<h2>Contradictions and convictions</h2>
Not one of us lives without contradictions, but I have to confess having those contradictions forced into your brain through merciless text and indisputable logic is anything but comfortable. That is why I owe <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sunday-mid-day/article/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-author-manu-josephs-why-the-poor-dont-kill-us-the-psychology-of-indians-23593919" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Manu Joseph</a> a debt of gratitude for forcing me to re-examine the ease with which I adapt to inequity with his book, Why The Poor Don&rsquo;t Kill Us: The Psychology of Indians.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/dec/Bittu-Sahgal-a_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" />
Read just this one line in an avalanche of words to know why this is &lsquo;The Book of the Year&rsquo; for me: &ldquo;The worst truth of this new order is that they, who received the finest education and other opportunities, and who consider themselves the most intelligent and informed among Indians, have been shown as inaccurate, unreliable, and incompetent political analysts of their own nation.&rdquo; I am who Manu Joseph writes about. And I have tried, and failed, to fix myself. Bittu Sahgal, editor, Sanctuary Asia
<h2>Hospitality matters</h2>
For me, Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara stands out as the book of the year because it captures a fundamental shift in how modern <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai-guide/things-to-do/article/christmas-2025-your-complete-mumbai-food-guide-for-festive-menus-this-season-23607907" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">restaurants</a> are thinking about service and experience.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/dec/Hussain-a_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" />
The author goes beyond food and technique to focus on something far more lasting, how guests feel when they walk through your doors and long after they leave. <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai-guide/things-to-do/article/in-august-company-of-books-here-what-mumbaikars-reading-this-month-23591515" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">The book</a> is a powerful reminder that hospitality isn&rsquo;t about grand gestures alone, but about intention, empathy, and attention to detail. It reinforces the idea that creating memorable moments often comes from small, thoughtful actions done&nbsp; consistently. Hussain Shahzad, executive chef, Papa&rsquo;s, The Bombay Canteen, O Pedro &amp; Veronica&rsquo;s
<h2>Keeping it real</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/dec/Vispi-a_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" />
Having read it many years ago, I decided to read Rohinton Mistry&rsquo;s Such a Long Journey again in 2025. I thoroughly enjoyed it with its realistic setting of a typical Parsee colony (baug). Plus, it included a few historical events during Indira Gandhi&rsquo;s Prime Ministerial regime. Vispi Balaporia, president, Asiatic Society of Mumbai
<h2>Rostov and Roy</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/dec/Tasneem-a_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" />
The first book is A Gentleman in <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/news/world-news/article/ukraine-to-continue-talks-with-us-after-moscow-offers-no-compromise-on-peace-plan-23606490" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Moscow</a> by Amor Towles. It&rsquo;s a beautifully written poetic book about resilience and resistance in the face of extraordinary challenges. Count Alexander Rostov, a Russian aristocrat is caught in the throes of the Russian Revolution, and must give up everything that defines him. But his charm, grace and encyclopaedic knowledge prove the enduring strength of the human spirit in the face of appalling adversity. I must add another book by my friend Anindyo Roy &mdash; The Viceroy&rsquo;s Artist. It captures Edward Lear&rsquo;s time in India beautifully and in poignant detail. Tasneem Mehta, director, Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum
<h2>Gandhi, Tagore, and the rest</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/dec/Murzban-Shroff_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" />
With a thousand-plus collection, I didn&rsquo;t really have &lsquo;A Book of the Year.&rsquo; But yes, there are books for all times, each one carrying a quiet impact. Throughout 2025, I have mostly read <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/news/india-news/article/parliament-winter-session-rahul-gandhi-attacks-centre-over-vb-g-ram-g-bill-says-modi-ji-has-deep-hatred-for-mahatma-gandhi-s-ideas-rights-of-the-poor-23608025" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Mahatma Gandhi</a>, Rabindranath Tagore and Friedrich Nietzsche, as a way of returning to the influences that have shaped me. What was particularly interesting was how Tagore and Gandhi debated their differences through their writings and yet maintained such enormous respect for each other. No acrimony, no impunity &mdash; just a genuine exchange of ideas and intentions. In fiction, I returned to the works of Isaac Babel and Richard Yates, both writers with an amazing sense of nuance and observation and who did not receive their dues in their lifetime.&nbsp; Murzban Shroff, author
<h2>For planet Earth</h2>
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2025/dec/Ranjit-a_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" />
One of the most vital and necessary books that I had the privilege of reading this year was Sunil Amrith&rsquo;s The Burning <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sunday-mid-day/article/how-more-indian-musicians-are-using-their-music-to-raise-awareness-about-the-environment-23534903" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Earth</a>: An Environmental History of the Last 500 Years. I read it in March while preparing, with Ravi Agarwal and Amruta Nemivant, an international anthology of essays around the climate catastrophe,&nbsp; Practices of Hope. In October, The Burning Earth most deservedly won the prestigious British Academy Book Prize. Surveying and annotating humankind&rsquo;s brutal exploitation of the planet across the oceans and the continents during the last half-millennium, Amrith weaves together the themes of empire, colonialism, war, genocide and environmental violence, to present the tragic portrait of a species &mdash; our own &mdash; whose greatest triumphs are its greatest disasters. He shows how our unchecked greed for resources has brought nature to the edge of collapse while trampling human dignity and freedom underfoot. Sustained by rigorous, extensive research and written with persuasive eloquence, the book is absolutely required reading. Ranjit Hoskote, poet, art critic and cultural theorist

Key Mumbai voices reveal their favourite reads from this year that had a lesson for them, or impacted their sensibilities

Book of the year picks for 2025 from authors, chefs and cultural voices

Contradictions and convictions

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