Book Review Of Anita Jain's Marrying Anita

Marriage stands as a testimony to the cultures and customs of any society. There is no denying the fact that it is an integral part of Indian culture. Have you as an unmarried Indian woman, around and above 20 years of age, at some point or the other, faced both covert as well as inquisitive questions about getting married?
Family celebrations, any visits to relatives and you are showered with queries that range from the direct "So when are you getting married?", the veiled "So what do you plan to do next?", the emotional "Your poor parents are waiting to finish off their duties. Hope you understand and be a good daughter to them," and even the seemingly helpful and friendly "Tell me what kind of boy you want. I will search for you dear! Trust me - you will be married within a year without fail!" Never mind the fact that you may or may not be interested!
Your parents are bombarded and you are constantly probed. The more the delay, the more suspicious and worried are the kith and kin, resulting in a more vicious groom-hunt. So what happens if you are a 30-something Indian origin lady, who has lived the most part of your life in the West? This is the basic foundation of 'Marrying Anita'.
The story is told from the protagonist's viewpoint (in this case, presumably Anita herself) and it follows her as she travels from the USA to India in order to find a suitable husband. Of course, she has gone through the dating routines of her adopted country, but has yet failed to find 'that special someone' due to varied reasons.
Anita finds Life to be quite different and yet interestingly similar to Life, as she knew it, back in the States. She can draw many parallels between both. She is introduced to several prospective grooms but somehow things still don't fall into place.
While on this journey, she meets many people from different walks of life and each one seems to have a different way of handling their respective marriages. Some appear to be mere compromises due to societal pressures; Some seem to be genuinely happy and content while still others seem to be hiding behind fragile facades, which may come crumbling down at any moment and catch you unawares. She realizes that the set of rules that were applicable to the previous generations of our mothers and grandmothers, seem to no longer satisfy the young and urbane Indian woman. Anita comprehends that today's modern Indian woman is smart enough to set her own rules, bold enough to follow them and what is more, suave enough to pull it off too.
She understands also that an increasingly large number of young women are no more satisfied with playing second-fiddle to their husbands and in-laws. No longer does marriage mean abandoning ones' dreams and aspirations. Rather she expects and in fact, sometimes even demands that her marriage be aligned with her goals.
In an era when, even home-grown damsels are increasingly feeling uncomfortable with the idea of an "arranged marriage", the NRI has her own issues. But then does she really? Are her problems and dilemmas actually very different from that faced by the middle-class, educated, working and independent desi girl of the modern and ever-developing India?
These are just some of the questions that arise while reading this engaging book. It has an open and light-hearted air, without being condescending or presumptuous, which makes it a pleasant read. Does Anita find answers to all her confusions and a solution to her problem? Is she successful in meeting the man of her dreams? Read 'Marrying Anita' to find out! Chances are that you will relate to it.

Best Pregnancy Without Pounds Review

Pregnancy is the greatest event to ever happen in the life of a woman. However, the joy associated with it can be marred to a certain extent due to unattractive weight gain, excess flab, development of love handle and so on.
Pregnancy without pounds brought out by the leading pregnancy fitness expert Michelle Moss is the perfect antidote to counteract the ill effects and sail through pregnancy by staying in shape, fit and toned.
My personal experience
The book shares effective strategies to bring about weight loss for pregnant women. During my trimesters, I was saved from gaining excess flab in all the wrong places due to incorrect posture or slothful habits. Like an instructor, the book guided me with the core strengthening exercise that strengthened my pelvic muscles, further opened up my uterus, and made my labor relatively easier.
After my cherished thought of having a cute baby materialized, the tips mentioned kept me on a strict post pregnancy exercise regime coupled with post pregnancy diet, which streamlined my shedding of excessive fat easier. I regained my suave appearance at a rapid pace and the charm about me was appreciated by all.
By the third week after delivery, my overweight frame had fallen back to its pre-pregnancy glory and the baby had no problem suckling my breasts. The program saved my breasts from sagging too. With 'Pregnancy without pounds' by my side, I experienced an awesome pregnancy and lived ecstatically each moment of the divine feeling.
The plus points
The book is informative, never rambles on, thoroughly researched and proven authority to yield sure results. Apart from endowing the expectant lady with a host of advantages similar to the my aforesaid experiences, the book shares steps to obstruct cellulite invasion and pave way for effective pregnancy weight control.
You will be able to control on your food cravings along with fighting with various pregnancy problems. You will come across very effective ways to check sagging breasts post pregnancy. The turnkey book assures you of fast turnarounds.
The pregnancy exercises shelled out in the book have been chalked out to suit your specific body condition and the advancing pregnancy. The stretching and other exercises will never have any adverse effect on your torso or the fetus.
The book is amazingly mother friendly yet sophisticated planned to make you enjoy the most cherished moments of your life in an excess weight free manner. The charm is hard to resist and you will not feel like putting it down

Review of Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker, by Marla Martenson

Have you ever wondered what it's like to be the head matchmaker of a high-class Beverly Hills dating service? In this her candid and witty memoir, Marla Martenson takes you on a humorous ride through the ups and downs of her life working for such a place, as she struggles with the often unreasonable demands of her wealthy clientele.
"I honestly had no idea how shallow, picky, selfish, and entitled some clients could be. After six years of feedback, demands, and expectations, I'm still thrown for a loop now and then," says Martenson. But what can you do when her clients pay $40,000 and up to find the right woman?
The author starts off by showing us what a regular day for her is like, answering annoying emails and trying to understand her clients' often incredible and unreasonable requests, as they continually find faults with their gorgeous, perfect Barbie-doll dates.
After this initial glimpse into her 'regular day,' Martenson goes back in time to recount how she got started, working at restaurant jobs and waiting on rude celebrities such as Joan Collins, who once barked at her for forgetting a fork. "For all my work, she left me a $2 tip on a $120 tab. The woman was clearly typecast as Alexis, right?" says the author.
She also talks about her dreams of becoming an actress, her marriage, divorce and remarriage to the perfect guy, her father's death and, finally, taking charge of her life. Eventually all fell into place and she started earning good money making commercials and getting small parts in films and print modeling work. She even got a couple of lines in the Mel Gibson film, What Women Want. Then, finally, how she got started as a recruiter for the dating service, on the lookout for what she calls "a fresh supply of goddesses" and her life as an author-a calling she never suspected she had.
The book is full of interesting anecdotes about Martenson's work in Hollywood with the stars. The writing is simple, straight forward, witty and honest. This is the perfect fun, beach read. I like the author's satiric slant on beauty and the mystery of dating and relationships, as well as the shallowness of Hollywood and the pressure put on women to look good. The book, though a light read, makes you think about society and the role of women and men in it, and explores interesting issues of gender.

Ellen Reid Smith: My Inspiration to Roping a Kick Ass Internet Marketing Career!

Ellen Reid Smith brought the cowgirls of yesteryear to my attention in an incredibly inspiring book, Cowgirl Smarts, How to Rope a Kick-Ass Life.
The book was given to me by an old cowgirl friend of mine on a much-anticipated and well-earned camping trip. We were sitting at the campfire watching the embers of the fire go out as we finished up our lengthy conversation on the ups and downs, and ins and outs of our lives.
I was at a crossroads in my life and needed something or someone to give me something to hold on to. I needed to be inspired, but more importantly, I needed to be ignited.
"Here's a book that is right up your alley," my friend said, read it in bed, it will wake you up." She handed me Cowgirl Smarts, How to rope a Kick Ass Life. Well it did more than wake me up. It jolted me into high gear.
From the moment I picked up that book, I knew my life had reached a pivotal moment. The wall of Jericho fell from around me. All my answers were in the palm of my hand in black and white in Ellen Reid Smith's written words. I read it from cover to cover. I didn't want the book to end. I wanted to read more and more.
To inspire and guide me throughout my life, I have read a library of self-help, inspirational and motivational books from the most brilliant minds of our times. I got a lot out of those books but they never grabbed me by the scruff like Cowgirl Smarts, How to Rope a Kick Ass Life.
Not only is it brilliantly written, it is captivating, innovating, motivating, inspiring and true.
Ellen Reid Smith writes about a group of individual pioneering cowgirls, who against all odds, with their cowgirl smarts, broke down barriers and succeeded in their quests. They had nothing but their intense desire, their passion, and their willingness to weather many storms in an era when women had no rights and were subordinate to cowboys.
Ellen then goes into detail about the lessons learned from each cowgirl in order for us to grasp the same principles, and keep on keeping on.
These pioneering women, just to mention a few for recognition purposes and to put their names before you include, Elizabeth Johnson Williams, Bertha Kaepernick Blanchett, Wilhemenia Mathews, Adele Von Ohl Parker, Fanny Seabride, Prairie Rose Henderson, Dora Rhodes Waldrop, Lucille Mulhall, Fox Hastings.
Why did they affect me like they did? I think it's because they acted and elbowed their way in on our behalf. They made the impossible possible. They made it so we have no barriers.
The question now is who's going to write about us? Having said that, then who's going to take our place? We have more at our disposal than any of these cowgirls would have imagined. They would be riding high on the crest of a wave with the reins between their teeth in this era.
If Ellen Reid Smith were to write about us what would she write? Do we have enough material between us to put it in a book to ignite the women of the future? What's our purpose? What are we going to do with our God-given intensity?
Perhaps we should work on that material and expect our names to go on into the next century for another cowgirl to pick up as she leaves a burnt out campfire.
Ellen Reid Smith, by researching and sharing the stories of the pioneering cowgirls of the wild-west has given me more than I would have possibly imagined. She thought me how not to be stopped. Thank you Ellen, I owe you one.

A Special Space in Your Home for the Deserving Woman

Moving into your first apartment? Leaving a huge home to go to a small retirement apartment? Designing your own home for your family of five? HERS: Design with a Feminine Touch, is an illustrated guide to empower women to create a beautiful female sanctuary out of even the smallest cubby in their homes. Pages of photographs, sidebars and explanations guide amateur decorators to create fresh, sophisticated and inviting feminine décor. Just as each woman needs a "go-to" dress, each is entitled to a personal, glamorous space where she can relax and express her individuality. Yours may be a reading nook, bedroom nightstand home office, or garden path.
Author Jacqueline deMontravel, editorial director of Beckett Media's lifestyle group, edits Romantic Homes magazine. She has two decades of experience in magazine publishing. Her other books include Vintage Vavoom, The Vintage Table and 21st Century Etiquette. Marisa Crawford, Jacqueline deMontravel, Bret Gum, Jaimee Itagaki and Mark Tanner provided the photographs for a feast-for-the-eyes book.
The book abounds with practical suggestions, such as adjusting the layout of your room and colorizing without scaring off the opposite sex. Suggestions are given for thoughtfully displaying important mementos and adding interesting accents. Also discussed is how to choose the era and locale that fits your unique style. Editing is encouraged. In other words, throw away the clutter so that you can enjoy the treasures you've decided to highlight.
The suggestions are refreshingly not all about lace and pearls, but cater to those with busy lives who require a relaxing space-a "just for me" alcove. The photographs are a major player in this illustrated book. The reader can daydream as she takes in the detail in each shot. Ideas abound. So many different styles are presented that each woman will find something just for her within the pages of HERS: Design with a Feminine Touch.