Title : Johnny Angel
Arthur: Danielle Steel
I read this book just this morning (for the third time, I think). I bought it last year- or was it the year before?
I've always relied on reviews (either from the printed or electronic media, but mostly friends who have the same interest in books) before deciding to buy any books and since I was a Popular Card member, I almost always read all the reviews they have on new books.
This book caught my attention because
1. Though I don't have any preferred authors, I know that Ms Steele's books have always been on the best sellers list
2. The book itself is not a thick book, and it was printed in a large font so I knew I could finish this book in two hours (I wanted to buy a quick book at that time since I was waiting for a very late friend)
3. Though as a Muslim, I don't believe a spirit could come back for unfinished business, I like to see the prespective of people who believe in it (refer to Remember Me I, II and III by Christopher Pike, my favourite books when I was in secondary school, I had to skip recess for a few weeks just to buy these books)
It was about Johnny, an all around nice boy, valedictorian of his class and best athelete of his school. On the verge of his graduation, he encountered a fatal accident on his prom night leaving his family devastated and girlfriend, Becky shattered. His family wasn't really the perfect family though they were happy (father alchoholic, mother a worrier, sister Charlie who's been trying to get her father's attention since forever and brother Bobby who's never spoken a word after an accident with his father)
His death caused a lot of sadness but one day, miraculously, he came back to 'tie up loose ends' (as his describes to his mother). Sadly, only his mother and Bobby (though we won't know till the middle ofhe story) could see and talk to him.
Not sure about his mission, he spends his days cheering up his mother, helping his brother to talk, watching over his sister in school, setting up Becky's mom with a nice guy, helping his father and finding a new partner for Becky (which might be the most painful)
Towards the end of the book, he manages to complete most of his tasks and everyone starts to be happier. His father no longer drinks and now spends more attention to Charlie after being coaxed to go to one of her games and realizing that she's just as good an athelete as Johnny was. One touching moment was when Bobby wished his father Merry Christmas. His father had been so consumed with guilt that he lost hope of ever reaching out to Bobby, but when Bobby finally spoke, it was a great turn of his life.
But somehow, this book fails to express how Johnny felt when Becky started falling in love with the guy Johnny chose for her himself. True, it did mention about how hurtful it was to him but readers won't be able to picture how he felt. Though, we might sympathize with him, I mean imagine pairing up someone you love with someone else.. :'(
I'll give a 3 and a half rating for this book. I still think its too short and should be longer so we can really feel what the characters are going through. Nice book though, nearly perfect if you're in the mood for a sweet touching story.
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Friday, April 22, 2005
The Curse of the Single's Table con't
I just finished reading the book.
Overall, I don't think I'll change my ratings for this book though the end DID give you a shove in the a** when you realize that you've seen what her problem is all along, but like her, you refused to aknowledge it, preferring her mindset (that is shamefully like most of the population of the world, anyway!)
But for relaxation, I could recommend you this book if you want a good I'm-just-as-dumb kind'a book. For certain parts in this book, you give a really instant good prep talk to yourself reminding yourself to NOT do what she's done.. but I assure you, you'd only be sober for about 5 minutes. I mean, who hasn't done anything stupid for the sake of love? Most normal people could really relate to this book, though you might think, Suzanne is really taking the 'extremes' to the extreme. It'll make you fell that you handle your love problems better but at least, she'll make you feel good about yourself ;-)
I won't recommand you to keep this book in your collection, but hey, it might come in handy one day so, it might not be a bad idea after all to go get yourself a copy. Enough said.
Overall, I don't think I'll change my ratings for this book though the end DID give you a shove in the a** when you realize that you've seen what her problem is all along, but like her, you refused to aknowledge it, preferring her mindset (that is shamefully like most of the population of the world, anyway!)
But for relaxation, I could recommend you this book if you want a good I'm-just-as-dumb kind'a book. For certain parts in this book, you give a really instant good prep talk to yourself reminding yourself to NOT do what she's done.. but I assure you, you'd only be sober for about 5 minutes. I mean, who hasn't done anything stupid for the sake of love? Most normal people could really relate to this book, though you might think, Suzanne is really taking the 'extremes' to the extreme. It'll make you fell that you handle your love problems better but at least, she'll make you feel good about yourself ;-)
I won't recommand you to keep this book in your collection, but hey, it might come in handy one day so, it might not be a bad idea after all to go get yourself a copy. Enough said.
The Curse of The Single's Table
Title : The Curse of The Singles Table
-A True Story of 1001 Nights Without Sex
Author : Suzanne Schlosberg
Please excuse the title. The first part is ok, but the second part makes me cringe. I mean, imagine reading this book in a roomful of people with those words blaring from the cover. I wonder what people would think *shudders
I first came across this book from the mix.fm website. Being a freebies buff, I often enter the quizzes in this website. Usually the prizes are cds or movie tickets but this time, it was books. And having books as your passion, plus with the chance of getting them free made me really want to enter the quiz so I dilligently read the review in the website.
My first impression was, this book may be a pathetic reason to feel ok of being single. C'mon, a single glance at the title could really imprint this opinion in your head BUT luckily, I'm trying my best to practice the sense of 'don't judge a book by its cover' or in this case, don't judge it by its title. Its a good thing that my love for books are so huge that I don't care what kind of books I get my hands on.
Anyway, I thought entering the quiz was just that. I didn't really expect to win and still don't hope so anyway. But, I happened to come across this book a few days ago. A friend of my housemates has come to stay with us for a while and while chatting with her, I noticed this book on our coffee table.
When I told kak Yatt that I'd read reviews about the book, she laughed and told me to read it. Still considering myself a school girl, I think, she told me to be open minded a READ the book (Ooowwhh, c'mon, my housemates are older than me so I always feel that I'm not matured enough).
So, with the book in my hand, I started to look at it. Let me give you a quote from the back cover of the book
'Warning: Do not read this book in a quiet waiting room! I did, and embarrassed myself trying to mask my giggles. Suzanne Schlosberg's sparkling debut deserves an A+ and a hearty LOL'
Okay! THAT statemant caught my eye and within minutes, I was engrossed in this book. It seems that Miss Suzanne here is writing her very own true story (Hmm.. makes me wonder if I could write one about mine). Now I knew what a singles table meant and thankfully in Malaysia, we don't have such things at weddings.
This book is a true-to-the-heart kind of book where I laughed at things that are so true but mostly people are embarassed to say it out loud. Though I didn't find it as hilarious as I thought it would be (Hey! Blame it on the reviews), there were still moments were giggles escaped my mouth, causing my colleagues (Yes! I read it during office hours) to cast worried glances to me. This lady really gives you detailed descriptions of what she did to find the love of her life and to overcome her broken heart. Not to mention how she avoided the usual relatives questions that pop out everytime there are weddings or engagements. This is really something most people could relate to.
What I really like about it was that she didn't just want to find a bed partner like most of us might assume. She was really searching for her soul mate. The one she wanted to share her life with, so you really pity her when nothing works out. You would also sympathize her when she talks about her younger sister's engagement and how she had to endure all those questions from her grandparents but you'd laugh when she tells you how her grandparents helped her buy her condo coz they were afraid they won't be alive long enough to be able to spend for her wedding (It seemed like her grandparent have set aside a certain amount of money for their grandchildrens wedding, and its the same amount for each one of them).
All in all, until page 164 (I still have about 100++ pages left.. ooo, c'mon, I'm bored and I want to write about something tonight), I'll give it a 2 and a half rating. Maybe a bit more for making me realize that deep inside, all of us are just as insecure as the next person.
I don't know. Maybe when I finish this book, I'll have a different view, so lets just wait and see. Till then, cheerio!
-A True Story of 1001 Nights Without Sex
Author : Suzanne Schlosberg
Please excuse the title. The first part is ok, but the second part makes me cringe. I mean, imagine reading this book in a roomful of people with those words blaring from the cover. I wonder what people would think *shudders
I first came across this book from the mix.fm website. Being a freebies buff, I often enter the quizzes in this website. Usually the prizes are cds or movie tickets but this time, it was books. And having books as your passion, plus with the chance of getting them free made me really want to enter the quiz so I dilligently read the review in the website.
My first impression was, this book may be a pathetic reason to feel ok of being single. C'mon, a single glance at the title could really imprint this opinion in your head BUT luckily, I'm trying my best to practice the sense of 'don't judge a book by its cover' or in this case, don't judge it by its title. Its a good thing that my love for books are so huge that I don't care what kind of books I get my hands on.
Anyway, I thought entering the quiz was just that. I didn't really expect to win and still don't hope so anyway. But, I happened to come across this book a few days ago. A friend of my housemates has come to stay with us for a while and while chatting with her, I noticed this book on our coffee table.
When I told kak Yatt that I'd read reviews about the book, she laughed and told me to read it. Still considering myself a school girl, I think, she told me to be open minded a READ the book (Ooowwhh, c'mon, my housemates are older than me so I always feel that I'm not matured enough).
So, with the book in my hand, I started to look at it. Let me give you a quote from the back cover of the book
'Warning: Do not read this book in a quiet waiting room! I did, and embarrassed myself trying to mask my giggles. Suzanne Schlosberg's sparkling debut deserves an A+ and a hearty LOL'
Okay! THAT statemant caught my eye and within minutes, I was engrossed in this book. It seems that Miss Suzanne here is writing her very own true story (Hmm.. makes me wonder if I could write one about mine). Now I knew what a singles table meant and thankfully in Malaysia, we don't have such things at weddings.
This book is a true-to-the-heart kind of book where I laughed at things that are so true but mostly people are embarassed to say it out loud. Though I didn't find it as hilarious as I thought it would be (Hey! Blame it on the reviews), there were still moments were giggles escaped my mouth, causing my colleagues (Yes! I read it during office hours) to cast worried glances to me. This lady really gives you detailed descriptions of what she did to find the love of her life and to overcome her broken heart. Not to mention how she avoided the usual relatives questions that pop out everytime there are weddings or engagements. This is really something most people could relate to.
What I really like about it was that she didn't just want to find a bed partner like most of us might assume. She was really searching for her soul mate. The one she wanted to share her life with, so you really pity her when nothing works out. You would also sympathize her when she talks about her younger sister's engagement and how she had to endure all those questions from her grandparents but you'd laugh when she tells you how her grandparents helped her buy her condo coz they were afraid they won't be alive long enough to be able to spend for her wedding (It seemed like her grandparent have set aside a certain amount of money for their grandchildrens wedding, and its the same amount for each one of them).
All in all, until page 164 (I still have about 100++ pages left.. ooo, c'mon, I'm bored and I want to write about something tonight), I'll give it a 2 and a half rating. Maybe a bit more for making me realize that deep inside, all of us are just as insecure as the next person.
I don't know. Maybe when I finish this book, I'll have a different view, so lets just wait and see. Till then, cheerio!
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