So, what is everyone reading? What books are people buying to hoard– sorry, add to their TBR list? Well, we have selected some of the best-selling books right now and made this list!
Let us explore popular books in India that include everything from historical fiction to cosy rainy-day reads.
Welcome To The Hyunam Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo Reum
This Korean novel is becoming one of the fastest best-selling novels in India, and there’s a good reason for it!
The story is about Yeongju, recently divorced, emotionally vulnerable, but charming and young as she dreams of running a bookshop. She loves books and she pursues her dream seriously. As she gets her bookshop going, she attracts a cast of characters, and each of them arrives with their troubles. They are running from their pasts and as they interact with one another, it leads to a gradual and slow healing process.
Episodic in structure, there’s no high stake or driving plot. But as Yeongju works hard on her bookshop, it gives us an insight into Korean culture and the world of bookselling.
What You’re Looking For Is In The Library by Michiko Aoyama
Sometimes, there’s an urge to pick a best-selling book in India and dive into it without coming up for air. This seminal novel by Michiko Aoyama inspires the same!
The five stories appear unconnected as you’re introduced to Sayuri Komachi. She’s the enigmatic librarian whose ability to recommend the right book is almost magical. She hands readers books that they didn’t even need. Our readers inside the book are struggling and through the book’s transformative powers, they find different and new outlooks on life, rediscovering meaning and joy.
Possession by A.S. Byatt
You might be asking, why is a 35-year-old book in the list of trending books in India? Well, if older songs can trend on reels, why can’t older books, especially when this academic whodunit is the predecessor of the likes of Da Vinci Code and so on?
This book happens across two timelines. In one, we follow along two academics searching for clues through Victorian letters and poems, to trace the interconnected lives of a famous poet and an obscure poetess. In the other timelines, A.S. Byatt pieces together the connection between said poet and poetess. The book is part fiction, part epistolary, and part a love letter to pre-Raphaelite poetry. It’s an astonishing read that will leave you staring at the wall, processing it all, the love, the pain, and the mystery of it.
The Wolf Hall Trilogy by Hilary Mantel
This is a trilogy that took 12 years to make. And rightfully so–there’s hardly another historical fiction to compare this to!
The trilogy is set in the reign of Henry VIII and follows the life of lawyer, Thomas Cromwell. He goes from working for a chancellor to becoming the King’s favourite. Well-researched, this trilogy blends fiction with facts to weave a tale that is a rich tapestry of imagination and larger-than-life characters. You will be swept into Tudor England, follow Cromwell as he navigates the royal corridors and uses his cunning to survive in the King’s court.
Milkman by Anna Burns
How can hearsay and gossip lead to such gripping suspense? Anna Burns shows you how in this historical psychological novel.
Milkman tells the story of a Northern Irish woman during the period known as The Troubles. As any political history buff knows, this era was full of gunfire, blood, and bombs. The danger that surrounds our young heroine is immense, and yet the thing that truly endangers her isn’t that. It’s the devastating rumour that she is having a torrid affair with a married man. Lies and truth, gossip and facts mingle in this heartstoppingly good novel!
Naga Warriors 1: Battle of Gokul Vol 1 by Akshat Gupta
Naga warriors, Shiva, Dharma’s protection–the summary blurb is enough to hook you into the vast and imaginative world Akash Gupta creates!
Written like a story within a story, this book is about a battle between the Naga warriors and Sardar Khan. The beautifully described characters and settings take you through the battlefields and beyond, ending at a cliffhanger that will make you wish the next part were already out!
Do you want to add these books to your pile–sorry again, TBR list? May we suggest Oxford Bookstore? It’s easily one of the best websites to buy books online!
Whether you’re a seasoned reader or have just started to explore, the popular books highlighted above will immerse you, whisking you off to fascinating worlds.
