New Year greetings and a look back at Year 2022!

I would like to start off this post by first wishing you all a very happy and prosperous New Year 2023!

I would also like to thank the entire reading community, friends and everyone who has supported me and my blog. A big shoutout to the Instagram community of readers and bloggers. It is a wonderful place to talk about books and get to know fellow bibliophiles.

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Wrap Up 2022 – Top 6 favourites!

Here I’m including the images (from goodreads) of my top 6 favourite books read in 2022 in no particular order. For some of them, the review is posted already and for some the complete review will be put up soon (I am quite late on this and I have a huge backlog 😦 )

I have to say though that I enjoyed every one of the books I read in 2022 and some just stuck with me more than the others. It’s all a relative comparison for me. As you can see, the books range across many genres and I am so happy to have gotten the chance to discover so many new authors who have fast become favourites!

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Book Review: Teenage Chronicles by Saania Saxena

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About the Book:

Feelings, fears, friendships, insecurities, passions. All of us go through these intense emotional experiences, and the start of it all, without the shadow of a doubt, is teenagerhood. As we start to realize that we are our own person, many questions inevitably follow, as who we want that person to be, and how to get there.⠀

Saania Saxena, the sixteen-year-old author of Teenage Chronicles: My Journey of Self Discovery knows well what she writes about. With curiosity, a bright analytical mind, and the wise humility of someone who knows how much there is to learn from this world – regardless of the age one has reached – she narrates her first-hand life experiences and the consequent lessons she has elaborated and learned, sharing them with her readers.⠀

Philosophy and science are no longer intellectual and abstract concepts, but tools to better understand ourselves and ease our journey to self-discovery. A fresh, rich, and interesting work between narrative and essay, providing at the same time entertainment and suggestions to consider.⠀

A book recommended not only to teenagers but as well to adults that are still questioning themselves and in need of a fresh and original point of view to improve their self-perception.

My Thoughts:

Teenage Chronicles is a well-written book that is extremely relevant and relatable not just to teenagers but to everyone. The book brings out some basic emotions that we all face through examples, situations, facts and scientific thought. Though the title and focus of the book is on teenagers and teenage years, I think that most of us can relate to the emotions highlighted and examples in the book.

I love the idea of the book and the presentation of each chapter. It is clear that author Saania has taken time not only to introspect but to understand and reflect on what she is going through as well as others around her. She then takes this one step further and tries to articulate how these emotions affect her peers and then finally extending this to a larger group. The presentation of the content is captivating and informative without being preachy.

This book will help teenagers realize that they are not alone, that everyone feels almost the same emotions but to varying degrees. A good way to deal with things is to just pause for a moment and think. A little bit of understanding and lending an ear or a shoulder to lean on can go a long way. What I liked the most is the candid nature with which Saania presents her thoughts and the research and care that has gone into writing about each emotion.

Even though I do not read a lot of books in this genre, Saania’s book is one that I truly enjoyed and could relate to even though I am way beyond my teenage years. This book took me back and helped me think about what I felt and how I handled it. The book is thought provoking and the beauty lies in the simplicity of the writing and ideas. I highly recommend this book for readers of all ages!

Book Blitz: Art of Self-Maximization by Dr. Sanjeevv Khanna

Do you look forward to wake up each morning ready to face a new day and new challenges? Or does the fear of failure keep you from reaching your true potential? Do you feel you are stuck in life and not progressing? Do you want to leave your comfort zone, but are not sure how to do it? Only when you are clear about what you want to achieve in your life and your goals can you work toward it.
In his book, “ART OF SELF-MAXIMIZATION” the author, Dr. Sanjeevv Khanna, gives you the recipe to live a fulfilling life. This book will help you identify the areas in your life where you need to make a change to realize your true potential.
Reading this book will help you…
Discover what you are passionate about
Visualize your life goals
Overcome fear of failure
Live a balanced and full life
Get back the joy of living
Dr. Sanjeevv Khanna, a renowned Ikigai, Life, Relationship & Leadership Coach, has provided the blueprint to successful living in this book. It is sure to help anyone looking to maximize their life experiences and come out of the daily rut. Read this book to learn the important hacks to manifest your desires and attain success.
Book Links:
Amazon.in * Amazon.com

Read an Excerpt from Art of Self-Maximization

“We are kept away from our goal not by obstacles, but by a clear path to a lesser goal.”- Robert Brault.

The universe controls our actions. Have you ever been told this? Have you not heard people talking about the sheer significance of luck in one’s life?
The answer is categorically affirmative. You often come across people blaming their luck for not getting a job or a good score or for being yelled at by a superior, and the list goes on and on. Why don’t you take a minute and ponder upon the concept of luck? Think about Rajesh, a young man, who is just out of college and is looking for a job. A year passes by, and Rajesh has miserably failed in his attempts to secure a job.
Now, whenever he is asked about being unemployed, he blames his luck. The truth is, Rajesh only applied for the jobs that his connections referred him to. Although this is a good way of job hunting, Rajesh had neither updated his resume nor enhanced his professional skills. He assumed his luck would put things in place somehow. Let me tell you this. The recipe for success is 99 percent hard work and 1 percent luck. Look around you. The world is brimming with opportunities.
The ones who have succeeded grabbed those chances and worked really hard to accomplish their goals. This is the story of all successful people.

“Opportunity does not knock; it presents itself when you beat down the door.”- Kyle Chandler

We all want to succeed, and we all know that it is easier said than done. One can dream, but turning your dreams into reality is the actual task at hand. We are aware of many rags to riches real-life stories. Consider Narayan Murthy, Indira Nooyi, Karsanbhai Patel, Shah Rukh Khan, Rajnikanth, or even late Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam; none of them were born with a golden spoon. How did they reach their current stature?
Well, simple. All of them were open to opportunities, and they worked hard. They explored the path to board a purpose-driven life. Go ahead and look up a few stories yourself. And then, ask yourself this: What makes them who they are? How are they so ahead of the pack?
You need some crucial elements to fill your life with a purpose. Have you heard of consistent behavior? A consistent behavior motivates you, lets you overcome hurdles, and helps you move closer to your focus.
As you adhere to consistent behavior, you dig an option to change the conditions in the surrounding environment. Anyone who lives a life filled with purpose instills consistent behavior in their outer and inner circles.
The next crucial element is to be psychologically resilient. You need to be flexible and make adjustments wherever necessary to meet your goal, no matter what obstacles and demands you might face.
By avoiding adversities and managing the environment dynamically, both physical and psychological, you can reduce your problems, especially if your life does not have a purpose.
Additionally, having a purpose in life enables you to effectively allocate available resources like energy and time. These resources allow you to pursue the purpose. Other actions with zero worth are kept to the least. Besides, the resources they could have used up are redirected to purpose-driven actions. Such components are deemed important elements to pursue a life filled with purpose. In their absence, it’s almost impossible to find and achieve one’s life purpose.

About the Author:

Dr. Sanjeevv Khanna is  India’s 1st Licensed IKIGAI coach and also he is ICF & NLP Certified Life Coach. Dr. Sanjeevv Khanna  is also Founder & CEO of Academy for Self Maximization, Director – CBO, Startup Lanes Strategic Partner & Executive Director –  Noble Manhattan Ltd., U.K. Global Leader – Artemes, Mentor of Change -ATAL, Niti Aayog. He is also the author of Ikigai is Ikigai & Art of Self-Maximisation.Author on the Web:
Twitter * Facebook * Instagram

The Freedom Manifesto: Seven Rules to Live a Life of Your Calling by Karan Bajaj

About the Book:

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In 2019, Karan Bajaj quit his job as Discovery India’s head to start WhiteHat Jr with the mission of making every kid a creator in this world. At the time, everyone thought Karan was reckless to give up a high-flying corporate career at the age of forty, but eighteen months later, WhiteHat Jr was acquired by BYJU’s for $300 million. On the surface, it was one of the fastest startup-to-exit journeys in India, but the seeds of this were planted a decade ago when Karan first decided to create his own set of life rules.

In The Freedom Manifesto, Karan, for the first time, reveals these secrets to help you transform your life. Unconventional, practical and no-nonsense, these seven rules will help you prioritize what matters most, radically transform your mindset from an employee to an owner, create a daily routine to end self-doubt and negativity and break the shackles of conformity to design a life of your calling. These rules will set you free, not just financially, but also help to reveal your best self.

My Thoughts:

The Freedom Manifesto is insightful and gripping in a way that I did not expect. I generally do not read non-fiction and especially books of self-help or self-improvement (not yet anyway!). However, this book is indeed a stepping stone for me, inspiring me to consider reading more books out of my comfort zone ( usually fiction) and to explore new avenues and genres.

The book draws on the author’s personal experiences as the basis for explaining several simple steps to transform your life. Karan doesn’t just talk to us about his successes but highlights his failures and the lessons he learnt from them. He is open, accepting of his decisions (both the ones that worked and those that did not), precise and clear in his thinking and critical of himself in a way that draws the reader in, igniting sparks of interest in following his journey. Through this journey, we also read about steps that we can follow to help ourselves, questions to ask to help introspect and suggestions on what to do after we have thought of the answers. I found the style of writing and presentation to be quite unique and this is what captured my attention. The book and writing are personal but written in a way that anyone can understand or relate to and this is something I quite enjoyed.

In conclusion, I truly enjoyed reading this book even though some of the formulas went over my head. This is something I would have to truly look into at some point. In general, I realized that a lot of the questions that Karan raises or suggests that we ask ourselves are ones which I have thought of but never focused on specifically. The point which sticks with me is what to do with the answers once have them and how to prioritize things which are important to us. All this makes this book worth reading!

PING: THE RESCUE OF EDEN by Stuart Avery Gold

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PING: THE RESCE OF EDEN :

An eco-parable about climate change and an inner responsibility to the outside world

In the new book, Ping the frog is troubled by disturbing indications of growing imbalances in Eden Pond that compel him to embark on a crucial journey to help guide a stricken world back to the path of harmony. PING: THE RESCUE OF EDEN is an enchanting cautionary parable for this time and all time. The PING series has been translated in more than 20 languages and inspires audiences to integrate practices and principles to overcome the obstacles that hold them back, and shows the limitless possibilities that can result from taking a leap of faith.

Learn more about the books at http://www.pingthebook.com

My Thoughts:

The first thing that enters my mind now that I have read this book is IT IS AWESOME. It is about Ping, the frog who sets out in the hope of saving his pond and finding out what is affecting with the environment and nature. Through Pings journey, we are given an insight into his thinking and the conversations he has with some of the other animals he encounters on the way. We are also given an insight into what they think of humans and how our actions are affecting the environment.

The author has subtly conveyed to us the consequences of our actions and shows us that there is more to life than just that person without sounding like he is preaching. The simpleness of the story and the way it is written will make us pause and think, reevaluating our thoughts and ideas. This book will encourage the reader to do something about their life instead of just being laid back about everything. It will inspire the reader to face challenges in their lives with their head held high.

A book worth reading, Pings adventures are inspiring and though provoking in a subtle, non-preaching manner. This should be read by everyone at-least once to stop and evaluate their beliefs and push themselves in a direction of self growth and discovery.