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. :-)

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.”