A not to be missed book sale!

For those of you who did not read the new Reads Monthly pages in StarMag of The Sunday Star two days ago, then you had better take note of this one heck of a crazy book sale held by MPH Distributors. The sale is on at No. 5, Jalan Bersatu, 13/4, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. To buy the books at the offered discounted prices, you need to present the newspaper cutting when buying the books.

However, this offer is valid until March 4, 2007, or while stocks last. It is not valid with other promotions and is not exchangeable for cash. One page is valid for only one copy of each book and only original pages will be accepted. (This was printed on page SM14 in Starmag dated 25 February 2007)

Boy, do I wish I were staying at Petaling Jaya or anywhere near the area. Then, I could also enjoy this extraordinary book sale!

Well, the books offered at ridiculously cheaper prices are:

• Mind Map Handbook (Normal retail price: RM55.90; for Starmag readers: RM30 nett)
  
• The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (Normal retail price: RM79.90; for Starmag readers: RM35 nett) (So cheap! I bought my Narnia box set at around RM79.90 too around 2 years ago.)
  
• The Da Vinci Code: Special Illustrated Edition by Dan Brown (Normal retail price: RM89.90; for Starmag readers: RM30 nett)
  
• You’re Different and That’s Super by Carson Kressley (Normal retail price: RM39.90; for Starmag readers: RM15 nett)

I’m not sure if these 4 books are still available or not since I’m only blogging about it today and the article came out on Sunday. I was too busy to blog about it earlier and I’m very sorry.

I was also wondering if Borders at Queensbay Mall has any sale at all besides promotions like the ‘Buy 3 for 2’ one. There are so many interesting books there and I’d really wish they would hold a mega sale too!

Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones

This is the fourth Diana Wynne Jones book (272 pages) that I have read and it is also much better than Hexwood. Maybe because Charmed Life was a lot easier to read, as the language was simple and there were not many complicated names.

Eric and Gwendolen Chant were most unfortunate when their parents died during their family day trip. Then, they were sent to live with their neighbour, Mrs. Sharp. Mrs. Sharp was a certified witch and she was glad to have the children to stay with her. She was also interested in Gwendolen because she was a witch too. Eric, or Cat, as Gwendolen calls him, seems like a normal boy with no magical powers.

Gwendolen was then sent for magic lessons at Mr. Henry Nostrum’s place. He was very proud of her because she’s a very gifted witch and has the potential to rule the world. Well, that was what he told her.

One day, Chrestomanci paid the Chants a visit and invited them to live with him at Chrestomanci Castle. Gwendolen was ecstatic to be going there and it was her who wrote to him in the first place, telling him about her parents’ death. It seemed that Chrestomanci was somehow related to the Chants. Cat was not that excited to go there at all. He would miss Mrs. Sharp terribly.

The young Chants arrive at Chrestomanci Castle to find its surroundings were filled with magic. I like the way Jones described that you could smell magic or feel the magic in the air. I wonder how it’s like to smell magic!

Anyway, Gwendolen expected to be treated like a queen and waited on hand and foot. However, she was thoroughly disappointed when they did not fuss over her like how Mrs. Sharp and Mr. Nostrum did. Furthermore, she was not allowed to have magic lessons with Chrestomanci’s children, Roger and Julia.

I found that things got very interesting when nearing the end of the book. I also believe that this book is the first part of the Chrestomanci series. In other words, this book should be the first book in the Chrestomanci series to be read. The next one to read would be The Lives of Christopher Chant.

What books I have read, haven't read, wanna read and don't wanna read

I was blog-hopping through other book blogs and saw this interesting meme on Sassymonkey Reads. Well, this should be a good and fun thing to do. Let's try it now!

Look at the list of books below. Bold the ones you’ve read, italicize the ones you want to read, cross out the ones you won’t touch with a 10 foot pole, put a cross (+) in front of the ones on your book shelf, and asterisk (*) the ones you’ve never heard of.

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. +To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. *Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. *A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. +Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. *A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. +Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. *Fall on Your Knees(Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. *The Stand (Stephen King)
19. +Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. +Little Women (Louisa May Alcott) (Well, I read the abridged version)
24. *The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. +The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. *Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. *Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. *The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. *The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. *The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. *I Know This Much is True(Wally Lamb)
39. *The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. *The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. *The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible (only some parts)
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. *Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck) (I read the abridged version)
50. *She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. *The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens) (Again, I read the abridged version)
53. *Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. +Great Expectations (Dickens) (Abridged version)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald) (Abridged version)
56. *The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. +Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. *The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. *The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. *The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. *Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. *Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. *One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. +The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. *Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. *Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. +The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett) (The abridged version)
76. *The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. *A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. *The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. *The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White) (I thought this was for kids??)
81. *Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. *Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. +Emma (Jane Austen)
86. *Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. *Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. *The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. *Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. *In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. *The Good Earth(Pearl S. Buck)
94. *The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. *White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. *A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. *The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield) (ugh!)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

Okay, I got bored after doing this meme but at least I got to know more new books and I hope to read them later on. Feel free to try this meme and remember to drop a comment to tell me how you are getting on with it!

Roots by Alex Haley

Roots, which is written by Alex Haley is undoubtedly the best, heart-warming book I have ever read. It is the story of Kunta Kinte, who is from Africa. He is an extremely brave, loyal young man from a small village, Juffure, in The Gambia.

He has turned 17 and was very excited because he has become a man. But unfortunately, things did not turn out the way he would like it to be. One day, while he was out chopping wood to make a drum, he was abducted and sent on a slave ship to the New World to become a slave.

In America, a John Waller, who treated him like dirt, bought him. Kunta tried to escape 4 times but he was caught and finally, the slave-catchers cut off his right foot. He was then sold to John Waller's brother, a doctor who treated his slaves better.

Kunta got married and had a daughter, Kizzy. She was taken from her parents to become a slave to another master. He used her for his own pleasure and she had a mulatto baby, George. George grew up to be fighting cock trainer. He got married and had kids, too. So, the story goes on until Alex Haley was born.

When he was a young boy, he would hear stories of Kunta Kinte, who claimed he was from Africa and was also very proud of his homeland. Then, Alex Haley set out to find out the true story of Kunta and his history. It took him 12 years to complete the book.

Really, read it for yourself and you will learn a lot. It made me appreciate that I have my family with me now and I have no one torturing me till I bleed, half-dead, and practically losing hope of ever getting the chance to be free again. This book deserves 5 out of 5 stars!

I read this book in 2004. It took me 3 whole weeks to finish this book!

Buying books on eBay

I know books are ridiculously expensive here in Malaysian bookshops. But, recently, I browsed in eBay Malaysia and some of the books are not that bad. Some of them are among the latest books and the prices are less than half price, which I think is a very good bargain.

There are all sorts of books sold there. You can find books in different categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Children, Magazines, education and text books, and also e-books. I think some sellers don't bother to list their items in the correct categories. I saw magazines in the fiction section when they should rightly be in the magazines' one.

I also noticed that there are a number of romance books on sale too. Haha! I do hope there'll be more books from other genres.

So, Malaysians, if you feel you can’t spare that much money for a brand new novel, you can just go to eBay Malaysia and check out the books there. You might just find the one you need.

I am certainly enjoying myself going through the list of books they have there. If I saw one that I like, I’ll most likely place a bid on it. Well, I’m off to eBay now!

I went to Kek Lok Si Temple!

Picture from Cuti Malaysia - Penang/Pulau Pinang


This afternoon after lunch, my mom, aunt, and I headed off to Penang. My aunt wanted to visit the Kek Lok Si temple or Temple of Supreme Bliss in Air Itam. I was looking forward to going there too, as I have not been there for many years. Wow, this temple can be considered the largest Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia. I don’t doubt it either. It is huge! There are many steps and I was quite out of breath while climbing up.

As we climbed up those stone steps, we passed lots of souvenir shops selling all kinds of stuff such as clothes, toys, binoculars, food, Buddha statues and other Buddha-related stuff, spectacles, sunglasses, etc. The clothes look exotic and I heard that some are from Indonesia. Some clothes looked like they are from Thailand too. I was more fascinated with the binoculars. I have never used one before and I tested one. Yup, it does help me to look at faraway things. Cool.

We also passed a turtle pond. My auntie bought a bunch of leaves/vegetables and we threw them into the pond for the turtles to eat. There I was standing on the little wooden bridge under the sun, tossing the stalks into the pond. I watched the turtles bite into the stalks I threw in and I was delighted.

On our way to the temple, we also passed a handful of beggars sitting at the side rattling their bowls or tins. There were children beggars too and one child was holding a baby on his lap. I really pity children who have to go out to beg. They are either orphans or their parents put them there to receive more sympathy and therefore earn more money.

I also went to the old temple and it was very smoky there because of all the burning joss sticks. In the temple, we were not allowed to wear shoes. Then, there was also a table full of small gold-coloured ingots. It’s not real gold and they were used as money in ancient China. At the center of the table was a statue of a fat, contented, laughing Buddha.





Picture taken from Ingot - Wikipedia


A middle aged, bespectacled man was sitting by the table and he started explaining about Buddha and the Chinese gold ingot. I listened to him talk about how Buddha was like Robin Hood and that he stole from the rich and gave the money to the poor and to the temples. He also went on about how the Chinese used the gold ingots to buy things because they did not use money currencies like dollars. He explained well and easily caught the attention of the people around him.

We arrived at the temple around 4 something in the afternoon and there were many people there. Most of them were foreigners. I think they are Vietnamese, Burmese, and Europeans. Of course, there were local visitors too. It was quite crowded and it was difficult to walk past the souvenir shops as the path up was narrow and we had to squeeze through. But, when it was nearing 6 pm, the place lessened with people.

Finally, we left the temple and went to one of the shops and ordered food. Then, we continued walking past the shops selling clothes and just browsed around. When we were done browsing, we got into the car and headed for home sweet home. And that was how I spent the first day of Chinese New Year. =)

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Hello, hello everyone. I would like to wish everybody a very Happy and Prosperous New Year of the Boar! May you receive lots of ang pows or give out ang pows (don't worry, give and ye shall receive), eat lots of mandarin oranges and drink lots of water after all those sweet cookies and love letters! Have fun everyone!

Constant Content - Articles, Reviews, Blog Entries, and Tutorials for your website

I was just browsing in myLot and came across someone’s post where she wrote about selling articles in Constant Content. It’s quite an interesting concept really. It’s a website where writers can submit their articles and their articles can be about anything. You submit your articles, set a price for them, and just wait for someone to come along and buy it to put on their websites.

I have only submitted one article so far. Actually, I did not know what to write in the first place. There are so many things to write yet nothing flows out. But, I strived and thrived and finally, a new article was born. Haha!

There are two kinds of prices that you have to set. There are the usage price and unique price. The unique price is higher and once you have sold your article, you are not able to sell it off again.

Anyway, if you love to write and wish to earn something from it, check it out.

Dorm Check pays faster than myLot!

So, I found another forum that pays when you comment. Welcome to Dorm Check, where it pays much faster than myLot. However, there is a vast difference between these two forums and both are beneficial in their own special ways.

Why myLot rocks?

• There are a huge variety of discussions. Whether it’s about books, music, Avril Lavigne, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Elvis Presley, J.K. Rowling, chocolates, ice cream, Malaysia, England, Prince William, dogs, cats, etc, there is surely something for everyone.
  
• Thousands of people participate in myLot. Therefore, you get to make new friends from different countries.
  
• myLot pays you for your opinion. Well, you need to be really descriptive in your answers then only they will pay you better. If you give one-word answers like ‘Yes’ or ‘No’, then there is no chance that your earnings will increase rapidly.
  
• Easy navigation and colourful pages. The colours are actually from the users’ avatars.
• You will also be paid when you refer friends to myLot.
  

Then, there is the competition, Dorm Check!

Why Dorm Check may be your cup of tea?

• The paying rate is faster. One cent for each comment.
  
• Lots of topics to discuss, too but not as many as myLot.
  
• Besides posting comments, they offer a few other ways of earning money as well.
• Get paid for referring friends to Dorm Check.

Go take a lot at both forums and have fun getting lost in there!

Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones

Finally, I finished reading Hexwood (384 pages) by Diana Wynne Jones! Honestly, it was a difficult book to read, as it was utterly complicated. Even after I’ve finished the book, I still don’t understand some parts and I think I’ll have to read 4 or 5 more times to fully comprehend the whole story. I don’t think I can bear to read it again anyway. I’m considering selling the book off on eBay!

The story starts with a letter from Hexwood Farm to the Sector Controller Borasus, complaining about an ancient machine called the Bannus, which had been intentionally activated one of the clerks.

Then, there are 5 Reigners who control everything in the universe. Well, the present 5 Reigners are bad ones because they had cheated the Bannus many years ago. The Bannus’ job is to pick up 5 Reigners, each from different Houses, every 10 years, if I’m not mistaken.

One day, Ann, a 12-year-old girl who lives near Hexwood farm wanders into the wood. In the wood, in a weird and bizarre incident, she meets Mordion, the Reigners’ Servant. A Reigner Servant is responsible for killing people on the Reigners’ orders. However, Mordion hates the Reigners very much and wished to take revenge on them.

He creates Hume out of his and Ann’s blood. Mordion plans to train Hume so that Hume can finish off the Reigners for him. But later on, he realized how cruel it was to train Hume to do such a thing and did not want Hume to do the dirty job for him anymore.

There are more characters and even more complex events after that. This is the first book that I don’t particularly like from Diana Wynne Jones. I hope her other books would not be like this, too!

Best books of 2006/2007

Good books are hard to come by. There are so many books in the bookstores and we may not know which ones are good and which ones are not. If you really want to know which is worth reading, then either we'll have to buy them or get opinions from others who had read it before.

Anyway, what I have here is the list of books that were short-listed for the Costa Book Awards 2006. Costa Book Awards used to be the Whitbread Book Awards. So, I guess these books must be very good to be nominated in the first place for book awards.

Costa First Novel Award:

The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox
Cloth Girl by Marilyn Heward Mills
The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney (winner)
The Amnesia Clinic by James Scudamore

Costa Novel Award:

Restless by William Boyd (winner)
Saving Caravaggio by Neil Griffiths
A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon
Black Swan Green by David Mitchell

Costa Children's Book Award:

Clay by David Almond
The Diamond of Drury Lane by Julia Golding
Set in Stone by Linda Newbery (winner)
Just in Case by Meg Rosoff

Costa Poetry Award:

The Book of Blood by Vicki Feaver
Letter to Patience by John Haynes (winner)
District and Circle by Seamus Heaney
Dear Room by Hugo Williams

Costa Biography Award:

George Mackay Brown: The Life by Maggie Fergusson
Donne: A Reformed Soul by John Stubbs
Nabeel's Song by Jo Tatchell
Keeping Mum by Brian Thompson (winner)

Source: Costa Book Awards

A Wikipedia Meme

I was blog-hopping and saw this Wikipedia meme at My So Called (Engaged) Life and decided to try it out since I am a huge fan of Wikipedia!

Instructions: Go to Wikipedia, type in your birthday without the year, choose 3 events, 3 births, and 3 deaths and post.

On December 9:

Events:

• 1946 - The "Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals" began with the "Doctors' Trial", prosecuting doctors alleged to be involved in human experimentation.
• 1961 - The trial of Nazi Adolf Eichmann in Israel ends with him being found guilty of 15 criminal charges, including charges of crimes against humanity, crimes against the Jewish people and membership of an outlawed organization.
• 1992 - The separation of Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales is announced.

Births:

• 1508 - Gemma Frisius, Dutch mathematician and cartographer (d. 1555)
• 1934 - Dame Judi Dench, British actress
• 1962 - Felicity Huffman, American actress

Deaths:

• 1165 - King Malcolm IV of Scotland
• 1565 - Pope Pius IV (b. 1499)
• 1793 - Gabrielle de Polastron, comtesse de Polignac, French aristocrat (b. 1749)

When you are in myLot, there's nowhere else you would rather be

Have you heard of myLot? myLot is a forum and the best part of it is – it pays you to comment!

There are so MANY topics to talk about there and honestly, you could get lost in there for hours! I got lost in there myself yesterday actually. Haha! Well, you need to comment and post a lot in myLot, as the paying rate is quite low. When I posted my first comment, I was only paid $0.02. But, if you are hardworking and determined (or just really desperate), you may reach $10.00 in a week or a little more than a week. Remember to take a break though from your computer. It’s not good to stare at the screen for too long!

You need a Paypal or e-Gold account so that myLot can pay you your earnings. I don’t really know how e-Gold works. I think they will pay you in gold and then do you sell the gold for money? I need to read up on it!

Well, enjoy myLot! =D

Top 10 reasons to hang out at the library

I received this in the e-mail today and I think it is worth sharing. Oh, I wish there was a good library near my home! There is one but the books are soooo outdated! It's also quiet and lonely with very few visitors. Anyway, here is the article about the good things of being in a library:

A library is the grand place where books live. For those that love reading and collecting literature, a library can be a magical place of the imagination. It's a great place to find volumes on almost every imaginable topic. Library patrons may have a variety of reasons for visiting the library.

Why do you visit the library?

1) You can check out books for free.
Granted, you may pay a minimal fee for a library card. But, when you become a member of your local library, you have access to an untold number of books and other literary resources--all free of charge.

2) You'll find great places to read.
A great many libraries are filled with comfortable spots to read, whether you enjoy a comfortable chair, a table and chair, or a window seat.

3) You'll be illuminated.
Libraries tend to offer lots of light, so you won't ruin your eyesight by squinting at that tiny print. But, libraries also offer great reference materials. If you have questions about what you're reading, you can look it up in any of the number of dictionaries, encyclopedias, or other reference materials. The resources are illuminating!

4) You have access to book experts.
Librarians are professionally trained to help you find what you're looking for at the library. A librarian can point you in the right direction, answer questions, or help you find a book you'll enjoy to read.

5) Libraries offer access to rare and out-of-print material.
Some of the rare and out-of-print volumes may be on reserve, so you may have to put in a special request to see the book you require. But, one of the most amazing things about a library system is the access that readers have to manuscripts and books that you can't buy. Some readers travel around the world to visit rare books and manuscripts at the holding library.

6) You can participate in library events.
Whatever your purpose for visiting the library, you may enjoy participating in any of the many library events or activities. Your library may host guest lecturers, poets, novelists, or other literary experts. Also celebrate National Book Month, National Poetry Month, and other monthly events--by browsing the library's display and taking advantage of the wealth of information and knowledge.

7) The library is a great stress-reducer.
Just walking down the rows of books has a way of relaxing even the most stressed-out individual. And, then, start thumbing through a few volumes; and you're bound to be lost in the world of books. Perhaps it's the quiet atmosphere, the stillness, the presence of books, or just browsing through those lines of text. Visiting the library can just make a difference in your whole outlook.

8) You can make a difference.
Many libraries are in a constant struggle to stay open, as they try to maintain a level of service. You can make a difference in several ways: Volunteer your time, donate books, encourage others to visit the library, or participate in fundraising events. Check in with your local library to see what you can do to make a difference.

9) You can meet people who--like you--are book lovers.
A library is a great place to meet other people who share your passion for books and literature. You'll probably be encouraged not to talk to other readers while you're in the library. But, since so many other readers will be visiting the library, you can post an announcement for a book club or literary discussion. Other readers may post literary activities and events that might interest you as well.

10) Read, read, read. You have access to books!
You can read about love and life and freedom and hope and faith and happiness and tragedy. You'll read about all the passions and devastation in life. You'll read about death, about humanity and compassion. Books open up a world of possibility to you. With a library, you can educate your mind and fill the depths of your soul. You can become the kind of person you want to be--by opening your mind, and introducing your sensibilities to ideas that you'd never before considered. So, read.

Source: Top 10 Reasons to Visit the Library

Calvin & Hobbes - The Best Cartoon Ever!

I started reading Calvin & Hobbes when I was in my primary school years mainly because it was a comic! The comics are colourful, humorous and incredibly entertaining. I used to read C&H for hours. Calvin is smart yet stupid at the same time.

He uses big, bombastic words but he is frightfully hopeless in Math. His best friend is a stuffed tiger toy, Hobbes, which he imagines is a real and talking tiger.

He detests girls and loves to bully his classmate and neighbour, Susie Derkins. I truly enjoy the ones where there are Calvin and Susie. Susie is smart and friendly. Unfortunately, Calvin stubbornly remains unfriendly and hostile towards her. However, it may be possible that he likes her!

He frequently gives his teacher, Miss Wormwood, lots of headaches. He is also afraid of Moe, a big but not-that-smart bully who always asks him for money. Moe calls Calvin ‘Twinky’.

Calvin is also afraid of his teenage babysitter, Rosalyn. Rosalyn also considers him a little monster but she baby-sits him because she needs the money for college. Something always goes wrong when she comes over to baby-sit him for the evening.

His mom loves to throw him out of the house as he is always making a mess in there. His dad tells him things, which are not quite true. It seems that Calvin’s dad is a resemblance of the comic’s author, Bill Watterson.

The characters in Calvin & Hobbes never grow old. Calvin will be 6 years old forever. It would be awfully interesting if he did grow. But, I guess Mr. Watterson had no plans of making him older!

It’s still fun reading the comics anyway. =D I wonder how many Calvin & Hobbes books are there in total. There is a box set - The Complete Calvin and Hobbes - that includes ALL of Calvin & Hobbes comics and would be a must-have treasure for any Calvin & Hobbes fans. It is also priced at a whopping $90.00!