Issue 15 / On the Shelf: September's Must-Read Books

by Matthew Currie

On the Shelf: September’s Must-Read Books

Sep 18, 2015

Scroll down for the latest from Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Mindy Kaling, Kunal Nayyar and more.

Two Years, Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Days (Knopf Canada)
by Salman Rushdie

^{Photo Credit: Knopf Canada}

One of the most uniquely gifted writers of our time returns with this rich, imaginative fable about a world condemned to conflict by the darkness of ignorance. After a storm hits New York City, tearing down the barrier between our world and the next, a disparate group of people begin exhibiting bizarre powers. A gardener walks on air, a baby unmasks and punishes the guilty, a comic book writer comes face to face with his own creation. They are the offspring of a race of superhuman (and, as it happens, very promiscuous) troublemakers known as the djinn, and little do they know, they’ve just been conscripted, along with many of their fellow mortals, to fight in the war of light versus dark, of reason versus unreason.

Why Not Me? (Crown/Archetype)
by Mindy Kaling

^{Photo Credit: Crown/Archetype}

After the massive success of Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, the popular star/creator of The Mindy Project unleashes a second batch of hilarious yet heartfelt essays detailing her ongoing struggle to find happiness in a business that manufactures insecurity. Topics this time around include trying to lose weight without diet or exercise, dealing with fake Hollywood friends, how to be pretty on camera (go blonde . . . at all costs), falling in love with a co-star and meeting Bradley Cooper.

Purity (Bond Street Books)
by Jonathan Franzen

^{Photo Credit: Bond Street Books}

Acclaimed American novelist Jonathan Franzen delves into the moral rot that pervades our modern world in this sprawling tale centred on an idealistic but troubled young woman named Purity and the Julian Assange-like hacker who inspires/preys upon her. It’s been lauded as a rich, challenging novel that delves into everything from parental abuse and gender dynamics to institutional corruption, international intrigue and murder, all played out by a cast of pleasingly complex characters struggling with their own moral compasses.

The Heart Goes Last (McClelland & Stewart)
by Margaret Atwood

^{Photo Credit: McClelland & Stewart}

Canadian legend Margaret Atwood produces her first standalone novel in over a decade with this highly satirical dystopian tale about Charmaine and Steve, a couple living on the edge of poverty before they stumble upon an ad for an experimental new community that allows them to live in an idyllic mansion, provided they agree to spend every other month in a gender-segregated prison. But as the months and humiliating prison duties pile up, they both develop infatuations with the couple who occupy their house when they’re not around. Sex, brainwashing and campy social commentary ensue.

The Girl in the Spider’s Web (Viking)
by David Lagerkrantz

^{Photo Credit: Viking}

After more than a decade, iconic Swedish hacker Lisbeth Salander and her journalist cohort/occasional lover Mikael Blomkvist are back on the case, in this new novel penned by David Lagerkrantz who takes over the worldwide-bestseller franchise from the late Stieg Larsson. This time, the unlikely duo is on the trail of a fellow superhacker who might just have a secret that governments, spies and cybercriminals across the globe would literally kill to get their hands on.

Yes, My Accent Is Real (Simon & Schuster)

by Kunal Nayyar

^{Photo Credit: Simon & Schuster}

He stars in TV’s most-watched sitcom, but now the man Big Bang Theory fans know as Raj invites fans to take a more intimate look at his life behind the scenes with this chuckle-worthy collection of essays. Kunal Nayyar recounts his unlikely journey from New Delhi to Portland to Hollywood, touching upon awkward romances, minimum-wage janitorial work, all the way to his breakout, dream-fulfilling role of Raj and marrying his true love, 2006 Miss India Neha Kapur, in a magical seven-day matrimonial extravaganza.

^{Main Image Photo Credit: Simon & Schuster}

Matthew Currie

Author

A long-standing entertainment journalist, Currie is a graduate of the Professional Writing program at Toronto’s York University. He has spent the past number of years working as a freelancer for ANOKHI and for diverse publications such as Sharp, TV Week, CAA’s Westworld and BC Business. Currie ...