Princess Lilue

I've heard lots of comments about the Twilight saga, both good & bad.. the reason i actually found the book was coz i was intrigued by the movie's synopsis, a couple of month before it was released. I was out of the country at the time, hence wasn't able to catch it at the local cinema.. I found the book on sale, as a tie-in to the movie & i was hooked.. but i have to say that the movie, both movies, had not given it justice. Oh, for a non-reader, i suppose it was acceptable.. but i think it was missing something.. So re-reading the book after watching the movie, i think i see where is the missing link..

One of the major thing i like about Twilight saga is about how Edward loves Bella.. not in a teenager's first crush/love/etc way, but kinda pure love love kind.. And even though Bella is (very) gaga over Edward, she is basically a pretty normal kid..

These 2 movie, Twilight & New Moon doesnt show how Bella was the one who took care of her mom before she remarried & Bella moved to her dad's... or how she managed the household & cooks for her dad (& she's supposed to be a good cook), re-connected with her father over dinner in their kitchen..

How different the Cullens are from other vampires because they are truly a family, which is rare in a vampire community (in Twilight world of course).. How Edward is a gentleman for wanting better things for Bella - to finish school, attend prom, go to college, wanting to marry her, to not kill her..

These are subtle things, but just shows how they are very family-oriented & for most part, trying very hard to be sensible yet cannot be apart from each other. (obviously not everything in the book makes sense, but then again does it have to be.. ;p )

But what i see being portrayed by the movie, are 2 sort of teenagers, who is affected by the love thing.. how bella is "using" jacob to keep her happy, when the book clearly shows that she truly loved jacob, albeit in a different way than edward.. you dont see how "pure" is edward & bella's love (hello... this is after all fiction.. so of course, it's not thaaat realistic, but still logical enough to be believable) & that's the reason for Bella's overly extreme reaction to Edward leaving her.. and that bella have totally lost her marbles, to be pursuing bike ride with total strangers hanging in front of a bar or jumping off the cliff without telling anyone.. duh, so not bella.. she is after all the chief's daughter & has more sense than that, just to prove a point to a ghostly Edward.. she's never been suicidal, even when she was at her lowest ever..

So yeah, i think the movie has got all the parts correct, and yet totally missing the whole point.. it is so not alright for a teenager to act the way bella did in the movie to get over a first love.. & i'm not even going to talk about how Robert is soo not Edward... yes, Edward is an "ice sculpture" but he's supposed to be very emotional when it comes to Bella & his family.. but Robert? is just an ice sculpture, full stop.. acting-wise, the whole lot of them really does sucks (esp Robsten).. hehe..

Anyway, judge for yourself.. watch the movie.. read the book.. see what the hype is all about.. Of course, there are lots of other better vampire & werewolf books out there.. I really do love Vampire Academy & cant wait for the next book.. Have yet to read Vampire diaries nor watched the series.. hmm, there's others but cant think of more right now..

P/s: i think the werewolf were nicely portrayed in the movie, although i dont quite like how bella found out about it.. i prefer the book version.. it makes more sense..

p/s: I just got back from watching New Moon..still swooning here.. :) so will post something soon.. i promise... hehe..

I tried out this biscotti recipe i found from one of the food blogs that i visited.. it was pretty easy to make, as compared to the price that i see that it is selling for.. but then again, it could just be that Starbucks are selling anything at a steeper price than normal.. hehe.. but i was interested to know for myself, what is so special about these biscotti things..

Firstly, i should have taken more effort to really smoothen the dough before i baked them.. it would have been so much easier to cut, rather than crumbling and breaking halfway through..

Second, i cut short the second baking section by half. The biscotti didnt dry up as much as it should, but then again, i didnt want a rock-hard cookies either.. (plus i sort of burn the "white" part of the biscotti during the first baking *blush*.. so didnt want to end up with totally black biscotti instead of black & white.. )

Still not too sure on this part, whether it would be better with longer baking time.. but since this was my first attempt, will probably try to follow through with the recipe next time..

My verdict: the biscotti is easy enough to make & quite tasty really.. but this type of cookie is probably too dry for my taste.. i prefer the crumbly, soft, buttery type.. but would definitely consider making them again.. plus it's really pretty.. hehe..

p/s: I really should learn how to take better food pictures.. the pictures kept turning out blurry & not as appetizing as it should.. ;p

Well, i have books all over the place really, and that's not including those at my parents' house. Right now, i have my main bookcase in the living room. So i guess you can call it "centrally located" and accessible to all. Just across that bookshelf, i also have a shelf for my magazines..

I have another 2 layer d-i-y shelf in my tv room, mainly for my tbr pile & i just bought a pretty 3-layer white bookshelf for my bedroom to store my religious books. Which btw, is already 75% full.. heheh...

I do share my readings with family & friends, to those who would still listen of course.. haha.. I'm not in any book or library club, although i am tempted to go look for one. Just never got around to it. May never do.. hehe..

However, some of my current teammates are also quite the reader.. Mainly Iexora, who happens to have a similar taste in books with me.. which is absolutely fabulous for me.. I'd tell them of about my latest reads/buy, goodreads and such, although i couldnt get them to sign on *pout*... so far, i've traded books with Iexora & lend some out to the others.. discussion about some of the authors that we've tried out.. In fact, i think i was probably the guilty party who influenced them to get into the twilight-craze.. oopss.. hehe..