BOOK OF THE DAY

In sixteenth-century India, warrior Amar Singh, tracker Jingu, artist Qamaruz Zaman and fire-scarred scholar Ferdows travel through a land teeming with clans, languages and deities, stealthily rigging the emperor’s dominion over man, beast and demon.

The unlikely quartet prove adept at engineering spectacles reflecting the Great Moghul’s divine right to rule. Qamaruz Zaman and Jingu’s acting abilities are as sublime as their sketching and tracking; Amar Singh excels at violence; and Ferdows is a skilled linguist and healer. In a series of disguises, they intercept a rogue elephant attacking a riverside caravanserai, face a liger in a subterranean complex under a desert kingdom, and confront a demon in an animistic community in a remote mountain valley. The Great Moghul takes credit for each hunt, and this strategy of empire expansion seems to be working.

But there are challenges. Qamaruz Zaman is frail, hedonistic and allergic to fur. Jingu has dreams of transcending his caste but fears they will only ever be dreams. Ferdows is on a hunt but doesn’t like hurting things. And Amar Singh is a narcissist who cares only about honour and reclaiming lost glory. By the time the quartet reaches the harem city of Zikri to investigate a mysterious death during a symposium on metaphysics, the differences of temperament, belief and ambition between them are causing issues.

In Zikri, Jingu and Qamaruz Zaman are sidelined, Amar Singh learns there is an imperial hunter other than the Great Moghul, and Ferdows the storyteller becomes the story.

Ways to improve reading skills and speed

*SURI*

Ways to improve reading skills and speed please

*Meta AI*

Here are some effective ways to improve your reading skills and speed:

Improving Reading Skills

1. *Set goals and track progress*: Identify what you want to achieve and track your progress to stay motivated.

2. *Practice active reading*: Engage with the material by asking questions, making connections, and visualizing the content.

3. *Improve vocabulary*: Expand your vocabulary by reading widely, using flashcards, and learning prefixes, suffixes, and roots.

4. *Develop critical thinking*: Analyze the text, identify main ideas, and evaluate arguments.

5. *Increase reading frequency*: Make reading a regular habit to build your reading muscle.

Improving Reading Speed

1. *Eliminate subvocalization*: Practice reading without saying the words in your head.

2. *Use your peripheral vision*: Take in groups of words at a time, rather than focusing on individual words.

3. *Increase your reading pace*: Gradually increase your reading speed by setting timers and challenging yourself.

4. *Use a pointer*: Use a pointer, such as a finger or a mouse, to guide your eyes as you read.

5. *Practice skimming and scanning*: Learn to quickly identify main ideas, keywords, and relevant information.

Additional Tips

1. *Choose material wisely*: Select texts that interest you and are at an appropriate reading level.

2. *Create a conducive reading environment*: Eliminate distractions, use good lighting, and adjust your reading position for comfort.

3. *Take breaks*: Take regular breaks to rest your eyes and recharge your mind.

4. *Join a book club or find a reading buddy*: Discussing what you've read can help you stay motivated and engaged.

5. *Use technology*: Utilize e-readers, apps, or software that offer features like adjustable font sizes, reading timers, and progress tracking.

By incorporating these strategies into your reading routine, you'll see improvement in your reading skills and speed over time.

BOOK OF THE DAY

An emotionally powerful debut with a magical twist, set between WWII France and present-day Appalachia, about generations of women in a family, their secret healing abilities, and the mysterious consequences they must contend with when they use their skills on someone they love

“A profound tale of love, family legacy, secrets, and the extraordinary power within us all.... A deeply felt debut.”

—PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY, New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Book of Flora Lea

For generations, the Winston women have possessed an unspoken magical gift: they can heal with the touch of a hand. It’s a tradition they’ve always had to practice in secret, in the moonlight hours, when the fireflies dance and the whippoorwill birds sing.

But not every healer has rightfully passed on this knowledge to her descendants, and for young Louise Winston, the discovery of her abilities comes in less-than-ideal circumstances—she brings her best friend back from death following an accident, the day after he professed his long-held feelings for her, five days before she’s supposed to move away.

Desperate for answers, and to avoid this new reality between them, Louise escapes to her grandmother’s lush Appalachian orchard. There, she uncovers her family’s hidden history in a tattered journal, stemming back to her brave great-grandmother who illicitly healed Allied soldiers in war-torn France. But just as Louise begins to embrace her unique legacy, she learns that it can also come with a mysterious cost. And with a life hanging in the balance, she’ll be forced to make the most impossible of choices…

Spanning eighty years, The Moonlight Healers is a deeply empathetic, heartfelt novel about mothers and daughters, life and death, and the beautiful resilience of love.

EYECATCHERS

BOOK OF THE DAY

**WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 2024**

**THE #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER**

'A slim, profound study of intimate human fears set against epic vistas'

GUARDIAN

'Stunning... An uplifting book'

SUNDAY TIMES

Life on our planet as you've never seen it before

A team of astronauts in the International Space Station collect meteorological data, conduct scientific experiments and test the limits of the human body. But mostly they observe. Together they watch their silent blue planet, circling it sixteen times, spinning past continents and cycling through seasons, taking in glaciers and deserts, the peaks of mountains and the swells of oceans. Endless shows of spectacular beauty witnessed in a single day.

Yet although separated from the world they cannot escape its constant pull. News reaches them of the death of a mother, and with it comes thoughts of returning home. They look on as a typhoon gathers over an island and people they love, in awe of its magnificence and fearful of its destruction.

The fragility of human life fills their conversations, their fears, their dreams. So far from earth, they have never felt more part - or protective - of it. They begin to ask, what is life without earth? What is earth without humanity?

'Our unanimity about Orbital recognises its beauty and ambition. It reflects Harvey’s extraordinary intensity of attention to the precious and precarious world we share' Edmund de Waal, Chair of the 2024 Booker Prize judges

*A BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR THE GUARDIAN, SUNDAY TIMES, FINANCIAL TIMES, NEW STATESMAN, SPECTATOR, DAILY MAIL AND MAIL ON SUNDAY*

BOOK OF THE DAY

New York Times Bestseller

New York Times Notable Book of 2016 • NPR Great Read of 2016 • Named a Best Book of 2016 by The Economist, Smithsonian, NPR's Science Friday, MPR, Minnesota Star Tribune, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, The Guardian, Times (London)

From Pulitzer Prize winner Ed Yong, a groundbreaking, wondrously informative, and vastly entertaining examination of the most significant revolution in biology since Darwin—a “microbe’s-eye view” of the world that reveals a marvelous, radically reconceived picture of life on earth.

Every animal, whether human, squid, or wasp, is home to millions of bacteria and other microbes. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ed Yong, whose humor is as evident as his erudition, prompts us to look at ourselves and our animal companions in a new light—less as individuals and more as the interconnected, interdependent multitudes we assuredly are.

The microbes in our bodies are part of our immune systems and protect us from disease. In the deep oceans, mysterious creatures without mouths or guts depend on microbes for all their energy. Bacteria provide squid with invisibility cloaks, help beetles to bring down forests, and allow worms to cause diseases that afflict millions of people.

Many people think of microbes as germs to be eradicated, but those that live with us—the microbiome—build our bodies, protect our health, shape our identities, and grant us incredible abilities. In this astonishing book, Ed Yong takes us on a grand tour through our microbial partners, and introduces us to the scientists on the front lines of discovery. It will change both our view of nature and our sense of where we belong in it.

BOOK OF THE DAY

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A BookPage Best Nonfiction Book of 2024

From the bestselling author of Cultish and host of the podcast Sounds Like a Cult, a delicious blend of cultural criticism and personal narrative that explores our cognitive biases and the power, disadvantages, and highlights of magical thinking.

Utilizing the linguistic insights of her “witty and brilliant” (Blyth Roberson, author of America the Beautiful?) first book Wordslut and the sociological explorations of her breakout hit Cultish, Amanda Montell now turns her erudite eye to the inner workings of the human mind and its biases in her most personal and electrifying work yet.

“Magical thinking” can be broadly defined as the belief that one’s internal thoughts can affect unrelated events in the external world: think of the conviction that one can manifest their way out of poverty, stave off cancer with positive vibes, thwart the apocalypse by learning to can their own peaches, or transform an unhealthy relationship to a glorious one with loyalty alone. In all its forms, magical thinking works in service of restoring agency amid chaos, but in The Age of Magical Overthinking, Montell argues that in the modern information age, our brain’s coping mechanisms have been overloaded, and our irrationality turned up to an eleven.

In a series of razor sharp, deeply funny chapters, Montell delves into a cornucopia of the cognitive biases that run rampant in our brains, from how the “halo effect” cultivates worship (and hatred) of larger-than-life celebrities, to how the “sunk cost fallacy” can keep us in detrimental relationships long after we’ve realized they’re not serving us. As she illuminates these concepts with her signature brilliance and wit, Montell’s prevailing message is one of hope, empathy, and ultimately forgiveness for our anxiety-addled human selves. If you have all but lost faith in our ability to reason, Montell aims to make some sense of the senseless. To crack open a window in our minds, and let a warm breeze in. To help quiet the cacophony for a while, or even hear a melody in it.

BOOK OF THE DAY

Book overview

This remarkable memoir, and history of India after Independence, by one of India’s most distinguished public intellectuals, begins with his memories, at the age of three, of the assassination of his paternal grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi. From this poignant opening note, the book expands into numerous encounters with personalities both Indian and foreign, ‘eminent’ as well as little known, and original insights into key events and turning points of modern Indian history, many of which he was an eyewitness to as secretary to presidents R. Venkataraman and K. R. Narayanan, and as governor of West Bengal and Bihar.

The book is divided into eight sections. The first section deals with the hopes and dreams of a newly independent nation, and the tragic events of Partition following the birth of the nation. Section Two recounts notable events that ushered in democracy such as the adoption of the Indian Constitution in 1950, the first general election (1951–52), and the formation of the Swatantra Party by C. Rajagopalachari, the last governor general of India and the author’s maternal grandfather. In Section Three, we witness, among other things, the 1962 Sino–India War that convulsed a young democracy, the deaths of India’s first president, Rajendra Prasad, in 1963, its first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, in 1964, and second prime minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri, in 1966.

Deeply engaging and insightful, and illustrated with rare archival photographs from various sources, The Undying Light: A Personal History of Independent India is a magisterial account of seminal events in the country from Independence to the present day.

BOOK OF THE DAY

Learn how to lead with maximum impact, regardless of your position, through this masterclass distillation of John C. Maxwell's thirty years of experience teaching people how to make a significant difference in their organizations. Don't wait for that promotion! Start leading NOW. right where you are! What's the number one question leadership expert John C. Maxwell is asked while conducting his leadership conferences? "How can I implement what you teach when I'm not the top leader?" Is it possible to lead well when you're not the top dog? How about if the person you work for is a bad leader? The answer is a resounding yes! Welcome to The 360° Leader. People who desire to lead from the middle of organizations face unique challenges. And they are often held back by myths that prevent them from developing their influence. Dr. Maxwell, one of the globe's most trusted leadership mentors, debunks the myths, shows you how to overcome the challenges, and teaches you the skills you need to become a 360° leader. If you have found yourself trying to lead from the middle of the organization, as the vast majority of professionals do, then you need Maxwell's insights. You have a unique opportunity to exercise influence in all directions-up (to the boss), across (among your peers), and down (to those you lead). The good news is that your influence is greater than you know. Practice the disciplines of 360° leadership and the opportunities will be endless. for your organization, for your career, and for your life.

BOOK OF THE DAY

We Do Not Part: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Han Kang (Author), e. yaewon (Translator), & 1 more  Format: Kindle Edition

4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars    379 ratings

Editors' pickBest Literature & Fiction

See all formats and editions

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THE NEW NOVEL FROM HAN KANG, WINNER OF THE 2024 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE

“[Han Kang’s] intense poetic prose . . . confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.”—The Nobel Committee for Literature, in the citation for the Nobel Prize

“[A] masterpiece.”—The Boston Globe

“A novel that is both disquieting and entrancing.”—The Economist, “Best Books of the Year, So Far”

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Han Kang’s most revelatory book since The Vegetarian, We Do Not Part tells the story of a friendship between two women while powerfully reckoning with a hidden chapter in Korean history.

One winter morning, Kyungha receives an urgent message from her friend Inseon to visit her at a hospital in Seoul. Inseon has injured herself in an accident, and she begs Kyungha to return to Jeju Island, where she lives, to save her beloved pet—a white bird called Ama. A snowstorm hits the island when Kyungha arrives. She must reach Inseon’s house at all costs, but the icy wind and squalls slow her down as night begins to fall. She wonders if she will arrive in time to save the animal—or even survive the terrible cold that envelops her with every step. Lost in a world of snow, she doesn’t yet suspect the vertiginous plunge into the darkness that awaits her at her friend’s house.

Blurring the boundaries between dream and reality, We Do Not Part powerfully illuminates a forgotten chapter in Korean history, buried for decades—bringing to light the lost voices of the past to save them from oblivion. Both a hymn to an enduring friendship and an argument for remembering, it is the story of profound love in the face of unspeakable violence—and a celebration of life, however fragile it might be.