Book picks similar to
Snake Trouble (Penguin Petit) by Ruskin Bond


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The Humble Administrator's Garden


Vikram Seth - 1985
    The poet Donald Davie writes: 'Vikram Seth's poems should have an impact far beyond much noisier pieces; for when did we last see a volume in which the poet's eye is on what is objectively before him, rather than on the intricacies of his own sensibility?'

Finding Beauty in a Broken World


Terry Tempest Williams - 2008
    Always an impassioned and far-sighted advocate for a just relationship between the natural world and humankind, Williams has broadened her concerns over the past several years to include a reconfiguration of family and community in her search for a deeper understanding of what it means to be human in an era of physical and spiritual fragmentation. Williams begins in Ravenna, Italy, where "jeweled ceilings became lavish tales" through the art of mosaic. She discovers that mosaic is not just an art form but a form of integration, and when she returns to the American Southwest, her physical and spiritual home, and observes a clan of prairie dogs on the brink of extinction, she apprehends an ecological mosaic created by a remarkable species in the sagebrush steppes of the Colorado Plateau. And, finally, Williams travels to a small village in Rwanda, where, along with fellow artists, she joins survivors of the 1994 genocide and builds a memorial literally from the rubble of war, an act that becomes a spark for social change and healing. A singular meditation on how the natural and human worlds both collide and connect in violence and beauty, this is a work of uncommon perceptions that dares to find intersections between arrogance and empathy, tumult and peace, constructing a narrative of hopeful acts by taking that which is broken and creating something whole.

The Selected Stories


Richard Bausch - 1996
    "He brings to life characters and situations as vivid and compelling as any in contemporary literature."--Michael Dorris, The Washington Post Book World.

Ambiguity Machines and Other Stories


Vandana Singh - 2018
    In “Requiem”, a woman goes to Alaska to try and make sense of her aunt’s disappearance. An eleventh century poet wakes to find he is as an artificially intelligent companion on a starship. A woman of no account has the ability to look into the past.Singh's work dives into the vast strangeness of the universe without and within, and she unblinkingly explores the ways we move through space and time: together, yet always apart.Contents:- With Fate Conspire (2013)- A Handful of Rice (2012)- Peripeteia (2013)- Lifepod (2007)- Oblivion: A Journey (2008)- Somadeva: A Sky River Sutra (2010)- Are You Sannata3159? (2010)- Indra's Web (2011)- Ruminations in an Alien Tongue (2012)- Sailing the Antarsa (2013)- Cry of the Kharchal (2013)- Wake-Rider (2014)- Ambiguity Machines: An Examination (2015)- Requiem (2018)

Velocity


B.V. Larson - 2010
    V. Larson! This 60,000 word book is an Anthology of short stories. Most are Science Fiction mixed with Horror. Others might be called Dark Fantasy... Many have been published previously in various magazines.The Barrier – What does it take to go faster than light?Symptoms of Godhood – How far can you modify a body and still call the results human?Discharged – A long war and an even longer stay in an automated hospital.Teeth at Bedtime – Technology follows us everywhere.The Insect Requirement – Great sacrifices are required for Earth’s early colonists.Blind Eyes – If we can design our own children, how far will we go?TA96 – Do our genes belong to us?Zundra’s Movies – A future where video is created with the mind, and insanity is fun to watch.Pinball – A young man builds his own watchdog.Love Aboard the Kamadeva – A love triangle between two desperate souls and a digital mirage.Starplay – A window into the universe becomes a door.The One-Way Gang – Leaving Earth is easy, but you can never come back.Rusted Metal – What has spent the last century in the basement?Lunar Lotto – Death comes instantly to outlaws in vacuum.The Rollers – Crime has been mostly eliminated by removing all forms of cash... Mostly.

Collector Bro: The Quixotic 'Thallals' of a Civil Servant


Prasanth Nair - 2021
    An untold one that played out in the district of Kozhikode when a young IAS officer took charge as the District Collector in 2015. Over the next two years, he led the district and transformed the very concept of public administration with the use of social media, public consultation, usage of technology, volunteerism and public participation in governance. The two year tenure of 'Collector Bro' in Kozhikode transformed the landscape and narrative of district administration and communication with the citizens forever.Within a couple of months, 'Collector Kozhikode' Facebook page became a trendsetter in Kerala, and the most followed district administration page in India. It still is. With initiatives like Compassionate Kozhikode, Operation Sulaimani, Savari Giri Giri, Kozhipedia, Freedom Café, Yo Appooppa and Tere Mere Beach Mein, IAS officer Prasanth Nair, who was the District Collector of Kozhikode at that time, ushered in a new language of governance that endeavoured to bridge the gap between the district administration and citizens through the optimal employment of social media. The District Collector descended from the colonial ivory towers and mingled as one amongst the common man, totally dismantling the hierarchical stereotypes that the society was used to.This book traces the story of how exactly this happened and how and why the public responded so overwhelmingly to such an initiative. It also chronicles how these experiences transformed the young officer also - from a hesitant public speaker to a crowd-puller, from an introvert to a seemingly extrovert energetic leader. For the first time, the emotional roller-coaster of events that re-shaped the attitude and language of engagement by District administration is narrated with all the inside-stories. Straight from the horse's mouth. The author however takes pains not to take centre-stage in the book and manages that somewhat with wit and self-deprecating humour. This book has got nothing to do with government; but it is all about governance, life and compassion. At one level it is a collection of case-studies, the most readable and engrossing ones, narrated with fun and illustrations. At another level it is a chronicle of a personal journey of a compassionate administrator. This is not a typical arrogant bureaucratic ‘I did this’ book, but an ‘I went through this’ book. Not a high-horsed motivational ‘you can do it’ book, but a book that makes you think and prioritise what you want to do in life.As Dr. Shashi Tharoor says in the foreword, a must read for all civil servants, civil-service aspirants, students of public administration and all citizens who dream for a better tomorrow.

It's Okay to Fail, My Son


Vasant Kallola - 2015
    It covers the stress faced by young teenagers because of the competition and high expectations of parents, teachers and the system around. The story is thought-provoking, as for the first time in history, a loving father, Rahul, tells his son, “It’s okay to fail, my son.”Rahul’s words to his son startle the people around him; he is also accused of being irresponsible! But he has a different end in mind: he is preparing his son for greater and permanent success, the transformation from being mediocre to a genius! This book reflects the emotions of every loving father towards his child... on the path lit by love and sacrifice. It is a journey which converts pressure to passion, fear to flight of success. For his son, as well as for millions of children across the nation and the globe — a journey of faith and belief.This novel describes a journey, whose destination was doubted by everyone, except Rahul, who set out and charted the path so far unexplored.

Naked Pueblo


Mark Jude Poirier - 1999
    Naked Pueblo, his absolutely maximalist, throw-everything-in-and-shake-it-up short story collection, buzzes like some kind of whacked-out fever dream." (Esquire)

A Murder in Gurgaon


Manish Dubey - 2016
    December 2014. A young event manager, an ex-cop's son, ismurdered. Inspector Ajai Singh vows justice. There is little to begin with, andfrustration mounts when the initial suspect – a reclusive woman with amysterious past – is found missing.Digging deeper, Singh uncovers a sordid tale of adultery, blackmail andrevenge, only to find himself staring at a conspiracy unlike any he has seen.There are deceits, little and big, to decode; the predator and victim areindistinguishable; his witnesses could be misleading; his closest ally may not bean ally at all.Will Singh succeed? Or has the sick, wily mind behind the crime always been afew steps ahead?Refreshingly told, with a cast of morally ambivalent characters and an accenton the minutiae of crime, A Murder in Gurgaon will keep you hooked till thevery end.

The Holiday Shorts: a collection


Alexandria House - 2020
    This collection contains no material that has not been previously released.

Leaving Home with Half a Fridge


Arathi Menon - 2015
    The book follows the breakdown of the marriage, her decision to get a divorce, the trauma of doing so, depression and finally overcoming it all to become a stronger, happier person.Written with much wit, wisdom and warmth, it is a memoir, which anybody who has loved and lost will relate to

A Cage of Desire


Shuchi Singh Kalra - 2018
    You don't need the latter, because no matter what you do, you cannot make anyone love you back.'Renu had always craved for love and security, and her boring marriage, mundane existence somehow leads her to believe that, maybe, this is what love is all about. Maya, on the other hand, is a successful author who is infamous for her bold, erotic books.What do these two women have in common? How are their lives intertwined?Renu's thirst for love and longing takes her on a poignant journey of self-exploration. The answers come to her when she finds the courage to stand up for herself, to fight her inner demons and free herself from the cage of desires . . .

Escape to Nowhere


Amar Bhushan - 2012
    An inquiry is promptly launched and Ravi, the suspect is placed under an elaborate regime of surveillance. The investigation subsequently throws up a huge amount of evidence, showing the suspect stealing sensitive data. As panic sets in, investigators acrimoniously debate whether to allow the suspect to walk free or physically force him to own up his crime. For Jeevnathan, the problem also is how to keep the tiring watchers going and persuade an edgy Chief to stay on course. As the story enters 96th Day, paradoxical consequences follow.Loosely inspired by a true incident that took place in 2004 when a senior intelligence officer suspected of being a spy for decades vanished, the story also treats us to a rare insight into the state of security awareness of employees in the Agency, constrains in conducting aggressive operations, pitfalls in liaison relationship, competing interests of intelligence services, hazards in co-ordination of intelligence inputs and the Kashmir imbroglio.

The Pushcart Prize XXXVI: Best of the Small Presses 2012 Edition


Bill Henderson - 2011
    The result: "The most creative, generous, and democratic of any of the annual volumes" (Rick Moody).Among its numerous awards, the Pushcart Prize has been chosen for the Poets Writers / Barnes Noble "Writers for Writers" Award and the National Book Critics Circle Lifetime Achievement recognition.

Sticky Fingers 3 (Sticky Fingers Collection)


J.T. Lawrence - 2018
    Humorous, touching, creepy, but most of all entertaining, this collection is superb." — Tracy Michelle Anderson *** If you're a fan of Roald Dahl or Gillian Flynn you'll love these unsettling stories with a twist in the tale.  Click now to start reading. ​