ion
BookTok and Bookstagram — the book-related communities on social media — have been the subject of much debate for their impact on the publishing industry. But it is undeniable that book influencers, much like influencers in every sphere, have been responsible for making and breaking trends for the past few years.
People, it seems, are reading again, sometimes at a pace so furious that it has observers asking: do people like books or are they after the book lover aesthetic?
“Buying books and reading books are two separate hobbies,” is a sentiment that has become a meme in recent years. Even serious book lovers understand why — the endless TBR (to-be-read) pile has us all swamped — as bookstores are just so hard to resist.
The fringe benefit of what has been decried by some as performative reading is that books as beautiful objects are being celebrated once more. Booksellers have responded to this renewed love of the physical book by asking how they can be made more covetable — i.e. as far from the ebook as it’s possible to get.
As a result, browse your local bookstore and you will see stunning hardbacks with sprayed edges featuring intricate designs so beautiful you might even be tempted to stack them on your bookshelf spine-side-in. (Let’s not get too carried away, though!)
Booksellers have responded to a renewed love of the physical book by asking how they can be made more covetable — i.e. as far from the ebook as it’s possible to get
But let’s not forget that some publishers have always understood the motivations of the book collector. Everyman’s Library is one such landmark in publishing that has curated the best titles in world literature in cloth-bound, acid-free cream paper designed to stand the test of time. Ironically, the collection was started 120 years ago in 1906 with the goal of bringing classic literature to readers on a budget — one shilling per volume! Now brought into the world by Penguin Random House’s Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, the editions are weighty and reassuring in the hand and impossible to resist.
Of course, the entire collection is by design worthy of your home library, from Homer to Austen, Balzac to Plath. Here is a list of the Indian titles to add to your collection:
The Best of Tagore
Edited by historian Rudrangshu Mukherjee, this 900-page collection brings together the novel The Home and the World, the play Red Oleander, poems, songs, short stories and novellas by the Nobel laureate.
The Babur Nama
This translation of Emperor Babur’s memoirs is by Annette Susannah Beveridge and includes an introduction by historian William Dalrymple. This autobiography by Timur’s descendant is an unparalleled look into the life of the first Mughal emperor.
R.K. Narayan Omnibus
This two-volume collection was published in 2006. The first includes the four novels Swami and Friends, The Bachelor of Arts, The Dark Room and The English Teacher. The second brings together three more: Mr Sampath – The Printer of Malgudi, The Financial Expert and Waiting for the Mahatma.
Indian Stories
Published in May 2026, this is part of Everyman’s Library Pocket Classics series. Also edited by Rudrangshu Mukherjee, it is an anthology of works originally published in various Indian languages, giving voice to a range of issues cutting across caste and geography.
Hindu Scriptures
Translated and edited by R.C. Zaehner, it includes the Rig-Veda, Upanishads and Bhagavad-Gita. Published in 1992, this might be a little harder to find than newer entrants on this list.
