Here’s a list of the top reads for 2023, which will continue surprise and keep you entertained as you stay indoors through the hot summer months:
I Have Some Questions for You (Rebecca Makkai)
A successful film professor and podcaster, Bodie Kane is content to forget her past—the family tragedy that marred her adolescence, her four largely miserable years at a New Hampshire boarding school, and the murder of her former roommate, Thalia Keith, in the spring of their senior year. Though the circumstances surrounding Thalia’s death and the conviction of the school’s athletic trainer, Omar Evans, are hotly debated online, Bodie prefers—needs—to let sleeping dogs lie.
But when the Granby School invites her back to teach a course, Bodie is inexorably drawn to the case and its increasingly apparent flaws. In their rush to convict Omar, did the school and the police overlook other suspects? Is the real killer still out there? As she falls down the very rabbit hole she was so determined to avoid, Bodie begins to wonder if she wasn’t as much of an outsider at Granby as she’d thought—if, perhaps, back in 1995, she knew something that might have held the key to solving the case.
Yours Truly (Abby Jimenez)
A novel of terrible first impressions, hilarious second chances, and the joy in finding your perfect match.
Dr. Briana Ortiz’s life is seriously flatlining. Her divorce is just about finalized, her brother’s running out of time to find a kidney donor, and that promotion she wants? Oh, that’s probably going to the new man-doctor who’s already registering eighty-friggin’-seven on Briana’s “pain in my ass” scale. But just when all systems are set to hate, Dr. Jacob Maddox completely flips the game . . . by sending Briana a letter.
And it’s a really good letter. Like the kind that proves that Jacob isn’t actually Satan. Worse, he might be this fantastically funny and subversively likeable guy who’s terrible at first impressions. Because suddenly he and Bri are exchanging letters, sharing lunch dates in her “sob closet,” and discussing the merits of freakishly tiny horses. But when Jacob decides to give Briana the best gift imaginable—a kidney for her brother—she wonders just how she can resist this quietly sexy new doctor . . . especially when he calls in a favor she can’t refuse.
The Right Move (Liz Tomforde)
She’s a distraction, that’s what she is.
I’m the newest Captain of the Devils, Chicago’s NBA team, and the last thing I needed this year was for Indy Ivers, my sister’s best friend, to move into my apartment. She’s messy, emotional, and way too tempting.
But when the team’s General Manager vocalizes his blatant disapproval of my promotion to Captain, referring to me as an unapproachable lone wolf with no work-life balance, I can’t think of a better way to convince him otherwise than pretending to date my outgoing roommate.
The only problem? Faking it feels far too natural.
Having a fake girlfriend wasn’t supposed to be messy but having Indy under my roof and in my bed is complicated, especially when she wants all the romantic parts of life that I could never give her.
Naomi Shaw used to believe in magic. Twenty-two years ago, she and her two best friends, Cassidy and Olivia, spent the summer roaming the woods, imagining a world of ceremony and wonder. They called it the Goddess Game. The summer ended suddenly when Naomi was attacked. Miraculously, she survived her seventeen stab wounds and lived to identify the man who had hurt her. The girls’ testimony put away a serial killer, wanted for murdering six women. They were heroes.
And they were liars.
For decades, the friends have kept a secret worth killing for. But now Olivia wants to tell, and Naomi sets out to find out what really happened in the woods—no matter how dangerous the truth turns out to be.
All the Dangerous Things (Stacy Willingham)
One year ago, Isabelle Drake’s life changed forever: her toddler son, Mason, was taken out of his crib in the middle of the night while she and her husband were asleep in the next room. With little evidence and few leads for the police to chase, the case quickly went cold. However, Isabelle cannot rest until Mason is returned to her—literally.
Except for the occasional catnap or small blackout where she loses track of time, she hasn’t slept in a year.
Isabelle’s entire existence now revolves around finding him, but she knows she can’t go on this way forever. In hopes of jarring loose a new witness or buried clue, she agrees to be interviewed by a true-crime podcaster—but his interest in Isabelle’s past makes her nervous. His incessant questioning paired with her severe insomnia has brought up uncomfortable memories from her own childhood, making Isabelle start to doubt her recollection of the night of Mason’s disappearance, as well as second-guess who she can trust… including herself. But she is determined to figure out the truth no matter where it leads.
Happy Place (Emily Henry)
Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t.
They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.
Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blue week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.
Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week… in front of those who know you best?
A couple who broke up months ago make a pact to pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends in this glittering and wise new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.
Spare (Prince Harry)
It was one of the most searing images of the twentieth century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow—and horror. As Princess Diana was laid to rest, billions wondered what Prince William and Prince Harry must be thinking and feeling—and how their lives would play out from that point on.
For Harry, this is that story at last.
Before losing his mother, twelve-year-old Prince Harry was known as the carefree one, the happy-go-lucky Spare to the more serious Heir. Grief changed everything. He struggled at school, struggled with anger, with loneliness—and, because he blamed the press for his mother’s death, he struggled to accept life in the spotlight.
At twenty-one, he joined the British Army. The discipline gave him structure, and two combat tours made him a hero at home. But he soon felt more lost than ever, suffering from post-traumatic stress and prone to crippling panic attacks. Above all, he couldn’t find true love.
Then he met Meghan. The world was swept away by the couple’s cinematic romance and rejoiced in their fairy-tale wedding. But from the beginning, Harry and Meghan were preyed upon by the press, subjected to waves of abuse, racism, and lies. Watching his wife suffer, their safety and mental health at risk, Harry saw no other way to prevent the tragedy of history repeating itself but to flee his mother country. Over the centuries, leaving the Royal Family was an act few had dared. The last to try, in fact, had been his mother. . . .
For the first time, Prince Harry tells his own story, chronicling his journey with raw, unflinching honesty. A landmark publication, Spare is full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief.
Ambedkar ensured his wife was cremated according to traditional Hindu rituals, though wearing her favourite white sari rather than the green one tradition required. He then retired to his room and wept all night…writes Sashi Tharoor
In an unusual instance, Ramabai had wholeheartedly participated in Ambedkar’s idiosyncratic shraddha ceremony for his deceased father. Instead of offering a meal and sweets to Brahmins after the ceremony as the ritual normally requires, Ambedkar offered a meal of meat and fish to 40 students from his community.
Ambedkar was shattered by the death of his beloved Ramu (the diminutive by which he called her). She had suffered much for him, endured his neglect and his preoccupation with public life stoically, starved to keep her family fed, borne the burdens of the years when the family could barely make ends meet, and mourned the loss of three sons and a daughter.
“She did not flinch from carrying basketfuls of cow dung on her head during periods of financial distress,” Ambedkar had written in a revealing article in ‘Bahishkrit Bharat’ in 1928. “And this writer could not find even half an hour in 24 hours for this extremely affectionate, amiable and venerable wife.”
Ambedkar ensured his wife was cremated according to traditional Hindu rituals, though wearing her favourite white sari rather than the green one tradition required. He then retired to his room and wept all night.
Five years later, when he published his book ‘Pakistan or the Partition of India’, Ambedkar dedicated it to Ramabai: Inscribed to the memory of Ramu.
“As a token of my appreciation of her goodness of heart, her nobility of mind and her purity of character and also for the cool fortitude and readiness to suffer along with me which she showed in those friendless days of want and worries which fell to our lot.”
Ambedkar was an early feminist. His relationship with his first wife, Ramabai, founded upon friendship and debate despite disagreement, in many ways is an accurate representation of one of the most powerful feminist slogans of the twentieth century, ‘The Personal Is Political’.
Ambedkar’s feminism within the home was certainly unusual for an Indian and practically unknown at the time for an Indian male. He spoke extensively on the role of women in Indian society; he did not exclude women from his emphasis on equality, placing equal emphasis upon both caste and gender-based discrimination.
Ambedkar had argued in his pioneering 1916 Columbia lecture on ‘Castes in India’ that endogamous marriage — marriage exclusively within the same caste and community — was the primary reason for the perpetuation of caste. His challenge to privilege and hierarchy extended to questioning the norms that extended these notions within the home.
He elaborated further on the thought in a talk to a female audience at the All-India Depressed Classes Women’s Conference (1942): “Give education to your children. Instil ambitions in them… Don’t be in a hurry to marry: marriage is a liability. You should not impose it upon children unless financially they are able to meet the liabilities arising from them… Above all let each girl who marries stand up to her husband, claim to be her husband’s friend and equal, and refuse to be his slave.”
His courageous undermining of the sanctity of marriage in a society where great importance is given to the marital status of a woman, and his demand for women to stand as equals with men within marriage, constituted an unparalleled and audacious assertion of dignity for Indian women within their own families. In this he was a rare and pioneering male voice in a tradition of Dalit feminism ranging from Muktabai Salve in the mid-nineteenth century to Jaibai Chaudhari in the early twentieth.
Ambedkar would go on to declare in 1938 to the Bombay Legislative Assembly, “If men had to bear the pangs which women have to undergo during childbirth none of them would even consent to bear more than a single child in his life.”
In his work in the Assembly, Ambedkar also highlighted women’s limited recourse to medical assistance, and loss of lives due to inadequate affordable healthcare, an issue that is still largely unresolved.
Instead of having children in rapid succession, and subsequently opting for risky abortions, Ambedkar boldly recommended birth control in the interests of the woman’s health and well-being. Ambedkar sought to pass a resolution in support of government-funded birth control in the Bombay Legislative Assembly in 1938, but his resolution was defeated with 11 members voting in favour of the Bill and 52 members opposing it (on the grounds that it would spread immorality and cause a breakdown of the Indian family unit). His reaction can only be imagined.
Now that you’re down with spring cleaning, its time to reward yourself and curl up with a nice book. This month, we have a few authors writers who will change the way you view the world and people. Create your list and banish your boredom with these fantastic books…reports Asian Lite News
What Have We Done, by Alex Finlay
Five teenagers forged an unbreakable connection while residing at Savior House, an abusive group home for troubled teenagers, 25 years ago. Despite the fact that they lost touch, they all went on to lead fulfilling lives. When group members start dying, they are compelled to have a reunion that none of them wanted in order to track down the murderer. Hello Beautiful, by Ann Napolitano
After growing up without any attention from his family, William Waters finds solace in hoops in college. William rapidly integrates into the close-knit Padavano family after meeting Julia Padavano, a vivacious girl who is very close to her parents and three sisters. William never thought he’d be the one to break the family apart, despite the fact that cracks are beginning to show in the family.
Evil Eye, by Etaf Rum
Yara believes she has successfully escaped her traditional Palestinian upbringing when she marries a charming businessman and relocates to the suburbs. Even so, Yara doesn’t seem to be fulfilled by even her ideal family and ideal work. However, as Yara’s world starts to fall apart, she learns that the upbringing she believed she had left behind has finally had an impact on her and her daughters.
Stateless, by Elizabeth Wein
Stella North is delighted to be participating in the first air race for young adults in Europe in 1937 as the only female pilot. The world is searching for something encouraging to follow in the wake of the Spanish Civil War and the rise of the Fascists. But when one of the pilots is killed, the competition rapidly turns savage because each of them has a dark past they must keep hidden.
Your reading list for March & April.(photo:IANSLIFE)Your reading list for March & April.(photo:IANSLIFE)Your reading list for March & April.(photo:IANSLIFE)Your reading list for March & April.(photo:IANSLIFE)Your reading list for March & April.(photo:IANSLIFE)Your reading list for March & April.(photo:IANSLIFE)Your reading list for March & April.(photo:IANSLIFE)
Hang the Moon, by Jeannette Walls
Author of the popular memoir The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls also wrote a book about a tough young woman living through Prohibition in Virginia. Sallie Kincaid, despite having a comfortable upbringing, was expelled from her family after her counsel caused her younger half-brother Edie to have a mishap. Sallie, who is currently working as a bootlegger, is determined to reclaim her position in the family.
Fear and Other Stories (Translated by Hemang Ashwinkumar)
Fear and Other Stories is a reminder of the inherent dangers of the Dalit life, a life subjected to unimaginable violence and terror even in its most mundane moments. In this collection of short stories, veteran Gujarati writer Dalpat Chauhan narrates these lived experiences of exasperation and anger with startling vividity. His characters chronicle a deep history of resistance, interrogating historical, mythological and literary legends, foregrounding the perspectives of the disenfranchised.
Epic Tales of Wisdom, by Nityananda Charan Das
Epic Tales of Wisdom takes children on an exciting, enlightening, vivid and imaginative adventure through the epics. The stories bring to life a world inhabited by gods and goddesses, sages and saints, demons and monsters and others. This precious treasury of stories helps them evoke interest in the scriptures and sets the foundation of love for God’s creation.
Retold by godman Nityanand Charan Das in a child-friendly manner the stories allow kids to explore, perceive, comprehend and inspire their curious minds. The subtle lessons in the book capture timeless wisdom from Indian mythology and offer valuable insights on how to get through the rough and tumble of life. Nirzara Verulkar’s illustrations add zing to this book of educative, entertaining and enlightening tales that aspires to make kids spiritually richer and morally and socially stronger.
LAB HOPPING: a Journey to find India’s women in science, by Aashima Dogra & Nandita Jayaraj)
From Bhopal to Bhubaneswar, from Bangalore to Jammu, Aashima Dogra and Nandita Jayaraj engage in thought-provoking conversations with renowned scientists like Gagandeep Kang, Rohini Godbole, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Prajval Shastri, as well as researchers at earlier stages of their scientific careers. These dialogues about the triumphs and challenges faced by women offer fresh perspectives on the gender gap that continues to haunt Indian science today. Pineapple Street, by Jenny Jackson
This unputdownable debut follows three women in an old Brooklyn Heights clan: one who was born with money, one who married into it, and one who wants to give it all away.
Darley, the eldest daughter in the well-connected, carefully guarded Stockton family, has never had to worry about money. She followed her heart, trading her job and her inheritance for motherhood, sacrificing more of herself than she ever intended. Sasha, Darley’s new sister-in-law, has come from more humble origins, and her hesitancy about signing a pre-nup has everyone worried about her intentions. And Georgiana, the baby of the family, has fallen in love with someone she can’t (and really shouldn’t) have, and must confront the kind of person she wants to be.
Shot through with the indulgent pleasures of life among New York’s one-percenters, Pineapple Street is a smart, escapist novel that sparkles with wit. Full of recognisable, loveable – if fallible – characters, it’s about the peculiar unknowability of someone else’s family, the miles between the haves and have-nots, and the insanity of first love – all wrapped in a story that is a sheer delight.
The Love Wager, by Lynn Painter
After yet another disastrous date, Hallie Piper decides it’s time to grow up. She gets a new apartment, a new haircut, and a new wardrobe. But when she logs into an app to find new love, she matches with none other than Jack: the guy the wrong kind of sparks had flown with just weeks earlier.
Agreeing that they are absolutely not interested in each other, Jack and Hallie realise that they’re each other’s perfect wing-person – and join forces in their searches for The One. They even place a wager on who can find romance first.
But when they agree to be fake dates for a wedding, all bets are off.
Because as they pretend to be a couple, they struggle to remember why dating for real was a bad idea to begin with . . . Old Babes in the Wood, by Margaret Atwood
Atwood’s first new fiction publication since The Testaments, this deeply personal collection includes a stunning sequence that follows a married couple as they travel the road together, the moments big and small that make up a long life of love — and what comes after. The stories explore the full warp and weft of experience, from two best friends disagreeing about their shared past, to the right way to stop someone from choking; from a daughter determining if her mother really is a witch, to what to do with inherited relics such as World War II parade swords.
They feature beloved cats, a confused snail, Martha Gellhorn, George Orwell, philosopher-astronomer-mathematician Hypatia of Alexandria, a cabal of elderly female academics, and an alien tasked with retelling human fairy tales. The glorious range of Atwood’s creativity and humanity is on full beam in these tales, which by turns delight, illuminate and quietly devastate.
Dirty Laundry, by Disha Bose
Keep your friends close and your neighbours closer…
Ciara has it all – a loving husband, well-behaved children and an immaculate home. But behind the filters, her reality is far from what it seems. Mishti is stuck in a loveless marriage, raising her daughter in a country that is too cold, among children who look nothing like her. Lauren is mostly happy, despite being judged for letting her kids run naked, wild and free. Then Ciara is found murdered in her pristine home and suddenly everyone is a suspect. Hushed whispers, secret rendezvous and bloody betrayals . . .
Everyone has their dirty laundry, but this goes beyond gossip. This is all-out war.
A deliciously scandalous page-turner about the dark side of suburbia that peels back the layers of Ciara’s insta-perfect life to reveal friendships gone rotten, manipulation masquerading as love and families riddled with lies…
Mastering Uncertaint, by Matt Watkinson & Csaba Konkoly
What separates the world’s most successful entrepreneurs and business tycoons from the rest? It’s not their superhuman intelligence. It’s something more fundamental: they understand how to turn uncertainty to their advantage. We all know that the future is inherently unknowable, and yet we behave and plan as though it is. Once we truly understand the nature of uncertainty, though, we can take practical steps to make the most of the opportunities that come our way.
In Mastering Uncertainty award-winning author Matt Watkinson and investor and entrepreneur Csaba Konkoly offer a masterclass on the workings of luck and probability. They show how to calculate when to make big bets and when to pull back. And they offer supremely practical advice on how we can improve our odds, whether through maximising our networks, learning how to read warning signs, or assessing where best to place our energies.
The unforeseen always occurs. Mastering Uncertainty shows you how to prepare for it and make the best use of it.
Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, by Peter Attia.
This is the ultimate manual for longevity.
For all its successes, mainstream medicine has failed to make much progress against the diseases of ageing that kill most people: heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and type 2 diabetes. Too often, it intervenes with treatments too late, prolonging lifespan at the expense of quality of life. Dr Peter Attia, the world’s top longevity expert, believes we must replace this outdated framework with a personalised, proactive strategy for longevity.
This isn’t ‘biohacking,’ it’s science: a well-founded strategic approach to extending lifespan while improving our physical, cognitive and emotional health, making each decade better than the one before. With Outlive’s practical advice and roadmap, you can plot a different path for your life, one that lets you outlive your genes to make each decade better than the one before.
The Letters I Will Never Send, by Isabella Dorta
Embrace honesty and heal beautifully.
In the letters i will never send, TikTok poet Isabella Dorta urges you to leave nothing unsaid and take comfort in moving poems on love, heartbreak, mental health and self-discovery.
With beautiful line illustrations and over 100 poems written in the form of confessional letters addressed to the most influential figures in your life:
Your younger self
Your future self
Your lover
Your body
Your family
and more
Take the ultimate step. Read, rip out, burn or send the letters out into the world. Write your own and share them with the people in your life. Just don’t hold back!
Eat to Beat Your Diet, by Dr William Li
Lose weight by eating more of what you love
Dr William Li’s first book, Eat to Beat Disease, showed us how eating the right foods can reduce the risk of chronic diseases, while also extending our lifespan and improving our overall health. Building on this groundbreaking work, Dr Li now brings us Eat to Beat Your Diet, a revolutionary, science-based approach to weight loss. Eating more of the right foods and adopting a “MediterAsian” diet (combining the best of Mediterranean and Asian diets) can promote fat loss and improve our metabolism in as little as 21 days.
Rooted in new science, Eat to Beat Your Diet offers a simple plan providing leading research on how supplements, sleep and exercise can help us defend the body against excess fat. With clear lists of fat-fighting foods and recipes, including a week-long detox and 3-week weight-loss protocol, this book empowers readers to lose 10-20 pounds healthily – all while enhancing enjoyment of food.
The Tools, by Phil Stutz & Barry Michels
Change can begin right now. Learn to bring about dynamic personal growth using five uniquely effective tools- from psychotherapist Barry Michels and psychiatrist Phil Stutz, subject of the Netflix documentary Stutz, directed by Jonah Hill.
Can you imagine what your life would be like if you could tap into a new source of power – one that has been inside you all along – to solve your own problems and become the master of your life?
The Tools is an extraordinary psychological model based on the proven methods of Hollywood’s greatest psychotherapists. Phil Stutz and Barry Michels have over 60 years of psychotherapeutic experience between them. Together they have helped their A-list clients work through whatever has held them back be it insecurity, trauma, anger, lack of willpower, negativity or avoidance – to achieve their greatest work and find a deep level of fulfilment.
Now, at last, the acclaimed clinicians are sharing their methods in this eye-opening and empowering book. Introducing their five simple techniques, namely The Reversal of Desire, Active Love, Inner Authority, The Grateful Flow and Jeopardy, the authors clearly explain what they are plus how and when to use them. Astonishingly effective and beautifully simple – once you’ve learned a tool it takes only three to five seconds to use it – this book will give you everything you need to propel yourself forward to achieve your ambitions and be who you were born to be. Why Politics Fails, by Ben Ansell
Why do the revolving doors of power always leave us disappointed? In Why Politics Fails, award-winning Oxford professor Ben Ansell shows that it’s not the politicians that are the problem, it’s that our collective goals result in five political ‘traps’.
Democracy: we all want a say in how we’re governed, but it’s impossible to have any true ‘will of the people’. Equality: we want to be treated equally, but equal rights and equal outcomes undermine each other. Solidarity: we want a safety net when times are tough, but often we care about solidarity only when we need it ourselves. Security: we want protecting from harm, but not if it undermines our freedoms. Prosperity: we want to be richer tomorrow, but what makes us richer in the short run makes us poorer over the long haul.
You’ve probably noticed a pattern here, which is that our self-interest undermines our ability to deliver on our collective goals. And these traps reinforce one another, so a polarized democracy can worsen inequality; a threadbare social safety net can worsen crime; runaway climate change will threaten global peace.
Drawing on examples from Ancient Greece through Brexit and using his own counterintuitive and pathbreaking research – on why democracy thrives under high inequality, and how increased political and social equality can lead to greater class inequality – Ansell vividly illustrates how we can escape the political traps of our imperfect world. He shows that politics won’t end, but that it doesn’t have to fail.
Your reading list for March & April.(photo:IANSLIFE)Your reading list for March & April.(photo:IANSLIFE)Your reading list for March & April.(photo:IANSLIFE)Your reading list for March & April.(photo:IANSLIFE)Your reading list for March & April.(photo:IANSLIFE)Your reading list for March & April.(photo:IANSLIFE)
Letters to a Writer of Colour, by Deepa Anappara & Taymour Soomro
Filled with empathy and wisdom, personal experiences and creative inspiration, this is a vital collection of essays on the power of literature and the craft of writing from an international array of writers of colour.
‘Electric essays that speak to the experience of writing from the periphery… a guide, a comfort, and a call all at once’ Laila Lalami, author of Conditional Citizens
‘A whip-smart collection’ Kamila Shamsie, author of Best of Friends.
The Path to Ananda, by Swami Avadheshanand Giri
There are as many conceivable responses to these questions as there are people in this world. While happiness is a very individual concept, it is most often seen as containing a measure of health, prosperity, social status, professional or creative satisfaction, a loving family and friends. The problem is that all of these are transitory phenomena.
Through 101 short, workable capsules, The Path to Ananda: A Mystic’s Guide to Unlimited Happiness offers readers that knowledge again. This is a mystic’s guide for those who like following practical, easy-to-follow advice, knowledge that makes a difference, and wisdom that’s practical. Nilavukkum Nerupendru Per (Rajesh Kumar)
Bhuvanesh and Tarun race towards the RS Puram Vinayagar temple. It’s a big day for Bhuvanesh. Today he will marry his long-time girlfriend Mukila at the temple, without letting their families know. Mukila has already called him to say she is on her way in a cab, but when she doesn’t arrive, Bhuvanesh, Tarun and a cop apprehend the cab she was in, in whose backseat, broken pieces of bangles are scattered. When the cab driver’s claims of dropping her at a flower market check out, Bhuvanesh, Tarun and others are alarmed. Where could Mukila be?
Qaidi (Commander Karan Saxena Series)
Gangadhar Mahant, the chief at RAW, sends Agent Karan Saxena on a secret mission to Beijing to rescue an Indian scientist who joined the Chinese government out of greed.
Working in a lab there, he has contributed to major advancements in the field of medical science in China. But now he has sent an SOS to be extracted to India. This is no cakewalk because the Chinese Secret Service always has its eyes on him.
With the help of other agents and informers working undercover-Prof. Koirala from Nepal, the drug peddler Hoshang and Neelkanth aka Kripashankar Bishnoi who can poison opponents in an instant-Commander Karan Saxena sets out on one of his most dangerous missions yet.
A Sip in Time by Pallavi Nigam Sahay contains India’s finest teas and teatime treats…reports Anjali Kocchar
Upon hearing the term “Chai,” what immediately comes to mind? What are the large, little stories that accompany chai? Chai has played a big part in bringing people together from the beginning of civilization. A drink that unites individuals and makes it easier for them to open up and share their untold tales and secrets. We might be able to listen in on some informal chats later while drinking chai. So, what?
“Chai is an emotion. The warm feeling or the prospect of making chai comforts me. Also, it is a get-together beverage for me. When I call people to my house, I always prefer serving tea over coffee,” chimes Anu. Her passionate love for chai is unmistakable.
“Chai is family,” adds Rakshita, another tea enthusiast who has a strong love for chai. Sitting far away in Seattle, she immerses herself in 3 cups of chai every day. Each cup acts as a trail of crumbs to connect her to her family in India. Here are three must-read books for tea-lovers.
A Sip in Time by Pallavi Nigam Sahay
A newly released recipe book, A Sip in Time by Pallavi Nigam Sahay contains India’s finest teas and teatime treats.
With 60 delectable dishes and lip-smacking recipes, this book will keep you wanting more chai. It doesn’t matter if you are a fan of traditional more-sugar-less-milk chai or trending chamomile and Darjeeling teas, the book has something for everyone and resonates with readers of all ages and backgrounds.
Sahay, who is an adrak chai lover loves adding lemon grass leaves to her brew. “You cannot go wrong with lemon grass as it reaches your soul with a refreshing aroma and heals with its citrusy taste,” offers Sahay.
In the book, the author talks of discovering India’s first brew, aka.phalap, as she journeys into the densely forested areas of Upper Assam. She also talks of the medicinal properties of tea as kadhas-medicinal concoctions believed to cure a number of ailments-made using tea as a base.
The book will also take you to the lane of memories. Nostalgia is a key ingredient in her book of tea recipes. From Mumbai’s cutting chai to Haryana’s khaddi chamach wali chai, she talks about everything in the book.
Sahay is a published author, columnist and television show host. Her first book, The Bhojpuri Kitchen, published in 2017, won the Gourmand Cookbook Award for the best book in India in the Easy Home Recipes category and was recognised among the ‘culinary treasures of 2017’ by India Today.
The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzo
If you are not looking for a recipe book and want to learn interesting facts about tea’s history then you must purchase this book. In The Book of Tea, popular author Okakura Kakuzo explores how tea moved from being a medicine in China to a religion in Japan. The Book of Tea is not a history of tea, but of humanity and how the East and West and their values came together. This book is written poetically about how to understand the beauty of the present time, which is the central focus of a tea ceremony in Japan, is a must-read for those visiting Japan and who want to learn more about the reason behind the tea ceremony.
Kakuzo was a Japanese scholar and art critic who in the era of Meiji Restoration reform defended traditional forms, customs and beliefs. Outside Japan, he is chiefly renowned for his book.
Cancer Hates Tea by Maria Uspenski and Dr Mary L Hary
To start with, the book was a finalist for Best Tea Publication 2017 World Tea Awards in 2017. Author Maria Uspenski is the founder of one of the most popular tea shops, The Tea Spot. The book helps the reader understand the biology of the human body at the cellular level and how cancer affects it. It is an unusual read around tea that chai lovers would definitely find interesting.
The author, through this book, explains the healing power of tea, backed by 5,000 scientific studies, leaving the reader with a feeling of control over their own wellness. The book inspires the reader to overhaul old beverage habits.
You won’t find many books solely on tea related to cancer. But, this book will definitely catch your attention as it is an amazing tea story with wellness references backed by studies and many wonderful recipes.
While these are some of the tea books which I found unique and caught my attention, there could be many that you may like and can tell us in the comments section below. Before you go, just a sneak peek into the conversations over Chai people have to make your day:
“You don’t need any time travel machine if you have chai in hand,” says Meenakshi, a tea enthusiast. She says she cannot trade her chai time for anything. She and her friends meet once a week for chai and together go on a nostalgic drive of their college times.
And if you think matchmaking apps are setting you up for a thrill, making adrenaline course through your veins, Akshu’s words are piercingly intimate and you cannot stop resonating with them. “My partner has to enjoy tea as much as like I do. That is the underlining criteria of my dating choice. I should enjoy a cup with him at the end of the long day.” Love for chai means swipe right, isn’t it?
The only way to find calm and comfort in today’s highly uncertain world is via books. Since entrepreneurship has been a hot topic in recent years, several business titans have documented their entrepreneurial journeys. The top 5 business books you shouldn’t miss reading this year are as follows:
Engineered in India: From Dreams to Billion-Dollar Cyient
Authored by BVR Mohan Reddy is the story of a young man who steps out of the precincts of IIT Kanpur in 1974 with a dream in his heart – to become an entrepreneur and contribute to nation-building. Undaunted by the dearth of experience and means to capital in pre-Liberalization India, B.V.R Mohan Reddy’s enterprising spirit takes the long and winding road, never losing sight of his ambition. He gains overseas education on scholarship and dons multiple hats before embarking on his life’s mission at forty.
Published by: Penguin Random House
Available on: Amazon
Maverick Effect: The Inside Story of India’s IT Revolution
In the mid-1970s, a young, twenty-something man living an American dream threw away a lucrative job as a database manager and came back to India. At that time, India had no IT industry to speak of; computers were a novelty, and the nation was trapped in socio-economic backwardness and a labyrinthine License Raj.
Published by: Harper Collins Publishers India
Available on: Amazon
5 Must Read Books on Entrepreneurship in 2023.(photo:IANSLIFE)
The Dolphin and the Shark: Stories on Entrepreneurship
The Dolphin and the Shark is born out of Namita Thapar’s experiences of being a judge on Shark Tank India and running the India business of the pharma company Emcure as well as her own entrepreneurship academy. The book emphasizes how leaders of today need to strike a balance between being a shark (aggressive leader) and a dolphin (empathetic leader).
Published by: Penguin Random House
Available on: Amazon
Rahul Bajaj: An Extraordinary Life | Official Biography of the chairman of Bajaj Group
‘Integrity and character matter. Without them, no amount of ability can get you anywhere. In addition, you need courage–courage to make difficult decisions and courage to oppose something if your conscience tells you that you are right’–Rahul Bajaj Rahul Bajaj is a billionaire businessman, the chairman emeritus of the Bajaj Group and a former member of Parliament. This book is not just the story of Rahul Bajaj but the story of India. The author takes us through the country’s transformation from the time Rahul Bajaj’s mother was imprisoned during the freedom struggle to the prism of his eventful life. Based on unrestricted interviews, the book is full of anecdotes, business learnings and political asides. It is, at its core, a moving human story.
Sometimes they resist and fight back against organised subterfuge across villages, people informing on each other and reward for getting ‘information on the Resistance militia’ and so on and all this is a big part of her next book ‘A History of Violence’…writes Vishnu Makhijani
As a journalist one is relentlessly exposed to stories of conflicts between the state and indigenous tribes, more in some areas than others like along some belts in the North east or Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, or Orissa to name a few, says Richa Lakhera, the bestselling author of books like ‘Hungry Gods’, ‘Garbage Beat’ and “Item Girl”, who is back with an intense and gripping take of the supernatural and horror with a female combatant set in the current times.
“One cannot but be moved by their separate tragedies, the desolation which results from constant strife- wars which leave indigenous people homeless, in fact, thousands of forest dwellers are still fighting over traditional rights for their own land parcels,” Lakhera told in an interview of her new book, ‘Contamination’.
“That they manage to hang on optimism is also evidence of the stubborn resilience of the people. For any human being losing their land is traumatic but the suffering is greatest from losing hope. These are people who live buried under the compromises with the state and face repeated exploitation,” she added.
Sometimes they resist and fight back against organised subterfuge across villages, people informing on each other and reward for getting ‘information on the Resistance militia’ and so on and all this is a big part of her next book ‘A History of Violence’.
“But somewhere during the pandemic the germ of the story of ‘Contamination’ was spawned. I got hooked on the idea of pitting supernatural powers against soldiers with modern weapons, basically mixing horror elements into the war scene and seeing what happens. The bullets fly, grenades explode, body count rises right from the beginning, there is paranoia of a constant war, surviving on low ammo and supplies and then facing supernatural creatures.
“There’s guerrilla warfare and hunting down insurgent patrols interspersed with horror imagery. On one hand there is the constant attempt by your characters to survive on low ammunition and dwindling supplies and the paranoia of a constant war and real possibilities of that they would all starve and freeze to death or be blown to bits getting slammed or hit by stray artillery and then come the ghosts!
“Having said that, war is the greater horror, not ghosts. It is a militia horror and fronted by a female hero. And the genre is quite under-utilized especially in India. As such there is a lot of unexplored terrain to be uncovered in the militia-horror sub-genre,” Lakhera elaborated.
How does she see writing on the supernatural evolving given its rise on OTT and the big screen?
“Indian storytelling has been, and still is, partial to family dramas, and on screen it imbues them with spectacular tales of love and wealth, found-lost-regained amidst the pageantry of choreographed dance pieces. India, the largest film industry of the world, but for the longest time mostly there has been a visible disinterest in big budget supernatural and sci-fi content the kind we see in Hollywood as far as films are concerned and perhaps because the audience was not too keen on the content,” she said.
Pointing out that when the Indian story writing scene is replete with folk tales with magic and mythology in India and its part of our cultural history, this makes their near absence till recent times in Indian cinema and overabundance in Hollywood more remarkable.
“The top earners, even till a few months ago, were not really expected to be about wizardry or apocalyptic destruction caused by supernatural forces. No one could even think of investing that kind of money and time in such a project. Bollywood, not Hollywood, is the largest movie industry in the world. But only a handful of its top hits in the last four decades have dealt with science fiction themes, and even fewer are fantasy or horror,” Lakhera maintained.
Noting that the 19th century German sociologist Max Weber had a useful theory about the west being ‘disenchanted’ and the world to them felt explainable, predictable, and boring leading to a widespread loss of a sense of wonder and magic and so they sought the enchantment in films, she said Perhaps that’s why Hollywood has an overabundance of supernatural and sci-fi content.
“Indian content creators somehow for some reason relegate the supernatural to a lower position than material-based reason. However, there have been departures of late, perhaps with the coming in of global content and though Indian audiences were not seen as being keen on supernatural content on the big screen but that’s changed a little more sharply in recent times,” she maintained.
What’s missing in the Indian writing scene in this genre?
“We still do not have a ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Alice in Wonderland’, but we have had Hindi films like the hugely successful ‘Koi…Mil Gaya’, ‘Krrish” to ‘Bhool Bhulaiyya’ sequels. I think filmmakers are now more than ready to test the audience’s commitment to the rational by introducing the fantastic into the narrative.
“I think that has got to do with the commerce of it. Commerce would be tied to desires and needs are cultural and there has been perhaps a cultural change in audience taste. People are now opening up, and this is fairly recent, to watching films with mythological, supernatural and nationalism themes. There is a distinct shift in taste…so we have big budgets being invested now in such films and after the success of Ayan Mukherjee’s ‘Brahmastra’ we have several more big-ticket films of the fantasy and supernatural world lined up.
“Having said that, and talking of OTT, if the uptick of Hunger Games-inspired archery lessons and the CDC’s humorous-but-practical Zombie Preparedness Guide are any indication, this is not going away any time soon. Re-enchantment delivers something more important than escapism or entertainment. Through its promise of a world of mystery and wonder, it offers the hope that we have not seen all that there is and there is so much more which can be done,” Lakhera explained.
What next?
“My next, ‘A History of Violence’, is all about guns, grenades and guerillas and gangsters. But no ghosts in my next. The next book is a militia thriller-political drama and is set in the hill states of North India. Land wars and conflict between state and indigenous people is an integral part in the story with the larger unifying theme of how wars never end. They mutate. They change form.
“Even though there are no supernatural horror elements involved, it is about a people caught in brutal relentless wars. It is about the shadowy world of tunnels along the borders which come alive during economic blockade and nakabandi, about gangsters and local warlords who feed on blood and bullets and unlimited power and greed. The true horror of war and conflicts, about accords failing, turncoats and sellouts, piling coffins, dirty cops and dirtier deals,” Lakhera concluded.
British Council Digital Library has curated a collection of inspirational books that will guide you to enhance your social skills, discover your mission in life, or even manage your checkbook!
The New Year’s Eve felt happier and more promising than it has in a long time, making it a genuine occasion for celebration. Annual resolutions are more important than ever for helping you evaluate what’s really important in life and personal growth is on everyone’s wishlist. We shouldn’t take health and wellness for granted, as living through a global pandemic has taught us. Focusing on your body, mind, and soul in 2023 is a fantastic method to plan your long-term objectives for the new year.
Additionally, concentrating on your health and well-being doesn’t always entail starting a new diet or exercise regimen. Increase your goals by focusing on taking control of your mental health, establishing a better sleep schedule, or reclaiming your space. If you are seeking tips on becoming a better version of yourself, British Council Digital Library has curated a collection of inspirational books that will guide you to enhance your social skills, discover your mission in life, or even manage your checkbook!
Inspirational reads .(photo:IANSLIFE)
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations�and whose story inspires us to do the same. In her memoir, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her�from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it� in her own words and on her own terms.
Inspirational reads .(photo:IANSLIFE)
Atomic Habits by James Clear
An atomic habit is a regular practice or routine that is not only small and easy to do but is also the source of incredible power; a component of the system of compound growth. If you’re having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn’t you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don’t want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. This breakthrough book from James Clear is the most comprehensive guide on how to change your habits and get 1% better every day. No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving� every day.
Inspirational reads .(photo:IANSLIFE)
Everything Is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo
Do you ever struggle to finish the things you start? Do you frequently have brilliant ideas, but once the initial enthusiasm wears off, you find it difficult to put them into action? The answer is probably yes if you’re imaginative and ambitious. The issue is not with you. It’s not that you aren’t diligent, intelligent, or deserving; it’s just that you don’t yet have the one fundamental conviction that will transform everything: Everything is solvable. The book will educate your brain to think more optimistically and assist you in breaking down any desire into actionable steps, whether your goal is to quit a dead-end job, mend a broken relationship, create a business, master your money, or simply find two extra hours in the day.
Inspirational reads .(photo:IANSLIFE)
Good Vibes, Good Life by Vex King
How do you actually learn to love yourself? How to change unfavourable feelings into favourable ones. Is it possible to experience lasting joy? A beautifully designed book that is packed with motivational quotes and tried-and-tested advice on utilizing positivity to build a life you love. In this book, Instagram expert Vex King provides comprehensive answers to all of these queries. Vex overcame adversity to become an inspiration to thousands of young people, and he now uses his own experience and intuitive knowledge to motivate his readers.
Inspirational reads .(photo:IANSLIFE)
12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson (Audiobook)
How should we live properly in a world of chaos and uncertainty? Jordan Peterson has helped millions of people, young and old, men and women, aim at a life of responsibility and meaning. Now he can help you. The number one Sunday Times and Audible bestseller from ‘the most influential public intellectual in the Western world right now’ (New York Times) – read by the man himself.
The Holidays are here… and while its fun to catch up with friends and family, it’s also the perfect time to pick a book to read over your New Year vacation or if you’re home, curl up to in front of the fireplace. Check out these new titles:
All The Right People
Priyanka Khanna held a preview for her first book- All The Right People in Worli, Mumbai on 28th November, 2022. The preview was attended by Karan Johar, Kajol and Ananya Panday amongst other celebrities.
Tamil Actress-fitness icon Ramya Subramanium’s first book, Stop Weighting
Ramya, the confident influencer of today, was once a naive and self-conscious teenager, who suffered bullying and body shaming. Just as any other insecure adolescent would, she began a long and tortuous journey to become ‘thin’. Ludicrous crash diets, intense workouts at the gym and an all-pervading sense of inferiority afflicted her for nearly a decade.
In the midst of this, Ramya was catapulted into fame at an early age when she got her first break as a television anchor. But with the media attention came all the toxic side-effects of being a celebrity. Until she decided to take back control over her life. Today, Ramya is healthier and happier than she has ever been. In Stop Weighting: A Guidebook for a Fitter, Healthier You we find out how she achieved this.
Pico Iyer’s new book- The Half Known Life
After half a century of travel, from Ethiopia to Tibet, from Belfast to Jerusalem, Pico Iyer asks himself what kind of paradise can ever be found in a world of unceasing conflict. In a spectacular journey, both inward and outward, Iyer roams from crowded mosques in Iran to a film studio in North Korea, from a holy mountain in Japan to the sometimes spooky emptiness of the Australian outback.
At every stop, he makes connections with unexpected strangers – mystics and taxi drivers and fellow travellers – and draws on his own memories, of time spent in a Benedictine monastery high above the Pacific, of regular travels with the Dalai Lama, of hearing his late mother speak of sunlit moments in pre-Partition India.
By the end, he has upended many of our expectations and dared to suggest that we can find paradise right in the heart of our angry, confused and divided world.
Aruna Gopakumar and Yashodhara Lal’s book- And how do you feel about that?
For too long, therapy has been seen as taboo in our society and is shrouded in myth–it’s only for the weak or ‘crazies’, it’s just blaming your parents, a therapist ‘only listens’ and so on. In this book, Aruna Gopakumar and Yashodhara Lal bust those myths and show you how therapy actually works.
With decades of combined experience in the field, these two therapists share fascinating stories based on their practice. You’ll meet the woman who sends secret messages to her husband during arguments; the towering tattooed man who realizes he can’t save his sister; the teenager whose life is revealed in the tale of a lonely bear; the divorced man angry with his ex-wife for starting to date again; the fiery gay young man impatient to change the world; the lady who won’t relax until her daughter is perfect; and many more.
In this collection of fifty stories, readers can get a fly-on-the-wall perspective on what takes place in the intimate setting of the therapy room. Inspired by the conversational yet reflective style of internationally recognized works like ‘The Examined Life’ by Stephen Grosz and the recent bestseller, ‘Maybe You Should Talk to Someone’ by Lori Gottlieb, this book is a powerful contribution by two Indian therapists to the much-needed conversation about mental health and the role of therapy. The range of issues in the book include everything from the challenges of being gay, dealing wth divorce, perfectionism, overly strict parenting, troubled relationships with food, repetitive conflict in long term relationships, issues of anger, anxiety, low confidence and more.
Both the authors are IIM graduates, about a decade apart from the same campus IIM-Bangalore, and share the commonality of having several years of corporate experience before making the unusual decision to turn to the field of psychotherapy.
3 Tips by Meera Gandhi
3 Tips: The Essentials for Peace, Joy and Success by global philanthropist and the Founder of The Giving Back Foundation, Meera Gandhi covers several topics related to mental health and wellness.
The book breaks down complex issues into 3 simple tips for each subject which anyone can pick up and implement into their own lives. Anyone feeling lost or in need of guidance can easily dive into the many subjects covered and find themselves gently nudged into a direction that brings them a greater awareness and clarity of their present situation in the context of a greater spiritual perspective.
This book is a continuation of Meera’s focus on creating highly accessible and practical resources in the mental health, wellness and spirituality space. In fact, supporting mental wellness initiatives is the third pillar of The Giving Back Foundation.
India in search of Glory by Ashok Lahiri
India and Indians have made some progress over the last seventy-five years since Independence. The literacy rate has gone up. The Indians have become healthier, and their life expectancy at birth has also gone up. The proportion of people below the poverty line has halved in number. But the shine from the story fades when development in India is compared with that in the Four Asian Tigers and China. It looks good, but not good enough. India looks far away from the glory it seeks. This is the core subject matter of India in Search of Glory.
The book tries to argue why India could not achieve more since Independence and what all it could have achieved. It paints a picture of its possible future and highlights the areas that need immediate attention.
The Classic Indian Guide To Citizen-Craft, Translated For The Contemporary Reader by Nitin Pai
Nitin Pai, co-founder and director of the Takshashila Institution, an independent think tank and school of public policy, translated the manuscript of The Nitopadesha that came to his hands. It is a unique blend of fables and stories that covers politics, economics and philosophy. Published by Penguin Random House India, it is scheduled to release in January, 2023 and is currently available for pre-order.
In the distant land of Gandhara, there once was a janapada called Chakrapuri. Its elders were a worried lot. Their children were uninterested in the welfare and upkeep of the janapada. Most of them were consumed by self-interest and avarice, seeking personal gains, even at the cost of their fellow citizens. Realizing that the young must learn the arts and crafts of citizenship, the Sabha of Chakrapuri decided to employ Nitina of Takshashila, whose wisdom was said to be unparalleled, to teach their children. So it came to pass that the unconventional scholar was entrusted with the charge of these boys and girls for the next ninety days.
Thus begins the Nitopadesha. A labyrinth of stories in the style of the Panchatantra and the Jataka tales, this is a book about good citizenship and citizen-craft that will speak to the modern reader. Covering aspects such as what citizenship means, the ethical dilemmas one faces as a citizen and how one can deal with social issues, Nitin Pai’s absorbing translation is an essential read for conscientious citizens of all ages.
Nitin has been blogging on international relations and national security issues at the Acorn since 2003. Pai was a gold medallist at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, from where he has a master’s degree in public administration. As an undergraduate scholar, he studied electrical engineering at Nanyang Technological University, after which he spent more than a decade in the telecommunications and technology industry, including a long stint as a policymaker in the Singapore government.
New book launches for the season.(photo:IANSLIFE)New book launches for the season.(photo:IANSLIFE)New book launches for the season.(photo:IANSLIFE)New book launches for the season.(photo:IANSLIFE)
Gunjan Ahlawat’s new book – Soul is beautiful
This is an invitation to to cut through the clutter and noise of the world around you. With the guidance of visual designer Ahlawat Gunjan you’ll learn to see, observe, reflect, and practice artistic techniques developed through years of training.
This beautiful collector’s edition of SLOW IS BEAUTIFUL prepares you to welcome a new artistic vision into your life by building a relationship with form, colour, and composition in a uniquely accessible way.
These unique easy-to-use prompts, highlighted by vibrant ink and nature-inspired watercolour paintings will motivate you to draw, erase, paint, experiment, create and, most importantly, embrace your mistakes.
Rethink Ageing: By Reshmi Chakraborty & Nidhi Chawla
Veena Iyer, aged sixty-six, got a degree in dance movement therapy. She is training to upgrade her skill and now runs various workshops.
B.R. Janardan, aged eighty-seven, started running after sixty and has sixteen full marathons under his belt.
These important stories illustrate the shifting narrative for ageing in India. They battle the ageism that is deep-rooted in Indian culture with fixed notions of ‘approved’ behaviour. Grandchildren? Yes. Pilgrimage? Yes. But companionship? Gasp! A second career? Why the need?
India will have over 300 million senior citizens by 2050. ‘Active ageing’ has become a popular topic of conversation in urban India and is the process of developing and maintaining functional activities as one gets older. Therefore, it is no longer uncommon to meet people like Janardan or Iyer in our fast-evolving society. We have an ageing society that is living longer and adapting to nuclear families, faraway kids and amorphous social support. Urban Indians are navigating health challenges, isolation and shifting social barometers to practise active ageing, the best form of preventive healthcare. Biological age no longer defines and limits us. After all, why should age prevent us from living the lives we want to?
Energize Your Mind by Gaur Gopal Das
In this book, bestselling author and life coach Gaur Gopal Das decodes how the mind works. He combines his anecdotal style with analytical research to teach us how to discipline our mind for our greater well-being. Throughout this book, he provides interactive exercises, meditation techniques and worksheets to help us take charge of our mind.
This book is an essential read for anyone who wants to work towards a better, more fulfilling future for themselves.
My Big Book is a series of ‘big books’ that are not big in size but bug on ideas and inspiration. This includes My Big Book of Earth and My Big Book of Global Warming, edited by Geeta Dharmarajan…reports Asian Lite News
Because India has such a diverse population, there are many possibilities to celebrate distinct holidays. For kids, the festive holiday break and all the excitement goes along with the festive emotions, with activities like pandal hopping and food festivals. However for older people it is all about decorating homes and entertaining. So how does one keep the kids busy through the entertaining and all the traveling. Young kids can use this time to develop the habit of reading books that not only provide them with knowledge but are also enjoyable to read. We’ve listed out 5 books for your Diwali break
The Land Beyond The Moon by Merlinwand
Written by Parvathy Raveendran and illustrated by Rajyasree Sarkar, The Land Beyond The Moon is a new book by Merlinwand that deals specifically with the loss of a pet. The story deals with fighting supervillains while spinning across asteroids and the moon to revive the pet. Along with choosing and naming the central character, the reader can choose which of the three worlds one wants to explore – Forest of Zee on a winged horse Peggy, the Kingdom of Zee on the friendly carpet Rasul, or the Planet of Zee on the futuristic spaceship Dhruva. The Land Beyond The Moon is the perfect book to teach kids about the importance of relationships, especially the relationship of humans and pets.
Our Toxic World: A Guide to Hazardous Substances in Our Everyday Lives by SAGE Publications
5 must buy books for your kids.(photo:IANSLIFE)
Our Toxic World takes a close look at these hidden perils, and at what we can do to make our own lives, and the world around us, a little cleaner, a little safer. The Sachdeva family is like many others. A father with a government job; his wife a homemaker; a son starting a career; and a daughter in high school. And like most other families in a big city, the Sachdevas are surrounded in their everyday lives by a cocktail of toxic substances. From food toxins, waste, automobile and industrial pollutants, and green laws to chemicals, building construction every possible hazardous substance is in there. The book describes the impacts of harmful chemicals, and highlights alternate approaches to reduce their presence. It is a graphic novel by Aniruddha Sen Gupta and Priya Kuriyan and a keeper for all green bookshelves.
“My Big Book” by Katha books
My Big Book is a series of ‘big books’ that are not big in size but bug on ideas and inspiration. This includes My Big Book of Earth and My Big Book of Global Warming, edited by Geeta Dharmarajan. This series is a collection of poems, stories, stunning illustrations, and sketches about the globe. My Big Book of Earth explores the significant and current topic of environmental protection and conservation in a loving ode to our planet Earth. My Big Book of Global Warming is a book that explores how Global Warming affects people and shows young readers many easy ways to help make a difference. It is also a mix of fiction and non-fiction, with tips and trivia.
P.S. What’s Up With the Climate by Pratham books
5 must buy books for your kids.(photo:IANSLIFE)
P.S. What’s Up With the Climate written by an award-winning author Vachharajani and illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan is a book that explores the theme of climate change and addresses the complex issue in a humorous, albeit thought-provoking style. This work of nonfiction is incredibly well-researched and has a paranormal understanding of the way things are headed. It’s set in a world where the lives of all animals has gone topsy-turvy as it’s suddenly too hot, too cold, no rain or too much rain. This book not only educates kids about environmental issues but also, forces them to be intrigued about the environment and question themselves. It is safe to say that this book actually helps kids to take the first step to conserving the environment from their own home!
Ira The Little Dolphin and Lai-Lai the Baby Elephant By Tulika Publishers
5 must buy books for your kids.(photo:IANSLIFE)
Shekar Dattatri, a renowned wildlife and conservation filmmaker, is the author of these amazing books. Lai-Lai the Baby Elephant is bilingual, and introduces young readers to a playful baby elephant who is interested in his surroundings. To ensure that elephants like Lai-Lai have a pleasant life ahead of them. In the second book, Ira The Little Dolphin, one encounters a contented tiny dolphin performing backflips in Lake Chilika. She is unaware of the dangers Irrawaddy dolphins endure. Photos in the book make the subject more engaging for young readers, ages 3 to 6. Both the books emphasize the necessity to preserve the forests and jungles.
Whether you’re looking for a book that makes you feel good or teaches you something new, these 5 authors should definitely be on your list!
Sally Rooney
Sally Rooney is famously known for Conversations with Friends, Normal People (also adapted into a show) and Beautiful World, Where Are You? She is an author who builds her characters really well. Each of the books take you through a conversational narrative. Her writing style is very different; however, the prose makes you want to read the entire book in one sitting. She writes about characters who are extremely relatable and have the same struggles millennials go through. Whether it’s dealing with your sexuality, your place in the world or simply balancing your personal and professional life, Rooney seamlessly weaves a storyline between characters.
Must Read: Beautiful World, Where Are You?
Colleen Hoover
Every millennial who reads has definitely heard of Colleen Hoover, if not obsessed over her books, especially the sensational It Ends with Us. Hooven has a penchant for easing you into a romantic story and slowly peeling the character’s layer one by one until you’re consumed by their history. Every novel is a different one with a dark twist to it. Her books are emotional, mysterious and heartbreakingly unputdownable.
Must Read: It Ends with Us, November 9
Jhumpa Lahiri
Jhumpa Larini is surely the name that comes to mind when you think about an author who writes in multiple languages. Lahiri’s work can be found in both the English and Italian languages. Lahiri is one writer who simply just doesn’t write for the reader but for herself too. She believes in immersing herself completely into the language to understand it, adapt it and fall in love with it. She talks about the idea of language and her relationship to it. It’s a very interesting concept she sheds light on, a question she’s been answering for years, “What makes a language your own?” If you’re someone who likes to read translated texts, adapted while keeping the essence of the meaning intact, her books are definitely worth exploring.
Must Read: Translating Myself and Others
Michelle Zauner
Crying in H Mart is Michelle’s debut memoir. She beautifully writes about relationships, grief and identity. A constant battle we all struggle with; she pens it down and makes the story relatable. For someone who is looking for solace in a book, Crying in H Mart is an ideal memoir to read. Using sensory experiences, the book takes you through her journey and makes you feel like you’re a part of it.
Must Read: Crying in H Mart
Emily Henry
An author who is slowly making her way into every reader’s bookshelf, Emily Henry is a contemporary fiction author. Her romance novels are the perfect travel books. They’re heart-felt, romantic and have a depth to them. What sets Emily Henry’s novels apart from other rom-coms is that her characters aren’t just looking for love, they’re always on the lookout for something more but happen to fall in love. And while these characters are on their journeys to be better versions of themselves, love helps them achieve that.
