What are you reading now?

[Questy]

90% thru The Passage, completed Dracula, played Plant and Zombies and watched The Walking Dead..... Am in the world of Zombies/Dracs.... : )

 

[flaveur]

the children's book by a.s. byatt. last book i read by this author was possession, it took me a year to finish. hope i make better progress on this one.

 

[lifeafteryou]

committed: a sceptic makes peace with marriage (Elizabeth Gilbert)

 

[anumericalevil]

Finished Catherine Lim's Ms Seetoh in the world about a month ago. one of her better novels i must say- it touches upon so many aspects of life that a singaporean can identify with, though it admittedly has a very strong political, anti-government undertone, which may be a turn off for some and a relief for others surrounded by pro-government agenda everywhere they go (tho quite unlikely in hwz ).

lim as usual portrays her charismatic humour with gratuitous offerings of witticisms and snarkiness; her sardonic view of the singapore education system and its limitations has been nicely put in place for maximum use in a fictional universe of ms seetoh, a middle aged teacher in a neighbourhood secondary school in the early 90s- as well as all the social and cultural issues that come along with it.

known much for her insights and disdain for the typical female role asian women (esp female chinese singaporean women) are expected to play in life, she adroitly demeans the expectation system via the main character's good natured, almost perfect behaviour and values set in a juxtaposition of her principles and society's expectations.

i do have other personal opinions with regards to ms seetoh's character (such as how she's nauseatingly romanticized and idealistic- to the point of impracticality which just makes me puke lol), but i guess that's another opinion for another day.

i would recommend this book for the educated, empowered young singaporean woman of today (and men too, of course).

 

[evets]

just d/l 'profiting from the world's economic crisis - bud conrad'

 

[anumericalevil]

I've just finished reading 'O Singapore!: Stories in celebration' by Catherine Lim.
If you're interested, I've written a short review (without spoilers) that you can read here.

My next book would be 'The Woman's Book of Superlatives', also by the same author. I'd probably also be writing a review for that too.

 

[Balian]

just started on ' Confucious from the heart' - Yu Dan

anyone read it before?

 

[clarissse]

Jodi Picoult

Am reading her books currently. really awesome!

 

[The_Idiot]

Read Lessons after 15,000 first dates halfway, then realise it is a dating book for the ladies. Alamak!! Nevertheless, it is a good read for the guy reader as well.

 

[xpippo]

currently reading dan brown's lost symbols.. a page turner imo.

 

[wilflare]

the whole set of Narnia

 

[alfcrazyhorse]

Now reading "Ghost of a Chance" by Rhiannon Lassiter. Seems interesting from the first few pages.

 

[AnimeNewbie]

Just read The 5 love languages by Gary Chapman.

 

[raintr33]

Just finished The Pillars of the Earth, followed by the sequel World Without End by Ken Follet.

Waiting for his latest novel Fall of Giants to drop below 50% before I can bear to purchase it.

 

[Annyeong]

I'm not a very avid reader, but I really like the books mentioned below because nothing beats reading real-life accounts than fictional stories:

1. "The Aquariums of Pyongyang" by Kang Chol-hwan (Just finished reading the last page on NYE 2010!)

What it is about: A North Korean male defector who survived a concentration camp (gulag) for a decade before settling in Seoul. It also tells of the horrors of gulags, how he escaped to South Korea via China and finally the difficulties of adjusting to the capitalist South Korean lifestyle.

2. "Long Road Home" by Kim Yong & Kim Suk-young (Completed reading!)

What it is about: Another North Korean male defector who survived 2 concentration camps before escaping to South Korea. It also tells of small-scale capitalism seeping in North Korea, which is very ironic, considering its iron-fist communist rule. Worth mentioning from the book is that any North Korean citizen with a clean background can easily transform into a lowly political prisoner overnight by just "automatic association of guilt", a term for associating the immediate kins/relatives of a sinner with his/her sin.

3. "The Tears of My Soul" by Kim Hyun-hee (Just loaned it from National Library at an admin fee of $1.55 because it was a very old book, published in 1987, hence not found at any library branches! But my instinct tells me it is a must-read!)

What it is about: A biography of a former spy agent who was trained to hijack the Korean Airlines 858 in 1987, before being handed to the authorities for interrogation & execution to appease public anger. But as she was about to be executed to death, a particular South Korean president gave her a full pardon, saying she herself was also a victim of extensive brainwashing by the Kim Jong-il regime. After several months of deprogramming her mind, she realised that she was in the wrong and thereafter dedicated her life to atoning her sins by writing this book and helping the bereaved families.

As you may notice, I'm quite intrigued by the events in North Korea.. So yeah, don't blame me for it!

 

[AnimeNewbie]

Reading Art of War for Dating

 

[dankoo]

Warlord - Ted Bell...Alex Hawke series

 

[anumericalevil]

finished harry potter #6 yesterday, started on #7, almost finishing #7 today...


it really is SO much more than just a 'children's book', if you ask me. the philosophically mature implications and allusions to real-world scenarios is not something a child can comprehend, and that is where the real gem lies for the whole series.

did i also mention Rowling has such bloody brilliant humour?!

 

[macarons]

my sister's keeper

 

[alfcrazyhorse]

Now on Iris Johansen's "8 Days To live". I find her books very readable.