1. Consumed
Saabira Chaudhuri
HarperCollins
Pp 368, Rs 599
Saabira Chaudhuri investigates how global corporations built their success on disposability. Drawing on over a decade of reporting from around the world, including India, where a marketing push for tiny shampoo sachets rewired consumer habits and left behind a tidal wave of plastic, Chaudhuri exposes the hidden history of plastic’s rise, the marketing myths that sustain it, and the urgent need to rethink the way we consume.
2. Enter Prompt
Barsali Bhattacharyya & Sidharth Sreekumar
Penguin Random House
Pp 256, Rs 499
India, the largest democracy and fastest-growing large economy in the world, faces unique challenges when it comes to the epochal AI. A scrupulously researched book, Enter Prompt: Navigating AI in the World’s Largest Democracy, written by Barsali Bhattacharyya and Sidharth Sreekumar, interviews practitioners, policymakers and tech evangelists and answers the questions every Indian today is grappling with.
3. Free Food
Mo Wilde
Simon & Schuster
Pp 320, Rs 899
Whether you live in a city or in the countryside, a world of amazing, diverse wild food is at your doorstep. Not only is wild food free and sustainable; it is also jam-packed with nutrients and flavour. In Free Food, award-winning author and forager Mo Wilde explains how to identify the plants, seaweeds, nuts and spices that are safe (and delicious) to eat, including foraging staples like wild garlic and lesser-known herbs like the fragrant sweet cicely.
4. Magnetic
Rochelle Fox
Penguin Random House
Pp 368, Rs 699
Your mind is a magnet—and you are the one who controls it. But what if the things you attract don’t reflect your desires? Meditation teacher and personal growth coach Rochelle Fox guides readers through the secrets of magnetism, equipping them with the ultimate law of attraction toolkit for mastering their subconscious mind and directing their attention and energy toward turning their dream life into reality—starting now.
5. How to be You
Ruskin Bond
HarperCollins
Pp 132, Rs 499
How to be You, the latest addition in the ‘How-to’ series, is here to guide and inspire you towards living authentically. With over 70 years of experience as a writer, Ruskin Bond reflects on his own incredible journey, sharing life-changing, practical advice that encourages individuality and self-expression. By packing his life’s lessons into a relatable and beautifully illustrated book, the author encourages readers to hit pause, take a step back, and tune into their authentic selves.