Good Bye, Unspoken words!

Some introspection on blogging(thanks to blogathon) led me to conclude that my blog might see better days and treatment if it was a dedicated book review blog than a mix of everything. So, very soon(hopefully tomorrow,), am doing a revamp of the blog http://beinggaya3.blogspot.com/ now called the 'Unspoken words'and will henceforth be called 'Living a Thousand Lives...'

Not having the heart to trash the other non-book related posts, I have moved them to http://gaya3speaks.blogspot.com/ and this blog will be my 'Unspoken words'. Though, I don't have any idea of posting regularly here(unless I really feel an urge to say something). Good Bye, Hope you come along tomorrow to check my new design. I will be so thankful if you give me some feedback on tbe new blog :)

DIY Pillow box

Last-minute necessity is the mother of DIY. I made this pillow box for a gift card as I yet-another-time forgot to get a gift card cover. There are lots of links on the internet to make one, here is a quick link to the one I followed - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0sI5i7Ev5o. 

Micro-bharatham!

Living in a Cave -That's exactly what I feel about myself, every time I login to twitter. Oh, twitter! Why am I taking forever to adapt to you? Though I appreciate your design, I feel like am entering a forest where too many birds are chirping and I feel lost amidst all those hashtags trying desperately to catch up from where I left.

But Facebook is warm, I should say, its like entering your friend's home and relaxing with a cup of coffee listening to all their stories and telling mine. I use Pinterest too but am never bogged down by its tangled web. But twitter, sigh! I hope its a matter of time, as I have hoped many times in the past. The reason behind letting out such an alarming sigh is that I came across something so new to me, #TwitterFiction. Specifically Mahabharata in tweets. Or should I say Microbharata, as rightly mentioned elsewhere. Audacious, isn't it? This herculean task was done by Dr.Chindu Sreedharan for 1605 days through 2628 tweets. Recently, it has been published as a book by Harper collins (Look at what the description says, passing a camel through a needle's eye. Bang on!). Am overwhelmed.

Madly in Love, with ME!

Today's topic on Tamil TV talk show Neeya Naana was something I was thinking about last week. The discussion was about promoting and projecting one self(Warning: Extreme prattle ahead!). With the social media(blogs included) providing the perfect spot light, its a Me, Myself, Mine era.
Its the time for Selfies, "Me time"s and self-indulgence. You read, watch, eat, drink, feel, ponder and celebrate on social media. There is a 'Me' in the real world and there is a 'Me' in the virtual world. Slowly and silently, the idealist in everyone takes over and envelops the real 'Me' in the virtual world. The gap between the two 'Me's grows in proportion to the flaws that I want to overcome, those I wish I never had. Those who know the real 'Me' develop a distaste for the virtual 'Me' that I am not. Those who know the virtual 'Me' have trouble adapting to the real 'Me'. Projecting oneself falsely or rather idealistically happens in real world too but the problem with the virtual world is the amount of control one has in doing so. The point am trying to make is not about the pros or cons of the social media. Rather, its about the transformation that is happening within us. There is a perspective shift from earning something to deserving something. A surge in the level of consciousness about self. Letting go of the consciousness happens consciously too. And sadly, we want the world to know that as well.

Review: Where is the cake?

Where is the Cake?

T.T.Khing

I have never reviewed a baby book on this blog. But this book takes the cake.:) Where is the Cake? is a picture book with NO words and that's exactly what makes it interesting. This book follows the stolen cake of Mr.&Mrs.Dog and their chase behind the mouse thieves to get back their cake. As the chase continues, there are many other characters each with their own little story throughout the book. Like the baby bunny, mischievous monkeys and more.

While it is important to read books with rhyming words to your babies(for their language skills)  picture books with no words cannot be overlooked too(for vocabulary). They give you a blank canvas and you develop the story in your own words with possibilities for introducing new words every time you read the book. And this book only makes the possibilities endless with all those little stories. I would say that this book can be enjoyed from as young as 1 year till 3-4 years old.

Below is a snapshot of a random page from the book,

1KBK

1000 Books to read before Kindergarten -  I came across this wonderful initiative today while browsing randomly. Check their website, https://1000booksbeforekindergarten.org. If you think its too high a target, they direct you to think of it this way. Reading 1 book per night makes it 365 a year and by 3 years one would have crossed 1095. In US, most children start Kindergarten by 5 so that gives them a lot of time. They have also compiled a wonderful collection of books that can be found here. Libraries in US are spreading this initiative among their members.

Updated Bingo

Below is the updated Bingo for 2014. Another incomplete challenge, sigh! Check here to know what it is. I had to drop two books as I couldn't fit them in any of these boxes. Clearly,the year 2014 was the year of Indireads. I read 4 novellas from Indireads and already reading one now in 2015 too.