What have I been reading - I

This year I have decided to do mid-year and end of year books posts. Because its criminal (I know! I know!) to do just one post in a year and not write about each and every book. Without further ado, here's a chronological list. Will divide it into 2 parts for brevity.

• Amsterdam by Ian McEwan - Really liked it! The way McE sketches people and draws them together and apart in a mere ~200 pages is a work of a book jinnie! Plus some of the moral dilemmas his characters face and the way you don't end up judging them for their choices is always astonishing to me.
• Zen in the art of writing by Ray Bradbury - It's a collection of essays on writing, written at various points of time in Ray Bradbury's life. Inspiring.
• The bagheera chronicles by R. B. Mage - It's the first part of a fantasy fiction trilogy and written by my colleague! I am thrilled for people I know who get published. Read and share, please :)
• Bluebeard's egg by Margaret Atwood - I have always loved Atwood's writing style (read 4 books by her till date). This collection of short stories felt personal and detailed.
• The story of a new name by Elena Ferrante - 2nd book of the Naepolitan novels. I really liked this installment. Few books I have read in the past developed a relationship, friendship here, so honestly and intricately. I am a fan of Elena Ferrante and would love to meet these people some day.
• Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison - I am making an effort to include diverse books in my reading list. I got this one luckily from the library. Initially, I found it tough to relate to a lot of the black person narrative going on. As I progressed and started looking at it as just another story it started appealing to me more. And then I watched 'Dear white people' and I was like 'Oh... there is so much I'll never get' and 'oh so this is what she was talking about.'
• Those who leave and those who stay by Elena Ferrante - 3rd book of the Naepolitan books. Loved loved lurrrrved it! It explores both the girls' struggles of leaving comfort zones to carve their own lives and identities. Something I identified with. Ferrante's love for her subjects is honest and unprejudiced. <3 <3 (Read my longer posts on the book series here)
• Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari - What a great and interesting book! If you are selective in your non-fiction diet like me, this will really really satisfy you. Filled with great anecdotes, Harari manages to convey some conflicting ideas without sounding too aggressive.
• Of mice and men by John Steinbeck - What a depressing read. To explore the plight of the working class America in the 1920s in less than 112 pages is nothing but sheer wizardry.