PURPLE QUEEN FAIRY READS

Synopsis : Elfrida Phipps, once on the London stage and retired at 62, never anticipates going off with a man. But after a devastating tragedy, church organist Oscar Blundell asks for her companionship.  So with her brown and white dog in tow, Elfrida begins her journey, not knowing that joining her and Oscar at a rundown Victorian house in Scotland will be a young woman nursing a broken heart, a teenager escaping an unhappy home, and a stranger arriving during a snowstorm  Now these five very different people form an unexpected circle of friends that will forever change their lives. I am sure you have heard of the saying 'do not judge a book by it's cover'.  Well, that's exactly what I did when I saw Winter Solstice.   With it's flower theme cover, I kinda judged it as a romance book. However, having read the synopsis on the back over, it doesn't seems to be the case.  So, with much apprehension, I decided to give it a try. Winter Solstice is a sto...

Bishop Myriel - image from wikipedia I started reading Les Miserables early this year.  I'm actually reading an electronic version from my tablet and I must confess that I am progressing extremely slowly.  First, could be due to the fact that I don't really like reading from the ipad and also because the book has not being very exciting thus far. I completed Part 1 - A Just Man a while ago and currently reading through Part 2 - The Fall.   If you must know, there's altogether 48 parts to the book and over 1800 pages.  I really do not know when I'll finish it! Part 1 - A Just Man consists of 14 chapters and covers over 80 pages.  A Just Man is all about the bishop. M Charles-Francios-Bienveu Myriel or just known as Bishop Myriel.  If you have watched the movie and seen the musical, you would remember the bishop is an important character in the change that took place in Jean Valjean. It is through the forgiving kindness of the bishop that Jean...

Synopsis : Lavish wealth and appalling poverty live side by side in Victorian London—and Edward Pierce easily navigates both worlds. Rich, handsome, and ingenious, he charms the city's most prominent citizens even as he plots the crime of his century, the daring theft of a fortune in gold. But even Pierce could not predict the consequences of an extraordinary robbery that targets the pride of England's industrial era: the mighty steam locomotive.  Based on remarkable fact, and alive with the gripping suspense, surprise, and authenticity that are his trademarks, Michael Crichton's classic adventure is a breathtaking thrill-ride that races along tracks of steel at breakneck speed. The Great Train Robbery is a rather great book and exceeded my expectation.  I actually thought that it would be rather dry and factual but it turned out to be pretty interesting and captivating. The novel is actually based on an actual train robbery of gold that occurred ...

Synopsis : Precious Ramotswe, the owner of No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency finds herself overly beset by problems. She is already busier than usual at the detective agency when added to her concerns are a strange intruder in her house on Zebra Drive and the baffling appearance of a pumpkin. And then there is Mma Makutsi, who decides to treat herself to dance lessons, only to be partnered with a man who seems to have two left feet.  Things are also not running quite as smoothly as they usually do at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. Mma Ramotswe’s husband, the estimable Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, is overburdened with work even before one of his apprentices runs off with a wealthy woman. But what finally rattles Mma Ramotswe’s normally unshakable composure is a visitor who forces her to confront a secret from her past. . . . Delightful and charming would be two words I use to describe this book.  It is one of those books that makes you feel relax and comfortable after read...

Synopsis : Michelle Maxwell has just blown her future with the Secret Service. Against her instincts, she led a presidential candidate out of her sight to comfort a grieving widow. Then, behind closed doors, the politician whose safety was her responsibility vanished into thin air. Living a new life on a quiet lake in central Virginia, Sean King knows how the younger agent feels. He's been there before. In an out-of-the-way hotel eight years earlier, the hard-charging Secret Service man allowed his attention to be diverted for a split second. And the presidential candidate Sean was protecting was gunned down before his eyes. Now Michelle and Sean are about to see their destinies converge. She has become obsessed with Sean's case. And he needs a friend—especially since a series of macabre killings has brought him under suspicion and prompted the reappearance of a seductive woman he's tried hard to forget. As the two discredited agents enter a maze of lies,...

From Wikipedia : Thomas Leo "Tom" Clancy, Jr. (April 12, 1947 – October 1, 2013) was an American author best known for his technically detailed espionage and military science story lines that are set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War, along with video games which bear his name for licensing and promotional purposes. Seventeen of his novels were best-sellers, with over 100 million copies in print. His name was also a brand for similar movie scripts written by ghost writers and many series of non-fiction books on military subjects and merged biographies of key leaders.  I read a lot of Tom Clancy's novels years ago. I started with Patriot Games and then I went back to The Hunt for Red October and Red Storm Rising .  From there it's The Cardinal of the Kremlin, Clear and Present Danger, The Sum of All Fears, Without Remorse, Debt of Honor and I stopped at Executive Orders which is my favourite as that's when Jack Ryan became President of t...

I received from the post, a complimentary copy of The Seeds of Time by Sharmini Flint. The Seeds of Time is a story for young adults on the environmental challenges from climate change to species loss facing our planets.  The book started with a foreward written by Dr Isabelle Louis, Director, Asia Pacific Region for WWF.  This is what she wrote : There is an urgent need for humankind to respond to the rapid changes that are having a negative impact on our environment and our very future as well as the future of our children and grandchildren. The Seeds of Time captures the spirit needed by all of us, adults and children alike, to respond across the world collectively.  It is a call for global action across all nations, all professions and all ages.  We can all be Animal Talkers and change makers!  The Seeds of Time, delightfully and wth a spirit of bold aventure, inspires us to believe that, whether young or old, we can save our beautiful planet Eart...