Kadambari Singh's Blog, page 6

Book review : Bodyweight Workouts By Anami Mittal

Title - Bodyweight Workouts

Author - Anami Mittal

AN EBook

About the author : Anami is a poetess, a writer and a blogger who observes life and its dwellings with a keen eye. She is a strong believer in, Everything, situation, and person out there teach us something. You will find deeper meanings in all her writings.

Book Blurb: This book is a compilation of few Body weight Workouts you can do at your home. These do not require any equipment. It is written for the A to Z Challenge 2018. It is a great way to exercise for those who get bored easily. Try them and you will love them.

My View : The ebook is a nice guide on body weight exercises. With every exercise the author has included motivational words and quotes to keep one at it. It enlists exercises for each letter of the alphabet. There are some very basic exercises to some a bit complex but definitely a must as one's body gets accustomed to routine exercises. Along with the same goes one body part and how to take care of it.
Which are my favorites??? Honestly, all of them are easy to practice and can be readily adapted even if you are running out of time. To specifically pick one, I will like to mention the one that puts a smile on my face every time I do it i.e. YTWL :)
The one thing that I didn't like was that somewhere towards the end the detailing about the body part is not there and hence lacks symmetry.
Overall I will rate it a 3.5 out of 5 for illustrating bodyweight exercises along with mentioning the body parts it is going to impact. 

Half-way through 2018

Everytime I start a new year, like most people around I make many, by many I mean too many resolutions. My ritual is to sit down with my diary on the night of 31st December and jot everything down. And the glitch is as I close the diary I put a closure on everything that is written. I never re-open those pages and so don't even remember what I wrote....quite like getting drunk and forgetting everything once you are done with the hangover. Most people at least work on the resolutions but for me, I never start.
So half-way through 2018, I have realized that it's time to re-vamp my lifestyle and a good enough time to start working for myself. Yes, I do want to work for myself but I am not planning to quit my job and get on the freelancing wagon or entrepreneurship as of now! By working for myself I mean, I want to work on things I like apart from my job. I adore my job but I also like to read, write and take pictures and colour and make some art to de-stress. These things often get neglected given the hectic work schedule. I have a 10 hour working day, 6 days a week. The time that is left is either used in leisure or being a couch potato.
I really believe in Goal setting more than resolutions...why?? because I like the sound of the word - GOAL ...professional and playful. I did some self-analysis and found out that I make too many goals and hence find it difficult to maintain even a single. So, I should take it step-by-step. So for the remaining part of the year I want to specifically work on my blog.
I started this blog in the year 2012 and apart from trying something here and there most of the time my blog has been neglected. So to change the same I have set some goals for the remaining 4.5 months of the year.  
So here I go -
By 31st December 2018 I want  -
1. Have a blog schedule and follow it through.
2. 40 blog posts to be posted.
3. Reap in 20 followers of  blog.
4. Work on Blog FaceBook page.
5. Cross 500 followers on Blog Facebook page.
6. Work on Blog Instagram.
7. Cross 1000 followers on Blog Instagram.

I am linking this post to WORK-WEDNESDAYS something I planned to start in 2017 but never worked after two posts. This time it is not going to happen and so I am linking this-one-to-that...a reminder to me :) and do read those posts as well, dated around January 2017, one of them being on resolutions or Goal setting :)

Let us begin!!!

Book Review : Invisible Ties By Nadya A. R.

                                                  


About the Book - 
As Karachi burned in the 1990s, the painfully shy Noor Kamal found refuge in an antique jade mirror stolen from Daisy, her social butterfly mother. One fateful day, the violence hits home as a motley crew of burglars storm the Kamal residence, killing Joseph, the faithful driver who tried to shield Noor and kidnapping Daisy in the process.
Traumatized by the turn of events and succumbing to familial pressure, Noor reluctantly agrees to start life afresh in Singapore as the wife of Meekaal Kalim, an investment banker. Trapped in a loveless marriage, Noor finds succour in studying psychotherapy.

Her attempt to heal others brings her close to Ella, her neighbour and Jake, a handsome American who is struggling to deal with his emotional breakdown. As she tries to exorcise ghosts from the past and break free from the shackles, where will Noor’s longing for love take her? Would she be able to liberate herself from her strong cultural values and ties?

A saga of love and trials, against a rich contrasting background, Invisible Ties is sure to appeal to the readers.


My View -
The first thing I noticed about this book was the cover, the paper quality. Though the book is priced at 250 rupees the embossing and detailing matches to the books priced 600 rupees and upwards. Now for me, this was a huge draw.
The beginning was slightly confusing and slow paced. As one reads on further, though the pace remains the same but the story "ties" you.
The story revolves around Noor, her life and the "ties" she carries within herself. It is a story of a woman who is still a girl, clinging onto her past and how she comes forth to present.
The storyline is interesting, there's drama, romance, suspense and yes some action too...:)  but too much poetic prose. One can consider it a metaphorical journey, if one loves prose though I am unsure if the same was intended by the author.
Overall I will rate it a 3 of 5.


P.S. - The book was given to me for an honest review by Kaffienated Konversations.

Book review : IPL-ology By Paresh Godhwani

Title - IPL-ology

Author - Paresh Godhwani
AN EBook
About the author - Bearded freelance writer, immature designer, marketer by qualification, novice social media influencer, an accountant in India’s top general insurance company and author of Six degrees, Life in Local Train and IPL- ology.

Book Blurb - It started as a cricket league but now, it has become an important part of life. In this period of over ten years, IPL has performed beyond expectations on and off the field. Come, let’s study the performance of the league.
My View - I am not a fan of cricket but IPL has it's own charm. I am glued to the TV only during the IPL season. The format by itself makes it a quick and engaging watch, making everyone love it. IPL-OLOGY is a book detailing the format, the people involved, how it came into being and overall THE IPL. A good tribute to the ten decades IPL has successfully covered. 
A nice read to get you the entire account of its inception and existence. People who love cricket would love the knowledge. People who don't love cricket may not enjoy the detailed read.
I'll rate it a 3 out of 5 for being crisp and connecting read.
You know what! For now you can read the book here. So go for it IPL enthusiasts, it is surely going to reveal a thing or two you didn't know.

It says Love - My kinda HATRICK

I take on the Baton of Blogchatter Ebook Carnival from Paresh whose ebook 'IPL-ology' is also part of the mix.
About Paresh's ebook: It started as a cricket league but now, it has become an important part of life. In this period of over ten years, IPL has performed beyond expectations on and off the field. Come, let's study the performance of the league.


2018 is my third year that I participated in the April A to Z challenge and the main reason behind it was the ebook that I wanted to make on completion of the challenge.As it is a daily blogging challenge, the reader (also the blogger) has to keep on writing on a daily basis (unless planned in advance) and hopping from one blog to another to read as many blogs as one can.
So I decided to write some short quotes or poems. And the very thought gave me another idea for my book - A coffee table book of my own.
Before launching it as a coffee table book I am introducing it as my third ebook called -                   "It says Love".



Love, has many flavors to it, some sweet when one gets what one yearns for, some a bit bitter for the unrequited love, some for the beloved, some for the loved ones, some for evergreen crushes and some of strangers.

Writing the book was the easy part but compiling the same got harder than I expected. All of a sudden I fell ill and went through a painful phase. I was not feeling great but in order to get into the groove, compiled the book with 26 A to Z challenge posts and some more of my favorites and I got the chance to publish my ebook with blogchatter as a wild card entry.
So for you all my ebook can be downloaded here - It says Love.And I can happily say it was a joyous ride, writing these little tokens of my heart. Do read it to relate, relax and rejoice.

I pass on the Baton of Blogchatter Ebook Carnival to Nidhi whose ebook 'Wheels of Time' is also part of the mix.
About Nidhi's ebook: These are 12 people, 12 tales and 12 months. Which says "When The Unexpected Leads to Expected."

Author Interview : Romila

Romila aka Novemberschild all through the social media is one of the strong, independent women I admire. I have never met her but through our interactions online she has shared her anecdotes with me and helped on. 

As a lover of literature who is passionate about books, writing is her forte. She is an impulsive poetess and a coffee addict. Romila love colouring and music. Always armed with a pen, She is ever ready to leap into the world of creativity. She was born, brought up and educated in Delhi and at the moment She lives in Hyderabad with her parents. She is an award-winning Writer, famous veteran Blogger, Author of 4 EBooks, Editor of lifestyle e-zine and a Columnist who has been in the literary ring since 1996. She has been featured in Paycheck India –IIM (Ahmedabad) Project, Baggout, The Directory of Best Indian Blogs, GeekPost, Buzz Magazine, Speaking Tree (Times of India), Brutally Honest, Blogchatter, WritersMelon, Money Control, Writers Conclave and Mumbai Matters. She likes to travel, talk, express and spread happiness. When She is not writing or reading, She watches movies, sleep, tweet or think of honing her culinary skills. 

Recently she has released her 4th ebook - MIDNIGHT MUSINGS. So here’s an interview with her.










Q. 1. A blogger, a columnist, a poetess, an author - Novemberschild, tell us how did it all happen or was it always part of the plan?
I call myself God’s favourite child sometimes, as all these just happened. I never planned anything. I want to write more books, get more fame, write for famous publications internationally and win awards and rewards. For all this I need best wishes and blessings.
Q.2. What was your journey, how did you start to write and pursue the same as more than a hobby and eventually a profession?
I started writing at the age of 13 in the year 1996 for my school magazine as I was approached by my Hindi teacher Mrs. Rashmi Srivastava who saw the writer in me. I was hesitant as I had never written a single word before that because I was always a reader, but she encouraged and helped me. My first piece was in Hindi on the topic Unemployment which was approved and published and after that my mother discovered a prospective writer in me and she pushed me towards writing.  From school magazines to local newspapers to national magazines to websites to   blogs to famous publications, I have written for all.
Q.3. Your latest ebook - Midnight Musings, how did you come up with it?
Midnight Musings is my 4th book- 2nd poetry attempt and first in Haiku. I am happy to call myself a successful poetess.  I experimented Haiku and I am happy with the result. I wrote haiku because I love noticing what’s going on around me and within me. I feel each day offers gifts of insight and moments worthy of contemplation which I tried to bring alive through my poems.
P.S. - You can read my review of the book here.
Q.4. Tell us more about Midnight Musings?
All the haiku’s I wrote happened between 12am -2am. I write during nights. Every poem has a story behind it. It took me more than 62 nights to write them and all these nights have been special for me. The most challenging bit was handling Haiku with alphabets Q-X-Z. As always self-brainstorming session helped me crack that challenge.
Q.5. What advise will you give to fellow bloggers who are still unable to make up their mind to write a book?
Writing is not an easy task. It takes a lot of focus and commitment to be successful in this field. Not many people who aspired to be great writers saw it through. Not all people will like or resonate with what you write about. Some people will think that your writing is nonsense and some people will regard it as uplifting. Expect less from your audience. Writing is a beautiful craft. Understand what it will require out of you before going any further. You will grow and you will learn. You will succeed and you will fail. If you don’t have the passion for it, don’t invest any more of your time in it.
Q.6. Why the name - Novemberschild?
Novemberschild is not my pen name. It is my username/identity I have on Twitter. I am November born and I feel everyone has a child hidden in him/her despite the age he/she turns into. It was in November 2015 this name happened. I blog with this name, my blog is named as Novemberschild, though offline articles and the books are on my real name. Ever since I tasted the literary (eBooks) success, I have become more real on Social Media.
Q.7. We all know you are a meticulous planner, so I personally want to know, what are the 5 most important things to be kept in mind while planning on a day to day basis?
Planning your day is one of the most important things you can do every day. By taking just 5-10 minutes each morning (or the night before) to strategically plan out your day, you'll be able to get significantly more out of your day. We're all given the same amount of time everyday (24 hours), but we all don't use it the same way.  Planning your day (even your week) will allow you to effectively utilize the hours that you have available during the day.
1. Take out a journal (or an app or whatever) and write down EVERYTHING you can think of that you need to get done. Typically, I work off my weekly plan for this, but I always add more things that come up throughout my week in my daily planning process.
2. “What do I really want?” This is one of the most important questions you can ask yourself.  I ask myself this question all the time. Yes, I want to work out today.  But the truth is, I don't just want to work out for the sake of working out.  The reason why I'm working out is to achieve a specific OUTCOME.
3. Once you know what you want, and it's written in your journal, next you want to write out WHY you want it. I usually write out underneath my outcome a small paragraph about why I want it.  Or I might just write down 3 reasons in bullet point, just to do it quickly. These reasons are what will MOTIVATE you.  It's what will give you the fuel for the fire to achieve your outcome.
4. Once you know what you want and why you want it, the next thing is to create your action plan. This is where I take ALL of the items I've captured earlier and now organize them for each of my outcomes.
5. Every day, I have different outcomes.  It's based on the question, “What do I want?” and the captures of what I need to get done.  I always make sure to prioritize each action item.  I will write the number 1 next to the item that is most important, number 2 for the 2nd most important, etc…This helps me identify what is the highest priority for me to work on, in order for the day.
As you can see, this method is a lot more effective than a “To Do List”.  It's creating a powerful plan for the day that motivates you and gives you more fulfillment for achieving your action items. To take things further, I always make sure to SCHEDULE these action items.
Q. 8. How is a day in Novemberschild's life like?
I have a pretty set routine but that doesn’t mean I don’t have lots of random things I need to do here and there. I tend to bang out some ideas and clip links which I add to, patchwork, and fiddle with over time. Every day is different. I ban myself from checking emails or social media as it’s too distracting while I write. I work on an editorial calendar which helps me plan my content, but it’s still flexible so I can add stories at the last minute. As for the actual writing, that tends to happen more spontaneously. I have a general quota of 1,000 words a day, but that can include a variety of writing. If I’m working on a book manuscript or traveling I create the blog posts in advance.  I almost always do some work in the evenings. I tend to get really focused during this time and am really productive. I like to blast through and clear my inbox, check off those last couple things on my to-do list and make my schedule for the next day. Bedtime! This has been a big adjustment for me. I have always found myself going to bed more around midnight. Everything I do during the day is done in batches. I try to do as much batch work as possible. I like being able to focus on one task and get it done, before moving onto the next task on my list.
Q.9. Tell us your favourite -
3 Books –   
The Da Vinci Code, Pinjar, The Train to Pakistan
3 Authors –   
Khushwant Singh, Dan Brown and Gulzar
3 Bloggers – 
Masoom Jethwa and few from the International blog hopsand I seriously don't remember their names.
3 Travel destinations – 
Agra, Ladakh and Paris
3 Planning essentials -  
Journal, Pen and Coffee
Q.10. Lastly a rapid fire -
- Twitter or Instagram - 
Twitter
- Book or Blog - 
Books
- Reading or Writing - 
Writing
- Working or Lazing around -  
Working
- Singing or Dancing -  
Dancing
- Summers or Winters - 
Winters
- Blunt or Politically correct – 
Politically correct

You can always reach her at -

Novemberschild ------------- Blog / Twitter / Amazon / GoodReads 

Book Review : Midnight Musings By Romila

Title - Midnight Musings
Author - Romila
EBook
"Clients love usAnd we love our clientsBest friends forever?"

About the author - Romila, a lover of literature who is passionate about books, writing is her forte. She is an impulsive poetess and a coffee addict. Always armed with a pen, she is ever ready to leap into the world of creativity. She was born, brought up and educated in Delhi and at the moment lives in Hyderabad with her parents. She is an award-winning Writer, famous veteran Blogger, Author of 4 EBooks, Editor of lifestyle e-zine and a Columnist who has been in the literary ring since 1996. She has been featured in Paycheck India –IIM (Ahmedabad) Project, Baggout, The Directory of Best Indian Blogs, GeekPost, Buzz Magazine, Speaking Tree (Times of India), Brutally Honest, Blogchatter, WritersMelon, Money Control, Writers Conclave and Mumbai Matters. She likes to travel, talk, express and spread happiness.
Book Blurb - The book is a collection of Haiku, 26 Haiku's which the poetess has written over a span of more than 62 nights between 12 to 2 am.

My View - I love to read and write and with my budding efforts to write I have a strong inclination for poetry. But what drew me to this book was actually the author - Romila, is one of the strong females I have encountered online and admire. So when she posted on Twitter if anyone was interested in reviewing her book I jumped at the chance. Cheery on the cake, the book happened to be a collection of 26 Haiku's. 
For the people unaware of the term, a Haiku is a three line poem with limited number of words.It is very difficult to write a Haiku and even more difficult to get the perception that the writer wants to be perceived, to get through the audience. Midnight Musings is a light and relatable read.Yes, Haiku is something that the-ever-busy generation who is pressing against time will love to read in a jiffy. But I'll say these Haiku's are to be read and lived through once because these deal with the little things we go through every day. Hence are an automatic connect.
I'll rate it a 3 out of 5 for being crisp and connecting read.
You can buy the book on kindle here

Reflecting on the A2Z challenge 2018

After a month long daily blogging coming to terms to sit and blog, even if it is a reflection post is very difficult for a lazy person like me.
April is a month where all around the world bloggers blog daily using the cue of the alphabet letters. I started this two years ago and honestly no matter how tedious it is, I am addicted to it.
This was my third year of participating in #AprilAtoZChallenge. Right after my last year attempt I had planned that I'll be better prepared for next time but you know lazy lady that I am, I didn't do anything. The theme was decided in a fix, which you can read more about in my Theme Reveal 2018 blog post. And then there was daily writing for each letter of the alphabets.
Yes, in this past one month I did learn the importance of planning, and how!

I took up the theme of - "Dessert driven love anecdotes" and decided to connote it with desserts and come April I started the same. I hadn't realized what I am going to do about - Q, X , Y and Z, which actually broke to me a day before I was to write for Q. With a lot of research and asking my support group for their pointers I could actually make it in time and on point.
I am grateful to have the constant support of the amazing #Blogchatter community. The people at blogchatter not just push you but also stand by you to finish what we all as a team started. From the amazing DM group to the secret tasks and of course the lure of goodies, it was a joy ride and quiet a motivation all throughout for a person like me....yes, I love getting gifts, who doesn't  :)
In case you are wondering that in order to read my posts you'll have to keep scrolling through the blog, don't worry. I am planning an ebook, compiling the content of this challenge as well as some other favorites of mine.
So stay tuned and I'll unravel my coffee table book - in the #Blogchatter ebook carnival.

Z - Zafrani Kheer

Annoyed, he sped  away
forgetting,
he was the Zafran
to her kheer,
the flavor of her life.

Y - Yogurt

Sleek demeanor.
Suave manner.
Young at heart.
Agile in steps.
Smile on face.
Charm in check.
Mr. almost 40,
like the tangy Yogurt,
you just stole my heart.