Hooked On Bookz

Ok if you guys won't be out with your magic brrroomstick or fake fangs shouting "trick or treat" at people's doorsteps this Halloween...then you may want to probably sink your fangs into any one of these specially-compiled Halloween books. * Song of Kali by Dan Simmons Setting's in Calcutta: a monstrous city of immense slums, disease and misery, clasped in the foetid embrace of an ancient cult. Our hero, Robert Luczak has been hired by Harper's to find a noted Indian poet who has reappeared, under strange circumstances, years after he was thought dead. Luczak's routine assignment turns into a nightmare when he learns that the poet is rumoured to have been brought back to life in a bloody, grisly ceremony of human sacrifice! (faint) * The Green Mile by Stephen King One of King's most engaging page-turners filled with mysteries, horrors and wonders. At the end of 'The Green Mile' is the room in which sits Cold Mountain Penitentiary's electri...

Finally, for the first time, I made it to the Readings @ Seksan on Saturday, 25th Oct! It was a great, well-organised event by Sharon Bakar and Bernice Chauly. And the turn up was fantastic too. I think there were about 20 pax or so? And yes, there was food and drinks too. The cakes were yummy! The readers consist of Poetry Underground, Preeta Samarasan, Sharmini Flint and Chiew Siah with music from Reza Salleh (he's one helluva talented musician I must say!). All the readers did perfectly well. I enjoyed listening to their excerpts. Sharmini's was hilarious - I think her upcoming book is called Ten, Preeta read from Evening is The Whole Day, while Chiew Siah, who's working on her trilogy, read Little Hut of Leaping Fishes. As for Poetry Underground, I enjoyed all their poems, especially the last reader (so sorry I forgot his name) But his was hilarious! The crowd really enjoyed it. He really ended the evening with a bang. And Reza, thanks for your music. My friend Carly an...

Guess what I found while surfing? NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- In a bound-to-be-controversial book released today, ad-industry pundit Martin Lindstrom busts commonly held beliefs about marketing, asserting that subliminal advertising does exist and maintaining that cigarette warning labels make smokers want to smoke more, not less. If you're too lazy to read the whole of it, these are some snippets from the above article: A major finding is that consumers are driven by not only conscious motivations, but subconscious ones, too. "The majority of the decisions we make every day are basically taking place in the part of the brain where we're not even aware of it," Mr. Lindstrom said. "I really wanted to find out what makes one brand appeal to us. You really can't ask that question to the conscious mind and depend on a verbal answer." "Buyology" also says that a brand's logo is not as important as many have held it to be; that consumers' sense o...

delightful and charming. it's a very simple story (a highly recommended weekend read), written from the eyes of a little girl, Totto Chan, who's unique in her own ways. when Totto Chan was expelled from her first school due to her unacceptable behaviour, she joins a new school called Tomoe Gakuen, founded by the headmaster Sosaku Kobayashi. this school, unlike others, allows the children to study anything they want, which means, you'll find at any time, children studying a different subject in a same class. and guess where the classes are? in a train :) this of course, would amaze any children, especially children like Totto Chan. For lunch, the headmaster asks the children to take "something from the mountain and something from the sea". and for the winners of their Sports Day, they bring home cabbages or basket of potatoes instead of trophies as prizes, much to the children's disappointment. WHY VEGETABLES AS PRIZES? (*wink*) and it teaches many other unique...

CL, you'll love this! hehee AIN'T SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS HOT! lOl

Aravind Adiga won the Man Booker Prize on Tuesday night with his novel, The White Tiger, joining a pantheon of past Booker winners that includes such literary giants as V.S. Naipaul, Nadine Gordimer, Iris Murdoch, Kingsley Amis and Salman Rushdie. For Ravi Mirchandani, who edited Adiga's book and was sitting beside him at the table, the win was especially sweet. The White Tiger was the first book he bought for Atlantic, which hired him in 2006 after he was fired from a job at Random House. The novel was shown to him by Adiga's agent, who insisted that he read it that night and make an almost instant decision about whether to bid for it. "I sat down with the manuscript and after the first six pages I was just so excited," Mirchandani said. "When you're reading a first novel, you're often thinking: 'This is fantastic, keep it up, keep it up' " — only to find the writer stumbles and falls. In Adiga's case, Mirchandani said, "The voice...

It's not LV, not Coach, not Prada or any other branded bags. This bag, as you can see, is from Borders :P I want to play my part in saving Mother Earth. So, on my next visit to the bookstore, I'll be carrying this bag to put in any mags or books purchased anywhere. Wanna join me? ;)

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-on-shortest17-2008sep17-pg,0,5785738.photogallery He Pingping, Svetlana Pankratova (Sang Tan / Associated Press / September 16, 2008) The 20-year-old He was born with a type of dwarfism. He is the shortest man who is mobile, Guinness says. Pankratova, 36, said she liked her legs, though they can complicate things. "It's hard to find clothes, especially pants," she said. He Pingping stands precisely 2 feet 5.37 inches tall. Pankratova's legs are nearly 52 inches long. The two met, with He standing at Pankratova's knees, to publicize the release of "Guinness World Records 2009."

http://reelrepublic.com/BlogImages/old_ladies_driving_10.jpg THIS IS EXTREMELY FARRRNY!! [Sent in by Christy] Two elderly women were out driving in a large car. Both could barely see over the dashboard. As they were cruising along, they came to an intersection. The stoplight was red but they just went on through. The woman in the passenger seat thought to herself, 'I must be losing it! I could have sworn we just went through a red light.' After a few more minutes they came to another intersection. The light was red, and again they went right through. This time, the passenger was almost sure that the light had been red, but was also concerned that she might be seeing things. She was getting nervous and decided to pay close attention. At the next intersection, sure enough, the light was definitely red and they blew right through it. She turned to the other woman and said, 'Mildred! Did you know that you ran through three red lights in a row? You could have killed u...

Cake Connection is proud to participate in the Passionately Pink Campaign at Jaya One to promote awareness for breast cancer. Passionately Pink is a "happening" caliber series of events designed for and participated by men, women, children and celebrities from all walks of life. True to all Malaysian's love for food, arts, beauty and compassion, all events are created to entertain, impress and most of all touch people's lives. Jaya One has organised a series of exciting activites to support this worthy cause and Cake Connection will be selling cupcakes at the Bake Sale every weekend in October to help raise money for cancer treatment. There will also be a cake decorating contest on Sunday, October 12th and October 19th! Come support a worthy cause and show off your decorating skills and talent. The winner will get to keep their winning cake and get a hamper from Cake Connection. The Star paper has a writeup on this event on http://www.thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?f...

If you pick Tribute, bring out your pillows and comforter; if you pick Mummy's Witness, grab a box of tissues; if you pick Runaway, bring out your sports shoes ;) Whichever one you pick as your next read, you know you'll be in for an unforgettable journey... :) * Tribute by Nora Roberts Janet Hardy is a Hollywood legend who's glamorous, brilliant, deeply troubled and died mysteriously at her home. When her granddaughter Cilla moves in, and is determined to restore the home to its former glory, she finds herself dreaming of the grandmother she never really knew and wonders of her past. As she settles in, she begins to unravel her family's secrets. But someone wants her to leave the past alone, and she becomes the target of increasingly brutal acts. Together with her neighbour, Ford Sawyer, she must find out who is is threatening her and why. * Mummy's Witness by Gayle Sanders To the outside world, the Sanders family was a respectable one - the father a teacher, the m...

Guess I'm not the only one who has fallen into Haruki's spell. My friend Victor is enchanted by him too haha Below is his review. Thanks Vic! ;) "To be honest, I wasn’t really going to the bookstore looking to buy Haruki's After Dark. I was already going to leave the place after grabbing my (he deleted 'Doraemon comic' here hehe thank me later Vic LOL =P) books when I spotted an interesting book cover on the shelves. I grabbed it, flipped the pages, and to the cashier I go, the book firmly in my hand. After Dark is Mr Haruki’s latest work after Kafka On the Shore and it’s definitely a job well done. The story is neither too long nor too short; just enough for a satisfying read. The characters are well developed, reading it felt like one is having a really good conversation with a newly met stranger. Refined is the word I would use to describe it. The story tells of strange happenings, but it doesn’t make its characters shudder in fear, or does it overwhelm the...

I've always thought Meryl Streep is one helluva great actor. The day after I've seen Mamma Mia, I've been googling about her (My hubby now calls me her stalker :P) Anyway, during one of my google and youtube sessions, I found this really hilarious video of her AFI in 2003. Check it out hehe Don't you think Jim Carrey is super duper hilarious? You can check him out at other AFI's too, one of which I find entertaining is the stint he did at Clint Eastwood's AFI, here it is: My verdict? LOL ROFL LMAO!!!

Have you seen Mamma Mia? If not, it's time you hit the cinema and go WATCH IT! No, don't watch it on DVD, you pirate! Anyway, even if you do, it won't be good enough. If you've bought the DVD but haven't seen it, don't do it just yet. Go to the cinema, watch it there and you'll know what I mean. Anyway, I think the cast di d a blardy good job. Meryl Streep is one helluva talented woman. I never knew she could carry roles like this. Come to think of it, what this woman can't do??? In an interview, she says it's 'my hair' LOL It seems to me, it really takes alot of hard work to sing and act well. Her acting skills are obviously flawless, her singing seems fine to me (oh yeah, most of their voices have been digitally enhanced by the way :P) and her effervescent character just livens up the whole movie... Pierce Brosnan,....Honestly, I never really liked 007, altho I prefer him to Daniel Craig. But in Mamma Mia, he exudes such magnetic charm that...

Check if the below is familiar. Tick as many as possible: * You dress according to your mood or an occasion you're attending. * You match your accessories according to what you're wearing. * Your shoes must match too . * When you travel, you bring as many clothes as possible , so no matter what sudden occasion that may occur, you still have a few choices of clothes. Are all the above checked? If yes, well, good, you aren't alone, coz I'm pretty sure there are many ladies out there who can relate to the above. But if none of the above is true to you, try the checklist below: * You read according to your mood or occasion (e.g: going to a shopping mall - the possibility of reading when you stop at a kopitiam for a rest, you'd be happy even if it's just a few pages. OR a function - where you know nobody else, and you know you'd have to wait. OR at a post office - where the queues are always long, ETC) * You bring a bigger handbag because you've decided...