A go-to guide on DIYs and hacks for sustainable living

Book details
Title: LIVE SMART:100 HACKS FOR A HEALTHIER AND HAPPIER LIFE
Author: Teja Lele
Cover Illustrations: Sayan
Cover Design: Amit Malhotra
Inside Illustrations: Surojit Bhattacharjee
Genre: Non-fiction
Type: Paperback
Page Count: 245
Price: Paperback- ₹399, Kindle- ₹223
Blurb
Are you trying to fix a leaky faucet? Wondering how to treat a bee sting? Looking to purify water without a fancy purifier? Making a chemical-free lotion bar? Wondering what to do with the pile of cardboard boxes left after online retail therapy?
If yes, then Live Smart: 100 Hacks for a Healthier and Happier Life is your go-to guide! Here you will find user-friendly DIY solutions for everyday problems and interesting tips accompanied by illustrations that will help you navigate the how-to-do-its in a step-by-step manner.
Live Smart is an invaluable manual for those looking for practical ways to organize and improve their daily life—and having a little fun while they’re at it!
Book Review
As someone very fond of DIYs and minimalism, I’m always on the lookout for doable hacks which means my phone is filled with screenshots & YouTube videos on DIYs. So it was only natural for me to grab this book when it came for reviewing on the Blogchatter platform.
I assumed it to have a listing of hacks or DIYs like any other book on life hacks but I was proven wrong by this carefully structured and well-rounded book. Right from the start to the end, it kept me hooked.
“Self-sustainability doesn’t come easy in today’s world, where almost everything we need is a click or a swipe away.”
-Teja Lele
The author knows that for any sort of change to happen it must come from within and starts the book with the right questions-the essential whys. As you read, you are sure to go down memory lane and think of your ancestors’ simplistic lifestyle and yearn for it.
Within the first few pages, the intention of the book as well as that of the reader’s journey on sustainability is set. This makes the book more purposeful and action-oriented than being a mere read.
Coming to the hacks themselves, there are 100 of them categorised under the sections titled, Home, Food and Kitchen, Beauty, Health and Well-being and Reuse and Recycle. They cover every aspect of our lives be it fixing a leaky tap or revamping leftovers or making your mouthwash or prioritising mental health or reusing fruit peels. The list is endless.
There are also these features like ‘smart tips’ and ‘checklists’ which are like WOW! You definitely need them to make your sustainability journey an easy breeze.
The hacks/DIYs are crisp with clear instructions and safety precautions/warnings wherever necessary. The hacks are such that they can be appealing to people of any age, no matter wherever they are in their journey of sustainability or self-sustenance. In fact, it was my 10-year-old daughter who read this book first and made her list of things to try first. (Making a bird feeder, homemade mayonnaise and natural eye shadow top her list!)
What I felt even more fascinating is the author’s conversational tone with fictional characters/movie references here and there. Her witty phrases/lines make it more relatable and interesting as well.
More importantly, the author has nowhere made any stereotypical assumptions while talking about domestic chores/tasks or hacks, which is definitely noteworthy. Even the illustrations have made their point.
The cover design and illustration by Amit Malhotra and Sayan, respectively, are attractive and non-stereotypical. The inside illustrations by Surojit Bhattacharjee complement the hacks by giving us a visual insight into how things may look or how things need to be done. It gives the reader much-needed clarity.
‘What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.’
-T.S. Eliot
To top it all, the end (Not the end, as the writer mentions) comes as a cherry on the cake. What a perfect ending, rather, beginning (you will know what I mean when you read this book!) to this journey. What a holistic outlook! It gave the feeling of completeness.
Wrap-up words
This book is definitely a catalyst in my journey of sustainability and it can be yours too. This book will meet you where you are and help you take the necessary steps to up your self-sustenance index and trust me, it is the need of the hour.
Finally, I just have two words-Go, BUY!
Buy here
P.S. This book also gains the credit of enlightening me that cover illustrations and cover design are two different things.
“This review is powered by Blogchatter’s Book Review Program“