I watched the movie Bookclub a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. The movie follows the lives of four women who have been meeting for forty years as book club members, bonding over the books they read and becoming friends. When they read Fifty Shades of Grey, they begin to view their lives from different perspectives. Well, this is not a review of the movie but about my foray into the world of book clubs. A friend recently started a book club but has slightly tweaked its format. I was quite reluctant to join at first because I don’t consider myself a serious reader, and I'm trying to read more. I declined the invitation but, on second thought decided to dive in, and I wasn’t disappointed. The tweaked version of the book club saw us not reading and discussing a single chosen book but instead following a topic or theme. This time, each member told a tale from Aesop’s Fables together with the moral, after which a short discussion on the moral ens...

    Hello, Mr. Bond, Happy birthday and still happy writing. Congratulations on your new publications for early learners—ABC  and 123, and Laugh With Me.  It’s no mean feat that you, sir, continue to regale us with tales that are so endearing in their simplicity and relatability. My first read was the Book of Humour, which left me in good spirits and grinning at the antics of Uncle Ken, your lovable grandparents, and others. After that, I acquired quite a collection of your books. … Sir, you use no bombastic words, nor do you script elaborate dramas, yet we remain hooked from the very first line. You write a haiku, a limerick, and a spooky tale with equal ease! How wonderful is that? I remember asking for your books at a local book fair and being told they were all sold out. You bring us the magic of the mountains, trees, rivers, animals, and even a tiny moth or snail in words that linger long after we’ve finished reading. You’ve written a verse...

  Reading: A great tool for self-improvement   World Book Day will be celebrated on April 23rd, and being the bookworm that I am, I thought I would honour the day by writing a post on the enjoyable activity of reading. My parents introduced me to books very early in life, and there was no turning back.   Since then, it has been one long, glorious journey of buying, borrowing, and reading books. This is one never-ending journey that I will never tire of.  I'm grateful to Dad for the rides he gave me to the local library and the books he bought for me. On a lighter note, he never did approve of Mills & Boon.  In our ever-changing world, where growth is mandatory, reading remains a timeless tool for self-improvement. A good book will inspire, motivate, inform, educate, and shift perspectives, making it one of the most effective ways to self-improvement.   Why Reading Matters:   ·        Increases know...

As a  child, I didn't' really have any dreams and aspirations about what I wanted to be when I grew up. Childhood consisted mainly making full vasool of playtime and devoting some time to lessons and text books after being hollered at by the parents. I was hopeless at both Science and Mathematics. There was no way that I would grow up to be a doctor or engineer or have a career related to any of those subjects. My parents were both voracious readers and instilled in me a love for books.    A Basketful of Surprises by Enid Blyton gifted to me by dad, is a book I can clearly remember reading. There was no turning back as I turned into a voracious reader, reading various genres  from detective to romance, skipping horror and science fiction.   Somewhere along the way, in my late teens I began dreaming of becoming a journalist. Somehow I saw it as a very glamorous and exciting job. The long hours that I would have to...

I loved you  Ever since I was a child My soulmate through the years You've helped me through my fears.  Knowledge I  receive Much more than I can ever perceive You take me to distant lands To farms and brooks And shimmering sands. Dusty tome or brand new  On train and plane At home Or when it rains You are my companion  Again and again. .