Book Rack: Reasons to read

Consider these titles for your next read

The Chestnut Man
Soren Sveistrup
Pantheon, 2019, pp 300, Rs 373
One October morning in a quiet Copenhagen suburb, the police make a terrible discovery. A young woman is found murdered with one of her hands missing. Above her hangs a small doll made of chestnuts.
Detective Naia Thulin and her partner are on this scent, which seems a neverending series of gore!

Figuring
Maria Popova
Pantheon, 2019, pp 592, Rs 1,699
This book explores the complexities of love and the human search for truth and meaning through the interconnected lives of several historical figures across four centuries. And also answers pertinent questions like: Are achievement and acclaim enough for happiness? Is genius? Is love?

You Know You Want This
Kristen Roupenian
Jonathan Cape, 2019, pp 240, Rs 883
This captures both the ways in which women are horrifying and the horrors that are done to them. Spanning a range of genres and topics, these are stories about sex and punishment, guilt and anger, the pleasure and terror of inflicting and experiencing pain.

The future is Asian
Parag Khanna
Hachette, 2019, pp 433, Rs 699
In the 19th century, the world was Europeanised. In the 20th century, it was Americanised. Now, in the 21st century, the world is being Asianised!
From investment portfolios and trade wars to Hollywood movies and university admissions, no aspect of life is immune from Asianisation.

The Only Woman in the Room
Marie Benedict
Sourcebooks Landmark, 2018, pp 254, Rs 1,500
Based on a true story of a glamour icon and
scientist whose groundbreaking invention
revolutionised modern communication, this book speaks of Hedy Lamarr the screen star, who knew a few secrets and also an idea of what might help her country fight the Nazis... if anyone would listen to her.

How to win an Indian Election
Shivam Shankar Singh
Penguin, 2019, pp 248, Rs 299
This takes readers into the forbidden world of election war-rooms and gives them a glimpse of how strategy is formulated, what works with voters on the ground, and what doesn’t. Based on research, interviews and the author’s own experiences, this book offers insight into the inner workings of politics.

Necessary People
Anna Pitoniak
Little, Brown and Company, 2019, pp 352, Rs 999
Stella Bradley is beautiful, rich, and good at getting herself into trouble. Violet Trapp is smart, self-aware, and laser-focused on escaping her
humble background. This is a work of psychological suspense about ambition and privilege.

Meditation and mindfulness
Andy Puddicombe
Hachette, 2019, pp 260, Rs 399
The benefits of mindfulness and meditation are now well documented with doctors advising their patients to give it a try. The author brings this ancient practice into the modern world, tailor-made for those starved among us.