Life Swap by Jane Green

Synopsis :

Amber Winslow has got the kids, hubby, the suburban house in Connecticut, USA - and the feeling that somehow life is passing her by.

Vicky Townsley is features editor of Poise! magazine in London - she's single, solvent and seriously successful but she'd ditch it all for marriage, a country house and kids.

So when one day, Poise! offers one lucky married reader the chance to life swap for a month with a glamourous, single journalist, Amber puts pen to paper.

But neither Amber nor Vicky gets quite what they were expecting and soon they find themselves asking why does the grass only look so much greener from the other side?

Well, what do you expect?  Jane Green is pretty much on top of her game in writing chic lite and this is chic lite to the core.

I have enjoyed, to a certain degree, some of Jane's writing like Bookends and The Other Woman but I don't like some of her writing too - like Jemina J.  What about Life Swap then, you ask.  Well, Life Swap is about just as good as it gets, I answer.   Whatever do you mean, you ask again.  Well, it is entertaining.  Amber was so superficial in the beginning with her designer decorated home and near perfect children but as she starts to realise what's more important in life, I began to warm up to her.  She is really blessed in many ways but she was blinded by materialism to see the people in her life that love her.

What about Vicky then, you ask again.  Well, Vicky is a career minded woman to the core but is beginning to realised that her time bomb's ticking and wanted very quickly to settle down and have a family.  I guess the life swap with Amber makes her realised that while settling down and having a family would be something she would like, she needs time to really focus first on finding someone who loves her like the way Richard loves Amber and not someone who just comes by at nine o'clock at night for some you know what.

Overall, it's a pretty delightful read. Not one of her finest but not one of her worst either.

The Angel's Game by Carlos Riz Zafon

Synopsis :

In an abandoned mansion at the heart of Barcelona, a young man, David Martin, makes his living by writing sensationalist novels nder a pseudonym.  The survivor of a troubled childhood, he has taken refuge in the world of books, and spends his nights spinning baroque tales about the city's underworld.  But perhaps his dark imaginings are not as strange as they seem, for in a locked room deep within the house lie photogaphes and letters hinting at the mysterious death of the previous owner.

Like a slow poison, the history of the place seeps into his bones as he struggles with an impossible love. Close to despair, David receives a letter from a reclusive French editor, Andreas Corelli, who makes him the offer of a lifetime. He is to write a book with the power to change hearts and minds.  In return, he will receive a fortune, perhaps more.  But as David begins the work, he realises that there is a connection between this haunting book and the shadows that surround his home.

Set in the turbulent 1920s, The Angel's ame takes us back to the gothic universe of the Cementery of Forgotten Books, the Sempere & Sons bookshop, and the winding streets of Barcelona'sold quarter, in a masterful tale about the magic of books and the darkest corners of the human soul.

 I love The Angel's Game.  I know that some reviewers have written quite badly about this book after comparing it to the author's first,The Shadow of the Wind but I just love it as much as The Shadow of the Wind.  While this is Carlos second book, it is actually a prequel, set in a time before The Shadow of the Wind (about 20 years before if I'm not mistaken)

I do think that Carlos Ruiz Zafon is such a genius in creating a character like David Martin, a man who is so complex and so unreal and whom the author has given so much talent as an author too.  Maybe David was trumatized after witnessing his father's death when he was just about 10 years old and after suffering rejection by his mother but the adult David Martin appears rather normal for most part of the book.  His complexity and dark side stays hidden and it's only towards the end that I got a glimpse of who he might be but yet at the same time I was still rather unwilling to believe and rather prefer the ending that David gave himself for in actual fact that might not be what it is.


However, the author gave a hint on where he could be in Rose of Fire, a short story that tells about the origin of the Cementery of Forgotten Books.  His location is also revealed in the third book, The Prisoner of Heaven and having known all this, it really makes one think of the reality of all that took place in The Angel's Game.  The book ended in year 1945 but if you manage to read Rose of Fire, the date stated is 1940 so it's either David managed to get himself out of the 1940 situation by 1945 or he is still where he is and the ending to The Angel's Game is just in his mind.  I just love it!

If I choose to believe that all that happened to David was as what he said it was, then that also gives me an idea of who Andreas Corelli actually is and his part in what we shall call the insanity of David Matin and that really elevates the storyline for me.

It has been a long time since I read a book that really makes me think about it even weeks after I read it.  It really is memorable and I have a feeling that I will continue to marvel by it in days, weeks and even years to come.  I really hope someone will come around and turn this into a movie and with the right director and actors, it has award winning qualities.

I can't wait to read book #3, The Prisoner of Heaven.

Popular Bookstore Book Fair in One Utama

While I was in One Utama a couple of days ago, I found out that Popular Book Fair is on in the ground floor foyer of the old wing.  It will be on from 26 - 31 March 2013.

If it's the same as what I have been to, you will find some good deals but most of the bestsellers will probably be going for only 25% to 30% markdown.

I didn't get to go as I was in a hurry to grab lunch before another round of meeting in the office.

Well, there's still one more day to go, so if you have nothing else to read, you might like to consider dropping by for a book or two.

Recent found

While doing some spring cleaning at my 'old' home recently, I found these two books. They were kept in a storage cabinet and if memory serves me right, they were among a box of books given to me by a friend many, many years ago.  Needless to say, I have not read them.

A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry is about a soldier fighting the first world war.  Constantinople - The Last Great Seige is a historic account on the emperor Constantine.  These two books are all uncorrected proof.  

Both books are in trade paperback.  I just loved the covers of both books.  While one is almost greyish and void of any colour, the other is just busting with strong vibrant colours.  While one is photo of a battlefield, the other is a painting of a city on fire. Both about wars but wars that took place about 500 years apart.  I wonder what other similarities would I find in both of these books.

I brought the books home with me and have placed them in their rightful place in my shelf and will wait for the right time to see what they have to offer me.

They, for one, I would think, would be glad to be out of storage. :)

Rose of Fire by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

I am currently reading The Angel's Game. It's the second bestseller by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (book #1 being The Shadow of The Wind) , a top Spanish writer and no, am not reading it in Espanol. The English version of the story was translated by Lucia Graves.  More about The Angel's Game another time.

For this post, I want to share with you a short story entitled Rose of Fire, also written by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.  I read this story from my tablet as it is available in electronic format which you can download for free. 

Rose of Fire trace the origin of Cementery of Forgotten Books.  If you have read Carlos Ruiz Zifon's works, you would know what Cementery of Forgotten Books is.  It's a place, hidden and also known to a few people, where one can hide a book and where one can find a book that has been hidden by someone else.   You can say it is a place where books go for their eternal rest.  However, upon being granted entry by the guardian, one can choose a book to bring home to but more often than not, it's the book that choose the owner rather than the other way around.

Anyway, while Cementery of Forgotten Books is featured prominently in both The Shadow of The Wind and in Angel's Games and will also be featured in book #3 entitled Prisoner of Heaven, it's origin was never mention.  

That's where Rose of Fire comes into the picture.  It shares with reader it's history, who commissioned it, when it was built and how it came about and how it's here to stay.

It was good knowing its background and if you attention to how the story begins, it gives you an idea of the ending to The Angel's Game  which I really hope to share it with you in my next post.

Chicken Soup, anyone?

Are you a fan of the Chicken Soup series?

I'm sure you know that I'm referring to the book and not the delicious chicken soup that comes from your kitchen.:)   I was and I guess, am still a fan.  It was my aim at one time to have a complete collection of the chicken soup series.  That was way back in the late 90s.  After that, the series kinda got out of control (in my opinion).  Now, there are just way too many titles (more than 200 over) and I think it's not meant for one to 'collect' such books, anyway.  Most of the titles are rather focus and directed at only those with specific issues or concerns so there's not much point there for a collection.

While in the early days, it was just Chicken Soup for The Soul or For Man or Woman, now the titles have extended to titles such as Chicken Soup for teens, for pre-teens, for adopted kids, for baseball fans, for cat lover, for gardener, etc.  Basically, if you have a need or an issue, there would be a book for you.

Compiled, initially by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, there are now more involved in the series.  Each book would have about a hundred or so short stories or sometimes poem that motivates, comforts and brings out that emotions that need to be attended to.

Like a bowl of hot steaming chicken soup which is the home remedy for when you are sick, the Chicken Soup for the Soul Series serves the same purpose but more a remedy for the heart.  It is meant to bring comfort, healing, to mend, to allow closure through this sharing so that at then end f the bowl(book) of Chicken Soup, one would feel good and comforted.

Everyone needs a Chicken Soup now and then.  A book for different seasons of our lives and the different issues we deal with.  I have four books but I can't find the forth one.  The ones shown here are Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work (my first copy), Chicken Soup for Couple's Soul and Chicken Soup for Expectant Mother's Soul.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Synopsis :

Bilbo Baggins was a hobbit who wanted to be left alone in quiet comfort. But the wizard Gandalf came along with a band of homeless dwarves.  Soon Bilbo was drawn into their quest facing evil orcs, savage wolves, giant spider and unknown dangers.

Finally, it was Bilbo - alone and unaided - who had to confront the great dragon Smaug, the terror of an entre countryside!  This stirring adventure fantasy begins the tale of the hobbits that was continued by J.R.R. Tolkiens in his bestselling epic, The Lord of the Rings.

So, that's what The Hobbit is all about.  I must say, I really enjoyed reading it and already am thinking of re-reading it sometime in the future.  I must first admit that I am not a Tolkienite, neither am I a Ringer or whatever you use to describe fans of J.R.R. Tolkien.

However, I did enjoy the Trilogy of The Rings (the movie) but I have yet to watch the movie of the same title by Peter Jackson so I really approached the book with totally no expectation at all.  After reading it, I must say I am looking forward now to The Hobbit movie and really hope that Peter Jackson stay as true to the book as much as possible.

I saw the trailer of the movie and I must say  I can't wait to watch the first time Bilbo met the thirteen dwarves and Thorin Oakenshield looks rather kingly in the movie (he was quite comical in some way in the book!) I can't wait for the battle in Misty Mountain, the battle with the orcs, the goblins, the riddle between Bilbo and Gollum, the encounter with the giant spider, the prison in the Kingdom of the Elvenking, the attack of Smaug, splendour of the Arkenstone and all the riches in the Lonely Mountain and most of all the final battle that ends it all.

If you say you like The Hobbit the movie, do try to read The Hobbit the book. Nothing beats the original work by the master himself.  You will be blown away by such enchanting and majestic tale that stands the test of time.