Friday's Feast - #170
Melody

Friday's Feast


Appetizer
What is your favorite carnival/amusement park ride?
Probably the roller coaster (it's both fun and scary; and the great thing is, you get to scream with other people and don't have to feel embarrassed about it!)

Soup
How do you react in uncomfortable social situations?
I will try to look for some familiar faces and mingle with them, otherwise I will approach a few friendly people and start a conversation with them.

Salad
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you enjoy discussing deep, philosophical topics?
I guess this has to depend on whom I will be talking to. If it's family or close friends, probably a 9, otherwise will be a 6 or 7.

Main Course
Did you get a flu shot this year? If not, do you plan to?
Yes, I had one beginning of this year before I went for a vacation trip.

Dessert
Approximately how many hours per week do you spend watching television?
I hardly watch TV, perhaps only 2 hrs a day. I'd prefer watching DVDs than watching TV because I can choose what movies to watch.

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Rolling
Melody

Do you get on a roll when you read, so that one book leads to the next, which leads to the next, and so on and so on?

I don’t so much mean something like reading a series from beginning to end, but, say, a string of books that all take place in Paris. Or that have anthropologists as the main character. Or were written in the same year. Something like that… Something that strings them together in your head, and yet, otherwise could be different genres, different authors…

Well, there are times that I do read on a roll, and sometimes I just don't. And there are also times that I read books of the same genre in a row due to a certain theme of the reading challenges. However, I don't have any fast rules when it comes to reading because it depends a lot on my mood.

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What Do the Holidays Mean to You?
Melody
Yeah, more holiday quizzes! LOL.

What The Holidays Mean to You


For you, the holidays are about celebration. You enjoy all the fun and fellowship that the holidays bring.

You celebrate the holidays in a offbeat style. You believe the holidays are for doing whatever you feel like - and some of your "traditions" are pretty wacky.

During the holidays, you feel magical. You love all of the decorations and how happy people are. You like to sit back and take it all in.

You think the holidays should be nostalgic and sweet. The holidays bring out your inner child.

Your favorite holiday memories strongly evoke your senses. You are vividly aware of all the tastes, smells, and sounds of the holidays.

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7 Random Things About Me
Melody
I was tagged by Rhinoa to come up with 7 random things about myself. Here goes:

  1. No surprise here, but I love to read. I started reading when I was in Primary One. Besides reading, I also love to write essays and draw. I submitted my chinese essays to the local papers when I was in Primary Six, and a few of them got published. That was the first time I received my 'earned' money, and was feeling very proud of myself. I remember telling my mom about it and she was so happy for me that she cried happy tears.

  2. Asides from books, I also read mangas. Some people think they are for young children or teenagers, but I don't think so because I view them as another form of art.

  3. I was a school librarian when I was in High School. This was my E.C.A. (Extra Curriculum Activities) and each student has to join at least one for the grades. And of course the best thing was I could borrow two books at a time instead of one.

  4. I was also an Art student in High School. I remember the good and bad times during the Arts lessons. There was one lady teacher (we shared the same surname!) that left me a deep impression because she was so funny and she loved to mingle around with us as if she was part of us. She told us her favourite colours are red, white and blue. Not surprisingly, we used these colours in most of our assignments.

  5. I am myopic. The world is a blur to me once I take off my glasses or lenses. I can't imagine what I'd do if I lose either one of them especially outdoors. Anyway, I prefer lenses than glasses because they are so much clearer, although I have to pay extra attention not to lose them while cleansing!

  6. I love fruits. I can't think of any that I dislike, seriously.

  7. I used to collect bookmarks (especially with pictures of roses) when I was a teenager, but now they are replaced by fridge magnets.

I'm tagging Julia, Alice, Stephanie and Cmate for this meme.
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The Wrong Man
Melody




ISBN-13: 9780345464842
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, 500pp
Pub. Date: May 2007



What would you do if you find your daughter met an obsessive stalker who wouldn't let her out of his life? And how far would you go to save her before everything is too late and someone will be hurt? You will probably ask these questions if you read The Wrong Man.

Scott Freeman thinks her daughter has a secret admirer when he first picked up an unsigned note that read: No one could ever love you like I do. No one ever will. We were meant for each other and nothing will prevent that. Nothing. We will be together forever. One way or another. Being a college professor, he always tell himself to be rational, but the contents of the notes made him uneasy, so he decided to seek the truth with the help of his ex-wife, Sally and her partner, Hope.

Before this, Ashley supposed to have a wonderful life. She is a beautiful and bright history art student, but she made a mistake of having a fling with an attractive blue-collar bad boy one night and from then onwards, her life becomes a nightmare.

Michael O'Connell thinks he is in love with Ashley after the day he has met her. He wouldn't leave her alone and claims to make her his despite she has told him many times that their relationship wasn't anything but a one-night stand which didn't mean to be happened. He would make anyone's life miserable if one gets too close to her. Desperate, Ashley has no choice but to seek help from her father, whom in turn asked Sally and Hope for advice and opinions.

But they had underestimated Michael, for he is a clever and cunning young lad and has a vast knowledge of computer skills and others such as picking locks and so forth. Soon, they find themselves getting into serious trouble as Michael finds several ways in messing up their work life.

And when everything fails and they couldn't find enough evidence pointing towards Michael, that is the time that they decide to take things into their own hands and they will do anything to drive Michael out of their life, even though if it means someone has to die.

I felt I was riding on a roller coaster when reading The Wrong Man because I wouldn't know what to expect next. Although I find the story chilling, yet I was drawn to the intrigue and the excitement and can't wait to find out what would happen in the end. And the best part is, nothing beats the ending because it ends with a twist, and I didn't see it coming.

John Katzenbach has left me a deep impression with this book. I will definitely keep a look out for his other books in future.
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What Holiday Are You?
Melody
I must be in need of a vacation badly because here I am thinking of holidays already!

You Are Christmas



More than most people, you are able to find magic in life's small moments.

Traditions mean a lot to you, and you tend to be quite nostalgic.

You are a giving, kind person who really understands the true meaning of holidays.

You inspire others to be as altruistic and caring as you are.

What makes you celebrate: Tradition and a generous spirit

At holiday get togethers, you do best as: The storyteller. You like to recount memories with everyone.

On a holiday, you're the one most likely to: Give a gift to everyone you know



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The Wolves In The Walls
Melody



ISBN-13: 9780380810956
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, 56pp
Pub. Date: July 2005
Illustrator: Dave McKean



I picked up this book after reading Coraline, because I enjoyed it so much. Not surprisingly, Neil Gaiman has became one of my favourite authors.

Lucy heard noises, and she was sure that they were the sound of the wolves coming out from the walls. She told her parents and her younger brother about it, but they didn't believe her, claiming that "if the wolves comes out of the wall, then it's all over". They failed to elaborate further, so she didn't ask more.

One night while she was asleep, she heard the noises again and to her horror saw the wolves coming out from the walls. So the whole family escaped their house, which the wolves occupied thereafter. Lucy decided to rescue her pig puppet which she has left behind, and then she had an idea. So the whole family crept back into their house quietly and hide into the walls, waiting for a chance to scare the wolves off.

Once again, I have to marvel at Mr. Gaiman's imaginations for weaving such wonderful stories. The ending caught me off guard (the same applies to Coraline), which I find it a good thing because I love a great surprise. Not forgetting the illustrator, Mr. McKean has captured all the scenes perfectly. I especially love the way how he created all the objects in different dimensions. I will definitely pass on this book to my daughter when she is older, or better still start reading this to her as a bedtime story.

Other Bloggers' reviews:
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Care Bear Quiz
Melody
I snagged this from Darla. And the best thing is, both of us shared the same results, hehe.

Tenderheart Bear
You are thinker, organizer, peacekeeper, and leader all in one. You have a power to command attention and people listen to you. However, you are often so concerned about not hurting others' feelings that you don't tell them what they need to hear and this gets you both into trouble. But you always have loyal friends to help you out.

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Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster's Daughter
Melody




ISBN-13: 9784770030429
Publisher: Kodansha International, 192pp
Pub. Date: May 2007
Translator: Louise Heal


As the title suggests, Yakuza Moon is a memoir of Shoko Tendo, who is a gangster's daughter. In this book, Shoko tells her readers about her childhood, and her life revolving around the yakuzas. Having a yakuza father is tough, aside from this uncontrollable fact she also has to endure the abuse she suffered especially when her father came home drunk in the middle of the night and creates chaos in the house.

Shoko later gets herself involved with the wrong crowd, and became a yanki (juvenile delinquent). During her teenage years, she ditch school, sniff thinner and gets high on speed. When she became older, she got involved either with gangsters who treated her badly or married men who treated her as a kept woman.

Finally, she told herself she wanted to be her own person again, and that was when she had her body tattooed, to symbolize she is being free. She has also became a stronger person after the death of her parents, and is not afraid to put her past behind and be a new person again.

There was a sentence she quoted which I liked:
"Now that I’m alone, do I warrant a full moon? Have I finally overcome my weaknesses and grown up? I’m heading along a new path in life, but if it turns out to be a dead end, I guess I can start over with the next full moon.”
I applaud her bravery after reading this part. Indeed it takes a lot of courage for a person to accept his past and decide to start his life anew.

Yakuza Moon isn't an easy read in my opinion; I have mixed emotions reading this autobiography as there were times I was annoyed that she was degenerating herself, but yet at the same time I also felt sorry for her for behind her rebellious mask, I think she is just an ordinary woman craving to be loved.
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5 Things Meme
Melody
I found this meme over at Stacy's blog and thought this was fun...

5 Things found in my room (In this case, I will take our study room):

  • Two bookshelves
  • A framed 2,000 pieces puzzle of Snoopy and his friends in a library
  • Dozens of TBR pile on our study desk
  • Some boxes of Read books on the top of my bookshelf
  • Computer desk with all of our computer stuff
5 things I’ve always wanted to do:
    • Travel to the U.S. and Europe
    • Take up Creative Writing Course
    • Take up Baking lessons
    • Learn a foreign language (i.e. Japanese or French)
    • Take up Graphic Design Course (which I did about 10 years ago!)
    5 things found in my bag:
    • Umbrella
    • Wallet
    • Cellphone
    • Compact Mirror
    • Tissue Packet
    5 things in my wallet:
    • Small amount of cash
    • Credit cards
    • Driving Licence
    • Kinokuniya Membership Card
    • A photo of the hubs when he was a toddler
    5 things I’m currently “in to”:
    • Reading (as always)
    • Writing (as always)
    • Blogging
    • Watching DVDs
    • Listening to CDs of my favourite artistes
    I won't tag anyone; please feel free to play along and leave me a note so I will come visit. :)
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    I) Misc. Ramblings, II) Books I Bought Recently
    Melody
    The time is 11p.m. while I'm typing this. I can't sleep. It's Saturday, so there's no reason for me to go to bed early. And there's nothing interesting to watch on TV. So what did I do? I ended up doing my NaNo, but it's no fun when you are running out of ideas and there are times that I just want to kill off the hero, haha... but of course my story will not go on if I do that, so I let him live. Nah... I'm just kidding. I'm in my rambling state because I'm behind my target so please excuse me. Blah Blah Blah...

    Another thing is, the power supply of our desktop computer has blown this morning when the hubs was about to download some pictures (fortunately the circuit breaker tripped in time to cut off the supply), so that means we can't use the desktop but at least we have a laptop around. (Ah... at least my NaNo will be saved, so I better quit rambling.)

    Anyway, back to my favourite topic: Books! Here are the books which I have bought recently:

    The Six Sacred Stones by Matthew Reilly

    Ice Storm by Anne Stuart

    Sacred Cows by Karen E. Olson

    The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold

    A Student Of Living Things by Susan Richards Shreve

    Heart Stopper by Joy Fielding

    Hunting And Gathering by Anna Gavalda


    Note: I have been waiting for Matthew Reilly and Anne Stuart's books like for ages, so I was thrilled to find their new releases. And also, because of Wendy's great reviews, I have decided to pick up Sacred Cows and The Almost Moon. Thanks, Wendy! Now I can't wait to read all of these books!

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    Preservatives
    Melody

    Today’s question comes from Conspiracy-Girl:
    I’m still relatively new to this meme so I’m not sure if this has been asked yet, but I’m curious how many of us write notes in our books. Are you a Footprint Leaver or a Preservationist?

    Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!

    Ah, this week's topic is easy to me. During my school days, I always scribble notes on my textbooks for easy reference (in pencil so that it's easy to erase if there's any errors), because I hate to write it on loose sheets and then fearing of losing them later.

    As for novels, I hate to leave any marks on them. I don't even dog-ear the pages (I use bookmarks), so scribbling is definitely out of the question. The same applies to used books.

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    What's Your Ideal Pet?
    Melody
    This one cracks me up! Not about having a cat but more like the last sentence, haha.
    So, what's yours? :D

    Your Ideal Pet is a Cat



    You're both aloof, introverted, and moody.

    And your friends secretly wish that you were declawed!



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    "What's In A Name?" Reading Challenge
    Melody

    I have posted this on my blog some time ago, but just haven't got around of doing it. The reason for my delay is I have to go through my huge TBR pile and finally decided on some books I want to read for each category (it's hard narrowing to one for each). Anyway, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Annie for hosting this challenge (please click here for more details).


    Dates: January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008

    The Challenge: Choose one book from each of the following categories

    1. A book with a color in its title
    Blue Justice by Illona Hans

    2. A book with an animal in its title
    Cat O'Nine Tales: And Other Stories by Jeffrey Archer

    3. A book with a first name in its title
    Getting Rid of Bradley by Jennifer Crusie

    4. A book with a place in its title
    Amsterdam by Ian McEwan

    5. A book with a weather event in its title
    Into The Storm by Suzanne Brockmann

    6. A book with a plant in its title
    The Ghost Orchid by Carol Goodman

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    A Reading Meme
    Melody

    I found this meme over at Dewey's blog. Very interesting questions... so I did mine and here they are:

    1. Do you remember learning to read? How old were you? I think I began to read when I was in Primary One. That was probably the first time I have been to the library and that was how it got me hooked to reading. It always cheers me up to see those row of books waiting for my exploration, although nowadays I patronize the bookstores more than the libraries, hehe.

    2. What do you find most challenging to read? Well, probably some non-fiction books, not that I read them often anyway.

    3. What are your library habits? Well, I don't visit the libraries anymore. I'd rather buy the books so that I could keep them after reading it.

    4. Have your library habits changed since you were younger? The only thing that changes is I don't frequent the library now, unlike when I was younger (i.e. I would go to the library at least once every week.)

    5. How has blogging changed your reading life? Blogging has definitely changed my reading life. I will blog after reading a book; and I will go all the way to look for a book after reading the great reviews from my fellow book bloggies. And of course the most exciting part is the reading challenges, because that's my valid excuse of buying more books!

    6. What percentage of your books do you get from: New book stores, second hand book stores, the library, online exchange sites, online retailers, other? Probably 80% at new bookstores, 20% at second hand bookstores.

    7. How often do you read a book and NOT review it in your blog? What are your reasons for not blogging about books? Not often. Usually I will write a review after reading a book.

    8. What are your pet peeves about ways people abuse books? Dogearing pages? Reading in the bath? I think I'm quite particular about it when these are concerned. I hate books that are dog-earred so that's why I use bookmarks to mark my book. And I definitely don't read in the bath because the wet pages will wrinkle after they dried. I want my book to look as new as possible. (Yeah, I know I'm weird.)

    9. Do you ever read for pleasure at work? Sometimes I will read during lunchtime, depending if I have lunch appointments with my coworkers, or when I'm early to the office.

    10. When you give people books as gifts, how do you decide what to give them? Well, this really has to depend on the person whom I'm giving it to. I will give them books based on their preferences. However, there are times that I will give a book which I find interesting even though it's not on their preference list, hoping it will entice them and become another of their preferences.

    Consider yourself tagged if you want to do this meme, but please leave me a comment so that I'd come visit. :-)
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    Atonement
    Melody
    ISBN-13: 9780307387158
    Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group, 368pp
    Pub. Date: November 2007
    First Pub.: March 2002

    Quoted from Ian EcEwan's website:
    Atonement received the WH Smith Literary Award (2002), National Book Critics' Circle Fiction Award (2003), Los Angeles Times Prize for Fiction (2003), and the Santiago Prize for the European Novel (2004).

    Frankly speaking, I didn't know about these awards until I learnt it from the author, Ian McEwan's website. And not only that, Mr. McEwan also has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction three times, winning the award for Amsterdam in 1998.

    The story begins on a summer in 1935. Like other girls her age, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis has her dreams, and writing is one of them. She has an overly active imagination, and ironically the cause of this will change her life thereafter.

    Cecilia is Briony's older sister. Robbie Turner is their childhood friend, or to be precise he is the son of a cleaning lady who works in the Tallis' family. Cecilia and Robbie attends the same university, and it is Cecilia's father who helps to fund Robbie's education. Cecilia and Robbie have feelings for each other, although they chose to be discreet. However one day, they broke a valuable porcelain vase during a quarrel and out of fury, Cecilia strips off her clothes and leaps into the fountain to retrieve the shattered pieces. Briony is startled when she witnessed this incident from afar, thinking that Robbie has asked her sister to do something shameful.

    However, one thing leads to another, and when the sisters' cousin Lola cries rape late one night (although she couldn't identity the rapist), Briony quickly points to Robbie when Lola claimed the rapist was about his height. Robbie is then sent to jail.

    In the second part of the story, Robbie is out of jail and into the army during World War II. By this time, Briony has grown up and is a nursing student. Through the years, she had came to know she had done an unforgivable deed so she seeks atonement through nursing and later through her writing.

    I enjoyed reading Atonement because the story is so beautifully written, not to mention the plot is compelling and the characters engaging. And I like how the story wraps up towards the end, where we will read about the aging Briony and her thoughts. And finally, the best thing I learn from this story is how an innocent judgement might ruin one person's life. I am looking forward to the movie version which is scheduled to release in January.

    Other Bloggers' reviews:
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    Thank You, My Dear Friends!
    Melody
    I had a sweet surprise when I stopped by Wendy's blog (Musings of a Bookish Kitty) last Friday and found out that she has offered this award to me! I feel both flattered and honoured to receive this award from her, not only her blog is one of my favourite book blogs but I also think she writes great book reviews too. I am glad to have her as my friend. Thank you so much, Wendy!

    And now I would like to pass this award to my following bloggie friends whom I think they deserve this award as well. They are (not in order):
    • Julia of Julia's Books Corner
    • Alice of Hello, My Name Is Alice
    • Kathy of *RittyRats*
    Thank you, my dear friends! I truly appreciate your time in reading my blog and most of all, your kind support and your friendship! Thank you.
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    Friday's Feast - #168
    Melody
    Friday's Feast


    Appetizer
    Which snack do you like to get when you go to the movies?
    This is easy! Either popcorn or potato chips!

    Soup
    What year did you start using the internet?
    Hmm... either 1996 or 1997, I guess.

    Salad
    What is your first name in Pig Latin? (    Here’s how to speak it if you don’t already know!)
    Elody-May

    Main Course
    Name something you are picky about.
    Public restrooms! I won't use it if the toilet bowls are dirty and/or not properly flushed (unless it's an emergency!).

    Dessert
    Fill in the blanks: I     didn't write anything for my NaNoWriMo Novel yesterday and I will try to make it up today.
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    Volume
    Melody

    Would you say that you read about the same amount now as when you were younger? More? Less? Why?

    Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!

    I would say I have definitely read more books as compared to when I was younger. During my school days, I relied a lot on the school library, and even if I could afford to rent a book at a used bookstore, I could only allow myself to borrow one, or at most two books because I was not given too much allowances (as long as it kept my stomach full).

    And now that schooling is out of my league and I have a full-time job, money is not much of an issue as compared to during my school days! (Although I do tell myself not to overspend on books but sometimes it is hard not to do so.) And then there are always some good recommendations from my fellow book-bloggie friends, not to mention those addicting reading challenges that prompt me to read even more.

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    Melody
    WoRDs oN WedNEsDAy

    Word for 7 November: internecine

    Definition:
    • Of, or relating to, conflict within a nation, an organization, or a group.
    • Mutually destructive; involving, or accompanied by, mutual slaughter.
    • Deadly; destructive; marked by slaughter.

    *********

    Miscellaneous Ramblings

    Work has been busy lately. I'm also trying to catch up with my reading as well as writing for my NaNoWriMo novel. 24 hours a day is definitely not enough for me, ha!
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    Dear John
    Melody



    ISBN-13: 9780446698320
    Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 276pp
    Pub. Date: August 2007


    I have always enjoyed reading Nicholas Sparks' novels, starting with "The Notebook" and "A Walk to Remember", from then onwards I began to keep a look out for his books. Nicholas Sparks has a great writing style and another thing I like about his books is because they are usually thought-provoking.

    This story is about John Tyree, based on a first person POV. John has a troubled teenage life; he lives with his father although both of them seldom talk to each other. So after he has left school, he decided to join the army as he thought this would do them good. But he didn't expect his life changes thereafter...

    Just when he thought his life wouldn't get any better, fate allows him to befriend Savannah Lynn Curtis. She is a university student majors in special education; she is also a volunteer at the Habitat for Humanity. They are different as day and night, but yet they couldn't help falling in love with each other. Just when John decided to get settled down with Savannah and she promises to wait for him to finish his duty tour, the 9/11 incident broke them apart.

    John feels trapped in a dilemma, but deep in his heart he knew he has to fulfil his duty. Savannah respects his decision. While she waits for him to come home, Tim, her long-time good friend lost his parents in an accident at this time. Savannah helps him in taking care of his autistic younger brother, Alan. Tim has liked Savannah for a long time, so it seems natural that both of them get closer under this circumstances.

    When John finally comes home, he is both shocked and heartbroken to learn that Savannah has married to Tim. But he has expected this to come and he wishes her all the best, because he knows very well that Tim loves her too and maybe Savannah will be better off with Tim rather than him. When Savannah asks him to meet Tim one day, he is reluctant but he gave in towards the end. He then finds Tim in a hospital and understands he is diagnosed with melanoma (a kind of skin cancer).

    Once again, John finds himself in another dilemma. Should he or shouldn't he let go of his one true love? This is definitely a tough decision; and I applaud Nicholas Sparks for writing such a wonderful love story... the ending definitely gave me teary eyes.
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    A Very Nice Surprise!
    Melody

    When I logged onto Alice's blog this morning, I was surprised (and not to mention an honour too) to read that she has given me a "You're An Amazing Blogger" award. Besides this, she has also given me a "Friendly Site" award some time ago in October!

    To me, having someone to read my blog is a great thing. But what makes me most happy is getting to know some wonderful bloggie friends as well... Although we have not met one another (yet) but I feel as if we have already known one another for a long time!

    (Note: Thank you, Alice, for visiting my blog regularly and thinking my blog deserve these awards! And frankly speaking, I think your blog well deserved them too! :D)

    Finally, I would like to pass along these awards to my following bloggie friends:

    Friendly Site:
    Julia of Julia's Book Corner
    Debi of Nothing of Importance
    Kathy of *RittyRats*

    You're An Amazing Blogger:
    Darla of nichtszusagen
    Wendy of Musings of a Bookish Kitty
    Lotus Reads of lotus reads
    Labels: 13 comments | edit post
    Random Questions
    Melody


    Week of Nov4: Random Questions

    Well, let's answer a few of lifes important questions. Just post whatever comes into your mind first.

    1. What's your view on peanut butter? Do you like it or is it just plain gross? I love peanut butter, especially the crunchy ones. I love it on bread, although I try not to have it daily as it will give me sore throat.

    2. Aerobic exercising: good for you, or a tool of the devil? Any exercising is good, of course! And speaking of which, I haven't exercise for a long time since I left school. So does walking and/or shopping counts?! LOL.

    3. Hanging out at the bookstore, is it nerdy or a fun time? Definitely a fun time to me!

    4. Should your socks always match? Should you wear socks at all? Yes! But I seldom wear socks because the weather is so hot!

    5. Is MySpace a great invention or just plain overrated? Well I don't visit MySpace so I have no comments.

    till next time...

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    What Does Your Handwriting Says About You?
    Melody
    I found this over at Marianne's blog.
    What Your Handwriting Says About You



    You are a fairly energetic person. You know how do pace yourself, and you deal well with stress.

    You are somewhat outgoing, but you're not a natural extrovert. You think first before you act. You tend to be independent, rational, and logical.

    You are very detail oriented and meticulous. You are a careful thinker and a true intellectual.

    You need a bit of space in your life, but you're not a recluse. You expect people to give you a small amount of privacy, and you respect their privacy as well.

    You are somewhat traditional, but you are also open to change. You listen to your head and your heart.

    You are a decent communicator. You eventually get your point across, but sometimes you leave things a bit ambiguous.

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    R.I.P. II Challenge Wrap-up
    Melody

    I can't believe this challenge is over! Although I didn't have much time to participate in other Perils, but I was glad I have completed Peril the First (which is to read four books of any length from any subgenre of scary stories).

    Here are the books which I have completed:
    Thanks to Carl for hosting this exciting challenge!
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    Oh, Horror!
    Melody

    What with yesterday being Halloween, and all . . . do you read horror? Stories of things that go bump in the night and keep you from sleeping?

    I thought about asking you about whether you were participating in NaNoWriMo, but I asked that last year. Although . . . if you want to answer that one, too, please feel free to go ahead and do both, or either, your choice!

    Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!

    Yes, I do read horror. In fact, I enjoy reading horror although I can't say the same for movies if they have too much grossy/bloody scenes, because I know I will cover my eyes most of the times but I will ask the people around me what I have missed thereafter, hehe. (I know... such a dilemma! LOL.) Usually, it is the horror movies that stays in my mind more than the horror stories I read.

    As for NaNoWriMo... yes, I'm joining again this year! It is fun, and you will be surprised at how much you will write from those peer pressures, haha!

    Finally, all the best to my fellow NaNoWriMo participants! :D The race is on...

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