Category: Book club

A room without books is like a body without a soul. – Cicero

Bloganuary Day 21

Today’s Prompt: Who is your favorite author and why?

Now there is a question that I don’t really have an answer to. I enjoy reading. Ever since I was a kid, I had to read something every day. To this day, no day is complete without me reading something even if it is an article or two on Medium or a blog post on WordPress. I have have shelves and shelves of both fiction and non-fiction books. I don’t know if I will ever get to read all of them but I live in hope.🤭 I do have some favourites though. Let’s start with the fiction:

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  • Lee Childs – I loooove Jack Reacher! He is such a unique character. I was horrified when they made Tom Cruise play him so I didn’t bother watching him. I must say that the Amazon Prime series actor is a lot closer to the picture I had of Reacher so I enjoyed season 1 and look forward to season 2 although I still prefer to read the books.
  • Jeffery Deaver – The master of deception. He keeps me guessing
  • James Patterson – I love that his chapters are so short. It results in the books having a good pace.
  • Ken Follet – I love the stories and how he weaves his love of cathedral architecture into his stories.
  • Michael Connelly – Both the Bosch and Mickey Haller series. I have also enjoyed how the stories have been brought to life in the TV series created for both characters.
  • George R.R. Martin – I have just started reading A song of Ice and Fire series and I just love his style.
  • J.K Rowling – I love the level of detail she adds to her stories. I marvelled as I read the Harry Potter series. I recently bought “The Cuckoo is Calling” which is written under her pseudonym, Robert Galbraith. I look forward to reading this series as well.

I used to enjoy Stephen King, Sydney Sheldon and Dean Koontz when I was at school. I read Stephen King’s “On Writing” a few years ago. It’s a must for aspiring writers.

Non fiction writers that I enjoy include

  • Malcoln Gladwell – Outliers made me think long and hard about the opportunities I wanted to give my son in order for him to make well informed choices later on in his life.
  • Walter Isaacson – I have yet to finish one of his biographies. They are so long but very enjoyable to read when I can fit them in. I have started Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein.
  • Gabby Bernstein – I love her take on spirituality. She really helped me find my way to God in recent years. This is also true of Florence Scovel Shinn’s books.

Let me also not forget the poetry of Billy Chapata.

As you can see, I could go on forever about the books that I read. A lot of the non-fiction books that I have read and are still to be read are probably easier to group together by topic rather than author as I am drawn to books on spirituality, psychology, finance (Mine needs serious help!), economics and business.

I have a list of new authors that I will be keeping an eye out for based on the recommendations of my fellow bloganuary participants. Just follow the hashtag #bloganuary to find a few that might interest you.

I’m off. I’ll leave you this beautiful quote about books and reading.

“As you read a book word by word and page by page, you participate in its creation, just as a cellist playing a Bach suite participates, note by note, in the creation, the coming-to-be, the existence, of the music. And, as you read and re-read, the book of course participates in the creation of you, your thoughts and feelings, the size and temper of your soul.”

Ursula K. Le Guin

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If you wish to renew your mind, read.– Lailah Gifty Akita

Bloganuary Day 10

Today’s Prompt: Has a book changed your life?

Those that follow my blog and those that know me, know that books are one of the great loves of my life. Every book that I read impacts my life in one way or another. It doesn’t matter if it is fiction or non-fiction. Every book counts.

If I have to choose 4 that stand out for me it would be:

  1. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho- It was the first time I had read about the Universe conspiring to help me achieve my dreams. It is also my favourite quote from the book. It planted the seed that I was still allowed to dream (I was in my early thirties when I read it) and that it’s okay if I have to go on a journey to achieve it. In a nutshell, it gave me hope when I didn’t realise I needed it.
  2. The Jewel of Abundance by Ellen Grace O’Brian – I read this book not long after my mum died. I was searching for meaning for my life and I also wanted to activate abundance in all its forms. I was in such a bad space by the end of 2018. It was a year of many losses. This book was recommended by Paulo Coelho on Twitter so I hoped onto amazon and bought the kindle version. It helped me understand what abundance is and it helped me bring spirituality into my life. I found a level of peace through this book. I think I need to go back to it because I need some guidance again.
  3. The Game of Life and How to Play It by Florence Scovel Shinn – This book is a metaphysical book but it made me look at the bible differently and help me understand it and grow my faith in God. I am not very good at reading the bible and there were certain perceptions that I had about it. I had many, sometimes heated, discussions with our priest when I was a teen and in my 20’s, about my perceptions. This book helped me see what he had been trying to tell me all along.
  4. The Surrender Experiment – Micheal Singer. This book helped me trust my instincts more and follow the path that it leads me on as well as to let go of the outcome. I have since figured out at that I still have a lot to learn about surrendering but this book opened my eyes to what it is and that it is ok if things don’t work out as I had planned them.

Have you read any of these books? Did you have similar takealots? Let me know in the comments.

So Many Books. So Little Time.

That heading sums up the story of my life. Books have been my best friend ever since I can remember. I loved curling up in my bed with a good book. I also sucked my thumb until I was 18 so my book plus my thumb…well…clearly I was in heaven. 😂 And yes, at 18 cigarettes replaced my thumb and thankfully now it’s me and my book. 😊

I have just completed ‘Life Visioning’ by Michael Bernard Beckwith. I watched his interview with Oprah in about 2019 and wanted to know more about his process. I don’t think i was ready at the time to fully understand it so I couldn’t get into the book. I decided to give it a try again about 2 weeks ago and have just completed it. It was what I needed to get me started this year. I always wanted to understand the difference between Visioning and Visualisation and how to utilise both. This book explains it all in a very easy to understand way. I would highly recommend it if your are on a spiritual growth journey.

Currently I have 3 books open. Actually, according to Goodreads I have way more than that open. I was mortified when I first saw how many books I had not gotten around to finishing yet. It’s ok though, as with Life Visioning, I will complete them when I am ready for them. So what are those 3 books you ask?

  1. Let’s talk Money: You’ve Worked hard for it Now Make it Work For You by Monika Halan – My finances are in a mess at the moment so I figured it is time to make some changes. If I find her system difficult to work with then I will go back to Suze Orman’s way which worked for me in the past. I have no idea why I stopped using it actually.
  2. The Art and Business of Online Writing: How to Beat the Game by Nicolas Cole – I used to follow him on Quora and probably on Medium too. I really enjoyed his writing and he seems to be making a decent sum of money from it. Why not learn from someone who has already forged a path I figured. Besides, I need a side hustle to help me out of my financial mess.
  3. Personal – Jack Reacher #19 by Lee Child – I love, love, loooove Jack Reacher! He oozes testosterone but he has a heart and I love that he is so authentic. This is my escapism novel. A woman has to have a little fun too 😁
  4. Oh wait there is a 4th as well. Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins – I signed up for an informal reading challenge by one of the members on Tony Robbins Facebook group. I think we are reading 6 books this year and this is the first one for the year.
My books on my Kindle for Q1 2022

The next book/s on my list which will probably keep me busy until the end of March are:

  1. The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham – If it’s made Warren Buffet the great investor he is today, I figure I can learn a thing or 2 from it as well. As you can, this also feeds into my financial journey. I need to do things differently this time around.
  2. Principles by Ray Dalio – I was just drawn to this book. I will find out why when I read it. There is something it that I need to know to help me on my journey. I can’t wait to find out what it is.
  3. The Mistress of Justice by Jeffery Deaver – I love, love, love Jeffery Deaver’s work. I don’t think it is ever possible to guess who did it because he takes you on such a roller coaster ride that it’s just not possible to figure it out until he tells you. He is the master of the twist in the tale!
  4. Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill (book 2 for the reading challenge) – I read this years ago and am looking forward to rereading it.
My books for Q1 2022

If you have read any of these or have any recommendations for me, I would love to hear from you. I have set myself a goal of reading 50 books this year so any all recommendations are welcome.

Let me get back to my book! Bye for now🌷

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