Book Archives - My Inner Shakti

2021 Books To Date

I set a reading goal of 21 minutes in 2021, and while I haven’t ticked it off every single day, I have gotten through some really good books. I’m now also lowering the bar to ‘however many minutes in 2021.’ HA!

With that, here are my 2021 books to date…with my personal rating (as you can see, I’ve made some good selections so far)!

A Promised Land – Barack Obama – 10/10
Untamed – Glennon Doyle – 10/10
The Nightingale – Kristin Hannah – 9/10
Untold – Brown Girl Magazine and Modern Marigold Press – 10/10
Anxious People – Frederik Backman – 9/10
The Four Winds – Kristin Hannah – 8/10
Life’s Too Short – Abby Jimenez – 8/10
One to Watch – Kate Stayman-London – 7/10
Professional Troublemaker – Luvie Ajayi Jones – currently reading
People We Meet on Vacation – Emily Henry – reading next
What a Happy Family – Saumya Dave – reading next

Now tell me – what do I need to add to the list for the second half of the year?

2019 Reading List + 2020 Reading Goal

written by Parita 4 Comments

I’ve always loved to read. Ask my mom. My obsession was so intense that I used to try and read in the dark when I was supposed to be sleeping. Of course, back then, my books of choice were everything The Baby Sitters Club…man those were the days!

Over the years, I’ve evolved in my reading preferences. Now, I love everything from self-help/personal development to suspense to romance to historical fiction…and the list goes on. If my 2019 reading list reveals anything at all, it’s that my book choices don’t follow any real pattern. I just go by what I’m feeling at the time and try to find something that fits my mood and needs (re: toddler development books. HAHA!).

With that being said, let’s talk about 2019. I set a goal back in January to read 12 books over the course of the year, and I’m happy to report that I met it! No more, no less. And while I’m happy with how much and what I read, I know I can do better. That crazy, read-in-the-dark Par is still inside of me wanting to devour books left and right. And she’s making a comeback in 2020.

Soooo…in 2020, I plan to read 20 BOOKS! That’s eight more than this year, but it’s still not a ton. Little by little, people!

And I’m officially a City of Chicago public library card holder, so hopefully the means I’ll be able to access more great books! SO EXCITED!

Here’s my 2019 list of what I read…

Clickable links for easy access

*personal favorites

And as always, I’ll continue to share book reviews over on my Instagram page. Follow me! And don’t forget to share your favorite reads with me at any time. I’m always looking for suggestions from fellow book worms!

No portion of this post is sponsored. However, affiliate links are included. There is no extra cost to you, but I do receive a small commission on anything you buy through my links. Thank you for reading and supporting My Inner Shakti!

Daily Habits to Build Personal and Professional Resilience

written by Parita Leave a Comment

Every now and then, new corporate buzz words will pop up. Some are here to stay and actually have some substance, while others fade with time.

Personally, I think resilience is one of those concepts, and I definitely think it’s here to stay. It’s not something that can just fade way, especially given the way we live our lives now.

I learned more about what resilience means in terms of personal and professional development during the conference I attended in London back in October. One of the speakers for my team’s session was a resilience expert who talked to us about what it is, why it’s important, and how to create more of it on a daily basis. Since then, I’ve been keen to learn more. From what I know, resilience is one of those things that is the result of mindful habits/living.

Ok, first thing’s first. What is resilience? Well according to Alexia Michiels (the speaker) in her book, The Resilience Drive, it’s the range of skills that enable us to bounce back when faced with adversity. It helps us lead a successful and fulfilling life. “Resilient people demonstrate rapid bounce, courage, and creativity; they cultivate healthy connections with themselves, others, and the environment.”

I read The Resilience Drive on the way to London just last week. It’s not so much a true book as it is a pocket guide with over 100 ideas for how to cultivate resilience in our daily lives.

There are five sections based on different areas of self and life. And under each, there are ideas for how to be more resilient.

So, being the nerd that I am, I took notes while reading this on the plane. I wrote down the ideas under each of the five sections that I thought would work for me and/or things that I want to implement in 2020.

Stay calm and rejuvenate
1. Exhale – 4 seconds in and 6 seconds out
2. Close your eyes every now and then
3. Get in child’s pose a few times a day
4. Walk slower (been on my to-do list since I was like 1…ha!)
5. Disconnect from screens and limit screen time
6. Relax before bed (happy to note that I’m starting this in 2019…started meditating using the Head Space app!)

Stimulate your vitality
1. Stretch in the AM – right when you wake up
2. Adjust your posture throughout the day
3. Practice balancing exercises while doing everyday tasks/chores around the house (i.e. folding laundry)
4. Take real lunch breaks (without your laptop and/or phone)
5. Eat slowly
6. Create a sleep routine

Engage your emotions
1. Listen more actively
2. Think about and list out WWW (what went well) every day
3. Actively participate in discussions
4. Find and/or create quick wins for yourself every day

Train the mind
1. Set a daily/weekly intention
2. Schedule email breaks (only check email during specific times of the day)
3. Monotask
4. Keep things simple (stupid) – KISS!

Spirit in action
1. Do one random act of kindness a day
2. Be open to different opinions
3. Meditate (check!)

The book explains more about each of these daily resilience habits. If you’re interested, send me an email or buy the Kindle version off Amazon. It’s a great reference book to have, especially on those tough days where you feel anything but resilient!

Fun Books You and Your Toddler Will Love

written by Parita 2 Comments

Continuing on with my recent book theme…

As a kid, I would take a flashlight into my little closet, get comfortable with my blanket, and read for hours on end. Until my mom found me and made me to go to bed!

And that is exactly the kind of love for reading we’re trying to instill in Kaiden. However, our little guy has a one minute attention span and hates to sit still. But we’re still trying! We read to him before bed and let him turn the pages with the hopes that one day he’ll beg us to let him read one more chapter!

Anyways, I find that Kaiden prefers short(er) board books (regular books would not survive the likes of our little destroyer!) with lots of colors and rhyming words when possible. As I was organizing K’s books the other day, I realized we have quite a great collection of books, and because I’m always looking for recommendations, I figured some of my parent readers may be too. With that, here are some fun books you and your toddler will love!

1, 2, 3 Tiger’s Counting Party (can’t find a link for this one, but we really love it so I’m including it anyways!)

Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?

ABC An Amazing Alphabet Book

Goodnight Moon

The Goodnight Train

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

I Like it When…Me Gusta Cuando…

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie + If You Take a Mouse to School set

Meet My Hindu Gods

Giraffes Can’t Dance

Why I Believe ‘The Magic of Thinking Big’ is a Worthwhile Read

written by Parita Leave a Comment

I never in a million years thought that it’d take so long to finish a book. The old me could plow through 300+ pages in a weekend. Now? It takes me weeks if not months. Oh well, at least I’m still trying!

I digress!

Today, I want to share why I believe The Magic of Thinking Big is a worthwhile read along with a caveat to go along with that sentiment.

First and foremost, let me start off by saying that this book really is for everyone, regardless of your line of work, level, etc. In my opinion, it’s about how to be human in achieving success (however you define that for yourself). The suggestions really hit home because they’re rooted in basic values and principles. It’s not about achieving overnight success, but rather about making small, simple, and very practical changes to your thinking and ultimately behavior that will allow you to win people over, be happier, achieve your goals, etc.

Let’s move on to the caveat for a second. The book was written in 1959. This means the stories and examples are very old-school (re: sales, manufacturing, male dominated, etc.). On the surface, they seem very archaic, but when you really think about it, they are things that still apply in our modern day lives. Perhaps now more than ever…? If you can get over this one thing and really allow the simplicity of the book to guide your thinking, I think you’ll gain a lot from it. I know I did!

Without giving away all the wisdom, here are a few points that really hit home for me. As you’ll see, these aren’t complex topics/ideas. It’s just simple stuff that we need to be reminded of more often.

Big people monopolize the listening. Small people monopolize the talking.
Don’t sell yourself short. Think, ‘why not me?’
Always ask, “Is it really important?” Especially before getting worked up.
Be human in your approach. Put people first.
“Life it up.” In your smile, your language, etc.
Always think about how you can add value.
Surround yourself with people who are successful and push you to be better.
How you think about yourself is directly correlated to what you can achieve. Whenever doubt creeps into your mind, think big. Focus on what you can do today, all actions welcome.
It’s not always the smartest person in the room who is the most successful. It’s the person who’s willing to build relationships, work hard, and keep trying no matter how many time he/she fails.
Always give people more than they expect to get.
Action, action, action. Action begets action.
Think about things as they can be not as they are. Visualization elevates your thinking and gets you out of the here and now to the possible.

Believe it or not, this is just a small sliver of everything you can get out of this book. Can’t wait to reread again in the future!

And for those who were holding their breath waiting for me to share my next week, it’s going to be Beartown!!! So excited to dig in!

Your turn – what’s your favorite self-help type book?

29 Fiction Books to Add to Your Reading List

written by Parita 4 Comments

I put a call out to my followers on Instagram the other day for their favorite fiction books. I’ve been reading a lot of non-fiction lately and just want a good book or two that I can get lost in – good story line, great character development, etc. I said I have no preferences for genre…any and all recommendations are welcome!

And boy did people deliver (THANK YOU)! I got so many great recommendations that there was no way I couldn’t share the list via a dedicated blog post. So if you’re like me and just looking for a good book, I think you’ll find at least one below. Happy reading!

Pachinko

The Last Mrs. Parrish

The Hate U Give

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk

Beartown

Us Against You

Little Fires Everywhere

This Must Be the Place

This is How It Always Is

The Handmaid’s Tale

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

The Almost Sisters

Crazy Rich Asians*

China Rich Girlfriend*

Rich People Problems*

I Like My Life

Small Great Things

The Woman in Cabin 10

The Nightingale

The Night Circus

A Place For Us

When Katie Met Cassidy

The Sympathizer

Great Kitchens of the Midwest

Elegance of the Hedgehog

A Visit from the Goon Squad

Emma Ever After

Eligible

The Kite Runner*

*Books I’ve read. Clearly, I have some work to do!

A Review of Yeah Baby! by Jillian Michaels

written by Parita 9 Comments

When I first found out we were pregnant, I researched all of the best books for moms-to-be. And then, in all honesty, I felt a little overwhelmed. So I stopped Googling, and instead, ordered just one book – Yeah Baby! by Jillian Michaels.

As some of you may recall, I have a bit of a love/dislike relationship with Jillian. I love her workouts and her overall approach to fitness, but I often find myself getting annoyed by her personal stories. They come off a bit privileged to me. With that being said, when I first heard about this book while listening to her podcast, I almost dismissed it. However, the information shared definitely drew me in and prompted me to read a few reviews. So at about eight weeks pregnant, I ordered Yeah Baby!.

I have to start off by sharing that I actually love this book. For many reasons. Of course, there are a few things that didn’t really resonate, but those were truly far and few between.

What I loved about Yeah Baby!:

The tone in which it’s written. It’s very Jillian, which in this case, I actually like. You feel like you’re chatting with an old friend about all things pregnancy. And from what I hear, this is something that sets this book apart from some of the older books out there.
The content is research based and supported by a team of five experts from various health/wellness fields.
The book is broken down by trimester (makes total sense), and at the end of each section, Jillian provides a customized workout plan. I intended to try her workouts, but then found some great YouTube channels and kind of forgot about this part of the book. But after taking a deeper look at what Jillian proposes, I can definitely see her plan being effective.
She includes a chapter on the “Fourth Trimester,” which I love since not too many people talk about it. From what I understand, there’s a [huge] adjustment period after the baby comes, and I feel like the information she shares is practical and well-founded.
Each chapter/section goes into a lot of depth without being too technical or even scary. The information is easy to understand, current, and fun to read. And everything is focused on baby and mommy’s health…no hidden agenda.

What I didn’t love about Yeah Baby!:

While everything Jillian shares makes sense, I often felt like I wasn’t being a good mommy-to-be because of her super high standards. For example, my make-up products aren’t all chemical free. But I’m trying my best. Is that good enough? I sure hope so!
To implement every single one of her suggestions, you need a lot of money. Period. It’s not easy for the average, every day women to buy all organic everything. That’s the honest truth. I truly believe we all try our best, but even then, some things are out of reach.
Again, the meal plan at the end of the book is not for the every day woman. So many strange ingredients. And this coming from someone who buys said strange ingredients regularly.

Overall, I found this book to be comprehensive and the perfect one stop shop for all of my pregnancy related questions/issues. Of course, I always check everything with my doctor, but it’s been nice to have a reference guide at home that’s written for the modern momma.

2021 Books To Date

2019 Reading List + 2020 Reading Goal

Daily Habits to Build Personal and Professional Resilience

Fun Books You and Your Toddler Will Love

Why I Believe ‘The Magic of Thinking Big’ is a Worthwhile Read

29 Fiction Books to Add to Your Reading List

A Review of Yeah Baby! by Jillian Michaels

categories

Archives

Top Posts!

Follow me on Instagram!