34 Bubblegums and Candies..

I am back with another post & it’s about a novel that I read recently. Reading gives me strength, courage and nurtures my soul. But the sad part is I don’t implement the good things I read. Anyways the novel is “34 Bubblegums and Candies” by Preeti Shenoy, it’s a national bestseller. I don’t know Preeti personally but I like her as an artist & then as a novelist. I have read her another novel “Life Is What You Make It” a year ago and that time the novel helped me in some way because I was going through a low phase. 

34 Bubblegums and Candies is a collection of 34 real life incidents, some are humorous, some are moving, some thought provoking but each one brings out the essence & flavour of a journey called Life. 

The writer starts with a positive note saying ‘No matter how bad a day you had & no matter how hopeless the situation that you are in , things always change. Always. It’s just a matter of time’. Each morning when you open your eyes you are gifted 86,400 seconds to make a difference. And that itself is worth celebrating! 

You may not like all the 34 short stories / incidents but somewhere you’ll surely feel connected. So I am sharing some beautiful lines from the novel. 

• If there is an underlying bond of deep love, no matter how terrible the misunderstanding, the relationship survives. 
• It is best to be like the duck that goes with the flow. To float along the river effortlessly, enjoying the gentle flow of the water and to treat barbs and insults thrown at you like the water that falls on a duck’s back. 
• There are so many positive & uplifting things in life. There is so much beauty, so much joy. Life is so short and so fleeting. Its entirely up to us enjoy each moment.
• May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.
• The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your failures and heartaches. 
• Oh God, grant me the courage to accept things I cannot change, to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference. 

Chapter 16: 'Stay or Stray', describes an amazing story about a couple who are about get divorced but they don’t when they realize each other's value. 

Chapter 22: 'When Life tricks you', also shares a very motivating story that gives a lesson ~ When the hour is the darkest and trials are the greatest elevate yourself to another level. 

Though its said that it is difficult to understand Women but I liked the way the writer has written in Chapter 27: What women want. Chapter 34: Live Love Laugh, has a list that everybody can follow. 

The list is : 

1) Laugh heartily

2) Have Sex Often 

3) Spend time with children 

4) Stay away from the grouches and the drains 

5) If you love someone say it 

6) Be content with your body 

7) Enjoy the small things 

And I loved the end note ‘How this book came to be’. Its so true ~ Laugh & others laugh with you; Cry & you cry alone. So live without regrets, the gift of Life is worth cherishing.

Connect with the author : 

• Twitter : Preeti Shenoy