I had such fun doing the last book meme that I went searching the web for more! I found this here, and liked it so much I decided to do it. =)

The rules are: Using only books you have read in the last year (365 days, obviously, since we're barely over the threshold of ought-ten), answer these questions. Try not to repeat a book title. It’s a lot harder than you think!

1. Describe yourself: The Book Thief (This is me, alright! Except that I don’t actually steal books…)
2. How do you feel: Quirkology
3. Describe where you currently live: The Last Summer (Well, it’s always summer here, and I’m hoping it’s my last year here!)
4. If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Brave New World
5. Your favourite form of transportation: The Host
6. Your best friend is: Dear Enemy (something like that…=D)
7. You and your friends are: Finding Your Mojo 
8. What’s the weather like: The Mist (Not really, like I said, always summer here, but I didn’t have any better book title!)
9. You fear: Night Mare
10. What is the best advice you have to give: Handle with Care (Really good advice for everything, I think)
11. Thought for the day: Harvest for Hope
12. How I would like to die: The Most Wanted (in a good way, I hope!)
13. My soul’s present condition: Keeping Faith

 

This week’s TT is based on a book I’m currently reading. Heavy Words Lightly Thrown by Chris Roberts is about the meanings behind the old nursery rhymes that we’re all familiar with.

I haven’t finished the book yet, but so far, there’s been many interesting revelations and I just had to share.

So this week’s TT is Meanings Behind the Nursery Rhymes:

 

1. Humpty Dumpty: Humpty Dumpty was actually a cannon, which broke apart and couldn’t be fixed by the king’s men. What I find funny is why everyone thinks it’s about an egg, when the rhyme doesn’t mention an egg at all.
   
2. Little Jack Horner: Apparently, “Jack” Horner was a steward to an abbot, who stuck his thumb into a piece of very lucrative pie, figuratively speaking, and pulled out a plum in the form of a title deed to a manor house.
   
3. Jack Be Nimble: Jumping over the candlestick without the flame going out is supposed to be a form of pagan sport which foretells good luck, fertility, and a prosperous year, depending on the results of the jump.
   
4. Sing a Song of Sixpence: Most probably about King Henry VIII and two of his six wives; Catherine of Aragon, and Anne Boleyn, who is the maid that got her nose snipped off (beheaded).
   
   
5. Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary: There’s a debate on whether the “Mary” in the rhyme is referring to Mary Queen of Scots or Mary Tudor, but if it’s Mary Queen of Scots, then the cockle-shells in the rhyme apparently refers to the cuckolds in her promiscuous court.
   
6. Baa, Baa, Black Sheep: One of the more straightforward rhymes if you’re looking for its hidden meaning, it’s quite obvious that it’s a complaint about taxes.
   
7. Ladybird, Ladybird: It seems that back in the days, it was popular to get rid of a witch in central Europe by telling her that her house was on fire. The rhyme may be a reference to that.
   
8. Georgy Porgy: There are a few theories to this rhyme, one of them is that it’s about George Villiers, who might have been King James I’s lover. The part about kissing the girls and making them cry is supposed to be about George ruining the King’s relationship with various women.
   
9. Rock a Bye, Baby: Of unclear origins, there are many theories to this rhyme ranging from it being a reference to baby Moses, to being about new Pilgrim settlers who used to suspend their cradles on trees.
   
10. Ding Dong Bell, Pussy’s in the Well: Surprisingly, this may be one of the more literal rhymes where the moral of the story is meant for children, teaching them not to be cruel to cats.
    
11. Jack and Jill: Very possibly about sex, going “up the hill to fetch a pail of water” may have been an euphemism for having sex, and “losing your crown” means losing your virginity.
    
12. Ring-a-Ring o’Roses: The most popular theory is that it’s about the Black Death, but another theory is that it’s actually about a children’s game that allowed young people to get around prohibitions on dancing.
    
13. Old King Cole: Two interesting theories with the pipe and the bowl; Old King Cole either really liked smoking cannabis, or the pipe referred to some kind of wind instrument, and the bowl was a kind of drum, and Old King Cole really liked music, especially with his fiddlers three.
    

I’m still reading the book and having lots of fun with it. I hope you enjoyed this week’s TT!

 

Today’s TT will be 13 characters from this book; Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths by Bernard Evslin.

I enjoyed the book so much and loved reading and finding out more about these characters, so I thought I’d feature them this TT. =)

So…

 

1. Zeus: The king of the Gods who poisoned his father, Cronos, to released his brothers and sisters that Cronos swallowed, and led an army against Cronos to dethrone him.
   
2. Poseidon: One of Zeus’ brothers, the God of the Sea. It’s said that he created the dolphins to appease one of his lover’s jealous rage, and the horse to give to Demeter so that she would accept his pursuits.
   
3. Hades: One of Zeus’ brothers, the eldest, and the God of the Underworld. He kidnapped Demeter’s daughter, Persephone, to be his wife.
   
4. Persephone: She was kidnapped by Hades, and tricked into eating 6 pomegranate seeds. Zeus ruled that she had to spend a month with Hades in the Underworld for every seed she ate.
   
5. Arachne: She was a very talented weaver until she displeased the Goddess Athene when she said she could weave better than her. After she lost a weaving competition with Athene, she was turned into a spider, to weave her webs for eternity.
   
6. Echo: Trying to save Zeus from Hera’s wrath, she lied to Hera and when Hera found out, she cursed Echo to forever only be able to repeat the last words that anyone says to her. Until today, we can still sometimes hear her repeating the last words we say. 
   
7. Narcissus: He broke Echo’s heart when he spurned her, and because she was Aphrodite’s favorite, Aphrodite vowed that Narcissus will fall in love with someone who will never love him back. He fell in love with his own reflection by the river, and spent his days rooted by the river always staring at his own reflection.
   
8. Perseus: Zeus’ son from one of his affairs with a mortal woman, he slayed Medusa and saved his mother from a lecherous old king who wanted her as his wife.
   
9. Pandora: She was actually a gift given to the brother of Prometheus, who stole fire from the sun and gave it to humans. When she opened her wedding gift, a beautiful golden box that Hermes gave her, she let out all the evils that haunt mankind.
   
10. Midas: A greedy king who had more gold than he needed and wanted more, Apollo decided to grant his wish that everything he touch turns to gold. He was not as upset over his daughter turning into gold, as he was about not being able to eat because everything that touched his lips turned into gold too.
    
11. Theseus: The son of Poseidon from an affair with a mortal woman, Theseus was small but very intelligent. With his wits and using his enemies’ strength against them, he managed to kill the dreaded Minotaur.
    
12. Orpheus: He was a musician whose music hypnotized audiences. When his wife, Eurydice, died, he went to Hades to begged that she be returned to him. Hades was so moved with Orpheus’ music that he agreed on the condition that Orpheus couldn’t look back to see if Eurydice followed him.
    
13. Daedalus: Lesser known in the Greek myths, Daedalus was Icarus’ father, who made the wings that killed his son. They were trying to escape from their prison, the Minotaur’s labyrinth, which was also Daedalus’ creation on the request of the king.
     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had a lot of fun reading about the Greek myths, and I only wish there was more! I hope you enjoyed this week’s TT. =)

For those who are just joining us, here’s a recap. ;-)

Since December, I’d been getting last minute preparations done for my wedding on January 31st. If anyone knows me, they know I was a terrible procrastinator and very disorganized person, so *everything* was last minute. =P ( I say “was” because after all the hassle I went through with the wedding, I’ll be damned if I’m gonna spend the rest of my life procrastinating and disorganized! So one good thing came out of all the headache, anyway…other than having a new husband…)

But that was in January, and it’s now the second half of April, where was I before this, you ask?

Well, the answer is:

• being tour guides to friends from Canada who came for our wedding and decided to make it a vacation
• celebrating Chinese New Year (CNY) which means traveling back to my husband’s and my hometowns and visiting relatives for 2 weeks
• catching up with work that I missed coz of wedding and traveling
• making funeral arrangements and attending the funeral of my maternal grandmother who passed away not long after CNY
• and recuperating from everything!

So anyway, now I’m back, and for my first TT after so many months, I’d like to make a list of 13 things I missed about T13! =)

1. I miss visiting everybody’s T13s!!
2. I miss people visiting mine!!
3. I miss thinking up ideas for T13s!
4. I miss reading some very interesting T13s!
5. I miss commenting on other T13s!
6. I miss getting comments about my T13s!
7. I miss linking my T13s to Mr. Linky on the T13 site!
8. In fact, I kinda miss my own linkies… can’t decide if I should renew my linkies or not.
9. I miss looking forward to Thursdays!
10. I miss being part of a fun weekly community event!
11. I miss discovering new blogs and new friends!
12. I miss the “old” blogs and “old” friends I’d already made!
13. I miss the feeling that I was not alone in this great big world of blogging.

It’s really great to be back! =)

 

1. 13 things I want for Xmas
2. 13 of my favorite Xmas songs
3. 13 of my favorite Xmas movies
4. 13 things to do on Xmas
5. 13 things NOT to do on Xmas
6. 13 things for people who don't celebrate Xmas to do
7. 13 most memorable Xmas
8. 13 funny Xmas stories
9. 13 ways to celebrate a tropical Xmas
10. 13 ways I want to celebrate a white Xmas in Canada next year
11. Presents I got my dad for his last 13 birthdays (on Xmas)
12. 13 significant things that happened this year
13. 13 things to look forward to in the new year
    

Somehow I seem to have a lot of closer friends who are born in December than any other month! (Or maybe it just seems that way because there are so many presents to buy in December! Yikes!) So anyway, here are 13 December Birthdays!

Dec 2: Rob, a very close friend of mine who I’ve never met IRL!

Dec 4: Seng, an old and dear friend

Dec 4: Samantha, an old friend I’d lost touch with but have recently found again!

Dec 7: Eddy, a very talented musician friend

Dec 9: Lone, my dearest husband

Dec 13: Jason, one of my bestest friends ever!

Dec 15: Sanjiv, a student of Lone’s

Dec 20: Riri, one of the sweetest friends we have who’d recently gotten married

Dec 20: Sandra, Rob’s wife, whom I’ve also never met IRL but feel like I know so well!

Dec 21: Ceaser, the guy who helped bring Lone and I together

Dec 24: Tati, the wife of one of Lone’s bestest friends

Dec 25: My father! Born on Christmas!

Dec 29: Teody, a musician friend who taught us some very valuable music-related stuff.

Are you a December baby too?

I have a lot of interests and hobbies, because I think there are a lot of fun things to do out there. I may not do them all at once, but all these 13 has been a hobby or an interest at one time or another.

1. Reading and collecting books!!
2. Singing and writing music
3. Crochet and knitting
4. Writing snail-mail letters to penpals
5. Cooking
6. Fishing
7. Palm reading
8. Tarot reading
9. Sketching and painting
10. Watching TV shows and reality TV
11. Learning Chinese
12. Looking for fairies in the garden
13. Making hand-made cards

The Book Depository is offering more than 11,000 free ebooks for a limited time! I’ve been downloading like crazy the last couple of days!!

Here are 13 (out of like a thousand!) of the books I downloaded:

	Dear Enemy by Jean Webster This is the sequel to Daddy-Long-Legs, one of my favorite books in the world! I’ve been looking for this book a long time, and I found it free! How cool is that! They also have Daddy-Long-Legs if you want to download it.
	Edmund Dantes by Edmund Flagg A sequel to The Count of Monte Cristo which I didn’t know existed! I love the Count of Monte Cristo, and I’m thrilled to find this! The Count of Monte Cristo is also available for download.
	The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas I loved the movie, I fell in love with the Musketeers, but I’ve never read the book. Maybe I’ll love it even more! =)
	The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan This is one of those books that you always hear about and kinda know what it’s about, but never actually read. Now I finally got me a copy and I’m going to see what the fuss is about.
	Fanny Hill by John Cleland Banned book, never seen a single copy of it anywhere, heard so much about it, finally found a free copy! ‘Nuff said! =)
	Five Children and It I’d never heard of it until the movie came out. Haven’t watched the movie, but found the book and got curious.
	Les Miserables by Victor Hugo I got a copy years and years and years ago, from a very generous bookcrosser while I was in Melbourne. Unfortunately, I lost the book coming back from there, and haven’t been able to replace it until now!
	Paradise Lost by John Milton A book that everyone seems to know about and talk about, but I’d never read it. It doesn’t seem easy to read either, but I’m curious!
	Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin I vaguely remember hearing this title somewhere, but the author’s name isn’t familiar and I don’t know what the book’s about.
	The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang And also the Red, Green, Yellow, Crimson, Brown, etc. Fairy Books!!!! These books were featured in a blog I visited a while ago, but I never thought that I’d actually be able to get my hands on them. Now I have! =)
	The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope I don’t know what it’s about, and to be honest, I was never interested, but finding free books is one of the best ways to open yourself to books that you’d normally not read!
	Thus Spake Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche Again, not a book I’d normally be interested in, but I’d heard about it and thought I’d try it. Since there are free books galore!! =)
	Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe A classic I’ve been wanting to read a long time. I still don’t know what it’s about, but so many great reviews can’t be wrong!

And these are just 13 of them! I’ve got lots more, and there are lots more free ebooks waiting at The Book Depository! Go download like crazy now! ;-)

When I say 13 books that are helping me through NaNoWriMo, it doesn’t mean that I’m reading them all at once! If I was, I probably wouldn’t have the time to write at all!

What I mean is that I sometimes glance through these books when I need some inspiration, or I read or re-read passages, or only specific chapters. Sometimes, I just look at these books on my shelves and they will spur me on.  So…

13 books that are helping me through NaNoWriMo:

So we have about 3 more months before our wedding, and we’ve left so much of the planning and preparations til the last minute that now we’re rushing to get things done!

To be honest, we’re both not really the kind who cares about having a wedding at all, but as expected, we have to please our families, so we have to have one. And since we’re having one, we thought we might as well do it our way. =)

Except we’re a little bit too lazy to bother organizing it.

But we kinda have to because it’s gonna have to happen whether or not we organize it, and it’s much better if we organize it well, right? =)

So because we have to, here’s 13 of the things we have to get done for the wedding:

1. Finalize the guest list.

2. Print the invitation cards.

3. Plan the seating arrangements for our guests.

4. Hire the photographer/videographer.

5. Choose the menu for the dinner.

6. Food tasting session before the dinner.

7. Organize the performances for the evening.

8. Work out the schedule for the night.

9. Plan the wedding entrance with our entourage.

10. Choose the songs for our ‘soundtrack’.

11. Choose the deco for the venue.

12. Decide on the flowers.

13. Delegating responsibilities to our bridesmaids and best man.

I’m pretty sure we’ve got a lot more to do than this though… just can’t think of the details right now. =P

I found out about the Penguin warehouse booksale on the final, final, final day of the sale! It was a Sunday, and I had planned to rest, and get some household stuff done, but it was the final day, and Penguin warehouse sales are the bestest!

If it was an MPH warehouse sale, or Paylessbooks warehouse sale, or any other warehouse sale, I could probably pass. But Penguin’s the best, and the last time they had a sale was in 2007 and I missed it!

You know why they’re the best? Coz they’re the cheapest. The other warehouse sales aren’t really sales at all… just more excuse for the organizers to make money. =P

So anyway….here’s what I got:

1.

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler

I forgotten exactly what this book was about, except that it’s about a Jane Austen addict. =P I bought it because I remember hearing about it a while ago and wanting to get it but not being able to.

2.

100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

I recently read  Love in the Time of Cholera and I loved it, and of course this is another one of his famous books. I have to admit I don’t know a single thing about what this book’s about though. =P

3.
The Sushi Economy by Sasha Issenberg
The sub-title says, “Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy”. I like sushi, I’m interested in economy, and I love learning about the makings of everything, especially if it’s something that I eat.

4.
The Starfish and the Spider by Ori Brafman
This book is about “the unstoppable power of leaderless organizations”, or how being disorganized can actually make you richer than if you were disorganized. A different concept from what we’ve been conditioned to believe in, and hey, I’m a terribly disorganized person, so I think I need this book!

5.
Surviving the Extremes by Kenneth Kamler
I took one look at the title and sub-title, which was, “What Happens to the Body and Mind at the Limits of Human Endurance”, and pretty self-explanatory, and decided I wanted to read about it.

6.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
I heard many people mention this book, I remember it because of the unique title, but I still don’t know what it’s about. =P I’ve only heard good things about it so far, though, so I don’t think I’ll regret this buy. =)

7.
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
And yet another book I don’t know anything about, and just bought coz they were cheap!! =P This one was the cheapest at RM5. But again, only heard good things about it, so… =)

8.
The Rose Labyrinth by Titania Hardie
I’ve been interested in anything with “labyrinth” in its title since David Bowie’s movie of the same name years and years ago. I bought this book coz of the title and because I vaguely remember hearing people talk about it.

9.
The Elephanta Suite by Paul Theroux
My boss read his first Theroux book a couple of weeks ago and now he’s in a Theroux phase (like I’m in my Stephen King phase), so this one was for him. =)

10.
Spontaneous Healing by Andrew Weil
Well, I don’t know how seriously to take this book, but I’m curious and I want to read it before making judgements. It’s a fascinating subject matter anyway, and since I’m interested in health of the body, mind, and soul, I think this book might have something for me.

11.
Ghost Children by Sue Townsend
I recognize the name, but wasn’t sure who she was. The book looks interesting though. It’s about aborted fetuses and selling babies to childless couples, and of course, the way it affects two particular protagonists.

12.
Holly’s Inbox by Holly Denham
I read it online when it launched years ago, and I remember really enjoying it. I knew it came out on paperback but I didn’t want to buy it since I’ve read it online before. Finding it at the sale was a huge bonus!

13.
Holly’s Inbox: Scandal in the City by Holly Denham
This was a huger bonus! =) Because I’m sure this is the sequel, which I hadn’t read online, so it’s a great buy! On a side note though, I remember hearing that Holly Denham is actually a man, or something like that.

 

I can’t wait to dig into these books! I’m buying them faster than I can read for sure! I think I need to take a break from the book buying and start reading them first! LOL!