*Manifestos for the 21st Century— Censoring the Word; Julian Petley (Seagull, 2007, pp 112)What are the classic arguments for freedom of expression? Are these arguments still valid today?

*Manifestos for the 21st Century— Censoring the Body; Edward Lucie-Smith (Seagull, 2007, pp 97) This book exposes our bodies and our ideas about our bodies, revealing the complex historical and cultural legacies which frame our vision.

*Lashkar; Mukul Deva (HarperCollins, 2008, pp 365, Rs 195) Lashkar is a gripping tale of terror and counter-terror and the terrible fallout of the games that governments play.

*The Starkness of it; Ashok Mitra (Lotus/Roli, 2008, pp 350, Price not mentioned) These essays selected from the Calcutta Diary column, appearing in the Economic and Political Weekly over the years 1986 to 1993, owed their origin to the gentle persuasion of Krishna Raj.

*Jahajin; Peggy Mohan (HarperCollins, 2007, pp 268, Rs 295) Alive with compelling characters and the lilt of Trinidad Bhojpuri, this book gathers up the various narratives of relocation and transformation across a century in a tale that is part history and part fairy tale.

*Without Dreams; Shahbano Bilgrami (HarperCollins, 2007, pp 244, Rs 275) “A stunning tale of two lives marred by a history of violence.”

*Gently Falls The Bakula; Sudha Murthy (Penguin, 2008, pp 169, Rs 150) This is the story of a marriage that loses its way as ambition and self-interest take their toll.

*New Life— Selected Stories; Vijai Dan Detha (Penguin, 2008, pp 206, Rs 225) These stories are refreshingly free of stereotypes. Detha’s deep understanding of human relationships make this an unforgettable collection.

*The Devadasi and the Saint— The Life and Times of Bangalore Nagarathnamma; Sriram V (East West Books, 2007, pp 207, Rs 275) In this book the rise and fall of the Devadasi tradition is intertwined with the life and times of Bangalore’s Nagarathnamma.

*Anecdotes from a Diplomat’s Life; P J Rao (East West Books, 2008, pp 240, Rs 250) An account of the author’s struggle as a poor boy trying to finance his education, his love marriage, his career as a journalist and his long span as a diplomat.

*Ammi—Letter to a Democratic Mother; Saeed Mirza (Westland Books, 2008, pp 307, Rs 395) This is a novel that takes the form of a letter written by the author to his late mother.