On the shelf: From a memoir to short stories, here are the top picks of the week

A curated collection of five must-read books offering diverse perspectives on innovation, personal resilience, societal impact, and the power of language.

On the shelf: From a memoir to short stories, here are the top picks of the week

1. Designed to Win

Author: S Devarajan
Penguin Random House
Pp 272, Rs 699

Tata Elxsi may not be the first company you think of when you think of the Tata group. However, as the highest valued Tata company, Tata Elxsi has been revolutionising the world of electric vehicles by offering innovative solution in the area of electric energy and embedded product design. What drives Tata Elxsi’s success? What has it done differently to transform itself? This book is an attempt to answer these and many such questions.

2. Finding My Way

Author: Malala Yousafzai
Hachette
Pp 320, Rs 699

In this astonishing memoir, Malala Yousafzai reintroduces herself to the world, sharing how she navigated life as someone whose darkest moments threatened to define her—while seeking the freedom to find out who she truly is. Finding My Way is an intimate look at the life of a young woman taking charge of her destiny—and a deeply personal testament to the strength it takes to be unapologetically yourself.

3. Nobody’s Girl

Author: Virginia Roberts Giuffre
Penguin Random House
Pp 192, Rs 1,499

The world knows Virginia Roberts Giuffre as Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s most outspoken victim—the woman whose decision to speak out helped send both serial abusers to prison. But her story has never been told in full, in her own words—until now. In April this year, Giuffre took her own life. She left behind a memoir written in the years preceding her death and
stated unequivocally that she wanted it published.

4. The Land of Sweet Forever

Author: Harper Lee
Penguin Random House
Pp 200, Rs 1,299

The book contains several unseen short stories from the early creative years of the legendary author of To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman. Covering territory from the Alabama schoolyards of Harper Lee’s youth to the luncheonettes and movie houses of mid-century Manhattan, it invites still-vital conversations about politics, equality, travel, love, fiction, art, the American south, and what it means to lead an engaged and creative life.

5. Stories of words and phrases

Author: Sumanto Chattopadhyay
Rupa Publications
Pp 296, Rs 395

From the Persian roots of ‘khaki’ to the Shakespearean sass behind ‘crocodile tears’, this book is your backstage pass to discovering the fascinating, strange and amusing histories of the popular words and phrases we use every day, though mostly without pausing to reflect on their etymology. Linguistic sleuth Sumanto Chattopadhyay peels back the layers of language and takes us on a rollicking ride to demystify the origins and meanings of common words and quirky idiomatic expressions.

This article was first uploaded on November one, twenty twenty-five, at fourteen minutes past eight in the night.

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