Namita Das's Blog, page 89
January 27, 2021
January 26, 2021
It’s Punny Oops, I mean Funny! – Book Review by Jyoti Jha!
Book: It’s Punny, Oops, I mean Funny Author: Namita Das Genre: Humor | Contemporary Format: Paperback |Kindle Edition Pages: 129 An aspiring writer …
It’s Punny, Oops, I mean Funny- Book Review!
It’s Punny, Oops, I mean Funny- Book Review!
Book: It’s Punny, Oops, I mean Funny Author: Namita Das Genre: Humor | Contemporary Format: Paperback |Kindle Edition Pages: 129 An aspiring writer …
It’s Punny, Oops, I mean Funny- Book Review!
January 21, 2021
The Power of Attitude in Success: Enhance Self-belief, Build Success Mindset, Start Thinking Your Way To The Top, And Become The Updated Version Of Yourself. by Pradip N Das
It’s the right book when you are looking for some pep talk in your low times.
The language is simple and basic, apt for beginners and students. The good part of this book is the stories that are mentioned at the start of each chapter that takes the concept ahead. The writing style is quite similar to Shiv Khera and comparatively a nice and quick read for anyone irrespective of age and reading level.
Recommended for students.
It is available on Amazon Kindle and Paperback.
January 16, 2021
Experiencing Life As A Yogi by atul anand
It is not hidden that everyone in today’s world is stressed, be it job or relationships. This book will help you imbibe some good habits of self-care. It voices how to embrace Yoga as a lifestyle and not just an exercise.
The best part about this book is that it does not preach about Yoga and its benefits whereas it will explain the concepts of Yoga and how it can be included in your daily lives. It does not ask you to stretch and pose but explains impressions of Yoga in a simplified manner.
I loved the short stories that are added in between chapters to explain the notions. My favorites are the gratitude story where it explains how our gratification changes with the situation we are in. The safer and better placed we are the lesser is the appreciation. Second is the story where it morals that smile and you create a happy surrounding around yourself.
Recommending this book, especially to corporate employees. it will be beneficial to them.
It is available on Amazon Kindle and Paperback.
January 12, 2021
Dots & Streaks by Ellora Mishra
I loved this book a lot, it has a lot of freestyle poems. Poems that describe our day to days situations, what is going on in the world, around us, within us. You will get to read them all.
My favourite poem is the one where the feelings of a maid and her madam are being described, they are both at their respective homes during the COVID lockdown, in the dilemma of how the days will progress in the not so normal situation.
A must-read.
It is available on Amazon Kindle and Paperback.
January 10, 2021
Revolution in Book Publishing: Jump Off the Hamster Wheel! Find Out How to Succeed as a Published Author! by JASMEET WALIA
This book has all first-hand details for new authors who are looking to publish their book.
The language is simple and engaging. There are also mentions of important tools that authors can use if they decide to self publish.
The chapter about literary agents was very direct and made sweeping statements. We should be beware of fraud in any industry but there is a thin line that divides genuine and frauds. Here I felt it was generalizing them all to a single sect.
Overall it is a good book and can be used as a quick guidebook during all stages of your authoring journey.
It is available on Amazon Kindle.
January 9, 2021
Keeping Up With Resolutions
It was the morning of 1st Jan 2021.
“New year, new me.” I exhaled and said to myself but loud enough to be heard by Mr. Husband.
“I see, so what’s new this year?” He enquired.
“This year I have decided on three resolutions and I am going to follow them no matter what,” I claimed, spreading my yoga mat in the living room.
“Like every other year? Let’s see.” Mr. Husband tittered.
“Yes, I will and you will see.” I started practicing Kapalabhati exhaling puffs of breaths.
“By the way, what are your three resolutions?” He asked shifting from a sitting position to lying position on the couch.
I looked at him with derision, and stopped breathing. I mean I stopped Kapalabhati to answer his question. Maintaining my meditation pose, I replied, “One, I will not eat out. Two, I will eat only healthy food.”
“And?”
“What and?” I stretched and lay down in Bhujangasana.
“You said, you had three resolutions.” He reminded me.
“Oh yeah, third, I will read a lot.” I supposed and lay down flat getting into Shavasana. “By the way, do you have any resolutions this year?”
“Yeah, I decided one too. I will plan a nice romantic holiday for us this year.”
“Wow.” I mumbled and dozed off.
***
It was the 7th day of the year.
“Baby, why are you scrolling frantically on your phone since last thirty minutes.”
“Nothing, just some online shopping. Unable to decide if I should get it.” I wavered.
“If you need it then take it. I don’t understand why there is so much dilemma all the time.” Mr. Husband shrugged waving his hands in the air.
“Hmm.” I looked at him then back to the phone, continued scrolling for a couple of minutes, tapped on a few buttons, locked the phone screen and then again looked back at him. I grinned from ear to ear. “Thank you for helping me out. I was really having a hard time deciding for last two days.”
“Oh Honey! You are welcome.” He sat next to me and we cuddled watching TV.
After some time, Mr. Husband caressed his tummy and said, “Whats for lunch?”
Before I could respond, the doorbell rang. He got up and went to open the door. I heard the door opening followed by faint mumbles. It suddenly struck me that it was my online order and I rushed towards the door.
“Hey. Thanks for the delivery.” I grabbed the parcel and pushed Mr. Husband inside.
“Enjoy your meal” said the delivery guy and fled.
I came inside and opened the box of chicken biryani. The aroma was so tempting, I could not help but dug out a spoonful of rice and shove it in my mouth. “Mhmmm.” I relished it while my eyes closed.
When I was about to take another morsel, I saw Mr. Husband standing in front of me, his hands on his hips. I raised my eyebrows gesturing him to speak up.
“I thought your resolution was ‘not to eat out’?” He questioned air quoting not to eat out.
“Yes, and I am not eating out.” I explained.
“What? You just ordered a chicken biryani from a restaurant breaking your resolution of not eating out.”
“Honey, my resolution was not to eat out. Right now, I ordered food and am eating inside the house. So, technically I am still not eating out.” I brushed him off.
“Oh! I see. And what about eating only healthy food?”
“Chicken has a lot of proteins. Rice has carbs and it provides energy. These things are vital nutrients for good health. So, technically this is ‘heathy food’.” This time I air quoted heathy food.
Mr. Husband scoffed and raised his hands in fret but smiled and sat on the chair next to me. We both munched on the scrumptious meal. “Thank God, today I don’t have to gobble on those yucky salads made of so-called organic and exotic veggies.” He commented.
I simply smiled as I was unable to retort while chewing on the mouthful of chicken pieces.
“By the way, how is your third resolution going on?”
I don’t understand his problem. Instead of focussing on the yummy chicken biryani, he is quizzing me. Yet, I sipped some water and said, “Yeah, I am reading a lot these days.”
“Is it, I didn’t see you with any books?”
I felt interrogated but there was no way back. “I read on the phone.”
“Really! Did you get the Kindle app?”
“No, not on Kindle, another app.”
“Which is that?”
“WhatsApp.”
“What? What are you reading on WhatsApp?”
“A lot of WhatsApp messages. I don’t skip even a single message now, I read them all, even the long forwards.” I affirmed my commitment towards my resolutions.
Mr. Husband slapped his head and shook it in josh. I thought I should also check on his resolution. “So, how is the holiday planning going on?”
“Oh, I am so excited to tell you. I have planned a vacation to Australia.”
“Australia.” I was astonished.
“Yeah, I was planning Europe but then flights are banned due to that new strain of COVID. So, I narrowed down to Australia.”
“Wow, that is awesome. Whats the plan? How does the itinerary look like?” I dropped my spoon on the plate in anticipation of an exciting vacation.
“The plan drives like, first we will go to Melbourne, visit Fitzroy Garden, Parliament House, Federation Square, Melbourne Cricket Ground, then tour on the Phillip Island, drive on Great Ocean Road, wander in the beautiful towns of Lorne and Apollo Bay check out the amazing 12 Apostles. Then we will fly to Cairns, spend one full day on the Big Cat Green Island, tour to the Great Barrier Reef. After that, move ahead to Gold Coast, make way to Sea World, tour to Warner Bros Movie World. Then fly to Sydney, explore Sydney aquarium, ride to the Blue Mountains…” He paused to take a sip of water. “Then I have a surprise planned as well.”
“Surprise? What is it?” I demanded.
“If I tell, it won’t be a surprise.” He simpered.
“I won’t be able to handle the curiosity, pleasssse tell me now.” I pled.
“Ok. Ok. So, the surprise is. I will take you to the top of Sydney tower and…”
“And?” I raised my eyebrows looking for the next part.
“And…”
“And what?” I yelled with annoyance as he stretched on unfolding the surprise. “Are you going to throw me down from there.”
“No Honey, you are my life. I can never do that to you.” He smiled cheerily and pinched my left cheek. “I will be proposing you, with a diamond ring, on the Valentine’s day.”
“What? Really! Propose. Diamond Ring.” I was jumping in my seat with excitement.
“You like the plan?”
“Like it, I love it.” I clapped my hands but suddenly I realised and jabbered non-stop. “Wait. Did you say Valentine’s day? We only have a month to arrange everything. I have a lot of shopping to do. We have to start organising now. I will make the checklist. Have you booked the flights and hotel?”
“No.” He shrunk his nose.
“Why? We have to do it now or we won’t get good deals.” I stressed on now.
“That’s ok, I will plan for some other time then.” He coolly replied.
I was so vexed with the thought of the vacation getting cancelled. “What is this baby? It was your resolution to plan the vacation. How can you make resolutions that you can’t follow?”
“I followed my resolution. I said I will plan a vacation and technically I did.”
I gasped at him with wide open eyes.
He shook his head and continued chomping on the biryani. “What happened, Honey? Eat your ‘outside’ ‘healthy’ biryani ‘inside’. Or you need to finish ‘reading’ your WhatsApp messages before that. Come on. Follow your resolutions, ‘technically’.”
January 8, 2021
Saving Christmas (A Moment in Time Book 2) by Bob Batchelor
With the upcoming bank merger, employees fear downsizing during holidays. Steve has been assigned the task to “Save the Christmas” for employees.
I loved how the two stories intersect, where one is the present Steve trying to figure out a way to help employees of the bank and on the other hand he is trying to comprehend facts to a Christmas memory from his childhood.
The language is simple and you can connect with the childhood Steve. It brings a smile to your face when you read through Steve’s unearthing of the actuality.
Indeed a recommended quick read.
It is available on Amazon Kindle.
January 7, 2021
SouganDilli by Sougand Akbarian
This book is a romantic travelogue of Sougand who visited India for a two-day conference and some extended days to explore Delhi. She met Devraj who accompanied her Delhi excursion.
I liked the book; the story is raw and is written straight from the heart. The travel imageries of Delhi sightseeing is remarkable. The way spots are described, you can feel that you are there. I loved the full recitation mentions of Hanuman Chalisa and Qawwali. It felt so nice to chant them in between the reading. It released positive spirits. Also, the Indian foods like northern thali, parathas, south Indian dosas, poha were amazingly described.
The only thing that cringed me was the editing of the book. The language was amateur and needed professional editing. Other than that, it was a good read, and the author could very well deliver the message that ‘Humanity’ is above all religions.
It is available on Amazon Kindle and Paperback.
