The English Book Depot

16/06/2026

The Snehlata Prize is a literary award presented to honour individuals who have made significant, sustained contributions to promoting a lifelong love of reading among school children in India. It commemorates the legacy of Snehlata of The English Book Depot, established in 1923. Recent Awardee of 2025: Swati Roy, dynamic entrepreneur, co-founder of the Bookaroo Children's Literature Festival, and founder of Eureka Children's Books.

Nominations for the prize are now open, with the award ceremony hosted by ScooNews at the Global Ed Festival Jaipur in August 2026.

The link to find out more and nominate:

In an age of noise and novelty, Snehlata Ji remained quietly devoted to the most powerful idea of all, that a single book can change a life.

13/06/2026

ABOUT THE BOOK

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

The final curtain is closing on the Second World War and in an abandoned Italian village. Hana, a nurse, tends to her sole remaining patient. Rescued from a burning plane, the anonymous Englishman is damaged beyond recognition and haunted by painful memories. The only clue Hana has to unlocking his past is the one thing he clung on to through the fire – a copy of The Histories by Herodotus, covered with handwritten notes detailing a tragic love affair.. AT THE ENGLISH BOOK DEPOT.

https://www.brewingknowledge.com/2026/06/books-of-week_01863853752.html

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The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje — at The English Book Depot.

A blog about books, reading and the love for the printed word. News about new arrivals, reviews and comments from readers and authors.

05/06/2026

ABOUT THE BOOK

Called by the Hills : A Home in the Himalaya by Anuradha Roy

A book about building a home and a wild garden on the edge of a Himalayan forest, illuminated by the author's own watercolours.
When novelist Anuradha Roy and her husband stumble upon a derelict cottage in the hill station of Ranikhet, they decide it is where they will now live. Leaving behind the freneticism of Delhi, Roy is initially bemused by the gentle pace of life in the mountains. Before long, however, she is won over: spellbound by the landscape, taken to the heart of her sometimes recalcitrant neighbours and adopted by several mountain dogs.
Over twenty-five years, as Roy becomes accustomed to living among forests where leopards roam freely, she will come to encounter nature at its most fierce, beautiful and vulnerable – and bear witness to the destructive impact of global warming on the alpine ecosystem.
Called by the Hills: A Home in the Himalaya is an intimate portrait of a home, a community and a rugged, extraordinary landscape. Written with unsentimental clarity, humour and poignancy, this is an account of profound transformations.. AT THE ENGLISH BOOK DEPOT.

https://www.brewingknowledge.com/2026/06/books-of-week.html

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Called by the Hills : A Home in the Himalaya by Anuradha Roy — at The English Book Depot.

A blog about books, reading and the love for the printed word. News about new arrivals, reviews and comments from readers and authors.

30/05/2026

ABOUT THE BOOK

General Brasstacks: The Sundarji Story by Probal DasGupta

In 1986, as Indian and Chinese troops faced off in Sumdorong Chu in Arunachal Pradesh, an Indian general airlifted a brigade to occupy dominating heights, putting pressure on the Chinese below. The audacious General Krishnaswamy Sundarji swung the momentum decisively in India’s favour, forcing the Chinese to back-pedal in the Himalayas.
The following year, the same army chief planned Operation Brasstacks, one of the largest military exercises since World War II. The move threatened Pakistan’s nuclear ambitions, unnerving General
Zia-ul-Haq and prompting him to seek rapprochement.
The 1980s were a decade of dramatic turns: events that led to the assassinations of two Indian prime ministers, political upheaval and military crises. General Sundarji oversaw two of the most controversial operations in independent India: Operation Blue Star, against Sikh militants inside the Golden Temple, and Operation Pawan, against Tamil militants in Sri Lanka. He was also drawn into the Bofors acquisition and the scandal that followed, which helped bring down a government.
But who was Krishnaswamy Sundarji? How did his penchant for bold, sometimes brash decisions take shape? Was he too ambitious? Was he ahead of his time in pushing for technology-driven warfare, or behind it as insurgencies demanded a more improvised approach?
This definitive biography by bestselling author Probal Dasgupta traces the life and times of one of India’s most charismatic yet forgotten army chiefs. Sundarji’s career mirrored the journey of a young nation, often echoing its political choices and contradictions. The only general to have influenced both military and political thinking in India’s democracy, his brisk 820-day tenure saw the army through modernization, crises, controversies and change. This book explores Sundarji’s central role in shaping the modern Indian Army and his influence during the turbulent 1980s... AT THE ENGLISH BOOK DEPOT.

https://www.brewingknowledge.com/2026/05/books-of-week_083230151.html

Brasstacks: The Sundarji Story by Probal DasGupta See less

A blog about books, reading and the love for the printed word. News about new arrivals, reviews and comments from readers and authors.

23/05/2026

ABOUT THE BOOK
Choices: Inside the Making of Indian Foreign Policy by Shivshankar Menon

Shivshankar Menon gives an insider's account of the negotiations, discussions and assessments that went into the making of five pivotal choices in India's recent history. These include the decision not to use overt military force against Pakistan after 26/11; the civil nuclear deal with the United States; the border agreement with China; the response to the last months of Sri Lanka's brutal civil war; and the thinking that underlay India's No First Use nuclear policy.
Drawing on his long and distinguished career as a diplomat holding critical positions in India's external affairs ministry and in the prime minister's office, Menon considers each situation against the backdrop of India's evolving definition of her place in the changing global landscape. He brings out the history, politics and principles involved, while examining and dissecting the reasons for the outcome.
Analytical, lucid and illuminating, Choices is an unmatched insight into the intellectual heft of foreign policy decision-making by one of India's most formidable diplomatic practitioners who was actively engaged in these five defining moments.... AT THE ENGLISH BOOK DEPOT.

https://www.brewingknowledge.com/2026/05/books-of-week_0854124951.html

: Inside the Making of Indian Foreign Policy by Shivshankar Menon

A blog about books, reading and the love for the printed word. News about new arrivals, reviews and comments from readers and authors.

21/05/2026

“Back in 1998, I first stepped into the author world with the Guide to Good Schools of India, which was a fantastic way to dive into my love for education and team up with schools to figure out what makes them truly special. That journey is still going strong, with more books like the Guide to Schools of Doon, Taking Learning Forward at The Fabindia School and, of course, the beloved “My Good Schools - Where Passion Meets Education”, which came out in 2021. And now, we’re excited to share the new version of the Good Schools of India on Substack!” Sandeep Dutt

Let’s nurture the skill of reading, embrace the power of reflection and build meaningful connections. Click to read Joy of Learning, by Sandeep Dutt, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.

16/05/2026

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Story of Birds:An Evolutionary History of the Dinosaurs That Live Among Us
by Steve Brusatte

'Steve Brusatte has a rare gift for bringing the distant past vividly and fascinatingly to life' - Bill Bryson
'Soaringly brilliant' – Alice Roberts
A New Scientist and Times most anticipated book of 2026
Billions of birds share the planet with us. With their flamboyant plumage and joyous dawn serenades, many of them are impossible to miss. But how did they get here, how did they break the bounds of Earth and begin to fly, and how does their legacy shape our world?
In delightfully energetic prose, expert palaeontologist Steve Brusatte takes us through their 150-million-year history, from their origins among small carnivorous dinosaurs to the 10,000-plus species that thrive today. Along the way, we meet fantastic birds from all around the world, some known only through fossils. There are elephant birds that stand as high as a basketball hoop and lay eggs as big as watermelons; demon ducks that weigh more than cows; aeroplane-sized seabirds that soar the world’s thermals; and predatory penguins the size of gorillas.
Lively, majestic and full of wonder, The Story of Birds will ensure you never see birds the same way again.. AT THE ENGLISH BOOK DEPOT.

https://www.brewingknowledge.com/2026/05/books-of-week_02141945865.html

Story of Birds:An Evolutionary History of the Dinosaurs That Live Among Us by Steve Brusatte See less See less

A blog about books, reading and the love for the printed word. News about new arrivals, reviews and comments from readers and authors.

15/05/2026

22 Stories. Latest story added on 03 May 2026. See insider moments and handpicked daily stories you won't find anywhere else.

14/05/2026

At EBD, we welcome interns and offer fellowships. Our Learning Forward India 🇮🇳 Foundation is furthering our mission to share the joy of reading. Please join us and be part of this transformation.

09/05/2026

ABOUT THE BOOK
Just Being: A Memoir (The India List) by Romila Thapar

Historian Romila Thapar reflects on a rich, path-breaking life―and the ideas, friendships, and journeys that shaped her. In Just Being, historian Romila Thapar invites us into her illustrious world―a rich, extensive memoir from a scholar who has profoundly shaped our understanding of India’s past and present. From her childhood growing up in British India, through her years of education in London, her extensive travels to archaeological sites across Asia and beyond, and her trailblazing role in shaping the Centre for Historical Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Thapar reflects on a life lived in the service of inquiry and education. Composed over the past few years, Just Being is a testimony to Thapar’s ability to view herself within the larger flow of history, and to illumine it with a scholar’s depth and a storyteller’s sensitivity. It reveals not only an extraordinary, boundary-defying life but a profound conviction that understanding our past in the light of irrefutable evidence is essential to an insight into the present and to shaping a more thoughtful future... AT THE ENGLISH BOOK DEPOT.

https://www.brewingknowledge.com/2026/05/books-of-week_9.html

Being: A Memoir (The India List) by Romila Thapar See less

A blog about books, reading and the love for the printed word. News about new arrivals, reviews and comments from readers and authors.