Books Read in Nov 2024

November came along with a good number of hashtags that helped me read a little more than usual. The past few months have been really stressful, emotionally draining and books have become more essential than ever to preserve my sanity and health. 

Stress reading is just as real as stress eating. I don't think one should feel jealous at the appetite of a person who binge eats due to stress, and likewise, this little space with books that I share, to help me stay sane in really hard times shouldn't evoke envy, I feel. Stress has worked both ways for me - either I haven't read at all or I have read lots, but at the end of the day, it's a fact that I have looked up to books as extremely reliable, very faithful and silent companions that absorb a lot of my stress and leave me with a sense of calm. They have helped me in ways that human beings cannot. This preface before proceeding to the list of reads, I felt, is important, I hope it will help cut some negativity.

List of Reads for the month of November

Short Story Singles (in the order I liked, from most to least) 

• Half Truths and Semi Miracles by Anne Tyler 
• The Tale of the Unknown Island by Jose Saramago, tr from Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa
• The Cathedral by Raymond Carver 
• The Answer is No by Fredrik Backman, tr from Swedish by Elizabeth DeNoma
• The Bookstore Wedding by Alice Hoffman

Novellas 

• Unmoored by Ramachandran Usha, tr from Tamil by Krupa Ge 
• Hidden Treasure by Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay, tr from Bengali by Ipsa S 
• The Hour between Dog and Wolf by Silke Scheuermann, tr from German by Lucy Jones

The last one is a title I read for #germanlitmonth. I was happy to learn about #novellanovember hashtag as well.

Novels

• The Healing Season of Pottery by Yeon Somin, tr from Korean by Clare Richards
• The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki, tr from Japanese by Jesse Kirkwood
• Sixty is the New Assassin by Shesh (I read a crime mystery after a long time) 

For #NonfictionNovember 

• Daiva by K.Hari Kumar 

For #graphicnovelreadlong 

• The Lighthouse by Paco Roca, tr from Spanish by Jeff Whitman
• The House by Paco Roca, tr from Spanish by Andrea Rosenberg