The Elephant in the Room
THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM by Ed Baker is a financial fable. This is a highly readable book on the secrets for pursuing real financial success, told in the form of a story. Baker uses a character named Michael Davidson to bring this message across. If you are expecting technical reading on investing in bonds, shares, or other forms of financial matters, this book is not it. In this story, having a big income and successful career could still mean that one is living from paycheck to paycheck, and not accumulating any savings—as in the case with Michael. The book gradually builds the case for financial freedom […]
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
This is a business book—yes—but if you are a lover of fiction, you would probably also enjoy this 229-page hardcover book. THE FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS OF A TEAM is a highly readable leadership fable. The book has two sections: The Fable and The Model. A large part of this review talks about the former. In section The Model, it provides more information about the model to help readers understand and overcome the five dysfunctions.
The Sookie Stackhouse Challenge
I’ve completed yet another reading challenge! I finished reading the last of my Sookie Stackhouse book two days ago. I loved Sookie! As for the male protagonists, I can't decide who I liked more: Eric or Bill. I kept yoyo-ing between the two. I think I might settle for Bill (haha!). If you have no idea what I'm going on about, Eric and Bill are the two male vampires in Sookie's life—lucky girl. But not so lucky […]
Star Sapphire
STAR SAPPHIRE by Han May was brought to my attention by Jo Lau, a new friend I met at a blog event in Malaysia. I didn’t expect to enjoy this sci-fi novel as much as I thought I would, but now I’m glad I read it because STAR SAPPHIRE is great!
The novel feels different from the novels I have read and it does have a more local flavor to it. I cannot quite articulate how I feel about it but I think it is the way it’s written; yet, it touches me and draws me into the story. I found myself eager to know what would happen to Yva Yolan (the female protagonist who is half human, half alien) and the important people she crosses path with when she accepted the job onboard the spaceship Star Sapphire.
There Yva meets with the two main male characters, […]
If Only in My Dreams
IF ONLY IN MY DREAMS by Wendy Markham is my first book by the author and I liked it very much. The female protagonist Clara McCallum has just landed a huge part starring in a WWII film as a woman in love with a doomed soldier named Jed Landry. At the same time she’s also diagnosed with breast cancer, which leaves her devastated. While filming, she’s magically transported back in time to 1941 where she meets the real-life Landry; it takes her some time before she realizes that she’s no longer on the set but the real thing.
Garden Spells
GARDEN SPELLS by Sarah Addison Allen is a book I owned since July last year but only started reading this year. It is an enchanting story of two Waverley women of Bascom, North Carolina. The sisters, Claire and Sydney, were abandoned by their mother when they were young and brought up by their grandmother. Like the magic in this story, the pages of this novel turned effortlessly too.
Claire is the center of the story and she is very much a reserved woman.
Hari Raya Haji with My Taxi Driver’s Family
Hasan, my taxi driver invited me to his house today to celebrate Hari Raya Haji. He lives just across the road from my apartment. At 10 a.m. his wife and almost-2-year-old daughter were waiting for me downstairs at their block and ushered me up to their home. They are no strangers to me because sometimes they accompany him when he fetches me or his other customers.
The phone in the house rang. When she’d hung up, she informed Hasan called and sent his apologies for not being there because he has customers. Public holidays are the best time for additional income, I remember he told me this some time ago.
I’m bowled over by the simplicity of their living space. No furniture—[...]
Dogs and Goddesses
If you like stories with dogs and interesting men, you would like this novel. I sure did! DOGS AND GODDESSES is a fun read, full of smart dialogues and dogs that talk. You would understand dog-talk after taking the temple tonics offered by the risen-again ancient goddess, Kammani Gula, as in the case of the three female protagonists in the story.
Abby Richmond, Daisy Harris and Shar Summer are three women who crossed path at a local dog obedience-training school. The dog trainer is the now-risen Mesopotamian goddess Kammani […]