The Godfather is a crime novel written by American author Mario Puzo, originally published in 1969 by G. P. Putnam’s Sons. It details the story of a fictitious Sicilian Mafia family based in New York City (and Long Beach, NY) and headed by Don Vito Corleone, who became synonymous with the Italian Mafia. The novel covers the years 1945 to 1955, and also provides the backstory of Vito Corleone from early childhood to adulthood.

The book introduced Italian criminal terms like consigliere, caporegime, Cosa Nostra, and omertà to an English-speaking audience.It formed the basis for a 1972 film of the same name. Much controversy surrounds the title of the book and its underworld implications. Although it is widely reported that Puzo was inspired to use “Godfather” as a designator for a Mafia leader from his experience as a reporter, the term The Godfather was first used in connection with the Mafia during Joe Valachi’s testimony during the 1963 Congressional Hearing on Organized Crime.

The White Tiger is the debut novel by Indian author Arvind Adiga. It was first published in 2008 and won the Man Booker Prize for the same year. The novel studies the contrast between India’s rise as a modern global economy and the main character, who comes from crushing rural poverty. Other themes touched on include corruption endemic to Indian society and politics, familial loyalty versus independence, religious tensions between Hindus and Muslims, the experience of returning to India after living in America, and the tensions between India and China as Asian superpowers.

Balram Halwai, narrator of The White Tiger, is not going to let a lack of education keep him in the dark. He is heading for glory in India’s bright future. He will be one of those who stuffs cash into brown envelopes for policemen and politicians, and not just another victim. Aravind Adiga’s first novel is couched as a cocksure confession from a deceitful, murderous philosopher runt who has the brass neck to question his lowly place in the order of things. His disrespect for his elders and betters is shocking – even Mahatma Gandhi gets the lash of his scornful tongue.

Balram has worked out early in life that good deeds usually have awful consequences. This is because he, along with most lowly Indians, inhabits the Darkness, a place where basic necessities are routinely snatched by the wealthy, who live in the Light.

He gets a lucky break when he learns to handle a car, then lands a job as driver for a landlord from his village. He has the voice of what may, or may not, be a new India: quick-witted, half-baked, self-mocking, and quick to seize an advantage. He happily abuses religious foibles and hatreds of others where it suits, dispatching a rival driver to destitution via a little anti-Muslim prejudice.

The Algebra of Infinite Justice (2001) is a collection of essays written by Booker Prize  winner Arundhati Roy. The book discusses several perspectives of global and local concerns, among them one being the abuse of  Nuclear Bomb showoffs.

Have you wanted to slap the traffic policeman who stops you, because you are simply riding a motorcycle? Have you been frustrated with the long queues that await you when you visit the licensing authorities and the ease with which pimps come up to you, offering you a shortcut? Have you ever been aghast at the levels our politicians stoop to fill their ever burgeoning pockets? Have you ever thought why innocent civilians are killed on the chessboard of international politics?

Have you ever felt disgusted by the abject corruption, moral depravity and complete lack of ethics we are surrounded with?

Well, if you have been, you will identify with the central thread of this book. This book is written in an extremely high pitched rhetorical style, with the author almost leaving no stone unturned in order to drive home her point, of social inequity and injustice.

So if you like nation-bashing, or rather to phrase it more aptly, ‘system-bashing’, this is the book you should pick up.

In between, the facts presented by the author, during the course of the book, make for a compelling study in themselves.

The Kite Runner tells the story of Amir, a young boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of kabul, who befriended Hassan, the son of his father’s Hazara servant. The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of the monarchy in Afghanistan through the Soveit Invasion , the mass exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States and the rise of the Taliban regime.

The torment of a nation. The reduction of life to nothing else but cruel injustice. The taking away of every sense of identity out of the life of the individual. Life being played out as a game, with people being butchered instead of games being played on football fields. To come to terms with loss of friends and family. The constant reprisals of the system. The angst of being a father, who is reduced to nothing in the shadow of events which take place.

These are the impressions you are left with when you read this book. These are the impressions I was left with. I had tears in my eyes. I normally do not cry while reading, and in fact I have never cried. But the tortured existence of the Afghans, who decade after decade, have been left the status of mute spectators of their own destinies, moves one from the insides.

I find this book to be wonderful addition in terms of knowledge. This book actually acts as a wonderful pointer to the fact that how fiction can communicate to the millions who read it the basic facts of life, as they are

Mother Teresa : Faith In The Darkness A deeply human and moving

portrait of a modern-day icon Mother Teresa

has symbolized human goodness, empathy and

charity for decades and continues to do so

after her death. But how did Agnes Bojaxhiu, a simple girl

from an obscure corner of Eastern Europe,

become such an international and influential figure?

This illustrated biography tells the story of her life,

from being a determined young nun who

went out into the streets of Calcutta to care for the diseased

and the dying, to becoming the voice for the weak

and the poor. Her vision led to the founding of the

Missionaries of Charity, an order with a presence in

over 120 countries today. Despite incessant scrutiny

and criticism of her ideology, methods of care and financing,

she carried on her work which has touched countless

lives around the world and inspired many more.

About the Author Greg Watts is a journalist and writer.

He is the author of a number of books, including

Labourer in the Vineyard: A Portrait of Pope Benedict XVI.