READAHOLIC

Motherhood has been quite engaging. My reading has suffered a bit but as one who loves to read, I just have to make out time to read a bit of something every day. Since a lot of you really enjoyed my first book review post, I decided to share this piece with you about the different ways to keep up with reading or shall I say the different things I indulge in to ensure I’m always reading. Here goes:

1. Manga - there are so many Japanese comics out there with great mixtures of genres which are released weekly like Bleach, One Piece, Freezing, Death note, etc. Although most of these are translated into anime, reading the comics online keeps you ahead of anime watchers in terms of catching up with the storyline. My favourites at the moment are Fairytail (which I’m like 3 episodes behind) and Naruto/Naruto Shippuden.

2. Audiobooks – recently I had the opportunity to download a free e-book by one of my favourite authors, Ted Dekker and I stumbled upon a link to the audio book. I downloaded but since my concentration was low, I never got past the first chapter for the first 3 weeks it was in my possession. One day, I determined in my mind that I would go the distance and in less than an hour I was through with the book and hungry for more. I would recommend this medium for book lovers who barely have time to read either hard or softcopy books. The book I read this way was titled Identity (the first book in the trilogy called Eyes Wide Open).

3. E-books – most books are now being converted into electronic versions as the world becomes more and more of a global village via the internet. The great part of this medium is the books are mostly free, featuring copies of the book that authors want general feedback on before going ahead to financially invest in Hardcopy production. To enjoy reading these books, its best to have an ebook reader, tab or a smartphone that allows you view pdf files on the go (sitting on your laptop can be a bore sometimes). You can also convert them to Word or Rich text format that can be accessed by your phones. The E-book I’m supposed to be reading is To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee but I just got For Days and a Night by Seun Odukoya which is much smaller in size.

4. Hardcopy books – for those of you like me who prefer to hold the book in your hand, this is your thing. Keep buying it even if it seems you’ve run out of storage space and do exchange them with other book lovers when you are done with them. That way you keep reading more genres and more work by other authors be it fiction or non-fiction, hard or paperback books. The hardback book I’m reading now is Illusion by Frank Peretti given to me by a book loving friend.

5. Online Articles, Blog posts, E-zines, etc. – usually of varying length, these tend to cover a variety of subject matter that create diversity in your reading life. I try to read at least one online article be it a link to a blog or news piece every day mostly using my Blackberry. Sometimes I would go to certain sites like Babycentre.com to read one article and end up reading like four or five pieces. Another way to access these is through twitter, most news agencies, magazines owners or bloggers tweet links to different articles. If you haven’t read any fiction piece I’ve written, check out this story I guest wrote on OTDamilola’s blog on rape http://t.co/goCfEi03vU. You can also follow my thoughts on current issues on my facebookpage www.facebook.com/LifeLoveAndAnythingGoes

Whatever you do, no matter the circumstances you find yourself, readaholics always keep on reading.

Shopping tips for fashionable items

Now I must confess, shopping is not one of my strong suits but that doesn’t mean every now and then I don’t indulge in a little splurge. The most popular reasons to shop for fashionable items is the need to feel a sense of pride, dignity and have ‘effizy’ among one’s peers. It’s a symbol of our financial status, to let everyone know “we’ve arrived”. For some people, the desire to overindulge comes from a need to cheer themselves up after having a bad day. For others, it’s simply to give themselves a treat; a little something for ‘me only’. Or it could be to celebrate ourselves as a consolation after a job well done when we’ve achieved a great feat in our careers.

But mainly in Nigeria, it is done to show that one has control of money and not the other way round especially after struggling with being ‘broke’ for so long. Plus, there is a need to feel a little bit irresponsible after being too careful about money.

There are different ways to shop; you can either go on a spree, for a steal, or shop comparatively.

STEAL
By steal I don’t mean going to raid a boutique. I’m simply referring to buying things – clothes, accessories, shoes etc – of high quality at cheaper prices. Getting great items at steal may a bit of hard work because if everyone knew how to, then most of us would be out of luck. So if you decide to go cross-country while looking for that item at a steal, well, good luck to you! It’s always better to be informed before you step out in your quest for a steal, that way you don’t expend too much energy and feel too exhausted to enjoy yourself. So it’s important to plan to:

Pamper your body with a little refreshment after your purchase. Even if you decide to go to a shopping mall, you’d still feel tired after checking out a few stores because the task of wondering from shop to shop can leave you mentally and physically exhausted as it is time consuming.

Make sure when you go shopping you take a friend along. It may seem financially burdensome but it’s necessary. It’s tons of fun to have someone ‘trip’ over your purchase. For you are looking for a great price for that quality stuff you need, go with a friend who can take you to where you can get great quality stuff at very low prices and praise you for your bargaining strength. This street-wise shopper knows when a purchase at a discount is a disadvantage to go for because another brand of that product of equal quality is cheaper... la, la, la. Bottom line, shopping is no fun when you are alone. If you doubt it then ask yourself why you need to run your purchase by the first person you see when you get back from shopping alone.

The Internet is also a good place to shop. You can use comparison search engines to check out prices and brands.

Now this leads me to another form of shopping.

COMPARATIVE SHOPPING
It involves not only comparing prices but also different brands of the same product like a Nike or All Stars sneaker. Here you can sample a variety of products by different manufacturers to determine which best suits your budget. I think the reasons for engaging in comparative shopping are pretty obvious and they act as guidelines for practicing this type of shopping.

Endeavour to get value for your money. This shopping allows you to buy only that which is necessary because the shopper is well within his/her financial capability. This enables the shopper to get value for his/her money’s worth and also to save a few extras for other expenses. Plus, the more the merrier, right? So you can say comparative shopping allows for variety of possessions with the illusion of abundance in the midst of little.

Bargain till the price is right. Sometimes comparative shopping is just as exciting a form of shopping as spree because your bargaining power is what allows you to feel on top of the world when you get stuff cheap or very cheated when you don’t.

SPREE
This is simply a carefree wanton spending or a pleasant outing in pursuit of enviable items. With a lot of cash to throw around, this form of shopping can be exceedingly fun-filled. In a case where cash inflow isn’t a limitation, most people are inclined to spree. So I think it is safe to say that a true shopping spree isn’t about one’s bargain power but about buying that ‘treasure’ for keeps. It’s the fact that you could get that TM Lewin or Thomas Pink shirt that you’ve been eye-ing or that Gucci or Louis Vuitton bag that you saw in Vogue magazine that makes spree very exciting. In which case, it is important that you:

Keep up with the trends. There’s nothing worse than spending a fortune on an outdated fashion item. Trends can be seen in fashion shows, articles/blogs or by following different fashion icons (TV presenters, movie/music stars) or designers’ lines. Even if your item is no longer in vogue, listening to fashion reporters can enable you learn how to combine your expensive piece with other items to enable you stay on trend.

Beyond the availability of cash, it’s a wonder what makes people choose one form of shopping over the other. Whatever form of shopping you decide to indulge in a spree, steal or comparative shopping, remember the main aim is to look good, so be satisfied with your purchase. This is coming from a convenience shopper. Over and out!