Interesting reads this week

In his new book, Derek O’Brien tackles some of the most pressing questions confronting our democracy under the ruling dispensation. How have the inner workings and processes of Parliament changed? In what ways have dissent and discussion within Parliament been ‘muzzled’? How have lofty political promises converted to law? O’Brien bravely follows in the footsteps of the argumentative Indian to interrogate the false media narratives and power politics rampant in the country. 

The Policy Self
Nitin Saluja
Simon & Schuster
Pp 190, Rs 499

Nitin Saluja distills two decades across government, industry, and diplomacy into a rare exploration of the inner life of policy work. This is not a book of famous case studies. It is a tour of the quieter forces that shape influence: how practitioners think under pressure, choose words, read a room, time an intervention, and hold their ground in ambiguity. Across ten reflective chapters, Saluja distills what it truly means to practise policy as a discipline of patience and purpose. 

The Kerala Club
Edited by KM Chandrasekhar, TP Sreenivasan
Bloomsbury
Pp 320, Rs 799

Long admired for its literacy rates, healthcare infrastructure and human development, Kerala grapples with economic stagnation, migration pressures, governance paradoxes and social tensions. The Kerala Club is an exploration of one of India’s most debated states, its triumphs, contradictions and unresolved dilemmas. The book brings together candid, experience-rich essays by officers who helped shape the state from within. 

MicroStimuli
Biju Dominic
Penguin Random House
Pp 272, Rs 699

Introducing MicroStimuli—nonconscious persuasive stimuli deployed in the final second before action— to activate the brain’s fastest pathways and change behaviour, in mere milliseconds. This book distils insights from neuroscience, AI, and design into Ethnolab—a novel research method that unravels the nonconscious brain processes and crafts MicroStimuli, precision point-of-action interventions that reliably influence human behaviour.

GUILT
Keigo Higashino
Translated by Giles Murray
Hachette
Pp 416, Rs 699

A body has been found on a Central Tokyo riverbank, and Detective Godai is assigned to the case. The victim is a lawyer and Godai’s investigations lead him to Tatsuro Kuraki, who ends up confessing to not only to the lawyer’s murder, but also another one from 30 years ago —for which another man was arrested and died in custody before trial. Kuraki’s confession resolves two cases, but there is just one problem: Detective Godai doesn’t believe him.