15 BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS FOR 2024

Ya ya ik I said in February that I'm going to post the review of all the books I will read this year, and as usual I didn't do that, because I was lazy and didn't have energy to critically analyse a book, but now almost at the end of th May, I completed 15 books, which was also my target of Goodreads, I almost try to keep the target low, so that I do not read book because I have to finish it and just show of the high numbers of books I read like a robot, I want to enjoy each and every book, I want to remember atleast some part of story, even though I know if anyone will ask me for a recommendation I will fumble. So here are the short review of the books I've read this year, with pictures, go forward if you like reading.

- JANUARY

1. Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa; Eric Ozawa (Translator)

- 5/5

- This was my first book of 2024 and I'm glad that I started with it, this book is a very quick read, some of y'all can probably finish it in one day, it deals with very simple story of a girl, who after a heart break went to live with her uncle and her uncle has this book shop, which called Morisaki book shop, basically is a story about a book shop and people related to it, even though things are very fast paced in this book, but it deals with inner dilemmas of characters and it teaches us that instead of overthinking sometime we should just say whatever we have in our mind, for beginners it can be something which can get them into reading and it's also best to get out of reading slump, the best part of the book is the simplicity of it, overall I really like this book and I got to know about JIMBOCHO BOOK TOWN, I would definitely love to visit there one day.

2. A Man Called Ove By Fredrik Backman; Henning Koch (Translator)

- 5/5

- There are only a few books that start beautifully and end just as beautifully. Perhaps you cry throughout the book, but in the end, there is a weird satisfaction, and this book is one of those gems. I cried, smiled, and laughed, and by the end, I felt a deep sense of satisfaction. The whole journey was soo refreshing. Every character in this book is my comfort place. In this chilling winter, this book felt like a warm hug; it's akin to the perfect cup of coffee. Now, all I want in my life is a love like Ove and Sonja's. I absolutely adore this book.

3. I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki By Baek Se-hee; Anton Hur (Translator)

- 5/5 

- When I started reading this book, I didn't know that it's a memoir/self-help. By its title, I thought it would be a story with a female protagonist who seems very simple and quiet. As you get to know her, you find out how dark her life is. Coincidentally, the plot of the story is kind of the same, but it's the real-life story of someone.

- Basically, this book is the author's experience with her mental health problems, and it also contains her personal thoughts as well as some part of her therapy sessions.

- I usually avoid self-help books because I think most of them provide temporary motivation. Only books like "Ikigai" are the ones I like when it comes to this genre. However, this book is really good. At the start, after reading a few pages, I thought of giving it 5/5 stars. But after 60 pages, I was like, "Nah, 4.8 is enough," because I started getting annoyed by the author's problems. Then I realized that, bro, that's the real point of the book – to normalize mental health problems and not feel embarrassed or annoyed by them. In the end, this book felt literally so relatable. The problems don't feel like something out of the box; these are the things we all face sometimes in our lives, and most of the time, overthinking makes it so hard to overcome them. At the end of the book, it doesn't feel like someone giving you advice or a lecture on how to overcome your depression. Overall, it's a nice, quick read. One should give it a try.

- FEBRUARY 

4. People We Meet on Vacation By Emily Henry

- 4.2/5

- I've always been somewhat critical of romance books, but this one is truly worth both time and money. It serves as a nice escape from reality.

- Let me share what I appreciate about this book :-

- There's no over-obsession with height differences. This aspect has been overused, and I find it refreshing that it's not a focal point here.

- There's no obsession with the female lead being a fragile, small girl with numerous problems. Both characters have their flaws, and I appreciate how they overcome them.

- The chemistry is well-built, unlike stories where the main characters start making out after just three meetings.

5. A Concise History of Indian Literature in English by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra

- 5/5 

- Read it second time, this year. It is definitely a very useful work for whoever wants to understand English literature deeply especially the works of Indian authors in English.



6. The Fault in Our Stars By John Green

- 5/5

- It is not merely a story; it's an emotional odyssey that leaves an indelible mark on the soul. If you have watched the movie, you pretty much knowledge the story, but there's always something in words, that makes every emotion more intense and every dialogue/conversation much more beautiful, so I would recommend you to read the book once, ya you might traumatize by this book, but this book is worth of your time.

7. Kafka on the Shore By Haruki Murakami; Philip Gabriel (Translator)

- 5/5

- Very complex philosophical book but if you understood MURAKAMI and got into his work there is no way out of it. Someone said on YouTube that either you will love Murakami or you'll hate it, and I think that person was right, I think it was jack Edwards but I'm not sure, but the reason behind is because the stories are something that needs patience, and you won't understand anything upto 70-80 pages, even MURAKAMI himself told about Kafka one the shore in an that you will understand the story only if you read it multiple times, I was also getting frustrated by the story line, until I didn't understood Oedipus rex, which is used in the story, and honestly only by understanding that you will be interested in story, so basically read Murakami with open mind, do not expect it to be traditional typical story.

- MARCH

8. Lock Every Door By Riley Sager

- 3/5

- It wasn't bad, but I was expecting something more, the ending was very anticlimactic, after 100 pages I was soo hooked, and felt shivers, but I'm not satisfied with ending, it felt like another rich people shit speculated by so middle class people.

9. Desire Under the Elms By EUGENE O NEILL

- 5/5 

- This American classic stand as the best realistic plays till now, a genre popularised by famous Russian playwright Antov Chekhov. It delves deep into human desire and family dysfunction, also touching sensitive topics like infanticide, alcoholism, vengeance and insect, inviting both intrigue and controversy upon its publication.

- It is a great example of modern tragedy, the writers draws inspiration from Greek myths, notably the themes of Oedipus rex, and the tragedy of hippolytus, while intertwining biblical motifs, like forbidden love and garden of Eden, which add more layers on narrative and offer reader a multifaceted understanding of play's complexities.

- Personally I encountered Oedipus rex through Murakami's Kafka of the shore, initially I didn't understand that, it left me perplexed, I didn't understand the point of it, to be honest to me it felt like justification of insest, however after reading this play, I understood this alot better, I can say now I have clarity about it, and I also feel ashamed about my short-sightedness; the straightforward narrative contrasted with the philosophical depth of Murakami's work, illuminating connection between the two and enhancing my comprehension of both, now I know why Murakami said that you can understand Kafka on the shore only when you read it multiple time.

- While some may get triggered by the themes of incest and infanticide, but my experience with true crimes also reminds me that it's not like we are living in utopia, these things happen in our society very often, it's just we don't want to notice it, because it shatters our perception of ideal world, and at the end of the day the essence of realistic and tragic play lies in it's unflinching portrayal of human existence, or maybe you can say how far humans can go, it's far removed from the sanitization of your average smutty romance.

- This play is in my sixth semester, I initially hesitated to engage with this play due to its linguistic complexities, especially as English is not my first language, it's makes reading experience very bad when you can to open dictionary on every second word. This raises the question which I always think about :- should classic novels be edited to adopt formal modern English, potentially broadening their accessibility? As a reader I feel it would be a good idea, but as a literature student, who just finished reading about various criticism I feel that would be unfair, as it might dilute the essence of these works, I also feel that their linguistic nuances are integral to their charm and depth, and also a selfish part of my want's to gate keep these books, from the people who get easily triggered.

10. Hayavadana By Girish Karnad

- 5/5

- If you love theatre, go for it.

- APRIL

11. No Longer Human By Osamu Dazai; Donald Keene (Translator)

- 5/5

- I didn't shed a tear until I got to the end of the book. It hit me all at once, the writer's journey through loneliness and emotions. The prologue especially moved me to tears. There's this saying I stumbled upon online that really resonated with me: "when you start pretending to be someone you're not, you lose sight of your true self." 

- It's hard to put into words how much I loved this book, but I highly recommend it. Dazai is definitely a must-read if you're into Japanese literature.

12. The Birthday Party By Harold Pinter

- 4/5

- This is a postmodern litrature (play), it is described as a comedy of menace and the part of theatre of absurd, which also deals with existentialism (literary movement prevalent in Europe in 19th and 20th century, even the language is easy, but I didn't understand the play, I read this multiple times and then I understood this drama, I think it's a great example of theatre of absurd and the symbols are soo beautiful.

13. Book Lovers By Emily Henry

- 5/5

- "OMG, this book is incredible! It's been ages since I've read a 5/5 romance, and this one has completely reignited my love for the genre. Emily Henry is definitely going to be my go-to contemporary romance writer from now on."

- MAY

14. Beautiful World, Where Are You By Sally rooney

 

- 5/5

- OMG it's sooo sooo good !

- It's a thought-provoking novel with beautiful writing that will keep you hooked. It covers friendship, love, politics, and religion—important parts of our society. The best part is that the characters dive into deep discussions on these topics through emails between Eileen and Alice, raising many questions for the reader.

- The book also offers the writer's perspective on different aspects of society. What I find most intriguing is that Sally Rooney presents the views of both Eileen and Alice without any bias. She doesn't push her own thoughts through either of them.

- The story is about four characters: EILEEN, ALICE, FELIX, and SIMON. Each character feels real, and their struggles with internal chaos while managing their lives are very relatable. We all have moments when nothing makes sense and the world feels awful, but we keep going even when we don't want to.

- The book feels like an essay on modern society, showing how people have more luxuries compared to the past, but are also more lost in trying to balance their lives than ever before.

- It also deals with family dynamics, seen through Eileen's perspective and her interactions with her family. Often, we dislike our families, but sometimes we admire them from afar, grateful to have them.

- The biggest question humans have faced since gaining consciousness is: What is the meaning of life? When I try to answer this, I often get more confused. The boon of consciousness starts feeling like a curse. By the end of the book, I realized that some questions are meant to have no answers. They remain unanswered so we keep searching for logic behind that particular thing —the QUEST FOR LOGIC BEHIND EVERYTHING—which transformed mere animals into HUMANS.

15. Kim Ji-young, Born 1982 By Cho Nam-Joo; Jamie Chang (Translator)

- 5/5

- I can't even tell you how many times this book of 163 pages made me cry and tear up. I had literal breakdowns reading this book. This is the first Korean book I read, which I wanted to read for a very long time since I saw a lot of K-pop idols reading it, and now I know why this book enraged so many men's in Korea. Oh, I'm sorry, MISOGYNISTIC MEN'S. 

- This book basically deals with small acts of misogyny that women's feel throughout their lives on daily basis, which are also passed down through many generations, from grandmother to mother to daughter's and daughter-in-law's, which they don't even realise until they reach to a certain age. This book tells how these instances by society and men affect a woman, and if you think now in the 21st century things have changed, you are wrong; these things are still very prevalent in society. I mean even first-world countries like America don't allow abortion in 2024.

- As an Asian woman and also a brown woman, this book is basically a mirror of the society I live in. The condition of women's is still like a inferior creatures, where that one creature is not even considered a living being. Society wants them to act like robots, with no feelings, just charge and work.

- I think more than girls, boys should definitely read this book. I mean, it's small enough to complete in a week, even if you are a slow reader, and in return, you will understand why your mother, sister, girlfriend, and female friend despise society so much. Why they are scared of men's, and more importantly, why they choose bears over men.

- I Hope this blog helped you in finding a new read, I'm not a good critic, but I tried my best.

- thankyou sooooo much for reading it till now !!!

- written by :- anshika