Agatha Christie - 120th Anniversary

I didn't know today is Agatha Christie's 120th Anniversary.  It's such a pleasant surprise to see that the creative folks at Google did a doodle in honour of her anniversary. 

Agatha Christie is one of my favourite mystery author.  At one time, I attempted to read all of her mystery stories and although I didn't managed to do it, I did read quite a lot of them!

The above is taken from Google page.  I love it.  Most of her detectives and sidekicks are represented here. 

I could be wrong but, from left to right, I think they are :

G - Hercule Poirot
O - Hasting
O - Tuppence Beresford
G - Ms Marple
L -Tommy Beresford
E - Adriadne Oliver

Thank you Agatha Christie for the many wonderful mystery books.

p.s. it is the royal butler who posted the above.  PurpleQueenFairy has nothing to do with it.

Second Time Around Books from USA

These are my purchases at a recent book fair held in Kuching. Books sold here are all second hand books, creatively called ‘Second Time Around Book’. I guess second time around sounds much better than second hand. These are books from libraries and private collections from the United States.

There were lots of books for children and novels and non fictions for adults. The royal family went there on the 2nd last day and spent around RM100 (about US$35). For that amount, we bought these 7 novels and a few books for young adults. One of our best buy would be a hardcover copy of the ‘Magic Tree House Series’ – Blizzard of The Blue Moon. I don’t know who’s more excited, PurpleQueenFairy herself or the princess. The copy is practically brand new.

Books there were priced between RM4 (US$1+) to RM10 (US$3+) except for certain titles which might cost slightly more especially hardcover books for children. Other than that, the rest were very affordable and a great incentive for anyone who wishes to stock up on their reads or to build up their home library.

Not to mention with Christmas round the corner, it would be great opportunity to buy some as gifts except some folks might not be keen to receive second hand books as gifts. Would you mind?

The Skin Map by Stephen R. Lawhead

The Skin Map is both an adventure fantasy story and treasure hunt with a touch of science fiction. It would appeal to those interested in all these elements. I wasn’t sure what my reaction would be since this is my first time reading Stephen Lawhead and fantasy fictions has never been my interest. I am pleased to say that with The Skin Map, I was captivated right from the start. I enjoyed Kit and his interaction with his great-grand father and the quest that he never expected to embark on. The writing is interesting and even the title at the beginning of each chapter was captivating. I am glad I read this and was rewarded with an interesting ending.

I am especially interested in the ley line and ley travel as explained by the author and the theories that inspired this work. This is the first of the Bright Empires Series created by Stephen Lawhead. He is an acclaimed author of mythical history and fantasy fictions. Having read The Skin Map, I am looking forward to exploring his other works.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

My Precious - Gone with The Wind & Scarlett

Today, I would like to share with you my favourite story of all time. It is none other than Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell. This book was first published in May 1936. That’s like 74 years ago! I bought mine during a church sales sometime in 1984 paying only RM6 for it. Having owned the book for more than 20+ years, I think I must have read it about 5 times over the years. The last time was about 4 years ago.

And Katie Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler. What a long name and what a character! How does one describe she who is so simple and yet so complex. And Rhett Butler. Every womens' dream man. I couldn’t get enough of Scarlett and Rhett, and was basically quite dissatisfied with how the story ended in Gone With The Wind and always wish for some continuation.

My wish came through in 1991 when the estate of Margaret Mitchell commissioned Alexandra Ripley to write the official sequel entitled Scarlett. I read Scarlett in the mid-1990s (can’t really remember when) when I rent the book from a similar establishment such as this. I always wanted to get a copy of Scarlett for my personal collection but I didn’t want to get a brand new copy since my Gone With The Wind wasn’t exactly brand new and I didn’t want it to suffer any inferiority complex. Haha..  I know, it’s just a book but still!

Such, it was an extremely pleasant surprise when I managed to find a pre-owned copy in Book Castle (in Kuching) last year which I immediately bought for RM9.

While most people felt that Scarlett didn’t measure up to Gone With The Wind, I like and enjoy it. It gave me such satisfaction that she survives and survives well even during the times without Rhett in her life. And sentimental fool that I am, it also gave me such pleasure to read the maturity of their love for each other. Overall, it gave me the continuity that I was looking for after Gone With The Wind.

Can I hope for a third book? Perhaps one that portrays a more elderly Scarlett with a focus on her daughter, Cat and her other children? As for now, I can just start wishing again. Perhaps it might come true again one of these days!

The Chocolate Run by Dorothy Koomson

Remember my Dorothy Koomson’s collection? Well, I’ve read all of them and will be sharing them with you one at a time over the next few months. Let’s get started with The Chocolate Run. No particular reason why this is first.

Let’s have a look at the synopsis:

Amber Salpone doesn’t mean to keep ending up in bed with her friend Greg Walterson, but she can’t help herself. And every time it ‘just happens’ their secret affair moves closer to being a real relationship, which is a big problem when he’s a womanizer and she’s a commitment –phobe.

While Amber struggles to accept her new feelings for Greg, she also realises that her closeness to Jen, her best friend, is slipping away and the two of them are becoming virtual strangers. Slowly but surely, as the stark truths of all their lives are revealed, Amber has to confront the fact that chocolate can’t cure everything and sometimes running away isn’t an option.

The Chocolate Run is a delectable tale of lust, love and chocolate.

Delectable indeed.

This book is about Amber, Greg, Jen and Matt (Jen’s boyfriend) and how the lives of these friends intertwine with each other. I get a feel that this is the trademark of Dorothy Koomson. It is also obvious in her other books like Goodnight Beautiful and My Best Friend’s Girl. They affect each other’s life not just in a superficial way but rather deeply. We have Amber and Jen, Amber and Greg and also Jen and Greg. Matt played a pretty minor role.

This book is also about commitment phobia and your worst nightmare coming true in certain relationships. Those who have gone through it would be able to identify with it.

While, to me, this is not Dorothy’s strongest book, it was quite addictive – like a box of chocolate, and like a box of chocolate, you didn’t know what you’re going to get. The twist that was thrown in by Dorothy about three quarter into the story was quite unexpected. I certainly didn’t see that coming and it certainly brought about a new dimension into the storyline and made the story what it is.

Unfortunately, this book didn’t impact me as what My Best Friend’s Girl did but it’s still quite a good read.

The Last Testament by Sam Bourne

It’s time to talk about The Last Testament after The Righteous Man. 

Let’s get the synopsis out of the way :

An Iraqi boy loots an ancient clay tablet from a long-forgotten vault in the Baghdad Museum of Antiquities.


At a rally for the signing of a historic deal between Israel and Palestinians, an assassin pushes through the crowd towards the Israeli PM. Bodyguards shoot the man dead. But in his hand there’s no gun : only a blood-stained note .


A series of apparently random killings follows as tensions boil over, Washington calls in star peace negotiator Maggie Costello. Maggie finds herself in an impossible situation, especially when she discovers the murders are not random. Someone is killing archaeologists and historians – those with secret knowledge of the ancient past.

*stare blankly*

I actually don’t know where to start. It’s actually quite a confusing book for me. First, readers have to take note of timeline and venue. To compute these into some form of sequence can be quite challenging for my brain cells which would normally be half functioning when I read. (hahah…well, we read to relax, right?) I found myself having to flip back to the earlier pages just to get a sense of the sequence. Sometimes the timeline is in months and sometimes just over a few hours so, yes, too complicating for me.

Maggie Costello being the main lead in the story is not a very endearing character. I was quite annoyed with her time and again. Having fouled up her last negotiation case, she went on sabbatical and took up couples counseling back in Washington. She thought that she can redeem herself by agreeing to take up this case and travel to Tel Aviv. The very reason that she was taken off the last case was the very reason that she’s been assigned this particularly case although she was not aware of it initially. I didn’t like Maggie Costello at the beginning of the book and I didn’t like her toward the end.

If you like politics and thriller, then this would be up your alley. Unfortunately, I felt I took a wrong turn with this one.

If You Could See Me Now by Cecilia Ahern

Cecelia Ahern is the bestselling author of P.S. I Love You. I have not read P.S. I Love You but I have watched the movie countless of times and each time, I would cry buckets. The first book that I read from Cecelia Ahern is Rosie Dunne (later published as Love, Rosie and subsequently published as Where Rainbow Ends) which I read in 2006. I thought it was a very creative book especially the way it was written. I shall share Rosie Dunne with you some other time. Today belongs to If You Could See Me Now.

The version I got was from Hyperion International Edition. It took me a long time as the fonts are real small.

The synopsis :

Everything in Elizabeth Egan’s life has its place. Order and precision keep life under control and keep Elizabeth’s heart safe from the pain she has suffered in the past. Being a mother to her 6 years old nephew leaves little room for error until one day, when Ivan comes into their lives. He is everything that Elizabeth is not – carefree and adventurous. And just when Elizabeth is starting to trust him, it turns out that Ivan isn’t all who she thought he was.

With that, the story of Elizabeth and Ivan begins. It was revealed in Chapter 3 that you can’t actually see Ivan. At that point, I was wondering if this is a ghost story but it would not be the gene of Cecelia Ahern if it is! Unless it’s a romantic ghost story like what Danielle Steel did once with The Ghost. Ivan started off as a friend of Luke and subsequently Elizabeth’s. An friend who loves pizza, and olives and Fridays among others. And Ivan came to both Luke and Elizabeth because they needed him. For you see, Ivan’s an 'imaginary friend' from the lane of Ekam Eveileb where there's a group of 'friends' with various job functions. While Luke is aware of that, Elizabeth is not. She can see him and actually thought that Ivan’s as real as you and me and mistakenly thought that he is the father of one of Luke’s friend.

Talk about denial. Elizabeth’s been in denial all her life. She’s at denial about how her mother has gone on an adventure when she (mother) left home leaving behind a husband, young Elizabeth and Elizabeth’s baby sister, Saoirse. Elizabeth’s in denial about Saoirse as well - she just couldn’t accept that her sister is an alcoholic and that she left Luke the way their mother left them. Elizabeth’s father is in denial all his life and waits for his who that will never return and missed out on the two girls who needed him. I guess you can say that that’s the theme of the story. It’s also about friendship and the fact that Elizabeth can see Ivan when it’s supposed to be only children who can see him shows that Elizabeth never really grew up and she needs to do that in order to live her life the way she should, letting go of the past and living life for now.

But at certain point in the book, I would question...is Ivan real? Can he be with Elizabeth for the rest of her life? Is it possible? He is after all from the land of Ekam Eveileb, a land that we are familiar with :)

I don’t really like Elizabeth but Ivan stolen my heart right from the start. Here’s what he said to Elizabeth at one point and I can read this over and over again.

“Life is made up of meeting and partings. People come into your life every day, you say good morning, you say good evening, some stay for a few minutes, some stay for a few months, some a year, others a whole lifetime. No matter who it is, you meet and then you part. I’m so glad to meet you and I thank my lucky stars for that. I think I wished for you all of my life but now, it’s time for us to part”.

It was stated at the back cover of the book that the film rights to If You Can See Me Now have been bought by Walt Disney Pictures. I also discovered from imdb that Hugh Jackman has been cast for the role of Ivan in the 2011 movie release. Now, that’s something to look forward to.
Cecelia, the daughter of Ireland’s Prime Minister is so talented and so pretty too. I’ve enjoyed her books tremendously and I am looking forward to adding more of her works to my collections.