Randomness

1. The first time to organize a Dinner & Dance for our company of 800 people at a 6-stars hotel;
2. Participating in NaNoWriMo and in completing the goal;
3. Winning the 'best opening lines' for my NaNoWriMo novel organized by the local Municipal Liaisons;
4. Participating in various reading challenges;
5. Reading more books and making more booklover friends online.
   

I can't believe that Year 2007 is almost over. Why is the time always passes so fast? And that it always manages to slip past you without you realizing it. I can say this year is a quiet year for me, which I think is a good thing. I have also read a lot, bought more books and has made more new friends this year. Yeah, this year is definitely a great reading year for me. So what about you? What/how do you feel about this year? Last but not least, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a ...

I am very glad to say this is my first year in participating in several reading challenges. It is a wonderful experience, to be able to read books with fellow participants and it is also through this channel that I have known and made a lot of booklover friends around the world. :-) It is indeed a pleasure to read their reviews, exchange comments and share the reading pleasure through recommendations and all. What could I ask for more?

Besides this, another reason I participate in these challenges is, I want to see how far I could read in a year. It is more like a personal challenge for myself. Although I am very happy to say I have read more books as compared to last year, still I regret to say I am not able to complete these challenges even though I have tried my best. Thus, I would not take on too many reading challenges in the following year, although the temptation is so great.



Fall Into Reading 2007 Challenge

I would like to thank Katrina of Callapidder Days for hosting this challenge.



My list:

2nds Challenge

I would like to thank Joy of Thoughts of Joy for hosting this challenge.

My list:

• Smart Mouth (Pending)
• My Immortal (Pending)
• Mouth to Mouth (Pending)

I am ashamed to say I did not even read any of these books for this challenge! I remember when I first signed up for this challenge, I was so excited and had looked through my TBR pile for an author to read. I decided on Erin McCarthy because I enjoyed her debut novel Bad Boys Online so much. Regrettably, with several reading challenges going on and in addition with my change of reading mood, I have kept these books aside thinking I would pick them up once more when my reading mood changes again, but by the time I feel like reading them, the challenge is almost over! I admit this is my fault for not able to complete this challenge, but still that doesn't mean I will give up these books.

On a different topic, comes the first week of January will be the Buy a Friend a Book Week (BAFAB). I will be posting a list of books to be won during that period so do look out for it. :-)

When I visited 3M's blog this morning for my daily read, I understand that she will be hosting a reading challenge called The Pub (2008) Challenge (Please click onto the links for more details.) Like her, I find most of my books read in 2007 don't published on the same year, and here is how 3M got her idea about this challenge. The objective is to read titles published in 2008.

And here are the rules:

• Read a minimum of 8 books published in 2008. (Library books are acceptable!)
• No children’s/YA titles allowed, since we’re at the ‘pub.’
• At least 4 titles must be fiction.
• Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.
• Titles may be changed at any time.

Although I haven't worked out the titles yet, but I will definitely sign up for this challenge. It sounds fun. I am really looking forward to another great reading year next year.

It has been a great reading year this year. One of the reasons being I participated in several reading challenges and they have allowed me to read more than I used to. Another good thing about this is, I have also try reading other books which were recommended by fellow booklover friends and this has really expand my reading preferences. Thank you so much, my dear friends! :-)

Finally, here is a list that shortlists on my Book of the Year 2007:

1. Talyn by Holly Lisle
2. Pig Island by Mo Hayder
3. Red Leaves by Thomas H. Cook
4. Dangerous Games by Lora Leigh
5. Flint's Code by Paul Eddy
6. Officer Down by Theresa Schwegel
7. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
8. Ice Blue by Anne Stuart
9. Life's Golden Ticket by Brendon Burchard
10. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
11. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
12. Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
13. Atonement by Ian McEwan
14. Ice Storm by Anne Stuart

It is really a hard decision just choosing a title amongst all because I enjoyed reading all of them, and each book tells a great story. But then, my purpose of having this "award" would be pointless if I decided to present it to all the shortlisted titles. So after some thought and weighing about with the titles, I have finally chosen a book amongst all. And this goes to - {drumroll please} - Talyn by Holly Lisle! (Please click here to read my review.)

I have to say I really, really enjoyed reading this fantasy book. It has all the elements of a great book: a good original plot, good characterization, action, adventure, thrill, and not to mention a good fantasy that sucks you in!

So there you have it, folks! I hope you will pick up this book if you have the chance, and that you will enjoy reading it as much as I did.

Merry Christmas to all!!! :D

Here's wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!!

Oh my, how time flies! The year has almost comes to an end, and honestly I am not even sure if I am ready for 2008. New Year usually means a new beginning to me, this is the time where I will set my resolutions and although I don't always follow them, I make sure I will do my best in whatever things I do.

Anyway, I try not to get too sentimental on this day especially since it brings back too many wonderful memories to me. When I was a teenager, my parents would celebrate this day by buying a cake and giving me an Ang Pow, which is actually a red packet where you can put some money inside and is usually given on occasions such as the Chinese New Year or during the Chinese wedding receptions, and of course not to mention on birthdays. It is a symbol of good luck.

I had my first big party the year I turned 21. I remember a lot of my friends did the same thing too; I suppose it is kind of a celebration of a new journey for us and that was when we were truly treated as an adult.

Looking back now, I am amazed at how fast the time has gone by just like that. It is as if all the things had happened just only yesterday. I will treasure today, as well as the days that comes. Happy Birthday to me! :)

Booking Through Thursday

1. What fiction book (or books) would you nominate to be the best new book published in 2007?(Older books that you read for the first time in 2007 don’t count.)
2. What non-fiction book (or books) would you nominate to be the best new book published in 2007?(Older books that you read for the first time in 2007 don’t count.)
3. And, do “best of” lists influence your reading?

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!

If you see on my right side of my blog, you would notice that I have a column titled 'Books Read in 2007'. There are several titles that I marked with an asterisk that I enjoyed greatly and those are to be shortlisted for my 'Book of the Year' this year. (I will choose a book amongst the shortlisted pile towards end of the year, so do look out for it if you are interested. ;P)

As for non-fiction books, I don't read as much as I do with fiction books but I will make it a point to read more next year. Hey, wait a minute, perhaps I should put Life's Golden Ticket onto this list since it is more like an inspirational book to me although it is written in story form.

Here's a list of my best fiction books published this year:

1. Pig Island by Mo Hayder

2. Dangerous Games by Lora Leigh

3. Ice Blue by Anne Stuart

4. Life's Golden Ticket by Brendon Burchard

5. Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

6. Ice Storm by Anne Stuart

As to whether or not do "best of" lists influence my reading, I will say although I do check them out, but ultimately it is the story plot that makes me to pick up the books.

Isobel Lambert was used to giving orders. But after having lost her capable operatives to their loved ones and fearing she would complicate things with their new lives by assigning them dangerous tasks, thus she had no one but herself when a next assignment was called for. However, it didn't make things any easier for her either as she was about to meet the dangerous Josef Serafin, an assassin and also a terrorist threat and later found out he was once the man she loved and had killed seventeen years ago.

Randomness

Week of December 16: Happy Holidays Random Word Association

I say, you think:

1. santa claus
2. holiday carols sing
3. snow white
4. mistletoe plant
5. season greetings
6. candy cane peppermint
7. eggnog drink
8. presents gifts

Booking Through Thursday

Do you use any of the online book-cataloguing sites, like Library Thing or Shelfari? Why or why not? (Or . . . do you have absolutely no idea what I’m talking to?? (grin))

If not an online catalog, do you use any other method to catalog your book collection? Excel spreadsheets, index cards, a notebook, anything?

Yes, I'm a user of Library Thing and Shelfari. I like them because I think they helps me in keeping track of my expanding book collection. Another great thing about Shelfari is, I get notifications via email whenever someone added a book review which it happens to be on my bookshelf, and on top of that you are also notified whenever your friends have added any books on their shelves. It's fun to see what everyone is reading. Other than that, I don't have a habit of cataloguing my books but I do make a list of the books I read on my blog as a reference.

Camille Preaker had a troubled past and a history of self-mutilation, but she had put that behind her and gets on with her life working as a reporter for a second-rate Chicago newspapers. Everything seems normal but bland for her until her editor, Frank Curry hands her an assignment at her old hometown, Wind Gap whereby two young girls were murdered. But she has her qualms as she has not returned in eight years but Frank wants her to cover the story, thinking this would help in boosting the readership as well.

She meets up her estranged neurotic mother and a half-sister she barely knows yet intrigues her. In a way, she is grateful that her mother had let her stay at her house, although it is an icy welcome. She interviews the victims' families but couldn't get any clues from them, and the hometown police didn't offer any much help either. So she snoops around but as she digs deeper into the story and the case, she can't help feelling she is reliving her childhood trauma again, and the scariest thing is things aren't what they appear to be.

Sharp Objects is a page-turner, both intriguing and thrilling. Gillian Flynn's sharp writing style has hooked me starting with her great opening line and it continues to keep my attention till the last chapter and she doesn't reveals the murderer until towards the ending. Although I have somehow guessed who the murderer was, the truth behind it still blown me away.

Gillian Flynn has written a great debut with this book. It is no wonder this is a winner of the CWA New Blood Fiction Dagger; and Stephen King also quoted this 'A terrific debut, relentlessly creepy' on the cover as shown on the right.

Thank you so much, Alice! You are one of the sweetest friends I met at bloggieland.

And I would like to share this award with my fellow bloggie friends, and they are:

• Jennifer of From My Corner (Well, she's more than a blog buddy to me. She's my best friend!)
• Julia of Julia's Books Corner
• Wendy of Musings of a Bookish Kitty
• Kathy of *RittyRats*

This movie is about the battle of Thermopylae, led by King Leonidas with his small force of 300 Spartans against Persia's King Xerxes and his huge armies. Though the size of King Leonidas' armies was pathetic as compared to Xerxes', but all of his men were chosen and well trained from young to be the best warriors. They had nothing to fear, and they would continue to fight until their last breath was drawn.

This movie is rated 'R' for graphic violence and some nudity scenes. Frankly speaking, I didn't know about the rating since the hubs and I watched it on DVD, so I was both taken aback and put off by the violence scenes. Thinking that the movie would be somewhat boring (i.e. fighting and more fighting), I stopped watching and did a little reading while the hubs continued to watch. And it was until when one of King Leonidas' warriors was killed and his father went ballistic that I decided to focus my attention back to the movie. Don't get me wrong, I'm not sadistic, but that was because King Leonidas' warriors were supposed to be 'un-beatables', and the plot thickens when King Leonidas was asked to kneel before Xerxes and the consequences that follows when he said no.

Overall, I think this is a good action and war movies if you don't mind the gross scenes (although I understand this is essential to the movie but I'm a coward when it comes to this). The computer effect is great. And though this might sounds a little silly, I quite like the movie title as I find it very appropriate. After all, this is mostly about King Leonidas' and his brave 300 Spartans.

Booking Through Thursday

This week’s question is suggested by Island Editions:
Do you have a favourite book, now out of print, that you would like to see become available again? (I have several…)

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'm glad to say most of my favourite books are available, except the following:

Now can you tell I'm a huge fan of Anne Stuart? :-)

(Note: I'm fortunate to have a best friend who's living in the U.S. who managed to find Nightfall and Into the Fire for me. Thank you so much, Jennifer!)

A fellow participant reading out his NaNoWriMo excerpt.

What's a party without a cake?! And don't you think this cake is lovely?

Our Municipal Liaisons (Rozen and Sarahcoldheart) blowing off the candles on the cake.

Rozen (first left) and Sarahcoldheart cutting the cake while we looked on.

I was so thrilled that I won a prize for the "Opening Lines Competition"! I was shocked when Rozen called out my name. I love my prize, especially the $10 Kinokuniya book voucher, hehe.

Goodbye, NaNoWriMo 2007! By the way, the total wordcount for this year is 1098,496,066!

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.

Booking Through Thursday

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.

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.
   
   

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.

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.”

• 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!)

• Umbrella
• Wallet
• Cellphone
• Compact Mirror
• Tissue Packet

• Small amount of cash
• Credit cards
• Driving Licence
• Kinokuniya Membership Card
• A photo of the hubs when he was a toddler

• Reading (as always)
• Writing (as always)
• Blogging
• Watching DVDs
• Listening to CDs of my favourite artistes

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!