Salis AfaqueThese Are the Best New Books to Read in 2022
Updated: May 8
Read the books that people couldn't stop talking about this year! Add these to your reading pile right now.
The Magicians Of Mazda by Ashwin Sanghi
Formats: Kindle Edition / Paperback
Print Length: 492 pages
Language: English
Publisher: HarperCollins India
Genre: Historical Fiction / Myths, Legends & Sagas / Thrillers & Suspense
YATHA AHU VAIRYO ATHA RATUSH ASHAT CHIT HACHA VANGHEUSH... AS THE MASTER, SO IS THE JUDGE TO BE CHOSEN IN ACCORD WITH TRUTH. A fleet of boats dock at the port of Sanjan in Gujarat in 720 CE. They carry eighteen thousand frightened souls fleeing the cruelty of Iran's Umayyad Caliphate. Chanting Sanskrit-like prayers, the high priest consecrates a sacred fire to thank their god, Ahura Mazda, leading them to a new home and hope.
He uses a mysterious substance to spark the flame, but few know of its miraculous properties or provenance. Centuries later, Parsi scientist Jim Dastoor is abducted from his Seattle laboratory and whisked away to Tehran. The Ayatollah believes Jim is the key to uncovering the ancient relic known as the Athravan Star and his men will do anything to possess it, even murder.
From the ancient ruins of Persepolis to the Taliban camps of Afghanistan, from the womb of an Udvada fire temple to the icy mountains of Kashmir, from the dreadful coffin cells of Tehran to the deathly calm of Diu's Tower of Silence, Jim and his historian wife, Linda, are sucked into a terrifying chase across vividly changing landscapes. Deftly navigating between time and geography, The Magicians of Mazda travels backwards, through the epochs of Islamic jihad, Macedonian revenge, Achaemenid glory, messianic birth, Aryan schism-to the Vedic fount from where it began.
This is Ashwin Sanghi's most gripping and provocative novel yet. Ashwin Sanghi is among India's highest-selling English fiction authors. He has written several bestsellers in the Bharat Series (The Rozabal Line, Chanakya's Chant, The Krishna Key, The Sialkot Saga, Keepers of the Kalachakra, The Vault of Vishnu) and two New York Times bestselling crime thrillers with James Patterson, Private India (sold in the US as City on Fire) and Private Delhi (sold in the US as Count to Ten).
He has also co-authored several non-fiction titles in the 13 Steps Series on Luck, Wealth, Marks, Health and Parenting.
Be a Triangle by Lilly Singh
Formats: Kindle Edition / Hardcover Print Length: 112 pages Language: English Publisher: Macmillan Genre: Motivational Self-help / Healthy Living & Wellness / Personal Transformation
From the New York Times best-selling author of How to Be a Bawse comes an honest, funny, and inspiring handbook on learning to come home to your truest and happiest self. “It’s time to flip right side up. It’s time for this book title to make sense. It’s time to be a triangle.” Everyone knows that sometimes, life just sucks ― even world-famous actress, author, and creator Lilly Singh. In this book, Lilly provides a safe space where listeners can learn how to create a sense of peace within themselves.
Without sugarcoating what it’s like to face adversity ― including Lilly’s intensely personal struggles with identity, success, and self-doubt ― she teaches listeners to “unsubscribe” from cookie-cutter ideals. With her signature blend of vulnerability, insight, and humor, Lilly instructs listeners to “be a triangle”: You must build a solid foundation for your life, one that can be built upon, but never fundamentally changed or destroyed.
As she puts it, we must always find a way to come home to ourselves ― “we must create a place, a set of beliefs, a simple set of priorities to come back to should life lead us astray, which it will.” Like a wise, empathetic friend who always keeps you honest, Lilly pushes you to adjust your mindset and change the conversations you have with yourself. The result is a deeply humane, entertaining, and uplifting guide to befriending yourself and becoming a true “miracle for the world.”
Lilly Singh is a multi-faceted entertainer, actress, producer, writer and creator. A leading force in the digital world, she has amassed a global audience of over 38 million followers across her social media channels, where she writes, directs, produces and stars in comedic and inspirational videos. Singh recently struck a first-look deal with Universal Television Alternative Studio (UTAS) with her Unicorn Island Productions banner. Currently, she is developing numerous projects across film and television.
This April, Singh will appear in the second season of Hulu’s comedy Dollface and appear on the big screen starring in DreamWorks Animation action-comedy Bad Guys.