My First Award Yayyyy!!!!

Yipeee its time for celebrations.Yes I have been nominated for my first blogger award "The Leibster Award" by Satya from Locomente.

                                             

Thanks a lot Satya for considering me worthy of the award. Since I am relatively new to the blogging world, it came as a really sweet surprise. It really feels nice that somebody likes my amateur writing. I am really sorry for not being prompt as right now I am busy preparing for shifting in hostel.

Now about rules and regulations of the leibster award:

1. Thank the person who has nominated you and post a link of their blog on your blog.
2. Display the award on your blog- by including it in your post or displaying it using a widget.
3. Answer 11 questions about yourself provided to you by the person who nominated you.
4. Provide 11 random facts about yourself.
5. Nominate 5-11 blogs that you feel deserve the award, who have less than 1000 followers.
6. Create a new list of questions for your nominees.
7. List these rules in your post.
8. After publishing it, inform the nominees that they are nominated for The Leibster Award and provide a link for them to your post so that they can learn about it.

So here are my answers:

1. Story behind your blog name?
As everyone knows by now that I am big Harry Potter fan and Wingardium Leviosa is associated with one of my favorite scenes.

2. Your favorite book and why?
Harry Potter series because its really magical.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaleed Housseini because it shows emotions beautifully.

3. Favorite color?
White for its simplicity and blue for its serenity.

4. As a child what you wanted to be when you grew up?
    Night sky and stars had always fascinated me and I wanted to be an astronaut.

5. Your dream holiday destination?
    Can I say Harry Potter Theme Park, London :P

6. Coke or Pepsi?
    Frooti anyday.

7. Facebook or Twitter?
    Reading :)

8. Your mother tongue?
   Hindi.

9. Favorite Quote?
" It's our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." Albus Dumbledore.

10. Your Birthday?
      11th July.

11. Favorite number and why?
    2 and I really don't know why.


11 random facts about myself:

1. I am a loner.
2. I don't make new friends easily.
3. I am really messy and unorganized.
4. I prefer reading over partying anyday.
5. I am a day dreamer.
6. I don't like chocolates much but love ice creams.
7. I prefer mom-made food over any exotic dishes.
8. I hate dogs and lizards.
9. I hate money-minded people.
10. I feel uncomfortable in over-cleaned spaces. I like cozy spaces.
11. I have left-feet and can't dance to save my life.

I nominate:
1. Ashna Banga
2. Pooja T
3. Shonazee
4. SrishTi
5. Srishti Grover

My Questions for nominees:

1. Your favorite book and why?
2. One movie/book that you can read/watch any number of times?
3. Your favorite comfort food?
4. Your favorite cartoon character?
5. Your one guilty pleasure?
6. One thing that you absolutely hate?
7. Why did you started blogging?
8. Your dream holiday destination?
9. One thing that you want to change in yourself?
10. Most embarrassing thing you ever did?
11. Your favorite quote?


If hope you guys have fun answering these questions :)

Book Review: The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

Title: THE STORYTELLER
Author: Jodi Picoult
Genre: Historical Fiction                                            

Goodreads Blurb: Sage Singer befriends an old man who's particularly beloved in her community. Josef Weber is everyone's favorite retired teacher and Little League coach. They strike up a friendship at the bakery where Sage works. One day he asks Sage for a favor: to kill him. Shocked, Sage refuses...and then he confesses his darkest secret—he deserves to die, because he was a Nazi SS guard. Complicating the matter? Sage's grandmother is a Holocaust survivor.

What do you do when evil lives next door? Can someone who's committed a truly heinous act ever atone for it with subsequent good behavior? Should you offer forgiveness to someone if you aren't the party who was wronged? And most of all—if Sage even considers his request—is it murder, or justice?

My Views: This book deals with not just one, but two big issues, holocaust and forgiveness. When you pick up such issues, sometimes it is difficult to balance them. Also writing historical fiction is not easy, but Jodi Picoult has woven a very compelling tale.  My knowledge about holocaust was really limited and while picking this book I was not sure what to expect from it. But the way Jodi Picoult has written this beautiful tale is really impressive. 

t is not easy to forgive even the simplest things, then how can you forgive someone who has done such a horrendous crime. Reading the story of Minka makes you feel nauseated, saddened and horrified at the same time. It is really hard to imagine that some people can be so ruthless. And the most saddening is the plight of survivors who live their whole life with those deep scars.

There are too many stories running, but they are so beautifully woven together that you never feel like putting the book down. There are times when I felt like 'no this has never happened in real' but there are survivors for telling the truth.

The only thing that I didn't like was the ending of the book. I think if you have read Jodi Picoult's book, then it comes as something expected. Yet the book is a must read.

 For me this book was a wonderful read,though painful at times, especially when the horrors of Holocaust were described  but still worth it. I will recommend it to others too. In my opinion it is a must read.

Favourite Quotes: 

• History isn't about dates and places and wars. It's about the people who fill the spaces between them.
• Good people are good people; religion has nothing to do with it. 
• That's why we read fiction, isn't it? To remind us that whatever we suffer, we're not the only ones?
• People have to experience things that terrify them. If they don't, how will they ever come to appreciate safety?

My Rating: 5 out of 5 a must read.

Things I learned from Harry Potter :)

If you are reading this then by now you know that I am a Harry Potter fan. No, the word 'fan' would be an understatement, I would say that I am literally Harry Potter obsessed. I have read the whole series by almost 75 times till now and I am currently re-reading it :P
                             

Also, I have watched all movies numerous times. I know movies are not perfect when compared to books of the series, but movies give a face to all my favorite characters by which I can connect to them.

      Some of the best things about this series is that they gave me some of the best life lessons throughout my growing years. So here is a list of some of the things that I learned from Harry Potter:

1. It's perfectly okay to be different. The thing that is more important is to be yourself :)                                               

2. Rules are there to be broken. Okay, not always but most of the times!!!                           

3. Love is the most powerful magic.                       

4. Family always comes first :)                       

5. It's perfectly okay to miss exams. After all, they are just exams.                     

6. Friendship can pull you out of the darkest moments of your life.                             

7. There is no post on sundays.            

8. It's nice to be curious about unknown things.                                               

9. There are things that are worse than getting killed may be getting expelled!!!                           

10. Sometimes friendship just strikes in a moment :)                                         

11. Sometimes all you need is a good laughter.                                               

12. Mom is always right.                        

13. Life without imagination is a dull place.                                                     

14. In the end, no career is worth sacrificing your family.                                   

15. Wherever you go, home will always remain home :)                                     

Anyway, the list is endless but that's it for now :). So be happy and                                              

Pics courtesy: Google, Pinterest

My summer love!!!

Okay, first thing first this heat is killing me, I mean literally every time I step out it feels like standing in the middle of a volcano (If I can still feel anything after that!!). But even if it feels like I will soon be drowning in my own sweat(yucks), I still love summers. Oh yes!! and the only reason for this is Watermelons.

                                                

      I am a fruity person (if something like that exists), I love almost every fruit, but there is a special place for watermelons. Mostly everyone in summers waits for mangoes but not me. It's not that I don't like mangoes I love them, but watermelon hold a special place in my heart. Every time I saw a roadside vendor selling them my eyes start shining. I can have watermelon three times a day. And that too without any regret of not doing any exercise and hogging too much.

When you come home after spending a whole day in scorching heat, eating a chilled watermelon is the best way to refresh yourself. These days I am enjoying these ruby red pieces to the fullest.

                                

But this love affair was not always the case. There was a time I used to hate this delicacy just because I used to think that its really messy to eat with all those seeds spilling out from every piece. But then daddy dearest came to my rescue and shown me the perfect way to spit seeds in between teeth. I'm telling you this is the best way to enjoy watermelon but don't let your mom see the mess you create.

So what are you waiting for, go enjoy this little piece of heaven and let me enjoy mine.

            Happy Summers :)