Books I Like

Steve Jobs the Genius

2011-09-09T23:47:00.000-07:00

What do you call a man who is?

1. Co-founder of Apple, the most valuable technology company in the world. Apple is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad.

2. Founder of NeXT. NeXT was an American computer company headquartered in Redwood City, California, that developed and manufactured a series of computer workstations intended for the higher education and business markets. NeXT was founded by Steve Jobs in 1985 after he resigned from Apple. NeXT introduced the first NeXT Computer in 1988, and the smaller NeXTstation in 1990.

3. Person who turned around Pixar. Pixar began in 1979 as the Graphics Group, part of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm before it was acquired by Steve Jobs in 1986. Jobs paid $5 million to George Lucas and put $5 million as capital into the company. The Walt Disney Company bought Pixar in 2006 at a valuation of $7.4 billion; the transaction made Jobs the largest shareholder in Disney.

4. Jobs is listed as either primary inventor or co-inventor in 338 US patents or patent applications related to a range of technologies from actual computer and portable devices to user interfaces

A GENIUS!

Books that might interest you

1. The Steve Jobs way
2. Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs
3. Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs

One Click and Amazon

2011-09-06T20:46:00.000-07:00

One-Click (1-click) allows customers to make online purchases with a single click. Instead of manually inputting billing and shipping information for a purchase, a user can use one-click buying to use a predefined address and credit card number to purchase one or more items. This ease of use reduces the friction for buying products. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a patent for this technique to Amazon.com in September 1999. Details of the patent:

Patent: US 5960411 (A) - Method and system for placing a purchase order via a communications network

Date: 1999-09-28

Inventors: HARTMAN PERI, BEZOS JEFFREY P, KAPHAN SHEL, SPIEGEL JOEL

Applicant: Amazon.com

Amazon.com though has lost an appeal to be granted a patent for its "one-click" ordering system, with the European Patent Office (EPO) ruling that the method was too obvious and not inventive. Amazon argued that one-click ordering increases the security of the system since customers do not have to re-enter sensitive data and that it also reduces the number of steps that would normally be involved in completing a purchase. But the EPO rejected those points. According to EPO ruling "In view of the indexing function of cookies, the skilled person would have realized that any sensitive data traditionally requiring a login could be accessed by cookies. The obvious trade-off between the two processes, namely security vs. simplicity, cannot establish an inventive technical contribution."

The European Patent Convention states that methods of business cannot be patented unless they solve a technical rather than administrative problem, but the EPO said that whilst the system may involve a technical solution it was too obvious to patent.The EPO also ruled to reject Amazon's patent claims on a time-interval system the company had devised for "one-click" purchases. The system allows customers to compile multiple single product orders made for the purposes of receiving only one delivery as long as the single orders are made within a certain period of time.

On October 9, 2007, the USPTO issued an office action in the reexamination which confirmed the patentability of claims 6 to 10 of the patent. The patent examiner, however, rejected claims 1 to 5 and 11 to 26.

Related books:

1. Amazon.com for dummies

2. Amazon.com Mashups

3. Jeff Bezos: King of Amazon

The TCS Story - Ramadorai

2011-09-06T09:25:00.000-07:00

Established in 1968, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has grown to its current position as the largest IT services firm in Asia on the basis of its outstanding service record, collaborative partnerships, innovation and corporate responsibility. TCS is one of the largest private sector employers in India with a core strength of roughly 2 lakh individuals. TCS has turned into the second-largest employer among listed companies after Coal India Limited.

It began as the "Tata Computer Centre", for the company Tata Group whose main business was to provide computer services to other group companies. F C Kohli was the first general manager. J. R. D. Tata was the first chairman, followed by Pankaj Roy. TCS established the first software research center in India, the Tata Research Development and Design Center, in Pune, India in 1981. TRDDC undertakes research in Software engineering,Process engineering and Systems Research.

The TCS story is one of modern India’s great success stories. In this fascinating book, S. Ramadorai, one of the country’s most respected business leaders, recounts the steps to that extraordinary success. The inside story of one of India’s premier corporate institutions, this is also in part a history of the rapidly developing IT software and services industry in India, told from the perspective of an industry leader.

"The TCS Story" is not a retired executive’s self-congratulatory autobiography based on selective amnesia. Rather, this is [a book] about a remarkable company that has been led by a remarkable team of executives who learned from their achievements and failures—so that success accelerated over time. Far more than an interesting story, this is a blueprint for how to build a successful company -- Clayton Christensen, Professor, Harvard Business School

Ramadorai played an integral role in the international development of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). His efforts have helped make TCS one of the world's largest global software and services companies with more than 143,000 consultants working in 42 countries, operating out of over 151 offices worldwide, and with revenues over US$ 6.0 billion . Ramadorai retired as CEO& MD of Tata Consultancy Services in 2009, after serving the company for thirty-nine years.

Related titles:

1. Leadership @ infosys

2. A Better India a Better World

anna hazare movement and chetan Bhagat

2011-09-05T08:46:00.000-07:00

Chetan Bhagat tweeted 'I wonder how lunchtime would be in Tihar. A Raja, Suresh Kalmadi filling their plates while they watch Anna fasting because of them'. Best-selling novelist Chetan Bhagat praised social activist Anna Hazare for launching a campaign for Lokpal Bill. Bhagat has termed Hazare as a "youth icon" and said age was immaterial in his cause. As per Bhagat Hazare was very honest, and had a strong will-power; his campaign for Lokpal Bill certainly inspired the youth. Chetan was at his comical best when he tweeted 'Govt working last minute, under pressure. Reminds me of engg hostel. Do nothing in time but nightout before exams.'

While the entire country is inspired by Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement, Chetan Bhagat's upcoming work "Revolution 2020" is creating a buzz in recent days.

"Revolution 2020" is about two childhood friends Gopal, Raghav and their female friend Aarti, who are struggling to get success and love in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi. However, it is not easy task to achive success and love in a fair manner in an unfair society where corruption dwells in the grass root. But Love and Success allure everyone. While Gopal is moving forward for these two and gives in to the corrupt system, another friend Raghav fights the corruption. The book will reveal who will win at last?

The dilemma of two friends is that they both love the same girl. Even though, two boys are intelligent, one uses it to make money and another uses the intelligence to create a revolution. "Revolution 2020" has also created a huge buzz on the web amid a debate on the Jan Lokpal Bill and corruption raised by Anna Hazare team and the statesmen.

Other books by Chetan:

1. One night @ call center

2. three mistakes of my life

3. Two States

Leader who had no title - Robin Sharma (80% off)

2011-09-04T21:38:00.000-07:00

Great deal! Get the book at 35.

From the author (Robin Sharma)!

Thank you for the opportunity to share a little about The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable on Real Success in Business and in Life. First, the book is the result of the 15 years I've spent as a leadership advisor to many of the FORTUNE 500 companies, including FedEx, Nike, Microsoft, GE, IBM, and organizations like Yale University and Young Presidents Organization--as well as to many über successful entrepreneurs. I mention that so that you know the book is built around real-world insights, lessons and tactics that the best quietly use to win in business (and within their personal lives). If you're at a point where you are ready for extraordinary performance, exceptional leadership and to play full out with your life, this book will be highly helpful to you.

Second, the book is written as a story-with a group of unforgettable characters that bring the whole Lead Without a Title process to life. The goal was to write a book that not only is full of powerful success tactics to become your leadership best but also one that entertains and deeply inspires. In this way, all the learning is sticky--and therefore valuable to you.

Finally, this book is really about not only the opportunity every human being has to show leadership (regardless of whether they have a title or not) but the responsibility we all have to work at our best potential--and make a difference in the lives of everyone around us in the process. Because the ultimate end-game of leadership isn't just positively influencing other people. It's transformation.

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In "The Leader Who Had No Title, "you will learn:

- How to work with and influence people like a superstar, regardless of your position

- A method to recognize and then seize opportunities in times of deep change

- The real secrets of intense innovation

- An instant strategy to build a great team and become a "merchant of wow" with your customers

- Hard-hitting tactics to become mentally strong and physically tough enough to lead your field

- Real-world ways to defeat stress, build an unbeatable mind-set, unleash energy, and balance your personal life

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Book Details:

Title: The Leader Who Had No Title

Publisher: Jaico

Author: Robin Sharma

Edition: Paperback

ISBN: 8184951191

EAN: 9788184951196

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Other books by Robin Sharma that might interest you

1. The monk who sold his ferrari

2. Who will cry when you die

3. Discover your destiny

4. The Greatness Guide

The Google Guys: Big discount (75%)

2011-09-04T09:22:00.000-07:00

Grab it while it is there, just at Rs. 100!

The Google Guys: Inside The Brilliant Minds Of Google Founders Larry Page And Sergey Brin skips past the general Google story and focuses on what really drives the company's founders. Larry is the main strategist, with business acumen and practical drive, while Sergey is the primary technologist and idealist, with brilliant ideas and strong moral positions. But they work closely together, almost like complementary halves of a single brain.

Richard L. Brandt is an award-winning journalist who has written about Silicon Valley for two decades, including fourteen years as a technology correspondent for BusinessWeek. He is also a consultant to entrepreneurial companies and the author of the blog Entrepreneur Watch. He shows the company as the brainchild of two brilliant individuals and looks at Google's business decisions in light of its founders' ambition and beliefs. Through interviews with current and former employees, competitors, partners, and senior Google management, plus conversations with the founders themselves, Brandt demystifies the company while clarifying a number of misconceptions.

Details of the book:

Title: The Google Guys: Inside the Brilliant Minds of Google Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin

Publisher: Portfolio/Penguin

Author: Richard L Brandt

Edition: Paperback

ISBN: 1591844126

EAN: 9781591844129

No. of Pages: 255

Binding: Paperback

Other books that might interest you:

1. Capital Instincts

2. Sergey Brin And Larry Page: The Founders Of Google

3. Google Hacks

4. Planet Google

about the seller:

infibeam Books is the biggest online bookstore in India for sale of books at best price - fiction, literature, audiobooks, study guides, novels, story books, rare books, textbooks and books by popular authors. These are available in various editions and bindings e.g. paperback and at best discount.

Prepare yourself for success

2009-11-24T03:07:00.000-08:00

By being in the right place at the right time, you can dramatically increase your chances for success in any endeavor. Just like in a race or game of chess, you must position yourself to make the right move."

There are many times in our lives when the path ahead is unclear or when we're not quite sure of which direction we should choose. Often, merely the process of preparation the activity itself will provide clarity and certainty to our plans. Following are some points to enhance your preparedness:

Health & Vitality: You can't get-up-and-go if you don't have a reserve of energy and god health. You know what to do eat right, get adequate rest, and take good care of your body.

Education & Skills: What you know and what you can do in terms of skills is a big part of your positioning. It will not only increase your preparation quotient, but will also keep you feeling stimulated even young.

Contacts: The people you know and the relationship you've developed over the years can be a virtual gold mine to you. It's imperative you cultivate and build your associations in order to obtain help and round up talent for your projects.

Self-Image and Self-Esteem: How you feel about yourself comes across to others. There is no status quo. We either build or tear down our self-esteem. Integrity is the essence of everything successful.

Finances and Credit: Most opportunities involve an investment of money as well as time and energy. Having money in the bank can go a long way in your favor. Pay off those debts and create some savings.

Attitude: People with good attitudes not only attract opportunity but also the people who can help them.

It's not easy, but remembers, as Coach Bear Bryant said, "Is not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win that makes the difference."

Life is Beautiful

Enjoy It!

Internet in rural India

2009-11-23T02:22:00.000-08:00

The Asia Paific region had 484 million users (Sept 2009), which represents a 22% growth from the year-ago period. India had 35.8 million Internet users (excluding visits from net cafes and handhelds), up 17% year-on-year while China registered a 31% growth during the period and now has 220 million Internet users. Although most of the Internet users in India are familiar with more than one language, it is only that users in smaller cities are avid users of applications and services offered in local language. One of the primary reasons of low levels of adoption in rural India is due to

1. Large percentage of people in rural India are not familiar to English. There are 22 constitutionally approved languages spoken in India and over 1600 regional dialects. Out of the total literate population in India, 37% are English literate in urban areas and 17% in rural. The remaining (i.e. 63% in urban areas and 83% in rural) are not familiar with English.
2. Lack of localization.

China, Japan and Korea are the most matured markets in terms of localisation. These countries have been very active in their efforts towards standardized localisation. The result of this is that most of the software is already localized in these languages and now these countries are moving towards localizing cutting edge technology applications such as OCR and Text to Speech.

There has also been a good penetration of internet in South America that include countries like Peru, Central Amazon and Andean regions.

An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth

2009-11-20T22:53:00.000-08:00

'The Story of My Experiments with Truth' an autobiography by Mahatma Gandhi would be a challenging read for readers not familiar with the Indian history. Moreover, readers who want to read about life of Gandhi will also find this book incomplete since it was published in 1927 and he continued to live for over two decades after that. Most of his more important work was done after 1927. Nonetheless, this is a good insight into Gandhi, the man rather than Gandhi, the public figure.

The book gives you a greater insight into the life passage of a greatest man of the century. Gandhi has written in an uninhibited style and flavour. He has never shyed away from letting the user know his entire life history describing each and every minute happenings in his life. A great read for anyone!

Books on Criminology

2009-11-19T22:07:00.000-08:00

A crime is an act that violates the basic values and beliefs of society. Those values and beliefs are manifested as laws that society agrees upon. Criminology is the study of the nature, causes, extent and control of criminal behavior in society. The term "criminology" was coined in 1885 by Italian law professor Raffaele Garofalo as criminologia. In the mid-18th century, criminology arose as social philosophers gave thought to crime and concepts of law. Over time, several schools of thought have developed namely Classical, Positivst, Italian and many more. Theoretical perspectives used in criminology include psychoanalysis, functionalism, interactionism, Marxism, econometrics, systems theory, postmodernism, etc. Areas of study in Criminology include Criminal Behavior, Domestic Violence, Crime Prevention, Juvenile Delinquency and many more. Comparative criminology is the study of the social phenomenon of crime across cultures, to identify differences and similarities in crime patterns. Some good books on Criminology include The Oxford Handbook of Criminology. It is the most comprehensive and authoritative single volume text on the subject.

We don't always see what we think we see.

2009-11-06T02:42:00.000-08:00

If your brain works normally this is neat. This is another example of an amazing illusion!!! The last sentence is so true.

If your eyes follow the movement of the rotating pink dot, the dots will remain only one color, pink.

However if you stare at the black " +" in the centre, the moving dot turns to green.
Now, concentrate on the black " + " in the centre of the picture. After a short period, all the pink dots will slowly disappear, and you will only see only a single green dot rotating.
It's amazing how our brain works. There really is no green dot , and the pink ones really don't disappear. This should be proof enough, we don't always see what we think we see.

Google search: Tip to search better on Google

2009-10-26T23:38:00.000-07:00

Search on google is pretty simple: just type whatever comes to your mind & hit Enter or click on the Google Search button and you more than often find exactly what you were looking for. However the following tips can help you refine your technique to make the most of your searches:

1. Put quotes around phrases that must be searched together. If you put quotes around "electric curtains," Google won't waste your time finding one set of Web pages containing the word "electric" and another set containing the word "curtains."

2. Similarly, put a hyphen right before any word you want screened out. If you're looking up dolphins, for example, you'll have to wade through a million Miami Dolphins pages unless you search for "dolphins - Miami ."

3. Google is a calculator. Type in an equation ("32+2345*3- 234=").

4. Google is a package tracker. Type a FedEx or UPS package number (just the digits); when you click Search, Google offers a link to its tracking information.

5. Google is a global White Pages and Yellow Pages. Search for "phonebook:home depot norwalk , ct," Google instantly produces the address and phone number of the Norwalk Home Depot. This works with names ("phonebook: robert jones las vegas , NV") as well as businesses. Don't put any space after "phonebook."

6. Google is an atlas. Type in an area code, like 212, to see a Mapquest map of the area.

7. Google is a units-of-measurement converter. Type "teaspoons in a gallon," for example, or "centimeters in a foot."

8. Google is a stock ticker. Type in AMZN or GOOG, for example, to see a link to the current Amazon or Google stock price, graphs, financial news and so on.

9. Google is Wal-Mart's computer. Type in a UPC bar code number, such as "12345250015, " to see the description of the product you've just "scanned in." (Thanks to the Google Blog, http://google. blogspace. com , for this tip and the next couple.)

10. Google is an aviation buff. Type in a flight number like "United 22" for a link to a map of that flight's progress in the air. Or type in the tail number you see on an airplane for the full registration form for that plane.

11. Google is the Department of Motor Vehicles. Type in a VIN (vehicle identification number, which is etched onto a plate, usually on the door frame, of every car), like "VJ3SE1157MT001832, " to find out the car's year, make and model.

12 . Google is a curreny convertor. Type USD to INR to get the current x-change rate.

Amazon vs Walmart: Price war?

2009-10-26T02:47:00.000-07:00

Is the value of a good book immeasurable? Think again! Walmart and Amazon have a feeling that it hovers somewhere under 10 bucks. The two online giants have begun a deep-discount war that is more reminiscent of neighboring delis or much like the fight between the Ambani's of India. It all started with Walmart's promotion offering of their top 10 pre-ordered books (including Sarah Palin’s memoir and new books from Stephen King, James Patterson, John Grisham, and Michael Crichton) for only a sawbuck — including free shipping. Amazon responded by matching their price, but as of this morning, both deals had slipped down another notch to a staggering $9 per popular new hardcover.

Due to the costs of producing; warehousing; shipping; selling; and marketing books, hardcovers cost way more than $9 to get onto the store shelves. Paperbacks are cheaper to produce, but a lot of costs were absorbed in hardcover publication. Besides, American reviewers still don’t take paperback originals seriously, and review attention is a major part of publicity for a book (as radio is for music). The economics behind book publishing is very tight, and margins for all involved (aside from a few big name authors) are very slim.

Although it might spell better deals for the common man, it’s hardly an auspicious sign for the vitality of the industry. It’s even worse news for independent booksellers who aren’t able to compete at anything near the level of Sam Walton’s little corner store.

nofollow and pagerank sculpting in seo

2009-10-23T21:28:00.000-07:00

what is page rank?

PageRank is a link analysis algorithm that assigns a numerical weighting to each element of a hyperlinked set of documents, such as the World Wide Web, with the purpose of "measuring" its relative importance within the set. It is named after Larry Page and is used by the Google Internet search engine.

what is nofollow?

"nofollow" is an HTML attribute value used to instruct some search engines that a hyperlink should not influence the link target's ranking (i.e. show not pass on page rank) in the search engine's index. It is intended to reduce the effectiveness of certain types of search engine spam, thereby improving the quality of search engine results and preventing spamdexing from occurring. In common mans words "nofollow" is method (introduced in 2005 and supported by multiple search engines) to annotate a link to tell search engines “I can’t or don’t want to vouch for this link.” In Google, nofollow links don’t pass PageRank and don’t pass anchor text.

what has changed?
According to Matt Cutts (Google) offers a simplified description of the PageRank process, where a page's value flows out to the various pages it links to equally. When the nofollow attribute originally came on the scene, Google would just remove those links from the equation, according to Cutts. So if a page with 10 "PageRank points" to share had ten links on it, and five were nofollowed, each regular link would pass two PageRank points.

Cutts today said that Google changed this practice more than a year ago to keep the nofollowed links in the equation, but not passing any PageRank points. So in that same example, the regular links would each pass 1 PageRank point, and the nofollowed links would still "use up" their allotted points, even though they did not pass those points on. You can read the full article here...

find out of print books

2009-10-20T04:38:00.000-07:00

Out of Print Books are hard to find. But here is a list of places that you can look for on the internet!

1. Amazon - partners with Bibliofind so that it will automatically check for used copies of any title which includes out of print books.

2. ebay - the largest marketplace for books infact any item for that matter

3. lulu : - they do print on demand. You might be able to print some of the our of print books.

4. infibeam - partners with retail book outlets which sell old/used copies of books.

5. Old Children's Books

6. Better World Books . A good place to shop for books because it sells libraries' unneeded books and splits the profits of the sales between the libraries and organizations promoting literacy worldwide.

7. Abebooks
Claims to be "the world's largest online marketplace for used, rare, and out-of-print books." Note there are also Abebooks sites in France, Germany and the UK. It is a subsidiary of Amazon.

8 Biblio: Used Books, Rare Books, and Out of Print Books http://biblio.com/

9 Bookfinder -- another meta-search engine for used book catalogs.

10 Main Book Shop -- claims to be "the largest selection of publisher's overstocks and remainder books in the world."

dashes vs underscores in url for SEO

2009-10-20T03:57:00.000-07:00

Which parameter is a better separator for words in a URL for SEO purposes?
a) hyphens/dashes (-)
b) underscores (_)

There is none other to answer this question other than Matt Cutts. Infact one of matt cutts responses clarifies it in a nutshell "if you already have a system set up to do underscores and have links/rankings, it’s probably not worth changing things over. But if you’re starting on a new domain, I’d go with dashes." In this post Matt describes in detail of how google treats dashes and underscores and atleast as of now dashes is a better choice for Google!

Some more results about google based on SERP counts

1. Google searches are NOT case sensitive. All letters, regardless of how you type them, will be understood as lower case. For example, searches for george washington, George Washington, and gEoRgE wAsHiNgToN will all return the same results.
2. _ < & are treated like letters/numbers, not word separators
3. Google thinks ? [ ] ` { } are treated like spaces separating words
4. ‘ . / = \ are treated like spaces separating words if they are within quotes. If they are not inside quotes, they are treated as if they are spaces and are inside quotes.

Alexa Rank: boost alexa ranking

2009-10-19T03:19:00.000-07:00

What is Alexa? According to alexa.com
Alexa is useful resource for people to discover information about websites. You can use Alexa to discover how popular a site is (based on its alexa rank), to find new sites, to learn who owns a site and a lot more. Whether you are a web professional trying to size up your online competition or you're just trying to find the best website to buy a new TV, Alexa is for you.

How does it work?
Alexa ranks sites based on tracking information of users of its Alexa Toolbar for Internet Explorer and from integrated sidebars in Mozilla and Netscape.

Is it accurate?
There is some controversy over how representative Alexa's user base is of typical Internet behavior. If Alexa's user base is a fair statistical sample of the Internet user population e.g., a random sample of sufficient size, Alexa's ranking should be quite accurate. In reality, not much is known about the sample and possible sampling biases. A known source of bias is the self-selecting, opt-in nature of Alexa traffic tracking software installation, but the significance of this bias on rankings is not known

Other issues:
* Alexa does not get you much direct traffic (unless you get into the top 100). It gets mostly Ego searches from webmasters looking at their own domain.
* With a small sample audience minor changes in site traffic can represent huge changes in Alexa rating
* In simplest terms, Alexa is truly biased toward a webmaster audience
* On April 16, 2008 many users reported dramatic shifts in their Alexa rankings. Alexa confirmed this later in the day with an announcement that they had released the new Alexa ranking system, claiming that they now take into account more data sources "beyond Alexa Toolbar users".

Also, The Alexa toolbar is regarded by many vendors, such as Symantec and McAfee, as spyware!

Why do you hear so much about Alexa and why is it being promoted so heavily by some e-marketer’s?

* Sometimes (not in call cases) webmasters, advertisers and ad networks use your blog’s Alexa rank as a gauge to determine the worth of a link on your website. If you depend on link or site selling as a form of monetization you’ll definitely want to increase your Alexa rank, because it’ll increase your bargaining power when it comes to ad pricing.
* Sorry to say, though, it’s mainly ignorance–most people don’t read the fine print about how the stats are being generated. The rankings aren’t worth much-except for ego.
* Most people see graphs and rankings and think automatically it’s legit. Numbers can’t lie can they? (Note sarcasm) We get that it’s hard to believe. I mean who wouldn’t be concerned when you go to Alexa.com and see certain sites, maybe competitors websites, higher than yours. You are competitive and want your to be higher. But really, who cares about rank, if you don’t actually get more business?
* Another trick is the quick con of shady e-marketers by getting website owners to install the toolbar to inflate the stats by having them visit their own site, and sell the results back to them as being some kind of expert. People love numbers and graphs. Few ask questions on how the info is determined.
* Think of this, if we were pushing you to install the Alexa Toolbar, and we know you are a regular reader of this blog, then my Alexa rating would also rise (along with your site). In short, a pyramid scheme of Alexa ranking.

So if you still think you want to increase your rank, read the rest!

1. Write content that is related to webmasters. This can fall in the category of domaining and SEO, two fields in which most webmasters will have the Alexa toolbar installed. Promote your content on social networking websites and webmaster forums.
2. Write or Blog about Alexa. Webmaster and bloggers love to hear about ways to increase their Alexa rank. They’ll link to you and send you targeted traffic (i.e. visitors with the toolbar already installed). This gradually has effects on your Alexa ranking.
3. Flaunt your URL in webmaster forums. Webmasters usually have the toolbar installed. You’ll get webmasters to visit your website and offer useful feedback. It’s also a good way to give back to the community if you have useful articles to share with others.
4. Install the Alexa toolbar or Firefox’s SearchStatus extension and set your blog as your homepage. This is the most basic step.
5. Encourage others to use the Alexa toolbar. This includes friends, fellow webmasters as well as site visitors/blog readers. Be sure to link to Alexa’s full explanation of their toolbar and tracking system so your readers know what installing the toolbar or extension entails.
6. Work in an Office or own a company? Get the Alexa toolbar or SS Firefox extension installed on all computers and set your website as the homepage for all browsers. Perhaps it will be useful to note that this may work only when dynamic or different IPs are used.
7. Get Dugg or Stumbled. This usually brings massive numbers of visitors to your website and the sheer amount will have a positive impact on your Alexa Rank. Naturally, you’ll need to develop link worthy material.
8. Pay Cybercafe owners to install the Alexa toolbar and set your website as the homepage for all their computers. This might be difficult to arrange and isn’t really a viable solution for most. I’m keeping this one in because some have suggested that it does work.

Horror Books too good to put down

2009-10-18T22:19:00.000-07:00

Books by Stephen King Of course. It's hard to choose the best one, since the best of his works do different things.

1. The Dead Zone is also about pure evil, and our responsibility to fight it. The hero, Johnny, has an accident that should have killed him. Instead, it puts him into a prolonged coma. When he wakes up from it, he has psi abilities--he can see the future, and he can read a people's past by touching them or their belongings. Confronted with a politician whose future capability for evil he can see clearly, Johnny has no choice but to prevent this future.

2. The Stand is especially interesting in that, after having a military virus escape and wipe out most of the population, he shows society rebuilding itself. One community rebuilds along democratic lines (though King makes it clear that without determined and somewhat autocratic leadership, democratic institutions would not survive); the other society is driven by Randall Flagg--either the devil or his close kin. Inevitably, the society of evil feels compelled wipe out the democracy, and the democracy has to protect itself. The Stand contains some of King's most interesting characters, including the Trashcan Man, Randall Flagg, and Glenn, the sociologist/philosopher (who clearly is spouting Stephen King's own ideas). Critics scoff at the idea that King has anything serious to say, but this book presents a convincing argument that there are a few genuinely good people, a few genuinely evil people (or hideously damaged people), but the great majority of the human race is morally neutral, ready to go either direction depending on their surroundings.

3. It: Children are the chosen victims of a timeless monster, but they are also the only people capable of seeing and understanding the threat. King is one of those rare people who has never forgotten what it feels like to be a child. He understands more than most that children experience present reality in a way that adults, protected by their ideas of how the world is supposed to be, cannot; confronted by the same evil the children see, the adults deny the evidence of their senses. This means that the children must deal with an evil far too great for them, alone. And even then, they only thwart the evil--it's still there, lurking, so that many years later, they must go back and kill the monster forever. The children are well-drawn characters, each of them outcast and bullied (another of King's standard themes is how adults choose to ignore the bullying that makes children's lives miserable).

2 states by chetan bhagat

2009-10-12T22:44:00.000-07:00

'2 States' is a story about Krish and Ananya. They are from two different states of India, deeply in love and want to get married. Of course, their parents don’t agree. To convert their love story into a love marriage, the couple have a tough battle in front of them. For it is easy to fight and rebel, but it is much harder to convince. Will they make it? From the author of blockbusters Five Point Someone, One Night @ the Call Center and The 3 Mistakes of My Life, comes another witty tale about inter-community marriages in modern India. 2 states brings out the complexity involved in an Indian wedding especially when people across castes enter into a marriage. Its not about convincing the immediate families but the bigger families as well. Love marriages around the world are simple:

Boy loves girl. Girl loves boy.
They get married.

In India, there are a few more steps:

Boy loves Girl. Girl loves Boy.
Girl’s family has to love boy. Boy’s family has to love girl.
Girl’s Family has to love Boy’s Family. Boy’s family has to love girl’s family.
Girl and Boy still love each other. They get married.

So as one can see Chetan bhagat has tried to capture this intricate system in his latest book. The book is a good read, though thoroughly predictable it was probably meant to be that way so as to identify with the reader. Some dialogues are really funny, like the "kick ass and need ice" simile brings a smile to your face... all in all the best part of the book is the Dedication. Have fun all you readers!!!!

The idea of Justice by Amartya Sen

2009-10-11T07:05:00.000-07:00

Amartya Sen, winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economics, is Lamont University Professor, Harvard University. He is known for his contributions to welfare economics, for his work on human development theory, welfare economics, famine, the underlying mechanisms of poverty, gender inequality, and political liberalism. He is a distinguished economist-philosopher who won the 1998 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his work on welfare economics.

Amartya Sen has one idea in his "the idea of Justice". He claims that John Rawls' theory of justice relies on just institutions working with a social contract towards a transcendental (i.e. unachievable?) vision of a perfectly just society. Sen critiques this for ignoring real actual achievable outcomes, excluding wider interests and failing to address behavior. He proposes instead that justice should operate by comparing actual outcomes through a process of `unrestricted'(page 44) public reasoning. He offers one example, of whether a flute should belong to a child who can play it, a child who has no other toys, or the child who made it (although he frequently but vaguely refers to meta-examples of slavery and women's rights).

The author argues that economists have tended to content themselves with an overly simple picture of human motivation, rationality and well-being. The author argues that people are not purely self-interested. They care for others and observe social norms. They do not always reason mechanistically, seeking least-cost to given ends. They question the point of their aims and the worth of their wants. Well-being has no single measure but is comprehensible. Its elements are many and do not amount to just utility or some cash value equivalent.

Tying the whole together is the author's confidence that, though values are complex, economics provides tools for thinking clearly about complexity.

The author concludes with democracy which can take many institutional forms. But non succeds without open debate about values and principles. To that vital element in public reason, 'The Idea of Justice' is an important contribution.

Cinema and Censorship: The Politics of Control in India

2009-09-06T00:06:00.000-07:00

Cinema and Censorship: The Politics of Control in India covers every area of Indian cinema such as feature films in all languages, documentary films, docu-features made by independent documentary filmmakers, and even foreign films that came under the scissors of the CBFC. It is a critical, incisive, research-based analysis of the political factors that continue to dog the concept of film censorship in India by turning the CBFC into a stringed puppet influenced, dominated, pressured and controlled by ruling political parties. The arguments are often placed against the lack of censorship on television, throwing up questions of irony and contradiction.

Thus far, only a few authors have studied the subject because there are few books that exclusively address the problem of censorship in Indian cinema. The last noted book on censorship was Liberty and Licence in the Indian Cinema by Aruna Vasudev (1978). Gender and Censorship, edited by Brinda Bose, appeared in 2006; this book gives detailed accounts of the Board's war with filmmakers over gender issues. This book offers a model frame of reference on censorship of cinema in India for administrative heads, bureaucrats, filmmakers, scholars and students of Indian cinema.

The book, after a long preface by the author, is divided into nine chapters beginning with Mapping the Field and concluding with A Medium in Chains. The preface observes that film censorship was not the only inheritance of the system imposed by colonial period on post-colonial India; the police, military, intelligence, paramilitary institutions and the criminal procedure and penal codes are other such inherited machines.

Bhowmik, who obtained his Ph.D. on film censorship in India's colonial period, is currently Research Scientist with the Educational Multimedia Research Centre, St. Xavier's College, Kolkata. He has researched and written extensively on the sociological aspects of cinema and television in both English and Bengali.

Evolution of God by Robert Wright

2009-08-24T03:12:00.000-07:00

Evolution of GOD from acclaimed author Robert Wright is a well-researched one covering a great deal of territory. It should be read in its entirety to be properly understood. In it he discusses the history of religion with a focus on western Abrahamic faiths, although not entirely neglecting eastern religions. Straddling popular science, ancient history, and theology, this ambitious work sets out to resolve not only the clash of civilizations between the Judeo-Christian West and the Muslim world but also the clash between science and religion.

Wright begins with the five types of primitive hunter-gatherer supernatural beings: elemental spirits, puppeteers, organic spirits, ancestral spirits, and the high gods. In these societies the Shaman was the "first step toward an archbishop or ayatollah" who had contact with these otherwise hidden forces and could help focus their powers to heal, protect, and provide.

With the arrival of the city-states, kings needed divine legitimization and used the gods to solidify their rule over the people. The king was now the conduit of divine power. The character of the gods could differ between city-states, but many of them demanded human sacrifices or else there was chaos. Along with this development came moral obligations, which if they were not met caused sickness and death.

Wright concludes that in our day "we've reached a stage in history where the movement toward moral truth has to become globally momentous." In short, God has some "some growing to do," and Wright seems confident this will happen, given what he wrote in his previous book, Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny. Whether he can be this optimistic depends on the case he made there.

Purnanuru

2009-08-22T04:48:00.000-07:00

As its name suggests, ''Purananuru'' poems deal with the ''puram'' (external or objective) concepts of life such as war, politics, wealth, as well as aspects of every-day living. Some of the poems are in the form of elegies in tribute to a fallen hero. These poems exhibit outpourings of affection and emotions.

''Purananuru'' is an excellent source of information on the political and social history of pre-historic Tamil Nadu. There is a wealth of information on the various rulers who ruled the Tamil country before and during the Sangam era (200 BCE – 100 CE). It is part of the ''Ettuthokai'' anthology which is the oldest available collection of poems of Sangam literature in Tamil. ''Purananuru'' contains 400 poems of varying lengths in the ''Akaval'' meter.

It is not know exactly how many authors wrote the poems in ''Purananuru''. There are 147 different names found from the colophons. However some of these could denote the same author. For example, Mangudi Kizhaar and Mangudi Maruthanaar could denote the same person. Fifteen of the authors were women, one of whom was Auvaiyar who is credited with 33 poems. Some of the authors of the poems such as Kapilar and Nakkirar have also written poems that are part of other anthologies.

Jinnah - India, Partition, Independence by Jaswant Singh

2009-08-21T04:30:00.000-07:00

Jaswant Singh is a well-known Indian politician and an X-member of the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party). Jaswant Singh was born on 3rd January, 1938 in the village of Jasol in the Barmer district of Rajasthan, India. He is the son of Late Thakur Sardar Singhji and Shrimati Kunwar Baisa. After completing his education and training from institutions like Mayo College in Ajmer and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, he went on to serve as an officer in the Indian Army during the 1960’s. Jaswant Singh entered active politics in 1980, after he was elected to the Rajya Sabha, and since then has held important positions during his political tenure. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, from July 2004 onwards.

Jaswant Singh has been having an uneasy relationship with the party leadership ever since the Lok Sabha elections on which he had circulated a note demanding thorough discussion on the debacle. Jaswant Singh's book Jinnah - India, Partition, Independence eulogising Mohd Ali Jinnah has come under attack from BJP and the Sangh parivar, was on Wednesday expelled from the BJP.

The partition of India, 1947, some call it vivisection as Gandhi had, has without doubt been the most wounding trauma of the twentieth century. It has seared the psyche of four plus generations of this subcontinent. Why did this partition take place at all? Who was/is responsible -- Jinnah? The Congress party? Or the British? Jaswant Singh attempts to find an answer, his answer, for there can perhaps not be a definitive answer, yet the author searches. Jinnah’s political journey began as ‘an ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity’ (Gopal Krishna Gokhale), yet ended with his becoming the ‘sole spokesman’ of Muslims in India; the creator of Pakistan, the Quaid-e-Azam: How and why did this transformation take place?

Intermediate Accounting by Donald E Kieso

2009-08-19T05:28:00.000-07:00

The bestselling book on intermediate accounting, Kieso is an excellent reference for practicing accountants and an invaluable resource for anyone entering the field. It integrates FARS/Codification exercises, cases, and simulations into the chapters. This introduces readers to the codification project. They’ll learn how to leverage everyday accounting programs like Excel, GLS, and other computerized accounting software giving them a strong background in the tools needed in the accounting profession. The new concepts in this edition are:

* New IFRS content
* Updated Fair Value Discussions
* FASB Codification
* Revised End-of-Chapter Material
* Expanded CPA-Prep Professional Simulations
* Updated real-world focus

In this book New and existing content is arranged in a way to offer accountants a chance to review key concepts.

Mastering the Art of French-Cooking

2009-08-18T05:19:00.000-07:00

Rarely are we able to say with certainty that a book is at the top of its subject in regard and quality. This book, `Mastering the Art of French Cooking' by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck is certainly in that most unique position among cookbooks written in English and published in the United States.

The recipes are well thought out, with step by step insrtructions and illustrations. The illustrations are priceless, cooking is a lot of technique, and the illustrations walk you through it. Oh, and ingredients. She assumes that the grocery store is the only place you have to shop. So she notes how to adjust for canned or frozen vs fresh, and what you can substitute. Not some cute ethnic market in New york city where everything is always in season from the 4 corners of the world. You can literally take the book to the grocery store to buy your ingredients. and come out with everything you need.

The book is revolutionary in its approach because:
• It leads the cook infallibly from the buying and handling of raw ingredients, through each essential step of a recipe, to the final creation of a delicate confection.
• It breaks down the classic cuisine into a logical sequence of themes and variations rather than presenting an endless and diffuse catalogue of recipes; and many more... read to find out...

Unmasked The final years of michael jackson by Ian Halperin

2009-08-16T20:47:00.000-07:00

Ian Halperin is author/coauthor of five books, including the bestsellers Fire and Rain: The James Taylor Story, and Celine Dion: Behind the Fairytale, as well as a number of exposes on the modeling industry. He coauthored Who Killed Kurt Cobain? with Max Wallace. He is also a former winner of the Rolling Stone magazine Award for Investigative Journalism. Ian is a regular correspondent for Court TV and has contributed to 60 Minutes 2.

In late December 2008, Ian Halperin told the world that Michael Jackson had only six months to live. His investigations into Jackson's failing health made headlines around the globe. Six months later, the King of Pop was dead. Friends and associates paint a tragic picture of the last years and days of his life as Jackson made desperate attempts to prepare for the planned concert series at London's 02 Arena in July 2009. These shows would have earned millions for the singer and his entourage, but he could never have completed them, not mentally, and not physically. Michael knew it and his advisors knew it. Anyone who caught even a fleeting glimpse of the frail old man hiding beneath the costumes and cosmetics would have understood that the London tour was madness. Why did it happen this way? After an intense five year investigation, New York Times bestselling author Ian Halperin uncovers the real story of Michael Jackson's final years, in UnMasked a suspenseful and surprising thriller. Whatever the final autopsy results reveal, it was greed that killed Michael Jackson. For other books on Michael Jackson click here...

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

2009-08-15T01:13:00.000-07:00

Thirteen linked tales from Strout (Abide with Me, etc.) present a heart-wrenching, penetrating portrait of ordinary coastal Mainers living lives of quiet grief intermingled with flashes of human connection. The opening Pharmacy focuses on terse, dry junior high-school teacher Olive Kitteridge and her gregarious pharmacist husband, Henry, both of whom have survived the loss of a psychologically damaged parent, and both of whom suffer painful attractions to co-workers.

Their son, Christopher, takes center stage in A Little Burst, which describes his wedding in humorous, somewhat disturbing detail, and in Security, where Olive, in her 70s, visits Christopher and his family in New York. Strout's fiction showcases her ability to reveal through familiar details—the mother-of-the-groom's wedding dress, a grandmother's disapproving observations of how her grandchildren are raised—the seeds of tragedy. Themes of suicide, depression, bad communication, aging and love, run through these stories, none more vivid or touching than Incoming Tide, where Olive chats with former student Kevin Coulson as they watch waitress Patty Howe by the seashore, all three struggling with their own misgivings about life. Like this story, the collection is easy to read and impossible to forget. Its literary craft and emotional power will surprise readers unfamiliar with Strout.

Rules of Vengeance by Reich Christopher

2009-08-09T07:58:00.000-07:00

Christopher Reich gives us Rules of Vengeance (sequel to Rules of Deception). Sequels are rarely as good as the original, but, Rules of Vengeance turns out to be that rare exception—where the novel not only stands up to its predecessor, but actually takes the story and characters in new—and completely surprising—directions. Again we meet Dr. Jonathan Ransom, a surgeon for Doctors Without Borders. The story begins with his arrival in London to deliver an address at a prestigious international medical conference, and it takes off from there at mach speed, offering more twists than the Monaco Grand Prix. Ransom quickly finds himself in trouble not of his own making. And, once again, he is forced to maneuver between the good guys and the bad guys in order to figure out just what he’s been pulled into, and then make sure that no one else suffers because of it. The stakes are sky high. The locales are exotic. The plot is ripped from tomorrow’s headlines and Reich controls the story with a deft hand from beginning to end.

What’s particularly appealing about Jonathan Ransom is he is not a spy or a trained assassin. He is, in fact, the opposite: a doctor who has devoted his life to helping others—a loner working outside political boundaries who exemplifies the best in us all. But like each of us, he has a dark side that is both frightening and compelling. You do not want to make this man angry.

As for Christopher Reich, he—like Ransom—also may not be a trained spy or assassin (at least not to the best of my knowledge). But he certainly does manipulate the twists, summon the adrenaline, and create a landscape of thrills that can only leave readers with one lasting impression: Chris Reich is the real deal. For other books click here

Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner

2009-08-04T23:56:00.000-07:00

Warmly and realistically drawn... Weiner, creator of widely popular female characters, injects an element of suspense into her latest, Best Friends Forever. This book begins on an unexpected note of violence, but the friendship of the title is at its heart. Two estranged onetime high-school chums -- one now a television weathergirl and the other one of Ms. Weiner's lovable, snack-obsessed frumps -- are thrown together to find out what happened in that opening scene and to hash out old grievances.

Best Friends Forever is a story of suspense, friendship, adventure and secrets and is told via 1st person and 3rd person from two different characters and also weaves tales of the past into the present via flashbacks. Where these elements could be awkward if not done well, it actually not only flows perfectly, but adds great interest for the reader. When Addie and Valerie became neighbors as children, Addie was certain they would remain BFFs forever. However a negative high school incident left Addie (the overweight and loyal friend) hurt--and tore the two into two directions where they remained until, 15 years later, Valerie (high school cheerleader, now weather girl) entered Addie's life again...and with blood on her sleeve and in need of help.

There is a message here - which basically is that you never know what will happen in your life and looks and appearance can be deceiving and that, in your life, friendship and support are extremely important and worth fighting for.

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

2009-07-27T21:02:00.000-07:00

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson is that rare thing - a sequel that is even better than the book that went before. A suspenseful, remarkably moving novel . . . This is the best Scandinavian novel to be published in the U.S. since Smilla’s Sense of Snow . . . Salander is one of those characters who come along only rarely in fiction: a complete original, larger than life yet firmly grounded in realistic detail, utterly independent yet at her core a wounded and frightened child .

Mikael Blomkvist, crusading journalist and publisher of the magazine Millennium, has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation between Eastern Europe and Sweden, implicating well-known and highly placed members of Swedish society, business, and government.

But he has no idea just how explosive the story will be until, on the eve of publication, the two investigating reporters are murdered. And even more shocking for Blomkvist: the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to Lisbeth Salander—the troubled, wise-beyond-her-years genius hacker who came to his aid in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and who now becomes the focus and fierce heart of The Girl Who Played with Fire.

As Blomkvist, alone in his belief in Salander’s innocence, plunges into an investigation of the slayings, Salander herself is drawn into a murderous hunt in which she is the prey, and which compels her to revisit her dark past in an effort to settle with it once and for all.

Much like his (Stieg Larsson) first book the Girl with the Dragon Tatoo, this complex novel is not just a thrilling read, but tackles head-on the kind of issues that Larsson himself railed against in society, such as endemic establishment corruption and the exploitation of women.

The Shack by William Young

2009-07-25T00:08:00.000-07:00

Young approaches the popular topic the love of God and human suffering in a story. Jesus taught in parables and object lessons becasue we learn well from stories. Young's story is an attempt describe a God's character to his children. But God's character is essentially indescribable. We can only understand a part of God's characteristics by what we know and experience in human relationships.

William P. Young's book "The Shack" has an intriguing premise. Years ago, a father name MacKenzie Phillips took his children camping and lost one of them to a man who has kidnapped and killed others. Mack has grieved since then. His marriage has struggled. Understandably, his relationship with God has suffered. Then, one wintry day, he receives a note in his mailbox inviting him back to the woods, to the shack in which his daughter's dress and bloodstains were found. The note, it would seem, is from God.

From this simple yet effective premise, Young leads Mack Phillips back to his point of despair and anger. The encounters he then has with God there in "The Shack" serve as thought-provoking moments for both Mack and the reader. This is not the God of stodgy Sunday school classes. This is not a flannel-graph Jesus. This is not limited to a fluttering dove of the Holy Spirit. The descriptions here are startling, while remaining true to the nature of God's love and grace as portrayed through Scripture. Not only are they startling, they're wise and moving and beautiful.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

2009-07-24T02:35:00.000-07:00

The Help by Kathryn Stockett is about a young white woman in the early 1960s in Mississippi who becomes interested in the plight of the black ladies' maids that every family has working for them. She writes their stories about mistreatment, abuse and heartbreaks of working in white families' homes, all just before the Civil Rights revolution. It is so much more than just stories of their sufferings.

Set in Mississippi during the civil rights movement, the story is narrated by the three principal characters...Minny and Aibileen, two black maids, and Miss Skeeter, a young, white woman newly graduated from college. Eugenia Skeeter Phelan is just home from college in 1962, and, anxious to become a writer, is advised to hone her chops by writing about what disturbs you. The budding social activist begins to collect the stories of the black women on whom the country club sets relies and mistrusts enlisting the help of Aibileen, a maid who's raised 17 children, and Aibileen's best friend Minny, who's found herself unemployed more than a few times after mouthing off to her white employers. The book Skeeter puts together based on their stories is scathing and shocking, bringing pride and hope to the black community, while giving Skeeter the courage to break down her personal boundaries and pursue her dreams.

This is a book about love and suffering, hatred and faith, fear and courage. It is about women of strength and dignity who carry on and manage to care about others despite an unjust system. It is a beautiful book, unforgettable in many ways. It is touching, thought-provoking, humorous and compelling. The Help by Kathryn Stockett gentle, yet powerful, moving without being melodramatic, and most of all, realistic in every detail.

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

2009-07-22T04:50:00.000-07:00

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger a clever and inventive tale works on three levels: as an intriguing science fiction concept, a realistic character study and a touching love story. On the surface, Henry and Clare Detamble are a normal couple living in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. Henry works at the Newberry Library and Clare creates abstract paper art, but the cruel reality is that Henry is a prisoner of time. At random times, Henry suddenly disappears without warning and finds himself in the past or future, usually at a time or place of importance in his life. This leads to some wonderful paradoxes. From Henry's point of view, he first met his wife, Clare, when he was 28 and she was 20. She ran up to him exclaiming that she'd known him all her life. He, however, had never seen her before. But when he reaches his 40s, already married to Clare, he suddenly finds himself time traveling to Clare's childhood and meeting her as a 6-year-old.

The book alternates between Henry and Clare's points of view, and so does the narration. Reed ably expresses the longing of the one always left behind, the frustrations of their unusual lifestyle, and above all, her overriding love for Henry. Likewise, Burns evokes the fear of a man who never knows where or when he'll turn up, and his gratitude at having Clare, whose love is his anchor. The expressive, evocative performances of both actors convey the protagonists' intense relationship, their personal quirks and their reminiscences, making this a fascinating audio.

Audrey Niffenegger did a beautiful job taking some of the most complex ideas - time travel, marriage, love, children, friends, literary and artistic allusions, religion, death, drugs, childhood, growing, loss, and what it means to be human - and weaving them together poetically and with amazing clarity. For other books on similar subject click here

Hoshruba by Musharraf Ali Farooqi

2009-07-20T22:48:00.000-07:00

The Tilism-e-Hoshruba is the subcontinent’s first wholly indigenous Indo-Islamic fantasy epic. It tells the stories of Amir Hamza’s military forces, his grandson and his loyal band of tricksters (masters of wit and disguise) as they go to war with Afrasiyab, the sorcerer who rules the magical land of Hoshruba.

In late nineteenth century Lucknow, Syed Muhammad Husain Jah and Ahmed Husain Qamar, two rival story-tellers, wrote Tilism-e Hoshruba a fantasy in the Urdu language whose equal had not been heard before, and which has never been rivalled since. The writers claimed that the tale had been passed down to them from story-tellers going back centuries: it was a part of the beloved oral epic, The Adventures of Amir Hamza which had come to the Indian subcontinent via Persia and had gained in popularity during the reign of Akbar, the Mughal emperor.

Fantasy, the occult, adventure and romance play themselves out in a typically Indian setting as wizards, sorceresses, tricksters and royalty pitch themselves into the battle for Hoshruba. The characters of the epic are marvels of literary creation, and are much more colourful and dashing than those of the Amir Hamza cycle of tales. For more books click here

Your're Hired by Nasha Fitter

2009-07-20T05:26:00.000-07:00

Your're Hired by Nasha Fitter all you need to take your first important steps up the corporate ladder. Whether you are applying for a new job or want to perform better in your present position, You’re Hired! How to Get That Job and Keep It Too will help you answer those questions you just didn’t know whom to ask.

Is this you? Have you every applied for a job and not been called for the Interview? Ever wondered why? Don’t be discouraged! Finally, an easy, step-by-step, written specially for Indian job contexts and situations, is here to help. Fun and easy-to-follow, Your're Hired uses actual CVs, emails and resume's to show you the communication and soft skills errors that prevent people from getting ahead, and how you can avoid them. For other books on Job search refer here...

A New Earth Awakening to Your Life by Eckhart Tolle

2009-07-17T23:50:00.000-07:00

Taking off from the introspective work he began with The Power of Now, the number one bestseller that has sold millions of copies worldwide, Tolle provides the spiritual framework for people to move beyond themselves in order to make this world a better, more spiritually evolved place to live. Eckhart Tolle's first full length book in eight years "A New Earth Awakening to Your Life" will be a cornerstone for personal spirituality and self-improvement for years to come. Shattering modern ideas of ego and entitlement, self and society, Tolle lifts the veil of fear that has hung over humanity during this new millennium, and shines an illuminating light that leads to happiness and health that every reader can follow.

Eckhart Tolle is one of the bestselling spiritual teachers of our time. A wise counsellor in this ever changing, chaotic and often violent world, Tolle draws on essential spiritual teachings of all ages and traditions to reveal a fresh evolutionary model of spiritual life for the 21st Century. The simple message in his international bestseller The Power of Now, the that of living in the present, of enjoying the journey rather than always looking to the next goal, has spread fast. For a list of spiritual books click here...

We are like that only by Rama Bijapurkar

2009-07-16T21:45:00.000-07:00

Taking cues from economics, demography, history, culture, philosophy and good old common sense, Rama Bijapurkar tries to make sense of the complex and inscrutable Indian market—the many Consumer, their diverse and schizophrenic consumer behaviour and the way to make your company’s fortune in this billion plus market. In "We are like that only" Bijapurkar answers many questions like, Why is the India market untenable? Will India really be the world’s next consumption powerhouse? Does the Indian middle class really exist? What is the exact purchasing power of this market? Is there really a fortune at the bottom of the pyramid? Why are demand patterns so capricious? Is rural India a sophisticated or a primitive market?

Quote from the book: ‘The Indian market is about a lot of people consuming a little bit each that adds up to a lot . . . the Indian DNA is about continuity with change; it is about “THIS as well as THAT”; about cobbling together clever and low-cost solutions that are ingenious combinations and adaptations of products available in the market.’

Irreverent and insightful, Bijapurkar answers all these questions as it casts an unblinking eye on twelve key facets of Consumer India. It successfully fathoms how much Indians earn, how they consume, what they consume and what dictates their consumption choices. A list of good related books...

Books on JavaScript

2009-07-15T23:36:00.000-07:00

JavaScript is the Netscape-developed object scripting language used in millions of web pages and server applications worldwide. Contrary to popular misconception, JavaScript is not "Interpretive Java". In a nutshell, JavaScript is a dynamic scripting language supporting prototype based object construction.

JavaScript can function as both a procedural and an object oriented language. Objects are created programmatically in JavaScript, by attaching methods and properties to otherwise empty objects at run time, as opposed to the syntactic class definitions common in compiled languages like C++ and Java. Once an object has been constructed it can be used as a blueprint (or prototype) for creating similar objects. The basic syntax is intentionally similar to both Java and C++ to reduce the number of new concepts required to learn the language. Language constructs, such as if statements, for and while loops, and switch and try ... catch blocks function the same as in these languages (or nearly so.)

The first ever JavaScript was created by Brendan Eich at Netscape, and has since been updated (in JavaScript 1.5) to conform to ECMA-262 Edition 3. This engine, code named SpiderMonkey, is implemented in C. The Rhino engine, created primarily by Norris Boyd (also at Netscape) is a JavaScript implementation in Java. Like SpiderMonkey, Rhino is ECMA-262 Edition 3 compliant. Netscape's JavaScript is a superset of the ECMA-262 Edition 3 (ECMAScript) standard scripting language, with only mild differences from the published standard. To see a list of related books click here

Books on Rakhi

2009-07-14T23:31:00.000-07:00

Raksha Bandhan is the sacred festival that falls in the auspicious shravan month i.e,in the month of july-august every year.It is being considered as the day to express the eternal love between brothers and sisters.The reason considered behind the celebration is- sister pray for the well being of brother and brother inturn promise the sister to be with her throughout her life and to accompany her in all situations of life.

The festival is marked by the tying of a rakhi, or holy thread by the sister on the wrist of her brother. The elder brother in return offers rakhi gifts to his sister and vows to look after her same while an elder sister returns offers to her younger brother. The brother and sister traditionally feed each other sweets. With the advancement in technology one can send customized rakhi gifts too. One can choose from photo gifts or rakhi greeting cards

The origin of this festival is usually traced back to the historical incidents of Indra's fight with Vritra-Indra that resulted in Indra's loss. Then, his wife had tied a thread around his wrist and empowered it with divine powers to make sure Indra emerged victorious in the duel that followed.

In parts of Gujarat, day is celebrated as Pavitropana. On this day people perform the grand pooja or the worship of Lord Shiva. It is the culmination of the prayers done through out the year. A few noted books on Rakhi are Rakhis Ma Rasebase.

Vedic Mathematics by Bharati Krsna Tirthaji Maharaja, V. S. Agarwala

2009-07-14T21:15:00.000-07:00

Vedic Mathematics is the name given to the ancient system of Mathematics which was rediscovered from the Vedas between 1911 and 1918 by Sri Bharati Krsna Tirthaji (1884-1960). the real beauty and effectiveness of Vedic Mathematics cannot be fully appreciated without actually practising the system. One can then see that it is perhaps the most refined and efficient mathematical system possible.

According to Bharati Krishna's research all of mathematics is based on sixteen Sutras or word-formulae. For example, 'Vertically and Crosswise` is one of these Sutras. These formulae describe the way the mind naturally works and are therefore a great help in directing the student to the appropriate method of solution. But

In the Vedic system 'difficult' problems or huge sums can often be solved immediately by the Vedic method. These striking and beautiful methods are just a part of a complete system of mathematics which is far more systematic than the modern 'system'. Vedic Mathematics manifests the coherent and unified structure of mathematics and the methods are complementary, direct and easy.

Interest in the Vedic system is growing in education where mathematics teachers are looking for something better and finding the Vedic system is the answer. Research is being carried out in many areas including the effects of learning Vedic Maths on children; developing new, powerful but easy applications of the Vedic Sutras in geometry, calculus, computing etc. To see a list of all books click here

The lost symbol by Dan Brown

2009-07-12T22:51:00.000-07:00

The Lost Symbol will be the third book to involve the character of Harvard University symbologist Robert Langdon; the first two were 2000's Angels & Demons and 2003's The Da Vinci Code. The Lost Symbol, formerly known under the working title as The Solomon Key, is an unreleased novel by American writer Dan Brown.The book will be published on 15 September 2009 with an initial print run of 6.5 million copies.

"This novel has been a strange and wonderful journey," said Brown. "Weaving five years of research into the story's twelve-hour timeframe was an exhilarating challenge. Robert Langdon’s life clearly moves a lot faster than mine."

Brown’s longtime editor, Jason Kaufman, Vice President and Executive Editor at Doubleday said, “Nothing ever is as it first appears in a Dan Brown novel. This book’s narrative takes place in a twelve-hour period, and from the first page, Dan’s readers will feel the thrill of discovery as they follow Robert Langdon through a masterful and unexpected new landscape. The Lost Symbol is full of surprises.”

“The Lost Symbol is a brilliant and compelling thriller. Dan Brown’s prodigious talent for storytelling, infused with history, codes and intrigue, is on full display in this new book. This is one of the most anticipated publications in recent history, and it was well worth the wait,” said Sonny Mehta, Chairman and Editor in Chief of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

For the entire listing of books click here...

Tribute to Michael Jackson continued

2009-07-10T01:50:00.000-07:00

Time described Jackson's influence at that point as "Star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style and color too". Jackson suffered a setback on January 27, 1984, which was to have repercussions for the rest of his life. While filming a Pepsi Cola commercial at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, he suffered second degree burns to his scalp after pyrotechnics accidentally set his hair on fire. Pepsi settled out of court, and Jackson donated his $1.5 million settlement to the Brotman Medical Center. On May 14, 1984, he was invited to the White House to receive an award from President Ronald Reagan for his support of charities that helped people overcome alcohol and drug abuse.

With the industry expecting another major hit, Jackson's first album in five years, Bad (1987), was highly anticipated.[48] It had lower sales than Thriller, but was still a substantial commercial success, spawning seven hit singles in the U.S., five of which ("I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror" and "Dirty Diana") reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, more than any other album.[49] As of 2008, the album had sold 30 million copies worldwide.

Jackson's skin had been a medium-brown color for the entire duration of his youth, but starting in the early 1980s, it gradually grew paler. The change gained widespread media coverage, including rumors that he was bleaching his skin.[37] In 1986, he was diagnosed with vitiligo and lupus; the vitiligo partially lightened his skin, and the lupus was in remission; both illnesses made him sensitive to sunlight.

To view a list of good albums, music and books go here

Tribute to Michael Jackson

2009-06-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

Michael Joseph Jackson was born August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana to a working-class family. The son of African-American parents Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson and Katherine Esther, he was the seventh of nine children. Jackson showed musical talent early in his life, performing in front of classmates and others during a Christmas recital at the age of five. In 1964, Jackson and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band formed by brothers Jackie, Tito and Jermaine.

Jackson later began performing backup vocals and dancing; at the age of eight, he and Jermaine assumed lead vocals, and the group's name was changed to The Jackson 5. The Jackson 5 recorded several songs, including "Big Boy", for the local record label Steeltown in 1967 and signed with Motown Records in 1968. the band continued to tour internationally, releasing six more albums between 1976 and 1984. From 1976 to 1984, Michael Jackson was the lead songwriter of the group.

Jones and Jackson jointly produced Off the Wall. Released in 1979, it was the first album to generate four US top 10 hits, and eventually sold over 20 million copies worldwide. After Jackson's early 1982 contribution, "Someone In the Dark", to the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which won him a Grammy for Best Album for Children,[28] Epic issued his second album, Thriller. In what would turn out to be the apex of his career, the album remained in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 for 80 consecutive weeks, 37 at the peak.

To be continued... to see a list of books click here

A few books on Michael Jackson

* On Michael Jackson
* Michael Jackson the Early Years
* The Solo Years

Mahashweta by Sudha Murthy

2009-06-27T00:12:00.000-07:00

Mahashweta by Sudha Murthy is an inspiring story of courage and resilience in a world marred by illusions and betrayals. This poignant tale offers hope and solace to the victims of the prejudices that govern society even today. The story is about Anupama, who's fairytale marriage to Anand falls apart when she discovers a white patch on her foot and learns that she has leukoderma. She is abandoned by her uncaring in-laws and insensitive husband and is forced to return to her fathers home in the village. The social stigma of a married woman living with her parents, her stepmothers continual barbs and the ostracism that accompanies her skin condition force her to contemplate suicide. Determined to rebuild her life against all odds, Anupama goes to Bombay where she finds success, respect and the promise of an enduring friendship.

Sudha Murthy has portrayed various aspects of Indian society – arranged marriages, dominating mother in-law, helpful friends, hypocrite relatives, a cursing stepmother, and worried parents of a young Indian girl.

Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

2009-06-25T05:36:00.000-07:00

Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely, an MIT professor, combines economic theory with some interesting experiments that test people's behavior to unravel why we act irrationally under certain circumstances. The introduction is a pretty good sample of what you'll be getting. If it doesn't appeal to you, don't bother continuing.

Dan Ariely discusses how behavior changes in social vs. economic realms. (Turns out we're happy to help for free--a social norm--but not so much if we're paid--we transition to a market norm.) He goes through concepts such as arbitrary coherence (once we associate a price to something, even arbitrarily, we use that price as a baseline from then on); the "decoy effect" (if we are given 3 options and 1 of them is a carefully placed, undesirable decoy, we will be unwittingly guided to one of the remaining choices, but not the other); the placebo effect; priming; the power of "free" (and our overriding fear of loss); and cheating (how we would never do it in some circumstances but don't really think of it in others).

It reminded me of Daniel Gilbert's Stumbling on Happiness. It will likely appeal to folks who liked Freakonomics, Stumbling on Happiness, or something by Malcolm Gladwell. For similar books click here...

Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis

2009-06-24T06:46:00.000-07:00

Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis needs no introduction, enjoying popularity since its first print. Ask youself- Do you always use the right word? Can you pronounce and spell it the right way? Do you know how to avoid illiterate expressions? Do you speak grammatically correct language? If the answer to any of these questions is NO, you ought to read Word Power Made Easy. Now thoroughly revised to eliminate outmoded references and to to reflect current idioms, it remains the best and quickest means to a better vocabulary in the English language.

Each chapter of ends with review. Each section ends with a progressive check. With progress checks and reviews, you can even keep a tab on your improvement rate, and see how fast you are broadening your vocabulary. Numerous tests will help you increase and retain the knowledge you acquired. Word Power Made Easy does more than just ass words to you vocabulary. It teaches ideas and a method of broadening knowledge as an integral part of the vocabulary building process. And the latest word list has alos been included. There is no reason to wait anymore for this wonder by Norman Lewis!

For a good list of books on English and grammar click here

10% Discount on Books : coupon code BOOKSDISC010

2009-06-24T05:46:00.000-07:00

Dear readers you can now avail 10% Discount on all Book purchases using the coupon code BOOKSDISC010 during checkout. The discount applies on all purchases above Rs 500 on Infibeam.com. The offer is for a limited time only (first come first serve). Recently Infibeam.com have added a good collection of Indian books recently, that include Amar Chitra Katha, tinkle and many others...

Outliers: The Story Of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

2009-06-23T05:38:00.000-07:00

In this stunning new book Outliers (from the bestselling author of The Tipping Point and Blink) Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an invigorating intellectual journey to show us what makes an extreme overachiever. Why are people successful? For centuries, humankind has grappled with this question, searching for the secret to accomplishing great things. He reveals that we pay far too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where successful people are from: their culture, their family, and their generation. Brilliant and entertaining, this is a landmark work that will simultaneously delight and illuminate.

A brilliant new book OutLiers examines how the careers of Bill Gates and the performance of world-class football players are alike; what top fighter pilots and The Beatles have in common; why so many top lawyers are Jewish; why Asians are good at maths; and why it is correct to say that the mathematician who solved Fermat's Theorem is not a genius. Just as he did in Blink, Gladwell overturns many of our conventional notions and creates an entirely new model for seeing the world.

For a good list of books click here.

Unruly Times by Prashant Bhawalkar

2009-06-22T09:50:00.000-07:00

Unruly Times by Prashant Bhawalkar is a satire on the Indian novel in English. Prashant Bhawalkar was born in Mumbai and studied English Literature at St. Xavier's College. Upon graduation, he worked briefly as a journalist and went on to study journalism at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in Sydney, Australia.

The main character, Dushyant, is an advertising copywriter in New York, who wants to publish a novel. He is told by people in the industry that he won't be marketable unless he writes a novel about something Indian, There is a double narrative running through the novel - Dushyant's struggle to write as well as the plot of the novel itself. Unruly Times main pre-occupation is the exploitation of identity politics by post-colonial writers. For a good list of related books click here

Sonia by Rasheed Kidwai

2009-06-21T09:48:00.000-07:00

In Sonia, A Biography, Rasheed Kidwai tells the extraordinary story of one of India’s most enigmatic women, whose journey from the small Italian town of Orbassano to 10 Janpath, New Delhi, is one of the most fascinating in contemporary India.

Rasheed Kidwai tracks the evolution of Sonia Gandhi against the backdrop of the Congress party’s return to power after years in the Opposition. The last five years have witnessed the Congress president’s growing assurance in her dealings with party stalwarts, with coalition partners and Opposition leaders. Drawing on his long experience as a political journalist, Kidwai chronicles how Rahul Gandhi’s smooth passage into the front rank of the party’s leadership was achieved.

Sonia Gandhi’s transformation from an unsure Congress party president to the unchallenged political chief of the ruling United Progressive Alliance government happened with some speed in the aftermath of the Congress-led coalition’s surprise victory in the 2004 general election. Her renunciation of the prime minister’s post enhanced her moral stature in the public eye, but it is her skilled handling of the equation with the prime minister, Manmohan Singh, that indicates the emergence of a self-confident politician, secure in her position at the helm of national affairs. Rasheed also gives a vivid account of how Sonia Gandhi navigated such critical moments as the ‘office of profit’ crisis, the presidential election, the Indo-US nuclear deal and the vote of confidence. For other books on Sonia click here

My Favourite Wife by Tony Parsons

2009-06-08T02:46:00.000-07:00

"My Favourite Wife" by Tony Parsons (The world-wide, mega selling author of "Man and Boy") is a book about where sex, romance and obsession ends, and where true love begins. My Favourite Wife a sizzling tale of sex, romance and second wives. Hot shot young lawyer Bill Holden and his wife Becca move to the booming, gold-rush city of Shanghai. Shanghai, a place of enormous wealth and crushing poverty, where fortunes are made and foreign marriages come apart in spectacular fashion, has a few surprises at stake for Bill. Bill's law firm houses the Holden family in Paradise Mansions - a luxury apartment block where newly rich Chinese men install their second wives: fabulous young beauties like JinJin Li, ex-school teacher, crossword addict and the Holdens' neighbour. After Becca witnesses a tragedy that awakens her to the reality of life beyond the glitzy surface of the city, she returns temporarily to London - and Bill and JinJin are thrown together. Bill wants to be a better man than the millionaire who keeps JinJin Li as a second wife on the side. A better man than anyone who cheats. Becca is his best friend. And, in the end, adrift without his young family, can he give JinJin anything better than she had before? For other books on similar category click here

Curfewed Night by Basharat Peer

2009-06-03T00:37:00.000-07:00

Kashmir has been ill-served by India, by Pakistan, by the militants and by its own politicians who have failed to work out a compromise. It has turned the serene valley into the bloodied nose of Asia. “Curfewed Night” is a chronicle from the eyes of a Kashmiri growing up in the valley and watching it transform into a hotbed of violent militancy pitted against state oppression. It is also about people unwilling to lose their identity. What is it about identity that causes people to sacrifice their future in its name? Identity is the most powerful mobilizing force in history. But what happens when identity gets into a perpetual conflict with those who wish to crush it?

Peer tells the story of this valley at peace in the 1980s but also of a people who consciously refused to associate themselves with India. Then- long before the terrorism and violence of that we’ve grown accustomed to- national identity had one litmus test: which side were you on of Miandad’s famous last ball sixer at Sharjah? Peer describes the jubilation that his family, his neighborhood and his valley experienced when Miandad hit Chetan Sharma out of the ground to win Pakistan an impossible victory. Pakistan won and Kashmir jubilated. It wasn’t just Pakistan. Kashmiris supported any and all teams which played against India. They rejected India more than they associate with Pakistan- a point often forgotten by Pakistanis. In subjection Kashmiris held on to their identity and rejected the one imposed on them. For other books on Kashmir and issues in Kashmir click here...

Life is Perfect by Himani Dalmia

2009-06-01T00:34:00.000-07:00

Himani Dalmia, the debutant author's attempt at highlighting modern life is interesting and realistic - Himani's characters, like any others in high society metros attending page 3 parties. They are portrayed as matured, thinking individuals, unlike the carefree ones in a typical chick flicks. However, at times, the plot becomes repetitive and the problems seem thrust on the characters. A good read on a lazy Sunday afternoon!

Life is perfect is the tale of Mitali Jaitia, who has what most would most call a perfect life. She has it all - a 20 year old with beauty, intellect, family wealth and even a doting boyfriend. But on the darker side of her , she also has her parent's separation to deal with, come to terms with her cousin's tragic death, accept her dad's bohemian lifestyle and her mother's helplessness.

Mitali's constant struggle at converging her world of abundance and emotional crisis reveals the complexities of her 'perfect world'. Set in the bungalow of an industrial family in Delhi, the story takes shape as Mitali secretly reads her dead cousin's diary and begins to understand herself and her family better. She questions herself that if everything is right then why does it feel so wrong.

The Lost Flamingoes of Bombay by Siddharth Shanghvi

2009-05-31T10:10:00.000-07:00

Acerbic and elegiac by turns, and potent in its portrayal of Bombay in all its allure and menace The Lost Flamingoes of Bombay confirms Shanghvi’s prodigious skill and range as a storyteller. The Lost Flamingoes of Bombay is as much a razor-sharp depiction of contemporary urban society and its obscene obsession with celebrity and sensation as it is an affecting tale about love’s betrayals and the redemptive powers of friendship.

As for the story, Karan Seth, star photographer at The India Chronicle, is in Bombay on a private mission: to immortalize the city in a unique photo-record of its hidden faces. In the pursuit of his ambitious dream, Karan finds unlikely allies: Rhea Dalal, whose seductive melancholy born of unfulfilled dreams and a childless marriage draws Karan into a tender but twisted affair; Zaira, whose shy elegance belies her status as the ravishing star of Bombay’s silver screen and Samar Arora, the eccentric pianist who inexplicably spurned limelight at the peak of his career. Then tragedy strikes, unexpected and gruesome, tearing the four lives apart. As a murky murder trial ensues, peeling the layers off the vibrant, pulsating city, Karan is exposed to a Fitzgeraldian world of sex, crime and politics. Utterly disenchanted, his life shorn of love, he abandons his twin passions—the camera and Bombay—and heads to England in search of restitution and normalcy. Yet, like the flamingoes of Sewri, who unfailingly give in to the strange, haunting pull of the great metropolis, almost in defiance of the travails it brings them, Karan too knows that he must return to his old loves .

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

2009-05-29T00:51:00.000-07:00

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer continues the saga of Edward, the vampire, and Bella, his mortal lover (and the narrator of this story). Readers captivated by Twilight and New Moon will eagerly devour Eclipse, the much anticipated third book in Stephenie Meyer's riveting vampire love saga. As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob --- knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. Werewolves and vampires are ancient enemies but since Edward’s family came into existence, an uneasy truce has taken place. Edward’s family are the “vegetarians” of vampire world, feeding off of animals instead of humans. The truce remains in place unless the vampires “turn” a local which is the plan with Bella. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death.

You Are Here by Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan

2009-05-27T21:30:00.000-07:00

You Are Here by Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan is about Arshi, a twenty five year old working in a PR agency in Delhi. A broken family, a dragon lady as a boss, a boyfriend who blows hot or cold based on unexplainable factors, a room-mate who is unsure of her dreams are the people Arshi deals with. Her head spinning wildly with the sheer gravity of her life`s quandaries, Arshi realizes what she needs most now (besides a barrelful of alcohol and some serious postcoital cuddling) are just a few epiphanies of the right kind . . . The narrative is stream of consciousness and is used pretty well. It is also slice of life and deals with a particular phase in Arshi’s life – her break up with her cheating boyfriend, her total frustration with her job and her coming to grips with her new beau’s boorish behavior. And therefore there is no real development of character or plot. The plot, if there is one. is simplistic and does not have any real meat. However, Meenakshi uses humour pretty well, and several passages will have you smiling. Her use of language is pretty good.

What to Expect When You're Expecting by Arlene Einsberg

2009-05-25T05:50:00.000-07:00

'What to Expect When You're Expecting' by Arlene Einsberg is a pregnancy bible. Now with over 9 million copies in print, it features an easy-to-follow month-by-month format, this indispensable book reassuringly leads readers through a wealth of information. It includes a step-by-step guide through labor and delivery, postpartum care, and breastfeeding, a full section just for fathers-to-be, and a 24-page "Pregnancy Notes" insert for keeping detailed records of prenatal test results, weight gain, doctorIs visits, observations, and more.

It has every detail of what parents need to know about choosing a caregiver, prenatal diagnosis, exercise, childbirth options... With each new print What to Expect When You're Expecting incorporates the most recent developments in medical science. It provides expectant parents with a wealth of information on month-by-month development which includes preparing for labor and delivery, breastfeeding and bonding afterward, an expanded chapter for fathers and a completely new look at the Best-Odds diet, which is better suited to the needs of busier women with less time.

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom’s experience

2009-05-22T23:46:00.000-07:00

Tuesdays with Morrie is a biography about journalist Mitch Albom’s experience interviewing his professor from 20 years earlier over a period of 14 weeks. The 14 Tuesday meetings between Mitch Albom and Morrie Shwartz are Morrie’s last as he continues his fight against ALS. Morrie shares his insights into living meaningful life, and brings dignity to the process of dying, which afflicted him, and afflicts many with great suffering, but also brings great learning at the last of life.

Morrie’s insights (those in quotes) and insight about Morrie (by Mitch Albom, not in quotes) are worth repeating and useful for improving quality of life and life philosophy:

“The culture we have does not make people feel good about themselves. And you have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn’t work, don’t buy it.”

He had created a cocoon of human activities- conversation, interaction, affection- and it filled his life like an overflowing soup bowl.

“Now that I’m suffering, I feel closer to people who suffer than I ever did before... I’m almost...drawn to them.”

“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” -Henry Adams

“Everyone knows they’re going to die, but nobody believes it. If we did, we would do things differently... But there’s a better approach. To know you’re going to die, and to be prepared for it at any time. That’s better. That way you can actually be more involved in your life while you’re living... Do what the Buddhists do. Every day, have a little bird on your shoulder that asks, “Is today the day? Am I ready? Am I doing all I need to do? Am I being the person I want to be?’ “

“We are too involved in materialistic things, and they don’t satisfy us. The loving relationships we have, the universe around us, we take these things for granted.”

“Listen. You should know something. All younger people should know something. If you’re always battling against getting older, you’re always going to be unhappy, because it will happen anyhow.”

“So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they’re busy doing things they think are important. This is because they’re chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”

Books by Anant Pai

2009-05-21T11:33:00.000-07:00

Anant Pai, often affectionately called Uncle Pai, is generally considered to be the father of Indian comics. Though he studied chemistry, physics and chemical technology, his passion was comics. He started a career in editing and publishing, finally becoming a junior executive in the Times of India Books Division. There he was at the cradle of Indian comics with the creation of 'Indrajal'. In 1967, the educational comics series Amar Chitra Katha (Immortal Picture Stories) was launched. In 1969, Anant Pai founded Rang Rekha Features, India's first comic and cartoon syndicate, and started the children's magazine Tinkle in 1980.

Each of the comics in the Amar Chitra Katha series was devoted to a person or event in Indian history, religion and mythology. Anant Pai conceptualized of all of these, and wrote the scenarios for most of them. The art was done by artists like Ram Waeerkar, Dilip Kadam, Pratap Mulick, Souren Roy, Jeffrey Fowler, H. S. Chavan, Madhu Powle and Chandrakant D. Rane. The books continue to be an international success.

The Road Less travelled by Scott Peck

2009-05-20T22:52:00.000-07:00

Dr.M.Scott Peck revolutionized the way we live our lives with his famous starting line "Life is difficult" and it is no less true today than when it was written twenty years ago. By melding love, science, and religion into a primer on personal growth, M. Scott Peck launched his highly successful writing and lecturing career with this book. Even to this day, Peck remains at the forefront of spiritual psychology as a result of The Road Less Traveled.

In this guide to confronting and resolving our problems - and suffering through the changes - we learn that we can reach a higher level of self-knowledge. Written in a voice that is timeless in its massage of love and understanding, The Road Less Travelled can help us learn the very nature of loving relationships: how to recognize true compatibility; how to distinguish dependency from love; how to become one's own person; how to be a more sensitive parent. The Road Less Travelled, a national bestseller for twenty years, will show you how to embrace reality and achieve serenity and fullness in your life. In this brilliant, groundbreaking book, traditional psychological thought and spirituality are challenged and a new understanding is brought into everyday life.

The monk who sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma

2009-05-19T22:49:00.000-07:00

The monk who sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma lists a step-by-step approach to living with greater courage, balance, abundance, and joy. A wonderfully crafted fable, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari tells the extraordinary story of Julian Mantle, a lawyer forced to confront the spiritual crisis of his out-of-balance life. On a life-changing odyssey to an ancient culture, he discovers powerful, wise, and practical lessons that teach us to, Develop joyful thoughts, Follow our life's mission and calling, Cultivate self-discipline and act courageously, Value time as our most important commodity and last but not the least Nourish our relationships, and – live fully, one day at a time.

This inspiring tale by Robin Sharma provides the wisdom needed to Create a Life of Passion, Purpose, and Peace

Stay Hungry Stay Foolish by Rashmi Bansal

2009-05-19T08:15:00.000-07:00

Stay Hungry-Stay Foolish by Rashmi Bansal is about the entrepreneurial experience of 25 entrepreneurs from IIM Ahmedabad the top management institute in India and yes has nothing to do with Steve Jobs. Stay Hungry-Stay Foolish comprises of the interviews by the author- Rashmi Bansal, an IIMA graduate herself as well as a successful entrepreneur. She is the founder,editor and publisher of a popular youth magazine called JAM -Just Another Magazine. Some of these entrepreneurs graduated way back in1970’s, but all had the same dream, faith and vision. Some were erratic, some were eccentric, some were adamant and none of them seemed to me the normal being that we seem to know of. Some quit their jobs as early as three months, some after six months and some after working for 26 years. Some worked for really big companies but they knew that meant to do something else.Some lived on their wife’s income for long times, some worked in a single room for months.But all these things did not stop them from doing "anything", they wanted. No wonder, only this level of faith in one’s own self brings in Naukri.com, Makemytrip.com, Subhiksha and a lot of such great creations. These are all creations indeed by these creators of Life and Vision.

For a good set of books to read, click here...

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

2009-05-18T21:53:00.000-07:00

The Life of Pi by Yann Martel talks about the son of a zookeeper, 16-year-old Pi Patel raised in Pondicherry, India, where he tries on various faiths for size, attracting "religions the way a dog attracts fleas." Planning a move to Canada, his father packs up the family and their menagerie and they hitch a ride on an enormous freighter. After a harrowing shipwreck, Pi finds himself adrift in the Pacific Ocean, trapped on a 26-foot lifeboat with a wounded zebra, a spotted hyena, a seasick orangutan, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker ("His head was the size and color of the lifebuoy, with teeth"). After much gore and infighting, Pi and Richard Parker remain the boat's sole passengers, drifting for 227 days through shark-infested waters while fighting hunger, the elements, and an overactive imagination. In rich, hallucinatory passages, Pi recounts the harrowing journey as the days blur together, elegantly cataloging the endless passage of time and his struggles to survive: "It is pointless to say that this or that night was the worst of my life. I have so many bad nights to choose from that I've made none the champion." Pi recounts, "My greatest wish--other than salvation--was to have a book. A long book with a never-ending story. One that I could read again and again, with new eyes and fresh understanding each time." It's safe to say that the fabulous, fable like Life of Pi is such a book.

Yann Martel's imaginative and unforgettable Life of Pi is a magical reading experience, an endless blue expanse of storytelling about adventure, survival, and ultimately, faith.

Shantaram by Gregory David Robert

2009-05-17T20:42:00.000-07:00

The epic novel Shantaram follows Gregory's entrancing life in India, detailing his involvement with the mafia as a money launderer, forger and street soldier before being thrown in an Indian prison. The novel follows him to Afghanistan where he fought with the Mujahideen.

The groundbreaking novel 'Shantaram' spans the world between fact and fiction seamlessly. Gregory David Roberts, an armed robber and Heroin addict escaped from an Australian prison. He eventually fled to India, a country he fell in love with. He changed his name to Lin. Embracing the wonderful culture Robert's learned Hindi and Marathi, the majority of the latter was learned in a remote village. He returned to Mumbai and began living in a slum, establishing a free health clinic for the slum dwellers.

The novels writing style is clever and descriptive enough to immerse you in a story where you quickly move from adventure to adventure, top of the world to heartache. This novel which Robert's wrote 3 times due to it being repeatedly destroyed in prison is worth the wait. Not only is it an education about India and its culture, it shows the unseen Bombay underworld and takes you on a roller coaster ride of literary brilliance.

Lexus and the Olive Tree by Thomas Friedman

2009-05-16T11:01:00.000-07:00

Lexus and the Olive Tree by Thomas Friedman it was a novel perspective on what was happening in globalization of trade, communications, entertainment, etc. Half of this new, post-Cold War world is intent on building a better Lexus, on streamlining their societies and economies for the global marketplace, while the other half is locked in elemental struggles over who owns which olive tree, which strip of land.

Friedman argues that the American model of capitalism is the ideal version. Government must play a minimal role. "No one is in charge" simply means no overseer to represent the community's interests. Labour unions are to be quelled. No favours are to be shown to any not meeting the new performance standards.

The key question, addressed by Thomas Friedman, is how best to retain national identity and control over our lives while still linking up to the soulless, faceless global institutions in order to survive economically

A Case Of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif

2009-05-16T02:20:00.000-07:00

A Case Of Exploding Mangoes, Mohammed hanif debut novel is Teasing, provocative, and funny. The novel imagines a connection between the still mysterious plane crash in which the then Pakistani dictator General Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq died and the events of 9/11. Intrigue and subterfuge combine with misstep and luck in this darkly comic book about love, betrayal, tyranny, family--and a world that unexpectedly resembles our own.

The story revolves around Ali Shigri a Pakistan Air Force pilot and Silent Drill Commander of Fury Squadron. His father, one of Zia's colonels, has committed suicide under suspicious circumstances. Ali is determined to understand who or what pushed his father to take such a drastic step and avenge his death. What he quickly discovers is a snarl of events: Americans in Pakistan, Soviets in Afghanistan, dollars in every hand. But Ali remains patient, determined, a touch world-weary, and unsurprised at finding Zia at every turn. He mounts an elaborate plot for revenge with an ever-changing crew that includes his silk underwear and cologne wearing roommate; a hash-smoking American lieutenant; the chief of Pakistan's secret police, who mistakenly believes he's in cahoots with the CIA; a blind woman imprisoned for fornication; Uncle Starchy, the squadron's laundryman; and, not least of all, a mango-besotted crow. General Zia a devout Muslim "and" leering admirer of non-Muslim cleavage--begins every day by asking his chief of security: "Who's trying to kill me?" and the answer lies in a conspiracy trying to happen . . .

A Case Of Exploding Mangoes, a novel of the first order, provocative, exuberant, wickedly clever and that reimagines the conspiracies and coincidences the above above event.

Data Structures and Software Development

2009-05-15T04:41:00.000-07:00

Data structures is one of the core courses in most computer-science curricula. Such a course is usually taken by all majors since its contents are used in subsequent courses. The course deals with different data structures used in the programming environment, including their time and space analyses. However, in recent years, the course has evolved to provide students a introduction and good object-oriented programming background. The ACM/IEEE report recommends that one half of the software design—be covered in first year. The topics to be covered include fundamental design concepts and principles, object-oriented analysis and design, and design for reuse. Data Structures and Software Development by Jaun Paul Tremblay provides a strong introduction to these software design topics at the first- or second-year level.

The book approaches Data Structures from an object-oriented perspective and includes many of the recent software engineering techniques for an object-oriented development of a system. Most of the sample code is implemented in Java. Java an object-oriented language that includes interfaces, abstract classes, multiple interface inheritance, exception handling, automatic garbage collection, and GUI interfaces. In addition, it is extremely portable as it runs in a Web browser on almost every machine.

Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

2009-05-14T10:33:00.000-07:00

Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his book Fooled-by-Randomness takes a deeper look at financial luck. In this book Hedge fund manager Taleb (Dynamic Hedging) addresses the apparently irrational movement of money markets around the world. Using his own investing experience and examples of others' successes and disappointments, he discusses theories like Monte Carlo math (easy; considered cheating by purists) and the concept of Russian roulette. Taleb tells interesting, well-wrought stories about individual behavior: "While Nero has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams, both personally and intellectually, he is starting to consider himself as having missed a chance somewhere."

The primary conjecture of Fooled-by-Randomness is that human beings are psychologically prone to misinterpret random events. We need to explain things, whether it be in the social sciences, art and literature, or the natural sciences, so we find ways to explain them. Considering the infinite quantities of data at our disposal, no statistician denies that extremely powerful correlations will occur simply out of chance. Nassim's other famous book is the black swan.

Don't lose your mind lose your Weight

2009-05-14T07:11:00.000-07:00

Don't lose your mind lose your Weight by Rujuta Diwekar packs its own punch. Page by page, chapter by chapter Rujuta explains how practically everything we have accepted as the gospel truth when it comes to dieting is wrong. Want to know how Kareena Kapoor managed to achieve the perfect figure? Let Rujuta Diwekar tell you how. "Rujuta has changed not just my body but my mind and soul. She is the best thing to have happened to my life." defines what Rujuta meant for Kareena kappor. A few snippets will put the point across

i. start with this simple thought:

"There is no such thing as going 'on or 'off' your diet. Eating correctly is a lifelong commitment, and the diet should be a reflection of this."

ii. She puts her point across in very simple and candid words.

"Where is the bravery in losing weight? People with diarrhoea lose weight. So do people with jaundice, malaria, TB, not to mention cancer and AIDS."

Or this:

"Why do we pay so little attention to our stomachs? Is it because it never attacks us?"

There is just enough 'technical stuff' - on carbs, proteins, vitamins and transfats - to make a serious point. But everything she advises is easy to understand and implement.

Jeffrey Archer

2009-05-13T22:22:00.000-07:00

Jeffrey Archer son of a printer was born in London, brought up in Somerset, and educated at Wellington School, and Brasenose College, Oxford. Archer then served five years in Britain’s House of Commons, fourteen years in the House of Lords, and two in Her Majesty’s prisons, which spawned three volumes of highly acclaimed Prison Diaries.

Aged 34, determined to repay his creditors in full, he sat down to write his first novel Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less. Written at the home of his former Oxford Principal, it was taken up by the Literary Agent, Debbie Owen, and sold to 17 countries within a year.All of his novels and short story collections---including Kane and Abel, Sons of Fortune, and False Impression---have been international bestsellers.

Shiv Khera

2009-05-13T10:51:00.000-07:00

Shiv Khera known for his trademarked motivational quote, "Winners don't do different things, they do things differently." is the founder of Qualified Learning Systems, USA. He is also a motivational speaker, author of self-help books, An educator, Business Consultant, and a much sought-after speaker. Shiv Khera began delivering motivational lectures, and built a successful business around motivational speaking, which he later incorporated as Qualified Learning Systems.

Khera has taken his dynamic personal message across the globe, from the U.S. to Singapore. His 25 years of research, understanding and experience has helped people on the path of personal growth and fulfillment. He has also joined a political party as National President in India and intends to contest the upcoming elections in Delhi.

Tata McGraw-Hill

2009-05-13T08:27:00.000-07:00

Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company (TMH) is the Indian subsidiary of The McGraw-Hill Companies. Established in 1970, McGraw-Hill Education (India) is the market leader in educational books covering various subjects and areas of interest. The core activities of TMH are the publishing, reprinting, and marketing of McGraw-Hill books. It is one of the market leaders of India's publishing industry.

The McGraw-Hill Companies United States traces its history back to 1888 when James H. McGraw, co-founder of the company, purchased the American Journal of Railway Appliances. He continued to add further publications, eventually establishing The McGraw Publishing company.

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

2009-05-12T07:25:00.000-07:00

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne is about an eccentric Englishman named Phileas Fogg who makes a twenty thousand pound bet with five of his rich country club friends to travel around the world in eighty days with his trusty servant Passepartout a Frenchman.

Along the way they have to overcome many obstacles. Fogg spends most of his fortune overcoming these obstacles and if they don't win the bet he will be ruined. There are some things however that even money can't overcome and several times Fogg is faced with a moral decision that if he pursues the right thing to do will significantly set him back on time. There is also another subplot involving a bank robbery in England where fifty five thousand pounds have been stolen, and Fogg is considered to be the main suspect. A detective Fix is assigned to follow Fogg and to arrest him once he sets foot on English territory. The

Their travels take them through England, Paris, the Suez Canal, Egypt, India, Hong Kong, Japan, America, and Ireland. In India they rescue a princess who stays on with them throughout the rest of their journey and a love interest grows between her and Fogg. Ending of Around the World in Eighty Days is a very unexpected one. Read this book and find out!

Other books by Jules Verne are

* Journey to the center of the Earth

* 20000 leagues under the sea

* From the Earth to the Moon

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte's

2009-05-11T21:07:00.000-07:00

Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte's only novel, is one of the pinnacles of 19th century English literature. It's the story of Heath Cliff, an orphan who falls in love with a girl above his class, loses her, and devotes the rest of his life to wreaking revenge on her family.

The story set in early nineteenth-century Yorkshire, deals with the passionate attachment between a headstrong young girl and a foundling boy brought up by her father causes disaster for them and many others, even in the next generation. It is an intriguing tale of revenge in which the main characters are controlled by consuming passions. The characters are vivid in description and seem dauntingly real, each so distinctly different that it is a shock they are fictional.

Wuthering Heights was once considered such a risk by its publishers that Emily Bronte had to defray the cost of publication until a sufficient number of copies had been sold.

For more books and their classification read ...

The Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

2009-05-11T09:39:00.000-07:00

The Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson is about a man named Jim Hawkins who is writing down his experience about his voyage to Treasure Island at an inn. The book talks about how he became a hero during his younger years, which lead up to his adventure to the infamous treasure island. He is held captured by enemy pirates who wish to kill his Captain long John Silver after they find the treasure. The story continues with its twist and its turns.

A tale of betrayal and friendship; an exciting saga of pirates on a search for buried treasure,i t starts with how young Jim Hawkins got Captain Flint's Treasure map from Captain Billy Bones. Jim found the map in Billy Bones' sea chest when Jim and his mother were looking through the chest for the money that Bones owed them. Bones had died during his attempt to escape the evil pirates who were after him. So Jim and his mother had to hurriedly look for the money, and while his mother was trying to count out the right amount of money Jim took Captain Flint's map.

After the pirates attacked the "Admiral Benbow" that was the name of the inn that the Hawkins family owned, Jim goes and gets help from Dr.Livesey and Squire Trelawney and together they board a ship called the Hispaniola and set a course for Treasure Island.

On board Jim becomes friends with the ship's cook Long John Silver (who owns a parrot named Cap'n Flint after the infamous pirate captain), but little does Jim know that Silver is actually a pirate and an ex-member of Captain Flint's crew. Jim soon learns of a sinister plot being made by Silver to steal the treasure that might endanger him and his friends. Read the Treasure Island book to the know the enthralling finish. Other books by Robert Louis Stevenson

* Dr Jekyll and Hyde
* Kidnapped
* The Master of Ballantre

Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum

2009-05-10T21:03:00.000-07:00

The Bourne Idenitity by Robert Ludlum is about Jason Bourne a highly paid assassin but soon wants to change his ways and escape his past. But, sadly his past tracks him down each and every time he feels that he is out of danger. Jason Bourne is a man without a life story to tell other than he woke up riddled with bullet holes and no idea how he got where he is. Thanks to a piece of microfiche surgically embedded in his thigh, he finds out his name is Jason Bourne and he has a bank account in Zurich filled with millions of dollars that he begins to withdraw to help him live. As a result of this activity, however, an assassin named Carlos, who has apparently been his adversary for some time, is trying to hunt him down. Bourne must now try to escape with the aid of a Canadian economist named Marie St. Jacques who he initially kidnapped just to help him get out of the town and has now developed a strange romance with. Very suspenseful and exciting story that really does not date itself despite having been written in 1975. Ludlum takes great care in his descriptions of how the amnesia affects Bourne's thought process and actions as well as how certain facts about Bourne's past start to be slowly realized which make this book a good study in psychology as well as a great spy thriller.

Robert Ludlum has also made movies based on the Bourne Identity, the Bourne Supremecy and the final the Bourne Ultimatum. Amazingly he even made a game out of it wow! called the Bourne Conspiracy.

To kill a mocking bird

2009-05-10T10:45:00.000-07:00

To kill a Mocking bird is the one and only book by Harper Lee. Set in fictional small town in Alabama, the story talks about life in Depression-hit America. It starts out with an affectionate description of the sleepy southern county. Scout and her brother Jem are raised by their widowed father Atticus and their housekeeper, Calpurnia. Their summers are consumed by grand plans to lure the recluse Arthur “Boo” Radley out of his spooky home. The ladies meet for missionary teas and “bathed before noon, after their three-o’clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum.” As the story progresses, this charming facade is dismantled to reveal ignorance, fear, hypocrisy and prejudice. A beautiful, if painful, coming-of-age story.

Atticus Finch is called on to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell. He is eventually found guilty and, “tired of taking white man’s chances”, attempts to escape and is shot to death. The book "To kill a mocking bird" deftly shows that everyone is human and multi-faceted. Mayella is a pitiful figure, driven by loneliness and abuse; Mrs Dubose, a bigot who screams insults at the Finches, is also a courageous woman who kicks her morphine addict and dies “beholden to nothing and nobody”.

Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

2009-05-10T00:54:00.000-07:00

The Kite Runner the debut novel of Khaled Hosseini's traces the life of a young boy, Amir, as he faces the challenges that confront him on the path to manhood. Kit Runner, the story circles around relationships especially, testing friendships, finding love, cheating death, accepting faults, and gaining understanding.

The story is set in the 60's in Afghanistan. Amir enjoys a life of privilege that is shaped by his friendship with Hassan, his servant's son. Amir lives in constant want of his father's attention, feeling that he is a failure in his father's eyes. To change the dynamics of the relationship, Amir takes on the weight of living up to unrealistic expectations and places the fate of his relationship with his father on the outcome of a kite running tournament.

Kite Running a popular challenge in Afghanistan is a game in which participants must cut down the kites of others with their own kite. Amir wins the tournament. Yet just as he begins to feel that all will be right in the world, a tragedy occurs with his friend Hassan in a back alley on the very streets where the boys once played.

This moment marks a turning point in Amir's life, esp a memory that he seeks to bury by moving to America. There he realizes his dream of becoming a writer and marries for love but the memory of that fateful day will prove too strong to forget. Eventually it draws Amir back to Afghanistan to set right all the wrongs that began that day in the alley and continued in the days, months, and years that followed.

A thousand splendid suns is another great novel by Khaled Hosseini.

God of small things Arundati Roy

2009-05-09T02:21:00.000-07:00

The God of small Things by Arundati roy was published 1996. It quickly became a best-seller, and won the prestigious Booker Prize in October, 1997. The core of the book is her portrayal of children, entering into their thinking in a way which does not sentimentalize them but reveals the fierce passions and terrors which course through them and almost destroy them. "A story is a simple way of presenting a complex world and in my book I have tried to create a complete world carefully with craft and detail," clarifies Arundhati Roy!

Set in Kerala during the late 1960s when communism rattled the age-old caste system, The God of Small Things begins with the funeral of young Sophie Mol, the cousin of the novel's protagonists Rahel and her fraternal twin brother, Estha. In a circuitous and suspense--filled narrative, it is a story of decadence of a family with a hoary past, trapped in a time bubble. The bubble is tossed like a yo-yo by the great surge of events, ready to burst any moment. Nevertheless this steady, mechanical and almost pre-ordained process of withering, stirs up great passions, with its attendant ironies and pathos. In the end, we have a classic with a tragic grandeur, albeit of small things!

Other books by Arundati roy

* Algebra of Infinite Justice
* Ordinary Person's guide to Empire
* Power politics

Harry Potter

2009-05-08T19:55:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels revolve around Harry Potter, an orphan who discovers that he is a wizard. Though wizard ability is inborn, children are sent to wizarding school to learn the magical skills necessary to succeed in the wizarding world. Harry is invited to attend the boarding school called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Each book chronicles one year in Harry's life, and most of the events take place at the school.

The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter, together with his close friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The central story arc concerns Harry's struggle against the evil wizard Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry's parents in his quest to conquer the wizarding world and subjugate non-magical people to his rule.

The seven books by J.K. Rowling are

* Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
* Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
* Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
* Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
* Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
* Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The Art of War

2009-05-08T05:28:00.000-07:00

The Art of War is one of the oldest (6th century BC) and most successful books on military strategy in the world. The Art of War is a Chinese military treatise written by Sun Tzu during the Zhou dynasty. It is Composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of warfare.

It has had a huge influence on Eastern military thinking, business tactics, and beyond. It has long been praised as the definitive work on military strategies and tactics of its time, and one of the basic texts on the subject. It recognizes the importance of positioning in strategy. Also, strategy does not merely involve planning in the sense of working through a to-do list, but rather that requires quick and appropriate responses to changing conditions. Planning works in a controlled environment, but in a competitive environment, competing plans collide, creating unexpected situations.

The Art of War has been applied to fields well outside the military. Much of the text is about how to fight wars without actually having to do battle: it gives tips on how to outsmart one's opponent so that physical battle is not necessary. As such, it has found application as a training guide for many competitive endeavors that do not involve actual combat.

Other Books on war and military tactics

* 33 strategies of war
* Gears of war strategy

Pride and Prejudice

2009-05-07T20:08:00.000-07:00

Jane Austen is one of the greatest writers in English, and pride and prejudice is her great masterpiece. A sharp and witty comedy of manners set in the early 19th Century English society, a world in which men held virtually all the power and women were required to negotiate mine-fields of social status, respectability, wealth, love, and sex in order to marry both to their own liking and to the advantage of their family. Pride and Prejudice is simply one of the funniest novels ever written, peopled with memorable characters brought vividly to life as they both succeed and fail at the game of life according to the manners of their era.

The book revolves around the story of the Bennetts, a family of daughters whose father's estate is entailed to a distant relative, for upon Mr. Bennett's death they will loose home, land, income, everything. But are the Bennett daughters up to playing a winning hand in this high-stakes matrimonial game without forfeiting their own personal integrity?

Other books by Jane Austen are:

* Sence and Sensibility
* Emma
* Mansfield Park
* Persuasion

Books by Barack Obama

2009-05-07T06:23:00.000-07:00

Barack Obama, the first African American president was born in 1961 to a white American woman and a black Kenyan student. Obama was reared in Hawaii by his mother and her parents, his father having left for further study and a return home to Africa. After college, Obama became a community organizer in Chicago. He slowly found place and purpose among folks of similar hue but different memory, winning enough small victories to commit himself to the work?he's now a civil rights lawyer there.

Barack Obama's books are more based on his struggle in life. He is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Dreams from My Father, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream and Barack Obama in his own words.

The Diary of a social butterfly

2009-05-06T20:57:00.000-07:00

Moni Mohsin the author of The End of Innocence writes a popular column called Diary of a Social Butterfly for Pakistans Friday Times, selections of which make up The Diary of a Social Butterfly her second book.

Wicked, irreverent and hugely entertaining, The Diary of a Social Butterfly gives you a delicious glimpse into the parallel universe of the have-musts. In this book one meets Butterfly, Pakistan’s most lovable, silly, socialite. An avid partygoer, inspired misspeller, and unwittingly acute observer of Pakistani high society, Butterfly is a woman like no other. In her world, SMS becomes S & M and people eat ‘three tiara cakes’ while shunning ‘do number ka maal’. ‘What cheeks!’ as she would say. As her country faces tribulations – from 9/11 to the assassination of Benazir Bhutto – Butterfly glides through her world, unfazed, untouched, and stopped short only by the chip in her manicure.

Moni Mohsin grew up in Lahore and now divides her time between Lahore and London, where she lives with her husband and two children.

The White Tiger

2009-05-06T10:25:00.000-07:00

Aravind Adiga's riveting, razor-sharp debut novel The White Tiger explores with wit and insight the realities of these two India's, and reveals what happens when the inhabitants of one collude and then collide with those of the other. Adiga has been gutsy in tackling a complex and urgent subject. His is a novel that has come not a moment too soon.

It describes the story of Balram a boy born in the Darkness - sold into indentured servitude to pay off the dowry debts associated with marrying of a daughter. Balram, told by a school inspector that he is a White Tiger - something born once a generation, rises through sheer ambition to become a driver for a local landlord. He is brought to Delhi to serve as driver for Ashok - the son of the landlord.

A pivotal moment of the book occurs when Ashok's wife demands to drive after a wild night out with her husband. On the way home, she hits and kills a young child. From this point, Balram begins a series of rebellions leading up to the murder of Ashok and the theft of millions of rupees. Balram runs away to the southern coast - to Bangalore, the tech capital - and sets up a taxi system for tech companies with the help of bribery of the police. When one of his drivers accidentally kills someone, he uses his connections in the police to sweep it under the rug. He protects his driver. Yet he insists on going to the family's house, paying his respects, giving them thousands of rupees, and hiring the killed boy's brother. The system is not dead, yet Adiga suggests it is changing as the few servants who free themselves change it from within.

Balram’s violent bid for freedom is shocking. What, we’re left to ask, does it make him -- just another thug in India’s urban jungle or a revolutionary and idealist ? It’s a sign of this book’s quality, as well as of its moral seriousness, that it keeps you guessing to the final page and beyond.

Other Booker Price Winner Books and nominees

* Sea of Poppies
* The secret scripture
* Clothes on their backs

Indian Civil Services Examination

2009-05-01T23:06:00.000-07:00

The Indian Civil Services Examination is the entrance test used by the Indian government to select candidates for the following posts namely, Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and 21 other posts. To the exam a candidate must qualify for the eligibility rules.

It consists of two rounds

* Civil Services Preliminary Examination -It consists of two papers of multiple-choice questions carrying a maximum of 450 marks. The first one is on General Studies and the next one one of the optional subjects chosen by the candidate. Candidates can choose to take the exam in either English or Hindi.

* Civil Services Main Exam - The candidates are expected to clear both the written exam & the subsequent interview. The written exam consists of nine papers for a grand total of 2300.

A few handy books that are a great study aid are

* Physics for Civil service exams
* Indian Polity for UPSC
* Science and Tech for Civil Service Exam
* Mock test papers

Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)

2009-05-01T03:17:00.000-07:00

Graduate Management Admission Test aka GMAT is an exam (administered by ETS) designed to evaluate how candidates will perform academically in Masters in Business Administration aka MBA programs.

GMAT is often times referred to as the "GMAT CAT"; the acronym CAT stands for "Computer Adaptive Test." The GMAT is administered only on a computer, except in certain locations where the test is referred to as the "paper-based" GMAT.

GMAT scores are used by graduate business schools to make admission decisions. About two-thirds of the 1,300+ graduate business schools around the world require GMAT scores for admission. Schools that do not require GMAT scores nevertheless welcome GMAT scores to help access an applicant’s qualifications.

GMAT consists of three sections
- Analytical Writing Assessment
- Quantitative Ability
- Verbal Ability

A few noted study aids for GMAT

* Cracking the GMAT
* The GMAT Advantage
* GMAT Quantitative Review
* GMAT Review

Test Of English as a Foreign Language aka TOEFL

2009-04-30T21:15:00.000-07:00

The Test Of English as a Foreign Language aka TOEFL evaluates an individuals ability to use and understand standard American English at a college level. It is a must for non-native applicants seeking admission into US and other English-speaking colleges and universities. The TOEFL is the product of the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and is administered world wide. The test is computer based, although paper versions are available where it is not possible.

TOEFL consists of four sections:

* Listening Comprehension
* Structure and Written Expression
* Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary
* Essay Writing

The Computer Based Test aka CBT for TOEFL, is an adaptive test; meaning that the next question's difficulty level depends on the correctness of one's response to the current question. It follows computer adaptive test strategy for the Listening and Structure section alone. The reading comprehension and Essay writing are not computer adaptive. A few good resources are

* Essential Words for TOEFL
* 400 Must have words for TOEFL
* TOEFL idioms Flashcards

GRE (Graduate Record Examination)

2009-04-30T05:44:00.000-07:00

Graduate Record Examination aka GRE is the test used by Colleges and universities across US to evaluate students. GRE is conducted by Educational Testing Service(ETS). It is a multiple choice test which tests a students verbal, mathematical and writing abilities. Until, a few years ago GRE was a written examination, but with the recent out reach of cumputer technology, GRE is now computer based and is adminsitered worldwide by ETS.

There are two kinds of Tests

* GRE General Test: It measures verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and analytical writing skills that are not related to any specific field of study.

* GRE Subject based Test: It gauges undergraduate achievement in eight specific fields of study and can help forecast a candidate's potential for success in graduate school.

A few of the noted books are

* Barrons GRE
* Cracking GRE by Princeton Review
* GRE exams by Kaplan

The Seagull

2009-04-29T07:04:00.001-07:00

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a story of a seagull who, unlike his comrades, is not happy yelling "Mine! Mine! Mine!" for food. He loves to soar, and fly. He faces rejection and ridicule for his quest for greater heights. And of course, he inspires all of us to reach for our goals.

The story here is that Jonathan and Fletcher were not "special" in any way. They were seagulls like any others. The difference is that they chose to strive to better themselves. They were not content to merely eat and sleep. They wanted to become really good at what they could do - fly. The elders explain that for many people, this process takes many lifetimes. If you do well in a given life, you graduate to a "higher" life where you can then work with people on your next stage of progress. If you just get by in your current life, then you get reborn into that same level, to have another chance to strive.

Many people sometimes are like most of the gulls in this book, they need to learn the lessons that "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" gives: the most important thing is to believe in oneself, and always do one's best without giving up.

The Alchemist

2009-04-28T22:20:00.000-07:00

The alchemist by Paulo Coelho is a tale a shepherd boy (Santiago), who dreams of seeing the world. Santiago travels from from Spain to Morocco in search of worldly success, and eventually to Egypt, where a fateful encounter with an alchemist brings him at last to self-understanding and spiritual enlightenment.

The book is compelling in its own right, but gains resonance through the many lessons Santiago learns during his adventures. The story has the comic charm, dramatic tension and psychological intensity of a fairy tale, but it's full of specific wisdom as well, about becoming self-empowered, overcoming depression, and believing in dreams. While the lack of character or plot complexity precludes this minimalist work from being considered a great novel, it will be a satisfying read for those seeking inspiration of the purest sort. A few other noted works by Paulo Coelho are

* Warrior of the light
* The Pilgrimage
* The Devil and Mass Prym
* Buddhist Pilgrimage
* Winner Stands Alone

Books on Environmental Pollution

2009-04-27T23:01:00.000-07:00

What is pollution? Pollution is the introduction of harmful substances or products into the environment at a rate faster than the environment can accommodate. Environmental pollution is the contamination of the physical and biological components of planet Earth to such an extent that normal environmental processes are adversely affected. It can be broadly classified into air, water and soil.

History: Although pollution had been known to exist for a very long time, the onset of the industrial revolution during the 19th century, made it grow exponentially and a major concern of global proportions . Factors such as population growth and urbanization invariably place greater demands on the planet and stretch the use of natural resources to the maximum. Combustion of fossil fuels causes extremely high levels of air pollution is widely recognized as one of the most important causes of pollution. There are many many man made reasons for pollution.

Environmental pollution is causing a lot of distress not only to humans but also animals, driving many animal species to endangerment and even extinction. There are a lot of books on environmental pollution that gives out detailed insights into the cause and their determental effects on our ecosystem. A few noted ones are:

* Environmental Pollution Control Engineering
* Environmental Pollution
* Environmental Pollution Analysis

Books on Study aid

2009-04-27T09:16:00.000-07:00

Gathering information about Universities, degrees and curriculum spread across the world may be a daunting task. Study Aids are essentially books providing valuable information on universities, colleges, examination papers, curriculum and much more. Especially for students aspiring for higher education and are preparing to take exams like SAT, GRE, GMAT, CAT, TOEFL they are an in valuable resource. These books not only have good coverage of the different subjects, but also have enough practice tests that prepare you for these test. Sometimes they are accompanied by visual aids in CDs.

Study Aid books also help in choosing the right college (college guides) based on your field of study and scores in the various exams. They carry detailed information on the courses and degrees offered by the different universities along with vital information relating to admissions and other requirements to qualify. A few of the noted books are

* GMAT
* Cracking the GRE
* Chemistry for IIT JEE

Star Wars

2009-04-27T01:34:00.000-07:00

Star wars is the tale of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and the fall and redemption of Anakin Skywalker. It is an epic tragedy of the corruption of a young man in love into darkness, the rise of evil, and the power of good triumphing in the end.

The events depicted in Star Wars take place in a fictional galaxy. There are many planets in the galaxy which are members of a Galactic Republic, later reorganized as the Galactic Empire. Space travel is common, especially between these galaxies. Many species of alien creatures inhabit these planets. Star Wars features elements such as (Jedi) knights, witches, and princesses that are related to archetypes of the fantasy genre. Robotic droids are also commonplace and are generally built to serve their owners.

There are lot of books on Star wars. A few of them are

* Star Wars
* Epic Battles
* The story of Darth Wader

Books of Self Help

2009-04-25T23:37:00.000-07:00

There are several situations in life where self realization leads to lesser hurdles and a better understanding of the inner self. The term self-help often refers to self-guided improvement. The improvement can be focused on different aspects of life namely, economical, intellectual, or emotional — often with a substantial psychological basis.

Books on self help, will help deal with what life presents. Anxiety, alcoholism, depression, anger... - whatever one is dealing with, self help books certainly help handle/overcome them. Biographies, tips on curing certain bad habits or a book on cosmic healing make up the category of self help books which are indeed very resourceful. A few great books are

* The Big Leap
* Complete Confidence
* Luck the essential guide

Calvin and Hobbes

2009-04-25T00:47:00.000-07:00

Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes has been a worldwide success. Introduced in 1985 the strip follows the richly imaginative adventures of Calvin and his trusty tiger, Hobbes. Whether a poignant look at serious family issues or a round of time-travel, Calvin and Hobbes will astound and delight you.

The strip is vaguely set in the contemporary Eastern United States, on the outskirts of suburbia. The broad themes of the strip deal with Calvin's flights of fantasy, his friendship with Hobbes, his relationships and interactions with his parents, classmates, teachers, and other members of society, his unique views on a diverse range of political issues and his misadventures.

The final strip (3,160th) of Calvin and Hobbes was published Sunday, December 31, 1995. A few of the noted ones are

* Indespensable Calvin and Hobbes
* Calvin and Hobbes 10th anniversary
* The complete Calvin and Hobbes

Books by Dale Carnegie

2009-04-24T06:11:00.000-07:00

Dale Carnegie was well known for his extra ordinary work in the areas of public speaking and personality development. He became famous by showing others how to become successful. Infact, his teachings were so famous that there is a Dale Carnegie Course, a program for businesses based on Carnegie's teachings used worldwide (approx 75 countries). Two of his most famous maxims are, "Believe that you will succeed, and you will," and "Learn to love, respect and enjoy other people.".

He was the author of "How to Win Friends and Influence People", first published in 1936. The book has sold more than 10 million copies and has been translated into many languages. His books became popular because of his illustrative stories and simple, well-phrased rules. A few of his other noted works are

* How to enjoy your life and job
* Quick and easy way to effective speaking
* How to develop self confidence

Technology & Engineering Books

2009-04-23T19:50:00.000-07:00

Technology and engineering hand in hand. What is technology? The application of science, especially to industrial or commercial objectives, and engineering? The application of scientific and mathematical principles to design, manufacture, and operate machines, processes, and systems. As we can see both by definition are very closely related to achieving commercial objectives. In fact, they are the back bone of most economies, and countries that have stressed upon their importance (India, China) have reaped the benefits of being the most successful countries. These countries still have positive growth in the existing bad global economy.

Either be it undergraduate studies or advanced research without the basis of pure sciences there can be no up gradation in technology. Books on Technology and engineering help garner basic and high level information on latest technology, scientific policies, its promises and perils. This information has become indispensable to mankind. A few noted books are

* Electronics Principle and Management
* Strategic Management of Built Facilities
* Complete Roofing Handbook

Books on Transportation

2009-04-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

Transportation is the act of moving something (people, goods ...) from one location to another. There are many modes of transportation namely, road, rail, air, sea. Each mode has its own advantages and dis advantages and chosen based on price, reach and ability to transport to the destination.

Transportation is a key part of any business. There are many companies that provide logistics support to enable pretty much every other business. Books describing the entrepreneurial spirit that led to their establishments are a plenty. Reading about the inception, hurdles and ultimate success of leading transportation businesses is indeed enthralling. A few of the noted books are

* Automotive Engines
* Aircraft Systems

For a list of other general books refer here...