Quiet.

"Now that you're an adult, you might still feel a pang of guilt when you decline a dinner invitation in favor of a good book. Or maybe you like to eat alone in restaurants without the pitying looks from fellow diners. Or you're told that you're "in your head too much", a phrase that's often deployed against the quiet and cerebral. 

Of course, there's another word for such people: thinkers."

- Susan Cain, Quiet

I chanced upon Quiet last Friday when I was out alone in my attempts to compose myself after a long, tiring week. It was the third book I picked up and read through and at the 3rd page, I was sold. But then I told myself that I needed more convincing because this was one of the more expensive books out of the 3, so I shouldn't be making an impulse buy. 

I reached the 7th page and saw the passage above. I was so amused at how well I was able to relate to it and decided that it.must.be.MINE! 

Haven't progressed that much from that page but only because I've been so busy! (told you that it'd be impossible to take a break in the midst of our impending move to our new home... but all is well, Alhamdulillah). Plus, I'm trying not to finish the book (and every other book I've been reading, really) by rushing through the passages just to prove that I can still speed-read a book; it's all about the details now and I quite like it that way. 

Anyway. The book suggested that I try broaching the subject of Quiet with a group of friends just to gauge their reaction. Since my colleagues and I seem to be suffering from a horrible bout of "Monday Blues", wherein we're almost literally sleepwalking through the day especially after that heavy lunch that we had together... I tried asking them what they thought of "time alone".

  Surprisingly (to me at least)... my colleagues, who are supposedly outgoing, outspoken, out of this world people who would go out of the way for everything lawyers echo Quiet. They are... technically, what this world of ours would call... introverts.

We don't mind shopping alone, eating alone, going out alone, being alone sometimes.... although technically that personalty trait just doesn't jive with being a lawyer by profession.

No wonder I get along so well with them! We're all weird lawyers!!! Hahahaha. 

Anyways, this post was just to say that I've actually started reading more since the past year although I alternate from one book from another, plus, for some books, I even write down notes (skema alert!!!). Haven't really had the time to review them all, but glad that I've somehow managed to squeeze in my once favourite pastime back into my life. 

Slowly but surely, in sha Allah! 

Now, I'm going to go and enjoy some Quiet. 

“unputdowntable”

It’s been a while since I last picked up a book which was so difficult to put down. So far, my picks have been rather... draggy or heavy.

Like this one –

I bought this book for the simple reason that it was written by Elizabeth Gilbert. And that it is the sequel to ‘Eat, Pray, Love’. Just couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.

I wouldn't condemn the book entirely, no. For what it’s worth, I think that it was very well-researched. And that each point is substantiated with a source whether interviews, books or historical facts. There are many useful quotes in it too. Plus, the way it was written was in such a way as if the author was speaking to you rather than writing.

But the downside?

Is that the sentences, pages, chapters and some points seem redundant. I get it that the author was trying to put a point across especially ones which she was really passionate about. But being repetitious? Now, that’s something I cannot stand. If I were the type who goes straight to the ending when I got bored, I would have. Thing is I am not. And that’s why it took me from April – July to finish it.

Having said that though, I think the movie (if any) would turn out quite interesting.

The heavy one that I mentioned (literally), is this one –

credits to Google

I really am taking my own sweet time reading this and alternating with my other reads.

What’s unputdowntable is this –

credits to Google

Dorothy Koomson delivers again! And this one (so far) has been the most exciting, page-turning and unpredictable yet.

From the title “The Ice Cream Girls”, the story line is something I never expected. AT ALL! I slept late nights just reading and reading and reading some more. Who would have thought that Serena and Poppy had to go through all that torture and pain? If I were them, I would have probably committed the crime they were alleged to have committed. Probably much sooner than they did.

But I must tell you that the ending is mind-blowing! You would have probably guessed at some point, but you couldn’t confirm because the author succeeded in casting doubts on just about everything.

It was mind-blowing, I tell you!

And in every sense of the word, unputdowntable, personified.

This one, is most definitely worth the read. Without a doubt.

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new to me.

Daddy’s Girl

by Lisa Scottoline.

When I picked this book up from the bookshelves at home, I was reading another book; a book which is interesting, but needs a lot of concentration in order for me to really appreciate the content. Turns out that I finished reading Daddy’s Girl first and didn’t get to finish the one I was reading before. So review for this one first, it is.

My first reaction when I read the first few pages? “Oh wow, this book is like an adaptation of a movie!” Yes, seriously. It’s as if the author extracted her favourite scenes from all her favorite movies and put it all into writing.

BUT. Just as I was about to put it down and turn to something else, the story became interesting. Mostly, the story revolves around “something under the floor” and the characters’ quest and trials and tribulations to find it.

It reinforced my belief that money is the root of all evil and that you can’t always trust the people you love and live with.

The one thing about this book which I thought was interesting is that it has many climaxes. Normally, in a book, there will a climax in which your heart stops for a while and that is normally as it comes to the end, right? Not this one. Just when I thought that the ending was the ending, there was another end to that ending. I am really not good at explaining these things as I am not an English teacher, but yeap. That’s what I thought about the book.

And the end to that ending is something you partially expect and don’t expect. When reading this book, just be wary of the fact that there can never be too many villainy characters in a book. It just doesn’t make much sense if there are like 3-4 villains in a story. It’s always just one. I missed that part out.

It’s kind of good for an unfamiliar author (to me at least). I give it a 3/5. Does she have any other books you people would like to recommend?

p.s: it still felt like a movie until the very end. And truth to be told, it's like a girly version of prison break of some sort.  

image googled. my cover is a little different from this.

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a modern fairytale

 ...but it isn't exactly my favourite out of all Cecelia Ahern's books.

I find that every time I try to review this book, I keep on remembering her last one, instead of this one.

But that's not to say that it wasn't a good read. It was a tremendous read! Page-turner and a little bit unpredictable would be perfect to describe this one. Because you would really want to know what happened in the end and so you wouldn't want to put the book down!

(unless you don't mind flipping straight to the ending. I mind)

I seldom read books where the antagonist character featured at the beginning turns out to still be the antagonist at the end of this book. Because more often than not, that would be the twist in the plot, right? That the villain would end up being the knight in shining armour or something.

I was playing a guessing game with myself - of whether or not Rose really is as bad as she sounds. Turns out that she's the kind of person you wouldn't want to mess with. No sirree.

I learnt from this book that if one is spiteful and is the type to hold grudges, that vengeance can go a long, long, LONG way. They'd do anything so that they get what they want.

I pity Rose the Villain though, because she had been wanting attention and love all her life and look where she ended up and who she ended up with. Not to say that Arthur (her husband in this book) is such a bad guy, but every time I read about Arthur, I imagine a guy with really thick moustache, who snort-snorts his way out and into everything. Wait, did she say he has a moustache in the book?

Well, anyways, from my lack of enthusiasm in reviewing this book, you probably know that it isn't as good as her other books, especially P.S. I Love You and The Gift.

This one can be equated to one of her other books, which name I cannot remember.

Good, not great, and not memorable enough to make a mark in my heart.

But you should read it for yourself. Who am I to judge?

It's been a long time since I last became a fan of magic and fairytales anyways :)

 

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gift of life.

Oh, so I am a tad too belated where reading this book is concerned, I know. I don’t know how long we’ve had it, but to be honest, it really doesn’t matter because what matters is how much I am affected by it.

To be very honest, about the same time I picked this book off the shelves, I was thinking about something kind of related to the story – of how people became so rich and how they could do anything they wanted with their money, without thinking too much (or at all) about what the financial implications would be.

I am not one of those privileged few who can walk into any shop and pick anything I want without thoroughly considering the “want-need debate” going on in my head. More often than not, I would go home empty-handed because the “needy” part of my brain fails to cook up a convincing enough argument that would make me spend my money on them.

So, anyways, back to the book . I was thinking really hard of how hard people had to work to earn their keep. Of what it took to be at least a millionaire because word has it that once you earn your first million, the other millions would come rolling naturally.

After reading this book, I have come to realise now that nothing in life comes for free. In economics, they call it opportunity cost. In real life, they call it sacrifice. You somehow have to sacrifice some part of you, whether your family or you career (depending on which you choose) and that no matter how clever you are at juggling, in the end, it’s the choices you make that count.

Am I speaking cryptic again? I’m not supposed to because I know that this book has been read by many and there’s no secret about how the book ended. All in all, it was a very good read. Well, I shouldn’t be so surprised because Cecelia Ahern delivers, all the time.

In the end, she mentioned that the most important thing in life is a balance. We’re always running out of time, which according to my brother, does not make sense and we’re always running out of money. In the end, we’re just running and we don’t know where we are going.

I’m surprised how intrigued I am by this book because essentially, it still falls under the “Chic Lit” category and under that category of reads, it’s supposed to leave a much lighter impact than it currently has on me, right?

But I can’t get the picture of that mangled car, the lullabies and the way he lovingly looked at his wife and the way he finally repented, out of my head. I’m just glad he got his second chance before his time was up. And not all of us are lucky enough to be given second chances because that mostly happens in stories, and stories alone.

Today must be one of the craziest days so far. I woke up late with a piercing pain in the right arm. I drove to work hungry and was ready to get my breakfast when I realised that I had left my purse, which is now 40 kilometers away for me to reach. I don’t have any biscuits in my room, they’re all finished. And I fell on all fours in the toilet just now because the floors (and my old slippers) were too slippery, I lost my grip.

If I hadn't finished (or started that book) I could be a really angry girl for what has happened today, for all my carelessness and bad luck, but I chose to feel blessed. Today, there was a mini celebration to welcome Ramadan and we had plenty of free food. My work was approved by my superior and even after that fall, I am still okay with no cuts and bruises.Just a few painful spots, but all is well.

I got my second chance today. A gift. I am blessed and grateful for that.


NOTAKAKI:
If you’re a busy girl or guy whose BB is constantly beeping or whose life revolves around work and work and more work, there really is more to life than work. We can always look for lost money, but time and tide waits for no man. Lost time can never be replaced.

A totally recommended read.

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did you know?

Did you know that-
Typing mistakes spiked 74% and output plummeted by 46% when office temparatures fell from 25 degrees Celcius to 20 degrees Celcius?

If I had a thermometer now, I'm sure it would display a temperature of less than 20 degrees celcius, definitely. But so far, so good. I wouldn't want to blame the air-conditioning for my unproductiveness (if any).

*****
Well, anyways, here's a tip for those who are about to embark into the working world (even for attachments or industrial trainings), or those who are still trying to adapt to working life (like me):

More often than not, it's how you make them feel that makes them remember. 

Back in Law School I always thought that being all clever and outspoken was all that. I remember how I would just express my thoughts as and when I pleased, as and how I liked to do it. Of course, even back then, I knew that there are limits to the amount of bluntness my recepients can take but still, I said what I needed to say. But now, the need to make people feel good is emphasised to a maximum.

It's not always about what's in your brain that matters. In fact, it might not matter one bit how smart you are if you fail to make your superiors/colleagues feel good.

 Somehow, some part of me still disagrees with the fact that making people feel good is the most important thing, besides being hardworking and smart. But, deep down, I have to admit that the cruel reality of the world is exactly like that.


And mind you, I'm not even talking about ass-kissing your superiors. No sirree. This kind of "making people feel good" has nothing to do with that. It's the kind which needs loads of perfect practice, patience and tact.

In my early working days, I found it difficult to respond to someone's nonsensical comment/statement without being brutally honest about what I thought.

Obviously, it cost me.

But as time passed, I learnt to (at least) keep my face straight, if I couldn't find something tactful to say or something light to joke about when someone said something stupid/disrespectful/tactless/demotivating to me. It has taken me almost 2 years and it's an art yet to be perfected.

But I'm getting there.

This, in some ways relate to the book I once read, which I used for my book review.

The book is called:  
The Power of  Positive No; How to Say No, and Still Get a Yes.

Basically, the book talks about 3 main processes.

• ensure that we uncover our Yes;
• empower our No; and
• also respect our way to Yes

In gist, the book tells us to avoid saying No at the cost of our relationship with others. It tells us to avoid saying No in an angry and agitated tone. It tells us that we should say No and not say Yes just to please others. Hence, the 3 main processes as mentioned above.

I wouldn't bore you with the details of the book because I know that not everyone digs motivational books. I don't really do so myself but with diagrams and everything, this book was a worthy and easy read :)

All I can say now is that I've learnt how to disagree with other people in a more tactful way. I have learnt to be honest about my concerns without being whiny. And in times of anger, I would "go the the balcony". The imaginery "thinking spot" in my already crammed head so that I get my head straight.

Remember, one moment of anger can cause a lifetime of regret.


Make people feel good about themselves, not at the expense of your sanity and integrity and you'll be fine.


But this doesn't in any way mean that I will stop ranting about work, of course. You watch and see.


Just thought of sharing ;)





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ya ya ya yippee ya yay yippee ya yo

I'm currently at home, much to the envy of the lot of you at the office out there! Or in class, even. I'm so gleeful I can't stop boasting that I'M AT HOME!!!

It feels so good to be able to wake up later than usual, to go back to bed for a while more than usual after the alarm went off, and just to languorously mill around the house doing everything at my own pace. Blissful!

When I first applied for leave, I didn't think that I would put it to good use. But then, we received an email instructing us to complete an assignment as a requirement to complete the Certificate, and that's exactly what I did today! I finished my IP assignment and do not want to look at it again, fearing that I get all kiasu-ish and paranoid about not doing a good job about it.

Okay... enough about that.

I haven't packed a single thing for this weekend's Course. Though it'll be in Sabah, I don't think that I would have as much time as I hoped I would get, because we just received a call yesterday confirming our attendance and informing us that class starts at 3.00 p.m., which is so close to touch down time. Bummer!

But whatever it is, I hope that I will be able to make the most out of my time there, as I've never been to Sabah before and I heard that the place is really beautiful. Theodore is so coming along with me this time around :)

Anyway, remember I was aiming on reading at least 5 pages of my book per day? I did try you know, but I just couldn't persevere. Couldn't. I just couldn't see where the book was going and what the author was planning to tell, and all in all, I got really irritated and... started on a new one!

Now, don't call me bossy or stuck up or anything for not favouring chic lit over other books (Cecelia Ahern being an exception), but sometimes, it gets to me that chic lit is so surreal? Like, you know that nothing in life can ever come close to the things that happen in the book.

Little did I know that chic lit was EXACTLY what I needed! I picked this up because it was for some inexplicable reason, on my bookshelves and I enjoyed it so much although I knew that it was predictable and fairytale-ish and yes, surreal.

I now see why most people whose blogs I read write the way they do. I guess what you read does reflect in your writing alot.  But that's okay. Of course, that is a matter of preference and I'm glad to say that I really enjoy this short break from "why so serious" books.

You should try!

Oh, by the way, I resumed reading "The Girl Who Played With Fire" and after that break, it doesn't seem so bad after all :)

oh, well.

I finally found the 'New Post' button. Thing is, things have not been uneventful. So many things happened on Monday. There was a meeting, words passed and again, the power is NOT in our hands. It was a bit like an exercise in futility to say the least. But that's as far as I will (and can) elaborate.

I really do need a dose of gila, yet every single night, I drift off the moment I put my head down. How's that?

I can't even stay up long enough to read 5 pages of the book I just started on.

Oh, by the way, The Time Traveller's Wife is a really sad love story. Or maybe I'm just so seriously emotionally dysfunctional? But whatever it is, I cried as I was reading it, cried when someone died in it, and cannot imagine if my loved one disappeared and reappeared into thin air without warning like Henry in the book did.

The new book I'm on is The Girl Who Played With Fire, by Stieg Larrson. For those whom have not yet read The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, I suggest you do that first, since this one's sort of like a sequel to it. It's okay so far, though I have to admit that it's a bit slow. But judging from Mr. Larrson's first book, he's not in the habit of being irrelevant, so I shall persevere and read through it, with hopes that I solve the puzzle in the book.

Of course, I'm hoping that my target of 5 pages per day can be fulfilled. Oh, well, one can never stop hoping, no?

Funny how...

... my brain only works at the office where posting a blog entry is concerned . Sometimes, I have so much to write when at home, yet the words don’t flow as easily as it does here, right here at the office.

Well, anyways, since I checked on my work and realised that I have completed my task up to the 3rd meeting’s assignment, I think I deserve to take a break. I’ve done work ahead of time and I seriously cannot stand looking at the same assignment and reading and rereading again and again and again. I need to do some writing.

I like our library alot, but at the moment, it seems like I have to avoid it at all costs just in case I bump into Mdm. Level 2, whose second home is right there. I have to avoid being in her sight because she will certainly find ways and means to get me involved in something I am not supposed to be involved with.

So, since I’m done with my assignment (for now), I decided to pick up a book which is currently sort of the talk of the town owing to the fact that news of the upcoming movie has started to leak. Or is it out already and I am belated (as usual)?

Initially, I was reading The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory but I have yet found its appeal. It’s just a story about the olden days when monarchs were powerful and the church had a say in everything and vice and corruption were rampant and being practiced openly. If you’ve watched Elizabeth, you’d be able to relate to it quite easily.

But one day last week, I was passing by my sister’s room to the toilet and found The Time Traveller’s Wife on her bookshelf, which we bought on our Borders outing a few weeks back. I started reading yesterday evening, and I am hooked on it!

I’m not quite half way through yet (hey, this girl needs her sleep), but it’s quite interesting to know that such people with such diseases existed in this world. It’s a bit like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, only more unpredictable because the sequence of events is not in chronological order.

So, I am on it now and I hope to finish by end of this week by the rate I am going at. But I’m also taking time to soak in all the details. I wonder what will happen at the end of it all... Would Henry and Clare lead a normal life, finally?

Come, read with me too?

the girl with the dragon tattoo.

My delay is both due to my indiscipline and discipline all at once. The fact that the book is thick and has like the finest print ever does not make it any less appealing. And yet, bedtimes must be followed, even for adults. That is of course, unless you are willing to wake up with panda eyes and a runny nose the following morning.

One thing I can confirm, though, is that the first chapter would make you want to read more of the book. It has been so cleverly drafted so that part of the ending is revealed without actually revealing the entire story all at once. At some point, you might even feel the hairs on your neck stand. Yes, this is how the story affected me at least.

There are 2 main characters in this story; Lisbeth and Mikael; and you would have to be patient to find out the point at which they would be connected. Lisbeth is the shady character, whom you at first would doubt and Mikael is the clean cut figure in this story. You would wonder how on earth they got along, but they would. And I’ll tell you now that the wait is worth it. The language used is simple and it does not confuse you to the point that you would want to shelve it away forever.

But then, there are some parts where you would want to pause and put the book down for a while so that you can think a second or more like get a little breather to ponder and imagine the scenarios put forth by the author.

Plus, there are some parts where you would have to pause to get the names right because this story involves too many characters. You would wonder whether it was Birger or Berger or whether you were making up a Burger because you are hungry. I guess this is the only setback in the book; the vast amount of characters whom are all connected to each other in a twisted way. The author did try to map it out for us, but I'd have to say that the attempt was a feeble (and unsuccessful one at that).

This book is actually a great insight into the lives of those rich people/aristocrats whom we always think lead fairytale lives. Far from it, there are many feuds and family secrets, some of which are sickeningly sick, some so grossly that you wouldn’t have imagined it being done by someone of such stature. And don’t even start about the competition they get, not only from their rivals but also from within the family itself.

It is also a great insight into the magnanimous amount of violence against women, which go unheard of due to ignorance in the society. Amazing how many women go down in history as statistics of horrendous and grizzly crimes.

I would love to elaborate more, but it would spoil the fun in your reading (especially Tasha since she wants to buy it), so I highly recommend you to grab this off the shelves and start flipping those pages, pronto! At some point, you will wonder when the book will end because you will reach that part where it looks like it’s going to end, yet there are so many pages to go before the end of the book comes.

The ending would be something you least expected.

And the cultures, secrets and distorted lives these people in the book lead would make you gape in awe for a long, long time.

Oh, by the way, this is actually a translation of the real works. The original works was Swedish. The translation is excellent though!

the harmony silk factory.

Last night after dinner, I was contemplating on whether or not I should switch the internet on. It was a tempting temptation, since I had nothing else better to do, but for some reason, I abstained and decided to read a story book instead. Just the other day, I grabbed one of the books on my mom’s disheveled book shelve – The Harmony Silk Factory by Tash Aw.

As far as my limited knowledge goes, the author is a local. And having read all the good reviews, my mom, who is a sucker for sentimentality and of course, books in general, decided that it might be a good idea to purchase the book. So, she did.

I honestly thought that she had finished it, but apparently not. She told me that she wasn’t interested in the line of story and the language the author used. It was something which just didn’t catch her attention enough for her to finish it. So much for being “unputdowntable”

So, I went out on a quest to prove her wrong. And to be honest, I thought that the book really was unputdowntable. Generally, in the book, there are 3 segments or 3 versions written almost diary/journal-like by the 3 main characters; Johnny, Snow and Peter.

I liked Snow’s version the best. That must have been the hardest part to put the book down because she made me wonder, “what next, what next?”

But as much as I want to know certain things, the book is beginning to lose its appeal, and I’m starting to not want to read it anymore. This huge turn off, I think, is greatly contributed by Peter’s version of the story; of how he wrote unnecessary things, which in my personal opinion has no great bearing/no bearing at all on the story as a whole. Since it was getting draggy and uninteresting with each page I turned, I have decided against finishing the book altogether.

I think that’s quite a shame considering the amount of faith I had in the book, initially.

But if you hate history, but would like to get an insight on the kind of setting our country was in, in the olden days in storytelling form, read it just for fun.

Though I must forewarn you that you might not like it much, once you don’t see the point of the story after a while of reading.

I wonder if anyone who has read it to the last leaf thinks it’s still a good read?

Since I stopped reading the harmony silk factory, I started on The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. So far so good. I will write on it later when I finish it.

i am woman.

It’s an irritatingly hot Sunday and I decided not to leave the house for a myriad of reasons, other than the weather. Sorry, Mamita and Nanad! At first it was just my malas mandi, then, it was the period pain, and then, I sat up all day in bed, reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.

Now, if you’ve read the book, you’d know that it’s a total pageturner and a very worthy one at that! So, no one can blame me for not wanting to go out because the question of putting the book down never even crossed my mind.

Reading the book takes me back to the few long hours I spent at Abu Dhabi Airport late 2007. We were there waiting to board our plane to UK. It was a long wait, which would have made me tear my hair out of their sockets but it was okay since we were all sleepy and had managed to get some seats.

Now, since there were only 3 seats, my dad and brother took it upon themselves to go do something else which didn’t involve the act of sitting down since there weren’t enough seats and they obviously didn’t want the female in their family to be the ones standing.

In between waiting and trying to get some sleep, I observed alot of things about the men from the Middle East. How disgustingly high they regard their patriarchal roles and how wrong it was the way they seem to have implemented it on their womenfolk.

They let their women find seats, on which they sit on. Their wives would run and get them food and they receive it like some lord without so much of a word of Thank You, much less gratitude or even an appreciative glance. While all this is happening, they would be talking to the other men present with them, bellowing unnecessarily, with their protruding bellies and gatal looks they would cast on women other than their own wives.

And all the while, their wives stand idly beside them, fully covered in a burqa.

And oh, guess what? When they smoked, they let the cigarette smoke fly in the direction of their wives FACES as if their wives were just one and the same as the beautiful pillars which bore ashtrays in the Airport.

You see, men are undoubtedly granted with what Allah clearly mentioned are their rights to their wives. But what (some) men fail to see is that those rights come with responsibility. Oh, wait. It comes with RESPONSIBILITES, mind you.

And I know I sound very the feminist, and maybe I am. I strongly believe in the role of women in the society; of what they can and cannot do. But that does not make me radical at all because I still do believe in the traditional role of a mother, of a father, of a brother, as I have been brought up in a household which teaches these values.

Whatever it is, I hope that the men in Malaysia will not turn out to be the violent type who would make their wives eat pebbles just because the qurma served was lacking in salt. I know you have a right to demand that your wife serve you well, but you also have a (huge) responsibility of not hurting her and giving her a life which would not cause her mudarat.

to watch or not to watch?

I don’t know about you but I love to read. I really do. In fact, if I could spend a day, I’d like to spend it in MPH or Borders, finishing off some book I’ve been dying to own. Though my attention span has decreased over these years, that doesn’t mean I don’t read much anymore. I do; just at a much slower pace.

Unlike my sister, I’m not a movieholic. For me, if I were to subscribe Astro, Travel & Living and Cooking channels would suffice. But that doesn’t mean I don’t watch them movies at all, no. I do, but just later than everyone else.

Recently, I watched The Kite Runner. I hadn’t read the book then when I watched it, and most of the time, my mom was filling me in with the tiny details I was supposed to find out from the book.

When I finally started reading the book by Khaled Hosseini, I was no longer nervous about the ending because I already knew. The element of surprise was basically, already gone. It no longer became a page turner.

Which, for me, was a great shame. Because in all truth, Khaled Hosseini is a great author. In fact, that may even be an understatement.

He uses an element in his book, which I named “variation of words”. Like he says, “maybe it wasn’t meant to be” or “maybe it was meant not to be”.

Funnily, a lot of people happen to think that they are one and the same, but I know that they aren’t. There are other examples in the book, but I guess you’ll have to read it for yourselves to find out.

So, you see, sometimes I am not sure which is better. To read first, or to watch first?

I think that the movie gave me an insight on what the characters look like, but it spoiled my fun in reading.

I wasn’t this upset about watching a movie first when I watched The Other Boleyn Girl and Shopaholic. I didn’t make an issue about it at all.

So why all this fuss, huh?

I really don’t know.

like blankets.

could it still be that simple?

could romantic and platonic and parental love all be different facets of the same diamond? -

brilliant, no matter which face is turned up to the sun?

"and when you say her name, it sounds different; like it's covered with blankets"

"you love her"


-by JP

my boyfriend’s best girl friend.

I haven’t done a book review in ages now. Not ever since The Pact. Truth is, I wanted to read more but I was losing in on my sleep. Once I pop, I can’t really stop and that was real bad for my bad morning moods. So, when I started on this one, I read it slowly. It’s something we can both relate and not relate to at the same time. For the most part, I think I was trying to disassociate my feelings from the emotional elements of the book. That’s probably because I didn’t want to place myself in those shoes of those who hurt because it would hurt too much to even imagine.

It could happen to me, you know. I just hope it doesn’t.

In a relationship, we tend to accept people as they are, as they come. More often than not, we say that love is about acceptance, not change. So, although sometimes you wished that your partner was not or was more of ______________________*insert adjective*, most of us just learn to love the lack of anything we wished they had more of.

Likewise, when we befriend someone, most of the time, we befriend their friends as well. And likewise with boyfriends, we come to accept that they might have friends of our own gender. It’s just a matter of whether they will eventually become our friend… or competitor.

If a girl has to spend a lifetime trying to compete for her husband’s affection, I wouldn’t call that a marriage at all. Especially if she knows that at the back of his mind, he always has his best girlfriend at heart. I wonder what it would feel like to know that your husband feels a lot more comfortable talking about and doing things with his best girlfriend rather than yourself. What’s the point of being the first, when you feel nothing less than the third wheel, eh?

I guess I would have done the same thing Steph did in the story.

But I also pity the Mal and Nova for their lack of expression of their true feelings. I feel like so much time was wasted trying to conceal something that was so obvious to others around them.
My only conclusion is; please say what is on your mind. If you love your best friend as more than a best friend and more than just a friend who is a girl, say it before it is too late.

Once you begin a lie, it becomes more and more difficult to maintain that lie, and it might just be something too much to bear when it is unraveled. Yes, that can happen. Just because you’re his girlfriend, it does not mean that you are his best girl-friend. Doesn’t seem different, but it is, actually.

You may think that the whole plot seems so predictable, but you couldn't be more wrong. There's more to it than it seems.

And you have no idea how much 2 words could change one’s life.
Goodnight, beautiful.

what if?

“My whole life was about her”

“What if her whole life wasn’t all about me?”

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At the heed of my trusted bookworms, I took The Pact off the shelves and started reading. Like I said before, JP’s books are such page-turners it’s highly impossible not to get immersed into the stories that she tells.

This particular read, was a very emotional one. It’s a love story; just not a very typical one. I mean, really, what are the lengths that you are willing to go for your loved ones? Would you really go to the extent of killing him/her just because you know that that would make them happy?

Would you really have the heart to watch them take their lives away despite not knowing why they wanted to do it in the first place?

Or would you be scared to not help them do it because you’d rather you knew they were doing it rather than to find out from someone else some other time, when you weren’t there with the person that you love?

This book has moved me so much; I’ve still got lumps forming at my throat, willing me to cry my heart out. It’s more than a love story. It’s a story of how the simplest of things that people take for granted could affect other people more than others. It’s about how people assume that some things are the best for others when they don’t really know for sure. It’s about a myriad of dilemmas you might have to go through just because. It’s a tale of the many confusions you never thought possible to exist.

And most importantly, it’s about the extent of one’s love... and his wondering whether it was all unrequited after all...

I’d gladly tell you what happened, but I won’t.

All I can say is that you should read it... and that you shouldn’t rush through the facts. Just imagine yourself to be in all the shoes of the characters... and you’ll find yourself shedding tears sooner than you can stop it...

WHOA

19th to the 24th. Amazing isn’t it that this blogger tegar has managed to not write anything in the past few days. Nothing to tell? Far from it. Too much to tell? Maybe. Don’t want to tell? Yes, I think most probably.

After last night, I realized that too many things have riled me up to the point that I can no longer keep my head straight. A lot of my energy has been spent on thinking about what I don’t have and what I want to do, instead of what I already have and what I’ve already done.

It makes so much difference looking at the glass half full instead of half empty, isn’t it?
It’s getting there that’s painful, but I’m okay.
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I’m on a JP marathon. JP stands for Jodi Picoult. She’s a splendid, creative and very, very humane author. She does a lot of research on terminal illnesses, disparities and similarities between Christian groups, and mostly she talks a lot of the Jewish religion. My guess is that she’s one herself, but that really doesn’t bother me. And the best part is, she’s so human that you’d relate to her almost instantaneously.

So far, I’ve read 3 of he books and I’m ¾ way through my 4th. The first was My Sister’s Keeper, followed by Change of Heart, then by Nineteen Minutes, and now, I’m stuck on Keeping Faith. So far, she’s never failed me. Her books are such page turners that you’d burn the midnight oil (literally macam study untuk exam) just so you get to the bottom of the story.

My Sister’s Keeper was very heartwarming. It talked about how a 13 year old craved medical emancipation from her parents because she felt like the only reason she were born was so that her sister who was diagnosed with leukemia could be saved. The ending… shhhh.. no, don’t worry, I won’t tell. But it’s bloody damn unpredictable you’d cry.

Change of Heart was a bit… spooky.. I guess that’s because it talked so much about miracles happening to and occurring in ordinary peoples’ lives. And the explanations on capital punishment are so vivid there are times you can feel the hairs on your neck stand. The ending… as always… is extremely unpredictable. I suggest Dean read this one since he doesn’t really like happy endings (do you still not like them?) and since this one has a twist to it, it makes it all the more better. :)

Nineteen Minutes is by far one which I can totally relate to. For those who don’t already know, my brother was bullied when he was a first former. So bad it was that he had bruises all over him. So bad it was that my mother couldn’t stop crying and couldn’t even hide that she was crying even when she was wearing sunglasses, and even when she tried to look happy. And so bad it was that the boys who were part of the scheme were expelled. Padan muka. This book is extremely humane, extremely real, with extreme suspense. If I start writing about it, I might not stop, and that would spoil the surprise if you hadn’t read it already. Ending… let’s just call JP unpredictable. Rasa macam jantung gugur kejap.

And I can say something about Keeping Faith, but I won’t yet. But so far, it has kept me up long hours at night regardless of how tired I am. Let’s just say we’re in for a ride and maybe another surprise at the end of the story. Another page turner indeed!

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So, that’s it from me for now. I didn’t intend on turning this into a book review corner, but I’m random like that.

Somebody take me out on more nights, please? Somehow, going out during the night perks me up more than I know it.

This weekend we’re in for a big, long ride towards raya. You’ll see why soon enough. :)
More updates soon if I'm not so malas :p