Category: Currently Reading
Merry Christmas!
So the steak’s defrosting, there’s plenty of spinach and strawberries in the fridge for a salad, my cocoa brownie’s a-baking, and there’s dessert wine a-chilling. It’s a quiet Christmas this year, just the three of us (last year my husband’s family was around, the year before that we were back in Singapore).
It’s time to put my tired feet up on the couch, snuggle under the throw and settle in with one of the library books I picked up this morning. Perhaps the graphic novel adaptation of Sense and Sensibility? Or to continue with the Mary Russell series? Plenty of choices for my holiday reads.
I hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy new year!
Library Loot (9 December 2011)
Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.
Ah the library… a great place to borrow books and browse the shelves, and entertain wee reader. We’ve been attending the library’s weekly baby lapsit programmes – some 45 to 60 minutes of songs, nursery rhymes, story-telling and playtime – but had to miss a few sessions when we were travelling (and getting over jet lag) so it was great to be back again! Of course I had to pick up some books for myself and the little guy as well.
So here’s my stash (just a couple as I’m waiting for some on-hold books that are still in transit).
The Wayfarer Redemption
A millennia-old prophecy was given when the Forbidden Ones were driven from Achar. And now, the Acharites witness its manifestation: Achar is under attack by an evil lord from the North, Gorgreal-his ice demons strike from the sky and kill hundreds of brave warriors in the blink of an eye.
All Acharites believe the end is near.
One young woman, Faraday, betrothed of Duke Borneheld, learns that all she has been told about her people’s history is untrue. While fleeing to safety from the dangerous land, Faraday, rides with Axis, legendary leader of the Axe-Wielders-and hated half-brother of Borneheld-and a man Faraday secretly loves although it would be death to admit it. She embarks on a journey, which will change her life forever, in search of the true nature of her people.
This grand and heroic story tells the tale of one woman’s plight to learn the truth of her people and change their hearts and their minds forever. She fights against oppressive forces to share this reality and will not desist until everyone knows. . . . . The truth of the Star Gate
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8: No Future For You
This is volume 2 of the series which I had requested from another library branch (I picked up volumes three and four last week). I love the cover! (ok I also loved the book – I finished it last night!)
Eisner award-winning writer Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina) tackles Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight with “No Future for You.” When a rogue debutant Slayer begins to use her power for evil, Giles is forced to recruit the rebellious Faith, who isn’t exactly known for her good deeds. Giles offers Faith a clean slate if she can stop this snooty Slayer from wreaking total havoc – that is, if Buffy doesn’t beat her to it. Georges Jeanty (The American Way) remains at the top of his game as series artist, and Whedon stays on as “Executive Producer” in this direct follow-up to Season Seven of the smash-hit TV series.
And for the little guy, some board books:
Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?
Click, Clack, ABC
Spot: My Day at Home
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?
See more Library Loot here.
What I’m reading
Hi! I’m still here! I’m just doing more reading than blogging right now. Will explain more another time.
Meanwhile here’s what’s I’m currently reading:
Cake! Cake!
Oh hi, did that title catch your attention?
Ok maybe not the second one. Not so pretty huh. But I tell you it was Good. Yeah capital ‘G’ there. It’s a Black Forest cake from a bakery in my neighbourhood, and although they used strawberries instead of cherries, those layers of chocolate cake were yummy! Moist, not too sweet, dense but not too dense. And while I’m not a fan of cream, the layers of cream were just right. Thankfully, as it was the end to a big meaty meal of steak!
The picture on top though, while it looks pretty, wasn’t that great. Tiramisu, but not rich or coffee-tasting enough! That ended our Saturday dinner at an Italian restaurant – I had linguine vongole.
It was a weekend of eating (is any weekend not one of eating??) as the husband celebrated his birthday!
I would not be a book blogger if I didn’t talk about books so here’s what I’m currently reading.
Adoring The Beekeeper’s Apprentice. I’ve been interested in reading more mystery books lately. And this has been such a treat. Here I have to sheepishly admit that I’ve never ever (ever!) read any Sherlock Holmes. I was given a copy as a Christmas present as a kid (can’t remember which though) and glanced through it and thought it the most boring thing ever. And never considered revisiting that view since. But now I’m going to give it another try. A proper try. The only question – where do I start?
I’m also continuing to read The Good Soldier and Monsters of Men, which has me once again going, “noooo! What the hell?” and various other not-so-niceties.
What were you up to this past weekend and what are you currently reading?
The Ask and the Answer
And so it begins again.
I opened Monsters of Men, a little guarded, a little leery.
And there it was. Back again with Todd and Viola and all that Noise. And I wonder what I’m getting myself into.
Because while I dashed my way through the first book, The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and the Answer was not exactly going the way I hoped. The first half of the book made me curiously angry. I was frustrated with how things were going. I don’t know quite how to go about writing a review of this second book without spoiling your fun with the trilogy, so this ‘review’ of The Ask and The Answer will be rather vague.
But oh… not just OH, but ARGH. How I railed against the first half of the book. As I think back now, I wonder if it was because I felt vested in Todd and Viola, that Patrick Ness has made me believe in them and their future in this bleak world. The middle book of a trilogy is never easy to read. It will never have the high of that first book, and there’s that anticipation of the final book, waiting for the big finish.
And now as I begin the final book, through that final push, I wonder why I waited. Okay, so it’s just a few days, but I actually waited to read this book. It’s been sitting on my library books shelf for a week. Maybe I just didn’t want to get off the ride? Desperate, violent and angry that it may be.
I can’t wait to see what else Patrick Ness has up his sleeve – both in Monsters of Men, and in his other books.
Library Loot (20 October 2011)
Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.
So on Thursday morning, after finishing The Knife of Never Letting Go, I immediately downloaded book two, The Ask and the Answer. But to my horror, book three, Monsters of Men, wasn’t on the Singapore Overdrive catalogue! I quickly checked my physical library’s catalogue. And phew! There it was. And better yet, it said ‘check shelf’ next to it. Yay! So as soon as the library opened (and as soon as wee reader woke up from his morning nap), we whisked off to the library and there it was, right where it was supposed to be. Of course I had to get some fun books for the little guy, and also picked up a book I had requested earlier. So for once, I managed to hold back and not browse the shelves! Amazing!
Monsters of Men
Although, now having read about half of The Ask and the Answer, I’m not all that eager to get to this book….!
In the riveting conclusion to the acclaimed dystopian series, a boy and girl caught in the chaos of war face devastating choices that will decide the fate of a world.
As a world-ending war surges around them, Todd and Viola face monstrous decisions. The indigenous Spackle, thinking and acting as one, have mobilized to avenge their murdered people. Ruthless human leaders prepare to defend their factions at all costs, even as a convoy of new settlers approaches. And as the ceaseless Noise lays all thoughts bare, the projected will of the few threatens to overwhelm the desperate desire of the many. The consequences of each action, each word, are unspeakably vast: To follow a tyrant or a terrorist? To save the life of the one you love most, or thousands of strangers? To believe in redemption, or assume it is lost? Becoming adults amid the turmoil, Todd and Viola question all they have known, racing through horror and outrage toward a shocking finale.
The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 1)
I’ve finally finished watching Buffy! Was Season Seven a fantastic season or what! Of course I had to go check out the graphic novel, especially since Joss Whedon himself was involved.
Since the destruction of the Hellmouth, the Slayers – newly legion – have gotten organized and are kicking some serious undead butt. But not everything’s fun and firearms, as an old enemy reappears and Dawn experiences some serious growing pains. Meanwhile, one of the “Buffy” decoy slayers is going through major pain of her own. Buffy creator Joss Whedon brings Buffy back to Dark Horse in this direct follow-up to season seven of the smash-hit TV series. The bestselling and critically acclaimed issues #1-5 are collected here for the first time, as are their covers by Jo Chen and Georges Jeanty.
So here are the e-books from Overdrive:
The Ask and the Answer: Chaos Walking: Book Two
Part two of the literary sci-fi thriller follows a boy and a girl who are caught in a warring town where thoughts can be heard — and secrets are never safe.
Reaching the end of their flight in THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO, Todd and Viola did not find healing and hope in Haven. They found instead their worst enemy, Mayor Prentiss, waiting to welcome them to New Prentisstown. There they are forced into separate lives: Todd to prison, and Viola to a house of healing where her wounds are treated. Soon Viola is swept into the ruthless activities of the Answer, while Todd faces impossible choices when forced to join the mayor’s oppressive new regime. In alternating narratives the two struggle to reconcile their own dubious actions with their deepest beliefs. Torn by confusion and compromise, suspicion and betrayal, can their trust in each other possibly survive?
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice: Or On the Segregation of the Queen/A Novel of Suspense Featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes (Mary Russell Novels)
I’ve been interested in trying out more mystery (detective?) novels recently, and have heard much good about this – via the blogosphere of course!
In 1915, Sherlock Holmes is retired and quietly engaged in the study of honeybees when a young woman literally stumbles into him on the Sussex Downs. Fifteen years old, gawky, egotistical, and recently orphaned, the young Mary Russell displays an intellect to impress even Sherlock Holmes–and match him wit for wit. Under his reluctant tutelage, this very modern twentieth-century woman proves a deft protégée and a fitting partner for the Victorian detective. In their first case together, they must track down a kidnapped American senator’s daughter and confront a truly cunning adversary–a bomber who has set trip wires for the sleuths and who will stop at nothing to end their partnership. Full of brilliant deductions, disguises, and dangers, this first book of the Mary Russell–Sherlock Holmes mysteries is “wonderfully original and entertaining . . . absorbing from beginning to end” (Booklist).
And here are wee reader’s board books!
Baby’s Colors
Rocket Town
The Night Night Book
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?
See more Library Loot here
The Knife of Never Letting Go
I’m 50 or so pages away from finishing Patrick Ness’ The Knife of a Never Letting Go. I started it yesterday afternoon, downloading it from Overdrive. And read. And read. And read. I would’ve finished it but it was my bedtime and with wee reader around, I stick to my bedtime because he enjoys waking me up just before 6. So I put away the iPad with reluctance, and went to sleep. But not before I figured out why that song Ben sings sounded so familiar. It’s Spike’s trigger song (I just finished the Buffy series, so it’s all still fresh in my mind).
Ok I’m going too far ahead. Let’s backtrack. Patrick Ness is a name I’ve been hearing around the blogosphere for quite a while now. And so when happened to be browsing the Overdrive catalogue on the computer (overdrive users- did you know that their online catalogue is different from their mobile version? At least for the Singapore library catalogue that I use. The regular version has far more books, including this one, which is a PDF file, and if I’m not wrong, the mobile version only shows ePUB ebooks), I happened upon his books. And I was delighted!
The Knife of Never Letting Go
Ness is rather clever in the unfolding of his plot. He plunges the reader into this world rather convincingly, and it is one that surprises and then shocks. There is the great secret, the great history of Prentisstown, that everyone except Todd – and the reader – knows. Ness throws out these hints here and there, and you get the hint, you know what is coming up next, but you wait in anticipation for Todd to find out (and really, there’s a part of you who hopes it’s not true).
Sometimes when reading YA, I have to remind myself that these are teenagers/kids, and that kids do silly things. And here, Todd does some silly things, and some rather brave ones. It isn’t easy to like him. In face, I spent most of the book wishing it weren’t about him. Yet there were some other wonderful characters, like Manchee and the other people that Todd meets. Plus that idea of Noise, that one’s thoughts are constantly spilling out into the space around you. It isn’t the most original of thoughts, but the way that it is portrayed in the book, it is rather compelling.
The Knife of Never Letting Go is not a book for the fainthearted. There is all manner of foul in here – violence, murder, language (as in both swearing and deliberate misspellings). And perhaps worst of all, the ending is, as the Booklist review puts it: “as effective as a shot to the gut”. This is the thing I hate about series. In this case, you can’t just have that first book, you need the second one at hand – and I’m guessing the third and final book too? And yes, I have finished the book, and yes, I went GAAAAHhhh….. And yes, I immediately turned on my computer to download the second book. And yes, I checked to see if Overdrive has the third book, and unfortunately, the answer is no. So just to be safe and sane, I checked my physical library and woohoo! It’s available. A trip to the library it is then!
Of dim sum and naan
Unfortunately this is going to be a post without pictures. Because while I have a brand-new iPhone to play with, I forgot all about it and took care of my stomach first. So you’ll have to trust me when I say that it was a yummy weekend of eating. A Saturday lunch of dim sum at Asian Pearl, followed by a rather spicy feast of Pakistani-Indian food at Pakwan for dinner (I was greedy and ordered too many naans – all the better for leftovers the next day!). Sunday was an afternoon of shopping and catching up on the week’s TV (loved the six timelines plot in Community).
And what would a weekend be without some reading? I’m making my way through Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart and it’s not turning out the way I want it to be. It sounded like it would be an interesting story, and I guess in a way it kind of is, but there’s something about it (the translation? the pacing? the characterisation?) that doesn’t quite make me love it or want to love it. I’m probably going to finish reading it, but now I’m not sure whether I’ll be going on to the rest of the books in this trilogy. I’ll keep you updated.
Finding my way
I’ve been reading, but blogging, not so much. Some work to complete, and various other excuses can be made. Making my unhappy way through Lord of Misrule, and far more contentedly through All Passion Spent.
Wee reader says hi.
It came, it went
Erm what? It’s Monday already?
Ok not technically since I’m writing this on Sunday night, but it’ll probably post tomorrow. It’s 9:15 pm, wee reader is asleep in his room and all is quiet. For now. Unfortunately, we’ve been having one of those weeks. Perhaps it’s a combination of growth spurt, teething and eczema that’s been leading him to wake and cry. Or cry with his eyes closed. Or wake and fidget throughout the night.
Perhaps that’s why this weekend has seemed just incredibly short!
But I am glad for the small things. Like these bookish bits:
Somehow during those (oh so short) two days that constitute the weekend, I managed to read The Terror. And I will write about it in another post because more people ought to read it! Otherwise, I continue to plough through my e-book version of Mansfield Park, reading it in bed and on my daily 30-40 minute morning walk with wee reader in the stroller. And have just begun Conspiracy of Kings (?) and am glad to note that indeed it have not read this one yet (I picked it up at my last library visit – and couldn’t quite remember).
Gluttony-related bits:
I made my favourite walnut bread on Thursday. Favourite because it’s pretty easy and only requires two risings of about 4 hours in total. And it’s got walnuts! one loaf is gone already.
In anticipation of the week ahead, I made a freezer bag ready for the crockpot. It involved cleaning and chopping up some chicken thighs, leeks, garlic, carrots and popping the parts into a ziplock and into the freezer. I’ll add the potatoes towards the end. And probably some chicken stock and/or canned tomatoes and various herbs and seasonings.
Met friends for some yummy 小笼包 (xiaolongbao). We devoured three types of steamed dumplings (the typical porky soupy ones, a batch with crab roe and the last were shrimp and loofah), green onion pancake, beef roll, red bean pancake and Shanghai-style fried rice. And apparently that wasn’t enough so a quick stop was made for some banh mi and rice paper rolls (mmmmm…). Unfortunately I forgot to take photos as usual. But it was all pretty good.
Met other friends for a not-yummy lunch at a pseudo-Italian place (not my choice of restaurant!). Disappointingly bland shrimp and spinach capellini. Calamari and fresh bread were tasty enough. We were there for the company more than anything else as one friend was visiting from Singapore – so it was great to hear news and updates.
Unfortunately the top split!
