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Book Review- The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis

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  For readers of my blog, you already know how much I love books that revolve around books themselves. There is a kind of magic that I feel about such books. This week’s book was a happy, almost accidental discovery through Amazon’s recommendations. I was glad for such happenstance and a fulfilling end. The book is an absolute jam. The story revolves around three main characters: Ashlyn, Hemi, and Belle. Without delving into details of the story, Ashlyn Greer, a rare book dealer and owner of the shop “An Unlikely Story”, finds two unpublished, custom-bound volumes from the 1940s written by anonymous authors named ‘Hemi’ (book titled Regretting Belle) and ‘Belle’ (writer of book titled Forever and Other Lies), each telling a different version of their tragic love story, which took place in New York City. Determined to learn the truth behind the doomed lovers’ tale, she reads on, following a trail of broken promises and seemingly unforgivable betrayals. The more Ashlyn learns about H...
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The Subtle Heartbreaks of Adult Life (My Old-soul Twinkle)

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Disclaimer: “My Old-soul Twinkle,” is my heartfelt attempt to capture the endless stream of thoughts racing through my mind. At times, these musings may seem confusing—or even a little "out there"—but I genuinely welcome your counterpoints and insights. Dive in and share your thoughts आदमी मरने के बाद कुछ नहीं सोचता। आदमी मरने के बाद कुछ नहीं बोलता। कुछ नहीं सोचने और कुछ नहीं बोलने पर आदमी मर जाता है। And this muteness is eating away at the soul of humankind!! Let me explain.  People are speaking. On video, through blog posts, through multiple channels, and non-stop chattering is now a buzz in human ears. This constant buzzing has numbed the mind, and we have stopped speaking the “things” “required” to be spoken. “Thing” means feelings, emotions, honesty, truth, pain, fear, injustice, and the hard realities. The language of not-so-blunt but yet-not-sugarcoated.  In the name of being mature, social, practical, and politically correct, my inner child feels severe heartbreak ev...
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Overwhelmed Willpower (My Old-soul Twinkle)

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  Disclaimer: This new series, “My Old-soul Twinkle,” is my heartfelt attempt to capture the endless stream of thoughts racing through my mind. At times, these musings may seem confusing—or even a little "out there"—but I genuinely welcome your counterpoints and insights. Dive in and share your thoughts! Once upon a time, I was deeply drawn to motivation. I had great respect for the word “motivation” because it was my go-to source of encouragement when I needed to push myself to face life’s challenges. My little mind and not-so-brave heart came together to write the post titled  From Will to Strong Willpower- A Path to Develop and Sustain Willpower   It so happened that once that post on willpower was published, I received several messages through writing and by phone, encouraging me to explore the topic further. One of the comments on the blog was, “ Why do we relate willpower with performance? Can we still perform if our willpower is low? ” I have always agreed with the...
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Book Review- The Curious Secrets of Yesterday by Namrata Patel

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  The Curious Secrets of Yesterday by Namrata Patel turned out to be such a pleasant surprise. I didn’t expect to get pulled into the story so quickly, but Tulsi Gupta’s journey kept me engaged from the very beginning. Tulsi is restless, reluctant, and quietly searching for a life that feels truly her own. She works with her mother, Devi, and grandmother, Aruna, in their family spice store Rasa, where she is being trained to take over the business of healers someday. But beneath that expectation, she is still trying to understand who she really is and what she feels called to do. As the story unfolds, Tulsi begins to question the beliefs she grew up with and the future everyone seems to have imagined for her. That inner conflict makes her story feel honest, relatable, and deeply human. While the main thread of the story is about self-discovery, the book has so many smaller layers that are just as interesting. There is a sweet romance, a mystery around Tulsi’s father, a social media...
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Letting Go=Growing Up? (My Old-soul Twinkle)

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  Disclaimer: This series, “My Old-soul Twinkle,” is my heartfelt attempt to capture the endless stream of thoughts racing through my mind. At times, these musings may seem confusing—or even a little "out there"—but I genuinely welcome your counterpoints and insights. Dive in and share your thoughts! “Jaane kya sochta hai mera dil, tujhko kya chahiye zindagi…” As I listened to this song on my recent voyage from Alibaug to Mumbai, something stirred quietly within me. Maybe it was the sea, maybe the wind, or maybe that familiar restlessness of a travel-troubled soul. For a moment, I did not want to go home. I wanted to keep moving, to disappear into nature, to become a small part of something vast, silent, and honest. There was a time in school when I used to write poetry, thanks to an English teacher who noticed that little spark in me. Then came my Hindi teacher, who introduced me to deeper, more philosophical thoughts. My little mind understood only what it could, but it car...
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Book Review (Hindi)- October Junction by Divya Prakash Dubey

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  सब ठाठ पड़ा रह जावेगा जब लाद चलेगा बंजारा। This book caught my attention because of its title, October Junction, and after finishing it, I felt the title truly justified its meaning. The book beautifully echoes the idea that every person carries a story within them. But in today’s noisy world, many of those stories remain untold — not because people have nothing to say, but because so many only ask, a few hear, and even fewer truly listen. The novel begins with the meeting of Chitra Pathak and Sudeep Yadav on October 10, 2010, in Banaras. Theirs is an unconventional love story that unfolds over the course of ten years.  Chitra Pathak is a woman who dreams of becoming a renowned writer, while Sudeep Yadav is a wealthy entrepreneur who hopes to retire by the age of 35. On paper, their worlds could not be more different. Yet, when they sit across from each other, those differences begin to dissolve. What fascinated me most while reading this novel was not merely the events thems...
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The Dance of Life (Letter to my kids)

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Disclaimer- This post is part of trait-series-for-kids which I began to search and write for my kids in 2019. With this series of blog posts containing knowledge-slash-experience, I pray from the almighty that our kids have a simple but magical life. The contents of the series are the search, several readings, experiences, and self-reflection. Each trait post will end in a mantra to follow. Dear Sons, I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about the world you are growing up in, and I wanted to put a few thoughts down on paper—not as a lecture, but as an honest message from my heart to yours. We live in a loud, fast, and glittering world. With everything moving so quickly and AI changing how we live, it is quite easy to get lost in the noise. There is a new trend : Everywhere you look, people are told to " put themselves first. " While loving yourself is important, somewhere along the way, a lot of people started confusing self-worth with stepping on others. I see people ...
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