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Catagory: Non Fiction

non fiction main category

What You Are Looking for is in the Library

THE TWO-MILLION-COPY BESTSELLING JAPANESE NOVEL

The Top Ten Times bestseller
A Time Magazine Book of the Year
‘An undeniable page-turner’ New York Times

‘I ADORED this uplifting, hopeful novel ‘ Daily Mail
‘It made me laugh and cry and feel comforted’ 5***** Reader review
‘A tribute to the transformative power of books and libraries‘ Irish Times

An inspirational tale of the love, comfort and growth you can find in the pages of a good book.
_________________
What are you looking for?

So asks Tokyo’s most enigmatic librarian, Sayuri Komachi.

But she is no ordinary librarian.

Sensing exactly what someone is searching for in life, she provides just the book recommendation to help them find it.

We meet five visitors to the library, each at a different crossroads:

– The restless retail assistant eager to pick up new skills
– The mother faced with a demotion at work after maternity leave
– The conscientious accountant who yearns to open an antique store
– The gifted young manga artist in search of motivation
– The recently retired salaryman on a quest for newfound purpose

Can she help them find what they are looking for?

Which book will you recommend?
_________________

‘An undeniable page-turner’ New York Times

For fans of The Midnight Library and Before the Coffee Gets Cold, this feel-good Japanese book shows how the perfect book recommendation can change a life.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE JAPAN BOOKSELLERS’ AWARD

‘I definitely want to visit this library. I feel kinder after this book’ 5***** Reader review
‘A quirky slice of feel-good fiction that you could recommend to anyone’ Mail on Sunday
‘Wonderful. It made me look for connection in my life’ 5***** Reader review

Times bestseller, August 2023

Sita’s Voice in the Assamese Rāmāyaṇa: Selected Verses from the Rāmāyaṇa of Mādhava Kandalī and the Uttarakāṇḍa of Śaṅkaradeva

Sita’s Voice in the Assamese Rāmāyaṇa is a translation of select verses from the Assamese Saptakāṇḍa Rāmāyaṇa of Mādhava Kandalī, Śaṅkaradeva and Madhavdeva, written between the 14th-15th centuries CE. This vernacular rendition of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa has been translated with a scholarly introduction by Tilottoma Misra. The selected verses represent a distinctive creative rendition of the Vālmīki text from the region of Assam by adding new emotional and philosophic dimensions to it. Especially in the Uttarakāṇḍa ascribed to Śaṅkaradeva, Sita’s voice acquires a unique quality in her final rejection of Rāma thereby expressing her ultimate disillusionment with him, the much-acclaimed paragon of all virtues.

Riverside Stories: Writings from Assam

Stories abound in Assam’s fields, ponds, rivers, forests, hills and cities. Most of its people wear each other’s clothes, eat each other’s food and speak each other’s languages. Diversity and amalgamation are the primarily identifiable elements of people from Assam. Yet, everyday patriarchy and politics of boundaries have resulted in so much confusion and conflict. Thankfully, we are witnessing emerging voices of people who experience life differently because of their own identities and locations and propose an inclusive space for us all. The women and transpeople who have contributed to Riverside Stories come from this diversity and bring their stories of multiple experiences from Assam to the world. This collection of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and visual stories, puts on record the experiences of the self, the very personal, within homes, in the environment, with politics, and with disappointments, desires, hopes and memories for a future. In putting together this anthology, it is our hope that we have complicated—more than it already is—the notion of whose and which stories can be told.

Rinsed: From Cartels to Crypto

‘Rinsed is a triumph. If you want to understand how the chaotic world around us really works, read this book!’ MILES JOHNSON, AUTHOR OF CHASING SHADOWS

‘A riveting look at not only the nuts and bolds of cons and crimes but the techniques detectives use to stalk cyber criminals’ FINANCIAL TIMES

For as long as people have been stealing money, there has been an industry ready to wash it. But what happened when our economy went digital? How does the global underworld wash its dirty money in the Internet age?

Rinsed reveals how organized crooks have joined forces with the world’s most sophisticated cybercriminals. The result: a vast virtual money-laundering machine too intelligent for most authorities to crack. Through a series of jaw-dropping cases and interviews with insiders at all levels of the system, Geoff White shows how thieves are uniting to successfully get away with the most atrocious crimes on an unprecedented scale.

The book follows money from the outrageous luxury of Dubai hotels to sleepy backwaters of coastal Ireland, from the backstreets of Nigeria to the secretive zones of North Korea, to investigate this new cyber supercartel. Through first-hand accounts from the victims of their devastating crimes, White uncovers the extraordinary true story of hi-tech laundering – and exposes its terrible human cost.

‘Rinsed is as twisty, colourful and terrifyingly eye-opening as the people White investigates. You’ll never look at wealth, technology and crime in the same way’ CARA MCGOOGAN, AUTHOR OF THE POISON LINE

‘A gripping look at the battle between cops and criminals on the new frontier of financial crime’ BRADLEY HOPE, CO-AUTHOR OF BILLION DOLLAR WHALE

The Third Eye: Awakening Your True Self

The Third Eye takes you beyond spirituality, distancing the self from its doing, towards a higher knowledge where you are neither the observer, knower, doer, enjoyer nor the experiencer. You are neither the physical nor that mental being, for they are but temporarily yours . . . appearing and disappearing in that ocean of awareness. You are that formless, eternal presence of universal aware energy performing the Lila of life as the witness, which radiates through its field of consciousness. In fact, you are merely an I-less state of that being-ness, the subject of observation, observing through your mind on the objects being observed.

The subject of spiritualism is indifferent to the world of emotions. It goes beyond passion and compassion into dispassion; it is sensitive to all as one. Through this sublime subject, the author takes you away from those scriptures prescribed by Krishna, Jesus, or Buddha into a state of non-being, beyond space and time, entrapped in an individualized soul—the role it plays during the making of what you are. You, as the spirit, do not transmute but only watch in silence—beyond all efforts and methods—effortlessly witnessing all that is around. This book will enthral and enchant every serious spiritual seeker, those who wish to know the beyond of all beyond.

Rebellion in Ranchi (Songs of Freedom Series)

Ranchi district, 1915

Sibu’s life is changing as the Oraons who live in the forests of Chota Nagpur, are slowly moving to the Tana Bhagat movement, where they begin to protest the injustices that the zamindars and the British Raj perpetrate on the Adivasis. And by stories of German Baba, who will help defeat the British in the Great War and bring freedom to the Oraons and to India.

Yet, though the Tana Bhagats follow the path of non-violence, violence is rearing its head in the world around them . . .

The Songs of Freedom series explores the lives of children across India during the struggle for independence.

Stress to Zest

Stress to Zest takes you on a journey to help you understand how seven common stress factors impact the human mind:

  • Financial Stress: The weight of bills, debts and financial uncertainty.
  • Relationship Stress: The tides of love, conflict and connection.
  • Job Stress: The demands of work, deadlines and ambition.
  • Health Stress: The fragility of our bodies and minds.
  • Competition Pressure: The race against others and ourselves.
  • Social Pressure: The expectations that shape our choices.
  • Parental Pressure: The balancing act of nurturing and self-care.

In this collection of stories set in diverse contexts across the globe, you’ll meet characters from all walks of life grappling with these stressors. Their journeys are not mere survival tales; they’re blueprints for transformation. Witness how they navigate the storm, find resilience and discover a newfound zest for life.

A Millennial Moment

A reputed journalist in the Gulf for over thirty years, Bikram Vohra shadowed BAPS in the months following the month-long birth centenary celebrations of Pramukh Swami Maharaj in January 2023 in Gujarat. Driven by his curiosity as a non-spiritual outsider, he set out to uncover what it was about this organization that had compelled the UAE administration to accept their proposal to build a temple and ‘make sure it looks like a temple’.
Spread across 27 acres and situated midway between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, this magnificent traditional stone temple was birthed in the prayers of a Hindu swami on a sand dune in 1997; it is now an oasis for global harmony. A prophetic vision come to life, the story of its inception is a captivating account of serendipity, noble intent and clarity of purpose combining to accomplish an impossible feat.
Serious yet light-hearted, A Millennial Moment evokes warm laughter with its gentle leg-pulling, and hope for the future of our world. Its simple message: Good people do good things.

An Eye for the Sky

Dr Suresh K. Pandey is a world-renowned eye surgeon, a passionate author, motivational speaker, cyclist and philanthropist. Born into enfeebling poverty in Mohna, a village in Rajasthan with no electricity, sanitation or roads, he spent his schooling years studying in the dim glow of a lantern. A prodigious academic, his passion to learn microsurgery took him all over the world, from Chandigarh, to the USA, and later, Australia.
He finally returned home to establish SuVi Eye Institute & Lasik Laser Centre, Kota, with his life partner, Dr Vidushi Sharma. Their labour of love is now one of India’s best-known and loved eye hospitals. Driven purely by passion, ingenuity and a deep spirituality, Dr Pandey is set on a lifelong mission to eliminate blindness.
His story is an inspiring account of how the singular pursuit of your dreams despite all the odds being stacked against you can benefit and bring hope to millions.

The Power of E.Q.

An important key to success is assessing people’s non-verbal expectations, read the mood in a room, and understand if your words or actions are causing an upset even that is not expressed.

Make a smashing first impression and make people crave your presence.

These skills will make you intuitive, better suited to adapt your environment and create the perfect setting for smooth communication.

All of this is a trainable skill – and this book is an amazing start. The Power of E. Q. is as practical as a book can be. You will get techniques to use immediately on the people around you, and you will suddenly realize how much you have been missing! Gain a deep understanding of emotional intelligence and the small signs behind what people are thinking and feeling. Imagine how much more easily you could make friends or befriend business partners if you could analyse them better.

Learn ways to connect with people in record time:

  • conversational intelligence and how to empathize in 4 steps
  • how to step outside of your own perspective and read the emotions of others
  • cold reading and being an expert at finding “clues” about people
  • understanding emotions and how to label yourself and others
  • how high-quality questions will make you seem like a mjnd reader
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