India, Dec. 15 -- Fiction or non? Entertaining or insightful (or both)? Racy or meditative? The year gone by has been made richer by those who wrote and contributed to our knowledge of the world, of women and of relationships.

At least two Indian women made it to international bestseller lists. To call Booker-prize winning author Arundhati Roy's twin memoir-that of her own activism and that of her mother Mary-the most anticipated memoir of the year might be a bit of an under-statement. And Kiran Desai's third novel, published after a break of two decades, had the heft of an epic.

Translated into English by Deepa Bhasthi, Banu Mushtaq's collection of short stories, Heart Lamp became the first Kannada book and first short story collection...