Book Review: I, Coriander by Sally Gardner

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

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.

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

 

New Moon: My thoughts on the movie

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?

Book Review: Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris

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

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!

Book Review: Ariel by Steven R. Boyett

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.