Books I Am Reading, Revisiting and Obsessed With

 

Hey again!

If you have been trying to solve the mystery of my sudden silence, picture me slipping out of the city like a runaway side character in a thriller. I have been living a quiet, almost monk-like life. Think mountains, crisp mornings, and a front-row view of Banff and Jasper that could make anyone believe in magic again. I have been chasing the Aurora on nights cold enough to make my eyelashes freeze. Then switching gears to Calgary’s city buzz, only to escape to Canmore and Hilton on weekends like it is my personal ritual.

Also, I took a much-needed detox from the kind of people who drain your soul but stay glued to your life through stubborn social ties. Cutting off is an extreme sport. I recommend it only on full stomach and with emotional supervision.

Somewhere between this chaos and calm, I started reading again. A lot. Piling books the way some people pile receipts in their wallets. And what is the joy of reading if you cannot share the best bits with the people you actually adore?

So here I am, back with my stack of books.

Books I Am Reading, Revisiting, and Can’t Stop Talking About

The image you see captures the titles I am reading. Yes, simultaneously. No judging. I am a long-standing member of the Commitment Issues Club, and literature is my playground.

You might be wondering: Are these books any good? Should you read them? Which one is my favorite? Why should anyone bother? Let me walk you through them one by one.

1. The Poetry of Emily Dickinson

This book is a treasure chest of Dickinson’s mind. Poems on almost every corner of human experience: nature, love, loss, death, mood, grief, triumph, gender, power.

Her brilliance lies in the arrangement, the structure, the tone, and the quiet thunder of her lines. Nothing about Dickinson has ever been subtle, and yet everything feels delicate.

Excellence of Dickinson has never been hidden, but what keep her still glittering is the relevance of her verses even today. She whispers across centuries and still hits the heart like a clean arrow. I put this book first because it is my favorite. It delivers entire galaxies in the smallest poetic gestures.

2. A Poet Can Survive Everything But a Misprint — Oscar Wilde

This book is pure delight. Wicked, bold, and sparkling with Wilde’s signature charm. I have no idea why this was not part of our college syllabus. Instead of snickering over his comedies, I wish we had sat around quoting this masterpiece like intellectual rebels.

It is just 140 pages, but every page hits with the precision of a dart. A few quotes that made me whistle under my breath:

• “Beer, Bible, and seven deadly virtues have made England what she is.”
  
  

• “Public opinion exists only where there are no ideas.”
  
  

• “Aim of love is to love: no more, no less.”
  
  

• “Public dislike novelty because they are afraid of it.”
  
  

• “Poor can think of nothing else than money. And that is the misery of being poor.”
  
  

• “A man cannot always be estimated by what he does.”
  
  

Honestly, I could quote the whole book. It felt that real and that sharp.

3. Opinions — Roxane Gay

Roxane Gay does not tiptoe. She walks straight in, switches on the lights, and points at the mess everyone else pretends not to see. Her bluntness hits like cold water on a sleepy face, and somehow you thank her for it.

This book gathers a decade of her essays, arguments, cultural critiques, and sharp observations on the way society behaves when no one thinks they are being watched. She writes about politics, feminism, pop culture, race, body image, and the strange human obsession with policing other people’s choices. Reading her feels like sitting with a friend who refuses to sugarcoat anything, yet hands you truth with enough wit to keep you turning pages.

Gay challenges hypocrisy with the precision of someone flicking lint off a jacket. She questions trends, calls out performative outrage, and pokes fun at the way people mind each other’s business like it is a competitive sport with prize money.

It is the kind of book that makes you pause mid-paragraph and say, “Okay fine, she has a point.” And then you keep reading because she always has another one on the way.

4. A House in the Sky — Amanda Lindhout & Sara Corbett

A long and gripping read based on Amanda Lindhout’s true story. She was abducted during her travels in Somalia and held hostage for 460 days. The book takes you through her memories, her survival instincts, and the fragile threads of hope she clung to.It shows the world through the eyes of a woman who chose courage every day because there was no other choice. Not a light read, but undeniably powerful.

Here are a few lines and moments from these books that you might want to read for yourself.

So tell me, which of these would you pick up first? Want to chat about any line, author, or idea? Drop your thoughts in the comments. And feel free to suggest books you want me to review next.