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Books I Read in May 2025—Banu Mushtaq, Arundhati Roy and More

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May was a month of mixed moods and powerful stories. Some books were as comforting as a bedtime drink, while others cracked open bigger conversations about history, identity, and mortality. Here's a look at everything I read this month:

📘 The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

A tender philosophical tale wrapped in a children's story about a young prince's journey through planets and people.
This may be a global favourite, but you don’t always have to love what others love. Still, it was nice,  wistful, and okay in the best way.

🧹 Kiki’s Delivery Service, Eiko Kadono

A young witch starts her own delivery business and finds independence and friendship in a seaside town.
Reading this felt like drinking a warm cup of milk. Pure comfort.

🌿 The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy

A haunting, nonlinear novel about forbidden love, caste, and childhood trauma in Kerala.
I get why this is famous—and I totally agree. Roy’s language is lush, her story devastating.

🌀 Life of Chuck, Stephen King (from If It Bleeds)

A surreal and touching meditation on life, death, and memory told in reverse.
I listened to the audiobook for this one and only this one, from If It Bleeds. And of course, in my head, Tom Hiddleston was Chuck. That made it even better.

✈️ Flights, Olga Tokarczuk

A genre-defying blend of travel writing, philosophy, and fragmented narratives about motion and stillness.
I vibe with Olga Tokarczuk. Deeply. Her voice, her pace, her thoughts; yes.

⚖️ The Doctor and the Saint, Arundhati Roy

A nonfiction essay interrogating Gandhi’s legacy and contrasting it with B.R. Ambedkar’s radical politics.
The doctor is B.R. Ambedkar, and the saint is Gandhi. This is necessary nonfiction.

🕯️ Heart Lamp: Selected Stories, Banu Mushtaq

A luminous collection exploring grief, faith, and resistance through the voices of Indian Muslim women.
Winner of the International Booker Prize 2025. These stories burn.


Happy reading!
(^人^)

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