Review: Dinosaurs Galore

Book Title: Dinosaurs Galore
Author: Giles Andreae & David Wojtowycz
Genres: Kids
Rating: 5
Age group: 2-4 years

Join this swampland adventure and meet silly Diplodocus, larger-than-life Giganotosaurus, and the infamous Tyrannosaurus Rex ... but watch out, he's feeling a little peckish!

Review

I picked up this book randomly from the library. My daughter, 2.5 years old at the time of reading this, is all crazy for the so-called-girlish stuff though it isn't intentional, at least on my part. So I keep buying random stuff that are labeled for boys. This book is one such attempt.What I really like about the book is that the illustrations and text are not intimidating for young ones.  Here is a sample.

DIY Watch case for Father's day

Father's day is almost here. So are the summer holidays. What better way to make the best use of both than making a DIY gift for Dad! (Even if its not vacation time in your part of the world, which kid says No to craft?). Also, this craft requires little help from Moms, so its a great way to unwind from the routine and bond with your kid.

P/S:  If you think sewing it is intimidating, take it from me, its easy peasy :). You can also use a felt glue if you think sewing is too much work.

Saved In Srilanka

Book Title: Saved In Srilanka
Author: Devika Fernando
Genres: Fiction
Rating: 4

It sure feels that way when Sri Lankan tour guide Sepalika meets Daniel. The mysterious tourist from Ireland steals his way into her heart and makes her question everything her life is built upon. Instant attraction turns to love – but does he feel the same? And what about the secret she’s hiding from him?

Follow the two on their quest for a happy ending amid the beauty and wonders of the tropical island paradise of Sri Lanka.

Review

What do you get when Facts meet Romance? You get Saved in Srilanka! I mean, Sepalika gets saved :) And you get to bask in the romance between Sepalika and Daniel. Sepalika, the tourist guide struggling to contain her free spirits within the confinement demanded by the situation. Daniel, the historic buff on tour to Srilanka. When the two of them come together, they are unable to resist falling in love. Sepalika is 'tied' while Daniel is hurt from a past relationship. Who makes or breaks the relationship is what ensues.

D day :) - IMC Treasure Box

Today is a special day for me! I have taken my first tiny step towards doing something I love to. IndianMomsConnect a website by Moms for Moms, has come up with a Subscription box, the IMC Treasure box! The box will contain a handpicked Indian children's book(which is hard to come by in the US, I tell you), a related craft kit, a kid-tested recipe and an App suggestion. 

The Mystery of the missing Iguana

Book Title: The Mystery of the missing Iguana
Author: Ruchira Khanna
Genres: Kids
Rating: 4

Alex and his pet chimpanzee Angelo are the young detectives of their neighborhood. When a friend's pet Iguana goes missing, Alex and Angelo immediately take on the case, and the sneaky reptilian leads them on an exciting chase. How will alex and Angelo use their sleuthing skills to solve this mystery?

Review

Meet Alex & his pet chimp, Angelo and watch them in action solving the case of a missing Iguana. What a delightful little story! I absolutely love to introduce new things to my toddler through books and this book made me think, mystery? Why not? Infact, what fun! 

Silly animals - Horton hatches the Egg.

This is an activity to go with the book 'Horton hatches the Egg' by Dr.Seuss that I did for Indian Moms Connect.

Have you read this month's recommendation from IMC, Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr.Seuss? I loved it! The beauty of the book is that there are hidden treasures in the book that when unraveled will make it all the more fun for your kids. So here is an activity to go with the book. 

Since Easter is round the corner, I managed to grab few plastic eggs.And you need some cardstock and colors.

Print and color the animals and paste them on cardstock for easier use and cut them along the dotted lines. 

Mix them up and add one each of the three portions to each egg. 

Hide the eggs all over your home and let your kid go on an egg hunt. 

Let the kid arrange the pieces and check out what silly animal hatches from the egg. Have guaranteed giggles giving silly names to these silly animals.

For older children, you can add a chit containing adjectives describing Horton and Mayzie and discuss why the adjective fits them.

Have fun!

Lemon Girl

Book Title: Lemon Girl

Author: Jyoti Arora

Genres: Fiction

Rating: 4

'It's all your fault.'Mere words these are. "But words can possess a shadow invincible enough to rob even a soul of its eternity."
In a society that finds it easier to mark sins of a victim than the culprit, Nirvi is a young girl punishing herself for the faults she did not do and avenging her hurts by defeating her own truth.She is scared of her future, and ashamed of her past. She is failing herself, and knows it. She has had a long line of boyfriends, and hated them all. She detests the guy she is living with, runs away from the one she loves , and seduces the one who can never love her. When Arsh first sees Nirvi, she's a free and frank girl in whose eyes sparkle the lemony zest of life. The next time he sees her, she is a voiceless doll draped in clothes that cover her body less and shroud her soul more. And Arsh can't rest till he finds out what made Nirvi give up her own real self.Nirvi knows she is dragging herself on a path from which there can be no recovery. Can her spirit survive the treacherous downfall? Or is the pull of fear and push of desperation just too strong to withstand for a girl who believes she has "nowhere else to go" but down.
"When it's time for you to fall in love, even a lemon can become the cause of it," says Arsh.But can love survive, when even the self love dies?Can love survive when respect is no more?Does true love have the power to revive a dying soul?
Find out in the pages of this brilliantly woven, intense, heart-warming and thought-provoking saga of RISING IN LOVE...

Review

Lemon girl - It is not often that we come across a book title with a cute little reasoning behind the name. If I were to flatter the Author, I would say that this title is something I really liked only next to the Magnum Opus 'Ponniyin Selvan'(a Tamil Historic Fiction written in the 1950s. The culprit behind my reservations against giving 5 star to books I like).

13 Steps to Bloody Good Luck

Book Title: 13 Steps to Bloody Good Luck
Author: Ashwin Sanghi
Genres: Non Fiction
Rating: 4

The journey of life isn’t exactly easy… Some people make it through hard work and talent. Some fall by the wayside. And some people are just plain lucky. They are blessed with Bloody Good Luck!
But is it possible to attract good luck? Can we train ourselves to be lucky? Apparently it seems that Dame Luck isn’t that fickle. She is well within our reach. In his first non-fiction foray, bestselling author Ashwin Sanghi explores that critical, much-longed for element called luck.
Through entertaining and informative anecdotes, narrations of personal experiences and vignettes of homespun wisdom, Ashwin gives us a whole new insight into how people can work towards being lucky.

Review

I have been meaning to read Ashwin Sanghi for a long time but never managed to. So, 13 steps to bloody good luck, the author's first attempt at non-fiction is my first read by him. That said, the writing style doesn't pose itself as a subject for review. It is neither impressive nor dull. The concept is agreeable and makes you think. Basically, the author argues that luck isn't a factor that cannot be controlled. He proposes that one can increase their good luck by changing their Attitude and/or approach towards 13 factors. As with any other self help book, I was excited to find out how much I could agree to the contents and to what extent I can benefit from it.

Matches made in Heaven

Book Title: Matches made in Heaven
Author: Sundari Venkatraman
Genres: Fiction
Rating: 3

A collection of 13 romantic short stories based in India; a culture rich country steeped in tradition. Inspiration struck me from newspaper articles, TV shows and hearing people talk. The short stories are based on that fact that arranged marriages thrive right alongside love matches in India.

Review

Matches made in Heaven, a collection of romantic short stories, would make a blissful read when you are on a flight for a vacation or getting a pedicure done or hmm, u get the drift right? Relaxed and joyful and pampered.  The stories are straightforward, the characters unassuming. All the stories have been based on a spark of thought from real life. The transition from one story to next was quick and easy, given that I read a handful of stories at a time. On a similar note, I wish the Author had avoided repeating the same style of describing the character's appearance and their romantic encounters.

Baby Read-Aloud Basics

Book Title: Baby Read Aloud Basics: Fun and Interactive Ways to Help Your Little One Discover the World of Words

Author: Caroline J. Blakemore and Barbara Weston Ramirez

Genres: Non Fiction

Rating: 5

Decades of research have proven the value of reading aloud to children, and the years between birth and age two are arguably the most crucial for language development. As a parent, it's important that you help your baby acquire the foundation they need to speak earlier, read on their own sooner, and benefit from an increased vocabulary and attention span.
Baby Read-Aloud Basics shows you how to establish an effective daily read-aloud routine to take charge of your baby's future understanding and success. Organized around the six stages of early language development from birth to age two, the book provides simple but effective techniques to help you

Review

Books on Pregnancy, Parenting and the non-existent baby manuals - you have read it all. How about a book on how to read to your baby? When is the right time to start reading to your Baby? As soon as your Baby can listen! When does a Baby start listening/observing?  We all, possibly, know the answer from our childhood dose of Abhimanyu's story and what modern-day research tells us. As early as possible! But do you know what kind of books to pick at each stage? And how to read so that your Baby gets the most out of it? Baby Read Aloud Basics:Fun and Interactive Ways to Help Your Little One Discover the World of Words by Caroline J. Blakemore and Barbara Weston Ramirez has the answers.

A new play area for a new home!

As I mentioned in this post previously, we moved to a new home and had to redo the play area for my LO again. Here is a pic,

And a mini library. This got her so excited!!

Breach

Book Title: Breach
Author: Amrita Chowdury
Genres: Fiction
Rating: 3

How secure are your secrets?

Weeks before Acel is ready to file the global patent application for Colare, a wonder drug for pancreatic cancer, the research data stored at its offshore data center in Mumbai goes haywire and Dr. Udai Vir Dhingra, the charismatic, Ivy-educated young leader of its Indian business, gets blamed.

The trail leads to Raghu Damodaran, a precocious teen exploring the very edges of what can be done in cyber space, and then gets lost.

Battling market pressures, media leaks, livid American bosses and crumbling relationships, Vir must find the real perpetrators or see his career - and his life - spiral downwards. Swept into a shadowy world of masked online identities and muddied digital footprints, Vir discovers that nothing is easy or obvious, and everything has a price.
Set in Mumbai, Washington DC and Suzhou, in an online-meets-offline adventure of cyber threats and IP espionage, drug research and medical ethics, strained affairs and lost love, disillusionment and hopelessness, Breach is a clever, fast-paced thriller full of surprises.

Review

I did read that blurb before starting to read the book but I imagined it would just have a hint of technical stuff. Now, having read the book , am surprised at how much research and understanding should have gone behind it. Its a well-researched and well-executed cyber thriller with a refreshing plot. With a long-forgotten software engineer background, I kept wondering how much of this will a 'layman' reader understand but from the other reviews on goodreads, I believe the Author has passed with flying colours on that aspect. 

Canvas of Dreams

Book Title: Canvas of Dreams

Author: Jaya Siva Murty

Genres: Fiction

Rating: 3

Riya seems to have lost everything—the man she loves to another woman, her husband to death and her soul to fear.
An unexpected meeting with her first love, Ryan, stirs up long repressed feelings but also allows her to move out of the long shadow of the past. Unburdened, she feels free to pursue her dream of opening an art gallery and the handsome and intriguing artist Rehaan. But memories of her marriage refuse to fade away and then suddenly, Ryan shows up in her life again. Now, Riya must find the courage to reconcile her past and present.
For Riya, life is a canvas of dreams. Can she distinguish between reality and fantasy?

Review

Canvas of Dreams is the story of Riya and the men in her life. Who stays, who stirs her up, what happens to her passion for Art unfolds with a lucid narration. For a debutant Author, the overall quality is commendable.The idea of using dreams to bring out the latent thoughts of Riya is interesting. I loved that the story was painted on the canvas of Art. I enjoyed understanding the kind of work a Curator does. 
On the flip side, Ryan's side of story remained hazy till the end. At the end, I particularly wondered about the point of view of Sia's daughter(I don't want to elaborate and be a spoiler). Though I liked this book, I reserved myself from giving an extra star because the book is not a racy or page-turner kind. I liked this book in the sense that the things that would have gone wrong didn't go wrong like flaws in the plot, unanswered questions, inconsistent characters or predictable flow of events.  Still, there are times when that is all you need. A breezy story and a cup of coffee. And Canvas of Dreams fits the bill.

Add this book to your Goodreads account...

Buy this book from...

She Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

Book Title: She Loves Me, He Loves Me Not
Author: Zeenat Mahal
Genres: Fiction
Rating: 4

Zoella has been in love with Fardeen Malik, her best friend’s gorgeous older brother, since she was ten, but he’s always seen her as a ‘good girl’—not his type—and he can barely remember her name. Besides, he’s engaged to a gorgeous leggy socialite, someone from the same rarefied social strata as the imposing Malik family. In short, Zoella has no chance with him.

Until a brutal accident leaves Fardeen scarred and disfigured, that is. Suddenly bereft of a fiancée, Fardeen is bitterly caustic, a shell of the man he used to be, a beast that has broken out of the fairy tale world he once lived in. And a twist of fate lands him his very own beauty—Zoella.
This man, however, is a far cry from the Fardeen of her dreams. Stripped of her illusions, Zoella creates her own twist in the fairy tale, beating him at his own game.
Zeenat Mahal explores themes of love, longing and arranged marriages in this modern, unusual interpretation of the old-age fairy tale

Review

Though Romance isn't a genre I would normally pick, this book has questioned my notions(had there been any). I might not yet be ready for a book oozing with love but a big nod to a fairy tale with a generous topping of Romance. 'She loves me, He loves me not' might be a modern interpretation of a Fairy tale, yet Zoella and Fardeen aren't fantastical beings. They are true to life characters saying and doing things impulsively. Zeenat Mahal takes us on an emotional roller coaster ride with Zoella making us dream, stumble, hope, fret and despair. Along the way, the perspective shifts from Zoella's to Fardeen's. I liked the way how smoothly I changed positions and started empathizing with Fardeen hoping Zoella will forgive his words and deeds. The dialogues were witty and enjoyable, with a hint of humour. The Romance was subtle and alluring.

The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer

Book Title: The Many lives of Ruby Iyer
Author: Laxmi Hariharan
Genres: Fiction
Rating: 3

A YA action-thriller, with strong dystopian undertones and a kickass protagonist, taking you on a white knuckle ride through a disintegrating Bombay City.
When her best friend is kidnapped, Ruby will stop at nothing to rescue him.

Criminals run the streets of Bombay. Jam-packed with the worst degenerates. The city is a shell of the pride and joy it used to be.

Ruby knows something must be done, but it isn’t until her best friend is kidnapped by the despotic Dr. Braganza that she knows that she and she alone must save city, save her best friend, save the world from total destruction.

Armed only with with Vikram, a cop-turned-rogue they are about to embark on a road they may never return from.

If you’re looking for fast-paced books like Hunger Games or dystopia fiction like Angelfall, the Ruby Iyer series is perfect for you.

Review

The many lives of Ruby Iyer is a Young Adult thriller about a headstrong teenager desperate to rescue her friend thus uncovering the plot behind a falling city. She gets groped, pushed to death, transformed, manipulated and drawn into circumstances. Readinf through the first few chapers, the more she wanted to stay strong just for the heck of it and the more she tried to suppress her physical and emotional weariness, there was one thing I wanted to do. Give her a tight slap! Annoyingly, she is the protagonist and am right there, inside her head. I had to contain myself and get used to her. But as I completed the book and put it aside, it occurred to me that the way I felt about Ruby was indeed the Author's brilliance! I mean, to think of it, a girl on the cusp of teenage and adulthood from a dysfunctional family, fending for herself in a melting pot called Bombay, how else would you expect her to react?! 

DIY Pillow box

Last-minute necessity is the mother of DIY. I made this pillow box for a gift card as I yet-another-time forgot to get a gift card cover. There are lots of links on the internet to make one, here is a quick link to the one I followed - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0sI5i7Ev5o. 

Micro-bharatham!

Living in a Cave -That's exactly what I feel about myself, every time I login to twitter. Oh, twitter! Why am I taking forever to adapt to you? Though I appreciate your design, I feel like am entering a forest where too many birds are chirping and I feel lost amidst all those hashtags trying desperately to catch up from where I left.

But Facebook is warm, I should say, its like entering your friend's home and relaxing with a cup of coffee listening to all their stories and telling mine. I use Pinterest too but am never bogged down by its tangled web. But twitter, sigh! I hope its a matter of time, as I have hoped many times in the past. The reason behind letting out such an alarming sigh is that I came across something so new to me, #TwitterFiction. Specifically Mahabharata in tweets. Or should I say Microbharata, as rightly mentioned elsewhere. Audacious, isn't it? This herculean task was done by Dr.Chindu Sreedharan for 1605 days through 2628 tweets. Recently, it has been published as a book by Harper collins (Look at what the description says, passing a camel through a needle's eye. Bang on!). Am overwhelmed.

Madly in Love, with ME!

Today's topic on Tamil TV talk show Neeya Naana was something I was thinking about last week. The discussion was about promoting and projecting one self(Warning: Extreme prattle ahead!). With the social media(blogs included) providing the perfect spot light, its a Me, Myself, Mine era.

Its the time for Selfies, "Me time"s and self-indulgence. You read, watch, eat, drink, feel, ponder and celebrate on social media. There is a 'Me' in the real world and there is a 'Me' in the virtual world. Slowly and silently, the idealist in everyone takes over and envelops the real 'Me' in the virtual world. The gap between the two 'Me's grows in proportion to the flaws that I want to overcome, those I wish I never had. Those who know the real 'Me' develop a distaste for the virtual 'Me' that I am not. Those who know the virtual 'Me' have trouble adapting to the real 'Me'. Projecting oneself falsely or rather idealistically happens in real world too but the problem with the virtual world is the amount of control one has in doing so. The point am trying to make is not about the pros or cons of the social media. Rather, its about the transformation that is happening within us. There is a perspective shift from earning something to deserving something. A surge in the level of consciousness about self. Letting go of the consciousness happens consciously too. And sadly, we want the world to know that as well.

Where is the cake?

Where is the Cake?

T.T.Khing

I have never reviewed a baby book on this blog. But this book takes the cake.:) Where is the Cake? is a picture book with NO words and that's exactly what makes it interesting. This book follows the stolen cake of Mr.&Mrs.Dog and their chase behind the mouse thieves to get back their cake. As the chase continues, there are many other characters each with their own little story throughout the book. Like the baby bunny, mischievous monkeys and more.

1KBK

1000 Books to read before Kindergarten -  I came across this wonderful initiative today while browsing randomly. Check their website, https://1000booksbeforekindergarten.org. If you think its too high a target, they direct you to think of it this way. Reading 1 book per night makes it 365 a year and by 3 years one would have crossed 1095. In US, most children start Kindergarten by 5 so that gives them a lot of time. They have also compiled a wonderful collection of books that can be found here. Libraries in US are spreading this initiative among their members.

Updated Bingo

Below is the updated Bingo for 2014. Another incomplete challenge, sigh! Check here to know what it is. I had to drop two books as I couldn't fit them in any of these boxes. Clearly,the year 2014 was the year of Indireads. I read 4 novellas from Indireads and already reading one now in 2015 too.

Tweet tweet tweet

My definition of social media,

Facebook = Personal life moments.
Twitter = Observe the world around you keenly and Voice your opinions.
Blog = Yap, yap, yap.
LinkedIn = Where I think I should be, Ahem!
Pinterest = Ready reference
Youtube = Timepass!

As you can see, I view twitter more as an intellectual media and hence my absence(or minimal presence) is justified. Digging deeper, the truth actually is I have never been comfortable with the whole design of twitter inspite of the fact I embrace technology quite well. The time has come to explore twitter more fervently (am running out of ideas for marathon too!).  So, I hereby add 'becoming a tweep' to my new year resolution list (come on, we are only a week into the new year and resolutions are still in vogue).

A Child's Play ;)

A picture post! This was the play area I setup for my LO in the corner of my living room. I really liked this space though I wished I had an entire room :) I regret for not taking a good quality pic that shows the complete stuff.

The part under the table was done completely out of diaper boxes and other cardboard boxes.The box above the table held stuff like books from the library, puzzles with many pieces, small magnetic letters etc that I did not want her to pick on her own(not anymore!). Above this toy box, I had pasted alphabet flash cards which is not shown in the picture. I particularly liked the small containers tied to the gate on the side as it was at the right height for the kiddo and neatly held small toys. We tucked in folded play tents behind the gate and that was perfect too.

Beating around the bush!

New year starts with a bang bad weather accompanied by cold and fever! I did a cheat post yesterday and day before yesterday(ok, today too!). As I keep wondering what to post on this blog and browse aimlessly, I decided I wanted prompts! I exploited most of prompts from Maya last year, so I need a fresh bunch. So here they are, inspired from here. I handpicked them as per my taste. Feel free to use them if you would like to!

• You’re locked in a room with your greatest fear. Describe what’s in the room.
• Describe your last attempt to learn something that did not come easily to you.
• When you were 16, what did you think your life would look like? Does it look like that? Is that a good thing?
• “Think global, act local.” Write a post connecting a global issue to a personal one.
• If you could un-invent something, what would it be? Discuss why, potential repercussions, or a possible alternative
• Write about the last disagreement you had with a friend or family member — from their perspective.
• Write a piece about a typically “local” experience from where you come from as though it’s an entry in a travel guide.
• Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a member of the opposite sex for a day? What do you think life would be like?
• Describe an item you were incredibly attached to as a child. What became of it?
• Describe your ultimate escape plan (and tell us what you’re escaping from).
• Tell us about a sensation — a taste, a smell, a piece of music — that transports you back to childhood.
• Head to your favorite blog. Scroll down to the third post in the list. Take the third sentence in the post, and work it into a new post of your own.
• Go back to a blog post you always thought could be better, or were unsatisfied with — now, fix it.
• Pause whatever you’re doing, and ask the person nearest you what they’re thinking about (call someone if you have to).Write a post based on it.
• Have you ever had a random encounter or fleeting moment with a stranger that stuck with you?
• Interview your favorite fictional character.
• Tell us about something you would attempt if you were guaranteed not to fail (and tell us why you haven’t tried it yet).
• Write a review of your life — or the life of someone close to you — as if it were a movie or a book.
• Often, our blogs have taglines. But what if humans did, too? What would your tagline be?
• We all have something we’d like to write about, but that
• doesn’t really “fit” our blog. Write it anyway.
• Who is the one person you hope isn’t reading your blog? Why?
• You win a contest to build your dream home. Draft the plans.
• If you could be a “fly on the wall” anywhere and at any time in history, where and when would you choose?
• Do you consider yourself funny? What role does humor play in your life? Who’s the funniest person you know?
• Grab the nearest book. Open it and go to the tenth word. Do a Google Image Search of the word.  Write about what the image brings to mind.
• Explain your biggest regret — as though to a small child(probably your kid).
• If bloggers had their own Halloween and could go from blog to blog collecting “treats,” what would your blog hand out?
•  Was there a toy or thing you always wanted as a child, during the holidays or on your birthday, but never received? Tell us about it.