My recent reads and finds

If you haven’t been finding posts on my blog recently, blame it on the competition! My posts have been hijacked by newspapers, magazines, websites and other blogs! I begin to write a post for my blog – and then I wonder whether this could be good enough for the TOI humour column in their edit page? I send it across and wait for them to convey their verdict – accepted or regrets? So here it is for you - i dont post my best writeups on my blog! Ok, so you have it from the horse’s mouth – all my blog-posts were “Rejects”! Or worse - some are not even contenders. So take your chances and continue to read my 'ArTicKles', if you so wish!

You may have read the ones that got published, I suppose. But If you havent, do read them right here on my blog - All the links to my published articles appear in the side bar.

Writing is my first love these days. Reading is a close second. It used to be the other way around some years ago, until I took it upon myself to focus on writing. Writing anything – any nonsanz, that is. Whatnonsanz! I decided to revive my old hobby, which had been the victim of commercial pursuits of a corporate life in the maddening megacity of Mumbai. That was when even finding time to read a good book took quite an effort and the determination to find time for it. Reading opens up your mind. Provided, of course, you are reading the right kind of books or magazines.

Ever since I began blogging, I came across many interesting blogs, websites and periodicals and books! All of you friends do know my interests – so more suggestions come forth from you, who want to share the goodies with me. One such suggestion was from my good friend, Eknaath Nagarkar, who registered my subscription for the “Freedom First” magazine. I owe a huge thanks to him for this wonderful gesture! Although I had heard about this periodical, which was founded by the legendary Minoo Masani, I had somehow managed to miss out on reading any of its issues.

“Freedom First – The Liberal Magazine”, as it styles itself, proved to be a fresh breeze blown my way, by my good friend. It is just the fodder for thinking minds of the day. It provides in-depth, researched and well-presented write-ups on subjects of current national interests (Indian) by several authors of great repute and standing in their respective subject fields. The articles are covered in all respects – a 360 degree perspective, if I may say - of the issue at hand before coming to any conclusion. The magazine also presents detailed transcripts of Panel discussions, wherein eminent scholars debate an issue in all its multifarious aspects. It is almost as if, you had been present at such an august gathering! Freedom First is unique in its style and appeal!

Another magazine that we began to subscribe to, recently, is Moneylife Magazine. Moneylife is a Personal Investment and Finance magazine, with a great emphasis on investor education and investor protection. Unlike the usual finance magazines that only keep offering advice on where your money should be invested, this magazine offers great insights into how investors should avoid being duped into lucrative offers and teaches them to evaluate options before making a decision. Sucheta Dalal, the Managing Editor of the magazine, and Debashis Basu, the Editor, both exhibit substantial pluck to debunk price manipulations in equities and other dubious scheming plans, while advocating good governance practices for corporate and government bodies. Moneylife Magazine offers a fresh perspective to readers, who are used to the run-of-the-mill publications that only churn out multi-bagger tips. Moneylife Foundation also conducts seminars and panel discussions for investor educations which are publicised in their magazine. The magazine also undertakes equity analysis and has their own recommendations, which I haven’t tested and unable to comment about, although.

In my future posts, I would cover some other such good reads – books, magazines, blogs and websites – in short, recent finds worth sharing. If you have also found a good read recently, do post about it in the comments section giving your reasons for liking it or a link to your own blogpost about it!

Encouraging Readers and IWOTY article

A website called Reader's Quotient was launched on 26th January 2010. The team announced that it needed articles not already published to be contributed for the e-zine. I was requested for sending my article to the new e-zine. I was wondering what to contribute? My whatnonsanz masquerading as humour for the gullible readers of my blog is not suitable for any other website.

So i wrote a non-humour piece which appeared on its first anniversary, 26.01.2011 in Reader's Quotient, titled "Encouraging Readership"

Do read it! If you find any good book worth recommending to school children or those just beginning to read books, please post your suggestions in the comments here.

Some time ago, this blog had featured a post on the Word Of the Year 2010. I had also proposed that Indians ought to have their own Indian Word of the Year (IWOTY)

Most of the readers suggested words related to the root word 'Scam' and its variants.
I built upon the idea to try out the humour column of TOI, which worked!

Do read this article based on this post here