I read a lot while I was travelling. I’m really pleased with how many books I was able to devour during my trip and am extremely grateful to my trusty kindle for holding up and to my strong constitution for permitting me to read on almost every windy bus and train journey.
I actually read too many books to write about them all on here so I have decided to separate them into various categories and list a few in each.
Sri Lankan books
As explained in my previous post, I was keen to read a few Sri Lankan books in my first few weeks in the country. John Gimlette’s Elephant Complex was the only non-fiction book among these, although Michael Ondaatje’s Running in the Family is still on my list.
Dinah Jefferies, The Tea Planter’s Wife
An easy read about an Englishwoman who marries a tea plantation owner. Covering colonialism, women’s lack of independence and racial issues, this 1920s tale paints a vivid picture of life in Ceylon. Beyond this, it is a story of love, guilt and family secrets which will keep you on your toes.
Anuk Arundpragasan, Story of a Brief Marriage
A heartbreaking story of a young couple who marry in a refugee camp during the Sri Lankan civil war. Narrated from the perspective of new husband, Dinesh, Arundpragasan’s story is written in a pared-down, honest, meditative prose which takes the reader right into the centre of the action. The story only covers twenty four hours; yet it says more than many century-spanning novels.
John Gimlette, Elephant Complex
A vivid, informative book about the geography, history, culture and people of Sri Lanka. Gimlette invites us to share his personal journey around the country, painting brilliant portraits of the people he meets and the adventures he takes them on while providing a comprehensive history of this wonderful, complex island.
Contemporary Thrillers
Ali Land, Good Me Bad Me
A gripping psychological thriller with an unexpected twist. A book that reminds us to be wary of the terrifying power of children and the horror of domestic abuse. Haunting.
J.P. Delaney, The Girl Before
An easy read about obsessive behaviour, domestic abuse and murder. Alternating perspectives and time frames increase the suspense, keeping us guessing until the very end.
Jo Nesbo, The Son
I can’t believe I didn’t discover Nesbo’s novels earlier, but the Harry Hole mysteries are next on my list. The Son is a standalone crime novel about an escaped prisoner who’s out to avenge his father’s murder. With a tight plot, a simple narrative and vivid characters, this crime thriller is an easy read.
Yoga
B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Life and Light on Yoga
I kind of had to read the books by ‘the world’s leading expert on yoga’ before going to India, didn’t I? Written in a comprehensive way for lay readers, Iyengar’s ‘yoga bibles’ provide a basic introduction to the spiritual, philosophical and emotional aspects of the yogic tradition. Reading these before my yoga course gave me a vague understanding of the eight limbs of Ashtanga yoga – including the namas and niyamas – while also explaining the ultimate goals of yoga.
Michael Puett and Chrstine Gross-Loh, The Path
I loved learning about yogic philosophy on my teacher training course, but I want to have a greater understanding of other philosophies before I decide what I think about certain issues. The Path goes back to ancient Chinese philosophy, showing where Western philosophy split off and providing evidence as to where it might have gone wrong. The Path teaches you a new way of looking at the world and experiencing things; I found it really eye opening.
Sadhguru: Inner Engineering: A Yogi’s Guide to Joy
A simple guide to achieving absolute well-being and happiness based on the classical philosophies and science of yoga. This book teaches you how to control your inner energies in order to manipulate situations and thus achieve joy. Sounds stupid? Yet, these tools stem from classical yoga and are time-tested. An uplifting book that makes you believe that anything is possible.
Non-fiction
Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens
A weighty book about the history of Mankind, Sapiens is no easy read. However, it is completely eye-opening and mind-boggling. One of my favourite ideas is that the ability to speak fictions is the most unique feat of Sapiens’ language; large numbers of strangers can cooperate successfully by believing in common myths. Social structures are all fictions, religion is arguably a fictional construct – although Yuval goes into this in much more detail in Sapiens and the follow-up, Homo Deus – and even economics is based on fiction. As an aspiring editor or literary agent, I kind of love this idea; fiction has much more importance than the scientific-minded might like to believe. Anyway, I highly recommend you read Sapiens for a greater understanding of what and who we are, where we’ve come from, how we’ve achieved so much in so little time and where we might go. (I’m currently reading Homo Deus and am even more overwhelmed by the powerful ideas proposed here).
Paul Kalanathi, When Breath Becomes Air
A must-read. Neurosurgeon-scientist Kalanathi writes about his career, his discovery that he has lung cancer and his subsequent decline in this heartbreaking yet inspiring book. A tale of ambition, morality and goodwill, When Breath Becomes Air will truly take your breath away, making you question the meaning of life.
Keith Stuart, A Boy Made of Blocks
An equally hard-hitting book about a father’s struggles to get to know his autistic son. Inspired by Stuart’s own experiences, the novel demonstrates how video games can actually provide a way into the complexities of the mind. A Richard and Judy Bookclub 2017 and Amazon Bestseller, A Boy Made of Blocks is funny, honest and heartwarming.
Classics I should have read earlier
Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale
I honestly have no idea why I didn’t read this book sooner but I absolutely loved it. I cannot wait to see the Hulu TV adaptation of the tale whenever it is finally aired on British Television.
Salman Rushdie, Midnight’s Children
When in India, right? A fan of Magical Realism, I was sort of expecting García Márquez in an Indian context. Although this is clearly not the point of Rushdie’s masterpiece, I can definitely see why his novel is often listed among the 100 best novels of all time. At once the story of an individual and the history of a new nation, Midnight’s Children ticks so many boxes. With beautiful prose, an impeccable plot and strong characterisation, it can be hard to focus on everything at once. I will definitely have to re-read it one day, though…
Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Kafka on the Shore
Again, why did it take me so long to discover Murakami? Working at Curtis Brown, Murakami’s books where everywhere – there was literally an entire cupboard of the Translation department devoted to his foreign editions -, yet I still didn’t read even the blurb of one of his books. In India, I finally sat down with Kafka on the Shore and fell in love with Murakami’s mysterious plots, quirky characters and philosophical questioning. These three books are all fairly different: I enjoyed the love story of Norwegian Wood and the suspense of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, but I found Kafka on the Shore the most beautiful of the three novels I’ve read so far. I can’t wait to get my hands on the rest!
Hot Books of 2016/17 – Man Booker longlist, Bailey’s Prize etc
Naomi Aldman, The Power
A mind-blowing tale set in a parallel universe where women have The Power and men are the oppressed. The premise is fairly simple: teenage girls start developing the ability to fire electrical jolts from their fingertips, leaning to injure and even kill with use of their minds only. Covering race, politics, religion, domestic abuse, drugs and oppression, this book may sound like a high-concept thriller. However, perhaps the most shocking aspect is the way in which it opens the reader’s eyes to reality. Other than the Power itself, the events described are perfectly realistic and plausible. The abuse of power is a tragic reality that has existed for all time.
Zadie Smith, Swing Time
Everyone loves Zadie Smith, yet for some reason I’d never read any of her work. I loved the BBC adaptation of NW and was keen to get my hands on Swing Time as soon as I saw the beautiful cover in bookshops everywhere last autumn. A tale of friendship, competition, race, gender and creativity spanning continents but ultimately based in a London housing estate, Swing Time makes you reflect on your origins, ambition and the place you consider your home.
Rose Tremain, The Gustav Sonata
Another tale of friendship, The Gustav Sonata tells the story of two boys in Switzerland in the years after the war. As they grow up, Anton and Gustav’s lives grow increasingly further away from one another. Exploring the treatment of the Jews, the lines between neutrality and apathy and the nature of passion, the novel is almost set to the soundtrack of child prodigy Anton’s piano. An incredibly moving book.
Kate Tempest, The Books that Built the Houses
I have heard Kate speak/perform on two occasions and have listened to Let Them Eat Chaos on Spotify, but I have never read her poetry and was somewhat hesitant to pick up her debut novel. The prologue is beautifully-written, but I began to worry that I’d tire of her poetic prose and its ceaseless rhythm. However, Tempest more or less abandons this intensely poetic language for a more straightforward narrative. Her detailed characterisation is impressive, the plot is simple yet engaging and her novel covers an enormous range of social, political and cultural issues. I love the way she artfully shifts the perspective between a small cast of characters; as in Let Them Eat Chaos, you really get a sense of the multitude of experiences going on at one time and the relative insignificance of our own lives. A story of disillusioned youth, friendship, ambition, drugs and family, The Bricks That Built the Houses is written in beautiful, flowing prose. Tempest’s imagery is particularly outstanding – many of her similes have stuck in my head. I think I probably love her book even more because I know what she’s like as a person: humble, nervous, yet capable of creating such masterpieces, Tempest deserves the acclaim she’s received in recent years.
elizaplowden 