Stardust by Neil Gaiman

I knew of this after seeing the trailers for the movie of the same name. I just really wanted to see the movie but after finding out that it was based on a book, I figure that I might as well read the book before the movie adaptation ruins the book. Plus, I love the idea of an adult fairy tale, and that is what drew me in.

Loved it. I think that's enough of a review.

Don't order books from ...

... because they'll send you a book with the wrong ISBN tag and still claim that they sent you the right book. Let me explain. I wanted to order a Statistics book, the 7th ABBREVIATED edition. So I went on Half.com, and ordered it from them. Yet, when I received the book, they sent me the non-ABBREVIATED edition, but they put the ID tag complete with title that states it is an ABBREVIATED edition and the ISBN number that matches the ABBREVIATED EDITION. So to them, they sent the right book because the ISBN matches.

I tried explaining this to them, but of course they went by the ISBN sticker that they printed and insists that they sent the right book. I don't think that by sticking a ISBN sticker on a book that does not match the actually book qualifies as "WE SENT YOU THE RIGHT BOOK."

Of course, I had to pay my own shipping costs to get the refund.

It's not a good business practice to try to pass off certain books as others. I've ordered books from the Internet before. And "sometimes books have different ISBN numbers" aint's going to cut it either.

I'm getting angrier as I type this, so I'm going to stop now.

I want to read Geisha

Time Magazine Asia has a feature on the new movie, Memoirs of a Geisha, and it is glorious.

I haven't read the book yet. Unfortunately, my library only has one copy, and other people have decided they want to read it too. So I'll have to wait a while, hopefully, not before the movie comes out.

The whole Geisha thing is fascinating. Just another reason why I want to visit Japan.

Reading Log: The Da Vinci Code: Special Illustrated Edition

B&N
Amazon

From an art lover's perspective it was great because of all the name dropping. The Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, and Madonna On the Rocks to name a few. Plus I enjoyed reading another interpretation of the paintings.

As a student of art history, it was awesome. There were a lot of the painting I recognized, and art vocabulary I understood. I'm taking an art history class, and we just studied the Renaissance painters so this was perfect. All the info was still fresh in my memory.

A special illustrated edition was a great idea, with the pictures enhancing the text. If anyone didn't know what the Madonna of the Rock look like, especially since any description couldn’t do it justice. But I found certain text or bolded/highlighted words distracting because they caught my eye first, and I tried not to look, but it didn't always work, so to a certain extent, it kind of ruined the surprise.

The thing about reading the Da Vinci Code now is that a lot of the controversy about the book had died down. And I'm just understanding what its all about. That’s the thing I hate about always reading books after al the novelty is gone. However, my local news station has something on the book, so maybe I’m not totally out of the lope.

I thought the Teacher was the French head detective, but I had the nagging feeling that it was too obvious. I knew there had to a twist as to who was responsible.

This is also one of the few heavily art related book or otherwise that I've read. The next most art related 'otherwise' that I've come into contact with and is fairy well known is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Remember them? They have launched a new TMNT. They had in their program, 3 of the greatest Renaissance painters ever. Three Giants of ART. I know there is one other guy, but I always forget his name. I've always thought, "what an ingenious idea!” To subliminally expose art to the masses by disguising them as mutated, green ninja turtles complete with their love for pizza, (Pizza originate from Italy, and Italy was the birthplace of the Renaissance. See...) individualize weapons, and 'dude' speak.

I'm reading this book and reporting it from an art student perspective only. I'm only marginally verse in the art themes. And I was not raised a Christian, so I don't really know a lot about the religious aspects, except what I learnt through art and what was discussed in art class. Please, passersby, no hate comments about why this book does suck b/c of its religious implications. [See the Jon Stewarts book post for why]

Ok. This is a long pose but most of it had nothing to do with my actual impressions of the book and its plots and themes. So I guess I liked it. It was certainly hyped up, and I wasn't disappointed. I'm glad I had a chance to read it now, so I can have an opinion the next time someone brings up The Da Vinci Code.

Reading Log: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America the Book: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction

more info from Amazon
more info from B&N

Impressions:
-- It was hilarious from the inside flap till the very end. I read every single line. I can't say that for every book. None. So far. Even the cover is hilarious: With a forward by Thomas Jefferson.
-- Bold and hilarious.
-- I don't know what to add that will make you love this book more or enjoy The Daily Show anymore (You MUST like both).
-- I'd like to add that when Wal-Mart was upset over the naked pictures I did not realize that it was actually naked pictures. Like in the book. Nude people in the book. And you can see their private parts. Yes. It's all exposed. Ok, technically it's not the Supreme Court Justice’s private parts par se. But certain things, ya know, down there are shown.
-- No one's spared.

[see how many times I wrote 'hilarious?' That's how hilarious this book is.]

My Reading Log

JANUARY 2005

• Bangkok 8
  
• Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
  
• Eats, Shoots & Leaves
  

FEBRUARY 2005

• The Nanny Diaries
  
• The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America the Book: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction.
  
• The Da Vinci Code
  

Reading Log: The Nanny Diaries

more info from Amazon
more info on B&N

Impressions:
-- I assumed it would be a lite reading or a chick lit selection. More along the lines of The Devil Wears Prada (I need to read that too).
-- Quite good. Some pretty funny lines. I wanted an H.H. myself.
-- Some parts are iffy. I think the whole characterization of Mrs. X (and the whole society) as the ultimate bitch can be over bearing. I got a little tired of it. It was a little too she's [Mrs. X] evil and I'm [Nan] not.
-- The plot and charcters are sometimes too narrow and trite. I guess it's the in-between that really draws the readers in.

Rating:
B to B+

Reading Log: Eat, Shoots & Leaves

more info on Amazon
more info on B&N

Impressions:
-- Charming; the British kind of charming. Covers punctuation and all the other stuff.
-- The thing is, I aspire to be a punctuation stickler, but my lack of understanding of all things punctuation keeps me away. I wrote in my profile that I'm a confused grammarian, and that's exactly how I feel.
-- It's the cool, hip, and witty grammar book (if such a thing could exist). I found it informative without being over bearing.

Rating:
B+ to A

Reading Log: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: A Novel

more info from Amazon
more info from Barnes&Noble

FINISHED Wed 26.

Impressions:
-- LONG. About 700+ pages. Detailed, which was delightful, but LONG. I thought the war part could have been cut out since I'm not a big fan of war reading.
-- I like the use of footnotes. Clever. Gets reader involved. Imaginative.
-- I picked up this book because I read somewhere in an book review that it was Harry Potter for adults, and I suppose it lived up to its billing.
-- Not everything was wrapped up neatly, which I'd always liked because then there would be the possibility of a sequel.

Rating:
A- to A

Reading Log: Bangkok 8

more info at Amazon
more info at B&N

Finished reading around Sunday 23.

Impressions:
-- Illuminated my understanding of Thai cultural life more, i.e. the sex industry. With all that I've heard (not seen), I think it's pretty accurate.
-- I didn't understand the Buddhist 'arhat (?)' thing even though I was raised a Buddhist. I think it amounts to the difference between life the life and studying about it. Like this whole weird Richard Gere notion of Buddhism people generally have. Weird. I didn't learn the Buddhist terms; I just lived them if you follow me.
-- I was a little confused at the end. I wasn't quite sure I understood how the ending unfolded in the way the author intended. I think I know, but there was some leeway there. I mean, I thought I knew, but it kind of freaked me out.
-- In the beginning I was griped with the mystery, but since I'm not 100% sure (only about 75-90% sure) what happened to that guy at the end, I was left unsatisfied.
-- Liked the main character and his contradictions. That was well done.

Rating:
B to B+
[I'm going to try a rating system. I hesitate because I'm terrible at these sorts of things--awareness and perception of what makes something good, enjoyable, or worthy.]

overdue library visit

I got to go to the library a couple of days ago, and I'm giddy, in all my super geekiness. I was excited. I haven't visited the library in 2/3 months and it was showing.

Got to read through past issues of Tennis Magazine.

Then I got to travel upstairs where all the fun books awaits. Without any plan or books in mind to check out, I wondered up and down the aisles, rows, and columns of books old and new.

There's this feeling that develops in the pit of your stomach and travels up to your brains that lets you know you are standing the sacred ground of knowledge and wisdom, and imagination, and fun, humor etc...

After perusing through the shelves, I decided on four books. I think each different enough:
-- The Secret Life of Bees
-- The Hours
-- The Bell Jar
-- The Merchant of Venice

books: what should i do with my life?

BY PO BRONSON [website]

I picked up this book by chance when I was in the midst of a career searching crisis.

I never finished the book although I wrote down the page number where I stopped (in case I go back and pick it up again, which I plan on doing).

There are great stories in there. I needed some inspiration. I needed to know that having no clue what to do with my life, is not only normal, but that people recover from that, and they eventually do find fulfillment in their chosen career path and in life.

[5-22-04]

I read Hemingway. I hate Hemingway.

"The sun comes out. It was hot. Then it goes back in again. "

This is my Hemingway impression. I've decided that I don't like his writing style. I brought The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway with me to read, but I never got into it. I thought the book could alleviate my boredom, but it eventually became too boring for me.

I also bought my Grammar and Language Workbook so I could learn more grammar rules. I'm enjoying reading it so far. Still don't know what some things are.

the five people you meet in heaven

By Mitch Albom. pp 196.

I just finished this book. Easy read. Introspective. It's a thinking man's book about the past and the future. The book tries to convey idea that everything in life is connect. The choices you make have an affect on someone else that you may not expect or even know.

O/T: Did you know that N.E.R.D. stands for No one ever really dies? Cuz I didn't.

Things that stood out:

• "People often belittle the place where they were born. But heaven can be found in the most unlikely corners" (34).


• "There are five people you meet in heaven. Each of us was in your life for a reason. You may not have known the reason at the time, and that is what heaven is for. For understanding your life on earth" (35).


• "That there are no random acts. That we are all connected. That you can no more separate one life from another than you can separate a breeze from the wind" (48). It gives me hope that everything happens for a reason is valid and a truth I can hold on too. I'd like to think that my life hasn't been a waste, not just yet anyways. I'm hoping that I can still turn things around. It's not too late. I can change things.


• "Faireness does not govern life and death. If it did, no good person would ever die young" (48). This is a great thought. Think back to all those people who died young. Those who we mourned as tragic figures. Recently, think about Kurt Cobain.


• That death doesn't just take someone, it misses someone, and in the small distance between being taken and being missed, lives are changed (48).

These are some from the beginning pages of the book. There are many and I can't quote them all, so I recommend that you pick up this book and search for your own.

Books: Whacha Reading?

Why does it take forever for me to read anything? I've had my Philosophy for Dummies for what must seem like over a month now, and I'm still less than a quarter way through the damn thing. It's interesting read. I'm even planning on rereading it because there's tons of info to digest.

It's not that I don't have the time because I have plenty of that. I think it's due to my laziness and lack of motivation. I'm a procrastinator. That's my dirty little secret. I'm so lazy and tired. Like fatigue or lethargic tired. Plus, I get too easily distracted.

Meanwhile, I've checked out another book, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, which is only 200-page book. I'm on page 50 now. I've had the book for at least a week. If I had enough concentration I could finish this book in a day. Why not? I finished all Harry Potter books within a couple of days. I could read "Five People" in a couple of hours if I wanted to. Here's to my never-ending quest to motivate myself. To take charge and not let CPS (Couch Potato Syndrome) take over. It's all about taking charge of your life, and not letting a moment pass by. Each moment you live should be a moment that you want happen to you.

ETA: I had to return P for D without finishing it. I've finished The Five People You Meet in Heaven. I've checked out two more books, a novel and an autobiography.

This commences my reading journal. Blogger doesn't have categories, so I have to create my own. So look out for half done reports on half finished books.
(first written: April 5.)

books? they have words in 'em

I had no idea today was World Book Day, but I'll support anything having to do with books. Yeah. Books. At this time, I've also learned that Martha Stewart has been found guilty of all charges against her. Wow. Falling from grace (well, maybe not grace) must suck. From domestic goddess to prison queen. I kinda feel bad for her. The prospect of going to jail can't be pleasant for anyone. Getting back to books, I have an update. I still haven't finish reading Philosophy for Dummies yet. On top of that, I checked out three more books. Enough about books because how interesting can that get?

I watched Drumline today, and now I want to be in one. Gosh, being in a drumline and being a snare drummer (is that the right term for it? I have no idea how I'm suppose to describe it) must be soooooo coooool. Too bad I never got a chance to be in one. Booohooo for me.

Attention all: No more supersizing from your favorite fast food restaurant.

Anyone want to tell me something about the Victorians and their literature?

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clipboard

• Has Bush no shame?
  
• The Administration Awards
  
• Rappers unite for political power
  
• Quiz: How well read are you?
  
• An Animated History of Books
  
• World Book Day Online Festival 2004

what i'm reading or trying to read or will read...shortly

Philosophy for Dummies. Please, hold the laughter or applause. I sort of felt awkward handing the book to the check-out girl. It's like admitting that you're a dummy and you know nothing about philosophy, which I don't, so it's not really far from the truth. Look at me trying to get thinking.

Now look at me wasting time. I should be studying for my exams. Oh, well. I need Procrastination for Dummies, and that's not me trying to be a smartass.

After going to their website looking for the link, I found some interesting book titles. (I did not find anything on procrastination). Here's one:

• Breastfeeding for Dummies Wouldn't this only really apply to women? I take it back; they also have one on pregnancy. Nevermind.

On second thought, maybe I shouldn't be making fun. I did check out Philosophy for Dummies.

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Hey, check it out. My troll has gone "punk," or I just spray painted its hair pink. Whichever or whatever.