“People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for.”
― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
Fiction
Fall of Giants
By Ken Follett
An epic of love, hatred, war and revolution
A huge novel that follows five families through the world-shaking dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for votes for women.
It is 1911. The Coronation Day of King George V. The Williams, a Welsh coal-mining family, is linked by romance and enmity to the Fitzherberts, aristocratic coal-mine owners. Lady Maud Fitzherbert falls in love with Walter von Ulrich, a spy at the German Embassy in London. Their destiny is entangled with that of an ambitious young aide to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and to two orphaned Russian brothers, whose plans to emigrate to America fall foul of war, conscription and revolution.
In a plot of unfolding drama and intriguing complexity, FALL OF GIANTS moves seamlessly from Washington to St Petersburg, from the dirt and danger of a coal mine to the glittering chandeliers of a palace, from the corridors of power to the bedrooms of the mighty.
Rs. 1,050/- Available at Serendib Bookshop (Pvt) Ltd Mount Lavinia
Paradox – The Nine Greatest Enigmas in Physics
By Professor Jim Al Khalili
A true paradox is a statement that leads to a circular and self-contradictory argument, or one that describes a logically impossible situation. Our subject is 'perceived paradoxes' - questions or thought-experiments that on first encounter seem impossible to answer, but which science has been able to solve.
Our tour of these mind-expanding puzzles will take us through some of the greatest hits of science - from Einstein's theories about space and time, to the latest ideas of how the quantum world works.
Some of our paradoxes may be familiar, such as Schrödinger's famous cat, which is seemingly alive and dead at the same time; or the Grandfather Paradox - if you travelled back in time and killed your grandfather you would not have been born and would not therefore have killed your grandfather. Other paradoxes will be new to you, but no less bizarre and fascinating.
Rs. 1,620/- Available at Serendib Bookshop (Pvt) Ltd Mount Lavinia
The Decision
By Penny Vincenzi
Set against a vibrant sixties backdrop, this is the story of two bright young things: Eliza, an ex-deb making a splash in the world of fashion, and Matt, a working-class boy carving out a serious name for himself in property.
Their story begins with a love affair, closely followed by a marriage, followed by a baby. But whilst their relationship is at first fuelled by passion, it's not of the enduring kind, and soon what started out with such promise descends into a harrowing divorce case and an epic custody battle.
With everything at stake for both Eliza and Matt, and neither party willing to give up their little girl without a fight, it's high drama in the courts. Let battle begin...
Rs.625.00 Available at Makeen Books, Col 3
Just Like Heaven
By Julia Quinn
Honoria Smythe-Smith, the youngest daughter of the eldest son of the Earl of Winstead, plays the violin in the annual musicale performed by the Smythe-Smith quartet. She's well aware that they are dreadful. In fact, she freely admits (to her cousins) that she is probably the worst of the bunch.
But she's the sort who figures that nothing good will come of being mortified, so she puts on a good show and laughs about it. Marcus Holroyd is the best friend of Honoria's brother Daniel, who lives in exile out of the country. He's promised to watch out for Honoria and takes his responsibility very seriously.
But he has his work cut out for him when Honoria sets off for Cambridge determined to marry by the end of the season. She's got her eye on the only unmarried Bridgerton, who's a bit wet behind the ears. When her advances are spurned, can Marcus swoop in and steal her heart in time for the musicale?
Rs. 995.00 Available at Makeen Books, Col 3
The Reckoning: Debt, Democracy and the Future of American Power
By Nouriel Roubini and Michael Moran
The age of American global dominance is ending. In recent years, risky economic and foreign policies have steadily eroded the power structure in place since the Cold War. And now, staggering under a huge burden of debt, the country must make some tough choices—or watch its creditors walk away.
In The Reckoning, Michael Moran, a leading geostrategy analyst at Roubini Global Economics, the Council on Foreign Relations, and other leading institutions, explores how a variety of forces are converging to challenge U.S. leadership—including unprecedented information technologies, the growing prosperity of countries like China, India, Brazil, and Turkey, and the diminished importance of Wall Street in the face of global markets.
Rs. 4420/= Available at Vijitha Yapa Bookshop
Crime & Mystery/ Thriller
Kill Alex Cross
By James Patterson
Detective Alex Cross is one of the first on the scene of the biggest case he's ever been part of. The President's son and daughter have been abducted from their school - an impossible crime, but somehow the kidnapper has done it. Alex does everything he can but is shunted to the fringes of the investigation.
Someone powerful doesn't want Cross too close. A deadly contagion in the DC water supply threatens to cripple the capital, and Alex sees the looming shape of the most devastating attack the United States has ever experienced. He is already working flat-out on the abduction, and this massive assault pushes Cross completely over the edge.
With each hour that passes, the chance of finding the children alive diminishes. In an emotional private meeting, the First Lady asks Alex to please save her kids. But even the highest security clearance doesn't get him any closer to the kidnapper - and Alex makes a desperate decision that goes against everything he believes in.
Rs. 776/= Available at Sarasavi Bookshop Nugegoda
Pigeon English
By Stephen Kelman
Eleven-year-old Harrison Opoku, the second best runner in Year 7, races through his new life in England with his personalised trainers - the Adidas stripes drawn on with marker pen - blissfully unaware of the very real threat around him.
Newly-arrived from Ghana with his mother and older sister Lydia, Harri absorbs the many strange elements of city life, from the bewildering array of Haribo sweets, to the frightening, fascinating gang of older boys from his school. But his life is changed forever when one of his friends is murdered.
As the victim's nearly new football boots hang in tribute on railings behind fluorescent tape and a police appeal draws only silence, Harri decides to act, unwittingly endangering the fragile web his mother has spun around her family to keep them safe. Pigeon English was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2011.
Rs. 1260/= Available at Sarasavi Bookshop Nugegoda
By Abdul Kalam
The thoughts of A P J Abdul Kalam, in You Are Unique, with their heartfelt sincerity, chiselled logic and experienced intuition are amazing lamps on the path of life, giving strength to seek one's Unique Self. This book draws an unforgettable blue print of success for all. One lesson that shimmers from every page of this book is hope.
Whether in failure or in success, there is always a clear vision of future. In human life as well as in the corporate world, the value of vision, leading to planning, followed by action should not be underestimated. The success smiles on those who dream and act. A message of spirituality, honesty, being unselfish and the value of giving emerges from these pages as from his life.
The world has changed and there is a need for awakening together the head and the heart. While poems touch the heart and leave a deep impression, his prose leads you to think how to go beyond the rock walls of conditioning, perceptions and prejudices to achieve success and fulfilment.
Clearly presented thoughts, in You Are Unique, become our inspiration and constant companion, flashing 'upon the inward eye' at our decision making, vision creating as well as ordinary moments of life.
Rs.1300/- Available at www.books.lk
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