There are some books that are always, always on my mind. The thought of these books makes me happy. These are the books I recommend to people, dip in and out of whenever I get the chance, and quote and draw analogies from. The upside of local bookstores being closed because of the lockdown is that I get to reread them without guiltily looking at the growing pile of unread books on my shelf. We all have these books. Here are mine.

Matilda by Roald Dahl 

All of Dahl’s books are wonderful but ‘Matilda’ is perhaps a little more so. This is a story of a little girl with extraordinary abilities—she can speed read and control objects with her mind. Her parents treat her like a “little scumbag”, but she eventually finds happiness. The idea that children can punish their parents or elders if they are “bad people” makes for an interesting premise. Moreover, Quentin Blake’s illustrations bring the story to life.

What’s more, the movie adaptation of Matilda feels like a projection of the mental imagery you have while reading the book.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 

I first read ‘Jane Eyre’ as a teenager and since then I have returned to it a few times. It’s one of those books where you discover new things with each rereading. When I was young (and naïve) I thought of it as the most romantic book ever. As I grew older, I couldn’t ignore the abuse and infidelity and I turned away from it in disgust. Then, later on, I was told it was a feminist novel and I tried and failed to see it that way. But the fact remains that Jane Eyre provokes emotions that compels me to return to it time and again.

Even after all these years, I’m still trying to figure out what “madness” it is that Mrs Rochester is suffering from and whether she jumped, freeing her husband to marry Jane, or she was pushed. Maybe, just maybe, this time around I will finally make up my mind.

A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman 

This is a relatively newer addition to my list of favorites. But if I were to be told that I could only read one book for the rest of my life, this would probably be it. I loved ‘A Man Called Ove’ so much that I’ve been recommending/gifting this to everyone since I first read it. A novel about a cranky 59-year-old Swedish widower who repeatedly tries and fails to kill himself might not seem like the perfect lockdown read. But it is: The story is essentially about finding yourself when nothing seems to be going right.

As Ove screams at his neighbors for parking in the wrong place and punches a hospital clown because his magic tricks annoy him, you can’t help but see a little bit of yourself in him and cheer him on.