booksmusiclovelife

~MINDFUL CONSUMER~ "When you want less, you consume less and you also need less money." ⁣ ⁣ Three years before the shopping ban, Cait had already started her transformation journey and got herself out of debt, quit drugs and alcohol, and improved her eating habits to stay healthy. But when she realised she was still stuck in the cycle of consumerism, she finally decided to address the real problem - her impulsive spendings. The idea of a year-long shopping ban was thus born to push her into becoming a mindful consumer. She took inventory and decluttered all the things that wasn't adding value to her life. She also started a blog to keep accountability.⁣ ⁣ Easier said than done. Such big challenge comes with even bigger struggles. Changing her daily habits and routines was tougher than she thought as she was emotionally connected to them. The hardest of this was confronting the triggers and urges because our bad habits are never completely gone. They're "lurking b...

~ LESS IS MORE ~ ⁣⁣ I'm currently reading this book about an amazing story of a young woman who decided to change her life over by employing a rather radical step - banning shopping for an entire year. I'll review the book later when I finish it.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ I just want to share a little about the resonance it has with the current situation. ⁣⁣Corona pandemic has put our world to a standstill. People are dying, economy is crashing and fear is creeping. But in every obstacle there is a way. In every difficult situation there is a lesson to learn. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ I don't think there has been a better time than today to understand the importance of why having less is more. I know all of us who are safe today have had a moment of contemplation and maybe for the first time in a long time you have not worried about anything else except your life.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ We often keep our lives so busy, messy and noisy that we don't usually hear our own voices and surround ourselves with things that don't ma...

Add caption ~ LIVE RICH NOW⁣ ~ ⁣ What I love about this book is that it's not only focused on money, but stressed more on the human habits and values that make money more valuable and the use of it more meaningful. It's told in a fictional story of a young woman Zoey who's stuck in a money trap unable to find a way out, which made reading it so much fun.⁣ ⁣ The author has shared three secrets to come out of this trap. ⁣ ⁣ 1. Pay yourself first (saving for the future): Pay yourself the first hour of each day's income, which is roughly about 10% (atleast). This idea is not just about saving money but developing a mindset of putting yourself first by setting aside a certain amount for yourself before you pay to others. ⁣ ⁣ 2. Don't budget - make it automatic: We have always been told to budget but the author here says dont. Inorder to develop a habit of saving, the author says its best to do away with the discipline of budgeting which is hard for most peopl to keep. He...

~ YOU ARE RICHER THAN YOU THINK⁣ ~ ⁣ In monetary term, who would you consider rich? Someone who has enough money to buy a house and an expensive car? A millionaire? Billionaire? I will consider a person who is financially independent as rich irrespective of how much money he has simply because he has one less thing to worry about or one more reason to be happy about. ⁣ Most of us wait to get to a place, a position or a figure to become rich and unfortunately wait forever. Most people don't get there and those who get there find themselves waiting again to get to another place. The more we earn the more we spend. "The problem is not making money, it's keeping it." One of the steps suggested in the book is PAY YOURSELF FIRST - making a habit of saving first instead of spending first. When you spend you pay to others, when you save you pay to yourself. This is such an empowering thought. ⁣ I've finished few chapters of this book and what I've learnt so far is tha...

Do you believe that there is such thing as the subconscious mind? I ask because some people think it's pure fiction. Are we at the mercy of random thoughts or are we in total control of our lives?  Napoleon Hill says that the subconscious mind is the connecting link between the finite mind of man and infinite intelligence, the power of which can be tapped voluntarily through auto-suggestion. ⁣⁣⁣⁣ I read this amazing book in March 2020 and learnt some amazing stuffs about the power of the human mind. The book starts off with this powerful phrase "thoughts are things". How true is that. Everything starts from a single thought whether it's our feelings, emotions, perception and actions. It talks about the power of our subconscious mind and how to harness that potential to achieve anything in life. ⁣⁣ The book covers several steps necessary for acquiring wealth and achieving success in life including having a burning desire, complete faith, definite purpos...

I love reading books that are about time, memory and consciousness. I became a fan of Blake Crouch after reading his book Dark Matter last year. I knew I had to read this one too. I read this last month and he blew my mind for the second time. I'm still on recovery mode 😄⁣⁣ ⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ In Recursion by Blake Crouch, there is a 'False Memory Syndrome' epidemic fast spreading and this is causing people to commit suicide. People are getting flashbacks of memories that do not belong to them, but they strongly feel like they have lived those memories giving them deja vu moments but of the worst kind.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ What is causing this epidemic? An invention of 'The Memory Chair' allows people to travel back in time and change memory to change reality, but not without a repercussion. When a memory is changed in the past to change a reality, the memory of the past reality comes back in the form of false memory. In the new reality, every other person connected in some way or the...

Do we really understand the meaning when we talk about life, love and hope? We think we do in our comfortable lives and petty problems. But can we still find meaning in life, love and hope even in a state of absolute despair, in hopelessness, in the face of death? ⁣ This is probably the greatest inspirational book ever written. I'm so glad I read this book last month. I'm moved. Here is a story of a person who survived the holocaust because of his indomitable spirit and conviction. But you wonder what gave him such courage and conviction when people around him were dying of hunger, of torture, of losing their minds. How did he find hope in such a hopeless place? How did he survive when there were no conceivable ways of surviving? Here are some of my biggest takeaways:⁣ ⁣ ~ INTENSIFICATION OF INNER LIFE. When you are faced with a concentration-camp-like situation, the only place you can find hope and peace is within yourself. Such times call for soul searching, to look ...

"It's a little unnatural, I know, to feel gratitude for things we never wanted to happen in the first place. But we know, at this point, the opportunities and benefits that lie within adversities. We know that in overcoming them, we emerge stronger, sharper, empowered." What a great book by Ryan Holiday. I read this in January 2020 and absolutely loved it. I felt like I needed to read this book. Here the author talks about three disciplines that we need to practice and develop inorder to overcome any obstacles in life. 1. The discipline of perception: How to control our perceptions at times of adversity to turn obstacles into opportunities. When you are faced with a problem, before you let fear take control, take a moment and remind yourself that you have the power to control your mind so that you can control the way you react to the problem. Remember life is 10% what happens and 90 % how we react to it. 2. The discipline of action: While it may seem that one n...

My favourite non-fiction books of 2019 😊 1. Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari 2. 21 lessons for the 21st century by  Yuval Noah Harari ( I was so intrigued by the first book Sapeins that I got myself these two books and read them back to back. Eye-opening and thought provoking) 3. Ego is the enemy by Ryan Holiday ( This book is very powerful in a way that's very humbling. I will definitely read his other books this year) 4. Atomic Habits by James Clear ( You can't say you have finish reading this book. You have to keep it with you and keep looking up) 5. Emotional intelligence by Daniel Goleman ( Emotional Attunement and empathy are the catch words. Loved it. Another book that I will revisit) 6. Creative Confidence by Tom & David Kelley ( A great book to gain confidence and make the creative spark in you). https://www.instagram.com/p/B62O7X3H_rI/?igshid=k3u9w50rti19

" If there are a million ponds out there, with versions of you and me living similar and different lives, there’s none better than right here, right now. I’m more sure of that than anything in the world."⁣ ⁣ Holy Moly! This book is mind-bending and head-spinning like a labyrinth. I just finished this book last night and I still can't stop thinking about it. Long story short, the book is based on the multiverse and quantum superposition concept, that different worlds and realities exist. It's about this guy Jason Dassen (happily married physicist teacher who thinks he is an underachiever), who gets trapped in the multiverse maze and his attempts to find his world to get back home to his wife and son. But how do you get out of the maze and find your world and how do you know which one is your reality? The answer is coherence. Finding the pieces that hold things together. The memories. The connection. Even if given a choice to live different versions of yourself w...

I honestly did not expect this book to be so engaging. I was totally engrossed throughout as I read about the childhood stories and the testimonies of struggles faced and edured by the leaders of the movement, most of which are very heartbreaking. Apart from guns and politics, the book focuses on the personal lives and take us deep into the hearts and minds of some of the prominent leaders and their sentiments towards the movement. ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣ Here the authors take a back seat and give the freedom and space to the interviewees to share their journeys in their own words. The language and expressions of the narrators are unchanged and the first person narrative gives the readers a very personal experience. It was quite interesting to view the Naga struggle through the eyes of the leaders themselves. ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ A must read especially for the Nagas. ⁣ https://www.instagram.com/p/B5ph87QHRnD/?igshid=gl60as9x5mm9

"Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. The same way that money multiplies through compound interest, the effects of your habits multiply as you repeat them."⁣ ⁣ This is one of best self-help books I've read this year and also the most underlining I've done in a book because  it is full of useful tips on how to build good habits by making those tiny but consistent improvements to see big results. ⁣ ⁣ Each chapter starts with a motivating story that makes it very interesting to read, followed by tips and tricks and ends with a summary to revise and reflect on. ⁣ ⁣ It's very easy to give up on a good habit and hold on to bad ones. The author has devised four simple laws to overcome this. Make the good habit obvious, attractive, easy, satisfying to make it inevitable to give up on; and make the bad habit invisible, unattractive, difficult, unsatisfying to make it impossible to hold on to. In each law the author has given actionable steps on ...

Some books continue to exist and stay relevant irrespective of time. To kill a mockingbird is one such book and as long as discrimination and inequality exist, this book will stand the test of time.⁣ ⁣ I personally loved the book. Loved the mundanity and simplicity of the story set in the countryside of Alabama in the 1930s. The story is told from a six year old white girl's perspective about the prejudices and racism during the great depression in America which were deeply rooted in the society (even today I think). I liked that the author addressed such a sensitive topic without being preachy and assertive. I think "show, don't tell" approach has been successfully executed here, and having a child narrator was an excellent choice to fulfill that element. Because you cannot fully trust and depend on the child's observations, the readers are given the freedom of interpretation. I love such narration. We become responsible readers here😀⁣ ⁣ Besides there a...

According to George Orwell, the atmosphere in which one grows up in the early days creates an emotional attitude which eventually determines the motive of a writer, whether one writes for sheer egoism, aesthetic enthusiasm, historical impulse or for political purpose. ⁣ ⁣ Having grown up during the great wars he consequently acquired a political motive for writing. He wanted to write about his hatred against totalitarianism, plight of the working classes, and the nature of imperialism, but in an art form. "Animal farm" is a perfect example of his political writing in the form of art. ⁣ ⁣ I first read in his dystopian novel "1984" about the use of language by the government/big brother to control people and it was eye-opening. Here too, you cannot miss the emphasis he had given at the end of the essay on the relation between language and politics, and how political language decays a language due to use of meaningless words, pretentious diction, read-made phr...

One word. Frightening. Ocenia, one of the dystopian superstates in a futuristic world, where war is propagated and elevated. Citizens are subjugated and freedom is denied, to the extend that having an independent thought is treason. "Thoughtcriminals" are either sent to the labour camps or eliminated. Facecrime - a nervous tic, an unconscious look of anxiety, improper expression on the face -  is a punishable offence. Emotions and desires are checked, physical attraction between man and woman is prohibited. Suppressing the sex instinct (the anti-sex league make sure celibacy between both sexes is maintained), artificial insemination is the process of procreation. There is one and only one purpose - to live and serve the Party. In the midst of such a diabolic totalitarianism, two rebel lovers emerge who would secretly break the rules and express their desires. And therefore, will pay the price.⁣ ⁣ The most interesting thing I came across in this book was the Recor...

Written in first person, narrated by a third party. Only that it's not a human. It's the death itself recounting the days in the lives of those who struggled, endured, perished,  survived WW II under Hitler regime in Germany; taking us through hell and also the little pieces of heaven in the form of love and friendship. Also, the joy of football and stealing books and apples. Such a devastating yet equally empowering book. https://www.instagram.com/p/BmNt71uBSc0/?igshid=e22c5h73a6ve

Dark skins. Braided white hairs. Ten suppressed clans. One despotic King. Killings. Blood. More killings. More blood. Swashbuckling heroes and villains riding on giant lions with protruding horns. And a fight to bring magic back and overthrow monarchy. Inspired from events of police brutality and racism faced by the blacks, and narrated in an African mythological settings involving fight against the evil in such a thrilling and fast-paced read was such a treat. Thoroughly enjoyed this book. https://www.instagram.com/p/BjQRVs8hqdH/?igshid=ee7qy1ugybie

A book you won't put down immediately after finishing, but will compel you to revisit again and again to arrive at a plausible conclusion. Even after you think you have, you still wonder if yours and the author's versions are the same. The ambiguous ending leave room enough for various interpretations. And that's the beauty of this book. A thought provoking that will surely mess with your psychology and test your thinking capacity. Not read and throw book, but one that stays in your mind and allows you to create your own version!! He definitely deserved the Man Booker Prize. https://www.instagram.com/p/BD7jgvlxmaM/?igshid=vov72jku0ls8

"By ‘nationalism’ I mean first of all the habit of assuming that human beings can be classified like insects and that whole blocks of millions or tens of millions of people can be confidently labelled good or bad."⁣ ⁣ In this essay, Orwell makes it clear that nationalism, unlike patriotism, is dangerous and defines it as a delusion in which one loses his individuality to identify himself with larger power units, and he will go to any extend to defend his allegiance defying logic and altering history.⁣ ⁣ With the rise of nationalism in the global political shift, the timeless insights and perspective presented by George Orwell in this essay cannot be any more relevant today. He speaks volumes in this 50 page essay on nationalism which was written in 1945. He time travel 😀

We picture musicians, painters and writers when we think of creative people and imagine that creativity has to do with only aesthetic and artistic endeavours. In this book, the Kelley brothers call this misconception as "the creativity myth" and says that we all are creative and have the creative potential to create change in the world around us. ⁣ ⁣ You just need to have the creative confidence to believe in your creative ability that's already within you to jump start. ⁣ ⁣ One takeaway for me is the "design thinking" concept explained in the book which is a process of finding new ideas/solutions that are emotionally meaningful as well as functional by applying empathetic approach to understand what people truly feel and need. ⁣ ⁣ The book challenges us to be creative in whatever field and profession we are in and bring positive change. ⁣ If you are seeking inspiration get a copy of this book and get creative 😀 https://www.instagram.com/p/B3mkFX...

This book is special not just because I find the topic fascinating but also because it is one of those books that will leave a lasting impact after reading. I've learnt so much and hope to implement it.⁣ ⁣ Emotion is like a taboo word. Nobody talks about it and it is often seen as a sign of weakness, especially today when everybody is telling you to become smart and great but disconnect emotionally even though we are very emotionally driven. The author says that our idea of intelligence is narrow and that our emotions have far greater role in thought, decision-making and individual success even though we often give credit to our IQ and intellect.⁣ ⁣ The book talks about the importance of emotional intelligence and how conflicts in human relations have more to do with the absence of emotional attunement, and that the ingredients like self-awareness, impulse control, persistence, empathy, social deftness etc helps nourish and flourish relationships at home, workplace and in ...

Absolutely loved this book. Easy to read and fast paced. The plot was exciting and suspenseful. Infact it was so suspenseful it kept me guessing till the end of the book. It's an absolute page turner and I was hooked throughout. Most exciting suspense thriller of 2019 for me. https://www.instagram.com/p/BwescOaHhf4/?igshid=j48vb6x6tpn9

"I accept what I am, but I did not choose it. I experience human life in the only way I can, vicariously. I am a voracious consumer of books, tapes, holoplays, fictions and drama and histories of all sorts. I have experimented with dreamdust."⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ I kind of love and hate this book  because it gives you an ephemeral bang of excitement and terror leaving you hopelessly wanting for more. I also think the story doesnt deserves to be a novella. It felt jam-packed and rushed. Maybe that's why the Netflix series. Can't  wait to watch.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ If you can relate George Martin only with the world of Game of Thrones then maybe you should give this book a try or watch the series on Netflix as he has created a totally different world in this one about space expedition chasing some alien race called the Volcryn, and the mystery behind an elusive captain and the deaths of fellow members onboard Nightflyer, the spaceship. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Surely not his masterpiece but definitely a fun...

The sapiens is such a phenomenal book. It's a book of knowledge to be short and precise. I felt like I was going back to school unlearning and relearning. In 465 odd pages the author gives you the entire history of men with valuable insights, thought provoking ideas and revelations about the future that are chilling yet optimistic. It's like reading a historical fiction that slowly transitioned to a science fiction towards the end. Absolutely loved it. ⁣⁣⁣One of the best books I've ever read. "What will happen to society, politics and daily life when non-conscious but highly intelligent algorithms know us better than we know ourselves?"⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ With that line I finished Homo Deus and suddenly I don't trust the future anymore. I think, given a choice, I would rather be a hunter-gatherer, but a sentient being, fuelled with blood chasing a wild boar and filled with consciousness connecting to the spiritual world, then live in a world of cyborgs and non-c...

• This is a book based on a theme that's not very compelling but with plots that are atypically interesting, keeping you hooked till the end. Easy to read and fast paced with three different POVs.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ • In a nutshell, this book is about finding the courage to set yourself free. But when it's your own family you are trying to free yourself from,  that's when you know the struggle is going to be immense and the story heart wrecking. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ "But I think I prefer the sort of things no one else realises are beautiful, or that they don't appreciate for what they really are, the things other people walk right by."⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu9TGx_ntaO/?igshid=1nl0obho1pvyd

"To know is to remember that you've seen. To see is to know without remembering. Thus, painting is remembering the blackness."⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ I had picked up and put down this book several times in the last two years, so when I finally finished reading this book yesterday I was elated like I have achieved something. In a way I have😊⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Undoubtedly this book is a masterpiece. Its rich and painstakingly detailed, which is the essence of the book as it tried to described the purpose of art, the distinction between the Islamic and the Western style of art, and the influence of the latter among the artists in 16th century Istanbul creating conflicts among themselves leading to chaos  and murders.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ The author, meticulously and cleverly, incorporated the rather dull philosophical discussion of art into plots, consisting of multiple narrators, that are interesting and suspenseful, as the story slowly unfolds itself towards the climax. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ It will require some patien...