Hooked On Bookz

Title/Author: Inspector Singh Investigates: A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder/Shamini Flint Publisher: Piatkus No. of pages: 295 ISBN 13: 978-0-7499-2975-6 In a nutshell Inspector Singh from Singapore has been sent to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to solve the murder of a Malaysian heir, Alan Lee. His ex-wife, Chelsea Liew is on death row for for this murder, but she swears she didn't do it and Inspector Singh thinks so too. However, he couldn't find any other suspects who have a stronger motive that hers: Alan was taking her kids away from her and he was having an affair. What I liked Making the murder of a Chinese-turned-Muslim as its main story is a tricky one, especially when it touches other sensitive issues in Malaysia as well. But Flint managed to weave in the political and racial issues in Malaysia very carefully. She chose them very wisely too. A great eye opener to those who aren't familiar with the 'Malaysian culture' or what's happening in the country at t

Title/Author: The Rice Mother/Rani Manicka Publisher: Sceptre No. of pages: 468 ISBN 10: 0340823887 In a nutshell "In this house, our Rice Mother is your grandmother. She is the keeper of dreams. Look careafully and you will see, she sits on her wooden throne holding all our hopes and dreams in her strong hands, big and small, yours and mine. The years will not diminish her." Those words, describe indomitable Lakshmi, who left her family when she was 14, and moved from Ceylon to Kuantan with her new husband, Ayah, who's twice her age. She gave birth to a child every year until she is 19. Lakshmi survived the nightmare of the Japanese invasion by sheer determination, but her family bore deep scars and inturn inflicted those wounds on the next generation. This novel, spanning a period of 85 years over 4 generations, chronicles her life (mainly) and her family's. This spellbinding novel is a page turner. What I liked The pace, the flow, the shape, the tone. Everything! E

T itl e /Author: A Little Princess/Frances Hodgson Burnett ISBN (13): 978-0064401876 Xiao Wei talks about a book she loves dearly, and has read over and over again. What's it about? “A Little Princess” is a magical story filled with beautiful imaginations and whimsical fantasies, hope, love and courage, despite the cold hard realities of London in the early 1900’s. The protagonist of the story is Sara Crewe, the beloved, pampered, the only daughter of a rich Captain who dotes on her and sends her off to boarding school in London. She’s one of the elite (a la Gossip Girl) with her fashionable dresses, jewellery and dolls, despite her being only 10 or 11 at that time, so everybody calls her Princess Sara. Misfortune befalls upon her on her 11th birthday when her dad dies of a sudden ailment, leaving her as penniless as a pauper. Enter the villain – Miss. Minchin the schoolmistress, who banishes poor Sara into the attic, strips her of all her belongings and student status and shows S

Have you seen any book trailers lately? I've seen quite a few - Gaiman's Instructions , and Nicholl's One Day (didn't like this). And lately, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters hehe Seems like book trailers "are now an essential part of any marketing campaign for a big-hitting new novel. They've only been around for a short time – the first one was for Christine Feehan's paranormal romance novel Dark Symphony in 2003 – but they have just acquired the ultimate seal of pop-cultural approval: their own awards ceremony. The US publisher Melville House held the inaugural Moby awards recently for the best – and worst – in the book trailer industry, held in true awards-style with a glittering red carpet evening at a New York hotel." Read the rest here . Yep, you read that right. Book trailers and awards ceremony! Not sure if this will merely be a fad or something that'd last for a long while, but I'd enjoy it while it lasts heh ;P But seriousl

Wanna own The Twilight Saga poster?? Or an exclusive Twilight box set and get special movie screening passes? You can! Just click on the image below and find out how ;) If you can't see the larger version of this image, the details are as follow: 1) Get a FREE The Twilight Saga: Eclipse movie poster with every purchase of Eclipse book only from 12 June 2010 onwards. (While stock last) 2) With every purchase of 'Eclipse' book, customer can participate in contest and stand a chance to win Complimentary passes for special movie screening(for TPC members only). From 12 June till 27 June 2010 How to participate? Step 1: Fill in your name, IC/Passport number, TPC number (if available), contact number, address, email and questions on the contest form Step 2: Option 1: Download contest form from www.timesbookstores.com.my and email the contest form with your sales receipt to timesbookstores@tpg.com.my Option 2: Drop your contest form with your sales receipt att

Title/Author: The Virgin Suicides/Jeffrey Eugenides Publisher: Bloomsbury No. of pages: 249 ISBN: 978-0747560593 Price: RM36.50 In a nu tshell This story, set in the 1970s, is mainly about the mysterious Lisbon girls (Cecelia, 13; Lux, 14; Bonnie, 15; Mary, 16; Therese, 17) who decided to take their own lives and how their suicides affected their small suburban community. Their story is narrated a year after their suicides, by the Lisbon-girls-obsessed guys who had nothing better to do than to 'stalk' and 'spy' on them (even after their death, "Collecting everything we could of theirs, the Lisbon girls wouldn't leave our minds." ). Cecelia committed suicide, and the rest followed a year after. Nobody knew exactly why; you'd read some analysis of what may have caused the suicides (p176 and in some other pages as well), but you'll never get a definite answer, which to me, is exhilarating. (I'd like to think that it's probably because of t

Remember my review on One Day by David Nicholls? And I mentioned that it'd probably be made into a movie?? The rumours were true!! Got it from here : After announcing numerous projects in development, Random House Films has greenlit a project, with the film adaptation of David Nicholls' One Day going into production on July 12. The film unit, formed between RH and Focus Features, has a number of projects in the development stage--including an adaptation of Beth Raymer's Lay the Favorite (Spiegel & Grau) and Arthur Phillips' The Song Is You (Random House)--but, so far, only the partnership's launch feature, the adaptation of Reservation Road, has made it to the screen. One Day will be co-financed by the British film unit Film4 and the feature stars Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe); it's being directed by Lone Scherfing (An Education). Nicholls also wrote the screenplay for the project, which follows 20 years in the lives of a British c

Title/Author: And Then There Were None/Agatha Christie Publisher: Fontana No. of pages: 221 ISBN: 978-0312979478 In a nutshell A whodunit story that would keep you on tenterhooks until the end. You might have seen something similar to this in a movie before, but you know, nothing beats reading! 10 people from all walks of life, have been invited to an island called Nigger Island. And all 10 of them have somehow caused the death of another person in their lives. Then...in the island, this happens: Ten nigger boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were Nine. Nine little nigger sat up very late; One overslept himself and then there were Eight. So the little rhyme continues until.... 'and then there were None.' The incidents that happened in the island followed the rhyme to the tee. The mystery here is this: If there were only 10 of them on the island and all 10 of them were murdered, who killed them? What I liked The suspense and the well-planned plot

Sky Burial by Xinran! ISBN: 978-0385515481 Lai Peen is a great fan of Xinran's works...and this is one of her favourite reads.... What's it about?: Shu Wen spent many years looking for her lost husband after he disappeared in Tibet. She faced many difficulties in the wild mountains of Tibet but after spending more than 40 years there, she finally discovered that her husband had indeed died. She accepted the truth and went home to her province. Some people may think she was foolish to spend so many years looking for her husband in a region she knew nothing about, but I think the strength of her character is certainly admirable. I also find this story fascinating because it describes and explains the Tibetan cultural practice of ‘sky burial’. What I liked: The character I admire most in this novel is Shu Wen. I think she was very brave. It is not easy to leave your home to go to a strange land and live there for so many years. She did all this because of her love for her husband

Hi Yvonne. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to have an interview with you. How are you and what have you been up to lately? You’re welcome! Currently, I’m in the midst of getting my third book ready for printing. Could you tell us more about your new book please? My third book, Madness Aboard! the sequel to The Sky is Crazy , is a collection of humorous and real stories from my experience working as a flight stewardess with an international airline. This third book (my second book is a collection of essays on matters close to the women’s heart, of beauty and vanity, called Vanity Drive: The Vagaries of one Woman’s Vanity , also by Marshall Cavendish) continues to unravel the hilarious and sometimes bizarre happenings that took place in the stratosphere. Aviophobics, lecherous old coots, a passenger on a fart fest, troublemakers and other eccentrics are the worse kinds of passengers that all fly girls and boys had seen. Among the books you’ve written, which one you enjoye

Look at these staircases! Don't you wish you can have them in your homes??? Wouldn't it be awesome if we could?! Then, you'll always have space for any amount of books! We can keep 'em in book racks, tables, beneath your bed...floor,...now we have...STAIRCASE!! :D THANKS for the pics LAI PEEN! :)