Enlightened spirit
Aditi Garg
Legends are made not on the basis of mere hearsay but by rising above the ordinary by dint of sheer courage and determination. Everyone has a gift they are born with, some choose to let it lie dormant, and others use it to forward the interests of nations. They are visionaries who live their life according to principles and values rooted in culture and tradition while aspiring for progress. 

Classic hilarious account
Leyla Sanai
Eccentrics are compelling, and the narrator of Graham Rawle's second novel, set in 1997, is no exception. Fixated on random patterns, Riley adheres to odd routines, avidly collecting cards and eating food that alliterates. Pork, parsnips and potatoes are allowed, but are unappetisingly dry, as gravy starts with a different letter. He is an avid seeker of celebrities, exaggerating every insignificant encounter with cheesy Z-list stars of yesteryear, and boasts about his (distant) family connection to Barry Manilow.

Exploring contours of marriage
Deepti
Where would we find a greater truth than in the saying that “a successful marriage is an edifice that must be rebuilt everyday”. But what happens when a married couple falls into an unfathomable trap of deep uncertainty, biting silence and eventually fall victim to ever-building tensions of metaphysical questions.

Punjabi humour, Madrasi tadka
Roopinder Singh
A joke book that starts with a quotation of the famous German philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein. What next? A Sardar name for a Madrasi! Well, exactly that. Bhai Niranjan Singh ‘Amrikawale’ is indeed an Indian of Tamil descent. Brought up in Delhi, where Punjabi was adopted as practically a mother tongue, he in time found himself in Louisiana instead of Ludhiana.

Cocktail of thrill, suspense and action
Pooja Dadwal
What is the secret behind the US Seal? Why have five extra men been painted in the Declaration of Independence that hangs in the US Capitol Building? Did America’s founding fathers set up a country that has its genesis in controversy and lies? Did the ancient native Americans invent the super advanced nanotechnology?

Hack the risk off security
Abhishek Joshi
Hacking Crux 2 by Rahul Tyagi is a fluff-free primer of ethical hacking techniques. It is a guide to protecting data from cyber hacks. This is especially relevant in times when cyber crime has made inroads into every nook and cranny of the cyberworld. Interspersed as it is with screenshots and handy tips, the book covers a wide gamut of topics ranging from how to gather information about websites to how to deal with wireless network attacks. Black hat hackers or crackers perform illegal activities typically with malicious intent. 

New & notable
From the world of Mario 
Mario is about to turn 24 and has returned to Goa after graduating in English Literature from St Xavier’s College in Bombay.

tete-a-tete
A never-ending quest
Nonika Singh
From a spiky, arrogant English man who abhorred India, its food and its people on his first trip here, to someone who is trying to tap into its subconscious, Charles Foster has indeed come a long way in his understanding of India. However, the author of In the Hot Unconscious, a journey into India’s mystical complexity, has no delusions about having comprehended the land and its ways fully. 

short takes
Kaleidoscope of campus life
Randeep Wadehra
Practical jokes are a part of hostel life, more so in professional institutions, where, thanks to all sorts of pressures, students use these as stressbusters. Moreover, pranks even help to break the ice between students who come from different parts of the country as well as diverse socio-economic backgrounds. After all, they have to stay and study together for some years. Often pranks are harmless or mildly stressful. But, sometimes, they trigger off ego play and lead to rather tragic results.

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