The Reading List

by Sara Nisha Adams

Even if he tried, he’d never be able to earn the respect Naina had once had. She had been the public-facing figure in their marriage.

It’s like, I don’t know, no one’s trying to be someone they’re not in a library.”

Just in case you need it: To Kill a Mockingbird Rebecca The Kite Runner Life of Pi Pride and Prejudice Little Women Beloved A Suitable Boy

Sometimes, books just take us away for a little while, and return us to our place with a new perspective.

He was a lovely soul . . . maybe just lonely. People don’t always understand lonely people.”

“You’re right, but . . . it’s literally impossible, that’s the thing. People just live their lives, they can’t ever fully get . . . you know . . . understand someone else or what they’re going through.”

“No one can ever really understand what other people have gone through. But people should try.”

Most of them were perfectly nice people, though a handful of them had rather odd, harsh views about politics, immigration, the National Health Service, and who was deserving of certain privileges and who was not, which he always felt was rather hypocritical and un-Hindu of them, but these were the ones who delighted in sharing their thoughts with anyone who would listen

Mostly he was right, “nana” and “gwape,” but often he was wrong with the trickier fruit—mango was often “apple,” pineapple was “bababa,” which was his made-up word for “I have not a fricking clue,” and orange was “ball.”

She loved this flat because her daughter had made it her own, and Naina had always prided herself on letting her daughters do what felt best for them, and making a space in the world for themselves. “Because if you don’t, who will?” she used to say.

The list wasn’t just a distraction for her anymore. She’d learned how to fight for something you believe in from Atticus Finch; she’d learned how to survive with a tiger like Pi; she’d learned never to stay in a creepy house in Cornwall, maybe just go to a B&B or something instead; and from Amir in The Kite Runner she’d discovered it was never too late to do the right thing.

“From the first moment you meet Mr. Darcy and Miss Elizabeth, you know that they’re meant to be together. The rest of the book is just the author trying to keep them apart for our entertainment.”

“Are you okay? Do you want me to call someone?” Mukesh asked. “I have. I’ve called you.”

“Please try to remember that books aren’t always an escape; sometimes books teach us things. They show us the world; they don’t hide it.”

“Harishbhai’s son,” Mukesh said, wondering if the boy had a name, but appreciating Harishbhai’s clear and strong sense of branding.

Books always change as the person who reads them changes too.

Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things Zadie Smith, White Teeth Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah Katherine Heiny, Standard Deviation Rohinton Mistry, A Fine Balance Hiromi Kawakami, Strange Weather in Tokyo Angela Carter, The Magic Toyshop Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Attia Hosain, Sunlight on a Broken Column Ali Smith, There But For The These books found me at just the right time in my life.

Author’s recommended reading list - these meant a lot to her