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Confessions of a Listmaniac- Life of Layla the ordinary

Confessions of a Listmaniac by Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan

 

Well, it was a pleasure to have an autographed copy from the writer, seemed like a freshly baked cake with a cherry on top. The first impression – found the cover design appealing as well as interesting. In a few hours I was already wading in through the life of a 17 year old teenager, Layla. She is like any other girl living in our neighborhood who loves to shop, cribs over, fights with her brother, is curious about late night parties, hangs out with school friends, makes internet friends, can’t live without her best friend and is very confused about having a boyfriend.

The first thing that comes in mind as I put the book down is what a ‘cute refreshing treat’ it was. I enjoyed it thoroughly and it was an easy and breezy read. The book is fresh, bubbly and real. I am sure it will take you back to those wonderful, charming years-’teenage’ where things were actually so uncomplicated and fun. I was reminded of those petty issues which gave me sleepless nights but now seem so trivial compared to the other complexities in life.

The observations and confessions in this book have originality in plenty and relate perfectly to today’s teenagers. Layla, longs to be the centre of attraction in school but eventually realizes that there’s more fun in being an ‘Ordinary’ than ‘Extra-ordinary’. A lesson to be learnt!

This book urged me to go for List making. I have come to believe that List making can be turned into an art if you let it. Some advantages of list-making that I have realized:

1. It eases your work and highlights the concerns.
2. You rarely tend to forget anything.
3. Its way simpler than writing in paragraphs.
4. Also helps in time management.
5. Its simple, fast and easy to share.
6. Less wordy but conveys apt.
7. Helps to remember in sequence.
8. Keeps everything under control.
9. Makes reading interesting.

On another positive note, Lists help to preserve memories and if maintained on a daily basis helps to organize the day well. The aim should never be to have a long list but even when you complete half of the list; it gives a feeling of great accomplishment.

BOOK REVIEW  also  available at www.friendsofbooks.com

Childhood gifts

Gifts-

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We all love them. The surprise element that comes with gifts always keeps us on a high. Unwrapping the shiny paper gives immense joy that comes only at rare moments. Remember those birthday parties when we shooed our friends away to unwrap our gifts earliest possible.The gifts were more of interest than the party and friends. Receiving gifts has always been great fun, its loved at all ages but choosing the ones for your near and dear ones is also quite enjoyable, though I must confess not an easy task. You really have to analyze about likes and dislikes of a person well before choosing a gift for him/her. A gift should bring a smile to the one you are gifting to. more…

Lost and Won : Books - Writing Contests

I always love to follow the new books fresh and prim just out of the publishing houses and especially I have a fondness for the new offerings from Indian writers. In fact its fun and difficult at the same time to wait for some of them to hit the book shelves in the stores. Sometimes, I am so impressed with the last book from the writers that I impatiently look forward to the new one from their kitty.

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Love and Marriage— Witty and comical

Happy marriages begin when we marry the ones we love, and they blossom when we love the ones we marry.”

:)

LOVE AND MARRIAGE by BILL COSBY - Its hilarious!  ;) There have been many books on ‘LOVE ‘and ‘MARRIAGE’ individually catering to these two most talked about and controversial events of life but this one gives you a feel of both. Stories related to women having the upper hand in marriage and the guy being just the yes man have always been reiterated, but the anecdotes in here by the author of his marriage are interesting and never fail to gift one with the smiles and chuckles :) more…

Mindful and Weight loss reading

DON’T LOSE YOUR MIND, LOSE YOUR WEIGHT— Rujuta Divekar

BOOK REVIEW

‘Size zero’ figure, each one of us has talked about it, heard it and secretly we all wanna own to flaunt it. But how do you do it and whats the mantra, Rujuta Divekar presents it in her book ‘ Don’t lose your mind, lose your weight’. I loved the book completely, it was a treat to me. Its deliciosly served on the platter with no great recipes but the right ways of eating good. more…

TEEN-AGE LOVE and HATE

What is Teenage? Well its an important and most confusing stage of life, watsay?? The word TEEN brings with it 4 Fs Fun, Freshness, Freedom and Foolishness .Its being of the age 13 through 19 and these 7 years (teen era) make a great living and a lifetime experience. As one grows older year after year,the word AGE showers its presence and starts affecting the TEEN but no one seems to notice accept the teen-ager (guy/gal) he he. Adolescence explains the chapter of metamorphosis pretty well. One becomes a buttefly from the caterpillar but is yet to learn the ways of flying and wandering around. Teenage is adventurous ;)  and full of complications :( more…

3 in a Day at different times.

Hey,  M back this time with an interesting talk on ‘Reading at different times’.

Its about reading more than one book and the selection of books depends on the mood and time of the day. Just as we need different food at different hours of the day, similarly we need to delve into different books during the course of the day. Well M sure the non readers would run away but I would say read on below and you will fall in love with reading. more…

Category: BOOKISH  21 Comments

Are you Reading the Right One Yet?

I came across this in the book that I am reading now, will reveal the name once I come up with its review, but the words keep coming back again and again when ever I meet a non-reader. There are people who love books and others who loathe it. Which one are you?

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Category: BOOKISH  9 Comments

Landscapes: Learn to Paint Step by Step



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Landscapes
Learn to Paint Step by Step
Walter Foster


It’s a wonderful book for the artist’s library. If you plan to start with oil painting and have a knack for landscapes, grab this one at the earliest. This one is a complete solution for a beginner to learn oil painting. It helps us to understand the nuances of colors and their mixtures and become adept in composing landscapes in a methodical and simple way. more…

INDIAN Memsahib- Book Review

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I was keen to go for this book because its blurb said “Its an uncoventional look into the world of Indian bureaucracy and its fascinating order” and I was taken in. The book review on one of the sites also appealed to me and convinced me to order this one from the friendsofbooks library. more…