The one on the Snobish Bookworm...

I haven't done any book review in AGES... 

I hate to admit it but I don't have much time to read and finish a book lately. Planning to break the horrible cycle, so yesterday I forced myself and managed to finish a book in a day :) More on this later on..

I'm a bit of a book snob. You can't be a student of Mrs Mag Literature class and not be a book snob :p At the young age of 16, I was already exposed to the wonderful world of character and plot analysis. You don't just READ a book, you analyze the motivation of the protagonist and antagonist, the maksud tersirat, tersurat of each line, character development, the events which contributed to the climax of the story and of course the conclusion and the moral for each story. You just have to look at my worn copy of Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" and Hemingway's "Old Man and the Sea" and judge yourself.

Having said that, despite my English being pretty crap and my "gone" grammar, I still can't pick up a book and have what most people describe as "easy reading". I'll nit pick like crazy... it drives my friends nuts because they'll be all excited over a book and I'll be like "the plot is stupid, the heroine has no back-bone and the ending is a disappointment". The reply I usually get is "Far we're not in class, STFU :p"

Anyway I've been picking books to read based on the current "now showing" in the cinema list :p However, instead of watching the movie first, I choose to read the book first and usually end up being hugely disappointed in the movie or tv series. It is just so hard to despict and potray the emotions and details that you can find in a book that directors usually failed to capture on screen. I guess in the end their motivation is MONEY so whatever brings in the ratings would be highlighted. Oh well you can't make everybody happy.

List of book currently on my side table which I've read, in the midst of reading or will start reading soon :) 

Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy

 

I'm sorry but this whole series is crap. The plot is repetitive throughout the whole 3 books. I don't know about you but I'm so over the whole beautiful supposedly "intelligent" young woman swooning over a hot young guy she met ONCE just because of his "mysterious smile and smouldering eyes" (Twilight and Vampire Diaries, rip-off much?). The book is describe on Wikipedia as the "mummies p.orn" hence the popularity but truth be told the se.x scene got pretty much boring after Chapter 8 Book 1. I've read Mills and Boons books with much interesting depiction of love making (hahaha) Even after the discount, it was the worse RM69.90 I've ever spent on books. Don't even get me started on the ending which is very anti climatic (pun intended) *Sorry Christian Grey fans :p* 

Silver Linings

 

I haven't watch the movie despite it winning Oscars and all, but let me tell you I am so running to the nearest DVD shop to watch this, after picking up and completing this book yesterday :) I absolutely love the story. It is a love story with a twist and instead of having the perfect "shinny" couple, you get a bunch of loonified, crazy and screwed up protagonists :) I love all the references it made to the classics (books) and having Bradley Cooper on the cover is always a plus...

The Hobbit

Ok this is a re-read and re-buy :p I lost my copy of The Hobbit, and when the movie came out, I got a bit sentimental and went out to replace my old copy. Tolkien never disappoints and I'm bias because I love his work. Fans of middle earth would agree with me. If you want to start your Middle Earth adventure I suggest you start with this book, moving on to the LOTR trilogy, The Silmarillon and Children of Hurin.

Les Miserables

I got myself this complete and unabridged copy of the book months ago and I am still on the first chapter :p Admittedly, I got lazy and I shall complete this book once I finish reading this.......

The Host

This book seems easy reading enough, and I picked it up because it is written by Stephenie Meyer the writer of Twilight. Read some good review on this, so I shall start reading this tonight and hopefully finish this by this week? Here's to hoping and wish me luck :)

Mari membaca everyone....

P/S: Don't take my review seriously. Everyone has different taste and since you shall not judge a book by its cover, pick any one and you may end up loving it... even if you hate it you're bound to learn something.... Peace yo!!!

Teaching my boy to be kiasu very early on :)

Ryan 2 Months 3 weeks Developments

Sometimes when Ryan is in one of his good mood, and when I see him kicking and trying to turn (mengiring) I’ll help him and roll him around the bed. Based on my reading it will help him turn faster (konon-lah) but Ryan seems to like it… dia rasa lawak pastu buat muka pening ;p but now cheeky cheeks has a new trick, he’ll refused to turn on his own. He’ll kick real high and sengih-sengih in my direction mintak I push him.

He loves to stand on his feet and try to “walk”. According to the older generation, this practice is not good as his bone is not strong enough but he’ll be so pissed off if he’s stuck in his stroller or cot for a long time stationary. He loves his “standing” and “sitting” position. I guess he loves getting a wider view of things. Baby don’t try to be a biggie boy so fast ok, you’re growing so fast I can’t catch up: p

Tummy Tummy Biggie Tummy

Ryan hates his tummy time and we all know how important it is in order to ensure easier crawling later on. He doesn’t mind being put on his tummy during naps, but he gets easily frustrated while playing on his tummy. So I’m thinking of getting him the Lamaze Spin & Explore Garden Gym. Maybe if it’s more fun and less strenuous on his part he’ll enjoy tummy time more… He already has 2 play mats courtesy of Suja and Kel-wa so don’t know if we should get him a third one. His grandma sibuk suruh beli, since there’s none at home in Klang, since I put one in Shah Alam and the other kat Jalan Kebun. Susah betul banyak rumah ni…

Of Reading and Play Acting…

Ryan loves it when we read to him. He think my weird accents and melodramatic over acting funny. His favorite story is Emperor’s New Clothes (Mak long’s nick name to him as he’s always in a new clothes) and 3 Little Pigs (he finds the whole ‘I huff and I puff” line hilarious). He also loves to listen to his grandma mengaji, he can sit next to her while she finishes of one juzuk, smiling and rarely crying. Good boy… These are some of the books we have bought for him so far, I’m trying to encourage his love for reading very early on.

This is a very good book if you're trying to expose you're baby to Kisah Nabi in English, a bit pricier than normal BM Version though.

I love the Usborne Series. You can get it in MPH

Mari Belajar Membaca :)
Hehehe we’re also teaching him to read (yes poyo, I know) When we read to babies, it seems that though they recognize the sound of the words, the word itself is not familiar to them as we encourage them to listen but not to “look –read” the words.

I bought Ryan the flashcards from the “How to teach your baby to read series” It’s a fun activity between Ryan, Lan and I. It’s easy to do to. Just read the cards, pointing from left to right on the words and say “This is the word CAT”. After that you just give a description of the word. For example “My cat is yellow”. If the method works we're going to teach him the IQRA'

I don’t know if these above methods work, but at the moment I’m working on a clean slate. So I have nothing to lose since the books can be used till he’s 4 years old. Insyallah some lesson might stick on. Anyway since Lan and I don’t get to spend a lot of time with Ryan during weekdays, spending at least one hour per night doing the above activities is the best way for all of us to bond.

Our QUALITY TIME together. I look forward to the end of every day where I can spend the night with the 2 men in my life… heheheh

BABY: FAQ

Going for baby's check-up tomorrow. So I'm praying that everything would be ok (insyallah) Anyway got a bunch of baby/pregnancy enquiry so I decided to handle it all in one post :)

1. The one on the baby's gender.
There is a 70% chance that we might find out the baby's gender by tomorrow. I don't mind a boy/girl as long as the baby is healthy I'm happy. Someone was asking whether we're going to announce the baby's gender (errr???) It all depends on the scan, I don't want to go on and on about "it's a boy, it's a boy" sekali turn out girl. Alah some surprise would be fun kan?

2. Baby Checks
Someone was asking me about the differences between going for monthly check-up in normal clinics and a going to a private hospital to see an obstetrics & gynaecology. I'm not really sure but asking around there is not much difference.

The key is finding a doctor that you are comfortable with, just because you're going to a private hospital does not guarantee a great consultation session with the doctor (some doctors are by nature not that informative)

Our choice in going to SJMC is prompted by several factors:
1. It's convenient to our place, 15 minutes drive and minimal traffic
2. They have more selection of female doctors as compared to DEMC
3. SJMC is one of SC's panel hospital, and since I'm planning to give birth in SJMC (insyallah), I rather have one doctor to handle my file from the start to the end of pregnancy
4. My gynea Dr Delaila is very thorough in her check-up, and readily answer my questions (and boy do I have weird questions ;p)

The downside:
1. Price tag: since SC is only covering for the birth process, Lan and I decided to shell out the $$$ for the monthly check-up ourself.So if you decide to go to private hospital such as SJMC, Sunway and Damansara Specialist, set aside about at least RM 200-300 for normal consultation (inclusive of vitamins and prescription so quite reasonable) and up to RM600 for test (blood/urine etc)
2. Crowd : some of the more "popular" doctors have a lot of patients so be prepared to wait for 1-2 hours for consultation

Other than that, it is really up to you. Just remember price tag does not necessarily determine quality

3. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet...
Baby names :) Lan and I is on the hunt for the perfect baby names. Main criteria for consideration:
1. Must have and Arabic/Islamic meaning to it.
2. Simple, Not too long and fuss free ( My dad pesan jangan bagi nama pelik & terlampau panjang , nanti nak tahlil susah *sampai ke situ pulak but I guess it's true*)

Additional Criteria from our parents :-
- If boboy letak Muhammad (as in the full spelling) - I totally agree for this even b4 my MIL suggested
- If girl letak Nur (yang ni saya malas sikit ;p)

Well four more months to go, haven't shortlisted anything yet. No hurry :p

4. Literature for mum-to-be Do check out this book " What to expect when you are expecting". I consider it to be one of the best, pack with info and its hilarious. It deal with weekly pregnancy stages, diet suggestion and even a tounge-in-cheek answers to busybodies and annoying "belly toucher".

5. Mummy pampering
I've just booked another session for pregnancy massage in Khareyana Spa, PJ. The massage is specialize for pregnant women and the masseuse has at least 6-8 years experience. It is nothing like normal massage but it does help alleviate body aches. The price is slightly higher than normal massages @ Rm16o a pop for 1 1/2 hours but me love it ( I got the package deal :p)

Anyway, do check it out (even if you are not preggers). The place is nice :) or you can also try Deri Sri Spa in Sri Hartamas (spa package dia best, not recommendable for pregnant ladies though coz you are not supposed to go for the steam (panas) and bath (takut jatuh ;p))

Well, that is all for now. Till next time. Take care people :)

Be Still My Heart...

Saya cintakan Edward Cullen...

I can't wait to get my hands on the books. I've watched the movie. Itz so-so but the lead actor, is so handsome. I love brooding moody boys... hehehe

I dragged Lan to several MPH and Popular bookstore last week, but the book is sold out (saya sakit hati) Actually some of the books is there, but since I want the book set (consisting of all four books) I have to wait. I'm so getting my hands on it along with JK Rowling " The Tale of Beedle and Bard"

Anyway let's review the books I've read on the month of November :

Children of Hurin : Tolkien
Hmmm... not exactly my fave book of all the Tolkien Middle Earth series (the book was edited by Christopher Tolkien (his son)) the storyline is too depressing and moody, with the psychosis, bipolarness, incest (got your attention yet?) Itz just way too serious for me. The suckiest part is everyone dies in the end (oopps spoiler) The book just can't compete with the brilliance of Lord of the Ring but it's not a bad read...

The Chronicles of Narnia : C.S Lewis
I managed to get the whole set (7 books) for RM15. Despite all the hype after the release of the movie, I just can't get myself psyched up over the book. Technically, I don't find the book to be the "easy reading" type despite being a children book. It's very heavy on "maksud2 tersirat". Maybe I just think too much, but the book is fine. I won't say it's brilliant as compared to the LOTR trilogy or Harper Lee "To Kill a Mockingbird" (fine I'm obsessed with the book, so what?) but it's OK!!

Thanks for the Memories : Cecilia Ahern
I find the story funny and sad at the same time. It's quite good. Easy reading but then again Cecilia Ahern books usually produce the "happy feeling juices" as long as you are not finding for a deep and meaningful literary Nobel Prize winning work :) this is just the book for you...

Something Wonderful: Judith McNaughtMy guilty pleasure... hehehhe... I usually am not into "romance" because its rubbish (i can't stand the way they usually potray women, no matter how independent, smart and beautiful they are, mesti ada satu mamat nie yang will make all "maids hates their virginity and nuns forget the vows"....whatever major lameness) but I like Judith McNaught books, I've read a few : "Kingdoms of Dreams" and "Perfect" (hahahha ni buku fave. Yen) This book is a fun read if you don't feel like thinking...

Chasing Harry Winston:Lauren WeisbergerOf all the 3 books. I only find "The Devil Wears Prada" good. I find this book and her second novel " Everyone Worth Knowing" predictable and boring. It lacks creativity and it seems to me that she keep on churning the same scenario and ideas over and over again in different situations... Was seriously skipping pages when I read this...

11 books in a month, not bad,huh? I'm so instilling this habit to my kids, something my soon to be hubby totally lack. It's ok, he can teach them all about sports :p Have a great day everyone..

Read a book, kill a gremlin!!!