If you’re a book lover you know the struggle of what to read next is real. With so many new books coming out every day we have to browse bestsellers lists, click around Goodreads, and ask friends for their recommendations for a good book. But the usual blanket categories and genres can be a bit too broad and it can get super overwhelming. So we decided to scout Instagram in our quest for a good read to see what our favourite celebrities and influencers were reading this year. From motivational, self-help books to fiction and autobiographies, here are all the books that were popular on the gram this year!
1. The Moment of Lift – Melinda Gates
Apart from being the wife of one of the richest men in the world, Melinda Gates is also the co-partner of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and a strong and inspiring woman herself. In this rousing novel, Mrs Gates shares her journey of emerging from her famous husband’s shadows to becoming an advocate for women.
Get your copy here.
2. The Forest of Enchantment – Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni
Another masterpiece by the bestselling Indian author Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni, this book is a retelling of the epic Ramayana through Sita’s point of view. The Forest of Enchantments is also a story of some of the other women in the epic, often misunderstood and ostracized: Kaikeyi, Surpanakha and Mandodari. A powerful book on duty, infidelity, betrayal and honour, and also about women’s struggle to retain autonomy in a world that privileges men.
Get your copy here.
3. Ikigai – Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles
If you’re looking for some motivation, Ikigai is the book you need to read. It explores Ikigai, a Japanese concept of living and doing with joy and provides a framework for living with purpose. This inspiring read will motivate you to continuously strive to find your passion and pursue only what makes you feel fulfilled! Definitely a relevant book for today’s highly career-oriented generation.
Get your copy here.
4. Raavan: Enemy of Aryavarta – Amish Tripathi
If you’re a fan of Amish Tripathi’s writing, you absolutely cannot miss out on this one. The highly anticipated Raavan came out earlier this year and took social media by storm. After ‘Scion of Ikshvaku’ in 2015 and ‘Sita: Warrior of Mithila’ in 2017, this is the third in the Ram Chandra series. It tells Raavan’s story from his childhood till the incident where he abducts Sita.
Get your copy here.
5. We Are Displaced – Malala Yousafzai
In this book, Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai talks about her experience of travelling across the world and meeting refugees in camps which makes her think about her own displacement. A part memoir, part communal storytelling, Malala not only explores her own story of adjusting to a new life while longing for home in this book, she also shares some personal stories of the incredible girls, she met on her various journeys – girls who have lost everything they had.
Get your copy here.
6. The Testament – Margaret Atwood
The Testaments is the much-awaited sequel of Margaret Atwood’s best-selling dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale and instantly became super popular on social media just after its release in 2 months ago. The book picks up the story 15 years after Offred walked into the unknown, with explosive testaments of three female narrators from Gilead. So if you haven’t read the first one yet, we suggest you do it stat!
Get your copy here.
7. Becoming – Michelle Obama
When Michelle Obama, the former FLOTUS and only the most loved and inspiring woman in the world writes a memoir, you read it! Michelle Obama has lived a very well accomplished life, but it hasn’t been without hardships. In Becoming, she weaves the story of her life, from the years she spent growing up on the South Side of Chicago to her life in the White House. You will earn a new appreciation of the former First Lady after giving this a read.Â
Get your copy here.
8. Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow – Yuval Noah Harari
The Sapiens series may have come out long back in 2014 and 2015 but the two books became super popular on social media earlier this year with almost everyone carrying a copy around on flights and on vacays. While the first one was all about the history of mankind from the evolution to the 21st century, the second one talks about examines what might happen to the world when old myths are coupled with new godlike technologies. Both these books are definitely worth a read!
Get your copy here.
9. Everything is F*cked – Mark Manson
Remember when The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck took over social media? Well, it’s second part was no less. Especially since a lot of people found it much better than the first one! Everything is F*cked is an in-depth textbook about understanding your feelings so you can ultimately find freedom and a bit more joy in your life and if definitely a book that needs to be on your bed’s side table if it isn’t already!
Get your copy here.
10. The 5 am Club: Own Your Morning. Elevate Your Life – Robin Sharma
Here’s another motivational book that was on pretty much every social media biggie’s nightstand. If you’re a Robin Sharma fan, rejoice because this book is nothing but brilliant! Part manifesto, part playbook for productivity and the pefect companion for a life lived well, the 5 am club is a book that will change your life. Forever. So who’s ready to join the 5 am club already?
Get your copy here.
