New Delhi, Dec. 27 -- The World After Gaza by Pankaj Mishra (Juggernaut)

As Gaza continued to suffer under Israel's genocide this year, this scholarly but accessible book felt like a lighthouse to me. Amid all the hate-mongering, distortion of reality and fake news, it is a must-read for anyone looking for a beacon of light. Mishra connects the past and present with nuance, complexity and clarity to explain the ongoing crisis in West Asia. -SG

Every Room Has a View by Sujit Saraf (Speaking Tiger)

Sujit Saraf's novel, Island, based on the real incident of a missionary's death in the Andamans, was one of my favourites last year. In 2025, he returned with yet another engaging story, set among Indians in the US. The protagonist, Naveen Gup...