Preposterous Reading

#18 The Broken Kingdoms

2011-07-06T13:56:00.001+08:00

The Broken Kingdoms, N.K. Jemisin

Not too sure why people says this book sucks. I find it pretty okay.

#17 Batman: year One

2011-07-05T22:28:00.002+08:00

Batman: Year One, Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli

Can't say I liked this much. It definitely loses out to The Killing Joke.

#16 Batman: Under the Hood

2011-07-04T14:26:00.002+08:00

Batman: Under the Hood, Judd Winick and Doug Mahnke

Somehow different from the animated movie of the same name. There are parts where I definitely like more from the movie and parts that are excellent from the comic.

Yeah. No Oliver Queen in the movie.

June

2011-07-03T14:23:00.000+08:00

Once again, nothing to do with the books. Whatever, it tasted good.

16. Batman: Under the Red Hood, Judd Winick (Author) and Doug Mahnke (Illustrator)
17. Batman: Year One, Frank Miller(Author) and David Mazucchelli (Illustrator)
18. The Broken Kingdoms, N.K. Jemisin
19. A Storm of Swords Book One, George R. R. Martin
20. A Storm of swords Book Two, George R. R. Martin
21. The Killing Joke, Alan Moore (author) and Brian Bolland (Illustrator)
22.Teen Titans: Year One, Amy Wolfram (author) and Karl Kerschl (Illustrator)
23. White Cat, Holly Black
24. Behemoth, Scott Westerfeld
25. The Demon's Surrender, Sarah Rees Brennan

#14 Batgirl: Year One

2011-07-01T10:16:00.004+08:00

Batgirl: Year One, Scott Beatty, Chuck Dixon, Marcos Martin (Illustrator), Alvaro Lopez (Illustrator)

This is the comic that made me fell in love with DC's Batman universe.

It's definitely not perfect but it's flaws can be overlooked with how kickass Barbara is and the great characterization. One of the better retcons. Although... Dick! Stop flirting with Barbs! >:(

February to May

2011-07-01T04:33:00.001+08:00

14. Batgirl: Year One, Scott Beatty and Chuck Dixon
15.

My pathetic readlist from February to May are both comics.

#13 The Last Days

2011-06-30T21:53:00.000+08:00

13. The Last Days, Scott Westerfeld

Another series done! Scott Westerfeld writes some rather innovative novels.

#12 Leviathan

2011-06-29T21:50:00.001+08:00

Leviathan, Scott Westerfeld

Hmm. Nice book. It's.... nice. Guess steampunk isn't quite my thing.

#10 WE

2011-06-28T21:46:00.000+08:00

WE, John Dickinson

Interesting concept of the future. It's quite possible that our future will end with such technology of networks over networks.

#9 The Game

2011-06-27T21:43:00.002+08:00

The Game, Diana Wynne Jones

Pretty meh to me.

#8 Charmed Life

2011-06-26T21:32:00.003+08:00

Charmed Life, Diana Wynne Jones

Yes, it's a children book. Yes, it's fantbloodyastic.

Meanwhile, Game of Thrones

2011-06-21T19:14:00.005+08:00

I'm really gonna update! Reading Storm of Swords first. If you are a fan of A song of Ice and Fire, you must watch Game of Thrones on HBO demand. It's a good adaption of the first book.

This is HBO. Expect no censorship.

DO NOT CLICK TO GO YOUTUBE UNLESS YOU WISH TO BE SPOILED FOR THE WHOLE SHOW AND THE BOOKS.

LOOK AT THIS BAMF INTRO. DON'T YOU JUST WANT TO WATCH IT AGAIN AND AGAIN?

2011-06-10T04:31:00.001+08:00

Yes, I'm back. gonna restart updatesoon. maybe after I take a shower or after I sleep. note to self: bad idea to drink and go for run

January

2011-02-14T12:51:00.004+08:00

1. Catching Fire, Susanne Collins (reread)
2. Dealing with Dragons, Patricia C. Wrede
3. Searching for Dragons, Patricia C. Wrede
4. Mairelon the Magician, Patricia C. Wrede
5. Magician's Ward, Patricia C. Wrede
6. The Seventh Tower, Patricia C. Wrede
7. Uglies, Scott Westerfeld
8. Charmed life, Diana Wynne Jones
9. The Game, Diana Wynne Jones
10. WE, John Dickinson
11. Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafón
12. Leviathan, Scott Westerfeld, Keith Thompson (Illustrator)
13. The Last Days, Scott Westerfeld

My wonderfully messy table that has nothing to do with the content of this post at all.

Oh look it's valentine day! I'm been so busy with my school work (final semester and thesis oh grief) that no books have been read in February. This will be the case till June but we shall see about that. After all, my new shiny iphone can load ebooks on it. Hmmm.

#11 Shadow of the Wind

2011-01-31T14:08:00.005+08:00

Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafón

This is the first (out of five attempts) I have completed the book. You can see "What a country of pigs we live in" in the the above photo, which struck me as appropriate back in 2009. The book isn't limited to this of course, there are many much more beautiful sentences and I want to reread the book again.

Plotwise, the book is good. Although the revealing of the truth at the end is not done well at all.

#7 Uglies

2011-01-23T14:21:00.003+08:00

Uglies, Scott Westerfeld

Alright. I guess.

#6 The Seventh Tower

2011-01-20T16:23:00.001+08:00

The Seventh Tower, Patricia C. Wrede
Pretty well developed. The characters, in particular, the villain is not 2d. Enjoyed this far more than Mairelon the Magician. Although the ending fails to impress me.

#5. Magician's Ward

2011-01-17T13:15:00.002+08:00

Magician's Ward, Patricia C. Wrede

Second book of the duology. Definitely enjoyed this more than the first book. The book flows better to e here although I am not exactly pleased at the direction the book ended up taking. I wasn't quite expecting that.

#4 Mairelon the Magician

2011-01-15T12:01:00.005+08:00

Mairelon the Magician, Patricia C. Wrede

Book one of a duology. The book was... alright. Confused at times over certain parts. Author employed use of showing and then telling at the end of the book. Can't say I like it.

#3 Searching for Dragons

2011-01-11T23:11:00.003+08:00

Searching for Dragons, Patricia C. Wrede

Second book of the Enchanted Forest series, it is as good. The King of the Enchanted Forest is is exhausted from ruling his lands and decides to give himself a day off when he discovers a strip of burned land and dragon scales. Characters from the previous book makes an appearance, including the dragon, the witch - who as per the series theme refuses to be categorized into a stereotype - and of course, Princess Cimorene. Can't wait to read the third book!

#2 Dealing with Dragons

2011-01-09T11:47:00.003+08:00

Dealing with Dragons, Patricia C. Wrede

This is another recommendation from someone; I can't remember who. It' perhaps written for people below 12 and not twenties something running into the children's section of the library to forage for books while ignoring the contemptuous glares of Mothers and Fathers.

Back on topic, the plot is simple and clear cut. But what's most interesting is Wrede's worldbuilding in the series. Fairy godmothers(and fathers) and fairytales are part and parcels of life. There's princes who have to embark on quests and princesses who always marries princes. Excellent setting for an excellent heroine. Cimorene is a princess who refuses to be oppressed into the princess stereotypes of fairy tales. She demands to be looked upon as herself and not a princess and so she becomes a Dragon's Princess to escape her fate. Why have I not read any books from this author as a child?!

#1 Catching Fire

2011-01-08T10:41:00.006+08:00

Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins

First book of the year! Mark Reads Catching Fire so I thought I might try to read it a chapter a day. As you can see, it was a dismal and failed attempt. Catching Fire still remains to be my favourite book of the series for the characters Collins introduced and built.

Two Zero One One

2011-01-08T01:11:00.005+08:00

This post is a few days late but better late than never right? Don't answer.

Random ramen photo

It's been two years since this blog has started and it is time for a some good shakeup if I am to be reading 100 books. After taking into consideration the mess on this blog, I have decided to make a post asap for the books I have read and create a list of books read every month. This should hopefully motivate my lazy arse whenever I am slacking.

Having said that, it is unlikely that I'll be reading anything for pleasure from March to June. I will be having my finals and well, I want to graduate from university. Well, I'll try to make it up from June onwards!

For 2011 I wish to read:

10 non-english books
10 non-fiction books
10 graphic novels
70 fiction books

I also wish to read less Young Adults and fantasy novels, not that it's going to happen but whatever.

End of 2010

2011-01-04T10:54:00.000+08:00

45 / 85 fiction books. 53% done!

5 / 10 non-fiction books. 50% done!

7 / 5 non-english books. 140% done!

My report for 2010 is a measly 57 books. I realized that I tend to read more books during the November to February period. Read more Chinese books (7!!!) although sadly no japanese, (neglected my japanese so much I'm afraid I need to do much revision before I can touch any books).

There are two books, both ghost(?) story, that I did not managed to complete: The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters and 上课不要看小说 by 九把刀. The Little Stranger is so tedious that I just could not read on. Apparently I stopped at the more crucial part of the novel and I should have most certainly tried to read to the end for the shocking last line. Too bad.

上课不要看小说 is the complete opposite of The Little Stranger. It is too exciting and horrifying that I lost my appetite and could not recover from the graphic description of the extremely unfortunate events that occurred in the 3rd chapter. Ew.

Favorite author award goes to Megan Whalen Turner for the Queen's thief series. The romance is subtle and enhanced the book rather than overwhelming it.

Well that's about the end of 2010.

and the rest

2011-01-03T10:15:00.006+08:00

19 The Demon's Covenant, Sarah Rees Brennan
Second book of the the Demon Trilogy. Not quite to my liking. I need to know what happen to the poor characters in the last book.

20. Shades's Children, Garth Nix
Average. Nice to read when you have nothing to do.

21 Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman
Average. See above.

22 伴君 (internet novel)
LGBT fiction? I liked reading this historical although the last few chapters are terrible. The author even admits that she tried to end the story before it gets even longer.

23 大哥大, 九把刀

Two urban horror tales. I really enjoyed reading the first story, Shadows, in which an overly puritan catholic is obsessed about removing his shadow and (kind of) meets God. The right mixture of horror and black humor is present in Shadows. The second story was meh to me. My encounter with 九把刀 and certainly not the last.

24 Monsters of men, Patrick Ness
Final book in the trilogy. I supposes it ends well. But wow, so meh to me. i can't even remember what it's about now.

25 巨星，算什么？！ (internet novel)
BL. Nice to read when you have plenty of time to spend. A romance story with not much substance.

26 Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson
This book rotted on my bookshelves for a long time until my friends convinced me to read it with her, 3 chapters a day. It's a great thriller. The plot is predictable though >.>

27 猫尾面包店, 小芸兒
Relaxing book after Girl with Dragon Tattoo. A simple love story about an ordinary girl. I must admit i keep expecting people to die while reading it. Oops? Apparently this was a internet novel that was published.

28 Our Iceberg Is Melting, John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber
Typical management book wrapped and hidden under cute penguins

29 Priestess of the White (age of five book one), Trudi Canavan
Slow cumbersome start. Book could use a good editor to remove all those unnecessary words.

30 Last of the Wilds (age of five book 2), Trudi Canavan
More exciting than the first book. Still suffers from too much words.

31 Superior Saturday (Book 6 of Keys to the Kingdom), Garth Nix
hmmm. i still prefer the fourth book.

32 Lord Sunday (Book 7 of Keys to the Kingdom), Garth Nix
I hate the ending.

33 Mockingjay, Susanne Collins
Last book in the series in which Katniss moan and whine and many people die.

34 Thunder from the east, Nicholas D. Kristof, Sheryl WuDun
While slightly outdated - written in 2000 - it is still quite relevant for issues about Asia. The speculation of the future was cringe worthy and mars what is otherwise a good book. Looking forward to read their latest work.

35 Out of Mao's Shadow
The book does not disguised itself as anything but against the the party's rule. Nevertheless, the book does provide some insights that I had not been aware of. Among some of the topics are SARS, Milk powder, and the horrifying Sun Zhigang incident.

36 月老, 九把刀
Sweet and nice.

37 The Thief (The Queen's Thief, #1), Megan Whalen Turner
Read this on the recommendation of someone, I trusted to have good taste in books. I was mildly disappointed and found the book to be boring at times. HOWEVER, the ending is quite unexpected (although I should have seen it coming, hello, former literature student here) and the subsequent books are fantastic.

38 Fingersmith, Sarah Waters
Similar to Dickens, except far more interesting to read and with exciting plot twists and oh hot lesbians sex.

39 Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead
Typical - is there a plot I see there le gasp - YA Vampire Book with Romance that makes me go hmmm.

40 Her Fearful Symmetry, Audrey Niffenegger
How do you pronounce Niffenegger? The question was on my mind for the entire duration I read this book.

41 Frostbite, Richelle Mead
Next book in the Typical - is there a plot I see there le gasp - YA Vampire series with Romance. I can't stop reading this series.

42 The Magicians, Lev Grossman
There has been fair share of haters and lovers for this book. I am in the Love Love camp. You might hate it if you like Narnia.

43 Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox, Colfer
Time paradox. woohoo!

44 Resident Tourist 4, Troy Chin

"You will fail!"

45 The Replacement, Brenna Yovanoff
This is actually pretty nice to read.

46 Blur King, Drewscape
Short, really short comics.

47 The Attolia Queen (The Queen's Thief, #2), Megan Whalen Turner
Omg i heart this book so much. The romance is not overdone and the plot!

48 The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, N.K. Jemisin
Checked this book as recommended by booksmugglers. An unexpected good find.

49 Hero
An entertaining LGBT book. Cliche at times, especially at the end when it seems that the author is trying oh so hard to have a happy ending. Why can't authors let dead dogs lie dead?

50 Flood, Stephen Baxter
It was raining when I read this book. It was raining. IT WAS RAINING!!!!!! Panic attack in progress.

51 Ark, Stephen Baxter
What happens 100 years later? I demand to know!

52 Voice of Gods (age of five book three), Trudi Canavan
Last book in the series. Overall, the series is good.

53 King of Attolia (The Queen's Thief, #3), Megan Whalen Turner
My favorite book for this year.

54 Conspiracy Of Kings (The Queen's Thief, #4), Megan Whalen Turner
Good but not as good as King of Attolia.

55 Parasite, Scott Westerfeld
I adore this vampire book to death. It's not a conventional vampire book of the Twilight, Anita Blake veins. Another unexpected good find.

56 Enchanted Glass, Diana Wynne Jones

57 Wonderland, Tommy Kovac and Sonny Liew
Pretty

Finally 8 to 18 and I'm running late for an appointment

2010-12-11T10:22:00.007+08:00

8 Throne of Jade, Naomi Novik
Second book in the Temeraire series. Nothing much to complaint about. There's more dragons and a great What If that explores how 1800s China will be like with dragons. Perhaps the only thing that bother me is the description of Thousand Century Eggs (I love to eat that by the way).

9 Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
I hate Stephanie Meyer. I recommended this book to my friend (with loads of !!!!!!!!!!!) but when she spied Meyer's name on the book, she set it down immediately and walked out of the bookstore. WHYYYYYY. DAMN YOU MEYER.

10 Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
"WOW HOW IS COLLINS GONNA TOP THIS?"

11 Portuguese Irregular verbs, Alexander McCall Smith
I'm beginning to feel that I just can't figure out humor. ._.

12 Turn Coat, Jim Butcher
Book 11 of the Dresden Files. Ahh I love Jim Butcher

13 The year of the flood, Margret Atwood
The other half of Ox and Crake and focuses on two women. I love the social criticism in this. Mystery Burger sounds totally yucky and I fully recommend this book.

14 Another Note: The BB Los Angeles case, original concept by Takeshi Obata and Ohba, written by NISIOISIN and, translated by Andrew Cunningham
A pretty good serial murder case and a sinister character who is arguably far more psychotic than Kira. Plus the backstory of how NA meets L. There's good plot twist - I didn't see it coming - although the best part of the book is the narrator. OH HI THERE MELLO!

15 悲伤逆流成河 by 郭敬明
First non-English book of the year! Only for people who enjoy tragedy for the sake of tragedy. The ending stinks to the power of ten. But really i should have figured out from the english title of this book it's gonna suck. Cry me a sad river? Wut?

16 小王子
Little Prince in Chinese. Fairly easy to read. Why, I believe my Chinese has improved!

17 M is for Magic, Neil Gaiman
Meh. There is only one or two stories that stick in my head and they are kind of unglueing right now.

18 Howl Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones
I WRONGED YOU DIANA! Fantastic book! I can't believed it took watching the animated film (which differs a lot from the book but is nonetheless awesome) for me to finally read her books. Looks like my childhood irrational fear of her is just irrational. P.S Sophie rules.

Current Progress

2010-08-29T03:55:00.001+08:00

It's been a while since I last updated. Currently, I'm only at 25 out of 100 books which is very slow progress! I would need to read 75 books in the remaining 4 months to reach my goals or around 4.5 books per week! Somehow I doubt I can reach my goal this year either.

Of the three smaller goals, I managed to complete reading 5 non-English books (all in Chinese although I intend to try reading one book in Japanese). That's a big surprise! Totally did not expect reaching it when I first set the goal. It is highly likely that I will read at least another 5 more books in Chinese (no thanks to 九把刀 Giddens; his books are fantastic).

Non-fiction is still at a pathetic count of 1...

Currently reading:

1) 猫尾面包店
2) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
3) Black Powder War
4) Sentimental Swordsman, Ruthless Sword (fan translation of 风云第一刀)
5) 上课不要看小说

6&7: Graphic Novels

2010-08-17T10:53:00.003+08:00

6 It takes a wizard, Thomas Hart and Sean Lam (graphic novel)
Set in a Manhattan that has become hell, the graphic novel has great potential but fails to reach it. The art style might be messy but it works well. However, the ending of the comic leaves the reader feeling cheated as it is not what the plot has been building towards. Has the writer been forced by his editor for this disney ending? It does not matter as I will not be buying it.

7 Solanin, Inio Asano (graphic novel)
The characters strive to escape from their mundane boring lives and to realise their dreams. Nothing is that simple and financial problems intrudes into their lives. The art is breath taking, as expected of Inio Asano. I actually teared up at a certain part and the themes in this manga (japanese comic) are definitely something that the readers can identify with. Well, at least for college undergraduates like me. Growing up is a painful process.

2 to 5

2010-06-23T01:40:00.003+08:00

2 His Majesty's Dragon, Naomi Novik
Dragons! Napoleonic Wars! What is there not to love? Perhaps the writing style.

3 V for Vendetta, Alan Moore and David Lloyd (graphic novel)
I enjoyed this more than the film and I love the film.

4 Dance, Dance, Dance, Haruki Murakami
Love this book.

5 Liquid City, Various (graphic novel?)
While there are some hits and some misses, I really like the range of different styles and it showcases works of artists in South East Asia. How awesome is that? I am eagerly awaiting the second volume of this series.

Yes... or No?

2010-06-22T00:52:00.000+08:00

I have been considering whether I should include Chinese web novel [1] in this bookblog considering the amount of time that has been lost reading them.

My hesitation arises from the quality of the online novels; of the eight (completed or in progress) I readed, only one can be considered be outstanding (and it's not even near completion). The rest either suffered from overuse of clichés (I was reading romances cough), substandard writing or lack of constructive plot. There was one particular novel that had such an awful ending that I was actually shaking my fist at the screen feeling indignant for the readers who actually paid to read it [2]. Good grief. These aren't the kind of books that I feel comfortable writing about except to rant.

So... should I include chinese web novel? some opinions please?

[1] The chinese web novel market is a phenomena unlike any. The average person in China spend on a good percentage of the time the internet reading web novels. With publishing websites such as qidian.com, jjwxc.net etc, authors can easily self-publish on the web. Of course, this also means any Tom, Dick, Mary and Jane can publish their trashy, brain numbing works.

[2] The various websites have their own systems for authors to earn money. jjwxc.net for instance, allows authors to decide from which chapter onwards to implement the VIP payment system. The novel mentioned above has the VIP system at the three quarter mark. Now how did I managed to read the ending if it's locked... well, coughbaidu.comisverypowerfulcough.

1: Yakuza Moon

2010-06-18T10:45:00.008+08:00

Finally I have started blogging about the books in 2010. Shoko Tendo's Yakuza Moon is the first of the lot:

1 Yakuza Moon, Shoko Tendo, Louise Heal, Miyazaki Manabu (memoir, NF)

A memoir of a woman who grew up in a Yakuza family. Despite what the cover and the title may indicate, this book does not reveal much about Yakuza. Instead, prejudice and bias against those born in Yakuza family are revealed and it is enlightening.

Apart from the saddening affairs of the narrator, Tendo, falling into a vicious cycle of drugs and terrible choice in men, there really isn't much about Yakuza Moon. It reads like any of those teens in the wrong crowd stories.

One gets the feeling that spacing is used to make the book seemed thicker; there is not much content. The writing is simplistic and there are far too much uses of ellipsis - though I have been told that Japanese are fond of using them.

cont list of book in 2009

2010-06-18T10:14:00.004+08:00

42 Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Gregory Maguire (borrow)
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is based on the fairy tale, Cinderella. Narrated by Iris, the novel follows her path from poverty to riches when her mother, Margarethe forms a business-like union with Cornelius van den Meers. While Iris adjusts to her new position, Clara seeks the safety of the kitchen with Iris's mentally challenged sister, Ruth.

I like the concept of the book. However, the writing is dull and monotonous at times. It's hard to get into the novel when you are dozing off with your face smacked onto the book.

43 Kushiel's Justice, Jacqueline Carey

44 Kushiel's Mercy, Jacqueline Carey
Last book in the Imriel trilogy. It wasn't as good as the first Phèdre trilogy. The characters just weren't as likeable and it generally feels like a repetition of the first series. I don't regret buying the book but it could have been better. Much better. Perhaps Carey should just stop drabbling in this universe. I have read reviews about the latest book and they are bad.

45 What I talk about when I talk about Running, Haruki Murkami (borrow, NF)
'Murakami is a robot.' The thought cycled through my head before I managed to squash it. The reason for this nonsensical thought arise from the impossible fact that Murakami seems to not have any injury while training/running for marathons. Indeed, the entire book is about Murakami's love for writing and running. Yet, despite being a memoir, nothing revealing was shown about Murakami.

46 Small Favor (borrow)
The tenth book in the series, things get even more interesting when the Crime Lord of Chicago, Gentleman Johnny Marcone is kidnapped.

47 Norwegian woods, Haruki Murkami (borrow)
Surprising, a straight forward love story from Murakami. Still like it but it really isn't his usual style of writing.

48 Wild sheep Chase, Haruki Murkami (borrow)
Now, this is Murakami's style. I love this book. It's surreal and strange and contemplating.

49 Maus: A Survivor's Tale, Art Spiegelman (borrow, comic)
About a WW2 holocaust survivor.

50 Maus 2, Art Spiegelman (borrow, comic)

51 Stitches, David Small (borrow, comic)
I cannot fathom this book. There is a sense of irony that I am attempting to figure out the comic when I read surreal works of Murakami on a regular basis. Especially since this is a memoir and perhaps require not too much thinking.

52 The Sandman: The Doll's House, Neil Gaiman and too many artists to list (borrow, comic)
Great comic with good pacing and plot that create tension. The comic made me queasy at times despite the lack of graphic content.

53 Blind willow, Sleeping woman, Haruki Murkami (borrow)

54 The Facts In The Case Of The Departure Of Miss Finch, Neil Gaiman (borrow, comic)
Rather disappointed by this. Perhaps if I read this before Sandman I would like this better.

55 Mr. Punch, Neil Gaiman (borrow, comics)
Certainly morbid.

56 After Quake, Haruki Murkami (borrow)
Short stories, none of which are particularly memorable except for the one about the Frog and Worm.

57 Vanished Elephant, Haruki Murkami (borrow)
More short stories.

58 Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, Haruki Murkami (borrow)
Another surreal work. But in a more logical manner. Does this makes sense?

59 Let me tell you something about that night, Cyril Wong (borrow)
I may not have loved his poetry but his collection of strange and poignant short stories are a winner for me. I don't do this this book justice at all.

41 is a good Young Adult fiction

2010-03-08T19:15:00.002+08:00

41. The Ask and the Answer, Patrick Ness (borrow, YA)

If the first book is about Todd and a certain someone running for safety, the second book is about the beginning of a war. The book may be uncomfortable to read. Themes of genocide, slavery, gender which are touched upon in the first book, are examined in more details here. It also asks an important question: Does war make monsters out of men?

We see Todd fumbling with this question in the first book. A certain other character (who happens to be one of the narrators) repeats this question again in The Ask and the Answer. The title of the third book coming out next year, is Monsters of Men. where I suppose the question will finally be answered then.

The first book suffers from too much repetition of running and escaping but the pace in the sequel is excellent with plenty of BOOM. Todd and the other narrator are developed further. Of the recurring characters, Davy Prentiss who is rapidly becoming my favourite character in the trilogy which frankly states a lot for this book. I will leave it at that.

Still, I give the author two thumbs up for the guts to write a difficult subject for the YA genre. One wonders if he should have created more chemistry between Todd and Viola and make Todd less of an idiot though.

33 to 40 are creations of Jim Butcher

2010-03-08T18:59:00.002+08:00

The Dresden Files is set in a modern day Chicago where Harry Dresden, a private investigator and wizard, helps the police with supernatural cases. The Dresden Files is probably one of the best series in the modern fantasy genre. Jim Butcher uses a writing style that makes the books flow like an action movie with witty banter and it works really well.

I know I described the first book, Storm Front, as nothing remarkable. Apparently the first book is a fluke in terms of pacing (and mainly set up the background for the series). The subsequent books (especially from Grave Peril onwards) are filled with unexpected twists and great pacing that had me on the edge of my seat. While Harry Dresden's saviour complex may irk some, it is minor annoyance amid the plot and the well developed characters, both male and female.

33. Fool Moon
The pacing can be slow at times. Thankfully the pacing problems does not occur again.

34. Grave Peril
Grave Peril can be summarised as 'Shit hits the fan'. This is also the book that hooked me in. It helps that the vampires are not sparkly and we are introduced to some very important recurring characters.

35. Summer Knight

36. Death Masks

37. Blood Rites

38. Dead Beat

39. Proven Guilty

40. White Night

Too lazy to write anything for the rest but it's just good and generally awesome.

2010

2010-01-22T21:48:00.016+08:00

Dated photo. I'm too lazy to take a photo of my current very packed shelves.

I have no excuse for not updating this blog. I will try to catch up on all the posts I should have written.

In 2009, I managed to read a total of 59 books out of the expected 100. In retrospect, this is due to the limited amount of books read during the first half of the year (around 10 books).

Of the 59 books, 14 are graphic novels, 6 are young adult fictions, and 5 are non-fiction.

Jim Butcher won the award for most books by a single author with 10 books (Dresden Files series), followed closely by Murakami Haruki with 9 books.

Despite failing to read 100 books in 2009, I decided to try again this year, broken down to the following categories:

10 nonfiction
5 Chinese (or other non-english books)
85 fiction (inclusive of graphic novels)

Hopefully, it can be done this year, especially since I still have around 50 unread books on my shelves.

30 31 32 are set in my country

2009-09-22T10:56:00.003+08:00

30, 31 & 32. Resident Tourist Part 1 to 3, Troy Chin (own, graphic novels, reread)

There was going to be a long essay on this but I couldn't be arsed to do it. Regardless of my laziness, Resident Tourist is an absolutely lovely graphic novel about a man who returns home to do comics. The comic follows Troy as he realises that the home he came back for has evidently changed. He has became a tourist in his own country.

Resident Tourist is an autobiography. Troy Chin draws the events in his daily life into the graphic novel. Practices such as 'seat choping' are depicted in humorous - totally true - way. Most important is the underlying message of fulfilling your dream. I do believe that Troy is one of the luckier people who, in this country obsessed with success, is doing precisely that. Perhaps that is why I identified so much with Resident Tourist.

If you are looking for beautiful art style, you will be disappointed. The art style is simple and clean and works well for this comic.

Okay. I can't write more. You can read it online at Troy's website.

Resident Tourist can also be bought at Kinokuniya, Ani-Play and G&B comics.

30 / 100 books. 30% done!

29 sees so many butterflies

2009-09-14T01:08:00.014+08:00

29. i see so many butterflies, chin yew (own, alternative/indie comic)

As with Jack Doe, the black and white cover, which looks as though a child has its happy way with a black crayon, pulled me in from a distance; I was walking to another booth at STGCC when I chanced upon it. A closer look reveals that it is not mere scribbles but butterflies drawn haphazardly all over.

i see so many butterflies is not the typical action hero/ninja/deathgods/superhero shit that you normally see. The plot centres on a writer, Eron, who has a writer's block. Eron sees butterflies everywhere. He also has strange dreams of an insect-like creature wearing a sweater with the number 4, requesting him to write down what he sees. Meanwhile, he struggles to pen anything down and struggles to extract the most value of his remaining money. Things becomes worse as the day goes on, eventually reaching to a point where he snaps and gives in.

I did not like the comic on my first reading. However, in the subsequent readings, it has endeared me to liken it better; although the little bits of sequel may have played a part in it. To me, the insect-like creature is the uglier side of Eron, representing death - 4 is known for its connotation to death in the Chinese culture - while the butterfly represents life and destiny. If he follows the butterflies, he can change to something else. Not himself now, but not the ugly creature obsessed with the death (can't write more or I will spoil the plot) either. If he follows what the creature says, he can break through his writer's block and possibly make it big. However, he will also give up his ideals. Do I sense some criticism on mainstream shows?

The art style changes throughout the book. I particularly like the parts where he uses the brush like style (what do you call that?) to emphasise on Eron's tension. i see so many butterflies reminds me of a storyboard - I suck at those - probably because Chin Yew does films. The story is shown in pictures with limited speech and allows the parts with conversations to be more poignant.

i see so many butterflies is not all positive. At S$25, it is expensive, especially when the paper quality is not quite fantastic. That, is not the worst. I left it on my sofa (please don't keep it near anything that is leather) for a night and discovered that the black butterflies have transferred some parts of themselves over. The lovely cover is not so lovely after all. It is going to be a pain in the arse to get rid of the black marks on my red sofa.

I am uncertain where i see so many butterflies can be purchased. Please contact the creator if you wish to buy.

~~May update this post with more photos on another day.~~ Never happening.

29 / 100 books. 29% done!

Graphic Novel? Comic? Here's 28!

2009-09-08T12:13:00.013+08:00

28. Jack Doe: Anonymous, Shawn Yap et al (own, graphic novels)

Jack Doe: Anonymous is the collaborative work of Shawn Yap (main writer & artist), Gabriel Chua and Xander Lee. It was part of the monthly - and expensive - local comic magazine Mugen and had finished its run some months ago. Normally I wouldn't buy English graphic novels/comics but I wanted to support my country's struggling artists. When I saw Chuangyi's booth at STGCC '09 last month, based on the very superficial factor of the cover (I blame Hotel Dusk), I purchased Jack Doe: Anonymous over Hu Jingxuan's Lament.

The comic is about a detective who has no identity. He comes from a family of detectives who gives up their names and takes up Jack Doe's to solve crimes. The current Jack Doe is also the last in his family. Everyone else has been murdered. When a good friend dies, he is dragged into a conspiracy and he will need to act fast before he is the next to die.

Sound interesting? Good for you. I thought so until I hit the plot twist. I bought it because I was attracted to the film noir feel of the cover, and expected a detective mystery. Instead, what I read is something else involving supervillains - thankfully no superhero, unless you count Jack Doe - and the strange plot twist.

The plot twist works but it's such a waste! It could be much better. I wished it is a genuine mystery rather than the surprise that spring out near the end. The background which the comic is set in is boring. Supervillains creating monsters and yadada with more villains plotting to take over the city. I am more interested in The Pattern and how it works. The use of the cards seemed to be limited to some circumstances. A murder, perhaps?

Since the team is limited to 6 chapters, it must be hard to develop the characters. Most of the characters, including the villian-who-wants-to-take-over, are rather flat and dull. Is there any other motive for Judas Black? Most of the characters just flash and disappear. Maybe the comic might be better if there is another volume to flesh out the characters more. For instance, the females in this comic are so decorative. Cassie, the love interest of Jack, is (sort of) fine. However, I can't even get much of a feel for Rene who looks like a clone of Cassie.

I am also irked that the murder of Jack's family is never explained. Who is the mole? Or is Shawn Yap planning to explore this further in a second volume? There are also parts where I feel that the story gets a bit confusing, especially in the ending.

There's potential in this comic (the concept and art style!) but it could have been so much better. It's definitely a good piece of work and I expect good things from Shawn Yap in the future.

Jack Doe: Anonymous is sold at most major bookstores at $8.50. Please support our local talents!

28 / 100 books. 28% done!

Prepare for Bad Haiku

2009-09-07T17:27:00.008+08:00

I wrote some vague sentences that might be haiku on twitter.

Pain struck through the leg,
nothing left but to watch them,
running pass ahead.

Soft buzz of the wings,
a bee flew past a flower,
attacking a man.

Rows after rows of
humans stood in attention,
awaiting their deaths.

Chaos wreck the mind,
But composing this haiku,
A sense of peace comes.

1. marathon running. cramp hurts.
2.thought of this when I was in the loo. strange how I get ideas when I'm in there.
3.inspired by this picture.
4.the word chaos accurately sums up my mind.

26 and 27 are vastly different

2009-08-27T15:54:00.006+08:00

26. Deerskin, Robin McKinley (own)
Deeply frustrated by the absence of this book on NLB's shelf, I gave in to temptation and ordered this book last month online. It arrived - fortunately! - in one piece when my mother found the post(wo)man trying to stuff the package into the letterbox after she grew tired of knocking the door of an empty apartment.

Sadly, the book is not as good as I imagined it is. This is partially my fault. I have worked myself into a frenzy while waiting for the arrival of the book and may have elevated the book to a higher position than where I should have.

Based loosely on Donkeyskin, Deerskin is about a neglected princess, Lissar, who resembles her beautiful late mother. Her appearance leads to a tragedy and she eventually has to escape to survive. I can't write more or I'll spoil the plot (unless you have heard of Donkeyskin). The summary above accounts for the Part 1 of the book. Part 2 involves the magic that McKinley writes often. While it does not take away the tragedy of what happen in part 1, it feels like a ~*magical*~ solution for Lissar. I understand that it is probably extremely difficult for the plot to progress if the magic does not occur at that point - Lissar is too fragile and too isolated to face reality - but I feel so disappointed.

It does not help that parts of the book is dull and repetitive. McKinley always has a habit of writing in long descriptive proses but here, it bogs down the novel. There is far too much unnecessary details that reduce the enjoyment of read Deerskin. I find myself skimming past the words at times because the pace is too slow!

Despite this, Deerskin is a relatively good novel that deals with Lissar's trauma in a realistic manner. If you are a fan of McKinley's, this may not be a book that you expect from her. It explores darker themes from what she normally writes. Non-fans can read the book but it is not her best.

27. The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis (own)
To be honest I didn't even know that C.S Lewis write other books apart from Narnia. I only knew that after my sister informed me one fine day that she wanted this book for her birthday. That was 3 years ago.

I finally bought and read the book at the Borders this month. It isn't as bad as mere Christianity - which till now I have yet to complete - and it helps that I have seen a rather humorous satire take on politics, written in similar format as Screwtape Letters. No doubt that blog was inspired by C.S Lewis.

I am actually agnostic - which is pretty strange if you consider my family's background but that's another story - and thus I have some friends wondering why I have been reading books about Christianity. Despite it's unconventional writing style, The Screwtape Letters is ultimately about Christianity and works of evil from the devil(?). It reveals to me, insights on Christians.

It is quite possible that my non-believing in this religion may have reduced whatever humour that is mere to be in the book. I have seen several times on the web that The Screwtape Letters is funny but it is not to me. Have I missed something that makes this book funny to most? I do not know.

Should you read it if you are not a believer of the religion? Yes. The Screwtape Letters is written from the point of view of a devil and it is, without a doubt, a well-written book on the temptations one may face in their daily life. While a non-religious can read this book to discover more about Christianity, it is likely that you will not enjoy the book as much as a Christian might.

27 / 100 books. 27% done!

24 and 25 are graphics novels

2009-08-12T00:26:00.001+08:00

24. Persepolis: The story of a childhood, Marjane Satrapi (graphic novel, borrow)
After reading Persepolis, I checked out the reviews of it on Amazon. I was peeved by the amount of people saying that Persepolis has mature themes and is not childish unlike, as it is hinted, other comics. Now, I understand that this has absolutely nothing to do with Persepolis but dammit! Not all comics are childish! Hello? The Sandman anyone?Even manga (japanese comic) which most people seemed to think as an infantile form of comic can be incredibly deep in depth and deals with mature themes such as rape(Bokurano), death(Bokurano, Vagabond), does violence solve anything(Vagabond), human vs AI (Pluto) etc.

With that out of the way, I quite enjoy the story of Marjane Satrapi as a child. It first started rather light-hearted and with some humour. It gets progressively darker as torture and death are discussed by the characters.

Persepolis provides another look into Iran. With the recent demostration towards incumbent President Ahmadinejad, anyone who is interested in the events leading towards the Islam revolution should take a look at this.

25. Persepolis 2: The story of a return, Marjane Satrapi (graphic novel, borrow)
The sequel to Satrapi's childhood, it is about her years as a teenagers to an adult. I did not find it as good as the first. Still a must read if you want to know what happens after her stay at Venice.

25 / 100 books. 25% done!

20 to 23 aren't that likeable

2009-08-06T17:34:00.010+08:00

20. Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck (borrow)
This book depresses me.

21. Sputnik Sweetheart, Haruki Murakami (borrow)
My friend told me this is not Murakami's most popular book. I can see why. It feels like a big filler from the beginning to the middle when the plot actually started. I do know that it is Murakami's trademark to leave the ending hanging. But I really feel that the novel should have ended much earlier (or at least shift the last chapter forward). It's like watching the last segment of Return of the King. Each time you think it's going to end, it just doesn't. This should have really been a novella.

On the other hand, I really like the narrator. There's something about him that I can identify with. He's also more likeable than whathisname in South of the Border, West of the Sun.

22. Young Stalin, Simon Sebag Montefiore (nonfiction, borrow)
Is this dry? Yes. But the dull writing of this biography should not prevent you from reading. It offers a fascinating account of Stalin as child to adult. The poet, the terrorist, the revolutionist, the charismatic leader who surrounded himself with people who he could be superior to, the husband who neglected his wives, and the man with many lovers... These were all faces of Stalin.

It's also horrifying to see Stalin developed his deep mistrust in people. His fear of being betrayed eventually led to the hundreds of thousands people (2 million according to some sources) executed and imprisoned in the Great Terror.

Since I cannot do this book justice, I'll just recommend it (or you can look up for more reviews on it).

23. Teacher Man, Frank McCourt (nonfiction, borrow)
I don't like the writing style of this book. This is the third book by Frank McCourt on his life. I have not read the first two but I have been told that Angela's Ashes is a much better book. Hopefully that is the case, because this book is mediocre. Huge chunk of paragraphs similar to run-on sentences cover the book. I stopped reading at least two times as I just cannot read on.

While this book should be on his life as a teacher, there is, in my opinion, too much unrelated content. It almost seemed that there isn't enough content that might interest the reader. As such, the book dragged on and I was deeply relieved when it finally ended.

23 / 100 books. 23% done!

Nine years

2009-08-05T01:51:00.003+08:00

Nine years.

You threw the remote control onto the glass table. A loud bang resonated in the living room. Clank! The battery fell to the floor with the force you put into the throw. It was not enough.

You stood up from the crimson sofa. Glaring at her, you stomped towards the woman whom you once promised to love and care forever. Whom you angered when you make yet another call. A word, divorce was thrown casually several times. Your face twisted into a dreadful grimace that exposed your yellow crooked teeth. You failed to impress anyone, not the daughter in the room, not the daughter peering over the book and certainly not your wife.

You slammed the door to your room and fumed under the sheets on the bed beside the wedding photo that you and your wife had taken 30 years prior. It was all you could do. Why you were angry? Was there any wrong in the words spoken by your wife? There was. For it was not a woman that you made the call to. It was your child. Your beloved eight year old child that you had with your mistress. A TV, you said to the child. You will get a new TV if the old one is broken. Goodbye, Papa loves you very much. You had never said that to any of your daughters. The daughters that you have with your wife.

You were still furious. You heard the sounds of the TV - your wife was watching the news - you got up from the bed and rushed out. You switched off the TV and slammed it down, vindicated. But of course, it didn't end like that. Your wife, oh how much you hated her, her sarcastic words hitting every nail in your heart. The TV was turned on again. You stared with the growing might of your anger at the back of her head. If she felt it, she did not show. Once again you retreated into the safe darkness of the room. You laid down on the bed and thought of that young child. The monster in your chest calmed down and you closed your eyes. Soon, this will end.

15 to 19 have more pictures

2009-08-05T00:46:00.008+08:00

15: A Study in Scarlet, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (ebook)
I rediscovered Project Gutenberg and downloaded the entire Sherlock Holmes collection onto a portable device to read. This is the first time I read Sherlock Holmes since I was 12? I am not quite sure. Regardless, I noticed little details about Holmes that I missed before. Those not-at-all subtle allusion of him smoking cocaine or his arrogance towards people and things that he regard as unimportance? I cannot believe I missed it.

As a novel, there is inconsistency. Is Watson injured in Afghanistan or India? I am quite confused. The second half of the story is also dreadfully boring. While I understood the significant of it towards the motive of the crime that occurred in the first half, it's so hard to read what appears initially to be unconnected to the story. Otherwise this makes a good introduction to Holmes, and I cannot wait to start reading the second (e)book in the series.

16: The Knife of Never letting Go, Patrick Ness (YA, borrow)
This is the first book in the chaos walking series and the best YA fiction I have read in quite a while. Todd is a boy reaching his 13th birthday in a world where all women have died and only there are only men and their noise. One day, he discovered that the men in his town have been lying to him and everything changes for him.

What I like about this book:
The characters. The growth of Todd is believable. While he might not be the most likeable character (typical rebellious teenager) in the beginning, he is extremely realistic. The choices he has to make in the grim situation that he finds himself in are difficult and he comes out of them as a stronger person. There is also another character who has great remarkable growth but I shall not spoil it for you.

What I hate about the book:
The damn cliffhanger. The middle part is a little boring.

Beware of the plot twists in this book. Nothing is what it seems on the surface and it is only at the end that everything is revealed. The ending is a bloody cliffhanger and you must get the second book, The Ask and the Answer. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

17: City of small blessings, Simon Tay (borrow)
This could have been potentially great fiction. Someone compared the book to Murakami but there is a great difference. Murakami may write surreal events but it always compels the reader to read on. I struggled to read past the first few chapters.

The themes of this book are usually what I enjoyed. Alienation in your home country, in society, bonds of family etc... However, the constant switching of character's point of view(POV) is repulsive. The POV of Bryan, the narrator of the first half of the novel, switches from 3rd person to 1st person regularly, as the author reveals Bryan's past and present at the same time. Perhaps this is supposed to invoke in me the turmoil and disorder that their migration to Canada and the notice of eviction from the government caused. If that's the case, I suppose the author has done a good job.

18: Unwind, Neal Shusterman (YA, borrow)
Another book I thought I'd liked but did not. The questions asked from this book are thought provoking. What is life? What is a soul? How much is a human worth? Set in a world, where the body parts of unwanted (read: undesired) teenagers can be 'unwind' and given to people who are useful and needed, what exactly is right or wrong?

Such a setting should have made this book an excellent novel. However, it missed a special something. For all the questions it raised, the plot felt juvenile and the beginning while exciting is not gripping enough. It must be said that Neal Shusterman is a good author. The book is clearly well-written and every details mentioned in the book has a meaning to it. Nonetheless, the relationship between Connor and Risa is so forced, I do not know why they end up with each other. That, together with Connor's almost one dimensional character turns me off. Perhaps, there are people who will like this book. I certainly do not enjoy it as much.

19: The Girl with Glass Feet, Ali Shaw (borrow)
Yet another book I did not enjoy. I liked to read book blind, so I do not even know that this book is about until I started reading. The elements of magic woven throughout the whole book is surreal like and gives the book its title. It is certainly creative. However, I do not like it at all. I cannot explain why but somehow it does not mix well with the writing. If anything, it (along with the author's writing style) makes the characters detached from the reader. It's akin to piece of glass between the characters and me.

I do like the characters. They are very realistic and terribly flawed. Ida and Midas's father are selfish men. In fact, everyone in the novel is selfish with their own motives around them. Even Ida who always falls in with the 'wrong man' is selfish. There is also the theme of metamorphosis running through the book. I cannot reveal more or I will spoil the plot.

I find this book to be well-written yet aloof. It is hard to like a book when it fails to generate interest in you. Although I felt sympathy for Ida and Midas (the golden touch? how ironic), I cannot feel the romance between them. A pity.

19 / 100 books. 19% done!

12 13 14

2009-08-04T19:02:00.004+08:00

12. After dark, Haruki Murakami (own)
One of Murakami's easier to read book. Symbolism and surrealism are rampant in this book, of which the most curious is the Eri and the TV. What happens with Eri and the TV, well, you have to read to find out. After dark is about a group of people who are connected together by the events that occurred after midnight. I feel that After dark will make a lovely art film.

13. South of the border, West of the sun, Haruki Murakami (borrow)
Another Murakami book, this time it's about a man who has never forgotten about his first love. This is even easier to read than After Dark. However, it is also not his best, perhaps due to the protagtonist's flawed character, which makes him realistic but not particularly likeable. Like all of his books, there is a mystery in South of the border, West of the sun. You can't help but wonder at Shinamamoto's past. Who is she really? Why is she coming back for Hajime?

The story of Shinamamoto and Hajime reminds me of another book: The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence was written in the early 1900s about a man in America high society in the 1880s. Both books has similarities: A man, who takes what is before him for granted and assumes that he knows his wife when he doesn't. The books have much more in common with each other but I'll have to write a long essay if I listed all of them.

Ultimately this is a book about Hajime's growth as a person. However, while Newland in Age of innocence did move on, Hajime is still a static piece of furniture and that is what irks me for this book.

14. below:absence, Cyril Wong (poetry, borrow)
Out of curiosity, I borrowed Cyril Wong's below:absence. Due to my inept ability to appreciate poems, I'm afraid that much of the poems are lost to me. Nonetheless, there are some which I liked: 'blueprint', 'mnemonic', 'all its manifestations', and 'because it is wrong, so it is wrong'. Perhaps I should brush up on my understanding of poetry before I pick up another of his books.

14 / 100 books. 14% done!

The wall of text from 8 to 11 is terrifying

2009-08-04T18:34:00.004+08:00

8: Wicked Gentlemen, Ginn Hale (own)
Totally irritated by this book. The environment that this book is set in, has so much that can be explored. The author, however, only used it sparely to write some lines here and there. I am also not impressed by how the two parts of the novel felt like two separate short stories that are thrown together to make a novel. Had the author strived to glue the two parts together (1st person POV and suddenly 3rd person? why not 3rd for both), this novel could have been much much better. Still, I don't regret buying it. For all its flaws, the scenario and the characters are a delight to read. The reality in the novel is particular grim; the evil never gets caught for its crime. There is however, an ending that can be seen as happy.

9: I Sold My Soul on Ebay (NF, borrow)
The title is misleading as the author certainly did not sell his soul on ebay. He's an atheist who decided one day to learn more about religion, specifically, Christianity. He set up an auction promising to spend 1 hour in a place of worship for every $10 bid. This book is a further examination of the time he spent observing (he spent 7 months visiting churches for this book).

While the content is interesting, the way he tried to pad the book is not appreciated by this reader. Some of the early chapters are so draggy that I have to try to force myself to read it. This problem is not helped by the repetitiveness. The American-centric writing is also another turn off. Yet, I still find myself agreeing many of its points and I encourage all Christians to read it. (and discuss with me!)

10: The Demon's Lexicon, Sarah Rees Brennan (YA, own)
I have been reading this book non-stop since I woke up today morning and I probably would have been shocked by the twist at the end (though Sarah dropped a lot of foreshadowing) if I have not already been spoiled. I particularly like Mae a lot. She's not one of those female characters that after swooning over the main character instantly becomes useless. Far from that, she tries hard to protect her brother, Jamie. Jamie is not entirely useless either (as one might suspect earlier) and I believe Sarah will develop Jamie's and Mae's characters more in the next book (hopefully not in Nick's POV).

Now, for the bad points of the novel. Nick is the main character and whom point of view that the readers have to suffer through. The main problem, however, is that Nick is an emotionless jerk. Even reading this book with rose-tinted glasses - I am a fan of Sarah's works - and armed with spoilers, I do not like Nick. I may have even despise him at certain times. As I have once commented before, writing an unlikeable character as the main character is probably the hardest way to gain readers; the character may have turned readers off even before they hit the middle of the book! Thankfully, Nick does have some redeeming factor. His bond with his brother is the only thing that saves this book and, of course, the ending.

I am also disappointed at the lack of humor. I'm not sure if it has been edited out or if she decided not to write it in. Either way it was a disappointment to read.

The Demon's Lexicon is the first book in a trilogy and I recommend people to read it.

Edit: I have seen someone describing Nick as a sociopath and I agree! Nick is a sociopath which is why he sucks entirely as the narrator haha. And also, link to Gerald's story. The last line sends shivers down my spine and his relationship with his sibling is a stark contrast with Nick's.

11: Embroideries, Marjane Satrapi (graphic novel, borrow)
This is a more light hearted and humorousness book by Marjane Satrapi about the men and sex lives of Iran women. In between the stories, I could see a strong feminist theme and the plight of women in Iran. This is a book for anyone who has time to spare.

11 / 100 books. 11% done!

Six Plus Seven Makes What?

2009-08-04T18:32:00.000+08:00

6: Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett (borrow)
My first time reading Pratchett's book, I felt overwhelmed. It's good in non-cliche way. Some of the humour went over me. Regardless I still want to read his books!

7: The Icarus Girl, Helen Oyeyemi (borrow)
It's about an eight year old girl and twins and ghost and myths. Ahhh. I don't like it. I tried. I really tried but I have no clue what the author is trying to let me know! The repetitiveness doesn't help. If some parts are cut out, it would have been better. The suspend and tension are not there at all. Ahh. What a waste.

There should have been a No. 8 but Catch 22 is so hard to read for me. Why? No connection at all! I don't get the first chapter at all. It definitely went over my head and I stopped reading. Maybe Americans might like it more.

Four and Five

2009-08-04T13:05:00.001+08:00

4: God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, Christopher Hitchens (borrow, non-fiction)
I'm unsure whether I want to punch the author or agree with him. What an arrogant jerk.

5: Living Dead Girl, Elizabeth Scott (borrow, YA)
You went to the library. There, you found three books that you wanted to read. It's a waste, you thought, to have three instead of four. Despairing for a fourth book, you wandered into the YA section.

There was nothing interesting. And there you saw it. Hiding between those silly books about teenage love was Living Dead Girl. Written by Elizabeth Scott. You removed it carefully from the shelf and knew this was the one. The fourth book.

You walked home. You removed three books from your bag, from the green and pink polka dots that ought to crash with each other but did not. You reached into the bag again and took Living Dead Girl out.

A haunting story of an abducted girl, you read to yourself. You flipped open the hardcover, and you read. You read about the story of Alice. The girl who had been subjected to hell since she was ten. You read about how she viewed the people who thought victims could escape if they just talked. A tiny voice in your head, agreed with those people. You hushed it.

You reached the end of the book. Yet, the voice in your head mumbled softly, why didn't she asked earlier? You felt shame at the words of the voice and tried not to think of all of the other Alices living in fear of their Rays. Tried not to think if you had knew something was wrong but never asked.

5 / 100 books. 5% done!

Cheddar

2009-08-04T09:59:00.002+08:00

A short cheesy poem(can it even be called that?) that I wrote for fun.

O Gold Mouse Where Art Thou?
If Thou must damn thyself
For Thy Love of cheese
A Piece of White Cheddar
Shalt be all thou need

A Goal of 100 books

2009-08-04T01:44:00.005+08:00

At the beginning of this year, I made a new year resolution to read 100 books, having been inspired by blue_ant who reads on average 150 books per year. Following her example, I wrote all these on another blog and moved them here for easier archiving.

1: Wind-up Bird Chronicles, Haruki Murakami (borrow)
It was a very surreal book, so convoluted and abstract that I had no idea what to expect for the ending. I wished I understood Cinnamon though. Like why he avoided Toru. Is it because he felt guilty that he had not expect the water? Or that he is trying to spy on him? Cinnamon is such an interesting character. Another part I do not understand is the chapter 8 of the book Cinnamon wrote. Because of the first person view, the parts about the other characters are unreliable. In that case, we have to depend on Toru's view of Cinnamon's motivation. He suspected that Cinnamon is telling of a parallel between his grandfather and himself. That made me all the curiouser.

We know that Cinnamon's life has changed forever after a particular event of which the significance is never explained. Neither is the death of Cinnamon's father revealed properly. I have to return the book tomorrow - date due! - so I skimmed through parts of the book. So perhaps the details for these questions that I desperately wanted to be answered has escaped me.

I think I need to get a copy of the book. Hard copy.

2: Storm Front, Jim Butcher (borrow)
Compared to most of the stuff I usually read, this is a short novel. I actually finished it within 2 hours. A record! The content of the book are nothing as record breaking though. Due to the similarities with the style of the Anita Blake series, I cannot stop myself from comparing it with Anita Blake. The protagonist, Harry Dresden, has as much of a hero complex as Anita. Thanks God, he isn't half the Mary Sue that Anita is. At least not, in this first book.

It doesn't help that the The Dresden Files is written in the same manner as the Anita Blake series. It does make Harry look and sound like the male version of Anita Blake. Well, if you can ignore the fact that Anita is basically a man with boobs and a vagina. Ugh.

3: Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley (borrow, YA)
It took me a while but I finished the Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley, who is truly one of my favourite authors. A former associate was right when she said that the book was wonderful. It really is fantastic.

The book is about a King's daughter, Aerin. Tales is spoken about her mother, a witchwoman who had enspelled the King into marrying her. As a result of that, her life is miserable and she often felt that she isn't fit to be a sol (the ruler). It is in this setting that I loved the book.

It's hard not to sympathise with Aerin. Her character is very likeable. She isn't like one of those Heroines who are essentially men with boobs and worse, special powers that they flaunted all over the place. Aerin is a believable normal person who couldn't fit in. It delighted me greatly as I read page by page and her character grew until she learned to be comfortable in her own skin.

A lovely little fantasy book suitable for all ages and gender that can be borrowed from the library. Oh, I fully recommend the books by Robin McKinley. This is the fifth book by her that I have read. And so far, her works has never failed to disappoint me. (well except that I didn't like The Outlaws of Sherwood that much)

Please stop reading from this point onwards if you do not want to be spoiled.

Luxe. LUXE! I skimmed the second half of the book so I didn't catch the parts where aerin interacted with Luxe. So while I have guessed very early that Tor liked Aerin, the revelation that Luxe and Aerin are in love with each other stunned me. It is also a little disturbing as Luxe is older than what his appearance suggest. Perhaps that is why McKinley wrote the ending in this manner (and I have to say I'm a total sucker for the promise that Aerin made with Luxe, argh Luxe made Tor looks very boring and normal :D) .

/ends Spoilers

I have finally reached 3%! Hurray! I would have reached this earlier had not my wallet, fearing the empty stomach it might faced with, screamed and pounded against me forcing me to return Fool Moon to the library against my will.

3 / 100 books. 3% done!

Dance

1997-07-04T21:57:00.001+08:00

"So what do I have to do?"
"Dance," said the Sheep Man. "Yougottadance. Aslongasthemusicplays. Yougottadance. Don'teventhinkwhy. Starttothink, yourfeetstop. Yourfeetstop, wegetstuck. Wegetstuck, you'restuck. Sodon'tpayanymind, nomatterhowdumb. Yougottakeepthestep. Yougottalimberup. Yougottaloosenwhatyoubolteddown. Yougottauseallyougot. Weknowyou'retired, tiredandscared. Happenstoeveryone, okay? Justdon'tletyourfeetstop."

- Dance Dance Dance
Haruki Murakami

Who Are You?

I'm not quite sure who I really am; in this long hard journey call life, I still stumble and fall. I suppose this makes blog a half-bildungsroman doesn't it?

What is this about?

A good question. I write. One may expect the escape of more foul and dull writing into the world except, I already polluted the world with my writing back in 2001. Though it is not for me to judge if my writing has improved. Perhaps it is still as dull as before.

Apart from these future horrifying writing, I also post some short thoughts and feeling about the books I read. You see, I have made it a goal to read 100 books this year, so far it has not been looking good.

Erm...
Read if you want. Comment if you want.