The New Year gives us a fantastic
opportunity to reinvent ourselves. It's also a good time to start doing the
things we've been
putting off for a long time... like
read more books, learn something new perhaps a new language or a musical
instrument take
up a new hobby, and just make lifestyle
changes for a healthier life. Ashutosh Desai and Savio D'Souza tell you about
some fantastic web resources for a...
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Many of us “book
lovers“ can find hundreds of excuses for not reading as much as we'd like to.
Well, the web is packed with communities that encourage this
wonderful habit. A relatively new trend these days-and one which must be
encouraged--is to read 52 books in a year, ie, one every week. Here,
you can turn to websites such as...
http:www.read52booksin52weeks.com
52booksorbust.wordpress.com
oneyearfiftytwobooks.tumblr .com
http:www.reddit.comr52book for
inspiration and groups of readers who've taken up the challenge in all
earnestness.
Now, if you already
hold a library membership, or have myriad unread books on your shelf, you're
set. But if you don't fall in either
category , you could
consider investing in a Kindle e-book reader...
Kindle (Wi-Fi:
`5,999)
Kindle Paperwhite
(Wi-Fi: `10,999), (Wi-Fi+3G: `13,999)
Kindle Voyage (Wi-Fi:
`16,499), (Wi-Fi+3G: `20,499)
Kindle Oasis (Wi-Fi:
`23,999), (Wi-Fi+3G: `27,999)
Except for the basic
Kindle model, all the other devices come with a glare-free illuminated display
that allows you to read in low light and dark environs. We suggest you read the
complete specs of each of these models on http:www.amazon.in before you decide
which one best fits your needs.
The Kindles come with
an automatic bookmark feature that lets you immediately start from where you
stopped; you get a built-in dictionary; and you can even annotate, highlight
text passages. And if you link your Facebook and Twitter account to your Amazon
Kindle ID, you can also share book excerpts with your friends and followers.
Regardless of the model, these readers are backed by Amazon's online store
where you can find e-books paid and free in each and every genre. Plus,
there's Kindle Prime that lets you borrow books for a limited period of time at
a highly discounted price.
For suggestions on
which titles to read, you can try...
http:www.goodreads.com: After you
create a free account on this website, you can see what your friends are
reading; track the books you're reading, have read, and want to read; check out
book recommendations that are based on your reading list, and also read reviews
from other community members. The best part, GoodReads is also part of the
Kindle ecosystem, so as you finish a book on your device, it is marked as
complete on your online profile, and you are provided with suggestions on what
you could read next.
Also consider http:www.librarything.com
LEARN SOMETHING NEW
Sign up for an online
education to expand your skill set. You can enrol for short-term courses that
you can pursue at your convenience, gain proficiency in a foreign language and
even increase your general knowledge.
gohighbrow.com: This website lets you
sign up for bite-sized programmes in subjects such as art, business, health,
history , languages, literature, logic, nature, philosophy , productivity,
psychology , science and technology . All the courses are free, about 10-days
long and are broken into text-based 5-minute lessons that are delivered to your
inbox every day .
The lessons come with
suggestions for further reading and include links to other related resources,
wherever applicable.For instance, you can learn about the history of cinema,
understand the secrets of body language, do a quick course in HTML and CSS
basics, complete a programme on how to be a better leader, and more.http:www.duolingo.com:
This is, by far, the best resource to learn a new language for free. Here, as
an English speaker, you can learn Spanish, French, German, Italian, Vietnamese,
Hindi and more. Lessons comprise multiple choice questions that require you to
listen, translate and even say the answer out aloud (provided you have a mic).
Duolingo grades your responses, awards you with badges for being regular and
even encourages you to revisit lessons that require practise. You can compete
and interact with other members to clarify doubts, use its mobile app to
complete lessons while on the move and even join a Duolingo “club“ for
motivation. Now i know.com: Did you
know that the orange carrot is a mutant? That polar bears are invisible to
infrared night vision cameras? That Google hired 200 goats in 2009 to mow and
re-fertilise the fields at their Mountain Valley headquarters? No? Head to Now
I Know a trivia website created and maintained by Dan Lewis since 2010. Sign
up with your email address and you will receive newsletters with something new
and interesting that you can share with your friends every day .
FIND A NEW HOBBY
In 2017, you could
try and carve out some time, away from work, for yourself and a new hobby
perhaps, consider photography . You could, , drawing and sketching, or even
learn to play a new musical instrument...photographycourse.net:
It doesn't matter if you own a point-and-shoot camera, a digital SLR or a
smartphone, you can still fine tune your photography skills with online tips
and tutorials. In Photography Course, you will find suggestions to help you
improve the way you frame a shot, focus on a subject, use effects and even
photo editing software to enhance your pictures. Depending on your proficiency
, you can opt for courses that are tailor-made for beginners, intermediates or
advanced users. The website also comprises tips and articles on specific topics
like how to photograph landscapes, the use of perspective, when to (or not to)
use your camera's flash and more.
Also consider
http:www.geofflawrence.com and
http:www.exposureguide.com365project.org: Also,
register with 365 Project, a website that encourages members to post one
photograph a day . You will not only create a bank of memories through the
course of the year, but also improve your photography skills while interacting
with other members.
http:www.drawinghowtodraw.com:
Here, you can follow step-by-step tutorials on how to draw cartoons with basic
shapes and letters from the alphabet. For instance, you can draw elephants from
the letter `P', use the letters `b' and `d' to draw a bunny or try your hand at
drawing popular characters like an Angry Bird and Pikachu from Pokemon. As you
gain confidence after completing basic sketches, you can move on to advanced
tutorials on how to draw expressions, hands, eyes, etc. How to Draw also lets
you download free drawing ebooks for kids.
http:www.drawingnow.com:
For access to tutorials on how to draw people, places, manga and more, try
Drawing Now. The site has contests where you can share your drawings and
connect with other website members. You can also use its app for Android and
iOS devices to practise while you are away from your computer.
http:www.justinguitar
.com: The guitar, besides the keyboardpiano, is one of the most popular
instruments, which you can teach yourself fairly well. Simply log onto Justin
Guitar and you will find courses for beginners, as well as intermediates (in
case you have played a bit in the past), along with music theory and songs that
you can use to hone your skills.
Lessons are
accompanied with videos, so you can learn and play along with Justin.
Here you will also
find step-by-step practise tips, and even simplified versions of popular songs.
pianolessons.com,
piano-keyboard-guide.com: If you want to learn the piano then you should check
out the lessons on Piano Lessons and the Piano Keyboard Guide. Between these
two, you will have access to over a hundred video lessons on how to play from
scratch, read sheet music and learn about different playing styles.
http:www.youcanplayit.com:
Besides piano, You Can Play It also shows you how to play tunes on a recorder
(a type of flute used in western classical). The tutorials are labelled as very
easy , easy and advanced, depending on their complexity . The videos are played
slowly so that you can play along to get a hang of finger placement.
learntheharmonica.com:
The harmonica or mouth organ, which has been featured in many popular Bollywood
songs, is another instrument you can learn with a little bit of practise. Learn
the Harmonica is an excellent resource comprising over a hundred video
tutorials that will teach you the basics, with tips and tutorials on how to
play popular English songs.
discoverahobby.com:
In case you need some inspiration on what activity to take on, then visit
Discovery a Hobby and browse through its list of 200+ hobbies. They are
organised under catego ries such as collecting, arts and crafts, board games,
sports, performing arts, music and much more. Click on an activity of interest
and the website provides detailed how-to articles, along with videos and useful
web links to help you get started. If you regis ter or sign in with your
GoogleFacebook account, you can click on “I want to do this“ and keep a track
of the hobbies you are passionate about. Later, you can revisit these and click
“I've done this“ for the ones you have mastered.
GET FIT
You don't need the
gym to get healthy All you have to do is follow these web sites regularly , at
your own pace, for a healthier 2017.
darebee.com: Think of
Darebee as a complete fitness how-to website.
Here you will find
downloadable PDF files, with exercises neatly illustrated to make routines easy
for beginners to follow. Users can then print these for reference. In its
`Workout' section, you will find 794 exercises, which can be filtered by type
(strength, cardio, stretchingflexibility...), focus area (upper body , lower
body , abs...), equipment (none, dumb bells, bar...), and difficulty (easy,
normal, hard...). `Programs' includes 30-day exer cise routines that prep you
for strength building, boxing, endurance and more. `Chal lenges' are similar to
30-day programmes, only here you are pushed to meet goals like 1,000 crunches
in a month, no sugar challenge, eight glasses of water a day , sustained ab
workouts, et al.
`Running' helps
prepare you for 5km, 10km and marathon runs, while `Fitness' comprises
exercises to lose weight, build muscle, get rid of the belly... and finally,
`Nutrition', `Meal Plans' and `Recipes' help you plan your diets with detailed
eating advise for a more holistic approach to all-round health and wellness.
Darebee has a section
that helps beginners pick an exercise programme and it has a video library that
demonstrates the right way to perform over 200 exercises.The best part? It is
completely free to use.
http:www.doyogawithme.com:
If you want to start this year with yoga lessons, visit Do Yoga with Me. It
comprises over 150 free high-definition videos that teach students different
asanas and these can be browsed by difficulty (beginner, intermediate,
advanced), class length (0-20 minutes, 20-40, 40-60, more than an hour), style
(Hatha, Power, Vinyasa Yoga...) and even choice of teacher (with over 15
instructors to choose from).
Do Yoga with Me also
has a section on yoga poses, meditation, breathing exercises, and complete
programmes spanning 6 to 8 weeks, including a `beginner's studio' with simple
routines.
Source:TIMES OF INDIA-31st December,2016
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