story but from the perspective of the evil witch. When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum’s classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. In Wicked, you meet her arch-nemesis, the mysterious witch. You find out where she came from and what made her who she is. It’s a stunning novel full of rich imagery that will hook you from the first page.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

I loved ‘Twilight’ when it first came out. The first book in a four-part series, Twilight, is a love story of Edward and Bella. Only Edward is a vampire and Bella is human. I know a lot of people hate this book. The writing is bad, they say. The story is so cliché, others add. But it’s guaranteed to take your mind off the heat because there is drama and suspense at every turn. It’s easy to put yourself in Bella’s shoes and be swayed by an idea of romance that is so insane that you wish for it to be true. An element of thrill is added when the vampire community considers Bella to be a threat and wants to end her. Twilight then shifts from a pleasantly chilling love story to a taut chase thriller. The tension levels escalate as Bella’s hunter closes in and the stakes for her survival become high.

The Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

Though all the books on this list are light and fun, ‘The Confessions of a Shopaholic’ by Sophie Kinsella will have you in splits. Alternatively titled ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’ the story follows Rebecca (Becky) Bloomwood who loves to shop. Whether she can afford it is another matter altogether. Becky is a financial journalist. She tells other people how to manage their money. In reality, she doesn’t have a grip on her finances. The answer to all her problems is retail therapy. She knows it’s not a good habit but she can’t stop. This gets her in messy situations which get even messier when she tries to find a way out of them. The Confessions of a Shopaholic is the first book in the series so there’s more in store for you if you feel like you haven’t had enough after reading the book.

2024 is a year of rereads. Four months into the year and I’ve reread more books than I have read new releases. There’s something comforting about escaping into a familiar world, one which you know will not disappoint you. ‘Neverwhere’ by Neil Gaiman is a book that never lets you down. There are various versions of the book and the one I picked up this time is a recently published edition that has an extra short story on one of the characters in the book. I just love it when an author decides to give you more background on a story you love.

Neverwhere tells the story of Richard Mayhew who lives in London. He doesn’t have the most fascinating life but he’s doing okay. Then, one day, on his way to meet his high-flying, overly ambitious girlfriend’s boss, he stops to help a girl he finds bleeding on the street. This act of kindness turns his world upside down—and quite literally so.

He lands up in London Below where there are angels and murderers. It looks and seems like London but there’s something dark and sinister about it. There are beasts and Earls who hold court in a tube train. And Richard finds himself thrust in the heart of danger. There are two thugs who want to kill him. He must find a way to escape this place and make it back home before it’s too late. But how does he do that when he doesn’t have anyone to help him? And the only girl who might be able to fix his life seems to be on a mission to avenge her family’s murder, that too without a clue about who murdered her family in the first place.

The setup is flawless. The execution is great. You will not be bored for a second. The world of London Below that Gaiman creates in Neverwhere is magical. It transforms a real city into an entirely new world. You meet rats that can talk, and people-lookalike who eat frogs and bite off human heads. It’s a dangerous world but one that is full of possibilities. Anything can happen in London Below and your life would forever be altered in London Above. Reading Neverwhere feels a little like sitting on a rollercoaster without any safety guard.

Neverwhere was actually written for television but the book is much better. In the introduction to the text, Gaiman says the Neverwhere on screen wasn’t the one he had in his head. Every scene or line that was cut eventually found its way into the book so there’s a lot more here than on the tv adaptation. It’s the full experience. And trust me on this one, the book gets better with each reread as there’s just so much to unpack in the story.

2024, until now, has been a strange year, especially where my reading life is concerned. To say I haven’t had much luck with books would be an understatement. I have been giving up on books far more than completing them. Every book seems to hold a lot of promise but my attention falters midway and I find myself unable to keep up with the story. That is perhaps the reason why I’m gravitating towards books I’ve read and loved in the past.

There is a shelf in my study that is dedicated to books that I hold dear, titles that I’m unwilling to lend because I know I’ll be devastated if I don’t get them back or if they are returned in a bad condition. These books are guaranteed to make me happy, even when there’s a lot going on at home and work. I’ll forget my worries, albeit temporarily, and be transported into a world filled with fun, cheer, and hope. Though there are over two dozen books in that particular shelf, here I’m recommending eight favorites, hoping they will bring you comfort and joy when you need it the most.

Matilda by Roald Dahl

I read this one as a child and have reread it several times over the years. It’s a lovely book about hope and the power of books. Matilda is a special child, with special powers. But her parents and brother aren’t nice to her. So, she finds solace in books. Sadly, school, with a horrendous headteacher, isn’t very different from home. She is treated badly at both places. But Miss Jenny, her homeroom teacher, comes to her rescue and together they try to change each other’s fate.

‘Matilda’ is laugh-out-loud funny. It has me giggling every time I read it. The protagonist is a fearless character who will make you believe that anything is possible if you put your heart and soul in it. The movie adaptation, available on Netflix, is equally great and does justice to a great story. There’s also a wonderful musical that was released recently that is quite good.

The House on the Cerulean Sea by T J Klune

Linus Baker is a case worker at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages. He’s given a curious and highly classified assignment—to travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside. There’s a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must put aside his fears and determine whether they’re likely to bring about the end of days. It’s here that he meets the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus. He’s the caretaker of the orphanage and will do anything to keep it safe.

‘The House on the Cerulean Sea’ is an enchanting story about a found family and the power of love. It’s also a celebration of queer relationships that has you cheering for the main characters. I loved every word Klune has written. It’s absolutely mesmerizing.

Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed

Cheryl Strayed is the author of the bestselling book ‘Wild’ that was an Oprah Winfrey book club pick and adapted into a movie by Reese Witherspoon. Before the furor, Strayed was an agony aunt, answering random questions in her column ‘Dear Sugar’ on a website. The column is now discontinued but all published segments have been compiled into a book. ‘Tiny Beautiful Things’ is a collection of questions by readers and answers by Strayed that is filled with wit and wisdom. To a woman whose husband cheated on her, Strayed says, “A terrible thing happened to you but you mustn’t let your life be defined by it.” The book is filled with nuggets like these that will force you to dust yourself off and begin anew. Every page has something to offer. It’s a lovely book. Strayed’s words will fill you with hope and leave you inspired.

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

I love reading books about books and ‘The Little Paris Bookshop’ by Nina George is one of my all-time favorites. The story follows Monsieur Jean Perdu who owns the ‘Literary Apothecary’, a book barge on the Seine in Paris. He prescribes books to his customers depending on their needs. It’s almost as if he’s looking into their souls and choosing books that will make them feel better. But he is unable to mend his own broken heart after his true love left him. At the start of the book, we see Perdu living a mundane half-life, not daring to open himself up to the world. However, hope arrives in the form of Catherine who forces him to confront his past, and more importantly love again. The novel takes you into a world of books and love that’s hard to escape. Better yet, it’s a great story that takes your mind off things.  

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

Here’s another great book on the power of books. I’d recommend ‘The Reading List’ to anyone who wants to read a heartwarming tale of how books can change your life. The story is partly inspired by the author’s grandfather, who found a connection with his granddaughter through books. Set in Wembley in London, The Reading List is the story of two individuals—80-year-old Mukesh Patel, a widower, and 17-year-old Aleisha, who works part-time at the local library. The book is peppered with references to other books. I’ve read some of them and the rest are on my reading list. Mukesh and Aleisha remind us of the fact that as humans we crave connection and that it can provide some much-need comfort in the worst of times.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

‘The Night Circus’ is such a vibe. Morgenstern’s writing makes the story unravel before your eyes. I read The Night Circus a few years after it came out and was bummed that I hadn’t read it sooner. All the hype surrounding it had initially put me off but after having read it, I realized the hype was justified. The story, about a traveling circus, follows Celia and Marco, both powerful magicians, who are in competition with each other. But they fall in love and things take a different turn.

The story is told in alternating timelines and there’s a non-linear structure to it. With any other writer, this could have made things messy but Morgenstern wields her magic and makes a fairytale come alive. The setting is beautiful and changes throughout the book, keeping you hooked. You will enjoy getting to know the characters. The book will take up so much mental space that you won’t have any for anything else, which is a great thing when you are feeling bogged down.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is Gail Honeyman’s debut novel. It was published in 2017 and won the Costa Debut Novel Award that year. The story is about Eleanor Oliphant, a social misfit with a traumatic past. She becomes enamored with a singer and lives her life believing she is destined to be with him. Everything she does is guided by that strong belief. The premise might sound bleak but it isn’t so at all. It’s a heart-wrenching tragedy with some funny moments that will have you contemplating on the fragility of life.

It’s a book about emotional recovery that fills you with hope. Eleanor is an oddball but you start to care about her. Honeyman reveals things about Eleanor little by little, a trick that lends the story an element of mystery and keeps readers hooked as well.

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

‘Red, White & Royal Blue’, Casey McQuiston’s debut novel, follows a rivalry-turned-romance trope between the Prince of Wales and the First Son of the United States. As far as queer stories go, this is a really honest and fun story. It’s an exploration of sexuality like no other. The writing is honest and optimistic. There’s a lot of humor and some really wonderful moments as well. The characters are endearing. There is a lot of discussion about the characters’ aspirations, their concerns for their countries as well as all that they want to do to help the LGBTIQA+ community.

Red, White & Royal Blue is essentially a love story but it’s also a celebration of identity. If you haven’t read a queer love story, this could be a good place to start. The make-believe world is as real as it can be. I must admit that the story has a slow start but you won’t want to put it down once it picks up.