Inkheart
I must admit when I was a young girl, I slept with my books. I would tuck my Nancy Drew mystery (or any other book) and slid an arm under my pillow to prop it up a little bit while at the same time felt for it to ensure that it was still there. So when I read that sentence at the start of Inkheart, I got really excited. I am sure a lot of book-lovers are like that as well. Come on, admit it! *GRIN*
In Inkheart, Meggie’s father, Mortimer Folchart (Meggie calls him Mo for short), has a peculiar ability. Characters literally come to life when he reads aloud from books.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Charlie, a teenage boy, begins writing a series of letters starting on August 25, 1991 addressing them to his ‘friend.’ Coincidentally in 1991, I was 14 and probably the same age as Charlie. I put on the mindset of a teenager and began to read THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER.
Friendship, family, death, sex, alcohol, drugs: I could relate to what he’s trying to convey that affects young adults at that stage of their lives. The only difference is Charlie’s a boy and I’m a girl. One thing that is unusual (or perhaps not) about Charlie is that he cries very easily. He is also quiet. The way he writes almost makes me think of him as a girl. […]
Quotes
“A lived-in body that has suffered, that has endured, that has survived, has a kind of beauty you may not think possible from where you are now. Every line, every vericose vein, every fold of fat, every grey hair becomes a sign of what you've shared, of what you love.” —André Brink, author “The Rights of Desire”
Ip Man: Portrait of a Kung Fu Master
When I first saw the Ip Man movie billboard starring Donnie Yen, I was intrigued by the title, which is the name of the legendary Wing Chun grandmaster. I must admit I was attracted to the fact that Donnie Yen (my favourite martial arts star) is playing the role of the grandmaster. I decided I must read the grandmaster’s life story before I watch the movie to appreciate it better.
I did some research and found this book, IP MAN: PORTRAIT OF A KUNG FU MASTER, written by his son, Ip Ching, who is now the grandmaster. The book is co-written with Ip Ching’s disciple, Ron Heimberger. I also decided to write this review only after I watch the movie. The book offers stories of the great Wing Chun Master’s life. It also provides a set of fifteen principles as a guide to mastery but none of the actual Wing Chun moves. […]
The Tales of Beedle the Bard
THE TALES OF BEEDLE THE BARD by J.K.Rowling is a collection of five tales:
The Wizard and the Hopping Pot
The Fountain of Fair Fortune
The Warlock's Hairy Heart
Babbity Rabbity and Her Cackling Stump
The Tale of the Three Brothers
What makes the book even more interesting is the comprehensive commentary after each story, including extensive footnotes, by Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore (my favourite guy apart from Harry Potter, of course). […]
The McKinsey Mind
THE MCKINSEY MIND is researched based on “interviews with and questionnaires from more than 75 McKinsey alumni who have successfully implemented the Firm’s techniques and strategies in their post-McKinsey organizations.”
Why read this book? Because you will discover a problem-solving and decision-making process; management techniques needed to implement that process in your own career; plus presentation (and communication) strategies that will ensure all your hard work in that earlier process pays off. The authors, Ethan M. Rasiel and Paul N. Frida, were both consultants in McKinsey & Company. […]
The Graveyard Book
THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman is inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. Such wonderful storytelling. If you are looking for something exciting and magical, imaginative and adventurous, you will not be disappointed with this. Garth Nix said: “I wish my younger self could have had the opportunity to read and reread this wonderful book, and my older self wishes that I had written it.”
The story opens with a man named Jack coming to the house to accomplish what needs to be done: to kill the whole family. When the man Jack is done with the father, the mother and the sister, he goes to look for the fourth and youngest member—a baby boy. Before this, the baby is awaken by some crashing sound and feeling bored after being awaken, ‘plots’ for an escape from his cot. He just decides to leave the house and totters up the hill, to the graveyard.