<p>The old drift<br />Namwali Serpell<br />Hogarth, 2019, pp 576, Rs 499<br />In the Great Zambian Novel, the lives of three <br />generations of families — one black, one brown, one white — unfold over 200 years. Their lives become <br />entwined as each is plagued by a curse. <br />Also expect a Marquez twist in it.</p>.<p>The 108 Upanishads<br />Roshen Dalal<br />Penguin, 2019, pp 425, Rs 399<br />This is a well-researched primer on the <br />108 Upanishads, philosophical treatises that <br />form a part of the Vedas, the revered Hindu <br />texts. The author explains the concepts <br />at the core of each Upanishad.</p>.<p>Instructions for a Funeral<br />David Means <br />Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2019, pp 208, Rs 999<br />In a return to his most-loved form, short story, the <br />author writes on fatherhood, marriage, a homeless brother, the nature of addiction, and the death of a friend at the hands of a serial-killer nurse. He even transmutes a fistfight in Sacramento into a tender, life-long love story.</p>.<p>Caste as social capital <br />Prof R Vaidyanathan<br />Westland, 2019, pp 131, Rs 299<br />This examines the workings of caste through <br />the lens of business, economics and <br />entrepreneurship. It interrogates the role caste <br />plays in the economic sphere in terms of facilitating the nuts and bolts of business and entrepreneurship: finance, markets and workforce.</p>.<p>Bangkok wakes to rain <br />Pitchaya Sudbanthad <br />Sceptre, 2019, pp 358, Rs 1,475<br />In this tapestry of lives around a building in <br />Bangkok, time collapses and the stories of a <br />missionary, a jazz pianist, savvy teenagers et <br />al mesh with each other with the backdrop of <br />the ever-changing city. </p>.<p>Zucked <br />Roger McNamee<br />Harper Collins, 2019, pp 336, Rs 599<br />This is the dramatic story of how a noted <br />tech venture capitalist, an early mentor to <br />Mark Zuckerberg and investor in his <br />company, woke up to the serious damage <br />Facebook was doing to our society and set <br />out to try to stop it. </p>.<p>Sing to it <br />Amy Hempel<br />Scribner, 2019, pp 160, Rs 1,466<br />Replete with moments of revelation and <br />transcendence, this collection of short stories <br />introduces us to characters who are lonely <br />and looking for connections. In Greed, a spurned wife examines her husband’s affair with a married woman.</p>.<p>Act natural: A Cultural History <br />of Misadventures in Parenting<br />Jennifer Traig<br />Harper Collins, 2019, pp 352, Rs 1,487<br />Moving from ancient Rome to Puritan <br />New England to the Dr Spock craze of mid-century America, the author explores historical and <br />present-day parenting techniques ranging <br />from the misguided to the nonsensical, <br />to the truly horrifying. </p>
<p>The old drift<br />Namwali Serpell<br />Hogarth, 2019, pp 576, Rs 499<br />In the Great Zambian Novel, the lives of three <br />generations of families — one black, one brown, one white — unfold over 200 years. Their lives become <br />entwined as each is plagued by a curse. <br />Also expect a Marquez twist in it.</p>.<p>The 108 Upanishads<br />Roshen Dalal<br />Penguin, 2019, pp 425, Rs 399<br />This is a well-researched primer on the <br />108 Upanishads, philosophical treatises that <br />form a part of the Vedas, the revered Hindu <br />texts. The author explains the concepts <br />at the core of each Upanishad.</p>.<p>Instructions for a Funeral<br />David Means <br />Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2019, pp 208, Rs 999<br />In a return to his most-loved form, short story, the <br />author writes on fatherhood, marriage, a homeless brother, the nature of addiction, and the death of a friend at the hands of a serial-killer nurse. He even transmutes a fistfight in Sacramento into a tender, life-long love story.</p>.<p>Caste as social capital <br />Prof R Vaidyanathan<br />Westland, 2019, pp 131, Rs 299<br />This examines the workings of caste through <br />the lens of business, economics and <br />entrepreneurship. It interrogates the role caste <br />plays in the economic sphere in terms of facilitating the nuts and bolts of business and entrepreneurship: finance, markets and workforce.</p>.<p>Bangkok wakes to rain <br />Pitchaya Sudbanthad <br />Sceptre, 2019, pp 358, Rs 1,475<br />In this tapestry of lives around a building in <br />Bangkok, time collapses and the stories of a <br />missionary, a jazz pianist, savvy teenagers et <br />al mesh with each other with the backdrop of <br />the ever-changing city. </p>.<p>Zucked <br />Roger McNamee<br />Harper Collins, 2019, pp 336, Rs 599<br />This is the dramatic story of how a noted <br />tech venture capitalist, an early mentor to <br />Mark Zuckerberg and investor in his <br />company, woke up to the serious damage <br />Facebook was doing to our society and set <br />out to try to stop it. </p>.<p>Sing to it <br />Amy Hempel<br />Scribner, 2019, pp 160, Rs 1,466<br />Replete with moments of revelation and <br />transcendence, this collection of short stories <br />introduces us to characters who are lonely <br />and looking for connections. In Greed, a spurned wife examines her husband’s affair with a married woman.</p>.<p>Act natural: A Cultural History <br />of Misadventures in Parenting<br />Jennifer Traig<br />Harper Collins, 2019, pp 352, Rs 1,487<br />Moving from ancient Rome to Puritan <br />New England to the Dr Spock craze of mid-century America, the author explores historical and <br />present-day parenting techniques ranging <br />from the misguided to the nonsensical, <br />to the truly horrifying. </p>