A Mindful Guide to Online Living

André Klein, an online friend of mine, has recently written a book called ‘A Mindful Guide to Online Living’. I was really interested in reading it, so I did. I definitely took great pleasure reading this impressive e-book. From it’s title, you may know that the book talks about how to start your own successful online business simply by ‘helping others’. I found A Mindful Guide to Online Living a simple book, yet I was amazed at how effective and packed with knowledge the book was. André Klein has successfully introduced the idea of decluttering our lives to obtain ultimate freedom, along with happiness and relaxation. Besides, this book explains with motivation everything you need in order to convert from an offline to online life. I really loved the way André has written his book. He is certainly a quality writer. I absolutely recommend this book to anyone desiring to live a peaceful, productive life. If you’re interested in buying it, you can find it here.

Is ‘The Spiderwick Chronicles’ Meant to Be Only for Children?

I really enjoy reading children’s books (Harry Potter, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, etc…), and that was the reason why did I decide to read The Spiderwick Chronicles. After a year of procrastination, I finally bought the series from a bookstore in Sydney. I was really interested at the beginning to read them, knowing that the series has been produced into a film in 2008. I spent about one week reading them. Although they were too short, I didn’t have enough time to sit and read.

I’d say the books are meant to children to children between 9-12 years, and that is true, for the section from where I brought the series was specialized for children of that age. You know, I was somehow bashful when I asked for the books, but it was okay when I said that the books were for my younger brother. To be honest, I did enjoy them, but not that much. Yes, they were full action and new events popping up every now and then, but they were too uncomplicated. I still don’t know why did the authors Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black separate the plot into books. In my opinion, each book of the series should be a made a single chapter, and all of the four books should be joined into one book made up of four chapters.

The environment, including the creatures the authors created, is interesting, and I won’t lie. I loved the idea of goblins, elves, and ogres, and would definitely love to see (and maybe read) Aurthur Spiderwick’s Guide to the Fantastical World Around You. However, I think the authors should’ve made the books a bit longer, adding more details and making the characters more realistic. Although the authors greatly depended on the illustrations to convey their description of events, that didn’t mean they shouldn’t have included the details in the story. Children who love fantasy and fiction would probably like the books, but old readers would probably not. I don’t say don’t read the books, but don’t expect a plot similar to that of Harry Potter (I mean in terms of complication and the way the story is written).

Note: Thanks to my friend Emily, I’ve now changed the blog’s header picture. Isn’t it lovely?

I’m Back!

I know it has been long since I last updated this blog, and the reason for that is because I was in a holiday. One month and a half ago I travelled to Australia as a holiday and I arrived only before yesterday. So from now on, I’ll be writing posts regularly. Oh and during my stay in Australia, I bought several interesting books to read. I’ll be reading them soon and hopefully reviewing  them.

So while I was there, I started thinking about things I can do to improve the blog, and the first thing that popped up in my mind was the blog’s url. I mean, wouldn’t it look much more professional if the ‘.wordpress’ thing wasn’t there? So I came up with the idea of buying a domain for the blog in order to remove the ‘.wordpress’ extension. A problem occurred. My blog’s name has already been taken. So yes, I’m now I’m obliged to change the name of the blog for the sake of buying a domain. I know it is a sad news. I was really annoyed. So soon I’ll be choosing a new name for the blog. And don’t worry for I’ll inform you. Until then, I’ll be writing some new posts, refreshing the blog!

Online-Literature

Yesterday I stumbled upon an awesome website called Online-Literature. And I guess it is the ideal website for we literature lovers as it offers a huge variety of short stories, poems, and novels. What I really loved was that this website contained the works of some of the most notable authors in the world. To name few: Edgar Allan Poe, Plato, Jane Austen, William Wordsworth, and more! Don’t worry, you will find the list of all authors directly in the homepage.

What caught my attention was the simplicity of the website. By simply clicking on a particular author’s name, you will find the works of that author, along with an interesting biography of him/her. The website features 261 authors, 2,949 books, and about 4,000 poems and short stories! I believe it will really aid those people who don’t have a nearby bookstore or library to buy books from. I’m absolutely sure you’ll find hundreds of interesting novels and poems in that enormous e-library!

An interesting feature I found on the website was the ability to search for quotes. You’ll find more than 8,000 passages, proverbs, and phrases taken from both ancient and modern literature. Online-Literature also contains the Bible which you can also read from there. An active and lively forum allows you to ask questions and discuss books you have read. Various contests are held there too. Last but not least, this website offers a CD that contains a total of 268 titles in pdf form.

I hope it wasn’t a boring post, but I thought it is important to share such a website in the blog for it is for sure going to help us later. We don’t know when!

Reading Inspires Children

I just came across this video on youtube and thought it is worth having it as a post. Actually I tried to put the embed link into a text widget on the sidebar, but that didn’t work. So I apologize for the brief post. Anyways, this video is an Indigo advertisement promoting children literacy by showing how reading does inspire and stimulate children. I found the video sweet, cute, and adorable! Take a look:

Book Recommendations

So as you can see in my previous post Some Novels You Should Read Before You Die I recommended some books for you to read. Recently, I’ve been facing difficulties deciding which book I should read after I finish my current collection. As a result, I’m writing this post in order to let you suggest some books you would like me to read. I’ll be pleased and delighted if you put the name of the book, along with a short description of the story’s plot. But please, don’t include spoilers! I’ll be editing this post, organizing the books you recommend in a list.

Waiting for your recommendations!

Recommendation List:

• Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
• Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan
• The 39 Clues by Rick Riordan, Gordon Korman, Peter Lerangis, Jude Watson, Patrick Carman, Linda Sue Park, and Margaret Peterson Haddix
• Stardust by Neil Gaiman
• Joseph and His Brothers by Thomas Mann
• Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner
• Nostromo by Joseph Conrad
• Neuromancer by William Gibson
• Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
• His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
• Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Peter and Wendy by J.M. Barrie
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
• The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

Eragon

It was the novel that has been admired by the most, adapted into a film, and was successful enough to be written into several books. It is Eragon. Christopher Paolini started to write this novel at the age of fifteen. It took him about two years to finish it before his parents decided to self-publish it.

If you have been searching about tales and stories that talks about the adventures of dragons, then this book is totally going to grip your attention. Actually the story talks about a poor farm boy, Eragon, who finds a blue stone in the middle of a forest while he was hunting. Wondering whether he can sell it or not, he takes it back home, where it hatches, giving rise to a dragon hatchling. Eragon, along with his dragon, Saphira, starts his voyage accompanied by an old wise man who guides them. From here, their adventure begins.

As you can see, I’m fond of fantasy novels. I found this novel pretty interesting. I agree, however, with some of those who said that Christopher Paolini’s novel has got major similarities with The Lord of the Rings. Some reviewers have also said that Paolini loves to wander in his world a lot. I say it is okay. We certainly have to take into consideration that he was 15 years old when he started writing it. In my opinion, and with respect to his age, I consider it a great achievement! Besides, Christopher has also written his second book, Eldest, and his third book, Brisingr. Though I haven’t read them, I hear many readers saying that his writing style has improved. He is also now working on his 4rth book, which still I haven’t got any information about its name. Here’s an excerpt from the first book, Eragon:

Wind howled through the night, carrying a scent that would change the world. A tall Shade lifted his head and sniffed the air. He looked human except for his crimson hair and maroon eyes.

He blinked in suurprise. The message had been correct: they were here. Or was it a trap? He weighed the odds, then said icil, “Spread out; hide behind tres and bushes. Stop whoever is coming… or die.

Around his shuffled twelve Urgals with short swords and round iron shields pained with black symbols. They resembled men with bowed legs and thick, brutish arms made for crushing.

As you can see, he writes clearly and concisely. Yes, it is really an exciting novel you should try. I’ll give it 4 starts!