I’m an Indian writer and blogger. I post weekly on my lifestyle blog with a main focus on positivity, hope, and healing. Over the last five years of blogging, I have helped many readers find gratitude, solace, and joy in the little things that we often take for granted. When the pandemic broke out, I started writing posts under the blog category – Positivity during Lockdown. Readers loved this and wanted me to write more. In order to help better, I started reading books where characters looked for a fresh start at life. My second novel Gift of Life was born out of this.
Gift of Life is Shyamala’s story. A seventy-year-old woman living alone in the small coastal town of Perdur, she is simple and relatable. Yet there is something bold and impressive about the way she lives her life alone, refusing to depend on anyone.
Carrying the burden of a tragic past, Shyamala believes that the only way she can survive is to follow a routine that allows her to spend most of her time out of the house that is a constant reminder of the past. But what happens when the whole world is confronted by a challenge that halts normal life and Shyamala is confined to the house that screams of everything she has lost? Does she surrender to her fate, or does she fight back and rediscover herself?
If there is one book out there that I had to read over and over again, I would pick this one without a second thought. A life-changing book that everyone must read at least once in their life. A simple yet compelling story (based on the author’s experience) that is short yet long-lasting in terms of the effect it has on the reader.
Through this book, Morrie teaches you to appreciate your life, feel gratitude for all the little things and live life fully. He teaches you love, faith, acceptance, and laughter. But above all Morrie teaches you forgiveness. Not just forgiving others but forgiving oneself.
My favourite line from the book is, “The truth is, once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.”
THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON THAT HAS TOUCHED THE HEARTS OF OVER 9 MILLION READERS
'Mitch Albom sees the magical in the ordinary' Cecelia Ahern __________
Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher or a colleague? Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, and gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it? For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty years ago.
Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded. Wouldn't you like to…
It is a powerful story that starts slow, seems off-putting but eventually something odd happens between the pages. Ove, the protagonist who is constantly disappointed in everything around him, begins to grow on you. His odd charm captures your attention. He is a man shaped by a hard life that has left him bitter and untrusting. When the only bridge between him and other people, his wife, passes away, he decides to stop fighting. He no longer wants to live. Yet, his obsession with doing things the right way does not fade. Just like Ove’s neighbors, you start to feel an unexpected affection for the old man.
I read this book four years ago. Yet, it is one of the top five books on my list. Ove is a character that stays with you for a long time, perhaps forever.
'A JOY FROM START TO FINISH' - Gavin Extence, author of THE UNIVERSE VERSUS ALEX WOODS
There is something about Ove.
At first sight, he is almost certainly the grumpiest man you will ever meet. He thinks himself surrounded by idiots - neighbours who can't reverse a trailer properly, joggers, shop assistants who talk in code, and the perpetrators of the vicious coup d'etat that ousted him as Chairman of the Residents' Association. He will persist in making his daily inspection rounds of the local streets.
This book connected with me on different levels. The monotonicity of Eleanor’s life is warm and soothing. Her way of coping with childhood trauma while appearing to be nonchalant is unique and tells a story on its own. I loved her inner monologue the most- deep, cranky, hilarious, and irresistible. Eleanor has a comment about everything she passes by which makes the repetitive sequence of days enlivening. Overall it is an endearing story that is part thriller, part self-reflection, and part romance.
"Beautifully written and incredibly funny, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is about the importance of friendship and human connection. I fell in love with Eleanor, an eccentric and regimented loner whose life beautifully unfolds after a chance encounter with a stranger; I think you will fall in love, too!" -Reese Witherspoon
No one's ever told Eleanor that life should be better than fine.
Meet Eleanor Oliphant: She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she's thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of…
If you like simple stories built around deep, complex characters, you will enjoy reading this story of an old man who not only collected but treasured ordinary things lost by people in a hope that someday someone would do the same to him and reunite him with his most treasured possession. There is love, there is pain, there is faith and hope. There are some loosely tied ends that make this story so different and special. The best part is the reader here is omniscient. We know the story behind many lost things – a button, a piece from a jigsaw puzzle, an umbrella – while the characters never learn of it even in the end. That leaves behind an unusual good feeling.
Full of character, wit, and wisdom, The Keeper of Lost Things is heartwarming tale that will enchant fans of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, Garden Spells, Mrs Queen Takes the Train, and The Silver Linings Playbook.
Lime green plastic flower-shaped hair bobbles—Found, on the playing field, Derrywood Park, 2nd September.
Bone china cup and saucer—Found, on a bench in Riveria Public Gardens, 31st October.
Anthony Peardew is the keeper of lost things. Forty years ago, he carelessly lost a keepsake from his beloved fiancée, Therese. That very same day, she died unexpectedly. Brokenhearted, Anthony sought consolation in rescuing lost…
The Four Winds is one of the best works of the author so far. A rich story of the Great Depression and the people who lived through it. The story like many of her other popular books portrays the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity.
The story revolves around Elsa – an indomitable woman whose courage and sacrifice come to define a generation. It speaks of relationships, faith, family, and hope.
It is a heart-wrenching story that you will struggle to finish. The book is slightly thicker than usual, but it is the story that will bring up emotions you will have to let settle before continuing to read.
"The Bestselling Hardcover Novel of the Year."--Publishers Weekly
From the number-one bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes a powerful American epic about love and heroism and hope, set during the Great Depression, a time when the country was in crisis and at war with itself, when millions were out of work and even the land seemed to have turned against them.
“My land tells its story if you listen. The story of our family.”
Texas, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on…
Enjoy this Persuasion-inspired historical romance!
Six years ago, Amy decided *not* to elope with Captain Nate Preston. Now, he is back in the neighborhood, and he is shocked to discover that Amy is unmarried. Even more surprising, she is clearly battling some unnamed illness. Thrown together by circumstances outside their control, Nate and Amy try to be friends. Soon, it becomes clear that their feelings for each other never died. Has anything changed, or are they destined for heartbreak once more?
Six years ago, Amy Lamplugh decided not to elope with Nate Preston. Ever since, she has been working hard to convince herself she was right to choose her family over Nate.
Now, Nate is back. After an illustrious career as a naval captain, he faces a court martial for disobeying orders while fighting the slave trade. He accepts an invitation to await the trial at a country estate outside of Portsmouth - and discovers he is suddenly neighbors with Amy.
Nate is shocked to find that Amy didn’t end up marrying someone rich…
Interested in
neighbourhoods,
farmers,
and
isolation?
10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them.
Browse their picks for the best books about
neighbourhoods,
farmers,
and
isolation.
