Blog
Help your child become a lifelong reader
Posted by Bijal Shah on
 
                Being a mum of a sixteen-month old with another one along the way, I naturally want my kids to be avid readers. Reading has been a lifeline for me in many different ways — serving as both entertainment and education as well as constituting ‘therapy’ on many occasions. I would love for my children to gain the same benefits and pleasures out of reading that I have. After observing my daughter’s engagement with books as a little baby and as a toddler for the last 16 months, this is what I discovered about reading during the early years: BABY (0 — 12 months) Start...
2018 Pulitzer Prize Awards
Posted by Bijal Shah on
 
                The 2018 Annual Pulitzer Prize Award winners were announced yesterday and as always the award-winning books do not disappoint. Great additions for your Spring reading list: Fiction Less by Andrew Sean Greer A gorgeous book on love, growing old and the human heart. A satire that will take you half way across the world, mesmerise you with skilled writing and surprise you with how relatable it is! One not to be missed. History The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea by Jack E. Davis An engaging read that illuminates an important environmental history of the Gulf of Mexico that needs to be...
- 0 comment
- Tags: award-winning books
Why we need to adopt these words for happiness in other languages
Posted by Bijal Shah on
 
                The other day I came across some inspiring words in other languages, for which no similar words or phrases existed in English. These words were delightful and I absolutely felt that these needed to be introduced into the English language or borrowed even! I picked out the ones that I felt truly captured the spirit of happiness and taught us that joy is found in the experiential moment. I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I enjoyed discovering them! Aware — a brief, bittersweet, fleeting moment that exudes divine beauty (Japanese) Bon vivant — a person who enjoys a sociable and luxurious lifestyle (French)....
13 life-changing books you need to read in 2018
Posted by Bijal Shah on
 
                The other day I asked clients, friends and family about a book that had a real impact on them. A book that inspired their life views, their values, their mindset or was so memorable that the book’s story or message continues to live in their minds. Most people had read at least three to six books that had touched them personally or professionally. Some brought about immense self-awareness and personal change whilst others brought clarity to family matters and life circumstances. Others brought calm during difficult times or shed light on the wider meaning of life. If I had to...
- 0 comment
- Tags: life-changing books
Why poetry is one of the most powerful forms of therapy
Posted by Bijal Shah on
 
                April is National Poetry Month and naturally a great time to explore the immense therapeutic powers of poetry. Reading and writing poetry both engage our senses along with our emotions, making the art form experiential and hugely effective in connecting with our minds. Both writing and reading poetry, through their expression of feelings and words have highly therapeutic effects on the mind. The structure of a poem favours brevity yet the best poems also capture succinct detail, making them incredibly powerful in getting a message across to the reader. Writing poetry requires the poet to be extremely disciplined with his...
- 0 comment
- Tags: benefits of book therapy, bibliotherapy, book therapy session, poetry therapy, the power of writing poetry
