for peaceful days and dreamy nights

Happy Year o the Golden Dragon!

2012-01-23T20:58:00.000-08:00

Happy Lunar New Year! Welcome to the year of the Dragon, this time in gold. :D

It's supposed to be a good year for a lot of people, but be careful not to be eaten. XP

Just a mini update, but I'm alive and doing ok. The reason why I have been so quiet these days, drum rolls please... I changed jobs. :) Work is ok. Just need to take some time to get used to it.

The downside was I haven't read any good books these days.

Does anyone have any good books to recommend? :)

In the meantime, keep warm and stay healthy. I wish you much joy and happiness in this new year.

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett

2011-12-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

Finally, a review! Lol...and it's not even going to be a good one. Still, I'm alive. I still read. And I want to continue to write. :)

~~~~

Good Omens The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett.

This book has been around so long I'm sure everyone and the children/parents knows the plot. Two very well known authors back in the days when they were still well known. Lol. So instead of the plot, I'm just going to ramble a little on my thoughts.

Let me first admit, I've read a few Neil Gaiman books, but not Terry Pratchett. Of the Neil Gaiman books, although I usually find them fascinating, I have a hard time connecting with his characters. More am I dazzled by the world he described.

This book somewhat follows that line of thought. I mean, come on, how hilarious was this idea. The anti-christ gets misplaced and no one knows until the hell dog found him. The idea of prophecies (Agnes was my favorite character, equal to Crawley and then came Aziraphale) no matter how accurate might not make sense because of context. These were great ideas, full of interesting characters and diverse situations.

All that said, I was again unable to connect. Maybe it was also the amount of time that has passed since this book first came out. The constant change in points of view, the vast number of characters...they all became very jarring and maybe I should've concentrated more, but I had trouble following sometimes. A sudden new character over and over, the multiple storylines, the push in time limit - I could only read in small doses, which doesn't work with the complexity. Lol.

Overall, I'm glad I read it, but I probably won't be re-reading any time soon. Also, this made me want to try to read more of Terry Pratchett then Neil Gaiman. Don't know why. Lol. It didn't really pull me out of my reading slump, but it did help me get some ideas rolling around in my head. So - good read, glad I read it, but that's about it. Nothing blew me away.

December!

2011-12-04T20:58:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays Everyone!
Yes, I'm alive. :)
It's already into deep winter and the air has definitely been chilly.

How is everyone doing? Well, I hope. :)

As for myself, let's just say I failed NaNoWriMo. It has been crazy lately which I will get into a crazy rant at some point.

Anyhoo~ As the cute little banner states, there was a Pet Adoption Fair again and I definitely went. Not really to adopt (since I'm not sure if I'll be ready...still miss my babies), but I wanted to look for some chance to volunteer. As a fun event, I thought to bring my mother. Errr...terrible mistake.

All those cute little animals of various ages, the sight caused my mom to cry...the whole time. She was so sadden by the sight, no matter what I said, she just wouldn't leave and kept crying. I completely agree that it's a terrible fact people do horrible things and treat animals poorly, but these were people helping. Mom was just too heartbroken by the fact so many animals were in cages and she couldn't stand the fact they'd be in such states. Oh my dear mother, it'll be alright.

So, I only got lists of organizations I shall look into for volunteer opportunities in the future, but it's the best place to start.

I have read a few books and I'm scared for writing the reviews since my opinion probably differ from the general public. Lol. Soon though. After a month of my crazy crappy/no-writing nonsense, it's back to the swing of things. :)

Hopefully, I'll have some news for everyone. In the meantime, please keep warm and stay healthy!

xoxox

Quickie Update

2011-11-11T23:58:00.000-08:00

I'm alive. I so should have been posting more, but I completely got sidetracked by my horrible NaNoWriMo. It is kicking my butt. I haven't done this badly in such a long time.

Still watching shows like crazy. Maybe if I stop...hmmm. Like that'll every happen. Lol.

Reading slump still happening, but I am still reading. I will write reviews hopefully soon.

In the meantime, I fully admit to being a bit in the shadows this month. :)

Hope everyone is doing well and took the time today to thank the veterans for all their sacrifices no matter the politics.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T08:38:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone will have fun and safe Halloween. :)

And candy. Yummm...

Revenge: Intrigue

2011-10-28T08:58:00.000-07:00

Episode 6

Ok, the show is still good but I'm starting to get bored (i.e. fast forward), so it'll be a quickie review.

This episode dealt with the repercussion from last week. One great thing about this episode was allowing the story to be more fluid. So far, Emily Thorne had been able to control almost every situation. With Frank Stevens (Max Martini), the Grayson's head of security, he became more of a wildcard which was great for the storyline.

I found the love triangle to be a bit of a tragedy since Jack and Daniel probably would have became great friends if it wasn't for everyone else nudging him this way and that. Most definitely, the Declan/Charlotte and Tyler storylines officially bore me. I do end up liking Nolan more and more.

And as always, the actress that play Victoria... awesome. I am officially in love with this woman. Madeleine Stowe was absolutely awesome. I admit, I'm only watching for her sake now. Lol.

Revenge: Duplicity & Guilt... and The Count of Monte Cristo (the book)

2011-10-27T08:58:00.000-07:00

Duplicity: Episode 4

This would probably be one of my least favorite one out of the four for a simple reason despite being one of the more emotional episode. Still, it dealt far more in line with the title and theme of revenge. The first three episodes had more of where each individual’s personal choices brought their own downfall: Lydia for cheating with her best friend’s husband, Bill for his greed and insider trading, and Kingsley for having an affair and impregnating his mistress. Here, it was more deliberate where Emily truly wanted Dr. Michelle Banks (Amy Landecker) to pay for putting young Amanda Clarke locked up.

What this episode did even more was to illustrate how no one would be free of the choices they’ve made and the past always had a way of returning. Dr. Banks was in charge of
Emily took the recordings Dr. Banks made for her personal notes and let it all leak out to destroy her relationships and credibility. The part where Dr. Banks was held captive truly was a vengeful move for Emily to want those responsible for her suffering to feel exactly what she did. It was powerful and justified, but not in a “good job” way – at least not for me. It was important that this episode also confirmed how Emily had been setting things up one by one for the Graysons (especially Victoria) to take the fall and be destroyed much the way they did to David Clarke. It does reaffirm last episode’s revelation that Victoria truly loved David Clarke and what a horrible mistake she knew she made.

Frank, the loyal head of security for the Grayson’s makes more of an appearance. I do wonder how his role will play out. Nolan, although becoming more and more of an ally for Emily, continued to be much of an enigma as well in how his character will develop. If this had been any other show, I could probably predict the outcome of the love-triangles, the plots of revenge and the possible storyline. In this case though, I do wonder how grim the outcome would be if it followed through with its title.

The whole situation with Tyler had some sort of build-up, but I am currently not very interested. Let’s see how it develops.

“The greatest weapon anyone can use against us is our own mind, by preying on the doubts and uncertainty that already lurk there.
Are we true to ourselves, or do we live for the expectations of others?
And if we are open and honest, can we ever truly be loved? Can we find the courage to release our deepest secrets, or in the end are we all unknowable even to ourselves?”

Guilt: Episode 5
“In revenge, as in life, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. In the end, the guilt always fall.”

Ok, last episode was not so bad compared to this one, not that this one was a complete loss. There were great parts in terms of Nolan. He has really solidified as a character in that his motives were clear. He wants to care of Amanda at the request of his mentor, David Clarke. Ergo although trying to help her take the revenge she wants, Nolan had been trying to steer her away towards Jack Porter. Even so, the side-kick wannabe, but slowly coming to the realization of how much would be at stake.

In truth, although Emily could be sympathetic, I am very glad they’re not playing that up in the series so far. Instead, she’s the hero you’re not quite sure if you want to root for, but the anti-hero with a truly sad past that made her seek the wrong path. Still…I’m not really invested in her per say, more interested in what she’ll do next. I will admit to be very invested in Victoria Grayson. Yes, Madeleine Stowe really was that great in the series. Absolutely brilliant. She really was the only character drawing me back to this episode, the only one with depth and a conscience. Victoria, Victoria… Actually, I should say Madeleine, Madeleine… *sigh*

After Lydia requested a large sum of money from Conrad for her silence, she returned to the Hamptons wanting her old life back. Of course, we already saw what happened to her at the beginning of the episode, which was rather annoying. If you’d asked me, I think having the timelines play out linearly would have been much more shocking and had more of an impact on what Nolan must now live with.

The development of Daniel-Emily/Amanda-Jack has now become annoying. As good of guys as Daniel and Jack were portrayed, this tension of future friendship/love rivals, or even symbolism for the Emily/Amanda conflict (should she continue the path of revenge or move on and return to a better life much like before the tragedy) does not resonate with at the moment. Maybe later on. Right now, it just seems like a pity how we already suspect more and more people will suffer because of the choices of a few, whether it be greed, or to save themselves. Most likely greed.
Also, in the line, I kind of saw Emily’s quest for revenge now seemed more like a punishment to herself for not believing in her father. That rather annoyed me as well. Oh well…we’ll see how it goes.

Jumping away from the tv series itself and contrasting with the book, so far, I’ve recognized a few partial incarnations:

Conrad as Mondego

Victoria as Mercedes Mondego

Bill Harmon as Baron Danglar

Kingsley as Gerard de Villefort

As the creator of the show said, this series was inspired by Monte Cristo and not an adaption. Ergo, from what I can tell, this would be more of what happened if Edmond Dante (David Clarke in this case) died while imprisoned and instead his child returned for vengeance. Also, it was hard to say that David Clarke was completely innocent as he was having an affair with a married woman…his business partner’s wife. Eh…

Also, I loved how the writers started driving in the point that revenge isn’t all sweet early on. Despite the vengeful part of me really enjoying people getting their comeuppance, the writers all very nicely point out that there will always be unexpected consequences. As the very Pilot episode begins with a great phrase from a rather annoying man, “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig tow graves.” Confucius. What? I’m not a Confucius fan. I’d rather follow on one of the other school of thoughts that weren’t horribly destroyed back in the day, but oh well, it does not mean he doesn’t have some moments of keenness.

Oddly enough, given that the feel of this series was to be on the more realistic side, I do hope it follows through to the end. There really are consequences to every action, choice, and decision. Even inaction in the face of something can come back to wrought vengeance. At the same time, the book (although very satisfying in its 1000 pages) allowed redemption to play into the storyline, the villains always got what they deserved. The series so far has made a great contrasting difference in giving other motives behind our villains.

Despite some recent events in my life, this series brought a few ideas into the forefront as I had to deal with unsavory choices made by others. It made me wonder about vengeance and justice and how very often, justice really is blind. Those in power, with money and backing, or even just very manipulative self-serving individuals never have to pay for the crimes. The suffering caused by their decisions almost blind them to their own responsibilities. In these moments, vigilantes and acts of vigilance would seem almost justified and probably very very satisfying. At the same time, there are checks and balances for a reason. Unchecked acts of vengeance would cause more hurt and detriment to all parties involved.

Well, I kind of went on a tangent, but back to the book. Edmond Dante finally realized that his actions were causing innocent people to suffer. Even so, he justified away the guilt and continued his path to vengeance. It was not until his former ex-fiancé recognized him and begged for her child to be spared did he finally pull back. In the karmatic scheme of things, even though he was getting revenge on those whom wronged him, innocent people were still hurt and he was not held responsible because it was someone else that started it. It made this awesome genius seem irresponsible. In my opinion, he got off easy. As much as I enjoy this series, I do hope it follows in a more realistic manner like it has been hinting. :)

Revenge: Trust & Betrayal

2011-10-25T12:58:00.000-07:00

To continue last night's insanity... FYI, there are spoilers. Don't read if you haven't watched...
Fair warning.
And again, lazy ergo no links/pictures.

Trust: Episode 2

This episode built more on the pilot of Emily Thorne’s return to bring about the downfall of all those that broke her family apart. More of David Clarke’s accusation came to light. He was accused of supporting terrorists in an act that reminisce of 9-11. Another key figure that stacked the cards against David Clarke was Bill Harmon (Matthew Glave), the second person on Emily’s list of people to destroy. Bill Harmon was previously a friend of David and Amanda, but lied in his testimony at her father's trial to save himself as well as profited from it. Nolan was able to ‘help’ twice already and am very much interested in how his character will develop.

This was another good episode where people get their just desserts…a very much, “reap what you sow” feel. There was more revelation on each character’s background and drive. And we learn that Victoria and David were having an affair prior to the treason charges.

Starting of this episode, though, I found the secondary romance between Declan and Charlotte to be kind of distracting from the overall story. If it was meant to be the lighter side of this series, I seriously ignored most of it.

The last scene almost made me cry with Jack Porter and his father. *sigh*

If you don’t already know, the actor that plays Jack Porter, Nick Wechsler, used to be on Roswell. Seeing him onscreen again was such a good flashback of memories (before that series went to the crappers). I have much love for this guy.

“Trust is a difficult thing.
Whether it is finding the right people to trust, or trusting the right people will do the wrong thing.
But trusting your heart, is the riskiest thing of all. In the end, the only person we can truly trust is ourselves. “

Betrayal: Episode 3

This episode was one of my favorite so far for one reason, Victoria Grayson. The actress, Madeleine Stowe, was awesome. Victoria was played as a villain for the most part before despite showing cracks of vulnerability, this episode changed her to more of an ambiguous character.
This week’s list featured Tom Kingsley (Yancey Arias), the Federal prosecutor in David Clarke’s case, now a senator and running for office. While Conrad remained chummy with the senator, more was revealed about the case against David Clarke. Victoria had gone to Tom Kingsley near the end of the trial tried to reveal the truth, that she commit perjury to have David Clarke exonerating him. Instead of ‘doing the right thing’ Kingsley was swayed by Conrad’s support that Victoria was in love with a criminal, the trial would push Kingsley into the limelight and would help his political career.

From this episode, it was also becoming apparent that Emily had been planning her revenge for quite some time. Setting herself up as an innocent bystander or supporter, but merely using the connections and time to gather the information to bring about each responsible individual’s downfall. In this case, as a testament of her convictions, Emily had purchased an entire building in order to install cameras and gained evidence of Kingsley’s affair with a mistress and slowly feeding the clips to Kingsley the amounted to his resignation. Even so, as she told Nolan, she still released the information to the media and hinted that all ‘innocents’ were collateral.

Nolan has become quite the interesting character in this series, but I am still not too sure about him just yet. I still very much enjoy Jack, while conflicted about Daniel and have absolutely no interest in Charlotte and Declan.

More of Daniel’s past has been revealed and while not completely ignorant of his parents’ relationship, he really was more of an innocent bystander. For course, since we saw how the Pilot episode opened with his murder, we all knew it was a doomed relationship. What it does cast shadows on would be Emily, of how far she would go. It also hinted at how much Emily had truly given up on this path to revenge.

At the end of this episode, I almost felt as if there were no true villains (maybe Conrad, but we’ll see). Instead, it was a lot of people all making the wrong choice. The emotional driving point in this episode was Victoria (also, I absolutely LOVE her clothes), especially in the very last scene. You could see the realization on her face as she realized she made the wrong decision and much now live with the consequences of her actions.

“For the innocent, the past may hold a reward. But for the traitorous, it’s only a matter of time for the deliver what they truly deserve.”

New TV Series: Revenge

2011-10-24T23:38:00.000-07:00

Revenge

This was a new series I originally was not that into. It was not until the recent turn of personal events did this storyline perk my interest. Created by Mark Kelley, this series was based on the idea of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (collaborating ghostwriter Auguste Maquet). If you had read the book before, you’ll be able to guess a lot of the storyline (even if you haven’t, you’d still be able to guess most of it, lol).

The basic story was simple with the pilot episode setting up the entire series, as if the title did not already give it away: Revenge.

Pilot

~ Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig tow graves. Confucius

The scene begins at a party and we learn it was to celebrate the engagement between Emily Thorne and Daniel Grayson. We meet all the players right before the unthinkable happens and it flashes back to five (5) months ago. Emily Thorne just moved into The Hamptons and in the process of renting a beach front house. It was revealed that her real name was Amanda Clarke and she lived there as a child with her father, David Clarke, before it was all destroyed. Amanda, now known as Emily, returned for revenge.

The first person on the revenge list was Lydia Davis (Amber Valletta). Lydia was David Clarke’s secretary that testified against him and profited from his downfall such that she owned the beach house Emily was used to live in and now rented.

A quick rundown of cast:
Emily Thorne, real name Amanda Clark (Emily VanCamp) – protagonist, independently wealthy and returned to the Hamptons for vengeance.
Victoria Grayson (Madeleine Stowe) – labeled “Queen of the Hamptons”.
Conrad Grayson (Henry Czerny) – Victoria’s husband.
Lydia Davis (Amber Valletta) – Victoria’s best friend. David Clarke’s secretary.
David Clarke (James Tupper) – Emily’s late father, framed for terrorism.
Nolan Ross – owner of Nol Corp. He was the only one that knew Emily Thorne was Amanda Clarke and revealed he became wealthy because David Clarke believed in him by investing in Nol Corp.
Jack Porter (Nick Wechsler) – A childhood friend of Amanda and took ownership of Amanda's Yellow Lab puppy, Sammy.
Declan Porter (Connor Paolo) – Jack’s younger brother.
Daniel Grayson (Joshua Bowman) – Victoria and Conrad’s son.
Charlotte Grayson (Christa B. Allen) – Victoria and Conrad’s daughter.

The end of the episode showed that Emily orchestrated the revelation to Victoria that Lydia was having an affair with Conrad. In response, Victoria has Lydia publicly exiled as Victoria grows more suspicious of Emily.

“Two wrongs can never make a right, because two wrongs can never equal each other. For the truly wronged, real satisfaction can only be found in one of two places: absolute forgiveness or mortal vindications. This is not a story about forgiveness.”

~~~~
FYI - I admit, I'm being lazy these days so no links or pictures. I have a few of these lined up. :)

A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

2011-10-18T08:58:00.000-07:00

Yes, I’m still in a reading slump. Surprisingly, when I’m in that mood where nothing I read looks entertaining, I resort to the educational stuff. You’d be surprised at how much I analyze ordinary entertainment stories…then again, if you’ve read my reviews before, you’d already know how annoying I can be. As such, even as this attempt failed to get me out of the slump, I still found quite a lot information enjoyable. Lots of social commentary was what I had. Heh.

A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich.

First off, a little tipbit about me that does related to this book in a roundabout way. I majored in Women’s Studies in undergrad. I still cannot decide if it was a good mistake or just a plain mistake, but that was my major. Complicated issue condense – as much as this major helped me come into my own as a Asian American (which almost became my second major, but was sadly missed along with my almost two minors Afro-Entho and Anthropology – all forgoed in favor of graduating in 4 years – stupidest decision ever…ever.) woman, I came out of the major more critical of it then one should be. It’s only out of love that I criticize it so.

As such, I’ve read my share of feminist theories and historical recounts to be able to decipher (and sometimes enjoy) the drier aspect of academia (person opinion of course). It also meant I’ve learned to take everything in with more than just a grain of salt. Lol. The author, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich was not new to me. Ergo, I was expecting the essay/analysis form of writing to accompany the details of Martha Ballard’s life and times. Again, why I brought this up was that I would not recommend this book for those attempting to read for some sensationalized biography. Don’t get me wrong, the contents included quite a few scandalized true historical events, but the writing was that of an academic nature. After reading this book, my undead and refusing to go away interest in history reared its ugly head and gave me much a desire to raid the Maine State Library to read the entire diary. Alas, I resisted and just did a lot of googling and wikipediaing random historical people to appease my geekiness.

This book was Ulrich’s way of telling the story of Martha Moore Ballard using her own words of the place, time and people she inhabited.

Martha, as I’ve come to call her in my head as if I actually knew her, was around 50 years old when she started her diary. This was the official start of her career as a midwife. The “diary” was really more of form of record keeping for services rendered. It was not until later in her journal did Martha started expanding on certain aspects. Then again, a lot of information lay in what was not written, in comparison to the records of those days as well as what we knew of the historical time. What was so amazing about this book was not only did it stay relatively well preserved in near completeness, but it was able to present the women’s world in the voice of an older woman. Every day. For about 27 years. Holy cheesesticks. Talk about diligence. Of course, the book contained only selections of Martha’s diary and we readers must rely on the researcher and storyteller, Ulrich, for accuracy, interpretation as well as the background of that world.

It was a small world really. During a specific time period at only one location, yet it was filled with the illustrations of that time and world so similar to our own. It’s not as if there were no other diarists during that period and in truth, that’s what made it more authentic. Ulrich was about to find documentations of the events both in the local clerical records and often contrasted with other diarist’s point of view. Of course, those were written by men of a certain class, background and distinction. Times like these, it really drove home the importance of having different perspectives on any given situations. Granted, the book probably was not as exciting as I’m making it sound, but it did give a lot of food for thought. At its bare minimum, the book was able to portray an older woman’s survival during a time period where they had no voice. Instead, I noticed how women in those times had more recourse than people gave history credit for.

For one, Martha had a career. As a midwife, not only did she have an important social role, she was also privy to the worlds of different class as well as fields (i.e. the doctors and midwives often worked together even as we saw the eventual superior/demeaning stance the medical field began to take). For another, the time period’s regulation and expectations of sexual norms was much more different than we were told as children. Example, pregnancy before marriage was not frowned upon. It was not marrying even after any child was born that was upsetting and was usually directed against the baby’s father. As such, women were able to sue the man (minus a small fine for fornication). It was amazing how much time changed that notion.

For me personally, it was important to see how much history was lost when someone else controlled the media. It also showed how biases often filtered into history and we sometimes create these puritanical worlds of years long past that really did not exist. Whether it be of gender, age, or generation. Martha Ballard was a great inspiration for not only myself, but for her own family. Her sister’s granddaughter was Clara Barton, the woman that created the Red Cross, also heard about Martha in family stories. Martha’s great-great-granddaughter was Mary Hobart, one of America’s first female physicians (Mary inherited the diary).

As I resist adding more social commentary, I could very clearly say that this book was a generally good read if you’re into history. I enjoyed the refresher as well as needed the extra inspiration. :)

October?!?!!!

2011-10-06T20:58:00.000-07:00

What the heck? How is it October? What happened?

Recent run-down:
Family craziness (as usual).
Work craziness (as usual).
Relationship craziness (also as usual).

And all in all, the world continues to turn. So what happened? I'm not sure so oh well. Made a few more changes in my life. The usual ups and downs. An annoying thing though...

I’ve hit a pretty bad reading slump. Booh!!!! Go away reading slump! Go away!

I haven’t read anything in a while and all my reviews were only partially finished. With the official end of Borders, I’ve been avoiding bookstores. I do miss that bookstore with the many coupons, discounts and perks. Say what you will about the rise of technology taking, just as there are people that still go to farmers market, grow their own mini gardens, or even cook their own food *gasp* ^_~, physical books and building filled with books shall remain.

Still, no matter the amount of books or where they are at...it doesn't help that I'm in this slump. Haven't even written in a long time. *sigh*

As such, here’s a little update on my garden to liven things up. Lol.

These were supposed to be four single giant sunflowers.

Don’t ask how I stunted them, but they’re all only half their height.

And two mutated into multi-headed sunflowers. I’m not complaining, I’m gloating at the unexpected joy. :)

See? A few heads are already seeding. Then I’m throwing a mini sunflower seed party! :D

Banned Books Week

2011-09-26T20:38:00.000-07:00

This week came out of the blue. I seemed to never be prepared these days. Too much crap and disappointment from RL.

Onto the books!

Banned book week is a week we should all celebrate the opportunity to be able to read the vast and diverse literary works in this world. :)

What a horrible world it would be for one to be without stories...

Random Venting

2011-09-20T23:11:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm a little behind on my reviews even though I've been reading, but that is partially because of a reading slump. I'd ask for book recommendations (something happy, smexy, fairytales, folklores, I donno), but at the moment, I'm just really upset.

Pissed would be the more correct term. So please let me vent.

What is wrong with people? Seriously...people in general. What happened to kindness? Compassion? Common decency? COMMON SENSE?

Seriously... there is such a thing as karma and I wonder if I can assist.

A-holes.

160

2011-09-12T22:52:00.000-07:00

Wow, after goodness knows how many years I’ve been in this tiny niche blogsphere, I’ve reached my 160th post. Took me a freaking long time. Lol. With so many different events going on, I kept wondering what I wanted this post to be about. My currently situation? Something personal? A comment on the recent social/cultural/political situation? Current blogsphere happenings? Or simply another book review (one close to my heart)?

After all these years, I am still having trouble pinning down my writing voice. Still having trouble expressing myself. Sometimes, I just want to make a big ruckus, but that’s not really me. So, here’s something simple and sweet.

Happy Moon Festival!

(Yes, I know I'm random) That's why you love reading this. ;)

I hope people celebrating were with their family members, eating yummy moon cakes, peeling giant grapefruits and eating those too. :) Nothing beats Asian holidays. Always filled with food, history and so much celebration. Mine was rather tame this year, but I loved it still. It was peaceful and I would not have asked for anything more.

When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa Jame

2011-09-03T22:25:00.000-07:00

I was supposed to post this earlier and have some edits, but was distracted by some recent events. Next thing I knew...September! Lol. Time and whatnot. As such, please continue to excuse my typos, grammar problems, and incomplete sentences…have fun!

When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James

This was a surprisingly funny and happy book, by which I mean very awesome humorous. I had been so hesitant these days of angsty books, but I my resistance to fairytale retellings were next to none. So I picked up this book gearing myself against some emotional rollercoaster and instead, found myself happily laughing at the humorous exploits of the characters. It had angsty moments mostly at the end, but overall, it was so hilarious half the time I was giggling nonstop.

It was a very interesting idea. Our gorgeous heroine, Linnet, was so frank and straight-forward it was most refreshing. Example, the fact she knew she was beautiful and how to use it. The more books I read, the more I like reading stories where the female protagonist wasn’t always so insecure with her looks all the time. Yes, we all have body issues, but even oblivion had limits. In here, it was blown to smithereens. I just enjoyed her tremendously. Even at the end when she was sick and the fact she did show all women care about out looks, Linnet was still able to pull the rug out from Pier. She was smart and gave as good as she got.

As for our hero…Pier, he was hilarious. He really was the beast in truth. His temper and attitude would have bothered me more if our heroine hadn’t been able to stand her own ground the entire time. She was often able to point out how Pier was being a major pain and sometimes even got the better of him. It took him a while, but when he admitted defeat, it was a very poignant and funny moment. I mean, seriously, we have the hero as a doctor and a cripple…which the heroine even points out to him half teasingly. He spoke of things just as frankly as Linnet and really made them the perfect couple.

I mentioned how this book’s humor caught me by surprise and I meant it in the best way. I think the two characters were very much on equal grounds. In this sense, when any bickering and problems appeared, Pier and Linnet were able to have this understanding of each other that made everything they say – even when mean – to have a great sense of connection. They called each other on their issues and were not shy about anything between them. I especially enjoyed the part where Pier went all a-hole on Linnet just because he had trouble controlling his attraction to her, Linnet was NOT allowing him to get away with anything. Instead, Linnet called him out on his behavior and went ahead and pointed out that he should not take his frustration out on her. It’s not her fault he’s got issues. How refreshing was that?

The intimate scenes were rather tame in my opinion and were blacked out in most cases, almost as if they don’t matter. So, I didn’t really care of them. I was too focused on the funny characters. :)

And the plot about the parents. Awesome. As of late, I’ve moved away from too many secondary romance stories in books because I usually find them to be too distracting or took too much away from the main storyline. This was an exception. The secondary romance between Pier’s parents was very well done. It also helped relate to the past as to why things turned out the way they did. Surprisingly, this secondary story was very good in His mother didn’t sit around heartbroken or wasting away. She got re-married. Even after her second husband died, she came back with a vengeance. :D

Even Sebastian was adorable. I liked his interaction with Pier. It’s always nice to see deep friendship and family ties that contrasted with how a character dealt with others. I just wished Linnet also had this interaction with people. She was a little too isolated in my opinion. Even with the kid to show her softer side, Linnet did not really have any friends. Plus, her maid was still an employee no matter how close. The dog was a nice touch though. I'd like to think of it as a form of service animal as well as plug for adopting pets. Horray for doggies!

Conclusion: A fun book to read just for fun. Lol.

A Night of Scandal by Sarah Morgan

2011-08-22T08:58:00.000-07:00

A Night of Scandal by Sarah Morgan

Ms. Sarah Morgan,

Please be warned I may be drooling throughout this review because your book was so awesome. I personally do not like reading celebrity romance. Not at all. Haven’t been one of those celebrity fangirls since my teens and felt like a complete moron for having done so. Instead, this made me re-evaluate a few thing…like how hot your hero was and how awesome your heroine was. And your writing? Oh my goodness, your writing. I certainly hope you will be writing a whole lot more long novels because this one was too short. So short I re-read it 5 times…in one day…the day I bought it.

Let me repeat, I loved this book. It has now joined the ranks of a few books I am forever carrying around in a large bag. Whether at work, home or play. Why? Because it was hilarious! Don’t get me wrong, this book was filled with plenty of heartwrenching angst, but this book had such a nice quality of teasing and humor in it. The character leapt off the pages. Their chemistry, the sincerity. Oh my lovely book. *cuddles book to tiny bosoms*

Nathaniel Wolfe – He was the mega-hot international super star. I cannot believed how you even tongue-in-cheek teased the idea of the whole alpha male by letting him play a role called… Alpha Man. Ahahahaha. He was so freaking damaged it was insane, but was so incredibly good. So closed off, but not entirely cold.

Katie Fields – I love this woman. She was awesome. Yes, she had her insecurities, but the she was a smart, independent and hardworking woman in her own right. And when our male hero was being an ass? Well, I loved the fact she held her own and called him out on it. I mean, are you kidding me? She’s awesome! She doesn’t let him get away with any of the crap he dishes out even when she’s hurt. This was an awesome protagonist. I have nothing else to say. I like her.

Story-wise was simple enough. Mega star Nathaniel was at the opening night of his first theatrical play as King Richard when he saw someone in the audience...someone that did something no one had done in decades, it shattered Nathaniel the actor on the spot. He rushed off stage and ran into Katie, the costume designer. In a moment of kindness and insanity, Katie “rescued” Nathaniel and took him to her apartment. This was when the hilarity started and where the intimacy began (smoldering smexiness). In an effort to ditch the paparazzi and being found out they “spent the night together” although nothing happened (not even a kiss, just hot sexual chemistry), Nathaniel whisked Katie away onto a private island and the dance began. Katie wants to know the real Nathaniel whereas Nathaniel don’t know why he wants Katie. Lol. It was great.

The characters were very well developed. The chemistry top notch. Everything was great. I’ve seriously kept the book in my bag and kept re-reading. I really like this books.

Let me just get one thing off my chest first…I did not like their names. Sorry. I don’t know why, but their names were a little weird. Katie sounded more like a nickname whereas Nathaniel sounded so formal. Maybe it was too show their personalities, but it ended up distracting me a bit.

Second…the sister comparison. I did not really care for it. It was minorly speckled throughout the story, but felt too much of an afterthought. Messed up family aside, everything else was awesome. This was an incredibly character driven book full of angst and humor. I know, great mixture. :D

Btw, the elevator scene? Holy moly, I was – ahhh…*fans self* Hot AND then funny? It was so intense I’ve been blushing every time I enter an elevator these days. Lol.
For once, the man isn’t accusing the woman of being a skank just because he’s pissed off or whatever. The author even has the characters poke joke about him being a “caveman.” When she said no, he listened. And he didn’t call her a tease, blamed her for being seductive…none of that nonsense. Where were you when I was growing up when I devoured these books? Lol. I was half hoping you’d be the one writing the rest of the Wolfe series, but alas, this was a beloved Present with multiple writers. You have now finished off what Super Librarian started…I am official sucked back into Category Romance. *throws confetti*

Also, I’m now ready to go look for some of your other books. Then probably buy them all. Mwahaha. I want all your books! (Yes, I’ve started saving up for a massive binge).

If anyone has not read this book yet, please do.

Saturday Surprise

2011-08-20T11:58:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I made a decision to my insane conflict and it will hopefully all go through. It reassured me that I made the right decision by listening to my gut in terms of people. Thank you gut! I shall give you more food. And thanks to all my friends that endured my craziness, insanity and near nervous breakdown through this time. :) Nanshi, Jules, Em, old guy, my family and a few more friends. *fingers crossed*

After a few more ups and downs, scares and fears...I woke up this morning feeling more refreshed and what do you know, found the happy surprise that Penguin publishing actually sold books on their website! Hello books, goodbye hard earned dollar currency. I have so many Eva Ibbotson in my cart it's insane. If only they'd have One Dog and His Boy. I really really want that book. It's ok, it will be mine someday as I catch up on the rest of this awesome author's books because I just read that it's coming out March 2012! Horray!!! *throws confetti and twirls around and around and around* It's coming!

FYI - I am starting to realize a pattern in the authors and books I am drawn to. Don't know what it says about my mentality, but it is rather different. Example of some of my favorite authors, writers: Diana Wynne Jones, Hayao Miyazaki and now Eva Ibbotson. Individuals that had to live through rather horrendous times, but rather than be pulled down by their experience somehow maintained this belief in people - I want to say, optimism, but that's not accurate. More like they were turned into depressive mopey people that wrote so much about doom and filled with self-pity, contempt or the arrogance that the world owes them. *cough*

Help! Decisions...

2011-08-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

If you had to choose:

Same work, less hours, same pay and a sure thing...

Or

Same work, more hours, a lot more pay and you have a 50-50 chance of getting said job, but you only get the 50-50 chance if you give up the sure thing. Meaning...you still might not get it.

Not your dream job, but work is work. Factor in you want to get the heck out of your current situation because they're working you to death without as much pay...Which would you pick?

His At Night by Sherry Thomas

2011-08-16T08:58:00.000-07:00

His at Night by Sherry Thomas

I admit, I heard about Sherry Thomas when she was first published. Despite all the praises I’d heard, I stayed quietly in the background like some demon fiend biding my time for a storyline that I look for and it came (yes yes, perverted pun intended). This was my first Sherry Thomas novel and I am definitely curious of all her books now. I heard great things about her, but a girl has to protect her wallet.

His at Night contained some basic historical stories: compromising situation let to marriage, woman in horrible situation, mystery and murder. What separated this book from others were the very interesting characters and the twist in the usual elements. Two people pretending to be someone they were not. It was awesome part. Also, the fact that we have the heroine as the one that did the compromising to ensure they married? Awesome. Such a twist. Normally, I would have hated the idea of those scheming women trying to land a man. Those were usually the villains in a romance novel. In Sherry Thomas’ astounding hands, this twist was mind-blowing.

Elissande Edgerton, nicknamed Ellie, pretends to be happy…all the time. How? She smiles. She smiles non-stop, with varying degrees and various styles. Ellie rarely stopped smiling…ever. Her brilliant smile was the only way she knew how to act to protect herself and her aunt Rachel from her uncle Douglas. Not so much broken as she had completely hidden herself behind her false smile. It. Was. Awesome. I know, I know. We’re supposed to like those wallflowers that don’t know her own beauty and with those rare smiles that lights up the room for the hero. This idea was turned on its head and it was buttkicking awesome. Instead, Ellie’s smile was a weapon, used to delude, seduce and hide. It was her only form of survival. Yet, it was at the moment when she dropped her smile did it truly hit how tired she was of smiling. Of pretending and it truly showed how smart and strong she truly was. It also made me infinitely sad that she had to pretend so much. I loved how she picked up on the hero’s deception and instead of throwing a fit or cowering in fear, she revealed her true self. Vere really was the person that Ellie needed and despite the fact he was very sweet to her - when Vere turned into an ass on her, I was truly devastated along with her. On top of that, when she played along – it was hilarious. Wished I could have actually seen more of that rather than be told.

Lord Vere, nicknamed Penny, pretends to be not all there in his head…all the time. His blundering rambling ways was his act to protect his secret agent identity. As the bumbling Lord, Vere was adorable. As himself though…boy was he a dark character. Too dark for my taste… and he really really pissed me off a lot of times at how he treated Ellie. He saw how Ellie was treated by her Uncle. Vere was intelligent enough to realize very quickly why Ellie acted the way she did and saw through her mask. Vere was aware of all the dangers and pressure she was under, yet he still treated her horribly. Maybe this was used to contrast against how bright he was as the ditzy character. Part of it was understandable since no man wanted to be trapped into marriage. His loss of a dream woman (that would never exist) was painful, but he really treated Ellie horribly. I kept waiting for him to grovel. The last part in the novel was not satisfying enough. I guess in his bumbling role, it gave enough light-heartedness to the whole situation to counter-weight it. All I can say was his horrible treatment of Ellie downgraded him in my book for heroes. Especially the lack of groveling. He’s too much of a self-denialer for my overall liking. The simultaneously caring for Ellie while pushing her away, it was annoying even if it was supposed to show his confusion. Too bad, he would’ve been great.

Best moments: I really enjoyed how Ellie and Vere were able to connect using discussions of Capri. It was really sweet and tender. Vere being the silly lord was also really funny overall. I loved how Ellie went along. Really did. And I really wanted to read about Ellie’s jam discussion. Don’t tell me, show me the entire thing please because I’ve been learning to make jam and would love to see Ellie turn everything on its head. :D

One of the most touching developments was Aunt Rachel. Her at the very beginning made me wonder if she would last the book. Instead, as Aunt Rachel was able to survive and rise above the hardship (as well as the drugs).

A little inconsistency was Uncle Douglas. By everything we’re “told,” this guy was supposed to be the unseeingly menacing type. I took it as the type that pulls strings and rarely lost control. I can imagine the events in the book were pushing him beyond his limits and that he was cracking under the pressure, but for the scene where we meet him again after the two first wed… I can hardly believe that should have been the first time he hit her. Evil as he maybe to strike such fear into Ellie, there should've been more. I know, how horrible am I to want a beloved heroine to suffer. In honesty, I'd rather she didn't suffer any physical attack at all. I was just a little disbelieving it was the first time.

Ok, there were several things I was quite uncomfortable with even though I understood why most were included.

Wedding night…did we have to use liquor? I never liked books where the first time main characters became intimate were under the influence of alcohol (which was what truly ruined my love for a certain book by my most beloved author). I do NOT like them. Even though I know this was supposedly the only way for these overly stubborn control freak characters to let go, I still don’t like it. Also, even though it was evident that the progress of their intimacies were to show the changes of their relationships, it was still rather disturbing that two of out three times were due to alcohol. The last time…due to nightmares as a push was so sweet, but thanks for pulling the rug out from under me the next morning. It was freaking gutwrenching.
The end revelation of Ellie’s parentage. It wasn’t that bad, but it wasn’t really that big of a revelation.

Angelica and Fredrick’s relationship was a sweet, but I was way way WAY too distracting for me. It’s great how they were able to help out at certain points, but I would have rather just focused more time to our main characters. The storyline took away much writing space and time especially given that it was in the second half. I avoided reading most of it until the second time around. Then the third time reading? I skipped it thereafter.

Also…what time period was this again? I’m not quite sure the “f” word was used in such a context yet, or at least not that often. Was it? I know I’ve been away from school for a while and I was always really bad with dates, but was it really? Where’s that book with the history of the f word? Maybe I should write it. Ahahahahaha. Kidding. I'm sure there should be several books out there already.

Overall, the story was great. Very interesting and different from the books out there. I do wish there was more showing rather than telling at certain points, but I do believe this was the first book where I’ve seen an author able to perfect this sort-of-telling-but-really-and-semi-showing thing, like when Lady Vere was first introduced to society. It was hilariously done and what interesting technique. Darn you for being such an awesome writer. ;) I say it with much adoration, of course.

Change? Change! Changes...

2011-08-15T08:58:00.000-07:00

How's everyone doing? Can you believe summer is almost over? I definitely can't since I didn't really have a summer. -_-

Even so, things are still changing. First off, the gardens...

My sunflowers were plopped into the ground abated a little later than I should have. Their growth were stunted. Lol, but they are starting to bloom beautifully. Today, I even saw a little bug (bee?) going crazy in there loving the pollen and just having a blast. I was very happy seeing her enjoying the morning sun and flower.

Now I know better. Don't plant in the ground when seeds or else rabbits will consume. Move them not too early or else they'll have trouble growing, but move them too late will result in stunted growth. I'm sure next year will be much more fun.

Another change...I'm once again seeking better career options. Although I should focus more on my writing, I still cannot help but want to survive in world of commerce if only for the good food. So, here's to wishing me luck. :D

Oh and I went crazy...in the sense I'm writing two stories at once. Really not a good idea, but my romance WIP is terrible. I really mean it. Apparently, despite my love for the genre, I'm terrible at writing it. I don't know why... I write once heck of a great essay, but romance novel? Not working. Fantasy and YA seems ok (not great, but not as terrible). Oh how actually sitting down and writing reveals so much. What I really want to do is to finish a novel...without cringing throughout... As a personal challenge though, I must finish a book. Beginning to end. No excuses. Horrible as it may be, I must prove to myself I can do it. So do it I must! Go me!

In the meantime, I'm still hoping to post up some reviews. I have a lot of books on my consideration list, but nothing of great interest. With the collapse of one beloved bookstore...it's been a little hard to get my butt into any stores without utterly whining, whimpering and moping. *sigh* Books... How I love thee.

At least I haven't lost all print books yet. So, goodbye summer...hello autumn. I hope everyone is having at least much more fun than I am. Or at least a lot less moping. ;)

Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn

2011-08-09T08:58:00.000-07:00

Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn

It has been quite some time since I’ve read any Julia Quinn books. Once a longtime addict of hers, my taste in books changed enough that I stopped compulsively buying after the second to last Bridgerton books (despite it being one of my favorite). Maybe it was because I did not want to see Lady Danbury get old. Maybe it was my increasing dotage too and while reading, I grew concerned about young women marrying at the age of twenty when I myself past that age long ago. Maybe it was the knowledge that if I kept reading on, it would become harder and harder to main my suspension of disbelief that almost everyone would get their happy endings…in that time period…all related…one big family. Whatever it was, I stopped – whether to preserve what was left of the copper coins slaved away, or the perfect memory of the world, I just stopped. Then came Just Like Heaven.

How could anyone resist reading about the Smythe-Smith clan? Their recitals famous in so many books where no one could endure listening to, yet some of the sweetest people around continued to attend and support the young women. When I heard this was out, I dutifully ran to the bookstore and purchased. :) I am so glad I did, this was a wonderful book. It reminded me of all the reasons why I once loved Julia Quinn’s books so much.

This was a simple book about the love and relationship between Honoria and Marcus and contained one of my favorite ideas, childhood friends turned love. In extension, the story was also about family and friends. It was an incredibly sweet story. Honoria has become one of my favorite characters. The youngest of a large family, she was sweet and honest, temperamental and brave. Honoria was very truthful with herself without being all mopey-angsty-self-pity. She hit just the right balance of being humble, yet fun loving humorous. She lead the musicale clan without being over-bearing. I loved how she was the only one to notice that Marcus was both very funny and shy. Her intelligence and observation could have turned her into a very snarky character, but instead showed how close the Smythe-Smith clan truly was. For example, the true reason for the musicales: family and tradition (but in a good way). I always loved how family was an integral part of Julia Quinn’s books. In this case, it was even more so.

Marcus was also becoming one of my favorite heroes. After all the chest pounding, smooth talking, testosterone oozing alpha heroes out there, Marcus was the perfect counter-weight and turned out even better. The prologue was a great set-up and gave us a nice look into our hero. Marcus was an only child and had no one really growing up. He was heir to be Duke, ergo groomed to be very good at just about anything he did except one: learn how to interact with people. Instead, what others assumed he was the high and mighty self assured Lord as so many other cookie cutter heroes, we saw Marcus as he truly was. Marcus was shy and sweet, sensitive and funny. He’s loyal to a fault and loves very deeply. And only a very small amount of people knew that.

In school, Marcus became best friends with Daniel, Honoria’s brother. Through whatever forces were in power, Marcus became a part of the Smyth-Smith family. Off screen, Daniel had to flee the country and made Marcus promise to watch over Honoria (make sure she does not marry some idiot pretty much). Off screen, Marcus had done so for three years. As the story picked up, Honoria and Marcus reconnect on a rain-filled day over delicious pastries and as they slowly got to know each other again. It was through an accident and injury (life threatening) that caused them to realize their love and affection for each other. They realized they fell in love, or maybe they always were in love. It was sweet, that was the only word I can think of to describe this book.

There were quite a few plot holes, but I was able to read through with no problem given that this was book 1 in a series. I enjoyed seeing old characters and especially enjoyed the inside jokes for those that read the previous books. The timing of the book did throw me off with the time period as it coincided with several others from years ago. Although Marcus healed very quickly for such a leg infection (I really loved his drugged mind – rabbit, carrot, onions…lol) and then fell very quickly in love with Honoria right after… it was all within the lines of believability. Their intimate scene at the end was very tender and sweet, but felt slightly forced in how it started. Also, it made me kind of freaked out that they were doing it in a house full of guests…right after the musicale. O__o The lost letters of Daniel were never really explained either, but I’m sure he’ll have his own story. As well as Sarah’s.

Overall, I really liked it and look forward to the rest of the quartet. :) I do love those slice-of-life romances that Julia Quinn does so well. No intense mystery, murder or mayhem. No family revelations, no skeletons in the closet to rip them apart. Just two people, falling in love – with the entanglements of the inescapable family. :)

Big Bang Theory

2011-08-08T08:58:00.000-07:00

I went on a Big Bang Theory binge. A final book I had been waiting for finally came out and you know what that means…credit card time! As I was amassing my usual story binge of the year, I went ahead and picked up a few tv series. I was going to get Parks and Recreation, but at those prices, I figured I would bide my time some more. I do that a lot. Impatiently wait for something. While biding my time, I stumbled on some cheap Big Bang Theory. How was I supposed to resist? It was like instant nerdgasm. I bought myself season 1-3 and holy smokes batman, I enjoyed it.
The series has really evolved (whether I liked it or not) and has always been sure to suck some chuckles outta me if not straight-out gasmic-laughter that irritates everyone around me. No really. I laughed so hard I was my tummy felt punched while my labored wheezing only squeezed out this high pitched gasping laughter. Ah, fun. *rubs sore belly*
Season 1
This was a great season. Penny, the more “normal” girl moved into an apartment across from Leonard and Sheldon, both highly intelligent physicists nerds/geeks. Leonard’s friend, Raj and Howard were also frequent guests of the apartment and both were brilliantly nerdy in their own right. Penny was our eyes into their world, so to speak.
Luckly for me, I had some understanding of the geeky world of superheroes, scifi and such. The nerd part was beyond me. Heck, I couldn’t even get basic physics in school much less the extensive backgrounds and information the four friends dealt with. I was very surprised that I was able to keep up with some of the information though. The best part was to hear the characters rant off long extensive sentences without nearly taking a breath. It was great! I love shows like these. I learn tidbits of information concerning the world and still get to laugh at the crazy interactions.
Season one was like the introduction into this world because season 2 was even better.
Season 2
By this season, we’ve already familiarized ourselves with our cast of crazy characters and the writers/producers/actors were able to develop more of each relationship. It was good to see the insanity grow and as each character started to come into themselves. Penny became a part of the group and slowly, we see how she’s not quite normal either.
Each characters quirks become more apparent, even Sheldon. Their relationships with each other further develop and one of the best ones was to see how Sheldon and Penny started to interact. I’ve heard some want them to hook up, but I see them more as a great example of siblings. The show revealed more about their families and it was hilarious.
The physics stuff flew over my head 90% of the time, but I was surprised to still understand a few tidbits of information. Not as much as last season though. The geeky stuff though, with the superhero references and extensive science fiction shows…I got more and more and loved every second of it.
Season 3
Finally! It has taken forever, but Leonard and Penny finally get together~~~ and it was great! Until they ruined it by splitting them up again. Why? I liked seeing them as a couple and I especially loved how they all became a family. Penny and Leonard were the parents. Sheldon the spoiled child. Howard and Raj the uncle/uncle. Lol. I really enjoyed the expansions on all the characters, especially the lives of Howard and Raj. We got to see a more tender side of Howard and the meaner side of Raj.

High Expectations, Low Threshold – Reading Kate Noble backwards to get enjoyment.

2011-08-02T08:58:00.000-07:00

Oh disappointment, your name should really be called expectation. If I could eradicate this uncooperative, whatyoucallit – emotion, I totally would because you kill books. Yes, you, expectation…you cause your evil twin like Jackal and Hyde, disappointment, to jerk the rug from under me and destroy any chances of enjoyment on books that were universally loved.
Kate Noble – her books were very well received around the blogsphere and I was totally tempted by the glorious reviews. Oh, darn you high expectation!
Expectation totally ruined my enjoyment of Follow My Lead. *sigh*

Despite the very realistic characters, the lovely road romance, the incredible interactions…I couldn’t get into it! Why?!!!! I so wanted to love this book, but it bordered on “ok.” At least for now. It made me really sad since every review I’ve read praised the books authenticity and originality. The book had all the elements I would normally enjoy, but *sigh*. I liked the heroine. Winn was awesome, so straight-forward and strong. I liked the hero too. Jason was so…practical. The culture, the world in the book pretty authentic. I loved journey romances. The conflict was different and interesting. There were no mystical help or magical resolution. The two characters actually got to know each other first with the entire emphasis on their relationship. At times, I was totally involved in the story when something I cannot pinpoint kept prodding me at the back of my mind. I don’t know what happened, but I put the book down with quite a lot of disappointment. Was it just me?

It wasn’t until I read Revealed that the problem revealed itself. I had too much expectation for Follow My Lead to rock my world as it had for so many other people. I wanted Follow My Lead to be as revolutionary as the reviews had claimed. And when it didn’t, I was much disappointed. It was pleasant, mind you. I can tell the writing and research put into Follow My Lead was very extensive. The dialogue was humorous, but mostly due to the expectations, the book ended up not working for me. I ended up not connecting with the characters as much and felt the “villain” storyline, George was kind of weak. Overall a good book, but somehow not my thing.
As it were, I had purchased Revealed and figured I’d give that one a try. Conclusion? So glad I kept reading Kate Noble books. Revealed was just lovely. I began to slowly see why so many people enjoyed Kate Noble’s books. The characters were, again, realistic and all very different from each other. Each character was unique in their own ways, with specific hobbies and personalities. I have yet to see any cookie cutter characters.

In Revealed, under normal regency novels and circumstances, Penelope would have been considered one of those anti-heroine females that competed with the sweet gentle self-unaware heroine. Penelope was the smart beautiful widow that knew how to use her charms as well as social standing to get her way. Then there was Marcus, our hero. I loved that the man really had no connects and was a simple guy. Yes, there were some covert affair kind of stuff, but he’s not some superspy. Not some secret noble born or master-of-the-world kind of guy. Not even a businessman. It was great! As the started to become friends and fall in love…it was so beautiful. Their own hidden language… “It’s just me” especially when they were together the first time. Oh, if I could swoon, I would. Just let me swoon. I loved how Kate Noble was able to go beyond the standard regency settings.

The one complaint I had with the book was towards the end, when the big reveal came for the secret. I don’t know why, but it felt kind of blown out of proportions (maybe?). Even though Marcus used it drive Penelope away as means to protect her (which I never liked characters doing to each other), the whole situation felt too forced. It felt wrong right after such a sweet scene and the way Penelope reacted, although sort of in character, also felt incomplete somehow. I did love how it was our heroine that came up to scratch and confronted Marcus at the end. Girl power all the way. ;) After that, I had to pick up the only other book of Kate Noble’s I had, Summer of You.

When I read Summer of You, I fell head over heals in love. I saw both characters already in the previous books and that probably gave me a good inclination of their HEA, but reading how they fell in love was just too sweet. By themselves, Lady Jane Cummings and Byrne Worth were incomplete. They literally felt incomplete they showed up in the book separately. Yet from the very beginning, the moment they were together on the same pages, everything fell into place. The scenes finally fitted together, which was probably the point – they were two halves of a whole. I just loved reading them together. Their interactions, the way their relationship developed. It was just so sweet and tender. It was not some random fated occurrence…no, Jane and Bryne slowly became friends and then moved onto something more. As both were trying to escape and hide from the world, they found each other instead. They teased and joked, cared for and challenged each other. This was one of the sweetest relationships I’ve read in a while. It was so wonderful I read it a few more times. Right after. Lol.

I also loved how Summer of You touched up on the subject of Alzheimer for the Duke, Jane and Jason’s father. It was equally heart-wrenching and sweet. I’m always amazed at how certain diseases or problems rarely appeared in historical novels given the historical context (like my rants about sexually transmitted diseases). So kudos for Kate Noble. I was kind of sad I didn’t get to see Marcus or Penelope. Also, as much as I enjoyed the secondary romance, I would have liked it all more the storyline was more focused on Jane and Bryne. Also, Jason…I’m sure it was because I read the books in all the wrong order, but it screwed up my head in terms of Jason as a character. Although I enjoyed seeing how much he had changed from Summer of You to Follow My Lead, it took more away from the book than added to it.

Jason in Summer of You felt too much of a set-up for Follow My Lead and that was a little irritating. Even at the end, right before the Epilogue, we saw things through Jason’s point of view. Sweet, but I wanted more of Jane and Bryne! Lol. Which leads me to another point: the endings in these books always felt so abrupt. In all three books, once the main characters have acknowledged their love and devotions, it was over. The mini Epilogues were a small extension for the resolutions and to show HEA, but didn’t felt right for me. I’d just prefer a little more, I guess.

All in all, the reviews out there were correct: Kate Noble was awesome. Be warned, Kate Noble…you’ve moving up on my list of authors I wait for (i.e. stalk). ;)

Last day of July

2011-07-31T10:53:00.000-07:00

It has been a bit quiet here...but it will hopefully pick up soon.

Time sure does seem to go by fast these days even when nothing uneventful. As if to contradict myself, having too many projects makes life seem stagnant.

Oh well, one day at a time...or if I could, fastforward to the weekends again please. >_<

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

2011-07-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

This was yet another book bought on a whim that turned out to be rather awesome (oh how random browsing at a bookstore comes away with unexpected surprises). Heck, I had not even read Shannon Hale until I picked up this gem. A diary writing Mongolian girl trapped in a tower? Who does not want to read something like this? It was so different from the “norm” of young novels out there, even when we account into the diverse cultural books that have popped up everywhere. Then I found out this was based on an older folklore? Heck yes, let me read.

So how to begin this review? I’m a little stumped…hmmm… Let’s just jump in with the basic.

Dashti, a mucker girl as she called herself, was our main character and voice throughout the journey. Dashti was the maid to Lady Saren and the two were sealed in the tower together because Lady Saren refused an arranged marriage.

Lady Saren, a year younger than Dashti, refused to go into an arranged marriage with a Lord Khasar. Instead as a child, she had written letters with a young Lord Tegus and they had half written they might marry as adults.

Lord Khasar, our villain, had ruthlessly driven through one nation after another, took everything in sight and left destruction in his wake. He wanted to marry Saren for some twisted reasons.

Kahn Tegus, our hero, was rather perfect but slightly one dimensional. Tegus was a noble and compassionate young man. When he heard about what happened to Saren, he did attempt to go help, but it all came to naught.

The first half of the story occurred while both Dashti and Saren were much younger and trapped in the tower. The way they lived together, trying to survive day after day. This was also the bulk were the readers learn of their world, based on our Mongolia. The author put in a good amount of research as the world and culture felt pretty authentic.

In the second half of the story, Dashti was able to get the two of them out of the tower only to find the land devastated and barren. Dashti took Saren to seek safety on Tegus’ land as his was one of the few tribes left that had not been destroyed yet. Once there, we learn they were one the verge of war. Lord Khasar was moving towards Tegus’ land. At Saren’s request, they kept their identities hidden and they tried to survive as servants. It was during the second half we finally learned why Saren was so fearful and the source of Lord Khasar’s powers. There was a touch of magic towards the end that was not entirely out of place. Just a tad. Even so, the ideas were well ingrained into the culture of the world.

Part coming of age, part mystery, part romance and all survival, this was an interesting and beautiful book. I did not completely change my hesitancy for first person narratives, but it gave me a new appreciation for it. This also reminded me a little of the oral stories I used to often read/hear. Fairytales, folklores and stories for younger children have great abilities to weave lessons of history, culture and humanity together. This was no different.

I am much in love with Shannon Hale after this book. Probably will be buying more soon. Lol.

Fall shows?

2011-07-22T08:58:00.000-07:00

I'm so going to watch this...

Kiss of Snow by Nalini Signh

2011-07-21T08:58:00.000-07:00

Yes, this opening is different. This is going to be a really long review. Really long. Please find it in your hearts to forgive me for all the below. I put the disclaimer that it is all from the rambled messed up mind of this very poorly read, unable to write, little young minds extensive overthinking that the below came to existence. Good luck.

Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh

Ok, we all know this was one of the most highly anticipated book release of goodness knows when for gosh knows how long. Maybe this was why the higher the expectation, the harder it was the read without preconceived notions of how the story should be. Let me just say, I was very conflicted reading this book. Very very conflicted.

I do believe it has been confirmed anything with Ms. Nalini’s name on equated to an automatic “sealed deal” for me to spill money over. Her prose, the strength of the characters and the depth of each novel will always be a “sure thing” for me. The complexity of said book pretty much reaffirmed how Ms. Nalini was a writing goddess, but I must say this: for me to have enjoyed the book thoroughly, I had to read it in a way as a semi-stand alone rather than a continuation of the series. I know, sounds insane, but it worked. This was another wonderful piece of literature by the most awesome Ms. Nalini. Her writings, the characters and storytelling…unbelievably full of depth, culture and contemporary issues all well woven into an intense and compelling story. To this day, I really do carry my beloved book around. Hasn’t fallen apart yet. XP

Please be warned, spoilers abound. I will recap and analyze, rave and complain, and mostly love in all forms of spoiler for this book.

Please DO NOT READ if you have not yet read the book.

Leave, right now. This will be one of my longest posts and will be very extensive.

Are you leaving?

No?

You’re sure you want to read this…

It’s all spoilers.

And my rants.

You’re still here? Lol

Then let me continue…

First off, this was a series a decade in the making. Everything had been slowly building up. The world, the characters, the drama. This book definitely delivered that awesome punch and resulted in much lugging around. Ms. Nalini’s awesome and the fact this book was out in hardcover totally attest to the general brilliant writing and completely believable world create. We all cared about each and every character involved. Intricate plots and interconnection of everything – this story was so much better than some of the best literature out there. The human condition was masterfully expressed and written without the usual judgment, nor were readers spoken down to like an idiot. Instead, the book was engaging, full of encouragement and taught in the best way possible.

Yes, this was a romance novel. Yes, there were sci-fi elements. And yes, more than anything, this was a work of fiction. But as any lover of stories will tell you, stories are the true histories and records of humanity. Ok, so only I said that…leave me alone. *cowers in corner* *peeks out and judged safe to continue*

The world only moves forwards when innovative minds were willing to go the distance. Well, the world moves forward regardless, but minds. Err…I’m starting to move into another territory…let me come back and continue my gushing.

This really was a great book. The war with the PurePsy reached the boiling point. Everyone involved appeared and lent to the best of their abilities to defend their homes. The build-up tension was grant, intersliced with the ongoing tension and romance between Hawke and Sienna. Their romance sure did not let me down. The playfulness and intensity, their tenderness and affection were wonderfully tangible (after Hawke caved in of course). Now, for the breakdown analysis and me dwelling too much on the hiccups.

Why I love Sienna – sometimes when I read about her, I just felt so connected. Granted, she Aces her physics class and the best I got after practically killing myself was a *coughhackcoughchokesclearsthroatwhisperslowB*. She was calm and collected, compassionate but very realistic in her outlook (almost to the point of fatalistic). Her age did throw me off at some point, but I sort of fudged that after a while.
I love books. I love romance novels. The characters, the world. Everything. BUT. I almost never “connect” with a female character. I can count on one hand the number of female characters I was able to connect with. Sienna was one of the few I somewhat connected with and that was saying a lot. I connected, but I fully admit to being not as selfless.

Why I love Hawke – he’s hawt. Nuff said. What? I gotta write more than that? Aww, fine. Shall I write an ode to his royal hindness? Ehehehe. Hawke = perfect hero. Maybe a little too perfect, but still, he was the embodiment of the ideal hero, the perfect mate: Alpha, strong, protective, playful, compassionate, tender…the perfect combination. He was annoyingly awesome. Lol.

Some random cool stuff:
- first lesbian couple, awesome! I did always wonder the lack of diversity in romance novels.
- using the legal aspects to try and keep the pack/bonds strong, every minor in the story, but extremely effective if you think about it. I never would have thought of that, but indeed very smart, Ms. Nalini, very smart.
- everyone pitching in to help Hawke towards the end and give him a little haven. Too cute.
- the “play-time” between Hawke and Sienna. Some of it almost made me cry because it was so cute and sweet… especially the where Hawke tease Sienna about pummeling him with her tiny fists… *happy sigh*
- the bebe was born! Cccuuuuttteeeee. Kit mate? Ok, ok, that’s just me being delusional…leave me be. Lol.

Onto the complaining and some unbelievable stuff.
- I don’t think this was intentional, but I found quite a lot of repetition, but that is the folly of every long term series.
X
Alice Eldridge
PurePsy War

Stuff I’m conflicted about:
- Storylines: basic three with many glimpses of the many couples we’ve come to love. It’s great, but walked the fine line of almost over-crowded storylines and jam packed full of actions.
Hawk and Sienna…mating
Walker and Lara
PurePsy War

Something simple and completely cool: Nikita.

I always suspected Nikita was NOT the evil villain often painted of her, especially for cutting Sascha out. Throughout the series, Nikita often reminded me of a very strict parent with extremely high expectations. Harsh on her own child, wanting said child to excel because she saw the possibilities, and doing what Nikita felt was the best way to protect Sascha. Nikita was more of a misunderstood anti-hero because she was not the motherly all understanding mother we wanted for the heroine we all loved. Instead, she was the type of mother that did what she felt was best for her child, even if it pushed Sascha to the breaking point. Not necessarily a good thing, but Nikita knew what it took to survive. She was a Counselor for goodness sakes, but it was Nikita that raised Sascha and in turn taught Sascha the skills to survive. I’m glad that she stayed true and that Sascha was slowly able to understand her mother rather than the other way around. I have another whole post about mothers in books, but that’s for another day.

Alright, let’s tackle a big one…the issue I’m sure that everyone has already beaten to death…mates - Sienna v Hawke v Rissa.

First off – Mates. I’m guessing this mate stuff was two-fold.
One – Once in a lifetime, one would meet their perfect mate (I hesitate to use the word we’re all thinking because I felt there was more biological explanation than the soul stuff – i.e. pheromones = compatible) where you just know said person was the one.
Two – Then you create the “mating bond” when both mates accepted one another, like a marriage/wedding, but on a deeper level.

(a) There were those that were able have a “mating bond” with another individual even though they were not complete “mates,” but were compatible enough. It works, but not as good (ex. Nate’s parents).
(b) There was also an instance when two were “mates,” but because of not accepting each other never completely the “mating bond” (ex. Indigo’s aunt? the reasons why many of the characters often say “I don’t know if my wolf/cat will accept you”?).
(c) We also had the instance where “mates” found each other too late and were unable to be together at all, much less the “mate-bond” (ex. Riaz?).
(Updated: I read on Orianna’s blog of a speech/Q&A by Ms. Nalini that pretty much blew my theory of (b) and (c) out of the running, but for the sake of my current theories…let me continue).

So…to make the SvHvR work, it would’ve meant, Hawke and Rissa were supposed to be “mates,” but due to age and unexpected death, never completed the “mate-bond.” Sienna and Hawke, then, were compatible in all aspects that they had the “mate-bond” even without being complete “mates,” but were so compatible they might as well be “mates.” Am I still making sense?

Chocolate kudos to Ms. Nalini for being able to logically work through something this complex even though there were much easier ways to cop-out. I had no problems with the development and the logistics of this idea in general. In fact, I found it rather cool and very different from the usual “oh, I know you are the one, we were meant to be, blah blah blah.” I commend Ms. Nalini for being just so darn awesome at her writing skills and extremely high intelligence to make this entire mind blowing idea reasonable and to flow so very well.

Here was my problem… Rissa as a foil. It’s not Ms. Nalini really, but more like a catalyst many many (if not all) writers used. This was something I’ve noticed since I was a very young girl feeling wronged by society/people based on my gender and my life/interests/achievements being designated as secondary or less. To cut a very very long theory/analysis of mine short and to fit only in this novel’s parameters, I felt little Rissa was used. We take a young vulnerable and otherwise good-girl and off her character as the catalyst or emotional strength for a specific character…usually male hero. This was much more prevalent back in the days comic books and super hero cartoons, etc., but we see stuff like this in romance novels all the time. Widow, widower, ex-lover – whether good or bad.

Honestly, in this case, I totally understood why this had to happen. It were no other way under any foreseeable circumstances by my puny brain. We can blame Hawke. He was just too strong of a character (in all the right ways…hard and hot…mmm…ahem) to be stopped. Rissa was used not only to scar and strength Hawke to immeasurable heights; she was also the only possible foil that stopped Hawke from doing something insane, like end the story in the first chapter and pounced on Sienna the moment she turned 18. We all saw how Hawke was the moment he finally decided on Sienna in book. No changes. No compromises. Nothing. Heck, he was willing to give up the Pack to be with her. At the same time, as awesome as he was, Hawke would’ve held back until Sienna was ready. It still would’ve been a hard struggle since even though Sienna was able to hold her own against Hawke, I highly doubt she could win…at least not until Hawke became gorgeously old. Hawke was too strong and powerful. He would have overwhelmed Sienna before she was truly ready and it would not have ended well for all of them. Heck, it was Hawke that snapped the mate-bond with Sienna. He jumped with her – you romantic fool you. *dreamy sigh* As things were, there was no freaking way the story could have progressed at all without such a strong foil – the loss of a mate.

That’s where things also became annoying. I have trouble believing Hawke truly found his mate at such a young age. To be alpha so young – well I can understand it was necessary, but from a psychological point of view…Hawke would have grown up a somewhat…er…more scarred person? I don’t know if that made much sense. My point was: he’s not supposed to be superhuman, but he was. Darn imaginary guy had no flaw. He’s too perfect. You’ve ruined me for other men, Hawke! *shakes fists at book* Not only being alpha, we saw how most mates do not survive each other all that long (i.e. Falcons, Hawke’s parents, Lucas’ parents), but Hawke was beyond a normal alpha. Given the loophole they were too young to have the mating bond, Hawke was able to survive the unsurvivable. On top of that, this mating thing gave a new twist. Was this the traditional type based on soul? The more basic one, on scent? A combination of the two? How does one recognize? Etc… more questions than answers.

And Rissa. Poor dear Rissa, she died at age five for the sole purpose of shaping Hawke. Here’s a thought, though: Do we really not change this much? That from the moment we were children, our characters, patterns, and personalities were determined and the mating bond bordered on meant-to-be/perfect-match/only-one all predestined. If we remove the mate stuff aside, I just did not feel that at age five, it was already determined Rissa was going to be such an idealized version of a woman Hawke imagined. I felt bad for her and in a way, it was kind of creepy. Hawke continued to visit her grave to calm down… He’s a thirty-some year old clinging to the memories and imagine of a five year old. Eh… It just felt wrong sometimes. Maybe when they were teens… but for such a scarred man, Hawke was too whole and perfect. I’m not saying we can’t have young love or a strong personality that stayed with us for our entire lives, but anyone other than Ms. Nalini to write this story, said book would have been thrown into the wall long ago due to plot holes.

As it was, Ms. Nalini did cover the issues well enough. It was through Rissa’s life and death that shaped Hawke to be even stronger and for him to be able to lead the pack so early on. Then again, if his personality/strength/love was all determined the moment he realized Rissa was his mate as such a young age (as we would really have to believe how powerful he was to be able to do such an incredible thing), then Rissa was only used to show that fact.

So, the conclusion was…if it was not Ms. Nalini writing this book, I would not have believed it, much less gained any enjoyment. I read the book more as a stand-alone. Removed most of the Rissa as “mate” and replaced with “deep childhood first love.” Horrible of me, I know. I can’t help it. Part of me also felt that because it was Ms. Nalini, I had even higher (non-reachable) expectation. I felt Ms. Nalini could’ve written the book just as awesome without some of these extra stuff.

Also, I had to fudge Sienna’s age. I’m sorry, but ever since Ms. Meljean’s awesome book that pointed out the nagging feeling I’ve had about the probability of an immortal and a youngen (usually female) in a realistic equal relationship was…not that plausible...it has been hard on all books thereafter. I get that Sienna had to grow up sooner since the age of five, but coupled with Hawke circumstances of having to grow up when a) Rissa’s death and b) alpha at fifteen, the disparity should have be even more so. Yes, intelligence and experience equates maturity more than age, but the experiences within a certain amount of years at a specific time or under certain environmental conditions were factors that were hard to discount so easily. Maybe it was because of personal experience/bias, but even if you’re on the same mental footing, the experience of time and generation never really goes away

So, I fudged their ages to make the relationship more plausible for my brain. I’m so very sorry, Ms. Nalini, I’m not reading the book as intended. Please don’t hate me. I did love this book for all the intensities, intricacies and relationships, but that was also the problem for me. There were just too many people, too many storylines and just too much all at once my small brain couldn’t handle it anymore. Even with your brilliant writing, I felt certain parts to be abrupt or I simply had to pause in confusion. Sometimes, it felt out of place, but your writing was wonderful.

Still, when Sienna and Hawke finally mated…it was awesome. I loved how everyone reacted and I’m sure I was not supposed to laugh, but I did. Hawke’s absoluteness, but also unsure what happened. Sienna’s shock and fear. Jeb and Hawke’s interaction right after things calmed down, “It was you!” Hehehe. It was funny to me, in the best way possible. Heck, I’m smiling right not just writing about it. Whatever the reason, the fact Sienna and Hawke mated was a beautiful thing to witness. Now, I just need to wait for Kit to get his mate. ;D Sorry, part of me still wished Sienna and Kit would’ve mated, but I know… Hawke came first. Ehehehe.

Let’s talk Walker and Lara.
I do believe it has become a universal truth that Walker and Lara were just too cute together. Their storyline was a huge highlight and balance to the rest of the plot. Their relationship was deep, intense and very loving in the most unexpectedly glorious way. There was such unbelievable tenderness I could’ve cried. I really loved their combination. Really really loved them. They somehow just fit so well together in was incredible. Perfect. Reading their story so made me want to go back to the series and see more of them, which I did. Lol. They were great. How could I have missed them entirely? What kind of annoyed me though was also because their story was spliced in with KoS. The jumping back and forth between all the storylines was quite irritating. Sometimes, I just wanted to see more of Sienna/Hawke, or just Lara/Walker. But the simultaneous storyline was frustrating and I had to switch gears almost between chapters and paragraphs. Instead of going insane, I split them up and read them separately as separate stories. Example: at the end, L/W were having hot smexy scenes, but S/H scenes were fade to black. What the heck? Gimme both! Lol. I know, so spoiled am I to Ms. Nalini’s awesome writing.

And to skirt the political issues of abortion, I was not surprised that it was used as a male catalyst, but was definitely an improvement from the usual “blame-game.” The path it took was also pretty interesting that no blatant preaching was in the place, but it did take the path of all romance novels. So, definitely interesting to read. Not ready to tackle politics in romance novel yet, so let me move on.

Ok, onto some actual straight up confusions and problems I had reading the book. *gasps* I know, as if the above wasn’t complaining already. I’m sure you’re all breathlessly awaiting the below. Lol. Ok, so here we go.

PurePsy
The PurePsy War, for lack of a better reference, was intense and a very good development. It was a very realistic storyline that continued a grew from the previous books. Even as complicated as the Psy/Changeling books were, I felt that had I just picked up this book, I would have still been able to follow this storyline. The PurePsy was a somewhat subtle criticism on our world and the problems of fanatic racism. Oh, the joys of alternate world for analysis of contemporary politics/events. The plot worked well for me up to a point and I enjoyed the progression. It also gave more diverse points of view on the situation and not label them all as evil.

What did NOT work for me was the complete lack of heavy casualty on the people we love. Not that I want anything to happen to my adored characters, but for such a large scale battle where all F-Psy saw fire and metal and blood…it was rather…clean? Yes, there were severe and life-threatening injuries. The story did show the severity and seriousness of war as well as the resilience of people. Ms. Nalini has always been great at bringing our favorite characters to the brink of total destruction/death and then saving them. I chock that up with love. Lol. The sonic blast disabled the Changelings? What a stroke of Ms. Nalini’s genius. I was shocked, worried, and excited that the PurePsy were able to develop weapons that used the Changelings’ strength against them. Shocked that I didn’t think of something like that first (I know, aren’t I horrible). Worried at how it will be used in the future. And excited at how it will be used in the future. What was upsetting, what the low body count. Again, I don’t want to kill off my favorite characters and any loss would’ve made me heart-wretched sad. Still, the fact so many people did NOT die, left open to more questions. If I were to believe there were next to no casualties on our favorite side, why would the PurePsy want to hold them as prisoner over outright killing them as previously intended. So, with that unexplained and severe casualties, it left me with a slight feeling of disbelief. Not necessarily bad, but disbelief nonetheless or that I’m missing something. Which leads us to the X designation…

X-Psy
Ok, X-fire. The powers of the X designation was finally revealed and explained. Overall, it was very interesting. It read as something unique and awesome, but the word pyrokinetics kept popping itself into my mind. I loved how this ability was so ingrained into how Sienna was as an individual. Her actions and beliefs were influenced and controlled by the knowledge (and lack of knowledge) about her abilities. This was definitely unique in its own right and I did love how the hint of how Walker’s ability was tied to help alter the X-designation throughout the series.

What did not work for me was this now unlimited energy/power resource for the Snowdances. Actually, at the climax of the fight where Sienna walked out and started incinerating everything…well, that was a very awesome move, but when the fire went out of control and started to consume all in its path…don’t hate me, please don’t hate me…but it felt overly dramatic. Only those the fire recognized were safe? What about the woodchucks? The squirrels and birds? What about the bees and insects? The irreplaceable flowers? Yes, the Sequoias have natural fire retardants, but not everything else. Normally, I probably would not have cared, but lately, I’ve really gotten into botany. So while it was awesome cool, it was also too movie style for me. Ms. Nalini wrote it awesome, but I am personally a little tired of the overdramatics that fit almost cinematic expectations. Although, I would love for this series to be made into film/tv series...then I totally would not mind this X-fire thing. :D Hollywood? Ya listening? *ahem* To continue...

The second part of the X-fire which was mentioned earlier…it has now become an unlimited source of healing and strengthening energy for the SnowDancers. I’m sure Ms. Nalini did this for a reason and we will be able to reap the rewards later on in the series, but as of now…I felt bereft. It made me all confused and full of unnameable feelings. I know there’s more depth to all of this. The double-edged sword of power that was simultaneously destructive can equally give life (sort of) and it all fell down to how it was used. The rejection of emotions causes destruction whereas the disruptions caused by emotions were probably the only links that held everything together. The balance of life and death lingered upon the depth of love.

And leading us to…Alice (gosh, I do love my name hahaha) Eldridge.

Alice Eldgridge
Lastly, Alice Eldridge. I did enjoy reading her notes throughout the book. It was great to see how the whole storyline tied back to this single human woman a hundred years ago that learned more than most people now. A little critique about how much knowledge we’ve lost in the race for technology, Ms. Nalini? Lol, kidding. I’m sure that’s just my political mind stealing itself into place. She was such a mystery that it was a great insight to have. What I was rather upset about was…she’s alive. Shaved, naked, unconscious, brainwiped, a century into the future alive... Not cool. Enough said.

Also, I it was through her that we began to see parts of the Ghost that many readers had hoped for – something akin to kindness but not truly that kept him dangerous. I enjoyed seeing more of the Ghost, but with so many discussions on this guy, I’ve kind of given up on trying to figure him out. Part of me wants the Ghost to be a certain person and part of me does not.

Now, the expansion of this world…it has been awesome, but in this book, was a double-edge sword. Luckily, Ms. Nalini was very good at that line of keeping all the various storylines and characters well tied together. Any moment when I felt a twinge overwhelmed, or too distracted, Ms. Nalini was able to pull all the diverse points of views back together.

I totally could have done without Jed and Brenna smex scenes though. As wonderful as it was to see glimpses of everyone’s lives, it did rely on the reader’s love of the previous characters to enjoy the photo-stops. Sascha and Luca’s baby, Naya, was born. It was definitely a highly anticipated progression of the series. It was so sweet how everyone reacted. The intensity of the love of the pack and the solidification of the wolves and leopards all clearly illustrated. Then again, the way this bond between child’s minds was written bordered on certain politics and science that I shall avoid discussing at the moment. I just loved how Sienna was there. How Lucas reacted. Later, Hawke holding Naya. It was the sweetest thing.

So, overall, this was a great book. I know you wouldn’t think so because of all the above. Then again, you’ll notice I spent all my time thinking and analyzing the book on the few key points the aggravated me. Sounds insane, but I actually really loved this book. I read it all in one day. Then I read it a second time...same day. I subsequently read this everyday for two weeks. Yes, I'm insane. Thank you for letting me use this blog (and the above rant) as a form of cleansing of the hiccups I had with the book. I wonder how many people actually read it through. Lol.

Ok, I need some rest now. *collapses*

Day Three: Play of Passion

2011-07-20T08:58:00.000-07:00

It's Day 3! Happy Mid-Week! I hope everyone is surviving. I'm pretty sure I'm not, but oh well. What can I do. Oh yea, read. Hehehe.

Another short review. Hmm, feels like I'm just waiting for last review to information dump. Not good. >_<

Play of Passion by Nalini Singh

Indigo and Drew, oh Indigo and Drew. I was soooo unsure how this was story was going to work out and I don’t know why I ever worried? First off, I heart Indigo and Drew like no tomorrow. An ass-kicking, no-nonsense female lieutenant Indigo? The awesome funny, observant and loving sweetheart Andrew? Talk about a change of pace for the romance novels around. I loved it! I was very excited to know Indigo and Andrew were going to be mates. It was also interesting to see what Drew really did for the pack. This was also our first older woman-younger man story (which I’m not usually into, but this was Ms. Nalini writing) and it was great. I loved how all these conflicts came into play.

Indigo had tied with Mercy as two of my favorite characters. Both strong women on equal ground and were high level surrounded by males. They were very high up on the hierarchy and had to be strong. At the same time, both were very feminine in their own way. I love strong female characters. We don’t have enough of those in books anywhere. Although Indigo had her overly stubborn moments, she was not the usual annoyingly headstrong type. Instead, she was much more balanced, willing to admit wrongs plus learn and adapt to be with Drew. That makes her an incredible character. Smart, sassy, and so funny in a snarky way at times I just couldn’t help but laugh out loud. And the slow relationship with Drew, it was darn sexy.

Drew was also one of my favorite. I know so many people that drool over those alpha males, but I’m always more into the types that had a sense of humor to them. Which meant they were usually beta. Drew was a great balance of both. He had quite a lot of alpha qualities, but also this funny ease about him that I adored. I also loved how Ms. Nalini also pointed this aspect of his personality out. Even though Drew was the tracker (ergo, very strong and powerful), he did not let near-death, loss of family, and all those other usual “reasons” get him down. And cute little Platty? Major awwwwww… I prefer heroes like Drew…wish there were more. :)

I have my reservations about some aspects of this book, but those were just minor things easily resolved/overlooked. Ex: This hierarchy thing...eh... Drew gets shot again...eh... Sienna steals the scene...nice. Hahaha.

Both Drew and Indigo were freaking stubborn and it was both a good and bad thing. Their solid playful yet tender relationship was a great one indeed. I have a huge soft spot for people that have known each other when they’re young, grow up and realized they were in love. It’s sweet (and probably one I had secretly longed for – it’s ok, I got the old guy). And the smex scenes…woooo *fans self to cool down*.

Even with all the series moments, I felt this was a more light-hearted book, if only because it was Drew. Heart funny guys.

A good book that adds to the series. :)

Day Two: Bonds of Justice

2011-07-19T08:58:00.000-07:00

Welcome to day 2 of my insanity. Don't worry...it's a short one. Long review will be at the end. Be afraid, be very afraid.

Fyi: All my reviews will have spoilers.

Bonds of Justice by Nalini Singh

Again, this book took me by surprise. One, I did not expect a book to be written about for Max so soon, nor did I expect it to be so darn good. Ms. Nalini…one of the genius writers around. A balanced blend of characters and storyline – this was an exceptional read. First, we have Sophia Russo, the Justice Psy. She was assigned to help get into the minds of a serial killer for the locations of the women he tortured and killed. Second, Counselor Nikita decided to hire Sophia and Max to discover and stop whoever had been killing her people. Now assigned together on two cases, Sophia and Max began their odd and intense relationship together, all the while, the threat of rehabilitation loomed for Sophie. I couldn’t help it, I’m just all up in this book. The two characters together really burned up the pages. :D
The triple storyline would have been too much, but they were done so well.

Sophia was another fascinating and awesome character. Strong, damaged, realistic and smart. Ms. Nalini sure writes very realistic women, equally damaged and strong – powerful, yet vulnerable. The one moment I knew I loved Sophie was when she spoke of her past…that she’ll never forget the three other children that were destroyed by the world Silence had created, it was so quietly powerful.

Max was the breath of air Sophia needed. With his natural mental shields, Max was literally a physical link and haven for Sophia’s nearly broken shields. Max, max, max. He was awesome. I really loved his character. Strong, sweet and somehow so unassuming. I loved how he was considered the “pretty” one and so many women kept hitting on him. Also, his interaction with his cat was hilarious. Made me love cats more even though I’m a dog person. Hehehe.

The relationship between Sophia and Max was great. They complemented each other so well it was incredibly moving. Whenever they were together, the pages would have burned up. Especially the little notes/letters they passed to each other that start off each new chapter. I loved those so much. It was just too sexy and cute at the same time. They teased and tormented each other, but at the same time gave unconditional support. The end was lovely too.

The only thing that felt slightly out of place was River. It felt a little too rushed at the end. Everything else…perfect. All the storylines interconnected so well it blew my mind away.

Favorite: Everything

Least Favorite: Don’t know because I wiped it from my mind. Hahaha.

Conclusion: Awesome

Day One: Blaze of Memory

2011-07-18T08:58:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my Nalini Singh week. This has been over a month in the making as I started this right after Kiss of Snow. I will finish up the series quickie review mode until Friday where the bulk of my analysis on KoS will come out. Most of this week will be me insanely gushing and saying what I love about each book. Let me start where I left off… Blaze of Memory.

Blaze of Memory by Nalini Singh

This novel took me by complete surprise and it was good. In this novel, we were introduced to the intricacies of the world of The Forgottens – descendants of the original Psy rebels. Dev Santos, current board leader of The Shine Foundation (an organization that connected and protected those of the Forgottens) walked out of his home to find an unconscious half starved beaten woman on his doorstep. It was Ekaterina, a Psy scientist that worked with Ashaya from previous books. She was presumed dead during the lab explosion, but had actually been kidnapped and tortured by Counselor Ming. The fact the main lead was Katya was a testament of how Ms. Nalini’s ability to surprise the reader (in the best way possible). Talk about reviving a character from the dead, although I’m sure Ms. Nalini had it all planned out. :)

As Katya had her mind torn into and completely tortured out, she had to re-develop herself and her abilities. This allowed for more information about the Psy without ever feeling like everything was just dumped on the reader. Katya was such a strong character in one of the gentlest ways, how else would she have survived the way she did. She was surprisingly sweet, but also packed a punch when needed to. I loved how she did not let anything or anyone keep her down. Not even Dev.

Dev was an interesting character: dark and tortured, and completely aware of it. He’s the epitome of the tortured alpha male. As with all Ms. Nalini’s heroes, he still had the incredibly strong streak of protectiveness and general mushiness. I enjoyed how Dev also brought to light some of the problems humans (the Forgottens, really) faced as well as the toll of being a leader. His abilities were also a good change from what we knew about Psy abilities. It was also fascinating to see the Forgotten’s own system and the problems they encountered.

Katya and Dev completed each other in a way that was hard to explain. They were both strong and weak in different aspects and together, they were able to hold each other up. Dev’s past was rather devastatingly sad, but at the same time, he was so very protective and strong. Katya was all alone in the world, broken and hurt, but she was stronger than even she imagined. Together, they made yet another perfect couple.

The basic storyline was also much more focused, although I am noticing Ms. Nalini’s trend of several storylines wrapped up in one: frictions within the Shine Foundation, Katya’s instinctive drive to go North, changing powers of Forgottens, and the newly found child of Forgottens. Even so, the main focus was about Katya and Dev’s relationship. Both their inability to trust Katya because Ming had done something to her mind was a very intense conflict, but Dev’s devotion to Katya even knowing the dangers was all the sweeter for this book. Their attraction was almost tangible and leapt off the pages.

Favorite part: Dev was thinking and woke Katya up, she sleepily told him to stop broadcasting.

Butt-kicking part: Katya telling Ming she’s really not that stupid and bang! Awesome!

A few hiccups:
The whole storyline about the chase North was a bit anticlimactic. It was important that Katya had a mission and whatnot, and it also revealed more of the breaking down of Silence, but it was rather distracting at times. I figured it would be a card for future usage, but it kinda of never came up again. There were a few other things that kind of made me pause, but did not take away from the enjoyment of the story.

The jumping back and forth between all the different information was distracting. Main storylines aside, the extra information of the letters from the past as coupled with the Earthtwo Logs were all interplaced. I ended up just reading them all separate to keep things more clear.

Overall, I found this book to be another great story to the Psy/Changeling series.

Lisa Kleypas or Nalini Singh?

2011-07-16T21:58:00.000-07:00

I have some reviews...which author should be next week and which author for the week after?
Lisa Kleypas first? Or Nalini Singh first?

That is the question.

What is not in question is they both will be posted. Hahahaha.

FYI - Large reviews. Especially NS's. Hehehehe.

Innocent in the Sheikh’s Harem by Marguerite Kaye

2011-07-14T08:58:00.000-07:00

Innocent in the Sheikh’s Harem by Marguerite Kaye

Dear Super Librarian,

I blame you. First you addict me to Maggie Osborne and westerns after she already retired. Then, you continually feed loving books to my local library (and the RWA was brilliant enough to recognize your awesomeness). I’m utterly spoiled by you enough as it is, and now this? This…re-obsession to category romances? Why, SuperLibrarian, why must you write that cool review?

After years of traumatization by the Westerns/Sheikh series of some authors *coughdianapalmercough*, I finally got away from certain/most category romances. Years of teasing by friends may have also dissuaded me some from obsessively buying every month all the Harlequin/Silhouette series, but I was getting better! I read only occasionally and was very selective. I know longer stared at the monthly stands at the bookstore deciding which series/category to buy. Everything was under control. The overly…er…simple social world of romance (i.e. ideologies) were getting annoying. Many stories were papercut copies. I was never into the sheikhs anyways, so it was easy to let go. Plus, the smex scenes weren’t cutting it with all those semi-fade to black and flowery insanity. Eheheheeack *chokes on cackle*

Then, here you were, writing your wonderful reviews…brainwashing me with such good books that called out to me…over and over until I finally caved and was unable to resist any longer… I bought Innocent in the Sheikh’s Harem. And my goodness were your right in your assessments of said book. I’d write the author, but I blame you so you get my letter/review. That’s what you get for being my favorite Librarian. I’ve fallen back on the wagon (not that I was ever off, but I was better!) and have gone back the ways of ignorant virgin heroines and powerful borderline-ass heroes. Oh secret obsession, I’m back.

Super Librarian, you were right. Don’t you just love hearing that? :) This was one of the better books I’ve read in a while. I would even graduate it from category romance, but then that would make it seem as if category romance was lesser – which it’s NOT. Category romance rocks! So, let me throw some confetti and let’s celebrate. *throws two handful of sugar confetti up into the air* *grabbed some more, stares at tiny hand clutched around sugary goodness and hesitates* *stuffs mouth with sugar* Nommummmumm.

*ahem* Onto the review…

Let me just say, the book was very good. It was everything you had mentioned and more. This was one of the more culturally and socially balanced stories I’ve read in a real long while, much less a Harlequin/Silhouette (well, western romance in general). There were still some of the basic troupes: virgin widow and all that encompassed (one of my fav.), a high powered man (sheikh, businessman – more meh for me), Western culture educated, the exoticification of the orient as more seductive and open, etc. etc. On top of that, we must have the big misunderstanding. But this book did it all better. Heh.

The story stayed true to the time period to a certain extent and although in an alternate world, the information felt true.

Lady Celia – daughter of diplomat (ergo, Papa encouraged her to have more of a brain), oldest of five girls, Celia was in an arranged marriage with George, her Papa’s Protégé. While on travel to A’Qadiz (the author likened it to Arabia), George was killed running away from a fight. Celia was shown to be very pragmatic and with a cool head upon her shoulders. Even though the constant reiteration that Celia had the mind of a man was grating to the feminist in me, I do appreciate it stayed true to the time. In the past, it was a compliment to have the mind of man since men were supposedly superior so I let it pass.

Celia was a little too balanced in my opinion, but I really loved how she was a character that was willing to admit the truth to herself as well as apologize for her mistakes. She’s not only smart, but there were no TSTL decisions or moments. Celia was sincere and truthful, a very strong woman with such a streak of common sense it was incredibly fun to read. I found it a bit odd for them to feel that it was normal for women to be educated though. It was actually uncommon at the time. Being headstrong and speaking one’s mind for women was not only frowned upon, but would have gotten said woman in a lot of trouble. Aside from that minor thing, I very much enjoyed Celia.

Ramiz of A’Qadiz was actually the younger son. He became Prince when his older brother was killed. The guy had to be European educated and wanting to “modernize” his culture, but that was where the similarities to common sheikh stories end. Ramiz was a modern man that was sincerely very respectful to the old ways and cultures he was raised – which was freaking refreshing for once. None of that constant criticism saying one culture was better…only that change was necessary and the importance of peace (I love an alpha male like that). One thing I did enjoy about this whole virgin trope, was the type of value placed on it by the hero. Rather fear a virgin as one would a leper, the way it was tied with the idea of honor as part of the culture…well, it was just refreshing to read. I would like to point out the Ramiz did border on almost being too much of an A-hole, bomb-like temper and all around muleheadness. The author was good at pulling back just in time that he wasn’t completely unlikable.

I very much focused on the romance between these two characters. The conflicts felt very real as to why the two was able to be together and it kept me guessing how it would be resolved. It was not some flimsy, “I’m not good enough for you” or “evil woman between us” or the usual blah blah blah excuses. There were actual social and political reasons that were very grounded and very realistic. At the same time, I found that I was able to believe in the HEA for these two characters. The author was very good at showing how the two characters were very similar in their own ways. Even Ramiz commented on it several times and I enjoyed seeing a bit of role reversal where Celia was the more level headed one.

As for the intimate scenes…wow. I must have stayed away from these books for much too long because there was quite a lot of sexual tension and increasing smex acts. Most was done quite well. A few scenes were kind of funny to read and I raised my tiny brows at a few others.
There were some over-the-top scenes, but that was expected. Even so, the big Misunderstanding was very interestingly done. Again, no TSTL decisions, no life-and-death in the balance to make the characters realize their love (they were smart enough to do it on there own!), and resolution felt true to character. Overall, this was a very good book. I re-read it a few times already and am really debating if I should get sucked back into these type of brain candy… It’s rather good. And I am rather looking forward to the next installment.

Thank you, Super Librarian. You really are my favorite Librarian (plus all the ones from school… >_<).

With Love~~~

P.S. Now someone please give me recommendations for virgin heroines and decent heroes!

Shock! Childhood attack!

2011-07-13T08:58:00.000-07:00

The Secret Circle is being made into a TV series? Say what?!!! O_o X_x *gasp* *dies*

Confession time, I was once a long time addict of young adult novels. Whether it be Paul Zindel (coming of age), Scott O’Dell (strong young women, history of California, coming of age), Christopher Pike (awesome mythologies), or R.L. Stine (twisted horrors), I downed them like a chocolate addict in an all you can eat chocolatier shop. One of the few female authors I adored at the time with L.J. Smith (Lisa Jane Smith, now using the pen name LJ. Smith). With the resurgence of vampire lurv thanks to a certain series, apparent re-interest in old series of friends were now everywhere. For years, the only way to get an old book of L.J. Smith was to pay 5x the value online (I have several copies). You had to wonder what took the publishers so long.

The Vampire Diaries TV series disappointed me soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much, despite having one of my favorite actors play one of my favorite characters (*Damien foreveh, suck that Stephen mutheh**** coughs* ahem). The books themselves were also not my favorite considering, but were still pretty dark for those days. They had their own merits.

The Nightworld Series has yet to end after almost 15 years of waiting. Even though The Chosen from the series was still an all time favorite, but Strange Fate you foolish book, screw you! I’m not waiting anymore!

Dark Visions kicked darkness @$$, but it’s got nothing on The Forbidden Game. Nightmares... Then came The Secret Circle. Oh my loves, this was a good witch book.

Can you imagine how much I screamed (and in the process took the soul of my guy and ate 10 years off his life? Thank you, dear old man for sticking with me for so long…even during my screaming modes) when I saw the commercial for the new TV Series? Granted, I’m excited. This would be like Charmed and Buffy had a baby that was one of my longest companion during a rough and turbulent time in all angsty adolescents’ life. It was a good book. First thing I did, called my little cousin whom also loved these books as much as I did (who’d you think introduced her? Hehehehehe).

Now I am filled with nervous anticipation. I already know I’ll be watching it just to see. Decades in the making. Now I just need to wait for Christopher Pike’s to come out. I believe he was one of the few where there were some real sexual innuendos and such. Good stuff. Can’t believe I read them. Hahahaha

What a flashback...memories and dreams long past. Any childhood books that got turned into TV/movie for you?

The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch (story) and Michael Martchenko (art)

2011-07-12T08:58:00.000-07:00

The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch (story) and Michael Martchenko (art)

It was the fairytale/folklore binge...this obsession with childhood storybooks came back to whisper in my ear how delightful it would be to revisit my long lost heartfelt friends.

The Paper Bag Princess was one of those friends that made such a huge impression on me as a child, but slowly faded to obscurity as I caved into the mounting social pressures to fit in. Maybe I’m one of those twisted fools those literary snobs–I mean– literary geniuses that make a sport of comparing romance novel’s as trash and us readers as nitwits. Let me just proudly say, I like to learn from the books I read, to believe in the morals and lessons within stories and think outside the invisible box…

If I could be like Princess Elizabeth from The Paper Bag Princess, I totally would. The dragon came and burned everything up. Prince Roland was kidnapped and the castle destroyed, Elizabeth dons a paper bag as a dress and goes off to rescue the Prince. She outsmarts the dragon and saves the day. BUT, the Prince complained that his rescuer was not dressed like a Princess! So the Princess told him what an ugly person he really was and went off on her way. How awesome was this book? Very. Lol.

How was this not turning the usual fairytale on its head? A strong smart young woman – we should all be so lucky to have such a role model. This was the type of stories I looked for as a child. A short storybook for the children, but it was such a good reminder. :)

Conclusion: A definite read and keep for ever!

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

2011-07-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

Rarely do I ever find a book like this and to have bought this on a whim = incredible and awesome. I was just walking by the rows and rows of books, laminating to myself “oh books books everywhere, where’s the one for me?” When I stopped in my tracks so fast I would have tipped over and fell flat on my face if my quick reflex had not kicked in and I clung onto dear shelf. I’m horrible for doing it, but sometimes judge books by their covers.

Sometimes.

*cowers in the corner shivering* Please don’t judge me.

Now you know one of my darkest secrets, I like nice covers and it sometimes influences me to buy…at random. I’m so sorry writing gods! It’s horribly shallow of me, but some covers just made me wonder what drug those people were on… Now, back to the topic…I saw this cover and fell in love. Just take a look at it, is it not just adorable? How does this cover not just a whisper of the ancient stories I heard while huddled next to those of our Grandparents’ generation?

Much like older generations oral tales, the narrative of this book reminded me of Arabian Nights’ story within a story. The main storyline was of Minli and her quest and through her adventure the reader was introduced to the stories of others. The writings were beautifully interwoven with slightly altered collection of well known Chinese folklores and stories. It was especially entertaining for me to recognize almost all the sources of the many tales written, the tweaks/versions and how it was important to the main storyline. So many Chinese folktales in there I grew up with, a wave of nostalgia took root and refused to go away until I watched some Tales of a Chinese Ghost Studio and re-read some more. :D

A fantasy adventure story of a young girl set out with one goal: to help her family. Along the way, she befriends a dragon, met the Emperor and learns a valuable lesson. I really would love more stories with a strong and smart young heroine on an adventure. Not full of angst and love triangles or some doomness in life (even though there were dangers and a few scares). Here, even when the main character was separated from the parents, we do not have the usual absentee adults. Heck, when Minlin first ran away, her parents dropped everything and tried find her. They gave up a little earlier than I expected and resigned themselves to waiting, but even so, the parents was not just written off. Imagine that, parents that exist in the young adult world. ;) Throughout the story, on top of the adventure story of Minlin, we continued to see growth in the adults. How cool was that?

Ok, I’m just super biased, but I can’t help it! This was just such a refreshing read. It was simple and straight forward. There were a few surprises as well as some expected revelation. I especially enjoyed the fact that we learn through stories. As Minli traveled on her quest, the characters she met would tell their stories from their own point of view. Whether it be a goldfish, the lion statues at the gate, or the lucky children she met, they all had a story to tell and somehow, they all blended together.
And was this not what we do everyday?

Even when we ask “hey, how’s it going?” We, intentionally or not, were asking an individual to recount an experience for the day/week/month/year as form of ‘oral story telling,” but I digress yet again. You can always tell my love for fairytales. Sometimes I wondered why I never went into folklore…oh yeah, sold everything for sense of security… boo!

The writing was for a younger audience, but the prose was very smooth and descriptive enough to satisfy an older audience. Such a simple story which made it a very quick read. I was also very surprised the author also drew the designs and pictures in the book. I’m also not sure how she did it, but even the titles were in color. Awesome. Every aspect while reading this reminded me for a parent cuddling a young child in bed late at night reading this book. I love how tradition was interlinked, how there was a story to every reason why. Using stories to teach and explain, this was how elders taught children back in the day. I think the stories in this book would work as a good introduction for anyone unfamiliar with Chinese mythologies and folklores.

I definitely recommend this book and look forward to reading more from this author in the future. And why didn’t I have these wonderful books growing up? Maybe I would’ve been a little less twisted. Hahaha.

in the gardens...

2011-07-02T22:58:00.000-07:00

Sold myself to the corporation and continued to slave away this past week. I am exhausted.
I got lazy and haven't posted, but I at least had the time to live vicariously through all you lovely ladies at RWA. It sounded wonderful. :) Thanks for letting me view all the wonderful pictures, experiences and masses of books that I would love to roll around them. Lol. Kidding, sorta.

So, in place of anything substantial... here’s a mini update on my somewhat surviving garden.

Lookie – my first Calendula flower bloomed. :D So tempted to pluck the thing and eat it…or rub it all over my face. It’s good skincare stuff. Lol. Alas, I resisted. It was too beautiful in bloom.
My sunflowers are growing tall (in the background) and I really need to fix up my comfrey plants. Can’t wait until they bloom too. :) Enjoy~~~

Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata

2011-06-27T23:58:00.000-07:00

Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata

Maybe it’s just me, but I’m having trouble writing reviews that do justice to the books I’ve read recently. Take this book for example…Weedflower. I’ve been reading and re-reading, typing and re-typing to figure out how to explain this book. Somehow, nothing I wrote did this book justice. Or it just read like a rambled mash of nonlinear thoughts. So where to begin?

The prose was nice – it was simple and very straight forward. Not overly descriptive, but sometimes the writing had a subtle vividness that reminded me of the Mohave Desert the characters were located to. The story was through the eyes of a young flower girl, Sumiko. She was innocent and naïve enough to present some of the frustrations and misunderstandings in a straight forward manner. Sumiko and her younger brother Tak-Tak lived with her relatives since the death of their parents. They lived on a small flower farm where Sumiko one day dreamt of owning a flower shop and arranged flowers.

Already facing discrimination at the beginning of the book, Sumiko and her family experienced the fear and prejudice once the United States entered World War II and forced relocation. The author was very good at making sure Sumiko acted like a child her age. Her views of things were more often neutral and acted as a mere observation. Even so, Sumiko acted like a young girl her age, she makes mistakes even when she knows they’re wrong or believed a lot of things in ways of a person her age. Even at the end when we saw Sumiko mature, it was still in a way that stayed true to her age and not a miniature adult.

There were some information dumping, but the author included the amount of information rather well and I did not feel like I was reading a history book, or a moral lecture. The core story was still focused on Sumiko slowly growing into herself and learning the meaning of friendship, whether it be growing a small garden with an older neighbor, or jumping in a fight to protect her American Indian friend. The blunt theme was the problems with racism, xenophobia and war crossed all boundaries. The book was good at touching upon issues that was not as thoroughly discussed when I studied history.

Basic history: after Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Government implemented the interment of anyone of Japanese blood onto make-shift camps in various areas in the U.S. supposedly for the people’s protection. FYI, the same happened to many German and Italian families. The conditions in each camp varied depending on the location, but some situations were universal. A lot of people had to sell all their belongings for mere pennies of their worth. People lost their jobs and livelihood, their homes and land and lost heirlooms and irreplaceable pictures. First barred from joining the military before being recruited to serve on the European front as to make sure these American soldiers were spies or defect (whereas German/Italian people that joined were sent to the Asian front). Even afterward, people returned home to find everything stolen, vandalized or even other people living in their homes.
There were some nice people of course. In one real life example, a good friend of a Japanese American family kept his promise to protect their home and their possessions safe until they returned. To keep his promise, this friend had brought out a shotgun (and I believed fired a few “warning shots”) to dissuade his own relatives from breaking into the closed up home and stealing everything. Oh the things I learned. The author also had a nice extra historical information that I always loved in books.

There were aspects of all the above written into the book all very well interwoven. The author was really good as incorporating diversity without being preachy. I could go on about injustice and war, but even though this book showed a lot of those issues, what was more interesting for me was the very vivid picture of life inside the camps. The image of how many people tried to make the best of a terrible situation, while others really degraded. We really don’t hear about how hard life was, how children reacted to the situation or the lack of teachers or jobs.

Another interesting part of the book was the point of views from American Indians that were affected. Through the eyes of Frank, conditions of American Indians were also touched up as well as how . He actually does not show up until halfway through the book, but it was great to see their interactions. They truly become friends despite, or because of their differences. I also loved how Frank was the one that nicknamed her Weedflower even though Sumiko did not like it. I’d like to think they grow up and find each other again. Wooo, that would make an awesome romance novel.

Conclusion: My review sucked, but I really liked the book. Please read. >_<

Happy Birthday, Baby

2011-06-23T21:58:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, my sweet little Baby. I miss you terribly.

Vacation. Needed.

2011-06-21T09:58:00.000-07:00

So bone weary tired. Work taking my last bit of soul. Ugh...

I think this week may be slightly slower. Yesterday's post was a bit more extensive than even I expected. Currently working on several big posts as well.

It's gonna be fun. :D

Well, would have been more fun if I didn't have to earn a living, but alas, I cannot photosynthesize. Oh Dr. Bushroot, you definitely had the right idea.

Also...I am going to avoid the blogs (*scoffs at the three second resistance I will probably have*) since yOu ArE AlL gOiNg to RWA 2011!!!! In New York! GAAHHH~~~~ I miss all of you soooooooooooooooooooooo much its not even a joke. Oh I miss you friends o mine. So wish I could have gone. Especially now with quite a few of you published and one honorary Super Librarian of the Year. ;) Have a wonderful fun filled crazy time. :D I expect pics, dishes, and tons of book reviews.

Just wait for it, I'll be seeing all of you next year. Mwahahahahahaha *chokes on laughter* *coughs* *sputters* *dies*

The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle

2011-06-20T11:58:00.000-07:00

The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle

Why was this not an adult book? Right now, I so want this to be an adult romance so I can un-blackout the good stuff. Stop fast forwarding and phasing out! I want to read it all! This book should also be longer so I can read all the mushy goodness. I tried to write without spoilers, but failed because this book really sucked me in. So if you haven’t read the book, you have been warned there will be spoilers.

This book was on my list for quite some time, but I just kept putting it off. After I read it, I refused to put it down and re-read at least dozen times. How anyone can resist such a wonderful story, Beauty and the Beast retelling with a twist, was beyond me. Seeped in magic and folklore, this story had a pretty strong historical setting (which rather surprised me) with very interesting characters. Of course, when I was gushing to my friend she had to add “oh, like Shrek?” >_< I thought about it and she is sort of right, except this was more grounded in history and folklore than Disney fairytales. The Hollow Kingdom is also grittier and scarier. I even want to say it is more horror based, but that does not fully explain the feeling of the book.

Kate and her little sister Emily recently lost their father. The two moved to the land Kate would one day inherit called the Hallow Hill. Once there, Kate began to encounter very odd people on the land and was told of disturbing stories about the Hallow Hill. Stories of goblins and young women being stolen as goblin brides (a common fairytale/folklore motif *squeal*) made the place even more eerie, but it was not until the night she met Marak did Kate began to fear for her and Emily’s safety. Even scared, Kate was a character to be reckoned with and we were able to see the depth of her strength, especially in her love for Em. She refused to give up without fight and to the end, fought for those she loves. A strong, smart and responsible young woman – very cool character.

Emily, also known as Em and M, was adorable and I loved her for it. She’s that voice we have inside, you know the one: the sweet accepting voice that still believed in fairytales and magic. Smart and observant, but also adventurous, Em was probably my favorite tied with Adele. :D

Marak, the current Goblin King of the true Hallow Hill, decided he wanted Kate for his wife and tries to kidnap her, only to be foiled several times. Why kidnap? Well, to bring new blood into the goblin bloodline, each King must marry a young woman of different breed. Human, elf, gnome, etc. but the best were women with characters the King admires. Since goblins were usually feared by others due to their asymmetrical features (which do not matter to goblins since it’s all about strength and asymmetry was seen as the norm), goblins usually have to kidnap the more “desirable” wives in order to produce a strong heir. Marak also pointed out to Kate, goblins could not go around wooing young women the way other creatures do, thus it was more practical to have a captured bride.

Each King will only have one heir and the heir will always be male. He will become the next King and protect their home and people. Marak fully understands the importance of his responsibilities and makes no apologies for what has to be done. He does not feel bad for Kate, but rather admires her strengths and constant foils – commenting nonstop at how great the next King will be because of how strong Kate was. As such, there were many instances revealed Marak’s caring and understanding towards Kate, Emily and people in general. He was a good King and very funny. I found myself more time than I could count laughing at some of the things (and the way) he observed the word and commented on everything. Maybe it was just goblins, but if they all had this honest sense of humor, I would not mind being around them either.

This was a really good book, imho. Really good, but there were several things that nagged at me after I finished.

It was kind of disconcerting everything was stated in such a flippant matter-of-fact way that there was no room for change. I get that the story was one should not judge based on appearances and that humans are sometimes more horrific than goblins, but at the same time… it was still creepy especially since we’re all aware which activities were involved to make babies. I get the feeling that a captured bride did not equate a forced wedding night and the author had Marak reiterate several times that the sooner the King’s Wife adjusted, the sooner the Heir will be born. I took it as the King would not forcibly try to impregnate the King’s Wife until she agreed. Kate revealed she enjoyed “kissing” with Marak and it was her favorite part of being married. Thus when the surprise came at the end, it was not a surprise. It also reinforced the idea that the women have a choice in marital sex. Then again, this aspect still made me uncomfortable even after I put the book down.

Granted, goblins were noble creatures, just not lookers. Goblins do not lie and do not harm unless to protect or bring upon revenge (which goblins loved to do). The way the goblins were portrayed did help sooth the above issue I had and did allow me to continue my suspension of disbelief. It was just kind of…I don’t know, disturbing that once you’re kidnapped and forced to marry someone, and never allowed to see your family/friends/world again and you only recourse was the accept it or die. Rather bleak…

Another annoying thing was the story jumped forward in time during the last half of the story. It was a pity since I felt that was where the core of the action and bulk of the relationship solidified. The interaction between Marak and Kate was wonderful and I really wanted to see more, not a year later…or a month ago. O_o

I also would have loved to read more about Adele, Marak’s human mother (and some of the other Wives – Charm’s favorites, of course, hehehe). Her story sounded kick-ass.

One thing I felt unnecessary was Marak’s first wife. Not that he wasn’t allowed a previous wife, but the information felt so much of a throwaway. It did not push the story forward at all and it just made me feel she was used. First to show not all King’s Wives were suitable. Then to show how Marak was a kind and caring person. Lastly, to contrast against the Elf King whom apparently died without an heir after his Wife passed away and pretty much doomed the elves. It just made me feel really bad for her. I saw later the author had cut out a few scenes that would have expanded on Annie – the first wife. It made more sense after I read the scenes, but that would not change the fact she was used. I would rather have any references of her left out completely and have more time for Marak/Kate interaction or even the history of goblins.

Also, in line with stolen brides, the fact that the goblins idea of helping/saving the elves species was to kidnap more elf women before the blood was gone…eh…it just felt wrong for me.

Another thing that also bothered me was *spoiler alert* *spoiler alert* the fact Kate and Emily were part elf. Not that I don’t mind them having elf blood and again, the author was good a dropping hints so I was not taken by surprise. What bothered me was that after I read the revelation it did kind of put a frown in on my face going “oh, they’re all magical” and made me feel a little disappointed. Even so, I loved the fact it became a sweet nickname, Marak’s little elf.

It was a definite exciting read and much too short for the amount of information packed in. There was so much room for expansion and it left me wanting more, or at least a lot of re-readings. lol. Heck, I felt the book could have been split into two just to fully tell the full story. Book one could be the meeting, marriage and the two characters slowly learning each other. Book two could’ve then been about the subplot of the sorcerer and end with the true union of Marak and Kate. Then again, the author could have done a prequel about Adele (yes, I really do like Adele).

And yes, I know this book is the first in the trilogy and as much as I love this book (re-read it like twice in one day…working day, hehehe), I doubt I would read the rest, at least not the third book (*spoiler alert* *spoiler alert* since Marak past away and it was about Catspaw, their child). Maybe I should say “I’m going to resist for as long as I can but it all caves into a big pile of booklurving goodness” (at least the second book, I do like “M”).

The prose felt authentic for the most part. I mentioned earlier the book had a nice historical context, which I enjoyed. It almost felt real, like I can go visit Hallow Hill and chance upon a goblin. I know I know the matter-of-fact way the goblins talked about stolen brides and revenge made me uncomfortable, but the flip-side was it made everything more the fun to read. Don’t ask me why, but the bluntness of Marak – it just gave the book a whole layer of humor to the book. The author had a way of making me smile even under the craziest and sometime scariest circumstances.

Overall though, the book was a great full of all the magical trimmings (although I would’ve enjoyed learning more about the magical workings of the world). I loved how Hallow Hill was described. After this book, I’ve come to love goblins more (at least in this world) and made me realize why I used to feel kind of sad for the “evil goblins” in many folklores and fairytales. Each character felt alive even if the description was only a few lines, i.e. love Hulk…poor sweet Hulk. Kate could have turned into an annoying character and Marak could have been totally unlikable. Yet the author was able to paint them in such vivid strength, their awareness and caution, their acceptance and care, all of it helped pull the book into such greatness. Oh, such wonderful wonderful book.

Conclusion: definitely good read. Will re-read often. And this was one of the books that helped pull me out of a reading slump. Love reading a lot.

My favorite line: “When she cried, he held her patiently, which was the best thing that a great magician could do for a crying wife.” - How can you not love this book?

Thursday

2011-06-16T08:58:00.000-07:00

Is it Friday, yet? I am so exhausted already...

A few things people posted around that I found interesting.

Lori's has this great letter to the president.

Nothing like Jane at Dear Author to get my mind churning on recent reader/writer/publishing events.

Hopefully, this week will be over and I can rest up.

Wednesday Movie: The King’s Speech

2011-06-15T08:58:00.000-07:00

Horray! Movie time. The King's Speech.

This highly beloved tale of the stuttering King George VI won tons of awards. Aside from two of my favorite actors together, Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter, this was an interesting take on a part of history we don’t get to hear too much about. In school, we learn more about Winston Churchill’s influence in politics more than King George’s and I’m sure there were good reasons for it. In truth, most monarchies were not that effective. Still, this was a refreshing view. Since it seemed everyone watched this movie before I did, I’ll skip most of the summary as well as the ignore some, or a lot, of the historical inaccuracies (yes I know - mostly done for dramatic effects, but I bet you didn’t know many historians watch historical films as comedies ^_~).

I think at its core, this was a re-imagined story about an individual’s struggle to overcome both an emotional and physical adversity. A stuttering hero. I believe only a few good romance novels were willing to tackle that issue. :D Granted, this was about the King and I’m sure the royal nature as well as the historical setting made the movie more exciting (I’m sure many went for Colin Firth, but that’s cuz he’s awesome). It’s sad that we can’t normally have great stories about ordinary people. Instead, this was about a supposed extraordinary person being shown in a normal light. People whom stuttered could look up and say “he’s normal and if can do it, why can’t I?”

This movie was a good change of pace from the explosions and prevalent violence flaunted at every turn, or even the hyper sexualized images seen daily. There really was a great cast and was thoroughly enjoyable. There were moments I felt moved, while other times I was watching frowned in confusion. It was not a mind blowing film, nor did it make me want to read more about history all that much. It was an interesting film and I can understand why so many people liked the film though. It gave more writing/focus to the characters and a good story must have great characters, imo. Internal conflicts, external conflicts – characters should be at the core of every story. That’s what makes a story worthy.

Out of all the scenes, I think my favorite was the moment “Bertie” in his jammies decided to listen to the recording of his speech and as it began playing, Elizabeth slowly walked in. I absolutely loved how both Colin and Helena looked at that moment. Their complete shock and surprised disbelief – desperate hope and desire… these two really were the best people to play these roles.

I definitely recommend people to watch this at least once to try something different. Not life changing, but equally fun and fascinating.

Shanghai Girls and Dreams of Joy by Lisa See

2011-06-14T08:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry to combine these two stories together into one very short review, but I had read them back to back (well, maybe a day or two apart) so the books were more of a single read for me than two separate stories. I’m going to try to be more honest and just come out with it. I didn’t like these books. So my quick and simple review below...

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
~~~
Amazon.com Review
Book Description
For readers of the phenomenal bestsellers Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Peony in Love--a stunning new novel from Lisa See about two sisters who leave Shanghai to find new lives in 1930s Los Angeles.

May and Pearl, two sisters living in Shanghai in the mid-1930s, are beautiful, sophisticated, and well-educated, but their family is on the verge of bankruptcy. Hoping to improve their social standing, May and Pearl’s parents arrange for their daughters to marry “Gold Mountain men” who have come from Los Angeles to find brides.

But when the sisters leave China and arrive at Angel’s Island (the Ellis Island of the West)--where they are detained, interrogated, and humiliated for months--they feel the harsh reality of leaving home. And when May discovers she’s pregnant the situation becomes even more desperate. The sisters make a pact that no one can ever know.

A novel about two sisters, two cultures, and the struggle to find a new life in America while bound to the old, Shanghai Girls is a fresh, fascinating adventure from beloved and bestselling author Lisa See.

~~~~~

Dreams of Joy by Lisa See
~~~
Per Lisa See's website

In her beloved New York Times bestsellers Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Peony in Love, and, most recently, Shanghai Girls, Lisa See has brilliantly illuminated the potent bonds of mother love, romantic love, and love of country. Now, in DREAMS OF JOY, she returns to these timeless themes, continuing the story of sisters Pearl and May from Shanghai Girls, and Pearl’s strong-willed nineteen-year-old daughter, Joy.

Reeling from newly uncovered family secrets, and anger at her mother and aunt for keeping them from her, Joy runs away to Shanghai in early 1957 to find her birth father—the artist Z.G. Li, with whom both May and Pearl were once in love. Dazzled by him, and blinded by idealism and defiance, Joy throws herself into the New Society of Red China, heedless of the dangers in the communist regime and the Great Leap Forward.

Devastated by Joy’s flight and terrified for her safety, Pearl is determined to save her daughter, no matter the personal cost. From the crowded city to remote villages, Pearl confronts old demons and almost insurmountable challenges as she follows Joy, hoping for reconciliation. Yet even as Joy’s and Pearl’s separate journeys converge, one of the most tragic episodes in China’s history threatens their very lives.

Acclaimed for her richly drawn characters and vivid storytelling, Lisa See once again renders a family challenged by tragedy and time, yet ultimately united by the resilience of love.

-----
My response:

Shanghai Girls was the first half of the story of two sisters, Pearl and May. They were married off at a young age in an arranged marriage even though both were in love with someone else (the same person). As war draws near, the sisters struggle through China to escape to America in hopes of a better future. Instead, they encounter discrimination and hardship, often caught between worlds. This was a book of struggle and conflict of/between the two sisters, the supposed obedient Pearl and the rebellious May. Their love for each other also hid the problems that led to their own unhappiness and poor decisions.

Dreams of Joy continued with the journey of Pearl and May, but has a great focus on their daughter Joy. At the end of Shanghai Girls, Joy discovered that although raised by Pearl and her husband, Sam, Joy was actually the daughter of May and the man both sisters loved. So, in a moment of defiance and naïve idealism of Communism, the Chinese American Joy left to look for her birth father and the supposed idealism of communist China and landed herself into yet another time of great cultural change and historical upheaval. As interesting as the characters were coupled with the intensity of the conflicts and the dynamic historical settings, I couldn’t get into either book.

First, let me say I am a fan of Lisa See’s books, especially after Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. When I read the blurb for Shanghai Girls, I was so excited, this book was so calling me with its history and depths of sisterly love/anguish. Then I read it. Let me also say this - I was probably so disappointed because I had too high of expectations, but I admit that my biggest problem with this book was I could not connect with a single character or their struggles fully. Even Dreams of Joy, a Chinese American girl trying to look for her roots? It should have pulled me in right away, but it was such a struggle to finish. There were moments where I was complete absorbed, but quicker than an alligator, something would happen that snapped me right out of the moment and I always ended up frowning thinking, "Really? Are you kidding me?"

Shanghai Girls literally left off at a very bleak cliffhanger where I really just wanted to slap every character in there. I mean, really? Really? I almost wanted to throw the book at the wall, but instead just started at it in complete annoyed confusion. I had hoped the second novel would be more satisfying. Instead, I read Dreams of Joy and I still wanted to slap them even more. And sadly, I completely did not buy that happy ending. It almost felt as if the author was trying to have Dream of Joy make up for the end at Shanghai Girls.

*spoiler alert*
*spoiler alert*
First book: Basically, we have a suicide for one of the only person I actually liked (Sam) because these two supposedly loving sisters don't know what it means to talk to each other. Then you have an overly privileged Chinese American brat running away to China.

Second book: After all the above, in the second book - after some rather horrific realities and problems...we then have everyone, and I mean just about EVERYONE escape and be rescued. They all get happily ever afters? Really? Are you kidding me? After all that, they'll really be ok? I know what happened historically and very very rarely do families all get to escape. Not to mention to escape, there was a whole lot worse things going on. *sigh*

Don't get me wrong. This book had good parts-great parts in fact. With this author, you can never go wrong with the writings. The historical background was great and as with all Lisa See books. The research and detail was incredible. Filled with gritty details and emotional rollercoaster, it should have been awesome for me to read. Even each character should have been completely my type of stories to read. I really wanted to like both books. In the end, even though I liked the world and the story overall (the idea of love between sisters, miscommunication, and being true to oneself) this was not my book. I hate to write this but it was because of some TSTL. *sigh* It’s almost as if anytime the characters needed to be put into really dangerous situations, it was all due to some TSTL decisions. Like…seriously. In both books. *shakes head*

Conclusion: I’m still glad I read it if only for the fact it was Lisa See, but would not re-read anytime soon.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

2011-06-13T09:58:00.000-07:00

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

When this book first came out I was fascinated and surprised. Someone actually wrote about Nu Shu and foot binding with research and sincerity? The author, Lisa See, was even able to interview the last elderly woman that was able to read and write nushu? No freaking way. I went to the bookstore more than once conflicted on whether or not to buy, full of mixed anxious nervousness and excitement. It took quite a few tries, skimming and budgeting before I closed my eyes and paid for the book full of trepidation.

As much as I love the worlds of the written English language, one can hardly deny that the writers of history tended to be bias (whether they meant to or not) of what was acceptable and deviant. I worried for the content to be cautionary tales of how Asian women were oppressed and needed to be saved by a Western mentality or the foreign oriental exoticism of Asia (like how The Geisha ended up imho). Whether one agreed with any particular practices, it was hard not to have them automatically written off as bad/barbaric/stupid without so much as a study of the history, mythology, or even culture/social influences.

Granted, I’m not telling everyone to go out and get their feet bound, but one can make the same discussions of liposuction, augmentations by stuffing plastics and whatnot into the body, or various plastic surgery techniques for…social status? *coughrealitytvhousewivescough* Oh, wow, my throat definitely need some clearing up. XP Anyhoo…Even old-school corsets were intentionally used to alter the ribcage and squished the organs together in order to have that hourglass figure. I can go into a complete rant about societal obsessions with female youth, beauty and sexuality, but that can be saved for another day. Lol.

Onto the review…
A few notes before we start:
- written in person by Lily, an eighty year old woman.
- the book was her way of telling the story of the woman she loved the most, Snow Flower.
- Snow Flower and Lily were laotong which meant “same old,” which was a relationship contract to cement an almost closer than family relationship between these two women that were unrelated by blood.
- Nushu was a phonetic way of writing that only existed among the Yao group of women as a way to communicate

This whole book was rather fascinating to read. Due to the amount of information Lisa See packed in the book, you need a chunk of time to sit and read carefully. A single line made all the difference in the timeline and would alter the impact of the events later. The author had a wonderful way of writing without judgment and I can almost see how much research she had put into it, but it was extensive as the story switched between Chinese English, English, and Chinese.

The prose was good and stayed as true as possible to the language. It might seem disjointed in the beginning, but once you become accustomed to it, the words read beautifully. This was a complex and layered book, but was such a quick read the words painted themselves like the songs the women sang. It painted a world that was almost unreal I was not even sure I could comprehend or believe in, but still felt so real I could almost here their songs. I could not put it down.

Rather than explain everything, the author was able to write in a way where it felt as if the social construct of the world/time Lily lived in really was just that. Lily was not an outside character looking in, nor was she trying to justify the practices and norms. There was quite a lot of, I don’t know how else to call it, but folk beliefs. And example was the idea that because you were born under a certain zodiac sign it would influence people’s views and actions. Both Lily and Snow Flower were Horses and as such, Lily made the mistake and expected Snow Flower to act what Lily believed a Horse should. Although Lily realized her mistakes (abatedly too late), the story did not end with a true resolution. There was no magical redemption, just the regret Lily felt. I do love Snow Flower though and it must be the love Lily felt for her as well.

It was a wonderful book that whispered of the past filled with hardship, but was so realistic I can almost imagine these things having happened. These characters felt like real human beings with their flaws and their strengths, their hopes and disappointments. I wanted a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but that’s not real. We can’t all have closure and as people, we make mistakes. There will always be regrets. The important thing was to be true to the people we love and not let our hearts waver for that was how mistakes start.

It was such an intricate tale of love, longing and regret but timeless. It never felt too heavy handed even as some of the situations really pissed me off. There was such subtle ways of bringing up issues of gender, power, and destiny and really just left me there thinking. Heck, I tried writing this review several times over and over again in the span of weeks no joke. O_o

All in all, I really enjoyed this book, but probably won't re-read too often. The language sucks me in, but the story makes me too sad. I know it’s not for everyone (I lent it to a friend and it was a DNF for her), but this was one of those books where I felt transported back to the days of my youth, a young child listening to the stories my grandparents would tell. :) Maybe that was why I enjoyed the book, Lily and Snow Flower reminded me of women I once knew. One day, I'll write on those.

Slowness and stuff

2011-06-12T14:58:00.000-07:00

My apologies for the lack of posts last week. Aside from the reading slump, I've been trying to make some small changes again. Like that fun picture I took, it’s about time I got out of the water to look for other options in life. Grass greener on other side and those clichés. The first small step was to look for new career options especially after a very, shall we say, "supportive" talk by the bosses. Suggestions that I may not be suited for the job I currently hold reaffirmed the nagging feeling that as much as I've enjoyed what I do, I should look for something else.

It was hysterically funny since everyone that worked with me were very aware how dedicated I am to my job, not to say how much I actually enjoyed it. Smart. In times of tough economy, switch out a young dedicated employee. Eh… at least it gave me the extra push to realize this place ain’t all that.

Alas, my background experiences were so puny it will be hard to make any dramatic changes. Still...I can only hope for the best. No point to roll over and kick it just yet.

And for that, I shall bombard you all with posts this week. :D

Another fun thing I wanted to share about…I went to an incredibly fun event yesterday. The guy took me to the Super Adoption Day at the Irvine Animal Care Center. I’ve been rather listless since I lost my two babies and my other animal friends, but as much as people have suggested I get another dog right away, I know I’m not ready. Still, the guy very kindly took me to see some animals as a way to replenish that empty whole after I lost my babies, even if it’s temporary.

After going, I can honestly say with great certainty – I will be adopting again. Even if puppies, I will adopt. They had so many adorable animals. Dogs, cats, chicken, 3 pigs and even 1 goat! I was in love. It was amazing. All ages and breeds. Why people would spend thousands of dollars to buy animals where over half were from puppy mills, I do not know. Not looking down on breeders, but the few good ones are often hidden by the masses of the bad. So instead, I spent a day indulging in the cuteness of all that is animals. I felt I was in heaven…so many animals…so happy. I never wanted to leave. So…as with the job switch, I think it has become apparent for some time, maybe I should be working with animals. Now I just need to figure out how to start.

I can be so childish sometimes it amazes me and for once, it's not a bad thing. :D

Reading slump, or Life’s a dump?

2011-06-07T22:58:00.000-07:00

(warning, this is a post full of ranting and complaining, feel free to skim ^_~).

I’ve been in kind of a reading slump these days, weeks, years. I surf around the blogs and find a lot of interesting books, but when I go to the bookstore and finally pick it up (reading the blurbs, skimming through…skipping to the ending-hehehe), I just don’t feel much like reading it anymore. Yes, there are always sure-buys. The authors that will always deliver. Still…I just don’t feel all that into them.

This sounds totally crazy: I want so badly to read something, but nothing interests me. It’s either too dramatic, too unrealistic, too formulated, too boring…even too hard. I don’t have the time to sit down and read the whole thing through and I’m too stupid to go chapter by chapter with pauses in between. I want fantasy, but nothing too fanciful. I want realism, but not too dramatic and bleak. Dang, I am being very difficult.

As I strolled by the shelves at the bookstore row after row, glancing at the books column after column - the covers all seemed to blur. Maybe it is the cover themselves. They all seem so similar: mopey-semi angry emo with some girl where the magical air lifts her hair is such a powerful seductive way and clothes that are no way suitable for the storyline. Or the overly sugar pastel bright color backgrounds with some half dropped jewelry, books, shoes that signal the modern backstabbing ways of the plastic world.

Auto-Bio – people saying “my life as how I see it with no apologies or regards for others cuz I’m so messed up/cool/awesome/weird and I totally know it when in the end I’m just over-privileged and if I can achieve this so can you,” or change “my” to some famous person’s name.

YA – angst filled vamp/witch/shifter, dysopias, materialistically driven teen/tween and all that romance-life changing-hidden power drama.

Romance novels – overly dramatic, historically inaccurate, alternate universe, vamp/witch/shifter, larger than life power, crisis… even the smex scenes seem formulated!

SF – it’s all about life/death, war, alternate universe, etc. etc.

After a while, they all merge. O_o

I’m so freakin bored. Oh noes, woe is the protagonist didn’t know their own worth blah blah blah great power blah blah blah, horror, angst, why? Oh noes ~ Doom. HEA. Doom. No HEA. Love, angst, dooM. If it’s going to have smex in it, at least give me some decent hot smexiness. Or even better yet, comedy? Why are even my much beloved fairytale retellings are all becoming the same? Give me something real, something I can relate to…let it NOT be so gloomy as if the fate of the world rests on one single person that’ll make everyone see something different when all that happens are informational dumps (which, sadly enough, develops in my own writing).
If I may borrow the manga references, I kind to read a novel with the taglines: comedy, slice of life, smut, romance. It might seem like I’m going through Yoshihara Yuki withdrawals…but even her stuff are getting too angsty sometimes.
Of course, as I’m complaining left and right, my dear co-worker/friends naturally smacks me and tells me to go write then.

But difference between this little twerp’s writing and those published authors…my writing really sux, so I shouldn't complain about people that are actually getting paid for their writing. Truth is, my skills have degenerated through the past few years of hapless RL survival needs to literal crap. So I smothered my creativity and my soul is down to the size for a grain of sand all for a stable paycheck to pay bills and eat. It doesn’t mean I’ll stop complaining. Hahaha. Yes, I’m kind of losing it.

Part of it is family. Another part is economy. Mostly it’s just growing up. Somehow, there are always so many things going on and so many things to do…all at once. O_o

Which brings me to another point…Multiple plots in one book – done poorly (yes, there are good ones out there, but this is my rant, remember? I want to complain about stuff). Lately, the stuff I read has so many people involved I don’t even know which character is which. Or so so many events are all happening at once, I can barely make out the plot. It’s as if the characters are all multitasking. Which brings me to the second half of this rant.
What is the fascination with multitasking?

Are we trained as children to grow up with unrealistic expectations? That we must all be great multitaskers in order to survive. Instead of being able to focus and put yourself into one situation at a time, our brains, bodies, and whatever else are split into parts to do anything and everything all at once…or at least faster.

Let’s just say, it’s not really for me.

Aside from an article I read that says multitaskers are really just people able to switch tasks in their brain quicker than others, I’ve come to realize my brain does not works that way.

Maybe it was an eventual downward spiral, or some other reason as to dying gray matter; I have come to admit, at least to myself, that I am no good at these things. Several projects sure, and yes, in a short amount of time, I can manage all of them together. After a while though (like within an hour, ahahaha), my brain becomes fried. All in all, I’m just burning out faster and faster.

Completely inappropriate, but I remember watching an interview with one of the U.S. Generals about the ongoing wars and the soldiers involved (probably on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart) that like a ball being dropped, each time it bounces without stop, gravity pulls the ball closer to the ground. Without enough recuperation, one will only crash and burn. What does any of this has to do with me personally – or indirectly, this blog?

I used to use Xanga, LiveJournal, MySpace and had my own website – now, I barely touch this blog. In order to write, I would scribble on the corners of whatever flyers or papers at hand, used-up napkins, and even scraps of receipts; dream journals, diaries, and crazy notebooks. Just to be able to express something, anything, was a joy no matter how tiring. Nowadays, I sit in front of a computer screen staring at the blinking vertical line on snow white background waiting for nothing.

Let me put it this way. Back in the day when I first tried to write, even my finest writings were C papers. After lots of effort and hard work, my first drafts can be A papers. Now…*sigh*

Somehow, the older I get, the fast time passes by and the longer I put off writing (mostly due to exhaustion and lack of time), the worse it gets. Everyone keeps telling me I should do things while I’m still young, but am I really that young anymore? I want to do things, so many things, but I seem to be really bad at doing several different things at the same time. And it has gotten to the point where I don’t even know what I want to do anymore.

Apparently, if I’m working myself to death to earn a simple living, I really haven’t had the energy to do much else. My reading has gone down to upsetting lows, tv has become sound drones to pass time, games are there just to keep me occupied and writing has been a complete struggle. I can’t even write a cognitive book review, much less a story of my own.

Aside from ______ book coming out ______, what else is there to look forward to? Well, maybe next season so I can buy more seeds and plant them in the garden. As the wild rabbits had eaten everything, there are no new veggies or fruits. I’ve been contemplating buying a strawberry, raspberry and blueberry plant, but I can’t seem to find a good distributer that I can be sure of are not genetically altered, treated, and otherwise. The sites I found that have them are in other States or won’t ship to CA.

See? So many annoyances and things to consider. I know, I know. I really need to stop complaining and start doing something about it all. Let me shove some food in my mouth to stop these nonsense coming outta me. Then again, I'm typing...hehehehe.

So, lately, I've noticed that I am a stress eater - food is my comfort and boy am I eating these days.

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

2011-06-02T08:58:00.000-07:00

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

Inspired by the story of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, Princess of the Midnight ball is not so much a retelling as an expansion of the tale – which I quite appreciated. Re-imaginings of fairytales are awesome, but it does throw me off sometimes when things get changed a little too dramatically. This story stayed pretty close to the original with only a few minor changes, but it only added to the story.

The basic tale was of a King with twelve beautiful daughters. Each morning when everyone awakened, there would be crumpled dresses and dancing shoes with holes littered on the Princesses’ bedroom floor as if they had been to a ball all night long. The King sent out an edict that anyone, rich or poor, prince or peasant shall be rewarded with the selection of any one of the Princess for a bride and inherit the throne and kingdom if he can discover where the Princesses go each night. If not discovered in three days, the man will lose his head. Many people tried one after the other and no one was able to succeed, all losing their lives until an old veteran soldier decided to try his luck.
Here was where one plot of the story diverges. Instead of an older war veteran, the hero of the tale is Galen, a young soldier returning to the kingdom after a long 12 years war. Rather than trying his luck, he meets the Princesses as a gardener and befriends them. Also, instead of happily dancing away, the Twelve Princesses were cursed to dance night after night until holes wore into the soles of their shoes. As one of the younger Princesses cried at the mention of a ball (even if it was just a fluffy toy one), they hate to dance. Merely cursed to do so. Galen, our beloved and genuinely kind hero wants nothing more than to help end it.

The writing was simplistic and did not have many detailed description, but it worked well to drive the story forward. The expansion on the background of why the Princesses must dance was a definite plus. The villain was a villain. The King was a doting and loving father, if not somewhat oblivious individual. You have the good religious representation and the counter-part corrupt religious personnel. The hero really was a hero at heart and I loved the fact he knew how to knit very well – which in turn had a rather important role in the story.

I very much enjoyed this book. It came at a time when so many plots for YA were either overly angst or complex dystopias. This was almost a throwback to the good days of reading fairytales (which I absolutely LURV). My only complaint was the end seemed a little rushed. I would have definitely enjoyed it more if they expanded some parts, or had more explanation of the backgrounds/worlds.
Then again, one of the Princesses in the story gets her own book that may or may not include more explanation. According to the blurb though, it seems to be a retelling of Cinderella.
Conclusion: Good read. Will re-read often. :) Thank you The Book Smugglers.

(WTF) It's already June?

2011-06-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

Update: I do apologize for the crazy post. What happened was I finally took a look at my life and I did not like it. Thanks for letting me rant, but I felt it was better if I removed all that complaining and emotional breakdown.

In its place…

When woe is the world, go on a fairytale/folklore binge.

BossyPants by Tina Fey

2011-05-30T22:18:00.000-07:00

Bossypants by Tina Fey
(Fyi- this cover scares me).

Lookie! Another book review! =D Maybe I will be able to do this at least once a week. This is so exciting.

Let me write it in a way befitting of the book. Where to begin? I debated whether or not to buy this book for like…a second and then used it to stop my table from wobbling.

The writing is simple and snarky. A lot of names were dropped whom I had absolutely no idea why. Ms. Fey reveals parts of her self and experiences you would hope never to have to see or hear again. I have no idea what made me want to burn the hard earned, sweat gained money to – ahh-ha! I’m just kidding. Seriously, I’m joking.

I was in a mopey mood when I figured this would cheer me up and it did. This is a pretty interesting book. Tina Fey recounts different aspects of her life, her experiences, what other people taught her, and her own recommendations/suggestions/demands for people to live their lives. In all honesty, I learned absolutely nothing spectacular and I guess that was the point. This book was just mindless fun of everyday life no matter how extraordinary it may seem to other people. People should not take the book too seriously for the most part and just sit back and enjoy.

From reading this book, you take away the simple fact Tina Fey is human – her personality, her arrogance, her insecurities. Everything was written (although funnily sharp) sincerely in a twisted and crazy way. She talks about her experiences getting started, or learning to work – her ideas and opinions (and boy where there many) and especially the glimpses of her life.

Ms. Fey pokes fun at many many people as well as point out how many of these people work wonderfully often using herself as the antagonist. She does not paint herself as having won hard found battles, she gives credit to all those around her, but more than anything, you can feel the almost truthiness (hehehe) of what she wants to say. The book literally read as if Tina Fey was right in front of me emailing/talking in such a frank and honest way you cannot help but laugh. Did I mention several of the chapters are just one single page? And there is one that is basically two lines.

Ever since this book, I can tell you for sure that I love Amy Poehler all the more. What? You didn’t see that coming? Yeah, neither did I. Hahaha. That’s how randomly interesting this book is. The nuggets of completely unrelated topics that somehow mix together so well all you need to do is bake the result and have very yummy chocolate chip cookies.

I don’t know if there was any true point. Only that as I read this, I felt that Tina makes no apologies for who she is, what she does or the choices she’s made in her life. As I’m reading this really funny book (I was snorting out laughter quite often – usually at work), it did make me think about what people read other people’s autobiographies or biographies.

For years and years, books (fiction) have been the only window to anything and any world other than the bubble-to-the-7th-power in which I dwelled. Books were the friends that never abandoned me in my darkest hour. But biographies? No idea.

Now, I ask myself: What’s the point? Are we all trying to look for someone at a role model? To live through in a creepy projection/stalkerish way? Do we want to learn something without having to experience it ourselves? To connect? Or even to judge?
I’m still not sure, but at least it finally got my brain thinking again and that is definitely something good.

What I learned from Bossypants:
Conclusion: Don’t apologize for who you are and take responsibility for what you do; the choices you make. - I’d like to try that more. :)
This is an entertaining book for everyone. There are some tiny nuggets of good information. There are some random craziness. It may or may not change your life, but it will certainly make you laugh until your stomach hurt. Enjoy!

Outdoors and health

2011-05-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

(The school where our little puppies used to roam)

Just recently, I made a decision: I want to be healthier. Yes, I’ve work hard on my little garden and I’ve become much more careful with what I eat (as well as where my food comes from), but that’s not enough. I wanted to start exercising more. Yes, yes, I’ve said this like a million little times, start working out only to give up a month later (usually due to monthly friend). Lately though, I’ve been doing pretty well since I kind of gave myself a little loophole.

Everyday, after work, I go out and walk. Even if it’s the mall, the bookstore, or even the library, I need to get my butt off any stationary surface and move.

Last Thursday, after pestering and nagging my mother to death, she agreed to go walking with me after dinner (mainly because she feared I would be snatched away and disappear into the fading light). It was actually a very pleasant experience. Slightly cold and windy, but the sky was dusky clear, the air crisply clean and mom behaved by not asking me questions I did not want to talk about. Well, she tried, but I said straight out we shouldn’t talk about it at that time. Instead, told her a lot of weird and crazy stuff. Reminisced about our doggies and how much we missed them. I’d like to do it again in the future…as long as my dear mother stays away from certain topics. Plus, I have to work hard to keep her from talking about certain topics.

Oh that is life.

In the meantime, I’ve been browsing the bookstore quite a lot, but due to the reading slump, I haven’t picked up anything lately which is really irritating as there are a lot of coupons and discounts going on right now.

rabbits

2011-05-24T08:58:00.000-07:00

So this is the year of the golden rabbit. It’s supposed to be a good year, right? Rabbits are tame, quiet creatures. Golden is all the better, right? Would’ve been great if I was already shacked up and pop out a rabbit baby (in my childish opinion), but do you know what happened instead…a wild urban rabbit has decided to invade the yard. I know I wanted a rabbit, but this is a little extreme even for me.

I’m all up for interspecies adoption, but this little rabbit decided to come into my parents yard, take semi-residence (which means I can’t even get any benefits like cuddling and petting it) and the spoiled rabbit decided to chomp on my attempts at growing a garden. My cute small little flower and veggie garden got EaTeN!!!

My first sunflower of the year grew to roughly 5 inches and while I was getting ready to take a picture and be all proud… I came home to a tiny little stub. It was traumatic to say the least. The little potted plants I had so lovingly watered, moved around day and night to avoid the dratted slugs, and rushed out in the middle of the night during the only time it hailed to rescue my plants…was eaten by a rabbit I don’t own. What am I supposed to do? Deprive the rabbit of much needed food? But seriously, why must this rabbit eat my plants. There are so many other shrubs, flowers and whatnot. Instead…my stevia leaves, all gone. My onions and spinach…eaten. And my sunflower!!! Oh my beautiful little sunflower sprout, it was the first one to survive the weird weather we’re having. It grew so strong and bright that it gave me so much hope and happiness everyday after a life sucking day at work. Now, it is nothing more than a puny non-existent nub of a flower stump.

*sigh* It did not help that some crazy animals had been fishing in our half broken pound where one lonely koi resides. Of course, I talked the guy into taking me to buy another fish, so now two tiny fishes are swimming around in fear daily. O_o Trying to think of ways to protect them, but aside from moving them into the house (which they are actually too big for such a tiny tank), I’ve been racking my brain on what to do. (Update: Parents were finally able to plug up the hole in the fence where the rabbit got through. Now it mostly snacks on the front yard flowers).

And in “honor” of the rabbit and fish issues… I present to you:

Bunnicula. Yes, you read right, Bunnicula. For those of you that have yet to read, or even heard of the book, well, you’re missing out on some childhood imagination. :)
Told from the view of a dog, Harold, and cat, Chester, the family they love found and adopted a little rabbit that has red eyes, surprisingly sharp teeth, and a weird design of a letter V on his head. They named the rabbit, Bunnicula. He sleeps all day and wakes up only at night. And in the next morning, the vegetables left for him are all sucked dry of their juices.

This is surprisingly good book for children. With all the vampire craze these days, I always wondered why no one came out with a storyline like this. Not that I don’t enjoy the angsty vampire lurv, but too many makes me too apathetic. Besides, I often wondered 1) what happens if a vampire bites an animal 2) what if animals can become vampires and 3) if vampire myths are based on animals (such as werewolves based on feral wolves, mermaids based on sea lions) what happens when a true vampire is an animal. Also, why must all vampire stories suck blood? It’s really not that nutritious. My rambling thoughts aside, onto my rambling thoughts on the book:

This is one of the first stories I’ve read told from an animal’s perspective and I really enjoyed that. It has quite a bit of suspense for such a simple and short story, but it is definitely worth reading.
(quick fyi-the pics are not the said rabbit and sunflower, the sunflower is already a stub and I can't find the pic for the rabbit).

A Witch’s Beauty by Joey Hill

2011-05-23T08:58:00.000-07:00

A Witch's Beauty by Joey Hill
Book 2 of the angel/mermaid series.

Ok, this review has been a long time coming since. Long, long time. I had highly anticipated its release back in the day, running to several different bookstores several times before finally finding a copy (probably a prelude to the slow fall of a bookstore chain). So, finally getting back in the swing of romance novel reviews…

A Witch’s Beauty continues off some time after the first book of the mermaid fairytale. This story is about the witch, Mina – half mermaid, half dark-one. The hero is David, a very young “made” angel. As with most books, there is a quest, a lot of smex and revelations. I personally enjoyed this book and saw it as a twist on beauty and the beast.

Both characters are really tortured souls because of their horrid childhood, if it can even be called that. But despite the torturedness (is this a word? I don’t think this is a word, I should stop making up words…or maybe I should do more?) and whatnot, both characters have this very strong sense of humor; that they are still able to find some joy in life no matter how morbid. David was more outwardly humorous, but Mina recognized the deep-seated “something” darkness in him. Whereas everything about Mina screamed horror and angst, but David was able to see how she often does stuff that makes her laugh on the inside.

Everything in the book about these two characters comes down to the word balance. Mina must balance her evil and her good – once cannot overshadow the other or else she totally loses it (to the point where it causes her physical pain). David not only pushes her to the brink, but also helps her maintain it. David is very funny at times, but when he’s tortured, boy was he… Mina, despite being so stoic, scary and “macabre,” she has this wonderful sense of dark humor that I found really hilarious.

The book literally starts off with the Angels deciding what to do with Mina. She does not want their protection and a few Angels got killed trying to “guard” her by a few stray Dark Ones trying to get their claws on Mina. So, the angels deliberate if they should continue to watch over someone they don’t like, or if they should just off her and make life easier. David, of course, does not want anyone to hurt Mina and bursts into the conversation and “offers” to protect her. And things go from there…
I was not too interested in their adventure/quest and mostly focused on the Mina/David relationship. The glimpse into the dark world was rather interesting and surprise, surprise (minor sarcasm), they introduced Dante for the next book. The writing was overall pretty simplistic and was nice, but nothing to gush about. I found the world believable up to an extent with some loopholes and some predictability. The twists and crazy stuff are not for everyone (not that a good reader cannot guess already). Essentially, what I liked most about this book was the combination of Mina and David. Their relationship is one of the best (in my puny opinion) and I love how they fit so well together.

I really enjoyed how Joey Hill created this world; the good and the bad. There were quite a lot of smexy scenes that was hot. Some crazy stuff. And some gross stuff. I liked this book better than the first one and found it more humorous (don’t know if that was intentional). It would be interesting if the author attempted at some romantic comedies, but alas I have found many really funny writers tend to write dark, brooding stuff.

One very tiny small little minor issue: If I read the word “macabre” any more times in my life, I’d go crazy. I get that half her body is completely ruined (totally ok with the one boob, scared face, and a few fingers short). But did it have to be the very same word over and over and over again? Even now, when I see that word…or have to write it, I make one of those silly pained smiles that just turn into the confused grimace of a child tasting the sourest of lemons.

Some parts, I felt were unnecessary and could’ve been cut to leave more room for cool scenes, or smexiness… like oranges and chocolate chip cookies…

Conclusion: Not for everyone, but I like it for a change of pace.

Parks and Recreation: The Trip

2011-05-15T13:58:00.000-07:00

Omg, omg. I love this show!

In all honesty, if this is what government life is like, I wouldn't mind it so much. :)

This episode rocks, as do all their episodes, but oh my goodness...

In this episode, Chris sends Leslie and Ben on a trip to help out a government project. Now, Leslie and Ben have been dancing around their mutual attraction, but because of government rules that bosses can't date employees, the two have been resisting. This trip thought, might just push all their attempts out the window. I love how Ann tries to help Leslie resist even though she really is secretly wanting to see the two be together.

Spoiler Alert (please highlight):
I can't believe it! Ben and Leslie finally kiss! OMG, their tension has been sooooooooooooo well written. Both actors are awesome I have been dying to see them get together even though it's not allowed (darn you regulations!!!). I love it!

On two secondary hilarious storyline: Ron tries to discourage a 4th grade girl about government work (to be a libertarian like him, lol). And Tom creates a game show (basically an already existing one and just renaming it) inviting , ie. forcing, his co-workers to participate which causes problems between the newly married Andy and April.

I really love the dyanmic of this show and how even though each character is so weird and crazy, they have such affection for each other. I really love this show and am going to have to resist buying the dvds right now as to wait for this season.

Thanks for reading my love rant. ;)

A Week Between

2011-05-11T08:58:00.000-07:00

Ok, I really really meant to have posted a few ongoings and reviews since my last one, but life is going a little insane.

Minor rant: I’m getting a very weird vibe at work and think that either a change of career should be considered, or at least look for another environment on the horizon. Not too sure.

New Experiences: For the first time since I was able to vote and started driving, I was called to show up for jury duty (not the much beloved calling-in jury duty, but actually going in to be called into jury box duty). Sat outside almost the entire time and didn’t bring enough books. Note for next time: bring laptop as they now provide wi-fi. Movies during lunch and occasional gifts for jury appreciation day was nice though. I got a button, notepad, sticker and pencil. :)

As for the homefront: I really need to move out soon. As loving as my parents are, it has become unbearable. Screw traditions and overly burdensome familial responsibilities. “I want to live!” – Stewie Griffin. Problem? Everything is so darn expensive...and I want to find another job. *sigh*

So, quick recap:
Parks and Recreation: I cannot believe they were able to get Parker Posey to guest star. I love her! With Amy Poehler? O.M.G. It was a hilarious episode over a fence the wealthier city Eagleton build on a playground to divide their part of Pawnee. I really wish Pawnee and Eagleton existed. I really want to live in a world where Leslie, Ron, Ben, Anne and all the rest of them exist. I hope we’ll be able to see more of Parker Posey in the future.
A secondary story, Ron’s birthday! I love how he got all insane thinking about what Leslie was going to do for his birthday. And the result? It was just too good.
Reminder to self: buy.all.dvds.

Modern Family: Mother’s Day. This episode is one of the special occasion episodes the series produce every season and it was really cute. I love how this show actually comedically portrays some often-not-discussed issues. How tough it is to be parents (and kids of crazy parents), how different cultures and ideas find middle ground, and even how every relationship is hard work. My favorite part: Jay remembering his mother. It brought me close to tears, but also made me want to laugh in happiness.
I hope everyone had a good Mother’s day. I didn’t do much this time. The guy and I bought his mom a pot of lavender flowers. We got my mom both smaller pots of aloe vera. Lol, yes, you can see my influences…I like pretty flowers/plants that are beneficial.

In the meantime, there are several books on my radar, but the darn bookstore does not carry. Darn you bookstores!

Mindless consistency (In which I talk t.v.)

2011-05-04T08:58:00.000-07:00

So, I will admit, I haven’t been reading much these days because I spend all my time in front of the television…or more precisely, in front of the computer streaming free shows.

This idea of allowing people to watch shows online has much debate and discussion surrounding it. Whatever it may be, it has allowed me much ease to watch the shows I want in a more carefree manner. No longer do I rush home to catch a show, or fight with family members over which shows to watch. It has even eliminated the “oh noes, I missed that episode due to _________.”

Instead, maybe a few times a week, I plop my slowly increasing in diameter, width and weight bottom into a nice position in front of my computer and stream away. Believe it or not, I actually stopped watching a lot of shows because I simply did not have the time to watch it when it was on. DVDs are still so expensive if you try to buy it in sets that I’m willing to sit through a few commercial even online for a good show or two before eventually purchasing said shows. Lol.

Since I am watching them anyways, it finally occurred to me that it probably would not hurt if I blogged/reviewed my thoughts about the shows I watch…even if it is way after the fact. At least this will help me to write more. Who knows, it might push me to be more consistent and I can annoy people while I gush and talk about shows. Lol.

(This was supposed to have been posted earlier, but sadly, when I was editing, I realized all I wrote was mindless gushing…so, the shortened and condensed version).

Now, a mini-catch up of shows:

Nikita – So far, I love this show. How long has it been since there has been a series where we have a female lead that kicks ass without it all being about her conflicted oh so sad love life, oh she’s so torn, oh so she’s sad, oh she needs rescuing…blah blah blah. Here, the characters are strong, but so is the story arc. I like how this show centers on the two female characters. You actually have very solid relationships and conflicts.
If nothing else, every episode of this series has some awesome action scene – like seriously awesome. Explosions, gun fights, hand to hand combat. And what is also amazing, Maggie Q does all the stunts herself. I did notice they are injecting some major romance into the series and I’m rather conflicted about it. I hope it was planned out and won’t take away from the overall story.

Castle – Oh, Nathan Fillion, you are a hilarious and wonderful actor. Your character Richard Castle is someone so nerdy and cool. This show is my favorite, to the point where I get DVDs as birthday presents. It’s funny, it’s deep’ the cast is awesome, the writers just as awesome. It is full of information, humor and drama. I cannot even tell you how many times I heard something new and then start searching up on it to learn more. I hope it never changes like so many shows before, or else I’d be so very sad.

Parks and Recreation – I will quote Tina Fey when I say, I love you Amy Poehler. If Leslie Knope really existed and worked in Pawnee, I would move there just to be her assistant or a lowly clerk. Why are there no Leslie Knopes in the world? If this show had been out when I was in college, I probably would have continued down a very different path (or not, but I can dream right? lol). Leslie, you are my role model in a world so lacking in them. Ok, I’m being slightly dramatic since you are a fictional character, but still… you know what I mean. ;) This is one of those shows that all you want to do it laugh. The series centers on the diverse and crazy characters that all somehow work so well together with quite a lot of real and very good POV on people&government. This is actually one of the few series when I get surprised by the storyline even as they develop. I love every character, even the crazy random citizens. Everything is so well thought out. I love this show. I love Leslie Knope and Amy Poehler is awesome.

Modern Family – If you haven’t watched this show and loved it… well, we must have really different tastes. As the name says, this really is a great show about the “modern family”. The dynamics and characters are so great together, this is a wonderful show for everyone in the family. I think we can all relate to some aspect of this show, whether to characters or their experiences. And if not, it is just hilarious fun that teaches about family and friends. Every character in there, even the guest starts, brings so much into this show. A truly family series, imho.

30 Rocks – Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin. Need I say more? Yes? Ok, ok, let me gush. In this series was when I really notice what a great writer Tina Fey is and why many people say Alec Baldwin is a great actor – because he really is. I love how the show even jokes about themselves so often and so much - left and right. The show took some interesting turns, but it was so well developed I can’t even imagine it being any other way (like the fantasies I have of many other shows). I laugh so hard and hope it never ends (even if Alec Baldwin doesn’t want to do it anymore…why? Don’t go! Stay!!). This is one of those shows where I constantly wonder “how in the world did they even come up with something like that?” It really is that crazy.

Hawaii-Five-O: All I can say after watching this show is I really want to go to Hawaii. Really really really want to. Some of the storyline aspects are cliché and overly dramatic, but I’ve really enjoy it if only for the location, action and simple case mysteries. This is also one of the very few shows where I see more diversity: The local culture, the backgrounds and language – so much more authentic and real. Even the extras are diverse looking. The food and especially the gorgeous land. It is a beautiful place. Like I said, I really want to go to Hawaii. Lol.

Body of Proof – This is very new and for some reason, I like it enough to wait to see how it develops. The characters are all funny and interesting, but I won’t know for sure until a few more episodes. :D

And for a sad goodbye…

Perfect Couple – It seems like this show got cancelled. This was actually a show the guy recommended, promising I’ll like it. And as a testament of how long we’ve been together that he can pick out my taste in shows…I absolutely loved this show. It was hilarious. It centers around three couples (don’t they all) where two of the characters are siblings. It showcases the various types of relationships and kind of the ups and downs of friendships…mainly that no one relationship is normal. Hahahaha. Oh well, at least I can watch it online. >_<

For the books that bloom

2011-04-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

Ok, I totally meant for this post to occur in May and before Earth Day (since I forgot *shakes head at self*). Still, this means that I am at least doing what I promised myself to do and have started blogging more worthwhile stuff and not my complaints and gripes at daily life! Despite my continual hiatus status, I actually had been attempting to read more between the horrors of survival in RL (yes, yes, complaining again).

For romance novels, I’ll admit, I’ve only been following a few of the authors that I felt were a “sure read” instead of my usual self-indulgent-swallow-all-books-whole preference.
As of late, I’ve read quite a few non-fictions with topics which hit close to home, piqued my interests, or were on my TBR for a (long long) while.

Also, as an attempt to expand outside of my foray, I’ll probably drop in a few movie and t.v. series I’ve been watching. Mostly the latter. *rubs hands in glee*

Where to begin?

Mangas!

Hahaha, did that come out of nowhere or what? I know I’m weird that way.

So, some quick and dirty manga reviews. FYI, some of these English rights have not been bought yet, so they may not be available at your local bookstores. Instead, I followed a lot of them via online English translations (free!), or read them in the original Japanese format (sorta free, but my Japanese reading skills went to the crappers).

Beast Master by Kyousuke Motomi

Series, 2 volumes. Complete. Romantic comedy.

Yuiko Kubozuka, 17, is an avid animal lover. Much to Yuiko’s everlasting pain, the animals never seem to reciprocate her love (let’s just say she loves animals so much, the animals get freaked out). On one random day, she meets Leo Aoi, a guy that seems more animal than man where all animals seem to love him and later finds out he’s a new transfer student to her school (his looks really freaks out everyone). And this is a fun-filled, weird adventure of two weirdos and their slice-of-life high school adventures.

I’ve personally started following this author a long time ago and have greatly enjoyed many of her series. As the author herself likes to say, she loves drawing idiots. Hahaha. This is a simple fun series with a little mystery (mostly about Leo and his past that is not really that mysterious). Some action and blood, but it does not overwhelm the overall cuteness. The two books are mostly small short stories that show the development of Yuiko and Leo’s relationship as they mature.

Both characters are rather fascinating in their own way. Yuiko loves animals, but animals hate her. Leo scares all people, but animals love him. There are many secondary characters that are equally interesting and funny. I would have like the series to be longer as I often go back and read this series when I’m bored, tired, want a laugh, etc. It’s not a heavy series that makes you over think, but it does contain a few nice subtle contexts.

Bloody Kiss by Kazuko Furumiya

Series, 2 volumes. Complete. Paranormal, comedy, romance.

Kiyo Katsuragi, 17, just inherited an old, semi-broken down mansion. She decides she may as well live there then figure things out. On the first day she meets the two resident vampires that her grandmother took in because they had nowhere else to go, Kuroboshi (half human, half vampire) and his “servant” Alshu (more like guardian).
A minor twist to the vampire story. Apparently, a vampire can only take blood from one human whom they call their “bride” for them to fully “mature” (i.e. reach their max power). Vampires want blood, but it does not seem like they need blood all the time. And they can eat normal stuff.

I was really surprised to see this in the bookstore the other day that I couldn’t resist. Again, I followed this author way early and I’ll admit my shallowness, I did it for her drawings. It’s so smooth and elegant, I enjoy the eye candies. The story could use some more clarification, but I don’t want to give anything away. Think of it as short stories of the same characters compiled in two novels with minor character development.

Overall, I like this author because the characters always got spunk even if they have some sad backstory. The main female character, Kiyo, is all alone and looked down upon by no fault of her own. Instead of turning into some wimpy, low-self esteem, weak girl, she has goals and strength. Kiyo wants to be a lawyer and is perfectly capable at kicking butt. Don’t get me wrong, she has her weepy moments, but hey, it’s manga.

It’s a refreshing and cute manga with quite a few funny moments in there and, of course, clichés. Still, this is a simple fun read that I often enjoy re-reading when I just want some mushiness and random fun. Oh, and a werewolf comes into the story much much later. XP

What actually got me into this author is Tropical ni-Koiiro, a two part short story included in the Bloody Kiss. :D It is a short story about two high school students stranded on an island. I know I shouldn’t, since there are so many loopholes, but I just like it so much. Lol.
Maybe I should start having some grading scale. Not sure. Then again, I probably would only gush about stories I like and not talk about anything I’m not too fond of.

We’ll see.

Now, for a series still ongoing and NOT in the US, but ultimately a favorite… hehehehehe.

Faster than a Kiss by Meka Tanaka

Series, ongoing. Romantic comedy.

Fumiko Kaji, 16 and her bother, Teppei, 5, lost their parents one year ago. Tired of being shuffled between relatives, she gets the bright idea to run away (*shakes head at the mindset of 16 year olds). While being propositioned by some old man (a really big problem in Asia these days), her homeroom teacher Kazumi Ojiro, 24, was the only one that seemed to care enough to not only look for her, but pretty much “rescue her” by accepting her crazy proposition to get married when he kicked the old man away.

Fumiko meant it as an angry outburst to shock/scare him away, but instead, her teacher showed care and more than anything, can make her little brother Teppei happy. So, they went into a marriage of convenience and there starts their daily life of keeping the marriage a secret as well as their growing attraction.

Oh ho, for a shojo(girls) manga, this author is male! A huge rarity, much like male writers for romance novels. And you know what? This author is awesome. I love all his stuff. Love them all. Yes, this is a may-december romance. The author loves this kind of stuff and I have got to say, this series was done really well. Fumiko, Teppei and Kazumi somehow became a family that just fits. This storyline could have had a LOT of room for mistakes and problems, but the author executes each aspect very very well. He grows the cast of characters, each distinct and all of them (including the secondary characters) matures. Even so, the core personality of each character remains so true, I cannot help but believe whatever the author tells me. It has its shares of clichés, especially when it came to representations of Americans, but the author still develops them so well it’s hard not to like each character.

There are so many good things about this series I don’t even know where to begin. O_o

Fumiko is a very straight-forward, somewhat violent (only because she believes in standing up against injustice), but very loving and kind. She loves her little brother Teppei and that was what made the idea of her marrying her teacher believable. Fumiko would do anything for the people she loves. It takes time for that part of her to come out though and she develops from a loner to having very good friends that are willing to stand up for her. Fumiko begins to fall for her teacher, but is still too innocent to understand a serious relationship, which she fully admits to. Many of her attempts (such as making food) are hilarious.

Kazumi is a great teacher, hard working, smart, and very loyal. Yet, he’s a pervert and shameless tease to Fumiko (he makes her and Teppei cosplay –i.e. dress up, in exchange for making them dinner). He honestly started taking care of Fumiko and Teppei out of concern and kindness and they create the warmth of a family he lacks (lost of slow revealing of backstory, including *secrets*). As he feels himself slowly drawn to his underage charge, Kazumi actually fights it tooth and nail because he wants to do the right thing. It’s a great struggle and I just want to see him fail. Hahahaha.
Teppei…oh Teppei. He’s just so adorable and sweet. A future genius and heartbreaker indeed.
I really don’t know what to write except to gush non-stop about this series. It does not require too much understanding of Japanese culture, but quick fyi, girls can marry at the age of 16 in Japan. I think you just need an adult’s consent…

I love the side characters from their neighbor Ryuu (one of Kazumi’s best friend since high school, their neighbor and a kindergarten teacher that also helps take care of Teppei), to three of Fumiko’s classmates that become her closest friends, even the guy that has a crush on Fumiko gets some development. So many things to love about this series… family dramas, forbidden love… It is full of humor, but deals with serious issues in life. Somehow, I’m always drawn towards this type of stories. Yes, life sucks. Yes, horrible things happen, but I love it most when characters stay strong and are still willing to laugh, to cry, and live.

If you have time and are interested in the world of online manga, I would definitely recommend this. And if it ever comes into the US…well, I’ll just be having 2-3 copies of this series. Japanese, Chinese and English. Lol. I can only read one though. O_o

Well, now this does not feel so quick anymore… Next author I should introduce is Yoshihara Yuki, another great author I love. She gots smex. Ehehehehe.

Day of the Earth’s Memories (hopefully not gone forever)

2011-04-22T08:58:00.000-07:00

This day snuck up on me out of nowhere. Of all days to forget, I would never have thought I’d forget earth day (one of my favorite holidays that totally should be federal holiday so people can go out and help out the environment).

Nothing beats the crisp clean air so cold in burns ice down your lungs with every inhale but mini clouds puff out of your slightly parted lips. The sky so clear you can almost imagine every constellation visible during the golden bright day. A moonless pitch black night would become completely alight by the blinking galaxies floating in the ocean universe. When it rains, oh my goodness, the world turns to shadows and everything rumble and roar of thunder reverberate through the ground and trembles penetrates every raindrop. Water seeps into every crevice soaking the earth and bring life to the tiny sprouts lengthens each leaf to the warming sun and gentle wind while their tiny root toes stretching and curling into the earthy soil.

Animals awaken and sleep; they rejoice and cry – each creature trying to live life.

Or even those that have passed to be remembered for their life.

Whether a celebration of life, or the cycle of life – Earth day is at the least an important reminder to the very disconnect illusion of commercialized individualism and independence at the expense of the environment we all dwell. In reality, the constant earphones walking down the street, eyes plaster to the tiny electronics in our hands, the world really is just passing by. People really do forget to stop and smell the roses…or any kind of flower that is in bloom that other people we rarely acknowledge planted and removed season by season – taking away even our connections to the cycles of a simple flower.

In honor for this day, I am getting my hands back into the dirt and planting a little flower. Well, more like scattering seeds in the yard and hoping they’d grow. I actually do have another planting project going on, but that’s a little hush hush. ;)

Here are a few books I’ve read/going to read in an attempt to expand my knowledge of the environment around me and get back into what I always love; earth.

If you enjoyed the series Life After People, you might like this book.

The World Without Us by Alan Weisman. It's a book that talks about what will the world be life if homo sapiens disappeared from Earth. The reason I got it, Jon Stewart. Lol. This was an interesting book at the time I read it because I was really mopey and depressed about the world (dOoM). Knowing that the Earth will find a way despite the horrors human beings have somehow caused made me feel a little better.

This book is more like speculative thought with some science involved. Just an interesting read.

And speaking of Jon Stewart.
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart presents Earth (the book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race

I love this book. I love the audio book even more. It made me laugh, it cry (from laughter) and most importantly, it made me think while trying to keep a sense of humor. If you really think about it, life is pretty grim for us all, especially at the rate we are all going. Yet somehow, Jon Stewart and his staff of writers, actors, comedians, and guests are able to make a grim situation grimmer and still have us laughing about it. If you have read this book, please do. And if you can't read, listen to the audio book. It comes highly recommended.

And here is a pretty motivational book that I will have a review about in the future. This review is taking a long time mainly because of the impact and some of the research I'm trying to do as a result.
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingslover.

Can't write much without my thoughts bursting through, so just a quickie.
Barbara Kingslover and her family decided, for one year, they will try to consume only foods they know the sources to - which turned out to be mostly home grown. Views from Barbara, her husband and her oldest daughter. A very interesting read and again, highly recommended by yours truly.

I wanted to place a book here about animals, but I didn't know which one so I think I will settle for a website.

If you have time, visit Global Animal. They are a website that encourages people to take action and help our fellow animal, but very importantly, they post a lot of news about current events and their effects on animals. There are shocking things, funny and cute things, and many sources to connect us all. Or you can click on Cute Overload for some pictures. :) They are tooooo cute.
I hope everyone is having a good day today and are all taking care of themselves.

With much love~~~
Also, today's post is...
In loving memories of my two puppydogs: Never thought I could survive you and in truth, part of me has not, but I’m trying.

april showers

2011-04-17T17:00:00.000-07:00

It's mid-April and my blog progress has been slow. The goals I've set for everyday life still not met, but hey, at least I'm trying. It certainly has not helped that various strains of flu and bacteria decided to strike at me one after the other, but it does make life interesting. And by interesting, I meant drowning myself in liquids, giving co-workers the evil eye (wondering how much it takes to survive if I quit), and spontaneously buying books. Alas, the sad news of several Borders closing their doors at least helped some people boost their reading materials. I am one of those sad fools that have taken what little benefits from the misfortune of a multinational bookstore. Less romance novels than I expected, but more than a few books I'd been eyeing. Hopefully (as with the many many backlogs of the years before), I would be able to post some reviews on here soon. Best to all~~~

Diana Wynne Jones

2011-03-28T18:58:00.000-07:00

Dear Ms. Diana, Thank you for all your stories and books. Thank you for being you. The worlds you have introduce me to not only made me laugh, think and want to learn, but to never give up. Every time I finished one of your books, I kept wishing I had learned of them long ago (or at least let me be older so I could read when your books came out). It take forever to track down one of your older books, but they were always worth the effort and the price. Your book was one of the only books I ever contemplated not returning to the library and just pay the enormous fines for, but alas, I so wanted other people to have a chance to learn to love and cry over a story that touched my heart (and I didn't want to get the Super Librarian mad at me). I will miss you tons and tons, and I am so sorry I was never able to tell you how much you have changed my life in person. You will be dearly missed.

mini update, mini loss

2011-03-16T21:40:00.000-07:00

My little bird passed away. He was even older than my puppydogs. All my pets have passed away in less than a year.

I thought this was supposed to be a good year, but I guess times of change often brings unexpected heartaches.

Besides worrying about personal finances, family relations and health, current world politics and disasters both natural and human made...now, now...I just wonder when I can find the time to mourn for my own losses.

Earthquake in the East

2011-03-10T23:23:00.000-08:00

I hope all my friends in Japan are ok. Can barely sleep once I heard about the massive earthquake.

All my friends and family in neighboring countries, please also be safe.

Already March

2011-03-08T18:58:00.000-08:00

I'm very sorry for disappearing again, but this time, I've decided to push through.

My other Baby passed away. My sister's cute little doggy passed away at home last month. It is still a huge shock to everyone. Despite his age and many health problems, Baby had continued to be an active puppy-like dog. His temper never diminished and his appetite only grew, much like this beloved chubby belly. At least, Baby and Wawa are finally back together again...

I'd like to say I'm okay, but I'm really not sure. It's very mixed and confused, so currently all shoved inside to be dealt with at a later time.

I had been preparing some very much belated book reviews of the few books when this happened, so please hang in there and don't give up on me yet.

I'll miss my heart and soul:

February Madness

2011-02-10T22:17:00.000-08:00

I was hoping that with the start of this new year, I would be able to write at least once a week, but I guess that proverbial ship has already sailed. Lol. So, instead, I am hoping a more realistic goal is once a month.

I hope everyone is having a good month and not too overwhelmed by the weather these days. Even in this perpetual sunny coast, the shifting weather patterns have been very noticeable. The flowers bloom slightly off and the taste of food not quite right. Makes me wonder why there are so many people that live in denial of any global change…or even how they are able to blind themselves. Do they stop tasting the food they eat? Do they no longer feel the world around them? Or have they lost their ability to even smell the rich musky Earth or the cool misty Sky? Then again, if like me, they are pretty much living inside temperature controlled walls and only venture out into the “real” world for a few minutes a day, the tasteless food does seem rather real.

Still, I know we as humanity fear change so very much that choosing to be blind, deaf, and stupid is much too easy…but, seriously?

I am having a lot of internal debate and conflicts that are hopefully going to come to a resolution soon…if not resolution, as least some semi-ambivalent of conclusion.

Whether good or bad, we shall have to wait and see. Again, good and bad for whom and what…

Anyhow, ranting aside...I am hoping this ‘ear of the golden rabbit will be a better one than the past few. There are many books in my queue; I just need to buy them. Lol.

Now, to the funny story. Although my birthday has long past, I still think it’s a funny one to tell and hopefully cheer anyone up that may need it.

(My tiny cake and said dog in questions. Lol.)

I turned twenty*coughcough*. As young and as hip as I am, this whole slaving away daily for bread, water and shelter has a way of being overly draining. So, as my birthday came to pass and the few (very very very few) people that asked what I wanted for my birthday, I had one wish. Let me sleep. Let me sleep early, let me sleep late. More than anything, please let me sleep until I wake up naturally.

We all know where this was headed.

Since it was going to be my birthday (and the first one since my puppy passed away), I stole my sister’s dog from my parent’s room to spend the evening with me thinking “oh, it’ll be a nice thing.” Yea… 12:34AM… I jolted from my soundless sleep to the light and buzzing vibration of my phone. Yes, that right, my friends decided they wanted to wish me happy birthday. To be the first to wish me happy birthday and mindful that I might have been sleeping, sent me a text message. Ugh, can’t.txt.back… as I rolled over into my quilt and pillows away from the phone to somehow try to suffocate that flash of bright light now burned behind my eyelids. Heaved a sigh and tried to fall asleep…with much success.

And then, BAM! I literally jump and sat up at the same time as I heard a thunt sound and the cascade of other nearby objects. Grappled and fumbled (and accidentally wacked my hand on whatever it was in the dark) to open the splitting light at my bedside to find my sister's cute little dog had somehow fallen off the bed.

Given that he was old and small (and I had tons of junk around the bed), I freaked out (as one naturally would in any situation being ripped into wakefulness while in, what I assumed, was a nice dream) that the doggy was injured. He was just laying on the ground.

I quickly got up, called his name and tried to gingerly search him for injuries. He gave me a look that literally said, “wha?” Yea, whatever caused him to tumble off the bed and whatever injury he may have sustained meant nothing as he was so tired, he basically went back to sleep after he fell down.

Heart still pounding itself to early retirement, I quickly picked him up and laid him on the bed, continuing to check for injuries. He shuffled back and forth, so I put him back on the ground to see if maybe the injury would be visible if I made him (yes, I had to make him) walk around. All seemed fine as he walked over the water bowl and drank some water. I took him to take a quick bathroom break and everything still seemed to function fine, so as my heart refused to calm down, I brought him back to bed. He snuggled in the warmest center and went back to bed. I crawled in after.

A quick look at the time before I once again shut myself in darkness said it was 3ish. Oh joy… at least I get to sleep in, I thought to myself. Took a few deep semi-calming breaths and went back to sleep. I admit, it took a while longer.

“Wake up, wake up!” My door opened in its usual manner, as I tried to register what in this crazy would was going on. I didn’t even try to get up, but as the blurb got closer, it was to reveal to what appeared in my glassesless eyes, my mother. “Happy Birthday! You’re *beep* years old. You’ve been born!”

“Please,” I croaked. “Just let me sleep.”

“But I have your noodles!” Said my mother all proud of herself. “With an egg!”

For those of you that might not know, in certain people, instead of cake and presents, one gets to eat noodles and an egg for your birthday. Mom, being her, had thought it would be nice for us to eat birthday noodles for breakfast (she knew I had some plans later…much later), so she got up super early and made me noodles.

I dragged myself into a semi sitting position, pleading for more sleep, but alas, mother prevailed as she kept looking around to place my noodles on to get me to eat. After giving up, I shoved a few bites hot succulent noodles and finally convinced mom I’ll eat it later…soon later. She placed it on the little stand next to my bed before wishing me a happy birthday and letting me back to my nap.

Of course, by then, it wasn’t going to happen. I just kind of dozed trying to fall back asleep before finally giving up a while later.

The rest of the day was ok, not too eventful and not too uneventful. Bf came to pick me up. Had lunch with my friends I hadn’t seen in a really really long time. Some was a month, others nearly a year. Then dinner with bf and cake with family. Not too shabby.

With this, I hope you enjoyed reading about the odd universal adventures of lil ms a.

As for presents…hehehehe, I will hopefully post it this month, but I sent out some really interesting lists prior to my birthday. It’s just as funny. =D

With much love~~~

Two thousand eleven

2011-01-09T20:58:00.000-08:00

Ah, the joys of disappearing... sort of.

Things are getting crazy again. Doing a few overtime days every few days. Slacking off, mostly because the piles keep getting bigger no matter how much I try to get them down. I know, very counter productive. Oh well, it's a joy. It pays the bills and keeps food in my tummy. I shouldn't complain too much.

Nothing much to report. I did have my birthday a little while back. Will report on it soon (I hope) since it was a very weird day indeed. Didn't do much during the break except try to sleep in as much as possible. That is my every weekend goal. Sleep until I wake up naturally. It's my vacation. (Will definitely revisit this as it has to do with the birthday thing).

Had a few things happen, but am getting so sleepy again... must be the thought of work tomorrow. Putting me back to sleep. Hahaha.

Yea, I think that's what I'm going to do. Get ready to nap and collapse. ;)

Happy Winter Holidays~~~

2010-12-26T13:42:00.000-08:00

I cannot express how happy and touched I was when I saw the comments to my first post after so long. It has encouraged me to work hard to at least try and post a little every now and then and try to keep in touch with everyone. :)

And to that extend, please endure through (or skim if you can, ^_~) my reattempts at blogging/writing/working hard to move forward.

I hope everyone had a wonderful winter break! Or at least got a break at some point.

It has been raining off and on the past few weeks. Although somewhat inconvenient for me (and rather dangerous for others - landslides, flooding, etc.), I actually enjoyed it rather much. Environmental skeptics should really pay attention to the weather these days. The shifts has been very noticeable. Don't know why so many people enjoy denial... myself probably included, but for different reasons.

This has been a good time for me. I usually slept in until 10AM each day. Great stuff.

Book-wise, I haven't read anything newly released. I did finish The Hathaway series. I love Bea. After reading her book, I realized why I had been so in love with this series. It was all about Beatrix. Lover her. Will gush later on, I hope.

Been looking for some good skincare as I've become pretty much allergic to everything out there. I have been making my own, so will post on the eventually.

Cooked some chocolate and apple cinnamon scones. They looked terrible but definitely edible. :D

I hope everyone had a safe, fun and happy weekend and to look forward to the next year.

I love you all very much!

Over a year and half later...

2010-12-17T21:05:00.001-08:00

Guess this is still around, although no one reads it anymore. I think that might be a good thing.

Reading my old writings has been rather depressing. Of course, I'm just in a self pity mood these days.

I don't read as much, believe it or not. I still don't.

Still working at the same place.

Still living in the same place.

Still with the same guy (for now, I think he's getting worn out and vice versa).

My dog passed away. That was probably the single most devastating thing that has happened to me in a long time.

Stopped writing for a real long time, but am slowly trying to get back into it. The noticed how terrible my writing skills have become. No adjectives and riddled with spelling and grammar errors.

I sit in the cubby walls, lit by the painful unnatural light only to see how life has moved on so quickly without my noticing.

Feelings of joy become mixed with envy when I see how many people have proceeded to excel at life and living. For most, they work so hard I cannot help but be proud and try to let the world know how great they are. For the few, I wonder how it is that life looks like a gentle clean breeze that does nothing more than sweep the few off their feet in an easier and more fruitful life in comparison to the world I dwell.

Who knows, maybe this and the other will slowly be the knock I need to wake up out of this unbearable stasis.

The conclusion, I complain way too freakin much. And therein lies another complaint.

away for a while

2009-03-29T20:33:00.000-07:00

Things are really crazy and slightly messed up at the moment. I'll be away from the blog and such for a bit. Maybe a week or two. Cannot survive without more than that. Hahaha.

Good news, a huge weight was lifted from me last week when I was assure my job. People had been let go, but during my review, my supervisors/bosses were very happy with me. So, horray!
Bad news, the guy and I are on an indefinite break until things clear up. More for myself then him. Will write more when I'm feeling better. He was being a stupid egocentric ass who is unwilling to compromise. This woman does not deal with this crap (or at least, I'm slowly learning). No worries though, I'm getting much better and am doing rather well now. I'll just be avoiding the net and phone for a while and will be back soon. :)

I went to a very dear woman's memorial over the weekend. She and I had fell out of touch some time ago, but I love her dearly and will miss her.

And as such, I will try to live my life to the happiest and fullest everyday doing what I want and not let anyone or any thing stop me for doing the right thing. ^___^

I may have suffered a few heartbreaks, but I feel I have matured much. To the future!

Love you all and miss you every single day.

A big thank you!

2009-03-03T21:04:00.000-08:00

Thanks everyone for your advice, thoughts, and much needed wondrous insight! I send out big internet hugs. ^___^

To update, the guy and I had a talk and we've in agreement to slow things down. :)

Thank you, thank you! The extra confirmations and boost of confidence to know that I should do what is best for me.

I also spoke with my mom; very calmly and nicely, that I need to experience living on my own. So she and I have been looking around to help me move out. If only for a little while, I should live on my own and grow up a little being independent and such. ;)

Things are going fairly well although I won't be able to blog or surf blogs as much anymore. We're officially locked out from work. *sigh* Want to surf blogs.

And yes, I feel very much loved by everyone. Like the cute little puppy. Thank you, thank you, thank you all!

I am so lucky to have all of you as friends, even if only seeing each other rarely or if once a year, and if only a slight maybe in the future. ^_~

I send out much love!

Too soon?

2009-02-25T09:09:00.000-08:00

How soon is too soon to move in together with someone? Cuz...the guy wants to.

I was originially okay (or, I didn't have an opinion one way or the other), but the more I thought about it, the more it sounds off. As in, it's only been 2 months...and, I haven't had a chance to be on my own yet.
The guy thinks it is a solution to our "problems" since we are too far away. I...don't know. Yeah, I think I'm hesitating too.

On another note, I just finished Jade Lee's The Concubine. Not bad. I've now started Coraline by Neil Gaiman. :D