Book-A-Licious

Nocturnes : Five Stories of Music & Nightfall

2009-07-17T20:30:00.003+08:00

Musics appear soothing to the ears, musics can be tantalizing, but on the other hand, musics can also be an indication of regrets, it sometimes appears to be remorseful to many people. Apart from that, some musics can give a sense of comedic sensations to the listeners.

Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall is Kazuo Ishiguro's latest book. A book? Well, I should call it a semi-album book. All the relishing substances by Kazuo has been put modestly into this book of album. Kazuo did not read many books back then, but in contrast, he likes to listen to songs and musics.

Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall actually expose 5 short stories to the readers. All these 5 stories are closely related to musics, instruments, as well as the players. This is definitely a very smart theme which has been handpicked by Kazuo himself.

The 5 short stories consist of "Crooner", "Come Rain or Come Shine", "Malvern Hills", "Nocturne" and "Cellists". Each of these is telling a different story which is very much captivating.

For instance, "Cellists" enfolds a story of an woman, who self-claims that she is a greatest cellist, probably in the world. But without any further advancement, this woman still believes that she is one of the greatest. Despite of having great faith and confidence in herself, she found that she could not play the cello at all when she accepted to tutor a Hungarian student. What ever it is, she still thinks she has what it takes to be a great cellist, it's just that she is yet unwrapped. In the end, she marries a person whom she does not love, and the ending seems to be pretty nasty for her.

Credits have to be awarded to Kazuo for penning down these short stories with incredible style, a style which is somewhat humorous but yet sorrowful at the same time.

The Man Who Ate the World

2009-07-14T15:47:00.003+08:00

The Man Who Ate the World: In Search of the Perfect Dinner, is no ordinary book which you could find in the book store. This is, as far as I'm concerned, a very unique book.

As I live in Malaysia, a country located in Asia that contains food galore, foods which can be considered exclusively delicious, I have to admit that, I too, have tasted uncountable foods, where some of them caused me weird sensations.

But when it comes to Jay Rayner, the author of The Man Who Ate the World: In Search of the Perfect Dinner. The world of foods just seem to be expanding wider and wider than you can imagine. As you continue reading the book, you will be surprised that a journey of food tasting could be so mesmerizing, and tempting, of course...

When you start flipping the book. There is already a phrase warning every reader that you should never read this book when you're hungry as this book will bring out the best appetite in you. Jay Rayner, being a very famous journalist, has written this book full with fun elements and his vast experience in food tasting, will definitely impress you, especially when you're a foods lover.

This guys has left his footprints in the restaurants of Moscow, Dubai, Tokyo, New York, London, Las Vegas and of course, Paris. The range of food? Well, imagine the highest class of foie gras blends with delicate escargot to the hottest and best-selling culinary in the India slum.

Hungry? Don't be.

The Girl Who Played With Fire

2009-07-12T19:28:00.003+08:00

This book is a very much anticipated masterpiece by Stieg Larsson, after the publication of what could be possibly claimed as one of the most exciting thrillers of the year in 2009, followed by the highly successful The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo,The Girl Who Played with Fire picks up where it's left in its previous edition.

For those who have read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, you will surely be familiar with the unique heroine, Lisbeth Salander as well as Mikael Blomkvist, an important journalist throughout the novel.

If you have not experience the thrilling sensation of the plot in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, here's a brief summary and introduction about the two main characters:

Lisbeth is a sophisticated lady who experienced tormenting periods during her childhood, she was severely abused when she was little, a traumatized survivor from a care system in Sweden. But as the time passes by, Lisbeth grown up to become one marvelous and techno-savvy hacker, and on the downside, she also develops a bisexual character. She is also biased toward certain men, especially those who exploit women, a developed characteristic which is possibly closely related to her traumatic past.

The other important character, would be Mikael Blomkvist. Blomkvist is the publisher of Millenium magazine. Previously, he had joined forces with Lisbeth in a thrilling investigation of a serial killer, and he almost risked his life for it. This time, Blomkvist gets himself involve in another mysterious case when his fellow journalists flashed some detailed sex trafikking evidences in front of him.

Fate has brought these two characters together, both of them cooperate once again to unveil the truth, but destiny certainly is not on their side as Lisbeth is then accused to be the culprit of some serious homocide cases and she is forced to flee from the sight of media. The public then start to labelled her as a lesbian killer. Blomkvist, who strongly believe in the innocence of Lisbeth, worked extra hard to help his love interest.

The Girl Who Played with Fire certainly gives more insights about the background of Lisbeth Salander, thus revealing more and more uncovered truth about the abusive childhood of Lisbeth. When you continue to read on, you will notice that the brutal murders bring you more and more closer to Lisbeth's historic issues. This book certainly is not a let-down for those who wait for the second instalment from Stieg Larsson. Some even are already anticipating for the third instalment of this Millenium Trilogy.

Medusa

2009-07-10T20:13:00.003+08:00

NUMAA (R) Special Assignments Team is back again with Kurt Austin and Joe Zayala, after a series of books authored by Clive Cussler which also feature these two main characters in the plots.

This time, Medusa by Clive Cussler brings you yet another thrilling experience which would glue you to the book all day long. Medusa, is actually a common word for ancient mythology, but in this book, it refers to a rare species of jellyfish, where this species is needed further investigation, by our heroic Kurt Austin and company.

When the mentioned team members are all set for the research and dive into the deep sea to take a deep glance on the rare blue-colored jellyfish, things turned out pretty ugly as Medusa disappeared out of a sudden.

Meanwhile, off the Bermuda, a bathysphere is under attacked, where an underwater vehicle is suspected to cause such annihilation. Smelling something fishes, Kurt once again strutted his heroic stuffs and save the rest of the company out from the danger.

However, things do not end there, as a bigger obstacle awaits Kurt and fellow comrades. As a deadly pandemic is said to be spread all around the world. With strong determination, Kurt vows with his greatest integrity to save the world.

Overall, Medusa, once again is another thrilling one from Cussler.

How to Instantly Connect with Anyone

2009-07-08T10:35:00.003+08:00

Are you a timid person who think that you're probably the shyest person in earth? I once have those thoughts before. In my mind, I thought, I would probably leave everything great in this world behind before I enter into the coffin, without getting the slightest touch on any of those fantastic stuffs in this world.

Back then, excessive humility made me despised myself, thus it cost me so much, it made me as if I was isolated to a remote island. That's how far loss of self-confidence could take you if you're not able to instantly approach, and most importantly, connect with individuals whom you want to befriend with.

This book,How to Instantly Connect with Anyone: 96 All-New Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships, pleasantly, giving you an insight and handful of greatest tips in connecting with anyone you meet.

When I read the limited preview version of this book in Google Books, I realized that if I found this book earlier, say... 10 years back, I would have made more friends than I could imagine, because I found that the tips shown in this book are too good to be true, and the tips can be all applied to any kinds of human behavior in this world.

The advantage of this book is that, it tells you very specifically about how each modest gestures which it teaches works. To cut long story short, this book virtually combines every concept Leil Lowndes ( the author) could think of with all the possible consequences of body languages as far as human is concerned.

Specific subsections which are not taught in many other books are, pleasantly taught in this book. For instance, How to develop Excellent Eye Contacts. We were taught that we should always look into the person's eyes when talking, that could make you more respectable and the special charisma could be built from within. But what Lowndes taught us, is that we could learn even more than merely looking into the person's eyes. Instead, we should also observe the shape of the eyes. We ought to be attentive that, whether the eyes are diamond, almond, circle in shapes?

Lowndes encourage the readers to use imaginations more than just reading the book word by word, phrase by phrase. A reading culture which really tickle the brains of readers.

The Angel's Game

2009-07-06T22:19:00.005+08:00

Carlos Ruiz Zaton is very famous with his previous book, The Shadow of the Wind, a book which unfolds a nice and wonderful story of a good girl in a household. But hey, we're not going to look deeper into that book. Instead, we are going to pay attention to this super-gothic book, The Angel's Game.

The Angel's Game has very dark substances in it. A book which could fascinate almost every reader. This book has claimed a lot good reviews from numerous recognizable figures. You can view those rare positive comments here and see for yourself, how cool this book is!

Zaton is trying to impress the readers with such a story that the plot seems to be taking place in a book of book. Confused? Don't be. The story starts off with the protagonist of the novel, David Martin. Basically, David is a down-to-earth writer, but unfortunately his abilities are not recognized by good publishers during his early moments. To top it all, the only person he trusted so much, is to marry the love of his life.

Here's where the dark sentiments come into play, a strange, but a promising publisher, Andreas Corelli found David and was very happy with his brilliance in prose writing, brings good news to him by landing him a promise to publish his book, with a stipulation, that is, to write a story Corelli demands. After that, David will be showered with whatever wishes he could think of.

A good bargain eh? When you keep progressing with the story, it leads you to a bigger mystery, at some point that you will realize that the story which was being asked to write by Corelli, mimics a story which is very familiar to David.

And very sadly, David's path follows exactly how the dark story progresses. Gradually, David develops a sense of madness in him. Will he recover from this madness? Will he get to marry the love of his life eventually? You need to flip the pages to unveil the truth.

Michael Jackson Conspiracy

2009-07-04T17:20:00.003+08:00

Michael Jackson has been the favorite singer of many people, all mankind are intrigued by his dancing moves, his trademark - Moonwalking, his exceptional voice, and last but not least, his strong showmanship on the stage.

I once saw a comment made by a fan of MJ, stating that a poor singer screams with his or her throat without any appropriate expression; a modest singer sings with the appropriate keys; a star sings with easing voice with skilful approaches; but Michael Jackson, he is unique, he sings with his body and soul, no other person in this world could match the level achieved by this forever legend.

The shock news which came in on 25th June 2009 caused the world in turmoil, some lunatic fans even thought that the news was a fake, they strongly believed that MJ has not died, he might be just hiding somewhere, planning something exclusive for the fans. There are also people who blamed MJ with all their might, saying that he deserved the death for he had committed too many crimes, they reckoned that all the incidents happened around him were so shameful. In eh meantime, there are also people who supports MJ with sanity, claiming that MJ has not done anything which landed him in disturbing consequences which he used to experience before he was pronnounced dead.

Today, I'll not be introducing any autobiography as there are too much out there, but introducing this one,Michael Jackson Conspiracy, for you guys.Michael Jackson Conspiracy is a book written by reporter with the name of Aphrodite Jones.

Jones had attended trials which MJ was accused previously, but due to unforeseen circumstances, she did not reveal any truths throughout the period, until this day. I'm not sure why, but it was most probably because of all the tabloids and pressure exerted by the media, thus Jones did not have the guts to do so.

Why did MJ bleached himself white, was it because of vitiligo which really catching up on him?

How much money had Garvin Arvizo accepted in order to lie in the court?

Was MJ really insane by swaying child on the balcony; or was it the demand of journalists so that they could capture a better picture of his child?

Could MJ molest the kids in Neverland for the fact that the kids were sleeping in the guest room, but not in MJ's bedroom?

Were all the testomonies done by MJ's current employees against the accussers trustworthy?

All the questions can be answered in Michael Jackson Conspiracy. There are simply too many lunatics out there who crave to be instant millionaires by using dirty tactics.

RIP MJ.

Map of the Invisible World

2009-07-03T16:31:00.003+08:00

As an Asian myself, I've been studying the books of history about countries in Asia continent. But those books, back then, were too dull to read from word to word, as they apparently appeared to be too academic.

But if you grab yourself a copy of Map of the Invisible World, you'll probably shift your paradigm of history-studying in Asia (except history of China, that is) to a totally different perspective as this book could potentially serves you the first ever experience to feel that history actually can be as thrilling as the hottest fictional novels in town!

Tash Aw, the author of this book had penned the storyline very dramatically, and not forgetting full with graceful descriptions. This is without a doubt, a great success followed by his previous book, The Harmony Silk Factory.

The background of the story is set in the year of 1960 or so, where Malaysia and Indonesia have just achieved, struggling with independence, and meanwhile, they were said to be having bad blood between each other at that time.

Just when independence is achieved at this time, one fateful day, the adoptive father (with the name of Karl) of Adam, the protagonist of the book, has been taken away by some soldiers. Karl is a man who expresses hatred toward colonialism, as he emphasizes that one should not absorb and practice the culture of a country that has colonized one's own. This clearly suggests that Karl is a freedom fighter.

Besides telling how Adam does his best in search of his adoptive father, this book also shows clearly in the ever changing countries which just achieve independence. It shows the cultural differences between the two countries which are actually sharing many similarities as far as culture is concerned, including their used languages.

Besides revealing the priceless culture, Aw also introduced several characters who change Adam's life during his quest of looking for Karl. These characters include, Adam's self-obsessed elder brother, Johan, who lives wealthily in Kuala Lumpur; Margaret, Johan's former love interest, and Din, also appear to be a freedom fighter as he tries with all his might and wisdom to assacinate President Sukarno.

Tash Aw's way of writing seems to have the ability of making his words becoming reality, you could almost experience the smell and hatred of the people toward colonialism from the book just by reading it.

Tao of Warren Buffett

2009-07-02T20:48:00.003+08:00

Many Chinese believe sincerely in what the teachings from the past have in store for them, such as the teachings of Confucius, Lao-Tzu, and many many more influential figures.

This time around, another rabbi whom everyone knows, comes to the rescue of the current crisis we face daily, that is, Warren Buffett.

Like many non-fiction books which teach its readers about financial planning, the importance of wisdom in investment, this book : Tao of Warren Buffett, certainly uses different approaches to attract the readers.

The main difference between this attractive book with other self-improvement books is the number of famous quotes by the God of Investor himself, are embedded meticulously throughout this piece of masterpiece. Those are not mere quotes as each quote has a story behind, sometimes a real life experience, a dialogue, or anything which is captivating.

For amateur readers who have just lay their fingers on books concerning investment or anything which pertain to it, this book could be the easiest route to follow, and get a basic understanding about how stock works, how easy financial planning benefits you. This book, which is fully filled with famous quotes by Warren Buffett, certainly is an entertaining way to leave lasting impression on the readers. Some even mentioned that it is a good starter book for kids as well!

Among the famous quotes from this book are:

"Happiness does not buy you money"

"When management with a reputation for brilliance tackles a business with a reputation for poor fundamental economics, it is the reputation of the business that remains intact"

"No matter how great the talent or effort, some things just take time: You can't produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant."

Mary Buffett (the former daughter-in-law of Warren Buffett) and David Clark certainly put this enlightening book in an amusing and easily understandable way.

Skin Trade

2009-06-16T21:34:00.003+08:00

Skin Trade (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 17), is the 17th instalment of the Vampire Hunter series which involves Anita Blake, the exclusive protagonist of Laurell K. Hamilton.

In the previous books of the Vampire Series, readers have complained that too much sex scenes were seemed to be incorporated into the novels, which means, the initial few books from Laurell did successfully attracted a large number of avid readers, but next came the obscene story lines.

But I personally think that we ought to give Laurell another chance to prove that Hamilton is still one of the best storytellers whom could stand out among some of the authors who carry big names. For example, give a chance for yourself to take this book from the shelves and start reading it, it would be a fascinating journey.

The plot unfolds by telling readers that a somewhat weird society (well, I guess stories which involve classic vampires always come along with weirdos), where lycanthropes, vampires, faeries, and other super weird unidentified beings are able to stay under one roof.

Anita, the usual heroic vampire hunter, was stumbled internally when she received a formidable souvenir from a vampire whom enjoy killing people, in other words, a serial killer. By using all her might, all her intelligence, Anita vowed to save the day and goes to Las Vegas to help the authorities.

Along the way comes federal marshals and an individual who's with the name "Edward". Edward plays a pivotal role in lending helping hands to Anita to resolve the fear aroused in the town, and helps Anita fighting off the weretigers which appear as the obstacles of the road of destiny.

All in all,Skin Trade (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 17) suits all readers as it stimulates the excitements within the readers by unveiling thrilling plots gradually toward the very last page.

My Sister's Keeper

2009-05-30T20:53:00.005+08:00

As far as I'm concerned, I give Jodi Picoult a two-thumbs up for her sensibility in writing books. Jodi received a BA in Creative Writing from Princeton, as well as a master's degree from the prestigious Harvard University. But frank to speak, the degrees and whatever qualifications are not really the main factors which could attract the readers to her

What really attracts me is the themes she often used in her books, like the one she used in Handle with Care: A Novel. Somehow, the themes and her imaginative plots bring the readers to a different world, forgetting all the norms of thrilling novels, where detectives are loitering around town looking for eventually useful clues.

But what Jodi Picoult stressed on in her books, are the magnificent relationships between human. Salem Falls is also one of the typical example which reminds me the pride of being a human, the book, somehow, provokes the dignity of an individual.

Picoult continues to mesmerize us with her book several years ago which entitled My Sister's Keeper: A Novel. It shares a common ground with Handle With Care. This book is also about a pitiful child, where she was forced to endure the virtual yet vicious attack by the soul reaper. She was diagnosed to be a leukemia sufferer.

This poor little kid, whom carries the name of Kate, has very loving parents. Unable to suppress their anxiety, these two loving parents decided to give "genetic engineered baby" a try, in order to save their dear child who desperately needs a bone marrow transplant.

Thus, a child named "Anna" is successfully "made". All the while, Anna is just a tool, an aiding system which is "designed" to help her sister, Kate. Throughout her journey of life, Anna does not really know the real significance of her existence, she feels as though she is destined to donate her entire body to her deeply-sicked sister.

Jesse, a sibling to Kate, on the other hand, lives a depressive role in the hearts of readers. He often looked down on himself for unable to give a hand to his own sister, and hence involving in various not-so-good activities such as taking drugs and anything you could imagine.

Meanwhile, Anna just keeps donating whatever she could offer to her sister. Gradually, the story comes to a climax where Anna faces an unforeseen circumstance where she was asked to donate her own kidney to her sister, an operation which could possibly be fatal to Anna's own life.

Is Kate the only child in the eyes of her parents? Is Anna a mere product for transplant? A really thought-provoking novel which does not really provide the readers the correct or wrong answers to the billions of questions in life.

Vision in White

2009-05-20T22:51:00.002+08:00

What does the color "white" indicate? "White" gives many meanings. In Herman Merville's Moby Dick, "white" is famously being regarded as the color of horror. Besides that, white also indicate "purity", thus all the things which you could see in church, the robes which are wore by the priests, undeniably are all come with the mainstream color of "white".

Well, Vision In White exactly tells us story which revolves around the color of white. This book unfolds the plot where four good friends ever since they were kiddos: Mackensie, Laurel, Emma, and Parker, establish a wedding planning company, with a catchy yet simple name, "Vows". Each one of them has their own distinct skills. For instance, Parker, a decision-maker with sharp analytical thinking skills, often live up the role as the planner. Laurel is very good with cakes and... umm.. foods with the likes of cakes!? While Emma has green hands, and is very very good in any decorative stuffs, especially when she's dealing with the flowers. Whereas Mackenzie, or simply referred as Mac in the book, is a great photographer with incredible intuition as far as camera angles are concerned. Together they make a great team. (Nice and interesting opening plot!)

Mac, is the main character which takes you a mesmerizing journey when you follow the flow of the story. Mac, being a oh-not-so-romantic attitude, is quite against the concept of "happily ever after". She thought an everlasting love does not happen in real life due to many difficulties she faced in her life. (she saw too many BAD examples!)

But things change when she met a guy with the name Carter. Without even realizing it herself, she fell for Carter for no apparent reason. And the real funny thing is, Carter is a dry-humor bloke.

Nora Roberts indeed used a lot of imaginative expression during her writing of Vision In White. For happy ending dreamers, this book is strongly recommended!

The Rape of Nanking

2009-05-17T22:32:00.002+08:00

The words "The Forgotten Holocaust of World War 2" stuck my soul deeply when I first came to know about this book.

The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II is certainly not a book which we ought to read, not matter what race you are, no matter whatever country you are in. The massacre which happened in Nanking made me feel astonished, no.. I mean shocked at how actually the Japanese army in the past had treated the Chinese, in the year of 1937, which is around half a century previously.

The author of this book, Iris Chang had reminded the people in this world about the deadly incident which happened in Nanking. The world citizens recognize and knew all about how the Nazi had behaved toward the Jews, but not the Japanese in Nanking back then.

Due to certain circumstances, this piece of history has been kept well over the years, and for the sake of self reputation of Japan as well as the diplomatic ties between Japan and certain countries, this massacre has been wiped out from the history books of Japan.

Being an enthusiastic book writer, Iris went to Nanking, and did a series of interviews with the survivors of the massacre. Many of them were humiliated physically, and of course, all of them had lost their beloved family members during the infamous shambles which no man should ever face in their lives.

Some of the testimonials really touched my heart deeply, and often made me wonder why in the world such people ever existed in the world? Back then, the Japanese troops thought that the Emperor was the individual who held the highest, the most powerful authority above all men, even God. Therefore, they thought what they did all the while back then, was correct, because they were doing all the stuffs for the Emperor, even if it costs their own pride.

Iris seeked the truth, and was very determined in writing this book, to tell the people of the world about what had actually happened as part of the history. What really made me angry was how some of the government officers in Japan behaved. One of them, for example, was standing firm with his own stand, claiming that all the testimonials, all the diaries from the then Japanese army elites and members were merely fabrication, China was the one made it all up to put up a snare against them. I found that incredible.

Touching, fascinating... all the contents in the book are able to make you wondering all night long about why is this happening to our world? It does not really matter about how civilized you are, because the merciful heart of human could change after you blink your eye for just a second, it could means the start of a war, or the end of one.

Unfortunately, Iris left his world when she could not sustain the immense pressure she carried with her all the while. She was a very imaginative individual, she kept thinking about the awful fate of the deceased decades ago. And disappointed, she killed herself using a gun, in a car.

The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II should be a must read for everyone in this world, so that we remember what had happened in the past, and do not ever repeat the same mistakes again in the future, and we are responsible to pass this on to our descendants... Generation after generation.

Hungry Girl

2009-05-06T22:26:00.002+08:00

Hi folks, perhaps you, especially if you're a female, would probably get attracted by these words --> Hungry Girls. Well, I understand, and scientific evidence really does show that, among the two genders, females and males, females appear to be the gender who actually consume more foods compare to males! Just go around and look for nutrition journals and you'll realize that what I said is true :)

Therefore, for girls who love foods as well as love making foods, this could be the one of the best books you've ever had in your life.

My first impression towards this book.. Well, I must admit that I was flabbergasted, I was shocked for the fact that this recipe book actually climbed to one of the top spots USA Daily's Best Selling Books Chart! A recipe book! A phenomenon which probably happens only once in a blue moon.

Hungry Girl: 200 Under 200: 200 Recipes Under 200 Calories contains a lot of recipes (cakes galore!) which would probably keep your appetite awake all day long. Every recipe which is mentioned in this book, as how the book title reveals, is under 200 calories. Hence, if you have successfully cooked the dishes according to the instructions in the book, you can sit back and relax, enjoy your food slowly, bite by bite, with no worries on weigh-gaining or whatsoever.

But a little reminder here though, majority of the recipes provided are all consist of processed foods as their main ingredients. So, for hardcore health-conscious people, you probably ought to choose the recipes selectively.

As for those who aspires to tone down their body and get away with a slimmed figure at the end of the day by eating, Hungry Girl: 200 Under 200: 200 Recipes Under 200 Calories will definitelu grant that wish of yours. Lilien adds in a lot of fiber contents into the recipes, as we all know, fibers not only help with constipation, it also lowers bad cholesterol level in our body.

Apart from that, feel free to visit Lilien's website to understand more about her and the book in depth.

Angels & Demons

2009-05-05T21:25:00.003+08:00

For many people, Robert Langdon is not an unfamiliar name to recall. Langdon, being a great professor who was once claimed to be the only person in the world understands everything about the Illuminates, was seen digging out all the "anti-christ evidences" in his previous famous appearance in The Da Vinci Code.

But following with the latest movie tie-in, hereby introduce to you the book which was published back in the year 2003, Angels & Demons.

Many people would probably ask, what are the differences between The Da Vinci Code and this one? Well, if you ask me, these two books are base on the almost similar concept, which is, a vendetta in Christianity.

Dan Brown just does not seem to be a person who loves peace and calm... In the contrary, he likes to give the birth of feuds, and cause controversial chaotic situations between the believers and the non-believers. But one thing for sure, he is indeed a genius, by authoring these two suspenseful thrillers which keep the readers at their seats.

Angels & Demons continues telling the story about Robert Langdon, on how he copes with the ongoing mysteries. This time, a case involving the world's most prestige physicist, Leonardo Vetra (who also happened to be a catholic priest). This so-called world-class physicist, Leonardo, was murdered. (Dan Brown really likes to link the name Leonardo with his plots huh?)

As you following the storyline, you would slowly discover that before his own death, Leonardo actually was doing secret researches on anti-matters and matters. As we all know, these two types of matters are the root of the Big Bang Theory.

Langdon discovers that all the while, Leonardo had been figuring out the methods in creating the anti-matter, so as when the research is complete in the near future, he could create the Big Bang by himself, and proves that God does exist... A somewhat provoking postulation, as far as I'm concerned.

One word describes it all --- THRILLING!

Mother's Day Special

2009-05-02T23:32:00.003+08:00

Mother's Day is just around the corner!!

What do you plan to shower your mother with apart from maybe preparing a nice dish and planning on an exclusive date with her?

Dishes and movie hang-outs? Sounds perishable?

FamilyChristian Store, apart from providing inspiration books and reading materials, it also offers the best gift for mother in this upcoming Mother's Day!

Shower your mom with a imperishable and long-lasting gift from FamilyChristian Store:

Happy Mother's Day in advance!

First Family

2009-05-02T10:49:00.002+08:00

A few months ago, the global citizens started to hail the newly elected President Obama as the savious of the economic crisis (well, he still is so far... his plan seems to work in some way...)

After President Obama had been elected as the new American leader, many people were soon look into his family members in detail. For example, some people might compare his wife, Michelle Obama (The latest first lady) to some of the previous first ladies. Next, the limelight soon fell on their daughters. Of course, their relatives and friends, indirectly became big figures too.

No doubt, these characters play pivotal roles to the United States. Should something happen to anyone of them (touch wood~~), it means war, it means disaster to the country.

First Family tells you exactly what might happen if someone who is very close to the family tree of the president encountered with some malicious plot.

First Family, generally tells a story about the niece of the president in the story, is unluckily, kidnapped by some one out there. And this fateful event happened in a party, a somewhat ordinary looking party.

Depressed with such incident, the First Lady is asking for a helping hand from the two heroes of the story, Sean King & Michelle Maxwell. King was a really reliable character in the story, since he had helped twisting the ill omen of the president and had helped out a senator when he was still a Secret Service Agents some time ago. But since both of them have now turned themselves into private investigators instead, of course they are not looking forward in getting themselves involve in such high profile kidnapping case.

But without any route left for them to choose, they agreed to help the First Family with all their mights and intelligence. But the plot climbs up to its climax when Maxwell encounters her very won problem, including the death of her mother.

How would Sean King and Michelle Maxwell solve this mysterious case with various obstacles blocking their way? David Baldacci definitely describes and provides much thrilling enjoyment to the readers in his latest book.

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

2009-04-29T10:20:00.002+08:00

Ughhh... Recently, all kinds of errands and jobs made me so occupied, I simply had no time for myself at all, thus the book store was not updated frequently too :p

Lately, My company was instructing me to take flights and travel elsewhere to conduct some health seminars to the elderly.

Those hustle and bustle simply mounted up my will to meditate... So that I could tranquilize my body and ease my mind.

Speaking about meditation, well... I've not tried it for my entire life since Christians are forbidden to do that... (huh?) Right, when one relates meditation to a person, the word "monk" will always come first into your mind.

But, today's book :

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams & Reaching Your Destiny
, although the word "monk" takes some highlights in with the book title, but this book does not teach you anything regarding meditation. Instead, this book lead you to embarks an extraordinary journey of spirit walk.

This book narrates a tale revolves around the main character, Julian Mantle. Julian is a very successful lawyer who often appears in the headlines of newspapers and the media, the reason why he stole all the limelight is all due to his clinical debating skills in the court room. He was so good that he beat the hell out of every single opposition he faced throughout his life in the law firm.

Although he earns a handsome amount of income, flourished himself with various luxury materials, he did not seem to find the joy he longed for. To top it all, his health has been deteriorating ever since... Could a seven figure income bring back the wellness of one's life? I afraid not.

One day, Julian left his beset friends, his acquaintances, everyone, and nobody has a slight clue regarding his whereabouts. But time moves like the flow of waterfall, Julian came back three years later, and pay a visit to his colleague, John, who is now a modest lawyer with vast experiences.

Surprised by Julian's appearance and attitude, John found that Julian is now totally transformed into another person, a person whom he does not know of in the past few years. Julian then revealed what he had learned throughout his spiritual journey, what he had sacrificed to regain his health, his much-cherished life...

A great book which comes with great inspiration eh?

Defend Yourself

2009-04-06T09:10:00.004+08:00

The day where many people are poking eyes of many people, with the name "April Fool" had already passed for a few days, but how about cases about making fun of people online?

One thing for sure, nowadays, there is nothing much about Internet Security anymore, people are spamming all over the net, splashing irresponsible comments and bad bad statements on various well-known websites, such as Youtube, Dailymotion, frequently-visited forums and many more.

These cases are currently running on their rapid rates of increasing, and what is more, the number of cases about Internet bullying is increased by leaps and bounds.

For instance, Janice (not her real name), was falsely claimed as a person who got raped many times in the past, in a particular website for haters (yes, there are many sites which are created just for the sake of making fun at people). When rumors are spread all over the places, they become a "truth" in the near future somehow, that's a somewhat conventional law which we all agree on.

For Internet victims, here's a site where you could download a free e-book about how to overcome your tarnished reputation.

Future of Reputation

Hope this helps :)

Good day.

Just Take My Heart

2009-04-03T09:14:00.002+08:00

Do you believe in déjà vu? Some people deeply believe in these eerie feelings of coincidence, I sometimes, am a believer too. Some people thought that certain incidents or events happened just too coincidentally. They thought these scenarios appeared before in their lives, and fate brought them back again to them.

For some, they even come to an extent that they believe that scientific procedures, such as organ transplant, some operations under the knife, may have caused the same effect too. For instance, if A appears to be a heart donor to B, the recipient; after a somewhat successful operation, B would somehow experienced a sense of déjà vu, but strangely, towards incidents and events which he or she never encountered previously. Many people postulate that this should be particular events which, the donor, A had encountered before the transplant took place. As ridiculously as it may sound, certain people do believe that body cells contain memories, which means it could somehow transfer the memories to another person through cellular transplant.

Just Take My Heart: A Novel tells its readers exactly the same thing. Mark Higgins Clark has recently released this best yet suspenseful thriller to thrill the readers off the seat.

Just Take My Heart: A Novel actually enfolds the story where readers are virtually hypnotized into the perspective of the protagonist in the story, Emily. Emily is actually a prosecutor who was in charged in an investigation about a somewhat high profile murder case. Before the story proceeds with the wonders of CSI-like plots, strange events occurred when Jamie Evans ad Natalie Raines, in which two of them were happened to be Broadway stars, were murdered. What is more, without any apparent evidence. Oddly, when Emily started to investigate the case, she was alarmed and alerted, ironically from her transplanted heart.

A transplanted organ aiding in solving a thrilling mystery, anyone?

Upcoming Books In April

2009-03-31T10:01:00.002+08:00

The notable books which will be released soon in this coming month of April, 2009 are as follow:

Just Take My Heart (Mary Higgins Clark)

The Geometry of Sisters (Luanne Rice)

Vision in White (Nora Roberts)

The 8th Confession (James Patterson)

Ghetto Superstar (Nikki Turner)

First Family (David Baldacci)

Loitering With Intent (Stuart Woods)

Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man

2009-03-27T09:50:00.003+08:00

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment, after such a long period ever since it is released, is still attracting a lot of avid readers. It is like an unusually magnetic self-help book.

But first thing first, let's take a brief review on Steve Harvey. Steve is very well-known to his bubbly personalities and he is famous with his The Steve Harvey Morning Show across the radio stations. Furthermore, he is known as the king of comedy.

This book, like how the title revealed, is actually teaching you the ways, methods on how to act meticulously like the ladies, but think rationally like the men. Steve thought that, with the finest act, combines with logical thinking skills, these features will surely shape the perfect human being whom will be very much likable by all the people around you.

The pros which you could find in Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment is, you probably would not find any other books which come in an aid of relationship booster such as this, I mean, in a highly entertaining way. Steve expressed his thoughts and opinions in hilarious and relaxing way, which will definitely amused the readers. As you proceed with the pages, you will not feel that Steve is actually a typical author of a self-help book, but the best buddy, a companion throughout your love-relationship journey, this renders the book very easy to be followed.

But the cons, which I personally think, are the substances used in his book. The points and methods which are introduced in the book, are not really new insights which readers yearning to discover. Majority of the so-called points to ponder are statements or phrases which we probably already knew about (but well, it still depends on whether we're taking the right actions sometimes, Steve probably has the ability to trigger you to do something on this one).

New Look

2009-03-25T11:26:00.003+08:00

Due to technical problem, Book-A-Licious has changed its look.

Hope you guys like it.

Upcoming, recommended books which top the list in the month of April 2009 will be introduced very soon.

Re-constructing...

2009-03-24T10:11:00.002+08:00

Dear visitors,

Sorry for the inconvenience when viewing this blog site (unpleasant view for the eyes) for bandwidth problems always occur occasionally over here.

A new template or maybe a new design of the site will be used to replace the site very soon.

By the way, Book-A-Licious will soon introduce variety kind of stuffs apart from books in the near future, such as musics, CDs and latest movies. But books are still the mainstream of this site.

Cheers~

Back To Statistics...

2009-03-23T15:25:00.002+08:00

"Outliers", this word is too familiar for me to recognize... I could still recall the moments where my school mates and I spent together... How we cracked our heads opened in order to realize and gain a better understanding about this term.

If you have not known the significance of this term, an outlier, basically means an observation that is numerically distant from the rest of the data. (quoted from wikipedia)

Numerically distant from the rest of the data? For instance, 100 professional athletes, averagely, each one of them finished a given track in 20 seconds, but one or two of them, surprisingly, finished the track in just 10 seconds. Those two are deemed to be the next sport billionaires in no time.

Outliers: The Story of Success basically propose the idea of how to be the odd one who stands out among the rest. You will sometimes wonder, why are the Asians the only nation whom excel marvelously in maths? Why is Michael Phelps the only person who broke such crazy and amazing records in the history of swimming? Why is Bill Gates so successful in his business?? Why, why??

Those seemed to be million dollar questions, but the author of Outliers: The Story of Success do not believe everything falls within the realm of talent, and he tells you clearly exactly what he thinks about outliers in this book, in an entertaining way.

True Detectives

2009-03-21T11:16:00.004+08:00

I personally love stories of detective very much. When I was a pre-teen, i've getting in touch with detective stories. The books concerned with detective which I read back then, well, they weren't any detective novels, but mere comics. But to me, those were no ordinary comics, but they were comics about Detective Conan, or also known as Case Close in many European countries.

Later on, I got to know more about Sherlock Holmes. I love those thrilling stories, they just simply easily keep me sitting on the sofa with the books all night long.

Well, back to the topic, today's recommended book is True Detectives: A Novel by Jonathan Kellerman, whom quoted as the number 1 New York Times best selling author.

True Detectives: A Novel revolves around two half-blood brothers, namely Moses and Aaron. They were born with the same mother, but from the different fathers. Perhaps due to this, or maybe other reasons, rivalry and a tiny bit of hostility existed between them.

These two characters role-played as two cops with different financial background, one belongs to the middle class, while the other one lives life like a member from the royal family. Fate brought them together again when both of them were involved in a mind-twisting investigation.

How would they end up with the investigation? Stressful rivalry remain between them? Or would they shake their hands and vow to be great brothers in the end?

I just love these unsolved mysterious plots!

Watch Out!

2009-03-20T10:02:00.002+08:00

This book tops the list of best-selling books. It is also the most recent DC Comic flick which everyone of us could watch in the cinema, introducing--- Watchmen.

Nowadays, certain novels came with slight changes, for instance, this one. Watchmen is claimed to be one of the forefathers of recent famous genre in novels, namely Graphic Novels.

Graphic novel certainly is not your typical novel, it is packed with comic strips, but at the same time filled with lengthy storyline and complicated plots. Arguably, The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck should be the earliest novel of its kind, back in the Year of 1837.

Watchmen tells the story of an individual whose name was Dan Dreiberg. He seems to be the undisputed superhero in the city during a period of time. But due to certain unforeseen circumstances, superheroes were somehow banned, and Dreiberg, filled with sadness and disappointment, is forced to hide his Night Owl costume somewhere in his old closet. But the upsurge of the story begins when some villains appeared right after that.

Basic and simple storyline, eh?

You may find it boring, and in a way, childish. But surprisingly, this book receive rave reviews from many novelists as well as readers, it does not seem to be an ordinary comic book or stuffs which are equivalent to that.

Watchmen contains many interwining story plots which amazed readers most of the time. Readers, it's not wrong to give it a try... another comic strip which was brought into the big screen recently, it certainly has its own appealing substances in it.

Corsair

2009-03-19T08:57:00.002+08:00

Ahoy, mates! This is an introduction of another best-selling book in the month of March.

Corsair is the 6th piece of Oregon Files Series by Clive Cussler. Potential readers of this book would probably know what to expect from this book. Clive Cussler had penned several of his books previously which packed with thrilling reading experiences. There is certainly no exception for this one too.

Corsair starts its story with the mysterious vessel, Oregon, involving in excruciating combats during the war of Barbary pirates. The captain of the vessel, Juan Cabrillo is nicely portrayed as a great charismatic leader whom lead Oregon and its crews to many wars with consecutive victories.

Oregon, from its appearance, seems to be just another simple, normal and worn-out vessel.But little do the people know that, Oregon is actually an arsenal of weaponry and special equipments for war of the sea. I reckon, that is the main reason why Corsair is captivating, engaged a lot of readers to purchase it.

The story becomes even more exciting when Juan Cabrillo and the crew noticed a mysterious plot of the Libyans. The whole crew is so capable to an extent that the Secretary of State is asking for a helping hand from them.

This book is really entertaining to read it is most likely targeting youngsters as well as adult readers who enjoy adventurous stories very much. Remember how Captain Jack Sparrow and his people fought off the bad guys in the tube? Everything seems to be brought to life with words by the author.

It's Fragile !

2009-03-18T09:32:00.004+08:00

Handle with Care displays wonderful plot which you probably never came across before. But before clearly introducing this book to you, I would like to give some precautions to the readers who are interested in this one.

Though this is one of the best selling books in this month (march 2009), this book is very much rated as a book with major depressing plots. Depressing as it may seem, but throughout the story, it provides amazing and mind-intriguing plots which could keep you stick to your chair while holding this book, reading it attentively.

Handle with Care unfolds the story of the birth of a child, named Willow. On one fateful day, this child was born. When everyone thought that this birth was supposed to be a joy, particularly to the parents, things changed awfully when Willow turned 4 years old.

Willow was diagnosed with a disease, brittle bone disease which seems to be one that possibly caused by the carelessness of the OB in-charged four years ago. But the funny thing is, the OB became the very best friend of Willow's mother ever since Willow was brought into this world.

This book certainly gives readers much mind-twisting experiences, since the plot of the story is very unpredictable.

That's the usual strong points of Jodi Picoult's novels. Depressing but yet, awesome in a way.

The Kindly Ones

2009-03-12T22:44:00.002+08:00

This novel is originated from France. Due to the hot demand worldwide, this French-produced book is now being translated into a few other languages and tipped to be one of the hottest selling items in March!

The Kindly Ones, by Jonathan Littel, is no ordinary novel which one could find on the book shelf. When I read some reviews of the book, I couldn't help myself but to relate this book with The Black Swan.

Though The Black Swan is unfolds many hidden facts in the society, and revealed all the unknown facts and brilliant thoughts of author to the readers, The Kindly Ones used another somewhat similar approach, with a slight difference in between.

The Kindly Ones introduced a special approach by unveiling the true accounts of humanity. From the reviews, it seems that this book brings certain horror effects to the readers, but in the other hand, it makes the book more meaningful and enjoyable to read, would it not?

Upcoming, more best-selling new releases in March 2009 will be on their way!

Cheers~~

Gamblers Talk

2009-02-25T21:52:00.002+08:00

Pulitzer Prize, is no ordinary prize which could be won by anyone, seriously speaking, not even writers. The prize is regarded as the highest honor to be presented to musical, literacy or newspaper journalism winners. Winners with the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Robert Frost, ya'know? So, between the three, which one gets involved with today's subject? Obviously, it's journalism.

Thomas E. Ricks' The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006-2008 (Best Book of the Month so far) emulates his previous book, Fiasco where both books are putting major concerns regarding the war in Iraq. What are the myths behind the war in 2005? Where does the myth leads the nation to? That's a story which Fiasco is playing the role to tell.

What The Gamble generally provides its readers is its clinical stories which come with in-depth in-sights. The Gamble is no ordinary novel which you could quickly grab and wait for the mind to entertain your soul as you carry on with the readings.

This particular book consists of serious yet tremendously interesting dialogues between the author himself and General David Petraeus (a great commander in Iraq war), as well as several highly revered militants from the United States.

When you read through Thomas' meticulous compiled journals, you would probably get to see some points which are unveiled all these while. Amazon even had an exclusive interview with Thomas himself, discussing the probable future of the United States now that a potential war of continuation will be inherited by the current president, Barack Obama, which in turn, has been predicted to continue its flare till the year of 2010.

The Chicken Soup of Faith

2009-02-18T09:21:00.002+08:00

The store is currently expanding to provide you with more information and products available as time passes by.

For devoted Christians, Catholics, or even individuals who are curious about the religion issues, and wanting to know and understand more in depth about it, FamilyChristian Store
is the place you might want to visit.

The site features numerous great stuffs other tan the books, of course. It contains variety kinds of downloadable musics, musical instruments such as those noble guitars, compassionate arts, famous christian bands such as the NewsBoys... You name it.

It's certainly a great site which offers you the best religious materials as well as other additional gadgets which you might need. One of the recent best promotions which they offer would be the gifts for the upcoming Mother's Day.

Crisis = Opportunity?

2009-02-17T09:35:00.002+08:00

I've heard from financial analysts, saying that during this time of financial crisis, the worst post-war crisis ever which causes every country in chaotic circumstances, is actually an opportunity in a way.

For those who could still afford to make a simple living with your current life, this is the time for you to equip yourself with additional knowledge. Take up different and unique courses which you think that would be useful to you after a year or two have passed later on, read more books to enhance yourself, so that you could grab the chance to seek a better or higher paid job when the crisis is over in the near future.

For those who are belong to the lower category, or those who are struggling with the downsizing issues; take heart that these are moments where, many rich people are being "demoted" to the same category as you as a consequence of the inevitable crisis. There are certain jobs which would not fade away even the crisis is haunting the globe. Jobs such as direct selling is the one job which could bring back te competitiveness among people whom belong to different strata. This might well be the turning point of you to be a richer person whom once was richer than you before the crisis (or opportunity?) knocked on your door.

Paul Krugman, a recent famous Noble Prize winner, has published a series of books which concerns with the current financial slump. All eyes were on him when he struts his stuffs, telling stories and predictions on the economics to the public, he even criticized President Obama in the perspective of financing aid. The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008 is one of his latest books as well as one of the best selling items in the book chart. This book tells you clearly about how our current situation is affected by the downturn, and a view of eagle eye of a Noble Prize winner is provided to you.

Is this a haywired crisis or a good twist of fate? It all depends on you.

Happy reading!

Cheap Text Books Rental

2009-02-14T11:15:00.003+08:00

Financial crisis is looming across the countries in the face of this globe. Everyone seems to be refrained from many things, more people are becoming jobless due to ridiculous job cuts. Some families could not afford having such difficulties in their lives, especially when they still have kids and children to take care of.

But thankfully, Internet has make things a little more easier for college students and school goes. Rental services on text books for colleges and schools are available in this advanced era of technology.

Textbook Rental Service is very convenient and cost-saving.

After all, what we are concerning at this very time is to "Save, save and save!" Right?

Or if what playing in your mind now is to own a text book or two on your own, but thinking hard to save cost, books from BetterWorld might be a place to look out from.

Happy V Day

2009-02-14T10:41:00.005+08:00

Regardless of whether you are in love with a significant other of yours, or you're still single and love hopefuls...

Hereby sincerely wishing you a very Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Recipe

2009-02-11T09:23:00.005+08:00

Valentine's Day is just around the corner! I assume that every lovable couple is ready for some romantic outings as well as some unique dining moments.

Well, sometimes you would think to yourself, you're most probably sick and tired of having dinner in unnecessary expensive restaurants with a long queue, posh restaurants which are almost impossible to enter without making early reservations.

But seriously, what is the point in fighting with other couples over certain eatery places while you can do it on your own? Plus if you make it up all by yourself, your significant other would probably appreciate it more, and of course, love you more out of it.

The following sites provide great guides and information on certain recipes which come in handy in the upcoming Valentine's Day:

"Free Recipe Ebook" (Although the site claims that there are free recipe ebooks following certain links provided in the site, it seems to me that it is not functioning at all, but all in all, other recipes prove to be good guidance)

"Food Menu Blog" (A blog site which definitely provide vast amount of information on recipes as well as some tips, especially for D Day!)

"Free Recipe Ebook on healthy salad recipes" (Click on this link and it leads you to a site where a free recipe ebook on healthy salad recipes are provided. Download it for free, exclusively for health-conscious couples :))

A Catered Valentine's Day (Mysteries with Recipes, No. 4) (For those who wanna make purchase on a recipe book exclusively for Valentine's Day, this is a relatively cheaper and a more popular book currently, great reviews were made on this recipe book as well)

Though I loathe Valentine's Day for now (PM me if you need a date or so on V Day... just pulling your leg on this one, hehe), I still wanna wish all the couples and readers a very romantic and happy Valentine's Day!!

Fiction Vs Non-Fiction

2009-02-07T23:13:00.003+08:00

When we were little, we loved to read childhood storybooks, still remember those famous movie-tie ins with the likes of Beauty & The Beast and The Pagemaster?

Those are fiction stories which we often get indulged in.

But as for me, being a introverted person, as I grow up, I often engaged with many self-improvement (self-help) books. When I was in my adolescence, self-esteem seems to be the root of many problems which get me in trouble when the word "social" comes into my mind.

Those books, ranges from 7 Habits of Effective Teens to Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. To be frank, these books really did help me a lot when I'm growing up to be a young adult. But many other friends of mine were claiming that I was behaving like an old man, and some minorities believed that I was relatively more matured than any other guys my age during those moments.

But as I kept reading and reading, books with such genres have becoming bummers, they appeared to be books which reiterate the same thing over and over again. As a result, it caused me to shun away from them, and to pursue other excitements in reading different genre of books.

Consequently, novels became the in-thing which I chasing for. When I first got my hands wet with one of James Patterson's series, The 5th Horseman, I became aware of the difference in both of the different worlds, namely Fiction and non-fiction.

Fiction stories caused readers an exhilarating aftermath which is beyond description, when a reader grabbed a good fiction novel with both hands, and start flipping over the pages and read attentively with their heads, one can appear to never get enough of the exciting plots, and yearning for more until the curtain calls in the last page of the book.

So, fiction vs non-fiction, which stands out better than the other? There is no certainty, really. Each helps shape different characters.

Self-help books allow you to be more mature and helps you internally, shape a betterment to your characteristics; while novels (be it romantic, horror, sci-fi, true accounts....) allows you to be more expressive and keep you an imaginative person, in other words, an adult version of Beauty & The Beast.

Happy reading!

The Yankee Years : A Golden Era of A Manager

2009-02-07T09:21:00.002+08:00

Talking about pivotal figures managing a sport team, all I could think of are the likes of Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, and the latest, Luis Felipe Scolari whom is currently under-fired in Chelsea management.

Yup yup, all the mentioned individuals are managers in outstanding and high revered football clubs in England. But frankly, I could only think of those managers when sport management is the central topic within a conversation. Perhaps it's mainly due to the difference in culture over here.

But the current best selling book on earth, The Yankee Years, would probably attracts people who are not big fans to The Yankees.

This book tells the story of how a magnificent manager, Joe Torre (The author of the book himself) and Tom Verducci, managed The Yankees and claimed four out of five World Series Titles under his belt. That sounds like how Manchester United managed to maintain their title streaks in a few seasons.

Of course, along the way Torre faced obstacles and rocky roads ahead before claiming those drooling titles. This book unfolds many motivational scenarios which are very much inspiring. There are many beautiful dialogues which captivated the hearts of the readers

For those who are not into sports, this book is definitely something fascinates you. This book is currently the #1 best selling book in Amazon. A must read indeed!

Chinese Zodiac History

2009-02-02T17:13:00.002+08:00

There are 12 horoscopes generally. To Chinese, there are also 12 specific horoscopes (or we could call it zodiacs), which are significantly symbolized with 12 different animals.

For those of you who do not understand about it, here's some information about the 12 magnificent animals in the eyes of Chinese.

First thing first, the sequence of the 12 animals are rat, bull, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, chicken, dog, and boar.

So, how does this sequence is being arranged? Here's an interesting story regarding the sequence...

Once upon a time, the Jade Emperor (God whom are known to live in the heaven) is cracking his head in order to figure out a way to determine the time (he seems to be thinking about it for a very long time). And so, he figured out a way in the end, by calling upon all the animals which dwell in the mother earth. Later on, he declared that there will be a competition where those animals have to swim across a long river to reach a destination, and a series of 12 years in the coming future will be named after the 12 animals with successful arrivals.

Indeed, all the animals were exhilarated, and they vowed to give full force in order to get a place in the 12 empty slots.

Rat and cat are known as best friends during the Tang Dynasty, when they heard about this competition, both of them agreed to travel together and vowed to get the first two places ahead of the others. But both of them were hydrophobic characters in the animal kingdom, therefore, the rat asked for a helping hand from the bull. The good-hearted bull agreed to give both of them a ride. But out of a sudden, the cunning rat pushed the cat into the river when the cat was distracted. Consequently, the bull which has a rat on its back, reached the destination first hand. But why does the rat awarded the first animal to reach? This is because the intelligent rat jumped off from the back of the bull when they were about to step on the finishing line. That makes the bull the 2nd animal to arrive. And because of that incident too, cats nowadays have became the worst enemy of rats, and cats are always vow to kill and catch, and even eat the rats mercilessly.

Tiger was the third animal which arrived at the destination. He was questioned by the Jade Emperor on the reason why he arrived later than the bull, the tiger explained that his relatively smaller body could not sustain the enormous current in the river, and he mentioned that he had tried his best and made his best efforts to arrive at the destination.

The rabbit, which is very well-known of its speed and hopping abilities, admitted that what he could do in order to reach the destination was to wait for logs in the river, so that he could hop from log to log in order to cross the river. Rabbit admitted that he was helped greatly by the strong wind produced by the kind dragon, hence the logs move rapidly with the aid of dragon. Thus, rabbit and dragon arrived 4th and 5th respectively.

The horse was putting a lot of efforts to cross the river as well as the jungle, though he has incredible speed, and could reach the destination faster than anyone, but unfortunately, the snake was bugging the horse throughout the race. The snake, being an animal which has flexible exoskeleton around him, was able to bring troubles onto the horse, this makes the horse difficult to move rapidly like how he usually did. With continuous struggling with each other, the snake managed to leave the horse behind him, and claimed the 6th zodiac, while the dissapointed horse was placed 7th.

Later on, the Jade Emperor saw a raft carried three animals from afar. Goat, monkey as well as the chicken were seen on the raft. The three animals explained about how they co-operate with each other in order to reach the destination. The Jade Emperor was then confused in putting those three animals in the right sequence for zodiac. Therefore, he instructed them to explain their credibilities as well as the main reason why they should be chosen as the 8th zodiac instead of the 9th and 10th. The goat said that he produced large amount of wool for clothing, so that people can be kept warm especially in the winter. The monkey claimed that he can do whatever a human can, and he looks just like a human. After listening to the explanations from the goat and the monkey, chicken was having a very low self-esteem, and answered that all he could do is waking up the farmers in the morning. Hence, the Jade Emperor decided that goat gets the 8th place, monkey gets the 9th place, and chicken 10th.

As for the last two places, the Jade Emperor saw the dog with a clean body stepping forward. The dog had apparently took a bath in the river while on its way, and hence claimed the 11th place. But the Jade Emperor was surprised when he saw a boar coming towards him and claiming the last place, the boar proudly defended that although he likes to eat, but he has great determination in taking up one of the zodiacs. The Jade Emperor was very impressive with the boar, hence the boar is awarded the 12th zodiac.

This is the history of Chinese Zodiac.

But there are a few different versions on how the rat claimed his first place. Other than pushing the cat into the riverbank, there are also other stories which make cats and rats nemesis to each other on this day. There is a story which sounds like this:

The rat and cat are best friends. The cat told the rat to wake him up when it is time for them to start their journey, but the rat was self-centered and he decided not to wake the cat up, but start joining the other competitors by himself. The rat then went into the jungle and met the bull. The rat boasted that he is the strongest animal of all. The bull laughed at him and asking the rat to show him some proofs. The rat got a sudden brainwave and told the bull that if the bull allows him to stand on its back while going through the river as well as the jungle, the bull will see how fearful the rat is. The bull agreed, and carried the rat on its back. Amazingly, other animals hide into their caves and places when they saw both of them coming. Little did the bull know that those animals were afraid of the strong bull but not the rat.

But whatever it is, it still makes the cat a rat's worst nightmare right?

What's In Store For You?

2009-01-29T11:51:00.002+08:00

Many Chinese are very much believe in Feng Shui, believe in fate, believe in what the destiny in the near future would be. But typical Chinese too, believe that they could turn things around.

In this Year of Ox, fates of each Chinese Zodiac could be seen or heard from different medias, be it the tubes, the radio, or even daily newspapers.

But this book, Your Chinese Horoscope 2009: What the Year of the Ox Holds in Store for You is particularly providing all the detailed information regarding how you should do in this very year, and most importantly, how to cope with the economic crisis.

A book which is particularly for those who believe in Chinese Zodiac very much.

Happy CNY!

2009-01-25T18:38:00.003+08:00

The Year of Ox is finally here!

Wish all of you a very happy and prosperous Chinese New Year!

Rebates on Harry

2009-01-23T09:03:00.005+08:00

Harry Potter series, especially in recent years when those novels are being made into top movies in the box office, are driving enthusiastic readers into crazy.

In every book of Harry Potter, magical world just somehow seems to revolve around the world of the readers, and this in turns often brings the readers into a world of imagination, sometimes makes them believe that they too have the magical power, they too would face an individual like Sirius Black sometime soon in the future. Readers are longing to fly and soar in the sky with a magical broom.

Many of my friends, who happen to be very loyal readers to Harry Potter, often tell me all about the adventure stories about the series, and blame me for not reading those fantastic series, and they thought that it's a waste for not reading it.

Below is a video of an interviewing session of the famous author of the series, J. K. Rowling. enjoy :D

The good news is, if you have not touch the series at all, if you do not know every single story of Harry Potter,but you wish to join the discussion group among your friends, it's not too late to take one from the shelf right now. You could also borrow those books from your friends, but as far as I know, those books are now on sales, and the prices are dropped to a very very affordable ones. For fresh HP readers, Harry Potter Paperback Box Set (Books 1-6) and Harry Potter Boxset Books 1-7 are modest choices at bargain prices.

Obama Frenzy

2009-01-21T10:30:00.003+08:00

It's 20th January and this is the day where the new American President, Barack Obama steps up to the stage of world, and claiming the title of the first ever black America President in the history of United States.

Before the 20th, superstars had attended the presidential inaugural, a great and magnificent event was held for the new US President.

President Obama has promised the nation to give the wars a halt, to pull back the troops from Iraq, and to promote peace to the world.

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance reveals how President Obama's father had influenced his thoughts, and tells the many reasons why he is shaped into such a charismatic leader today. While The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream (Vintage) tells the thoughts from the president himself, this book would probably tells the fate of the United States in the near future.

The White Tiger

2009-01-19T15:05:00.002+08:00

Aravind Adiga, perhaps he is born a writer by nature. His debut novel, The White Tiger has won him the Man Booker's Prize, a prize which is coveted by many novelists.

This book, The White Tiger: A Novel (Man Booker Prize) tells a story about an Indian, who does not leave up his life to the fate, but fight his own dreams, and hope to revolutionize a better country for India. Everything starts when Balram, the protagonist in the novel made his best effort in becoming a driver in India. This book is like telling a storyof another version of the life of Gandhi. A masterpiece indeed!

I've bought this novel myself, but I have yet to finish reading it.

The White Tiger: A Novel (Man Booker Prize) is a relatively cheaper version of the book. The one i bought comes with a modest relatively harder cover which is white in colour, The White Tiger.

Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You

2009-01-18T14:36:00.003+08:00

Still remember the one of the famous oldies, which starts off with tantalizing lyrical wordings with the likes of "You're just too good to be true..." ? The words followed by the first verse of this famous song sounds like this, "Can't take my eyes off of you".

Yes, guess what, the famous author, Judith McNaught is now introducing another new release under her belt, a book which is set to be another biggest hit in town, or perhaps a best selling book like hot cakes world wide, entitled "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You", will set love stories readers ablaze.

The story enfolds with a pair of lovers which consists of a highly successful man and in another hand, a lovely woman, where two of them got married, but due to some unforeseen circumstances and obstacles, they got divorced soon later. But God was like having mercy at those two lovers, and granted them a second chance to prevent the discontinuation of their blissful marriage.

A sure hit in the coming future, it is estimated to be released in May 2009.

Recent Best-sellers

2009-01-16T22:47:00.002+08:00

Hi folks,

For now, we'll be introducing popular movie tie-in books which are sold at relatively cheaper prices compare to those which are sold in the market of books.

Hereby introducing great best-selling books by Cecilia Ahern.

To be frank, her books all contain the qualities in engaging the eyes of viewers, and her love stories cause serious aftermaths in all readers.

After the successful "PS, I LOVE YOU MOVIE TIE-IN EDITION
", which was being introduced into the big screen, Cecelia Ahern also published a few more books under her belt, namely "The Gift (Hardcover)
" (A book which in turns, could essentially tells you more about the significance of family ties as well as.. Christmas?), "Thanks for the Memories: A Novel
" (a great mind twisting novel, you would have the urge of curiosity in wanting to uncover the truth behind the story, indulge into the journey with the protagonist, Joyce), "A Place Called Here signed edition
" (Tells the story of a girl, who is happened to be lost in her life, to seek for the meaning of hope).

Twilight

2009-01-16T22:36:00.005+08:00

The recent hit in cinema, Twilight has received many response across the world, even in Asia. A love story between a vampire and Isabella Swan, scenes which are captivating every heart of the viewers.

In Amazon, the new book is only priced at $6.04, or you can choose used books which are in great conditions for as low as $4.94!

Under Construction

2009-01-15T15:38:00.016+08:00

Here's another update on the web, before the website provides the best service with full force,
here's a temporary link for reviews on books.

Thank you.

Hi folks!

2009-01-15T14:11:00.002+08:00

This will be a place which gathers readers from all over the world.

This website is currently still under construction.

In order to provide the best service to the visitors as well as the potential customers,please bear with me some time before this website starts functioning appropriately.

Thank you very much.