While I enjoy my share of binge-watching Netflix, the joy of curling up with a good book and a cup of coffee is unparalleled. And thankfully, 2016 was quite a varied year for bibliophiles, with some amazing books across different types genres.
And while there are never enough days in the year to read even a fraction of what the literary world has to offer, I’m putting forward a list of books you definitely shouldn’t miss.
Written by South Korean writer, Han Kang {the English translation was done by Deborah Smith}, The Vegetarian is a story that revolves around a housewife’s decision to become a vegetarian.
This seemingly innocuous decision has horrible and far-reaching consequences, and throws her entire family into disarray. With its phantasmagorical images and haunting, alienated characters, The Vegetarian is a book that stays with you long after you have turned the last page.
Buy it here.
This dense, wordy, literary post-apocalyptic novel by Alexandra Oliva, has Mae as its central character. A participant of a reality TV show, she is alone and disoriented in the woods. She does not know the cameras have stopped and an outbreak is ending the world.
With multiple narratives, it takes some time to get used to the pace of the book. But that being said, it also has the right amount of suspense to keep you hooked till the end.
Buy it here.
Bizarre, insightful, quirky, and unique in its examination, All The Birds In The Sky is a life story about two very different social outcasts. It is also a giant commentary on the forces of nature and science. In part science fiction and part fantasy, it goes without saying that this one will make you introspect – a lot.
Buy it here.
Okay, the only reason I really picked up this book was because it had a really gorgeous cover. But that being said, Holding Up The Universe is a story about finding courage when you feel you don’t have any, and not letting anyone sway you from what you want. But more than that, this is a book about letting people see who you really are, and admitting when you need help.
So while this book might appeal more to those who like YAF, this one deserves to be picked up just for the fact that it makes you think differently about a lot of things in the universe.
Buy it here.
If you liked either Gone Girl or The Girl On The Train, then Under The Harrow should be a definite addition to your reading list. A taut and intense debut thriller by Flynn Berry, this one is told from the point of view of Nora.
This one is by far my favourite in the entire list. Homegoing follows seven generations, fourteen perspectives in total. It all begins with two half sisters – Effia and Esi – who will never know each other. One’s experiences lead her and her family to slavery in America, the other’s family find themselves mostly in Ghana.
Tracking different cultural changes in both Ghana and America, each chapter is told from the perspective of a new character. And through the characters, we experience life during the tribal wars of the 1700s, the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade, the ways in which prominent leaders in Ghana aided British and American slavers, the fear created by the Fugitive Slave Act, and much more.
The real thing that makes this book a winner is the fact that it covers so much history in so few pages without feeling rushed. Don’t miss this one.
Buy it here.