What's on your reading list?

Shakuni 
Ashutosh Nadkar 
Juggernaut, 2019, pp 278, Rs 299 
Hear the Mahabharata unfold through the
voice of Shakuni. He uses the Kauravas and the 
Pandavas as pawns in the cleverly crafted game 
of deceit, and watches as the Kuru kingdom 
crumbles. But the book asks the burning question: 
was Shakuni really a villain or a victim?

The Stranger In My Home 
Manish Nandy 
Harper Collins, 2019, pp 272, Rs 499
The author, known for his roles in World Bank and
as an international development advisor, chooses 
to concentrate on the human aspects of his 
encounters in this memoir. We meet people he has come across on his journey. There are stories of love, hurt, intrigue etc.

No Trespassing
Brinda S Narayan
Tranquebar, 2019, pp 345, Rs 350
Vedika and her family move into a gated 
community, Fantasia, which will allow them to shrug 
off their middle-class tag. But she soon realises that 
Fantasia has turned fatal to her son. As she begins to investigate, she sees starkly the similarities between her past and the idyllic environ she is in.

But You Don’t Look Like a Muslim
Rakhshanda Jalil
Harper Collins, 2019, pp 219, Rs 599
What does it mean to be Muslim in India? What does it mean to look like one’s religion? These writings by the author, a literary historian and a cultural 
commentator, excavate memories, interrogate 
dilemmas, and rediscover and celebrate this nation. 

When we left cuba 
Chanel Cleeton 
Penguin, 2019, pp 368, Rs 936
The Cuban revolution took everything from sugar heiress Beatriz Perez — her family, her people, her country. Recruited by the CIA to infiltrate Fidel 
Castro’s inner circle Beatriz is now consumed by her quest for revenge and her desire to reclaim her life. 

Life in metaphors: Portraits of Girish Kasaravalli
Op Srivastava 
Realism Films, 2019, pp 247, Rs 395
Put together by filmmaker Girish Kasaravalli’s friends, family, colleagues, filmmakers and film critics, the portraits here offer insights into 
the layers of the filmmaker’s cinema and explore the nuances of his films and their metaphors.

The Girl He Used to Know
Tracey Garvis-Graves
St Martin’s Press, 2019, pp 304, Rs 1,485
Jonathan Hoffman joins the chess club and loses his first game―and his heart―to the shy and awkward, yet brilliant and beautiful Annika. 
An unforeseen tragedy forces them apart. A decade later, fate reunites Annika and Jonathan in Chicago. 

Make, Think, Imagine
John Browne
Bloomsbury, 2019, pp 432, Rs 1,732
Drawing on history, his experiences and conversations with many innovators, the author uncovers the basis for all progress and its consequences. He argues that the same spark that triggers each innovation can be used to counter its negative consequences.