I am happy to announce that Confessions of a Readaholic has a Facebook Page.

I haven’t personally used Facebook for two years (due some reasons) but it is high time for this blog to have a Facebook page such that you can now read posts/see blog’s activity on Facebook too.

Hit the like button if you read this blog and you are on Facebook. You can also search this blog’s page on Facebook by @readaholicconfessions.

Happy Reading!

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As you might have failed to noticed, I took a short break from the blog. It started when things were going a little over my head at the end of month before the previous month and I thought, I am done, with everything. I did not take a vacation to some destination. I mostly stayed home. I did some things, which I generally don’t do and won’t be planning to do anytime in future.

This morning I woke up and decided, I am ready. Thus, I am writing this.

During this span of almost 46 days, I wasn’t roaming on a beach with a paperback in my hand. I was spending the time with myself without a paperback, focusing on some aspects of life, going through some actions I never planned to perform, thus depleting myself of “time to wonder” to write about.

During this short span, one important thing I realised is that taking care of yourself is the most important thing you can do for yourself. Shut those voices of hypocritical altruists who at some point, might have told you that it is selfish to think about yourself. Slap them on their faces to make them shut, in your mind palace. Focusing on and taking care of ourselves needs to be an ever-present part of our every day life.

I also rearranged my books, which I seldom do, got a job offer that I rejected, broke my phone and abandoned my Kindle for sake of reading printed words.

Apart from that, for the love reading, I managed to read some books out of which one is full of researches on the fuss about WillPower: The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal and the other one is a very thought provoking  book: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.

It took me a month to read Atlas Shrugged. Yes, its deep. Yes, its thought provoking and yes, it did change the way I think. (More on Atlas Shrugged, later.) After reading it, you certainly won’t be asking yourself, Who is John Galt?

The post I Took A Short Break From Everything appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.

Recently, in suggested videos on youtube, I came across Robert Greene’s TEDx Brixton talk on “transforming oneself”. Greene shares with us the transformation he underwent in his life, all that endurance and words of others as heavy as punches on one’s face and then managed to write 48 Laws of Power in 1998 that became a bestseller eventually.

In the video, Greene discusses creative process and that Dr. Anders Ericsson’s 10,000 Hours of Deliberate Practice otherwise celebrated by Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers.

Greene emphasise on power, patience, social intelligence, self-intelligence and acute realism. He is a very calm speaker or perhaps intended to be for the occasion. He urges one to delude the illusion of someone’s success that is often termed as “got lucky”. Instead of grasping these illusions, one must focus on the development of habits, accumulation of knowledge, and ability to be unaffected by the criticism. We should not ignore the these deep in nature aspects in order to change ourselves for betterment.

If we ignore those deep aspects, we will become inmates of the cycle which recurs after a very short period of time.

The answer, the key to the ability to transform ourselves is actually, insanely simple. Stop fixating on what other people are saying to doing, on the money and other outward appearance of things. Instead, look inward. Focus on the smaller, internal changes that they lay the groundwork for a larger change in fortune. It is the difference between grasping an allusion and immersing yourself in reality. And reality is the what will liberate and transform you.

Greene then discusses an individual’s fundamental uniqueness through an activity and how its charm is lost when one starts to age and is harmful for one’s own conscience as one depends on what others have to say more than what is on his mind. He tips on how to start reflecting back on the unique fundamental activity and create a framework to explore and an acquiring an increasing number of skills. Obstacles and mistakes are part and what cultivate our experiences. This helps in making our weaknesses our strengths. To gather skills with the ones we already have is a key to transform yourself. Thus,

In any event, the goal that you are after is learning and the acquisition of skills and not a fat pay check.

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This blog provides two different variants for advertising your book(s), spotlights/giveaway, exclusive cover reveals or merchandise (related to books & stuff) or advertise yourself.

First Variant: Top Corner Sidebar

• Top Corner sidebar ad 250 x 250!
• Ads in .png, or .jpg form are only accepted. Flash images are not permitted.
• Ads must all link back to a website where visitors can check out the promoted product/book/service.
• Price: Half U.S. Dollar a day.

Second Variant: Header/Banner Ad

• Now for one full day, you can have an ad on header/banner area of this blog.
• Ad will appear in the main header/banner
• Ads in .png, or .jpg form are only accepted. Flash images are not permitted.
• Price: One U.S. Dollar a day.
• Time Limit: Limited(not for more than a day)
• Two different templates available:

* If you wish to have a banner/header ad, in email do mention which HeaderStyle image you’d like.

If you are interested, then email with me essentials : amandeepmittal (at) live (dot) com

(For Sponsored Posts click here)

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There is some text but hopefully, now it won’t bore you.

For more visit: About Page

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Today, Confessions of a Readaholic underwent a revamp. It was necessary. Two tiring hours were spent on selecting the theme, the one you are currently viewing. I guess, it was worth it. There were some major changes I had to look through, changing the theme was one.

The reason I switched from 3-column view to 2-column is responsiveness of the site itself. It enhances the mobile/tablet view and I am sure some my readers had problems going through this blog on their handy devices. Myself had trouble opening this site in mobile with previous theme. Few times it lead to humiliation. But I accepted that humiliation because I could not find a theme that could satisfy the appearance of blog site and myself. Until now.

The theme I am currently using is called Twenty Sixteen. This theme has some enhancing features when comes to showcase an individual blog post. Being responsive, with two columns, the theme adapts itself to the screen of the device. You can view the demo here.

Other than that, it gives features which the previous theme lacked. Like a featured blog post if the blog post is marked as sticky post. Second thing I like, about is the PULL QUOTES, aligning the blockqoutes to left or right thus enhancing the reading experience. Third and last is the link or I should say, customising Menu Items. Now, if you see a caret on a header link, that means there links sub categorised inside it. I know, many of you are using these feature from quite a time but not many themes used to support them when I created this blog.

May is the month of sizzling hot summer and the anniversary of Confessions of a Readaholic. Exactly the fourth one. So thank you for your support.

Confessions of a Readaholic wasn’t on terms with modern websites before, but now it is. I hope you have fun here and easy navigation.

<a href=”http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12084789/?claim=mrhzefk2wya”>Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

The post Celebrating 4 Years appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.

For years, blogging has been my favourite thing to do. And yes, I am the only one who blogs in my family. Developing a system while blogging is essential to have a readership or in other words, an audience. Consistency is only achieved if one blog’s regularly. Hardest part in blogging is always the start of a new post but once started, it always give me a pleasure to complete a blog post. After all these years, I have realised, one must have their own blogging schedule, doesn’t matter how much post they publish in a week.

Thus, fellow bloggers I have a new blogging schedule and will try to keep a bit of inspirational hit. Look out for the following days:

Tuesdays, Thursdays, & Saturdays!

The post Things Are Changing appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.

Email me: amandeepmittal@live.com

Prices: Half a dollar a day!

Consider:

• Top Corner sidebar ad 250 x 250!
• Ads in .png, or .jpg form are only accepted. Flash images are not permitted.
• Ads must all link back to a website where visitors can check out the promoted product/book/service.

Page Link: https://amandeepmittal.wordpress.com/advertise/

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Living with anxiety is a daily battle and sometimes I wonder if it’d ever go away. It gets worse at night when one is not allowed to sleep even though one tries to count his each breath and sometimes the number is astonishing to that someone. Once it crossed 300 breathes and after that I lost the count. Well, I have read some books and reviewed a few here which do talk anxiety especially, Matt Haig’s Reasons to Stay Alive, and if you consider Syliva Plath’s Bell Jar, a book wholesomely written by an anxious person.

It causes me to spend more time with it, and less time with what I like to do. I end up wasting a lot of time due to it, less reading, less writing, not enough focus while working but someday I will have my revenge, I hope. Anxiety causes me to sleep sometimes too, but after the sleep, tiredness is often the result. Also, too much of caffeine never helps but increases the level of anxieties inside me. There are many ways of coping with this little bastard, and one way is to read a comforting book.

So I ask you guys, which books have helped yourself managing the anxiety. Share with me.

The post Which Books Have Helped You Manage Your Anxiety? appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.

And who has seen the moon

Will see the dawn too, soon

But what I cannot promise

Is the sun at noon.

It is the Isle of mystery

Where you have been dumped

And duped by the whole humanity

Relentlessly forgotten

Left all by yourself.

In other sense you are free

Fromm all those norms and taboo

From every injustice and corruption

That you were forcefully made part of

Without a standing ovation.

You can take of the self

There is water and air and peace

Nothing else that you need

While you build the ship for you will need it

Build the ship and name it death.

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