A Lesson You Wish You Had Learned Earlier in Life

We can all try saying that we have no regrets. That whatever happened was somehow “for the best” and that “in the bigger picture” and “in the long run” we are better off even after having done things one would term as regrets. We can say it with conviction, with humility and also quietly, but I doubt if we ever really mean it. Like really really mean it.
Try saying this:

“No, I do not have any regrets. I believe that everything happens for a reason. Sure I’ve done things that weren’t very good, but doing all those things, right and wrong, has made me the person I am today. And I’m proud of what I am today. So no, I do not have regrets and I wouldn’t like to significantly change something about my past.”

Now look at what you’ve just said. At all those words and the meanings they hold. Doesn’t one event come up like a lifebuoy on the ocean of your mind, instantly claiming attention and ridiculing what you’ve just read?

I think we all have regrets, we all have those little annoying events in our life which stick out like sore thumbs;  reminding us of our bad decisions. Some of us let them overpower us, let them decide the course our lives would take. Some of us forget that they ever happened and decide to live our lives free of their haunting shadows. And still, some acknowledge their presence, repent their existence but in no way do they let them change their tomorrow.

The lesson I wish I had learned earlier in my life is a very basic one, but one which I think many of us suffer throughout our life: I wish I  had recognized my true worth earlier in life  and not accepted any less than what I deserved.

Self-worth is something which is continuously under attack from outsiders. We literally need to take up arms, and retaliate when it becomes necessary. Under no condition should we take abuse and humiliation over the things that make us different, that define us. We shouldn’t take  less than what we deserve,and even if we are forced to, we should do everything in our might to change it. Because once self-worth is gone, it rarely ever comes back.

Stay strong.

Review: ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ by Jeff Kinney

Hello everyone!

Hmm…I kinda don’t like the greeting my posts have. :/ It’s like I’m a presenter on some monumental stage and have a million people staring at me..uh. Not happening. Anyway!

So on the first day of 2012 (It’s so creepy, writing 2012) I went and bought myself 3 new books, out of one I’m going to review here. I read it in about 3-3.5 hours flat which I think says a lot about how interesting it was. But as lazy as I am (VERY) it took me a while to get this post together and press ‘Publish’. Here is a shot I took of the back cover and some pages from the book because I wanted to share all the artwork included in the book with you guys. There’s at least one illustration per page for the whole book. And after that I get to speak my mind about this book. Have fun! Oh and also, I’m sorry the angle of the camera and everything is kinda clumsy, hope to get better someday

Images from the book:

Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Book 1)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Back cover)

Illustrations inside the book

My take: THIS is the kind of book that I would sit down and read in one go. Not because of how thrilling it is but because of the wonderful way in which it is written which doesn’t make the writer feel as if they are on a past-paced journey towards a climax, but instead takes them from page to page laughing out loud and thoroughly interested with what was going to happen next to the character. The book is the first one in a series of six (I will be sure to follow them all) and is narrated by Greg Heffley, a sarcastic, wise-cracking “wimpy kid” living his oh-so-troubled life in middle school with his best friend Rowley who is an innocent friend, not at all “cool” according to the standard of the school. Greg is one who continually tries to direct away the bullying and such which is part of middle school and rise to higher echelons of popularity.

The book comprises of 217 pages and I was laughing out loud at more than half of them. The narrative is full of sarcasm and irony and one can easily relate to the middle-school experience. The illustrations really bring the punchline in many jokes and are a great way to make the reading experience richer. From being acutely embarrassed of the nickname “Bubby”which  his little brother gave to him, to being caught and ridiculed doing something silly by his older brother Rodrick, Greg is something of a magnet to hilarious situations. His high ideas to attain wealth and fame get him more trouble and get more laughs out of the reader.

A lot of people ask of how to become readers and get into the habit of reading regularly, and I advise them to start with something like this: a light, hilarious book to keep them entertained and show them what a book brings to the reader.

You might like it if:

• You enjoy humour.
• You appreciate books about middle or high-school humour.
• You would enjoy having illustrations aid the text.
• You’re trying to become a more regular reader.

Also, children 9+ would enjoy this book a lot.

You might not like it if:

• You are not one for humour.
• You do not like early-teen literature.

I hope this was helpful and I hope you enjoyed it!

Take care!

The Most Important Thing I Learned This Year

Happy New Year 2012!

As cheesy and typical as this may seem (why does everything I have to say sound so darn cliched?! :@) I learned first-hand to literally leave alone the things I couldn’t get and embrace what I could have. I’ve had to make hard decisions relating my career and other things in 2011 and I just trusted God and jumped in with both feet. And it has paid off. I have wonderful thoughts of 2011 and even better hopes for 2012.

My New Year Wishes

Nope, these are not MY wishes. Well they are but they’re not meant for me. They’re for all of us.

1. Happiness deep inside.
2. Serenity at every sunrise.
3. Success in every part of life.
4. Family beside us.
5. Caring friends around us.
6. A love that never ends.
7. Good health here to stay.
8. Beautiful memories of yesterday.
9. Nice days without sorrows.
10. A pathway leading to better tomorrows.
11. Dreams that manage to come true.
12. A great appreciation for whatever we do.

No I didn’t write these myself. :/ If I did mine would be somthing like….

• May we all have a million bloggers following us.
• May we all get invited to the coolest parties.
• May we all own all the OPI nail polish colours there are (insert appropriate alternative for men here).
• May we all own the trendiest clothes…

Uh….so you see if I have to write wishes they come across as being totally materialistic and um…shallow? So I decided to post the nice, good, deep, all-encompassing ones on the top ^

May we all have a terrific life full of God’s love in front of us. Ameen.

Happy New Years.

A Prayer of Thanks?

Hey you.

I think congratulations are in order for moi as I managed to navigate well around  Wordpress and read some really nice posts. One of them had a single phrase which really rang out for me, check it out here: 11 Things I’ve Learned Since Becoming a Special-Needs Parent.

It said ‘it can always be worse’ and it was really one of those Hallelujah moments for me. I mean seriously! Okay. Lemme explain. Right now wherever we are, whoever we are and no matter how much we own we all want something more. And don’t you try and deny because you know that’s not true. We loathe those unwanted, ghastly love handles claiming their space around our middle, we lust after her hair which is surely Godsend  and we would do anything to claim that gorgeously perfect outfit/body/anything for ourselves.

I’m listing down common things related to woman but I’m certain men have their own lists of things they hate about themselves and things they lust after which others have. And the reason I’m writing about it here is because I think that (as cheesy and cliched it may be) we should really be glad for what we have.

Go look at yourself in the mirror. Really look at yourself and notice all the good things. It’s funny how we never look at what’s perfect in us because that’s just boring. We can sit and stare and obsess over our tiny imperfections, wishing there weren’t there but we rarely ever look at something and say ” Wow, now that’s perfect” or say “Thank God I have…”

As it was said in the post I tagged up there ^ it can always be much worse, people do have it way way way worse than we did. Sure, we’re not perfect. Where’s the fun in that? I can’t imagine how boring life would be like if I had everything and if there was nothing more I wanted, or needed. It would be so dull! The anticipation of having what we want makes life much better. Sometimes the chase is better than the prize.

The fact that they’re are things to accomplish, experiences to live, people to cherish, and stuff to gain is what makes our life interesting. So let’s say a prayer of thanks for the amazing ton of things God gave us and let’s look optimistically at the future and hope for all the good things to come to us.

Here’s hoping we’ll be that much more grateful. Cheers!

Review: ‘Brother Grimm’ by Craig Russell

Hey there.

Another review today! Read this one a while back and decided to put up a review here. First is the description at the back of the book and then my take on it. Have fun.

The back cover:

A girl’s body lies, posed, on the pale sand of a Hamburg beach, a message concealed in her hand. ‘I have been underground, and now it is time for me to return home. . .’

Jan Fabel, of the Hanburg Murder Squad, struggles to interpret the twisted imagery of a dark and brutal mind. Four days later, a man and a woman are found deep in woodland, their throats slashed deep and wide, the names ‘Hansel’ and ‘Gretel’, in the same tiny, obsessively neat writing, rolled tight and pressed into their hands.

As it becomes clear that each new crime is a grisly reference to folk stories collected almost two hundred years ago by the Brothers Grimm,  the hunt is on for a serial killer who is exploring our darkest, most fundamental fears. A predator who kills and then disappears into the shadows.

A monster we all learned to fear in childhood.

My take: Now this is what I absolutely hate about Dan Brown. Like really, why is the man so bloody good at telling a story? He makes everyone look so….not-up to-par! Okay, this is probably just what I feel but seriously, whenever I read a thriller or a suspense novel etc, I end up comparing it to what Dan Brown offers. And that is just so unfair because they all have their own style and they are different and good in their own places but man, Dan Brown is the king of thrillers/books-you-can’t-bloody-put-down.

Alright. Phew. Now that I have that out of my system I can focus on the review at hand. I don’t usually compare different authors and books unless I’m absolutely compelled to or when I’m reviewing a series. This book is the second one in the thriller series by Craig Russell which are all based on a central character Jan Fabel and follow him solving crimes. Although the characters remain the same you can easily pick any book of the series (currently, I think there are 3 already published) and follow the story as the plot is different and individual in all.

The book “Brother Grimm” is 448 pages long, has the tagline Murder Is No Fairy Tale  and has A LOT of words in German but if you, like me, have no clue about the German language then you can skip through them the way I did and everything still makes sense. The words usually represent police ranks and places. Take a serial killer and add the history and evolution of folk literature. Weird? Not so. That is what the book is about and I tell you, the combination paid off.

The story is about a serial killer who is so inspired by the German folk stories that he starts carrying out murders and props up the bodies as if they were characters of the stories come to life. He believes that “we are all variations on the same theme”, the theme being the story. Meaning, that we are all characters of one story or the other, only slightly different from the original characters. He is helped in this belief by an author who has recently published a book which shows how explicit the Brother Grimm fairy tales were when they were first recorded and how we have sugar-coated them to please us. This character provides a creative take on fairy tales and I was particularly entertained to read the parts where he appeared to help explain the killer’s psyche.

The plot was engaging, the suspects kept changing and the climax was horrific as well as a surprise . Overall, I found it a nice read, albeit not a bloodcurdling thriller but one to keep you turning the pages. The pace is a little slow at times, but otherwise moderate.

You might like it if:

• You are a Craig Russell fan.
• You are particularly into the  thriller genre.
• You like intrigue and a complex plot.
• You would like a different take on folk literature.
• You like crime fiction.

You might not like it if:

• You’re not one for thrillers and murder stories.
• You’re not one to read books that run on the thicker side.
• You’re not really interested in the history of folk literature.

I hope that was helpful. Until next time, cheers!

Aesop’s Fables: The Fox and the Stork

Hello everyone! How’s it going?

So today I thought of sharing something here rather than writing a random update of what I’m doing.

All of us have grown up among stories and fables which preach and instill morals, a sense of right and wrong, let us know of the consequences of wrong actions and how doom awaits those who don’t heed the warnings, wrong the innocent etc.

Many of these fables we grew up with are traced back to Aesop and were ultimately compiled together to form a thin yet substantial volume of stories which shape young minds and mange to stay with us forever. I decided to share one of my favourite one here. I’m adding one right now, may add more later. Hope you enjoy, lemme know what you think.

THE FOX AND THE STORK 

 One day a fox invited a stork to dinner, and since he wanted to amuse himself at the expense of his guest, he provided a meal that consisted only of some thin soup in a large flat dish. The fox was able to lap this soup up very easily, while the stork, unable to take a mouthful with her long narrow bill, was as hungry at the end of dinner as when she began. Meanwhile, the fox pretended to regret seeing her eat so sparingly and feared, so he said, that the dish might not be tasty enough for her. The stork said little but requested the honor of allowing her to invite him to her place in the near future. He was delighted with the invitation, and a week later, he showed up punctually at the stork’s home, where the dinner was served right away. To the fox’s dismay, however, he found that the meal was contained in a narrow-necked vessel down which the stork easily thrust her long neck and bill, while he was obliged to content himself with licking the neck of the jar. Unable to satisfy his hunger, he left as graciously as possible, observing that he could hardly find fault with his host, who had only paid him back in his own coin.

Those who mistreat others with their cunning must expect to suffer from it in return.