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!

Booking Through Thursday

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.

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

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!

• Julia of Julia's Books Corner
• Alice of Hello, My Name Is Alice
• Kathy of *RittyRats*

Booking Through Thursday

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.

• 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.

Randomness

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...

1. The Resort by Bentley Little
   
2. Prom Nights From Hell by Meg Cabot, Kim Harrison, Michele Jaffe, Stephenie Meyer & Lauren Myracle
   
3. The Scent of Shadows by Vicki Pettersson
   
4. The Doorkeepers by Graham Masterton

Booking Through Thursday

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...

1. From The Stacks Reading Challenge
   
   The rules: Read 5 books that you have already purchased, have been meaning to get to, have been sitting on the nightstand and haven't read before (No buying of new books, and no getting sidetracked by the lure of the holiday bookstore displays).
   
   Time Frame: November 1, 2007 through January 30, 2008
   
   (Please click here for more details.)
   


2. "What's In A Name?" Reading Challenge
   
   The rules: Choose one book from each of the following categories.
   
   

   1. A book with a color in its title. Examples might include: The Amber Spyglass, The Red Pony, Blue Blood
   
   2. A book with an animal in its title. Examples might include: The Hound of the Baskervilles, To Kill a Mockingbird, Julie of the Wolves
   
   3. A book with a first name in its title. Examples might include: Jane Eyre, the Harry Potter books, Anne of Green Gables
   
   4. A book with a place in its title. Examples might include: From Russia with Love, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Out of Africa
   
   5. A book with a weather event in its title. Examples might include: The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Red Storm Rising, Tornado Alley
   
   6. A book with a plant in its title. Examples might include: Where the Red Fern Grows, The Name of the Rose, Flowers for Algernon

   You may overlap books with other challenges, but please don't use the same book for more than one category. (For example, you can use The Red Pony for either a "color" book or an "animal" book, but not for both.)
   
   Time Frame: January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008
   
   (Please click here for more details.)

"As the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, Marley came to accept Patrick as his new best friend. One night early on, as I was turning off the lights to go to bed, I couldn't find Marley anywhere. Finally I thought to look in the nursery, and there he was stretched out on the floor beside Patrick's crib, the two of them snoring away in stereophonic fraternal bliss.

Marley, our wild crashing bronco was different around Patrick. He seemed to understand that this was a fragile, defenseless little human, and he moved gingerly whenever he was near him, licking his face and ears delicately. He was a gentle giant around Patrick, and he accepted his second-fiddle status with bonhomie and good-natured resignation."

Participants signing up at the Launch Party.

These are some stickers found in our goodies bag.
Mine read "Be Nice To Me or I'll put you in my NOVEL". LOL!

Once we have signed up, we are asked to play this game. The rules are pretty simple: You just have to construct a sentence based on the last sentence on the screen (which was done by the participant before you). And you are not allowed to scroll up and down to peek what others were writing, you just have to follow the flow of it. We have had a good laugh when the Municipal Liaison (ML) read out our "full story" after that.

Our ML (known as "Rozen" at our Nanowrimo local forum) kicks off the party by introducing everyone. (You won't see me on the pic as I was the photographer, hehe!)

Everyone sat back and enjoyed the warm and cozy ambience while sharing jokes and playing some quizzes. The winner gets to win this book! (Unfortunately it wasn't me! Sniff...sniff...)

Here's a peek of our goodies bag. The items we received are:

• A blank CD to store our Nanowrimo Novel;
• Some candies to perk your creative juices;
• A temporary tattoo to stick on as a reminder;
• "BE NICE To Me or I'll put you in my NOVEL" sticker;
• A rubber band;
• A small note on the definition of Nanowrimo;
• A clip;
• "My Internal Editor" Sheet for scribbling;
• A strip of yellow dots sticker;
• A 'surprise' red packet which was labelled "Emergency Plot Item". (I find a nice tiny plastic toy in there!)

All in all, it was a great launch party! I was glad I went although I'm still debating whether or not to participate in NaNoWriMo this year...and that only leaves me a day to consider since it will begin on this coming Thursday! Woohoo!

Booking Through Thursday

Today’s suggestion is from Cereal Box Reader

I would enjoy reading a meme about people’s abandoned books. The books that you start but don’t finish say as much about you as the ones you actually read, sometimes because of the books themselves or because of the circumstances that prevent you from finishing. So . . . what books have you abandoned and 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!

Most of the times I will finish a book because I hate to give it up halfway through since I have already spend half of my time reading it. However, there are times that I find it is just impossible to carry on reading so I will just give it up. This is the case where I find the story is going to nowhere (e.g. the plot drags and/or beating around the bush) or when I find the plot doesn't interest me anymore. And finally the last reason is that the book just isn't my cup of tea.

Two examples of the latter will be:

1) Paulo Coelho's Veronika Decides To Die (I just find the story depressing.)

2) Stephen King's Cell (I admit I wasn't interested about zombies story.)

Don't get me wrong. Although both of them are great talented authors and I did enjoy some of their other works, it was just that the above stories didn't hold my interest. I'm sure there are some other books which fits in this category but I couldn't recall them at the moment...

• Of low birth or family; not noble; not illustrious; plebeian; common; humble.
• Not noble in quality, character, or purpose; characterized by baseness, lowness, or meanness.

ISBN-13: 9780380807345
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, 162pp
Pub. Date: August 2003

I absolutely love this story! And I don't care if this story is meant for the children/YA. I just love it! Neil Gaiman is such a talented fantasy writer. It is no wonder there are so many readers (regardless of young or mature) love reading his books.

Coraline often wonders if her parents truly love her, because they seem so busy about their work. She is bored with her life until a day she stumbles upon a locked door in the drawing room. She managed to get it open with her mother's help, but to her disappointment it reveals only a brick wall. She is very curious about this door, so she tries again another day and finally she sees something different this time. Inside the room it reveals a passageway which leads to another place. That place looks exactly like her home, but she could feel something's strange about it.

Later she gets to meet her "other" parents in this place; they look exactly like her own parents except they have creepy black button eyes and they appear to be move loving to her. However, Coraline begins to realize that her "other" parents are being possessive, and at this time her real parents are under their hands and Coraline has to think of a way to get her real parents back. Coraline then made a deal with her "other" mother, and that is if she managed to find her real parents, all of them will be released, otherwise Coraline will have to be with her "other" parents forever.

So Coraline begins her nightmarish task, with the help of a cat and a stone she received from her neighbours earlier. Towards the end of the story, she even came up with a clever plan to be rid of her "other" mother.

I started reading this book last evening and finished it early this morning, not because it is an easy read but because the story is so exciting! Neil Gaiman has delivered a great creepy story that will stay in my mind for some time. And another thing I like about this book is there are some illustrations (by Dave McKean) that makes this story so much interesting and intriguing. I will definitely check out his other books (and this includes the children's fictions).

Other Bloggers' reviews:
1MoreChapter
Bold.Blue.Adventure
Hello, My Name Is Alice
Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic
The Hidden Side of s Leaf

Booking Through Thursday

You may or may not have seen my post at Punctuality Rules Tuesday, about a book I recently bought that had the actual TITLE misspelled on the spine of the book. A glaring typographical error that really (really!) should have been caught. So, using that as a springboard, today’s question: What’s the worst typographical error you’ve ever found in (or on) a book?

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!

1. Honk If You Love Real Men (Anthology)
2. Dangerous Games (Read my review here)
3. Real Men Do It Better (Anthology)

wOrDS oN WEdnEsdAy

Word for 17 October: puckish

Definition: Whimsical; mischievous; impish

Adjective: puckishly

Noun: puckishness

dream, weed, spirit, listen, crisp, shallow, tenuous, mischievous

(END)

Note: Cheesy eh? But that's me because I'm really scared of frogs, hehe...

PS: This also can be found on my new writing blog.

Randomness

Week of October 14: Have you ever seen a ghost?

Keeping with the 'spirit' of Halloween this weeks questions are: Have you ever seen a ghost? Know someone who has? Do you believe in ghosts?

This week's topic is interesting. I'm not sure if the encounter I had experienced several years ago can be considered one, but still it gives me goosebumps whenever I thought of it.

During my high school days, the flushing system for the restrooms was all manual (although I'm sure they must have changed now), so you simply couldn't flush the bowl without pushing down the lever. But on one particular day, I heard the flushing sound coming from the far end of the cubicle. And the strange thing was, the door was opened and no one seemed to be using it (because if she had, she would have came out the time while I was washing my hands). And remember I said the flushing system wasn't manual, so that left only one explanation... Of course I didn't go ahead and have it checked, I was simply too terrified so without saying, I left the restroom quickly.

As for whether or not do I believe in ghosts, I don't think anyone can explain stuff like this. Someone might say they believe in this wholeheartedly, while someone might say there is no such thing as ghosts in this world... However, I will say I prefer the word 'soul' rather than 'ghost'.

We didn't go to many places that day because the coach picked us at 11.20am to the airport. However, we made an effort to wake up extra early so we could walk around nearby. We stumbled upon a fruit stall at a nearby market (I love fruit!), and I am thrilled to find passion fruits because I don't think our local stalls have them.

Some shops we found nearby the streets.

Ditto.

So we didn't get to see many places because the time to leave Taipei has finally arrived! The hubs managed to shoot this pic when we were in the coach on our way to the airport. And I love seeing the clouds - so beautiful that they made me think of cotton candy.

Taipei Taoyuan International Airport. Time to check in our luggage and so forth. (Yeah, that's me holding onto my daughter with her Doraemon bag.)

Looking out of the window from the plane.

More cotton candy... Oops, I mean clouds.

So that's it, folks. My brief summary of our Taipei trip is done. I hope you have enjoyed reading them.

(Note: While typing this, I'm still thinking of their wonderful Mango Ice... ahh...Bliss.)

Booking Through Thursday

I said in August, when we talked about fan mail, that I planned on expanding that to live meetings when the time was right. Well, that time is now!

• Have you ever met one of your favorite authors? Gotten their autograph?
• How about an author you felt only so-so about, but got their autograph anyway? Like, say, at a book-signing a friend dragged you to?
• How about stumbling across a book signing or reading and being so captivated, you bought the book?

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!

Nope. I have never been to any booksigning or have the chance to meet any of my favourite authors (the reason being I'm not living in the US, or I might have missed when they were here). Although I didn't get to meet them in person, I am very fortunate that I managed to get some of their autographs - in the mail! This happened a few years back when I visited their websites and left them some comments, telling them how much I love their books and if it is possible for them to send me an autograph. Most of them replied they will, and some even go to the extent of sending me bookplates and other goodies. I was so thrilled! Even though we didn't meet face-to-face, but I felt the exchange between the author and myself which is another great experience for me.