Books I’ve Read So Far in 2026

It’s been a while since I’ve done a book review update on my blog, so here it is. This year, as always, I have set myself a goal of reading 30 books but to change things up, and force myself to tackle my ever-growing TBR, I’ve also signed up for two separate prompt-based challenges.

The first of these is #ReadingWithMuffy hosted by Shalini. She comes up with very unique monthly prompts and it’s been fun finding books to fit them. The second one, which I mentioned in a recent post, was the #ReadNonFicChal hosted by @shellyrae_bookdout, for which I have committed to reading six non-fiction books through the year within the specified themes.

So far, I have read five books, and I’m sharing my reviews of these.

• Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie

In order to ensure a good reading year by starting out strong, I often pick comfort re-reads as my first books of the year. Five Little Pigs was the next book in my ongoing Project Poirot, and I will write about it in a separate post dedicated to that.

In case you would like to buy a copy, here you go: https://amzn.to/3OutEzy

• Ghosted: Delhi’s Haunted Monuments by Eric Chopra

Of all my reads this year, this has been the most disappointing one so far. I picked this for both the reading challenges. #ReadingWithMuffy’s January prompt was ‘Read a Book with No Human on the Cover’ and also for the non-fiction challenge for the History category. So, here is the blurb of the book and my thoughts and review below:

Goodreads Blurb:

Delhi is haunted—by its ghosts, its ruins, and its unending capacity for rebirth. In the shadow of medieval mosques and Mughal tombs, the past refuses to stay buried. Saints, Sultans, poets, and lovers—all linger in the city’s imagination, their stories shaping how we remember what once was.

In Ghosted, historian and storyteller Eric Chopra journeys through the capital’s most beguiling sites—Jamali-Kamali, Firoz Shah Kotla, Khooni Darwaza, the Mutiny Memorial, and Malcha Mahal—to unearth a Delhi that exists between worlds: a palimpsest where Sufis bless kings, jinn listen to grievances, and begums occupy dilapidated hunting lodges. What begins as a search for Delhi’s haunted monuments becomes a meditation on why we are drawn to the dead and how ghost stories become vessels of collective memory.

Blending archival research with folklore, myth, and reflection, Chopra paints an intimate portrait of a city forever in dialogue with its former selves. Through invasions and rebirths, he reveals that Delhi’s spirit resides not just in its monuments but in the unseen presences that linger among them.

Ghosted is a lyrical, haunting journey through the city’s spectral landscape— an invitation to listen to what its echoes tell us about memory and identity.

My Review – 3/5 stars:

Eric Chopra is a historian and a fellow alumni of St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, so I was very excited to read this book. Unfortunately, while I could sense his passion for the subject and the fact that he’s put in a lot of research, his writing is dull. He managed to make an interesting subject very ho-hum. I don’t want to judge too harshly because I’ve definitely read worse non-fiction, but I’ve also read much better non-fiction! An average book.

In case you would like to buy the book, here’s the link: https://amzn.to/4qSYJdB

• The True True Story of Raja the Gullible by Rabih Alameddine

This was my book club pick for the month of January and my absolute favourite read of the year so far. Though it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, I personally loved it and felt it was totally worthy of the National Book Award win for 2025.

Goodreads Blurb:

In a tiny Beirut apartment, sixty-three-year-old Raja and his mother live side by side. A beloved high school philosophy teacher and “the neighborhood homosexual,” Raja relishes books, meditative walks, order, and solitude. Zalfa, his octogenarian mother, views her son’s desire for privacy as a personal affront. She demands to know every detail of Raja’s work life and love life, boundaries be damned.

When Raja receives an invite to an all-expenses-paid writing residency in America, the timing couldn’t be better. It arrives on the heels of a series of personal and national disasters that have left Raja longing for peace and quiet away from his mother and the heartache of Lebanon. But what at first seems a stroke of good fortune soon leads Raja to recount and relive the very disasters and past betrayals he wishes to forget.

Told in Raja’s irresistible and wickedly funny voice, the novel dances across six decades to tell the unforgettable story of a singular life and its absurdities—a tale of mistakes, self-discovery, trauma, and maybe even forgiveness. Above all, The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) is a wildly unique and sparkling celebration of love.

My Review – 5/5 stars:

The book is about a gay Lebanese man navigating life in a super traditional society. His mother is his fiercest protector, even though he shares a complex relationship with her. It’s superbly written, keeps you hooked and the characters make you fall in love with them.

It is such a difficult thing to write a book in the protagonist’s voice (as opposed to that of a neutral narrator) and still show the many beautiful and nuanced layers of the protagonist. It’s also really difficult to deal with traumatic subjects like kidnapping, war and personal turmoil in a light-hearted, humorous manner but the author does it with aplomb. It’s clear to me that he is a gifted writer. I loved the book!

Buy your copy here: https://amzn.to/4rQaUt7

• Galentine’s Day by Rebecca Anderson

This book was gifted to me by a close friend in the hope that our girl gang would read and discuss it in time for Galentine’s Day (which in case you didn’t know, is a celebration of female friendships on February 13).

Goodreads Blurb:

Thirteen years. Three women. One annual sleepover.

13 February 2013. Alicia, Marnie and Hannah have their first Galentine’s Day sleepover. They’re eighteen, single, and the world is at their feet. Soon they’ll go their separate ways after college, but they promise that every year, they’ll have their sleepover.

13 February 2026. There are only two friends at the annual sleepover. Their friendships have been tested by life, by partying, breakdowns, and even by pregnancies. Are their best Galentine’s Days now behind them?

Galentine’s Day is a love letter to female friendship, that celebrates messiness, real relationships, and growing up together.

My Review – 3/5 stars:

The book follows three friends over the course of 13 years of friendship starting from their last year of school. The story moves forward through a narrative structure focused on a single day every year when the friends stay together to celebrate Galentine’s Day. As with all friendships, there are ups and downs. The characters and their stories are relatable, even if some situations feel a bit forced. It’s certainly not worthy of any serious literary honours but makes for a light, fun read along the lines of ‘Bridget Jones’ and following the structure of ‘One Day’. But it could have been 100 pages shorter as it tends to drag on towards the end and has a rather soppy (even disappointing!) ending.

Buy your copy here: https://amzn.to/4rwBt6a

• A Brush With Life: An Autobiography by Satish Gujral

I read this book as research for an article I wrote about artist Satish Gujral in celebration of his centenary. It also served as the second book for the non-fiction challenge, fitting well in the category of memoir / biography.

Goodreads Blurb:

Satish Gujral was one of India’s most original modern artists-painter, sculptor, muralist, architect, and writer-whose work crossed disciplines and eras. Born in Jhelum, undivided India, he lost his hearing as a child after a near-fatal accident. What might have confined him instead became the source of a lifelong search for form and meaning.

From his training at the Mayo School of Arts in Lahore and his years in Mexico under the influence of Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros, to his return to a newly independent India, Gujral shaped a practice that was both deeply personal and politically alert. His paintings, sculptures, and buildings bear witness to a sensibility that refused to separate art from life.

First published in 1997, A Brush with Life remains a lucid and unsparing account of an artist’s journey through loss, conviction, and renewal. Reissued to mark his centenary, this edition includes a new foreword by Mohit Gujral and the original one by Khushwant Singh. It offers readers a portrait of a man who turned silence into vision, and who saw creation itself as an act of courage.

My Review – 4/5 stars:

I picked this book up as research for an article I’m writing on the artist Satish Gujral whose centenary is being celebrated this year, but I ended up thoroughly enjoying it. Gujral overcame his physical disability (he was deaf) and became one of India’s finest artists and architects. His story is interesting and inspiring in its own right, but he’s also a wonderful writer who shares memories and feelings with candour and brings his story to life through apt descriptions and vivid characterisation. The book was originally published in 1997 and has been re-released this year for his centenary. Yet it doesn’t feel dated – a testament to the extraordinary life of an extraordinary man.

Buy your copy here: https://amzn.to/4kZa7U0

I’m currently reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s ‘Love in the Time of Cholera’ for the February prompt of the #ReadingWithMuffy challenge – a book that begins with l / o / v / e. And I’m really enjoying it. Will report with my detailed review back in the next post but till then,

Buy your copy here: https://amzn.to/4qXGmEl

Thanks for reading! Do share your favourite read of the year so far in the comments section below!

_________

This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Sameeksha Reads.

_________

*This is not a sponsored post but it contains affiliate links. If you buy a product through my link, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please support my blog by using my links to buy the products of your choice!

**Copyright in pictures and content belongs to nooranandchawla.com and cannot be republished or repurposed without express permission of the author. As I am a copyright lawyer by profession, infringement of any kind will invite strict legal action.

__________