Book Suggestions Volume 2 – What I am Reading

Social Distancing and staying at home has definitely taken me back to my old days where I made it a point to remove at least sometime to do the things I really enjoyed. Reading is one of those things for me and I cannot get enough of it. In these uncertain times I find normalcy in books and love how I switch off from everything happening around in the world for sometime.

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Here is a list of books I have been reading. Would love to hear from you guys about books you have been reading and would suggest reading.

1. Normal People – I decided to pick up reading this book only after the adapted show came up on television (Hulu). I find this book extremely well written, compelling and enthralling though I think you will either really enjoy the book or hate it. There is no in-between with this book. This book touches on so many important things and there is so much to analyze in the class differences, first loves, friendship, physical abuses and family dynamics explored here with nuanced skill.  This is a coming of age story.

2. American Dirt – This book has definitely received mixed reception. This novel is about a Mexican woman who has to leave behind her life along with her son and escape to the United States as an undocumented immigrant. This book has controversy written all over it but when read as pure fiction I found it absolutely engaging. I think it is one book you have to pick up yourself and decide if you like it or not. For me, I found the story chilling, tense and gripping.

3. Ask again yes – This book grabbed my attention from the first page and never let it go. A powerful, thought provoking beautifully crafted family drama that explores love, forgiveness and the ability to move on. This book is well written and the writing has great depth and complexity to it and the story flows effortlessly. This is the first book I read of this author and absolutely enjoyed it. A great read.

4. There There – I got this book a while ago planning to read. This is the authors debut novel and a strong and powerful one at that. Beautifully written, creatively and skillfully structured with the stories of multiple characters, each one important and affecting on their own, but when meshed the connections that unfold blew me away. This story is told from 12 widely different perspectives of Native communities from Oakland, California in a way which is both exciting as well as heartbreaking. A gripping read.

Some other books on my reading list are:

The Silent Patient

Where the Crawdads Sing

Too much and Never Enough

Check out my other post I wrote about What I have been reading – Volume 1 for more book suggestions and great reads. Happy Reading!!