Take some time off this weekend for some self reflection on compassion. Read a gripping tale involving delivering justice to someone a lawyer has hated. Indulge in a mystery of unlocking a bundle of letters with a coded key. Also to read is a rare portrait of Assam. Check out the weekend fare the IANS bookshelf has to offer.
1. Book: A Fearless Heart: Why Compassion is the key to greater well being; Author: Thupten Jinpa; Publisher: Piatkus; Pages: 290; Price: Rs.399
Today’s lives run so fast with time that people find almost no space for personal reflection. With a foreword by the Dalai Lama, this book tells the readers how they can train their ability to be compassionate. The Dalai Lama calls it a timely book on compassion and the positive impact it can have on daily lives. This book presents the readers along with the latest scientific studies. These studies reveal that enabling one’s compassion comes with health benefits like relieving depression and improving an overall well being.
2. Book: Outlaws; Author: Javier Cercas; Publisher: Bloomsbury; Pages: 370; Price: Rs.399
This book takes us to a summer day in the Spanish city of Gerona. Ignacio Canas, a 16-year-old boy, is playing pinball in an arcade when a charismatic teenager strolls in with the most beautiful girl he has ever seen.
Enter Zarco and Tere, who proceed to take over his pinball machine and his life. In 30 years time Canas is a successful criminal defence lawyer. The past returns to him when Tere appears in his office and asks him to represent Zarco, who is now a celebrity, and has spent more than half his life in prison. The question the book involves its readers in is: what can Canas do but accept? Read on to know more about this twisted tale involving the heart and justice.
3. Book: Amy Snow: Open the Letter. Unlock the secret; Author: Tracy Rees; Publisher: Quercus; Pages: 570; Price: Rs.499Engage with the author along this treasure hunt set in the 19th century and a life-changing discovery done by a young girl, Amy.
Abandoned in a snowdrift as a baby, Amy is taken in at nearby Hatville Court – but the estate feels very unwelcoming and cold to her. Amy’s friend and protector is the young heiress Aurelia Vennaway. Aurelia dies young, and leaves Amy with a bundle of letters and a coded key. A mystery that one needs to read to unlock.
4.Book: The Water Spirit and Other Stories; Author: Imran Hussain; Publisher: Harper Perennial; Pages: 175; Price: Rs.299
One night, Gogoi jumps into the lake, hoping to meet the father he has never known. To appease the rain God, Bhanubala and her daughter-in-law Behula dance naked at midnight. An addict undertakes the challenge to eat red hot chillies for money and opium.
This well-knit folklore by Imran Hussain examines historical and social self-assertion by challenging them against the face of traditions. The book presents a rare portrait of Assam – a duet of darkness and beauty.