My Book Reviews

The Charm Bracelet by Melissa Hill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This review will consist of a bit of a back story, so forgive me for ranting a bit.
As I got to know the characters in the book, I could already figure out the basic ending, and I was right. But there was something so addictive about Hill's writing that made it almost impossible to put the book down.
For some reason, I knew that for the Chinese New Year holidays, I had wanted to read this particular book. Weeks before I went on holiday, somehow, I had this book planned in my head already. For some reason, I had wanted this particular book. I went through the other books I had, but in the end decided on the original book that I had in mind. (It was a conflict between a Nicholas Sparks' piece and The Charm Bracelet.) If I had wanted to, I could've finished in a week, but when I was on holiday, I dragged a bit because I didn't want to finish the book so quickly and not have anything else to read after.
Anyway, though a slightly, typically cliche plot, I must admit the ending surprised me a bit and left me a bit confused about Cristina (without giving too much away). When Karen made such a big deal (for all the wrong reasons too, in my opinion) when Greg quit his job, I didn't really like her starting then.
The moment the ball dropped about who the lost bracelet belongs to, I could pretty much affirm how the story would obviously end, and I was right.
However, Hill's writing style kept me engrossed in every page. I managed to finish the book in a little over 2 weeks, which is good considering the usual time constraints in the remaining of my days after work.

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The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael A. Singer
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

FINALLY I've finished this book! It's the longest I've EVER taken in my life to finish a 180-page book. And truth be told, after finishing it, I still think the price of it (RM42) is a bit too much. That's saying something, as I managed to find a website selling it at the lowest; other sites were selling it at about RM80 for paperback.
It feels like a great weight off my shoulder, finishing this book. It has been dragging on because most times I never felt pulled enough to pick it up and finish it; yet I wanted to get it over and done with as soon as I could, so I would be able to finally pick up another book. (I have this thing where I have to finish a book I started before going on to the next one)
I first got to know about this book through an Oprah video where she interviewed the author. Back then, the topic they were discussing intrigued me, and I read an excerpt of it on the Oprah Book Club website, and it sounded interesting too.
I admit I was disappointed though. Don't get me wrong, there were some good bits here and there that I've taken to practicing, but what I found especially annoying was Singer's tendency at starting sentences with "If you were wise, you would...", "People who are wise would/would not do so-and-so" and "It's really that simple". I dunno about other readers, but those words made me feel like I was stupid. After all, he mentioned that 'if we were wise' we would do it. And we as readers obviously haven't, because well, we bought his book to learn how, didn't we? And when he mentioned that it was 'really that simple', it somehow felt like a bit of a mockery to me.
See, Singer's methods require constant repetition of practice. It requires concentration and dedication to follow through it at all times. Sure, when you've become used to it, it feels routine, but TO LEARN TO PRACTICE IT takes time. So when I read lines like that, it makes me feel as if I'm dumb for not finding it as 'easy' as he claims it to be.
Singer also, I noticed, had the tendency to repeat his points. He would repeat a point several times over, just changing the sentence structures (active-passive, passive-active etc). While repetation is good in some ways to get it in your head, it gets frustrating when you have to read the same points 2-3 times over.
While I admit that certain of Singer's good points were, well, good, I wouldn't have paid that much for the book. Initially I hadn't minded as much because I thought it would be a very good book, seeing as it was so expensive everywhere else.
But eh.. I guess I don't regret the knowledge I got from this book (knowledge is never bad, no?) . Just.. not much my cup of tea.

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The Year I Met You by Cecelia Ahern
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book has a light plot, and was another of those kind of books where I just could not put down once I picked it up. I found myself yearning for free time throughout, where I would be able to pick up the book to read. So as to make this review spoiler-free, I'll be subtle when referring to certain things.
I must admit that throughout the story, I suspected that Jasmine would end up with one of the two guys. I knew she wouldn't get with Kevin, seeing as how she had been so uncomfortable by the incident years ago. I was right, and I thought that her relationship with her neighbour ended up being really sweet. I should also admit that the description given for Monday had completely thrown off my initial image of him. Not that it's a bad thing, mind you. Just that it was rather very different from what I had in mind.
I admit that Matt pissed me off almost as much as he did Jasmine, and as the story progressed, her opinion of him mirrored mine. I also loved how protective she was of her older sister Heather, and how much Jasmine loved her. In about a quarter in the story, you'll learn why.

All in all, I really liked this story, just like I've loved Cecelia's other books.

Room by Emma Donoghue
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have mixed feelings about this book, but I guess it's not in a bad way. For me, the first 100 or so pages didn't intrigue me much, but I continued because I had read from a site that apparently, this book was good.

Jack is a five year old boy stuck in a single, locked room with his Ma. Literally. Everything from their toilet, bath, kitchen, living room and bedroom are quite literally in the same space. The book was written entirely in Jack's perspective. For his age though, his vocabulary could easily rival a 7 or 8 year old, and his thinking is can be so mature beyond his age that sometimes, I forget he's only 5.

Throughout the book, there were many instances where I admit that I got a bit annoyed with Jack's reactions (being a grammar nazi, certain things he said, or rather; the way he put some words together, made my eye twitch a little...- I know he's supposed to be a kid and it's written in his point of view, but... I guess I wasn't used to reading books that way). But then I had to remind myself that Jack was a toddler who had lived his life in the confined room, believing that anything outside of the four walls were not real. Like when he was afraid of the wind and rain, I had to remind myself that he was experiencing all of this for the first time in his life, and how scary it had to be in itself, no less for a toddler.

However, I thought their escape had been a little too easy and short. To be stuck for that long in Room, I'd have expected a more careful and very well thought-out plan.

Final verdict of the book is that I don't hate it, but I don't exactly LOVE it either. To be frank, it's 'just another book' for me.

Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I actually finished reading it last night, but am only just writing the review now. I'm giving this 5 stars due to the humour and shocks throughout the book. I thought the second book (Hollow City) was great already, but the third book is amazing. Absolutely hard to put down, and truth be told, I had more than one 'aww' moment.

I wished this wasn't the end of the trilogy, but I think Riggs stopped at just the right time. Rather than drag a story out just because it was received well and eventually becoming boring, I think the Library of Souls ended at just the right note.

Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson by Mitch Albom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If I could give this book 100 stars, I would. I actually feel ashamed that I have only just picked up this book to read. But then again, perhaps there was a reason for the timing.

I could've finished this in one sitting or 2 days at most, but I had been a bit occupied, and I was trying to drag out finishing this story because I was waiting for a book I ordered to arrive. I've finished this book, and my ordered book has yet to arrive. Anywho...

As I mentioned, I usually take my time reading a book. But this one demanded to be read. I enjoyed learning all the lessons in the first 11 'lessons', but on the 12th one, things started hitting home for me. I cried, I laughed. Then I laughed through my tears.

Just reading this book makes me (and others, I'm sure) feel like I know Morrie personally, which makes it all the more harder to finish it. I highly recommend this book to everyone. And I mean everyone.

The First Phone Call from Heaven by Mitch Albom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first book I read from Mitch Albom had been For One More Day, and since then, I have been a fan. The only reason why I took this long to finish it was because as it so happens, I had been a bit occupied. I had also been meaning to get this book when it launched, but unfortunately My purse was tight. So at the given opportunity (a book fair), I jumped in and immediately bought it.

I think that anyone who reads this will no doubt think of a deceased that they'd have liked to receive a call from. It was very interesting, the way he put the two perspectives together (the believers & non-believers) and make them go well with the story without making one sound more 'worthy' than the other. I dunno. There's just a way that Mitch writes to make things work.

I understand Sully's take on the fiasco, yet I sympathized and understood the 'chosen ones' position as well.

As it is with Mitch's books, it either teaches you a lesson or leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy with renewed resolution.
I really liked how this story closed, as it gave room for contemplation. Also, I thought that the last line of the book was a brilliant closure.

Cujo by Stephen King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The way I'd rate thriller/horror books are on the scale of how much it creeps me out and how easily it makes me jump at the slightest sound (because I'm twisted that way, yet am a complete wimp with horror movies).
This is, ashamedly, my first Stephen King novel, and what better way to start off than to pick a book involving a cute, cuddly Saint Benard that goes on a rabies & gore-filled rampage? Perfect.
It took almost half of the book for the 'action' to start, and when it did, boy could you literally 'see' what was going on in the scenes. Very descriptive.
I felt anxious and a bit impatient, I admit, as the story switched between the different characters' perspective/stories, especially when one of them is currently in deep shit.
The last 20-or-so pages were tough to read, as you can't help but feel for them. It had also been a bit sad to read some situations in Cujo's perspective, especially when he had been bitten and was confused about the changes in him; how he would've died for his family, yet he seemed to be having these horrible thoughts about wanting to hurt the people he loved. My heart cried out to Cujo. =(
All in all, it was quite a good read, and it successfully made me almost jump out of my skin a couple of times; no thanks to how every time I was reading a particular intense scene, sounds would just pop out outta nowhere and added to the intensity of the read, hah.

Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sooo I finally finished the book. And ladies and gentlemen, please, PLEASE excuse the next sentence.
Because WHAT IN THE FUCKITY FUCK JUST HAPPENED IN THE ENDING??! Holy shit, this book is full of surprises! I'm not ashamed to say that the scene towards the end had me gasping, complete in dramatic hand-over-mouth fashion. There were just so many surprises all in that last chapter, that upon finishing the book, I immediately pre-ordered the next one. I had originally thought that if this second book ended in some closure like I thought it would, I wouldn't buy the third book and just leave it at that (not because I doubted that it'd be a good read; rather, because my purse had been rather sad lately).
But nooooooo. The book was amazing; way better than the first, although I had liked that one too. Can't wait for the third book to launch and continue to sink my teeth into peculiardom again.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've been meaning to read this book for the longest time. -Okay, maybe not exactly as long as you'd think, but I'd wanted to read it since I first found out about it. Then, maybe after a while of not picking it up to read after having it, the excitement died down. I began to doubt if I was even interested in it anymore.
So when I picked it up to read last week, I had 2 expectations: either be sorely disappointed, or completely engrossed.
And I can happily say it was the latter. ;) Even I was shocked at the rate in which I was reading, hah. And for those who hadn't read it yet, let me just say that page 296 brought such an unexpected revelation to me that I actually gasped out loud as I read it.
I can't wait to read the next book, and I have high expectations for it too. I just hope it won't be focused majorly on the history of the peculiars or the loops, because I have a feeling then that it would be quite boring.
Anyhow.. I can't wait to see what happens next, so I think I'll probably start on the next book tonight itself. ;)

The Zahir by Paulo Coelho
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Some time ago, I came across this post in the Elephant Journal. Judging from what Tammy Stone wrote, the book was apparently very good and 'woke her up'. I had been meaning to read Paulo Coelho's works for the longest time as well, but I didn't know which book to start on. And since I had been going through some stuff when I came across that article, I decided that that was the first Paulo Coelho book that I was going to read.
Ater asking opinions from friends about the book, they were a bit apprehensive. One of my friends suggested that it may not be everyone's cup of tea, and that I should consider buying a pre-loved version. I did, and then I came on Goodreads to read other people's review and found that the majority hadn't liked it. Good thing I bought a pre-loved one instead then.
I thought it was okay though. It's not exactly the most interesting of books I've read, but it did come with a few good lessons. It was quite an easy read; and I don't mean that as in it was interesting, rather, I couldn't seem to put it down when I read it. I was glad to finish it though.
The ending, I felt, was not too well closed. Also, it could probably be due to personal beliefs and experiences, but I really didn't like the idea that both the writer and Esther were married, but were okay with sleeping around with other people. But I guess, to each their own eh?
There were, I think, also some situations left unanswered. Or maybe Paulo intended it to be open-ended. But I can say this though: I don't think I'd pick up another book of Paulo's. I don't mean that in a bad way or an offense; just that perhaps his books aren't really my cup of tea after all.