noorthebookworm

#mentalhealthawareness
#mentalhealthmonth
I have read all books by @preeti.shenoy except the latest one!

The first book i read was #ahundredlittleflames and I loved it. From there onwards, there was  no turning back.

I religiously follow her stories & posts.
Her artwork on @preetishenoyart is aWeSoMe. These two books, #lifeiswhatyoumakeit and #wakeuplifeiscalling focus on #mentalhealth Infact, Wake-up life is calling is the sequel to Life is what you make it.

LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT:

A story of love, hope, and how determination can overcome even destiny.
Published in 2011. The novel revolves around a woman in her 20s, Ankita, who has a past haunting her like a nightmare. As she grows up from adolescence to a woman in her mid-20s, she wades through different situations, engages in affairs with a couple of guys and is set-back by her parents’ refusal to accept her situation. As a result of non-stop upheavals in her life, Ankita develops bipolar disorder at one point in time.

The story revolves around Ankita’s struggles, determination, her decisions and her faith in self. The book beautifully describes how she gets acquainted with her bipolar disorder, how she decides to help her own self and how she battles these situations all by herself. The title of the book in a way describes the central theme of the book but the manner in which Preeti drove home the point through an interesting story, is delightful. It is counted among one of her best works.

WAKE UP LIFE IS CALLING:

I got a signed copy for this one! Preeti Shenoy’s compelling sequel to the iconic bestseller Life is What You Make It chronicles the resilience of the human mind and the immense power of positive thinking. The gripping narrative demonstrates with gentle wisdom how by changing our thoughts, we can change our life itself.

Excerpts;
We can control our actions, not others’.
Even a single day’s sleep can affect how we think and what we do.
We don’t realise the value of what we have till it’s taken away. Her books r full of positivity & have a powerful female lead, a strong woman..that’s what I have observed.
The page count ~200, priced reasonably.

 Saira Sehgal got her GED at 10, earned her undergraduate degree from Princeton and completed med school at 16 with honors and on full scholarship—all rare feats.
She’s now known as “Dr. Girl Genius.  This is my 3rd & last read in #FRtbr #fiercereads courtesy @mmbtours & @fiercereads.

The first two reads were pretty intense & I loved how this one made me laugh & cry both with its narration.  Genre: Romance Novel; YA fiction; Medical Fiction; RomCom (my fav. genre).  I am so glad to finish my #fiercereads Read-along on a happy note with a contemporary romantic, comedy, informative & thought provoking read!  This is a rich, multilayered story of a 16 year old girl, who is on internship, pretty young for her age.  She faces loads of halos due to her age.
She belongs to a Punjabi family, their loud behaviour & love for food is pretty much highlighted all over the book. Also their unity & “family as a support system” is shown well too.  Use of vernacular lang., slangs is ample in the read.
 There’s Bollywood & humour all over the read.
 Saira lost her friend, Harper to cancer, pretty young. That’s acts as a catalyst to her dream of becoming a doc.
 Her mom is a paediatrician.
 Saira is fierce, brilliant, flawed, witty & totally relatable. The FOCAL POINT of all 3 #fiercereads I read. The protagonist or the female is FiErce, uNpUtDoWnAbLe.  She is still pretty young & falls for a guy, who is a patient for cancer, although she wasn’t aware of it from the beginning. Here I remembered the movie, Fault in our stars.
 How together, they pull themselves through his journey/ procedure, is what makes the rest of the read.
 It is fun, comical, sarcastic, emotional, full of hope & with a happy ending.  There are small illustrations peppered here & there & I found them really funny.
 Also,another thing, there’s a diagnosis & a prognosis, which happened in the book, on & off which was pretty amusing.
Diagnosis: A unicorn in scrubs
Prognosis: could be trouble!  All in all, a wOnDeRfUl, destressing, uplifting read & a cute love story.  Available for INR 713.18/- it’s a fun, quick read. 55 chapters, 321 pages.

 MARRIED TO BHUTAN
By Linda Leaming, Hayhouse.
Available @amazonkindle for INR 186.89/-
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 Why would an American woman spend all her savings & sell all she had, to stay in Bhutan, alone❓
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 This book will appeal to anyone who wants to go on a voyage of discovery; to a foreign land or within the self.
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 #qotd Have you heard about Bhutan❓
#aotd Tucked away in the eastern end of the Himalayas lies Bhutan – a tiny, landlocked country bordering China and India.
Impossibly remote and nearly inaccessible, Bhutan is rich in natural beauty, exotic plants and animals, and crazy wisdom.
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 As one of the few Americans to have lived in Bhutan, Leaming offers a rare glimpse into the quirky mountain kingdom so many have only dreamed of.
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‍♀️ My inferences:
12 chapters, 251 pgs.
each chptr begins with a few lines worth pondering..
the best part of the read was the UNDERSTATED HUMOUR which kept me going till the end.
an interesting thing I noticed..the author is very descriptive in the beginning but gradually starts using words from the Bhutanese Lang.(Dzongkha) as we proceed with the read..n I started understanding their meaning w/out find it wierd!
nothing is wasted in Bhutan.
their’s less stress.
death doesn’t end things, they believe in reincarnation.
they believe there are many ways to look at everything.
they believe in a lot of things that defy reason.
 Buddhism.
whatever happens, one should not give up.
it’s one of the world’s least developed country n never colonized.
it competes by not competing.
they believe in being environment friendly.
here ppl have to cooperate in order to survive in the isolated mountains.
when things are rough on the outside, look inside.
be fluid & adaptable like water.
live in the moment.
life is about improving yourself & your lot.
they just want to be happy n better.
they keep a tab about the happenings in the world coz we are all connected.
noone can make us happy but ourselves.
 sometimes we have to go the physical distance (pilgrimage) to help bring us further along our own mental or spiritual journey.
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 In the author’s words;
Although I’ve never been poorer in my life than I am now, I’ve never felt more secure or happy.
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 A memoir on travel & spirituality, which is anything but boring.
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 P.s.: Do checkout all the slides
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The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever. —Jacques-Yves Cousteau

 ESME WISH: A WONDROUS WORLD AWAITS.
Esme Trilogy Book 1.

Published by Odyssey Books in 2017, this is the author ELIZABETH FOSTER’S Debut Novel.

Genre: Fantasy Fiction.
Audience: MG to YA.
295 pages
33 chapters.
Available @amazonkindle for INR 76/-.

The 2nd part in the trilogy, released in Nov. 2019
ESME’S GIFT: A Thrilling Odyssey Awaits.

 NoW LeT’s TaLk AbOuT tHe BoOk 1.

StOrYLiNe:

 First & foremost, the book begins with a MAP of Esperance, the capital of Aeolia.

 The story begins with the protagonist ESME’S father Aaron getting married in the church with Penelope, irrespective of esme’s disapproval, 7years after Esme’s mother- Ariane May Silver disappeared/ was lost at sea.

 Esme lives in Picton Island. Point to be noted, Ariane- her mother was not born & bred in Picton. Her grandmother, the villagers disliked her mom for reasons unknown to her, to the extent that Esme had almost negligible friends in Picton.

 Her father was a lighthouse keeper & ranger.

 She has a  cat, Reuben, who has now aged. A majestic Sea Gull, fav. of her mom, watches her at the church & then till she reaches her home & then again at the lighthouse where she remininces over her mother’s mystical paintings..

 The language is simple but very descriptive & enchanting.

 I am aMaZeD at the narration, it is fabulous!

 Esme swears to find out, what actually happened to her mom! And from here her journey full of mAgiC begins!!


I looooved the author’s writing style, choice of words and narration.

I feel this book needs to be read by more people, it’s aMaZiNg!!

Full of magic, dragons, a strong-willed girl, friendships and love..this is one, Middle Grade to Young Adult Crossover,  aWeSoMe-enchanting-consuming read.

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