Thank you, donors !

We have had a great X'mas party at Sassoon Hospital Paediatric ward on Sun, 19th Dec.

Some song and dance, some magic and loads of gifts ! This was made possible, thanks to the wonderful support and generous donations from many of you, our customers. That twistntales is a community bookstore was made amply evident by so many of your spontaneous gestures of handing over toys, woollens, crayons, games, story books! And of course, all those cheques that came in for the medical equipment. The hospital authorities were overwhelmed by the funds that were raised. A big thank you !

List of Donors :

1.Mrs. Uma Sarathchandran (currently in California)
2.Mrs. Karabi Dutta, Aundh
3.Mrs. Pinal Pandya, Aundh
4.Mrs. Suchita Basu, Baner
5.Mr. Raghu Kulkarni, US
6.Mrs. Gomathi Vishwanath, Mumbai
7.Ms. Avleen Garcha, Aundh
8.Mrs. Sonia Garcha, Aundh
9.Mrs. Prabha Chary, Aundh
10.Mrs. Renu Mahtani, Aundh
11.Mrs. Romy Bedi, Aundh
12. Ms. Shama Lahiri, Mumbai
13.Mrs. Kshitija Bhuwad, Sinhagad Road
14.Mrs. Bani Chaudhuri, Baner
15. Ms. Tripuri Godbole
16. Ms. Gauri Sarjine

And for all those who couldn't make it, thankyou for your encouraging words and letters from Dr. Meera Oke in Ireland to Sarathchandran Aunty in the US. Lots of photographs have been put up in our facebook page, twistntales, Aundh.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=255124&id=710923194&l=f3ae842e8f

Check it out !

A BIG THANK YOU AGAIN ! AND WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR !

X'Mas at Sassoon !

X”MAS at Sassoon!


Give to your heart’s content!

Twistntales celebrates X’mas with Santa every year in the Paediatric Ward of Sassoon Hospital. Children (from birth) to the age of 14 years, needing hospitalization are admitted here. This year, our celebration of the “Spirit of Giving” is on Sun, 19th Dec, at 4pm, in the Children’s Ward.

Donations and gifts of various kinds are accepted. Most specifically, the hospital requires:

1. Intra Cath # 25 – 50 pieces
2. Feeding Tube # 6 – 50 pieces
3. Feeding Tube # 7 – 50 pieces
4. Paediatric Nasal Cannulas – 50 pieces
5. 3 Way Valves – 50 pieces

A few volunteers have created a “Sunshine” room within the kid’s ward to encourage play and fun for these children. Over time, twistntales has helped in providing toys, TVs, music systems, coloring, activity books etc.

In keeping with this, donations are welcome of the following kind:

• Toys, dumper trucks, other vehicles, building blocks etc. (used is Ok, broken Not ok. No soft toys please)
• Music/ Movies – VCDs, DVDs – Hindi/ Marathi please
• Story books – Hindi/ Marathi please
• Coloring/ activity books, crayons, colour pencils, other art material, drawing books etc

These gifts can be handed over to twistntales or you can bring it yourself and come to the entertainment programme that twistntales puts up at the Children’s Ward.

Donations in cheque may be made in the name of “SOFOSH” and a proper receipt will be issued to you for 80 – G IT exemption. Kindly mention your full postal address at the back of the cheque.

“Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment”

Merry Christmas And A Happy New Year!

From the team at

twistntales

What a wonderful Play !

Alka Joshi, Director of the play, "Mulghi Zali Ho" is social activist with Stree Mukti Sanghatana, since 1983. This play was first staged in 1982, and Alka herself on seeing the play, was inspired to join the organisation the following year.

Alka now heads Abhiyukti, the women's wing of Lokayat, an NGO comprising of working professionals and students. Lokayat works on many civic and social issues.

Yesterday, they were in twistntales, to present "Mulghi Zali Ho", a street play on women's issues and domestic violence. A powerful play, they held the audience spellbound by their music, songs, humour and sarcasm.

Mail sent to twistntales@yahoogroups on 6th Dec'10

Dear all,

Street Play @ twistntales! Don't Miss!

Press the Bell / Bhajao Ghanti

The Violence Against Women (VAW) fortnight is observed all over the world from 25th November to 10th December.

twistntales is happy to present a street play, "Mulgi Zali Ho" by members of Lokayat, Pune. This play was originally presented by Stree Mukti Sanghatana in 1982, and has been successfully running for 28 years.

On Saturday, 11th Dec, 8 pm, at twistntales

25th November is the day observed as VAW day and 10th December is the Human Rights Day.

Between these two days the fortnight is observed as VAW fortnight. Previously, 25 November was observed in Latin America and a growing number of other countries around the world as "International Day Against Violence Against Women". With no standard title, it was also referred to as "No Violence Against Women Day" and the "Day to End Violence Against Women". It was first declared by the first Feminist Encuentro for Latin America and the Caribbean held in Bogota, Colombia (18 to 21 July 1981). At that Encuentro, women systematically denounced gender violence from domestic battery, to rape and sexual harassment to state violence including torture and abuses of women political prisoners.

The date was chosen to commemorate the lives of the Mirabal sisters. It originally marked the day that the three Mirabal sisters from the Dominican Republic were violently assassinated in 1960 during the Trujillo dictatorship (Rafael Trujillo 1930-1961). The day was used to pay tribute to the Mirabal sisters, as well as a global recognition of gender violence.

UNO was compelled to declare this day as VAW day in 1999.

We are happy to present “Mulgi Zali Ho” on Saturday, 11th Dec, at 8pm. Please be there on time. Chairs for senior citizens only. Standing room only, please make it to twistntales early.

Lokayat is an NGO based in Pune, and takes up social and civic issues. It comprises working professionals who give their evenings and weekends to a good cause. They use novel techniques of protest, one of them being street plays.

twistntales has supported the street play form of protest from its early days.

“Mulgi Zali Ho” is a musical play about the plight of the girl child, with powerful and biting humour and a simple form. It has touched the chords of the masses. This group has been performing this for years. The play raises questions and problems but also ends with solutions to the problems. The play also defines the direction as to what women with problems should do in our lives. It starts with making obeisance to the work of those who fought for injustice to women like Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Maharshi Karve, Raja Rammohan Roy, Dr.Ambedkar etc. It speaks of the condition of women even today. It talks of the reactions within the family if a girl is born. It talks of marital relations, emotions between husband and wife. And ends, with a positive empowered way out. And that is why it is very important. Everyone speaks about the inferiority complex of women or re-building self esteem, or empowering women, but few talk of how these things can happen in everyday life. “Mulgi Zali Ho” gives courage to women to stand up and fight back.

Be there, don’t miss this!

Regards,

From the team at,

twistntales

Street Play @ twistntales ! Don't Miss !

Press the Bell/ Bhajao Ghanti

The Violence Against Women (VAW) fortnight is observed all over the world from 25th Nov. to 10th December.

twistntales is happy to present a street play, "Mulgi Zali Ho" by members of Lokayat.
This play was originally presented by Stree Mukti Sanghatana in 1982, and has been successfully running for 28 years.

On Saturday, 11th Dec, 8 pm, at twistntales.

25th Nov. is the day observed as VAW day and 10th Dec. is the Human Rights Day.

Joining these two days the fortnight is observed as VAW week. Previously, 25 November was observed in Latin America and a growing number of other countries around the world as "International Day Against Violence Against Women". With no standard title, it was also referred to as "No Violence Against Women Day" and the "Day to End Violence Against Women". It was first declared by the first Feminist Encuentro for Latin America and the Caribbean held in Bogota, Colombia (18 to 21 July 1981). At that Encuentro women systematically denounced gender violence from domestic battery, to rape and sexual harassment, to state violence including torture and abuses of women political prisoners.

The date was chosen to commemorate the lives of the Mirabal sisters. It originally marked the day that the three Mirabal sisters from the Dominican Republic were violently assassinated in 1960 during the Trujillo dictatorship (Rafael Trujillo 1930-1961). The day was used to pay tribute to the Mirabal sisters, as well as global recognition of gender violence.

UNO was made compelled to declare this day as VAW day in 1999.


Mulgi Zali Ho is a musical Play about the plight of the girl child with powerful and biting humour and a simple form. It has touched the chords of the masses. This group has been doing it for years . The Play not only raises the questions or problems but ends with the solution to the problem. Play gives the direction as to what we should do in our life. It starts with making obeisance to the work of those who fought for injustice to women like Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Maharshi Karve, Raja Rammohan Roy, Dr.Ambedkar etc. It speaks of even today’s condition of women. It talks of the reactions if the girl is born in the family. It talks of the relations of husband and wife. And ends with the way out. And that is why it is very important. Everyone speaks about the inferiority complex of women or everyone feels that it should be reduced but no one talks of how it can be reduced. But “Mulgi Zali Ho” gives courage to women to fight back this inferiority complex.

Be there on Sat, 11th Dec @ twistntales by 8pm.

twistntales students become achievers !

Tia joined twistntales in her XIIth class and worked her afternoons /evenings spoiling our customers with her book choices.

Now, a journalist, she holds her first published work in "Chicken Soup for Indian Father's Soul"

The TECHGRANDMASTERS

BIG Synergy (the makers of Kaun Banega Crorepati & 10 ka Dum) invites you to participate in this new quiz show which will test you on the latest gadgets and gizmos

The show will feature two teams, battling it out, over three grueling rounds of questioning by none other than the Gadget Guru himself, Rajiv Makhni

Eligibility Criteria:
A team should constitute 2 members representing a college/school/corporate

Age- 16-40years

To register your team, call or email us at - BIG SYNERGY…

Ph: 022-30865- 140
011-29244134-37

Last date for entries: 29th Nov

E-mail: ttg@bigsynergy.tv

Who says bookworms are recluses

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8087269/Penguin-to-launch-a-social-network-for-bookworms.html

Navratri and Saraswati Puja

Navratri and Saraswati Puja are always special to us in twistntales. One, because it celebrates learning and the victory of good over evil.

This year, with the combination of CWG games, we decided to run a special feature on Indian Women
Athletes, both past and present. Madhavi did a fine job of digging out info and confirming the facts. It culminated in the Saraswati Puja yesterday.

Eid Mubarak and welcome Ganesha !

Message sent to twistntales@yahoogroups.com on 10/09/2010
Hi all,

Greetings of Eid and Ganesh Chaturthi to all of you! As we enter into a festive season, may the Divine Lord bless all the faithful, and create abundance, wealth and encourage the Joy of Giving!

We in twistntales have grown, the team is now a total of 9! A back office has been created, and soon you will see changes (all nice, and required) happening at a rapid pace. Our events are getting updated on our blog (www.twistntales.blogspot.com) and our facebook page gives you more frequent updates and links to happenings in the book world. If you are not already on these, kindly join up to increase frequency of updates.

We have put a few books on Sale on tables outside the Store (15% and 25% off) for the past few weeks. This will continue till end September – lots of newer titles being added everyday to those tables! So, take your chances and visit frequently!

Lots of new and happening books, many reviewed, the very recent ones not yet.

New Books!

Wow and Noteworthy“Official Price Guide To Collecting Books” by Marie Tedford & Pat Goudey @ Rs. 725/- (Pgs 309)

Many people love to collect books as a hobby but they don’t have the techniques of doing it. So here comes a BOOK which is full of these ideas. It tells you many things such as edition/prices of books, how to arrange book. It also has interviews of book-sellers, books today are also bought online, so we also get the information about avoiding scams. ‘Auction’ a new way of buying books, comes our way through this book which talks about the ‘Business of Auctioning Books’. This book is a must have for anyone who loves to collect good books & has a dream of having their own library.

“Crowdsourcing- How the Power of the Crowd is Driving the Future of Business” by Jeff Howe @ Rs.425/- (pgs 312)

Jeff Howe is a journalist who has worked for newspapers around the world and has written on every subject under the sun. He gives us his first book, “Crowdsourcing” Have you ever taken an online poll? Or for that matter “liked” a product or a company on facebook? Well then you have just helped in Crowdsourcing!
Crowdsourcing is defined as “the act of taking a job traditionally performed by employees and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people in the form of an open call”. And this is usually done with the help of the internet. This book tells us how businesses have been growing tremendously just by Crowdsourcing. Also and more importantly it tells you how you can do it too! But Crowdsourcing has its problems too. It does not always work and many things can go wrong, and this book tells you how you can avoid them and use Crowdsourcing to your advantage. This book is a definite read for everyone – students, business owners – everyone!

“At Home – A Short History Of Private Life” by Bill Bryson @ Rs. 950/- (pgs 536)

Bill Bryson, the author of the highly acclaimed ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything’ is back with ‘At Home – A Short History of Private Life’, another truly fascinating book! According to Bill Bryson, we have spent so much of our lives studying about the history of the world through different times that we haven’t stopped and looked at our own homes and its history, because a home’s history is far more interesting, the best part being that you yourself make it!
He writes about each room in his house and its history with the extensive research he has put into it. One can feel the history of each room as we travel through the house and discovering secret doors and the history behind the things in the room, which we usually take for granted, and make them seem extraordinary!
Bill Bryson can make even the most mundane things come to life! And he has done it again with ‘At Home’!

“The Crimson Throne” by Sudhir Kakar @ Rs.450/-(pgs 254)
This is a historical travelogue about the inevitable war of succession to the Peacock Throne. Two European travellers Niccolao Manucci & Francois Bernier arrive in India. Little escapes their discerning eye – fabled cities now spinning into decay, harems rife with gossip, lust and venereal afflictions! Niccolac Manucci is employed in the court of Prince Dora, Francois Bernier is employed in the court of Danishma Khan. Set amid the grandeur and intrigue of seventeenth century India, The Crimson Throne masterfully probes the continuities of imperial expansion and a splintered Islam.

“Living Wild” by Bear Grylls @ Rs.599/- (Pgs 255)
The motto of scouting is to ‘Be Proud’ and life itself brings out the essence of being prepared. It doesn’t matter where you are, you need to be well prepared, and so elements like the wind, rain, cold, heat and sun don’t get the better of you. The author, Bear Grylls has guided the reader by using simple instructions that are very important. He also narrated real life camp stories, wanting the reader to read more and more. The photographs in this book are calling out to adventure seekers to join them in those places. This book also includes various diagrams that are guidelines on how to make your own laid cordage, bowline, camp bed etc. Bear Grylls has also written about food and cooking methods in the wild. After all life is an adventure that is best lived boldly!

Indian Writing

“Men Money and Chocolate” by Meena Van Praag @ Rs.250/- (pgs 244)
Maya’s dream is to write a best selling novel, be good looking and that Jake would fall in love with her. She tries to look and find ‘the perfect life’ in her café, but when things don’t work out for her, she turns to chocolate, which is her only comforting buddy. Instead of finding happiness and peace, she is lost and does not find her way out. And just then someone steps into her life, which helps her discover what has been missing from her life for a very long time.

“Hostel Room 131” by R.Raj Rao @ Rs.250/- (pgs 228)
Mr. R. Raj Rao is a Pune based author who has penned many books. He is also a professor in the Department of English, University of Pune. His previous novels, also about the gay culture of India – BomGay and The Boyfriend, have received critical acclaim. Hostel Room 131 is set in 1970’s India when being gay was not even ‘allowed’. In this kind of setting, Siddharth, a college lecturer in Bombay falls in love with Sudhir, a student of Pune’s Engineering College. But the path of love is never smooth, and they have many road blocks in the form of Sudhir’s family and his homo-phobic classmates. To dodge these road blocks they are supported by their friends – Gaurav and Vivek, also a gay couple. Entertaining, funny, and captivating, this book is un-putdownable!

“After Taste” by Namita Devidayal @ Rs.399/- (pgs 296)
Namita Devidayal is a journalist for the Times of India. Her previous book, ‘The Music Room’ has received critical acclaim. Aftertaste tells the story of the Todarmal family - a rich, spoilt, sweet shop owning family. When their head, the cunning Mummyji is hospitalized and is hanging on to dear life, her four children have to pretend to care. Why? Because of the money! This book is sinfully delicious! The story spanning over the week of Diwali, shows how a person’s real nature comes out in dire situations faced by them. Also the rare insights into a Baniya family glue together by greed, hunger (of all kinds), jealousy and power is absolutely gripping! Namita Devidayal tells the story so richly and yet in such a raw and real way that you just can’t stop reading!

“Interior Decoration” edited by Ammu Joseph, Vasanth Kannibiran, Ritu Menon @ Rs.395/- (pgs 335)
‘Emotion’ is a very delicate, complicate but most expressive part of human element. People express their feelings either through anger or happiness. But a beautiful way of expressing ourselves is through poems. Interior Decoration brings our way different poems by Indian women in different languages. A landmark volume of 54 women poets from 10 languages. The collection includes renowned poets like Kamala Das, Salma, Anitha Thampi, Mamang Dai – some new, some old, but all wonderful. Though these are translated works they bring out the meaning of what the poet wants to express.

Fiction

“High Low In-Between” by Imraan Coovadia @ Rs.299 /- (Pgs 237)

Imraan Coovadia is a South African author and journalist. When Nafisa’s newly retired husband is shot dead, Nafisa is lost. Not only does she have to cope with his death, but also his murder. Living in a rapidly changing South Africa, Nafisa feels like she is losing control over her life. Nafisa soon realizes that her husband’s death has many side effects when she is thrown into political and scientific controversy over it. Her only weapons to turn to are the people around her – her son. her maid and her late husband’s best friend. High Low In-Between reminds you just how far South Africa has come and also just how far a person can go with life, love and death.

“Valmiki s Daughter” by Shani Mootoo @ Rs. 299/- (Pgs 398)
Shani Mootoo is a Scotiabank Giller Prize finalist and a bestselling author. Mootoo born in Ireland and grew up in Trinidad. Set in modern day Trinidad, it is about a doctor called Valmiki. Valmiki’s eldest daughter Viveka has ideas about how to lead her life while Valmiki does not agree with her. The author offers a refreshingly different view of Trinidad, evocatively capturing the island’s cultural ethos, and social conventions.


Coffee Table


“The Story of English- How the English Language conquered the World” by Philip Gooden @ Rs.550/- (Pgs 223) (Coffee Table)
The Story of English is literally the story of English! Anyone who is interested in history or English should read this book… and people who are not interested should also read this book because it will get you hooked!
Did you ever wonder where the English language originated? How different words came to be part of the language that is recognized as The Global Language? If you have, then this book answers all your questions. Everything from the origin of words to the correct usage of them in our daily lives to even the correct use of punctuations can be found in this book. With amazing pictures and page layouts this book is a book for all ages! A truly interesting read!

“Jamie does… Spain, Italy, Morocco, Sweden, Greece, France- Easy Twists On Classic Dishes Inspired By My Travels”@ by Jamie Oliver @Rs.899/- (Pgs 359)
Jamie Oliver, ‘The Naked Chef’ is back! This is not your regular, garden- variety cookbook. It has everything from food to travel to photography. Anyone who is a fan of the aforementioned things should have this book! All one can say is: Brilliant recipes + Brilliant photography + Brilliant places = Brilliant book! It will make you want to jump on the next flight to Europe and go backpacking!

“The Mainland China Cookbook” by Anjan Chatterjee @ Rs.499/- (pgs 196)
Mainland China is India’s largest chain of fine dining Chinese restaurants. Anjan Chatterjee, the founder of Mainland China shares her experiences in China and also the story about how ‘Mainland China’ came into being. This book not only teaches one how to whip up your favourite Chinese meal at your own home, but also has details about Chinese regional cooking, the ingredients, the utensils and some of the Chinese cooking methods. This is the ultimate Chinese cookbook for all the Indian kitchens, as it gives you a sense of the varied riches of Chinese cuisine and teaches you how to cook Mainland China’s signature dishes. Now, you may kiss the Cook!


“Ship – 5000 years of Maritime Adventure’’ by Brain Lavery @ Rs 999/- (Pgs 400)
If science is to be believed the first molecule of human existence comes from the sea. Over the centuries, man has been fascinated by the sea. This book traces the history of maritime shipping from early vessels to modern day ships. Starting with boats & rafts, man designed the boats. As new empires ruled, it became important that ships be developed so that one could travel faster & safer. With the advent of steam engine, shipping got a boost. The book also talks about shipping during the two World Wars. With the introduction of luxury cruises, a new chapter of shipping had dawned. Today ships are used for sports as well as fishing. This book is a shippie’s delight!

Theatre/ Personalities

“Close – Up” by Zohra Segal @ Rs.375/- (Pgs 291)
Zohra Segal is a very well known and accomplished actress in Indian and British television and cinema. As she approaches her 100th year she gives us a Close Up - her memoirs about life on screen and off it. This book gives us a front seat view of one of the most amazing lives ever lived. The thing that stands out the most is the energy with which Zohra Segal has “lived” a completely unconventional life! Whether it was going to Germany to learn dance or marrying a man who was not only younger but also a Hindu, she did so unflinchingly. Her tours around the world with her dance and drama troupe are truly worth reading! This book is not just a memoir but also an inspiration. A must read!

“Stageplay – The Journey of an Actor” by Sushma Seth @ Rs 350/- (pgs146)

Sushma Seth is a very well known actor in Indian film and television. Her journey through life, especially on stage and in films is what Stageplay is all about. Also her valuable contributions to society in the form of her work with NGOs and her own school of drama for children are fascinating to read. Her childhood, as she describes it, is almost perfect. Her foray in films began with the film Junoon in 1978 and she hasn’t stopped since then Her passion for theatre never subsided, being part of a theatrical group called Yatrik. Sushma Seth’s work with NGOs is truly inspiring to read. So pick up this book to find out the truly fascinating life of the mom in ‘Dekh bhai Dekh’ and ‘Humlog’!

Socio Eco Pol

“Globish” by Robert McCrum @ Rs 550/- (pgs 310)
How does a language like English become the dominant language today? Though England has no colonies today, why is English still the dominant language today? Questions like these are tackled in Globish. With the advent of the printing press, English spread across colonies of England. Starting with the publication of the Bible, more intellectual debates took place in English which were previously dominated by French and Latin. Between the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1867, some seven million people left the British Isles and went overseas. Thus the English printing world had words like kangaroo, guru, jungle etc. this led to the development of the English language. Slowly but surely the English language became a global language

“Superpower?” by Raghav Bahl @ Rs.699/- (Pgs 242)
In the course of Raghav Bahl’s career as a journalist and as one of India’s top entrepreneurs, he has often faced questions from visiting business investors like – ‘Why are Indian regulations so weak?’, ‘How come your hotels are world class but the roads leading to them have pot holes?’, ‘Do all Indians speak English as well as you?’
Inevitably these questions are followed by an observation – it is not like this in China.
In the race to become a superpower, who is going to win? – China’s Hare or India’s Tortoise? Bahl argues that one doesn’t get declared a winner by investing more and growing faster today but something more intangible, like who has superior innovating skills and more entrepreneurially savvy. This is a unique and indeed gripping amount of the evolving geopolitics and the roles played by India and China in the superpower race.

“The Truth About Me- A Hijra Life Story” by A. Revathi (tr.V. Geetha) @ Rs.299/- (pgs 304)
Revathi was born a boy, but behaved like a girl. In this book she tells how her life turned upside down from the day she realized that she was stuck in the wrong body and around the wrong people –her family who never understood what she was going through. So without completing her schooling she ran away to Delhi to join a house of hijras. It took her long to adjust to this environment, the society’s hurtful comments and dejection from the people she loved the most in her life. Her life became a series of dangerous physical and emotional journeys to become a woman and find love
This is a very emotional, courageous and a moving real life story of a hijra who fought ridicule, persecution and violence both within her home and the outside world to lead a life of dignity and just to make a decent living. In our society, we speak the language of rights, loud and often. But do the marginalized really have access to these rights?

“Struggle for Gender Justice –Justice Sunanda Bhandare Memorial lectures” edited by Murlidhar C. Bhandare @ Rs.499/- (pgs 272)
This book comprises of 15 lectures delivered by eminent persons in the Justice Sunanda Bhandare Memorial Lecture. This book is a collection of these annual lectures, prominent among them being Prof. Amartya Sen, Prof. M.S. Swaminathan, Ela R. Bhatt, Aruna Roy and other eminent personalities.

“Mafia Son” by Sandra Harmon @ Rs.399/- (Pgs 314)
Sandra Harmon is a bestselling author of many books which even include a co-authored book on Elvis Presley with Priscilla Presley. This book though is no work of fiction. It is a true crime story and Sandra Harmon did her research first hand – by corresponding with the Mafia Son himself – Gregory Scarpa Jr., from his maximum security prison facility – ADMAX.
Gregory Jr. told Sandra Harmon that even though his family was one of the meanest mobs in town, they were also informants for the FBI. What he never imagined was that his father, the man he worshipped, would turn him into the police. In the prison he learnt about the 9/11 bombing 3 yrs before it happened! But the authorities ignored his information. Why? Sandra Harmon, intrigued by Gregory Jr., was in constant contact with him and delved deep into the Scarpa family, even risking her own life. Why should you read this book? Because it is true and also addictive! Read It.

Others

“Ten Much –Ten Ordinary Processes for Extraordinary Success” by A G Krishnamurthy @ Rs.195/- (pgs 163) (Inspiration)
Luck is something that happens to you and is totally unpredictable and accidental in nature. Success is intended, and can be acquired by a rigorous application of certain time –tested processes. This book is a collection of stories of people who are famous and some completely unknown, who have become successful by overcoming various challenges and by simply following 10 simple and basic processes, without any luck factor. The author, A Krishnamurthy asks the readers to dream big, discover what one is good at, no matter what it is, be positive about you being able to do what you wish and dream for. He also asks one to consider money as a secondary priority than rather make it our primary goal. The author has explained these 10 processes in a very simple and very interesting way

“The Cure- The True Story That Inspired The Movie Extraordinary Measures” by Geeta Anand @ Rs.399/- (pgs 467) (Inspiration)

This book is about hopes and aspirations of not just one family but billions of families whose loved ones suffered from the fatal Pompe disease. John and Aileen Crowley’s children, Megan and Patrick suffer from this muscular disorder. Since this is a rare disease, no drug company had found a cure. So when Megan got pneumonia and the Crowleys almost lost her, John decides to do something about the cure for this deadly disease.
John tries to find scientists who could find a cue for this fatal disease. He invests his savings in a biotech company that will try to find a cure. But this being a fatal disease and it is a race against time…This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to survive against all odds.

“Sakuntala” by Romila Thapar @ Rs 375/- (pgs 271) (History)
Sakuntala is a compilation of essays and excerpts on Sakuntala. The book explores the role that Sakuntala has played in the portrayal of Indian women throughout history. It includes excerpts from the Mahabharata and Kalidasa’s play and actively debates between them. It also covers how the Europeans have portrayed Sakuntala in its many adaptations. A very interesting read to all history and literature lovers!

“Urban Crayon: Delhi” by Kim Barrington Narisetti @ Rs.199/- (pgs 232) (Travel)
This is a must have guide for all the fun things to do in New Delhi with your children! Each and every detail is categorized in such a way that it caters to all you specific needs. Have you ever run out of new places to entertain your children? Want to try something new for the weekend? Try the Ice cream Museum – a perfect birthday outing. Go to Eureka – the one and only bookstore for children in the city! Looking for a day break? Try rock climbing and parasailing along with your children! This book is bursting with great ideas and tips for every parent – whether residents or tourists in the city of Delhi.

“The Big Questions: The Universe” by Stuart Clark @ Rs.399/- (pgs 208) (Science)

Stuart Clark is an award winning author of many books like: “The Sun Kings: The Unexpected Tragedy of Richard Carrington and the Tale of How Modern Astronomy Began”. He also writes for many newspapers as well as speaking on BBC radio on astronomy to the general public. Stuart Clark in this book addresses 20 frequently asked, yet the biggest questions about space, time and the Universe. Questions like: What are the stars made of? What is a black hole? Is there life on Mars? And many more have been given answers which explain the answers given by the great minds of our times. This book is for everyone – even if you never asked these questions – you would want to know the answers! Written in an uncomplicated way this book explains it all!

Young Adults

“Let’s Play: The Puffin Book Of Sports Stories” intro. By Harsha Bhogle @ Rs. 175/- (Pgs 182)
With an introduction by Harsha Bhogle this books deals with sports stories. It has stories ranging from cricket to hockey to table tennis. Authors like Varsha Seshan, Nandini Nayar have contributed to this book. In a country like India where sports takes backstage and studies takes centre stage, this book will give a boost to the sports world in India.

“On the Yeti’s Trail” by Shoba Naidu @ Rs.95/-(pgs 76)
Set in the scenic valley of the Himalayan ranges, this book is about a boy called Mushtaq. Mushtaq comes home every vacation to his village. During this vacation, a yeti is spotted in the forest near his village. Hence begins Mushtaq’s quest to find the yeti. He and his friends set out on an adventure to find the yeti. The book also teaches kids about the environment like planting of tress. This book is simple and beautifully written.

“iBoy” by Kevin Brooks @ Rs.299/- (Pgs 292)
Kevin Brooks is an award winning author from the UK. He did a lot of odd jobs before discovering that he actually wanted to write. iBoy is his 10th novel. iBoy is the story of Tom, an ordinary boy who becomes extraordinary ‘accidentally’. He is walking down the street when, out of nowhere an iPhone hits him and cracks his skull. After waking up from a 15 day coma, he is told that, though the surgeons did everything they could, some pieces of the iPhone are still embedded in his brain. Unknown to the doctors, these pieces, turn Tom’s brain into an iPhone (literally) and in turn giving him physical powers he never had. Thus iBoy is born. Though he keeps his superpowers a secret, he can’t help but think of using them to avenge the gang who assaulted his best friend (and secret crush) Lucy and almost killed her brother. But is taking revenge the right choice for iBoy? Because he may get more than he bargained for! This book is addictive! Kevin Brooks is a master story teller!

“The Return Of Ravana Series: Pyre Of Queens Book 1” by David Hair @ Rs. 225/- (Pgs 229)
David Hair is the author of ‘The Bone Tiki’, the winner of Best First Book at the 2010 NZ Post Children’s Book Awards. This story was inspired by seeing the handprints of the burned queens of Jodhpur in the Mehrangarh Fort.
769 A.D, Mandore Rajhastan : Ravinra Raj is an evil sorcerer king and has secretly planned a dangerous ritual, where he and his 7 wives will burn on pyre. In turn, he will rise with the powers of Ravana. But one of his wives, Darya escapes along with the court poet – Aram Dhoop.
2010 – Jodhpur – 4 teenagers – Vikram, Amanjit, Deepika, and Rasita meet at the ancient site of Mandore and realize that the deathless king and his ghostly brides are chasing them. As the dark past discloses a truth, these 4 teenagers fight a battle one more time.

Other Books
“Kala Ghoda Poems” by Arun Kolatkar @ Rs. 360/-
“The Dangerous Book For Middle Aged Men” @ Rs. 475/-
“Refuge” by Gopal Gandhi @ Rs.250/-
“The Authorized Biography – Adoor Gopalkrishnan, A life in Cinema” by Gautaman Bhaskaran @ Rs.599/-
“The Lacuna” by Barbara Kingsolver @ Rs.550/-
“The Red Pyramid” by Rick Riordan @ Rs.399/- “I, Romantic” by Rajeev Jhaveri @ Rs.225/-
“Reach for the Skies- Ballooning, Birdmen and Blasting into Space” by Richard Brandson @ Rs.599/-
“Moon Walk-His One and Only Autobiography, His Life, In His Words” by Michael Jackson @ Rs399/-
“Tusker Tales” edited by”Ruskin Bond @ Rs 95/-
“The Frontiers of Management” by Peter F. Drucker @ Rs.995/-
“The India Way” by Peter Cappelli, Harbir Singh, Jitendra Singh and Micheal Useem @Rs.695/-
“Strategic Speed” by Jocelyn R. Davis, Henry M. Frechette Jr., Edwin H. Boswell@ Rs 995/-“The Sacred Grove” by Daman Singh @ Rs. 250/-
“Re - tooling HR” by John W. Boudreau @ Rs.995/-
“A Natural History of Ourselves” by Hannah Holmes @ Rs.499/-
“Emails from an A**hole” by John Lindsay @ Rs.399/-
“Miss Masala: Real Indian Cooking for Busy Living” by Mallika Basu @ Rs. 699/-
“The Little Book of Hindu Deities” by Sanjay Patel @ Rs.299/-
“Delhi Calm” by V. Ghosh @ Rs. 499/-
“Herogiri” by Mainak Dhar @ Rs. 199/-
“An Utterly Exasperated History Of Modern Britain” by John O’Farrell @ Rs. 899/-
“The Appointment” by Herta Muller @ Rs. 399/-
“Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide” by Roshen Dalal @ Rs. 999/-
“Celebrating Delhi” @ Rs. 350/-
“Dork Diaries” by Rachel Renee Russell @ Rs. 250/-
“The Other Side Of Innovation: Solving The Execution Challenge” by Vijay Govindarajan & Chris Trimble @ Rs. 695/-“The Fakir” by Sunil Gangopadhyay translated by Monabi Mitra @ Rs.199/-
“The Thing About Thugs” by Tabish Khair @ Rs. 399/-“Bottom Of The Heap” by Reeti Gadekar @ Rs. 250/-
“Beautiful Stories From Shakespeare” introduction by Naseeruddin Shah @ Rs. 195/-
“Bala Takes The Plunge” by Melvin Durai @ Rs. 195/-
“Jaya - An Illustrated Retelling Of The Mahabharata” by Devdutt Pattanaik @ Rs. 499/-
“No Way Down: Life & Death On K2” by Graham Bowley @ Rs. 499/-
“The Penguin CNBC-TV 18 Business Yrbk 2010” edited by Derek O’Brien @ Rs.399/-“Ash & Tara & The Palace Of Silence” by Jeanne Perrett @ Rs. 150/-
“Dark Goddess” by Sarwat @ Rs. 299/-
“The Gambler & Other Stories” by Dostoyevsky @ Rs. 499/-
“The Greatest Trade Ever” by Gregory Zuckerman @ Rs. 399/-
“The Groaning Shelf And Other Instances Of Book Love” by Pradeep Sebastian @ Rs. 395/-“Day Scholar” by Siddharth Chowdary @ Rs. 250/-
“Room” by Emma Donghue @ Rs. 499/-
“Absolute Khushwant” by Khushwant Singh & Humra Quraish @ Rs. 250/-“Opening Doors: The Untold Story Of Cornelia Sorabji” by Richard Sorabji @ Rs. 499/-


Drop in and get your dose of exciting finds!

See you at twistntales!

From the team at


twistntales

Tulika Books: Just a Train Ride Away wins the Bal Sahitya Purask...

Am so glad about this. Mini is one of our local Pune based authors, and this comes as a shot in the arm for all budding aspiring authors !

Great Show, Mini, congratulations !

Tulika Books: Just a Train Ride Away wins the Bal Sahitya Purask...: "Just a Train Ride Away won the Bal Sahitya Puraskar! A national award! Yay! Yippee!*Choking noises of joy. Takes a few deep breaths. Sits do..."

"In Search of Sita - event organised by Open Space

The editors Namita Gokhale and Dr. Malashri Lal pose with the book, near the twistntales counter.





The twistntales team at the venue






The book, which carries essays, commentaries, and articles on Sita as represented through folk literature, theatre, mainstream religion and contemporary film makers.

Great Response, Thankyou Everyone !

Deepa Venkatraghvan, News and Personal Finance Editor, Moneycontrol.com makes a point as author, P V Subramanyam looks on.














The Second Reading in progress
















A question from the front!



keen interest



A question from the back !



A cross section of the audience



Sharan welcoming the guests




Getting the event underway ....




Kshitija getting counter items sorted out.




Shahaji loading the boxes from the twistntales office

Book Review "Retire Rich..."

Read about this here :

http://www.jagoinvestor.com/2010/08/review-of-book-on-retirement-retire-rich-invest-rs-40-a-day.html

twistntales will be offering a 15% discount on the book !

"Retire Rich - Book Launch"

Session on "Financial Independence" on Independence Day!

Hi,

Thank you for the fabulous response to our book launch, it was great! We had tremendous fun doing up the place with all the spooky stuff that we could muster…. And were the kids excited? ooh! they came completely dressed for the act ! It sure was fun!

We have put up some pictures on our blog, www.twistntales.blogspot.com do check it out!

We are ready with our next event, this one on Personal Finance – “Financial Independence” on Independence Day! We are presenting a morning session in Seasons Hotel with a reading from the book, “Retire Rich – Invest Rs. 40/- a Day” by Mr. P.V. Subramanyam, published by CNBC TV18.

Some of you may remember us doing a workshop on “Health and Wealth” in 2003. Well, this is a progression of that event. Today, Mr. P.V. Subramanyam is a bestselling author, and an avidly read blogger @ www.subramoney.com.
About the Book

“Retire Rich, Invest Rs.40/- a Day” is all about the value of compounding. When do you retire? Is retirement a function of age? or is it about creating that surplus which gets you comfortable to quit your job ? This book introduces you to the concept that retirement is an amount of money! After all, if you do have that magical amount, why not retire early? And “live” life?

“Retire Rich” takes you through the steps and techniques, and warns you to the dangers of not planning. Retirement is a goal and has to be approached in a financial planning mode. Retirement Goal Setting becomes important. How much money is adequate for a person to retire? This book has many pointers and a calculator which leads you towards the answer.

Can you really retire by investing an amount as little as Rs. 40 a day? The answer is yes, it is the power of compounding. If you do have time on your side, it is possible to create a retirement corpus on an amount as small as Rs. 40 a day. If you have accumulated money for your retirement, you should also know how to withdraw. Here he deals with what is annuity, what are the methods of creating annuities, what options are available, and the works about annuity.

A few chapters are devoted to answering how much and what type of insurance should you look at during retirement, the attitude of the Indian family to retirement, the need to make a will, some retirement blunders, etc. What is interesting are the tables at the end of the book telling you how much to save and invest – and case studies about portfolio make over for retirement.

The book has sold 42000 copies in retail since its release in Feb, 2010.

About the Author

Mr. P V Subramanyam, a Chartered Accountant by qualification and a financial trainer by profession. After a 20 year career serving in the trenches of the financial services industry – from Equity broking, mutual fund advising, corporate finance advising, personal financial planning, he turned to training. He has trained in most mutual funds, life insurance companies, private sector banks, brokerage houses, and many companies. He also conducts financial planning workshops within corporates, helping employees save better, invest better, equipping smart people with the tools to get richer. He writes regularly for financial websites (www.moneycontrol.com, www.myiris.com, rediff.com and magazines like Money Today, Money Mantra, and BSE sensex, and can be contacted at pvsubramanyam@gmail.com.

About the Event:

A reading of the book will be done by Deepa Venkatraghvan. She is a Chartered Accountant by qualification and a writer by profession. She is currently the News and Personal Finance editor of Moneycontrol.com, which is the website of CNBC TV18. Prior to this, she worked with the Economic Times.

She has written two books on personal finance, namely, ‘Everything You Wanted to Know About Investing’ and ‘What Your Financial Agent Will Tell You and Why You Shouldn’t Listen’ also published by CNBC, TV18. From time to time, she also provides research support to the personal finance shows on various Network18 group channels like CNBC Awaaz and CNN IBN.

The event is being held at Seasons Hotel (Council I) between 10.30am and 12.30pm on 15th Aug, Independence Day (Sunday). RSVP: twistntales at the numbers given below or me Janaki @ 9960639162. Thank you for letting us know in advance.

All the above mentioned books will be available for sale at the venue, and also at twistntales.

Hoping to see you there,

From the excited team at
twistntales

Launch of "Pearls of Wisdom"

Be there !

Hi all,

Here we are, like we promised you in our last mail with two more exciting “Meet the Author” sessions. Thank you for the fabulous response for the book launch of Deepak Dalal’s “Sahyadri Adventures” This month, we start with a book for youngsters and follow it up with a more serious one for adults.

• 8th August, Sun 7pm “Pearls of Wisdom” by Sonja Chandrachud at twistntales
• 15th August, Sun 1030 am “Retire Rich” (a book on Financial Planning and a CNBC bestseller) by P V Subramanyam at Seasons Hotel.8th August 2010, Sunday 7pm to 9pm at twistntales

Sonja has had a long happy relationship with twistntales. From being one of the early volunteers in our Sunday Morning Reading Sessions for kids, and doing a workshop for women on Stress Busters, Sonja has come a long way! twistntales is happy to the first to release Sonja’s Pearls of Wisdom.

Dubbed the ‘Desi Rowling’ by the media, Sonja deftly brews up fantastical tales filled with magic, mayhem & mischief. The Potion of Eternity & Pearls of Wisdom are the first two novels in the much loved Hilarious Hauntings Adventures five book series.

Hilarious Hauntings Adventures is about the lovable and quirky wizarding Von D’eth family of the Sorcery World. Like any other place on earth, these sorcerers must be on the alert for the nasty Black Magi are always on the prowl, stealing elixirs, ruining spells, in short trying to mess things for everyone. Check out www.hilarioushauntings.com

Packed with the weirdest, meanest and funniest assortment of ghouls, djinns, witches and yogis, these are the first two books in a series of fantasy adventures that will have you careening from one escapade to another, at the mercy of the creatures from your nightmares.

POTION OF ETERNITY
HHA Book 1.

Count Drunkula Von D’eth, a Transylvanian vampire and a top secret agent for Wizard Organization Worldwide (WOW), has been given a mission to die for… The magical Potion of Eternity, which will grant great powers to the children of a couple who drink it together, has been spiked by the Black Magi during the Great Wedding of the Oriental Sorcerer, Dead Lee and the Enchantress of the Deep, Abyssinia. Instead of declaring undying love, the two sorcerers go off the deep end, whipping up tsunamis, unleashing the Slimy Poaching Agency and threatening to rip the Sorcery World apart!
Time is now running out, the Count must concoct the Antidote and brew a fresh lot of the Potion before all hell breaks loose in the Sorcery World. But all this must be done undercover…decrees the 317 year old druid Nostra Daemus, the Ancient One and head of the WOW.
The Count moves to Wichita, Kansas, buys a charming haunted mansion, and settles down with his large, crazy family to concoct the Antidote and brew a fresh lot of the Potion.
But things can never be so simple in the wizarding world, especially if you have a hotheaded Indian Tantrika, Sinistra Sin-ha as your wife, a Water Sprite, a Vetal and a Psychic as your children, the ugliest, meanest Hag of a witch, Hilda Von D’eth for a mother and a mad mystic, Yogi Baba as your father-in-law!
Drunkula soon realizes he is up against some serious black magic and an enemy in his own house who will do anything to pinch the rest of the Potion from him. Then, there is a ghastly murder, his lab is broken into, his wife goes missing and the arrival of a nasty ransom note…
There’s only one thing for the Count do—take matters into his own hands and fly off to meet the Supreme One, the leader of the Black Magi, and strike a deal in the Belly of the Beast…

PEARLS OF WISDOM
Book 2: (SYNOPSIS)

The Pearls of Wisdom, which bestow powers on the ruler of the water world, have been snitched by the notorious Supreme One and his merry band of Black Magi from under top-notch secret service vampire agent Count Drunkula’s nose. He now faces execution for treason, and the only one who can save him and restore order in the water world is his daughter Koral. She has just aced her WWETs (Water Wizadry Eligibility Test), but this mission is way out of her league—2000 leagues under the sea, to be precise.
Deep in the Sea of Secrets Koral is up against creatures from an underwater nightmare—Va Suki the thousand-headed serpent who has his two thousand eyes on the pearls too; Kraus Kraken, ready to strike a deal with the Black Magi; Medusa the gorgon, waiting to snack on any wizard who comes her way; and the deadliest of them all—a new Black Magi leader on the hunt for virgin souls… Will Koral be able to return with the pearls, or will she lose something more precious than her life?
Teeming with eccentric vampires, wizards, djinns, nagas and witches, this sequel to The Potion of Eternity is both a laugh riot and an adventure that twists and turns till its final electrifying finale.

Make sure you are there at your spookiest best. Come with your Black Magic potions, charms, wizardary tools, witchy wigs et. all! And this is your opportunity to buy your books @ a special price and get the author to make it special for you!

An e-invite is attached to this mail, kindly feel free to forward this to others who may be interested.

See you at twistntales!

From the excited team at,

twistntales

Message sent to twistntales@yahoogroups.com on 22nd July’10
Hi all,
Greetings to all our teachers, principals, educationists with whom we share a fond, warm relationship. As we wish them on the occasion of Guru Purnima this weekend, our tribute to all those who taught us. Kudos to these professionals who always seem to put the “taught” before the teacher.

As we bring up this mail for July, we realize that being in the Aundh/Baner area, we are sitting on a goldmine of authors, who are our neighbourhood celebrities. We had a hearty response to the launch of Deepak Dalal’s Sahyadri Adventures in the Store and the question answer session really was lively.

We have planned a series of “Meet the Author” sessions for you, we shall announce it through mail, facebook and sms. Kindly ensure that your mail ids, phone numbers are updated with us. Thank you.

Without too much ado, we will get on to the books:

“Inspired India - Ideas to Transform a Nation” @ Rs399/-(pgs 234)

With a foreword by APJ Kalam, this book is 26 part series complied by the Hindustan times on India. The topics vary from health to governance to road safety. The book talks about initiatives in these fields. The innovations presented in these articles are mind –blowing. For example, the numbers of petty case in our courts are many. The solution was The Mahatma Gandhi Dispute Free Scheme launched in Maharashtra. Indians across states can truly get inspired by this book and transform India into a superpower.

“From Entrepreneurs to Leaders” by Shirish Deodhar @ Rs350/-(pgs 239)

For the first time entrepreneurs who find it difficult to cope with starting a business. The author, Shirish Deodar, had started and seen the growth of many IT companies both local and global... In this book he uses his experiences to guide first time entrepreneurs into becoming global companies. Both Nandan Nilekani (former co-chairman, Infosys) and Mark Leslie (former CEO and President, Veritas Software) have contributed to this book. This book, though is about IT industry can be used by first time entrepreneurs.

Fiction:

“The Chosen One- When Power is Not Enough” by Sam Bourne @ Rs.250/-(pgs 438)

Sam Bourne is a pen name for Jonathan Freedland who is an award winning journalist and broadcaster. He has written many novels such as The Last Testament and The Final Reckoning. In The Chosen One, the newly elected president Stephen Baker has raised everyone’s hopes of living in a better world, especially Maggie Costello’s, a political advisor. But all is not as sunny as it seems. The Nation is shocked as Vic Forbes, a man who has it in for the new president, is found dead. As Maggie Costello sets out to find answers for that very question, she will be shaken to her very core. With this book, one can see why Sam Bourne is a bestselling author. From the very first page you are gripped and cannot put the book down. Suspense, murder, controversy - what more could you wish for? A real page turner!

“Boom!” by Mark Haddon @ Rs450 (pgs 194)

Mark Haddon, the author of ‘The Curious Incident with the Dog in the Night time’ gives us ‘Boom!’ which is a revised version of one of his earlier books titled ‘Gridzbi Spudvetch!’ (Boom! Being easier to pronounce see…?)
In this book Jimbo, a young boy lives with his family in their smallish apartment in England. He and his friend Charlie stumble upon something sinisterly mysterious while eavesdropping on the staffroom. The more they find out, they realize that someone doesn’t want them to know. When suddenly Charlie disappears! It is now up to Jimbo to save Charlie rescue him before it is too late! Witty and hilarious, Mark Haddon has done it again!

“A Short History Of Women: A Novel” by Kate Walbert @ Rs. 520/- (Pgs 225)

This touching novel traces the portrait of women from the close of 19th Century through the early years of the 21st Century. It takes the Townsend family as an example. It shows how women have struggled to find her own place as a mother, wife or daughter. As women’s priorities and freedoms change through the century this novel depicts this very beautifully. This book makes an interesting read.

Indian Writing:

“The Counsel of Strangers” by Gouri Dange @ Rs.250/-(pgs 169)

Gauri Dange is a well known author and our very own neighbourhood celebrity. A well known counselor and a regular writer of columns, this is Gauri’s second offering. Her previous book, 3, Zakia Mansion, published by Penguin India did very well nationwide. We shall soon be having a “Meet the Author” session with her in twistntales. Watch out for the announcements.

Sometimes strangers offer better advice than our own people. This book is about how six total strangers come together for a marriage. Though total strangers to each other they tell their stories to get to know each other. There is a retired air force person who has found new love but his children are not comfortable with it. The strangers give advice and after the marriage all of them keep in touch. It’s a wonderful story of how total strangers come together.

“Tiger Hills” by Sarita Mandanna @ Rs599/-(451)

Devi is born in 1878, on the day of the herons. Muthavva, Devi’s mother realizes that her daughter is very special. Devi befriends Devanna, a young boy whose mother dies in tragic circumstances. The bond of their friendship becomes stronger as each day passes and soon they become inseparable. But as Devi meets Manchu, she is charmed by him. Sarita Mandanna has created unforgettable characters and a gripping story in her debut novel.

“Serious Men” by Manu Joseph @ Rs. 499/- (Pgs 326)

Manu Joseph is a journalist based in Bombay. Again, a debut novel.
Ayyan Mani is a low middle class, Buddhist who lives with his wife Oja and his son, Adi in a chawl. Ayyan works as a personal assistant to an astronomer, Arvind Acharya, at the Institute of Theory and Research, Arvind Acharya is obsessed with the theory that the microscopic extraterrestrials are falling on the earth all the time. Ayyan is very ambitious and is always grasping all the information regarding everything in the Institute. He thinks with the help of all this information he can improve his standard of living. The readers get a picture of all the characters in the novel through the eyes of Ayyan. Through Ayyan’s story the author, Manu Joseph highlights important points like: Class and Caste struggle, social aspiration, and the role of science in today’s world. This author has brought both humor and perception in the novel.

“Secret Spaces – A Collection of Stories” by Aruna Chakravarti @ Rs250/-(pgs 225)

Aruna Chakravarthi, the author of The Inheritors and many other books, brings us ‘Secret Spaces’ a collection of eight short stories. Each of the stories is women centric but not feminist. Each of them discovering, enfolding a woman’s sacred space: sometimes a house, sometimes the mind and sometimes both. Written in a very striking way, the stories are of the lives of different women who face everything from verbal abuse to sexual assault. Very hard-hitting and very real, these stories leave one with something to think about.

History

“Tatya Tope’s Operation Red Lotus” by Parag Tope @ Rs595/-(pgs 431)

The Red Lotus has a symbolic meaning representing Indic ideas and ideals. This book demonstrates that the Red Lotus represented something far more specific during the war of 1857. This book covers Tatya Tope’s entire campaign from the planning of the war until his death. The most awaited question –‘was the man hanged on 18 April 1859-Tatya Tope?’ is answered in this book. The book also offers letters written to Tatya Tope which were never published earlier.
This book has been compiled by the Tope family; each member has contributed something to the book. This book provides a platform for the dream of a resurgent India and its charisma as the eternal nation. The dedication of the Tope family shines through every piece of information in this book.

Travel

“Jangalnama - Travels in a Maoist Guerilla Zone “by Satnam @ Rs250/- (pgs 206)

Satnam is an activist and writer who have written on national and international issues. Jungalnama is his first major book. Satnam has spent two whole months with Maoist Guerillas in the jungles of Bastar, learning and observing their ways. Through his account of their lives , the reader learns the real story of the ‘guerillas’ and the ‘adivasis’ – how and why they live in Bastar, their diet, their aims and goals towards society, and their insights about what is happening around the world. We also realize that, guerilla actions need not only mean encounters and landmines. Satnam presents an alternate development model which is a part of the revolution.

“Mystical, Magical Maharashtra” by Milind Gunaji @ Rs150/-(pgs 123)

Milind Gunaji has written 6 books on his adventurous travels. Milind Gunaji once again takes his readers on an adventurous journey. This time he has brought places in Maharashtra and Goa that have a magical history into light. The vanishing pedhas of Bhuleshwar, the bubbling brooks of Netravali and the walking mango tree of Sanjan are just a few of those mentioned in this book. The mystical and magical portions are those of the forts that have an important place in the history of Maharashtra. The beautiful photographs and useful maps urge one to look for the wanderer within.

Cinema

“3 Idiots –The Original Screenplay “@ Rs495/-(pgs 425)

3 Idiots is a film which is popular all over the world. The film proved to be an irresistible magnet at all cinema theatres. The film’s real and long-lasting achievement is not in its popularity but, in its power to evoke. 3 Idiots - the original screenplay begins with Rajkumar’s real life story, and then the original screenplay of the movie. Next comes the part of how the book “Five Point Someone” influenced Rajkumar Hirani to direct this film. It also has rare interviews and personal accounts of the cast and crew. To add to the excitement, it also has behind the scenes photographs. The book reveals the journey of the makers of the movie, thus compelling a nation to think.

Food

“Medium Raw” by Anthony Bourdain @ Rs 599/-(pgs 281)

Anthony Bourdain: chef, traveller, author, TV food guide, and all round gastronome is back with a sequel to his book ‘Kitchen Confidential’. In ‘Medium Raw’ Anthony Bourdain continues his journey in life as things around him are changing… even him. Starting with an illegal dinner that he is invited to (not to mention any names), It just gets better! As its name suggests, the book is Raw and very Real. And in true Anthony Bourdain style: Sarcastic and funny. Medium Raw is a definite page turner!

“Women, Food and God” by Geneen Roth @ Rs.6058/-(pgs 211)

FOOD WOMEN AND GOD! is a part and parcel of the world.
No matter how sophisticated, or wealthy, or broke you are, how you eat speaks all about you. Geneen Roth says that the only definition of God that makes sense is one that uses this human life and its suffering – the very things we believe we need to hide or fix. The book begins with the basic concept of how women use food to solve every problem, it is comforting for some and for the others it is just a part of them. The way we eat is inseparable from one’s core beliefs. This book is a simple guide that has the basic insights to change one’s life.

Personalities

“Serena Williams – My Life” with Daniel Paisner @ Rs. 555/- (Pgs. 258)

This book is about the struggle of this dynamic tennis star. Trained by her father and encouraged by her older sister Venus, she has won many matches. She had a special relationship with her older sister with whom she had practice sessions. She was devastated by the shooting of her older sister Tunde, nevertheless she sprang back into action. This book is a must read for anyone who is going through a struggle.

Young Adults/ Children

“A Clear Blue Sky - Stories and Poems on conflict and hope” @ Rs150/- (pgs 111)

A Clear Blue Sky is a compilation of stories and poems by various authors from India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan for children and teenagers. They deal with all that is going wrong in the world: War, Global Warming, Racism, Terrorism etc. Serious issues like these are written about from a child’s point of view and are hence relatable for other children to understand. Some sad, some funny, some hopeful, these stories are a must read for all children.

“Star Stuck” by Subhadra Sengupta @ Rs. 195/- (Pgs 176)

Star Struck is the second Foxy Four Adventure. Set in the holy city of Varanasi, this book is about the Foxy four- a gang of 4 girls. Thinking that they are going for a national quiz they get more than what they had bargained for. There is an idol that gets stolen and a film crew moves into the town for shooting. All of sudden the foxy four are excited about this activity in Varanasi. The book is a must read for all who love adventures and mysteries.

“Pearls of Wisdom”by Sonja Chandrachud @ Rs199/- (pgs 189)

Sonja too is our neighbourhood personality, well known author, who comes with a riot of a book everytime. A long time friend of twistntales, many of you will remember her from her reading sessions on horror stories for kids! Wicked and fun, Sonja returns to the “Hilarious Hauntings” series. Her earlier book, “Potion of Eternity” was a great hit amongst teenagers!

‘Pearls of Wisdom’ is the second book in her series of ‘A Hilarious Hauntings Adventure’, our favourite hilarious hero is back: Count Drunkula, with another adventure… only this time it’s not his adventure!
Poseidon is headed for certain doom when their King Neptune loses the precious Pearls of Wisdom to the dreaded Black Magi. This means the end of Poseidon if Count Drunkula does not do something. Only he is being charged by high treason for losing the Pearls!
The only one who can save the day is his 13 year old Water Sprite daughter – Koral. Thus Koral sets out to the Sea of Secrets with her friends Pete and Shesh to do the seemingly impossible task of recovering the Pearls and saving her father’s life…. Little does she know that she may have to pay a heavy price for doing exactly that!
Hilarious, witty and richly descriptive, Sonja Chandrachud transports you to another world full of magic, humour and of course adventure!

New books not yet reviewed, but already on racks

1. “Avatar An Activist Survival Guide” by James Cameron @ Rs 699/-(pgs 203)
2. “Ayn Rand and the world she made” by Anne. C. Heller @ Rs.495/-
3. “Theodore Boone - Half the man, twice the lawyer “ by John Grisham @ Rs199/-
4. “The Art Of Choosing “ by Sheena Iyengar @ Rs 499/-
5. “She Broke up, I didn’t!... “ by Durjoy Datta @ Rs 100/-
6. “The New Anthem-The subcontinent in its own words” by Ahmede Hussain @ Rs350/-
7. “I too had a love story..” by Ravinder Singh @ Rs100/-
8. Soap! Writing and Surviving Television in India “ by Venita Coelho @ Rs299/-
9. “Chicken Soup for the Soul Divorce and Recovery “@ Rs295/-
10. “Chicken Soup for the Indian Spiritual Soul” @ Rs 295/-
11. “Chicken Soup for the Indian Women Soul” @ Rs295/-
12. “Beyond Deal Making - five steps to negotiating Profitable Relationships” by Melanie Billings- Yun @ Rs399/-
13. “Frauds in the markets why it happens and How to Fight it” by Peter d. Goldman @ Rs.395/-
14. “The Optimism Advantage 50 Simple Truths to Transform Your Attitudes and Actions into Results“ by Terry L. Paulson @ Rs 350/-
15. “Poorly Made in China an Insider’s Account of the Tactics behind China’s Production Game” by Paul Midler @ Rs.375/-
16. “Marketing 3.0 – From Products to Customers to the Human Spirit” by Philip Kotler @ Rs. 495/- (pgs 188)
17. “Invisible” by Paul Auster @ Rs. 299/-
18. “Driving like Crazy – 30 years of vehicular hell bending” by P. J. O’rourke @ Rs. 350/-
19. “Spotty Powder and other Splendiferous Secrets “ by Roald Dahl @Rs 125/-
20. “The Eight Powers Within You” by Shishir Srivastava @ Rs199/-
21. “Well Being - The 5 Essential Elements “ by Tom Rath @ Rs750/-
22. “Headcount - Memoirs of a Demographer “ by Ashish Bose @ Rs 450/-
23. “Knowing Dil Das - Stories of a Himalayan Hunter” by Joseph S. Alter @ Rs299/-
24. “Illicit” by Dibyendu Palit @ Rs150/-
25. “The Begum’s Secret “ by A.K. Srikumar @ Rs.299/-
26. “There was no one at the Bus Stop” by Sirshendu Mukhopadhyay @ Rs 150/-
27. “Innocent” by Scott Turow @ Rs430/-
28. “The Story of the World Cup” by Brian Glanville @ Rs599/-
29. “She’s A Jolly Good Fellow” by Sajita Nair @ Rs250/-
30. “Of Love and Politics” by Tuhin A Sinha @ Rs250/-
31. “Excess: The Tehelka Book of Stories” edited by Jai Arjun Singh & Nisha Susan @ Rs. 250/-
32. “The Sages” by Charles R. Morris @ Rs. 450/-
33. “The Double Comfort Safari Club” by Alexander McCall Smith @ Rs. 495/-
34. “The Flaws In The Jewel” by Roderick Matthews @ Rs. 350/-
35. “India: National Geographic Traveler” by Louise Nicholson @ Rs. 999/-
36. “The Rise and Fall of Bear Stearns” by Alan C. Greenberg @ Rs.905/-
37. “Gravity Shift” by Wendy Dobson @ Rs 495/-
38. “Quarantine” by Rahul Mehta @ Rs 399/-
39. “Governing Business & Relationships” by A. Parthasarathy @ Rs.450/-
40. “You tube and Video marketing An Hour A day” by Greg Jarboe @ Rs. 450/-
41. “Email Marketing - An Hour A Day” by J. Mullen and David Daniels @ Rs 450/-
42. “After the Darkness” by Sidney Sheldon @ Rs250/-
43. “A Break in the Circle” by Sharmila Kantha @ Rs.250/-
44. “The Left Hand of God” by Paul Hoffman @ Rs499/-
45. “Vedic Signs” by Ajai Bhambi @ Rs195/-
46. “On the Yeti’s Trail” by Shoba Naidu @ Rs.95/-
47. “Tusker Tales” edited by” Ruskin Bond @ Rs 95/-
48. “History and Heritage of Indian Game Hunting” by Sudipta Mitra @ Rs.395/-
49. “Impressions” by Najma Heptulla “@ Rs 295/-

Young Adults/ Kids

50. “More Milly- Molly- Mandy” by Joyce Lankester Brisley @ Rs.215/-
51. “Airhead Runaway” by Meg Cabot @ Rs 399/-(pgs 275)
52. “Little Fingers” by Sheila Dhir@ Rs95/-
53. “A Silly Story Of Bondapalli” by Shamim Padamsee @ Rs135/-
54. “My Brother Tootoo’ by Urmila Mahajan @ Rs175/- (pgs 157)

Books just arrived, hot off the oven:

1. “Hostel Room 131” by R.Raj Rao @ Rs.250/-
2. “Refuge” by Gopal Gandhi @ Rs.250/-
3. “Valmiki’s Daughter” by Shani Mootoo @ Rs. 299/-
4. “Howzzat Butterfingers!” by Khyrunnisa A. @ Rs.199/-
5. “Essentials of Screenwriting- The Art, Craft, and Business of Film and Television Writing” by Richard Walter @ Rs. 499/-
6. “Vampire Academy – Spirit Bound” by Richelle Mead @ Rs. 325/-
7. “Struggle for Gender Justice –Justice Sunanda Bhandare Memorial lectures” edited by Murlidhar C. Bhandare @ Rs.499/-
8. “The Authorized Biography – Adoor Gopalkrishnan, A life in Cinema “ by Gautaman Bhaskaran @ Rs.599/-
9. “The Lacuna” by Barbara Kingsolver @ Rs. 550/- (Orange Prize for Fiction Winner)
10. “The Red Pyramid” by Rick Riordan @ Rs.399/-
11. “This Is Not That Dawn” tr. by Anand (Yashpal’s Jhoota Sach)@ Rs599/-
12. “Hitch -22” by Christopher Hitchens @ Rs. 599/-
13. “The Crimson Throne” by Sudhir Kakar @ Rs.450/-
14. “The Story of English- How the English Language conquered the World” by Philip Gooden @ Rs.550/-
15. “The Tacit Dimension” by Michael Polanyi @ Rs.299/-
16. “Great Escapes –Alcatraz, The Berlin Wall, Colditz, Devil’s Island and 20 other stories of daring, audacity and ingenuity” by Ian Crofton @ Rs.550/-
17. “Jamie does… Spain, Italy, Morocco, Sweden, Greece, France- Easy twists on classic dishes inspired by my travels
Happy Reading and meet you at the Store,

From the growing team at,

twistntales

Bookstore Bingo FTW

For all the employees, ex - employees and honorary employees as well as store - lovers, here's something you'll love and relate to!! Use the link to go to the site (it's pretty cool) but the write - up is below.

http://news.shelf-awareness.com/ar/theshelf/2010-07-14/bookstore_bingo_ftw.html

Years ago, when I worked at a large bookstore in Manhattan, I often muttered to myself: "Retail. Only the strong survive." Judging by the many, many wonderful entrants in yesterday's round of #bookstorebingo on Twitter--aka Crazy Things Customers Say, fueled by yesterday's Notes from an ER Bookseller--some things never change.

Apparently, quite a few customers just didn't pay attention in school:

GlennWhidden: Do you have (pause, consult reading list) Hamlet? It's by (pause, consult list again) Shakespeare?

LFrannie33: Overheard: "Can you tell me who the author of Shakespeare is?"


mmerschel: "Do you have Shakespeare in English?"

Bookdwarf: I'm looking for a book but I only know the title, not the author. It's called Dante's Inferno.

VillageBksBham: "Who wrote Jane Austen?"

ragesinggoddess: @Watermarkbooks had a summer-long Jane Austen bookclub. Had someone ask when she would be there.

delmorepilcrow: "Where do yall keep the true fiction?"

joebfoster: "I definitely don't want nonfiction. I like autobiographies and history."


Then there's those memorably weird (sometimes unsettling) queries:

Bookdwarf: "Do you have books on monkeys, monkeys doing things like people?" (turns out they wanted monkeys having sex)

joebfoster:"This is the only bookstore I've ever been in that didn't have a popcorn machine."

LFrannie33: "I'm here for a Bible, not the KJV or anything. I'm looking for the original. You know the one that God wrote."

joebfoster: One of my all-time faves: "My new girlfriend is pretty churchy. Would a Gutenberg Bible be a good gift?"

handeebks: Another fave from the brick & mortar days "Do you have any books with red covers? I'm redecorating my living room in red."

ChatNoirBooks: Cust asks about return policy so I ask her why.... "Well if I don't lose weight I should be able to return the book right?"

julialikesbooks: "I'm looking for white supremacy books. I tried to order them and they were stopped at the border. Can you imagine?!" #bookstorebingo

KatherineBoG: We keep getting emails from a guy who wants us to do an event w/ Pam Grier. He has no connection, just want to meet her

amyeureka: Overheard @EurekaBooks: Kid: "What is this place?" Mom: "It's a library."

Handeebks: "What do you mean? Why can't I leave my 3-5 yo (unattended) in your shop while I go next door?!?"

chelseathe: Customer asks where 'nonfiction' is. I say it's broken up into history/bio etc. She calls us a bad bookstore. Really?

corpuslibris: Most commonly asked non-book-related question: Do you have a copy machine? 2nd most common: Do you sell stamps?


And that saying about how "the customer is always right"? Not so much.

bookladysblog: My favorite #bookstorebingo mistaken title: The Glass Menage a Trois.

HFBooks: Customer asked for THE ONION IN THE CLOSET; wanted INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD.

KatherineBoG: Woman asked for CRUCIBLE, I gave it to her, she said "not the screenplay. The REAL one."

joebfoster: 2nd week as bkseller, lady looking for the KITE WALKER. Was PISSED when I suggested that KITE RUNNER might be a quicker read.

ChatNoirBooks: Oooo Ooo - Tillers of the Earth. Was completely insulted when I suggested she might be looking for Pillars of the Earth.

3rdplacepress: "Do you have Atlas Rugged?". "Uh. No, don't you mean Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand?". "No. I need Atlas Rugged."

KatherineBoG: Woman was outraged that we had signed Susan Branch bks b/c she said Branch died 2 yrs earlier. We had her in the week before.

lauriemuchnick: When I worked at Waterstone's Charing Cross Road, people would ask, Is this Foyle's? I never said, Can you read the sign?


Sometimes, these experiences lead to rewarding moments of win:

ragesinggoddess: I like to think my ability to track down books from customer-provided cover colors is legendary.

ChatNoirBooks: I'm looking for a book. It had a chicken on the cover & my sister really liked it. Total WIN with no more info we found it.

GlennWhidden: Do you have those mystery novels by Angela Lansbury? I said yes and showed him the books by "Jessica Fletcher." He was happy.


And perhaps my favorite:

joebfoster: Someone once told me that the US government classified ANGELS & DEMONS as fiction to help the Vatican with the cover-up. --Robin Lenz

Telling time...to slow down!

While I was working at tnt many moons ago, there were often customers who walked in and said, "I don't have TIME to read!" Being a bibliophile and loving any chance to argue, I usually ended up lecturing them on finding the time for God's sake!

Now, having been in the 'real' working world for almost two years. I understand them a little better. It's true that between full-time work, family and friends, one gets little time to curl up with a book. I come home and watch sitcoms and dance around to filmy music, just to de-stress.

It took me a while to realise how much reading, my magnificent obsession, had receded. Luckily, I am surrounded by books, so I couldn't use the excuse of not having anything to read.

I didn't invent some marvellous time-twister to give me 26 hours in a day, nor did I give up on partying till 5am. I carry a book with me at all times. If I reach work early, I put down my things, go to Barista, order a strawberry smoothie and treat myself to an half-hour of peaceful reading. On my one day off a week, I visit a bookshop. I sit on steps outside malls and read.

This isn't about 'you should read.' It's just that I love reading and I don't want to become a boring, corporate-type person who prides herself on not having time. Nobody hands you time on a platter. Sometimes, maybe you just decide to give time to what makes you happy. And it works :)

Hi all of you !

twistntales is growing !

As part of its back office operations, we are looking for :

1. Ops. in charge or Office adminstrator

Currently, the job includes handling stocks, dealing with vendors, fair bit of accounting, bank reconciliation etc. Progressively, the job is poised to grow rapidly in the next few months.
A lady candidate, with accounting/ operations background, knowing word, excel and tally is ideal. A 5 day week with Sun/mon off.

2. Counter Position : we have a requirement for a 10 to 6 counter person, young, with good communication skills, and fond of books. Mondays off.

Position 1 is located in the back office, behind Season's Hotel in Balaji Park. Position 2 is at the Store in Gaikwad Nagar. Both in Aundh. Persons who can walk to work are preferred.

Call me please ! (9960639162)