simon on books

Life of Pi By Yann Martel

2006-11-24T10:31:00.000+08:00

Let me just say that this is an extraordinary book.

It took me awhile to get past the few chapters, but once I reach the second half of it, I couldn’t wait to see how it ends. I bought the book some time back on a whim, I was told by a few people that it was more than a good book. Reading the synopsis, it as easy to think that it was a gimmick storyline (with the addition of the Man Booker Prize attached to it), but don’t be stopped by that oversight. Yann Martel is a good storyteller, and this is undoubtedly a good story.

In a nutshell, the first part of the book deals with the childhood of Piscine Molitor Patel, the young boy who’s the main character in the story, in the French influenced Pondicherry in India. There is also a prelude, detailing the authors so-called journey as to how he discovered the wonderful story of Pi, described as one which will ‘make you believe in God’. Pi’s father is a zookeeper, and he spends a lot of time in the book talking about his observations and understanding of animal behaviour and how they relate to humans. This is actually quite fascinating for those who are interested, but in actual fact Martel is basically re-telling a lot of what that has been researched and published before, even in novels. Pi also discovers religion, being all part Muslim, Hindu and Christian at the same time. This part was a bit too much for me, was Martel merely trying to appeal to a wider audience, or just being politically correct?

This first part is also interspersed with the authors diary of meetings with the latter life Pi, sort of post-story glimpses to tantalize (or confuse) the reader.

Nonetheless, the second part of the book is where the magic begins, and you’ll understand why Martel drives the bits about animal psychology and behaviour in the first place. The ship his family boards from India to Toronto (while carrying some animals) mysteriously capsizes, leaving only 5 survivors – Pi, a zebra with a broken leg, a female orang-utan, a hyena and a 450-pound royal Bengal tiger.

It is with the beautiful and majestic tiger, named Richard Parker, that Pi forms a relationship based of fear, respect and co-dependency with. Don’t expect any of the animals to speak like humans though (although... never mind). The exploration and growth of the relationship between two of God’s creatures here is, although one-sided mostly, but displays Martel paramount understanding of human emotions and the of course tigers, not to mention turtles, fish, sharks, lifeboats and survival at sea. There’s also a bit about a mysterious botanical discovery, which I felt a little out of place.

The last part of the book is decidedly sweet, even including a cheeky epilogue. The book didn’t really make me believe in God, since I already do, and I didn’t really fancy the whole religion angle to the story, thankfully Martel didn’t play it up in the rest of the book apart from the beginning. Take the journey with Pi and Richard Parker, even if it sounds like a gimmick storyline.

Banned Books and What Are You Going To Do About It?

2006-11-06T17:56:00.000+08:00

Looks like there's quite a bit of buzz about the books that have been banned here in Malaysia.

If you want to see the list of books banned (including some you may have innocently bought for your 3-year old kid), you can see the complete list here:

Silverfish Books: Books Restricted by KND Johor Bahru

A few prominent book bloggers have actually started a blog to disseminate info regarding the issue. Go on, read it then.

It was also highlighted in yesterday's Star, go and read it if you haven't thrown it out with the trash.

Anyways, lots of people are talking about it, you can check out some of them here:
Suanie
Sharon Bakar
Midnite Lily
Minishorts
5xmom
Eyeris

and even one by a footie blog (ok, well, an irreverent footie blog).

Please show your support by posting about it. Alas, Spongebob Squarepants is in the same ranks as filthy sex books.

Five Books Every Geek Should Read

2006-11-02T12:31:00.000+08:00

Suicide Girls' Geek blog has an entry by Wil Wheaton listing the top 5 Books Every Geek Should Read. Very interesting. According to him:

Long before we wrote our blogs, long before we argued about the finer points of
the Prime Directive on UseNet, even before we nervously waited for ASCII porn to
download at 300 baud from Fidonet, geeks buried our faces in books.

Maybe it's because we were easily bored by television and movies (or
without the Internet to facilitate arguing about them) or maybe it's because we
were less likely to be tormented by a cool kid if we kept our faces safely
buried in the pages of some novel, but books are important to every geek I know.
We all have huge libraries of well-worn novels, often fighting for shelf-space
with our action figures.

Anyways, i scored really bad, out of all five, i scored only half, having half finished my brother's copy of Hitchhiker as a kid. I guess I'm not a geek, then...

I, Robot
Author: Isaac Asimov
Published: 1950

Neuromancer
Author: William Gibson
Published: 1984

Ringworld
Author: Larry Niven
Published: 1970

The Hacker Crackdown
Author: Bruce Sterling
Published: 1992

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Author: Douglas Adams
Published: 1979

Trying to Start 'Life of Pi' Again

2006-10-18T18:20:00.000+08:00

I bought the book on a whim some time back, and started reading it at once. But somehow i was sidetracked with a lot of other stuff (and books) and it was left on my shelf.

The other day i was packing for my trip overseas, and so i dumped the book into my hand luggage for the flight (I can't stand doing nothing for more than 5 minutes, let a lone a 3 hour flight).

So I'm now into chapter 7 of the book, which is quite okay so far. Hopefully I can finish it this time around.

Incidentally i visited this night safari at the time I was reading about Pi Patel's growing up years in the Pondicherry zoo. Ironic.

Philip K. Dick's Book Cover Art Gallery

2006-10-12T08:53:00.000+08:00

This is strictly for Philip K. Dick fans. In his website, there's a collection of over 650 cover art for most of his books, including those published in other languages.

Philip K. Dick - Book Cover Art Gallery

It's quite interesting looking through the collection, seeing how sci-fi cover art has evolved over the years. Now if only they'd alow you download the books... :)

Cake Shaped Like Discworld's Great A'Tuin!

2006-10-04T14:28:00.000+08:00

I bet eyeris would get a kick out of this.

This lady made a wedding cake for her daughter shaped like Discworld's Great A'Thuin! The detail is amazing, from the turtle to the 4 elephants to the rimfall...

Original post and more pics here.

"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up..."

2006-09-22T13:49:00.000+08:00

The other day I was reading some book, and this African poem came up...

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.
It knows it must outrun the fastest cheetah, or it will be
killed.
Every morning in Africa, a cheetah wakes up.
It knows it must outrun
the slowest gazelle, or it will starve.
It doesn't matter whether you're a gazelle or a cheetah -
when the sun comes up, you'd better start running.

I suppose most people at some time or other would have heard or read it (apparently, it was used in a Nike ad campaign in the US some time ago).

But I thought it was very good verse, considering the increasingly dog-eat-dog world we live in today. Or shall i say, cheetah-eat-gazelle world...

Stuff That Is Distracting Me From Reading More

2006-09-18T12:00:00.000+08:00

Stuff that distracts me from reading more.

TV.
Blogging.
Reading blogs.
My classes and homework.
Standard 7 hours of sleep daily.
And then there’s that little thing called work.

I sometimes wish there is just an extra 60 minutes to every day.

The Times Bookshop Warehouse Sale!

2006-09-16T09:40:00.000+08:00

While most of you may still be suffering from the after-effects of the Pay Less Warehouse Sale last weekend, Times Bookshop is having their own starting today. Yesterday was their preview sale for members only.

I remember the last sale was held just only a few months ago in City Square KL, still have unread books from that sale! Might give this one a miss...

Date: 16th Sept - 24th Sept 2006
Time: 12pm - 8pm (weekdays) 10am - 8pm (weekends)
Contact: 012-608 3569
Venue: 2nd Floor, Dataran Hamodal, Block A, (same street as F&N Dairies), Jln Bersatu 13/4, Seksyen 13, 46200, PJ (see map below)

Currently Reading

2006-09-14T15:00:00.000+08:00

This is the book I’m reading at the mo.

I just started, long way to go. Most of you would have heard of it from somewhere or someone, it’s the highest selling non-fiction book somewhere some time ago.

In it’s own words, its about “the globalization world in the 21st century”, not postulating some controversial new theory in geography or cartography. It’s quite good, albeit in the first few chapters the author repeats himself a little too much to emphasize the basic principles.

Review will be out when I finish it. Sooner or later.

What'sOnMyBookshelf? Beta

2006-08-29T12:49:00.000+08:00

Now this is quite an interesting concept.

What'sOnMyBookshelf

It's a website for book-swapping. On first impressions it looks like a very simplistic book club (granted, it's still in beta) but if you read the details, you’ll find out that it’s quite a different concept. What happens here is you put up your old (or shall we say pre-owned) books, and people can borrow your books, and similarly you can borrows books from others.

It works on a points system, their FAQ explains it clearly, including the important bits about paying for shipping and handling. Just like any site dealing in online transactions of pre-owned stuff like eBay, a degree of trust is expected from the users.

It is interesting to note that the site encourages users to put back up exchanged books that you have finished reading.

Like I said, very interesting thing concept, although at the moment, they haven’t really started to build the user and book database, so there isn’t much to choose from. A site like this would probably work in the US, and not here in Malaysia due to a few reasons. Lack of interest in reading, being one.

Anyway, will probably check back on the website, in a few months time and see the progress.

Problogger: Essential Books for Bloggers

2006-08-28T17:53:00.000+08:00

Darren Rowse, the problogger, has compiled a list of Essential Books for Bloggers after some feedback from his readers. There is a full list of almost 70 recommended books broken down into 5 cateogries - Blogging, Copy Writing, Business, Marketing, Creative Thinking & Miscellaneous.

While some of you may perceive blogging is just, well, blogging, to really market your blog and be successful at it, you need a fair knowledge of other business fields such as marketing and branding, hence the recommended non-core blogging books. Besides, it's always good to learn these topics for your own use or career, even if you're a weekend blogger...

Given below is an except of a few of the books, for the full list you can check it out here.

Blogging

Blog Marketing
Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers
The Corporate Blogging Book: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know to Get It Right

Copy Writing

Zen in the Art of Writing
Write It Right: The Ground Rules for Self-Editing Like the Pros
1000 Most Important Words

Business

The Art of War: The oldest military treatise in the world
Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach To Customer Service
Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time

Marketing

All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World
The Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness
Life After the 30-Second Spot: Energize Your Brand With a Bold

Creative Thinking

Serious Creativity: Using the Power of Lateral Thinking to Create New Ideas
Lateral Thinking: Creativity Step by Step (Perennial Library)
Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity

Review: Absolute Friends by John le Carre

2006-08-26T22:07:00.000+08:00

Absolute Friends
by John le Carre

Okay, I've finally finished this book. Some of you may remember my mentioning how tedious and slowly it was going for me some time back. So I'm doing a full review. Except it’s not going to be very long.

In a nutshell, le Carre’s style is what it diffcult for me to read this book. It took me more than a year of plodding through the book, going off and on it, like a bad cough that wouldn’t go away. Of course, in between this I finished many other books. This is my first le Carre, although I have heard of him since the early eighties. Those days, I read somewhere that someone described him as "Ian Fleming’s James Bond without the glamour". It would seem apt a description, Le Carre’s Ted Mundy here is an ordinary English bloke, although with a colourful history.

The story is one of the aforementioned Mundy, first of his current life as an English-speaking tour guide in a Linderhof castle, and slowly flashes back to his childhood in Pakistan. Then the story slowly recounts his life from there right up until it meets the current again, almost to the end of the book. The story centers around Mundy, himself of dubious political beliefs (probably it isn’t dubious, I just couldn’t be bothered to fully understand his roundabout rhetorics) and his long friendship with a German radical called Sasha.

Both turn into double agents for their respective states and for each other, sometimes involving a couple of both legitimate and shadowy organizations, both often seldom mentioned in full detail. What le Carre has down is update his brand of espionage thrillers into the 21st century in the backdrop of post 9-11 terrorism and borderless nations. A lot of the book deals in arguments of ideologies and ideals that seemed old in the seventies, let alone the new millennium.

In the end, the ending is a little unnecessary, but not entirely unexpected.

le Carre is good at what he does, and he probably loves doing it. He crafts narratives and dialogue with a sharp wit and a deft touch, something few others can do. But the problem is that, he gets self indulgent, to a certain extent. His descriptions and dialogues can go on for a page or two, and more often than not I found myself skipping ahead, and finding they don’t really say much after a couple of pages. This book will no doubt delight his fans, but for the new readers who are accustomed to the fast paced and intriguing thrillers that are all too common these days, they may find this book a little too slow just like I did.

Hot Library Smut

2006-08-23T11:57:00.000+08:00

Got this from swifty via sharon's blog. Man, this is hotstuff.

Hot Library Smut

No, there is no pron there. But great pics of libraries.

(Thanks, swifty!)

Reader's Digest

2006-08-21T11:25:00.000+08:00

Anyone Remember Reader's Digest? Yep, that small booklet-sized magazine that adults read when i was a kid. I was never a big fan, but i had an uncle that collected it since the late sixties. Every time i visited his place, I'd pull one random copy out and read the funny columns like 'Laughter, The Best Medicine', 'Life's Like That', 'All In A Day's Work' and those humourous anecdotes and quotations they had at the end of the long, boring articles.

(image from wikipedia)

If you've read it, you'll probably identify a few things with it, like the annual sweepstakes they spam you with ("You may have already won something! This is the first step to your USD1million, watch out for the next! Scratch and see if you've won a year's free subscription!"), offer on those large encyclopedias or special dictionaries or first aid guide books people buy but never read, free watches / table clocks / diaries for renewing your subscription... and lots of articles to read when you've nothing else to do.

The articles are basically edited and concised from books and other magazine, usually politically correct, feel-good and middle of the road conservative, the kind that tries to please everyone.

One thing that is evident with Reader's Digest in recent years is that it is fast losing popularity here in Malaysia, and probably worldwide, although on Wikipedia, it says that RD is still the most widely circulated magazine in the US. I think in the age of Internet and connectivity, traditional print media is suffering this problem, just as in the case of newspapers.

Another thing that most people associate with RD is the spiralling price here in Malaysia. I remember charting the price since the 80's, i don't know how much it costs now, but judging from the RD website price, it'll be about RM12 per copy now.

You'd be hardpressed to find a newsstand that carries it nowadays, let alone someone who subscribes to it. Except my doctor, who leaves his copy in the waiting room...

Ten Most Harmful Books of the 19th and 20th Centuries

2006-08-09T11:52:00.000+08:00

Got this from Human Events Online via the Law Librarian Blog. Human Events have asked 15 conservatives in America to list the Ten Most Harmful Books of the 19th and 20th Centuries. Surprise, surprise, guess who's number 1? (also included are 13 Honorable Mentions at the end of the article).

Number 1: The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

Number 2: Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler

Number 3: Quotations from Chairman Mao by Mao Zedong

Number 4: The Kinsey Report by Alfred Kinsey

Number 5: Democracy and Education by John Dewey

Number 6: Das Kapital by Karl Marx

Number 7: The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan

Number 8: The Course of Positive Philosophy by Auguste Comte

Number 9: Beyond Good and Evil by Freidrich Nietzsche

Number 10: General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money by John Maynard Keynes

Honorable Mentions include:

The Population Bomb by Paul Ehrlich
On Liberty by John Stuart Mill
Beyond Freedom and Dignity by B.F. Skinner
Reflections on Violence by Georges Sorel
The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
Madness and Civilization by Michel Foucault
Coming of Age in Samoa by Margaret Mead
Unsafe at Any Speed by Ralph Nader
Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon
Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud
The Greening of America by Charles Reich
Descent of Man by Charles Darwin

World eBook Fair

2006-08-01T11:06:00.000+08:00

A lot of sites have highlighted this, but for those who have yet to check it out, it's worth a visit. It's ending 4th August, so you better hurry.

You can basically download as many books as you want, this is in celebration of Project Guthenberg's 35th anniversary.

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer."

2006-07-30T22:32:00.000+08:00

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear.

I heard the first line quoted on TV the other day, taken from one of favourite sci-fi books of all time, Dune by Frank Herbert. The show in question was (get this...) Room Raiders on MTV...!

Dune is such an awesome space opera. It has politics, great characterization, a riveting storyline, factions (i love books with warring factions!) and a Messiah.

To this day, I am still puzzled why Herbert didn't stop at Book 2. The last 4 were unbelieveably disappointing for me.

Top 100 Science Fiction Books

2006-07-26T18:15:00.000+08:00

Found this website via Digg.com. It ranks the 100 top science fiction books which they say ' you just have to read'. I have only just gotten into the whole SF genre in the last few years, and can't really count that many that i have read in the list. But being a huge fan of Frank Herbert, I'm glad to see Dune rank quite high. Some of the other authors I have read are also on the list (although lower) like CJ Cherryh, Jules Vernes, Ursula LeGuinn and John Wyndham.

Obviously, favourites like Arthur C. Clarke and Asimov would top the list.

I've listed the top 10 here, for the full list you can check out the site.

Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Dune by Frank Herbert
Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
Valis by Philip K. Dick
Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Gateway by Frederick Pohl
Space Merchants by C.M. Kornbluth & Frederick Pohl
Earth Abides by George R. Stewart

Memories of A School Library

2006-07-19T09:55:00.000+08:00

Malaysian secondary school libraries are well-known for many things, most of them not book-related (Haw, haw). But having a decent English section is usually not one of them.

Although, I wouldn’t say it’s particularly anybody’s fault, funding for these things are not comparable to developed countries.

In my secondary school, the English section was decidedly small, most of it made up of books that hadn’t been checked out in years. Even by me.

But as I recalled back the other day, there were quite a few books that I have found in that steaming hot library that sticks in my mind. One of them was The Chrysalids by John Wyndham. At the time when I read it, I simply thought it was a good yarn, without any prior knowledge of who the author was or if the story was anything more than it was.

A few years later, when I was in uni during my study break just before the finals, there was this one year I decided not to go home during the one week like most of my classmates. I was on a freaking tight budget then (heck, some things don’t change) so I thought I’d stay on campus and save on the express bus fare. Just so happen the huge campus library just received a new batch of reprinted novels from selected authors, and to my surprise, The Chrysalids was one of them.

So that afternoon in the freezing 4th floor of the library (see the contrast to the earlier library…?) instead of cramming for my finals, I sat down and finished the book, and experiencing a wider understanding to Wyndham’s beautiful allegory and social observations of society.

The next day, instead of studying again, I read Lost Horizon by James Hilton - another book I read earlier from my school library...

Slow Going with Le Carre

2006-07-12T18:54:00.000+08:00

I'm ploughing through Absolute Friends by John Le Carre for almost two months now. It's really slow going. I dunno, maybe its just me, i find his style of writing very tedious and digressive.

Back in the 80's John Le Carre was supposed to be the cool espionage thriller writer, and while is my first Le Carre book, i'm feeling his grip on fiction is as outdated as the cold war. No doubt a lot of his fans still love him, it's just not for me.

150 more pages... can't wait to finish it so i can start another book.

Review: Blankets by Craig Thompson

2006-06-29T19:05:00.000+08:00

Blankets
by Craig Thompson

In the nineties, the graphic novel gained prominence, helped on by some great works like Alan Moore’s Watchmen (which I hope to do a review soon), Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series (I’m still financially miles away from buying them…) and some of Batman’s books, like Dark Knight, Dark Knight Returns and Year One.

Graphic novels were a different sort of cool from regular comics, the latter were usually associated with pimply boys obsessed with spandex-clad muscle bound flying superheroes or superbabes, but even though some graphic novels were basically a collection of a series of comics, what elevated the medium of graphic novels was the mature and serious subject matter they often focused on, like social issues that rose above the usual tripe.

But Blankets is a different sort of graphic novel. One online review said that it was a book you could get your girlfriend to read, and I don’t entirely disagree with it. Blankets is a black and white graphic novel by Craig Thompson, in parts based on events of his own life. It tells of a boy Craig, a social outcast boy in small town school somewhere in America. The only companion he has is little brother Phil, who despite the many petty arguments and pranks between them, they both share a love for drawing and a fertile imagination.

Through the abuse he faces from school bullies, and his strict father, Craig becomes increasingly alienated from the world, slowly withdrawing into his sketches and fantasy world. He also becomes more and more confused with his own spirituality, coming from a conservative Christian family.

The second part of the book is what makes it special. Craig grows into a teenager, grows apart from his brother and even more disillusioned by school and almost everything around him. Until he meets Raina, a girl seemingly just like him. The story then slowly explores the growing yet enigmatic relationship between the two, introducing the complicated members of Raina’s family, and her friends.

The final part of the book deals with Craig at the throes of adulthood, and the few decisions that stare him at his face. While the ending is decidedly timed well, I felt it was a little unresolved, but it is just a small complaint.

The first thing that strikes you the enormity of the book, almost 600 pages in all. But it is neatly divided in chapters according to the stages of Craig’s life.

Blankets is in its whole, a coming of age story, and in part, a tale of falling in love, and also a journey of self discovery. Some of these issues are briefly touched upon but not fully expounded by the author, by I think as a story in its whole, it doesn’t distract from the continuity. The art is pleasing, with clean lines, and a little intentional rough edges.

Blankets refers to two things in this story, a painstaking quilt made by Raina for Craig, and also in a symbolic sense which you’ll discover in this graphic novel.

For mature readers, with some sexual themes.

Where's Neil When You Need Him?

2006-06-15T16:46:00.000+08:00

Got this via Boing Boing and Fabulist. They are going to release an album with music inspired by the master of fantasy-goth himself, Neil Gaiman. Woo-hoo! Have I ever mentioned that I’m a huge Gaiman mark? :)

Anyways, they’ve given a tracklisting (see below) and you can pre-order it here. It’s scheduled to be available some time early July. Yes, I’m waiting…

Track Listing:

1 Rasputina - Coraline
2 ThouShaltNot - When Everyone Forgets
3 Tapping The Vein - Trader Boy
4 Lunascape - Raven Star5 Deine Lakaien - A Fish Called Prince
6 Thea Gilmore - Even Gods Do7 Rose Berlin (feat. Curve) - Coraline
8 Schandmaul - Magda Treadgolds Märchen
9 Hungry Lucy - We Won't Go
10 Voltaire w/The Oddz - Come Sweet Death
11 Future Bible Heroes - Mr. Punch
12 Razed in Black - The Endless
13 The Cruxshadows - Wake the White Queen
14 Ego Likeness - You Better Leave the Stars Alone
15 Azam Ali - The Cold Black Key
16 Joachim Witt - Vandemar
17 Tori Amos - Sister Named Desire (New Master)

If you don't understand the fuss about the great Neil Gaiman, you can read about him in wikipedia, or better yet, check out my favourite books by him…

Bookfest@Malaysia in KLCC

2006-05-31T14:01:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, on a whim, I decided to go to the huge Bookfest@Malaysia in the KL Convention Centre. I’ve been seeing the banner ads (real life ones, not the ones in your blog) along KL roads, and while walking in Suria one day it dawned on me it had just started.

Here’s the thing. I knew that it was going to be a lot of Chinese books, since the logo itself was the stylized Chinese word for book, but I thought at least there should be some English books. Well, I was almost correct. MOST of it was Chinese books. I breezed through the first 4 halls of Chinese books and Chinese books and more Chinese books.

Finally I reached hall 1 and 2 where the English books were supposed to be located. There were actually only 2 stalls, one small one by MPH (bless them), which ironically was manned by two Indians and a Malay girl, and a huge area manned by Popular Bookstores. (I found out later that the exhibition was organized them.)

And the other thing was they charged RM2 per entry. What? Nevermind, I paid the fee and they gave me a little handbook with a bookmark (?!). I only got to read the handbook after I got home, I found out that the bookfest was mainly for exhibitors from China, Taiwan, Singapore and other Chinese-speaking countries.

I bought a few English books, MPH had some good discounts.

The organizers have planned lots of events like performances, book-reading, games, contests and giveaways all throughout the exhibition. It’s on until the Sunday 4th June. Details can be obtained at their website.

Contract With God by Will Eisner

2006-05-15T15:44:00.000+08:00

Just read this book awhile ago.

Or should I say, the hardcover compilation graphic novel. The full title is "The Contract with God Trilogy: Life on Dropsie Avenue" featuring a collection of stories by Will Eisner.

I haven't even heard of Will Eisner, let alone this series of books. I had only seen the book on display for the longest time in the bookstore.

Having read it, I found out that Eisner is actually a very influential figure in the industry, and the Eisner awards is named after him. In fact, this book is the first 'graphic novel' to be released, in the original format, back in 1978.

'Contract with God' is like nothing I've ever read. All the stories revolve around a the folks in a tenement (apartment) called Dropsie Avenue, spanning the pre-Prohibition era at the turn of the century right up to the Great Depression Era of the 1930's. At some juncture one of the stories project up until the present, but only for a cursory glimpse.

This is an excellent book, make no mistake about it. It revolves around a few residents of Dropsie Avenue, a Jewish refugee who makes a contract with God, a surly building supervisor consumed by lust, a street singer who stumbles on a chance of lifetime to become a star, sordid family tales, all mirroring the real-life experiences of the author Eisner, himself an immigrant into a new world.

The stories are simple and poignant, yet powerful in a way that even readers from a different culture can identify with. The tales, all centred around the impoverished Dropsie Avenue in the Bronx, revolves much on the poverty, the dreams of being rich (portrayed as Manhattan, just a short distance away), lusts of the heart, and basically of a young America is the dawn of the 20th century.

The title is in reference to the first story in the series, a simplistic tale of a Russian Jew immigrant who makes an innocent contract with God on a piece of stone, and with his story coming to an end, sets off a series of tales about the building he lived in and ultimately died in. I especially liked the story about the families, with a little money saved up, going on summer vacations. Really, they may be stories you've heard before, but the way he tells it is just enthralling.

Will Eisner is a master story teller. Highly recommended.

The Other Books Around the Da Vinci Code Hype

2006-05-09T10:07:00.000+08:00

A few weeks ago i was at this big bookstore in the city (a very famous bookstore), browsing as usual. This was when the whole 'Da Vinci Code' craze was just about to restart due to the media fanfare on the upcoming movie starring Tom Hanks.

So naturally, the bookstore was capitalizing on the sudden interest, prominently parading the Dan Brown books at the entrance, especially those older, less popular novels by the guy. Not to mention the boxsets.

Anyways, further in, there was this other shelf, which wasn't as prominently displayed, the store people had selected some books that more or less were on the same theme as DVC, you know, the whole religious-conspiracy-code-in-ancient-manuscript-race-against-time thing.

Here's a few i saw on display:

Decipher by Stel Pavlou

There are plenty more than these, maybe the store people should have displayed more, like Umberto Eco's books...

The Magdalene Cipher by Jim Hougan

After doing some reading on Amazon.com, i found out some of these novels were actually written in the 80's long before Dan Brown's book. Except back then they're weren't the 'in' thing...

The Genesis Code by John Case

I wonder if people are really buying all these books just based on the hype of DVC? I dunno.

The Messiah Code by Michael Cordy

Maybe so, since i myself discovered Focault's Pendulum via DVC, so there...

So I Went To The Borders' Sale

2006-05-03T12:16:00.000+08:00

And yes I did, over the weekend, after reading about it in the papers.

It turned out to be really good, all English books were going at 15% off, except those on special offer. And i mean ALL.

But the downside was that i had very little money (after the taxman cameth, and the Times Bookstore Warehouse Sale...) . So i settled for only 2 books, Umberto Eco's Focault's Pendulum and Neil Gaiman's (Book 3 in the Sandman series).

I'm planning to get the full set of the Sandman series, but its a long way off...

...And Then There Was the Borders Sale

2006-04-28T09:42:00.000+08:00

First it was MPH's centennial anniversary sale (which is still ongoing), then there is the Time Bookshop sale which started a few days ago (you can read about my visit there) and now it's Borders' turn to have their one year anniversary sale.

Wow has it been one year? i remember my first visit to the pilot store in Berjaya Times Square (not the best place to open a renowned international bookstore chain...) the sight of World of Feng Shui right in the middle of the floor was mildly disturbing. But anyway.

The sale is on until early May, at both the Berjaya Times Square store and the newer one in the Curve, Mutiara Damansara. There is 15% off selected books, some deals on DVDs and the usual 3 for 2 bargains.

I'll write about my visit after i drop by this weekend, hopefully...

So when is Kinokuniya having a sale?

Times Bookshop Warehouse Sale

2006-04-26T13:03:00.000+08:00

Just went to the Times Bookshop Warehouse Preview Sale, after seeing it in the newspapers today.Today's actually the preview sale for TPC members and Citibank cardmembers. Anyway i didn't think it would so exclusive, since most people i know have a Citibank card anyway.

I was quite disappointed at the MPH 100 year's anniversary sale, so i was kinda looking to this one, i think i haven't missed out on it yet for the last few years.

Date: 26 April to 1 May 2006
Venue: 5th Floor, City Square, Jalan Tun Razak.

The sale is pretty much like the ones before, the bestseller or new books section is not that big, plus the rest are the old books we see them trying to clear off everyday. The VCD section is quite cheap, going at RM9-11, but since getting a DVD player...

Anyways, i got a few books i've been eyeing for awhile:

The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman - Got this revised paperback at an el cheapo price. I think the hardcover version was RM70+.

The Abhorsen Trilogy boxset by Garth Nix - I only wanted the latter 2 in the series, but for a ringgit more i bought the boxset. Extravagant, but once in awhile la...

East and West by Chis Patten - This book i got from RM20 in the 'best buy' section. I read somewhere that he had some derisive things to say about the Tory government of his day, should be a good read...

I bought another word search book for me girl.

OCLC's Top 1000 Books

2006-03-21T14:49:00.000+08:00

Got this from Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) via Boing Boing.

They've listed the 1000 books listed in the member libraries for the year 2005. More than 53,548 libraries in 96 countries and territories around the world use OCLC, so its probably as comprehensive as any list you would find.

And the top ten books are:

Number 1: The Holy Bible (various)

Number 2: US Census (various)

Number 3: Mother Goose

Number 4: Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

Number 5: Odyssey by Homer

Number 6: Iliad by Homer

Number 7: Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Number 8: Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (Trilogy)

Number 9: Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Number 10: Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

For the list of the full 1000 books, you can read it here.

Review: Rule of Four

2006-03-16T16:20:00.000+08:00

Right, this blog is back in action. Yep, I know it's been more than half a year of being dormant, but i just feel an urgent need to write a book review.

Rule of Four
by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason

I dunno, I had great expectations for book. Not unreasonably great, but it came decent recommendations from some people. But at least I know it was not as going to be the same as Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code (or any of his other samey lesser-known books). I'd like to think that the two authors didn't set out to emulate anything similar to Dan Brown's book, but inadvertently the publishers and the marketing people would have seen it as a great idea to focus on the similarities, given the success of the former.

I was disappointed with the book. Because it doesn't really go anywhere. You wade through the 400 pages of it, and find out there is no real secret or conclusive ending to it. You would think as a work of fiction (or fiction based on some strands of historic fact) the two authors could have added a lot more stuff to make it interesting and compelling. But no, there is hardly any action in it, and the so-called mystery text that the entire book is based on, well, to put it in a nutshell, it all comes to nothing and is utterly disappointing.

Well, if you must know, the story is about 2 best friends (you just can't help but assume they are 'loosely' based the authors themselves) studying in Princeton, and they're are both fascinated with this 1499 book called Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. The book is a complicated tome of pseudo-philosophical and erotic babble, mixing different languages, telling this story about a guy in love (I think). But the thing is that a few people, including the two friends think there is more to the book than what it offers at face value. They suspect that the book hides an answer to a riddle that points to an ancient crypt of manuscripts and artefacts.

And so in Da Vinci Code style, they use literature and mathematics and they actually find the answers. One of the cryptogram they use is the so-called 'Rule of Four' thing (i was so disappointed to find out what it actually was).

This highlights why I feel the book fared poorly. The authors attempt to tie in the duality of the Rule of Four with the main characters. The two friends each have a roommates, and they four are apparently best friends. Frankly, the other two side characters come across as paper-thin and under-developed, not really adding to the flow of the story. The authors try to inject side stories about them and entire chapters where they bond with the main characters, but it was all tiresome and too far digressing from the main storyline.

Then there is the love interest of one of the protagonists, going through the history of how they met (via flashback) and how they go through some rough patches because of his obssession with the book. At one point I could hear myself telling the girl to just dump to book nerd.

So much promise, all wasted, that's what i felt when i finished. And i'm not even comparing it to Dan Brown's book. This is actually the authors' first novel after graduating from Harvard and Princeton respectively. I'd like to see them do better in a second book.

And the open ended ending didn't help my opinion of the book, either.

If you liked this book, you might be interested in:

Harry Potter (...madness ensues)

2005-07-16T12:12:00.000+08:00

No update for a long time.

But apparently the new Harry Potter book is being launched today. And the mad grab and pandemonium will ensue. Yesterday I just realized the author and our Public Works Department share the same initials. Spooky.

I'm still reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Savouring it page by page.

Also reading Heaven Is So Real by Choo Thomas. And my Heretics of Dune is still unfinished. Damn this Frank Herbert.

Review: Heart of Darkness

2005-06-20T11:12:00.000+08:00

Heart of Darkness
by Joseph Conrad

This book had been sitting on my shelf for more than 5 years. I bought this penguin classic version for like 4 bucks, tried (and failed) to read it on a few occasions through the years. So recently during a lull between some other books, I decided to give it another serious try. It was after all, only like 110 pages, how difficult could it be, right?

It actually was very difficult, to say the least. The yellowing book spent a long time on my desk (brought down from the shelf) after 2 pages, before I decide to finish it off last night.

It’s a hard book to read. Not only for the 1900 language, but the long and bulky narrative is cumbersome for those more unfamiliar with the style. It’s basically a monologue by the seaman Marlow recounting his adventure into deep Africa for a European trading company. A huge portion of the narrative focuses on two things – the mysterious Mr Kurtz, the legendary ivory hunter and the incivility of the African natives.

On the first point, Mr. Kurtz doesn’t make an entry until late into the book. But by then Marlow had heard so much of the corrupted yet revered man, compelling him to meet and understand Kurtz. I understand Mr. Kurtz is supposed to be symbolizing some profound yet depraved human condition here, but by then I didn’t really cared about the man or Marlow's self-absorbing rhetorics.

On the treatment of the natives, one has to understand the background of the book. I won’t go into that, but I think I am not alone in feeling uneasy throughout the book.

So now finally I have read ‘Heart of Darkness’. Was it any good for me? No, I can’t say I enjoyed it all.

In fact there were large portions of the text where I was asking ‘where is Conrad going with this?’ Frankly, I really felt there were many other so-called classics I could I have spent my time with, given at 100-pages, the disappointment was somewhat softened. OK, now I can start on another book.

If you liked this book, I recommend:

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Review: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

2005-05-09T13:03:00.000+08:00

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
by Mark Haddon

As far as auspicious firsts go, this would have made a great first review for my book blog. I had some expectations for this book, after reading a few positive write-ups here and there. I first saw it at the Times Warehouse Sale 2004 (not the recent one) but it wasn’t really any cheaper than usual, seeing that it was just released.

I finally bought it at my first visit to Borders, along with Absolute Friends by John le Carre and Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason.

However, after finishing the book in 4 short sittings (it’s only about 230 pages) I was less than impressed. My one and only gripe (and a major one at that) was that Haddon’s effort is far too similar to Sue Townsend’s Adrian Mole Diary series. Granted, I’m slightly biased (Townsend is one of my favourite authors) but I can hardly accept that Haddon wrote this book without any influence from any of the Adrian Mole series.

The similarities are all too obvious – Adrian Mole is a self-absorbed teenager who thinks himself as a literary genius, clueless of most things that take place around him. But in Haddon’s book, the premise is more bittersweet: the protagonist is an autistic mathematical genius (the short bio on the author notes that he works with autistic children). Perhaps this gives an air of legitimacy to the novel, but the similarities don’t with only the premise, parts of the storyline are also mirror-like: parents separate and pair off with neighbours, protagonist uses mathematical problems to calm himself down (Adrian Mole uses literature), etc.

Having said that, The Curious Incident a decent book. Its writing is simple and straightforward, suitable for young readers or those who want to start reading seriously. Independently, it deals honestly with autism in children. In fact while reading it, I kept referring back mentally to the movie Mercury Rising starring Bruce Willis and Alec Baldwin, which also dealt on the similar issue, albeit in a more Hollywood-style way.

What I liked about the book was that it did not get too preachy or sentimentalized over the touchy subject nature, and serves to give a fair view of children with autism. On the negative side, i felt the ending was a bit rushed, but perhaps this only serves to welcome a sequel.

If you liked this book, I recommend:
Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre

The Adrian Mole series by Sue Townsend