Archive · 24 Aug 2026
Four New Books Offer Diverse Monsoon Reading Choices
This article recommends four books to read during the monsoon.
One novel follows a family moving from Mangalore to Bahrain for a better life.
Another book is a memoir by former civil servant J.S. Deepak.
He writes about important projects he worked on in government.
Historian Ipshita Nath’s book explains how disease affected British colonial rule in India.
The final book is a translated science-fiction story about a giant building and a country called Beanstalk.
The books explore migration, government, illness, power, and imagination.
Their listed prices range from ₹399 to ₹799.
Michelle D’Costa’s debut novel follows a Mangalore family whose hopes of a better life in Bahrain are challenged by migration.
J.S. Deepak’s memoir recounts his four-decade career in the Indian Administrative Service.
Ipshita Nath examines how disease shaped the colonial experience and policy in India.
Bae Myung-hoon’s translated science-fiction novel is set in a 674-storey building and the sovereign nation of Beanstalk.
The four books range from literary fiction and memoir to history and dystopian science fiction, with prices from ₹399 to ₹799.
- Who
- Authors Michelle D’Costa, J.S. Deepak, Ipshita Nath, and Bae Myung-hoon; translator Sung Ryu is credited for Tower.
- What
- A selection of four books spanning fiction, memoir, history, and science fiction.
- When
- The books are presented as new monsoon reading recommendations; publication dates are not specified.
- Where
- The books involve settings and subjects including Bahrain, Mangalore, India, Uttar Pradesh, and the fictional nation of Beanstalk.
- Why
- To suggest varied books for readers during the monsoon.
- Number of books
- Four
- Price range
- ₹399 to ₹799
- Lowest-priced title
- Tower, at ₹399
- Highest-priced title
- I Dared to Dial Differently: An Insider’s Account of the IAS, at ₹799
- Longest book
- In Sickness and in Death, at 424 pages
- Shortest book
- You Envy the Coutinhos, at 184 pages
- Featured themes
- Migration, public administration, colonial disease, dystopia, and power