New releases

1. Non Stop India – Mark Tully: Jugaar may loosely be translated as ‘muddling through’, or making
do. This quintessentially Indian ability has seen India through numerous crises which would have
easily dispirited a less resilient people—four wars, for instance. But while jugaar can be said to
have served India well in the past, it has a downside.

It has led to a dangerous complacency: the belief that since India has managed to ‘muddle through so many times before, there isn’t much need for a sense of urgency in tackling the problems it faces. In Non Stop India veteran journalist Mark Tully draws on his unmatched knowledge of India, garnered from thirty years of living in, and reporting from, the country to examine how this approach impacts her much-touted prospects of becoming an economic super-power. From Maoist conflicts to huge industrial houses; from the Tiger project to farmer suicides; from the Ramayana to the remote valleys of the north-east, Tully examines India’s myriad negotiations with modernity and her prospects for the nextcentury and beyond.

2. Get To The Top – The Ten Rules For Social Success by Suhel Seth: When it comes to getting
ahead in life, who we know is as important as what we do.How do you draw people to you?
Impress the powerful? Make an impact and extend your circle of acquaintances? Cultivate
influential friends?

Suhel Seth, a man who knows almost everyone there is to know in the country, brings you the
ultimate guide to social success. From the secret to throwing a successful party to the benefits
of befriending the less important half of a couple, he gives you canny advice and strategies to
become a successful networker.

Inspiring, provocative, and wise, Get to the Top is the ultimate book about wielding soft power.

About The Author :

Suhel Seth is the Managing Partner of Counselage India, the only strategic brand management
and marketing consultancy in the country advising chairpersons and CEOs on branding and
marketing.

His clients include R.K. Krishna Kumar of the House of Tata, S. Ramadorai of TCS, Analjit Singh of
Max Hospitals, Pawan Munjal of Hero Honda, Sanjiv Goenka of the RPG Group, and Prannoy Roy
of NDTV.

Suhel writes columns in The Financial Times, Hindustan Times, The Telegraph, and The Indian
Express on current affairs and has co-authored two books on Calcutta with Khushwant Singh and
R.K. Laxman.

3. Classic Saratchandra Volume I – By Saratchandra Chattopadhyay – Translated By Malobika Chaudhuri & Sunanda Krishnamurty: One of the greatest Indian novelists of the early twentieth century, Saratchandra Chattopadhyay is unputdownable even seven decades after his death. His canvas of human relationships is rooted in the everyday lives of families in turn-of-the-century Bengal. Saratchandra’s carefully crafted stories, brimming withemotion, and his sharply etched characters, are unforgettable. This omnibus that brings together eight of his novels in translation is a collection to be cherished.

Biraj Bou, Parineeta (A Married Woman), Palli Samaj (The Village Life), Arakkhaniya (The Unprotected), Srikanta, Devdas, Swami (Husband), Grihadaha (House of Cinders)

4. Secrets – by Ruskin Bond: This brilliant new collection of stories by one of India’s best-loved storytellers richly evokes Dehradun of the 1940s, with its quaint cinema halls and crumbling villas, its modest chaat-shops and ubiquitous tongas. But, as young Ruskin—the narrator in these interconnected tales—soon discovers, not all is as it seems in this sleepy town. Behind the tranquil facade, Dehra is home to a cast of colourful characters: from plucky old women to possible murderers.

‘The Canal’ is a joyful tribute to adolescent mischief and adult resolve, in which a group of roguish boys must face the consequences of antagonizing the much-feared Miss Gamla. ‘Over the Wall’ celebrates the resilience and hard-won dignity of a man ravaged by leprosy as he struggles to come to terms with his malady. The dashing young army captain in ‘At Green’s Hotel’ might be the perfect gentleman—or a murderer. And in ‘The Skeleton in the Cupboard’, an old scandal is revived following a chance discovery, leading to wholly unexpected results.

By turns charming and poignant, witty and exhilarating, Secrets is vintage Bond.

5. The Mahabharata Volume 4 – Translated by Bibek Debroy: The Mahabharata is one of the
greatest stories ever told. Though the basic plot is widely known, there is much more to the
epic than the dispute between Kouravas and Pandavas that led to the battle in Kurukshetra. It
has innumerable sub-plots that accommodate fascinating meanderings and digressions, and
it has rarely been translated in full, given its formidable length of 80,000 shlokas or couplets.
This magnificent 10-volume unabridged translation of the epic is based on the Critical Edition
compiled at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.

The fourth volume of the Mahabharata includes Virata Parva and almost all of Udyoga Parva. It
describes the Pandavas’ thirteenth year of exile which they spend in disguise in King Virata’s court.
When, during their stay, the Kouravas and Trigartas invade Matsya to rob Virata of his cattle, the
Pandavas defeat them in battle. With the period of banishment over, the Pandavas ask to be returned
their share of the kingdom. This is refused and Udyoga Parva recounts the preparations for the
inevitable war.

Every conceivable human emotion figures in the Mahabharata, the reason why the epic continues to
hold sway over our imagination. In this lucid, nuanced and confident translation, Bibek Debroy makes
the Mahabharata marvellously accessible to contemporary readers.

6. Lucknow Boy – A Memoir by Vinod Mehta: Sharp, insightful, shocking, delightful. In this
sparkling memoir, Vinod Mehta, India’s most independent, principled – and irreverent – editor
finally tells his own story.

And by any reckoning, it is an extraordinary story. Mehta grew up as an insouciant army brat from a Punjabi refugee family, in the syncretic culture of Lucknow of the 1950s—an experience that turned him into an unflagging ‘pseudo secularist’. Leaving home with a BA third class degree, he experimented with a string of jobs, including that of a factory hand in suburban Britain, before accepting an offer to edit Debonair, a journal best known for featuring naked women. With the eclecticism and flair that were to become his hallmark, he turned it into an intelligent, lively magazine, while managing to keep fans of its centrespreads happy. The next three decades saw Vinod Mehta becoming one of India’s most widely- read and influential editors, as he launched a number of successful new publications, from the now legendary Sunday Observer to the weekly newsmagazine, Outlook.

This remarkably candid memoir, with its ringside view of many of the major events of our times, brims over with wit, wisdom, scandal and gossip. Mehta recounts with zest how he was wooed and then summarily sacked by sundry media proprietors when their much-vaunted respect for editorial freedom broke down in the face of political pressures. There are riveting accounts of his encounters with personalities from the worlds of politics, business, films and the media. There are masterly pen portraits of personalities ranging from Shobhaa De to V.S. Naipaul, Salman Rushdie and Sonia Gandhi. ( And ofcourse, Mehta’s dog Editor who now, like his master, gets quantities of fan and hate mail.) There are the stories behind the scoops Mehta has brought before a fascinated public, from the alleged mole in Indira Gandhi’s cabinet, to the cricket match-fixing scandal, to the Radia Tapes.

Embedded within these racy tales are thoughtful insights on Indian politics and society. There are valuable lessons, too, in Mehta’s inside stories of his successful media launches, in his tips for aspiring journalists, and in his struggles for editorial independence through his nearly four-decade-long tryst with Indian journalism.

COMING SOON

1. Diary of A Wimpy Kid – Cabin Fever by Jeff Kinney: The sixth book about the comic adventures
of Greg Heffley and family. The funniest books you’ll ever read!

Greg Heffley is in big trouble. School property has been damaged, and Greg is the prime suspect. But the crazy thing is, he’s innocent. Or at least sort of. The authorities are closing in, but when a surprise blizzard hits, the Heffley family is trapped indoors. Greg knows that when the snow melts he’s going to have to face the music, but could any punishment be worse than being stuck inside with your family for
the holidays?

2. God Save the Dork – The Incredible International Adventures of Robin ‘Einstein’ Varghese by Sidin Vadukut: Maestro management consultant and strategy guru Robin ‘Einstein’ Varghese has been dispatched to London to the Lederman account. Things in the mother country are not all tally-ho as Einstein must make do with convoluted remuneration, temperamental digestion and a comely coworker who revels in mixed signals—not to mention a bizarre conspiracy by museums all over the city to frustrate his every attempt to imbibe in high culture.

Things are not all that much better with his love life. Gouri insists that he go to Madame Tussaud’s and take a photo with the Shah Rukh Khan statue. But who will pay for the entry ticket? Gouri’s father is not the proprietor no? Then? Just when things look like they can’t get any worse, Lederman threatens to shut down the project. Panic ensues. Once again Dufresne Partners turns to their most resourceful, inventive, original, strategic, out-of-the-box-thinking employee.

‘India’s Dilbert.’    – DNA
‘Nothing else skewers corporate India’s assorted silliness so accurately. Or so funnily.’   —Outlook
‘Unputdownable.’   —The Hindu
‘[Dork] will have you in splits.’   —The Asian Age
‘Hysterically funny.’    – Hindustan Times

Charlotte Bronte

Charlotte Bronte (April 21, 1816-March 31, 1855) is considered one of the leading figures in 19^th Century Victorian Literature. She was a renowned English novelist as well as poet. Born in Thornton, Yorkshire to an Irish Anglican clergyman, she was the third of six children . At an age of eight, Bronte went to clergy daughter’s school in Lancashire, whose inhuman condition had permanently taken its toll on her health and physical development. The school has a special mentioning in her novel Jane Eyre in the name of Lowood School.  In fact two of her elder sisters succumbed to tuberculosis while attending that school. Along with her surviving siblings, she began chronicling about the life and struggle of the inhabitants of their imaginary country, Angria. Bronte has also worked as governess for various families in Yorkshire till 1841. Her stay in Brussels as an English tutor did not last long because of her feeling lonely, homesick and her growing proximity to Constantine Ledger, the Belgian teacher in the same boarding school.

Bronte’s stay at the boarding school served as an inspiration behind her novel “The Professor and the Villette”. Politically she was a Tory, who believed in preaching tolerance rather than revolution. Lord Charles Albert Florian, Wellesley and Currer Bell are her pen names showcasing the patriarchal Victorian society as well as her inherent shy nature .It was only after the enormous  success of Jane Eyre that she revealed her true identity. The novel since long has been dubed as a semi autobiographical piece by critics.

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Henry James

Henry James is considered as one of the key figure in trans- Atlantic literature. Having spent the last fifty three years of his life in England, his works had semblances of the confluence of the American and European cultures.

James (April 15, 1843 – February 28, 1916) was born in New York. He was A Harvard Regular. He contributed significantly to the 19^th century literary realism, stressing the need of freedom from the part of writers in showcasing his views, ideas to their audience. Apart from being an extraordinary productive writer, he also wrote innumerable fiction books, books on travel, autobiography, biography, criticism and Plays. His theatrical endeavour had its impact on his later novels and plays.

The popularity of his novel can be seen to the extent that Ismail Merchant teamed up with James Ivory to make films on his three novels, The Europeans (1978), The Bostonians (1984) and The Golden Bowl (2000).

The Portrait of a Lady is considered as one of his best book.

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Maya Angelou

America’s most visible black autobiographer, Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928 at St. Louis, Missouri, USA. She is an American author, poet of repute and is renowned for her six autobiographical volumes, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” is her first and most highly acclaimed work. Apart from international recognition, what the book did was to catapult her to a level where her works got nominated for awards. The national awards and Pulitzer prize nomination for 1971 volume of poetry,” Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water for I Diiie” is a proof of it. Angelou was also the member of the Harlem Writers Guild in the late 1950s and was an active member of Civil Rights Movement.

What more can be said, she also served for Martin Luther King Jr and renowned in the lecture circuit, having made more than ninety appearances. She also hods the longest running  record on the Newyork Times Paperback Notification besr seller list in 1995.  Besides she is also a dancer, film producer, television producer, playwright, film director, author, actress, professor.

“Singin-and-swingin-and-gettin-merry-christmas, Wouldnt-take-nothing-my-journey-now and Heart of a woman” are her other important works.

I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself.

Maya Angelou.

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“I recently turned fifty, which is young for a tree, midlife for an elephant, and ancient for a quarter miler whose son now says, “Dad, I just can’t run the quarter with you anymore unless I bring something to read.”

Fifty is a nice number for the states in the Union or for a national speed limit, but it was not a number that I was prepared to have hung on me. Fifty is supposed to be my father’s age, but now Bill Cosby, Junior is stuck with these elevated digits and everything they mean.”

Thus begins Bill Cosby’s second book which he wrote when he hit the half century mark. Our parents are already there. Someday we will get there too; maybe some of us are already there. The time when birthdays are no longer happy events; when the number of candles on the cake begin to weigh it down; when every morning we look at the mirror in horror, desperately trying to hide that strand of white hair, or the wrinkles on the forehead.

Ageing is not easy. After having lived life to the fullest, after having experienced the speed, the momentum, to slow down is not easy. And yet, it is inevitable. All of us will age. And while we can continue to remain “young at heart” and “remarkably fit for our age,” we will invariably not be able to  do as many things as we did previously.But there is no need to despair. It’s natural and Cosby helps us realize this by taking up the everyday annoyances of growing old and laughing at them in his own flamboyant style.  The sagging love handles, the inability tie your own laces, fading memory, declining eyesight,  receding hairline, poor digestion, Cosby shares them all and laces each irritant with a healthy dose of humour.

Written in a chatty, colloquial style, the book is easy to read and relate to. The worries and anxieties described by Cosby are all too real. For those approaching or already past their fifties, Time Flies may well be a tool of acceptance; of learning to laugh at themselves and live with the inconveniences brought on by time. And for those who still happen to be “young,” it might provide a better understanding of what their parents and elders go through. Yet, many a times, one can’t help feeling that Cosby is exaggerating. Often one is tempted to shake him up and say, “Seriously dude, fifty isn’t that old and you definitely don’t go bonkers at that age.” The other thing that jars a little is the overly long introduction by Poussaint. It is way too preachy to be in sync with the rest of the book because for all his grumblings not once does Cosby turn prescriptive. Pouissant, on the other hand, is full of advise and observations which baffle. For instance, he takes President Reagen’s re-election into the White House at the age of seventy three, as a mark of turning attitudes towards the elderly. Seriously? Then we Indians must be really good at respecting our elderly because seventy seems to be the average age of our leaders.

These aberrations aside, Time Flies is a light read that you will probably finish in just one sitting. Pick it up if you are looking for a healthy dose of the All American humour.

Buy, Rent Time Flies and other books by Bill Cosby from INDIAreads Online Book Rental Library cum Bookstore. Membership plans begin @ just Rs 150 per month. Join Now!

Making his Hollywood breakthrough as a star in acclaimed performances by consciously defying racial stereotyping, Sidney Poitier gave a new dramatic credibility for black actors to mainstream film audiences in the Western world.In his memoir, the American icon looks back on his celebrated life and career. Exploring elements of character and personal values as a husband, father, and as an actor, his book offers a personal history which only true nobility could be capable of writing.

The most powerful aspect about Poitier’s “spiritual autobiography” is that it doesn’t try to manipulate the reader one way or another. It’s entirely possible to be completely changed by the end and yet leave the book disagreeing with him in some areas no less than at the beginning. He doesn’t expect his readers to agree with him, he’s simply telling his story. And an interesting story it is. Having emerged from a poverty stricken background, the kind most people would still fail to imagine, he learnt about racism the hard way, when as a young man he moved to Miami. Possibly one of the most profound themes of the book is the manner in which Poitier talks about the value of identity instilled by a parent in his son. Never losing the sense of self given to him by his parents, especially his father, his dignity guided him through the roles that he chose, as well as how he saw his success in Hollywood and even the film industry itself.

The book gives great insight into the struggles that African-American actors went through during the fifties and sixties for their craft and for those actors that followed in their footsteps. It brings to the forefront those unseen forces that have remained hidden and taken for granted by the audience. Covering many years of looking for answers, searching for meaning, and taking risks, the book  traces not only the rugged path of Poitier’s career, but also the limits he has stretched himself to from within to better himself. There is a great deal to learn from this book and in terms of writing, it moves along very well. Although there is a bit of a lag towards the end, the pace picks up shortly afterwards. This is not a book about black and white. Rather, this is a book about being human and where humanity belongs in Nature’s world. Poitier covers a whole lot of things to be considered in this ‘spiritual autobiography’. A great read written by an equally great man, it is much more than just a worthwhile read.

The Measure of a Man is available for sale at www.INDIAreads.com.

You can also rent or requst other books from India’s fastest growing online book rental library and bookstore.

Other realted titles:

Elizabeth Jolley

English-born award-winning writer, she was 53 years old when her first book was published. She went on to publish fifteen novels, four short story collections and three non-fiction books, publishing well into her 70s and achieving significant critical acclaim. She was also a pioneer of creative writing teaching in Australia counting many well known writers such as Tim Winton among her students.

Some of her famous works are:

Five Acre Virgin (1976)

Mr. Scoobie’s Riddle (1983)

Milk and Honey (1984)

My Father’s Moon (1989)

Susan Jacoby

New York Times best selling American author, she has won many awards and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 1984.

Some of her famous works include:

Moscow Conversations (1972)

Wild Justice: The Evolution of Revenge (1983)

Half-Jew: A Daughter’s Search for Her Family’s Buried Past (2000)

The Age of American Unreason (2008)

Kristine Kathryn Rusch

American writer who writes under various pseudonyms in multiple genres, including science fiction, fantasy, mystery, romance, and mainstream. Rusch won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette in 2001.

Some of her famous works are:

Hitler’s Angel (1998)

Utterly Charming (2000)

The 10th Kingdom (2000)

Diving into the Wreck (2009)

Check out the titles available for rent and purchase from these bestselling authors at the INDIAreads Online Library cum Bookstore.

Kiran Bedi has dealt with criticizms for being “media-hungry” and controversial. Often, she has been transferred out of offices for trying to turn things around. But despite these complaints, she remains one of the most inspiring Indian public figures.

Packed with punch and spirit, her no holds barred narrative reveals the story behind this woman’s career path as the first woman officer of the Indian Police Service, and her decision to move on rather than become a part of dubious ‘history’. In the realm of recent bestsellers which have cashed in on the poverty stricken image of India and its failing systems, this is a book which will make any reader proud to be an Indian.

From the first few chapters which describe her early career years, it is evident that Kiran Bedi has always dared to swim against the current. Progressing on to her personal life, the book delves a little deeper into her real life roles as a wife, daughter and role model. There are a couple of chapters as well which highlight the dynamic role she played as a DCP in places like Delhi, Goa and the North East. It was during her posting in these areas that she came to be known as a fearless and upright enforcer of the law. Stories about her efforts in breaking break up a 200-year-old illicit liquor trade in Delhi or issuing the Prime Minister’s car a challan for wrong parking deliver some tight, gripping non fiction that is truly inspiring.

As the book progresses, the later chapters describe her novel ways of working. Describing some of her laudable achievements such as transforming Tihar Jail into an abode for education during her ‘dump’ posting, or her relentless fight against the powers that reside in Parliament, each chapter offers valuable lessons in leadership and perseverance. With this book, Bedi beseeches everyone  to fight the wrong and unjust in a very simple but powerful manner.

Written in third person format, the interesting narration style makes Bedi much more believable and convincing. Overall, the book has a very good flow and makes for very interesting reading while maintain its neutrality. With several snaps and related articles, the book is un-put-down able once started. This is a book which once you read will make you start respecting time, women, justice and above all yourself.

A non fiction feature film on Kiran Bedi’s life has been produced by Australian film maker, Megan Doneman. The documentary entitled Yes, Madam Sir has already swept awards in the Best Documentary category at film festivals around the world.

I Dare! The autobiography of Magsaysay Award winner and India’s first woman IPS officer Kiran Bedi is available for rent and purchase at the INDIAreads Online Library cum Bookstore.

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The great American author Mark Twain had left instructions not to publish his autobiography until a hundred years after his death. Now, a century   later, his dying wish is finally coming true.

The creator of beloved characters such as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn left behind more than 5000 pages of unedited memoirs when he died in   1910. These manuscripts, which have been locked away for years in a vault at the University of California, Berkeley will at last be released to the public, with the first part of its three volumes hitting bookstores in November.

The reason for keeping the firsthand accounts of the writer under wraps for so long has created mixed opinions among experts. While some believe it is because Twain’s personal views on politics and religion clashed with his well-crafted public persona, there are a few others who argue that the time lag prevented him from having to worry about offending friends. The post humous publication with all its bare all facts promises to have a lot of shock value. But another thing it will be sure to include is a lot of witty one-liners , quips and trademark Twain humor from the man himself which are always a welcome  addition to his breadth of literary work.

A lot of people may have already caught up with the movie version or will probably pick up the book because of the film’s popularity. But this is a book which has been around for quite a while, and that speaks more than enough for its honest assessment of single people,along with the author’s success at nailing, though not exclusively female, but English sensibility in particular.

Everyone either has an element of Bridget in them or knows someone like her. Her journal, which takes readers through a year in the life of a British, 30-something, unmarried girl is filled with stories of errant boyfriends, strained family relations, and a search for love in the most clever and relatable manner. Though it is easy to relive many of the scenes with the actors who played the role in mind, the book itself is full of funny, over the top characters who will make readers feel like they are re-living their misspent years at times. While the plot itself has been questioned as being borrowed from another great English classic, the tone remains self-deprecating, self-involved, and completely hysterical.

Bridget is a person who is still coming to terms with her vices. She copes with not having love by drinking and eating, and all the while tries hard to give up smoking and maintaing her weight. Trying her best not to give into temptation, she usually ends up failing miserably. After a few flirty e-mails between Bridget and her boss Daniel Cleaver, the two begin a twisted on and off relationship that ends up as an affair which included benefits and nothing else. Having spent years dodging questions from family and friends who keep asking her when she’s going to settle down and marry, Bridget finally meets Mark Darcy, a rich American lawyer at a party. Though her family urges her to date the recently divorced Mr. Darcy, he seems to be a bit of a snob and dislikes Bridget from the very start. Meanwhile, the playboy boss still seems to have a vice grip on Bridget’s heart, who is still struggling to cope with the fact that he cheated on her, and tries to focus on her career and ending her bad habits instead. As Bridget and Darcy begin to date, she is begins to have a perfect, caring relationship with a man she loves. However, she is still stuck in between choosing to care for Daniel and their secret relationship or following the advice of her parents.

The humor of Bridget Jones’s diary is its strongest point. The main character Bridget is so flawed and jinxed that it is impossible not to fall in love with her.  With this diary form narrative, Fielding provides readers with a quick, entertaining read that chronicles the brave journey of a woman moving from insecure single-hood towards self assertion. Though it is the dairy itself that brings the protagonist love and happiness in the end, there are times when it seems there’s a lot more space to shift a little less focus on the diary itself, especially the details of Bridget’s waging war with her scales and waistline. And while the storyline may be borrowed, Fielding’s treatment of a classic is truly a successful update on an exciting plot twist. Named amongst the ten novels that defined the 20th century, this bestselling chick lit is recommended to everyone, especially people that like biographies and enjoy romantic comedies.

You can rent, purchase or gift a copy of Bridget Jones’s Diary or browse through other related titles at the INDIAreads Online Library cum Bookstore.