Amazing Books that Will Give You a Great Reading Experience

Reading has always been comforting and therapeutic. There are a whole wide world of knowledge, fun, and wisdom that literature has offered; and, bookworms are just lucky to experience it. For those who are full-pledge book lover, the magic that book brings is not new to them. But, for those who are new to the reading community, the broad range of titles might be overwhelming.

If you are one of those whose heart flutters with the thoughts of reading and books, then you should go and check out the works listed below that will surely give you a great reading experience.

Scourged Souls by Keith Niles Corman

Keith Niles Corman’s historical fiction book was published by Dorrance Publishing Co. Inc. in 2017. Scourged Souls civil war or rather the story of Scourged Souls was set during the Civil War. But, the book doesn’t only revolve around the war but also on the personal lives of every character whose paths have met for a couple of moments. Moreover, the story mirrors on the purity of those who are moving the tale forward.

This book will surely leave the readers with a great insight on how the lives in the past were similar to those that everyone is experiencing today. This notable work of Corman also teaches the readers how war can cause great damage on people and leave some traumas for those who were left behind.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

This New York Times best-selling book was written by Delia Owens. Where the Crawdads Sing focuses on two timelines that gradually interlace with one another where one centers on the life and adventures of Kya that is primarily took place between 1952 and 1969 in North Carolina.

The second timeline, on the other hand, revolves around an investigation on the death of Chase Andrews that took place at the coastal part of the same fictional town. Hence, the book is divided into two amazing parts where each catered the story of the two characters. Because of the remarkable impact the book made to the public, it became a bestseller in different platforms and now is being adapted into a film.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

This critically-acclaimed book was published by Viking last September 2020. It won the Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction and was recognized as a Good Morning America Book Club pick.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haigis a sci-fi book that tells the story about a library that houses unlimited books where every one of them is a story of different realities. There are those that can narrate your current life and those that tell the lives that you might be experiencing if you have chosen the other options. Nora Seeds discovered herself dealing with the possibility of turning her life around by looking within her as she goes through the library to decide the things that will fulfill her life and makes it more worth living.

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

One of Us Is Lying is authored by Karen M. McManus and was published by Delacorte Press. It is a young adult mystery fiction novel that utilizes multiperspectivity to reveal the perspectives of the bunch of students that were branded as suspects.

There were 5 students who were punished with detention at Bayview High, namely Bronwyn, Addy, Simon, Cooper, and Nate. But after serving detention, only 4 made it alive. Based on the feedback of the investigators, Simon’s death was not, in any way, an accident. The outcast who died on Monday was about to reveal some secrets of the four high-profile students on Tuesday; thus, making the 4 the possible suspects for the crime.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Ecco Press published the Madeline Miller’s novel titled The Song of Achilles last 2011. It is under the genres romance and fantasy; and, was awarded in 2012 with the Orange Prize for Fiction. Moreover, the story took place during the Greek Heroic Age and is typically known as an adaptation of the classic Iliad by Homer. It centers on the relationship of Patroclus and Achilles. The story covers the characters’ first encounters until their adventures in the Trojan War. It also focuses on the romantic parts of their relationship.

Why You Should Write a Book Series

As a reader, when you hear the word “series,” Percy Jackson, Narnia, The Hunger Games, Goosebumps, etc., automatically come to mind. A book series typically refers to the sequence of novels that share common literary elements, such as setting, characters, themes, and more. However, they have different titles and a free-standing plot that can either be read alone or not; but they all tie the loose ends of each tale at the end of the day. For example, The Utgarda Trilogy is a horror fiction series, wherein each of the three books has a diverse title. Stieglitz book on The Other Realm, which is the third book of the trilogy, already focuses on rescuing the person whom the main characters have been searching for in the last two books.

Writing a series could be a tedious task due to the multiple elements and factors needed to perfect. All the hard work and dedication will surely be rewarded after seeing how many lives your series have touched. Whether you are a newbie author or a published one, you should definitely consider the perks that a book series can bring to your writing journey. If you are not yet convinced about writing one, then here are the reasons that might spark your interest.

Give justice to the characters

The most common elements in book series can last from the first book until the final one are the characters. Do note that they are the most crucial factors of a story because they are capable of moving the tale forward. Without them, your work will not progress and end. Since series are composed of multiple books, there are definitely characters with unfinished businesses, while some already accomplished their tasks. 

Since you already have book one as the foundation of the whole series, you will not experience the tough job of crafting promising characters ever again. All you need is to develop each of the characters to either unlock their full potential or uncover their worse sides and enhance the beauty of your series. Because of these improvements, you can surely grab the attention of the readers and increase the thrill of the plot. Hence, giving enough development to a character also means giving justice to the role they play in the story that will definitely positively affect your whole series.

Create a more extensive reader base

From the reader’s perspective, investing their time and effort in reading a series would be a great option to take. Hence, a great series means a large reader base; and, an extensive reader base means excellent sales. There are many who prefer to read series because they have fallen in love with the characters and become too drawn by the plot and theme. So, invest their time in waiting for the release of the following books instead of reading stand-alone novels where they tend to start meeting and familiarizing everything all over again. 

Reading books with consistent setting, characters, and other elements give a sense of comfort and fun that book lovers cannot find in single novels. It is just like visiting a friend you have never seen for a year to two but still have the same connection that makes life more colorful. Because of the growing number of readers, you can strengthen your author brand and increase your sales.

Take advantage of the binge culture

Binge culture refers to the way of living where people spend a lot of time watching shows with no interruptions. The term “binge” is often associated with films and TV shows where individuals tend to stream or watch a whole season of a TV series or different movies the whole day or night. In this day and age, many are already following the binge culture, especially teenagers. Bookworms also have their way of binging, which is on reading. 

Thus, writing a series would probably magnet those who are into binge-reading. A book series is more convenient to delve into due to the familiar aspects but incredible twists. The time spent by the readers will surely be rewarded with an exciting reading experience. The more they read the books, the more they crave more, which pushes them to binge read to satisfy their curiosity. 

Notable Nonfiction Books You Shouldn’t Miss Reading

Every reader has different preferences when it comes to book genres. Some might take great interest in reading fictional works, while others may be fond of nonfiction ones. Many often think of how impressive that the latter could be because they survive reading nonfiction, which is the genre that speaks facts instead of taking you to various extraordinary places. 

Nonfiction is sometimes underrated but what people don’t know is that it houses several substantial tales waiting to be read. The moment you start delving into these stories, you can definitely discover multiple things, such as self-understanding, spiritual growth, life experiences, hidden talents, and more. So, if reading books of this genre ever crossed your mind, then here are some of the best titles that you should check out.

The Two Sides of Being Single: A Biblical Perspective by Wayne Drayton

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc. published The Two Sides of Being Single: A Biblical Perspective by Wayne Drayton in 2018. This book is the most outstanding work to read for those Christians who haven’t found the person whom they want to spend the rest of their lives with and are asking God to bless them with a great one or those who aren’t in a relationship and desire to keep it that way. The first section of the book centers on preserving a single life as a Christian, which is a challenging job but can be achieved through putting their trust in the Lord. The second portion of the book focuses on those who are single and are anticipating the blessing of God towards them.

Wow, No Thank You.: Essays by Samantha Irby

Wow, No Thank You.: Essays by Samantha Irby is a New York Times bestseller and Amazon editor’s pick for best biographies and memoirs. The book contains multiple essays that revolve around the brand-new path taken by the author that is written in a witty and raw manner. Samantha Irby is already in her forties and is becoming uneasy in her skin. She also resigned from being a receptionist at a vet clinic, got her books published, and experienced other twists and turns of life. You will indeed get inspired by the relatable events that Irby has gone through and encourage you to live everyday life with all its bad, good, and ugly and have fun while it lasts.

Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee

This critically-acclaimed book was published in 2011 by Scribner. Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee is a remarkably comprehensible and articulate book about an illness that exists, which has challenged humans for over 5,000 years. The tale of cancer is a story of human inspiration, determination, strength, pride, paternalism, and misconception. Hence, the author uncovers the years of discoveries, difficulties, wins, and bonds practicing their intellects against an unceasingly resourceful challenger, which was thought to be conquered instantly in an earnest and vigorous battle against cancer. 

This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate by Naomi Klein

Naomi Klein authored the excellent book titled This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate. The book raises the concern that climate change is not just another problem that must be cleanly classified between health care and taxes. However, it is an issue that reminds everyone to mend the economic processes that are already disappointing the public in different ways. Naomi thoroughly creates the case for how hugely eliminating the greenhouse gas emissions is the ideal way to concurrently lessen the extensive imbalance, rethink the wrecked democracies, and remold the devastated economy. She also uncovers the ideological despair of those who don’t believe in such occurrence, the crusading delusions of the aspiring geoengineers, and more.

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick is a heartwarming book recounting the intimate experiences of 6 North Koreans for more than 15 years — a messy era that witnessed how Kim II-sung died, the way his successor has bestowed the power to lead, and the catastrophic hunger that lead to the death of 1/5 of the nation’s population. You will indeed feel different intense emotions and come up with various realizations while reading this award-winning book.

Generation Gap: What You Should Know

“Every generation inherits a world it never made; and, as it does so, it automatically becomes the trustee of that world for those who come after. In due course, each generation makes its own accounting to its children.” – Robert Kennedy

In this lifetime, it cannot be avoided that there will be differences among everyone, especially in experiences and ages. There are various results that follow these diversities that are either or both good and bad. Generation gap is one of the outcomes of the dissimilarities, which greatly affect the relationship between the older people and the younger ones. It is primarily defined as the void that divides the ideas expressed by individuals that belong in two diverse generations.

Moreover, generation gap is frequently utilized to describe the variations in behaviors, beliefs, and preferences of the younger generations put against the older ones. There are also other significant and broad topics that show the gap between generations, including but not limited to politics, manners, principles, and pop culture. Hence, there are many platforms that tend to educate people and help them eradicate generation gap. Literature is among the many fields that gives different insights and encourages people to fully understand and get rid of the said gap. The challenging stories on Patchwork: Conversations Between Generations by Carol-Wilson Mack are great examples of how ladies from the countryside of South Carolina attempted to erase generation gap by sharing their personal tales and empathize with one another.

How Generations Are Identified

The current existing generations are being split into four large groups, which are the following:

Traditionalists – they are also referred as the silent generation because the individuals born between 1927 and 1946 were anticipated to not be heard but rather than to be seen. As of 2021, children in this group are already between 78 to 83 years old. They are mostly retirees and/or veterans; but, there are still few that are part of the workforce.

People born in this generation are often described as hard working. Traditionalists were influenced by the great work ethics of their parents in the industrialized world. Hence, they were raised during tougher times where Great Depression and World War II also happened. For them, having a job is already a grand privilege bestowed to them. Due to their hard work and determination, they are considered to be the richest generation.

Baby Boomer – they pertain to the individuals born after the Second World War. They are known to be biggest living adult generation until 2019 according to Pew Research Center. Even though there was much dissimilarity depending on the years of birth that consider a person as part of the Baby Boomer generation, the broadly accepted ones are those born between 1946 and 1964. They are popular for the rapid increase of birth rate following World War II, which influenced the generation’s name. There are approximately 72.5 million recorded baby boom populations, which are known to be the biggest generational unit at that moment.

Generation X – is the generation following the Baby Boomer Generation. They are born around the middle part of 1960s and the early part of 1980s. The accurate years that cover the Gen X people vary because there are demographers that show different birth year range. But, everybody is in agreement to the fact that Gen X is the generation that comes after Baby Boomer. People in this bunch are on the way to the middle part of their professional careers and possibly are on their peak-earning periods.

Millennials – this generation is also known as Genereration Y. Individuals belonging to this generation are those that are born around early 1970s, mid 1990s, until early 2000s. However, the greatly accepted birth year span is between 1981 and 1996. They are typically the offspring of people under the last two preceding generations, which are Gen X and baby boomers.

Generation Z – is the generation that comes after the Millenials. They are also known as zoomers. Individuals that are part of this generation are those born from middle to late 1990s until early 2010s.

Every group has its personal traits and aspects when it comes to spoken language, slang, technological expertise, workplace behaviors, lifestyle, and more.

Amazing Perks of Writing Poems

Writing has always been therapeutic. With everything that happened in your life, finding an avenue for expression could be heaven on this Earth. Poetry is one of the best forms of literature that embraces all your thoughts and emotions with arms wide open.  It is a piece of literature that provides a special power to the expression of emotions and concepts through a particular style and rhythm is the typical denotation of poetry. There are many outstanding poets with books that have inspired the lives of the many. Among these excellent poets are Ezra Pound, Walt Whitman, Maya Angelou, Olivia Gatwood, Trinidad Rodriguez, and Raymond Quattlebaum.

Many poetry books have been published and several poems have been written even until this century. What could be the benefits of writing poems since a lot of individuals patronize this genre? Here’s what you need to know.

Helps in mending emotional wounds

Growth entails both success and struggles. Before you blossom into the person that you want to become, you still encounter hindrances and obstacles along the way. These challenges can either make you or break you, and it all depends on you on how your fate will turn into. While conquering these things on your way to greatness, you acquire wounds and pain that significantly impact your emotional well-being. By expressing your pain into words, you will slowly heal from them and transform your life around. Poetry brings not just the comfort but also fosters mending by letting people let go and explore of their emotions. It allows you to have an area to vent, realize, and heal.

Enhances your skills

Writing is an art that waters the skills that are hidden within you so you could use them efficiently in the future. Poetry appears to be easy but when you actually get to write one, you can definitely understand how difficult expressing tons of concepts, experiences, and emotions through the tiniest amount of words. The tendency is that you become challenged while writing. Thus, you cognitive function will be enhanced as well as your other skills, such as creativity, critical-thinking, problem-solving, and communication. All of these are being gradually developed the minute you embark on your poetry writing journey.

Readjusts your perspectives

Life is all about constant learning and development even when change comes. However, there may be things that you don’t want to change, especially those that you have believe in. Through poetry, understanding and enlightenment will come. After you expressed all your experiences, frustrations, and other things that you desire to set free, you will soon begin to realize how some of your beliefs and perspectives are becoming toxic. These destructive views can be shifted and readjusted through reading and writing poems. You will never really know the benefit of shifting your outlook in life if you will never try.

Makes use of your senses

You probably think that writing doesn’t have anything to do with your senses. Also, you might think that it your experiences and feelings are the only things that matter in creating poetry. But, all these assumptions are wrong because among the most essential weapons in writing wonderful poems are your 5 senses. They are the best aspects that can enhance the ambiguity, deepen the meaning, and develop the imagery of your work. Also, you can captivate the hearts of the readers and provide them with a better reading experience because of how they are being moved by your work and how they can feel,  touch, smell, see, and hear the images that you are building.

Improves self-awareness

Self-awareness is significant. It is the capability to center your attention, assess, and manage yourself. This perk is not something that you expected to get while writing. Instead, this is something that you surprisingly obtain and realize at the end of your journey. However, there are also instances that some purposely writes about this aspect. In writing poems, you will came to know some parts of you that you never thought existed and realize how much have you struggled and survived.

Poetry can truly bring out the best in you. The sense of comfort and relief that every poem can give are incomparable. What are you waiting for? Start writing your poems now and be amazed of the perks that it offers.

Pandemic Update: Covid-19 Vaccination in Ethiopia

The pandemic has greatly impacted the world. And Ethiopia is among the places that were stricken by the Covid-19 virus. There were many measures that were imposed by the government and followed by the citizens. The efforts of both the government and the people have been so remarkable; yet, there are still new cases that are being recorded each day. But if you compare it to the first few months of the disease spread, the numbers of the new cases are definitely lower than before.

Furthermore, Ethiopia is trying its best to provide its people the comfort and safety that they deserve. The Coronavirus disease isn’t the only problem that has tested the country and imposed great threat to its citizens. Among the other societal issues that the country faced was famine, which was featured in the memoir containing Dr. Conner’s mission for Ethiopia titled The Face of Hunger: Reflections on a Famine in Ethiopia. With all these societal problems that need solution, Covid-19 tends to top the priority levels of other issues because of how easy it spreads, how invisible it is to the naked eye, and how many lives were lost from it.

Just like other countries, Ethiopia has already introduced mass vaccination to its citizens. According to WHO Africa, the Covid-19 vaccine presentation was inaugurated by The Ministry of Health of Ethiopia at Eka Kotebe Covid-19 Hospital. The first ones who received their doses were the medical frontline workers, who symbolize the start of the campaign to vaccinate the people of Ethiopia. The vaccines that were injected to these remarkable medical staff are the ones developed by Serum Institute of India (SII) called AstraZeneca. A month ago, the first batch of the vaccines arrived in the country via COVAX.

There are also at least 5.4 million doses of vaccines that were procured by the government as part of the present-day worldwide distribution plan following the first few doses injected to the frontline medical workers. The estimated time of arrival of these millions of dosages are on May 2021. Dr. Dereje Duguma, the State Minister of the Federal Ministry of Health in Ethiopia recognized the help of COVAX facility and other partners that handed out their support in making the launch of Covid-19 vaccines in the country possible and efficient — as well as bringing the whole globe a step closer to fight off the pandemic.

According to Reuters, the nation has successfully acquired a total of 9 million Covid-19 vaccines until April. They plan to vaccinate no less than 1/5th of the 110 million citizens of the country by the end of 2021. Ethiopia’s Minister of Health, Lia Tadesse said that it will cost the country at least $328 million to acquire the vaccine dosages and other miscellaneous expenses for the said procurement. However, the expenses will be shouldered by the government, along with the donations that the country got from other countries.

But, one of the challenges in administering mass vaccination in Ethiopia is communication. Educating the public about the nature, benefits, side effects, and importance of getting vaccinated might be a struggle for most places in country due to the location and resources. Based on the article Spreading the word about vaccines in Ethiopia by Rachael Hore in Gavi The Vaccine Alliance, one of the factors why there is an imbalance in the vaccine coverage rate in the country is not because there was a shortage in supply but because of the complex geography and conventional nomadic way of living along with the insufficient vaccine details that leads to a reduced demand for vaccination.

The need to educate and communicate to the local and remote communities in Ethiopia is among the primary methods to raise immunization demand and improve vaccination awareness in every individual in the country. In order to cater to the lack of details and insufficient knowledge on Covid-19 vaccination and its impact on people’s lives, the government should definitely center on hitting 5 main points to encourage citizens to get inoculated, which are the cultural beliefs, scarcity of data, fears of hazards, location accessibility, and trust in medical staff.

During these rough times, Ethiopia is doing its best to protect its people by securing vaccines for immunization. As they embark on this new stage of fighting Covid-19, may they succeed and prosper.

7 Books to Read After Lent and Easter

What to do now that Lent is gone and Easter has passed? Grow in the faith – and read more books, of course. 

Lent and Easter may have passed, yet the true meaning of those seasons live on – and should live on in our lives. We, as believers, should strive to keep our hearts on fire for God with conviction and dedication throughout the year. We should strengthen our faith by incessant prayer and constant reading of Scripture and biblically sound literature, by fellowshipping and by confessing the truth, which is Jesus Christ himself. 

Here are seven books to help you in your faith post-Lent and Easter:

Fresh Fire by Mark L. Spell

Fresh Fire: Spiritual Transitions That Lead to Total Man Rebirth by Pastor Mark Spell aims to exhort believers who struggle in a culture that is apathetic or hostile to scriptural Christian faith and ethics and where false teachers abound, preaching false teachings and promoting unbiblical Christianity. Fresh Fire explores topics that should be of interest to discerning Christians, such as spiritual warfare; the true nature and necessity of God; the nature of Satan and the effects of unclean spirits; and the importance of praising God. Pastor Mark L. Spell hopes that his book will help readers understand how the Spirit of God works to help them cope and triumph over the challenges to their faith.   

The Other Side Of Fear by W. Veronica Lisare

In The Other Side Of Fear: My Journey Into Perfect Love, W. Veronica Lisare talks about the challenges and setbacks she had experienced from childhood abuse through cancer to learning forgiveness and experiencing the ultimate love of God. The retired nurse and former missionary how she discovers and embraces her authentic identity as a daughter of the King of Kings and gains courage, joy, hope, freedom, and fulfillment.

Healing the Wounded Soul by Arline Westmeier


Former missionary and clinical counselor Arline (Maust) Westmeier considers it her mission to help people heal and recover from their traumatic past and find healing in God. Healing the Wounded Soul: Ways to Inner Wholeness, the first of four volumes, contains stories of individuals who had suffered various forms of trauma, such as physical abuse and growing up in dysfunctional families, and their eventual healing by bringing their traumas to Jesus.

Stations of the Risen Christ by Frank Heelan

Frank Heelan wrote the Stations of the Risen Christ to help Christians reflect and meditate on the Scriptures pertaining to events after Easter, from Mary Magdalene and the women coming to the tomb to the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus. This scriptural prayer guide will motivate believers to pray and appreciate the resurrection of Christ as the core of the Christian faith.

The Face of Hunger by Byron E. Conner

Dr. Byron E. Conner about his work and struggles as a medical missionary in Ethiopia during the 1983-1985 famine in his memoir The Face of Hunger: Reflections on a Famine in Ethiopia. Dr. Conner, a Seventh-day Adventist, was drawn to the plight of the Ethiopians during one sleepless night when he watched a telethon about the famine in the Horn of Africa country. He felt that ‘someone’ should do something about the famine – and that “someone” should be him. He requested his church to send him as a medical missionary to Ethiopia and then moved there with his family. He served there for three years.

The Hands of God by Judith Martin Alford

The Hands of God by Judith Martin Alford is a collection of true short stories that affirm and extol the miracles of God. The book tells the stories of God’s actions in the author’s life, as well as the lives of some of her friends and parishioners. This book will strengthen one’s faith journey and help him/her believe that God is performing signs and wonders today.

The Two Sides of Being Single by Wayne Drayton

The Two Sides of Being Single: A Biblical Perspective by Deacon Wayne Drayton discusses the two biblical perspectives of being single: being single and remaining single and being single and waiting on God to provide a life partner. For Deacon Drayton, the vocation of singleness is just as valid a vocation as marriage. He emphasizes that God loves single Christians as well as married Christians and loves all people regardless of their marital status. God, according to the author, judges us according to our marital status, but He judges us according to our faith.

Top Activities to Try for Spiritual Growth

Spiritual growth centers on achieving and tapping in your inner soul. It is the state of living where you gradually turn your life around and become more like Christ. Upon reaching this condition, you will start to notice great changes around you including but not limited to experiencing a harmonious life, developing inner strength, feeling empowered, and becoming happier. In this day and age, everyone should really readjust their views and focus on growing spiritually to lessen the complexities of life.

But in these tough times, focusing on spiritual growth might be difficult. There is still a lurking virus threatening the lives of many and an intensifying fear inside of everyone due to this pandemic. As a result, you may have been feeling a little off and bothered for months now, which has affected your spirituality. Hence, we have listed below some of the best activities that you should try for spiritual development.

Join Bible study groups

Bible study groups are essential, especially if your main purpose is to grow spiritually. They can help you restore and strengthen your faith resulting to a stronger and more confident you. The main point of studying the word of God in small groups is to get a better grasp on His words in a collective and broader manner. This activity also includes other programs, such as worshipping, praying, sharing, and more. Studying and hearing the word of God weren’t really shaken up by the pandemic, because small groups found a way to continue their ways and touch many lives by making use of the digital platforms. So, you might want to give it a shot and see the results after.

Read spiritual books

Sometimes, all you need to alleviate your spirit, confidence, and motivation are words. Then, you might want to start checking out and reading spiritual, Christian, and inspirational books. They surely know what to say and surprisingly give you the wisdom that you need. These literary pieces will also help you grow, give you more realizations, and uplift your spirituality. For example, Come Climb Toward God: Are You Hungry for God? is a book teaching everyone how to develop a deeper relationship with God by Albritton. There are also other books that aim to teach and support those who are having troubles walking on their chosen path, needing guidance on their spiritual journey, and desiring to have a better connection with Him.

Use positive affirmations daily

Affirmation pertains to the act or method of affirming or emotionally supporting something. Hence, they come in the form of optimistic statements that can uplift and encourage you to conquer every complexity along the way and to brush of negative thoughts. Simply saying and claiming the words, “I am loved,” “I have a purpose,” “I am in charge of my emotions,” “I am my own hero,” and more can definitely boost your confidence and make you look forward to better days. Other benefits of using affirmations include spiritual growth, increased productivity, bad habit elimination, and better life outlook.

Attend regular masses

In order to achieve spiritual growth, you must be openly devoted to the Lord. All of His words and teachings will absolutely help you uplift your spirit and become a better person. Thus, the importance of going to church and attending masses eventually emerged and should be accomplished by individuals, especially Christians. Mass is considered as the primary act of worship in the Roman Catholic Church. In attending regular masses, you will be able to deepen your bond with the Lord, reflect on your actions, heal from pain, understand others, and develop spiritually.

Communicate with Him through prayers

Prayers are among the strongest weapons people can possess. It is a method of existing and relating — existing in time and space and relating to God and ourselves. Allocating some of your time say a brief prayer doesn’t only warms your heart but also helps you get to connect better with Him. Praying is also a great, convenient, and effect way of mending and improving your spiritual well-being. There is nothing better than releasing the baggage in your heart and expressing the thoughts in your mind through talking to God in the form of prayers.

The Don’ts in Writing a Great Biography

Biography is a hit nonfiction genre. People of different ages commonly read these books. Although many may think that biographies are not that interesting, they will be surprised upon discovering the beauty of these books once they read it. Moreover, writers often narrate the story of their lives or of people that have inspired them. Different tales of courage, growth, downfall, and hope evoke a wide array of emotions from the readers urging them to take action, understand themselves, and be motivated to continue their way through life.

 Perhaps many might think that writing a biography is easy. All you need is to put your experiences into writing and publish it. When you really try to look at it in a better angle, it is not that easy. There are many rules to follow in order to create a captivating work. So if you plan to write one, then here are some of the things to avoid in writing a great biography that you should know.

Don’t incorporate false information to enhance the quality of writing

Fact — this refers to the information or events that are proved to be true. The main goal of a biographical work is to give readers a primary detail about your life or the story of a particular person. Hence, everything must be factual. Do not compromise your work by mixing fictional events with the hopes of making it more interesting. Keep it real and simple. Biographies that aren’t based on facts lose their integrity, realness, accuracy, and precision. Once the readers come to know about the fabricated events in the story, you immediately lost their trust and attention. It is the rawness that keeps a biography magnificent, always take note of that. So, stick to the facts.

Don’t rely on the given time frame, back it up with a researched data

Sometimes, your mind can become deceiving. There are times that your memory flashes an event but doesn’t directly show the time when that activity happened. In writing biographies, the dates are always the trickiest part. Imagine trying to remember a fragment of your life that happened 10 to 20 years ago. That is definitely difficult. Hence, avoid solely relying on your memories. Try researching to back up that fact. You can interview people that you have been with during that particular moment or call those that are present around that time frame to confirm whether that event happened or not.

Don’t excessively center everything on you

Writing a biography can become overwhelming. The thought of having to write everything about yourself can linger on your mind. But, you should eradicate that concept. The truth is that even if you are the subject, your work should not project self-indulgent and self-pity. Every event must be balance. Hence, don’t forget to write about the people that you have interacted and made adventures with. Also highlight the events on the things or individuals that helped you grow and mature. Take for example, how Beyond Barriers talked about God’s purpose on David’s life by Anne Davey Koomans. The author didn’t focused the spotlight David’s life, but incorporate other figures and elements to make the story more captivating instead.

Don’t tell the readers, show them instead

Showing is a more advantageous and better option than telling. Even though biographies are works of nonfiction, you shouldn’t compromise your writing technique and creativity by directly telling the readers the events that took place. Merely telling the readers what happened will lose the flavor and beauty of your biography. Thus, start enhancing your storytelling game by showing readers everything that happened. This will eventually magnet the readers to the tale with absolutely immersive descriptions and terms. It will better the development of the story, making it more interesting to dive into.

Biographies might be simple to look at; but, it is definitely hard to write one. Looking into the don’ts of writing a remarkable biography might help you create a more promising work. Thus, make sure to know what points to avoid and what aspects to follow. Because no matter how wonderful the images that you memory flashes, it all goes down to who wrote it with genuineness.

Reasons to Read Children’s Books

Reading is an essential activity that plays a great role on our development. In our early stages, we were introduced to books that contain stories relevant to our age — children’s literature in particular. Although we haven’t really unleashed our skills to read and comprehend, children’s books have their own simple ways of helping us understand their stories, keeping us entertained, and making us learn. Reading truly molds us to hone our skills and become a wiser person.

Since we develop our reading skills while we are kids, being exposed to children’s books would be a great help. Oscar the Mighty Crab by Penny Higgins, The Song of Solomon the Snail by Caroleann Rice, and A Kids Life: Loving, Learning, Growing by Alana Konieczka are some of the best books that kids should never miss reading. But, are there any concrete reasons why readers should explore and read children’s books no matter how old we get? Here are the reasons why.

The stories are simple yet meaningful

Children’s books feature tales with a simple plot and language. Because even if the authors know that their books can also be read by bookworms beyond its set age range, they know that using complex storyline, language, and other writing techniques and story elements may compromise the gist and essence of their work. Authors of this genre make use of the opportunity to create surprisingly great tales that can transcend and teach one generation to another with their ability to insert strong and important central messages on their stories.

Take for example The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, it is written in the form of rhymes that can be easily understood by kids. But, if you take a closer look into its theme, it unexpectedly teaches the readers to care for the environment and be aware of how the changes are affecting Mother Nature.

The books improve your communication skills

Communication skill is an integral part of an individual’s skill set. There are many perks that will blossom when you start developing both your oral and written communication abilities. Reading books at such a young age can help you and other kids to gather and organize your thoughts before expressing them either through verbal or nonverbal communication. On your reading journey, you can also encounter highfalutin or unfamiliar words, which you can look up the meaning and apply it to your writings or conversations moving forward.

Additionally, there are also children’s books written to teach kids to communicate. Some great examples are Telephone by Mac Barnett, Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish, and Don’t Forget the Bacon by Pat Hutchins.

The tales remind you of important things in the world

In this fast-paced world, nothing is constant but change and progress. There are already different improvements in the society when it comes to the different fields and industries, making the world a much better and convenient place to live in. However, the value and essence of the little and simple things tend to diminish because people starts to seek for grander perhaps and achievements. As a result, there is a tight competition that many desire to conquer.

Children’s books exist to remind everyone about the significant aspects in the world that we somehow forgot or overlooked due to the drive of achieving success. Some of these are abstract factors that play great roles in restoring humanity and making us feel more human, such as love, kindness, faith, gratitude, patience, happiness, innocence, little victories, and more. There are truly amazing things that children’s novels instill to us.

The stories enhance your creativity and imagination

Another remarkable reason why you should read books that are intended for kids is because they have the ability to generate our imagination and creativity. Authors know how young and pure the minds of kids can become; hence, they try to help mold their thinking and perspectives gradually so that they become more knowledgeable and ready to face the world and unleash their skills. There are many fun and exciting stories that really boost the enthusiasm and imagination of the readers that leads to the enhancement of their creativity. Therefore, children’s books are really powerful, amazing, and worth reading.

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