In the perfect follow-up to last week’s question, as suggested by C in DC:

Is there a book that you wish you could “unread”? One that you disliked so thoroughly you wish you could just forget that you ever read it?

Honestly, I cannot say I wish I could "unread" a book. No matter how good or bad a book is, what most matters to me is the reading journey and whether or not if I have learned something from the story. Most of the times, I try to finish a book even if it fails to entertain me. However, I will give up on a book if after reading a few more chapters and I still couldn't find myself interested in the story. While typing this, Stephen King's Cell comes to mind because I remember I couldn't finish reading it. Don't get me wrong, Stephen King is a great author and I loved his works, but that book just didn't work for me. However, this does not mean I wish I could "unread" the book because "unread" and "not finishing" it is two different matters.

What about you?

I love beautiful, and interesting, cover art so every Wednesday I post my 'Cover Attraction' for the week along with a synopsis of the book. Everyone is welcome to stop by and, if they'd like, post a link to their favorite weekly book cover.

My find this week is Rooftops of Tehran by Mahbod Seraji. I want to read this book so badly!
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Published: May 2009

Synopsis:

From "a striking new talent" (Sandra Dallas, author of Tallgrass) comes an unforgettable debut novel of young love and coming of age in an Iran headed toward revolution. In this poignant, eye-opening and emotionally vivid novel, Mahbod Seraji lays bare the beauty and brutality of the centuries-old Persian culture, while reaffirming the human experiences we all share. In a middle-class neighborhood of Iran's sprawling capital city, 17-year-old Pasha Shahed spends the summer of 1973 on his rooftop with his best friend Ahmed, joking around one minute and asking burning questions about life the next. He also hides a secret love for his beautiful neighbor Zari, who has been betrothed since birth to another man. But the bliss of Pasha and Zari's stolen time together is shattered when Pasha unwittingly acts as a beacon for the Shah's secret police. The violent consequences awaken him to the reality of living under a powerful despot, and lead Zari to make a shocking choice...

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To find out more or participate, go to The Printed Page every Wednesday.

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
• Please avoid spoilers!

When Caffery arrived at the mortuary the remains of Lucy Mahoney were already on the central table, the lights powering down on her, the huge fans in the floor and ceiling roaring, sucking air in from the outside and drawing away the foul smell. The brown-smeared sheet she'd been wrapped in lay open on another table.

A person who publishes a book willfully appears before the populace with his pants down.... If it is a good book nothing can hurt him. If it is a bad book nothing can help him. ~ Edna St. Vincent Millay

If my doctor told me I had six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster. ~ Isaac Asimov

The cat sat on the mat is not a story. The cat sat on the other cat's mat is a story. ~ John Le Carre

Writing is like getting married. One should never commit oneself until one is amazed at one's luck. ~ Iris Murdoch

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about gift certificates…

Do you give gift certificates to book stores as presents? If so, do you give for actual stores or online stores? Do you like to receive them yourself?

Oh, I am sure every book lovers would love to receive gift certificates as gifts! Likewise, I like giving gift certificates as gifts but I rarely do so since most of my friends and family does not read as much as I do. I think there was one occasion in which I bought someone a gift certificate to a bookstore and later he/she (I honestly cannot remember who) told me very nicely that it would be better if I bought any other gift certificate than a bookstore gift certificate in future because he/she hardly reads. Thus, my initial intention of getting that person to read didn't happen. From then onwards, I know it is always better not to give a bookstore gift certificate to a non-reader, no matter how good my intention it is, hehe.

What about you? What are your answers to these questions?

I feel so honoured and loved that the lovely Jo from Ink and Paper has kindly awarded me with these awards:

Let's Be Friends AwardBlogs that received the Let’s Be Friends Award are exceedingly charming. These kind of bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers.

#1 Blogger Award

To-Me-To-You Award
1. Mention the person who nominated you.
Jo

3. Tag six blogs, state the rules & notify them with a teeny comment on their blog.

Friendly Blogger Award

Thank you, Jo, for passing on these awards to me!

As always, I want to pass these awards to all my friends who read and comment on my blog. Thank you for everything!

What book would you love to be able to read again for the first time?

(Interestingly, I thought that I had thought this one up myself, but when I started scrolling through the Suggestions, found that Rebecca had suggested almost exactly this question a couple months ago. So, we both get credit!)

Actually, I have several books which I would love to read again for the first time but I will make things easy and categorize them accordingly to the genres I read over the past two years (when I first started this blog).

Here they are:

Fiction ~ The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

I thought this story is a little scary and yet so thought-provoking in a way.

Thriller/Mystery ~ Out by Natsuo Kirino

This story had me hooked from the first page till the end. You would never imagine what some women would do to cover the deeds they have done!

Romance/Romance Suspense ~ Black Ice by Anne Stuart

No one writes a better and extraordinary bad boy hero than Anne Stuart in my humble opinion.

Fantasy/Fairy Tales ~ The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

There is something mystical and magical about this story. I fell in love with all the characters (well, except the bad guys of course).

YA ~ The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

What can I say? This story is fast-paced, full of intrigue and made you wonder what is going to happen next! I cannot wait for the next installment to be released!

What about you? What book(s) would you love to be able to read again for the first time?

When Henry Lee sees a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel, this brought him memories about his past and the war years. Besides the memories, what most intrigued him about the Panama Hotel is after it had been closed for decades, now it has a new owner and that the belongings left by some Japanese families during the WWII are discovered.

Henry Lee felt his heart race upon this discovery, and this is where the story begins as the chapters alternate between the present and the past.

Moving backwards and back during the '40s, young Henry comes from a traditional Chinese family. His father is very much obsessed with the war in China, and he wants the best for Henry by getting him into Rainier Elementary but Henry is not happy because he feels he does not belong anywhere (the white kids ignore him and the Chinese thinks he is more American than Chinese anyway). But none of this really matters after he met Sheldon, a black musician and an American Japanese girl named Keiko Okabe. Henry feels they are the one who really understand his feelings and it is not surprising that their friendship blossoms quickly. And it does not take long for Henry to fall in love with Keiko. Nevertheless, their happiness is a short-lived one as they have to face the cruelty of war and the Okabes, like any other Japanese families, are being forced to leave home and stay into internment camps out of security. Other than this, Henry's father is also not too happy about their relationship as he somewhat felt betrayed having his son to befriend a Japanese, even though Keiko is an American citizen.

Nonetheless, Henry feels he is old enough to make his own decisions (he is thirteen then) and with Keiko and her family being swept into internment camps, he could only communicate with her via mails and hope that the war will end sooner so they could see each other again. Unfortunately, fate and time have a way in creating a distance and that is where Henry lost contact with Keiko until the discovery of the belongings in the Panama Hotel has once again caused a ripple in Henry's heart after these years.

Now a widower and with the assistance from his son, Marty and his future daughter-in-law, Henry search the hotel basement hoping he could find something belonging to the Okabes and a long lost item he and Keiko used to share, while never giving up hope about meeting her again.

I cannot stress enough how much I enjoyed reading this book. There are so many things about this story: love, friendship, family and war... that left a deep impression on me. The exchanges between father and son (Henry's father and Henry, and as well as Henry and Marty) also tell the readers about the gap between them and how time has changed everything.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is one great reading experience and I am very glad I bought it after its release even though I rarely buy a hardcover (due to its bulkiness and inconvenience to carry around). And when Tracee from Pump Up Your Book Promotion asked me if I want to review this book, I said yes and thinking what good timing it is.

I want to thank Jamie Ford for the wonderful book, and also thanks to Tracee for the opportunity to be part of the blog tour.

Other reviews:
A Comfy Chair and a Good Book
Bookgirl's Nightstand
Bookworm’s Dinner
Devourer of Books
Educating Petunia
Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'?
Lesley’s Book Nook
Medieval Boomworm
Musings of a Bookish Kitty
Stephanie's Written Word
Stone SouP
The Biblio Brat
The Book Lady’s Blog
Trish's Reading Nook
(Let me know if I have missed yours.)

I love beautiful, and interesting, cover art so every Wednesday I post my 'Cover Attraction' for the week along with a synopsis of the book. Everyone is welcome to stop by and, if they'd like, post a link to their favorite weekly book cover.

My find this week is Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. There is just something about this cover that attracts me.

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: May 2009

Synopsis:

May and Pearl, two sisters living in Shanghai in the mid-1930s, are beautiful, sophisticated, and well-educated, but their family is on the verge of bankruptcy. Hoping to improve their social standing, May and Pearl’s parents arrange for their daughters to marry “Gold Mountain men” who have come from Los Angeles to find brides.

But when the sisters leave China and arrive at Angel’s Island (the Ellis Island of the West)—where they are detained, interrogated, and humiliated for months—they feel the harsh reality of leaving home. And when May discovers she’s pregnant the situation becomes even more desperate. The sisters make a pact that no one can ever know.

A novel about two sisters, two cultures, and the struggle to find a new life in America while bound to the old, Shanghai Girls is a fresh, fascinating adventure from beloved and bestselling author Lisa See.

* * * * *

To find out more or participate, go to The Printed Page every Wednesday.

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
• Please avoid spoilers!

There is an unwritten rule of writing that the number of trips to the refrigerator a writer makes is in inverse proportion to how well a manuscript is going. When the fingers are flying over the keyboard and the brain is fuly immersed in the scene being created, food is completely unimportant.

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia from The Printed Page (click onto the link to find out what other readers received in their mailbox.)

These are what I received in my mailbox last week:

1) The Accidental Bestseller by Wendy Wax (Reviewer's Copy)

2) Bloody Good by Georgia Evans (Reviewer's Copy)

3) Pieces of Me by Charlotte Gingras (Thanks, Iliana!)

So what books came into your house last week?

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post 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? (question courtesy of Diane)

I think I am fascinated with libraries and books since I was in primary school (or perhaps it was way earlier when I was in kindergarten though I have vague memories of it). I can't recall if my first novel is 'Nancy Drew' or books by Enid Blyton, but anyway I was hooked onto them like bees to honey. I just couldn't seem to get enough of them.

I don't recall many of my classmates or family members have that much passion in reading as compared to me. I think I got sucked into reading because it simply is fun and it opens another world to me. By the time I was in Primary Six, I moved on to 'Sweet Dreams' romances and started my first romance novel by Barbara Cartland. And as for the rest, as they say, is history.

What about you? Do you have any memories about your early reading?

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
• Please avoid spoilers!

The new hotel owner explained that in the basement she had discovered the belongings of thirty-seven Japanese families who she presumed had been persecuted and taken away. Their belongings had been hidden and never recovered - a time capsule from the war years.

I am happy to say I have completed the Romance Reading Challenge hosted by Naida from The Bookworm. There are a few more challenges I need to work on but nevertheless, I am glad to see one down so it don't look like I have been slacking on the challenges, haha.

Anyway, here are the books I read for this challenge:

• Death Angel by Linda Howard
  
• The Love Letter by Cathleen Schine
• No Escape by Shannon K. Butcher
• South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami
• Fallen Skies by Philippa Gregory

One thing about Drea is, she is not as dumb as anyone would think. Besides beauty, she has brains too but she chose to play dumb in front of Rafael and his men. It is her one way of survival, knowing very well she might not be Rafael's woman forever and that she needs the jewelry and all the finances she could get from him when she can. Through years of playing dumb, she has long ago gained the trust of Rafael and the latter has stopped observing and guarding against her.

Drea's luxurious life has finally came to an end when she decided to ditch Rafael for good after he gave her to the assassin's request (never mind if it is only for once and that the act lasted only for a few hours). Infuriated, she decided to teach him a lesson by stealing a huge amount of money right under his nose without arousing his suspicions since he has always thought her as a simple-minded woman who only cares nothing but her looks and shopping. When Rafael found out he has been duped, Drea has already gotten a head start but she did not expect Rafael would pay the assassin to have her tailed. Drea is intimidated by the assassin, but that is because she sensed he is very different from Rafael and other men and also that they had shared an intimate affair even if it is a short one.

With some assistance from the right sources, the assassin managed to trail Drea's track in no time. And this is where the turn of events began. During the pursuit, Drea met in an accident and from there it takes on a little spiritual turn when Drea is given a second chance and as a result she lives from the fatal accident. Although I have mixed feelings about the spiritual element during this part of the story, however I feel it is crucial to the role of the heroine thereafter and the readers would be able to understand more about her past as well as her future life.

It is at this time that the assassin aborted his plan for killing her after finding she is still very much alive, and the readers would be able to see the relations have changed between them. Now that Andie (she has ditched the old name) has been given a chance for redemption she would take matters into her own hands and see that Rafael gets the justice he so deserved.

One of the things I loved about Death Angel is the characters. I find it refreshing to have an assassin and a crime lord's mistress as the protagonists and see them falling in love as the story progress. I was simply moved by the accident scene because there is the part where I see the emotions in the assassin and knowing that despite his profession, he is not really a person without feelings. As for the heroine, though one might think lowly of her due to her role being a mistress from the beginning, I have to say she has guts and is not afraid of any consequences once she has decided to leave Rafael.

Death Angel is one intense romance suspense; be sure to pick up this book if you are looking for some thrills with a sizzling romance.

Other reviews:
Book Binge (Casee)
Book Binge (Holly)
Thrifty Reader
(Let me know if I have missed yours.)

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about re-reading…

Have you ever finished a book, then turned around and immediately re-read it? Why? What book(s)? (question courtesy of MizB)

I have to say, I rarely re-read a book because I have too many books to catch up on than to re-read a book I have just read. Don't get me wrong, that does not mean I don't like the idea of re-reading a book, I do. It is just that I will not re-read it immediately. Most of the times, I will wait for a while (it can be months, or even years) before I will re-read a book. Other times, it is simply because I have forgotten about a book I had read for a long time and I want to re-read it to refresh my memory on it.

What about you? Do you re-read a book immediately, and why is it so?

Suggested by Vega:

Last Saturday (May 2nd) is Free Comic Book Day! In celebration of comics and graphic novels, some suggestions:

- Do you read graphic novels/comics? Why do/don’t you enjoy them?

- How would you describe the difference between “graphic novel” and “comic”? Is there a difference at all?

- Say you have a friend who’s never encountered graphic novels. Recommend some titles you consider landmark/”canonical”.

Yes, I do read graphic novels. Besides fictions, they are my other form of escapism even though I do not read as many as I do in the past. What do I like most about graphic novels? For starters, they are easy to read and some illustrations are so beautiful that they took my breath away! I always have high respect to the artists (the same way I do to authors) because this is definitely not an easy feat since not only do they have to create beautiful illustrations but having a story plot as well.

Honestly, I have no idea what is the difference between "graphic novel" and "comic" (and/or "manga") for all of them seems to be the same thing to me ~ illustrations. I would love to hear your views on this.

I cannot say I have any specific titles for recommendation since graphic novels have a wide variety. For me, my reading preference tend to lean towards romance or fantasy (translated versions of the Japanese mangas). I have seen many readers recommended Neil Gaiman's The Sandman series and Fables over the blogosphere so I think they should be great to start with.

What about you? Do you read graphic novels/comics?

I love beautiful, and interesting, cover art so every Wednesday I post my 'Cover Attraction' for the week along with a synopsis of the book. Everyone is welcome to stop by and, if they'd like, post a link to their favorite weekly book cover.

My find this week is Water, Stone, Heart by Will North. This cover immediately captured my attention and that goes without saying I had to read the blurb to find out more about this book. And I think it sounds quite intriguing.

Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Published: April 2009

Synopsis (from B&N):

Newly divorced, Andrew Stratton lives in his head and not with his heart. He teaches architectural theory but has never built a building. He writes about “The Anatomy of Livable Places”– communities where form and material are in harmony–but has no sense of where he belongs. He is capable of deep, tender emotions but is unable to express them. When his wife leaves him for another man and excoriates his cautious nature in the process, Andrew is like a house shaken off a faulty foundation. Sifting through the rubble, he must figure out what should be salvaged and what should be scrapped.

Escaping from the predictable routine of his university life in Philadelphia, Andrew travels to England and channels his pain into a weeklong course on building stone walls. In the village of Boscastle, he discovers a magical landscape of dizzying cliffs, jagged coastline, lush valleys, and hills lined with stone hedges that have stood the test of time. At the Stone Academy, Andrew immerses himself in the grueling task of piecing together rock into intricate walls. Under the tutelage of his weathered instructor, he learns there is more to laying stone than hard labor. And he soon falls under the spell of Boscastle’s rhythms and quirks, which include a weekly sing-along, a museum devoted to witchcraft, and a colorful group of residents ranging from a precocious nine-year-old girl who communes with nature to an offbeat reverend who has been known to give referrals to the town witch.

Moved by the warmth and connectedness of the village, Andrew begins to shed his sheltered self. But his willingness to open his heart is tested when he falls for Nicola Rhys-Jones,an American expatriate seeking to escape a history of abuse. Thorny, sarcastic, and sexy, Nicola is an artist who paints tranquility panels for hospitals. But her life before Boscastle has been anything but peaceful. As their verbal sparring veers into darker territory, Andrew grapples with his status in Boscastle. Is he just a tourist on holiday or does he now have a stake in the village that has welcomed him?

Readers new to Will North’s work as well as fans of The Long Walk Home will be swept away by this bittersweet novel about love, loss, and the power of nature to alter our lives.

* * * * *

What's your Cover Attraction this week? To find out more or participate, go to The Printed Page every Wednesday.

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
• Please avoid spoilers!

The house whirled around two or three times and rose slowly through the air. Dorothy felt as if she were going up in a balloon.

I bought a few books lately so these are the books which I received in my mailbox last week:

1) Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr

2) The Memory of Water by Karen White

3) The House on Tradd Street by Karen White

4) Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires, Book 1) by Rachel Caine

5) The Dead Girls' Dance (Morganville Vampires, Book 2) by Rachel Caine

6) Midnight Alley (Morganville Vampires, Book 3) by Rachel Caine

And I bought the following books at a bookstore last week (since they had a 20% off for members):

1) The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

2) Death Angel by Linda Howard (which I am currently reading along with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum)

3) Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

4) Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell

5) Feast of Fools (Morganville Vampires, Book 4) by Rachel Caine

6) Lord of Misrule (Morganville Vampires, Book 5) by Rachel Caine

So what books came into your house last week? Click here to find out what other readers received in their mailbox lately.

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about your tbr pile…

How many books (roughly) are in your tbr pile? Is this in increasing number or does it stay stable? Do you ever experience tbr anxiety in the face of this pile? (question courtesy of Wendy)

This week's question sounds like an easy one but unfortunately I am stumped with having an answer. Why is it so? Because honestly I have no idea how many books I have in my TBR pile. A few years back, I would have came up with an absolute answer but as I keep on buying and adding books, I have just simply lost count and gave up on counting them. And I am sure many of you readers have the same experience as I am, right?! How many times have you read a book review/recommendation and have it added onto your wishlist? This happens to me for too many times so it goes without saying that my TBR pile is always in a increasing number and it rarely stays stable.

There are times I do feel anxious about not reading them all, but often it is the choosing of what book to read next that is always on my mind.

What about you? Do you count your TBR books and how do you feel about them?

I want to thank Wanda from A Season to Read for passing on the Heartfelt Award to me! (I am passing this back to you, Wanda!)

About this award:

Do you reach for a cup of cocoa or tea when you’re relaxing, seeking comfort, sharing a plate of cookies with family & friends? You know that feeling you get when you drink a yummy cup of cocoa, tea ~ or a hot toddy? That is what the Heartfelt award is all about feeling warm inside.
1) Put the logo on your blog/post.
2) Nominate up to 9 blogs which make you feel comfy or warm inside.
3) Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4) Let them know that they have been nominated by commenting on their blog.
5) Remember to link to the person from whom you received your award.

Here is my list of blogs that make me feel comfy or warm inside:

Julia @ Julia's Books Corner
Alice @ Hello, My Name Is Alice
Sandy @ You've Gotta Read This
Wendy @ Musings of a Bookish Kitty
Nymeth @ Things Mean A Lot
Iliana @ Bookgirl's Nightstand
Debi @ Nothing of Importance
Trish @ Trish's Reading Nook
Naida @ The Bookworm
Jen @ Up Close & Personal with LadyTink

I know I have listed more than 9 blogs but I am sticking to my original list anyway!

*~*~*~*~*~

Next, Naida from The Bookworm made up her very own award and she is very sweet to pass it on to me! Don't you think the button is pretty? The image on the button is Naida's chihuahua, Diego and don't you think Diego is adorable?

Thank you, Naida!

Now you know why I think book blog buddies are the best!!!