[
Books
]HT Picks; New Reads
Published on Jan 27, 2023 11:44 PM IST
The reading list this week includes a volume that traces the history of Hindi-language journalism in India from the early days of nationalist newspapers to the present, an intimate chronicle of a family of writers, and a compendium of dals and dal-based dishes
HT Team
Review: The Book of Everlasting Things by Aanchal Malhotra
Oral historian Aanchal Malhotra’s debut novel touches on perfumery, calligraphy and the First World War as it turns on a love story cut short by Partition
Updated on Jan 28, 2023 04:19 PM IST
Saudamini Jain
Interview: Siddhartha Mukherjee, author, Song of the Cell
Oncologist, immunologist, cell biologist and author Siddhartha Mukherjee talks about the future of new humans and how the new understanding of cell biology changed the course of cancer therapies
Published on Jan 27, 2023 11:44 PM IST
Shireen Quadri
Salil Tripathi - “These writers exemplify courage in its rawest form”
On the anthology ‘For, In Your Tongue, I Cannot Fit’ about courage and resistance that he co-authored with artist Shilpa Gupta
Published on Jan 27, 2023 11:44 PM IST
Chintan Girish Modi
Report: Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival 2023
The 14th edition of the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival was packed with sessions on mental health, Partition narratives, queer literature, murder mysteries, translation, graphic novels, food, dance, bookselling, Dalit writing, poetry and historical fiction
Updated on Jan 27, 2023 05:53 PM IST
Chintan Girish Modi
Review: Himalaya: Exploring the Roof of the World by John Keay
A book that incorporates elements of history and biography, Himalaya touches on everything from colonial expeditions to Tibet to amorous glaciers, Buddhist scholars and Swiss geologists to present a picture of the world’s tallest mountain range.
Updated on Jan 27, 2023 07:09 AM IST
Syed Saad Ahmed
Prince Harry: Definitely not a nullity
Spare proves that while royals might lead a life of privilege, they also have to endure the torture of living in a gilded cage
Published on Jan 26, 2023 06:40 PM IST
Neha Kirpal
Essay: On remixing history
From Apple TV’s Dickinson to Netflix’s Persuasion and Hulu’s The Great, period accuracy is out and creative anachronisms are in. While this might upset the purist, it is an interesting approach that injects freshness into classic material
Updated on Jan 25, 2023 08:04 PM IST
Prahlad Srihari
Interview: Swethaa S Ballakrishnen, author, Accidental Feminism
The professor of law at the University of California-Irvine on their book which looks at how elite law firms offer an oasis for women within a hostile, predominantly male industry
Updated on Jan 24, 2023 06:29 PM IST
Chintan Girish Modi
Excerpt: Raw Umber: A Memoir by Sara Rai
This extract lingers on the memories that inhabit the author’s home in Allahabad
Updated on Jan 24, 2023 12:09 PM IST
Sara Rai
Book Box: JLF Diaries
Friends, family, book clubs and school groups, get together with authors to discuss stories from science, history, economics, literature, travel and so on.
Published on Jan 21, 2023 06:14 PM IST
Excerpt: Friends with Benefits: The India-US Story by Seema Sirohi
This extract looks at the changing relationship between the two nations and sheds light on “the strangest Trumpism to come India’s way”
Updated on Jan 20, 2023 07:01 PM IST
Seema Sirohi
Review: Love, War and Other Longings; Essays on Cinema in Pakistan
A collection of essays on cinema in Pakistan edited by Vazira Zamindar and Asad Ali includes pieces on its troubled history, its iconic cinema halls, and the impact of the blockbuster Maula Jatt
Published on Jan 20, 2023 05:10 PM IST
Mahmood Farooqui
HT Picks; New Reads
The reading list this week includes Colleen Taylor Sen’s exploration of the life, achievements and legacy of Emperor Ashoka, Seema Sirohi’s look at how and why India has become the fashionable new ally in Washington, and Tsering Yangzom Lama’s moving portrait of the world of Tibetan exiles
Published on Jan 20, 2023 05:10 PM IST
HT Team
Review: Ranis And The Raj by Queeny Pradhan
A look at the lives of six Indian queens who negotiated with the British imperial power, sometimes with a pen and at others with the sword
Published on Jan 20, 2023 05:08 PM IST
Lamat R Hasan
Interview: Ilse K?hler-Rollefson, author, Hoofprints on the Land - “We are part of nature”
On human-animal relationships, advocating for the rights of pastoralists, and working with the Raikas in Rajasthan for over three decades
Updated on Jan 20, 2023 05:07 PM IST
Chintan Girish Modi
Essay: On filming the “unfilmable” novel
Decoding the recent trend of cinema and TV tackling what were previously deemed as texts that just couldn’t be make that leap to a visual medium because of the original’s scope, scale and style
Updated on Jan 19, 2023 10:30 PM IST
Prahlad Srihari
Alexandra Pringle: ‘I don’t like writing that is showing off’
Bloomsbury’s Editor-in-Chief’s authors include Abdulrazak Gurnah, Jhumpa Lahiri, Ann Patchett and George Saunders, among many others
Updated on Jan 19, 2023 07:50 PM IST
Chintan Girish Modi
Review: Prince Harry and the Chamber of Secrets
While Spare provides insights into the diabolical cult-like aspects of British Royalty and its mutual vulture-predator relationship with the British tabloids, it is essentially the story of an outsider who craved acceptance
Updated on Jan 19, 2023 12:22 PM IST
Farzana Versey
Review: A Life in the Shadows by AS Dulat
The former head of the Intelligence Bureau and the RA&W writes about his childhood, his years as a young intelligence officer, Kashmir, and more
Updated on Jan 17, 2023 06:15 PM IST
Saleem Rashid Shah
HT picks; new reads
The reading list this week includes a book that traces the historic journey of a nomadic community forced out of its traditional ways, a collection of chilling stories from Delhi’s twilight zone, and a murder mystery set in a sleepy hill station
Updated on Jan 14, 2023 07:41 AM IST
HT Team
Anuradha Bhasin - ‘The fear of a demographic change is valid’
On A Dismantled State, her chronicle of what happened in the Kashmir Valley after the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019
Published on Jan 14, 2023 07:18 AM IST
Majid Maqbool
Review: Kishore Kumar - The Ultimate Biography
Compulsory reading for any Kishore Kumar fan, this extensive work by Anirudha Bhattacharjee and Parthiv Dhar brings out the singer and film personality’s character, talent, eccentricities and zest for life
Published on Jan 14, 2023 06:52 AM IST
Narendra Kusnur
Deepti Kapoor - “It’s tough to be a writer if you don’t have family money”
The author of Age of Vice on her new literary crime thriller that captures the world of politics, patronage and power and is perhaps the only Indian novel to have been auctioned directly in Hollywood for a multimillion dollar TV deal
Published on Jan 14, 2023 06:27 AM IST
Shireen Quadri
Excerpt: Guru to the World by Ruth Harris
This extract from a new book on the life and legacy of Swami Vivekananda focuses on the World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893, which transformed him into an international spiritual celebrity
Updated on Jan 16, 2023 12:16 PM IST
Ruth Harris
Book Box: The Ghostwriter and the Prince
A ghostwriter speaks for a prince in this must-read memoir. Also, meet Nishka Rathi who reveals the secrets of good ghostwriters.
Updated on Jan 16, 2023 10:23 AM IST
Review: Kishore Kumar; The Ultimate Biography by Anirudha Bhattacharjee and Parthiv Dhar
Compulsory reading for any Kishore Kumar fan, this extensive work brings out the singer and film personality’s character, talent, eccentricities and zest for life
Updated on Jan 14, 2023 06:37 AM IST
Narendra Kusnur
Interview: Anuradha Bhasin, author, A Dismantled State - ‘The fear of a demographic change today is valid’
On her chronicle of what happened in the Kashmir Valley after the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019
Updated on Jan 14, 2023 07:01 AM IST
Majid Maqbool
Review: Sultan: A Memoir by Wasim Akram
The cricketer’s surprisingly honest memoir touches on everything including allegations of match-fixing, his struggle to handle fame, his addiction to cocaine, and the absence of a work-life balance that threatened his marriage
Updated on Jan 12, 2023 08:13 PM IST
Chintan Girish Modi
Review: Dhanpatir Char; Whatever Happened To Pedru’s Island? by Amar Mitra
A novel that uses myth and surrealism to critique the abuse of power, this work translated from the original Bengali by Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey portrays a world where women are treated like marketable commodities
Updated on Jan 11, 2023 10:12 PM IST
Shoma A Chatterji
