THIS IS the book of the moment here in our cities — supposedly selling in loads and piles.

Shobhaa De's take on marriage, or rather the "truth" about marriage includes such details as how she stopped wearing salwar kameezes ever since Dilip De said that they did nothing for her. Because one must always respect what the other person feels about the way one dresses. You'll find many such surprising things in the book, and just the fact that she is so Indian makes the book worth the while.

The chapter titles have nice fizzy Hindi titles as well, and the whole thing is actually quite nice, particularly when you imagine what the American version of this book could have been!

Somehow also the fact that Shobhaa De and De are still together and that she manages to stay fit, and look happy gives the book a certain stamp of authority that immediately takes it beyond the agony aunt level!

A nice read in short bits and bites.

He's Just Not That Into You
Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo
Element, Rs. 585

THIS BOOK is categorised "Relationship" and its written by the "relationship consultants "for Sex and the City." So you know what to expect.

It's all that and more; it's gooey, it's typically overstated and it's too cute too trite, too sticky to read in anything but invisible bits.

Some of the chapter titles might give you an idea of what is in the book. `He's just not that into you if he's not calling'; `He's just not that into you if he only wants to see you when he's drunk.'

This is for a culture and a time that's fixated on having a `relationship" thing. But god, maybe we aren't so far from there.

Bangalore & Karnataka
The Most Comprehensive Guide on the Destination
Stark World, Rs. 750

THIS IS an excellent book, well worth the Rs.750 it's priced at. It's a well-produced book, with attractive layout, lots of pictures and several useful categories for the destinations described.

Bangalore is particularly well covered, even if you live here you'll find many things in that you may not have known, places in and around the city particularly.

Categories include `Business', `Health and Wellness', `Spiritual Matters', `Shopping', `The Arts', `Children', `Entertainment', `Sports and Adventures' and more.

And all categories have photographs, and useful road maps and instructions.

This is a book that you could really use if you have any plans of travelling around Karnataka, and if you are new to Bangalore, you must get one.

KALA KRISHNAN RAMESH

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