April Read: Try These 7 Books To Usher In A Summer Of Change

Going by the author’s tweet, this is a late March release. But the book has been launched across the country in April and we have decided to list it here. Penned by Madhu Purnima Kishwar, this one comes with a candid intro by script writer & columnist Salim Khan who did not mince words. “Thus far, we have heard the voices of those who, in condemning Modi, claim to speak on behalf of Gujarati Muslims. The value of Kishwar’s narrative is that she has let Muslims speak for themselves…,” wrote Khan. Readers will definitely appreciate the research that has gone into it to capture the ‘objective facts’ of the Modi era. The aim is to present the proper perspective that may help strengthen the inter-community bonding. Interesting reading, especially if you are biased against polarisation and keen to comprehend both sides of the conflict story.

If you were lured by the Wolf of Wall Street, you can’t help falling for the Flash Boys. The latest non-fiction from the best-selling Berkeley author Michael Lewis unveils yet another chilling phenomenon that can maim the so-called smooth-running financial system. It’s known as high frequency trading or HFT – a handy tool used by a bunch of people to dupe investors. Most HFT firms make fabulous profits by manipulating the financial markets, but all is not lost even in the ruthless world of Wall Street and its institutionalised wrong-doing. A handful of crusaders like Canadian Brad Katsuyama have probed the new and strange ways of churning out profits and come up with some sure-shot measures that can fix it. But will there be a legal ban on HFT? Lewis has chronicled the vicious truth with a surgical precision, but the uplifting moments of human courage in combat with heavy odds will also keep you spellbound.

PS: Flash Boys was published on March 31 (a day after our last month’s deadline) but we have listed it in April for an obvious reason – you can’t afford to miss it.

“We’re so young. We can’t, we MUST not loose this sense of possibility because in the end, it’s all we have.” Do you start connecting when you read this line? Here is a posthumous collection of nine short stories and nine essays by the Yale graduate, Marina Keegan, who died in a car crash five days after graduation. But her literary endeavours are captured in this collection – a fresh voice telling the story of her time with splendid candour, touching vulnerability, sparkling humour and a gripping sense of premonition. But the best part of it is the good old taste of insecurity and optimism – that easy blend of conflicting emotions we have all experienced at the age of 21. The appeal of this collection lies in the exuberance of a young writer whose insight and empathy make every piece a rare human document.

Must you surrender to the genetic destiny mapped when you were conceived? Not necessarily, says award-winning physician and New York Times’ best-selling author Sharon Moalem. It is traditionally believed that genetic behaviour follows a fixed pattern, but researches are now on to prove that our life experience may affect our genes as well. It’s a bit scary when you come to know that the trauma of getting bullied or the habit of treating yourself with common painkillers can be passed down to future generations because these things may tweak your DNA code. But it is also empowering to know that your body gives as good as it gets, that the constant change in your DNA is “mediated and orchestrated by how you live, where you live, the stresses you face, and the things you consume.” An interesting read with loads of intriguing stories and case studies – all done in a simple, jargon-free language.

Edited by Eleanor Henderson and Anna Solomon, this amazing collection of 30 real-life labour experiences of the luminaries will walk you through the pain, fear, joy and ecstasy of motherhood. The birth narratives range from poignant to extraordinary, from quirky to sublime, but they definitely let us hear the voice of the mums from all over the world. Parenthood has never been a soft job but very few mothers take up the pen to tell you what a ‘good birth’ means to them and how they feel within when the D-Day comes. But it has happened this time and what you get is not a conventional and placid how-to book, but a bouncing ride on the rapids, full of surprises. With the Mother’s Day less than two weeks away, it will be a great read for all mums and mums-to-be.

April being the Holocaust remembrance month, it is only fitting to wrap up our monthly list with one of the most beautiful fictions that has come out this month, which is also the final work of the author who died three days before the book was published on April 8. However, In Paradise by Peter Matthiessen has a different approach to the catastrophe – it is a study in self-contradiction and a journey from outward calm to inner turbulence. The initial setting is an idyllic one – a group of people from completely different backgrounds arriving at the erstwhile Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz to take part in a week-long retreat and offer their prayers. But there is to be no tranquil closure or healing as conflicts arise and dissolve in a way as unpredictable as Life itself. As the protagonist Clements Olin soon realises, we are profound yet inconsistent, and our very own spiritual journey can only begin when we accept our limitations and remain open about it.