The Brutal Art by Jesse Kellerman

I was extremely reluctant to pick out this book from the store shelves, partly because I didn’t know Kellerman’s work and also because I have had more than a couple of bad experiences with writers I was unfamiliar with. Like most people, I was careful; I read the reviews, I watched out for book club recommendations, and I even give first choice to the ones that gets an award. Disaster. The only award-stickered books I find worth reading are the non-fiction ones.

The Knight, Death and the Devil by Ella Leffland

Cover Page of The Knight, Death and the Devil by Ella Leffland

Hermann Goering anyone? I was a bit reluctant to introduce this book, because I don’t know how people would react to it. Then again, some of you may have never heard of the Second World War. No it is not a video game. A lot of people died during that time, and Hermann Goering happens to be the guy who created the Nazi’s secret police and together with Himmler and Heydrich, set up the earliest concentration camps.

Judith Ortiz Cofer

I have no words to describe this writer, but if you come from a culture that expects or idolizes suffering and sacrifice then you will relate to her work. Try to listen to the 5 mins excerpt from her book “A Line in the Sun” below. Believe me, you won’t know what hit you.

The Field-Book of a Jungle-Wallah by Charles Hose

Rainforest, adventures and everything Charles-Hose.  I love this writer; I borrow, buy and google for his work whenever I can.  Charles Hose is a zoologist and naturalist who came to Sarawak in the late 19th Century.  A lot of his work focuses on rainforest flora and fauna, but I fell in love with his writing because of his description of the indigenous cultures he found in the jungle here.

Focault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco

This is the same guy who wrote “The Name of the Rose”.  Sean Connery fans may have seen the movie version of this story.  How is “Focault’s Pendulum” in comparison – I adore it.

Book Finds – The Bad Dog’s Diary and Fragile Things

I haven’t been posting on any goodread or book finds in ages.  I’m usually crap at reviewing books that I have read…because they don’t really turn out like reviews.  It’s closer towards impressions of what I have read rather than a critical analysis on the good, the bad and the ugly…which I utterly fail at and it bores me so. There are plenty of others who wrote better reviews than moi and I am content to read theirs.  Of course, that does not mean I can’t rant or rave on titles which I stumbled upon or was introduced to….yep,  and give a word or two of my own random thoughts. This time I am back with two interesting book finds that made it to my Goodread list. Blimey, second guessing when writing is a bothersome thing…goodread isn’t a proper word, no?! But I do have a goodread account so that figures why I’m using the word.

“A Year in the life of Blake: Lover…Fighter…Dog”

Goodread: Stephen King and Peter Straub’s Black House

Book Title: Black House
Authors: Stephen King & Peter Straub

I’d forgotten how I found out about this book but I never regretted having bought it because it’s one the best thrillers ever written. I love it so much even after reading it thrice in the last 3 or 4 years and I’d happily recommend it to anyone who loves reading thrillers.

Book Review: Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones

Book Title: The Lovely Bones
Author: Alice Sebold

This book was pretty slow going for me. Bestseller or not, it really didn’t generate as much excitement for me as what the media hype made it out to be. But nonetheless, it was a good first effort from Alice Sebold.

Goodread: Sue Townsend’s Number Ten

Book Title: Number Ten
Author: Sue Townsend

I’d originally posted the book recommendation below on another site.  I thought I post it here for the benefit of some friends and other people who wants to get the gist of what it’s about.

Hot Read: Novels by Author, Paul Coelho

I visited the bookstore during my lunch hour today. While taking a look around the bookstore, a book titled ‘The Witch of Portobello’ by Brazilian writer Paul Coelho caught my eye. I proceed to check out the book summary and was intrigued enough to want to get a copy and find out more about the author. I am really happy that I stumble upon the author’s work because it led me to one of his earlier works called ‘The Alchemist’. I have never read any of his works prior to this although I seemed to recall having heard his name some where before. What interested me in these two books is the spiritual theme interwoven with aged-old traditions, religious beliefs, practice of alchemy, finding one’s own journey, truth, friendship, love and life. I am excited by this chance discovery. My reading list just got a little longer but I certainly have no regrets.