Hooked On Bookz

THIS MONTH'S WINNERS ARE... Liew Yuen Hong: Summer at the Villa Rosa by Nicky Pellegrino + I love you Mom! by Juicy Lucy Lim Kuan Ming: One Last Summer by Catrin Collier + I love you Mom! by Juicy Lucy Kyeli Wong: The Perfect Man by Naeem Murr + I love you Mom! by Juicy Lucy CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS! And thank you to all who participated. Don't be disheartened if you didnt' win, as there will be more giveaways coming up! Keep your eyes peeled! ;) The answers were: 1) Problem Solving 101 by Ken Watanabe 2) Message from An Unknown Chinese Mother by Xinran 3) The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler

Yes, my dear biblioholics, there is another SALES! This one's in Bangsar, KL. Here are the details: Venue: 4th Floor, Annex, Bangsar Shopping Centre, 283 Jalan Maarof, 59000 Kuala Lumpur Date: 30 Apr - 9 May 2010 Time: 10am to 9.30pm POW WOW STUFF! Up to 90% OFF Triple Deals!! 3 for RM 10, 3 for RM 20, 3 for RM 30 So biblioholics, GO...SPLURGE!!! :D *Sings* Go, tell it on the mountains, over the hills and everywhere! Go, tell it on the mountains, that there is another sales! To those living in Kota Damansara area, you're in for a treat as, TIMES BOOKSTORE IS GOING TO BE SO NEAR YOU!! * Outlet opening on 28th April 2010 * Opening Promotions: 20% discount on cook books, 20% discount on VCD & DVD, FREE gifts with purchase of RM 50 & RM 100 etc until 31 May 2010 * UOB tie-up: 15% discount on all books (except magazine & other promotions) Times, can you have one in Shah Alam too please? haha :P

First of all, HAPPY WORLD BOOK DAY EVERYONE!! :) Let's spread the joy of reading, not only today, but every other day by sharing great reads with your friends and family, also, if you have too many on your shelves, give them to those in need...I came across this on guardian.co.uk and thought that I'd share it with you... "With or without TV debates, most thoughts at present in the UK are turning to the choice we will make in the forthcoming general election. However, the stark fact is that very many people in the UK will not be a part of that process; not because they don't want to necessarily, but because they lack the most basic skills to do so. They can't read. They cannot make a choice. It is a truly terrible democratic deficit." (More...) The thought of parting with your favourite books can be painful. To be honest, I had problems giving mine away. But just thinking of the impact it can make on a person's life helped the 'parting' a whole lot...

Title/Author: Brothers/Yu Hua Publisher: Picador No. of pages: 641 ISBN: 978-0-330-45275-5 In a nutshell ‘Brothers’ is about two stepbrothers, Baldy Li and Song Gang, who were brought together by death. Song Gang’s dad married Baldy Li’s mom after Baldy Li’s birth dad died tragically in a grotesque and comical incident. In the beginning I was a little put off by some of these explicit scenes and the constant use of vulgar language (and not to mention also the detailed descriptions of butts!). But after putting up with all of that, I was then rewarded by a very heart-rending story of the stepbrothers who grew up in Liu Town, a small town in Shanghai, during the Cultural Revolution. Baldy Li, crafty and crass, while Song Gang, his total opposite, honest and gentle, are fiercely loyal to each other until they both fell in love with lin Hong, the most beautiful woman in Liu Town. What I liked Definitely the humour and charm that made up for its vulgarity. There was this scene where a bu...

Title/Author: Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter/A.E.Moorat Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton ISBN-10: 144470026X/ ISBN-13: 978-1444700268 In a nutshell A.E.Moorat is the pseudonym of author Andrew Holmes whose first novel, Sleb, was shortlisted for the 2002 WHSmith New Talent Award in the UK. His other novels are All Fur Coat, 64 Clarke, and Rain Dogs and Love Cats, all of them dark, funny thrillers which were critically well received in the UK. In Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter, A.E.Moorat had successfully weaved an entertaining historical gothic horror (a genre that he loves) and dark comedy (he started out as a comic writer). The book is best summed up in two words: Bloody funny (Mind the pun). When young Victoria was crowned Queen of England, she was expected to protect her country, especially from demons who were instructed by the dark one to remain on earth and spread evil. The protective Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne had warned her not to trust anyone because these demons could take ...

Title/Author: One Day/ David Nicholls Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton No. of pages: 437 ISBN: 978 0 340 89698 3/99468 9 In a nutshell: Boy meets girl, girl likes boy (very, very much), 'hooked up' on graduation night and had a short date the day after. Confident, rich, handsome Dexter and independent, one-liner queen, Emma, continue to meet on the same date, every other year for the next twenty years. Hence, the title, "One Day", David Nicholl's third novel. We catch up with them throughout the years, as we find out whom they dated or are dating, what they did or achieved, e tc. It's abit like watching Ross and Rachel of Friends, only here, we only get to know what happens or had happened to them, on that date, 15th July, the date they first met in 1988. What I li ked: The witty conversations and Nicholl's detailed descriptions. I liked how he described Emma's room from Dexter's POV: "In his last four years he had seen any number of bedroo...

This May, in conjunction with Mother's Day, H ooked On Bookz is giving awa y some really fantastic, g reat read s! Sum m e r at the Villa Rosa by Nicky Pellegrino (Rated 5 stars in Amazon.com) Raffaella Moretti is the new housekeeper at the Villa Rosa in the Italian town of Triento. But this is not the life she imagined for herself. Just a year ago, she married th eonly boy she ever loved - now she is a still-beautiful widow, attracting both pity and suspicion from her neighbours. As Raffaella struggles to recapture her lost happiness, those around her have their own problems. Then, Raffaella is pulled into the centre of a conflict that threatens to divide Triento - and destory all she holds dear. Readers overall comments for this book were it being a perfect holiday read! One Last Summer by Catrin Collier (Rated 5 stars in Amazon.com) East Prussia, 1939: Charlotte von Datski's parents hold a glittering ball to celebrate her eighteenth birthday and her engagement. But Euro...

Right. So here it is. THE Big Bookstore in Atria Shopping Mall, Petaling Jaya - The everyday-sales bookstore :D Many reasons why I'm gonna be a frequent visitor of this place: 1) CHEAP CHEAP books 2) Ample parking space (FOC on Sundays! Not sure about Saturdays though...) 3) A wide variety of titles 4) The store is huuuuuge and spacious Meet my four new tenants: Could have bought more if not for my splurge at Pay Less haha Cost me only RM16.90 each, except for Illustrated Tales from Shakespeare , which was RM29.90, I think. Anyway, anyone living in the vicinity, should pay The Big Bookstore a visit :) And if you're a bookaholic just like me, make sure, you have ONE whole day! (If you can, try not to splurge anywhere else before that? :P)

Ooooo I feel so guilty. This weekend, I went to two places to splurge. One of which is Pay Less's Clearance Sales which Jien Sing told me about...THANK YOU! :) Mostly non-fiction. Oh...and guess what I found in one of the books? A lesson plan from 1974!! Type-written! Cool, right? ;) I tried looking for a love letter or some sort...but nothing much :( Can't wait to read Marv though...Loved the illustrations! The other 2 titles, The Metamorphosis and Girl with a Pearl Earring came highly recommended by two friends of mine...So I thought, why not, since it's only RM5 and RM6 per book hehe :P All that for ONLY RM47 :D Thanks to my dear hubby for bringing me there and paying for all of them! *big grin* Next, my loot from Big Bookshop from Atria in Petaling Jaya...(Thanks Lai Peen for the recommendation :) And thx hubby for allowing me to splurge, once again LOL) THIS PLACE...I MUST MUST BLOG ABOUT :) But first, let me take a picture of the books I bought. Not many, as I didn...

To all fans of Neil Gaiman's, you'll LOVE THIS!! :) It's Neil Gaiman's latest book called Illustrations , a collaboration of Neil and award-winning fantasy illustrator Charles Vess. It will be launched on 27th April! " Remember your name. Do not lose hope—what you seek will be found. Trust ghosts. Trust those that you have helped to help you in their turn. Trust dreams. Trust your heart, and trust your story . The words of renowned storyteller Neil Gaiman’s instructions for navigating a treacherous and deceptive fairy-tale landscape are brought to vivid life by award-winning fantasy illustrator Charles Vess, acclaimed for his illustrations of magical and mythological landscapes, in their first collaboration since the bestselling Blueberry Girl. Instructions guides a traveler safely beyond magical gates and enchanted cottages, by gardens and woods populated by princesses, wolves, and witches, past a riddling ferryman, and through sea and sky on the bac...

Title/Author: Problem Solving 101 (Hardcover)/ Ken Watanabe Publisher: Vermilion No. of pages: 112 ISBN: 978-0-091-9296 -64 In a nutshell The title of th e book explains itself. Unlike other books that are of a similar kind, this one's filled with simple lessons conveyed in a very straightforward manner, that you could finish it in one read. Watanabe teaches you how to analyse your problems, make decisions and live a more proactive life using helpful problem-solving tools. In the beginning, he identifies some common characters among most people - Miss Sigh, Mr. Go-Getter, Mr. Critic and Miss Dreamer, who aren't problem-solvers and very often end up not achieving their g oals, or taking a lo nger route in achieving them. Then, he explains what it takes to b e a good pro blem-solver and wh a t exactly is problem solving. What I liked The simplicity o f his explanation and the use of fantastic illustrations and tables to convey his message and ideas . He uses 3 different simple...

Yes, I know I posted alot of stuff today. Just that this one is too good to be left out... The article is fantastic! I loved it so much I just have to keep it on my blog. Click here for the full story. Image from: bbc.co.uk

Honestly, I'm not a real fan of second hand books, (unless of course, they are still in pristine condition, which is rare) purely because it aches me to see the book not being given its TLC. But secondhand books are places where you can find stories of their previous owners, which could go waaaay back. For example, this writer found, between the pages of Isaac Asimov's early short stories which she bought at a local fair, letters that hinted a "love story". If you're too busy to read entire story , you can read the gist of it here: (You'll love this!!) "When I got them home I found, stuffed between volumes two and three, a small envelope bearing 12p-worth of stamps and a franking mark that seemed to admonish the writer for the lack of postcode. The date said 20 February, 1981, and the letter was posted on the Sussex coast, several hundred miles from the West Yorkshire town where I bought the books. There were three-and-a-half letters in there. The three...

Good book covers are attention grabbers, great icebreakers, and make great, affordable collector’s items. Imagine how they’d looked on your shelf (Assuming they have nice, gorgeous spines too)! Once, I was so taken by this book that this lady was reading because of its cover that I went over to the lady and asked what she was reading. Can’t remember the title, because it was too long haha :P As I mentioned, book covers are great icebreakers. As you can see how Chris Cleave’s The Other Hand saved me from being known as an anti-social! When I read a book donned in a beautiful cover, I feel proud strutting i t with me haha Oh have I mentioned, I love books that are printed on good paper material (read recycled paper) as well? Hehe For more of these gorgeous covers, go to The Book Cover Archive (thanks for the link, Izam!), and the ones here, are some of what I liked :) (Some I like it for their concept, some the idea, and some, purely aesthetics :)) What's your favourite book cover...

First, let me clarify this. This is half fiction, half real life ok :P It's a little bit of me and a little bit of my wandering mind. While clearing my bowels this morning, this conversation started playing in my head. So, I decided to write it here haha It's a conversation between a mother and her book-obsessive daughter, who recently quit her job and decided to take a break from the corporate world. The mother was very displeased about it. Scene: Dining room in one of the many Malaysian homes. Mom fixing lunch. Mom: What you doing? (Her back facing her daughter.) Daughter: Aiyoh, reading lah. (Rolls her eyes. Sensing what's coming.) Mom: Don’t you have anything else to do? (Sounding a little annoyed as all she sees her daughter does all day is reading. It was so difficult to get her to read when she was a child, and now she’s reading like there’s no tomorrow!) Daughter: Yeah, after this, write review. Mom: You get paid for doing this? Daughter: Nope. (Rather non...

Remember I wrote a review on Katz Tales and had a blog interview with its author, Ellen Whyte? Well, she has so kindly invited me to be her guest blogger on her Monday Writers Craft Online on How to Be A Book Reviewer (Not that I'm an expert or anything lah :P But I just shared with her my experience as a book blogger...) Here's the post: Thank you, Ellen for giving me the opportunity to guest blog. To answer your question as to how hookedonbookz.com started, let me first introduce myself. I am a book-obsessed person, as in, I love reading, wrapping (yes, wrapping), buying (my husband says I should see a doctor about this) and hoarding (and this too) them. But I have never thought of having a book blog (Duh, right?). It all started when I was working with a health magazine a few years back, which had a column for book reviews, and that was when I met Kavita, the marketing person for Pansing. Meeting new friends in life is great, but nothing beats meeting another bookaholic! A...

Happy Easter, everyone! I'm late I know :P Been busy with Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter. Anyways, I've picked some bookish Easter treats for children of all ages from here: 'Easter Treats For Older Readers' . I thought, maybe, you might be interested in checking them out too :) (I do read children's books once in awhile hehe I used to love reading them aloud to my niece and nephew!) Oh yeah, I chose them based on their book covers. Yes, yes, I judged them by their covers :P The Bo y Who Climbed into the Moon by David Almond Paul believes that the moon is not the moon, but is a great hole in the sky. Like many strange ideas of his, he has never told anyone about this until he meets Molly, his irrepressible neighbour, who begins to convince him that his theory might just change the world. Together with some highly irregular characters and helped by a very long ladder, Paul takes to the sky. But his astonishing discovery there can't keep him away for long ...

Thanks Jien Sing, for sharing this with me!! **big grin** To all book lovers living in Malaysia or who will be in Malaysia that weekend, IT'S TIME TO SPLURRRRGE AGAIN, cuz here's another book sales!! :) Book prices are as low as RM1!!! I'm checking it out for sure! See you there? :) Click on image to enlarge. For more info, go to www.payless.com.my