Ulat Buku in the City

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

2011-07-09T20:52:00.000-07:00

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/ Steampunk

I’ve never read anything from the steampunk genre before and when I heard all the buzz surrounding Cassandra Clare’s book, I thought I’d give it a go.

Clockwork Angel is the first installation in the Infernal Devices series, an extension from Clare’s popular Mortal Instrument series (which I’ve never read before). I read somewhere that it was okay to pick up Clockwork Angel even if you’ve never read any of her earlier series, so that’s just what I did.

The book tells the story of Tessa who travels to England during the Victorian era to join her brother after the untimely death of her aunt. Upon reaching her destination, she is taken against her will by ‘the dark sisters’ who claimed that they have abducted Tessa’s brother as well.

As a prisoner of ‘the dark sisters’, Tessa is exposed to a talent that she was never aware she had and another world where vampires, warlocks and demons existed. She is however rescued by the Shadowhunters who offer her safe refuge until her brother is found.

Whilst under the protection of the Shadowhunters, Tessa finds herself attracted and torn (Surprise! Surprise!) between two friends, Jem and Will who have completely opposite characters.

Clockwork Angel was quite an enjoyable read in terms of the adventure. It was filled with machines, warlocks and demons but the characters in the book failed to engage me. I thought Tessa’s character was not strong enough and thus I did not find her appealing. As for the romance bit, it was sort of predictable. The minute they introduced both Jem and Will, I knew she’d be attracted to both of them.

What I really liked about the book though was the mix of magic and machines. I may pick up the second installment of this book but it would be more for the adventure rather than the romance. I did enjoy reading a book from the steampunk genre and hope to read more of it. So, if you have recommendations, do list them out for me.

XOX,

Six months later...

2011-06-27T07:24:00.000-07:00

Wow! Time flies. Can you believe it’s been six months since my last post? I’m really bad at making blogging a consistent habit. I guess the same can be said for my reading habit cause I’ve only managed to read ONE book for the year. That’s really sad!

Anyway since my last post, many things have happened and here’s a quick rundown of major events in my life for the past six months:

I was diagnosed with molar pregnancy sometime late last year (I think).
Started a new job with my old boss.
Sold my apartment.
Gave birth to a cute little baby boy who we have named Ariz (Alhamdulillah).
Went for emergency surgery one week after giving birth (via c-section) due to a blood clot or hematoma.
Had to go back into the hospital one week after THAT surgery due to the fact that my surgical wound had a leakage which required me to travel to the hospital EVERY DAY for one month and then...
Moved into a new house with the hubster and our new baby and….
Was recently diagnosed with Gestational Trophoblastic Disease (GTD) of which I am currently undergoing chemo treatment at the hospital for ten days.

Phew…

Health-wise, it’s been frustrating for me. I’ve been busy going back and forth to the hospital for one reason or another. Anyway, I’m hoping to write more on my molar pregnancy experience as well as my GTD experience on a separate post.

Amidst all the chaos, baby Ariz has been our sole source of joy (thank God for miracles for hubs and me). Ariz is now three months old and hubs and I are so happy to have him in our life. Look at how big my baby has grown at only three months!

Do look out for my post which I hope to share my experience on my molar pregnancy and my treatment for GTD. Hopefully, I’ll be able to post it within the next few days.

Till then, cheerio!

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

2010-12-02T02:47:00.000-08:00

Author: Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl

Genre: Young Adult/Paranormal

Beautiful Darkness is the continuation of Beautiful Creatures which I read sometime back. In my review of the first book, I really loved the paranormal elements in Beautiful Creatures and in Beautiful Darkness the authors managed to make the paranormal aspect of the book as good, if not better than the first one.

In the sequel, the book picks up almost immediately where the first book ended. Lena is distraught and unable to cope with the death of her Uncle, Macon. Her character changes drastically becoming darker, unpredictable and unreachable even to Ethan. Lena deals with her grief by pushing Ethan away and as much as Ethan tries to help, he is unable to connect with her and fears that he is losing her to the dark side.

Like the first book, I'm still not really into the romantic relationship between Ethan and Lena. Ethan still seems too obsessed with Lena and I personally think his love and obsession for Lena can be a bit overwhelming to read. Other than his obsession with Lena, Ethan's character and his role in the caster world is actually quite interesting to follow and I felt like I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to find out where Ethan fits in the order of the caster world.

There are also other characters that I love in the book making the book interesting to read like Amma (I absolutely love her), Marian, Liv, Link, Macon and Ridley and their presence makes the overall story more interesting. As I mentioned earlier, I love the paranormal aspect in the book and I felt that the sequel was so much better than the first. I love the magic surrounding the caster world and can't wait for the next book to be out to read more of it. The bad news? I probably have to wait another year before the next book is released... bleargh...

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge, Young Adult Reading Challenge

Room by Emma Donoghue

2010-12-01T23:25:00.000-08:00

Author: Emma Donoghue

Genre: General Fiction

When I heard about Room I couldn't help but wonder if the book was in any way inspired by true events that happened in Vienna sometime back. Whether or not inspired by true events, this book has been receiving many positive reviews and was longlisted for the Booker prize and recently won the Hughes Novel of the Year Award which it rightly deserves.

In this amazing novel, the world of 5 year old Jack is limited to a 11-by-11 foot room in which his mother is being held against her will. Jack provides an amazing story of his experience living in a small windowless room. Through his narration, Jack details how his young mother survives being captive for seven years and her efforts in making things as normal as possible for her son with the limited resources available.

Jack's voice gives the story warmth and provides a unique, innocent perspective of the horror his mother experiences as a captive. The storyline and the characters captured my attention and got me hooked from the first page. I could not put this book down till the end.

I have much respect for Jack's mother in this book. Her strength and her ingenuity in making things as normal as possible for her son in the prison they call Room is admirable. Room also highlights the strength and goodness that would come from a strong mother and son relationship in such harrowing circumstances.

Room is a definite MUST READ.

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

2010-11-30T00:26:00.000-08:00

Author: Patrick Ness

Genre: Young Adult/ Science Fiction

Todd Hewitt knows nothing other than his life in Prentisstown. To his knowledge, Prentisstown is the only surviving settlement in the new world and that there are no female survivors after the natives called ‘Spackles’ releases a germ that kills all the women in the world. As a side effect of this tragedy all the men in Prentisstown are able to hear each others’ thoughts, a constant presence that Todd has come to know as ‘Noise’.

Nearing his 13th birthday, Todd discovers an area in the swamp where Noise is apparently absent. He informs his adoptive parents, Ben and Cillian of his findings and is suddenly asked to run from Prentisstown. In his journey to escape from the mad men of Prentisstown, he realises that things are not as they seem in his hometown and that there are other surviving settlement outside of Prentisstown.

This book is surprisingly.... GOOD. I was quite skeptical at first and maybe was turned off a bit by Todd’s Huckleberry Finn-like accent but by the third chapter I was hooked. The Knife of Never Letting Go had many action packed, near-death scenes that it kept me reading at the edge of my seat. The pacing of the story line and the tense action scenes reminded me somewhat of the Hunger Games.

My only grouse is the cliff hanger ending, which is just a way for the author to keep you reading (or buying) the next book in the series; The Ask and the Answer. Thank God I picked this up when all three books from the series are out on sale already or else I’d be one frustrated reader!

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge, Young Adult Reading Challenge

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

2010-11-29T20:13:00.000-08:00

Author: David Ebershoff

Genre: Historical Fiction

The 19th Wife is a story about polygamy in America. There are two stories told in this novel; one based on a historical figure named Ann Eliza Young and the other based on a modern day murder mystery set in Utah. Both these stories tell the tale of polygamy and how each character is brutally affected by this practice.

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading The 19th Wife. Despite having two stories in one novel, which could have easily gone astray, the novel was engaging from beginning till the end. In that respect, I salute the author for keeping both the story interesting despite making the reader focus on two separate storyline.

The characters are definitely memorable and after ending the book, I found that I wanted to know more about Ann Eliza Young as well as current polygamous practices in the US. Though polygamy is not a new theme (especially for us in Malaysia cause Malaysian Muslim men are allowed to practise polygamy here), I found the topic interesting especially when it is practised in such a modern and westernized country.

The 19th Wife is definitely one of the best novels that I have read in 2010 and I would highly recommend you give it a read.

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge

2011 Reading Challenge: Audio Book Challenge

2010-11-27T19:54:00.000-08:00

One of the things that I'd like to explore in 2011 is the experience of using Audio Books. With that in mind, I've decided to join the Audio Book Challenge hosted by Teresa's Reading Corner.

The 2011 Audio Book Challenge runs from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011. I'm taking part in the FASCINATED level where I'm required to go through 6 audio books to complete the challenge.

Thanks Teresa for hosting the challenge! If you are interested to participate in this challenge, do visit her blog here.

I'll be listing my progress at the end of this post, so please do drop by from time to time to see how I'm doing:

XOX,

Friday Finds: 26 November 2010

2010-11-26T00:52:00.000-08:00

What great books did you hear about/discover this past week? Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS! This is a weekly blog event hosted by Should Be Reading.

Here's what I found this week:

"The Wish List" by Eoin Colfer

"The Zombie Survival Guide" by Max Brooks

Have you found anything interesting this week? Do share with us your finds.

In the meantime have a great reading week ahead y'all...

2011 Reading Challenge: Off the Shelf Challenge

2010-11-25T19:19:00.000-08:00

Yet another challenge that I am committing too but I think this should be a required challenge for me. I have so many TBR books piled on my shelf. I buy them faster than I can read them. So I thought 2011 would be the year where I try to save some bucks and actually read those books that I own.

I have approximately 200 books on my shelf that I have not read yet... Yes. Believe it... 200 books baybeh... Click here for the list of books I own on Goodreads if you are interested to browse my shelf.

Anyway, I am participating in the Off the Shelf Challenge hosted by the Bookish Ardour. The challenge begins from 1st of January 2011 and ends on 31st December 2011. For this challenge, I’ve decided to participate in the TRYING level where I am required to read 15 books from my TBR pile. I won’t list selection of books cause I don’t want to over commit myself on what I’ll read next year.

If you are interested to find out more about the challenge and the rules and regulations, please visit the Bookish Ardour’s blog here.

Wish me luck!

I'll be listing my progress below:

1. I Know This Much Is True, Wally Lamb

2. Daughter of the Empire, Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurts

3.

XOX,

Blankets by Craig Thompson

2010-11-22T19:35:00.000-08:00

Author: Craig Thompson

Genre: Graphic Novel

Blankets is a very unique autobiography of author Craig Thompson featured in an illustrated novel format. The novel is based on his experiences growing up in a Christian family, experiencing his first love and memories of spending time with his brother.

I’ve never read an autobiography in a graphic novel format before but the experience of reading Blankets is actually quite beautiful. Though the author and I quite possible have nothing in common, you can’t help but relate to some of the author’s experiences growing up.

One of the things that I related strongly to from the novel is of course, experiencing your first love as a teenager. It’s always so special and the way Thompson captures his first love is exceptionally memorable. However, Blankets is not just about first love, it’s a coming of age graphic novel that poses questions a lot of us asked during those strange adolescent years on love, religion and values in a path to understanding yourself.

I really liked Blankets. I dare anyone to read it and not relate to at least one of Craig Thompson’s experience while growing up. Blankets is exceptionally beautiful and a memorable reading experience.

2011 Reading Challenge: Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge

2010-11-22T07:05:00.000-08:00

I'm signing up for my first 2011 reading challenge hosted by The Book Vixen. The challenge runs from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011. For more details on the challenge, please visit The Book Vixen's Blog here.

For this challenge, I've decided to participate in the GETTING THE HEARTRATE UP level where I am required to read about 1-5 book more than I did in 2010.

Wish me luck!

I'll be posting my progress below, so please do drop by to see how I'm doing!

1. Clockwork Angel, Cassandra Clare
2.
3.
4.
5.

XOX,

The Girl Who Could Fly

2010-11-18T01:08:00.000-08:00

Author: Victoria Forester

Genre: General Fiction/ Science Fiction

Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Piper McCloud lives a normal life with her normal Ma and Pa in a normal farm house...but really, Piper is far from normal. Since she was born, she has the ability to hover and as she grew older, she enhanced her ability so she could fly.

Piper's parents have tried so hard to hide Piper's ability from the other folks in town. However, one outing Piper accidentally shows off her skills. Now that her abilities are known to the public, a super-secret organization called I.N.S.A.N.E approaches Piper and offers to take her to a hidden facility where she is able to mix with other special children like herself. All seems fine at I.N.S.A.N.E in the beginning but after a while Piper suspects that not everything is as it should be.

I have to say that I found this book a bit odd but it was absolutely fun to read. I can't help but fall in love with the main character Piper. She may talk to much but she definitely has a heart of gold. Though this book is targeted to a younger group of readers, I think adults would enjoy Piper's adventures; I certainly did.

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge

Never the Bride

2010-11-17T07:33:00.000-08:00

Author: Paul Magrs

Genre: General Fiction/Mystery/Paranormal

Brenda has led a very long and difficult life and all she wants now is to lead a quiet uneventful existence as a Bed & Breakfast proprietor in Whitby. Brenda is very secretive of her past life that even her best friend Effie is unaware of her background. As much as Brenda wishes for the quiet, mysterious events seem to happen around her and somehow she and Effie are pulled into solving one mystery after another; making it impossible for Brenda to live the life she desires.

Never the Bride is the first in the Brenda and Effie series. I like the concept of this book. A quirky tale of two ladies who are unwillingly pulled into the supernatural mysteries in the Gothic town of Whitby with classic characters such as Dracula and Mrs Clause revived and presented in a different light.

The book is a light read, it took me about a day to finish it. Unfortunately, I didn't really enjoy reading Never the Bride. It took a while for Brenda's past to be revealed and it came in bits and pieces which I found to be a bit frustrating. Each chapter seems to feature a different mystery for Brenda and Effie making it feel like there were too many things happening and also very disconnected as you jump from one mystery to another.

Thankfully the last chapter provides a clear picture explaining the connection between the mysteries but still I was slightly disappointed with the ending. The ending of Never the Bride also leads to the second book in the Brenda & Effie series, Something Borrowed. I actually have a copy of both books but Never the Bride is really not my cup of tea and I have no intention of picking up Something Borrowed to read... well at least not anytime soon.

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge

Her Fearful Symmetry

2010-11-15T23:14:00.000-08:00

Author: Audrey Niffenegger

Genre: General Fiction

Her Fearful Symmetry is the second novel by Audrey Niffenegger, the same author who brought us The Time Traveler’s Wife (if you didn’t know already) which happens to be my all time favorite book.

In Her Fearful Symmetry, Niffenegger tells the story of Julia and Valentina, mirror twins in their 20’s who are completely inseparable and dependable on each other. Elspeth, the aunt of the twins dies from cancer and leaves them her apartment located in London. The twins were never aware of their aunts’ existence and this is because of the rift that had happened between their mother, Edwina and their late Aunt Elspeth. The reason of the rift is unknown to the twins but with the sudden inheritance, they decided to take residence of the flat in London.

I’m not going to go into details about the book because I quit reading Her Fearful Symmetry halfway. The central characters in the book, Julia and Valentina as well as the other characters featured just did not appeal to me. I felt the plot was slow moving and I was constantly wishing that something would happen before I quit the book. Overall, I felt the book wasn’t engaging and I had to put it away. Sorry but this book is just not for me.

Below are some of the other books I've read by Niffenegger, please click on title if you'd like to read my review:

The Time Traveler's Wife
The Three Incenstuous Sisters: An Illustrated Novel

Hopefully, I'll enjoy her next book better. In the meantime, happy reading everybody.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2010-11-15T04:55:00.000-08:00

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? Is a weekly event hosted by Sheila from Book Journey.

I’ve just picked up a graphic novel today titled Blankets by Craig Thompson. My brother read it sometime back and raved about how good it was when he finished reading it, so I thought I’d give it a try. It's been a good few pages so far. I think I can finish reading Blankets by tomorrow. If I do then the next book I plan to read would be The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff, which has received quite a number of great reviews so am hoping it’ll be a good read.

Last week, I managed to read three books:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (click here for review), Never the Bride (click here for review) and The Girl Who Could Fly (click here for review). I have to say that I absolutely LOVED The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and highly recommend you read it if you haven’t already.

Have a great week ahead everyone.

Muaks!

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

2010-11-14T01:23:00.000-08:00

Author: Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrow

Genre: Literary/Historical Fiction

Juliet Ashton is a prominent writer made famous by her work Izzy Bickerstaff Goes to War during World War II. In January of 1946, Juliet receives a letter from a stranger who introduces himself as Dawsey from Guernsey who claims to have purchased a book once belonging to her written by Charles Lamb. Dawsey further explains that he is a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Curious by the name, Juliet writes back to find out more about the society and is pulled into the life of it's extraordinary members and their story during the German Occupation.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is such a unique book as the storyline, the characters involved are all revealed through a series of letters between Juliet, her closest friends and the group of people belonging to the society.

This book is funny and full of warmth and through the letters you learn about each individual and their experience; their bravery, love, loss and suffering during the 5 years the Germans occupied the Channel Islands. The letters written by each character carried such a realistic tone that you feel they really do exist. Reading the book I can't help but fall in love with each and everyone of them (well except for one: Miss Adelaide Addison).

I absolutely love this book and found it impossible to put down. A definite must read!

BTW, I did some research on Guernsey and I'd really love to go on a holiday trip there someday. The book made me fall in love with the island. Must start lobbying the idea to hubs soon... :D

Challenge: 100+ Reading Challenge

Lotsa love,

The History of Love

2010-11-13T07:12:00.000-08:00

Author: Nicole Krauss

Genre: Fiction

The History of Love focuses on two central characters who lead separate lives and are unaware of each others existence.

Leo Gursky is Polish and in his youth wrote a book where he named the female character after the woman he loves. Having survived World War II, Leo moves to New York and lives his life in quiet existence as a locksmith after realising that he cannot live the life he dreamed of with the woman he loves. Now an 80 year old retiree, Leo lives a lonely life and does whatever he can to get noticed.

The second central character is Alma Singer, a fourteen year old girl who is named after a character from her parents favorite book, The History of Love. She sets out to investigate more about the book; The History of Love after her mother was hired to translate it. Her efforts lead to both her and Leo converging towards the end of the book.

Actually, there are a lot of characters involved in this book other than Leo and Alma that play a pivotal role to the storyline. You'd need to really focus on whats happening or risk losing track of how things ended up the way it did.

The History of Love carries an interesting mix of themes like love, loss, regrets and also the desire to be recognized or remembered. It took a while for me to appreciate The History of Love but what stood out most for me from the book was Leo's character. How the book ended for Leo haunted me long after I finished the last chapter of the book; it was heartbreaking and I can't help but feel sorry for him.

Overall, the History of Love was just okay for me. Other than the ending, I found it a bit of a struggle to read the book because there were too many things going on. I like my books simple I guess. The History of Love turned out to be just an okay read for me.

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge

Lotsa love,

Friday Finds: 12 November 2010

2010-11-12T05:45:00.000-08:00

What great books did you hear about/discover this past week? Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS! This is a weekly blog event hosted by Should Be Reading.

Here's what I found this week:

Brains, Robin Becker
The Replacement, Brenna Yavanoff
Room, Emma Donoghue

I've been reading a lot of great reviews about Room and am quite eager to get a copy of the book to read. Anyway, I'm currently reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I'm enjoying the book tremendously and I'm only 96 pages in! Hopefully, I'll be able to have the review up by next week.

In the meantime, I hope that everyone will have a good weekend ahead and happy reading!

Ps, what do you think of my new blog design? Like it?

Lotsa love,

Generation Dead

2010-11-10T04:04:00.000-08:00

Author: Daniel Waters

Genre: Paranormal/Romance/Young Adult

A strange phenomenon is happening to teenage kids in America; teenagers who die are not staying dead. More and more teenagers who die are coming back to life and American society now has to adapt to the existence of the living impaired.

The book revolves around Phoebe and her friends Margi and Adam. They go to Oakvale High School which was beginning to get a reputation for providing a good educational program for the living impaired; so much so that families with living impaired kids were moving into town and as such has doubled the population of the living impaired in the area.

Phoebe is somehow drawn to one living impaired student; Tommy Williams. He seems different from the rest of the living impaired kids Phoebe has seen; he’s gorgeous, funny and was even (briefly) part of the school’s football team. Her friendship with Tommy leads to friendship with other living impaired kids and becomes an eye opener for her in understanding their predicament and challenges to be part of today’s society.

Though Generation Dead is a book on zombies, it’s not the typical gore, eat your brains out type of book you should expect to read. It’s a book that although fun to read manages to address many complex themes like equality and acceptance for a minority group in today’s society.

I loved almost all the characters in the book and thought that it had an engaging plot. Generation Dead was such a good read that I finished it within a day! Yes, it was that unputdownable. It had a fair share of romance, action and suspense. Definitely a recommended read and I’m looking forward to read the sequel: Kiss of Life.

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge, Young Adult Reading Challenge

Life of Pi

2010-11-09T01:54:00.000-08:00

Author: Yann Martel

Genre: Literary Fiction

I’ve actually had Life of Pi on my shelf for the longest time. I pick it up once and quit a couple of pages in the first time and only managed to give it another try earlier this month. Life of Pi is a story about Piscine Molitar Patel (or Pi as he prefers to be called), an Indian boy from Pondicherry who survives a shipwreck and being lost at sea for more than 200 days. The uniqueness of this story is not only of his survival but that he had survived the ordeal with the company of a 450- pound Royal Bengal tiger.

The book is divided into three parts:

The first part tells of Pi’s childhood; how he grew up amongst animals seeing that his parents own a zoo; and how he found religion at such a young age (actually he found three religions and not just one and became a practicing Hindu, Christian and Muslim all at the same time).

In the second part, the ship Pi and his family boarded for their move to Canada suffers a shipwreck and Pi’s sea adventures begin with a unique group of survivors; a hyena, a zebra, a female orang-utan and a Royal Bengal tiger.

The third part of the book is Pi’s conversation with two maritime officials who seek to ascertain the cause of the shipwreck. He tells his story to the officials but they do not believe his version of the story. But as the officials dig deeper, they began to have a better understanding of Pi’s predicament and left a report stating Pi’s “story is unparalleled in the history of shipwrecks.”

It took a while for me to appreciate Life of Pi, especially the first part of the book. I thought that the pacing was slow but once I got into the second part, I found the book to be more interesting and carried on reading. I absolutely admire Martel’s writing style which was so detailed that it makes up for (what I felt was) a slow plot delivery. Martel’s writing was so excellent that at times I felt like I was on the same boat with Pi.

Overall, I found Life of Pi to be a good read, not excellent but good. Still, even though I found it to only be a good read, I'd recommend it to anyone. Life of Pi was an interesting read because it explores faith and the ability of the human mind to adapt and survive the worst ordeal a human being can handle. A definite must read.

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenges

Outliers: The Story of Success

2010-11-08T07:53:00.000-08:00

Author: Malcolm Gladwell

Genre: Non-Fiction, Social Sciences

In Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell studies the factors that could lead to a person’s success and even failures. In this book Gladwell provided excellent examples from rock & roll bands to professional athletes to successful lawyers and what factors contribute to their success or non-success.

This is actually the first book that I’ve read from Gladwell and I truly enjoyed reading it, so much so that I’ve made it one of my favourite reads for 2010. What I liked about the book is that the author managed to put across facts in an interesting way making it far from boring for the readers. I found the book to be very insightful. The strongest message one would walk away with after reading the book is that success is influenced by many factors from up-bringing to education, the state of the economy, the right opportunity and many more; no one can achieve it on their own.

I absolutely love this book and would recommend it to anyone. I’m also looking forward to reading other books from Malcolm Gladwell.

If you'd like to find out more about the author or any of his books, you can visit the official website here.

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2010-11-08T00:34:00.000-08:00

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? Is a weekly event hosted by Sheila from Book Journey.

I’ve had a great reading week last week and managed to read three books that have been laying idle on my bookshelves for the longest time. Unfortunately, I just haven’t had the time to review the books yet for my blog.

Anyway, last week I read:

Life of Pi, Yann Martel
Generation Dead, Daniel Water
The History of Love, Nicole Krauss

This week, I’ve decided to read yet another book that has been on my shelf (like forever); Wicked by Gregory Maguire. I’ve just started reading it this morning so hopefully it will be an enjoyable read. I’ve read really mixed reviews on the book and it seems like you’ll either hate the book or love it.

Anyways, have a good reading week ahead everybody!

Friday Finds: 5 November 2010

2010-11-05T02:47:00.000-07:00

What great books did you hear about/discover this past week? Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS! This is a weekly blog event hosted by Should Be Reading.

Only two books caught my eye this week. First is Joshua Ferris’s The Unnamed which I came across randomly online. I’ve read his first book, Then We Came to the End and I really loved it, click here if you'd like to read my review. I’m hoping that the second book would be as good as his first.

I also came across many reviews on Cassandra Clark’s Clockwork Angel. The book looks interesting just that I read somewhere that I have to read The Mortal Instruments Series first in order to understand Clockwork Angel better. I’m not sure if this is true seeing that a Clockwork Angel is meant to be the prequel to The MI Series.

Anyway those are the two books that caught my attention. There are two book sales happening in KL this week and I’ll probably have more finds to share in the next post.

In the meantime, have a great reading week y'all.

The Walking Dead

2010-11-03T03:20:00.000-07:00

I seriously can’t wait for the premiere of The Walking Dead on the 5^th of November! I absolutely love, love, love zombie flicks. The series was released on Halloween in the US and apparently received great response. I can’t wait! I can’t wait! I can’t wait!!!

The Walking Dead premieres this Friday at 11pm on FX HD (Astro Channel 726). Woohooooo! If you haven't seen the trailer, here it is:

Ps- apparently there were zombies spotted around KL to promote the premiere. Anyone seen them?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2010-11-01T08:43:00.000-07:00

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? Is a weekly event hosted by Sheila from Book Journey.

This week I’m reading Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Truthfully, it’s my second attempt at reading Life of Pi. The last time I picked it up, I had to quit halfway; not because I didn’t find the book interesting but just that the environment then was not conducive for me to concentrate on the book fully.

Anyway, my second attempt at reading the book looks more promising than the first and I am enjoying the book much more than before. Hopefully, I’ll be able to finish Life of Pi by the end of this week. In the meantime, I hope everyone will have a good reading week!

Muaks!

Happy Halloween

2010-10-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

So what's everybody doing this Halloween weekend? Unlike everyone else (probably attending costume parties), I'm spending some quality time at home with hubs tonight. I was hoping to watch Paranormal Activity 2 but it's not out yet in Malaysia... darn! Anyway, here's hoping that everyone is enjoying their weekend as much as I am.

xox.

Absent But Present

2010-10-30T06:37:00.000-07:00

I have been absent from the blogosphere for quite a while but have been keeping up with everybody’s updates on a daily basis. 2010 has been a very challenging year for me and I made a cautious decision to quit blogging and reading for a while to concentrate on other aspects in my life.

AND... Since I had to put aside blogging and reading for a while, obviously I’m way behind on my challenges for 2010. There’s no way that I can meet all the challenges that I’ve signed up for but at least I managed to finish my Sookie Stackhouse Challenge this year. To date, I’ve only managed to read about 30+ books... yeah, nothing to shout about but anyway moving forward let’s hope I’ll do better next year.

Any hoots... the good news is: Three months ago, I found out I’m PREGNANT! Yes people... I am gonna be a mommy! It’s been amazing and I hope to write more about my first time experience being pregnant and maybe get some useful tips from all you experienced mommies out there!

The first time I saw the baby on the scanner, my heart did a back flip. All I could think about was “Seriously? There’s something growing INSIDE me?!” I can’t describe the feeling except that it felt really awesome to know that both hubs and I are gonna be parents if all goes well.

So mommies out there, if you have any tips or books you would want to recommend for parenthood, bring it on. I need all the tips I can get.

I’m about three months preggers now so I still have a LONGGGGG way to go. But in the meantime, I’m LOVING the attention I get from hubs so am gonna make full use of it while I can... hehehe...

Laters, XOX.

The Versatile Blogger Award

2010-08-02T21:39:00.001-07:00

Sometime in July, Ruz from RUZ’s Bookshelves had awarded me with the Versatile Blogger Award. Thanks a lot, Ruz! Muaks, muaks, muaks!

Once you receive this blog award you must share five (5) things about yourself and pass this award on to five (5) other blogs that you have recently discovered.

So here it goes, five useless facts about me:

1. I am a Twitterholic and often check my tweets under the covers late at night so that I don’t wake hubs with my tweeting.

2. I’ve just realised that I absolutely love Young Adult Fiction at the age of 35.

3. Inception blew my mind...

4. It takes me years (or at least it feels like years) to write one post for my blog thus the reason why my updates are inconsistent.

5. My all-time favourite scene from a movie is when Sandra Bullock does Lil’ Jon’s ‘Get Low’ in The Proposal – it gets me every time and I’ll bawl out laughing with tears in my eyes.

... and here are the five other blogger’s I’d like to share this award with:

1. Lina, Fingers-in-the pie

2. Miss Shy, The Bibliophile’s Journal

3. Gaby, Oh-My-Books

4. N.E. Avery, When Pen and Paper Meet

5. Evy, Evy’s Harlequins “N” More

So, with this award let’s hope we’ll get to know five more facts about each of you and that you pass it on to five other people. Thanks again Ruz for the award.

I end this post with hopes that I spread a little laughter to those reading this. Here’s Sandra Bullock doing Get Low in the Proposal:

It's Monday! What are you reading?

2010-06-27T19:27:00.000-07:00

It's Monday! What are you reading is a weekly blog event hosted by Sheila from Book Journey.

This week I am reading, The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson. I’m only a few pages in but the book looks promising :)

Last week, I managed to read two books (which is outstanding for me since I normally only do one book a week): I read Shiver from Maggie Stiefvater (click here for review) and The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker. Lucky for me both the books that I picked up were really great reads. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County made me cry so by my standards that makes it a perfect ten, LOL! Anyway, both books are highly recommended.

Have a great week everybody!

Shiver

2010-06-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: Paranormal/ Romance/ Young Adult Fiction

I absolutely loved Shiver and read it within a day.

The book is told from a first person account, each chapter alternating from Sam or Grace’s point of view. Sam is a werewolf and once saved Grace from an attack from a pack of wolves that he is attached to. Since the incident both Grace and Sam have had a special relationship. Sam visits Grace in his wolf form every year from the edge of the forest and Grace waits for her yellow-eyed wolf to come and visit every winter. An unfortunate incident in the woods allowed Sam to approach Grace in his human form and thus their romance begins.

I have to say that there were some parts of the book which I didn’t like but I’m a sucker for YA Romance so this is a biased review and I’m willing to overlook the flaws. In the beginning I found Grace’s obsession with the yellow-eyed wolf to be a bit weird. Plus the first few chapters of the book felt a bit long winded but once Sam reveals his human-self to Grace, the romance begins and so does the drama and the action.

This is a great book; filled with action, mystery and undying teenage romance. Basically, if you’re a Twilight fan, I suspect you’ll love this book too though Grace is the complete opposite of Bella- thank God!

I quite enjoyed reading Shiver and I can’t wait to read Linger, the second book for the series. Read it!

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge, Young Adult Reading Challenge

Friday Finds: June 25, 2010

2010-06-24T20:02:00.000-07:00

What great books did you hear about/discover this past week? Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS! This is a weekly blog event hosted by Should Be Reading.

Here are my finds for this week:

Numbers- Rachel Ward

Hex Hall- Rachel Hawkins

The Day I Shot Cupid- Jennifer Love Hewitt

The Behaviour of Moths- Poppy Adams

Chasing Brooklyn- Lisa Schroeder

Howl’s Moving Castle- Diana Wynne Jones

Among the six books listed, I’m quite keen to read Howl’s Moving Castle. I've FINALLY managed to get my hands on a copy of the book from Kinokuniya this week... yippee! I've been wanting to read the book since I saw the movie version produced by Studio Ghibli. Hopefully, I'll be able to start reading it next week.

Have a good weekend everybody!

The Soloist

2010-06-24T19:02:00.000-07:00

Author: Steve Lopez

Genre: Biography

When Steve Lopez encounters a homeless man playing beautiful music on a battered violin, he finds the meeting impossible to forget. Any other person would probably not question how such a talented musician such as Nathaniel Ayers could end up as a homeless man on Skid Row, Los Angeles but Steve Lopez’s inquisitive nature leads him to find out more about Nathaniel’s true talent and his musical background. What began as a chance encounter turns into a unique relationship, one that has helped a homeless musician suffering from schizophrenia to explore and grow his talent and possibly lead him to a road of recovery.

This book tells of their friendship and their journey together and the challenges they face in battling schizophrenia.

Steve Lopez’s style of writing is something I am not accustomed to (because obviously I don’t read a lot of non-fiction) but I felt that it presented the frustrations faced by Steve Lopez with Nathaniel’s condition truthfully. Though I did not enjoy Lopez’s style of writing, I did find this book insightful and it provided a brief understanding of schizophrenia as a mental condition. I was also very much interested to find out how this condition had affected Nathaniel Ayers in his youth leading him to now lead a street life on Skid Row.

Well worth the read.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

2010-06-23T20:06:00.000-07:00

Author: Junot Diaz

Genre: Literary Fiction

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is a not-so-brief recollection of Oscar’s life as well as his family’s, narrated by his friend, Yunior and his sister, Lola. In his youth, ‘Oscar was something of a Casanova’ but as he grew older, he became a social outcast; overweight, nerdy, obsessed with science fiction and fantasy and always on a mission looking for love.

This book was, for me, a difficult book to read. One, because there was a lot of Spanish used and I consistently had to go online to check what they meant. Two, because there was a lot of Dominican Republic history that I didn’t know about that I constantly need to find references of. Regardless, I also found this book quite an interesting read. What I liked was that this book brought about a lot of mixed reaction whilst I was reading it; sad, happy, funny, hate, love- all rolled into one.

The only thing I was really annoyed with in the book was the damn footnotes!

Anyway, this is a highly recommended read and an eye opener for those who are not privy to Dominican Republic’s culture and history. Oscar’s story is sad and the ending is... bitter sweet... but his journey is epic and his search for love, sincere. Definitely, a must read.

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge

It's Monday! What are you reading?

2010-06-21T09:56:00.000-07:00

It's Monday! What are you reading is a weekly blog event hosted by Sheila from One Persons Journey through a World of Books.

Last week I managed to read: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Woa. I haven't had a chance to review it yet but hopefully I'll come around to the task before the end of the week. In a nutshell, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Woa was quite an interesting read for me.

Currently, I am reading: The Soloist by Steve Lopez. If I can finish reading this before the end of the week, I have set my mind to pick up either The Little Giant of Abderdeen County by Tiffany Baker or possibly Daughter of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts which has been in my TBR pile for the longest time.

I haven't taken part in a blog event for a long time, so am looking forward to see what everyone else is reading out there. Well, I guess that's all folks... off to visit some blogs now. Have a good week ahead!

Friday Finds: June 18, 2010

2010-06-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

What great books did you hear about/discover this past week? Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS! This is a weekly blog event hosted by Should Be Reading.

Here are my finds for this week:

Unholy Ghost- Stacia Kane

The Dead Tossed Wave- Carrie Ryan

The Girl with Glass Feet- Ali Shaw

The Adoration of Jenna Fox- Mary E. Pearson
Wintercraft- Jenna Burtenshaw
The Iron Man: A Children's Story in Five Nights- Ted Hughes

I’ve read a couple of positive reviews about Unholy Ghost and I can’t wait to get myself a copy of the book. I especially love Book Chick City’s recent review on the title; please click here if you’d like to check it out.

I’ve also been wanting to read The Dead Tossed Wave by Carrie Ryan. I read the Forest of Hands and Teeth last year and absolutely love it, hopefully the second book is as good as the first.

Anyway, have a happy reading week ahead everybody!

Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge: Done!

2010-06-17T19:45:00.000-07:00

Pat on my back. I’ve finished reading all the Sookie Stackhouse series for the Reading Challenge hosted by Beth Fish Reads! Yayyyy!!!!

Here are the links to my reviews:

Dead until Dark

Living Dead in Dallas

Thanks Beth for hosting this challenge, the books were so fun to read!

Dead and Gone

2010-06-17T09:51:00.000-07:00

Author: Charlaine Harris

Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy

The vamps have announced their existence for years and now the weres and shifters have decided to do the same. The revelation seems to go well in Bon Temps in the beginning but turns ugly when a mutilated body of a were-panther is found in the parking lot of Merlott’s. But there are bigger problems to worry about other than the murder of the were-panther; a problem surrounding a powerful and much older existence that is not known to the human world and Sookie of course is right smack in the middle of it.

I have to say that Dead and Gone is by far the BEST Sookie Stackhouse novel that I have read yet, hands down. I read the whole book within less than 24 hours after I purchased it. I think the mystery, the suspense, the overall storyline was revealed at a good pace and I just could NOT put this book down at all.

Warning: *Spoilers ahead*

The war that waged between the fairies was the best part of the book. In my review of From Dead to Worse, I mentioned that the introduction of Niall; a powerful fairy prince who also happens to be Sookie’s great grandfather brought the book to another level altogether. In Dead and Gone, the war among the fairies made the book explosive. I absolutely loved it though I am sad that the Fairies have decided to cut themselves off from the human world in the end. Like every war, there will obviously be casualties and am sad that Claudine (one of my favorite characters in the book) had gone ‘to the Summerlands’.

Since I read the last book, I’ve also been pro-Eric and am so glad that Eric and Sookie are together now, even if Sookie is not sure whether she loves him for real or because she has taken much of his blood. I’m guessing that Quinn is out of the picture for now and Bill would probably be back as a strong contender for Sookie’s affections in the next book especially with Niall’s parting words to Sookie.

Anyway, this was one of the best reads I’ve had this year and I can’t wait to read the next book.

Ps- I’ve finished all the books for the Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge. Yippee!

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge, Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge

From Dead to Worse

2010-06-17T07:45:00.000-07:00

Author: Charlaine Harris

Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy

After the explosion at the Vampire Summit, Sookie is safe at home and recuperating from the ordeal. But Sookie still has a problem; she hasn’t heard from Quinn since the disastrous event and is again faced with another missing boyfriend (Sookie’s ex-boyfriend Bill once went missing because he was kidnapped in Club Dead).

On top of that an unknown relative introduces himself to Sookie providing an explanation of where she inherited her telepathic gift from and in the midst of it all Sookie is (as always) a part of the political struggles in the were and vampire community.

I actually love From Dead to Worse better than the last book; All Together Dead. I love, love, love Eric in this book. I also absolutely love the introduction of Niall, Sookie’s great grandfather who reveals that he is a fairy and that Sookie actually has fairy blood through her father’s lineage. It brings Sookie’s supernatural world to another level altogether, not just filled with vamps and weres but also other magical creatures.

This is without a doubt one of the best books in the series. Definitely a must read.

By the way, I’m pro- Eric now! Eric! Eric! Eric!

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge, Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge

All Together Dead

2010-06-17T04:49:00.000-07:00

Author: Charlaine Harris

Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy

All Together Dead is the seventh book from the Sookie Stackhouse series. In this series, Sookie has been asked to attend the vampire summit as part of Sophie-Anne Leclerq’s entourage where the Vampire Queen of Louisiana will be tried for the murder of her husband. Sookie’s task? To weed out any insincere thoughts from other humans who are part of the other vampire clan and ensure that the right strategic alliances are formed with the right people.

Tensions arise at the summit as the vampires struggle for political power and Sookie somehow always manages to be in the middle of it all.

All Together Dead is actually not one of the best books that I’ve read from the series. The book started a bit slow but the final chapters definitely ended with a blast. I am a bit tired reading about Sookie’s love life and all the men, dead or alive who throw themselves at her feet. I like Quinn but I’m growing fonder of Eric too after reading this book, so I’m hoping she decides to be with Eric in the next book.

I’d rate this book 3 over 5. Not one of the best but Sookie’s adventures is always a fun read.

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge, Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge

Vampire Diaries: The Return: The Nightfall... and the challenge I’ve given up on

2010-06-16T22:05:00.000-07:00

Author: L.J. Smith
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Reading Level: Young Adult

The Return: The Nightfall picks up where the last book left off. Elena is now reborn as a supernatural being and is currently trying to regain and learn everything about the world that she had forgotten during the process of being reborn.

Confession: I bailed out on this book before I reached the 100^th page.

The process of Elena recovering and Stefan mollycoddling her was a bit too much for me to read and I couldn’t seem to find anything interesting to latch on or to encourage me to flip to the next page. I also started watching the TV Series the same time I started reading the book and I guess I got sidetracked with this...

*Drool*

In all honesty, this is one series where I feel that the TV adaptation is better than the book. Don’t get me wrong I loved the first few books and of course they made changes for the program like here, there and everywhere to fit the screens but the TV series is hawt!

... And because I’ve given up on reading LJ Smith, it also means that I’ve also given up on the L.J Smith Challenge hosted by My Friend Amy. Sad but true. :(

Click on title to read my review of The Awakening & The Struggle and The Fury & Dark Reunion.

Challenges: LJ Smith Reading Challenge

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw

2010-05-01T18:45:00.000-07:00

Author: Jeff Kinney
Genre: Children
Reading Level: Ages 9-12

I loved the first two books and I also enjoyed The Last Straw and like the first two books, the third book is equally hilarious. I recommend reading this series if you are looking for a good laugh! Though the book is targeted to a young target audience I think adults would also enjoy the humour and Greg's antics growing up.

The movie is out already but I haven't had a chance to see it. Anyway, here's the trailer of the movie:

You can also read my review of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, here and Rodrick Rules, here.

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge

Beautiful Creatures

2010-04-21T08:33:00.000-07:00

Authors: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Genre: Fiction (Paranormal/Romance)

Reading Level: Young Adult

Coping with his mother’s recent death, Ethan Carter Wate is sick of the small town life in Gaitlin and dreams of escaping into the world. On the surface, Ethan lives a normal life but he is troubled by terrible nightmares of a girl he has never met before in his life... until of course he meets newbie Lena Ducheness who moves into town to live with her reclusive uncle.

Beautiful Creatures is written from Ethan’s point of view which is out-of the ordinary as most romance novels I’ve read are from the female’s point of view. The mysterious attraction between Lena and Ethan made the book a more interesting read but I can’t help feeling annoyed with Ethan sometimes. At times he comes across as the male version of Bella from Twilight, not the clingy part but the “I’m obsessed with the love of my life” part kinda made my eyes roll more than once. (My thoughts on Bella here by the way)

I absolutely loved the paranormal aspects of the book. It had a unique storyline and I found the characters especially the ‘Casters’ who each carry different powers or abilities quite intriguing to read about. Overall, the book had a slightly slow build-up but the unique paranormal premise was enough to substitute that.

I enjoyed reading Beautiful Creatures but I wouldn’t say that I absolutely head over heels loved it. It started off well but kinda moved slow after that. I do love the unique paranormal storyline and hope to read more about it in the second book, Beautiful Darkness.

Note: If you have a copy of today’s Star newspaper, check out the Stuff@school section which featured a review on Beautiful Creatures. There is also a 25% discount voucher in that section from MPH if you would like to purchase either Beautiful Creatures or Fallen (three guesses what my next purchase would be?).

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge, Young Adult Reading Challenge

Friday Finds, April 2

2010-04-02T08:23:00.000-07:00

Gosh! This is my first Friday Finds post since October of last year. I've been out of action and I miss my blogging friends. Do give a shout out if you're reading this cause I miss everyone terribly!

Anyway, I've compiled a long list of books that I've found to be of interest. Since this is my first Friday Finds post for 2010, I won't bombard you with too many but these are three books that I definitely want to get for myself sometime soon:

Friday Finds is a weekly event hosted by Should Be Reading

A Clash of Kings

2010-03-12T06:22:00.000-08:00

Author: George R.R. Martin

Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy

Sometime back I started reading A Game of Thrones which came highly recommended by a friend of mine. I absolutely loved it and bought the whole available series though finding the time reading each book is now proving to be a challenge.

Whilst I was on holiday at Lipe Island I had plans to read other books but at the last minute decided to read the second book from A Song of Ice and Fire Series, A Clash of Kings.

Firstly, I absolutely love and am truly amazed by George R.R. Martins's style of writing. I find it incredible that he has managed to write so many different characters with so many storylines in one book. A Clash of King is intertwined with multiple political agendas and each character has their own interesting journey and adventure which truly captured my interest as a reader. Though I prefer the first book more than the second, A Clash of Kings was still a good book to read.

I hope to start the third book A Storm of Swords sometime soon. In the meantime, I found out that a TV Series is currently being developed based on the book. It'll probably take forever for the series to arrive in Malaysian shores but I'll definitely be one of the first to catch the show when it arrives.

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge

I've just discovered Studio Ghibli!

2010-02-17T07:04:00.000-08:00

Ya. Ya. You can call me uncool, backdated, slow... whatever... for being the only person who has not heard about Studio Ghibli before but I guess its better late than never, right? Anyway, while I was on holiday with hubs at Lipe Island, the resort we stayed in kept repeating an animated film titled 'Howl's Moving Castle'. Of course, hubs and I were too busy exploring the island so we didn't really get to watch the whole movie but whatever we saw roused our interest enough to scout around town looking for a copy of the DVD the minute we got back to KL.

I managed to get a copy of the movie and I think the effort of looking high and low for the DVD was really worth it! Howl's Moving Castle is one in a million. It's the latest addition in my 'I Like' category on Get Glue (LOL) and definitely the latest on my list of things to rave about to my friends.

Howl's Moving Castle is based on a young adult fantasy book by British author Dianne Wynn Jones. The story revolves around Sophie Hatter who encounters a young wizard called Howl by chance. The chance encounter made the Witch of the Waste (who also has the hots for Howl) jealous enough to put a curse on Sophie and turn her into an old woman. With the curse upon her, Sophie embarks on a magical journey in her effort to break the curse.

I absolutely loved Howl's Moving Castle. The characters were unique, the storyline was one of a kind and Sophie's adventures were truly magical. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it. The voice-over cast has quite an impressive list of actors like Christian Bale, Billy Crystal and Jean Simmons. I intend to purchase a copy of the original book just to see the difference between the book and the movie. Here's a trailer of the movie if you're interested:

Since I liked Howl's Moving Castle so much, I decided to get copies of other movies produced by Studio Ghibli. The other movie that I've seen is Spirited Away. Personally, I thought that it was not as good as Howl's Moving Castle but it was still an enjoyable movie to watch. Here's the trailer for your viewing:

I can't wait to watch the rest of the Studio Ghibli movies. I hope all their movies are as good as Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away.

If you've seen a Studio Ghibli production, which one is your personal favourite?

The Railway Children, Usborne Young Reading Series

2010-01-28T08:44:00.000-08:00

Author: E.Nesbit and Illustration by Alan Marks
Genre: Children's Classic
Reading Level: Ages 9-12

This is a retelling of E.Nesbit's classic children's story The Railway Children. Bobbie, Peter and Phyllis's life is transformed overnight when their father is mysteriously taken away. Forced to leave the city, the children embark on a variety of adventures in the surroundings of their new home.

I've never read the actual book by E.Nesbit but I think the Usborne Young Reading Series provides a great introduction to the classic children's book. It's simple to read with only 60 pages filled with colourful pictures and easy to read text. I enjoyed reading this to pass my time at the bookstore. The Usborne Young Reading Series has a variety of titles to choose from and I think it makes quite a good collection to read to kids.

Travel: Koh Lipe, Thailand

2010-01-28T07:34:00.000-08:00

I'm currently in between jobs and have taken about a week or so off before I start my new job on the 1st of Feb. So with some time to spare hubs and I decided to take a short trip to Koh Lipe, Thailand for our belated honeymoon. It's a beautiful island and I felt that it would not bring justice if I didn't brag a little about my trip :)

We started from Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi by flight and then moved on to Telaga Harbour in Langkawi to take a speed boat to Koh Lipe. The website stated that the boat ride is estimated to be about 70 minutes but it actually took about 45 mins to an hour only to reach our destination.

Koh Lipe is a very small island with three main beaches. It takes only about 15 to 20 mins to walk across from one end of the island to the other, that's how small it is. We arrived at Pattaya beach which is the main beach on the island. There is no jetty for the speed boat so you'll get a little wet trying to get to shore. The immigration is just a small hut by the beach side which also acts as the main office for the company providing the speed boat service.

Once we had our passports sorted, we decided to take the taxi boat or long tail boat to our resort. You can opt to walk or take a motorbike as well but we kinda liked the taxi boat and decided to travel on water to our resort.

Hubs and I stayed at a fairly new and a very, very beautiful resort called Idyllic Concept Resort located on Sunrise Beach. Our room though indirectly facing the ocean still had an awesome view.

On the first day we arrived, we decided to chill by the beach. At night we walked out for dinner on the village stretch and had the best Tom Yum Goong ever at this restaurant called Konlae. The village road leads to Pattaya Beach which is the commercialized section of the island. There is a lot of food and small shops on the village road but if you're a shopping addict, Lipe Island is not for you. Though you should check out this shop on the Village stretch called Rainforest, it's my favourite shop on the island.

We also enjoyed eating at a Thai Pancake Shop which had a delicious variety of deserts. It's one of the more popular spots to eat and hang out on the island. There is a variety of restaurants in Lipe with seafood buffets ranging from 100 baht and above but unfortunately we were not able to try out every restaurant seeing that we were there for only a short time.

I absolutely love, love, love beach holidays but can you believe that I can't swim and I am terrified of the water? I normally waddle by the beach and never go deeper than below my shoulder line. Koh Lipe was different though, the water was so clear and beautiful that I managed to do a quick snorkelling exercise with hubs and we also went kayaking at the surrounding islands fronting our beach. It was just so beautiful.

You should also check out the sunset. We were asked to go to Sunset Beach to catch the sunset but decided to take the long boat around the island instead. It's only about 300 baht to go around the island and trust me it's worth it.

Hubs and I absolutely love Koh Lipe and we love the people there. The locals are really friendly and some of them can speak Malaysian (well with a strong Kedahan type accent). It's a popular spot for Europeans and hubs and I would play 'Guess which country they're from?' based on the language they spoke... :P

We enjoyed every second of the day at Koh Lipe and though we were there for four days and three nights, it just was not enough. Hopefully, we'll get to visit Koh Lipe again at the end of the year.

My Brother's Ghost

2010-01-26T00:36:00.000-08:00

Author: Allan Ahlberg

Genre: Historical Fiction

Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Frances Fogarty recollects her childhood memories after the death of her eldest brother, Tom. Set in the 1950's, My Brother's Ghost is a touching tale of loss, love and endurance during the worst of times.

One of the reasons why I picked up this book was because of the title and the cover. I'm not sorry I picked it up. I absolutely love this book. It's beautiful, touching and more importantly; it made me cry! My Brother's Ghost took me about half an hour to read, it's a pretty easy read though I'm not sure if it's easy enough for the intended target audience. If you would like to read this, I suggest you have your tissue box on the ready. An excellent book and highly recommended.

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenges

The Comical Tragedy or Tragical Comedy of Mr Punch

2010-01-25T23:58:00.000-08:00

Author: Neil Gaiman and illustrations by Dave McKean

Genre: Graphic/Visual Novel

The Comical Tragedy or Tragical Comedy of Mr Punch is a graphic novel that I stumbled upon at the bookstore which I decided to pick up and read because it was written by Neil Gaiman. Recollecting his childhood memories during a brief stay at his grandfather's seaside arcade, the unnamed character of the book tells a dark story filled with fear, betrayal and a possible murder.

The graphic novel though a short and quick read is to me, quite a difficult book to enjoy. The novel is dark and morbid and the artwork used is not something I preferred. It did however add a dark feel to the overall reading experience. At times, I found the book hard to read and it's not just the font size of the text but the storyline itself was quite confusing to me. You can call me dense but unfortunately I didn't understand the storyline nor did I enjoy reading this book. I'm a big fan of Neil Gaiman's work and have read a couple of his books but sad to say this is my least favourite from his collection.

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge

Hush Hush

2010-01-20T09:38:00.000-08:00

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Genre: Fiction (Paranormal/Romance)
Reading Level: Young Adult

Hush Hush is a young adult paranormal/romance novel revolving around Nora Gray; a smart and responsible daughter and student who does everything by the book. Being the goody two shoes that she is, romance is of course far from her mind... that is until she meets Patch. She is attracted to him but feels that he is dangerous and could possibly be the cause of all the bad things that has been happening to her of late. Now she is beginning to wonder about Patch and who he is exactly.

First off, I absolutely love the cover. I think it's uber sexy. Secondly, the teenager in me fell for the 'good girl falls for bad boy' formula...yeah... i know...SUCKER! I honestly love the flirtatious interaction between Nora and Patch and thought it was the best part of the book.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Hush Hush but as much as I enjoyed reading the book, I felt that the mysterious plot revealed itself too late in the book which made me lose interest just for a little while. Plus the heated romance between Patch and Nora can be a bit over the top to read after a while. There was a lot of sexual tension between the two and am not even sure if it's appropriate for the books intended target audience to read (sheesh, can't believe I actually said that! I'm beginning to sound like my mother!).

It was a fun read if you don't look too much into the details cause you will notice a few flaws here and there. Would I recommend it? Yes, especially to those who love falling for bad boys! (If you love Twilight, I think you will love this book).

Anyway here's a trailer of the book for those who have not read it yet:

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenges, Young Adult Challenges

The Ice Dragon

2010-01-19T04:43:00.000-08:00

Author: George R.R. Martin

Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy

Reading Levels: Ages 9-12

I was introduced to George R.R. Martin by a friend of mine who recommended that I read 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series. I really loved the first book 'A Game of Thrones' and am currently reading the second book 'A Clash of Kings' which I equally love.

The Ice Dragon tells a tale of Adara, a solemn, serious child that seems devoid of emotion. Adara is a winter child, born during the worst winter ever and because of that she naturally loves the cold winter weather and dreads the heat of summer.

Somehow, Adara forms a bond with the Ice Dragon, a creature of legend that roams in her village during the coldest season. On her seventh birthday, war sweeps into her peaceful home and it is only the winter child and the Ice Dragon that could save her world from destruction.

The Ice Dragon is only about 100 pages long and takes at most about half and hour to read through it. It's a short tale of heroism at the darkest hour and also highlights the atrocities of war: violence, death and loss. I'm not sure whether this book is suitable for children to read but I enjoyed it because Martin has not hidden the horrors and realities of war and the troubles in life. If you like Martin's other work then I think you'd enjoy reading this as well. A sad yet beautiful book which I definitely would recommend to read.

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge

It's Monday! What are you reading? - 18 January 2010

2010-01-18T05:52:00.000-08:00

I'm off for my very delayed honeymoon trip to Lipe Island in Thailand this week and I was struggling with my decision on what book I should bring for the trip.

After much deliberation, I've decided to start reading Infected by Scott Sigler for my island retreat. I wanted to read something fast paced with a lot of action and from the reviews that I've read Infected is just the right book to read. I'll also be taking Charlaine Harris's All Together Dead with me for the trip just in case Infected doesn't work out well for me.

Anyway, hope to catch up with everyone next week once I'm back! In the meantime, here's a trailer for Sigler's Infected if you haven't read it yet.

"What are you reading on Mondays?" is a weekly blog event hosted by J.Kaye's book blog.

Books, books and more books...

2010-01-16T18:00:00.000-08:00

It's my birthday this month and lucky for me I received a 20% discount + RM3 off from one of my favourite bookstores, Times at Pavilion. These are the books that I purchased yesterday...

I've been wanting to read A Touch of Dead for sometime now, especially since one of the short stories in the book sets the pace for Book 6, Definitely Dead in the Sookie Stackhouse series.

I'm hoping to read My Brother's Ghost today and Tales of Terror from the Blackship sometime next week.

Happy reading everybody!

451 Challenge

2010-01-16T09:33:00.000-08:00

Okay. I know I said that I wouldn't join another reading challenge but I just can't seem to say no! Anyway, I saw this challenge and I thought it was interesting seeing that I read 451 Fahrenheit last year.

451 Fahrenheit is hosted by As Usual, I Need More BookShelves. For more information on the challenge you can visit the dedicated blog site for 451 Challenge here.

I've decided to participate based on the Spark level. The Spark level requires participants to read 1-2 books from the master list which is available on the challenge blog site.

This challenge runs from January 1, 2010 to November 30, 2010.

Happy reading everybody!

Catching Fire, The Hunger Games Trilogy

2010-01-13T00:46:00.000-08:00

Author: Suzanne Collins

Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Reading Level: Young Adults

Catching Fire is the second installment of The Hunger Games Trilogy. I picked this book up and started reading it almost immediately after finishing the first book.

Now a victor of the Hunger Games, Katniss is seen as a symbol of rebellion and has, without her realizing encouraged an uprising amongst the people of Panem against the Capitol. The government sees Katniss as a threat to the their power and this brings danger to not only her but also the people that she loves.

I liked Catching Fire a bit less than The Hunger Games. Its still full of suspense and as fast paced as the first book but I almost lost interest towards the last chapter of the book for reasons that I can’t mention to avoid spoilers. Upon saying that however, Catching Fire’s ending is great as it sets the pace for the third book which I think will be excellent.

The love triangle between Katniss, Peeta and Gale is a bit more apparent than the first book but am not sure how one can pick sides between the two boys seeing that Peeta gets more mentions and appearances in the book compared to Gale. Despite the lack of mentions, I’m hoping that Katniss will end up with Gale in the third book. I’m into outdoorsy men; bakers don’t excite me, sorry Peeta. *Go Gale*

I’ve enjoyed reading both books and I can’t wait for the third book to be released in August. I’ve also read that Lionsgate has bought the rights to make a movie based on the book. Let’s hope the movie version will live up to the reader’s expectation.

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge, Young Adult Reading Challenge

The Hunger Games

2010-01-12T00:47:00.000-08:00

Author: Suzanne Collins

Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Reading Level: Young Adults

The Hunger Games has received a lot of hype amongst book reviewers that I follow either through reviews on their blog or through their Twitter comments which naturally would make one curious about the book.

In the Hunger Games, North America is destroyed and replaced by Panem. Panem is divided into 12 districts that is controlled by the Capitol. Every year the Capitol runs the Hunger Games as an annual live televised event to remind the people of Panem that the Capitol is in power. Each district selects by lottery two teens, one boy and one girl to fight for survival in the Hunger Games arena. The only person to come out alive will live a comfortable life with lots of money and at the same time secure a whole year of food and necessary supplies to survive for the people of the winning district.

Initially I had low expectations of the book because the storyline seemed unoriginal (reminded me of The Running Man with Arnold Schwarzenegger, which is also loosely based on a book of similar title). However, despite the predictable storyline I actually enjoyed reading The Hunger Games.

I absolutely love the main character Katniss and find her non-conformist attitude refreshing. She is also self- reliant and definitely a survivor.

The Hunger Games is engaging from beginning till the end. The scenes in the arena is filled with deathly challenges like attacks from man made mutants or violent contestants that all fight hard to survive the Hunger Games making it full of suspense and pretty darn gripping at some parts. Throughout the Hunger Games you will see Katniss form a bond with Peeta, the other contestant from her district setting the romantic scene for the book. There are other bonds formed and severed in the book that is a bit sad but makes good reading.

Overall The Hunger Games gives a good mix of physical adventure, romance and a not so complicated political agenda (well it is young adult fiction anyway) that makes it a good read. Is it a MUST read? Well, ya okay you should read it cause its quite entertaining but I felt that the buzz surrounding the Hunger Games maybe is a bit over hyped.

By the way, I accidentally came across a site about what the word Panem means and did my own search. Check it out here, it’s so relevant to the books storyline. Interesting…

Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge, Young Adult Reading Challenge

Vampire Diaries: The Fury & Dark Reunion

2009-12-15T05:46:00.000-08:00

Author: L.J. Smith
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Reading Level: Young Adult

I read the first two books from Vampire Diaries sometime back and quite enjoyed reading them. The Fury and Dark Reunion is the third and fourth instalment for the Vampire Diaries. Like the first two books, I enjoyed reading The Fury and Dark Reunion. Its kinda hard to review the books without revealing the storyline so it won’t be much of a review because I don’t want to spoil it for those who have not read it yet. So here goes the short review:

The Fury was quite an exciting read and I was caught up with the mystery surrounding the group. In fact, I think I enjoyed reading The Fury more than the Awakening & The Struggle. The ending of the book surprised me but it was still an amazing read.

I really enjoyed The Fury but The Struggle didn’t seem to have the same impact on me. I suppose it was because the book came from Bonnie’s point of view. As much as I love Bonnie’s character I loved Elena’s character better. Plus as much as the ending was good for all the characters involved, I somehow didn’t quite like it.

Well, just because I didn’t enjoy the fourth book as much as The Fury doesn’t mean that I am not going to read The Nightfall. I’m so behind on my reading and I hope that I’ll be able to start The Nightfall soon.

To read my review of The Awakening & The Struggle, please click here.

Note: The Vampire Diaries- The Fury & Dark Reunion is part of the L.J. Smith Reading Challenge & The 2009 100+

It's Monday! What are You Reading? - 7 December 2009

2009-12-07T08:04:00.000-08:00

This week I am reading A Clash of Kings which is the second book from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. Sometime this year I was introduced to the first book A Game of Thrones and absolutely love it, you can read my review here. I’ve had too many commitments since then that I am only able to read the second book now. So far, am at page 140 and I’m loving it.

"What are you reading on Mondays?" is a weekly event held by J.Kaye's Book Blog.

I'm loving the new look!

2009-12-05T23:03:00.000-08:00

I’m loving the new look for my blog! One of the things I wanted to do for my blog was to give it a chic look and I wanted to do it before the New Year.

Thanks to Chic & Sassy who helped me with the design and template for both my blog and my Twitter profile, I got my new look and I love, love, love it!

THANKS ZOE!

2010 Reading Challenge: Young Adult Reading Challenge

2009-12-03T03:07:00.001-08:00

I’m signing up for the Young Adult Reading Challenge hosted by J. Kaye’s Book Blog. I’ve decided to take the Mini YA Reading Challenge where you are required to read 12 books from January 1 to December 31, 2010.

Wish me luck!

Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
Hush Hush, Becca Fitzpatrick
Beautiful Creatures, Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Shiver, Maggie Stiefvater
The Adoration of Jenna Fox, Mary E. Pearson
Fallen, Lauren Kate
Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins
I Am Number Four, Pittacus Lore
Generation Dead, Daniel Waters
The Knife of Never Letting Go, Patrick Ness
Beautiful Darkness, Kami Garcia and Margarent Stohl

I, Coriander

2009-12-03T02:29:00.001-08:00

Author: Sally Gardner
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Coriander lives a comfortable life until the sudden death of her mother. Soon after, Coriander’s father is forced to flee London and she is left in the care of her evil step mother. As things turn from bad to worst, Coriander’s step mother decides to lock her up in a chest and leave her to die. However, Coriander is suddenly transported to a fairy world where she learns the truth about her mother's death and thereafter begins her quest to look for her mother's shadow.

I found I, Coriander quite a magical book to read. It had a great combo of fact and fantasy. The characters were excellent, you’ll either love them or loathe them. I especially love Coriander's step sister for her lovely character and very much despise her step-mother and the preacher that she was in cahoots with. The character development, the story flow was all good and the magical aspects made the book even better.

A definite must read.

2010 Reading Challenge: 100+ Reading Challenge

2009-12-03T00:07:00.000-08:00

When I first started blogging in September 2008, one of the first challenges that I participated for 2009 is the 100+ Reading Challenge hosted by J. Kaye’s Book Blog. To date, I’ve only managed to read about 57 books. Though I did not meet the 100 mark, I am proud that I’ve read and reviewed so many books already and am hoping that I’ll achieve more in 2010.

So in 2010, I am taking part in the 100+ Reading Challenge yet again and hope that I’d be able to read more than I did in 2009.

For more information on the 100+ Reading Challenge, please visit J. Kaye’s Book Blog.

Do visit me from time to time to see how I'm doing as I will list down the books I've read and link the reviews in the post.

Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
The Ice Dragon, George R.R. Martin
Hush Hush, Becca Fitzpatrick
Mr. Punch, Neil Gaiman and David McKean
My Brother's Ghost, Allan Ahlberg
Usborne Young Reading Series: The Railway Children, E.Nesbit
A Clash of Kings, George R.R. Martin
Shooting War, Anthony Lappe and Dan Goldman
All Together Dead, Charlaine Harris
Little Miss Sunshine Keeps Her Smile, Roger Hargreaves
Little Miss Contrary All in a Muddle, Roger Hargreaves
Little Miss Helpful and the Green House, Roger Hargreaves
Little Miss Naughty Worries Mr. Worry, Roger Hargreaves
Little Miss Trouble Moving House, Roger Hargreaves
Beautiful Creatures, Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw, Jeff Kinney
From Dead to Worse, Charlaine Harris
Dead and Gone, Charlaine Harris
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz
The Soloist, Steve Lopez
Shiver, Maggie Stiefvater
The Little Giant of Aberdeen County, Tiffany Baker
The Adoration of Jenna Fox, Mary E. Pearson
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Blue Pills: A Positive Love Story, Frederik Peeters
Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier
The Old Man at the Foot of the Mountain, Azizi Hj Abdullah
Fallen, Lauren Kate
Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins
I Am Number Four, Pittacus Lore
Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell
Life of Pi, Yann Martel
Generation Dead, Daniel Waters
The History of Love, Nicole Krauss
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrow
Never the Bride, Paul Magrs
The Girl Who Could Fly, Victoria Forester
Blankets, Craig Thompson
The 19th Wife, David Ebershoff
The Knife of Never Letting Go, Patrick Ness
Room, Emma Donoghue
Beautiful Darkness, Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl

New Moon: My thoughts on the movie

2009-11-30T21:23:00.000-08:00

When I first saw Twilight last year, my first thoughts were that it came across as a B grade movie. So with the release of New Moon, I went to the movies with very low expectations and was only looking forward to see young half naked men strutting their stuff on screen… guess what, I got what I asked for!

Honestly, I thought New Moon was corny. It felt as though they were trying too hard to make Edward a cool vampire that he turned out just the opposite. Jacob, on the other hand, turned out hawt, hawt, hawt… those abs could kill the worst monsters just by flexing! (Its probably illegal for me to ogle at the boy seeing that he is only 17 but the hot bod is making me contemplate if I should move to Team Jacob... LOL)

Apparently they have a new Director for the third installment of the movie and I really hope that Eclipse and Breaking Dawn will turn out better. I’m also hoping that they will improve on the scripting. Oh well, fingers crossed, let’s hope that Eclipse will be a better movie.

By the way, I always thought that New Moon was the worst in the Twilight book series so maybe that’s why I wasn’t too excited to watch the movie.

Wonder who else I know has seen New Moon. Thoughts?

Big Bad Wolf Book Sale

2009-11-30T06:37:00.000-08:00

It’s been a while since I shopped like a nut in a book sale but I managed to do so last Thursday at the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale at Amcorp Mall. I managed to escape the office at 5.30pm on the dot and was at the shopping mall at 6pm. I spent a full two hours and for RM98 came out with great purchases.

Here are some of the books that I managed to get at the sale:

Okay so the picture sucks cause you really have to squint your eyes to read the titles so here's a list of the titles that I bought:

1. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, Richard Carlson

2. Bright Shiny Morning, James Frey

3. Power Play, Joseph Finder

4. Homecoming, Bernhard Schlink

5. The Piano Tuner, Daniel Mason

6. Gatty's Tale, Kevin Crossley

7. The Red Necklace, Sally Gardner

8. The Thief Lord, Cornelia Funke

9. The World Without Us- Alan Weisman

10. The Zookeeper's Wife, Diane Ackerman

11. The To-Do-List, Mike Gayle

I also visited BookXcess which was located next door and guess what!???... I bought four more books! Haha, I guess I still had an adrenalin rush and still needed to shop for more books. I couldn't help myself cause the covers for these classics were really nice and they were less than RM20... EACH!

Anyway, I wonder who else visited the sale...

Definitely Dead

2009-11-26T00:58:00.000-08:00

Author: Charlaine Harris
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy- Vampire/Mystery/ Thriller

I started off reading Definitely Dead in utter confusion. When did Hadley get murdered? When did Sookie become close to the Vampire Queen of Louisiana? I began the first few chapters wondering if I missed a book from the series and even checked the last book to see if I had missed a couple of chapters. Eventually I found out that Definitely Dead was a continuation of Charlaine Harris’s short story “One Word Answer”, which I have yet to read. Despite the confusion, Definitely Dead was still a good read that carried the traditional suspense and excitement in the mysteries that surround Sookie.

My only issue with Sookie while I was reading the book was that I thought she should start settling on one guy instead of falling for every guy she meets! It was getting a tad annoying but thank God she settled for someone in the end. Lets hope the relationship lasts at least until the end of the next book in the series!

There were a few plots in the book that I thought was unnecessary but overall Definitely Dead was still a fun book to read.

Challenges: Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge, The 2009 100+ Reading Challenge

Cuci the Musical- Istana Budaya, 6 November 2009

2009-11-06T08:29:00.000-08:00

If you haven’t watched Cuci the Musical then you should! I managed to catch the show yesterday at Istana Budaya and I enjoyed myself tremendously. The show was absolutely hilarious and had me in stitches and tears the whole night. I did think that some parts of the show was unnecessary and made it a tad draggy but other than that the show was excellent.

The casting was great and you could see the actors had chemistry on stage and they were having fun doing the show. AC Mizal was my favourite and Hans Isaac absolutely suprise me with his singing. Afdlin, Awie and Vanida were great as expected. It was an excellent, excellent show and an absolutely MUST SEE!

We're Married!

2009-11-02T23:39:00.000-08:00

This announcement is two weeks late but we finally did it, we're finally married! After all the stress and chaos and months of preparation; it paid off and we had a beautiful wedding. We had a mix of Malay and Chinese culture in the wedding ceremony and it was really great. I'm hoping to post some of the pictures once the photographers are done with the final touches. Hubs and I had a wonderful time and we're glad that those important to us attended our wedding and we thank God that everything ran smoothly. Can't wait for the pictures to be ready!

Ariel

2009-10-19T21:38:00.000-07:00

Author: Steven R. Boyett
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy

It’s been five years since the Change: cars stopped, lights went out, electrical items just cease to function and magical creatures appear and roam the earth. Pete Garey a survivor of the Change wonders the deserted streets alone until he encounters an injured unicorn he calls Ariel. Through their travels together they start to form a special bond. Unicorns are highly priced for their magic and due to Ariel’s magical possessions both Pete and Ariel are hunted by a necromancer from New York City.

I didn’t exactly enjoy reading Ariel but I did appreciate the special bond that exists between Pete and Ariel which kept me wanting to read more. The overall storyline is revealed in a slow pace and at times I felt that certain pages seem to drag on unnecessarily but I have to say that the author manages to combine both science fiction and fantasy successfully. What got me about the book was that you didn’t know why the Change happened, why magical creatures appeared and also the ending… I didn’t like the ending….At ALL.

I’m still curious as to why the Change happened and might pick up Elegy Beach which is the sequel to Ariel targeted for release in November 2009. Hopefully the sequel will have more answers.

Kenny & the Dragon

2009-10-19T11:31:00.001-07:00

Author: Tony DiTerlizzi
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Kenny and the Dragon is a heart warming story about friendship between Kenny the Rabbit and Grahame the Dragon who share the same interest despite their differences. However when the local villagers are made aware of the presence of a dragon within their countryside, they panic.

Unfortunately for Kenny, his other good friend George who is a bookstore owner and a retired knight has been dispatched by the King to slay and save the village from the dragon whom they believe is a threat to their community. Kenny is now caught in between two friends and frantically tries to find a way to save his friendship with both George and Grahame as well as trying to keep Grahame from the being slayed.

I absolutely love, love, love this book! I love the simplicity of the story and the strong message on friendship and how negative beliefs or prejudice can effect the nicest of beings. Kenny and the Dragon is a suitable read for both the young and old. The adventure is exciting and the characters are absolutely lovable. Its a light read and the drawings included in the book are just so cute. Definitely a recommended read and I'm keeping this to read to my kids someday!

Ulat Buku in the City

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Six months later...

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Room by Emma Donoghue

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

2011 Reading Challenge: Audio Book Challenge

Friday Finds: 26 November 2010

2011 Reading Challenge: Off the Shelf Challenge

Blankets by Craig Thompson

2011 Reading Challenge: Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge

The Girl Who Could Fly

Never the Bride

Her Fearful Symmetry

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The History of Love

Friday Finds: 12 November 2010

Generation Dead

Life of Pi

Outliers: The Story of Success

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Friday Finds: 5 November 2010

The Walking Dead

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Recommended Reading for Halloween

Happy Halloween

Absent But Present

The Versatile Blogger Award

It's Monday! What are you reading?

Shiver

Friday Finds: June 25, 2010

The Soloist

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

It's Monday! What are you reading?

Friday Finds: June 18, 2010

Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge: Done!

Dead and Gone

From Dead to Worse

All Together Dead

Vampire Diaries: The Return: The Nightfall... and the challenge I’ve given up on

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw

Beautiful Creatures

Friday Finds, April 2

A Clash of Kings

I've just discovered Studio Ghibli!

The Railway Children, Usborne Young Reading Series

Travel: Koh Lipe, Thailand

My Brother's Ghost

The Comical Tragedy or Tragical Comedy of Mr Punch

Hush Hush

The Ice Dragon

It's Monday! What are you reading? - 18 January 2010

Books, books and more books...

451 Challenge

Catching Fire, The Hunger Games Trilogy

The Hunger Games

Vampire Diaries: The Fury & Dark Reunion

It's Monday! What are You Reading? - 7 December 2009

I'm loving the new look!

2010 Reading Challenge: Young Adult Reading Challenge

I, Coriander

2010 Reading Challenge: 100+ Reading Challenge

New Moon: My thoughts on the movie

Big Bad Wolf Book Sale

Definitely Dead

Cuci the Musical- Istana Budaya, 6 November 2009

We're Married!

Ariel

Kenny & the Dragon