Author:Greg Rajaram Release Date: 15th April 2021 Genre: Philosophy, Drama, Literary Fiction, Surreal Series: Format: E-book Pages: 242 pages Publisher: – Blurb: Ever since humans became self-aware, we have struggled to find the meaning of life. The price we paid for becoming intelligent was to become painfully ignorant of the difference between good and evil.
Adi, a 10-year-old boy, works together with two old philosophers as they try to unravel the prophecy of a promised King. With insatiable curiosity, Adi must work with the wise men as they rationalize with each other on why and how humans became intelligent. Together they attempt to answer some of the most profound questions related to existence. Does evolution end with human beings or is there an ‘Overman’ who can reach evolution’s pinnacle? Will this Overman be able to define values for humankind? Centuries later a young boy promises his mother that he will always uphold the love that she has taught him. It is a promise that drowns him in the nectar of the gods. Krish grows up to be an engineer and joins a team of scientists as they try to create artificial consciousness in a machine. Krish soon realizes that he has a bigger fight on his hands. A fight to preserve love in a desolate world. His quest for true love ultimately leads him down a path where he comes face to face with a fearsome snake delivering a kiss of death. Humans have come a long way by questioning the nature of objects around us and pushing the limits of our intelligence, but it’s now time that we ask the greatest question yet: when does intelligence transcend to become consciousness?
Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
The Greatest Game by Greg Rajaram is a philosophical read with complex characters and plotline that will leave you introspecting about life and everything else in its wake.
This book a very fresh take on a concept well-loved and widely accepted therefore it was very interesting to read this book. I liked the author’s narrative style and the fact that the book was layered with complexity, intrigue and knowledge very well. I also liked the characterisation as they were all well-developed and rounded characters.
I’d recommend this book to all readers, especially to readers of philosophical fiction.
A mortgage is a way to use one’s real property as a guarantee for a loan to get money. Real property can be land, a house, or a building. Many people do this to buy the home they use for mortgage: the loan provides them the money to buy the house and the loan is guaranteed by the house. And in order to make sure that you can easily and hassle-free apply for a mortgage, especially in the post COVID condition, here’s a list of things to consider.
Things To Consider Before Applying For A Mortgage
1. Budget Considerations
If you want to qualify for a mortgage and avoid unnecessary hassle and scrutiny (and not to forget unnecessary stress and embarrassment) then it is a good idea to make sure that you get it on your first application itself. And that can be achieved by knowing your budget limits or constraints before even thinking of applying for the mortgage. You can check out the latest Money Rates at Wall Street Journal website. You can also check out the Mortgage Affordability Calculator at Mortgage Calculators.
2. Debt-To-Income Ratio
There’s nothing more unappealing than a bad debit-to-income ratio especially when you are planning to apply for a mortgage. So try your best to get it under an acceptable limit and then apply for the mortgage. This makes sure that you won’t be rejected.
3. Downpayment
Mortgage lenders love a big downpayment, so the easiest way to lure them in (and also to think about your future, it would be better if you do this) – pay a high downpayment. It not only provides your profile a credibility but also helps you in the paybacks in the futures.
4. Credit Score
Boost your credit score by paying of your previous EMIs on time and by not defaulting under any circumstance. If you credit score is below a certain range then it shows up on your profile and chances are you won’t be entertained by the respectable money-lenders at all. SO make sure that before you go about trying to find the perfect money lender for your mortgage, first clean up your credit score. It will greatly improve your chances.
5. Documentation
Be ready with all the documentation. You need to make sure you have the following things in place before you even consider taking a mortgage:
Author:Dr. Carole Weaver Release Date: 28th April 2021 Genre: Memoir, Non-Fiction Series: Format: E-book Pages: 141 pages Publisher: Carole Weaver-Linsner Blurb: Pies to Die for is a how-to against the bad stuff of living with metastatic cancer or other lethal diagnosis–the monsters that attack your frame of mind, so you can’t enjoy the time you have left. It is also a romp through art appraising: specifically, through the author’s husband and his clients who have lost art through death, debt, divorce, and disaster.
These stories offer hints about how to cope with something beautiful being gone, or they entertain you with the strangeness of human nature–even without stage four anything. This book is meant to give you tools for your journey, however long or short, so that you live vibrantly, gratefully, and with gusto till the end.
Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Pies To Die For: How to Live a Vibrant Life Despite a Fatal Diagnosis by Dr. Carole Weaver is a beautiful book full of gems such as some really good advice, hearty anecdotes, relatable moments of grief and laughter and, most importantly, a lesson on how we tend to ignore to live once we know about how we may die.
This book is written by a terminally ill author, and I would like to salute her for her courage to pen such a beautiful book under her circumstances. You can read between the lines about how passionate the author is about the things that she writes about and it is this particular thing that made me enjoy this book the most.
I would recommend this book to all readers of fiction and non-fiction alike.
Being a supernatural genre fan I am big-time into zombies as well as vampires (but if I’m being honest I am little biased towards zombies.) Anyway, so I’ve been trying to catch up all the zombie and vampire movies on Netflix and that got me thinking that I should do a post on it to keep a track of the movies I’ve watched so far, and keep returning to, on Netflix.
So here’s my list of 5 zombie movies that I like to re-watch every time I crave for some zombie action:
1.World War Z
Former United Nations employee Gerry Lane traverses the world in a race against time to stop a zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatens to destroy humanity itself.
2.28 Days Later
Four weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the UK, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.
3. Cabin Fever
Five college graduates rent a cabin in the woods and begin to fall victim to a horrifying flesh-eating virus, which attracts the unwanted attention of the homicidal locals.
4.Dawn Of The Dead
A nurse, a policeman, a young married couple, a salesman and other survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.
5.Zombieland
A nurse, a policeman, a young married couple, a salesman and other survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.
As I said, I’m biased towards Zombies, so I’d recommend reading this post if you want to know which Vampire movies to watch on Netflix: Vampire movies on netflix.
Do share your favourite Zombie/Vampire flicks in the comments below!
I’ve been one those people who hate wearing swimwear mostly because they are either too exposing or very vibrant and too colourful for my taste. But these swimwear from Lyra are a boon! I really like that they are available in full body covered variety and that too in such beautiful cover. You can check out their whole range here: Lyra Swimwear.
My favourite one is the Sofia Black one because it looks absolutely stunning and it is available in all sizes too.
I you want to buy a good swimwear, then do check these out before making a decision!
Today, we are featuring Fedor, the lead character from Fedor by, for our Character Interview feature.
About The Author
Brant Vickers
Brant Vickers started work as a caddy and delivered flowers in Southern California before going into the military. He’s lived in three foreign countries and seven states. He later found his true profession and calling working with students with special needs where he met some of the most endearing and loving people on the planet. His memoir, Chucky’s in Tucson, reflects those 18 years. This led to his interest in Fedor and his imagined story. Brant lives in Arizona with his wife, Cheryl Ann.
Welcome to The Reading Bud! We are really excited to have you over. Please give our readers a brief introduction about yourself before we begin.
Thank you very much. My name is Fedor Adrianovitch Jefticheff and I was born in 1868 in Tbilisi, Georgia, part of Tsarist Russia. I traveled with my father for several years in a small carnival throughout Russia and Europe. A few years ago I was given the chance to become part of the Black Tent in the famous and gargantuan Barnum & Bailey’s sideshow.
What is your age and what do you do for a living?
It’s now 1900 and I’m 32 years old. We’re currently on a several year tour of Great Britain and Europe. P.T. Barnum presents me as Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Boy in what is commonly called Barnum’s Freak Show. Several of us don’t like that term, but many of us embrace it and deal with the peculiars of our physical infirmaries. This is how I’m forced to make my living. I have no alternate form of employment. As my manager in Russia, Grigory always said, “If they pay in rubles we give them a show; it’s a show we provide.”
How you like to spend your free time?
I have been a voracious reader since my mama started reading to me in my early childhood. We read books in German, English, and, of course, Russian. I am now fluent in both reading and speaking those languages. Her favorite author was Leo Tolstoy, as is mine now. But I have been fortunate enough to meet several writers throughout America. I have developed a close friendship with Mark Twain, who by the way is a fan of the circus. Also I have met, among others, Herman Melville, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Louisa May Alcott. I hope to meet several more here in Europe.
Please share some of your beliefs, principles, motivations and morals (can be social, religious or political or, etc. Anything that will help us get to know you better.)
I have had to develop a strong attitude to my predicament in this world. My friends and I in the Black Tent cultivate a strong constitution to our lot in life. People pay to gawk at us, but it is the only method, at this time in the world, for us to make a living. My best friend in Russia once said, “I don’t think being ordinary is such a benefit and something they should proud of.” Or as my friend Mark Twain said to me one day, “There was never yet an uninteresting life. Such a thing is an impossibility. Inside the dullest exterior there is drama, a comedy, and a tragedy!”
Tell us something about your family and childhood.
I have long, thick, silky dark hair all over my body. Everywhere. My papa had the same. Our life in Tbilisi was harsh and poor. Even when my papa could get work we rarely had enough to eat and after my beloved mama died, we went on the road with Grigory. His show was small but I had several close loving friends. At age fifteen I met the Tsarevich Nicholas II and shortly after a scout for the Barnum & Bailey Circus. My life changed dramatically after that and I’ve made many more friends whom I live and work with, and consider them my family now.
Tell us something about your dreams and aspirations? Were you able to achieve them or are you planning to?
I have recently met the love of my life and her name is Krao Farni and we suffer from the same malady, but have fallen in love. As Mr. Tolstoy said, “all, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love.” My biggest aspiration is to make enough money and live with Krao comfortably in peace.
What is your biggest fear in life?
I have a fear of not succeeding with my greatest aspiration.
How would you describe your life in one sentence?
I have traveled and seen more of the world than I ever dreamed. My infirmity has made this possible. If not for it, my life as an uneducated peasant in Tsarist Russia would have been very meager. We were, for all intents and purposes serfs. “You can’t throw too much style into a miracle and you my friend are a miracle,” Mark Twain said of me, and I would suggest that sums up my good fortune in life.
What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you?
Living in the wondrous, magical, and unpredictable world of Barnum & Bailey’s Circus brings tragedy along with its marvels. Losing close friends to misfortunes in our world also brings some sadness. Along with gaining much, I’ve lost a few of my dearest friends.
Did it change you for the better or the worse?
I must again quote from my legendary tutor and life long spiritual guide Mr. Tolstoy, “There is only one thing in this word worth dedicating your life to and that is creating more love among people…” If the people, who pay to gawk and be frightened of Krao and myself, can see us and realize we live this life with dignity and love, maybe they would understand there are many ways to live. 11. What are your plans for the future? We are planning to wed upon our return to the United States and look forward to an early retirement and spend our days reading and enjoying each other’s company. I’ll leave you with one more quote and you can probably deduce who wrote it: If you want to be happy, be. And thank you for the opportunity to share my life and thoughts with you.
Fedor by Brant Vickers
“You can’t throw too much style into a miracle, and you my friend are a miracle,” Mark Twain says to Fedor Adrianovitch Jefticheff, also known as Jo-Jo The Dog Faced Boy. Fedor lives, travels, works, and loves among the haunting cast of performers in the Black Tent Sideshow of P.T. Barnum’s Circus in the late 1880s.
Fedor not only survived, but also profited by being a memorable and unforgettable human curiosity. Along with being an intelligent and avid reader of Tolstoy, Twain, Alcott, and Melville, he has remarkable interactions with a myriad of other world-renowned characters, one being Nicholas II the Russian Tsarevich. This proves that more than just being a “sideshow,” there was a lot of individuality and heart to this “dog-faced boy.”
Richly authentic, dramatic, beautifully written, and always thought-provoking, Brant Vickers tells Fedor’s story in an epic account of this young man’s extraordinary life.
Author:William E. Jefferson Release Date: 1st May 2021 Genre: Surreal Fiction, Fantasy Series: Format: E-book Pages: 262 pages Publisher: Mason S. Haynie Blurb: Presence, the Play offers a penetrating perspective on the vital role personal presence plays in the essence of life. This timely, captivating novel speaks to a growing hunger for a way of life that’s real and tangible, the opposite of an artificial existence lived in a realm of mediated connectivity.
The protagonist of Presence, the Play is a playwright and monk named Script who lives on the Isle of Estillyen. On the opening night of Presence, Script’s long-awaited play, he suffers a devastating fall in the theatre balcony and lapses into a prolonged coma. The novel plays out in Script’s comatose state.
Presence, the Play offers a meticulously crafted storyline evoking the imaginative prose of J. R. R. Tolkien, the spirited perception of C. S. Lewis, and the dramatic flair of Dante’s Divine Comedy. Readers will join Script on an epic mission to save the Isle of Estillyen from the forces of darkness, experiencing many daunting adventures along the way.
Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Presence, the Play by William E. Jefferson is a surrealist fiction story that cannot be expressed in words and can only be experienced. I was really impressed with the author’s use of language and the vivid imagery that was painted throughout the words to describe and narrate some of the scenes.
This book had a great concept and the characters were well-built. The book had a good pace and the tension graph made it very interesting throughout.
I’d recommend this book to readers who like to read experimental fiction and like surreal fantastic elements in stories.
I remember the time when I was a kid stuck to playing only with my video game console (Nintendo) but my elder cousins, the “cooler” ones at least, playing games on their new computer sets. Yes, I belong to the era when computers just made their big appearance. And whenever I’d tell them to move away from he screens because even I wanted to play their online games, which was only fair as they always played on my console ALL THE TIME! They’d be very, very reluctant. And I soon found out why.
My first online game was of course, Mario bros. Initially I had some problem getting used tot he arrow keys and the chunky spacebar instead of my remote control, but pretty soon I got the hang of it. My next favourite, and something that I still love, was Tetris.
Since then the gaming world has evolved so much that even a sci-fi book couldn’t have predicted. And the consoling system changed entirely because of the entrance of Sony’s Play Stations, something I own myself (PS4) and X-Boxes. But through all this evolution, something else evolved too – online gaming, yet at the same time, somehow miraculously it offers the grace and the nostalgia that keeps me turning back to them again and again.
Thankfully, even today, Tetris is one game (among many others like Contra and Tank) that I can still play with the simplicity of the 1990’s.
This is one of the places I get my fix of online games these days: Plays.org
If you also love online gaming, then do share your views and platforms of your preference in the comments section below.
Author:Mason S Haynie Release Date: 29th June 2021 Genre: Dystopian Fiction, Speculative Fiction Series: Format: E-book Pages: 368 pages Publisher: Mason S. Haynie Blurb: The world is a wasteland. It always has been. Moshe, Amaru, and Reenu have never known anything other than the desert wasteland that raised them. When the rumor arises that something other than barren landscape could be out there, the three of them make haste for an abundant future. Upon arrival at this established society, the group quickly learns how and how not to get along amidst group dynamics and seemingly sinister mystery. The trials and social politics that Moshe, Amaru, and Reenu face teach them that some rules are useful and some are meant to be broken. Have a seat at Ecclesia’s Table.
Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Ecclesia’s Table by Mason S Haynie is a unique dystopian novel set in a fictional world with a unique twist and a refreshing take on the genre itself.
This book is different from any other dystopian book I’ve ever read and therefore it was enjoyable to read. The characterisation was good and the concept was great. The world-building though could have been a little better had the author focused on the exposition for the place at least. Other than that I have no issues with the book and actually enjoyed it. It felt like a self-contained novel in the entirely of the book.
You can also read this review on Goodreads and Amazon.
Author:Donna Tetreault, Elisena Bonadio (Illustrations) Release Date: 15th March 2021 Genre: Children’s Non-Fiction Series: Format: E-book Pages: 36 pages Publisher: Donna Tetreault Blurb: Dear Me, Letters to Myself For All of My Emotions teaches young children how to recognize and manage the emotions they feel throughout the day. Through a series of letters that begin with, Dear Me, a young child writes down his feelings. These letters allow him to recognize that he can change how he feels while practicing self-kindness and compassion.
Dear Me serves as a guide to help kids learn about expressing feelings, understanding those feelings, and then deciding what to do about them in ways that are healthy, helpful, and kind. The book models several approaches for parents, but, more directly, models how children can develop the social-emotional skill of managing emotions by naming emotions, journaling, and mindful breathing.
Beautiful illustrations support this empowering message designed to help children understand and appreciate all of their emotions.
Dear Me, Letters to Myself For All of My Emotions teaches children: – Self-love – Self-regulation – Self-advocacy – Managing emotions – Empathy – Journaling – Mindful breathing
Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
A beautiful children’s book I would highly suggest to all parents for their little ones. It teaches the kids about self-love, which I think, is very unique and one of the biggest plus points about this unique and amazing book!
The Reading Bud 