10 great ways to inculcate reading habits

“To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.” — W. Somerset Maugham

Somewhere after “lose weight”, “stop procrastinating”, and “fall in love”, “read more” is one of the top goals that many people set for themselves. And rightly so: A good book can be hugely satisfying, can teach you about things beyond your daily horizons, and can create characters so vivid you feel as if you really know them.

If reading is a habit you’d like to get into, there are a number of ways to cultivate it.

First, realize that reading is highly enjoyable, if you have a good book. If you have a lousy book (or an extremely difficult one) and you are forcing yourself through it, it will seem like a chore. If this happens for several days in a row, consider abandoning the book and finding one that you’ll really love.

Other than that, try these tips to cultivate a lifetime reading habit:

• Set a high goal. Tell yourself that you want to read 50 books this year (or some other number like that). Then set about trying to accomplish it. Just be sure you’re still enjoying the reading though — don’t make it a rushed chore.

• Always carry a book. Wherever you go, take a book with you. The book can stay with you in the car, travel to office with you or everywhere you go. If there is a time when you have to wait (like at a doctor’s appointment or a delayed meeting/train or air travel), whip out your book and read. Great way to pass the time!

•   Set times. You should have a few set times during every day when you’ll read for at least 5-10 minutes. These are times that you will read no matter what — triggers that happen each day. For example, make it a habit to read during breakfast and lunch (and even dinner if you eat alone). And if you also read every time you’re sitting on the can, and when you go to bed, you now have four times a day when you read for 10 minutes each — or 40 minutes a day. That’s a great start, and by itself would be an excellent daily reading habit. But there’s more you can do.

• Make a list. Keep a list of all the great books you want to read. You can keep this in your journal, in a pocket notebook, on your personal home page, wherever. Be sure to add to it whenever you hear about a good book, online or in person. Keep a running list, and cross out the ones you read. Tech trick: create a Gmail account for your book list, and email the address every time you hear about a good book. Now your inbox will be your reading list. When you’ve read a book, file it under “Done”. If you want, you can even reply to the message (to the same address) with notes about the book, and those will be in the same conversation thread, so now your Gmail account is your reading log too.

• Find a quiet place. Find a place in your home where you can sit in a comfortable chair (don’t lay down unless you’re going to sleep) and curl up with a good book without interruptions. There should be no television or computer near the chair to minimize distractions, and no music or noisy family members/roommates. If you don’t have a place like this, create one.

• Read to your kid. If you have children, you must, must read to them. Creating the reading habit in your kids is the best way to ensure they’ll be readers when they grow up … and it will help them to be successful in life as well. Find some great children’s books from www.librarywala.com and read to them. At the same time, you’re developing the reading habit in yourself … and spending some quality time with your child as well.

• Read fun and compelling books. Find books that really grip you and keep you going. Even if they aren’t literary masterpieces, they make you want to read — and that’s the goal here. After you have cultivated the reading habit, you can move on to more difficult stuff, but for now, go for the fun, gripping stuff. Stephen King, John Grisham, Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, Nora Roberts, Sue Grafton, Dan Brown … all those popular authors are popular for a reason — they tell great stories. Other stuff you might like: Vonnegut, William Gibson, Douglas Adams, Nick Hornby, Trevanian, Ann Patchett, Terry Pratchett, Terry McMillan, F. Scott Fitzgerald. All excellent storytellers.

•  Make it pleasurable. Make your reading time your favorite time of day. Have some good tea or coffee while you read, or another kind of treat. Get into a comfortable chair with a good blanket. Read during sunrise or sunset, or at the beach.

• Blog it. One of the best ways to form a habit is to put it on your blog. If you don’t have one, create one. It’s free. Have your family go there and give you book suggestions and comment on the ones you’re reading. It keeps you accountable for your goals. You can always share your blogs with us on www.librarywalablogs.blogspot.com 

• Have a reading hour or reading day. If you turn off the TV or Internet in the evening, you could.

Adopted by: www.lifehack.org

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Shakespearean Glossary

Chetan Bhagat's Revolution 2020: Book Review

At last, I finished reading Mr. Chetan Bhagat's Revolution 2020. Being his fan, I have read his last four books with quite interest and passion. There's nothing which can touch Five Point Someone. Reading it, many youth started scripting a book and they are successful writers today but still, no one has been able to write a better story than Five Point Someone. After that, CB's One Night @ The Call Center came in the market and people rejected its climax. His 3rd book- The Three Mistakes Of My Life was quite interesting and he wrote it with wit and knowledge. It was not just a fiction book but it gave a true image how people think about rival religion in small village and how some chaps from village can dream big and make it turn true. Then came his 2 STATES which brought Chetan Bhagat back in form and people started loving him again. 2 STATES was loved by almost every age group audience and CB got a new group of fans. Chetan Bhagat almost became star with 3 Idiots release and 2 STATES success. He released his latest venture- Revolution 2020 on 7th October this year and 5,00,000 copies are already been sold. Congratulations, CB.

Coming to Revolution 2020, CB promoted it as a Love Story rather than a story about Corruption and Ambition. Yes, they are the subheading of the book but still, he focused much on the Love Story while promotion rather than the other two topics. So, let me talk about the Love Story first. Its about Gopal who is in love with his childhood friend- Arti. Arti sees him just as a friend. Like any other girl. :-) Gopal goes to Kota for his IIT preparation as he fails once. In the absence of her best friend Gopal, Arti falls in love with Raghav. Raghav got admitted passed JEE exam the time Gopal failed in it. Gopal started feeling inferiority complex because of Raghav and he became jealous of him. From here, the story takes lots of twist and turn. For that, pick up the book. Coming to the corruption, it is shown quite nicely as Gopal chooses the way to meet his ambition of being very rich. Raghav is shown as ambitious person for bringing Revolution in India. Gopal keeps playing game with him as he always wanted to fail him but he couldn't do it in school days.

Well, I am sad to say that I didn't found Revolution 2020 any special. It is just another book for me. Yes, the CB readers who have only read CB will like it because they haven't seen other talents of India. I have found better story than R2020 in other books. When you attempt Fiction, it should be at the level where the reader starts jumping while reading the book. Five Point Someone had that effect but R2020 lacks. The love story is also boring because you never find anything cool happening except Gopal trying for Arti and Arti ignoring him for Raghav. Yes, the story takes turn after 180 page and this is when you start loving it. Coming to the Corruption part, CB started it quite nicely but he didn't show a way to deal with it or any kind of exposure to what really is happening in real India. Ambition part is the best part of the book where Gopal is shown striving to pass in his JEE tests but fails every time while Raghav does it. Then, Gopal become ambitious for being rich while Raghav becomes ambitious for bringing revolution in the country. 

R2020 is good in parts but talking on the whole, it is not something special which I would recommend everyone to read. I don't know how some people are rating it as the best by Chetan Bhagat but I would still go for his 1st and 4th book. After seeing CB growing in last 2 years, you expect something larger-than-book from his book but it turned out to be just-another-fictional-attempt. I also felt the lack of sense of humour where Chetan Bhagat is the master. The book doesn't make you laugh out loudly like his other books does. Hence, I didn't found any kind of Chetan Bhagat effect in the book. And, the title of the book is shown as the failure which pisses one off at the end. The one who is corrupted still remains rich in the end. The one who tries to bring Revolution is forced to shut up and sit. Is this what you expect from a book which is named "Revolution 2020" and written by India's most successful author. Sorry to all the CB's fans for breaking your heart. I am also one of them and thus I can't talk good about him even when he hasn't done anything good to be spoken about. I will rate this book 3 out of 5. 

Now I am waiting for the 6th book. :-) 

Thanks!
Abhilash Ruhela 
Our Twitter Friend

Librarywala.com reviews: The Secret of the Nagas by Amish Tripathi

The Secret Of The Nagas by Amish Tripathi

Westland Publications

Readers were brimming with questions as they turned the last page of The Immortals of Meluha. They wanted to know if Shiva would switch loyalties from the Suryavanshis to the Chandravanshis? Who were the Nagas? How will Sati be rescued after being kidnapped by a mysterious Naga warrior? All the answers and much more are answered in Amish Tripathi’s latest offering ‘The Secret of the Nagas’ as we’re thrown into the narrative exactly from where the first book ended. And the breathless pace of the action ensures a sleepless night or a postponed lunch, at the very least!

Shiva, the Tibetan warrior and protagonist looks resplendent on the glossy cover of this attractively designed book. In an attempt to avenge the murder of his friend Brahaspati who was killed by a covert Naga assasin , he chases the mysteriously-hooded Nagas all across ancient India to find their secret. The descriptions of the places have been reconstructed from what you can identify about them from the present and from what the legends and stories from the past tell us about them which add to the enigma of the story. Shiva learns that appearances can be deceptive as he learns that the Nagas are not serpentine, evil creatures but humans with physical abnormalities who have been abandoned by their family because the law demands Nagas be exiled. The Nagas have their own empire and the precise location of their capital, Panchvati, is a carefully shielded secret. The identity of the Naga assassin and Panchvati are discovered in this fast-paced thrilling adventure. A delight to read about is the passionate, mercurial, sassy character of Anandmayi, who lights up the page every single time she makes an appearance. New characters form a part of Shiva’s entourage which only makes the wait for the next book more thrilling.

The writing once again is simple and relatable to readers across the spectrum. The grammatical errors and sloppy editing can be slightly overlooked due to the enticing strong characters and gripping events. While the  suspense quotient is slightly lower in this book compared to the first, the philosophical elements keep the reader engaged. The author highlights the balance between good and evil, existentialism and consequentialism. The book is an apt sequel to the first book and focuses on Shiva's search for evil and his want to destroy it, only to find that nothing is what it seems.

For making mythology come alive in a world of futuristic technology, Amish Tripathi is deserving of much applause and accolades. The book is a complete page-turner and definitely a must-read.

Librarywala gives the book a rating of 4 on 5.

Do feel free to share your opinions on the book with us.

Happy reading!

Book Review: Don't Bring it to Work by Sylvia Lafair.

Hey Librarywalas! 

We received an excellent review of the award-winning book 'Don't Bring it to Work' by Sylvia Lafair. For those unfamiliar with her name, she is a business leadership and communications expert, and President of CEO – Creative Energy Options, Inc., a global consulting company focused on redefining leadership and optimizing workplace relationships. Her award winning book “Don’t Bring It to Work” has been ranked in the top of Amazon’s Best Selling Workplace books.   She is often quoted as a workplace relationship expert in newspapers and magazines including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes.com, USA Today, Time, New York Times. She was also recognized as one of  the Top 25 Women In Business in 2011. 

Here's the review of her book: 

You know the type; the guy who leaves the meeting when it becomes tense. Or maybe there is the gal who says she will get her part of the project done on time and it never happens. Perhaps you or your colleagues fit one of these profiles. These are the types of behaviors that diminish trust, accelerate conflict, and limit productivity.

Dr. Sylvia Lafair shows how behavior patterns that we learned in our original organization, the family, follow us right into our present organization at work. Think about it, work and family are quite similar. There are bosses (parents), co-workers (siblings) salaries (allowances), specific rules and regulations to follow to be accepted.

When stress at work hits the hot button we all tend to revert to the patterns of relating we learned as kids to survive and be secure. This happens under the radar of our conscious behavior. Once it is possible to observe the pattered responses (easier to first see on others) there are simple and quick ways to make change happen for the better.

The good news is that, using the OUT Technique, to OBSERVE, UNDERSTAND, and TRANSFORM the annoying and outmoded patterns, they can be turned into their positive opposites. Those in leadership positions, in family business, or on the accelerated path as entrepreneurs can learn new ways to foster cooperation and even increase better customer service by knowing what to do in times of crisis by applying this revolutionary technique.

This book gives an understanding of the 13 most common patterns in the workplace and how to transform them.Avoiders become initiators of difficult conversations, procrastinators become realizers getting work done in a timely fashion, and super-achievers become creative collaborators.
“Don’t Bring It to Work” is filled with a wealth of real life anecdotes and practical workbook-style exercises that clearly show how anyone can change conflict into cooperation and soar in work productivity and success.

Do share your opinions on the book with us.

Happy Reading!

Top 10 Movie Adaptations of Books.

Hey Librarywalas!

Compiling a set of criteria to judge which movies adapted from books are the best is almost as difficult as compiling the list itself. Listing those adaptations that have garnered the biggest box office is simple enough, but to many, that would exclude a number of “best” adaptations. Should only faithful adaptations make the list? Bestsellers and blockbusters? Critically acclaimed? Classics?

This list includes adaptations that, for the most part, fit most of those criteria. Inevitably, some excellent films inspired by literature have been excluded. In the end, any top ten list that is not based entirely on statistics is bound to be subjective. This compilation, however, includes films likely to be included on many lists of the top ten movies adapted from books.

 1. The Harry Potter series

It is impossible to exclude the Harry Potter film franchise from the list of top ten adaptations. A decade of J.K Rowling bestsellers inspired a decade of blockbuster movies. The films managed to meet the expectations of millions of avid fans, an impressive feat in itself.




 2. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Fans of Middle Earth had to wait nearly fifty years for the film industry to develop the technological advances necessary to bring J.R.R. Tolkien’s world to life. Peter Jackson’s films captured the heart of the books that propelled the fantasy genre into mainstream.





3. The Godfather

While Mario Puzo may not make the list of great authors, Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptations of the book have become classics. The inside look at the Mafia was made memorable by stellar performances by a star-studded cast.



 4. Dracula

While the Twilight movie franchise delights fans of Stephenie Meyer’s books, this list pays homage to Bram Stoker’s Dracula, adapted deliciously in Tod Browning’s 1931 film of the same name. Bela Lugosi’s portrayal of the vampire is unforgettable.

5. To Kill a Mockingbird

 Literary masterpieces can be the hardest to recreate on film, but Robert Mulligan’s adaptation of the Harper Lee novel succeeds beyond expectation, capturing the underlying terror of the segregated American south as seen through the eyes of a child. Gregory Peck’s portrayal of lawyer Atticus Finch is simply stunning.





6. The Shining

 Many Stephen King novels have been adapted for the screen, but only one was directed by Stanly Kubrick, and only one starred Jack Nicholson. Kubrick’s fine attention to detail and Nicholson’s intense portrayal of insanity added layers of suspense to the film.





 7. Schindler’s List

 Few films have captured the horrors of the Holocaust better than Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Thomas Keneally’s book. The movie would stand on its own merits, even if not based on a harrowing but inspiring true story.





 8. 2001: A Space Odyssey

Arthur C. Clarke wrote a fine book, but it is doubtful even he could have imagined the impact that Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation made on the film industry. The film also had a profound influence on the way many people think about science and religion.








 9. Great Expectations

 David Lean’s version of the Charles Dickens work is a premier example of how effective adaptations can be when the characters of a classic novel are brought to life. The viewer is immersed into Pip’s world, sharing his encounters with each eccentric character in a way seldom experienced in cinema.





 10. Rebecca

 Including David O. Selznick's adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's 1938 novel in this list pays homage not only to the book and the film, but to the performance of its stars, Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine, and to the film noir genre. Rebecca is a study of stylized suspense.





Conrad King is a contributing writer at privatestudentloan.org.