Meera Nair's Blog, page 5

The Thirteenth Tale by Diana Setterfield

Margaret Lea works at her father’s antiquarian bookshop. When she receives a letter from famous author Vida Winters, inviting her to write the author’s biography, Margaret is drawn by the mystery of it all.

In unravelling the author’s story, Margaret comes face to face with a truth that has been lurking in her periphery all her life.

Diana Setterfield’s writing is easily the selling point of this novel. Atmospheric, character-driven, and full of intrigue.

Copyright © 2022 Meera Nair...

The Networking Survival Guide by Diane Darling

A practical guide to creating, sustaining, and benefiting from a network, this non-fiction book by Diane Darling is one of the quickest introductions to networking backed by anecdotes and social principles.

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What surprised me the most about reading The Networking Survival Guide is how succinct the content is.

There’s no fluff, no beating around the bushes. The author gets to the point quickly. In fact, most of the sections are full of bullet points.

While I...

Partners in Crime by Alisha Rai

Mira Chaudhary is tired of using Hema aunty’s matchmaking services. When nothing seems to be going her way, she hears of her aunt’s demise. And who else but her former boyfriend, Naveen Desai, is assigned the matter of settling her aunt’s will?

Soon, Mira and Naveen get caught up in a case of stolen jewels and must work together to keep their heads above water.

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I’ve read The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai before, and it was plenty entertaining. While the same can be...

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

It’s been decades since the horrific events at The Overlook Hotel that left Dan Torrance with a dead father and recurring visits from the ghosts of the past. Now, struggling with alcoholism, Dan is a wanderer.

When his paths cross that of Abra Stone, a 13-year-old with the shining, he gets involved in a battle against The True Knot, a monstrous cult targeting children with the shine.

This sequel to The Shining left me underwhelmed in some ways but also engaged because of the plot. While t...

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Carrie Soto will not let her blood, sweat, and tears of decades go to waste. When her tennis record of the most number of Grand Slam titles is about to be broken by Nicki Chan, Carrie decides to hit a pause on her retirement and get back in the game for one last time.

Copyright © 2022 Meera Nair

This was my second Taylor Jenkins Reid book, and I am beginning to see why her stories are so popular.

The writing in this novel is heavy with tennis lingo and details. From match sequences to ...

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Cheryl Strayed’s autobiographical book is a staunch reminder of the inner strength that we all carry.

At the age of 26, reeling from various turbulent emotions and personal losses, the author set out to hike the Pacific Crest Trail without any prior training or experience in undertaking such physical challenges.

Being a homebody, you can imagine how far out of my comfort zone something like a hike is.

Copyright © 2022 Meera Nair

I picked up this nonfiction book because I’m always i...

Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin

Rosemary can’t believe her luck when a house in the Bramford becomes available just when she and her husband, Guy Woodhouse, are above to move into a new place. Despite her guardian’s warnings about the ill reputation Bramford has garnered over the years, they get settled in.

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Within a few days, Rosemary begins noticing a change in Guy and her neighbours too become oddly invested in the pair.

A short read, perfect for the fall season with Halloween nearing clos...

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

Six are chosen to be initiates to the Alexandrian Society, caretakers of the world’s knowledge reserves. For all the riches and power in the world, who wouldn’t agree? But the six don’t know what they’ve signed up for and when the time comes, what will be at stake to become a member of the Society.

I had been seeing The Atlas Six everywhere! And only rave reviews of it. Considering that it’s a fantasy novel with a secret society and people who possess diverse magical powers, I thought I would...

Tides by Patricia Morais

Ada Hughes is the only one who can take care of her brothers from their alcoholic, abusive father. She knows they deserve a future of happiness and is determined to secure it at all costs.

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But even the violence that permeates their home doesn’t prepare Ada for the horrors that leap out of mythological books and arrive in their town of Tide Springs.

A novella featuring one of the main characters from the author’s Portuguese fantasy book series, Tides is a portr...

Bhairavi: The Runaway by Shivani

A young, married woman, on her honeymoon, jumps off a train and is brought to an Aghori ashram. What propelled her to take such drastic measures, and what’s to become of her amongst people whose lives look dissonant from her own?

A novel translated from Hindi, Bhairavi is the story of how circumstances change the paths in front of us.

Copyright © 2022 Meera Nair

I stumbled across this book during a sale. Prior to that, I hadn’t heard of Shivani, which probably says something about how a ...