The Moth Diaries by Rachel Klein

I bought this at a recent book sale, I forgot which, there were so many book sales lately.

Anyway, it intrigued me because it was written in the form of a young boarding schoolgirl’s diary, and it’s supposedly about her obsession with her friend, Lucy, and a girl named Ernessa whom she thinks is a vampire.

I’m not sure if I missed it, but I think this is another one of those books where you never learn the narrator’s name. If I did miss it, and someone knows her name, do let me know!

Anyway, what I like about this book is that you could say it’s a vampire story, but then again, it could also be a story about a girl with a psychological disorder. You never really get any proof or certainty, not even from the narrator herself. She’s sure Ernessa is a vampire, but she never sees anything certain or finds anything to prove it without a doubt.

I just found out that there will be a movie based on this book coming out in 2010. I think it would make a really great movie if they can stay true to the book instead of trying to cash in on all the vampire hype these days and making it a full-fledged vampire story. Let’s see what happens.

Ok, I’ve seen many people playing this, and I finally decided to play too, because it looked so fun! Halloween may not be the best time for me to play my first round, since Halloween isn’t that big here, but what the heck! =)

1. So Halloween is this weekend, if you haven't heard. Are you gonna open your doors up or not? Well, no, we don’t actually go ‘trick or treat’-ing here. I don’t think it’s caught on yet.

2. You better open 'em cuz I'm coming... what are you putting in my treat bag? Nothing, you ain’t getting anything from me. Sorry. =P

3. Since October is the bestest month for television (well for cable & dish subscribers it is) and there is a horror movie on at any given time of the day - are you sick of them yet? Not really, I don’t really watch much television anyway, but I *am* on a Stephen King binge with my reading. Perhaps I’ll watch the movies based on his books.

4. Which one of those movies can you watch over & over again? I don’t know. I’ll need to watch them first before I can give you the answer. =P

5. Tell us about a Halloween scare you've had.... Um, none? (Sigh, poor me, never had a real Halloween =()

6. Did you watch the old Casper cartoons when you were a youngin? Well, back then they weren't old I suppose, but I'm sure you still understand my question. Which old Casper cartoons do you mean? I watched the Casper movie with Christina Ricci and Devon Sawa, does that count?

7. Have you ever found a four-leaf clover? No, but I’d love it if I did!

8. Haunted Houses... you know, the kinds you pay to get in and they chase you with chainsaws and severed heads.... do you like 'em? No… I scare easy. I only go if a big group of friends are going with me, but even then, I stay as close to the middle of the group as I can!

9. Do you use cute cartoon type wrapping paper for Christmas presents or the not cutesy paper? Or are you one of those gift card and/or gift bag people? Why are we talking about Christmas wrapping? I thought this was the Halloweeny version of Thursday Thunks?

10. How long do boiled eggs need to stay in the boiling water before they become hard boiled eggs? And why are we talking about boiling eggs now???! =P

11. Jason is coming in through your front door... Freddy is coming through your back door... zombies are at every window of the house and Norman Bates is calling to invite you to dinner... what do you do? Well, Jason is a very good friend of mine, and I’d invite him in for sure. I don’t know anyone named Freddy, so I’d ask him if he’s sure he’s got the right house. I don’t know who’s Norman Bates either, so I probably won’t go to dinner with him. Zombies I see everyday, they can do whatever they want as long as they don’t bother me. =D

12. Did you know that the scariest part of Halloween is giving all of your Reeses Peanut Butter Cups away? What are Reeses Peanut Butter Cups?

13a. If you were to play a part of a haunted house (not the ghosts in the attic kind), what would you want to be? Perhaps it’s not very creative, but I’d like to be a witch. At least once in my life! Then maybe I’d think of taking other roles.

13b. Have you ever played a part in a haunted house? No.

14. If Thursday Thunks had a Halloween party, what do you think Kimber & Berleen would come dressed as? I second Hootin’ Anni’s answer, an evil set of siamese twins!

15. Do you cook a turkey for Thanksgiving? No, we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here. I have a boring life.

16. Have you ever read a book that scared the pants off of you? Hell yeah! Stephen King’s The Shining! I don’t even want to think about it now!

17. Whats the predicted high temperature for today? I dunno… don’t really care either.

18. Have you ever howled at the moon? No… but I’ve sung to the moon, does that count? My singing sometimes sound like howling…

19.You are in an alley and a werewolf and a vampire are coming at you - one of them has to win. Which one do you want to bite you? Vampire! But I’m hoping that a vampire would be a neater biter compared to a werewolf, and depending on the myth we’re working with, I’d rather be turned into a vampire myself, than a werewolf. =)

Thinner by Stephen King

As most of you know by now, I’m on a Stephen King binge this year. I’ve read four this year, (not counting another two yet; The Long Walk & The Running Man) and have a lot more of his books in queue!

I bought this book because I remember my cousin Allison telling me about it many years ago. I remember she said that this book really freaked her out.

Perhaps it’s because she hadn’t read his other books at the time? Or maybe there’s just something that stood out to her in this story? I gotta ask her one day.

Anyway, she told me that this story was about this man who was cursed by a gypsy to keep getting thinner and thinner everyday until he wasted away. It didn’t matter how much he ate, he kept getting thinner.

Thinner doesn’t compare to the other King books I’d already read, but still, King is an amazing storyteller, and the story was thrilling and more than a little creepy, as his books are wont to be. It’s definitely worth reading, and the ending is great, though I can’t tell you much else or I’ll give it all away!

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

Alice Audrey at Alice’s Restaurant gave me this great award. Thanks, Alice!! It’s really wonderful to be appreciated! =)

Neno’s Award—-Rules and Regulations

1. As a dedication for those who love blogging and love to encourage friendships through blogging.

2. To seek the reasons why we all love blogging.

3. Put the award in one post as soon as you receive it.

4. Don’t forget to mention the person who gives you the award.

5. Answer the award’s question by writing the reason why you love blogging.

6. Tag and distribute the award to as many people as you like.

7. Don’t forget to notify the award receivers and put their links in your post.

Why I love blogging?

So many reasons, but I think the main one is because you get to “meet” so many people in the blogosphere. You could write in a physical diary or in my case, since I like to review books, I could keep my own book of reviews, but where’s the fun in that?

When I post my reviews on a blog, I meet many more readers who love the same books as I do, and get more recommendations for other great books, and of course, sometimes we have small discussions on what we liked or disliked about a book, and I think it’s wonderful!

I’m passing this award on to:

Adelle Laudan because I love her posts and writings.

Jehara because I think she’s a very interesting person.

Molly & Andy from The Bumbles, because I think they’re such a fun couple!

Rob from The Luck Key just because he’s been an amazing friend. =)

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!

Ok, I’ll admit it, I’m just lazy. And really tired.

I didn’t have the time to write a better post about more interesting topics, so I’m just going to write these simple random 13 things about my new job. =)

1. I have to wake up at 6.30am every Monday to Friday, so that I won’t get caught in the traffic jam.
2. Hubby sends me to the LRT station, then I commute to work.
3. I leave the house at about 7.20am, and I reach the office at about 8.40am! =(
4. After that it’s work, work, work the whole day, although sometimes I take a toilet break or a water cooler break. =)
5. I don’t really get the chance to eat healthy though, the food in KL is really expensive, and there aren’t many places that offer healthy, good food.
6. Also, I used to eat little meals 5 times a day, now I only get 3 meals a day, because I only get one lunch hour. (LOL! Of course!)
7. Sometimes I only get 2 meals a day, because I run late in the mornings and have no time for breakfast. =(
8. I’ve started putting on inches on my waistline since eating bigger meals.
9. I enjoy my work a lot, but I think my biggest complaint is always being hungry and never getting good and healthy food, and also that the food is so expensive there.
10. I start work at 9am, and finally finish at 6pm. They don’t count lunch hour as a work hour here…=P (Hello, I’m eating more expensive and less healthy food in KL because I’m *at* work, aren’t I? It’s not like lunch hour’s a holiday for me. I hate how they exploit you to the max here.)
11. And then I commute home again, during rush hour when the we’re all packed like sardines in the train, and someone with halitosis is breathing down my neck. Ugh…
12. Finally I reach the station where hubby picks me up again, and we go to his mother’s house where dinner’s waiting.
13. So from 6.30am until 7pm, I’m pretty much tied down because of my job. And after that, I’m too tired to do much else.

So of course you’ll forgive me for not having a more interesting TT this week, right? =D

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker

I’ve heard and read a lot of reviews about this book, and I’d been curious about it for some time.

The reviews piqued my interest, and the subject matter looked like it would be fascinating to read about. It didn’t disappoint. Much.

The story’s about Truly Plaice, who’s born big and keeps getting bigger, apparently from a medical condition. She suffers from isolation and the cruelty of her peers because of her difference, and it doesn’t help that her older sister is the total opposite of her; petite and beautiful.

The story was good, but I felt that there could’ve been a lot more to it if the author would’ve explored further. The ending was a little anti-climatic for me, I felt that there was so much potential that wasn’t probed at and explored.

All in all, I’d say that the book is worth reading, but not particularly spectacular. Perhaps other readers will like it better than I did.