book

my take

/ livingseri / Leave a comment

my take between reading using my kindle and my ipad mini.

i had my ipad mini prior to the kindle and i got used to reading using it. i inter used between the iBooks and Kobo e reader. i also used my ipad reading digital magazines and i absolutely loved it.
after so long using the ipad, the mini is welcomed because it is smaller and lighter.

i was also able to adjust the brightness so usually when for reading, i reduce the brightness to a more comfortable setting for when im reading, either in bed or on the commute. and it is easier to enlarge and reduce the size of the page with two fingers, on both the iBook and Kobo.

and then last year, i finally succumbed to the kindle pressure and bought a paperwhite at a discounted price. i was truly excited. however, it took me awhile before i actually picked it up to use for reading. for one thing, despite the easiness of just a ‘click’ to purchasing an ebook from the amazon website, i realised not all books are available from where im living. especially new titles. and no free ebooks, as compared to iBooks and Kobo. i ended up buying YA titles, which are somehow made available to my postcode.

but i have to say i fell in love using it because of its lightness, as light as an iphone 5, and a little bit lighter than iPad mini. and its size is barely the size of my palm and holding it during commute do feels more comfortable. i dont feel tired easily reading from it. and the paperwhite comes with the technology that it is eye- friendly. battery life is also amazing. it can pretty much last a whole week.

i am now a satisfied reader, and user of both the ipad mini as an ebook reader and the kindle. i love both. as of now i take to comparing the price of an ebook between amazon and kobo before purchasing a title and whichever i could save a little, that is where i buy the ebook. but so far, my kindle is stocked up a few YA titles, while i have more titles in my ipad-kobo due to my longer relationship with it. and of course more digital magazines there as well. my whole library everywhere i go. sometimes when i feel a it greedy, i bring both to wherever it is im going. and a book as well, sometimes.

despite this, i am still a slow reader when it comes to ebooks. i honestly read slower. i dont know why. a physical book still grips my attention better. and i am able to read for hours without feeling tired at all.

oh well, a reader’s got to read. book or ebook.

girl in the mirror

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Girl in the MirrorGirl in the Mirror by Cecelia Ahern
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A work of cecelia ahern’s which i have been missing. The fantasy and mystery in a seemingly normal people. The short stories are disturbing and sad at the same time. I could imgine how the stories could unfold, if ahern is ever going to make them into a full novel, i would read them!

i agree girl in the mirror is disturbing, very disturbing. and i liked it more than the memory maker. but i find myself, i wish i had knew more about the younger J. Cecelia, please make them full fledged novel :))

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the weird sisters

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The Weird SistersThe Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

not a literary wow but it was nice to read something light and simple. a family good feel kind of story. i like the characters sisters and the narration makes me feel like i am really reading out loud their story.

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i am drawn to this book simply by its title. i have always liked stories about sisters, even better if its about twins.(of course you would know my head over heels over the Charmed sisters madness) so when i bought this book, no expectations although review wasn’t so well. i am glad i read it, and finish it within three days at that! as per my review, it was not literary wow and it doesnt really have a storyline of mystery or something, it was simply a feel good-happy ending kind of family story. simple and light reading.

but i found i rather liked the characters Rose, Biance and Cordelia. and i could no help sometimes understanding Rose more, being the eldest sister. i rather connected with her character. being the eldest, being there, leading the way, taking care of things and there to hold your back should you fall.

i hope i have been that sister for my sisters. i love them so and we have gotten so close. but marriage kind of bring me a part. i want to be there for them. i want to be their listening ear. i want to be the one they tell secrets too. i miss sleeping with them. i miss talking with them before sleeping. i miss all the annoying things they did like forever making a mess of the room and i ended up cleaning everything again and again.

sisters. love them. cant live without them. there will always be differences among us, we will sometimes hate each other, but at the end of it all. as sisters, we just want the best for each other. and yes, their opinion matters. a lot. and at this age, my sisters are the best friends. and we are not weird. we are charmed 😛

I love you Siti. I love you Nuri.

1Q84

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1Q84 (1Q84, #3)1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Overall, 1Q84 is a great read. all emotions in three volumes. i truly loved book 1 and 2 but not so much book 3.
although after the excitement in book 1 and 2, i really do feel book 3 is becoming less necessary. it could ended well in book 2. i dont like the ushikawa character, i thought he doesnt fit in well with the storyline, the rhythm of the story, like why suddenly he become a ‘semi protagonist’ after aomame and tengo?? i dont want to hear his point of the story. the only flaw is book 3. really wished it could have been a better continuation to it and make more sense of 1Q84, the year.

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1Q84 – pre review

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i am on book 3 of 1Q84 and i cannot wait to write something about it. i know i usually do this after completing the book. but the urge to express this means i do it now.

reading book 3 feels so different after reading book 1 and 2. it’s like reading a different book altogether!
its like, after a peak on the graph, it suddenly goes down. for one thing, i dont like this ushikawa character. no doubt, i realised, after reading other reviews that this ushikawa was a character in one of haruki’s novel and making an appearance in 1Q84, not just an appearance, he is quite a role in the third book. readers who have read the novel he appeared in prior to this might be able to relate to his character. but i dont. he appeared in book 2 but i didnt think he could then play a ‘major’ role in book 3! it’s like out of nowhere, suddenly, he is part of the main character. this is supposed to be about aomame and tengo and their narrations, so why does ushikawa suddenly takes centre stage? if he is to be an important character, i thought he would have been put in since book 1 so i could get acquainted with him. not now, when i was in love with aomame and tengo and the idea that they will meet in book 3. i just want aomame and tengo. no one else. and even fuka eri, komatsu, dowager, tamaru, professor ebisuno. them i like.

its a drag to read at this point of time because i think there is a whole lot of repetitions at every chapter. there’s no excitement, no adventure of what is going to happen next. nothing mysterious as it had been in book 1 and book 2. i am close to disappointment, but i am keeping that on hold because about 1/5 of the book. i know it is too early to judge. i seriously hope it will get better by the time i reach chapter 6.

and please. stop with this ushikawa person.

1Q84

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1Q84 (1Q84, #1)1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It’s been a long while since i read Haruki Murakami and reading this, really reminds me of why i love reading Haruki in the first place, the first book being Kafka.

i love the mystery, sakigake, little people and will there be a possibility of Aomame and Tengo meeting again. i wish they will! still in book 1, so i cant wait to read the next and find out what is going to happen!

and i cannot stop thinking that it can be a great movie/drama (in japanese that is, not hollywood pls):))

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post review: why Quiet affected me

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why Quiet affected me… a lot…

i realized there is nothing wrong with me. why would i say that? because i used to question myself. why can’t i be more friendly? why wasn’t i confident enough to just strike up a conversation? why am i too quiet? why do i retreat to my own shell all the time?

i came across the word introvert when i was much younger and loved using it to describe myself without really understanding what it implies to. i understand it now. i am an introvert. with full knowledge of who i am.

i have known there are people like me but i never get to connect with them and reading Quiet makes me feel like i am connected to all the 1 to every 2 of human beings out there who are introverts. well, except my husband, who is the only other person outside of my own family who is your very male version of an introvert. no wonder i connected to him, despite the age gap and felt that he accepted me wholly. during the get to know each other days, i never felt pressured to be someone i am not. i never felt pressured to always do the talking. we were comfortable with each other’s silences.

i have many things to reflect on the things i found out while reading Quiet.
i thought i was not confident enough when really it is just being me. i was too quiet and not a conversational kind of person, i am not weird in that sense, its just me, because i have always thought of myself as a very boring person. i have been underestimating and degrading myself for being too quiet, too shy, too boring, when if i could just embrace this self as it is, i would have soared more. and if i really embrace this me, i think i can be confident enough to face anything.

gosh, i really thought i was not good enough, i bought books on how to have small talk, for God’s sake! books on being confident, how to make friends because really, i do not know how to be an outgoing person, not friendly enough i guess, because i thought there is something wrong with me. it is not.

as the book mentioned, the world is made for the extroverts. but surprisingly, introverts have made equal success in their own special way. but many introverts had to be pseudo-extroverts because no one tells us otherwise. throughout reading Quiet, many things strike close to heart and i find myself diving into memories of childhood and school, teenage years and even uni years. well, my past was not so bad. it became better with the realization that my actions are true testaments of being an introvert. not because there is something wrong with me.

i am glad i picked up that book and head on read it. already my perspectives on life is more positive, i am more myself without feeling awkward and there is some power in being me. i am close to knowing myself better and better.

the time keeper

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The Time KeeperThe Time Keeper by Mitch Albom
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

this is my second time reading Mitch Albom after a long ‘hiatus’. i think the title attracted me to read him again.
i have many problems with this Time keeper. i cant say i don’t enjoy reading it. but its just that i think too much throughout reading it.

Like I want to know more about Dor. i cant picture him in my mind especially after he ‘descended’ back on Earth after thousands of years ‘hidden’ in a cave. and i still don’t understand why. i don’t see the significance of a teenage girl’s ‘measuring time’ just because of a guy. i can understand an old man’s need for time because he is dying. and the ending almost disappointing except i keep it positive with the knowledge that Dor reunited with his wife (i presume).

but the book did left me to ponder on some thoughts. on time yes.

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and the mountains echoed

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And the Mountains EchoedAnd the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Love this book as much as his earlier books, maybe even more.
i love the way the characters are weaved in through the stories making it as though it is a book of short stories but isnt. another one of them books which really touched me with the emotions it portrayed, of loss, love, charity, that family bondedness which is lost but painstakingly tried to be reconnected. except for one character which i couldnt quite fit in, the young boy whose father is described as a philanthropist, other than that the house he was living it seemed to be built on the land belonged to one of the sub protagonist character Iqbal, which i had thought i would be finding out more about him and his perspectives.

Definitely satisfied with the ending of how eventually pari was reunited to her brother abdullah. i knew from the start that was the whole point of the story and im glad the author did not disappoint. and how real the reunion is, at old age with abdullah having alzheimer. not those running towards each other teary full of hugs kind of reunion. perfect in the imperfections of his characters.

And the book is full of nice surprises, to me.

thumbs up many times. loved this book!

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