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I heard about Riley Sager from a BookTuber I loved (She has long stopped making content and I couldn’t be more upset about it). She didn’t love his books much but she still wouldn’t stop recommending them whenever someone asked about thrillers she had read. The book she didn’t like much and gave two stars was ‘The House Across the Lake’. I picked it up because though she gave it two stars she still said it wasn’t a bad read if you hadn’t read Sager before. I really enjoyed it. I think she gave ‘Survive the Night’ one star because she couldn’t give it a zero star rating but I still enjoyed that as well. Sager tells predictable stories especially if you read a lot of thrillers but they are compulsive and hard to put down while they last. 

The one book that she did highly recommend was ‘Lock Every Door’ and I was excited to get my hands on a copy. My reasoning was if I had enjoyed books that she hadn’t been particularly thrilled about, then I was sure to love one that she was raving about. I stumbled upon a copy of Lock Every Door at Books Mandala in Baluwatar, Kathmandu, and though the font wasn’t eye-friendly, I bought it. I like thrillers that are based in apartments or closed spaces. They have a claustrophobic feel to them that I really enjoy, despite giving me goosebumps and making me feel uncomfortable. Isn’t that the best feeling when you are reading mysteries and thrillers? 

Lock Every Door is about a woman named Jules Larson who lands a new job as an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan’s most high profile buildings and home to the rich and famous. Jules finds out that her boyfriend, Andrew, has been cheating on her and she moves out of their shared flat. This leaves her practically homeless as she has little money in her bank account. So she takes up the job at the Bartholomew despite her friend Chloe warning her about its dark history. The job comes with a few rules. She can’t have visitors over. She must not spend nights away from the apartment. And she shouldn’t disturb the other residents. 

These seem like simple rules to Jules especially since she will be making about $4000 a month for the next three months and getting to stay at a really luxurious apartment. She makes a new friend, Ingrid, who is another apartment sitter in the same building. Ingrid confesses to Jules that the building scares her but Jules dismisses it. That night, Jules hears a scream from Ingrid’s apartment and the next day Ingrid is gone. The girl who hired Jules, Lesley, tells her Ingrid left without notice but Jules thinks something sinister is going on and that Lesley, along with the building’s other residents, is trying to hide it. She starts searching for Ingrid and looking for clues behind her disappearance and in the process uncovers a dark and deadly secret. Ingrid isn’t the first apartment sitter to have disappeared. 

Lock Every Door has a nice plot. There are elements of suspense and tension. You keep turning the pages. But it’s also predictable, especially if you read or watch a lot of mysteries. I could guess what was happening when I was less than halfway into the book. A character entered and what was going on became clear to me. I wasn’t wrong despite hoping there was another ending than the one I was guessing. But I can understand why the BookTuber couldn’t stop talking about Sager’s books. They are gripping stories that are enjoyable to read. Sager is also known for plot twists that you don’t see coming. All in all, I would say you don’t want to miss out on his books that are good distractions from whatever is going on in your life. 

Fun fact: Riley Sager is actually the pen name of American author Todd Ritter.

Fiction

Lock Every Door

Riley Sager

Published: 2019

Publisher: Penguin Random House UK

Pages: 368, Paperback

I first heard about Jojo Moyes because of her hugely popular book ‘Me Before You’. Published in 2012, this romance novel was all the hype back then. It turned my non-readers friends into readers overnight. The book has a sequel ‘After You’ which was published in 2015 and a second sequel ‘Still Me’ published in 2018. I often got asked if I had read the book. The answer to which was always a resounding no. And I had no intentions of reading it either. Something about the whole hullabaloo around the book had put me off, and I wasn’t a big reader of romance either. In a way, in my mind, I wrote Moyes off as a writer of fluff that I wasn’t going to waste my time on. 

Then a friend whose reading choices always fascinated me recommended ‘The Giver of Stars’ by Moyes. I reluctantly picked it up. I didn’t expect to like it but it was one of the best books I had read that year. I still recommend it to everyone I know and it’s one of my picks when I have to give a book to someone. Set in small-town 1930’s Kentucky, the book is based on the real-life Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky, or the Horseback Librarian program as it was called then. The program delivered books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s traveling library and ran from 1935 to 1943, making books accessible to over 100,000 rural inhabitants. I love historical fiction and The Giver of Stars was compelling. Romance is one aspect of the novel but there’s a lot to it than just that. 

I have since then retracted my stand on Moyes and look forward to her books, though I still haven’t read Me Before You. ‘The Girl You Left Behind’ is another fascinating work that tells the story of two women who are connected by a beautiful painting. Moyes, I have come to realize, writes about women in an honest, empathetic, and engrossing way. She doesn’t show them as weaklings or as extremely courageous women through and through. Instead, she makes them completely human and relatable–with both strengths and weaknesses.

‘Someone Else’s Shoes’ is also the story of two women, Sam and Nisha, whose fates collide when they mistakenly pick up each other’s bags at the gym. Sam is struggling with a depressed husband and a boss who pretty much hates her. She can’t afford to lose her job because her family depends on the income. Worse, her best friend has cancer. So when she finds Christian Louboutin shoes and a Chanel jacket in a Marc Jacobs bag that she thought was hers, she tries them on and feels like a new person. 

Nisha (who the shoes belong to), on the other hand, had it all till she didn’t. Her lavish lifestyle comes to a startling halt when her husband throws her out of the penthouse they share, blocking her access to all their accounts as well as her clothes and shoes. She finds herself working in the same hotel where she once stayed in order to survive till she can eventually get back at Carl and reclaim what is rightfully hers. Then her husband offers her a settlement if she can return the Christian Louboutin shoes to him. The only problem is she doesn’t have them but she is determined to get it back which is how she eventually meets Sam and the two become unwilling allies in order to get their lives back on track. 

Narrated alternately by the two main characters, Someone Else’s Shoes is a compulsive read that you don’t want to put down. There’s a little bit of romance too but it fits into the storyline and doesn’t seem forced. It also deals with some heavy themes like identity, loss, and grief, though these aren’t given the seriousness they deserve. But I have no complaints about the writing or the plot. Sam and Nisha, and the friends they have and make along the way, are all interesting characters. I was hooked on this gorgeous book about the importance of female friendships.

Someone Else’s Shoes

Jojo Moyes

Published: 2023

Publisher: Penguin Random House UK

Pages: 423, Paperback

Megha Majumdar’s debut novel ‘A Burning’ was a New York Times bestseller. It was named one of the best books of 2020 by the Washington Post, New York Times, NPR, Vogue, and Time among others. It won the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Purasakar in 2021 besides being nominated for many other awards like the National Book Critic’s Circle John Leonard Prize and the American Library Association’s Andrew Carnegie Medal. Many readers reviewed it on YouTube and Instagram. 

I haven’t read it yet but quite a few of my friends have recommended it to me. That’s probably one reason why I picked up ‘A Guardian and a Thief’ by the same author. The second reason being a blurb by American essayist Stacy Schiff, whose biography of Vera Nabokov won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize in biography. She writes: “Wondering if there’s a novel out there that gives Cormac McCarthy’s ‘The Road’ a run for its money? Here you go. An indelible piece of writing, in equal parts dazzling and devastating.”

A Guardian and a Thief tells the story of Ma and Boomba and the lengths they will go to for their families. It’s set in near-future Kolkata in India that is plagued by flooding and famine. Ma, her two-year-old daughter, Mishti, and her father are leaving Kolkata to join Ma’s husband in America. But Ma’s purse gets stolen the day after they receive their visas. It had all three passports. Ma tells nothing about the robbery to her husband who believes his family will soon be joining him. 

In Kolkata, she searches high and low for the thief who brought this misfortune upon her family. When Ma finally finds the thief, Boomba, he offers her a deal: He will give her back the passports if she agrees to give him her house when she leaves for America. The story is set amidst a worsening food crisis that drives both Ma and Boomba to do things they wouldn’t have had circumstances been different. Set over the course of one week, the plot revolves around Ma and Boomba’s struggle for survival when the odds are stacked against them. 

Cormac McCarthy’s The Road is one of my favorite books. A Guardian and a Thief is indeed reminiscent of that, and I loved it. What struck me the most about the book is that there are no heroes or villains here. Ma does many things that go against her morals, even stealing from the shelter she once worked at. Even though Boomba is a thief who commits a lot of crimes, he isn’t really in the wrong here. They are both two people trying to do what’s best for their families, and they both operate from a place of extreme love. The title thus applies to both characters. Each is a guardian and a thief. 

The book made me think about how people behave in the face of a crisis, and whether that is a truer reflection of who we actually are. Can you be principled when you are in grave trouble? Or do your instincts of self preservation override everything else? It’s interesting to try and get inside the character’s minds, with their conflicting thoughts and motives. They remind you of people you might know. They are relatable as well–you would easily behave the way they did had you been in their shoes. 

The ending seemed a bit rushed and over the top but other than that, I liked everything about the book–the plot, the setting, the characters, and the dystopian vibe. I found out that A Guardian and a Thief is actually a follow up to Majumdar’s debut novel, A Burning, after I had finished reading it. But the good thing is that it works wonderfully well as a standalone novel too. If you have enjoyed McCarthy’s The Road and have been searching for a story with a similar feel to it, this is one you won’t regret picking up. 

A Guardian and a Thief

Megha Majumdar

Published: 2025

Publisher: Penguin Random House India

Pages: 205, Hardcover

Elif Shafak is well known for ‘The Bastard of Istanbul’ and ‘The Forty Rules of Love’. These books catapulted the author to fame. She has written other books like ‘The Architect’s Apprentice’, ‘Honour’ and ‘Three Daughters of Eve’, all of which I found to be more interesting than the popular titles. ‘The Island of Missing Trees’, published in 2021, is my favorite out of all her works. Set in Cyprus and London, the story is narrated by a little girl and a fig tree that has seen generations of the girl’s family and knows their story intimately. It was fascinating and I have, since finishing the book, given out copies to many relatives and friends.  

I came across ‘Black Milk’ when I was just browsing through the bookstore looking for a short read. It’s a non-fiction work about postpartum depression and Shafak shares how she struggled with it. I will read anything Shafak writes because she does so gorgeously. But the blurb of Black Milk was intriguing. Since I was also going through motherhood, I thought this would be a good book to pick up. I wasn’t wrong. I have perhaps never felt as seen and validated as I have while I was reading the book. 

Postpartum depression affects many new mothers worldwide but it’s something that’s seldom talked about. In Nepal too, you’d be hard pressed to find women who are vocal about their struggles. It’s almost like you have failed as a mother if you are sad and unable to cope when there’s a baby who needs you. Our society puts so much pressure on women being ‘good mothers’ that they turn a blind eye to the myriad of conflicting emotions that women find themselves struggling with mostly because of fluctuating hormones.  

To be honest, the book addresses the question put forth to Shafak by another Turkish writer Adalet Agaoglu: Do you think a woman can manage motherhood and career at the same time and equally well? Shafak seeks to answer this question by dissecting the lives of other women writers and their careers and contemplating over her own experiences of juggling motherhood and writing. There is actually little about postpartum depression. Most of it comes at the end of the book. But it’s still an immersive and insightful read. I just found the blurb to be a bit misleading. 

The Turkish-British novelist, essayist, and activist, who writes in both Turkish and English, recounts how ‘words wouldn’t speak to her’ after the birth of her first child in 2006. She writes candidly about her inner voices urging her to focus on her writing and flourishing career and not be blindsided by the desire to have a baby. She introduces us to a harem of finger sized women who live inside her mind. These are all just different facets of her personality. 

It’s not just her own experiences that she shares in the memoir. She also writes about other writers’ experiences of juggling (or choosing not to juggle) motherhood and writing. She talks about Silvia Plath, Alice Walker, Simone de Beauvoir, and Virginia Woolf and their take on babies and why they chose to have or not have one. She also writes about the wives of famous writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Leo Tolstoy and how their talents were overshadowed by their husband’s popularity and analyzes how a patriarchal society reinforces that system. 

There’s a lot to unpack in Black Milk with Shafak questioning what it means to be a working woman and a mother and sometimes being compelled to choose one over the other. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and though it’s not a thick book, I took almost three weeks to read it because I found myself going back to many phrases and pages. My only issue with the book is that there’s a certain lightness while talking about something as serious as postpartum depression with Shafak wrapping up the book in a preachy tone. But I would still recommend it and I’m even thinking of giving it to some of my friends. 

Black Milk 

Elif Shafak

Translated by Hande Zapsu

Published: 2007

Publisher: Penguin Random House, UK

Pages: 267, Paperback

For me, holidays, especially Dashain and Tihar, are times to catch up on my reading. I always plan to read more than I normally do on days I have work during my time off. But Dashain and Tihar are hectic times, with family, chores, shopping, and more to attend to. I always make ambitious plans and feel disappointed when l can’t follow through. Sometimes, I will have barely finished a book in a week and since I tend to finish at least two during regular times, the feeling is quite discomfiting. 

So this year, for Tihar, I have decided to be smarter with my reading selections. The idea is that I’m going to pick some books that I don’t have to commit to for hours at a stretch. And I should be able to dip in and out of them without losing track. That is why I have picked a collection of poems, a book of short stories, and a slim non-fiction that I have read before (it can be called cheating but it’s a good book so I don’t mind). 

The Poetry Pharmacy by William Sieghart

I used to be intimidated by poetry but once I started reading them, I realized you don’t always need them to make sense right away. You can simply let the words wash over you and slowly they will unfurl in your mind. ‘The Poetry Pharmacy’ by William Sieghart is a collection of 56 poems by different poets prescribed by Sieghart to help you during different conditions like anxiety, loneliness, and even grief. The idea of the poetry pharmacy was born when Sieghart was asked to prescribe poems from one of his books to the audience during a literary festival. People queued up to be prescribed a poem that would fix whatever was weighing them down. The Poetry Pharmacy has Sieghart’s ‘prescriptions’ on one side and the poem on the other page. You can randomly flip to a page and read what’s there instead of reading it cover to cover. 

Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq

This book won the International Booker Prize 2025. Translated from the Kannada to English by Deepa Bhasthi, the 12 stories in the collection capture the lives of everyday women and girls in Muslim communities in Southern India according to the book’s blurb. The stories were originally published between 1990 and 2023. Mushtaq has championed women’s rights and protested against discrimination and the stories come out of her years of experience and what she’s seen play out around her. I recommend you get the hardbound book that has recently come out or read it on the Kindle because the paperback version is flimsy and feels weird—the pages and typeset aren’t very nice. I love reading short stories because they don’t require too much effort but you still have a nice plot and character(s) taking up space in your head, especially if the author is good at telling stories in the shorter format. A short story comforts me and makes me feel like I have read something substantial when I don’t have the time for a longer fiction. 

A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

I have read ‘A Room of One’s Own’ by Virginia Woolf a few times and I own multiple copies of this book. And I have read every single copy. I recently bought a copy, the cover of which I really liked and I’m going to read this during Tihar. The good thing is that it’s a slim volume and I already know what I’m getting into. A Room of One’s Own grew out of two lectures that Woolf had been invited to give at a college in Cambridge in 1928. It argues why Jane Austen or Emily Bronte could have never written ‘War and Peace’ and the importance of financial freedom for women to be able to write. A room of one’s own symbolizes a space for women away from societal obligations. The book is freely available online as it’s a classic so you won’t have to go searching for it if you don’t have a copy but I highly recommend getting one as the feel of holding a book doesn’t compare with reading on the kindle or the phone.

I must have written about this book at least half a dozen times and I recommend it whenever I get the chance. My close circle of friends have perhaps all received copies of this glorious book and I might as well confess that I have forced them into watching the movie as well. It’s my feel-good, happy, and calming book that I turn to when I’m feeling anxious, facing a reading slump, or simply need a distraction from what’s going on around me. 

Roald Dahl is a master storyteller. His books transport you into worlds you could have never imagined. ‘The BFG’, ‘The Twits’, and ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ are some of his works that I am fond of and think everyone should read. But ‘Matilda’ is my favorite and a book that I can’t talk about without gushing and becoming super excited. 

On the surface, it seems like a simple story about a girl who is an outcast in her own family. Her parents don’t think highly of her despite her obvious genius. But Matilda is far too advanced for her age. She can read and write before anyone else in her class and she can multiply big numbers in her head. Her teacher thinks she has a bright future but her school principal and her own parents think of her as a nuisance. Matilda soon learns that she has to take care of herself as no one is looking out for her. And she does so with a lot of charm, style, wit, and a little bit of magic. 

What I love about the book is that it’s hilarious but teaches you some invaluable lessons along the way. It’s an interesting take on carving your own path in life, no matter how dire your circumstances. It’s also about being true to who you are and not letting the world shut you down. Matilda knows her worth, even when people around her make her question it and she’s not afraid to stand up for what’s right. It’s really heartwarming and inspiring. 

Reading Matilda as an adult just hits differently. I first read it when I was in school and just thought of it as a funny story. Then after a couple of rereads, I started understanding the nuances of it. If you think a children’s book couldn’t be so poignant, then you haven’t come across some really great ones, Matilda being one of them. The themes of the story—parental affection, bullying, and the need to belong—are universal and highly relatable. Matilda teaches you to stand up for yourself, even when it feels like the hardest thing to do. 

I really like how she maintains her sanity during difficult times by finding solace in books. It’s also something I tend to do. When I was in school and college, if I were upset about something, my mother would always tell me to go to my room and read. It was the best way for me to relax and not lose my cool. Matilda reads when she’s upset and angry and books are her best friend. It’s a reminder of how something as simple as a good story can help you get out from the depths of despair. 

Another good thing about this book is that you can breeze through it in a single afternoon—a perfect holiday read. And it makes you fall in love with books and reading as well. Miss Jenny, Matilda’s homeroom teacher, is kind and caring. Her life hasn’t been easy but she hasn’t lost touch with her real self. She makes you believe in the goodness in people and how it’s possible to rise above your circumstances if that is what you truly want.

All in all, Matilda is one of my favorite books because it calms me down while making me look at the positive side of things even when nothing seems to be going my way. It’s a short, sweet read that will leave a lasting impact. Read it out loud to your children or by yourself on a sunny afternoon—whatever you choose to do, you are in for a treat. 

Matilda 

Roald Dahl 

Illustrations by Quentin Blake

Published: 1989

Publisher: Puffin Books

Pages: 229, Paperback

Thrillers make for quick, compelling reads which is exactly what you might want to pick up this holiday season, when you have a million things to do but also want to read something. I’m going to be reading Riley Sager’s ‘Lock Every Door’ this Dashain. It’s not a slim book but I expect to breeze through it because Sager tells gripping stories. 

A friend has borrowed several thrillers to keep her company this Dashain which made me want to recommend some of my favorites here today.

These three titles are guaranteed page turners and will give you the perfect excuse to spend some time holed up in your room, away from all the chatter and socializing, which might be just what you need every now and then. 

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

This is a thick book but you won’t want to put it down. There is even a Netflix series based on the book and it’s every bit as enjoyable as the book. More than 20 years ago, Claire and Lydia’s teenage sister vanished without a trace and the two sisters haven’t spoken since then. The two sisters lead very different lives but when Claire’s husband is killed in a robbery gone wrong, it forces the two sisters to confront past demons and wounds. Slaughter has written many books but this is probably her best one. It’s a crime novel that will make your spine tingle. 

The Tenant by Freida McFadden

I had had enough of reading Frieda McFadden after I read ‘The Housemaid’ series because I felt like I could predict where she would take the story. That often happens when you read novels by a certain thriller writer back to back. But when I saw the cover of ‘The Tenant’ I was intrigued and I couldn’t help myself. Blake Porter is living the good life. He has a successful career and a steady girlfriend. But when he is suddenly fired from his job, things begin to unravel. For starters, he is forced to take in a tenant when he can’t find another job. She seems like a nice choice but strange things start happening and Blake wonders if she is out to get him. The plot is gripping and will probably have you reading late into the night. 

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Published in 2019, this psychological thriller by Alex Michaelides will perhaps always remain at the top of my best thriller’s list. It follows the curious case of a woman who becomes mute after murdering her husband. The story is narrated by Theo Faber, her psychotherapist. The story can feel a bit disturbing at times but the execution is flawless. It feels very real. Alicia and Theo seem like people you know and the narrative is engaging and never over the top. I highly recommend this brilliant book that you will be raving about once you finish it. 

I love redecorating and rearranging my home and I will take every opportunity I get to do so. Dashain gives me a reason to splurge a little on home decor and make my space look nicer. However, this festive season has been one of mixed feelings. The recent protests where many lost their lives have left a bitter taste in my mouth. Celebrating as I did last year doesn’t feel right. Shopping for home decor seems like a frivolous task. Ideally, this is when I would be buying new sheets, cushion covers, and other trinkets like vases and candlestands to beautify my space. But I find myself in no mood to browse through the stores and alleys in Mangal Bazaar in Lalitpur and pick up stuff as I used to. 

So where does that leave me? I want to infuse freshness in my home this Dashain while making sure I don’t have to put in all the extra effort for it. This has forced me to think a little creatively and use what I have around the house. 

One of the secrets of having a nice home is not buying things to fill it with but to use things in interesting ways to make it unique and give it your signature touch. If there is one thing I have learnt over the years it is this: a pretty house needs to be clean and personal. So here’s what I am doing to get my home ready for the festive season without shopping for a single thing (well, except for maybe some fresh flowers). 

Reusing fabrics for different purposes

Old bedsheets can be turned into table covers and cushions. You can also make use of silk sarees for the same. I made a throw using an old shawl that my mother has had for years. You can simply stitch some tassels or lace on the ends of the shawl and give it a new look. The idea here is to find whatever fabric you have around the house and repurpose it. Switching curtains between rooms is a great idea to instantly revamp your home. 

Interesting displays from household objects

Create little corners with displays to keep things interesting. You can use a variety of things that you have lying around the house for this idea. I used some old crystal ashtrays as holders for floating candles and paired them with tall candlestands for visual interest. This works great on coffee tables and entryways. You can create any kind of display you like with old vases, jars, trays, etc. Consider displaying interesting and fun ceramic wares as wall decor and arrange branches and leaves on a large vase for a great centerpiece. 

Changing the layout 

One of the easiest and quickest ways to give your house a fresh new appeal is by changing the layout of the furniture and decor items. Oftentimes, mundanity sets in because you’ve had the same arrangement of furniture and knickknacks. Simply changing where things are placed can give a brand new look to your space. These days, you can ask help from AI to change the layout of a room using pieces you already have. I’m going to swap tables and chairs between rooms and use small shelves as bedside tables. 

Revamp the old

Festival times are generally when we tend to throw out the old stuff and bring in new things. But you would be surprised what some cleaning and perhaps a fresh coat of paint can accomplish. This Dashain, I am giving all my photo frames a new lease of life by painting them in different colors. You can also rotate trinkets around the house and create new setups with the things you already have. Consider changing photos in the frames and even changing their placements. Sometimes, decorating means editing. Remove a few pieces to create space and see how you feel.