As I have not been able to read my novels in peace, I have resorted to reading e-books instead. And in order to avoid extra screen time, I have downloaded this app, called Voice Aloud Reader (TTS Reader), which opens and reads aloud the contents of the document to you. I found it totally cool as it helped while I went walking beside my son who is learning to cycle his way through life. This way, I have managed to ‘hear’ quite a few e-books from the recent writer’s carnival that took place in April this year.

Here are some of the notable e-books I’ve read because their titles grabbed my attention. Some of them do have grammatical errors but the idea, concept or information given is quite interesting. My reviews on these e-books are short and sweet.

TO MY GRANDCHILD, WITH LOVE by ROMA GUPTA SINHA

This e-book is too deep. I was curious about the book when I first saw the title of the teaser post back in April. I mean the very thought of being a grandmother was overwhelming. But I wanted to know what the author actually wrote in the letters, to her ‘grandchild’, especially because she is my age and having a grandchild is far away into the future. After reading the first chapter, I got more interested as my second name is Ann.

Once I finished this e-book, I had learnt quite a few things about the pandemic around us; about the doctors and people in general. Our situation was so beautifully described by the author that you would definitely get a positive vibe regardless of the negativity all over the world.

In addition to that, she writes about how she spent her days optimistically, despite getting stuck at an official accommodation far away from home, due to the lockdown. Being a traveller at heart, the author, Roma Gupta Sinha, narrates how she took each day at a time with the belief that this virus would soon pass and we would all enjoy a beautiful day. I also liked how she listed all the good things we should be doing until that day came.

The cherry on the top, I thought, are the morals she wrote for her grandchild in each of the 26 letters, which could also apply to us. And, I personally think that her grandchildren are blessed to have written communication from her to cherish for a lifetime.

Do download this emotional e-book for free and check it out for yourself!
To My Grandchild, with love

DREAMS DECODED by UJJWAL MISHRA

I have always been a daydreamer. When I was a young girl, I would get so many dreams at night that I almost bought a book trying to interpret the meaning of each one. This e-book gives you a gist of what our lives are all about while decoding some of the things that come to us, after we fall asleep, at night.

I used to have dreams of me saving someone from vertical airplanes falling off the sky, going up the highest tower with an elevator only to sit and scare myself of the height, meeting someone who I have not seen in several years or forgetting my baby in an empty building.

So while I was ‘hearing’ this e-book, my 8-year-old daughter came to peep. We went to check what was up with her having nightmares once in two months. The book gave her some consolation that it did not mean that anything bad was going to happen like in her nightmares.  She understood why she shouldn’t watch certain movies just before going to bed but say a prayer of gratitude instead.

I continued reading and got an idea of my initial inner fears, loneliness and how eating healthy has helped me in so many ways.

What kind of dreams have you been getting? Falling off a bridge or organizing a meet up with friends? Either way, you are sure to learn a lot or find some solace while reading this e-book. Download it as soon as you can. https://www.theblogchatter.com/download/dreams-decoded-by-ujjwal-mishra/

AROUND THE WORLD THROUGH MY LENS by JYOTI JHA

I love travelling. So, the fact, that this author seemed to have travelled to more than 26 places, intrigued me. I’m in the midst of putting together my travel stories too but I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to alphabetize them like she wonderfully did.

The author, Jyoti Jha, along with her experiences of travelling, jotted down the best things to do and the best places to go in each mentioned city. I would really love to see York, UK and Tokyo, Japan. After visiting Barcelona, I love Gothic views around a city and York has a Gothic touch. Plus, I admire ancient architecture. On the other hand, I would like to travel to Tokyo to try the sashimi there because my friends, who visited Japan on my birthday, said I would love the people as well as the food in Tokyo.

UK has been on our list for quite some time for several reasons. I have family there and I love castles, Cathedrals and museums. The Warwick Castle in England and information on several museums are mentioned in the e-book. I’ve already listed the places to visit, thanks to the author’s experiences.

During these testing times when none of us can travel for fun, this e-book gave me something to look forward to once things get better. You can do too!
Around the World Through my Lens

BOLLY TALKIES – ABCs OF BOLLYWOOD CINEMA by ARCHANA SRIVASTAVA

Basically, this e-book is quite interesting as it has a whole synopsis of some great Indian movies that may or may not have made it to the box office but had a strong message for society and some lessons as well.

My personal favourite is the chapter about SRK without any doubt. I’ve admired him from the time I watched him in ‘Darr’. This e-book also puts light on other third wheel characters who stole the limelight from the main heroes. Do you recall any (besides ‘Darr’)? The author also gives a list of the characters that the king of romance portrayed in his many movies and also gives a gist of what we could learn from each of them.

Some of the movie characters have been described accurately. Of course, the actors were also well known and great at their jobs.

There are so many good movies that I haven’t even heard of. I didn’t know that a movie named ‘Zeenat’ existed. Thanks to the author Archana Srivastava, I got to know of this. She has given a summary of the movie which made me look for it on the various movie portals we have today.

Who are your picks from the yesteryears? Could you list your five much-loved Bollywood movies that were based on friendship? What did you learn from the movie ‘Oh My God’, ‘Piku’ or ‘Sulu’?

So, if you’re a Bollywood fan, go to the link and download the e-book for free! And for those of you who are not really Bollywood centric, keeping the technicalities aside, I’m sure you will look at Bollywood in a completely different way altogether!
https://www.theblogchatter.com/download/bolly-talkies-by-archana-srivastava/

HEALTHY EATING FOR BUSY MOMS by DR. SURBHI PRAPANNA

While I was posting my healthy dishes two years ago, I had plenty of vegetarian friends who wanted to know how they could eat healthy as well. I had absolutely no idea how one could eat healthily without meat but when I read this e-book, I found that it was indeed possible. The easy recipes mentioned here are specially curated for busy moms and all vegetarians.

Mind you, these dishes will not help you lose weight or become size 0 but surely help you to give your body all the nutrition it needs to stay away from store-bought capsules.

According to the author Dr. Surbhi Prapanna, carbs are important for our bodies. Limited amounts are required in order to allow our system to function efficiently. Therefore, most of the recipes include our daily Indian carbs like rice, potatoes, chickpeas, etc. too. This makes it easier for us to eat along with the family as well as stay healthy.

Do download this e-book and make healthy eating a part and parcel of your life.
https://www.theblogchatter.com/download/healthy-eating-for-busy-moms-by-dr-surbhi-prapanna/

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YOUNG MAMA’S TALES by DIMPLE SURANA

This e-book is written by a young mother. ‘Young’ because I was introduced to her like that considering most of us were above the age of 26 when we had our kids. I was 29 when I delivered my first child, so I was still dating at 23. My mom, though, had me when she was 23.

This young mom and author, Dimple Surana, brings out the positive as well as negative sides of being a parent. She also gives the new moms 5 simple ways to do various things like keeping the kids excited and busy, potty training, overcoming the fears of motherhood, de-cluttering the house, serving vegetables to your toddler and more. Being an 8-year-old mother myself, I found quite a few hacks that I hadn’t used before.

She has also written on a topic that most interested me: How India moulds our children. This is something I connected with because besides the points mentioned by her, I have always wanted my kids to be street smart and not overprotected like I had to be during my childhood in the Gulf. Also, my food tolerance level has improved after I moved to India.

So, all you mothers out there, new and old, do download this book for free and learn from or relate to the author’s recommendations!
https://www.theblogchatter.com/download/young-mamas-tales-by-dimple-surana/