My best reads of 2019 !

What better post for the last post of this  decade than sharing my best reads of 2019!!

I read about 60 books this year.(you can see all of them on my Instagram highlights Books 1 and  Books 2)  Here are my best reads in no particular order.

1.     Man’s search for meaning: Viktor E  Frankl: Though this book has influenced millions of people world wide, I read it only this year and was blown away by it. I loved the way Frankl makes sense of the universal question: Whether our loves have any purpose. He writes with depth and honesty; Powerful, poignant and deeply moving, I highly recommend this book.

2.     The Travelling Cat Chronicles  Hiro Arikawa: Even if you are not a cat-lover, be sure to grab this one. It is translated from Japanese and it is quirky, gripping and leaves you feeling touched in ways difficult to explain—It kind of breaks your heart.

3.     The Friend By Sigrid Nunez: It is about grief and loss and healing. The passages are extraordinary, and leaves you wiser by the end of the book. I would say this is a ‘must-read’ especially if you are an aspiring writer.

4.     Storied life of AJ Fikry Gabrielle Zevin: A grumpy book store owner, a lonely island, a precocious little girl all come together to transport the reader into a delightful world. Loved the read.

5.      Maid Stephanie Land : A deeply honest, emotional eye opening memoir  that makes you think about those invisible army of  people who work so hard, silently. An inspiring   true story of hope, grit and redemption.

6.     Lullaby Leila Slimani: An intensely dark, engaging and disturbing novel. Beautifully written and it was a total show-stealer for me.

7.     Ghachar Ghochar Vivek Shanbhag : What a book! It deserves an award. (if it hasn’t won any it definitely should win!)  Seemingly simple narrative that  makes you go ‘aaaah’ after you have finished the book and leaves you thinking about it for months afterwards. Highly recommend this book.

8.     Man called Ove   : Fredrick Backman : Heartwarming, engrossing and well narrated, you will find yourself craving for more!

9.     Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine Gail Honeyman:  It is funny, sad, blunt and extremely well written. Such a unique character, Eleanor totally won me over.

10.  Autobiography of a sex worker Nalini Jameela:  It’s a powerful narrative of patriarchal oppression told with utter honesty that leaves you thinking about many societal issues and stirs something deep with you.