What's Happenin'

Yeah! I received two books yesterday. They are 'Friday's Child' and 'Black Sheep' and both were written by Georgette Heyer. Before this, I had no idea who Georgette Heyer was. When I was asked if I'd like to review the books, I did a search on her first before saying yes. Heyer wrote historical novels and romance books, so I'm sure many of you may be interested. Look at how popular books by Danielle Steel and Julia Quinn and other romance authors are. Anyway, I wonder if there are any Malaysians who have read Heyer's books before. Please comment if you do. I'd like to hear your opinions.

Now, I'm reading An Amazing Story by Carlo Gabbi. I've been meaning to read this book a long time ago but it's a pity that I had to read for my exams instead! It sounds like a really mesmerizing book and I just couldn't wait to get started on reading. I started reading this afternoon and have only finished 4 chapters. Well, I took multiple naps and played with my nephew too. That's why I was slow in reading today!

Two days ago, I finished reading 'Down to a Sunless Sea' by Mathias B. Freese. Sadly, I couldn't understand some of the stories in the book. It is a collection of 15 stories and they are interesting stories, mind you. I was confused and blur while reading some, so I had to read them again. Reading some stories twice and three times did help me understand them better. If you want to read my review of this book, go here!

I thought I'd change my BooksLoveMe.com theme. Not that I'm getting bored with the current one but I can't manage the widgets anymore. They refuse to work normally and that's why I can't add new HTML codes in my sidebar. I've spent a few hours this afternoon looking through the Wordpress themes available but did not find any nice ones that I like. Hmmm...maybe I'll still stick with the current theme but I'll disable the widgets function. We'll see how it goes.

Changing Reading Habits?

Do your reading habits change in the Spring? Do you read gardening books? Even if you don’t have a garden? More light fiction than during the Winter? Less? Travel books? Light paperbacks you can stick in a knapsack?

Or do you pretty much read the same kinds of things in the Spring as you do the rest of the year?

First of all, in Malaysia, it's rain and sun all year round! Anyway, I don't think I'd like to read gardening books. They are not my thing.

I don't read books according to season or festivity. If I feel like reading a classic in January, then it's classic. If it's fantasy in May, then it's fantasy. If I don't feel like reading anything now, then it's nothing! Hehe...

However, I've always imagined reading a nice book on a rainy day. Last time when I was around 12, I would save my new R.L. Stine books for a rainy day or night. I thought it'd be fun to read something scary then. Now I wouldn't dream of reading scary stories alone at night! No way. Things have changed and I'm not going scare myself for no reason at all. :)

Can You View This Blog On Firefox?

Great. A new problem has just popped up. I really like the new layout of this blog. The colours are fantastic. Everything is spick and span. But, until now I've only seen it through Internet Explorer 7.

It seems that some bloggers couldn't comment on this blog because maybe they couldn't find the Comments link! Maybe they were using Mozilla Firefox. I've just tried to view my blog through Firefox and...the page did not load completely. There was no purple background. The background was white. And since the links are also white, well, they were totally invisible! No wonder visitors couldn't find the Comments link.

And I'm not sure if the template designer is still offering help or not, he seemed to have stated quite clearly on his blog that he might not provide any help with his templates. Instead, he offered some links that we can go to.

The only thing I can do now is change the colour of the links. So I've changed them from white to black, so all the links will appear on Firefox should the background still appears white.

I will leave it as it is for now. Please inform me if there's anything else that's wrong! Thanks!

More Time To Read

I finished my last paper today. Spanish exam was the last. When I finished the last question, I checked the paper once to see if I had answered all the questions and ran through my answers too. The exam was supposed to finish at 5 pm but I've finished at around 4.35 pm. I handed in my paper and left. Then, went to pump petrol for my car and left for home. Boy, was the traffic jam terrible!

All the same, now that my exams are over and there are no classes to attend, I can go back to reading and reviewing books! I'm currently reading Down To A Sunless Sea by Mathias B. Freese. It's quite a difficult book to read. The stories are hard to understand and I have to read slowly to grasp the meaning of the stories in the book.

I hope to do lots of reading these holidays. Make myself smarter and more knowledgeable so that I can do well in future exams. And also to make my father proud of me!

Guest Blogger: Lisa Roe

Last year, I had a few offers of free books for review but when I told them that I was located in Malaysia, they apologized and said that the books couldn't be sent! That was disappointing.

When Lisa Roe sent an email to me telling me about a book called 'Maggie Again', I told her the same thing, that I was in Malaysia. Well, guess what? She said that it's not a problem and she'll send a copy to me! She sent me the first ever book for review to me. :)

Anyway, it's very nice of her to write a guest post for this blog. I'm sorry it had to take so long for me to post it up but here it is!

Guest post by Lisa Roe:

For my generation, the digital age crept in. We wrote out our assignments on sheets of paper, then laboriously set them to professional status by hunkering over our typewriters, wite-out smeared on our fingertips, the oh-my-god, it-takes-3-days-to-type-a-mistake-free paper kind of days. Computers were introduced at some point in pre-teen adolescence, but being far more concerned with rapidly appearing body parts and changing voices, the only lasting impression our one computer class made on me was of a racecar game where the quicker you typed, the faster the car went, racking up laps and thusly declared victory for the best single syllable word typist in all the kingdom.

Thankfully though, some things didn’t change at all. The Scholastic Book Club was one of those constants. Distributed by our homeroom teacher, that delicate piece of newsprint would consume me for days. My mom loved it because she could oversee and veto any of my ‘purchases,’ which was infinitely easier to deal with than my bookstore tantrums. Really, why couldn’t I get a Garfield book, a Sweet Valley High, AND a Baby Sitters Club on the same day? Clearly, my mother was hell-bent on destroying my life.

And so it went. I would pour over the offerings, making a first pass by circling everything I initially wanted, then, with every shake of my mom’s head, editing it, little by little. I would eventually whittle it down, spend a sleepless evening torn between the possible acquisition of my first horror novel and a safer piece of fiction where a cat is prominently featured as a major character.

I would then carefully cut out the order form, determined to illustrate how my reading prowess also transferred itself over to stellar scissor wielding capabilities. I would then stand by as the check was written, dated, and signed. I will never forget how that cheap piece of newsprint felt in my hand as I handed it in. Check stapled to it. All the boxes ticked just so with a properly sharpened #2. I felt powerful. I was a consumer.

And the day the orders came in and the books were distributed? I couldn’t get those treasures into my grubby little hands fast enough. The stacks of new glossy covered beauties on my desk were generally three times higher than those around me. I would grin all the way home, backpack lumpy with my acquisitions, and pour over which one to dive into first.

Scholastic Book Club is online now. You can download those order forms, and while the format is comfortingly the same, the texture of the process has changed.

So maybe it was natural that I would go on to provide book offerings of a similar Scholastic Book Club nature, giving you the opportunity to peruse, mull, and edit over a list of titles online. Of course, checks are not required and the keyboard under your fingertips is the new newsprint.

~End of Lisa's post~

I know the feeling of getting new books. It's simply indescribable.

Thanks Lisa!

One Word Answers Meme

Hey there! Noticed something new? Oh yeah, I changed my blog's layout and I like it a lot! I also have more control over my sidebar, the HTML, everything and the purple layout is nice as well as refreshing. Will keep it for a long, long time, I hope. :)

Anyway, I came across this interesting one word answers meme and I just had to try it out!

You're feeling: Guilty and hungry (guilty for being online now!)
To your left: 2 guys who're supposed to be studying but actually talking. (I'm in the library now)
On your mind: How to answer the remaining questions
Last meal included: Bread
You sometimes find it hard to: Stay off the computer!
The weather: Bright and sunny
Something you have a collection of: Books, definitely!
A smell that cheers you up: The smell of a Ramly burger
A smell that can ruin your mood: Stinking people on a crowded bus
How long since you last shaved: shaved where?
The current state of your hair: Tied up in ponytail.
The largest item on your desk/workspace (not computer): My Roswell DVD collection
Your skill with chopsticks: Fair
Which section you head for first in a bookstore: Young Adult section
Something you're craving: Food and money
Your general thoughts on the presidential race: Exciting
How many times have you been hospitalized this year: None
Favourite place to go for a quiet moment: My room
You've always secretly thought you'd be a good: Um....public speaker? Writer?
Something that freaks you out a little: Slimy animals
Something you've eaten too much of lately: Burgers
You have never: read at least 100 books in a year before.
You never want to: procrastinate again, if I can.

I'd like to tag the following people:

1. Kittycat
2. Princess Shin
3. Becky
4. Anna
5. Peace
6. Alice
7. Of course, you!

Well, that's the list. I had better hit the books now...it's exam time!