Let's Talk About Books With Neha & Shruti
writers who have been best friends since they met in middle school, and bonded over books
Hello readers!
Welcome to another edition of my series that features my favorite kind of online writers ~ those who write about BOOKS! Just like my series What Writers Read, this series introduces you to new writers and their favorite books. I do hope you enjoy it!
I am always amazed at friends who manage to do huge projects together, because honestly, just texting with my friends to stay relatively up-to-date on everyone’s respective life is about all I’m able to handle these days! Today’s newsletter will introduce you to friends who are obviously way more with-it than me and my friends are, since they run a podcast AND a newsletter together. Neha Ambati and Shruti Koti provide incredibly thoughtful commentary on literature and go far beyond book roundups and reviews. If you like deep analysis of literature, they are the pair for you!
I hope you enjoy meeting Neha and Shruti~ let’s jump right in!
A Bit About Shruti and Neha
Shruti is a surgeon who lives in NYC and has loved to read ever since she first learned how. With experience in narrative medicine, bioethics, and palliative care, she is deeply interested in stories of shared humanity. Her favorite genres are literary fiction, historical fiction, and mysteries. Neha is an architect by training, though she devours books in her free time. She loves thinking about imagined worlds in fiction, and her favorite genres are fantasy and science fiction.
What inspired you to start writing about books online?
We have been best friends since we met in middle school, and bonded over books. As we grew older, we realized that most of the books we had been exposed to prescribed a very specific point of view. We started The Novel Tea podcast, and later, newsletter, to read more diversely, and engage more deeply with fiction.
Tell us about your bookish newsletter or blog!
In
, we write about books from an exploratory and analytic point of view - going beyond book summaries and lists, we are most interested in thematic discussions and comparative analysis. If you love reading and love thinking about the books you read (and more broadly, the content you consume, including television, film, and more), then this newsletter is for you. New posts come out every Tuesday, with occasional bonus content.Which of your newsletters / blog posts / book lists are you most proud of?
One of our favorite pieces to write was The Secret History, Dark Academia, and Academic Elitism - we both contributed to this post in which we explored theories about Donna Tartt's famous novel, investigated the origins and evolution of dark academia (including some problematic elements of the genre) and finally, provided some book recommendations for more diverse campus novels. This one post encapsulates the range of writing and topics that you'll see in our newsletter. It was also one of the most fun to write!
Neha and Shruti recommend ……
Passing by Nella Larsen. A sweltering, tight, and tense story about two women who made very different choices in 1920s Harlem. Pick this up for the beautiful writing and brilliant character explorations, come back to it to analyze and re-analyze the ending.
Stolen by Ann-Helen Laestadius. Part mystery, part thriller, part coming-of-age story, this sweet yet haunting story follows a young girl into adulthood as she struggles to protect her reindeer, and her culture, from a cruel and discriminatory society. A cozy tale that is challenging to grapple with.
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. A literary tale of a man who travels to another planet where there are no constructs of gender or sex. This book is rich in ideas, presenting the reader with the duality of gender, nature, spirituality, and the universe. Pick this up if you think you don't like science fiction - it might just change your mind.
I hope you loved meeting Neha and
! If their work seems like it fits your reading style, definitely subscribe to so you can get more of their recommendations.
Thanks for reading,
I love to hear from readers, so please do reach out to me with questions or feedback at mindfullibrarian@substack.com . If we aren’t already connected on Goodreads, I would love to see you there as well!
Katy, thanks for the introduction to Neha & Shruti. I am always on the lookout for good bookish content. Greatly appreciated.
Thank you for the profile! We are honored to be in the company of such amazing writers :)