Star Struck!
Subhadra Sengupta, Young Zubaan, ` 195

It’s adventure number two for the Foxy 4. This time round, they have Razia, the ‘Aunt who Rocks’, for company, as they head to Varanasi to take part in a quiz competition. With
the rare idol of a goddess being stolen from a temple nearby, the gang soon
discovers that there are things more puzzling than quiz questions. With a film crew rolling into town, the
foursome get involved in a plot straight out of Bollywood. This one is a mystery all the way.

The Mythologist
Vamsee Juluri, Penguin Books, ` 299

This is the story of Parashuram, a hero who has failed, a hero who almost turned into Lord Krishna. Here’s a delusional protagonist, who has a readymade route of escape in his over-active imagination, fuelled by religious films. The myths perpetrated by them have a cushioning effect on
Parashuram. Just as his life looks up, airplanes crash into the Twin Towers, turning his life upside down. Parashuram realises that all he has are
his beloved myths.

The Chosen One
Sam Bourne, Harper Collins, ` 250

The protagonist of this book is Maggie Costello, a political advisor to President Stephen Baker. She sees in him a man who can lead the world.
Things begin to go awry as Vic Forbes surfaces and starts revealing secrets of
the President. His third revelation threatens to destroy Baker entirely.
What follows is Maggie’s journey to the truth. Pick up this one only if you like reading political thrillers.

My Life With The Taliban
Abdul Salam Zaeef, Hachette India, ` 495

Zaeef, who was a minister with the Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan and later an ambassador to Pakistan, is
imprisoned by the US post-9/11. His book speaks about the Afghanistan we hardly know and provides insights
into the Taliban mind. A must read for those wanting to know why American forces are failing, why the common man in Pakistan supports the
rise of Taliban, and many more.

Hiren Kumar Bose quizzes Sheena Iyengar on issues related to choice and choosing

Do our upbringing, values and
beliefs decide what we choose?
Yes, they do. However, the relative
importance of each of these factors
can differ from person to person,
based in part on their culture. Members of more collectivist cultures may place greater emphasis on family values.

Your observations, like religious
people being more optimistic than atheists, are interesting.
We found that members of fundamentalist faiths were more optimistic when faced with adversity, and less likely to be depressed than their counterparts. We tend to think of
religion as limiting our choices; but,
sometimes these constraints can
give us faith that what we’re doing
is right.

How would you define the importance of choice in life?
Choice is what allows us to be proactive in our lives. It is the only tool
we have that allows us to go from who we are today to who we want to be tomorrow. But with choice comes
the burden: What do I choose?

Does choice lead to indecisiveness?
You should know what you are looking for, the options before you, and which one is the closest to what you want. Across the board, people make poorer choices when they have more options.

Art Of Choosing
Little Brown, ` 499