Books Read in October 2023!

Posted On October 31, 2023

Hi Readers! We are at the end of another month that went by too quickly. There was a lot of loss this month and as citizens of the world we have grieved at the loss of so many lives. We also lost Matthew Perry, which shook up everyone and felt like losing a Friend. I just hope that we come out of this wiser having understood the impact a war creates for generations.

With the economy so tender, work was slower than usual, which gave me some more time for doing life! I read a lot. I met my main people. I ate and made good food. I dressed up and celebrated because life is too short to not. Let’s start with the books I read in October, shall we? I read EIGHT BOOKS across 2436 PAGES in October, which means I had a fabulous reading month!

~~THE LAST DEVIL TO DIE by RICHARD OSMAN~~

The book is divided into three parts. Part One is ‘So What Are You Waiting For?’, Part Two is ‘Whatever You’re Looking for You’re Sure to Find it Here!’ and Part Three ‘There’s No Place like Home’. Part one is mostly introducing us to the characters. Part two is the major chunk where the action happens, and part three is where everything reveals itself.

The beauty of this book series is that there are too many characters, ergo too many suspects and too many motives, which makes it almost impossible to figure out who the murderer could be. There are also usually multiple murders and multiple murderers as well. So, even if you guess one killer, you might not be able to guess the second or third killer. I found this exact style a bit much in the last novel ‘The Bullet that Missed’, but it was delightful in this one. I also loved the angle of antiques which brought in something unique to the story. Whether it was the antiques dealer Kuldesh Sharma, or antique experts Nina Mishra and Jonjo, or antique forgery experts Samantha and Garth. I loved how the mystery revolved around cocaine, but also that this aspect was the newness that really revived the book. I have rated The Last Devil to Die (The Thursday Murder Club Book #4) by Richard Osman at 4.5/5 stars!

You can read the full review here!

~~THE WIDOWS OF MALABAR HILL by SUJATA MASSEY~~

The Widows of Malabar Hills is written in a dual story line, one which is entirely about Perveen’s life in 1916 and another where Perveen is involved in a legal capacity for the three widows of Mr. Omar Farid in 1921. Reading about Perveen in 1916 and 1921 is like reading about two different women, which truly goes to shows the ingenious writing style for this character arc. We see a naïve girl quitting college and following a boy evolve into a capable career-oriented lawyer. I have rated The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey at 4/5 stars!

You can read the full review here!

~~THE SATAPUR MOONSTONE by SUJATA MASSEY~~

The Satapur Moonstone is the second book in the Perveen Mistry book series by Sujata Massey. Sequels either make or break the series and in this case, it was the latter. Set on a hill station, Perveen is sent as a representation of the government to meet with the queens of the Satapur Palace. Perveen was tasked with deciding about the education of ten-year-old Maharaja Jiva Rao because his mother Choti-Rani Mirabai and grandmother Rajmata Putlabai had contrasting opinions. But naturally, Perveen finds herself in more danger around the palace that runs deeper than the education debate. There’s is a lot that I didn’t enjoy in this book; too many characters, super slow burn, wooden dialogues with no flow, predictable enough ending. I have rated The Satapur Moonstone by Sujata Massey at 3/5 stars!

You can read the full review here!

~~AN ISLAND by KAREN JENNINGS~~

An Island was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2021. It was available on sale on Amazon and the blurb was interesting, so I took the bait. Halfway through the book, I gave up. It’s a very quiet book with a man who lives on his island, his life and glimpses into his past. I found it utterly boring and not worth spending more time on it. The only good thing this book gave me was the multiple naps while I was trying my best to read it. I DNFed this one and rated An Island by Karen Jennings at 1/5 stars.

~~DAYS AT THE MORISAKI BOOKSHOP by SATOSHI YAGISAWA and TRANSLATED by ERIC OZAWA~~

this book is short and sweet. It is divided into two parts. Part 1 is when Takako finds out her boyfriend is getting married to someone else and because they worked together, she is suddenly out of a job and out of a boyfriend. So, she takes up her Uncle Satoru’s offer and moves into the room above the Morisaki Bookshop. Slowly, she turns into a reader, which is beautiful to watch. Along with the reading hobby, she also evolves into a butterfly and truly starts living her life. I have rated Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa, translated by Eric Ozawa at 3.5/5 stars!

You can read the full review here!

~~MY GRANDMOTHER SENDS REGARDS AND APOLOGISES by FREDICK BACKMAN and TRANSLATED by HENNING KOCH~~

This book is a mix of fantasy mixed with a delicate theme of death and grief. With fantasy, there is an essential need for worldbuilding. So, this being a book close to 400 pages did not have enough time to acquaint readers with the seven lands with all the fantastical Woflhearts and sea angels references strewn around haphazardly. Initially, it felt like ‘The House in the Cerulean Sea’ meets ‘Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers’ meets ‘The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared’. All these three books are amazing on their own, but if you chop up pieces of each and try to club them, they don’t fit. And, to top it off the book is supposed to be about ‘the power of storytelling’. This entire fantasy angle was confusing, overdone and unnecessary especially in a Backman Novel. Because, Backman doesn’t need fantasy. All that readers need from him are his words that evoke sentiments to make us cry! I have rated My Grandmother Send Her Regards and Apologises by Fredrik Backman, translated by Henning Koch at 2/5 stars!

You can read the full review here!

~~AFTERLIVES by ABDULRAZAK GURNAH~~

Afterlives is the story of two African men and their lives impacted by the war. There’s Khalifa, who had a plain life. Job as a clerk, a wife and a small house. Then there’s Hamza, who saw all the ugliness in a war, came out of it and still managed to live a plain life. From being a night watchman to managing the entire warehouse, a wife and a child. So, what’s so interesting about the book, you ask? Well, it’s in the writing, and also not in the writing. When it flows on the page, you will literally not want to be separated from the book, but when it doesn’t, you won’t be able to read more than two pages.

I felt that the book had a lot of promise and good writing to support it. But, the ambiguity in the prose made it a weaker book. Yes, the war has already happened decades ago and we can read about it online. But, that doesn’t mean readers should have to read lazy writing for the better part of the book. So, the irony is that where the plot was structured, the writing was flawless, but where the story lacked substance, the writing failed too. It’s perhaps a fine line to write through, and yet so very exhilarating to get right. I have rated Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah at 3.5/5 stars!

You can read the full review here!

~~ROMAN STORIES by JHUMPA LAHIRI~~

Jhumpa Lahiri’s latest book of short stories is released in English this month, and I had the best time reading it. There are three parts, of which I loved the first two parts. I finished this only yesterday so I am still in my processing phase, but I will write a review very soon. I have rated Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri at 4.5/5 stars!

~~OCTOBER READING STATS~~

~~LIFE LATELY~~

Family Time~~ I went to Pune at the end of September and beginning of October for the long weekend, which was peaceful. My very close brother is getting married in December, so there was a lot of shopping involved for it and attending many functions that predate the actual event.

Book Shopping~~ I bought way too many books this month. There was a BookChor event ten minutes from my home, so how could I not go? There was another book exhibition in my city, so again, how could I not go? I also went to Fort with my friend Suruchi, which we rarely do. I went to Kitab Khana and bought some books, because when next will I go there? Plausible deniability? Haha.

Friends Time~~ I met my best friend Sukanksha from MBA college days, for a mere ten minutes, after maybe six years! But, it was so good to see each other in the flesh and to have the assurance that we can always pick up where we left off. I also met Suruchi twice this month, it was her birthday month!! We went to Mumbai and made a glorious day out of it. Café hopping, walking the streets and finally breathing the stale horrible air of the ocean!

Taylor Swift~~ 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is OUT! I have listened to it on repeat ever since! The Vault songs are magnificent! My favorites are Is It Over Now? and Say Don’t Go. Another amazing thing I am looking forward to the most is The Eras Tour Concert Movie! I have zero hope that Taylor will ever have concerts in India, so this is the best we are going to get. So, of course me and my Swifties are going all out!

Food~~ I made Thai Curry last week, which tasted delicious! Had South Indian food from a new outlet in Pune. Had the best food at Banyan Tree Café in Fort. As Suruchi likes to say, “Yum yum in my tum tum.”

With only two months left in the year, there are way too many books that I want to read. But, hoping I will get to read at least one more five star read!

Until next time,