The other day I had this profound conversation with a friend about guilt and guilt ridden lives. I realised that I’ve spend most of my life feeling guilty – guilty for either having done something or not having done something. And this applies to all the mundane things.

For example if I sit down to read a book for an hour on a busy day (which is almost all days), I’m guilty about not finishing tasks. And if I don’t read, I’m guilty about not reading. Either choice has a layer of guilt, so I’m never fully present and fully enjoying what I’m doing.

But this Sunday wasn’t like that. I lived a guilt free day and it was an amazing experience.

It started in the morning when I woke up early and felt like reading. But when I sat down to read I felt my focus drifting. I noticed my mind was channeling my day’s to-do list and I decided to try my no-guilt mantra.

I had a little chat with myself and we talked about being in the moment, about not worrying about all that had to be done, not letting it overwhelm the now and just enjoying the moment.

It was the most wonderful hour I spent reading, fully present to the words and my dogs who cuddled up. It was beautiful! And then I managed to do it through the day. It was just a wonderful day.

And I enjoyed it so much, I didn’t land up getting this post done. 😀

Last week I also discovered book-photography challenges on Instagram and I’m hooked. They are so much fun to create. Here’s what I post this week. Connect with me and see more on Instagram.

In other news, I’ve just finished 6 Degrees – Game of Blogs published by BlogAdda and written by over 25 authors. Review coming soon. 🙂

Book Arrivals:

Last week I’d talked about paper books, so this week it’s the eBooks I received this month. I also tried out a few new things when making the video. Do tell me what you think of it. I need the feedback. 🙂

Books Mentioned in Video –
The Nutmeg Tree by Margery Sharp
The House at the End of the Street by Stephanie E. Kusiak
The Kashmir Trap by Mario Bolduc
Iron Goddess by Dharma Kelleher

American Quartet by Warren AdlerThe Fiona FitzGerald Mysteries
(Book Riot #159)

Fiona is a Sergeant in the Homicide Division of the Metropolitan Washington Police Department. But isn’t the reason I picked this series, rather because Jeff O’Neal highly recommended it on his podcast and because it’s set in the city my bestie lives in. It’ll be a good way to get to know her city. 🙂

Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes
(Get Booked #31)

This book has been surfacing on my radar for a while now. Then this week when the whole guilt-ridden-life conversation happened (check above) and the book surfaced again, it was like serendipity. I just have to read the book, no?

Off the Page by Jodi Picoult
(@JesseTheReader)

I’ve been trying my hand at audio books and I’m listening to Sheryl Strayed’s Tiny Beautiful Things (narrated by her) and I liked it don’t get me wrong but it’s not got me hooked, I’m not in that place where I can’t stop listening. I’m still undecided if audio books are for me.
So, when Jesse in his favourite audio books video talked about Off The Page having multiple narrators, I thought this my be a good one to try. Plus the story sounds promising.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Series)
(@JesseTheReader)

Another book that’s been popping up often as a recommendation. Got to give it a spin and the fact that it’s got fairly tale characters is a definitely plus.

That’s about it out here this week. I’m working on having a guilt-free week. What have you been unto this past week? Do you feel guilt ridden too? How do you deal with it?

This week I finally got over my reading slump by jumping out of the Review TBR list and reading an all out romance by Loretta Chase. Lord of Scoundrels is just such a fun read. It has a head-strong rebel hero and that quite the usual thing but this one also has a cool-headed I-never-lose-it pistol-shooting heroine which makes for such a refreshing read.

And that momentum carried me though another book too. I’ve just finished ‘The Devil and The Deadly Peace’ by Sindhura Chamala, my detailed review is pending so for now I’ll just say I enjoyed reading it and would recommend it!

I went through my podcast backlog with a vengeance this week and got through a lot of them. If you are wondering which one’s I listen to, The Book Riot Podcast, The Get Booked Podcast and The Readers Podcast are my top 3 to listen to when it comes to books. Between the three I get book world news, so excellent book recommends (the Loretta Chase came out of here) and some bookish banter.

I also experimented with video this week as I’d like to do more videos in future and learned a few things, though it’s a longways to becoming a good editor.

Book Arrivals:

I received a lot of books this week both in paper and ecopies, so I did a video about the paper books on my reading list this month. Check it out, I’d love to hear thoughts, feedback and tips to make it better.

Books Mentioned in Video –

Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Reaves
The Englishman’s Cameo by Madhulika Liddle
Destiny of Shattered Dreams by Nilesh Rathod
Game of Blogs by BlogAdda

And if you’ve read the books on my list, I want to know what you thought of them. Tel me, tell me in comments. 🙂

Books I Discovered This Week:

The Girl in the Road by Monica Byrne
(Get Booked #28)
The tale of a girl travelling from a futuristic Mumbai to Ethiopia across a forbidden bridge. This in itself is enough but there’s more to the story and I’m piqued. Got to read this.

Ash Mistry and the Savage Fortress by Sarwat Chadda
(Get Booked #30)
I’ve loved the Artemis Fowl series and the Percy Jackson series, this one is quite like that I’ve been told and set it India. What more?

Not too many books this week, in spite of a lot of podcasts, but that’s a good thing considering my sagging TBR pile. 😉 What have you been unto this past week? Read anything interesting?