PURPLE QUEEN FAIRY READS

The time has come to pause and just think back on 2018.   How fast 2018 went.  I still clearly remember this time last year and with a blink, more than three hundred and sixty over days have gone by... 2018 is a relatively emotional year... Trust was broken and mended but will it be the same? I really can't tell. I really hope for it to be. Stress level was high due to personal yearning for excellence and which is measured in the form of grade points....am glad to report that I am getting there... I broke some barriers in my travel adventure when I went on a solo trip to the land of street food and bubble tea.  It was quite common for me to travel solo for work in my previous work but it's my first for a leisure trip.  I quite like it! haha..   It was also a wonderful time I had with the princess in the lion city even though it's just for a couple of days over the weekend. I bought twelve books this year, the purchase of which is recorde...

In three days time, it's CHRISTMAS ! I can't believe how time flies as after Christmas it's NEW YEAR ! and I can't say I am ready for it! It's been a busy month so am looking forward to some QUIET TIME for Christmas with my books and I. Here's wishing each and everyone of you JOYOUS CHRISTMAS AND BLESSINGS BE WITH YOU  AND YOUR FAMILY MUCH LOVE  &  THANKS  FROM ME and to the Chinese, Happy Winter Solstice Celebration for today...

Synopsis : Audrey develops a anxiety disorder as a result of an unpleasant incident and she can't leave the house. she can't even take off her dark glasses inside the house. Then Audrey meets Linus, her brother's gaming teammate and she finds that she can talk through her fears with Linus in a way she's never been able to do with anyone before. With his friendly, orange-slice smile and his funny notes, he starts to entice Audrey out again - well, Starbucks is a start. And with Linus at her side, Audrey feels like she can do the things she'd thought were too scary. Suddenly, finding her way back to the real world seems achievable. This is what I say : This is Sophie's first YA genre. I can't say I like it.  I actually got a bit confused with it as I was waiting to find out what 'unpleasant incident' that caused Audrey to develop such disorder.  It was never mentioned.  It was just hinted that it was truly, really unpleasant and that quite...

Image from my insta-story The Second time Around Book Fair is annual event in my city for the past ten or so years. Initially, when the fair was here, there would be quite an excitement in the household for the princess and I.  Unfortunately, as time goes by, the excitement also got less and less and this year, we didn't even talk about going at all. This could due to the fact that the titles and selections are not very exciting after a while as the books are not very new and for me it's also due to the fact that I have many unread books lying around that I am not motivated to go. Having said that, I nearly purchased a few titles while in Kinokuniya in the capital city last week.  Kinokuniya's selection is just too fantastic.  I found books that I am not able to find in mainstream bookstores.  I have to physically forced myself out of the bookstore! Anyway, I did have a bit of time the other day after dinner and since I was in that part of the city, I de...

I will have to make a trip to the capital city early December. It is a most unexpected trip as I wasn't sure if I can obtained the approval to attend an event to which I wanted to, similar to what I attended last year.  To my pleasant surprise, boss gave approval.  ( so, boss, in reading, thank you very much! Much appreciated for the opportunity ) . The event will be held in the same venue as last year's but I have booked myself in a better hotel nearer to the venue and hopefully much safer.  It was a pay '2 nights for 3 nights offer' so it is an extremely good deal as it's just 5 mins walk to the event venue. At the same time, I am extremely excited to check out the wonderful year end Christmas decorations which will be be up especially at the two bigger malls in the city as both malls are within walking distance from the hotel too. Since I am on my reading marathon, one of the titles is coming along with me.  Just don't know which one yet!

As at this time tomorrow, I am a 'free being' :) I would have submitted my assignments and with no examinations this semester, I am officially done for this semester. * doing the happy dance *. It's a pretty tough semester with much distractions but come what may, I did my best. I will thus start my book marathon.   I started it last year and I thought it would be interesting to continue it this year.  The thought of dedicating a whole month to reading sounds very appealing. Having said that, I still have a lot (and I mean, a lot) of other commitments so I really do not know how I will do but for this marathon but let's just give it a go and evaluate from there. I have also kinda identify the following titles to take part in my marathon : Death In Holy Orders by P.D. James - been in my shelf long enough Take A Look At Me Now by Miranda Dickinson - didn't make it to my recent gateaway Dark Places by Gillian Flynn - ditto The Copper Beach ...

Image from web.  Credit to the creator.  Due to some prior commitment this year, I wasn't able to make any long distance holiday plan. In fact, I wasn't able to really make any plans at all as my time depended on some external schedule which I can only know for sure pretty recently. Thus I can only make short weekend plans as and when I am able to and this trip would most probably be the last weekend gateaway for the year but if possible, I might squeeze in another trip to the capital city. This time round is just a flight away to the lion city as a reward for the princess after a hard fought public examination. Initially, we were supposed to travel to Osaka but due to some circumstances I wasn't able to bring her to the land of the rising sun this year so a short couple of days trip to somewhere nearer would have to do for now. We are pretty excited as we have not travel just the two of us for quite a while and to be honest, she has no idea where we are going as...

Synopsis : After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for four years and then be granted her freedom. Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilarating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her ... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best. Then one of the other contestants turns up dead ... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the ki...

Recently, I posted on Sidney Sheldon's Rage of Angel that I just read and I mentioned that it was a gift from a relative. Actually, my aunt gave me more than just one book....she gave me a few and I thought I'll share them with you here. Yes, they are all Sidney Sheldon's title and they are all double titles copies.  Needless to say, I have read all these titles and some of them even a few times with I f Tomorrow Comes being a long time favourite and Windmills of the Gods  both of which I re-read a few years ago and even Nothing Last Forever which I just re-read last year is here as well. These are all keepers and I am sure I would want to re-read them again in the near future. Thank you aunty CK for remembering my love for reading and thank you for these wonderful books.  Much love to you. On the other hand, although I didn't buy them, these books does add on to my collections and I need to rearrange my collections on my shelves once again

Synopsis : When Jay Clute was a kid, he was terrified of his Aunt Cary's toy collection- -of their staring eyes and limp arms.  Now his aunt is dead, and it all belongs to him. Nothing has changed--not the painted smiles, the garish clown-like colors . . .  or the tiny hands dripping with bright red blood. This is what I say : I actually do not know what I just read.   Toy Cemetery is confusing and disturbing.  It is both fascinatingly disgusting and disgustingly fascinating at the same time. I actually read an e-copy of this book and have no idea about this author.  The author certainly doesn't mince his words and uses it pretty liberally both literally and figuratively. The story itself is pretty disturbing and even the ending leave much to the imagination.  I can say the ending of the book doesn't signify the ending of the story. Actually, I don't know what I am talking about.  I am still disturbed by this titl...

Synopsis : Jennifer Parker is brilliant, beautiful and bold.  A lawyer, the most glamorous and successful in America, she dominates the court with her sparkling intelligence and persuasive charms.  She seems unbeatable - but is she really? When Jennifer fells in love, she can hardly believe her luck.  Adam Warner is handsome, smart, destined to be the next President of the United States - and married... Jennifer finds herself pregnant and abandoned.  Although determined not to allow her broken heart to get in the way of her success, she soon realises that being alone makes her ever more vulnerable to those who seek to destroy her. This is what I say : The last time I read Rage of Angels would probably be more than twenty years ago when Sidney Sheldon was the rage then.  I think I used to have a copy of the book but I can't remember where it is now...probably I lent it to a friend and never got it back! Anyway, one of my aunties gave me a few copi...

Synopsis : “You bring death,” the voice s aid, “and Hell follows with you.” Relentless bounty hunter Jack Keller returns in Devils and Dust, the long-awaited fourth installment of the critically acclaimed series from award-nominated author J. D. Rhoades.  Keller’s been in exile, living a quiet life in the desert, since his disappearance after the cataclysmic events of 2008’s award-winning Safe and Sound. Now his old friend and former employer Angela has tracked him down and needs his help. Oscar Sanchez, Angela’s husband and Keller’s best friend, has disappeared while investigating what happened to the sons he was trying to bring to America. If anyone can find Oscar, Keller can, but along the way he has to confront his own demons and his unresolved feelings for Angela — now his best friend’s wife.  Keller’s quest takes him from a corrupt Mexican border town to a prison camp in the swamps of South Carolina and pits him against human traffickers, violent drug lord...

Synopsis : David Swift, a professor at Columbia University, is called to the hospital to comfort his mentor, a physicist who's been brutally tortured. Before dying, the old man wheezes "Einheitliche Feldtheorie." The Theory of Everything. The Destroyer of Worlds. Could this be Einstein's proposed Unified Theory--a set of equations that combines the physics of galaxies with the laws of atoms? Einstein never succeeded in discovering it. Or did he?  Within hours of hearing his mentor's last words, David is running for his life. The FBI and a ruthless mercenary are vying to get their hands on the long-hidden theory. Teaming up with his old girlfriend, a brilliant Princeton scientist, David frantically works out Einstein's final theory to reveal the staggering scope of its consequences.  This is what I say : Final Theory  is written by an actual scientist (physicist) so it's as real as it can get in terms of terminologies and getting the formulas cor...

Synopsis : Haunted by her dreams . . . Kathi Ellison is an English literature major at the University of California in Berkeley, living with her boyfriend off-campus. She is also the daughter of a candidate for the U.S. Senate and his wife, a role that could affect her life should her father win the election.  But before she can consider her future, Kathi must first come to terms with her past. A car accident when she was four-years-old killed her mother and left her in a coma for several days. The migraines and nightmares that plagued her as a child have recently returned with a vengeance, leaving her mind full of visions that feel more like memories.  Memories that are not her own. Memories of a frightened and traumatized child named Sheri Walker.  Memories linked to her mother's death that her stepmother doesn't want her to remember . . . This is what I say : The Stepchild is quite entertaining.  I was looking for something mysterious, spooky and haunti...

Synopsis : A Southerner living abroad, Jack McCall is scarred by tragedy and betrayal. His desperate desire to find peace after his wife’s suicide draws him into a painful, intimate search for the one haunting secret in his family’s past that can heal his anguished heart.  Spanning three generations and two continents, from the contemporary ruins of the American South to the ancient ruins of Rome, from the unutterable horrors of the Holocaust to the lingering trauma of Vietnam, Beach Music sings with life’s pain and glory.  It is a novel of lyric intensity and searing truth, another masterpiece among Pat Conroy’s legendary and beloved novels.   This is what I say : If you read my post here , I must update that I didn't bring this book with me for that particular trip.  It's just too heavy and bulky.  At the last minute, I chosen a lighter paperback. Having said that, I have finished reading this title and it was a pretty good read. To think that ...

Ehem......hello...I can't believe here I am again with another such post! I thought I was being rather good in managing my purchases but after this post , a phone call came of some books that's available at a charity sales and the call asked if I'm interested? One look at the titles, I was hooked and I put in a reservation for 6 titles. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it,  3 of the titles that I wanted was reserved by others so I ended up with only 3 titles. These are all titles by Jeffery Archer and forms part of a chronicles or series with about 6 to 7 titles.  I had the first title and have been on the look out for the others but I wasn't willing to pay retail as it would really put a dent in my wallet. So I guess I can't say no towards getting them at a rather good price and contributing towards charity at the same time. As some of the titles were taken by others, it will take a while for me to complete the chronicles. ...

Synopsis : San Francisco art patron Bibi Chen has planned a journey of the senses along the famed Burma Road for eleven lucky friends. But after her mysterious death, Bibi is forced to watch from the spirit world as the eleven travelers bumble through their adventures. Determined to make the best of it, the pleasure seekers embark on a trail paved with uncertainty, questionable food and tribal curses.  Then, on Christmas morning, they cruise across a misty lake - and vanish.   Coloured with picaresque characters and haunting imagery, this mesmerizing tale is about the actions we choose, the moral questions we might ask ourselves, and above all, the deeply personal answers we seek when happy endings seem far out of reach. This is what I say : I have not read a novel by Amy Tan for quite a long time.   Although Saving Fish From Drowning is not a new title,  I have never come across this title before.  I got this copy from a '2 for 1' deal ...

Synopsis : Three little girls set off to school one sunny May morning.  Within an hour, one of them is dead. Fifteen years later, Kitty can't speak and has no memory of the accident that's to blame. She lives in an institution, unlikely ever to leave. But that doesn't keep her from being frightened when she encounters an eerily familiar face.  Art teacher Alison looks fine on the surface. But the surface is a lie. She's struggling to make ends meet and to forget the past. When a teaching job at a prison opens up, she takes it, despite her fears. Maybe this is her chance to set things right. Then she starts to receive alarming notes; next, her classroom erupts in violence. Meanwhile, someone is watching both Kitty and Alison. Someone who never forgot what happened that day. Someone who wants revenge. And only another life will do. . . This is what I say : My copy of Blood Sisters is an ARC given to me about a year ago.  I actually thought it's a horror...

Synopsis : Piper McCloud lives with her normal ma and pa on a normal farm in normal Lowland County.  But Piper isn't your normal girl.  Ever since Piper was a baby, she's been able to hover a few feet off the ground, and if the people of Lowland County knew she could fly, they would have something to say about it.  So, it only seems best that Piper be sent away to I.N.S.A.N.E., the top secret school for children with extraordinary abilities like hers.  Her new friends have powers like telekinesis, X-ray vision, and the ability to create their own weather. Piper likes her new life at school, but soon, she realizes things arn't as they seem.  Now, the school she was sent to for her own protection might be the most dangerous place she's ever been. This is what I say : I can't remember how this title ended up in my collection.  All I remember is that it's a long time residence in my bookshelf but not at my part of shelf but rather, the princess's....

Just when I was feeling pleased with myself that I only bought 2 books since early this year, I ended up purchasing 5 books recently. It was a Popular Sales held in Boulevard Mall during the school holidays recently and I was at the mall for an event.  A quick 10 mins visit ended up with the following purchases : Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger - because it's so cheap! Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - I have been watching the series entitled Sharp Objects which is by this author and I have not read her books so why not...and it's so cheap! Shiver Trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater - just because the price is unbelievable and if I don't purchase, I might regret it.  So, in case you are wondering, my every other statement above ends with 'it's so cheap!' How cheap can it be!  Well, I only paid an amount that equals to USD3.00 for all five books! Yup! how not to buy.  Just for the fun of it, let's convert to other currency....£2...

Clipart image taken from web. Credit to the creator (tap.sf) Yup, I have a gateaway coming up this weekend.  Following   #1 which was to the beach and #2 which was to the capital city, #3 is slightly further away. It's a trip to reward myself after rather hectic month(s) and a motivation for the forthcoming hectic month(s) ahead too. There will be many firsts for this trip which I might share after the trip but then I might not as this isn't really the platform for that. Anyway, you know me, the first thing I would do is to decide on which book or books to bring with me as I do have quite a fair bit of hours to kill in between flights. So, for this trip, the selected title to accompany me is : Beach Music by Pat Conroy.  Actually I have started on this book and I am enjoying it so I know it would be good.  The only set back is that the book is pretty bulky and heavy so that's giving me second thoughts. Anyway, we will see what I decided a...

Like Page 6 August at 11:00 # MALAYSIAMEMBACA : APAKAH 10 BUKU KEGEMARAN ANDA? Saya berhasrat untuk menjadikan Malaysia sebagai negara membaca tahun 2030. Bererti, rakyat Malaysia rakyat paling banyak membaca pada tahun 2030. Kayu ukur kepada pendidikan yang berjaya ialah budaya membaca yang tinggi. Membaca ialah seruan pertama dalam Islam (al-Alaq:1). Saya mengalu-alukan sesiapa sahaja untuk berkongsi 10 buku kegemaran mereka daripada pelbagai genre dengan tagar (hashtag) #MalaysiaMembaca. Saya mulakan dahulu dengan diri saya. 1. "The Alchemist" karya Paulo Coelho. Perjumpaan pertama saya dengan penyelia PhD saya di University of Durham, beliau minta saya pulang dan membaca buku ini. Saya tidak faham kaitan buku dengan tesis saya. Perjumpaan seterusnya beliau minta pandangan saya tentang buku ini. Benar, buku ini tak ada kaitan dengan tesis saya, tapi ia memberikan saya semangat yang kuat untuk terus belajar dan menyiapkan PhD saya. Antara kata-kata dari no...