The best of week

Gadget AmpliTube
Manufacturer: IK Multimedia
IK Multimedia has announced that the AmpliTube is now available for iPad. As you’d expect, it works with your iRig hardware and the UI seems benefit from the extra screen real estate (let’s be honest -- twiddling all those knobs and stomp boxes on the iPod Touch was a little bit much for us to take). It comes in two flavours: free (three effects, one amp, one cab, two mics) or $20 (11 effects, five amps and cabs, two mics). Either way it’s cheaper than spending $350 for the OS X version. Engadget Garden
Maranta
Common name: Prayer Plant
Light: Marantas should be grown in medium light. Strong sunshine makes the leaves fade and develop dry, brown edges.Watering: Water plentifully, as much as necessary to keep the potting mixture thoroughly moist.Potting and repotting: Move Marantas into containers one size larger. They do not have a deep root system and grow well in shallow pans or half-pots.
Eat Cucumber sandwiches
Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian salad dressing mix, 2 loaves French bread, cut into 1 inch slices, 2 medium cucumbers, sliced, 1 pinch dried dill weed
Method:1. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, mayonnaise and Italian dressing mix. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or preferably overnight.2. Spread the cream cheese blend onto slices of French bread. Top with a cucumber slice, and sprinkle with dill. You can make as many or few as you like. the cream cheese mixture keeps for about a week in the refrigerator so you can make them over and over again!
Drink Alabama Slammer
Alcohols: Gin, Amaretto, Southern ComfortGlassware: Old-fashioned
Ingredients: 1/2 oz amaretto almond liqueur, 1/2 oz Southern Comfort® peach liqueur, 1/2 oz sloe gin, 1 splash orange juice, 1 splash sweet and sour mix
Method: Pour above ingredients into a stainless steel shaker over ice and shake until completely cold. Strain into an old-fashioned glass and serve.
Star of the week Chiwetel Ejiofor
DoB: July 10, 1974
You can catch him in: Salt
You know him from: Children of Men, Kinky BootsName is pronounced ‘chew-it-tell edge-oh-for’His father was killed in a car accident when Chiwetel was eleven. He survived the accident.Sung back-up vocals for a Band called Blind in the early 90s, height of their success was playing The Rock Garden in London’s Covent Garden.He has named his five favourite films (in no order) as Raging Bull (1980), The Godfather (1972), Fargo (1996), Miller’s Crossing (1990) and Do the Right Thing (1989).
Videogame

DarkStar One: Broken Alliance
Developer: Kalypso
Console: X360
There aren’t many opportunities on modern consoles to gallivant about the galaxy shooting space pirates and trading android parts, so DarkStar One: Broken Alliance fills a very large void. And in spite of its many quirks, this long and accessible space combat sim does a fine job of doing so, putting you behind an upgradable spacecraft and giving you an enormous universe to conquer. A lack of depth and lots of mission repetition make the later hours start to drag, and some cringe-worthy voice acting and overly compressed cutscenes lend the story some unintended campiness. But there’s no reason the flaws should weigh too heavily on adventurers itching to save the cosmos by blasting nasty alien ships into smithereens.
Book Eat, Pray, Love
Author: Elizabeth Gilbert
Publisher: Penguin
Gilbert (The Last American Man) grafts the structure of romantic fiction upon the inquiries of reporting in this sprawling yet methodical travelogue of soul-searching and self-discovery. Plagued with despair after a nasty divorce, the author, in her early 30s, divides a year equally among three dissimilar countries, exploring her competing urges for earthly delights and divine transcendence. Sustaining a chatty, conspiratorial tone, Gilbert fully engages readers in the year’s cultural and emotional tapestry--conveying rapture with infectious brio, recalling anguish with touching candour--as she details her exotic tableau with history, anecdote and impression.
Music

Symphonicities
Artust: Sting
Label: Deutsche GrammophonSymphonicities features the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, conducted by Steven Mercurio. Created exclusively for his world tour and correlating album, Sting’s greatest hits have been reinterpreted with brand new orchestrations arranged by Jorge Calandrelli, David Hartley, Michel Legrand, Rob Mathes, Vince Mendoza, Steven Mercurio, Bill Ross, Robert Sadin, and Nicola Tescari. In addition to Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, highlights include fan-favourites culled from The Police songbook such as Roxanne and Next To You, as well as songs from Sting’s enduring solo career including Englishman in New York, I Burn for You, Why Should I Cry for You, and She’s Too Good For Me, among others.
Movie Groundhog Day
Director: Harold Ramis
Cast: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowellBill Murray is at his wry, wisecracking best in this riotous romantic comedy about a weatherman caught in a personal time warp on the worst day of his life. Teamed with a relentlessly cheerful producer (Andie MacDowell) and a smart-aleck cameraman (Chris Elliott), TV weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is sent to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to cover the annual Groundhog Day festivities. But on his way out of town, Phil is caught in a giant blizzard, which he failed to predict, and finds himself stuck in small-town hell. Just when things couldn’t get any worse, they do. Phil wakes the next morning to find it’s Groundhog Day all over again... and again... and again.

Motorcycle Madness

The response to our most expensive cars was so good we almost bought a Veyron ourselves, so here’s a look at the 10 best motorcycles on the international market
Honda Fury Base Price: $13,000
Type: Chopper
Engine: 2 cylinder, 4 stroke, 1,312cc
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Brakes: Hydraulic disc

Can-Am Spyder Roadster RS Price: $16,499
Type: Sport touringEngine: 2 cylinder, 4 stroke
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Brakes: Hydraulic disc

Yamaha FJR 1300A Price: $15,190
Type: Sport touringEngine: 4 cylinder, 4 stroke
Transmission: 5-speed manual

Yamaha TW 200 Price: $4,190
Type: On-Off RoadEngine: 1 cylinder, 4 stroke
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Brakes: Hydraulic disc/DrumWheelbase (in): 52.2

BMW S 1000 RR Price: $13,800
Type: SportEngine: 4 cylinder, 4 stroke
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Brakes: Hydraulic disc
Wheelbase (in): 56.4
Fuel capacity: 17.5 litres

Kawasaki Concours14 Price: $14,599
Type: Sport touring
Engine: 4 cylinder, 4 stroke
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Brakes: Hydraulic disc
Wheelbase (in): 59.8

Husqvarna TE 450 Price: $8,299
Type: On-Off Road
Engine: 1 cylinder, 4 stroke
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Brakes: Hydraulic discs

KTM SMC 690 Price: $10,298
Type: On-Off Road
Engine: 1 cylinder, 4 stroke
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Brakes: Disc

Harley-Davidson Road King Classic Price: $17,999
Type: Touring
Engine: 2 cylinder, 4 stroke
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Brakes: Hydraulic disc
Wheelbase (in): 63.5
Fuel capacity: 22.7 litres

Kawasaki Ninja 250R Price: $3,999
Type: Sport
Engine: 2 cylinder, 4 stroke
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Brakes: Hydraulic disc

Day to day G-spot

$8,000 DIY Satellite Kit At $8,000, you can get a DIY satellite and sent into orbit, check out the TubeSat Personal Satellite Kit. Interorbital Systems says it can deploy 32 tiny satellites simultaneously from a rocket launched from the Pacific island of Tonga. The price, yes, only $8,000. TheTubeSat PS Kit is the low-cost alternative to the CubeSat. It has three-quarters of the mass (0.75-kg )and volume of a CubeSat, but offers room for most experiments.
My TV Remote for your iPhone Instead of acting like your current remote control by providing the same buttons on a digital screen, the My TV Remote app provides a significantly improved user experience. Rather than flipping through channels on your TV via up and down arrow buttons, a TV guide is downloaded to your phone so you can thumb through channels the same way you do music. Furthermore, you can see what shows are on each channel. It costs $10.
Brammo Empulse Brammo’s new electric motorcycle, Brammo Empulse. This all-new electric motorcycle has a top speed of of 100mph, and a range in excess of 100 miles on a single 2-hour charge. It’s powered by a 55 horsepower engine that develops 58lb-ft of torque. Brammo Empulse will available in three models: a 6kWh, 8kWh and 10kWh version with each averaging a 60, 80, and 100 mile range on a single charge. It will retail for $13,995.
Sony NEX-VG10 Handycam Sony claims, the NEX-VG10 is “the world’s first consumer camcorder with interchangeable lenses”. It will also accept Alpha mount lenses from Sony’s DSLR line with the use of an appropriate lens adaptor. It can capture full 1920x1080 high definition video at up to 24Mbps. Sound comes in via a Quad Capsule Spatial Array Stereo Microphone. Other features include a 3.0” LCD with sharp 921,000-dot resolution. It costs $2000.
Fisheye No 2 Rip Curl The Lomographic has collaborated with RipCurl to bring this special edition of Fisheye 2. This Rip Curl Fisheye 2 Special Edition Camera($52) has 170 degrees vision, comes in vivid colours, with Rip Curl logos, and a built-in flash. Pretty one! “Get ready to be sucked into a 170-degree whirl of vividly-coloured, barrel-distorted perspective as we bring you the Rip Curl Fisheye 2 Special Edition camera!”
Battalion 101 W860CU-3D iBUYPOWER has announced a new 3D gaming notebook called the Battalion 101 W860CU-3D. The notebook supports stereoscopic 3D gaming and 3D Blu-ray movies. The machine uses the Intel Core i5-520M mobile processor and has 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a Blu-ray optical drive, NVIDIA GTX285M graphics, and a widescreen LCD with a 120Hz refresh rate and a resolution of 1366 x 768. It costs $1749.
GP2X CaanooGamePark announced a new Linux gaming portable called the Caanoo. Though it’s got the same 533MHz ARM9 processor as its predecessor, GamePark’s doubled the memory to 128MB, and added a 3D GPU to power the larger 3.5-inch touchscreen. Throwback buttons and a joystick take the place of D-pads, and there’s new accelerometer and vibration functions for a modicum of enhanced control. It will cost $150.

Your guide to the World Cup and its cuisine

USA (Jambalaya) Ingredients:
6 slices bacon, diced; 1/2 cup minced onion; 1/4 cup diced green bell pepper; 2 cups chicken broth; 1/2 cup ketchup; 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed; 1 pound medium shrimp, shelled, cleaned; 1 cup finely diced cooked ham; 2 tablespoons cornstarch; 3 tablespoons cold water; salt and pepper; hot cooked rice for 4
Method :
In a skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon to paper towels to drain.In the bacon drippings, cook the minced onion and bell pepper until tender, about 5 minutes. Add chicken broth, ketchup, and brown sugar; cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Cut the shrimp into smaller pieces. Add the shrimp and ham to the first mixture; heat through. Blend cornstarch and cold water and then stir into the mixture. Cook until thickened. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve with hot cooked rice.

• Argentina (Meat Empanadas) Ingredients
  1/2 cup shortening; 2 onions, chopped; 1 pound lean ground beef; 2 teaspoons paprika; 3/4 teaspoon hot paprika; 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes; 1 teaspoon ground cumin; 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar; 1/4 cup raisins; 1/2 cup pitted green olives, chopped; 2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped; salt to taste; 1 package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
  Method:
  In a saute pan melt the shortening and add the chopped onions. Cook the onions until just before they begin to turn golden. Remove from the heat and stir in the paprika, crushed red pepper flakes and salt to taste.Spread the meat on a sieve and pour boiling water on it for partial cooking. Allow meat to cool. Place meat in a dish add salt to taste, cumin and vinegar. Mix and add the meat to the onion mixture. Mix well and place on a flat to dish to cool and harden.Cut puff pastry dough into 10 round shells. Place a spoonful of the meat mixture on each round; add some of the raisins, olives and hard boiled egg. Slightly wet the edge of the pastry, fold in two and stick edges together. The shape should resemble that of a half-moon. You should have a 2/3 to 1/2 inch flat edge of pastry to work with. Seal by twisting edge, step by step, between thumb and index finger, making sure to add pressure before releasing the pinch and moving on to the next curl. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Place empanadas on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Be sure to prick each empanada with a fork near the curl to allow steam to escape during baking. Glaze with egg for shine and bake until golden, about 20 to 30 minutes.
• Brazil (Black Bean Stew) Ingredients:
  tablespoon oil; 1/4 pound chorizo sausage, chopped; 1/3 pound cooked ham, chopped; 1 medium onion, chopped; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 2 (1 pound) sweet potatoes, peeled and diced; 1 large red bell pepper, diced; 2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice; 1 small hot green chili, diced; 1 1/2 cups water; 2 (16 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained; 1 mango peeled, seeded and diced; 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro; 1/4 teaspoon salt
  Method :
  Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat, and cook the chorizo and ham 2 to 3 minutes. Place the onion in the pot, and cook until tender. Stir in garlic, and cook until tender, then mix in the sweet potatoes, bell pepper, tomatoes with juice, chile pepper, and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes, until sweet potatoes are tender.Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat, and cook the chorizo and ham 2 to 3 minutes. Place the onion in the pot, and cook until tender. Stir in garlic, and cook until tender, then mix in the sweet potatoes, bell pepper, tomatoes with juice, chile pepper, and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes, until sweet potatoes are tender.Stir the beans into the pot, and cook uncovered until heated through. Mix in the mango and cilantro, and season with salt.Stir the beans into the pot, and cook uncovered until heated through. Mix in the mango and cilantro, and season with salt.
• England (Shepherd’s pie) Ingredients:
  1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped; 6 Tablespoons butter, divided use; 1 pound roast lamb or mutton, finely chopped; 1 cup stock (made from drippings of the roast, fat removed); Salt and pepper; 1-1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8ths; 1/2 cup (about) milk
  Method :
  Preheat oven to 375 F. Saute onion in 2 tablespoons of the butter until soft and lightly golden. Stir onions and butter, along with the stock, into the chopped lamb. Season well with salt and pepper, stirring until moist. Place lamb mixture in a large oven-proof casserole and set aside. Boil potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain thoroughly and return to the hot pot over low heat. Stir 1 minute to evaporate any remaining water. Remove from heat, add 2 tablespoons of butter, and mash. Add enough of the milk to bring the mashed potatoes to a creamy consistency. Season well with salt and pepper. Spoon mashed potatoes evenly over the lamb in the casserole. Dot the top with remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Bake 30 minutes on the top rack of the oven until browned.
• Spain (Paella) Ingredients:
  1/3 cup of olive oil; 1 small onion, minced; 2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed; 3-5 tbsps minced fresh parsley; 1 generous pinch of saffron; 2 tbsps of chicken bullion; 3 skinless chicken breasts, cut in large chunks;2 green peppers, sliced; 1 red pepper, sliced; 1 tsp of yellow food coloring (optional ñ saffron is very expensive, a pinch of it is all you need for taste but a richer colour is desired); 8 oz tomato sauce; 1 tsp sugar; 4 cups of rice; 7 cups of water; salt; 1/2 lb - 1 lb shrimp, leave shell on; 1 lb scallops
  Method :
  Saute onion, parsley, and garlic in olive oil until the onion begins to become transparent. Add saffron, chicken bullion, chicken, peppers and saute until chicken has become white. Add tomatoe sauce, sugar, food coloring. Stir. Add rice and water and bring to boil. Salt to taste. Boil 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add shrimp & scallops, boil an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Simmer 10 minutes covered, stirring occasionally. If the rice appears to be getting too dry during the last 10 minutes, add more water. If the rice is too wet at the end of the 10 minutes, uncover and evaporate unwanted liquid.
• Italy (Spaghetti Carbonara) Ingredients:
  1 lb spaghetti; ¼ cup heavy cream; 4 eggs; ½ lb bacon, cut into ½-inch dice; 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil; 2 Tbsp chopped Italian parsley; salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste; ¾ cup freshly grated pecorino-romano cheese (parmesan may be substituted)
  Method :
  Fill a large soup pot with cold water and add a handful or so of Kosher salt. Stir and taste; it should taste like seawater. Cover the pot and heat the water until it boils.Add the diced bacon to a cold sauté pan and cook slowly over a low heat for 10 to 15 minutes or until crisp. Remove bacon from pan and drain on paper towels.Drop the spaghetti into the boiling salted water and cook according to package instructions, about 6 to 9 minutes or until al dente, or tender but still firm to the bite. While the pasta cooks, combine the eggs, cheese, cream and olive oil in a bowl and beat with a whisk until completely mixed. Drain pasta, toss with the egg and cream mixture, then add the cooked bacon and chopped parsley. Serve right away, with additional grated cheese if desired.
• Netherlands (Botercake) Ingredients:
  1 1/8 cups butter, softened; 1 1/4 cups white sugar; 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla sugar; 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest; 1 tablespoon white sugar 1 teaspoon salt; 5 eggs; 2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon baking powder
  Method:
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 10 inch loaf pan.Mix grated lemon rind with 1 tablespoon sugar.Beat butter and sugar with vanilla sugar and lemon rind until the mixture becomes white and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time mixing after each one.Mix flour and baking powder together and then carefully fold into the butter and egg mixture. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.Bake cake for 60 to 75 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• France (Boeuf bourguignon) Ingredients:
  1 Kg chuck steak cut into 100gm cubes (about 4 inches); large carrot roughly chopped; large onion chopped; two fresh bay leaves; two cloves garlic crushed in their skins; two cloves; one bottle robust red wine; 10 black peppercorns; tablespoon Madeira; Beurre manie (teaspoon flour and teaspoon butter mashed together); tablespoon butter; chopped parsley; olive oil
  Method :
  Put the pieces of beef in a large glass bowl and add the next seven ingredients making sure that the beef is covered. Cover the bowl and allow to marinate for 24 hours.When ready to start cooking, take the meat out of the marinade and dry it thoroughly on kitchen paper. In a casserole heat a tablespoon each of oil and butter until the butter stops foaming and then add the meat pieces four at a time.Brown them over a high heat on all sides — they should look really crusty almost like a steak — and then take them out of the pan and add the next four, until you have a pile of fragrant beef.Add the drained vegetables from the marinade to the casserole and brown those too and then pour in the wine marinade. Bring the liquid to a gentle simmer and pile the meat back in. The meat should be entirely covered by liquid. If not add a little beef stock or more red wine if you have a bottle handy, bring back to a simmer and place in a low oven (140°C) for three hours.Take the casserole from the oven and carefully lift out the meat into a warm dish and set to one side.Strain the sauce into a clean pan and place it over a low heat. Allow it to come to a gentle boil. Add the Madeira and reduce until it tastes as strong as you like — the sauce should become almost syrupy. Whisk in the butter and flour mix and keep whisking until blended.Add the meat back to the sauce to heat through and serve a couple of large chunks per person with the sauce poured over, scattered with chopped parsley.
• Germany (Wiener Schnitzel) Ingredients:
  veal (2 pieces x 150 g); 2 tbsp flour; 1 egg; 4 tbsp butter; salt, pepper to taste
  Method :
  Beat the veal chops with the kitchen hammer, but don't make them too thin, the schnitzel chops should at least be 4 mm thick. Prepare one plate with flour, and another plate with the beaten egg. Season the chops with the salt and pepper from the both sides, put into the plate with flour and and remove the spare flour from the chops. There shouldn't be too much flour on the meat. Put the floured schnitzel chops into the plate with the beaten egg and place it into the hot buttered frying pan. Fry the chops for about 1 minute and a half on the lower side until golden brown, then turn to the other side, and fry for about 2 minutes. Fry the chops on the medium heat not to make them too dry.Remove the schnitzel from the pan, and put on the dishes. Serve with the fresh green salad or potato salad.
• Portugal (Sopa) Ingredients:
  1 lb sausage; 4 cups sauerkraut (rinsed); 1 cup chopped yellow onions; 2 cups drained garabanzo beans; 1 cup chopped red bell peppers; 2 cups beef or chicken stock; 1 cup finely chopped or grated carrots; 1 cup instant mashed potatoes (optional); 2 tbl chopped garlic; 1 bay leaf; 1 cup burgundy wine; 1/2 cup Madiera wine; 1/2 cup olive oil; 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp black pepper
  Method :
  Peel the sausage and slice into 1/4 inch rounds. Cook in a skillet or microwave just long enough to remove the fat. No longer than 2 minutes on high in the microwave. In a large stock pot or soup pot add the olive oil and saute the onions, garlic and bell pepper until the onions are translucent. Add all the other ingredients except for the mashed potato flakes. Simmer the soup for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add the mashed potato flakes to thicken the soup to a desired consistency.

Books & More

FOLKLORE
Kalila And DimnaRamsay
WoodRandom House
282 pages
Rs225
This is the first part of a retelling of the Panchatantra. King Dabschelim, ruler of India, was an insomniac and so took to astronomy as a hobby. The night that he sees a shooting star, he has a vision. Soon after, a hermit gives him a letter from a long-dead king addressed to King Dabschelim. Intrigued, the king seeks the advice of the wisest man in his kingdom Dr Bidpai, who tells him the story of Kalila and Dimna. The book features evocative illustrations.
NOVEL
Perfect EightReema Moudgil
Tranquebar
252 pages
Rs200 This novel takes you from Lahore to Kanpur to Patiala to Ambrosa to Bangalore and an Assamese cantonment. As Ira moves from one place to another, she is plagued by a sense of displacement. From her mother, who hasn’t recovered from the trauma of Partition, she “learnt to smell grief before it struck, to turn foreboding into a fine-tuned instrument”. Ira’s only sanctuary is a tea estate in Annaville, where she first met Samir, her childhood crush.

Sinking, Not Swimming
Nalini Rajan
Penguin
255 pages
Rs299 Three generations of a family gather for Cheenu’s last rites. Besides mourning and remembrance, it also becomes an occasion for secrets and grievances to surface. Suri, the joyless patriarch remembers how he admired and envied his brother Cheenu. Ravi, Cheenu’s laid-back doctor nephew, can’t understand the family's obsession with making money. Paru, Cheenu's salacious sister-in-law seeks pleasure in the arms of her lecherous relative Suresh. Told through a montage of voices, Sinking is an exploration of a world driven by power, money and success.
THRILLER
The Lucifer Code
Charles Brokaw
Penguin
517 pages
Rs299 Harvard professor and scholar of ancient languages Dr Thomas Lourds goes to Turkey to examine artefacts, but gets kidnapped before he lands. His kidnappers want him to translate writings that will lead them to a scroll authored by the man who wrote the Book of Revelation in the Bible. The scroll holds the key to the most unholy secret known to man. Those searching for the scroll — even one with links to the White House — will stop at nothing to get it.

The Chosen One
Sam Bourne
Harper
438 pages
Rs250 Maggie Costello, member of the US President’s National Security Council and Foreign Policy Advisor, is excited to be finally working for a leader she can believe in. President Stephen Baker has promised America ‘change’, ‘hope’ and a better future. When a man named Vic Forbes, who reveals scandal after scandal about the new President, is found dead, Maggie starts probing. Did the too-good-to-be-true president have anything to do with Vic’s murder? On the trail of truth, Maggie uncovers a conspiracy that reaches the heart of the US establishment.
Self-help
How To Be Your Own Management Guru
Morgen Witzel
Penguin
212 pages
Rs299 How smart a manager are you? How good are you at leveraging your skills in order to provide value for your customers? These are the kinds of questions every thinking manager asks him/herself. The author believes “the companies that survive are the ones that are managed well”. He attempts to delve into the mind of a manager and with a quiz at the end of each chapter, attempts to help managers re-evaluate their skills with respect to the requirements of the firm and the world.
Body Talk
Anjali Wason
Harper
256 pages
Rs199 From how to measure your breasts for the correct bra size, to if it’s okay to masturbate; whether lying to your parents about your boyfriend amounts to ‘cheating them’, to regrets after sex; from how to deal with a cheating boyfriend, to faking an orgasm; from how do you know if you’re gay, to how to build self-esteem; from whether mariiage is necessary, to what to do if you’ve been raped, Anjali Wason attempts to answer questions that young women asked her when she was editor of a magazine — questions that most girls feel afraid or embarrassed to ask their parents.
Fiction
House Rules
Jodi Picoult
Hodder & Stoughton
532 pages
Rs595 Parenting is not without its share of drama, and no author captures this with as much commercial success as Jodi Picoult. Her long list of bestsellers reads like a rainbow of hot-button parenting dilemmas. From shop-lifting to date-rape to school shoot-outs, she goes where no mom wants to go, and brings a kaleidoscope of perspectives on any tragic circumstance.
The Flaws In The Jewel
Roderick Mathews
HarperCollins
312 pages
Rs350 The book re-examines the British rule in India by concentrating on three central themes: its ability to defray the costs of its own maintenance; its impersonal and institutional qualities that gave it continuity and tenacity; and its self-proclaimed commitment to so-called higher purposes: the ‘upliftment’ of the condition of the ‘natives’ and the playing out of the ‘superior moral character’ of the Englishman. This volume seeks to show how the British Raj was never able to overcome, or even acknowledge, its many deficiencies.
Poetry
The Veiled Suite: The Collected Poems
Agha Shahid Ali
Penguin
393 pages
Rs350 They ask me to tell them what Shahid means — Listen: It means “The Beloved” in Persian, “witness” in Arabic Inhabiting the spaces between such dualities came naturally to Agha Shahid Ali, the Kashmiri-American poet whose work effortlessly bridged the language and landscapes of the East and the West, and fused the symbols of his childhood with the cultural markers of his adopted homeland.

THE TOP FICTONAL SPIES

Bourne to spy
Title: Jason Bourne Creator: Robert LudlumJason Charles Bourne, born David Webb, is a fictional character in the novels of Robert Ludlum. He first appeared in the novel The Bourne Identity (1980). The character is in seven sequel novels. Along with the first feature film, The Bourne Identity (2002), Bourne also appears in two sequel movies — The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007). Actor Matt Damon said in November 2009 that no script had been approved (for a fourth film) and that he hoped that a film would begin shooting in mid-2011.
The name is bond
Title: James Bond Creator: Ian FlemingJames Bond 007 is a fictional character created in 1953 by Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. Bond has also been used in the longest running and most financially successful English-language film franchise to date, starting in 1962 with Dr. No. In an edition of the TV series QI host Stephen Fry stated that the code '007' was derived from the private cipher of John Dee. This contradicts another belief that the code was the route number of the London to Canterbury bus service.
Jack's back
Title: Jack Bauer Creator(s): Joel Surnow & Robert CochranJack Bauer is the protagonist of the American television series 24. Bauer is a key member of CTU and his job involves helping prevent major terrorist attacks on the US, saving civilian lives and government administrations. On many occasions Jack does so at great personal expense, as those he thwarts subsequently target him and his loved ones. Bauer's frequent use of torture to gather information has generated much controversy. Entertainment Weekly named Jack Bauer one of The 20 All Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture.
A beautiful alias
Title: Sydney Bristow Creator: JJ AbramsSydney Anne Bristow, played by Jennifer Garner, is the main character on the television series Alias. She is an American woman with Russian-American family background who works as a spy for the CIA. Sydney is strong both physically and emotionally. She deals with some significant trauma: the death of her fiancé, the death of her best friend, the realisation that her mother was a former KGB spy and the estrangement of many of her friends that she must endure from being a spy on a regular basis.
Ryan’s express
Title: Jack Ryan Creator: Tom ClancyJack Ryan has many roles in the Tom Clancy novels beginning with the Hunt for Red October. After working with the CIA for a number of years he is promoted to deputy director of central intelligence in the Sum of All Fears. After his retirement Ryan takes to politics where he becomes the national security advisor for president Durling, soon becoming his vice-president. When a terrorist attack kills the president he takes over as president for two books, Executive Orders and The Bear and the Dragon.