Book Review: Dead until Dark by Charlaine Harris

I’ve wanted to read the Sookie Stackhouse novels for the longest time. I’ve been avoiding watching the True Blood series because I wanted to read the book first (though I have caught one or two episodes which looks good so far). Thanks to Beth Fish Read’s Sookie Stackhouse reading challenge, I finally picked up the book and you know what? I absolutely loved it!

I remembered someone recommending the Sookie Stackhouse series to me after reading my review of Twilight, saying that the Sookie series had similar impact. I haven’t read the full series yet but I like what I’ve read so far. 

Personally, I find Dead until Dark to be edgier and saucier than Twilight and definitely a page turner. The racy romance between Sookie and Vampire Bill is oh-so-exciting; I love the chemistry between the two of them. Other than the romance, the murder mystery flowed with a great pace which was equally good at keeping me addicted to the pages.

It’s an easy read. I’ve read two so far, Dead until Dark and Living Dead in Dallas and it took me less than a day to finish each book. The book is quite graphic with details of gore and sex so if that bothers you don’t read it. But if it doesn’t and if you have a thing for fangs and thrilling murder plots, you definitely should pick up this book.

Note: Book 1 completed for the Sookie Stackhouse challenge. If you'd like to participate, please visit Beth Fish Reads blog.

15 Malaysia

Okay so this post is a couple of days late but I guess it’s better late than never. I was recently given the privilege to attend the launch of 15 Malaysia which showcases short films by 15 local film makers. I would recommend that you check out the site as there are some great short films that you should see.

Do keep a lookout for the following short films which I personally thought was really good:

House by Linus Chung
Release date: 24^th August 2009

Halal by Liew Seng Tat
Release date: 26^th August 2009
Okay, to be honest I walked out of the cinema when they showed this because I had to attend to an urgent call... So I didn’t manage to catch the whole thing but I was told that it’s one of the MUST SEE.

Meter by Benji & Bahir
Release date: 9^th September 2009
This is hilarious and features Khairy Jamaluddin (KJ). DEFINITELY A MUST SEE!

Healthy Paranoia by Khairil Bahar
Release date: 14 September 2009
This is also hilarious and features Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, current Malaysian Health Minister. I think it’s really cool that he took the time to be part of the 15 Malaysia initiative.

Do check out 15 Malaysia’s website to view the 15 short films. You’ll be proud of our local talents.

My New Toy...

Guess what I bought for myself... a little gadget called a Poken. I found out about it through a guy who attended a meeting in my office. I noticed he was carrying a little gadget attached to his phone which he called a Poken.

So what is a Poken exactly? A Poken is a small device that allows you to exchange your contact information with other people that also have a Poken. Not only are you able to share your contact details but you can also exchange your social network information like Facebook, Myspace etc. The social network that you can list on your Poken profile covers most of the popular sites.

Anyway, when I first saw it, I fell in love with it immediately plus they come in so many cute designs! Thanks to PokenAsia who made it possible for me to get my own Poken within a few days after making an enquiry. I am glad to announce that I am now a proud owner of a Tru Blood Poken... isn’t it so cute????

The only problem is ... none of my friends or people that I’ve met have a Poken yet... so sad. Anyway, if you’d like to check out the other cute Poken designs, click here. You can make your order at the site or contact PokenAsia directly on their twitter, they’re really helpful! For more information on the Poken, you can also visit Do You Poken?

So what are you waiting for? GET A POKEN guys... It’s so cool.

Book Reviews: A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

I’ve never really been a big fan of fantasy genres purely because the books that I’ve selected in the past had been bulky reads with confusing plots that require a lot of focus...I’m a lazy reader what can I say. A Game of Thrones was something which my friends (Jacques and Remona, names MUST be mentioned as I truly credit them for introducing me to this book) were raving about and I thought that I’d give a shot at reading it and I’m so glad I did.

George R.R Martin’s A Game of Thrones is the first of seven novels in the award winning A Song of Ice and Fire series. The book is very character driven and is told from the perspective of each individual character featured mainly from the Stark family. The pacing is impressive and despite having many characters and multiple plots from different continents all happening at the same time, each new element was introduced well enough without confusion and definitely got me glued to its pages to find out what’s next.

My favourite character in the book is definitely Tyrion Lannister hands down; intelligent, sarcastic and funny with a psychical disability that adds more interest to his personality. I also love Jon’s character, Eddard Stark’s bastard son as well as his daughter Arya. The character I really dislike the most is Sansa, Eddard’s other daughter who has her head up in the clouds most of the time.

The epic fantasy is filled with political drama with a storyline filled with ill-suited kings, honourable knights, bad and deceitful advisors. It is a gripping and original read that kept me wanting to read all 800 pages of the book every minute of my waking hour (unfortunately I couldn’t because I DO have to work for a living damnit!)

I started the first 200 pages going back and forth in the book trying to remember who’s who but the introduction of characters and plots were smooth enough to understand and follow once you get further into the book. I have the second book A Clash of Kings on my TBR pile and hope to pick it up soon before I forget the storyline from A Game of Thrones, which is by the way an absolute MUST READ!

Book Review: Rod Sterling's The Twilight Zone by Rod Sterling

I recently stumbled upon an illustrated series based on Rod Sterling’s The Twilight Zone. I grew up watching the Twilight Zone and decided to buy two of the Graphic Novel titles; The Odyssey of Flight 33 and The After Hours. Here’s a quick view of what each title is about:

The Odyssey of Flight 33

The graphic novel is set on a jet liner en route from London to New York. Just fifty minutes away from its destination, something happens and they are unable to communicate with air traffic control in JFK. They soon realize that they have been thrown back in time and thus stuck in the Twilight Zone.

The After Hours

Marsha White is browsing in a departmental store to purchase a gift for her mother. She is taken to the 18^thth floor at the store. Distraught, Marsha faints and finds herself trapped in the departmental store after hours and the rest of the story could only be explained as the Twilight Zone experience... floor where she is attended by a sales woman who clearly knows who she is. After she purchased the gift, she realizes the gift is defected and complains to the management only to be informed that there is no 18.

The graphic novels are an adaptation from the original Twilight Zone TV series. Targeted to young adults, the novels are quite easy to read. The illustrations are kept simple and clean and have a good flow to it. Between the two titles, I preferred The After Hours, it had a bit more excitement, mystery and suspense to it.

I absolutely love this series of graphic novels and intend to collect the rest of the titles.

Coraline

A couple of weeks back, I managed to catch the trailer for Coraline the movie (believe it or not, they haven’t released the movie in Malaysia yet). The trailer looked so good that I decided to read the book first before catching the movie and I'm so glad I've read it.

I won’t go into too much detail about the book since I’m sure almost everyone has heard or read it already. Reading Coraline was definitely an experience. It is a beautifully written, dark fairy tale that was simply unputdownable. The creepy settings and the scary plot held my attention till the last page. I also absolutely loved Coraline’s character; she was smart, resourceful and brave. An excellent book filled with dark adventure. Can’t wait to watch the movie.

PS- To eager Malaysians who await the release, news is Coraline will be showing in September... woo hoo!