The Best Books I Read in 2021

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Another unusual year; a pandemic, lockdown, no travel policy and a general state of trying to make sense of the current state of affairs – a heady concoction for a fruitful reading year. For the first time I picked up Tagore’s selected short story collection, thus marking my foray into the magical land of Bengali literature. I have amused myself with various archaic as well as contemporary children fantasy fiction this year. And, I have continued exploring nonfiction, historical fiction, romance and the ever effervescent Ruskin Bond. I recommend each one of these books. Here are few lines to commemorate each one of them.?

?1.????‘Haroun and The Sea of Stories’ by Salman Rushdie: An unconventional first read for the year as well as my first Rushdie. He is probably not known for this genre. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. A children’s fantasy novel set in a mythical location, a father son duo, ample adventure and a vivid imagination. This was a magical, breezy read and perfect; if one is hankering for a good old fairy tale.

"What's the use of stories that aren't even true"?

2.????'Fooled by Randomness' by Nassim Nicholas Taleb: This one left me in splits at times and made me reread some of the passages containing statistics and probability theories. The author rightly establishes himself as the skeptical empiricist who hates books that can be easily guessed from the table of contents. Thanks to Taleb I have added an interesting word in my vocab arsenal Schadenfreude.

"I beg the MBA reader not to take offense, I am myself the unhappy holder of the degree"

"Nobody accepts randomness in their own success, only in their failures."

"Randomness and our mind, we are probability blind"

"Living with randomitis"

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3.????‘Flow’ by Mihaly Csikzenmialyi: What really makes people glad to be alive? What are the inner experiences that make life worthwhile? The author talks about "Flow" - a state of joy, creativity and total involvement, in which problems seem to disappear and there is an exhilarating feeling of transcendence.?A brilliant portrayal of attention as psychic energy, psychic entropy, complexity and the growth of self; autotelic experience, the ultimate control of meditation, yoga and martial arts, the power of dissipative structures, the unification of meaning in life themes.?This book was part of my wishlist for a long time and I am glad I picked it up finally.

4.????‘The Miracle of Mindfulness’ by Thich Nhat Hanh: A pithy book from the celebrated Vietnamese Buddhist Zen Master about the miracles of mindfulness. All of us know that meditation uplifts the soul however very few of us are actually able to incorporate it in our daily lives.?How many times have our thoughts jumped from one topic to another, just like monkeys jumping from one branch to another in the jungle? Well, one's breath is all that is needed to follow the tenet of mindfulness.?After picking up 3 different books and not finishing any of them, it was like this one chose me.?

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"Our breath is the bridge from our body to our mind, the element which reconciles our body to our mind and which makes possible oneness of body and mind.?

You are not only your bodily form, or even feelings, thoughts, actions and knowledge. You are present everywhere and in every moment"

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5.????‘Selected Short Stories’ by Rabindranath Tagore: Well, what more can I say than already been told about "The Kingdom of Cards, The Cabuliwalla, My Lord the Baby" and other short stories from the quintessential polymath and Bengali Nobel Laureate. Thirteen powerful stories set in Bengal, bring to the forefront the human condition; so glad I finally read these. Brilliant prose by none other than our most beloved Bengali icon who put India on the global map. My favourite is "The Kingdom of Cards.?Not proud to read these in English, am sure reading in Bengali would have been much more soul stirring; probably next time. This marks the start of my journey towards reading Bengali literature.

6.????‘The Psychology of Money’ by Morgan Housel: A compelling and fresh perspective on human behaviour towards money. Splendidly explained with fascinating anecdotes and timeless tales.?A perfect read for any non-fiction lover.?

"Nothing is as good or as bad as it seems"?

7.????‘Feminists don’t wear pink’ by Scarlet Curtis : Fifty two powerful essays on what feminism means to each one of these inspirational torch bearers. Intersectional feminism, mostly British and American stories, a potpourri of strong female voices across professions, ethnicities and social backgrounds.?A good take on the current feminism brew pot.

?"I am not a Postfeminist, I am The Third Wave"

8.????'Till the Clouds Roll By', ?‘The Whistling Schoolboy’ , ‘Falling in love again’ by 'Ruskin Bond': A year is incomplete without reading Rusty especially during the current times when you have to think twice before planning any trip to the hills. It's always a pleasure to visit the rolling hills and the verdant dales with?our beloved Ruskin Bond. My mantra is whenever the heart or mind is unable to decide which book to read, go for Rusty. A collection of hilarious and heartwarming stories set in the hills from his childhood boarding school days. ?Some new finds and some old, Rusty is the best read when you wish to run to the hills and cannot.

9.????‘Eats, Shoots and Leaves’ by Lynn Truss: A treat for punctuation vigilantes! If you want to know why Roger Casement was "hanged by a comma", the fate of apostrophe and the wonders of scriptio continua, this one is for you. Now I am conscious about using the correct punctuation marks!?

10.? 'Dear Emmie Blue' by Lia Louis: A straightforward romantic tale; set in the beach towns of Western Europe. You can almost feel the sun, sea and sand as Emmie ferries from Fishers Way to Le Tourette and back. She navigates her life, trying to find meaning in the things that have been happening in her life; friendships gone sour; forging new bonds that will last a lifetime and some tear jerkers. The novel comes full circle and you are satisfied with a perfect read for a lazy weekend. This book is about moving on and finding joy and meaning in your life.?If you are looking for a simple romance novel, this one is for you. I really enjoyed this one post reading few nonfiction books in a row.

11.?????‘Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window’ by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi: This book is a celebration of the great Japanese educator and elementary school headmaster Sosaku Kobayashi's life; how his unusual teaching methods helped shape up Totto chan's and other pupils' lives during the time of the world war. The memoir starts with Totto chan, a first standard kid being expelled from school and every chapter thereafter is a treat in itself.?A vivid portrayal by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi of daily life in Tokyo around the 40s.?My first brush with Eurythmics, Kabuki, Benten, Tokonoma and Banzai.?

To "Tomoe Gakuen"

Having eyes, but not seeing beauty;

Having ears, but not hearing music;

Having minds, but not perceiving truth;

Having hearts that never moved and therefore never set on fire.

?These are the things to be feared.

12.????‘Anxious People’ by Fredrik Backman: A light hearted comedy for the frayed nerves. However, "A Man called Ove" still remains Frederick Backman's best written book and my favourite.?Set around Christmas Eve, in a non-descript Swedish town, it revolves around a motley crew of people and how their lives get intertwined within a short span of time.?

?"Even if I knew that tomorrow the world is going to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree"?

13.?????‘Lalani of the Distant Sea’ by?Erin Entrada Kelly: An engrossing children's fiction, set in the twin islands of Sanlagita and Isa; this is a beautiful story of a young girl named Lalani and her friends. Erin Kelly has done a fabulous job of bringing filipino folklore to life. This is the best dose of antidote for the current depressing state of affairs ravaging the nation. An escape to a magical place with extraordinary beings, magic, friendship, community and hope.?I recommend this to anyone looking for a fantasy read right now.

"There are stories of extraordinary children who are chosen from birth to complete great quests and conquer evil villains.?This is no such story"??

14.????‘Deep Work’ by Cal Newport : An insightful book on the value of deep work and how it can be achieved. Cal is a fantabulous computer science professor and a brilliant author. He has vividly captured the essence of how deep work will help one produce the best work of their lives, bring meaning in all that they do and how it will bring one joy. Put your thinking hat on and reach for Eudaimonia!

15.????‘Don’t Make Me Think’ by Steve Krug: A timely read on web usability. Although first written keeping desktop UI in mind, Steve has added few refresher chapters on mobile usability as well. I thoroughly enjoyed Krug's first law of usability: ‘Don't make me think’.

16.?????‘The Beetle Boy’ by M G Leonard: An adventurous children's book, a perfect read on the occasion of father's day.?Darkus is on a mission to find his father, Dr Bartholomew Cuttle who has mysterious disappeared from the vaults of Natural History Museum. And beetles are the key for solving the puzzle. Darkus along with his friends are racing against time to save his father.?A fun and breezy read.

17.??????‘Zikora’ by Chimamanda Adichie: In under thirty five pages, Adichie has been able to capture the transforming relationship between a Nigerian mother and daughter and their varied life choices; strong characters with fresh African voice or I should say an American African voice. ?

18.??????‘A Wrinkle in Time’ by Madeleine L’Engle: Came across this book only a few months back and what a treat it has been. A young adult/children's fantasy fiction published in 1962 with a strong middle school protagonist. I was stoked to find the mention of "Tesseract", apparently a concept mentioned and described by Charles Howard Hinton in his 1888 book named "A new era of thought".?

19.???????‘Sweet Bean Paste’ by Durian Sukegawa: I had been meaning to read this book for over a year now and the timing couldn't have been more perfect. This is a lyrical piece of prose set in Tokyo that has every ingredient to stir the heartstrings of even a hardened heart. The story revolves around friendship, love, loss and food. The sweetness of?Sweet Bean Paste filled Dorayaki oozes from every verse. What a riotous celebration of life and food. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a soulful read this holiday season. A big shout out to the author for penning this magical story?

?"We are born in order to see and listen to the world. And that's all this world wants of us"

?Looking forward to reading more inspiring books this year. Do share your recommendations. :-)

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