It’s just the beginning of January 2018 and it has already been a tough new year. But, you know what I do when the monsters – of life and my head – make it tough and almost crippling to get out of bed? I read. Losing yourself in a book is the best way to learn at becoming a better version of yourself.
And while I’m not too big on resolutions, for those who are, these are all the books you should read this 2018 to become better persons than you were before. Because the learning curve never stops.
And so, here’s 10 books every girl should be reading in the New Year 2018 for a “new you”.
1. Peach by Emma Glass
Readers and award-winning authors are already describing this book as the onset of a visionary voice in debut novelist, Emma Glass. The story of a girl named Peach, the book is about violence and abuse that has been committed against the protagonist who, then, goes on to detail her life from that experience on, in a dark poetic manner. It will leave you tossing and turning at night with the realism with which this short book has been written. It will also affect you on a mental level in the sense that it will leave you scarred. The book may not be the best for someone with a mental health problem; but, it’s the best kind of literary fire for a feminist.
Price: ₹ 450 Buy it here. Buy it here.
2. The Less You Know The Sounder You Sleep by Juliet Butler
Dasha and Masha are conjoined Russian twins who are facing it all – the experiments, the bullying and the atrocities. While one is shy and afraid of everything, the other is fearless and strong; ready to take on everything. No one knows one like the other and together, the sisters have promised to face the world – set in Stalin and later, a Putin order. But, through the eyes of the two girls, one learns about survival and being independent of an overbearing mindset; it’s a story of struggle to be oneself through fear and judgements in a state that is inherently regressive.
Price: ₹ 585 Buy it here. Buy it here.
3. What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons
From an author of rare, haunting power, a stunning novel about a young African-American woman coming of age—a deeply felt meditation on race, sex, family, and country. In an arresting and unsettling prose, we watch Thandi’s life unfold – from losing her mother and learning to live without the person who has most profoundly shaped her existence, to her own encounters with romance and unexpected motherhood. Zinzi Clemmons’ debut novel has been lauded by critics for talking about the realities of life for a young girl who has perpetually remained an outsider.
Price: ₹ 1,396 Buy it here. Buy it here.
4. The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*ck by Mark Manson
If you’ve been searching for the anti-self help book that tells it like it is, look no further. Mark Manson is one America’s most popular bloggers who writes about everything under the sun; but, mostly, about life and how it sometimes, sucks, honestly. He talks about not having a job and battling depression; finding someone worth loving and spending the rest of your life with in a tone that is a lot like your inner voice of reason taking a book and hitting you on the head for being silly. And it’s the kind of conversation you need. Because life isn’t all rosy and positive affirmations. Sometimes, it’s about standing at the edge of a cliff wondering whether or not you should jump.
Price: ₹ 314 Buy it here. Buy it here.
5. Difficult Women by Roxane Gay
I’m in love with Roxane Gay for speaking out about every modern woman’s innermost thoughts in a way that could start a mental revolution. a collection of stories of rare force and beauty, of hardscrabble lives, passionate loves, and quirky and vexed human connection. The women in these stories live lives of privilege and of poverty, are in marriages both loving and haunted by past crimes or emotional blackmail. Gay delivers a wry, beautiful, haunting vision of modern America reminiscent of Merritt Tierce, Jamie Quatro, and Miranda July.
Price: ₹ 549 Buy it here . Buy it here.
6. Grief Is The Thing WIth Feathers by Max Porter
Full of unexpected humour and profound emotional truth, Grief is the Thing with Feathers marks the arrival of a thrilling new talent. In a London flat, two young boys face the unbearable sadness of their mother’s sudden death. Their father, a Ted Hughes scholar and scruffy romantic, imagines a future of well-meaning visitors and emptiness. In this moment of despair they are visited by Crow – antagonist, trickster, healer, babysitter. This self-described sentimental bird is attracted to the grieving family and threatens to stay until they no longer need him.
Price: ₹ 799 Buy it here . Buy it here.
7. Getting Off by Erica Garza
A fiercely courageous account of one woman’s unflinching, raw, and ultimately hopeful journey through sex and porn addiction. In this wrenching, vivid account, Garza explores her sexual fixations and relives the series of disastrous relationships and one-night stands that haunt her as she runs from one side of the world to the other in a futile attempt to break free of her habits – a singular, secret, shame-fueled pursuit that threw her life into chaos: orgasm.
Price: ₹ 2,057 Buy it here. Buy it here.
8. Sorry To Disrupt The Peace by Patty Yumi Cottrell
Helen Moran is thirty-two years old, single, childless, college-educated, and partially employed as a guardian of troubled young people in New York. Ahd her adoptive brother is dead. As she searches her childhood home and attempts to uncover why someone would choose to die, she will face her estranged family, her brother’s few friends, and the overzealous grief counselor, Chad Lambo; she may also discover what it truly means to be alive.
Price: ₹ 862 Buy it here. Buy it here.
9. A Few Good Friends by Swati Kaushal
Sparkling with wit, warmth and the easy craft that has marked Swati Kaushal’s bestselling novels, A Few Good Friends is a refreshing, nuanced take on friendship, love and this crazy thing called life. For Aadi, Srini, Ambi, TD, Miru and Kajo, the twentieth anniversary reunion of their batch from IIM Calcutta provides the perfect opportunity to set aside their everyday anxieties and relive the heady days of their youth. But things begin to go awry when ex-lovers reunite, old grudges resurface and long-held secrets come tumbling out.
Price: ₹ 272 Buy it here. Buy it here.
10. The Skin Above My Knee by Marcia Butler
A memoir of startling honesty and subtle, profound beauty, The Skin Above My Knee is the story of a woman finding strength in her creative gifts and artistic destiny. Filled with vivid portraits of 1970’s New York City, and fascinating insights into the intensity and precision necessary for a career in professional music, this is more than a narrative of a brilliant musician struggling to make it big in the big city. It is the story of a survivor.
Price: ₹ 1,940 Buy it here. Buy it here.
