Love, Life, & Beyond

March was a mixed bag of books. This month’s books took their time to unfold and tested my patience, but the other reads salvaged the month for me somewhat. And of course, with the launch of Bridgerton Season 4 I had to read the series, which was a nice escape. 

I also got interested in learning more about child development especially in regards to the education system. Jonathan Haidt’s book talks of the many things we’ve noticed, but didn’t realise how drastic an impact it is having on kids now. 

I’ve also started reading on the laptop, which I would not recommend at all. However, some PDFs I got did not format well on the Kindle and it’s easier to make notes on the laptop, but it has left me with a sore back. I wish for a cosy and comfortable reading space that’s all mine but it has eluded me so far. Nevertheless, I persist.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (Translated by Lucia Grave)

It started off slow but the intrigues kept piling on and before you know it, the second half of the book flies by as the author starts to reveal what he’s been hiding. The Shadow of the Wind is a literary thriller in which the discovery of a forgotten book leads to a hunt for an elusive author who may or may not still be alive.

Daniel’s dad takes him to the Cemetery of Lost Books where he finds an intriguing book. Another bookseller is willing to pay a small fortune for it, but Daniel refuses. But, when a stranger who looks like the devil from the books comes to take it from him, Daniel wants to dig deeper into the mystery surrounding the author. All this, while he’s figuring out his life and love.

It is brilliantly written. It draws you in very slowly and unravels you much faster. Just when you think you have a hang on what’s happening, the rug is pulled out from under you. I loved the twists and turns and the many layers of stories within the story.

One of the pitfalls of childhood is that one doesn’t have to understand something to feel it. By the time the mind is able to comprehend what has happened, the wounds of the heart are already too deep.

• Verdict: Read
• Genre: Thriller/Suspense, Gothic Mystery
• Format: Ebook
• Pages: 488
• Country: Spain
• About: Carlos Ruiz Zafón was a Spanish novelist known for his 2001 novel La sombra del viento (The Shadow of the Wind). The novel sold 15 million copies and was winner of numerous awards; it was included in the list of the one hundred best books in Spanish in the last twenty-five years, made in 2007 by eighty-one Latin American and Spanish writers and critics.

English Passengers by Matthew Kneale

Set in 1857, we meet Captain Illiam Quillian Kewley and his band of rum smugglers from the Isle of Man. After their contraband has been confiscated by British Customs, they are forced to accept passengers. Cue Reverend Geoffrey Wilson who believes the Garden of Eden was on the island of Tasmania. Meanwhile, an aboriginal young boy in Tasmania named Peevay recounts his people’s struggles against the invading British. 

There’s some of that wry British humour, and some harsh truth about colonialism and the British eccentricities, but it just didn’t keep my interest going. After struggling for about 25-30% of the book I decided to put it down. It’s a good book, I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind to read it. I might pick it up again sometime during the year.

..the Bible tells, and with great clarity, that the earth was created a mere six thousand years ago

• Verdict: Read / Did Not Finish but plan to
• Genre: Political Humour
• Format: Ebook (but some have said Audible was better)
• Pages: 447
• Country: UK
• About: Matthew Kneale was born in London in 1960, read Modern History at Oxford University and on graduating in 1982, spent a year teaching English in Japan, where he began writing short stories. Kneale is the son of writers Nigel Kneale and Judith Kerr, and the grandson of essayist and theatre critic Alfred Kerr. English Passengers won the Whitbread Book Award and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

Anyone who has been on social media instinctively knows it is harmful for our brains in the long run. We still give it to our kids justifying it by saying all their friends have it, and we closely monitor it, and it’s not that big of a deal. This book will open your eyes to how big a deal it is.

Haidt covers the generation born after 1995 (Gen Z) since they were the first to experience the digital age, and researchers have been able to study them through their developing years to adulthood.

He starts off by explaining the research on why kids need free play and some amount of risk in their growing years to learn and develop into fully-functioning adults. He then goes on to say how different tech companies have researched ways to keep young kids hooked on to their platforms, knowing fully well the harm they are causing.

Children (and many adults) are isolating themselves rather than seeking out communities, leading to burnouts and mental health breakdowns. This will make you rethink your own screen dependency.

Healthy brain development depends on getting the right experiences at the right age and in the right order.

• Verdict: Must Read for parents
• Genre: Non-fiction
• Format: Ebook
• Pages: 310
• Country: USA
• About: Jonathan Haidt is the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University’s Stern School of Business. He obtained his PhD in social psychology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992 and taught at the University of Virginia for sixteen years. His research focuses on moral and political psychology, as described in his book The Righteous Mind. His latest book, The Anxious Generation, is a direct continuation of the themes explored in The Coddling of the American Mind (written with Greg Lukianoff). He writes the After Babel Substack.

Real Life by Amrita Mahale

Tara has disappeared in the mountains and there’s one suspect. Meanwhile, her childhood friend has left her life behind in a quest to find her. The story is presented through the POVs of these three characters and their individual journeys that have led them to the mountains of Jora.

The mystery of the disappearance is only the thread that binds the story. It is more about the personalities of these characters, the difference of how some men and women navigate the world, and the societal expectations levelled on them. 

Mansi comes from a privileged background but ‘settles’ for a married life where she is not valued and is the butt of all jokes because of her physical appearance. Tara comes from a low-income family. She is strong-willed and doesn’t want to conform. When she chooses to research wild dogs in the mountains, no one understands why a young woman in her prime would want to isolate herself. Bhaskar is from a small town and has gone on to work on big projects in the field of AI. He craves love but cannot handle rejection.

The imagery of the mountains, the emotions, and the research on dholes all make up for a good slow read. I just felt it dragged on for more than I could handle.

The right eye and the left eye see different things, but they constantly tell each other what they see. The margins between them dissolve and together they see one world. So it was with you and me.

• Verdict: Read
• Genre: Suspense, Fiction
• Format: Ebook
• Pages: 315
• Country: India
• About: Amrita Mahale was born in Mumbai and grew up in five cities across India. Milk Teeth, her first novel, was longlisted for the JCB Prize for Literature and shortlisted for the Crossword Book Award for Fiction. Amrita was trained as an aerospace engineer at IIT Bombay and Stanford University.

Bridgerton Series by Julia Quinn (Books 4-8)

The first three books in the series I had read last year were fun, but till the new season of the series came out on Netflix this year, I had not felt the need to know the rest of the stories. Of course, a lot of the story line has been changed from the original book. The books are fun to read with some humour and quite a few spicy scenes, but the Netflix series has given the characters more depth and given screentime to side characters that are worth exploring.

The casting has also been spot-on, because when I was reading Hyacinth’s tale, I could picture her exactly the way she is described in the book. I also like the fact that the book, even though set in the 1800s, doesn’t patronise the women characters. Each heroine has a strong will and mind of her own. It was a nice escape between books, and I even got a few short chapters between work. 

Love grows and changes every day. And it isn’t like some thunderbolt from the sky, instantly transforming you into a different man.

• Verdict: Read for the spicy scenes 
• Genre: Romance
• Format: Ebook
• Pages: –
• Country: USA, set in Regency Era London
• About: Julia Quinn is a romance writer, and she has also participated in the game show The Weakest Link where she won the $79,000 jackpot. A graduate of Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges, Ms. Quinn is one of only sixteen members of Romance Writers of America’s Hall of Fame. Her books have been translated into 32 languages, and the Bridgerton series is one of the most popular shows on Netflix.

Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy

I have always admired Arundhati Roy for her ability to stand up for what she believes in, no matter the consequences. And, of course, her works of fiction are a treat to read. This memoir was not only about her, but how she was shaped by her mother, who was a force to reckon with in her own right. 

Arundhati introduces many people who have been a part of her life, and none more so than her mother, who she calls Mrs Roy. Not mother, because that would mean she was the nurturing kind. It was not an easy childhood for her, made harder by her mother who didn’t believe in coddling her kids. It is difficult to imagine growing up with a parent such as her, and even more difficult to imagine why her adult kids loved her even as adults (or their father, for that matter). But, I guess some bonds are beyond comprehension.

She also talks of her days of rebellion, her movie days, her activism, her relationships, and her writing. An interesting read about her progression, and also a way to look at India’s journey through her experiences.

Let’s for the sake of argument assume that I am a very bad person. Let’s say that I have an illegal palace in the forest, stuffed with drugs, and that I use indigenous people as bonded labour. And I am not a virgin. OK. But why build the dam?

• Verdict: Read
• Genre: Memoir, Non-Fiction
• Format: Hard copy
• Pages: 372
• Country: India
• About: Arundhati Roy is an Indian writer who is also an activist who focuses on issues related to social justice and economic inequality. She was raised in Kerala and studied architecture at Delhi’s School of Planning and Architecture. She won the Booker Prize in 1997 for her novel, The God of Small Things, and has also written two screenplays and several collections of essays. She was awarded the 2004 Sydney Peace Prize and the 2024 PEN Pinter Prize. Her activism has earned her both critical acclaim and legal controversies, including a 2002 contempt of court charge. 

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