With movies, sitcoms, reality shows, YouTube, Netflix, and tons of podcasts, reading books has become a rare habit we encounter in a person.
As a child, my parents would take me to a bookstore every month, buy me a single book, and promised to buy me another if I finished reading the previous book. And book fairs! They meant the world to us when we were kids, and we’d always bring the new collection to school the next day, just to show off! :P
A very few remained worms while the rest of us got carried away in the midst of college, careers, and a lot more. But we all knew deep down these are just excuses for really escaping the habit of reading. So, for those of you like me who desperately want to start reading again, I have a few top picks. But before that, I also have some minor tips;
- It's best if you start reading a book you’ve read earlier. As you already know how the story goes, it’s much easier for you to connect the dots. And the faster you finish a book, the more attracted you are to reading another.
- If not, start with short crisp stories which will give you thrills, make you sad, yet not be too many pages long. There are numerous authors who have penned amazing short stories, go check some out!
- Make it a point to read at least five-ten pages every day. As reading requires our brains to exercise, we sometimes end up feeling lazy and bailing. To resume a habit, you might sometimes have to put in the extra effort, but it’s always going to be worth it.
Moving forward, let's get to the book recommendations:
- The Mutual Friend: The Parents of How I Met Your Mother's New Novel is a winding journey through a variety of lives and relationships influenced by social media. Alice, a nanny who is preparing for the MCAT in order to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor, moves in with a tumultuous new roommate, Roxy, a city hall clerk who never glances up from her phone. Meanwhile, Alice's brother, Bill, is a successful software entrepreneur with a newfound interest in Buddhism. These characters use social media in all kinds of familiar and cringe-inducing ways, from scrolling through someone's Instagram and chortling at their cringeworthy captions, to attempting to make strained chit chat on a dating app, thirst-snooping on a stranger's Twitter, or learning of a friend's death via Facebook, all set in summer 2015 in New York City. This fascinating modern epic jumps between various parallel narratives, yet everything comes together wonderfully as the separated jigsaw pieces fall into place.
- A Room of One’s Own: In this renowned work, Woolf addressed the condition of women in general and female artists in particular, asserting that a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write. Woolf claims that generations of prejudice, as well as economic and educational limitations, have stifled women's creativity. The author has skillfully crafted vignettes that appear simple at first glance yet reveal deep-seated oppression. This is a must-read for any woman who wants to learn more about her own gender's history. Despite the fact that the book disclosed some terrible secrets from the past, I found it to be rather interesting and it never failed to keep me on my toes.
- The Belljar: Sylvia Plath’s only novel, this book is excellent because, apart from the fantastic story and great character development, it makes you want to know more. After reading it, you’ll be sure to be found late at night, Wikipedia-ing Sylvia’s life, the parallels between her and Esther Greenwood, researching her lost diaries, and generally wishing you had known about this book earlier.
- Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe: A charming, yet devastating story of two boys coming to terms with their emotional and sexual blossoming in a world that denies their being. It is set in El Paso, Texas in the 1980s. This is a must-read for everyone who are pro-gay awakening stories. The wording is so lovely that certain pages read almost like a poem.You won't be able to put the book down once you start reading because once again, you will definitely want to find out what happens next. You fall in love with the characters so much that you begin to see them as your own.
- The Nightingale: Kristin Hannah's work is one that will entice almost anyone to read historical fiction. Also, World War II novels are naturally the type of books that are difficult to let go of. The plot revolves around two sisters who live in a rural village in occupied France. Forced to shelter a German agent in her home, Vianne Mauriac, the older sister, must decide the boundaries between being compliant with German demands and protecting her daughter.
Now that I’ve finished writing a reading list, I really can’t wait to get back to the book I left reading! Find yourself the right genre, right loungewear, snacks to munch on and you’re fresh as new! Happy reading to both of us! :)
