These books will cuddle you to sleep
Sleep like a baby with these books by your side
Have you ever wondered why, as a child, you could fall into a dreamy slumber as soon as your cheek touched your pillow? Other than tiring yourself out playing pakdam-pakdai with your friends all evening, the major reason was the bedtime routine your parents built for you, this study suggests. Having a bedtime routine is key to getting better sleep even for adults, according to psychologist Dr Michael Breus aka The Sleep Doctor. And before you ask, a 10-step skincare routine or gorging on Instagram like it’s butter chicken does not constitute a good bedtime routine. (Here’s how to turn your bedroom into a sleep sanctuary.)
Breus suggests reading for 20 minutes or so every day before going to bed, a habit that Tweak founder Twinkle Khanna herself swears by. “Reading, in itself, does not make you sleepy, but it distracts from the troubles of the day, making sleep easier,” he explains. Don’t worry if the same book that helped you relax yesterday isn’t working today because of this capricious little demon called mood. Whether you’re sulking after a long day of work or need a soothing voice to lull you to sleep, we’ve crafted a platter of bedtime books to help you catch up on some much-needed Zs.
9 bedtime books to read, based on how you’re feeling
When you need the inspiration to get through a long day of work tomorrow
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Once you’re done reading, you’ll know why we launched the Tweak Book Club X Crossword Bookstores in June, with this as our very first Book of the Month. (If you want to catch up with us, don’t forget to get your copy of our July pick, Independence by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni)
If you think you have it rough, then meet Elizabeth Zott. All this scientist wants is to be left alone, preferably surrounded in a lab, but the author prefer to put her protagonist on a collision course with each one of her worst nightmares. Losing the love of her life in a tragic accident? Check. Unplanned pregnancy? Check. Being forced to take on demeaning assignments in order to make ends meet? Been there, done that.
And yet, with every flaming curveball that hurtles at her, Zott digs deep and finds the courage to plough ahead, aided by a strange menagerie of allies. Despite her best efforts, the hard-headed scientist picks up a life lesson or two, and so will you.
Buy Lessons in Chemistry here: ₹550
When you feel like reading a book to your young ones
When I Grow Up I Want to Be by Tweak Books
Filled with real-life stories about overcoming the challenges of life, When I Grow Up I Want to Be by Tweak Books will transport your mini-mes — and you — to a world chockfull of possibilities.
When your motivation metre is running a little low, think of Danger Man Divyanshu Ganatra, who lost his sight as a teenager and then went on to become India’s first visually impaired solo paraglider. Or Turtle Doctor Supraja Dharini, who has helped over 18 lakh baby turtles return safely to the wild. They battled their fears and achieved their dreams and so can you — well, at least in the glorious dreams you’ll have after reading the book.
Buy When I Grow Up I Want to Be here:₹200
When the lure of another world is calling you
The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
There are days when you want a dose of reality and then are those when you would rather be lost in a make-believe world and think about other people’s problems rather than your own. For the latter days, Tasha Suri’s The Jasmine Throne will stand to the task.
Inspired by the history and epics of India, the book tells the story of Malini, a captive princess, and Priya, a maidservant in possession of forbidden magic, who become unlikely allies (read: lovers) on a journey to save their empire from the clutches of Malini’s dictator brother.
Lovers of epic fantasies will want to inhale this book but we recommend you take it slow and immerse yourself in this magical world as you dream of the sensuous waterfall scene between Priya and Malini. We refuse to give away any more.
Buy The Jasmine Throne here:₹699
When you want a soothing voice to lull you to sleep
Heartburn by Nora Ephron. Narrated by Meryl Streep.
For those of you who prefer to be lulled to sleep by your favourite celebrities, this audiobook of Nora Ephron’s Heartburn, narrated by Meryl Streep is the gentle caress you need.
Fans of Ephron will know that the book is loosely based on her own marriage — or its devastating end, really — to Carl Bernstein, the journalist who exposed the Watergate scandal. Who would’ve thought the story of a pregnant woman whose marriage is self-imploding could be side-splittingly funny? But it is when Ephron writes it and Streep narrates it, so much so that you’ll often forget that Streep is not actually the protagonist.
When you’re used to spending your nights thinking about all the things you didn’t do today
I Didn’t Do the Thing Today by Madeleine Dore
The task you didn’t tick off, the book you didn’t read, the laundry you didn’t wash, the bartans that are still sitting in the kitchen sink. If you’re the kind of person whose mind replays on a loop all the things you didn’t do every single time you try to sleep, I Didn’t Do the Thing Today by Madeleine Dore will be like eating vanilla ice cream on a hot summer day to the most Type A of Type A personalities.
Madeleine Dore found there isn’t a formula to productivity after five years of investigating; rather, we’re doomed from the start. This book is a fix for our doing-obsession. The license we all need to forge our own paths, it ‘s for anybody who has ever been compelled to do more, be more, or accomplish more, all the damn time.
Buy I didn’t Do the Thing Today here: ₹899
When you’re in the mood to pull an all-nighter
Other People’s Clothes by Calla Henkel
This book by Calla Henkel is perfect for the days when insomnia just won’t let up, because its gripping intensity will not let you leave the book midway.
Think of this as what would become of Dolly Alderton’s Everything I Know About Love if there was a generous helping of murder and sleuthing thrown in. Beware that the two main protagonists may be some of the most unhinged characters you’ll ever come to read, but that’s exactly what will have you latching onto the book until you’ve reached the last page.
Buy Other People’s Clothes here: ₹619
When you don’t care that there might be a monster hiding under your bed
The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas
On the days you’ve decided to pull your big girl panties on and stop being scared of monsters that hide under the bed, pick up The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas. Chances are it will make you go right back into being a scaredy cat, but you have to go on this journey with Isabel Cañas for her breathtakingly magnificent yet claustrophobic writing.
Think of The Hacienda as Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca meets Mexican gothic horror. The standard gothic themes are all present, but instead of the soggy English moors, we visit Beatriz, the protagonist, at her new husband’s house, Hacienda San Isidro, in the baking Mexican countryside, soon after the Mexican War of Independence.
If you are a fan of The Haunting of the Hill House, you’ll find yourself drawn to this one too.
When you don’t have a lot of time to spare
Filthy Animals by Brandon Taylor
For those of you who are new to reading, this collection of interlinked short stories by Brandon Taylor is a good place to start, especially if you don’t have a lot of time to spare.
Meticulously written to capture modern life and relationships, especially queer ones, you’ll find your feelings of being overwhelmed at being alive in a time like this reflected in the pages of Filthy Animals. Before the book draws to a close, you’ll become one with these protagonists rather than a fly on the wall, observing their life passing them by.
When you’re in the mood for a slumber party
Date me, Bryson Keller by Kevin van Whye
When you’re an adult, slumber parties are few and far between. But who said you can’t have one with a cute YA romance about two boys finding love?
Contemporary, upbeat, and heartfelt in just the right measure, Date Me, Bryson Keller by Kevin van Whye will become one of your favourite bedtime books if you’re a fan of the fake dating trope.
Cuddle into its world for comfort or buddy-read the book with your teenager. (Need more YA recommendations? Find them here.)
Buy Date me, Bryson Keller here: ₹399
Stack a couple of these books on your bedside table. If you’re tempted to grab your phone in bed, reach for a bedtime story instead.
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