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

The post #BookReview: How To Travel Full Time by Colin Wright appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.

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!

The post BOOK REVIEW: The Last Attractor of Chaos by Abhinav Singh appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.

A Place Called Schugara by Joe English
on 20/03/2017
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 554
Format: eBook
Goodreads

Sometimes, when reading a book I often feel the characters it consists are the backbone. I do not know if you have encountered this feeling but I have. The storyline can be flawless but there is a lot that depends on the characters. These characters do not just fill up the pages but they tend to create their own illustration in our minds. For this kind of book, I do believe a writer needs to have a seamless ability to develop such characters and give them air to breathe in between the pages. A Place called Schugara by Joe English is one of that type of book.

The storyline is intriguing as it is based in Caribbean islands. It consists of three main characters: a factory owner from Ohio, an insurance investigator from New York and a bookseller from Chicago. Their fate is tied up together on a little island in the Caribbean. Each of them, offering a variety of background and have their own justification for reaching out on the island. One is after the materialistic missing treasure and another arrives to search for a missing person. Each of them discovers a different experience that is rightly justified by the overall novel. The plot covers all these different characters with a gap in between the timeline of their arrival. The main highlight of the plot is that each character brings on a subplot that adds to the major picture and from time it is unpredictable which is how a reader like is motivated to keep reading it.

The characterisation apart from the main cast is well organized and developed. Every character has its own role to play. The author uses dialogue formation well to switch between the different acts but also uses first-person narrative voice with Chicago bookseller. On reading it, I could say there are different styles of narration mixed to enhance the distinct voices of different characters. This is intriguing. The pace of the novel is steady and helps in moving with the plot. The book is 550 pages long so it also gives a lot of time for the main cast to develop to its fullest and at the same time for the reader to cope with them.

Apart from that, there are different themes that the author tries to address in this book. Themes such as drug wars and the scandal related to a Church clergy are the two highlights. The climax of the novel unfolds in more of a classic Russian literature style. Yes, I am referring to the likes of Dostoyevsky and Chekhov. The book is the result of a highly creative energy put in as the effort. I took my time to read it but I can say it was worth it.

5 out of 5! Recommended.

The post BOOK REVIEW: A Place Called Schugara by Joe English appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.

Mastering Fear - A Navy SEAL's Guide by Brandon Webb, John David Mann
Published by Portfolio on 07/08/2018
Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Entrepreneurship, Self Help
Pages: 256
Format: eBook
Goodreads

Best book I have read in 2018!

When I saw the cover of the book I knew I had to get my hands on it. The cover is unique and simple. A yellow background with a man representing a warrior type of a person on a horse killing a lion with a spear. Might sound mythological to some or hypothetical to others. It has a significance to the context of the book. I urge you whatever thought comes into your mind after grasping the cover image from both of your eyes, either try to remember it or write it down somewhere. You will be astonished by its significance.

Mastering Fear is a great title to start the book. It is not your typical self-help book if you read it carefully. The author of this book had experience in war zones of Afghanistan as a Navy SEAL where he learned a lot of things and developed a conscience for trusting himself in the situations where panic easily takes over a human mind. Brandon Webb, he is an accomplished author and has written many books before this one. Apart from being a Navy SEAL, he now runs a media business that is worth millions. Why am I telling you this? Because I want you to understand the motive behind this book. To master the fear, the first step is to take a decision and I want you to take decide for yourself whether this book is for you or not.

Mastering Fear is not about facing a hostile gang of men or being in a war zone. It's about the battlefield in your mind.
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Think about it. Who is that person that you most spend time with? Talk to, care about or listen to? Yes, yourself! This book talks about you. It is based on you. There are stories of people who are have mastered their own fear of drowning in the water, heights or build their own life after getting bankrupt 2 or 3 times. But all are these realities of others who have faced panic in its face when the time came for them. Brandon Webb, the co-author of this book starts it in a storytelling way about his friend who is suffering from the fear of drowning for the last 35 years of his life. The only reason he is still suffering because he wants to learn to swim and has tried everything. Contacted every medal winner or coach but always failed. This how Brandon concludes this situation:

Mastering Fear is not about becoming physically stronger, or tougher, or more macho r more aggressive, or more stoic. It is about how to identify and change the conversation in your mind.
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I consider this a universal truth after hours of dwelling in works of ancient and modern day writers. The book focus on the self’s thought process and how to change it when the situation of an excruciating adrenaline rush comes where we often fail because we forget to give it a second thought right there, in that circumstance. This is the core of the book. Switching your thought process and understanding that fear is not something you should despise and can have your own way in life. Brandon points out that fear is a signpost, a gateway to the prize or the achievement or your success. It can be that secret weapon or the missing piece of puzzle right under your nose. To do so, Brandon divides the whole process into five interesting steps that are demonstrated with real-life anecdotes.

The writing style of the book is simple and easy to grasp. The book even though only 250 pages long is time-consuming. The chapters are short and consistent. Each follows the previous one, so I would not recommend skipping one for another. Its narrative style is catchy. Once you sit down and start reading it, it is hard to move away from it.

I would also like to say here that the context of the book is solely a pragmatic POV. Some readers might do not want to read it since it is written by a Navy SEAL or some only want to read it because it is written by a Navy SEAL and will have content on war zones, et cetera. You both are going to be disappointed. This book is about overcoming your fear even if you sit in a cubicle all day. It is about how to grow as a person and achieve what you always wanted to.

A must-read book for everyone.

5 out of 5!

The post BOOK REVIEW: Mastering Fear – A Navy SEAL’s Guide by Brandon Webb and John David Mann appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.

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.

The post How to Analyze the Profile of a #BookReviewer? appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.

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

The post BOOK REVIEW Super Me by Jessica Dazzo appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.

Anon by Bhavani Iyer
Published by Fingerprint! Publishing on 31/05/2018
Genres: Fiction, Historical, Literary
Pages: 312
Format: Paperback
Goodreads

Bhavani Iyer is a screenwriter for many Hindi films and television shows, so when I received this book, I knew I would not be disappointed. Anon is her debut work published earlier this year. The storyline is based in Calcutta of 1960s-70s where Jazz clubs are still lively.

The storyline revolves around two personalities, who are different by a vast amount of surroundings between them yet, they found each other become friends. One is a son of a wealthy landowner and another is born into a fisherman’s family. One is a genius vagabond, another is an ambitious dreamer. However, both of them share a common passion. They both are aspiring writers and have their own share of struggles.

Their friendship is however not only based on the common passion they share. It is actually the different personalities, like two opposing forces attracting each other. It is their story, where one gets the chance to live and other to die.

The narrative style third person and is used very well. The charm of this book is in its characterization. Apart from the two main protagonists of our novel, the characters are lively and cope well with their own roles or the amount of time they are given to appear. The development of the two protagonists can be observed throughout the novel. The writing style is excellent and engrossing. It is because of the manner it is written that as a reader I could observe the emotions that change with time inside a human mind. Crushing memories from past, nostalgic ones from the childhood, this book is full of them.

4 out of 5!

The post BOOK REVIEW: Anon by Bhavani Iyer appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.

Keeping Up with Kaneda by Gaurav Kumar
Published by Sristhi on 01/11/2017
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary
Pages: 136
Format: Paperback
Goodreads

Keeping up with Kaneda is Gaurav Sharma’s debut in the world of fiction. It is a short novella, the published work being only 130 pages long.

The plot is about the author’s experience in Canada where he went as a student. Living in a different country that is not your native land can be an amazing experience but it does come with some hardships. These hardships are not speaking the native language, finding work, expenses and money, food, etc. To overcome these hardships, the narrator of the story picks on a few  part-time jobs in the process of residing there. Thus, the story tries to explore a deeper meaning in all these, a theme that few writers try to do in Indian literature.

The theme of the book comes with occasional humor. It is written in first person narrative style and uses a simple, curt language. I did not like the occasional “Hinglish”, not why it is there, but the context it has been put in. The reason I mentioned curtly is the in between the author shifts from narrating the story to a dialogue formation between two or three characters. This is rare to be seen in present-day fiction.

Speaking of characters, I think they are all well-formed. There is not much into that I can tell you without spoiling the rest of the novel. After reading it, I did realize that there are different layers to this novella, and if only it could have been written from a bit different perspective.

Recommended only for those who are looking for short fiction, novellas, or humor.

3 out of 5!

The post BOOK REVIEW: Keeping Up with Kaneda by Gaurav Kumar appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.

Sitanshu by Anita Shirodkar
Published by The Write Place on 01/06/2018
Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Mythology
Pages: 314
Format: Paperback
Goodreads

Sitanshu is the second book in the series of Guardians of Blue Lotus in continuation to the first book Aryavir. Set in ancient India, it tries to provide a perfect blend of Indian mythology and fantasy fiction. Does it succeed in that? To find the answer to the question, please continue to read the review.

The plot revolves around Sitanshu, an Ashtradhari and a friend to the protagonist of the first book, Aryavir. In their kingdom, it is considered an omen, a sign of danger when a Blue Lotus Indivara springs. Sitanshu and his friends are harbored on the border of Kalipura for a war against Chandraketu King Divyendu. With hidden secrets of its own, the Old World is in danger. It is now in the hands of Sitanshu’s army to face the consequences and save their own lives as well as their kingdom.

The storyline starts with a prologue and it continues to develop the characters from the first page in order to help the reader to get him to familiarise. In some cases, this might not work, as some fantasy authors try to introduce the main cast in parts to provide an element of surprise. That element of surprise is rare to find in this book but nonetheless, the method author of this book has adapted works well enough. The story shifts between different characters to provide a complete outlook of the happenings of the Old World. The theme of war zone used by the author also leads to a few bold female characters. This is a bigger improvement itself for the Indian literature. Overall, the storyline is well thought and constructed.

The characterization is a strong point of this book as they drive the plot further. Switching between the context of many characters is actually an advantage I find this book to move ahead and it does make things interesting in the end. Since it is fantasy, there are hardly any dragging elements and the book constitutes of a little above 300 pages. The narrative voice is in the third person and the writing style is at its peak.

If you are a fantasy lover or interested in mythology, you must grab a copy of this series.

4 out of 5!

If you want to learn more about the author Anita Shirodkar, you must check the Interview with her.

The post BOOK REVIEW: Sitanshu by Anita Shirodkar appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.

Do you want to become a better blogger? Or you struggling to even start one?

Being a blogger means more than just putting words into post. Everything matters when it comes to run a blog consistently. Things like a blog’s design, managing social media profiles, saving countless drafts and then scheduling them in manner as they fit your theme of the month or something like that. Lastly, do not forget about networking with authors and fellow bloggers.

It sounds overwhelming. It is OVERWHELMING

I am here to help. I have been writing this blog for about 5 years now and have monthly subscribers of more than 7.5k. I am currently writing for three blogs other than this and various different publications on Medium.com and I how hard it can be to find your audience. I have been managing countless social media accounts, and have gone through every phase in terms of blogging that you are going through. This is how I want to help you.

Below is a list of variety of posts that I have written over years and I continue to write that are going to help you not only kickstart in the world of blogging or your niche book blogging, but you will be a PRO in no time. You will be spending more time creating content for your own blog rather than breaking your head over things that are only worth one at a time. After reading them, you will have a workflow (probably custom) and you will utilise your time gracefully and productively.

Check out my latest post #bookblogging.
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So let’s begin…

Browse By Topic:

Book Blogging

• 5 Books you should read as a Book Blogger
• The Secret Life of a Book Blogger
• Social Media for Book Bloggers

Blogging

• How to be a Productive Blogger: Getting Things Done
• How To Hack Your Mornings So You Get Most Of Your Time
• Boost Your Blogging Confidence and Write That Post
• Things I have learned about Blogging

To read in depth of making of a book blogger and all general how-to’s you should check out my Ebook on Blogging: A Blogger’s Manifesto.

It is available on Amazon IN | Amazon US only for $ 0.99.

Stay tuned for Freebies coming for book bloggers next month  To get an update subscribe this blog in the right side bar.

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