Top 6 books for the weekend

» The Girl of my Dreams-Durjoy Datta

Daman, who wakes up from a deep coma learns that he was in a massive car crash with a girl who vanished soon after the accident, leaving him for dead. But all that he is able to remember is her hazy face, her hypnotic eyes, and her name-Shreyasi. In order to adjust with his memory lapse he starts making stories about himself and Shreyasi from his dreams, which he then writes on a blog that becomes very popular. When he’s offered a lucrative publishing deal to convert his blog pieces into a novel, he signs up immediately. But he falls prey to editorial pressure and agrees to corrupt the original edgy character of Shreyasi, a very big mistake that he commits. From then on, Daman is stalked and threatened by a terrifying beauty who claims to be Shreyasi and who will stop at nothing to make him pay for being a sell-out. Before Daman fights back, he needs to know: Is she really Shreyasi? What does she want from him? What if he doesn't do what she wants him to? The Girl of My Dreams is definitely not your usual average love story. It will keep you awake all night.

Paperback Amazon price: Rs 149

No Kindle edition yet

» Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow-Yuval Noah Harari

Homo Deus envisions a not-too-distant world in which we face a new set of challenges. Yuval Noah Harari, author of the bestselling Sapiens, examines the future with his trademark blend of science,history, philosophy and every discipline in between. It explores the projects, dreams and nightmares that will shape the twenty-first century-from overcoming death to creating artificial life. There are some basic questions to answer. Where do we go from here? And how will we protect this fragile world from our own destructive powers? This is Homo Deus.

Paperback Amazon price: Rs 539

Hardcover Amazon price: Rs 2002.34

Kindle edition: Rs 493.05

» Olympus-Devadutt Pattnaik

Olympus is the home of the Greek gods, like Amravati for Hindu devas. Zeus, leader of Olympians, is the master of a thunderbolt like Indra and rides an eagle like lord Vishnu. The feats of the Greek hero Heracles, known to Romans as Hercules often reminds many of lord Krishna, as his name is also ‘Hari-kula-esha’ or lord of the Hari clan. The Greek epic of a husband sailing across the sea with a thousand ships to bring his wife, Helen, back from Troy is strikingly similar to the story of Ram rescuing Sita from Lanka. Is there a connection between Greek and Hindu mythology then? Is there a common Indo European root. Did an an exchange occur in the centuries that followed the arrival of Alexander the Great, when Greek emissaries traveled to the kingdoms of Mathura and Magadha? Mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik turns his attention to ancient Greek tales and explores a new world of stories. It is time to reverse the gaze, and to forget the Indic mythologies retold by Europeans and Americans .

Amazon paperback price: Rs 375

No Kindle edition yet

» The Monsoon Murders-Karan Parmanandka

Roy has been condemned to live a life of obscurity, after he was dishonorably discharged from the police force. A well-known person within the Mumbai finance circle is found dead and Roy is hired by the self-made magnate Jayesh Kumar to probe the case. While Roy is excited at the chance of a redemption, he can’t shake off the feeling that he is being played as a pawn. What looks at first as an open and shut case, it rapidly evolves into a tale of deceit and revenge. When his personal life gets tied to the success of the case, the question becomes, not whether if he can have faith in strangers, but whether he can trust his friends.

Paperback amazon price: Rs 99

Free Kindle edition.

» Geronimo Stilton #63? the Cheese Experiment-Geronimo Stilton

New Mouse City is in a panic. A strange epidemic has broken out and every mice is covered in weird blue spots! Mouse Island's most famous doctor immediately sets to work with his team hoping to find a cure. But someone is trying to stop him. Can Geronimo figure it out before he himself end up blue? Find out.

Paperback Amazon price: Rs 181

No Kindle edition yet

» The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate - Discoveries from a Secret World-Peter Wohlleben, Pradip Kishen

In 'The Hidden Life of Trees', Peter Wohlleben shares his deep love for woods and forests and explains the amazing processes of life, death and regeneration he has observed in the woodland as well as the amazing scientific mechanisms behind these wonders, most of them blissfully unaware. Just like human families, tree parents also live together with their children, communicate with them and support them as they grow, sharing nutrients with those who are sick or struggling and creating an ecosystem that mitigates the impact of extremes of heat and cold for the whole group. As a result of such interactions, trees in a family or community are protected and can live to be very old. But solitary trees are like street kids, who have a tough time of it and in most cases they die much earlier than those in the group. Wohlleben describes the secret behind the previously unknown life of trees and their communication abilities, he describes how these discoveries have informed his own practices in the forest around him. He says, a happy forest is a healthy forest and believes that eco-friendly practices are not only are economically sustainable but are also beneficial to maintain the health of our planet and the mental and physical health of all those who survive on it.

Hardcover Amazon price: Rs 344

Kindle edition: Rs 307.80