review

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.

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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perks of being a wallflower

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The Perks of Being a WallflowerThe Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

picked up this book because of the media mentions of it as a movie. i guess i would probably enjoy watching the movie more than reading it. it was a bit of a drag for me to continue reading the book. maybe because in my mind i was trying to compare it with catcher in the rye. that classic still tops among my list.
the only part of the book which i enjoyed was highlighting the books the protagonist received or recommended by his teacher character. there are books i have read and there are titles which i am compelled to find out and read. i cant wait for that reading adventure. that i got to thank the perks of being a wallflower for its booklist.

most of the time, i want to feel him as a wallflower, as the anti protagonist, as the person in the back of the classroom, as the blacksheep but i couldnt because the character is so smart and i feel like he is more in the ‘in’ group than i expected.


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alif the unseen

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Alif the UnseenAlif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Finally completed the book! I liked the book when its telling about the djinns. But i got bored sometimes when they go all programming. I really wished there is more ‘fantasy’ than tech. Overall i do think it is brilliant to try and concile two extreme realities the unseen djinn and the unseen computer programming using the alf yeom as the link. I really wish there is more to the alf yeom and alf layl revealed along the way. I guess i was really expecting an aladdin kind of story mashed up with technology.
In any case, nice to have a mainstream muslim author in the scene. Keep writing More stories Willow!

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a mountain of crumbs

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A Mountain of Crumbs: A MemoirA Mountain of Crumbs: A Memoir by Elena Gorokhova
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Russia has always been a mystery to me. And when i saw A Mountain of Crumbs, i did not hesitate to buy it. Loving it so far because it reminds me of how much i love Diary of Anne Frank when i was a teen. I like how it was written in innocence, staying as down to earth as a normal child can be. Currently i am reading on the protagonist in her young adulthood, working and studying. I like that it doesnt talk so much about the politics but a middle class family living their days, struggles of having daily stipend food, working hard to lead a decent life. And author shared significant memories from her life like the death of her father, becoming a guide, her sister’s play.
Overall enjoying the book.

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the alchemist vs the aleph

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i had loved the alchemist. full stop. no doubt about it. it is the one fiction book which i read over and over.

i enjoyed the journey that the protagonist went through, truly enjoyed them. i loved the wisdom behind every trip he made. i loved the spiritual and mystic elements of it.it made me bring myself up again should i read it in times of difficulty.

and after so long not reading paulo’s books (after several other books i had read) came the aleph. i bought the book as soon as it came out in the bookstores. just the title itself is intriguing. so when i bought it, i thought the alchemist all over again?!

but somehow after reading the first two chapters, i was kind of disappointed with it. it was nothing like the alchemist.

it was about the author’s experience, a journey he took. i wanted to enjoy this trip he took but i just find it draggy and dry. i wanted to know who is the girl, his protagonist which is supposed to be connected to him in the past. but right until the end, i still dont know who the girl is, i mean not as much as i wanted apart from being a violinist virtuoso and the past being accused as a witch…i wanted to know more about this travelling in time aspect he mentioned many times in the book, but it just felt boring.  it wasnt exciting at all and the fact the the journey back in time was him being some sort of priest.  it’s just…urgh..

it was not a story i would have loved. i just read through it wanting to know what’s next but my thirst unsatisfied. all i remembered from the book was how dreary, tiring and uncomfortable the journey was for everyone. and i had to wait right till the end for what i think is the peak of the story. it took me very long for me to finish reading this book, a good pause of a few weeks after reading past the third chapter because i felt i wasnt ready for the aleph.

and the whole idea of this aleph. the book isnt about the aleph. he should give a different title for this book.

heck, i had even enjoyed the witch of portobello. even his experience in the zahir. i loved every page of the zahir!

maybe i should read the aleph again…next year and maybe i will understand better what it is all about. but for the first time ever, i am disappointed reading a paulo coelho book.