Love, Life, & Beyond

May started off well by me winning a copy of my Book Club BOTM, and it was a winner this time. Can you guess which one it is from the list?

I am also trying out a new review format on my Instagram page, so do check it out as well. It has some more quotes and details from the book. I’ve been using Canva extensively these days for work and social media. Send in your tips and hacks through the comment section! 

Around mid-way this month, I felt I was getting overly influenced by what was pushed through the algorithm, so I will be making a little more effort to look for books that are not on loop on booktok and bookstagram.

Coincidentally, I read two authors with the same name that are pronounced differently and are from different geographies. Just a small reminder about how it is a small world after all, and we’re all in it together!

Have you been keeping track of my 2026 reading shelf so far? Here’s January, February, March, and April.

This is Where the Serpent Lives by Daniyal Mueenuddin

The book is divided into four parts that, at first glance, appear to be completely separate stories. However, as the narrative unfolds against the backdrop of rural Pakistan, the lives of the characters intertwine. Each part ends in a way that left me thinking about the fate of the people involved. The structure reminded me of a Downton Abbey-style dynamic, highlighting the stark divides between the “Upstairs” and “Downstairs” residents of a house.

The story introduces us to characters navigating an unyielding feudal system. The first part follows Yazid, a lost toddler taken in by a kindly tea stall owner. He grows into an affable young man beloved by his community, but life has other plans when he moves away, only to be drawn back by unhappy news. The next chapter shifts to Rustom, a young man returned from America as the sole heir to his ancestral lands. However, his gentle ways don’t seem to work in this place where power speaks. He hires goons for protection, but who will save him from the goons?

Through them, the author expands his web to include the land-owning couple, Hisham and Shahnaz, and their protégé, Saqib. I absolutely loved how the author used contrasting character pairs to drive the story. There is a sharp juxtaposition between the ambitious Saqib and the unbending Yazid (who is beautifully described as “a being with resources of spirit if not of fortune”). Similarly, we see Hisham, who prefers to return to Pakistan to manage a chaotic estate that gives him power and glory, contrasted with his brother, Nessim, who chose to remain abroad for a seemingly boring, but safe, life.

I found this book to be brilliant but disheartening in the way it holds a mirror to a society where violence permeates everyday life and the feudal system refuses to let the poor rise above their overlords. City-dwellers might not witness this on a crude level, but the reality for a large part of South Asian rural communities is that whoever holds the land, money, or guns inevitably wins. Every character must bend to the system, constantly struggling to choose between morality and survival. No matter who the person is, there’s always someone above him, and someone below him.

The story starts off slow, but picks up pace toward the end. Each part ends in a way that left me thinking about the fate of the people involved. The author has described everything, from the setting, to the characters’ appearances and thoughts in detail, so I felt I was standing right there as things unfolded.

I was also glad to be part of an online meet with the author where he gave us a little more insight on how this book came about and what he was thinking when he wrote these memorable characters.

“All that works fine in your America. Here they only understand one thing”.

• Verdict: Must Read 
• Genre: Fiction
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 343
• Country: Pakistan
• About: Daniyal Mueenuddin was brought up in Lahore, Pakistan, and Elroy, Wisconsin. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Yale Law School, his stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Granta, Zoetrope, and The Best American Short Stories 2008, selected by Salman Rushdie. His debut collection, In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, winning the Story Prize and Commonwealth Writers Prize. He now lives on a farm in Pakistan’s southern Punjab. This is his first book in 17 years, and his first novel. The title is based on a poem by Wallace Stevens: The Auroras of Autumn

The Director by Daniel Kehlmann (Translated by Ross Benjamin)

The story follows G.W. Pabst, one of cinema’s greatest directors. However, it is a work of fiction, picking up on events that happened around the time when the Nazis seized power. He had been filming in France, and then went to Hollywood. But he soon realises that he has no power there to make movies his way. So, he returns to his homeland of Austria where he is forced to make propaganda movies. 

The chapters are almost like snatches of memories told by different characters and their recollection of what happened. It’s like being in someone’s head and looking around the room as if you were there too—from a Hollywood studio to a train going to Austria seen through the eyes of a child.

It gets a little difficult to keep track of what’s happening as more characters get introduced and situations become more bizarre. We can feel the absurdity and helplessness of the characters as they try to survive within the system—whether it is the book club that reads just one author, or Jakob trying to avoid being bullied, and Pabst trying to explain movie basics to the directoress—everyone has their own coping mechanism.

It is a jarring look at how power can try and subdue independent thoughts but art will always find a way to resist and why it is one of the most powerful tools in any society.

Times are always strange. Art is always out of place. Always unnecessary when it’s made. And later, when you look back, it’s the only thing that mattered.

• Verdict: Read 
• Genre: Historical Fiction
• Format: Ebook
• Pages: 339
• Country: Germany, Weimar Republic
• About: Daniel Kehlmann is a German-Austrian author. He has won awards such as the Candide Prize, the Literature Prize of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the Heimito von Doderer Literature Award, the Kleist Prize, the WELT Literature Prize, and the Thomas Mann Prize. His book Tyll was shortlisted for the 2020 International Booker Prize, and The Director was shortlisted for the 2026 International Booker Prize

We are Legion (We are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor

I will preface my review by saying I am not a science fiction fan. They are usually very dry and sciency. This one has humour, sarcasm, and sciency stuff that non-rocket engineers can understand as well (with a quick web search). And although I liked the book, I am not as big a fan of the genre to want to complete the other books in the series…at least, not immediately.

We meet Bob Johansson who has just sold his company for the big bucks and is looking for wild ways to spend it. He takes the typical tech bro route and buys himself a spot in a cryo chamber. He is very disappointed when he almost immediately gets killed crossing the road.

He wakes up a hundred years later as a sentient AI destined for space exploration, helping humans find another planet to inhabit. He duplicates himself multiple times and each variant has their own personality. I realised after a while that the title of each chapter refers to the particular variant POV—it was confusing for a while! There are lots of Star Trek references to look forward to. Along the way, some things go wrong, some right, and some weird in the quest. 

I liked the concept of the Bobverse, and the light humour and sarcasm were welcome reliefs. 

If you plan to only read the first book, there’s no cliffhanger at the end, so you are not compelled to read the whole series to get some closure. After I was more than half way through the ebook, I realised Ray Porter (of Project Hail Mary fame) has voiced the Audible version of this book. It would have been a treat to hear him narrate it. Next time!

People’s capacity for turning dogmatic stupidity into political movements never ceased to amaze me. We’ve knocked off 99.9% of the human race and somehow the crazies still manage to survive. It just defies the odds.

• Verdict: Read if you’re trying out Sci-fi, Must-read if you like Sci-fi
• Genre: Sci-fi
• Format: ebook
• Pages: 306
• Country: Canada
• About: Dennis Taylor a retired computer programmer, snowboarder, mountain-biker, runner, and now author. His stories explore the interaction between artificial intelligence and the human condition. Bobverse started off as a trilogy but expanded to a 7-book series, out of which 5 have been released. We Are Legion was awarded Best Science Fiction Audiobook of the Year. There might also be a movie made on the book in the near future.

Mythos—The Greek Myths Retold by Stephen Fry

One thing you need to understand before starting any book on mythology—you will not remember most of the names, how they’re related, and you will be confused at some point about how you got to where you are in the story. That being said, Greek mythology is engrossing, and every version you read gives you more stories you haven’t heard about.

Mythos by Stephen Fry is for anyone who is stepping into the realm of Greek mythology, but not for purists looking for more details and analysis. 

The story is told in his inimitable way, with some word play, interesting facts, and plenty of humour. He starts from the very beginning, before time, when there was just chaos. He introduces the various characters and their storylines in some detail, reminding the reader that some stories overlap. (I highly recommend the Audible narrated by him; no one tells a story quite like him.)

If you prefer to get the written book, there are a few photographs and a family tree in the pages, but nothing you cannot find with a simple Internet search. Go for the audio book—it is a treat!

Gaia listened carefully to this wise counsel and – as we all do, whether mortal or immortal – ignored it.

• Verdict: Must read if you’re new to mythology
• Genre: Mythology, Historical Fiction
• Format: Audible Audio Book
• Listening Time: 15h 36m
• Narrated by: Stephen Fry
• Performance Rating: 5/5
• Country: UK
• About: It is not possible to encapsulate the life of Sir Stephen Fry in a short bio. He is a celebrated English actor, comedian, writer, and broadcaster known for his wit and eloquent delivery. His bibliography spans bestselling memoirs, hit novels, and acclaimed retellings of Greek mythology. He serves as president of the Hay Festival of Literature and Arts and works closely with mental health charities.

Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden

This book has been raved about on so many celebrity book clubs that I just had to read it to see what the fuss was all about. Although it is a good read filled with hope, despair, and finding one’s voice, I still don’t get the hype.

The author starts off with the devastating revelation of her husband’s affair and subsequent departure after 21 years of marriage. She then goes on to describe in great detail about the life they had together and how the separation affected those around her, including their children. 

I have to admit, it was tedious reading about the details of the luxurious lifestyle they led. She comes from old money and has always moved around in elite social circles. Even with her depleted trust fund, she was still in a position to afford a lifestyle much beyond an average person’s reach. However, I reminded myself that we cannot brush off someone’s troubles just because they don’t seem urgent enough in comparison.

She talks about how her husband was able to walk away from the marriage and his responsibilities towards their children with barely a scratch. Would a woman be afforded the same casual attitude? She gives examples of how people would freely discuss and comment on how she was handling the situation, but her husband moved around in society as if nothing had changed. Most importantly, she serves as a reminder to married women to be in control of their finances. No matter the depth of trust and love you feel, never relinquish all financial independence to another.

The memoir does not read as a quest for revenge or an exposé, but more of a search for answers and reliving the happiness of the past, while looking forward to the future.

The book started off as an essay in the New York Times and contains the gist of the story. The memoir expands on the details; the setting, the past, the process, the feelings, the reactions, and the future.

After the book’s success, some discrepancies were revealed, especially regarding the financial aspects mentioned. However, I think it is not a significant enough deviation to disregard her story completely.

I thought the end (or the survival) of our marriage would be my choice.

• Verdict: Read
• Genre: Memoir
• Format: Ebook
• Pages: 243
• Country: USA
• About: Belle Burden is an attorney specialising in juvenile immigration cases. Her work has appeared in The New York Times. Belle attended Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard College and received her JD from New York University School of Law.