Averting the end of the world with a motley crew's help
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Welcome to the world of Magnus Chase, one of Odin's "einherji" (chosen immortal warriors) in the third and final installment of Rick Riordan's "Gods of Asgard" trilogy, as he faces what could be his final adventure.
Perceptions, Postures and Pragmatism: India-Pakistan relations down the decades
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Beyond these, the Partition, Kashmir, river water sharing, terrorism, the nuclear arms race and many other facets, including cooperation, make India-Pakistan ties cover a large and complex canvas, painted and repainted over for seven decades, leaving those well-versed at one point not as adept later.
The cold, brutal world of Cold War espionage and its hard legacy
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It is the latter fear that strikes long retired British spy as he is suddenly summoned from his uneventful retired life in the remote French countryside to London by his former service for a matter which might be a bit urgent.
A Sanskrit poet's celebration of human experience across the spectrum
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The work (literally three centuries), comprises a hundred-odd "poetic epigrams" each under three major themes of "Niti", "Shringara" and "Vairagya", which "broadly reflect the political, erotic and philosophical modes of thought and, in turn, focus on worldly life, pleasures in beauty, and total abjuration of both".
Silence and its significance: A wide-ranging investigation
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In an another of Bloomsbury's intriguing, informative and incisive "Object Lessons" series focussing the "hidden lives" of ordinary things, ranging from dust to golf balls, the author begins by delving into what silence is not -- and this may be counter-intuitive to our perceptions.
A working woman's guide to sabbaticals - and what not to do in it
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Sabbaticals, as our protagonist Nimisha learns, are not yet part of the Indian corporate lexicon -- apart from some favoured employees, and especially not for women who are not married or plan to get on the bandwagon anytime soon. She also goes on to find out that when you do get a sabbatical, by the simple expedient of chucking up the job which she had grown to detest, it may not work out the way as she had planned during the drudgery of work.
A 'handy' guide to human behaviour
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While the "radical effect" of the internet, the smartphone and the PC is said to be "on who we are and how we relate to each other" and whatever we make of the changes, psychoanalyst Darian Leader notes that experts stress that these are changes which have made the world a "different place" and the digital era is "incontestably new".
Uncommon tales of common folks of Uttar Pradesh
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Collecting over a dozen of them, ranging from the macabre to the miraculous, from the unspeakable to the uplifting, and featuring humans at their best and worst (more frequently though) is Bollywood writer and director Tanuja Chandra.
Power and its practitioners: A witty but disturbing look
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Offering a fascinating but sobering look at a gamut of these effects, spanning but not limited to overweening conceit, a prodigious sense of entitlement, contemptuous disregard of contrary opinions or suggestions, and compromises with moral principles and personal relationships is this book by Daniel Levin.
Of the nether world and dark secrets
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Throughout the novel, Attari portrays her heroine to be a fighter, as Alia struggles with a supernatural dose of despair and manages to keep her humanity intact. Despite youth, beauty, wit, money and a tough spirit, the larger than life portrayal of Alia's character longs to lead a normal life.
