Credible Hulk

(56) when we think of the Ottoman Empire, we often tend to frame our thinking in well established 'orientalist' terms. Marc David Baer's sweeping history goes a long way to correcting that bias, this is a much needed objective view of the Ottoman Empire and its long reaching influence on culture

(55) given how ubiquitous they are it is easy to forget that containers and container ships have only been around for little over half a century. @marclevinson.bsky.social 's the history of the 'box' and its disproportionate impact on supply chains and global economies is a phenomenal read

(54) pre-season pushups, John Feinstein is one of the finest sports writers ever, period! And this over a few seasons is a fascinating look at the evolution of the quarterback role and the changes its driven to the game too

(53) Another Kindle Unlimited gem, a look at the definitive parallel cinema milestones of the 20th century, while I'm generally weary of the chapter by chapter exposition format as opposed to a more narrative driven structure, this was good cos it allowed me to take breaks through the book

(52) this is a book that should appeal to fans of any sport. A great look at the business of F1 and the characters that turned a rag tag operation into a billion dollar industry today

(50-51) found two @ianrankin1.bsky.social books that I didn't have in print. Devoured them in one sitting like with any other Rankin

(49) picked this up on a whim, was a great intro to multiple different spirits from across the globe, also features a chapter on feni #BMKJ

(48) @dansaladino.bsky.social 's brilliant book is a wonderful exploration of the impact monocultures driven by our food habits have had on natural diversity. Ironically climate change is now driving us to rediscover some of these species as alternate sources of our favorite foods, go figure

(47) this book made me severely nostalgic for the good old days of radio (paeans to certain 'heart felt talks' notwithstanding). Also a great reminder of just how shit we are (collectively) as a nation at preserving our cultural heritage

(45,46) this one is called when you go to browse books for your nieces while at @pagdandi and end up buying 2 for yourself cos they look interesting enough, or as the writer quipped when she saw them "covering both ends"

(45,46) this one is called when you go to browse books for your nieces while at @pagdandi and end up buying 2 for yourself cos they look interesting enough, or as the writer quipped when she saw them "covering both ends"

(43,44) Tim Wigmore's biography of Test Cricket does through justice to over a century of the game (I quite liked the slightly non-linear narrative he used to).
Abhishek Mukherjee's book is a very interesting concept, but I felt like it drifted a fair bit, especially some of the early chapters

(42) another Kindle Unlimited gem, Dan Shaughnessy's look at the Red Sox's 2004 season actually manages to unpack nearly a century of hurt and agony into its 200 odd pages (as a United fan, I'll be long gone by then, but someone will write something like this in the 22nd century)

(41) this one was a great look at the history of the book through the lives of 18 lesser known figures. Will thoroughly recommend if you are even remotely interested in the history of how reading evolved

(40) while I've read a fair bit about the ill fated Mallory expedition, this book really brought to light the shadow that WW I cast on the race for Everest. For a nation starved of heroes, Mallory and the Everest expedition provided ideal fodder, and the pressure contributed to how it all unfolded

(38-39) two books on geography and exploration so to speak, again both make for fascinating reads, especially the parts on the Survey of India during the late 19th century

(36-37) two books on the integration of the Princely States, while the Sandeep Bamzai book is the more detailed one, the Mallika Ravikumar book is an excellent primer and therefore the lighter read aimed at younger audiences, thoroughly enjoyed reading both

(30-35) correcting numbering, more enjoyable Isabella Maldonado, and then reread a bunch of Forsyth's work after his passing in May.
Managed to keep reading streak alive through April and May primarily cos I read these, superb palate cleansers in every sense

(26-30) part of the light reading/ reading count padding for the year. One of the joys of this year has been discovering Isabella Maldonado's work (doubly enjoyable given how much time I've spent in Phoenix the past few years)
The Ruskin Bond anthology is superb too!

(23-25) picked the first one up at Book World, then discovered that Kindle Unlimited has a bunch of these. Wrapped up the hindi and urdu ones. Nowhere near qualified to comment on the selection criteria, but thoroughly enjoyable and admirably translated across the board

(21,22) There has been a much needed explosion in Ambedkar scholarship of late, these two are by far the best place to start. Both cover an entire lifetime of work albeit in slightly different styles and tones. Both leave you with insight into what made Babasaheb and how he shaped our world for us

(20) had not read the other Colin Shindler books, but got this one at a books by weight sale too and couldn't resist. Of the 20 odd players in a United City FA Youth Cup final a handful would go on to have careers in the top flight, that title pretty much says it all

(19) Kindle recommendation and it wasn't disappointing. I guess I shouldn't really complain about the obvious American-ness of the book. But my sporting 1996 is incomplete without cricket WC, the Euros, Schumacher and Krajicek among others

(18) I could have added this to the light read pile, but I couldn't do that to Jerry Pinto. He captures Bombay like nobody can. Wanted to read this before I watched the adaptation series and now I'm sure the series won't live up to the book

(17) @suziesheehy.bsky.social's delightful history of some of the greatest discoveries of our age. Is an absolutely great primer that manages the hardest thing of all - communicating extremely hard topics concisely and unambiguously, lovely read

(16) human history is shaped by our almost desperate urge to make sense of the world around us. And you can't make sense of what you can't measure. This is a delightful history of metrology that will help you make sense of the universe

(13-15) gratuitous stat padding. Read/reread these primarily as relief between heavier stuff, timepass page turner stuff

(12) had picked this up at one of those books by kilo deals. Had heard rave reviews and wanted to see what the fuss was about. Tis like if Carrie Bradshaw lived in hippie era San Francisco

(11) Before DOGE became a bad word it actually described one of the most powerful men in the world, the history of how Venice built an empire through trade and maritime superpower. Lovely read

(10) this was a good fun read. The history of the British empire mapped out in 10 cities across the globe. Features no less than 3 Indian cities, fascinating look at how these cities and their architecture evolved