Last year, I mainly heard audiobooks with a few paper books in between. Since it’s 2021 already, I thought of finishing up my 2020 list here on the blog. I’m feeling good about almost reading two books a month with a toddler in tow.  

1. Eleanor & Park, Rainbow Rowell: Easy, breezy YA fiction. Heard on long nights of baby watch when going back to sleep after a feed felt impossible. 
2. Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens: Mystique, love, heartache, earthiness, delight. Easily one of my favorites for the year.
3. Becoming, Michelle Obama: Her voice has so much poise and everything is relatable- her career ambitions, doubts around motherhood, and growing up in a close-knit family. I enjoyed reading about her growth into a leader on a world stage. 
4. If Beale Street Could Talk, James Baldwin: It’s embarrassing that I had not read Baldwin before. He is one of the foremost intellectuals who has broken down race for everyone, calling it out for what it is. There’s so much nuance and richness. It’s one of the most significant books I’ve read this year given what’s happening in the world around me post the murder of George Floyd.
5. Mrs. Everything, Jennifer Weiner: Will we ever learn to forgive and move forward the way we should? I enjoyed the symmetries and love in this book, no matter how long it took to finally find its place.
6. The Mothers, Brit Bennett: I am ready to read her next book which I’ve bookmarked for a while. It’s hard to believe this is a debut, it’s so good! And again reminds me to read more authors of color. 
7. Inheritance, Dani Shapiro: As a relatively new mother, this helps breaks down what it truly means to be a parent, and what true inheritance means in our lives. Intriguing read.
8. Conversations with Friends, Sally Rooney: I find casualness about relationships unbearable. This book does not make me fall in love with it, but it ends on an incredibly profound note that redeems it, almost entirely.
9. I, Lalla, Lalded, Ranjit Hoskote (translation): I am not sure why Hoskote didn’t include Lalla’s original in Kashmiri, and that somehow made this book less useful to me. Maybe non-Kashmiri readers have a different viewpoint.
10. Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates: Important book, but did not enjoy the writing, found it very monotonous. 
11. City of Girls, Elizabeth Gilbert: Breezy, atmospheric and delicious. I enjoyed this a lot.
12. Erotic Stories of Punjabi Widows, Balli Jaswal: Loved it! More here
13. How to be an Anti-Racist, Ibram Kendi: It’s ok. Challenging to some and seriously ok to others. Some parts are positively too pedantic for me. 
14. The Trouble With Hating You, Sajani Patel: Transitional read (i.e. in between better books). More here.
15. A Burning, Megha Majumdar: Lovely debut. More here.
16. Ayesha at Last, Uzma Jallaludin: Enjoyed an easy-breezy romance. More here
17. Aru Shah and the End of Time, Roshni Chokshi: It’s ok, will not read the rest of the series. YA fiction. More here.
18. The Runaways, Fatima Bhutto: LOVED it. More here.
19. The Bookshop of Yesterdays, Amy Meyerson: Maybe because I’d always like a bookshop setting for my life, I enjoyed it. I am not sure it’s a great book, but it’s a nice, feel-good book.
20. White Fragility, Robin DiAngelo: Far better written than the Kendi book, and also very applicable to all of us representing any sort of minorities. The examples are too real.
21. The Mystic and the Lyric: Four Women Poets from Kashmir, Neerja Mattoo: Neerja Mattoo taught my mother English in college in Srinagar, and I LOVED her book. Not only is it a selection/ translation of beautiful songs by fabulous women poets, it’s also just a great book providing so much context from a feminist perspective. 
22. Nothing Like I Imagined (Except for Sometimes), Mindy Kaling: Easy, quick read. Funny or real in parts. More here.
23. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, Arundhati Roy: Did not enjoy it. Poorly edited (or not at all). More here.

Currently reading: Caste (Isabel Wilkerson), A Promised Land (Barack Obama), The Inheritance of Loss (Kiran Desai).