Word of the Year 2019 #WOTY #WOTY2019

This is my last post of 2018 and this is about the coming year.  Every year I set a word for that year and try to abide by it in all circumstances.

In 2016, I have set the word of the year as 'Change' and there are a lot of changes that happened in my life especially relocating to another country, leaving the job that I enjoyed working for almost 11 years etc., But, I believed that change is only for good and accepted it without regret.

In 2017, I decided my word of the year to be 'Aggressive', though it might seem negative, I was bored of my routine life of household works and thus wanted to be aggressive in promoting for my dance classes and network with other people in the new place that we recently relocated to.

In 2018, I have set the word of the year as 'Positive spirit'. I have been mindful to every happening in my life, I tried to be positive, without losing cool and succeeded upto 90%. Once or twice negative thoughts have surrounded me and I felt, depressed. But, Overall I could stick around with this word and create positive vibes around me.

This coming year 2019, I want to set the word of the year as 'Slow down'. 

Yes, Fortunately, I have achieved my long-term goals and now, this is the time to slow down a bit and relax. I want to spend more time on things that I like - blogging, traveling, reading books etc., I want to continue improving my knowledge of software testing and focus on my dance classes. There is no hurry to achieve any goal but being mindful is important. So, I have decided to slow down a bit and enjoy every moment in 2019.

What is your word of the year? Word of the year is some word that we want to focus in the coming year. Think about it and let me know what you want to focus on in 2019.

Meanwhile, Accept my wishes for the happy new year :-) Celebrate and welcome the new year. I wish the new year brings you all good health, wealth and happiness.

Until next time,

Linking this post to Word of the year post by EverydayGyaan. 

2017 in Review and Word of the year for 2018 #ChattyBlogs

We reached the last week of the year 2017. It seems like the year has gone fast when I review, but I had a good time overall. 

The first half of the year was not something significant but only good thing is that I started teaching dance in 2017. I cooked and experimented new recipes while cribbing about all the kitchen work I hate. 

Life seemed interesting from May when I got my driving license. The unlimited library visits made me happy. I took kids to a lot of activities in different parts of the town and we attended many fun events. 

More freelancing software testing work poured in and kept me busy. I have participated in many Instagram photo challenges and Writing challenges on my blog. My readership base grew and I focused on improving my network of friends. Diwali dance performance was good and because of this event, I made a lot of new friends. My kids got new friends too. 

In December, there are a lot of things to be grateful for. I started a new art form "Zentangle" and I am enjoying it to my heart's content. Of course, my reading time is replaced with Zentangle but it is very relaxing to my mind to draw at least for 30 mins a week. I started teaching dance to more students which also reduced my reading time. Many book reviews are pending as of now, but I don't want to rush myself reading them. I want to enjoy reading each book instead of just picking it up for review and finishing it in hurry.

So, that was about my 2017 which is both satisfying and happy. 

I don't usually set any new year resolutions as I believe that any good work should start as quickly as possible without waiting for any day. But, I want to pick a specific word for the next year which keeps me motivated and focused.

My word of the year for 2018 is "Positive Spirit". 2017 is definitely better than 2016 for me. My positive spirit made it the best. I want to continue the same for the next year too.

Do you set any word for the year? Or do you set new year resolutions? Do let me know your thoughts in comments. 

Until next time,

Linking this to #ChattyBlogs hosted by Shanaya. 

Best books I read in 2014

New year is coming! Count down started :-)
It's time to remember good and bad things happened. Enjoy and reminisce good memories and learn from mistakes. Right? 

Since mine is a book blog, I want to list my best reads of 2014.
Even though I didn't get time to review many books in my blog, I have got chance to read a variety of books this year.  Read the famous Shiva Trilogy books by Amish Tripathy this year, which was pending from long time in my wish list. FYI, Shiva trilogy has 3 books in the series - The immortals of Meluha, The secret of Nagas and The oath of Vayuputras.
Got a chance to complete 2 books in Taj trilogy written by Indu Sundaresan - The Twentieth Wife and The feast of Roses. Both have been a fantastic read. I have also read some light hearted practical stories this year like Lucifier's Lungi, Ri, The Little hearts etc.,

So, here goes the best books that I have read this year:

1. The Twentieth Wife
This book is first in the series of Taj Trilogy. If you want to know more about each and every detail of Mughal empire, traditions in their time and importance of women, this is for you. I enjoyed reading this as I love history. Here is my review. 

2. The Secret of Nagas
This is the second book in Shiva trilogy series. All three books are fine, but this book in trilogy is better. I liked the way Amish Tripathy created the characters of this mythological fantasy novel. It's interesting to know and relate things related to our ancient India like Saraswati river, preparation of amrutham which gives immortality etc., Even though there are many myths in this fantasy novel, I liked the research behind the story and gained some knowledge on ancient India. 

3. Lucifier's Lungi
Whle the books above are on serious note, this book is a light hearted read. A very short book which I enjoyed it every bit. This book talks about the protagonist of novel being modern and not believing in any myths and legends, travelling to a small village. His mind set completely changes after his funny experience in the village. Here is my review. 

4. Ramayana - The Game of life : Rise of Sun Prince
This first book of Ramayana in the series of books by Shubha Vilas covers Ramayana from the birth of Lord Rama till his marriage. Book has extra information on importance of each incidence in Ramayana and characters are explained in very detail. Overall, it's enjoyable and knowledgeable read. Here is my review. 

5. God is a gamer
This is one of my favourite genre. It's a thriller and I learnt many new things about gaming industry and term 'bit coin'. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this and cannot put the book aside until I finished it. Here is my review. 

I wish, I read more interesting and variety of books in the coming year and review them in my blog. 

Until next time,

Image courtesy: goodreads.com