HT Picks; New Reads

On the reading list this week is a volume on how myths help us understand others and ourselves, another on making brands relevant in a world that never stops changing, and a book on the evolution of the Indian economy after 1947 that provides ideas for change

Celebrating storytelling and myth

This week’s pick of interesting reads includes a volume on how myths help us understand the world, a book on making brands relevant, and another on the Indian economy since 1947. (HT Team)

240pp, ₹599; Speaking Tiger (On how we understand others and ourselves through the stories we tell.)

The Cave of Echoes celebrates the universal art of storytelling, and the rich diversity of the stories — especially myths — that people live by. Drawing on Hindu and Greek mythology, Biblical parables, and the modern mythologies of Woody Allen and soap operas, Wendy Doniger — renowned scholar of the history of religions — encourages us to feel anew the force of myth and tradition in our lives, and in the lives of other cultures. She shows how the stories of mythology — whether of gods, sages, demons or humans — enable cultures to define themselves. She raises critical questions about how myths are interpreted and adapted, and the ways in which different cultures make use of central texts and traditions. Drawing connections across time and place, she proposes that myths are not static beliefs but evolving narratives, and that by entering into other cultures’ stories, we may unexpectedly rediscover our own. Written with scholarly depth and characteristic wit, this is a landmark work in the comparative study of mythology. It’s essential reading for anyone interested in how we understand others — and ourselves — through the stories we tell.*

The core of effective marketing

172pp, ₹350; Westland (On making brands relevant in a world that never stops changing)

Consumer preferences shift in a heartbeat these days and Marketing Mixology presents the essential toolkit for navigating a dynamic marketscape. Expert brand coach and advertising/marketing veteran Ambi Parameswaran distils the four core skills needed to thrive — understanding consumers, brand building, negotiation and selling, and communication — and offers practical insights and new-age wisdom for both seasoned professionals and aspiring marketers. The aim of this book is to make brands relevant in a world that never stops changing.*

A journey towards a shared vision

320pp, ₹499; Speaking Tiger (The story of the evolution of the Indian economy after 1947 that provides ideas for change)

Independent India is at a turning point. Will it turn off the path to the destiny it set out towards at the midnight hour of 15th August 1947? Will it provide poorna swaraj — full freedom (political, social, and economic) — for all its citizens? Or will it be a nation in which some citizens are more equal than others? These are the questions this book asks even as it reminds readers that the making and remaking of a nation is a journey towards a shared vision. Reimagining India’s Economy is a story of the evolution of the Indian economy after 1947. It provides ideas for leaders of change and is a book that provokes reflection and learning; with some poetry, philosophy, and common sense to guide public policy rather than statistics, data analysis, and artificial intelligence.*

*All copy from book flap.