Your weekend reading list

Rana Barua, business head, Red FM recommends two books that are a must-have on your bookshelf.

When a Billion Chinese Jump – How China will save Mankind or Destroy it by John Watts

The title derives from a boyhood nightmare: the Chinese, Watts thought then, were so numerous that if they all jumped together they could knock the world off its axis. Now that most of China's 1.4 billion people prefer to live better today than to trust the promise of a socialist paradise tomorrow, the shock to the world's economy, atmosphere, soil, water, forests and natural resources seems set to trigger his boyhood terror - the demands of a billion Chinese bent on becoming prosperous consumers could indeed, on China's present trajectory, knock the world off its axis! A must read.

Mother Pious lady by Santosh Desai

A book that can be read numerous times! And, written by someone who I know personally. Santosh, one of India's best-known social commentators, shares in his warm, affectionate and deliciously witty look at the changing urban Indian middle class. Writing as an insider, from personal experience, Santosh removes the chaos and confusion of everyday India and makes us see things clearly. Holding a mirror to our inner selves, Santosh makes us see what drives us, what makes us tick, what makes our hearts beat, and how our mindsets and attitudes are changing, even as the past never quite leaves us. And in his inimitable short masterful essays, written with great humor and sensitivity.