It’s the start of another week and I am currently reading The Courage To Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga, a book that is the blend of Greek Philosophy, Alderian Psychology and common sense (so far).

What are you reading?

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How To Travel Full Time by Colin Wright
Published by Asymmetrical Press on 06/11/2011
Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Business
Pages: 125
Format: eBook
Buy on Amazon

Travel is unexpected and uncomfortable and often the opposite of what you were expecting. #BookQuote #BookBlogging
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Published 7 years ago, How To Travel Full Time by Colin Wright still relevant today. It is not a complete how-to book but rather more of Colin’s philosophy on what makes him want to travel the world and earn to cover costs of travel or save money. Colin started traveling full time in 2009. Along with that, he was blogging and has already published a few ebooks but the main motivation that was that on his blog, he would ask his readers to vote for the country which they’d like him to move to. Sounds crazy, right?

The type of person who excels at long-term travel embraces these situations and sees them as opportunities. They’ll do what needs to be done, whether that means pulling new plans from thin air, hopping on another train, or finding…
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How To Travel Full Time is a pragmatic approach to kickstart your own journey. It is straightforward. The book clearly targets a mindset. Colin Wright has clearly stated in the book that traveling full time is not about reaching out to tourist places but is about getting lost intentionally. Learn about the new cultures, language or food, and provide a value wherever you go. The author of this book talks about common sense that I see few full-time travelers over YouTube and on their blogs still do not get, even in 2018 when there is so much content, advice, suggestion and resources to become one while you work your ass off.

To a person lacking dreams and causes and imagination, money is just another expensive bottle of liquor or VIP seat at the club; borrowed dreams from generations of advertising. #BookQuote #BookBlogging
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Colin is one of the first few digital nomads I would say. He has written a lot of books and is an advocate for minimalism. He offers how most people think traveling will turn in to a journey of nirvana and they will find a new self. If that is the mindset you want to set off, you are completely wrong. You will face problems with no conscious confidence and boldness. It is going to be uncomfortable. That is why I said, the main ideology behind this book is to observe and understand a mindset that you can merge along with your current one.

The idea most people have about travel is wrong. It’s not going to solve your problems. You aren’t going to go on vacation and become a person reborn. #BookQuote #BookBlogging
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Interesting read, the context is still relevant. It is inspiring because it makes me want pursue a similar journey. The writing style is simple but there are some glimpses that Colin Wright can be a good storyteller. Even though the book is around 125 pages, there is a lot to think about.

4 out of 5

Visit Colin on his website. If you’d like to read the book, you can buy it for $1 from here.

My notes and highlights from Colin’s Book are available to Read on Goodreads.

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The Last Attractor of Chaos by Abhinav Singh
Published by Notionpress on 04/2018
Genres: Fiction, Mystery
Pages: 332
Format: eBook
Goodreads

If you get a chance to read a Spy novel written by an Indian writer you to read it. It is a like once in a blue moon material that gets out in the market.

The plot starts with a married couple. Ashwin Rathore is killed in a well-planned murder that gets wrong. The murderer was after his wife Shruti Rathore who is a retired R&AW agent. This is just a start of this thrilling storyline as the wife gets arrested by the Intelligence Bureau on the charge of stealing a strategic weapon and killing her associate. Unaware of her wife’s past, and after his death Ashwin meets a strange consciousness appearing in the form of a guide in his afterlife. Both of them try to save Shruti’s life as Ashwin himself tries to fight a dilemma of protecting his wife or choosing what is right to do.

The plot covers an interesting theme and there is a lot from a philosophical point of view on the death and afterlife. I was surprised by this as I expected it to be a traditional spy novel. However, the inclusion of this law of nature as the primary theme of the novel did make things interesting. With glimpses of mysterious nature of characters, this novel has a good pace, and the setting of the novel which includes an Intelligence Agency of India is something altogether new out there for the reader to pick this up.

The characterization is bold but more significant within the plot. They are like a molecule in the shell of the storyline and without it, they won’t exist. The use of sob plot was not much of an intriguing point from me but I think it copes well in the end. The writing style is crisp and lucid. It does help to turn the page at a faster rate. There are many twists and turns that made not to put down this book. A glimpse of realism is there which is what Indian readers are after these days.

Overall, this book is recommended for the sole reason that there aren’t many Spy novels written in India or by Indian writers. Another point that I can add is that this book is highly entertaining due to the way it reaches the climax of the story.

5 out of 5!

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Sherlock's World: Fan Fiction and the Reimagining of BBC's Sherlock by Ann K. McClellan
Published by University Of Iowa Press on 15/11/2018
Genres: Nonfiction
Pages: 286
Format: ARC, eBook
Goodreads

Sherlock series by BBC set in contemporary London has one of the most mixed bag reviews I have ever heard from fans and non-fans of the original Sherlock Holmes books. Sherlock Holmes is still popular after making his first appearance in the print 130 years ago. It is one of the most fan-fictionalized characters. No other character from the literary world has been written about than Sherlock Holmes. So what makes Sherlock’s fanfic so popular?

Ann McClellan tries to answer this question in her latest book which consists of a series of essays. She tries to answer, even after 130 years of Sherlock Holmes, why are people so attracted to it? Sherlock’s fanfic does not end at the BBC’s remaking that stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr. John Watson and created by one Mark Gattis and Steven Moffat. After reading this book, it does seem that Sherlock as a series is a mere portion of the fandom. The more aggressive and a larger portion is available on the internet where the world of Sherlock is constantly rebuilt. It explores different characters, genres, settings, fictitious realities.

I was shocked to see people often think of Sherlock as a sex symbol and there is a huge collection of fanfic all over the internet that likes to talk about it. Heck, many fans even have re-imagined their wildest dreams of performing a relationship between Dr. Watson and the detective himself. Most essays are written in third person narrative. I do feel this book could have been a bit short. It is a perfect read for someone looking to write or explore Sherlockians world deeply but if you just want to be in the awe of the literary character, this book is not for you.

3.5 out of 5!

What is your fantasy about Sherlock Holmes? Or do you like the classic/original cast and do not want to fiddle with it since it is mind-boggling…?

The post BOOK REVIEW: Sherlock’s World: Fan Fiction and the Reimagining of BBC’s Sherlock by Ann K. McClellan appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.

Zen and the Art of Admin Tasks by Nic De Castro, Nathan Pettijohn
Published by Lioncrest Publishing on 27/06/2018
Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Entrepreneurship
Pages: 66
Format: eBook
Goodreads

In the world of hustle, we often forget how much time we lose instead of spending it in a useful manner. Time management is an actionable task if you run a startup or a micro business. If you are not managing your time wilfully, you are not only losing time but your energy too in performing mundane tasks. Think about the most mundane task you go through every day that unknowingly consumes a lot of time?

I am a remote worker and I spend a lot of my time reading and answering emails (not from my workmates). Emails in a modern world, consume a lot of our time. I often find myself reading emails on my laptop and if away from that, my mobile phone happily delivers them to me. Zen and the Art of Admin Tasks is a short book, mere 65 pages, about how to outsource these type of administrative tasks. It offers a system that if followed and maintained can add a lot of value to your time and save that energy. It is a tactical guide that might not interest everyone, but let me convince you to read it at least once.

Along with defining the situation by giving a real-life example of the major difference by managing these tasks on your own versus hire someone to manage your inbox, this book offers a variety of tools, mostly free. Written by Nic De Castro and Nathan Pettijohn, both of them are startup owners. They describe by hiring a virtual assistant how they were able to add more value to their personal and work life.

This book even the so short is about implementing the strategies defined in it ASAP. That is the idea both the co-authors want to convey. The writing style is simple and to the point. The tools and systems defined are pragmatic. Two of those tools, I have started using them. However, I do feel this book could have been a longer and tackled other issues for a modern-day hustler. I would have loved to hear about how Nic’s and Nathan’s manage and tackle different situations in their startup world. That zen could have been more descriptive.

3.5 out of 5!

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Inkredia: The Luwan of Brida by Sarang Mahajan
Series: Inkredia #1
Published by Gloryburg on 28/05/2017
Genres: Fiction, Fantasy
Pages: 436
Format: eBook
Goodreads

Inkredia: Luwan of Brida is the first book in the series of four. Written by Sarang Mahajan, it is a fast-paced fantasy novel. Written in the fashion of tell-tale fantasy, this book takes the reader on an adventure that has knights, magic, mystery, and questions that need to be answered.

From start to finish, the plot revolves around the two characters of both siblings. One is a seventeen-year-old Luwan and his sister Meg who live in the mountain village of Brida. Both of them are orphans since there is a little reference for their father or any other relative. The book cover might not seem an attractive one but believe as I started reading it, I could not keep my hands off it. The storyline unfolds at an interesting point. Luwan is facing a penalty, probably one that includes his death as he fails to pay the tax for the first time. He makes a daring choice to flee from the village along with his sister in a world that is full of danger.

His embarkment of the journey nearly gets them killed. Evil assassins called Ghork Riders are chasing him. He possesses a mysterious book given by his mother that is magical in nature. In the form of riddles, the magical book guides Luwan outside of his village where he comes across a drunkard name Kiliarn who is a merchant by profession. Now, I can tell you all about Kiliarn in this review since I found him the most likable character in this book, but I do not want to spoil anything for you. All I can say this, Kiliarn agrees to take responsibility to travel with them to The City in exchange for some silver coins. It is a thrilling adventure until the destination arrives.

The plot is well constructed and organized. There is so much suspense that surrounds these characters which makes it hard to keep an eye off them. A reader who is fond of traditional fantasies will be indulged in this book. Another thing I want to mention that both the storyline and Sarang’s creation of the world of its own seems closer to Tolkien’s Lord of The Rings rather than modern fantasy writers.

There are not many characters revealed in this edition. The character of Kiliarn is my favorite so far. I am sure, I can expect more interesting characters like this in the rest of this series. The author has taken the time to introduce us to the main cast as well as let few others develop along the adventure. Written in third person narrative style, the overall writing style is just amazing and professional.

This book, even though is a start in the series of Inkredia, seems to have a strong foundation established. I managed to finish this book in two sittings. I will definitely be looking out for the next part. Fantasy lovers and fans of Lord of the Rings check this out. I am sure you won’t be disappointed. Highly recommended!

5 out of 5!

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Pennies to Power by Tom Graneau
on 30/04/18
Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Entrepreneurship
Pages: 340
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: Netgalley
Goodreads

Netgalley is a good platform to browse for upcoming books. If you get lucky, you will get the chance to read an ARC of a book you wish too. I also think it is one of the biggest platforms to search for indie authors. Recently, I got my hands on Tom Graneau’s new book, Pennies to Power: How to use your 20’s to Gain Financial Independence for Life.

For those of you who do not know, Tom is an advocate for working independently. At least to generate an income for your own efforts instead of working for others and fulfilling their dreams. In this book, he tries to provide pragmatic patterns and suggestions. He intakes 7 cultural barriers that are adhering most people from earn money outside their monthly paycheck life. There is no harm in that, but doing what you love and earning for yourself instead of paying to the banks to clear of your loans, is the motivation behind this book. Pennies to power gives the example of the American financial situation. It is full of researched anecdotes and diagrams. The author shows how temptations lead debt that looms for the rest of their lives. This forces one to think and live in a paycheck to paycheck lifestyle.

Pennies to Power tries to educate young ones about what financial situations they might lead into if there are no proper steps taken early in their lives. Tom believes that an individual’s 20s are the best time to start. Even though this book is targeted at people of a certain age group. The author claims that it can be useful for someone in their late twenties, I feel otherwise. I think the right audience for this book is for the age group of 18 to 22. They might feel more empowered and find it useful.

The writing style is not an attractive one. Even though it is a work of non-fiction, I felt it could have been better. The language is easy to understand and the book justifies the theme it revolves around: money.

3 out of 5!

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Do you write book reviews? Do you post them on Goodreads.com apart from your own book blog or Amazon account? If yes, then you must read this article.

Goodreads.com is such an amazing IMDB + Social Media for books. I have been using it for 7 years now. The interface might not be the most dynamic and user-friendly but I think it is a great platform to meet with like-minded people who read books. Finding new books through reviews and connecting with authors are other perks of using it.

Recently, a platform for authors and readers alike called BookSirens.com launched an amazing tool that analyzes your reviewer’s profile on Goodreads.com. They did mine, and the results are more interesting than I expected.

A bit about Booksirens.com?

There are many platforms out there I have seen for Book bloggers where they can get free ebooks. In return, they have to provide a review of the book assigned or interested. Many such platforms run an emailing list that you can subscribe too and then your inbox will get full of it book review requests. Then there are platforms such as Netgalley.com where you have to browse for books and send in a request you like to read.

BookSirens tries to follow the model of the first one however they would not spam your inbox. Its working is different and supports many bestseller and indie authors at the same time. They have a directory of book bloggers around the world in different genres and interests. Their listing of Book bloggers is public and free to use for the authors and do have paid option for connecting with hundreds of readers.

Analyzing a Book Reviewer’s Profile: The Right Way

BookSirens is not a typical marketing tool where authors pay to lure reviewers. It is similar to Netgalley in terms of getting only the interested readers for a specific book. They recently launched a tool where it reviews each and every data from your Goodreads.com profile and displays it in a more statistical and detailed manner. The type of data they are using already made public by Goodreads so do not worry about being snooped.

They invited me to try their tool and first I thought Goodreads already provide stats for every book read in my profile. What are they trying to do differently? What is their goal? With these questions, I politely gave in. The result was amazing.

It analyses these results on the basis of what you have read so far. I am Top 20% in Reading Diversity. 

Not only that, it checks your reading taste and what you prefer most to read. This is classified in two sections, Primary and Secondary.

Looks like I should read more Fiction! With that, it tells you about the topics, themes and characters you include in your reviews.

But one of the most amazing analysis for me in the overall was this. It is called the Early Adopter vs. Late Adopter. I have never seen anything like this before on Goodreads and find it useful to concentrate on which books in my TBR currently.

Lastly, along with others that I have missed out in this post, there are other useful patterns.

I think this is a very helpful analysis of one’s profile. If you take your reviewer’s profile or book blogging seriously than I do think you should join BookSirens.com.

You can check my complete profile here!  

DISCLAIMER:

In no way I am getting compensate for writing this article. I am not trying to promote anything related to BookSirens.com or Goodreads.com. All I am trying to do is spread out the word for fellow book bloggers who can use this tool for their own benefits. All the stats shared here are based on Goodreads.com and their public API.

Special Thanks to Mr. Dhruv Garg for telling me about BookSirens.com.

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Super Me by Jessica Dazzo
on 20/07/2018
Genres: Fiction, YA, Supernatural/Paranormal
Pages: 327
Format: ARC, eBook
Goodreads

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The Book of M by Peng Shepherd
Published by William Morrow on 05/06/2018
Genres: Fiction, Dystopia
Pages: 492
Format: eBook
Goodreads

When I came across Peng Shepherd’s debut work, I was foremost attracted by the mysteriousness of the cover of her book. There is no drug that can give you that much high than a book’s beautifully designed cover on which you set your skeptical eyes.

Imagine if you lose your shadow today, somehow. How will you respond to that? What will be your reaction? Will you overreact? Will you have thought that you have lost something close to you? The storyline of this dystopian novel toys with the idea of human beings losing shadow due to some vibe. This doesn’t sound creepy and weird at all, does it?

After losing the shadow, an individual’s memory starts to fade. For some, it takes weeks to be completely reborn in their mind for some, it happens overnight. I found this concept fascinating and dark enough if you think about it. The storyline revolves around multiple characters majorly Max and Ory, a wife and her husband who are trying to escape the Forgetting disease. Yes, they have the name for it. Heights of creativity! This Forgetting disease is spreading out like the plague and wiping the memory of all those who are affected. Until one day, Max’s shadow disappears.

Knowing that she will forget everything, Max runs away Ory refuses to give up on her and tries everything in his possession to find her before her memory completely disappears. The adventure starts and a series of events unfold. The history of the disease Forgetting is told to us, about its origin, whom it affected first and how it is related to elephants. Ory’s attempt to find Max is another adventure in itself that runs parallel to the background of the theme.

There’s a difference between when the mind forgets and the heart does. #BookReview The Book of M (Peng Shepherd
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Written from multiple POVs the book shows feelings and emotions of a being so intense that it gave me goosebumps in between. The overall theme of the book makes it interesting to dwell but the characterization is the core of this book. Everything revolves around them. The start, the ending and even the MAJOR climax in the book.

The writing style is mesmerizing and surreal. The genre of dystopia is well displayed here. The organization of the novel along with ever-changing narration is perfect. Various perceptions make it more thrilling and chilling at the same time. There are twists and turns that caught me off the guard and I am sure, on reading it, you will experience them too.

I read this book in two sittings in one day. I could not keep my hands off it. It is gripping, surreal and a delight for fantasy/urban fantasy/dystopian audience. The reason I am giving it 4 stars is that it could have been more mysterious. Sounded like Mad Max in the end.

4 out of 5!

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