Princess Lilue

Hardback, trade paperback or mass market paperback?
I usually go for the mass market paperback, but if it's a book i really2 want (eg Harry Potter), i'd buy the hardback. Not sure what's trade paperback though.. ;p

Waterstones, Borders or Amazon? or MPH, Kinokuniya, Times or Popular?
I used to love going into Waterstones back when i was in the UK. But they were a little pricey, but loved the atmosphere there anyway. I like Borders (The Curve - havent been to any of the other branches). MPH works too. hehe.. But Popular depends.. I havent been to Popular for quite some time, but recently i've been going to Popular coz MPH doesnt have the book that i wanted. Definitely worth checking out. I dont go to Times, mainly coz there's no branch nearby to me. Same goes for Kino, but somehow, i like Kino more than Times.. hehe..

Bookmark or dog-ear?
Sometimes bookmarks, but never, never dog-ear'ed my books.. it's a no, no for me..

Amazon or bricks-and-mortar?
I havent managed to go into the whole online bookstore thingy. I rather take the time to go over to the store to find what i'm looking for. Where i'd end up buying other than the book i was looking for in the first place.. haha..

Alphabetize by author, or alphabetize by title, or random?
Random, by size. Unless they are part of a series or by the same author, they stick together, but not alphabetized at all.

Keep, throw away, or sell?
Forever keeping. I havent managed to find a way to sell any even when i dont want them anymore.. :(

Keep dust jacket or toss it?
Keep. Why would you want to throw out the cover?

Short story or novel?
Novels. I'd read short stories, but i prefer a full length novel.

Buy or borrow?
I borrow when i can, which is not much. So i end up buying most of the time, causing my pocket to cry endlessly....

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendations, or browse?
I normally go by browsing, but since i've join Goodreads and reading loads on Book Blogs online, i've been buying a lot of books based on recommendation from Goodreads and book reviews that i find via various blogs. and my tbr list has been growing exponentially since then.. haha.. too many book, to little time.. ;p

Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
Both. I love to have a closure, tidy endings. But there is something to be said about cliffhangers. It allows you to make your own theory on how the story ends. and have potential follow ups...

Morning reading, afternoon reading, or nighttime reading?
That's difficult to answer.. haha.. i read at any time.. i guess i dont really do afternoon reading..i can do morning, but mostly bedtime reading. which with a good book, end up with me not getting any sleep at all.. ;p

Stand-alone or series?
I love both. I've answered this as part of Musing Monday questions.

Favorite series?
Harry Potter, Nora Roberts trilogies, Twilight saga

Favourite children’s book?
Anything by Enid Blyton, Neverending Story, Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys series.. etc..

Favourite YA book?
Harry Potter, Twilight saga, Vampire Academy

Favourite book of which nobody else has heard of?
The Adriana series, which i totally cant recall the name of the book... it's all about ballet, which i'm surprised no one seems to have heard of..

Favourite books of all time?
Harry Potter, Time Traveller's Wife, etc

Favourite book to recommend to an 11-year-old?
Err not sure..

What are you reading right now?
Darren Shan's Cirque du Freak and Hari Pertama di alam kubur

What are you reading next?
I just got myself some new books - My Sister's Keeper, The Book Thief and The Last Summer (of you and me)...

My fave at the moment..

Haven't met you yet

By Michael Buble

I'm Not Surprised
Not Everything Lasts
I've Broken My Heart So Many Times,
I Stop Keeping Track.
Talk Myself In
I Talk Myself Out
I Get All Worked Up
And Then I Let Myself Down.

I Tried So Very Hard Not To Loose It
I Came Up With A Million Excuses
I Thought I Thought Of Every Possibility

And I Know Someday That It'll All Turn Out
You'll Make Me Work So We Can Work To Work It Out
And I Promise You Kid That I'll Get So Much More Than I Get
I Just Haven't Met You Yet

Mmmmm ....

I Might Have To Wait
I'll Never Give Up
I Guess It's Half Timing
And The Other Half's Luck
Wherever You Are
Whenever It's Right
You Come Out Of Nowhere And Into My Life

And I Know That We Can Be So Amazing
And Baby Your Love Is Gonna Change Me
And Now I Can See Every Possibility

Mmmmm ......

And Somehow I Know That It Will All Turn Out
And You'll Make Me Work So We Can Work To Work It Out
And I Promise You Kid I'll Get So Much More Than I Get
I Just Haven't Met You Yet

They Say All's Fair
And In Love And War
But I Won't Need To Fight It
We'll Get It Right
And We'll Be United

And I Know That We Can Be So Amazing
And Being In Your Life Is Gonna Change Me
And Now I Can See Every Single Possibility

Mmmm .....

And Someday I Know It'll All Turn Out
And I'll Work To Work It Out
Promise You Kid I'll Get More Than I Get
Than I Get Than I Get Than I Get

Oh You Know It'll All Turn Out
And You'll Make Me Work So We Can Work To Work It Out
And I Promise You Kid To Get So Much More Than I Get
Yeah I Just Haven't Met You Yet

I Just Haven't Met You Yet
Oh Promise You Kid
To Give So Much More Than I Get

I Said Love Love Love Love Love Love Love .....
I Just Haven't Met You Yet
Love Love Love .....
I Just Haven't Met You Yet

I was just listening to the radio on my way home and there's this new campaign using that F1 guy, Mika Hakkinen as their spokespersons. He was promoting the "Don't drink and drive" campaign, saying that he's supporting it by becoming the designated driver when he comes over here.

I think.. why do we need the "Don't Drink and drive" campaign in the first place? Why can't we have a campaign for "Don't drink" ?! 'nuff said..

I mean, think about it.. what do you get by getting drunk anyway..? Sedap sangat ke benda tuh? We could always adopt the Malaysian way of "partying" all night.. lepak at the Mamak's place all night, with endless supplies of teh tarik (pulled tea), roti canai & tosei (local pancakes), surrounded by friends & large-screen tv... now that you can do every night & no worries about driving (except for probability of falling asleep before you reach home of course).. hehe...

That makes more sense, doesn't it.. ?

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about audio books…

What is your preferred method of listening to audio books? Where and when do you listen to them?

I've actually never tried listening to audio books before.. mainly because audio books are not very popular in my country and not as easily accessible. I would love to try, although i can foresee that i might just get easily distracted on other things, rather than concentrating on the book.. haha.. i do that a lot with music as it is.. i liked to have some "noise" in the background, especially when i'm driving etc, but i don't always "listen" to it..

If there are any recommended audio books out there, i would love to hear them..

I've been meaning to answer the BTT questions for a while now.. didnt realised i missed so many questions.. ;p But since they're all along the same theme, i thought i'd just compile them here..

What’s the biggest book you’ve read recently?(Feel free to think “big” as size, or as popularity, or in any other way you care to interpret.)
Most recent big-sized book i've read is The Bookwomen's Last Fling (Cliff Janeway novel) by John Dunning that i got from Bookexcess's last sale. This is my first experience of Cliff Janeway novels and i quite like the book. Heard that this one was not even the best of the lot, so i wouldnt mind reading more of this author in the future..

What’s the lightest, most “fluff” kind of book you’ve read recently? What’s the funniest book you’ve read recently?
I'm combining these 2 questions to one book - Bitten and Smitten by Michelle Rowen.. It's too fluffy for me really, but really funny.. a good fast read when u need it..

What’s the best book you’ve read recently?
Probably Neil Gaiman's Graveyard Book and the Vampire Academy series.. I've been looking forward to read Neil Gaiman's book after reading the comments from fellow Goodreads and i wasnt dissapointed :) .. Now, I cant wait for the final instalment of the Vampire Series to know what happens to Rose & Dimitri..

What’s the worst book you’ve read recently?(I figure it’s easier than asking your all-time worst, because, well, it’s recent!)
If we're talking about recently, it would have to be Linda Lael Miller's book, I'll be home for Christmas. I dont know what was missing in the 4 short stories in the book, but it's definitely missing something that would have made it at least a good read.. quite a let down...

What’s the most serious book you’ve read recently?(I figure it’s easier than asking your most serious book ever, because, well, it’s recent!)
I've yet to finish reading Malam Pertama di Alam Kubur (First Night in the Grave) discussing about how ready are we to face death. Travelog Haji & Travelog Dakwah, both books depicting the author's journey to redemption (i guess that's the best word for it), in renewing his faith and getting closer to Allah..

Wow.. now that is a loooonngg list.. heheh..

Found this daily meme at http://thatsmyanswer.com/

Are you looking forward to the release of Dan Brown’s newest novel, The Lost Symbol, on Sept. 15th? Did you read, and enjoy, The Da Vinci Code?

I found this meme at Ceri's Not in the Pink. It is harder than it looks, especially since i havent read that much books yet this year.

Using only books you have read this year ( 2009), cleverly answer these questions. Try not to repeat a book title. It’s a lot harder than you think!

Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Share your ABC’s
3. Tag three people at the end by linking to their blogs
4. Let the three tagged people know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website
5. Do not tag the same person repeatedly but try to tag different people, so there is a
big network of bloggers doing this tag

A Living Nightmare by Darren Shan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I've been meaning to read Darren Shan books for a while, especially since the movie is coming out soon.. So far the first book is quite interesting.. it's about a boy named Darren Shan and how he got involved with the mysterious Mr Crepsley from the Cirque du Freak. Will be saving my comments til i read the rest of the series.

View all my reviews >>

Not bad huh? We created a 1Malaysia signage board in our department as part of the Merdeka deco competition.. which btw, they still havent announced the winner yet..

As usual, it was a last minute effort, coz the supposedly focal was away on medical leave.. leaving us totally in the dark. She was briefed, like 2 weeks ago, but told the rest of us nothing.. not even who was the rest of the team members. So, what the heck.. me and my partner-in-crime took over & completed the whole deco thingy in 1 day, using the theme of malaysian festival (plus logos of past hari kemerdekaan & various malaysian icons by state).. of course, we almost had a heart attack coz the other girl who was supposed to do the Deepavali portion only arrived abt 10am on the judging day itself.. giving us abt 10mins to do.. ughh.. and we managed to forgot to take out the tissue, covering the food on display.. duh..

Anyway, we managed to complete it in time, plus i think the judges (and our big boss) was pretty impressed with the results.. i hope.. haha..

P/s: Just got the results today (1st Sept)... we didnt won.. :( sob..sob.. the HR team from the next building won.. darn.. knew should have checked them out beforehand..

Where i work, parking is an issue.. and i guess that goes for quite a number of people, especially those who work in the heart of Kay Ell.. and since i do not have a dedicated parking (not unless i'm prepared to pay through the nose that is), i made the choice to come early to office. it's a hassle really, but i rather do this than going round and round searching for a parking or squeezing somewhere and then end up worrying abt it for the rest of the day..

Today, as usually i left the house at 5.30am, going via Federal Highway.. at 5.30, it is still empty as compared to not moving at all once you've hit 7am.. i think i didnt go as fast as i could have.. a fast car, out of nowhere came up behind me.. i would have moved out of the way if not for the car on my left.. it's too close for me to go behind him, so i was going to cut the left car, to give way for the fast car.. then, unexpectedly the car behind me, tried to bypass me.. and there is absolutely no.. i repeat, there's absolutely no space on my right!!!

so the car hit the divider and end up hitting me.. duh! i was soooo scared, for me and for my car.. it totally didnt cross my mind to look at his plate number etc.. i was just trying to hold on to my car, trying to see if my car can continue moving.. i didnt dare to stop coz it was barely 6 in the morning.. and we're in the middle of highway for god's sake.. so i kept on moving and crying over the phone with my mum.. i drove straight to office and only then did i stop to check the damages..

Alhamdullillah, it didnt looked like i had any major dent & surprisingly my bumper is still intact.. i thot that's just it for my car.. :( only my back door was badly scratched that i can see.. and Alhamdullillah, i was okay, although i was shaking all the way to office.. the aftershock of the event..

So for you gals out there, be careful when you drive out in the morning (or even late at night, that is).. there's lots of madmen out there.. ;(

• Harry Potter (and re-reading them all the time)
• Twillight saga
• The Chronicles of Narnia
• The Three Sister's Island and other Nora Roberts trilogies
• Vampire Academy (still waiting for the next book)
• House of Night
• The Gatekeeper Series by Anthony Horowitz
• The mediator by Meg Cabot (have not managed to get hold of the series yet, only reading at random now :p )
• Sabriel series by Garth Nix
• Dragonlance Chronicles
  

I just met (or rather finally talked) to the new manager in my department yesterday..He looked pretty interesting alright.. kinda bubly and quite the joker as well.. He was of course, "complaining" that our department is a little too quiet for his taste.. hehe.. but hey, we dont mind if he's planning to liven things up.. with my current boss leaving for another department, my team has lost our noise factor.. sob sob..

But the interesting thing abt that new manager was, he said that I looked familiar to him.. huh? i realised that he is not that much older than me after talking to him, but i'm certain that i've never met the guy before..

Also, what made that fact so weird was, he was not the only person who has said that to me.. my other colleague, said the same thing when he met me.. which at first i thought that we might have met somewhere in UK, where we both studied.. that is, until i realised that he graduated way, way earlier than me..

of course, the last guy who said that to me, was just using it as a pickup line.. haha..

So... since when have i became this popular face ? Am i that common ? I've never thought of myself as being common before, even my real name is a rare one.. hmm.. weird...

So there's this girl who came up to me right after lunch..

She wanted to promote & collect orders for her kuih raya..

And she looked at me with disbelieve when i told her that i dont want to place any orders coz we make our own kuih raya..


Why la..You dont have to make a face you know.. I'm not that great a cook i admit, but i can & have made my own kuih raya before.. and my mum's biscuits are greatly awaited & demanded for, okay.. sheesh..

So if I never get married, I have a chance of becoming an angel, a beautiful one at that ,right ? hehe.. kena cari ah buku nih.. *wink*..

"Wahai, wanita-wanita yang hingga usia tiga puluh, empat puluh, atau lebih dari itu, tapi belum juga menikah (mungkin kerana kekurangan fizikal, tidak ada kesempatan, atau tidak pernah 'terpilih' di dunia yang amat keterlaluan mencintai harta dan penampilan wajah.) Yakinlah, wanita-wanita solehah yang sendiri, namun tetap mengisi hidupnya dengan indah, bersedekah dan berkongsi, berbuat baik dan bersyukur. Kelak di hari akhir sungguh akan menjadi bidadari-bidadari syurga. Dan khabar baik itu pastilah benar, bidadari syurga parasnya cantik luar biasa. (Bidadari-Bidadari Syurga)"
- Tere Liye

Magnet Rezeki Dengan Solat Duha by Muhammad Mokhtar

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Solat Dhuha adalah antara solat-solat sunat yang amat jarang dibicarakan, walaupun ia adalah antara solat sunat yang paling baik untuk diamalkan.

Buku ini menceritakan bagaimana menyatukan keperluan duniawi and spiritual melalui ibadat solat dan doa meminta rezeki yg diberkati Allah. Buku ini juga menghuraikan makna "rezeki" dalam kehidupan kita, iaitu bukan setakat dari segi material atau kewangan semata-mata.


View all my reviews >>

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about movies …How do you react to movies made of your favourite books (or even not-so-favourite books)? Do you look forward to seeing them, or avoid them? Do you like to have read the book before seeing the movie?

I do look forward to see the books i've read being made into movies.. However, i sometimes have to remind myself not to judge the movie too harshly for not following the book.. coz sometimes it's just too disappointing to see a good book, especially if one of my favourite turned out less than expected.. but at the same time, i like to see how other people interpret the book & present it in the big screen. whether it matches to my imagination..

I prefer to have read the book before i see the movie, although not always the case..
But sometimes i do get pleasantly surprised with a movie, for example Inkheart. I only read the book after i watched the movie and i have to say that i prefer the movie to the book.. which is a rare one really.. but i think the movie presented the story in a much more fluid way and the actions are much more fast-paced. The book, although pretty good, was a little long-winded at times.. But then, watching an interesting movie such as Inkheart, for one thing, does makes me want to find and read the book for myself..

Some of the books-made-into-movies that i've seen:

• The Notebook - (read first) the movie was also quite good
• Twilight - (read first) Rob is so not like Edward, but he did okay
• The Da Vinci Code - (read first) Tom Hanks so do not fit into the character and the movie, well, not that great
• Harry Potter - (read first) some of the movies was okay but still not up to expectation, especially with Half-blood Prince..
• Memoirs of a Geisha - (read first) the movie was good, but so different than the book.
• Stardust - (read first) i liked the movie even though it was different than the book.

and others that i can't think of right now...

p/s: hmm.. i really should go read My Sister's Keeper before the movie comes out..

Also, i wanted to see what's all that hype about Sienna Miller. I've never seen any of her movies before. I think. Oklah, nothing to shout about though. And that Wayan guy, i really dont like his-kind of comedy ("White Chicks" and other similar movies which i cant be bothered to remember), but he was pretty good in this movie. He still have his funny punch-lines etc, but much more tastefully done.

Out of the bunch, i really liked Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow. Both of them were so cool, their moves & their history, even Storm Shadow's arrogance was impressive.

I was surprise to see Brandon Fraser making a cameo appearance in the movie. Wasnt expecting that. On the other hand, i was quite surprised to know who Joseph Gordon-Levitt was playing. He was still so young when he played 10 Things i hate about you with Heath Ledger. And this really shown how much he has grown since then.

Overall, not a bad movie to watch. The nano-weapon thingy was quite impressive as you can see from the trailer, where it "ate" Eiffel Tower.

Have you heard Akon's latest song, "Be with you"? I dont know if it's just me reading the lyrics weirdly, or.. hmm...

I know they wanna come and separate us but they can't do us nothin
Your the one i want and i'm a continue lovin
Cause your considered wify and
i'm considered husband

If she's only "considered wify"... meaning she's not the wife, right?

I dont get it really.. you're either married or you're not.. If you're that sure that you're going to be with her, so what are you waiting for..? just get married.. it's that simple to me.. haha..

I re-watched Mamma Mia over the weekend (& that movie is so watch-able over & over again.. hehe) and i still dont get why the bride & groom didnt just get it done with.. they were going to travel the world together anyway.. duh..

anyway, whatever la.. i know non-Islam-wise & other-cultural-wise, you people think being together & being married is the same thing. But i really dont think so...

Since my computer had crashed, boom, bang on me last week.. it's been a quiet week indeed.. i may be a close-but-not-quite an internet-junkie, but i do still get that feeling of out-of-touch-ness.. :(

Good thing for me i've got new supplies of books to keep me entertained.. I dropped by the Pesta Buku Selangor on my way to the computer store. Managed to get hold of a couple of interesting books. However, didn't manage to get the book my mum was looking for - Mengenal Tuhan by Bey Ariffin. Seems that since it's an old book, it's not quite that easy to get hold of.

I also managed to catch the new Harry Porter movie over the weekend.. (btw, i'm giving you the spoiler alert, so better stop here if you don't want to know)..

Which do you prefer? (Quick answers–we’ll do more detail at some later date)

Reading something frivolous? Or something serious? something frivolous, i guess.. well, as long as it's not thaaaat frivolous maybe, nor the heavy serious type either.. am i making sense?
Paperbacks? Or hardcovers? Paperbacks.. but hardcovers do have their appeal..
Fiction? Or Nonfiction? Fiction
Poetry? Or Prose? Poetry
Biographies? Or Autobiographies? Biographies, i think..
History? Or Historical Fiction? Historical Fiction
Series? Or Stand-alones? Both, although these days, i've got a thing for Series..
Classics? Or best-sellers? best-sellers
Lurid, fruity prose? Or straight-forward, basic prose? straight-forward
Plots? Or Stream-of-Consciousness? Plots
Long books? Or Short? Long
Illustrated? Or Non-illustrated? Illustrated, but i havent read any in quite a while.. so i think i better stick to Non-illustrated then..
Borrowed? Or Owned? Owned
New? Or Used? New, but i dont mind either one as long as i can read them..

They say we leave this world just the way we came into it ---- naked and
alone.So, if we do leave with nothing, What then, is a measure of a life ? Is it
defined by the people we choose to love ?Or is life simply measured by our
accomplishments ?And what if we fail ? or are never truly loved ? What then ?
Can we ever measure up ?Or will the quiet desperation of a life gone wanting,
Drive us mad ?

~One Tree Hill

Albert Camus once wrote, "Blessed are the hearts that can bend. They shall never be broken." But I wonder.... If there's no breaking, then there's no healing. And if there's no healing, then there is no learning. And if there's no learning, then there's no struggle. But the struggle is a part of life, So must all hearts be broken ?

-Lucas Scott

I'm no die-hard fan of Micheal Jackson.. or even Farrah Fawcett.. but you can't deny that they both are.. were an icon of their time..

i almost thought it was a prank this morning when i heard it.. hey, that story of MJ's death was going around way back in 2005 or something.. but even when it was confirmed, it was just surreal.. i mean, he's been a living icon for so long, people sometimes forget.. everyone dies one day.. ajal maut, Allah yang tentukan kan..

MJ was said to have converted to Islam.. betul atau tidak, wallahualam.. Alfatihah buat MJ @ Mikael.. semoga Allah tempatkan bersama2 orang2 yang beriman.. amin..

and for Farrah.. she is still The Charlie's Angel.. even when others came and gone.. and the fact that she has finally accepted a marriage proposal from her long-time partner, Ryan O'Neil just mere days ago.. why la wait this long? tak paham sungguh..

Lilue

Cant wait for this one to reach our shore... Although i'm a little sceptical whether it will live up to the book..

Especially since Eric Bana is a little too handsome than i'd imagine Henry DeTamble to be... i figured that he'd be a little more messed up looking.. or something..

hmm.. now that i think about it, so is Rachel McAdams.. oh well, it could work.. we shall wait & see....

Audrey Niffenegger's innovative debut, The Time Traveler's Wife, is the story of Clare, a beautiful art student, and Henry, an adventuresome librarian, who have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-three and Henry thirty-one. Impossible but true, because Henry finds himself periodically displaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future. His disappearances are spontaneous, his experiences unpredictable, alternately harrowing and amusing.

The Time Traveler's Wife depicts the effects of time travel on Henry and Clare's marriage and their passionate love for each other, as the story unfolds from both points of view. Clare and Henry attempt to live normal lives, pursuing familiar goals - steady jobs, good friends, children of their own. All of this is threatened by something they can neither prevent nor control, making their story intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.

"If you faithfully work eight hours a day, then you might become a boss and get to work 12 hours a day!" — Robert Frost

Me and Mr Darcy by Alexandra Potter

My review

MUSING MONDAY is hosted by Rebecca from Just One More Page. Today's musing is about early reading…

Do you remember how you developed a love for reading? Was it from a particular person, or person(s)? Do you remember any books that you read, or were read to you, as a young child?

I dont exactly remember how i developed a love for reading, but my mum used to read to me back when we were in the States. I was about 2 then & my mum stayed home while my dad finishes his Masters. She'd read all the fairytales to me - Cinderella, Snow White etc.. & i'd start it off for her with the phrase "Once upon a time" even though i cant even read then.. (note: i dont remember this period but have been told about it by my parents for the umpteenth time, so most likely to be true..)

The love of reading could also have been passed on to me since before i was born.. haha.. well, my parents, both teachers, were doing lots of extra grading while my mum was pregnant (& throughout my younger years - therefore means no school-holiday-trips for me back then ;p), so i was literally born around books & exam papers.. & with my dad continuing his Masters, also involving lots of required reading. Guess seeing both my parents reading all the time when i was young triggered the interest, although nowadays even my parents are surprised with the amount of reading that i do.. hehe..

Some of the first books that i read was of course, the Peter & Jane books...
This is Peter.
This is Jane.
This is Peter & Jane.
Haha.. dont think i can forget those line.. But at the same time, i dont think i was formally taught to read.. In fact, my mum swears that it was The Sesame Street who taught me how to read.. it could be that my first teachers was my mum & Big Bird.. haha..

Lilue

Found a very interesting blog: http://yourshelves.com/ showing glimpse of various home libraries around the world..

Here's mine.. well the start of it anyway.. the rest of my books are still back at my parent's place.

My catch of the day from the Big Bad Wolf booksale.. i'm so happy but so very broke.. heheh.. but then, what else is new.. however, the good thing was i managed to get my partner-in-crime to buy some of the books i wanted to read.. haha.. well, not exactly that, just that we happen to have the same taste in books & she in fact selected quite a few of the same books that i did.. so decided to split it up & swap later..

Book Gluttony! Are your eyes bigger than your book belly? Do you have a habit of buying up books far quicker than you could possibly read them? Have you had to curb your book buying habits until you can catch up with yourself? Or are you a controlled buyer, only purchasing books when you have run out of things to read?

Haha.. interesting question.. When i'm in a book store, i'd usually able to find at least a couple of new books that i'm tempted to buy.. however, what i end up buying would depends on whether how desperate i was (ie i've totally run out of things to read).. how badly i wanted that book (eg i've been searching for it for a while).. and how much i've already spend that week/month.. but dont congratulate me yet - even if i have not run out of things to read and have spend way too much on books already but still have the itch to get new materials - i'd go to the 2nd-hand bookstore & stock up from there..

however with the booksale-craze that's been going on for the last few mths, plus my recent interactions with GR folks, any control that i have managed to placed upon myself on book-buying has gone out the window.. ;p and i have my empty purse to prove it.. (and i still want to go to that big bad wolf booksale to check out more books.. *shame*)

One thing for sure.. it truly is difficult to remember to control yourself when it come to buying books.. if only books are not that expensive or that i have un-limited budget (& space).. sigh.. so wishful thinking, i know.... hehe..

Lilue

For One More Day by Mitch Albom

My review

Lilue

· Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
· Memorize your favorite poem.
· Don’t believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
· When you say, “I love you”, mean it.
· When you say, “I’m sorry”, look the person in the eye.

· Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
· Believe in love at first sight.
· Never laugh at anyone’s dreams.
· Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it’s the only way to live life completely.
· In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

· Don’t judge people by their relatives.
· Talk slowly but think quickly.
· When someone asks you a question you don’t want to answer, smile and ask, “Why do you want to know?”
· Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
· Call your mom.

· Say “bless you” when you hear someone sneeze.
· When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
· Remember the three R’s: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.
· Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
· When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

· Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
· Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
· Spend some time alone.
· Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
· Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

· Read more books and watch less TV.
· Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll get to enjoy it a second time.
· Trust in God but lock your car.
· A loving atmosphere in your home is so important. Do all you can to create a tranquil harmonious home.
· In disagreements with loved ones, deal with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.

· Read between the lines.
· Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.
· Be gentle with the earth.
· Pray. There’s immeasurable power in it.
· Never interrupt when you are being flattered.

· Mind your own business.
· Don’t trust a man/woman who doesn’t close his/her eyes when you kiss.
· At least once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
· If you make a lot of money, put it to use helping others while you are living. That is wealth’s greatest satisfaction.
· Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a stroke of luck.

· Learn the rules then break some.
· Remember that the best relationship is one where your love for each other is greater than your need for each other.
· Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
· Remember that your character is your destiny.
· Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
~ Words by Dalai Lama ~

Sometimes i get worried with all these responsibilities that i have.. who am i to shoulder them ? what makes You think i know what to do ? or that i can do it well ? who's to say i wont make a mess of thing ? half of the time i'm so way over my head that i almost forgot what is it that i'm doing... is this how it's supposed to be? hmmmm........ ;p

"I know God won't give me anything I can't handle. I just wish He didn't trust me so much." — Mother Teresa

"Let me tell you this: if you meet a loner, no matter what they tell you, it's not because they enjoy solitude. It's because they have tried to blend into the world before, and people continue to disappoint them." — Jodi Picoult (My Sister's Keeper)

"She told the audience that one of the best things about books is that they are an interactive art form: that while the author may describe in some detail how a character looks, it is the reader's imagination that completes the image, making it his or her own....She talked about the tactile joys of reading, the feel of a page beneath one's fingers; the elegance of typeface on a page. She talked about how people complain that they don't have time to read, and reminded them that if they gave up half an hour of television a day in favor of reading, they could finish twenty-five books a year." - Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg

I dont know how other people reads, but i do agree that when i read, i would imagine how the character would look like, especially when it was well-written. So imagine how dissapointed i'd be if the books-made-into-movie are not able to translate that charactor for me. For example, i've read Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, and Tom Hanks sooooo do not fit the description of Robert Langdon. I imagined him to look more like a younger version of Harisson Ford. Well, i guess they couldnt find one who looked like that.. hehe..

Anyway, my reading has hit a wall these days.. a little too busy with work, plus been fiddling waaay too much with my new phone & goodreads, instead of reading.. hehe.. can i reach the target of 50 per year..? I'm already at 18, since a week ago...

I should add this book to my goodreads TBR list.. man, if only getting hold of these books are as easy as listing them out.. hehe.. there are loads of items out there that i would like to read, but time & money are my enemies..

"The one you love and the one who loves you are never, ever the same person." — Chuck Palahniuk (Invisible Monsters)

"Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form."
— Mawlana Jalal-al-Din Rumi (El Masnavi)

1. Edward Cullen - do i need to say more? hehe...

2. Lucas Scott (altho Jamie Scott can give him a run for his money.... *wink*)

3. Angel

4. Gilbert Blythe

5. Mr. Darcy

a few others whom i couldnt fit into the top 5 category:

Leopold Mr.Ghost Whisperer Sam/Dean Winchester

Which is worse?
Finding a book you love and then hating everything else you try by that author, or
Reading a completely disappointing book by an author that you love?

Now that's a hard one.. I think that it's hard enough to find an author that you love in the first place. At least if it's an author that you like/love, one dissapointing book is in a way, not that bad.. sort of.. but i'd still feel dissapointed though..

But at times, you can't be relying on your favourite author all the time - they might not have any new materials yet.. or their books tend to revolved around the same scenarios, gets boring at times.. which means a new potential-favourite-author-to-be can be a really exciting thing to find.. so to have that "high" taken away from you coz you hate everything else that author wrote.. man, that is worse....

Darn... my baked macaroni is a little overdone.. :( so obviously coz:
1. Havent cook anything for so long...
2. Tak pernah bangun pagi2 buta utk memasak.. (Never woke up this early to cook)... ;p

Hope it's edible.. ;(



After the potluck: Yeay.. my macaroni was a big hit.. it was finished in matter of minutes.. :)

Wohoo.. i survived Earth Hour.. sort of..

I did switched off all of the lights & fans & tv, except for my porch light.. really..

... and went out to get dinner instead.. haha..


Of course, i'm not one of those folks who'd switched every single light in the house when i'm home.. granted, i do live alone, so i get to control what i do switch on.. on the bad side tho, i do leave my back-porch light on 24 hrs, but then that's coz the electrician did such a crummy job that the timer doesnt work.. only the front-porch does.

and i suppose i should avoid falling asleep in front of the tv during the weekends ie leaving the tv on throughout the nite. or leaving the pc on either. One has to do their part for the Mother Earth right..

Do i sleep with the lights on? Now that's a tougher question to answer. Since i was young, i'm one of those poeple who wont fall asleep unless the lights are turned off. But for the past few years, i guess you can say that i've changed.

it kinda started during that phase in my life where everything seems to be crashing down on me.. so when the light go off, everything gets heavier & bigger & kinda goes round & round my head.. it's not fear of the dark, i may not have the name for it but it's fear alright..

so cant sleep anyway.. hence having the lights on to do whatever i can to occupy the mind & just doze off when i'm tired without giving the mind a chance to dwell on things.. some days it worked, some days it doesnt... either way, i'd wake up like a zombie & just will myself to get through the day..

but i can now say that i can fall asleep with or without the lights off. hehe..

I'm all in to support the Earth hour today & switch off but...

what about the fan or air conditioner ?
tv & computers ?
i have a time-sensory porch light. does that mean i'm not switching off?

hmm.. quite the questions to ponder...

I've gotten a little book-crazy over the last few days, as there's been a couple of bookstore wars that's been going on... which btw, i only happened to know towards the end of it.. sob sob.. oh well, i didnt have the money for it earlier anyway.. haha..

Since i went to Times book clearance sale first before MPH, i think i preferred MPH's selections.. They happen to have more newer books & more choices, even compared to MPH's own book clearance last year.. plus the location this year is much better. But it was a headache trying to sort thru all those piles of books, trying to find some gem of a read...

Anyway, there's a few books that i've been eyeing, which was i didnt find (obviously), but there's were other interesting ones that i did... with me, as i normally buy used books anyway, i do try to expend the selection of books to buy & try not to stick to one particular genre.. however, this way you end up getting hit & misses, as to whether the book is good or totally not your type..etc.. one of the reasons that i sometimes just play save & get mills&boons-romance-novels-type instead.. they're normally pretty predictable, always have happy-endings & most of the time provides an enjoyable light read...sometimes, that's all you can ask for in a book.. hehe.. especially good when you're in between reading materials too..

i am however, a little impartial to chick lits.. some i can take, but most i cant stand..

How i choose a book can be as random as it gets.. sometimes coz of the cover or the title.. most of the time it'll depend on the synopsis/review at the back cover (which usually irritates me when the book has none..).. too small/big fonts can also put you off a book.. and last, but not least, the price. i wont normally get a hardcover book, just coz of the price.. unless it's those long-awaited-for series like Harry Porter..

Anyway, here's some that i've just gotten & cant wait to get started:

Naked in Death by JD Robb - I've been collecting a lot of Nora Roberts' material over the years coz i quite like her style. I havent read the Death series yet, so will see whether this series are worth looking into.

Veronika Decides To Die by Paulo Coelho

The Post-Birthday World by Lional Shriver - I really like review/synopsis given, so am expecting this to be a good read.. i hope..

Letters for Emily by Camron Wright - About an Alzheimer disease patient compiling a book of poem for his granddaughther, a tale of power of love and family.

Mister Monday - I know this is a YA book, but i've heard so much about this book that i wanted to see what it's all about... hehe..

Saw this question posted on this link BTT :

How do you arrange your books on your shelves? Is it by author, by genre, or you just put it where it falls on?

I just managed to splurge on a new book case yesterday, which i'm so totally in love with.. somehow, vivencia (or i suppose in the states you'd know them as 'pottery barn') always seems to have the exact furniture that i'd be dreaming of (& some which i didnt know that i'd want..hehe) that i just cant imagine getting it elsewhere. Well, i could, for a cheaper price no doubt, but much much less quality.

Anyway, at the moment, my books are pretty much all over the house. By my bedside, in boxes & some DIY shelves right next to the tv. I dont normally organise my books in any particular order, usually it'd go by sizes rather than author. Saw this website showing samples of rainbow bookshelves, but i doubt i have enough of similar coloured book to build one convincing-looking rainbow bookshelves.. haha..

So any suggestions before i start re-organising my books ?