For book lovers and hunters, don't miss this year's KL International Book Fair. The details are below.
Date: 17th - 26th April 2009
Mon - Thurs: 10.00AM to 8.00PM
Fri - Sun & Public holidays: 10.00AM to 9.00PM
Venue: Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
For further details, checkout the organizer's website at http://klbookfair.com/
PS-I wish they'd postpone it a bit. Why lah you have book fair middle of the month when wallets and purses are thin. Aiyoh!
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Oh to be a teenage girl, new in town, somehow making friends easily in your new school, and finding out that your teenage crush is actually a 100 year old vampire stuck in his 17-year-old body and is especially infatuated with the scent of your blood (translation, he wants to suck your blood dry if he could). Hm, if the vampire is anything like Bram Stoker's Dracula, the story will have a Van Helsing trying to kill Dracula to save the heroine. Stephenie Meyer's version however, is a romance, and yes, the girl, Bella is in love with Edward, the vampire, and the vampire also loves her back, all while trying very very hard not to accidentally kill her. Not your typical teenage romance at all. This bestselling teenage vampire fantasy by Stephenie Meyer has met with an almost "Harry Potter" level of fan-dom, although its not without its critics. But who cares about critics if you have the best selling book of 2008 and a blockbuster movie.
Bella's life seemed like a typical teenager trying to fit in after moving back in with her divorced dad, until Edward stopped a van from hitting Bella by pushing it away with his hands. She tried to figure out how Edward managed to save her life, and finally discovered the local legend about a family of vampires that only drink animals blood. After Edward saved Bella yet again, they became close and fell in love and Edward even brought Bella home to meet his vampire family, the Cullens. Bella amazingly was not afraid at all of being close with vampires, even when kissing or hugging, the typical human couples stuff, something that Edward finds uncomfortable at times, because he had to struggle hard to not hurt her. It seemed that they would be able to overcome the risks of a vampire-human romance, until a trio of vampires came into town, and they don't particularly care for animals blood.
Twilight is written from Bella's point of view, with her thoughts and even dreams detailed to help you further imagine that you yourself is living Bella's life. Bella's awkwardness in her relationship with her dad, her unhappiness when she first arrived in the cloudy and rainy Forks from the sunny Arizona, her clumsiness, and her uneasiness with the attention of several boys in school, is one of the attractiveness of the book. All typical teenage life. With a twist, a twist with sharp pointy fangs.
If you like Twilight, do read its sequels; New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn; the action and plot becomes more interesting, an exasperating, with a love triangle and more scary villains. I was not a fan of the Anne Rice vampire series, but after reading Twilight and its sequels (reviews to come), I somehow discovered a new love for what is called urban fantasies, fantasy (vampire/supernatural) series set in an urban environment. Among new excellent series I've discovered is the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris, a vampire and shapeshifters series set in an alternate world where vampires live openly among us by drinking synthetic blood. If you are an adult and liked Twilight, your should definitely read the Sookie Stackhouse series too. They're currently on my reading list and will be reviewed soon.
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Imagine if you have a very simple name like 'Anne', have carrot red hair and a freckled face, skinny, and had just arrived at a beautiful little town after leaving the orphanage only to discover that the family that wanted to adopt you didn't want you anymore because you're not the boy that they wanted. Normally, a story with this beginning would be a sad drama that if made into a movie would be Oscar worthy. But Lucy Maude Montgomery managed to turn what could have been a cry fest of a story into a children's story that are at times funny, sad, and full of little life lessons.
Anne (spelled with an 'E') Shirley is one of my favourite female fictional characters. Anne ended up staying on with the Cuthberts at Green Gables after Marilla Cuthbert didn't have the heart to let her go after discovering Anne's life as an unwanted orphan after her parents death when she was just a baby. Marilla and her shy brother, Matthew came to love Anne like a daughter, although not without challenges and mishaps along the way.
The book started with Anne at the age of eleven, and went on to tell her life until she completed her studies and became a teacher. One of the things that you either love or hate about Anne is that she talks too much (sometimes her conversations can be one sided up to 3 full pages on the book) She uses long words in her sentences which most find shocking when she was just eleven, has a too vivid imagination that got her and her 'bosom friend' Diana into trouble, on top of being slightly over sensitive over her red hair. She had a tantrum when the town gossip, Rachel Lynde commented on her red hair to Marilla, and broke a slate over Gilbert Blythe's head, the awful but handsome boy in town who called her carrots at school, and became her sworn enemy for many years after. But she also loved the people who cared about her, and was very smart at school, partly because she studied hard to best Gilbert Blythe in everything. She eventually went to college and won a scholarship to a prominent college.
Anne is not your typical fictional heroine, not the weak and timid female who depends on the men in her life as usually portrayed in classic literature. She is flawed but generally tries hard (and usually succeeds )in being good. She makes mistakes (lots, even accidentally dyeing her hair green) but learns from them, didn't feel put down by her classmates and town people who initially didn't like her because she was an orphan nobody, and instead of trying to get revenge on Gilbert for calling her 'carrots', she studied hard to compete with him at school. At the end of the book, she finally forgave Gilbert, and they became good friends and more in the sequels.
Anne Shirley's one of the best role models a girl could have; not perfect, but strives to be good. A must read for all girls as soon as they know how to read
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Yup. I'm not being much of a reviewer at the moment. Even with my semester break come and gone, I didn't have much of a chance to read and post a review here. Even my site revamp is on hold, darn it. I did however, finish reading the Twilight Series, and the reviews are coming soon, promise.
However, for the rest of this month, at least until I finish a research paper I'm working on for my studies, I'm putting up a list of books that are currently on my bedside table. Mostly related to my studies. They are;
1. Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything
2. Producing Open Source Software: How to Run a Successful Free Software Project
3. SUDOKU Super Pocket Collection (Technically not reading, more doing puzzles to help me sleep. Seriously...ZZzzz...)
4. Anne of Green Gables Vol. 1 (Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island)
Gonna post a review for mybookplace.wordpress.com Updated: Posted review of Anne of Green Gables here as well as at MyBookPlace
So, OK. The first 2 in the list are "required reading" for my studies, which I'm not gonna post here. Though I do recommend those interested in how Wikipedia managed to start of and actually work, to read Wikinomics.
Now, the "Anne books" (Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island) are available for you to download if you want to save your $$$ and if you don't mind not turning actual pages, since its a classic literature.
I've always loved the "Anne books". I'm looking forward to reading them again and posting a review for other future fans. ; )
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Times is having a Warehouse Clearance Sale with discounts of up to 90%.
Date: 08 Jan 2009 (Thursday) - 18 Jan 2009 (Sunday)
Time/Venue: 11am - 9pm at Level 1, Hartamas Shopping Centre @ Plaza Damas
Thanks to Ruz for the info. You can read her take on her book shopping experience at the sale at this link.
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