God gives you the people,resources and mindset you need to go forward in life. But as humans, you and I go on worrying.The end goals realizing there’s no end goal but the journey, the tea shop stops and the people who sing along with you on the journey that matters.The circle of influence,love ,memories.The people who will help you live with grace.
What does serenity mean :According to the dictionary, “the state or quality of being serene, calm, or tranquil; sereneness.” Synonyms: peacefulness, peace, calm, composure.
While most of you have heard the serenity prayer ,few claim to live it. That’s the reason I picked up a little book of Serenity. It’s calmness with grace.The understanding of one’s troubles and accepting the journey one has to walk.You may walk with a smile or with tears in your eyes,will always be your choice.
The Serenity prayer
….grant to us the serenity of mind to accept that which cannot be changed, courage to change that which can be changed, and wisdom to know the one from the other through…
Reinhold Niebuhr
Choosing grace is the most difficult thing for me ,when I just want to flame the fire.But that’s where wisdom comes in .It’s not just the Dopamine hit you want.It’s the good effect of endorphin, which will keep you feeling great even when the stimulus is gone.The book has a pretty book cover and pretty font.Something to pass on to your kids type book .It’s a book of short poems and quotes by the author and by other stalwarts which the author likes .
Name of the Book: A little book of Serenity
Book by Ruskin Bond
My favorite quote snippets from the book.
Serenity of nature is the serenity of perfection.
…life on earth is not permanent .
In humility lies serenity.
A meaningful friend ,a meaningful day
Dalai Lama
Simple pleasures …browsing among old books
Letting go gives us freedom,
Be like water..,it finds its way.It doesn’t quarrel,it simply moves on
Lao Tzu
..its alright to not climb every mountain
Let nature be your teacher
William Wordsmith
Who is this book for?
If you are seeking serenity in your life ,then this book is for you.A good book to gift someone in need of inspiration and serenity in their life.I also read a book about painting calm which you may like .This is part of the Blogchatter Bookchatter.
Hello dear readers! This is Miss A.Misra logging in to tell you about another book I read recently. Today’s book is “The Spider’s web” by Agatha Christie. This book was pretty dense and had a dark plot with some sharp turns in the way. It was a bit sad in the middle but somehow quite hilarious.
Here’s a short description of the story written by me: Clarissa is the wife of a Foreign office diplomat. She is prone to daydreaming. Literally. She muses about different scenarios that may happen and what she was to do if the DID happen. For example: Supposing I were to become an actress? Supposing Henry( her husband) dies? Or even “Supposing my ice cream melts?”. ( Ok, the last one is not technically mentioned, but it CAN happen!)
The story starts out so innocently you will never believe it takes such a horrifying turn. It begins when Clarrisa brings own three glasses of beer and wine, and asks three of her friends to guess which is of which company. Two of them confidently say three different things. Jeremy, the last one, blandly says they taste the same. To which the other two men say young people have no knowledge on such matters. Later Clarissa reveals they all were of the very same bottle of beer!
Clarissa had an adopted daughter called Pippa, and unlike other stories where the stepparents are mean, Henry and Clarissa are loving and supporting. Pippa absolutely adores them. Her real parents had been abusive so she was taken away. Then things become rather interesting. Clarissa confides in Jeremy what she does when she is bored. Daydreaming random scenarios. It’s entertaining, I must say. I myself sometimes think: What should I do if a fire catches? Supposing the ceiling fan falls right now? And stuff and nonsense like that. Moving on, she just happened to mention to Jeremy that ” Supposing that I find a dead body in the library one day?”
She didn’t have to wonder much longer. Some time later, when her child Pippa was asleep. and the maids took a day off, Clarissa finds a dead body in the library! Pippa appears suddenly, and starts crying at the sight of it, saying ” Oh no I didn’t mean to- Did I do that?”. Now, obviously Clarissa thinks her daughter somehow killed the man after this small exchange, and decides to make an alibi for herself and her daughter . What’s more, the man who was killed was Pippa’s real father. Obviously, she did the most sensible thing. She panicked.She quickly calls her friends and explains to them the case. Together, they create alibis for themselves in case the police come. They do come, and Clarissa is smart enough to pretend to know nothing about it. Pippa is upstairs, sleeping again ( FYI though, Clarissa gave her a sleeping pill so she falls asleep and does not worry herself, because you might be wondering how someone can sleep so much for one day), so the police don’t take notice of her. But, she’s not the real murderer. Infact, someone among her friends was present there! But who is that person? Will Clarissa be able to convince everyone Pippa is actually innocent? And will the real murderer get caught in time?
The Spider’s Web by Agatha Christie was an amazing novel. It was originally a short story, like she generally writes, and it was novelised by Charles Osborne. It is very dense, as I mentioned before, like three times. Just felt like I needed to throw that in again.
Clarissa is a very important person in the story, as is their gardener, who is actually someone using an alias (:O) Henry, Clarissa’s husband is rather a minor figu Anyways, for thriller and mystery lovers, this book is perfect. However, if you are those sentimental people (no offence) who can’t bear a book character to have a bad past or face death, you might want to skip it. Pippa’s backstory is rather tragic, and (surprise, surprise) my mother cried while reading it. I have to admit, when we learnt who the real murderer was, I was completely thrown off track. It seemed so sudden yet so logically correct. So I won’t disclose who murdered the man yet, because that would pretty much ruin everything for you.
What would be the use of reading it when you know what’s going to happen, anyways? I did not find many complaints about this book even after reading it quite a few times, so it was pretty much ideal for me.
Other short stories you could read, which are related to such genres by Agatha Christie are: The Lamp (it’s related to paranormal stuff, but it was pretty cool), Philomel cottage ( one of my favourites) and ” The strange case of Arthur CarMicheal” ( extremely creepy sci-fi thriller which is, I repeat, very creepy. If you’re scared of ghosts going into animals and inanimate objects, don’t even touch the stuff).
So basically it’s a pretty good book and though I like to read more science-fiction and stuff, I rather liked this one. Well, again, I like ALL sorts of Agatha Christie books, and by saying that I’m basically opposing against what I just said. But whatever.
Anyways, dear readers. goodbye now! See you in another post
Under the influence by Malini Agarwal is a book I read last week.Its about the influence of digital media on how we behave and what can be improved for a beautiful digital legacy.
The tagline “How to Survive and Thrive Online and a quote by Kusha Kapila on the book cover, aptly sums up the book by saying, “the one who knew influence before influencers were a thing.” That’s true because I read the first book by Miss Malini when I started blogging .She has really worked hard at building the business she has built.
Her first book was How I blogged my way to Bollywood a very rags to riches inspiration.
But as the saying goes, it’s not what you know but who you know and Miss Malini has tweaked it by making it not only about who, but also what and how and bringing it all together to build a unique business.
A guide to being good online in the age of the shiny social media where its only about the rhetorics not the truth.
Most important lesson for social media Etiquette
Don’t do anything online you wouldn’t do or say offline
My favorite part was about creating the social media legacy.That’s what I believe too and it’s not just sm(social media) legacy but a digital legacy.Here’s my digital legacy.
I like jumping on sm trends but somehow never did Snapchat or Tiktok.I liked how Malini talks about the generations and laughed out loud when I read we millennial (Yes,I am a millennial) have intuitive knowledge of tech, can work as professional shoppers online and like work life balance and QOL is our thing.Well she definitely nailed that one.
But before I get carried away giving away all the content .I must say Miss Malini is not just an influencer.She is THE Influencer reaching demigod status with her pen and her work .
I am also a part of her Good creator APP, which was previously the Miss Malini tribe app,which shows promise (hope it gets even better).Imagine your child Googling you one day and reading about you.Is there anything you wish you didn’t do?That’s one of the biggest takeaways if you are a parent who blogs!
Crucial thing to remember going forward. Plus the internet has no rules.
Who is this book for?
If you are a creator ,earning online or considering earning online this book is your internet-etiquette must read, that will save you headache, heartache and money (from avoiding litigation costs).Remember even freedom of speech has rules to be followed. Because in a world where anarchy rules, nothing thrives.The internet is a gift to mankind, treat it well and remember you are creating a digital footprint for generations to come.Make it good .
Forever is a series of Nows
Emily Dickenson
This is a U post and part of Blogchatter Book Review program and also BlogchatterA2Z.
Hello, dear readers! This is Miss A.Misra signing in to recommend you yet another book: The Girl who drank the moon, written by Kelly Barnhill.
Lets delight first of all in the cover art. It’s absolutely gorgeous! The tiny dragon ( Fyrian) is looking adorable and Luna looks totally fitting in the character. I love her posture drawn so efficiently! The moon is glowing and so shiny it’s clear why Luna drank the moonlight. ( Okay, that sounds confusing now, but you will understand later. Moving on!)
Here’s a summary of the story. I have not really given anything away here. If you don’t really want to know much, feel free to skip the last paragraph.
The people of Protectorate place a baby in a ring of Sycamore trees, at the entrance of the forbidding forest where an evil witch resides, and leave, presuming that the baby would be killed by the witch. This is their baby sacrifice, and their belief is that if they don’t do it, the witch would kill everyone! However, the witch, Xan, is totally kind, and gentle. A good witch. She has no idea why the children are sacrificed to her, as she never required or wanted anything, and she never even hurt any of the children she was given. She took them lovingly and brought them to the Free Cities, where they were adopted into nice families who did not sacrifice random kids. On the way, she gathered starlight on her fingers to feed the babies with ( Look, I tried to do that too. I tried to reach my hand up and touch the stars, and gather the starlight to eat. It didn’t work. You’re free to try though, and if you succeed send me some), which makes them content and full. They grow up to be called Star-children, and they exude a faint sort of glow.
Once upon a time, Xan accidentally fed a child moonlight, instead of starlight. Once the baby girl had drunk it, she was enmagicked, ( Yes, that’s a real word, according to the book, anyways.) and was bursting to the brim with magical powers. When Xan understands what she has done, she realised that it was too dangerous to just leave the child in an unknowing family. She names her Luna, partly because she has a birthmark shaped like a crescent moon on her forehead, and partly because she had drunk moonlight. Get it? Lunar-Luna? Right? ( I don’t know if you understood but I think you must have, If you haven’t, too bad!)
Luna grows up in her grandmother’s cottage, along with the bog monster glerk, and a simply tiny dragon, called Fyrian. In her toddler years, she continues to use magic all the time, unaware of it herself. To protect her from becoming a danger to both herself and her surroundings, Xan locks away her magic inside of her for a few years till she turns 13, and then she would learn to control it and utilise it safely ( or so we think ). But the time keeps ticking, and it seems that Luna’s magic is spilling out of her now. Even worse, Xan is withered, and old. She will die once the young girl turns thirteen. Meanwhile, there is a real witch, in the town of Protectorate itself, who feeds herself on the sorrow of the people ( that’s dark, like really dark ). But who is she? Will she be stopped? Will Xan survive? Will Luna learn how to use her magic and will they survive the process?
My opinion: This book was awesomely amazing! It’s a sort of story that sticks to your mind and makes you think about it and wish the book never ended. ( Okay, but if that wish comes true we won’t be needing any more novels. One book would be enough. ) It’s got a very nicely imagined storyline, and the message given through it is ” Sorrow is a scary thing. It can make people angry, make them sad, or make them insanely depressed. Look towards hope. Think positively.” Or it might be “Don’t accidentally drink Moonlight if you want a normal life.” Or perhaps “Try not to be born in the city named Protectorate,where people sacrifice children to witches when there aren’t any.” You choose.
Also, it has a kind of deep storyline which might take some time to understand. One thing the book lacks is humour. It would have been the prize novel had it got jokes in it. There are some instances where humour is indicated ( very subtly). Like the part where the tiny dragon Fyrian tries to hug the big monster glerk, and he does not really succeed much. Or the parts where a story is told by some mother to her child, in some other part of the world. There are such typical phrases like “Wait till your father gets home.” or ” Okay, one story only, then do your chores!” it makes you smile.
Overall I rate this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars, for ages above 10 years old. It’s a nicely imagined story, and the fact that someone took the childish idea of wanting to drink the moon or eat it, and created that into such a glorious novel is absolutely fantastic! I have not yet read such a lovely story as this one was. Of course, I like Agatha Christie. Her writing style is really good. But there are very few of such books that have magical instances. I especially like the word ” enmagicked.” It’s a lovely word. “Magicked” is used sometimes, for instances like ” He magicked it away” informally, but enmagicked. Ah. That’s totally different. Two letters can make all the difference in the world. Fact proven!
Hello readers! This is Miss A.Misra signing in to tell you about yet another book I have recently read.
Now, the Percy Jackson series has mainly five original books, and I have read four till now. Let’s start from the first one: Percy Jackson and the lighting thief.
SYNOPSIS:
Here, the book starts with Percy explaining his identity in the typical hilarious way. He didn’t want to be half blood, that is, child of a powerful Greek god and a mortal. He concludes mainly that it’s dangerous, with you being killed( or tried to be killed) in various ways.Later on he introduces himself to us, saying he studied at Yancy academy, New York, and is currently 12. He hates his class bully who is Nancy, also studying at Yancy academy ( get what I did there? Nancy-Yancy? OH never mind.)
His best friend is Grover, who later turns out to be his satyr protector ( satyr is a half man, half goat in ancient greek. Great) and leads him to camp half blood after he vaporises his algebra teacher with his Latin teacher’s sword, Riptide.( Yeah, his Latin teacher carried a sword around him and gave it to Percy later on.) Turns out, the algebra teacher was a monster trying to kill him! Percy’s mom is a normal mortal, Sally Jackson. Now see, mortals can’t see the monsters, the celestial bronze swords or the magical things that gods or half bloods can. But there are some,who can see them. Sally ‘s mom was one, and she knew all about how half bloods are dyslexic and have ADHD and don’t do well in normal schools. So when Grover randomly bursts in on their camping holiday, she takes a car, grabs Percy and runs off to Camp half blood, which is a secure camp for half bloods, which normal people don’t know about.
It’s protected by a magical boundary made by a tree, Thalia, daughter of Zues, had been killed by a Cyclops while protecting her friends. Zues had taken pity and turned her into a magical pine tree which protected everyone, such was her own nature. Anyways, while running to camp, they are attacked by a big Minotaur in the dark and Percy’s mother is captured and sent to the underworld, but Percy manages to kill it by taking off one of it’s horns and saving Grover. They rush to camp.
Percy feels sad about his mother and broods over it. His Latin teacher turns out to be a – centaur called Chiron! (Probably explains how he had a sword with him) As Percy was exhausted, he fell unconscious and was treated for almost 3 days by Annabeth ( Athena , goddess of wisdom’s daughter) and then gets put into Hermes cabin as he is unclaimed by his god parent. That does not take long , as he is quite soon claimed by none other than- Poseidon, god of sea!
Percy is alone in his cabin as there was no other child of Poseidon in camp.He soon sees that camp has alot of activities, sword fighting, archery, sword making, etc. But the major point is, Zues’s lightning bolt is stolen and Percy is suspected of it! Zues says that it must be returned by summer solstice, and Percy, Annabeth, and Grover set off on a quest to find it, battling monsters 24/7 all day. But will he find it or be disintegrated (gulp!) by the god of lighting and sky?
My opinion:
This series is extremely amazing, and makes you hang on to every word. It is very funny,sarcastic, adventurous, and creates an overall exciting experience. This book will have you on the edge with its action and adventure. I don’t really find many flaws in the book but I do have something to say about the movie. It has changed every detail it could. Firstly, Annabeth is blonde and grey eyed. The actor has red hair with blue eyes. Like how? Okay, i get it, it’s hard to find exact specifications for everyone in the series, who can act well, but it kind of irritates the fans of the book! Then, a major event, the capture the flag, where Percy defeats Clarisse’s team and a hellhound, the movie shows how he defeats Annabeth ( which never happened) and the hellhound was just forgotten!
To sum it up, this was an awesome book!
Farewell till next time!
Goodbye for today, see you later in another book review!
The Parasitic Mind:How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense by Gad Saad is a book I read in 2021.I reviewed it on Amazon and then didn’t write about it on the blog.
That was not right.I.should have .But sometimes you are afraid of the selection bias and my husband says I need to come down from my moral high ground.But that’s his opinion,which is great.
Heres mine on a book which can shake loose a lot of “woke” mindsets and give you plenty of food for thought.You may or may not like him,but Gad Saad’s logic stands the test of time.Its 2024 and I still remember what the book talks about.Definitely not for the dinner table and only for those who won’t get emotional and willing to listen to both sides of a story.
This book clears up a lot of the psycho social problems countries are facing today.Outstandingly engaging with a logical narrative.A page turner packed with humour .Serious topics need that extra bit of humour which prevents it from weighing down your mind.
The Parasitic mind is a book by Gad Saad and its not for everyone. Definitely not for those with the Ostrich problem.Also not for those who don’t like analysing data,historical perspective and following logic and common sense.
While the author sums up many challenges issues the modern society faces ,he never lets go of laughing at his own self.
Serious topics need not be weighty.That’s what people tell us.But if you are someone who had a curious mind but don’t want the weight of the world giving you sleepless nights,but you still want to KNOW stuff which the woke keep spouting knowledgeable,then this book is for you.If you were starting to doubt your own sensible thought process and wondering if you are too old for the times,this book deserves a read.You are not alone my friend.
If the problem in UK is anything to go by,then the grooming gangs have honestly tried their best to destroy a generation of school children and if you are a believer in science,logic and the eternal power of the higher power, then Gad Saad helps you truly become Antifragile.
Pros of the book:
Extremely readable.
Tongue in cheek humour.
Highly relevant for our times but is also strangely futuristic.
Just the right length.
Cons:I can’t think of any .Maybe it’s my selection bias
Favourite Quotes from the book
Confucius was correct To know what you know and what you donot know,that is true knowledge.
Gad Saad from the book Parasitic Idea
In a free society, people should be able to analyze such data without accusations of bigotry. That is how we come to the truth.
Gad Saad from the book Parasitic Idea
The more people we have defending our core values the more likely we are to triumph against the enemies of reason.
Gad Saad from the book Parasitic Idea
Official book blurb:
Read this book, strengthen your resolve, and help us all return to reason.” —JORDAN PETERSON
The West’s commitment to freedom, reason, and true liberalism have become endangered by a series of viral forces in our society today. Renowned host of the popular YouTube show “The SAAD Truth”, Dr. Gad Saad exposes how an epidemic of idea pathogens are spreading like a virus and killing common sense in the West. Serving as a powerful follow-up to Jordan Peterson’s book 12 Rules for Life Dr. Saad unpacks what is really happening in progressive safe zones, why we need to be paying more attention to these trends, and what we must do to stop the spread of dangerous thinking. A professor at Concordia University who has witnessed this troubling epidemic first-hand, Dr. Saad dissects a multitude of these concerning forces (corrupt thought patterns, belief systems, attitudes, etc.) that have given rise to a stifling political correctness in our society and how these have created serious consequences that must be remedied–before it’s too late.
What I learned as a writer from reading this book?
While writing nonfiction keeping a complete list of references chapter wise can be invaluable for the reader and also for further books in the series.Also don’t be afraid of using big words and writing about complex topics.You just need to break them down to their A,B,C and start from there.T
