book blog

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

2010-01-03T21:33:00.002+08:00

This year reading started off well with "Flowers for Algernon". I have been wanting to read this book for a while especially after reading the synopsis a couple of years back. I grabbed it out of the library shelf after spotting it and 36 hours later, i am surprised how much I have come to love this book.

The story essentially is a record of all the thoughts pacing through Charlie Gordon, a 32 year old mentally disabled janitor. It tells the life of Charlie Gordon before and after he had undergone an operation that not able to reverse his disability but exceed his mental capabilities to those comparable to Einstein and Hawkings.

It is the psychological rollercoaster that Charlie experienced that makes this book amazing. On preceiving how the world was for him when even though he was intellectually superior to most of the people in the world, emotionally, he was no different for a child. And finally when he began to flourish emotionally, it might just be a tat too late.

Without giving away too much, the book is thought provoking. It altered my perception on mental disability, about EQ and IQ, and even question the concept of intelligence.

It is an excellent way to start the year with this book.

The end of the affair by Graham Greene

2009-12-15T21:20:00.006+08:00

People can love without seeing each other, can't they, they love You all their lives without seeing You...

I almost did not read this book. I had the intention to read "The Power and The Glory" to start my acquaintance with Greene. But the library that I frequently visit does not seem to have it. Instead, I picked up "The End of the Affair" thinking it was Sebastian Japriscot "A Very Long Engagement" in mind (i kept seeing the theatrical poster in my mind).

I regretted picking up this book from the library. I wish dearly that this is my copy. The book that I first became acquainted with Sarah Miles and Maurice Bendrix. It is one book that I know I'll buy at a later time. One book that I know I'll come to love and hate. For is it not what Greene said, you cannot hate something without loving it?

The plot doesn't leave much to do imagination as it is blatantly announced in it's title. An affair that ended. The beauty however lies in how brilliantly and how real Greene described the characters (himself in this case? Right down to the limp). The turbulent emotions. The jealousy, the hatred, the love all so brilliantly described. It haunted me. And I suspect like Kawabata's A Thousand Cranes, I'll still be thinking about it for a while. There are shades of Endo here. And of course like Endo, there is the spirituality aspect of it that added a new dimension to this tale, to take it to another level as cliche as that sound.

But God, even it is good, it is just too depressing and dreary. But I will admit here, it is this depressing and dreary tone of Greene that I found almost seductive. And most likely making this one of the best books I've read this year.

What we talk when we talk about love by Raymond Carver and The magic toyshop by Angela Carter

2009-11-27T11:49:00.003+08:00

It is possible that I am going through a Carter and Carver stage.

I picked up a copy of "What we talk about when we talk about love". Which left me a little surprised. I love, love Carver's poems. There is something about the little snippets of life, strung together with words that oozes out realism at its best. But, this collection of short stories, although there is that hint of realism that I experienced in his poems, had an edge of strange barbarism, unrefined and borderline animalistic feel to it. It made me ponder why is there such disparity with how this man wrote poems to his short stories. The mystery was somewhat resolved after I read Stephen King's review in the NYT. Carver's editor, Gordon Lish has literally butchered and distorted his stories and unfortunately for me, the copy that I picked out was just an evidence of this terrible, terrible massacre. Gah. I long to pick up a copy of Carver's collected stories as how he had written it. Somehow, it just haven't cross my path yet. I suppose for now, I'll stick to his poems.

After Carver came Angela Carter. I was lost in a horrific toyshop in the outskirts of London. My first foray into Angela Carter's work has left me wanting more. Her prose is breathtaking. If Bradbury had written to impress, Carter's wit and humour was subtly breathtaking. It is incredible how this book could be so funny and dark at the same time. The best part of the book personally came much earlier on. Melanie, the protagonist, in her mother's wedding dress, out in the field, in the middle of the night. Her words were so effective in transporting me to that scence that it feels as if I am an invisible voyeur. As lost as Melanie at the moment, experiencing the ghosts that haunted her. I can't wait to read Night at the Circus and Wise Children now.
Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

Ten months of reading

2009-10-17T17:31:00.006+08:00

I'm not sure why I don't write here anymore. It's not that I don't read. I do. Prolifically, in fact. More than my usual looking at past years record. (One of the hypothesis that came up was simply because I was deprived of time to read when I was doing my MSc. Perhaps. It did get a little out of hand after I was done with the lab).

It's only the middle of October. It's been a good year so far. I've come to love a few books and better acquainted with some authors. Steinbeck for one (So many lost years! A fellow bookworm is persuading me that I have done Dickens wrong and pleaded with me not to make the same mistake as I did with Steinbeck.). Kawabata still haunts me (well that one particular book. It feels as if that book could easily be the contender for the book of the year). There is Gaskell that I know I should read more but need to find time. For I want to read Graham Greene next since reading Shusako Endo, the Eastern version of Greene apparently (Of course there is that Yukio Mishima's book that he finished writing the day he committed hara-kiri. I just need to know what was on his mind then!). Oh there was Hesse. That kept me so engrossed and entertained in Munich airport with time to kill and no one to talk to. There are just so many, many other books that I am itching to read. It feels as if the desire to read grows exponentially. The moment I finish one book, there is much more things that I would love to read more about. Authors to venture into (oh oh! there is Virginia Woolf that I want ot read so badly. Or more of Fitzgerald! The Great Gatsby!). I wonder does it ever end? Most likely I'll still be reading on my death bed! (Do you think there are books in heaven? What happens if there are only scriptures?!?!?!? What am I going to read then??????)

So all in all, it's been good. The Goddess of Literature must have been smiling upon me. Perhaps I picked up some good vibe when I was in the temple of Literature when I was in Hanoi. *grins*

I'll pick up the urge to write here again soon, I hope. Happy reading!

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

2009-10-17T17:12:00.004+08:00

I am mighty, mighty please that I don't have anything much plan for today. At least then I can curl up and read the day away. I was extremely sorry that I had agreed to do something in the morning that left me absolutely no time to read except while waiting for the bus (I was quite agitated when I met an acquaintance in the bus stop that cut my pleasure of reading this book even shorter. How horrid of me!).

And it is such a charming and lovely book! I came across it once while roaming the aisles of books in Borders (A dangerous past time I am afraid). The title caught my eye. What in the world is a "Potato Peel Pie"? (Answer: Mashed potatoes for the filling, boiled beetroot for sweetness and potato peelings for the crust). I left it at the back of my head and left Borders (not empty handed I am afraid).

Several weeks ago, I came across this particular forum discussing the most memorable characters in a book (ermm... mine was Billy Prior. I am not sure why! I have an odd fetish for books on war and soldiers). Of course there is the usual swooning of Mr Darcy (Austen's legacy of a perfect man! Mine too.). But this book came up so many times that it piqued my interest. And boy, I was in for a ride. I love, love the characters to bits. There are in turn funny, charming and witty. I fell in love with most of them (and for the one particular I didn't like, she was slapped in the face, so all was good) and wished sorely that I had letters from them and could write to them in turn.

If only there are more books that are of this vein that I am aware of. Especially to think that it dealt with painful subjects such as the German occupation during WWII. It was still witty and funny.

I am not sure I want to read Silence now for it looks a little on the heavy side! I am not sure whether I can let go this giddy happiness yet!

Thousand cranes by Yasunari Kawabata

2009-09-15T21:48:00.002+08:00

I've read Kawabata's Snow Country and Beauty and Sadness prior to this. But, both books somewhat paled in comparison to this book. Perhaps I did not fully appreciate his minimalist style before this. But this book takes my breath away.

From the title, Thousand Cranes, a symbol of healing that is prevalent throughout this thin book, to the idea of using tea ceremony to relate the complex relationship of the protagonist to ghosts of the past. I love the subtle use of metaphors and understatements. How everything seems so simple and uncharacteristic on the surface is filled with so much undertone and unstated emotions. Something that reflects vividly of the Japanese culture of the past (perhaps even now?)

Oh how I love the description and idea of the two tea cups. The Karatsu and the Shino. Lying side by side in the tea house. Representing his father and his mistress. Both dead but yet the cup remained, untouched, unaged. The juxtaposition of mortality and immortality.

And true to most Kawabata books, there is always that depressive end to it. Perhaps, it is asking of too much from a man who had after all commited suicide to have a good ending.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

2009-07-08T09:27:00.000+08:00

Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck

2009-07-08T09:25:00.002+08:00

The Wall Jumper by Peter Schneider

2009-07-02T15:07:00.001+08:00

The bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller

2009-06-28T01:10:00.002+08:00

Perils of being insomanic.

I cannot help but wonder for this title, would the movie had fared better than the book?

Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald

2009-06-28T01:09:00.000+08:00

The curious case of Benjamin Button by Frederick Scott Fritzgerald

2009-06-27T09:05:00.001+08:00

I have an enormous desire to read Tender is the night and The Great Gatesby.

=0)

Too many books to read. Too little time!

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

2009-06-27T09:03:00.000+08:00

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

2009-06-16T12:16:00.003+08:00

If last year 1984 was a personal favourite, Of Mice and Men has got to be this year (but then it is only June). I was a little reluctant to venture to his other books after reading The Pearl many, many years back. The rather slim novella had a rather convincing effect for me to reevaluate my perception of Steinbeck. Maybe with this frame in mind, it is surprising how much I love Of Mice and Men. This slim, slightly more than 100 pages, is mind blowing, heart wrenching. It is as if it is brimming with ideas and concepts. The contrasting vastness of land with the "limited" freedom these bindlestick had. The difference of mice and men. Of dreams and loneliness.

Ah, I can't wait to read the rest of his books now.

The Lover by Marguerite Duras

2009-06-16T12:15:00.000+08:00

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

2009-06-14T10:53:00.000+08:00

Neuromancer by William Gibson

2009-06-11T14:44:00.000+08:00

Falling Man by Don DeLillo

2009-06-08T20:47:00.000+08:00

Beauty and Sadness by Yasunari Kawabata

2009-06-04T23:57:00.001+08:00

The Body Artist by Don DeLillo

2009-06-02T08:40:00.001+08:00

A prelude to Underworld. But not sure how I am going to fare with Underworld after reading this!

Rashomon and other stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa

2009-05-24T11:17:00.000+08:00

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

2009-05-20T22:30:00.000+08:00

Two thirds into the book, when all the stomach turning graphically violent sex and murder scenes were really in my face, I cannot help but think the only reason why most people read American Psycho - it is over hyped. Yes, it is in a league of its own. With its graphic violence and sex (This is most easily the most disgusting book I've read but then again, I don't normally read books of such). Ellis ,to write about a psychotic, misogynist yuppie trying to perform this mode of catharsis to rid of this lack of emotion, identity, and even meaning, he is brave. To even write the book. Not as bad as the reaction to Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses, but the fact that an author can receive 2000 over hate mails and death threats, is really quite near there.

Then came the last 100 pages. Which personally was Ellis redeeming point. It was satirical, it was full of emotion. It's when Bateman finally snaps, it gets more obvious the depth of his illness. His inhuman acts, suddenly gets a touch of humanity. And somehow I appreciated the depths Ellis actually puts to get into the character - the obsessive compulsive writing of taking note of every single detail of clothing, the psycho babble about music, the change from writing from the first person to the third person. Of course it gets more graphic at the same time. There were so many good bits in that last 100 pages that made all the stomach wrenching scenes worth reading.

The movie however... is best avoided. Not after reading the book. Unless looking at Christian Bale's abdomen is your thing.

The death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy

2009-05-17T14:03:00.000+08:00

The master by Colm Toibin

2009-05-13T23:22:00.003+08:00

I have a copy of his other book that with years of neglect, has not seen the daylight in a few good years. While reading the review of his lastest book Brooklyn, I came across the synopsis of The Master and immediately became intrigued by it. Yes, I have not read any of Henry James novel as yet (And again, The Golden Bowl is sitting on my shelf, waiting for its turn to be devoured), but I think the concept of it is fascinating. The inner workings of the an author's mind (Yes, it also means that I'll read The Hours soon).

I have only read one of Toibin's short story so far (a recent one in the New Yorker). And the truth is, his writing did nothing to excite me. Perhaps its the medium or the breveity of it. Nothing in the realms of what Junot Diaz's or maybe Murakami's short stories did to me. With that prelude to his writings, I did not expect to feel what I feel now about the book.

The Master took a little persuasion to read it initially. Partly my fault for reading it as a substitute and filler to Plath's journals when it got a little too depressing. But very much as how Henry James felt with Nathaniel Hawthorne's work as described in the book. Up until now, I have no idea when the magic of his writing took over me. The magic must has started much earlier on but not knowing it, it enveloped me in such a way that the moment that I am aware of it, it was already too late! I was already the wonder eyed child, wondering how did the magician pull the bunny out of his hat! It was vivid and astonishing, playing on the heart strings. Tales of Henry James sojurns to the various European cities and his encounters with the occupants and always an observer of the intricate working of the social classes in old Europe. Of his thoughts. Of his possible relations.

Quite an unexpected good read. =0)

Will I never rest in sunlight again - slow, languid, and golden with peace?

2009-04-26T10:33:00.003+08:00

.. but why the hell are we conditioned into the smooth strawberry-and-cream Mother-Goose-world, Alice-in-Wonderland fable, only to be broken on the wheel as we grow older and become aware of ourselves as individuals with a dull responsibilty in life?

-Sylvia Plath-

I feel as if my mind is about to explode. And if it did, I fear it will only reek of the statistical equations and concepts and also Plath's amazing prose.

I was torn as to what to read after finishing Barker's Regeneration trilogy. I have come to accept the love hate relationship with Billy Prior, secretly intrigued with Rivers and wouldn't have minded a little bit more time with Owen and Sassoon. The fact was, I was so engrossed in that world that after finishing the last sentence of the heavy-weighted ending of The ghost road, I was a little lost (I really love Regeneration. And truth be told, if I were to read only The Ghost Road, I would not have been so amorous with Miss Barker's works). I stared at the book shelf, wondering what to read next.

In the end I picked up Plath's journal. Hesitant. I knew reading her would set me in a mood. And perhaps, that particular mood was not the frame of mind that I should be in at this point in time. But perhaps like The Bell Jar, it could at the same time be oddly liberating. Perhaps, her journals would have the same effect.

I'm only in page 18. But I find myself reading and re-reading her entries. Trudging slowly for fearing that, what if the next 300 pages are not nearly as good what this 18 pages have been for me. Her words are like an opiate that overloads my dopaminegic systems in my brain's reward circuitry. I am addicted. I am tantalised. I feel like I am trying to memorise everything but failing so miserably for what pleasure it would have given me to recall it at a later time. I am well... depressed. But she is amazing. I am gushing, like a unruly 14 year old, screaming as her favourite pop idol apparated in front of her. I am equivalent to that unruly 14 year old. Only, I am seduced by her words, her mind.

Ah, enough gushing.

The ghost road by Pat Barker

2009-04-25T13:52:00.002+08:00

The eye in the door by Pat Barker

2009-04-18T14:20:00.000+08:00

Regeneration by Pat Barker

2009-04-11T18:59:00.000+08:00

Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith

2009-04-05T11:48:00.000+08:00

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

2009-03-29T21:37:00.001+08:00

Talk about bizzare!!!!

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

2009-03-23T19:49:00.002+08:00

I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death,
just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.

Wow. Just wow.

The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier

2009-03-21T20:45:00.002+08:00

From A to X: A story in letters by John Berger

2009-03-15T18:20:00.001+08:00

Blankets by Craig Thompson

2009-02-24T21:53:00.000+08:00

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

2009-02-24T21:52:00.000+08:00

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

2009-02-07T12:13:00.003+08:00

It's amazing how creating the ultimate bad boy could lead to so many swooning young girls (and women) to go on this "twilight" craze.

Maybe, at one point, I should write, predictable, eye-rolling adolescence fiction. At the very least, I'll be earning millions.

Things fall apart by Chinua Achebe

2009-02-07T12:12:00.001+08:00

Everyman by Philip Roth

2009-01-18T18:13:00.000+08:00

Some books are read unwittingly and unknowingly at a certain passage in time. Almost clairvoyant, sending signals, sending messages. Be it to comfort, to give strength, to understand or well to forewarn.

This is one of them. I wish it was not.

I wish for it to never happen.

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

2009-01-05T19:50:00.003+08:00

I started reading Brideshead Revisted while I was on a cramp and uncomfortable bus ride to Ha Long city. It could not have been more different these two world. Evelyn Waugh's description of the British aristocracies in the 1920s was amazing, a world that had until then eluded me, with its Rococo rooms, the roaring 20's extravagant and glittery lifestyle. While I was in an uncomfortable seat, with a stranger elbowing me for quite a long while in the journey, passing through numerous paddy fields.

Nonetheless, I had waited to get the book as I refused to get the movie cover version (so ugly). And finally when Borders brought in the Penguin Classic version, I couldn't help myself but to buy it. Especially since I had read bits of the letters he used to write to Nancy Mitford. I had wanted to read the book first before watching the movie. To the extent that I didn't bother with the movie trailer at all. And now that I've finished the book and watched the movie trailer, I am already disappointed with the movie.

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dau Sijie

2008-12-07T23:35:00.000+08:00

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

2008-12-07T23:31:00.000+08:00

The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster

2008-11-09T16:36:00.002+08:00

To be fair, I am only halfway through the third and final novella of the trilogy, The Locked Room. I've read the first novella, City of Glass, prior to this, but that was a graphic novel. After completing City of Glass, I wasn't exactly in awed with Auster. Granted it is not your ordinary crime fiction but rather a psychological look into the observer rather than those that are being observed. It was still an okay read at that point.

But, it is after reading Ghost, that I am convinced that he is an amazing writer. The mystery is in a mystery itself. If you get what I mean. And in the end, you never really get the answer to the core of the mystery. What I find amazing is how he injects concepts like realism, existentialism, identity into the story. How everything in some ways seem significant but yet played to be insignificant. The names (I love the idea of using colours... somewhat like Reservoir Dogs), the lack of details simply because it is not important and a certain level of abstractness, how Walden comes into the picture. To me, everything was perfect. The writing, the details, the lack of answers. It is the perfect mystery novel!

However, I was browsing through some of the comments on the trilogy and perhaps, high from reading it, I was "shocked" to read that there are people who didn't share the same sentiment on Ghost. (In fact, one commenter suggested to give Ghost a miss. At that point I was aghast!). Hence, I suppose Auster might not be everyone's cup of tea. But, if you do happen to have similar book taste like me, I think this is one that you should not give it a miss.

The Graveyard book by Neil Gaiman

2008-11-03T09:07:00.000+08:00

Old Goriot by Honore de Balzac

2008-10-20T20:46:00.002+08:00

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

2008-10-05T17:33:00.004+08:00

I've seen the book before. Read the premise of the book. I was intrigued. Walking around Borders the other day, on an impulse, I bought it (together with Balzac, at last). To say the least, I was haunted by the book. Out of curiosity, I went to googled for this boy-man with his impulse and reckless, defining his adolescent years, but yet, his deep interest in philosophy, a man so much more matured than what his age appeared to be. What I needed to see was how he had lived. His pictures. His living testimonies. I saw the video clip of The Bus. Even just from watching it, there is an eerie sort of spookiness that I cannot place.

It is something I won't forget. And truthfully, that is the last place on earth I wanted to be.

Part of me gets what he is feeling. To a certain extent. And I do associate it with a certain youthful idealism that most of us would grow out of. I too have my "secret fantasy" that is not so dissimilar to Alex/Chris. Perhaps, with time, as age and more prolonged interaction with the rest of the erm... world, this feeling somehow gets milder. The impulse fades. And all these emotions and thoughts are now, channeled into a different way.

I guess, what I am driving at is, this book left me with a funny after taste. Its not bitter. But, confusing. About the life I am leading. About the choices I made.

And do I at my final moments, able to say...

"I HAVE A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD. GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL!"

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

2008-09-15T22:41:00.004+08:00

Alas August went by too swiftly. Without a moment to spare, to be lost in the literary world.

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

2008-07-30T20:46:00.000+08:00

The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford

2008-07-26T21:43:00.002+08:00

I have yet to read Love in a Cold Climate. But The Pursuit of Love was sufficiently witty and light-hearted to make it a little worth while. A 3/5 perhaps?

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

2008-07-21T19:18:00.002+08:00

There is something the way he writes. Phrases, words, on its own mean nothing. But yet, when linked together, just one after another, leads to a certain brilliance that is so rare, so precise, and yet so apt. He wrote beautifully about the war (which seems a little like an oxymoron). His graphic description managed to subconsciously sip into my dreams, the blood, the gore, the rotting flesh. Or the cathartic manner he wrote about the degradation of men.

The book is not without flaws. It is only in the war trenches and the underground mines that Faulks truly shines. Yet, when he wrote about the little love affair before the war or the bits of what he wrote about the protagonist's grandaughter, that find it a little lackluster. Somewhat in a rather odd manner, how could one write so brilliantly at one part of the novel but not in the other.

I am not a big fan of war stories. But somehow, Birdsong managed to inspire a certain vigor to read Pat Barker's Regeneration trilogy.

And truthfully, I am not sure whether Faulks would have been a suitable choice for the new James Bond movie.

Certainty by Madeline Thien

2008-07-21T19:16:00.000+08:00

The Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster

2008-06-19T21:30:00.002+08:00

Coming out of Kurt Vonnegut's A Man Without A Country and right into Auster's first line in The Brooklyn Follies, "I was looking for a place to die." I was thinking to myself, what is with my choice of books lately. I can't be reading another man's last words... again! Far from it, I came to love the protagonists Nathan Glass and how he came to accept life and perhaps the follies that befall on us. I must applaud Auster's brilliance in developing well likable characters. All of them are flawed (hence the title), yes, but very endearing. It is the way he writes that makes them seem so animated and yet vulnerable.

I love the whimsical titles and his humour on man's predicament (from old couple having sex to the loneliness of a single being without anyone). But he has coined a term that I instantly love, Imaginary Eden. It is a concept that I have always have in my mind since young, but yet, at the same time, I could not so eloquently describe it. The moment, I read that phrase, I just knew that was it. Each one of us, has our own personally Hotel Existence.

Yup. I feel better about the world. And am looking forward to read more of Auster.

A Man Without A Country by Kurt Vonnegut

2008-06-14T11:47:00.003+08:00

Oh how I love this man's wit. Granted that I have read some of the essays (more like random thoughts that a person pens down) in In These Times, but its just simply wonderful how this book feels like a final conversation with a great mind. As cliche as it sounds, it is something like Tuesdays with Morrie. But, in a more realistic, brimming with satire and of course, dark humour.

It feels as if Vonnegut was giving his final "punches" to the whole concept of life and how we have evolved. His final book is just merely a compilation of thoughts on how he looks at the world at his ripe old age (of 82 when he wrote the book!) and well, waiting to die. And for a person who has lived through World War 2 as a soldier and an seemingly endless political and social upheaval, it is only fair that he should feel that life ... is just basically quite shit.

The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld

2008-06-10T09:18:00.001+08:00

1984 by George Orwell

2008-06-07T09:58:00.003+08:00

1984 was simply an amazing read and I am more than intrigue of the creative genius that could so vividly create this dystopic novel. This is the same man that created words and phrases that we use even today. Big Brother. Cold war. And what is even more amazing that, even the book was written 60 years ago (1948!), it is not dated and really much more real today than ever although the context Orwell's based this book on was different.

I love the few chapters of the Goldstein book that talk about how War is Peace and the use of doublespeak so blatantly in the Ministry of Love, Ministry of Truth, Ministry of Plenty. And almost sadistically, to me one of the best part of the book was when the protagonist, Winston Smith was caught and was re-educated. I love the complex relationship Winston has with O'Brien. A very twisted brotherhood relationship. I love the idea of newspeak but would absolutely detest it if we ever reached to the level.

1984 was revolutionary and well personally, mind blowing.

Well, at least even Apple thought so...

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

2008-05-21T20:31:00.004+08:00

I don't normally read current books that are popular now. Sure there are occassionally one or two books that caught my eye, but I never really been bothered to read what the general population seem to be liking now. And it comes to no surprise that I've not even read (or heard) some of the books in the NYT best sellers list.

Nonetheless, a year after Khaled Hosseini (it was a pleasant surprise to know that the book came out on the 22nd May last year... somehow it felt I was celebrating a year after it was released), I find myself picking up Hosseini's A thousand splendid's suns that was lying around the house. I have friends who had raved about Hosseini and how much they love The Kite Runner and had urged me to read him.

Well, the truth is, I don't exactly hate it, but neither do I love it so much that I would re-read it. Neither was it a mediocre book that doesn't engage me. It is engaging. But, in the words of Simon Cowell, it was for me anyway, forgettable. (Cliche, I know). And I am sure thousands of people will probably think I am mad and having absolute no sense of taste in books, but that is my opinion. But truthfully, after reading two or three other books or a month later, will you remember the characters, Mariam and Laila vividly (like Howard Roark and John Galt?)? Does it impress you with his words and prose (like Bradbury's?)?

Fair, I was looking for something I could get lost in. And it did. I did find myself in the havoc and war-torn Kabul, the plight of the protagonist, but after reading a few other books, I am sure it will all be a vague memory. And a book that I'll look a few months later in a book store, thinking to myself... oh... I've read that. But I can't exactly remember what it was about.

Anthem by Ayn Rand

2008-05-11T19:22:00.002+08:00

In some ways, this book reminds me so much of The Giver by Lois Lowry especially since I read the latter only a few weeks back. However, Rand, injected a more dismal outlook on the dystopia. I love how she used the plural pronoun for the protagonist almost throughout the whole book, to further stress on the idea of "collectivism". Only at the end of it, when the protagonist, Equality 7-2521 or Prometheus, found the concept of singularity, of "I", of "ego" that she uses the singular pronoun.

Of course, I very much prefer The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged to Anthem. But, Anthem, afforded an easier and simpler (not to mention shorter... its only a mere 100 pages) read to Rand's idea and philosophy.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kessey

2008-05-05T13:15:00.001+08:00

Although I knew how it would end, I still find it terribly distrubing.

=0<

Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata

2008-04-15T22:54:00.000+08:00

Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut

2008-04-09T09:07:00.000+08:00

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

2008-03-20T23:16:00.002+08:00

One word

INCREDIBLE

The Giver by Lois Lowry

2008-02-24T14:51:00.004+08:00

We The Living, Ayn Rand

2008-02-19T23:07:00.002+08:00

Reading this book, although like Fountainhead is truly engrossing, it is almost depressing. If The Fountainhead was written in celebration of singularity and the very concept of "I" and that no matter what circumstances, if you preserve and not let the "system" break you, you'll pull through. But reading, We the living, watching how a man full of inspiration, got broken, beaten and in such despair that it is an antithesis of Rand's concept of objectivism. And reading those words is more dreadful, more fearful than any horror stories could induce.

Something wicked this way comes by Ray Bradbury

2008-02-11T08:26:00.000+08:00

Reading Something wicked this way comes has a funny way to break my personal dislike for the horror genre. I generally do not watch or read and think that the horror genre is such a "silly" thing to engross oneself in. Why do I need to frighten myself any further when there is a lot of things in the present that frightens me?

The truth is, while Something wicked this way comes is not exactly ... terrifying (not that it has the ghost and ghoulies that jump out of the page), it is slightly terrifying in the psycohological aspect ... of the effect of fear, desire, and death. But it did inspire me to pick up Stephen King's It. Which hopefully I will not chicken out to read it fairly soon.

Although, the prose were still beautiful and poetic, it seemed too convoluted sometimes. The meanings and its lyrical effect were not brought across or even understood by a simpleton like me. Despite that, is still quite a read especially when those prose shine through.

And by gosh, chapter 31 is surely one of the shortest chapters that I have ever read! (perhaps the fastest one that put a smile on my face!)

Drown by Junot Diaz

2008-02-04T08:59:00.000+08:00

I admit, I had wanted to read The brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao . But, instead I picked up Drown from a recent shopping spree from Borders. I admit, I am no fan of short stories with the exception of Haruki Murakami's After the Quake. But Diaz with his brief and no frills, cold and yet precise choice of words, was addictive. There is a certain candor and nonchalant and yet at the same time, so deeply hurt and in need of love that I found strangely engaging.

It's a good collection of short stories, in terms of writing and of order on how the stories are presented. Suffice to say that I am glad that I bought this book and looking forward to read The brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao.

Our Stealing Horses by Per Petterson

2008-01-20T13:23:00.000+08:00

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

2008-01-17T10:01:00.000+08:00

Fahrenheit 451 was a little of an irony for me. Bradbury projection of a dystopic world although had terrifying images (book burning and not allowed to read books? God.), the choice of words had a certain tinge of lightheartedness. Perhaps, it is just a personal observation and emotion.

What's more, eventhough the plot was good for this novella, what convinced me that Bradbury is a genius was his prose. The most astounding use of metaphors, and almost lyrical descriptions made my heart ache with a certain envy, for I wish I have a fraction of what he has. The pure genius of it. It is simple, uncluttered, humble without the need to convince readers that authors are walking thesaurus. In many ways, Bradbury succeeded in writing such wonderful proses that I feel most classical writers have failed.

I'm gushing for admiration for Bradbury, for he has, as swiftly and as potent as any good novel could do, won a place in my heart.

A history of Violence

2008-01-16T17:46:00.000+08:00

House of Meetings by Martin Amis

2008-01-15T08:43:00.000+08:00

30 Days of night: Trilogy by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith

2008-01-13T15:44:00.000+08:00

The Clothes They Stood Up in and The Lady in the Van by Alan Bennett

2008-01-04T12:43:00.000+08:00

"The Lady in the Van" is just simply superb. I can't stop myself bursting out laughing at Mr Bennett's description of Miss S. Simply marvellous. Too witty to put it down. =0>

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

2008-01-02T23:00:00.000+08:00

What if the Queen was a voracious reader?

*chuckles*

The Last Town on Earth by Thomas Mullen

2008-01-01T16:02:00.000+08:00

A spy in the house of love by Anais Nin

2007-12-28T21:20:00.000+08:00

The fountainhead by Ayn Rand

2007-12-14T14:23:00.000+08:00

I'm in my last 100 pages of this book. I'm lingering. I'm struggling not to finish it. That's the irony of a good book. I wish I read some books much earlier. But, halfway through the book, I just wish I haven't started it at all. Not because it is bad or uninteresting. But, there will never be that book for me to read again. To read it the first time. It's always different to read a book the second time. True, there will be nuances that I didn't catch the first time round, but gone is that gripping and mind haunting experience that just flood all your senses and imagination like how it will the first time you read a passage.

Hence, I'm avoiding Atlas Shrugged. Not until I have read everything else (fiction) that Rand has to offer. And as you can imagine, I have very much fallen in love with Rand's work (and perhaps philosophy).

I wished too I've read this book with somebody. There are just so many things I want to discuss about the book. Parts that I don't understand (how does he thinks like that?). Parts that I feel that I need to understand deeper (no, I don't think it is rape). Howard Roark is too much of an intriguing figure to not constantly wonder about! And the truth is, Ayn Rand wrote the book with the purpose of illustration what to her an ideal man was. Hence she created Roark, and with it, scenarios that would exemplify and elucdiate why he would be an ideal man. Hence, Roark to me comes out as almost too perfect at times. He is too squeaky clean as a person to even exist.

On another note, I think I have finally have an answer to the question what kind of men do I like (the typical question most friends that are happily in a relationship would asked a singleton). My answer would have been Howard Roark. *wistful smile*

The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

2007-12-05T21:14:00.000+08:00

The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain de Botton

2007-11-25T19:43:00.000+08:00

Dedication by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

2007-10-25T19:50:00.000+08:00

Saturday by Ian McEwan

2007-10-03T08:52:00.000+08:00

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

2007-10-02T22:34:00.000+08:00

The moment Zafon described the forgotten book cemetery, I knew I was hooked. I love the concept, I love how he made me feel as if I was the ten year old boy, standing outside an obscure building in the middle of Barcelona, intrigued, holding on to his father's hand. And to think that was only the first two chapters of the book!

As the plots (after subplots) were slowly peeled (ever so carefully!), I was intrigued and can't help but wanting to skip the whole chunk of it, just to know how it ended (Oh... the temptation!). I love it. Devoured it, in fact. And I'm mighty glad that I picked it up from the book store.

The excitement, the almost wondrous, goth-like, mysterious and melodramatic plot came like waves in succession. The moment I thought I have decoded the mystery, something new turned up and kept me in suspense again. The truth is, I never fully deciphered the entire mystery right until the end when it was all explained in the last part of the book. Such is the imagination of a brilliant man.

Now excuse me. I need to hunt down more of such books.

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

2007-09-29T08:42:00.001+08:00

I've been putting off completing this book. I read the first half of the book a few months back and thought that it was too depressing as a leisurely read. The concept of grief and mourning, the lost of a 40 year partnership, marriage and in many ways, a soul mate, seemed too bleak a concept for a 25 year old me, in many ways, still full of life and well... hope.

Towards the end of the book, Joan Didion wrote about how at 22 she had read this book, a widow wallowing in self-pity after the death of her husband (with a title of Leftover Life to Kill!) and how she despised the book.

Didion's book had the same effect on me. And I suppose it is the indestructible sense of youth that mislead this conception of mine. I did not like the first half of the book. The constant repeat of the scene the night her husband, John died. How, Quintana, her daughter was so acutely ill in the hospital (which upon more "googling" I realised passed away before the book was published while in the book there was an impression that she was recovering). I cannot in my life, as self-centered as I am, cannot accept the fragility of life.

But of late, as the thought of death and illnesses hovered and fleeted across my mind, I picked Didion's book again. And it would have seemed that there was a certain transition in her process of writing from the disbelief that her husband was no longer alive (where I stopped), to how lucidly she described the process of mourning and the inevitable grief. Certain sentences struck me hard as I recognise, with my limited (thankfully) fringes with death, that it was (and will be in magnitude) the same way, I would grief for a love one.

I know that in some point in time in my life, I would pick this book again. Reread it. However, the circumstances may be different, and to be truthful, I would never ever want that circumstance to occur. For I know, at that moment, I know that I would be grieving for someone that I love.

2007-09-04T22:06:00.000+08:00

I'm getting too lazy.

=0p

A Year in the Merde by Stephen Clarke

2007-07-05T22:36:00.000+08:00

Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters and Survival by Anderson Cooper

2007-06-29T22:17:00.000+08:00

Monsieur Lambert by Jean-Jacques Sempe

2007-06-25T12:56:00.000+08:00

Eat, Pray, Love:One Woman's search for everything across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert

2007-05-22T13:58:00.000+08:00

April and March books

2007-04-22T21:45:00.000+08:00

Arthur and George by Julian Barnes

Intuition by Allegra Goodman

Dawn by Elie Wiesel

2007-02-08T23:11:00.000+08:00

A parellel life. Dawn is an answer to Elie Wiesel's what if. What if, right after World War II, instead of going to the United States, he went to Paris and one way or another he wounds up in Palestine. What happens in his course of trying to understand what happened back Bachenwald and Auschwitz (unimaginable!) that he met someone who tried to make him understand what it is like to have a meaningful life again. Twisted, where the ways of to an end does not matter but instead what matters is the end.

Dawn describes the event of a few hours. Where Elishe, the protagonist, was commanded to execute a captive at dawn. There are many things in the book that I do not understand. For instance, how could anyone after surviving a concentration camp can believe in the concept of religion or rather the existence of God.

Nonetheless, the whole book climax at the end of the book. I was literally clawing my bag as I read, wondering whether will he pull the trigger.

It was well written, well thought out of. And I do recommend reading it, especially after reading Night. But, I suppose it too can stand on its own.

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisenberg

2007-02-08T09:07:00.000+08:00

Seems I've been writing everything in reverse. The order of reading that is.

Absolutely love The Devil Wears Prada. And I suppose since most of you have already watched the movie, there isn't much need to say how excellent the book is.

2007-02-07T08:46:00.000+08:00

These three books had been the main reason that I am having dark rings beneath my eyes.
These three books had been the main reason that I have been walking around with a book in hand, reading and walking at the same time. Reading and taking the bus. Reading and eating. Thinking of reading it when I am at work. Thinking of reading it when I am about to sleep.

Garth Nix did a marvelous job in creating this particular fantasy world. It reminded me of the movie where the dead live and walked about (I can't remember nuts what the title is- The living of the dead? =0S). Nonetheless, I think among the three books I love Sabriel to bits. Perhaps, it is the introduction to the world of the dead, the role of an Abhorsen (which is to send the dead back to erm... the gates of death.) But whatever it was, after reading Sabriel, it was sufficient to make run towards Kino to pick up the other two books.

Fantastic. Although it is labelled as a young adult book, I suppose, it is suited for all ages. I do wonder however will they ever make this into a movie. They are after all going to make the dark materials, why not this.

Night by Elie Wiesel

2007-02-06T10:07:00.000+08:00

I was reading Dawn in a second hand book shop a couple of days back before deciding to read the trilogy- Night, Dawn and Day. I must admit, prior to that, I have already heard about the book from Oprah's Book Club. I suppose, my rather weird and erm... perverse interest in wartime atrocities somewhat drove me to read Night as well.

That said, Night was brilliantly simple. Sometimes it doesn't take that big words to actually describe accurately what happened in concentration camps during world war two. I was reading the preface where Elie Wiesel described his agony in choosing the right choice of words to describe the hellish months (though it seemed eternity) in Auschwitz and Bachenwald. Truly, how do you describe the agonising months without diluting, without encapsulating the emotion.

Nonetheless, it is heartbreaking to read Night where a boy not only lost his entire family, but rather he lost himself, his believes, morals... just to stay alive. I read from somewhere that Jews believe that the day begins during night fall. But, yet, throughout Night, it seemed there is an air finality, the end. With each selection made, whether you go to the left (meaning survival) or to the right (to the gas chambers or crematorium), there is an impending end to it. I suppose that is somewhat a little irony to the title of the book.

What happens after Night? I suppose I'll know after I've read Dawn.

300 by Frank Miller

2007-02-05T23:52:00.000+08:00

Two words.

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!

Persuasion by Jane Austen

2006-11-14T14:58:00.000+08:00

I was told that Pride and Prejudice was easily the best book ever written by Jane Austen. Personally, I thought Persuasion was better written, albeit it did lack the the wit and verbal banter that was so prevalent in Pride and Prejudice.

Being Austen's last book, Persuasion has a certain maturity, not very different from how emotions and preception become mellow and adopts an air of knowing. Perhaps, it is how Austen portrayed Anne Elliot, the leading character in the book that strenghtens this perception. I suppose I would have to read Sense and Sensibility, Austen's first book to make that conclusion.

Nonetheless, I did enjoy the book and one that I find difficult to put it down. Eventhough, I am not much of a classic fan. =0.

Youth: Scenes from Provincial Life II by J.M. Coetzee

2006-08-20T17:35:00.000+08:00

I remembered reading Waiting for the Barbarian and I was followed by a spell of slight depression. Coetzee, a master in writing brooding and dark tales, managed to pull off the same depressive mood once again in Youth.

Taunted as an autobiography, Youth was an honest account of his life as a computer programmer. His hope to find his muse in writing something that could potentially change his life. To escape from the drudgery and monotony of life. He talks about that one woman that will finally release his truth self. The one woman that will shed that exterior that everyone sees him. He talks about not fitting in a place where he thought that he will achieve the dream life that he always wanted.

Yet, even in this supposedly "ideal" place, he lost what he deemed most important. He lost himself in the process.

Youth, is easy to read compared to Waiting for the Barbarian. Equally to me as depressing, as I too begin to question the way I lead my life. Perhaps, in many way, even more "haunting". Coetzee is deserving of the numerous award he received for unlike what he describes of himself in Youth, he is truly a master in his craft. Perhaps, self-doubt will always be part of some of us. Never believing that we could achieve that single pursuit.

The sandman series by Neil Gaiman

2006-08-08T14:07:00.000+08:00

Family Values - Sin City Book 5 by Frank Miller

2006-07-23T15:04:00.000+08:00

While watching the movie, two of my favourite character was Dwight and Miho.

In family values, the two return in investigating a killing.

The plot wasn't much but the graphic was fantastic. Just looking at how Miho goes about assissinating everyone else in her roller blades was totally brilliant. Gruesome no doubt, but brilliant. Too bad, she doesn't speak a single bit in this series.

I can't wait to watch sequal. Can't wait.

Booze, Broads and Bullets- Sin City Vol 6 by Frank Miller

2006-07-22T23:48:00.000+08:00

The legendary sin city.

Volume 6 consisted of 11 short stories. Some are too short for my liking. The graphics are fantastic though. Vivid, with brilliant use of colour at the approriate places to accentuate the effect.

Among the 11 stories, my favourite has to be the last one. The Babe Wore Red.

Can't wait to see the sequal to the movie version.

Hopefully it will be as good as the first.

Death: The High Cost of Living by Neil Gaman, Chris Bachalo, Mark Buckingham and Dave McKean

2006-07-22T14:21:00.000+08:00

Work has a funny way of eating up too much of time. Hence, I have resorted to reading graphic novel...

That said, Death, a spin-off of the famous Sandman series is the sister of Dreamlord. Haunting a goth appearance, Death, has the character of a charming, happy teenager who is yet to be tainted by the world. For good reason and measure I suppose. Death, even though is all around us (in and out), is not a mortal.

Hence, for one day in every century, Death would take in a human form, to taste the sweet meaning of mortality and what is living is like. Somewhat a vacation from her morbid occupation.

And in this century apparently, she decided to appear in the form of Didi. A girl who has lost her family recently. In that one day, she goes in a whirlwind adventure.

I love the drawing very much. Much more than The Sandman: The Dream Hunters. The story line is a little anti-climax. But, it is still interesting. And it does make me crave reading the Sandman series even more.

Ah well... Now, Sin City.

Fax From Sarajevo by Joe Kubert

2006-07-02T14:28:00.000+08:00

I have come to the conclusion that one of the best method to bring across a message, to tell a story, to disperse a propaganda is through graphic comics.

Fax from Sarajevo is one of the most heart-wrenching reaccount of war from the perspecitive of a civilian trapped in their bleeding homeland. The story talks of the attempt of Ervin Rustemagic and his family to leave Sarajevo during the height of ethnic clensing in Bosnia. Joe Kubert drawn vividly the scences of the bloodshed, the emotions that captured on the face of the character. It is disturbing, vivid and helpless to read the reaccount of the war.

A war torn Sarajevo is a different world from what we have now. Sometimes, we just take things to easily, for granted. To have the ability to call anyone at ease, to walk around safe at night or even broad daylight.

Fax from Sarajevo is moving. Many tears was shed reading it and I am grateful for everything that I have now. If only that we could take time and remember to help others in need.

Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote

2006-06-18T19:01:00.000+08:00

Audrey Hepburn, in the movie has immortalised Truman Capote's Holly Golightly. Breakfast at Tiffany's was how Holly would describe her own way to escape life when things just get out of hand or in her words when she sees red. A former starlet and the "in" girl in society, Holly Golightly was a precocious woman that is unique in every way. She is endearing and almost child-like, but yet at certain angles you could see the almost matured outlook of life.

The other three short stories that came together with the novel was as enjoyable as reading the novella.

"The house of flowers" look at the relationship of a former prostitute in love with a man. How love was so empowering that even when she is "mistreated" she refuses to leave her man.

"The diamond guitar", my favourite among the three short stories, talk about the platonic love an older inmate to a younger inmate. How the love would in the end embarass him, but yet, through everything, the memories shared was still tender and haunting.

"A Christmas memories" describes the relationship of a young boy with a 60 over year old woman.

Capote stories are hauntingly real. All four stories share a very prominent theme on human relationships. Such reflection, insights and description of relationships between two people seemed only possible if it is based on past experience, which made Capote's stories even more credible and believable.

Now, I just can't wait to watch Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly...

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

2006-06-17T13:51:00.000+08:00

In this debut novel, Neil Gaiman's trademark dark and grim fantasy is rather obvious throughout the whole book. Richard Mayhew, the protagonist is thrown into the world of London below, a shady and dark underworld when he did a good deed in heelping Door. Unable to go back to his own world, Richard was trapped in an unfamiliar world where there are Rat speakers, assasins that eat birds and china...

It is witty and funny, dark and in some scene, down right evil. London below sounded interesting and one that I would have to explore. However compared to Anansi boys, the protagonist in Neverwhere does seem a little foreign to me. It lacks a certain connection that a reader would get with the lead character. It lacks certain personality and a depth into the character. Hence, it lacks that certain factor that draws you deeper into the book. It is still however a good book. Interesting, especially the description of London below.