I Won!

I love reading books. You might know it already.

I love to read financial blogs too. "My Own Advisor" and "Your Ever growing income" are among the favourites. 

I found Mark's blog in 2016. After studying several personal finance books and blogs, I started DIY investments. "My Own Advisor" is about Financial Independence, Work On Own Terms or #FIWOOT. Who is more interested in your money than you? 

The person behind "Your Ever Growing Income" is Mr Henry Mah. He talks about income investing, i.e. dividend investing. 

He has already published four books. I own two of them already. 

He was doing a giveaway of his new book, "Salary For Life", on his blog. I joined in the contest. I also won the ebook along with four others!

I wanted to buy the book, and it came to me!!

I learned about DRIP or dividend reinvestment plan from him. 

You can also ask him for advice, and in return, he will ask you to donate to Salvation Army. 

Thanks to Mr Henry Mah and his blog! 

 

Bindu

Book a week:Week 20

Oh yeah! 

My 20th book is finished!!!!! "Long Bright River" by Liz Moore is the 20th book. 

I got this book because my friend Vivian recommended it. I always trust her recommendations. 

The book is based on substance addiction. Two sisters, grown up in the same house, turned to live very different lives. One, became a cop and the other, a substance abuser. 

Mickey is a cop and a single mom. She has her own problems with life. Her sister Kacey lives on the street. Her ex boyfriend is not paying child support. Her son is only four years old! She needs a reliable babysitter too. 

Mickey is awkward in social situations. Their mother killed herself, when Mickey and Kacey were little. They were brought up by the grandmother, a very cold woman, who was traumatized by the overdose and eventual death of her own daughter. Their father left them too. The family didn't really care about education or being on the right side of the law. 

Kacey is missing. Even though Mickey is not on speaking terms with Kacey, she wants to find Kacey. 

Being born when mother was addicted to drugs, Kacy had withdrawal symptoms at birth. No one really knew about it then. Mickey's search for her sister made her realize how their mother's addiction might be the root cause of Kacey's fate. She also finds out where their father is living now. 

The novel taught me a lot about why people cannot get out of addiction. I didn't know a baby born to a woman who is a drug addict, needed to be held, and given medication to  help them from withdrawal symptoms. 

This tells the story of the strength and vulnerability of women.

A good read indeed. 

Any suggestions for my next read?

Book a week: week18

This week I am posting about "The Go-Giver  A Little story about a powerful Business Idea". Not a thriller like previous ones. 

Bob Burg tells us about why the "go getter" attitude is not going to let us where we want to be. This book will give us the five principles of how to be "giver" and to receive gracefully.

What are we giving? It is not giving out money or food or things like that. You give your best self to others and serve them. In a nutshell, give more than what you receive in value while receiving from others gracefully.

The book is written in a story narrative kind of. So, not actually a self help kind of usual book. The story helps to let us keep reading and grasp the points better. 

Will it work in your life? I am not sure though. But, if you want to try giving more in value for the pay you receive,When you start giving more value to what you actually paid for, you will find a difference in your attitude and happiness. 

It is a really fun book to read. I have written 18 blog posts about my reading so far. I can also create my own graphics for the blog. isn't kind of cool?

 

Bindu

Book a week: week 16

 

I finished reading "Tear Me Apart" by J.T. Ellison. Actually I was trying to find "Lie to Me" on the library. I saw my friend Vivian was reading it one time. I needed to place hold and wait for that. I found "Tear me Apart" is  available to borrow. So, started reading. I got hooked on the novel. 

That smart teenage skier is not really the kid of her dad and mom. Things went on fire, when the mom and dad were not matched for bone marrow transplant for her. 

a very twisted story indeed! How Mindy ended with her current parents?

It all started with the friendship of two mentally disturbed girls. 

We think, we can predict how it is going to turn. But, not till the end. The author gets our full attention all the time. 

When I finished it, I felt so great that I chose the book to read. 

How the author think and bring the story to make an experience!

I suggest, you read it. 

The background image is created using Canva. As you can see, it is a different background. I think, this one really represent the story.

A Book A week: Week14

This time it is another book from John Grisham. After Camino Island,  I can't resist another novel with the same background. 

This time, it is a murder mystery. When the hurricane hit the islands, and destroyed everything, few people stayed on the island. When the winds are gone and water receded, they started assessing the damages. 

Now, there is a famous writer, who is dead during the time. A closer examination of his friends revealed it is a murder. Who killed a writer? What happened to his newest novel he claimed to be finished?

Searching for the truth, Bruce hired a security firm. As a result, he got a girl killed. 

Story unravels in surprising ways. Finally they found the manuscript, along with the reason for the murder. But, finding the killer was hard. 

At the end, justice is served. A beautiful thriller to keep you turn the pages. 

Bindu

PS: I think, I have finished more than one book last week.

PPS: I shared last weeks book on Instagram and Alka Joshi messaged me about the next book😀. 

A Book A Week

Last week I was reading "The Henna Artist" as I wrote in the previous post.  

A very nice novel by Alka Joshi. It was mentioned to me by a friend. I had to wait for the book from The Toronto public Library. I placed hold almost a month ago. 

I was ready to read another Grisham novel, when my hold on The Henna Artist became available. A lot of people are waiting to read this one.

The story takes place in 1950s. India started enjoying the freedom from British. People were not free from their own mind. 

A woman living without a husband in a big city and having a successful life of her own in that era? Girls were married off very early then. The rich educated their daughters to marry boys from rich families. 

The story captures us and compels to turn the pages. The author takes us to Jaipur and walks us through Lakshmi's life. The society forgive the men for infidelity. But, they will punish the woman for all of it. There are so many divisions for humans there: religion, sex, caste, money....  

Ms Joshi says the book is for her mom, the woman who got married at a young age and sacrificed her ambitions for higher education to be a traditional housewife. 

The novel is about Lakshmi, the henna artist, her struggles in Jaipur. I enjoyed reading it. What about you? 

Bindu

Book a Week: Week 11

For week 11, I read "Recipe For a Perfect Wife" by Karma Brown.

Alice is fired from her job. But she lied to her husband about it. Actually, she was not honest to herself, when she agreed to move to suburbs. 

When Alice was agreeing to Nate about having a baby, she lied again. She was not ready for it. 

She was "writing a novel" was another lie she was telling everyone. 

But, things changed with Alice when she discovered Nellie's cook book. She started cooking. Then she learned more about Nellie. Then, she gained more information about Nellie  from her unsent letters to her mom. 

Karma Brown narrates two parallel stories of two women lived in the same house on different times. It is full of twists and turns. Both women had their own struggles. Actually, women still struggle to have ownership of their own body and mind, it seems. 

Throughout the story, I was questioning why Alice had to lie to her husband? We can understand Nellie as a victim, but who is Alice? Why can't she tell the truth about events happened in her life to her husband? 

I have to agree that it was a page turner. In the end Alice decided to stand for herself. A relief to my curious mind!!!

Bindu

A Book A week:Week 9

Last week I finished Emma Straub's "All Adults Here".

The novel starts with Astrid witnessing a bus accident. It happened just before her hair appointment. 

The accident make her think over her life. She was thinking about her past, her kids and then the future.

She realized she was not a great parent to her 3 kids. Now, her grand daughter is here to live with her. 

She realized, she has to do certain things now, or she will never get a chance. So, she decides to stick with truth. That is a lot of courage. 

I really loved reading this book. The style is capturing your attention. 

 

Bindu

Book A Week Week 3: Little Fires Everywhere

On the 3rd book for reading a book a week. Last week I finished reading "Little Fires Everywhere", by Celeste Ng. 

The story begins with a house on fire. Elena Richardson somehow escaped from the fire. It was scary to know, the house was put on fire by some one. 

They cannot find Izzy, the youngest child of the Richardsons. Their tenant Mia and her daughter vacated the house. 

The story happens in the 1090s. Mia Warren and her daughter rented a little home owned by Richardsons. When the house was fire, Mia already vacated from the home. 

We learn the background of Mia and Elena through the story. Finally, we understand who set the fire and why.

There is a Netflix show loosely based on the novel. There are considerable difference between two though.

When Elena's friend is trying to adopt a Chinese baby and the mother of the child shows up, Elena and Mia have different ideas. Suspected of Mia's motives, Elena digs out Mia's past. During this time, many things were happening in her home. Her daughter Lexie got an abortion. Trip fell in love with Mia's daughter Pearl and Izzy becomes Mia's unpaid assistant. 

The author takes up to Shaker and its planned life. Then make us ride with characters. 

Who started the fire and why? Ever wondered, how many little fires we started in our lives already?? 

 

Bindu

Art of Layers: My review of the book.

I got this book, "Art of Layers" from the Toronto Public Library. The author Ronda Palazzari is says she loves all kinds of crafts. 
A look inside the book will reveal her interest and love for crafting. She stitch on paper. She makes flower from ribbons. She use all those handcrafted things in scrapbooking to create memories and to decorate her home. 
It is fun to browse through the pages. I like the idea of stitched journaling. She loves using backstitching on her layered projects. That gives the neat look on the backside of the work too. I used to ignore the back side. Now, that is a point to remember. 
I have the idea of making ruched flower before. But, never thought of using that in mixed media projects. 
She made banners with stickers. Her "graduation cake", a cake made from styrofoam with banner on it is a great idea.  Palazzari described her techniques with a lot of pictures. 
She has a lot of products to make her art and craft, which I cannot get. But, with some substitutes and my own ideas, I can use some of her techniques to enhance my pieces. 
This book is good to read and take some mental notes. The book is an eye candy with lot of projects and pictures. Yet, I am not going to buy a copy for myself. For me, this is a book to read for one time. Then use techniques when needed. I don't want it as a reference book.
Ronda Palazzari has a blog on Typepad, where she talks about her projects. She also runs workshops. To learn more about Palazzari, you can visit her website .

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