2022 Year in Review and 2023 New Year's Resolution

Another year has come and gone.

I read and reviewed a total of 31 books this year. Not very impressive, but that's pretty much my average these days.

Year 2022 @ 31 (-14 YOY)
Year 2021 @ 45 (-5 YOY)
Year 2020 @ 50 (+4 YOY)
Year 2019 @ 46 (-16 YOY)
Year 2018 @ 62 (+10 YOY)
Year 2017 @ 52 (■ YOY)
Year 2016 @ 52 (-22 YOY)
Year 2015 @ 74 (-23 YOY)
Year 2014 @ 97

Review: Before Your Memory Fades (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #3) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

4 stars for Before Your Memory Fades (Before the Coffee Gets Cold book 3) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi.

This post is an added bonus. I definitely did not expect it. And I surely did not foresee it. Even as I started out reading this book after Christmas Day, I expect to finish reading after New Year's Day. So, I am really happy to end the year with the exact same series that kicked off my reading this year - Before the Coffee Gets Cold. It's a great wrap-up!

Even though I read book 1 Before the Coffee Gets Cold and book 2 Tales from the Cafe in the beginning of this year - twelve months ago - it is not difficult to get into the story again as the author helps to refresh on the story and characters by his storytelling.

Before your Memory Fades is very much similar to the earlier two books, in that it is also about a time-travelling cafe and a heartwarming story on four customers. The only difference is the setting. Instead of Cafe Funiculi Funicular in Tokyo, it is now Cafe Donna Donna in Hakodate, Hokkaido. Initially, I am confused when I read about this second cafe, but soon, I realise the author has it all brilliantly worked out to connect it back to book 1.

This Coffee Gets Cold series is about a strange urban legend attached to a particular seat in the cafe - it allows the person sitting in this seat to time travel, to the past or to the future. There are some strange rules to follow regarding who can pour the time-travelling coffee for the customer who decides to sit in this time-travelling chair.

One important rule while being back to the past is that, you cannot change the present, no matter how hard you try. So, one may ask "What use is the time-travelling if you cannot change the present?" But the thing is, some things change, even if the present reality does not. This book is a good reminder to us on how important the ordinary life that we take for granted is, and how much happiness can be experienced from having someone you care about by your side. Sometimes, things that are put off saying until tomorrow are never said.

Reading this book makes me miss Hokkaido. Not only that, it makes me regret giving Hakodate a miss when I visited Hokkaido back in 2018. If I had visited Hakodate then, being a tourist, I would most likely have paid a visit to this very steep street where Cafe Donna Donna was located and so would have an inkling of how the scenes in this book play out.

If you could go back in time, who would you want to meet?

Review: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

4 stars for A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

It didn't seems possible at first that I will be able to squeeze in one last reading and a book review before the year is out. I started reading A Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve and somehow managed to finish the book at the stroke of midnight; Christmas Day! For that, I feel blessed to have made it.

I am pretty sure most, if not all, of you have read or heard or even watched A Christmas Carol. It is after all, a well-known classic novel by Charles Dickens. I am embarrassed to say that this is my first time reading this timeless story though I have watched the show once. But well, as the saying goes "better late than never".

This book is a celebration of human kindness. It is so well-liked that the book has become an important part of a traditional English Christmas. I hope I can start my own tradition of reading this book during the Christmas season every year henceforth.

The story is about an old mean man, Ebenezer Scrooge, who has no place in his heart for others. One freezing cold Christmas Eve, the ghost of an old friend paid him a visit and told him he will be haunted by three spirits. The first is the Ghost of Christmas Past who showed Scrooge shadows of the things that have been. The second is the Ghost of Christmas Present. The third is the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come who showed Scrooge shadows of the things that have not happened, but will happen in the time before him. By visiting his past, present and future, something amazing happens within Scrooge.

This is a most apt book to read on a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. It teaches us to be happy, grateful and to be contented with time.

..And because the book I bought - from The Green Grocer bookstore while on a vacation in Melbourne, Australia - is a Puffin Classics, the adventure isn't over when I reach the final page. I love it that there are still more interesting things to discover about the author and the characters and their worlds as I continue to flip the pages - author file, who's who in A Christmas Carol, some things to think about, a Victorian Christmas and a Dickensian glossary.

Review: The Christmas Invitation by Trisha Ashley

5 stars for The Christmas Invitation by Trisha Ashley.

This is a lovely family Christmas story. It tells of Christmas being a magical time that starts with the Winter Solstice ceremony in late December, followed by community gatherings and family get-togethers.

The story centers around two main characters, Clara and Meg. It starts off with the reminiscing of the writing of a brief autobiographical note by professor-author Clara Mayhem Doome which then evolves into a first-person narrative by Meg, a 36-year-old portrait painter. Meg is down with pneumonia and been away from home for the last two months at the Farm convalescing. She receives a job offer from Clara to paint a portrait commission the moment she reaches home.

The story made an indelible impression on me. Not only is it written with a good dose of humor, but the descriptions are also cleverly put across to help readers in visualizing the scene such that the characters leap out of the pages, wholesome and vibrant. I love reading about the ancient tradition and roots, and the ceremony that takes place on the night of the Winter Solstice that involves participation of old local families and bonfire. It is not just a festive story about traditions, family Christmas and Christmas shopping - choosing a good Christmas tree, putting it up at home and decorating it with antique and vintage glass baubles - it is also a story about art and craft, of portrait painting, pots making, clay mixing, and firing kiln.

At the base of it all, The Christmas Invitation is a story about love lost and found. What I like most about this storytelling is that the author does not harp on the romance portion but spread good cheer on family relationships and traditions, and even throws in a family secret of epic proportion which feels like an added bonus.

It is not easy to find a Christmas-themed story and to enjoy reading it. I am glad to have this heartwarming and delightful story to keep me cozy during this Christmas season.

Crochet: Shawl: Sigrid Shawl (Yellow)

Action speaks louder than words. It goes to show how much I adore this Sigrid Shawl pattern that I crochet a shawl with this pattern again. My first Sigrid Shawl of pink gradient was completed in June 2021. Less than two years later, here I am, with a yellow gradient yarn cake doing pretty much everything all over again. The only exception is the tension; I ease up on the tension, and to my delight, I find it makes a whole lot of difference to how much better the shawl turns out to be.

Actually, I never expect myself to crochet with this pattern again because there are so many variations of shawl patterns available out there for me to try my hands on. But this is a really lovely pattern that is not just pleasing to the eyes but one that goes easy on the fingers and memory too as it employs mainly half double crochet and some double crochet. It took me close to eight weeks to complete this project, having started it on 1st November and completed it just today.

This Sigrid Shawl is a work of art. It is brilliantly created by My Crochetory to provide both familiarity and variety to keep the person working on it relaxed and entertained at the same time. If you are looking to crochet a shawl with a meditative stitch pattern but one that is not so repetitive as to be boring, this is the one for you.

Review: Dead Silence by S. A. Barnes

3 stars for Dead Silence by S. A. Barnes.

I have always been on the lookout for a good science fiction story. I cannot remember where and how I came across this book but it must have been raved about by someone or many someones, such that it captured my attention enough for me to add it to my reading list.

This book is all about space travel, space disaster and space mysteries. A team of five, led by 33-year old Claire Kovalik, detects a ghost signal on an old emergency channel while on an assignment to fix the last of the commweb beacons in sector K127. Well, what happens next is rather predictable as there will be no story to tell if this small commweb maintenance team does not check it out. As it is, bulk of the story is the grisly account of their findings of the Aurora, the famous luxury space cruiser that went missing twenty years ago with five hundred passengers and a hundred and fifty crew on its maiden voyage for a tour of the solar system.

I enjoy reading this first person story even though it is revealed right from the start that there is only one survivor - the narrator. The writing is good, the world building is fascinating and the plot flows fluidly. Above all, there is much mystery surrounding the protagonist and the adventure and unchartered space territory that she is leading her team into. The protagonist, Claire, is not just a survivor in this ill-fated expedition, she is also the only survivor in a previous incident that happened at the Ferris Outpost years ago. This alone shroud the protagonist in darkness and puzzlement as she suffers constantly from terrifying hallucinations with memories and visions all jumbled up.

This novel reminds me of the 1997 science fiction horror film, Event Horizon. Though it's been more than twenty years, I still remember watching this movie in the theatre and loving the storyline much. Event Horizon is about space adventure and exploration. The crew members all take turns to hallucinate in the abandoned aircraft they found. As I read on, I am progressively affected by the uncanny similarites between the movie Event Horzion and this book Dead Silence. There was also a Claire in the movie though I cannot recall if she was a main or side character. Seriously, what's the odds of a movie character having the same name as the protagonist in this book? Perhaps this book is somewhat a tribute to that motion picture? The more I read, the less impressed I am with the story and plot developments. Of course, this could all be a coincidence but somehow, it cast the story in the shadow of the old movie and the book comes across as less original after that.

I have other gripes. One, a character that is terrible and horrible to the extreme. In reality, no one person is completely good or totally bad. Though I understand the need for such a character, one so rotten to the core does not do justice to the entire story. Two, unnecessary repetition. Three, long-winded at times. These are minor gripes, however.

On the whole, Dead Silence is a worthwhile piece of work. It is not exactly what I expected but it is good fun reading this spooky science fiction novel.

Review: The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

2 stars for The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury.

I am never an enthusiast where collection of short stories is concerned. But I make an exception after reading about The Illustrated Man in another book. Though I did not finish that book, I am glad that it leads me to this book and cannot wait to start reading. Why? Because the little introduction about a man completely covered in tattoos, tattoos that come to life when the night falls, totally captivates me.

It starts with a prologue in which a homeless man, a hobo, is sitting in front of his campfire eating his dinner of pork and beans when another man comes by. The hobo narrator thinks it is odd because it is a warm summer night and yet the guy is wearing a long-sleeved wool shirt, buttoned all the way up to his neck and over his wrists. The man asks if he can spend the night by the fire with the narrator, who welcomes him. Getting ready for bed, the man takes off his shirt and reveals that he is covered in tattoos. Beautiful, vibrant, mysterious illustrations.

The man tells the narrator that he got the illustrations, as he calls them, from a woman who turned out to be a time-traveling witch. Right after getting the tats, the guy realizes they are not just simple illustrations. They are enchanted. They move and they change and they tell stories. Of the future. Creepy, scary stories. Each illustration is a little story.

The man also tells the narrator not to look at him during the night, not to watch those illustrations tell their stories. And especially, he is not supposed to look at the one empty spot on the man's back because his own story will materialize there. But, of course, the narrator will look, right? Who wouldn’t? He can’t help himself. Mostly, the book consists of the stories as told by the illustrations that come to life as the narrator looks on. Eighteen illustrations, eighteen stories.

All of the stories have a common theme about conflict between technology and humanity. Considering that this book was written more than seventy years ago, it is amazing that the author is writing stories about the dangers of virtual reality and space travelling. As a reader, I wonder "Who’s the time traveller? That witch or the author?"

As mentioned earlier, I am never really into short stories. But for this book, I find myself looking forward to the next story and the next and the next. As I read on, I realise, there is no continuity on the stories. There is much potential to be had in the stories but the author simply uses it as a platform to tell some totally unrelated short stories. Surprisingly, I am actually fine with the standalone short stories. To me, it does not really matter so long as they are good stories about glimpses into the future. Some are interesting. But some are boring. And some feel dated though this cannot be helped as the book was published in 1951.

My favourite is the first story about the Happylife Home. It has a virtual-reality play room where the children can let their imagination run wild. Unfortunately, this first story leads me to set my expectations high and I feel greatly disappointed when the rest of the stories fail to deliver.

Review: The Lighthouse Witches by C. J. Cooke

5 stars for The Lighthouse Witches by C. J. Cooke.

I have not had much luck with horror novels this year. Seriously, I lost count after the seventh or so book. It is not for lack of trying; I read at least one fifth or even a quarter of the books before throwing in the towel. Those horror stories are not scary at all. Mostly, they read like any other general fiction with one particular book more romance than horror. Gosh!

Most times, it doesn't take long for me to know if a story is written to my taste. Ofttimes, I can tell after a chapter or three if I will enjoy the book. It is usually affirmed at 20% of the story and for this reason, I always try to read at least one fifth of the book before making the final decision to stop or go on. This is the first horror novel after countless many Did Not Finish that I say "YES! This is my cup of coffee" (I don't drink tea).

This book checked all the right boxes for an excellent horror story. It is filled with mystery and suspense. It has supernatural elements as well as historical references which make the story convincing and scary. The author must have put in a lot of hard work researching on Scotland's history, the Scottish witch trials, one of the worst in Europe, to uncover the stories of Scotland's witch hunts.

As the book title dictates, The Lighthouse Witches is a story much related to witches (and women), curses, wildings and beliefs. It is a story as much related to the history of Scotland's witch hunts as it is about connections between past and present. It is scary to read on how the inhabitants of an island can be so affected by the island's violent and tragic history that leads to beliefts rooted deeply in fear and affecting the islanders's actions.

The story kicks off with a mother Olivia Stay (36) and her three daughters, Sapphire (15), Luna (9) and Clover (7) on an island in the dead of the night. The mother is an artist and is commissioned to paint a mural inside a decommissioned lighthouse with a bizarre name of 'The Longing'. The lighthouse was situated on an island, Lòn Haven, off the coast of Scotland. The owner wants to convert the inside of the lighthouse into a writing studio and hires Olivia to prettify it, making it into a writing studio. As the story progresses, readers get to see the world through the perspectives of the mother and two of her daughters.

Much depth is revealed in the portrayal of the characters. And I think, surely, it tells a great deal about the author's own life experiences too, as indicated in the conversation between the mother and her firstborn that span a page or two. In my opinion, it is almost impossible to write as such without drawing on actual events or situations. And yes, it is sad to read such heartbreaking lines because it can be real and it is so real.

Up until two days ago, I thought I will not be able to find and read a good horror novel. I am really happy to have found this book. It makes for a wonderful Halloween reading. Not only that, I am able to read it in time to post my review by tonight. It does not come as a surprise that I am able to finish reading this book over the weekend. Because it is that good a page turner. Once I start reading, it is hard to put the book down.

Review: The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon

3 stars for The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon.

It is the time of the year to read horror stories again!

This book is actually not my top choice to kick start the horror genre with this year. I didn't like the title - The Drowning Kind. "Kind" is a strange choice of word to grace the cover of a book. It gives the feeling that someone has ran out of ideas for the third choice word and simply decides to take the easy way out by using the word "kind" in hope that it will encompass all. But given that copies of this book are readily available in the library, my book club decides to take up my suggestion of this book over some others I have recommended, for our next discussion. So, that is how I ended up reading this kind of book.

The book starts out promising with a good dose of mystery surrounding two sisters Lex and Jax, and a pool of dark water. Then the story takes a turn and shuttles between the past and the present. The past takes place in 1929 and is seen through the eyes of a Mrs Monroe from Lanesborough, New Hampshire, wife to a country doctor. Fast forward ninety years into the present 2019, and Jackie aka Jax brings us on a truth-seeking mission in a place called Sparrow Crest.

Even though the book alternates between two timelines, the story is easy to read and not confusing at all where the two first person narratives are concerned. I think bulk of the reason is that one deals with life while the other death. Besides attempting to shroud the characters in dark misty energies, the author also explores the theme of family dynamics, that of mother and daughter, father and daughter, sister and sister, niece and aunt, grandmother and grandchildren, husband and wife. We see different sides to various characters, most of which mirror what we have in real lives so much that I think those are the real deal that creep me out. I will say the thing I like most about this story is not how well it scares me but rather the subtle message it is trying to send across - be careful what we wish for, and don't be too quick to pass judgement.

I want to like this story through and through. Unfortunately, at three quarters past, I find myself struggling together with the characters who are drowning in secrets. Yes, I get that the waters have special healing power, both a gift and a curse that cannot be explained with reason, logic or science. It gives as well as it takes. I gather all that. But the flood of secrets that are not really secrets but simply a way of skirting the story to make the book thicker with pages do not sit well with me. It gets annoying after a while reading a story that develops with moving two steps backwards for every three steps taken.

I finish reading the book in four days' time - a record for me these days - and am happy to say that I did not flounder as much towards the end. All things considered, the story is not too bad, not the fantastic kind but not the not-fantastic kind either. It is just that I didn't like it as much as I thought I will, and it didn't frighten me as much as I will have preferred.

This year, I start out late reading horror novel, but still, I hope I will be able to read a few more horror books to build up the spooky vibe before Halloween is here.

Review: The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

4 stars for The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.

This book is what I will call, an unexpected rescue read. Over the years, I have put more books than I care to remember, into the out of sight, out of mind list. These are books that I fail to finish, not for lack of trying, but due to one reason or another, find myself unable to read to the end. This book is one of them. I remember wanting to read a story that does not involve parents, a father or a mother - mostly Young Adult fiction - and this book fails to meet that criterion at that point in time. Since then, this book has been out of my mind for quite some time until lately, when I chanced upon an IG post by a booklover who shared her love for this book and said she feels that this book is underrated. I remember the book right away and quickly move it back to my reading list again. As usual, my greatest fear is missing out on good reads.

It is when I pick up the book to start all over again, with a fresh perspective, that I realise what I have blatantly missed out the first time round. And I think to myself "How did I manage to overlook such a beautifully written story?" The truth is I have passed judgement on this book too early into my reading. The protagonist is indeed living with her father, but being 30 years old, the story will not in any way qualify as a Young Adult fiction which I am trying to avoid so badly.

This book is mostly about words, their language and the imagery it projects. The author is an expert at manipulating words. Such is her power that I am held prisoner by her writing; letters that resolved themselves quickly into characters, then words, then sentences. They make such enchanting passages that I find myself reading and re-reading them, trying to absorb as much of them as I possibly can.

The Thirteenth Tale is about England's best loved writer, Vida Winter and the truths to her life story and a bookseller, Margaret Lea who grows up with a love for books and reading and taking care of them in the bookstore.

The story is narrated in first person by Margaret who has no interest in contemporary writing and is more at ease with writing the biography of dead people than of the living.

To quote "The shop was both my home and my job. It was a better school for me than school ever was, and afterward it was my own private university. It was my life."

To quote "My real work is in the bookshop. My job is not to sell the books—my father does that—but to look after them. Every so often I take out a volume and read a page or two. After all, reading is looking after in a manner of speaking. Though they’re not old enough to be valuable for their age alone, nor important enough to be sought after by collectors, my charges are dear to me, even if, as often as not, they are as dull on the inside as on the outside. No matter how banal the contents, there is always something that touches me. For someone now dead once thought these words significant enough to write them down."

I think to myself as I read, how wonderful it must be, to grow up in a bookstore, especially one that is owned by the family, to be able to help out in the bookstore, to be with nothing but books, and to have nothing to do but read. Literature, biography, autobiography, memoirs, diaries, letters, you name it, the bookstore has it. How wonderful is that!

The author also put down in words simply, the very truth to the existence of books.

To quote "People disappear when they die. Their voice, their laughter, the warmth of their breath. Their flesh. Eventually their bones. All living memory of them ceases. This is both dreadful and natural. Yet for some there is an exception to this annihilation. For in the books they write they continue to exist. We can rediscover them. Their humor, their tone of voice, their moods. Through the written word they can anger you or make you happy. They can comfort you. They can perplex you. They can alter you. All this, even though they are dead. Like flies in amber, like corpses frozen in ice, that which according to the laws of nature should pass away is, by the miracle of ink on paper, preserved. It is a kind of magic."

This book is like a gateway to another world, at least before Vida Winter starts off on her own extraordinary story. It is difficult to like Vida Winter's story because it disturbs me to read about characters who are mentally deficient, and children whose behaviour are likely the result of parental neglect and/or lack of discipline. Even though I dislike the story within the story, I am absorbed by the storytelling. And the more I learn, the more curious I am about the missing gaps in the story. It is hard to fathom how the violent vagabond of a child who refuses to communicate properly with anyone except her sister, develops into a disciplined author with dozens of bestselling novels to her name.

The Thirteenth Tale is a spellbinding story. Not only does it bind me to the story, but it also bespells me to quote thirteen of the passages as my favourites. It is definitely not a deliberate move on my part. Reading this book is magic indeed. Underrated? Yes, definitely.

Review: Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis

5 stars for Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis.

A well written and compelling read.

As far as my memory serves me, this is the first time I am reading a Business book and attempting to write a review related to financial market, stock exchanges, big Wall Street banks, high-frequency trading and people from every corner of Wall Street. By myself, I will never have chosen to read such a serious, heavy-duty topic. I read it because it comes highly recommended by my mentor - David Wang, thank you! - at work. That and having worked in a stock broking firm before, this book piques my interest enough for me to have a go.

Having never dabble in U.S. stocks directly, I have no idea how the U.S. stock exchange works. I did not even know that the U.S. stock market has thirteen public exchanges and forty-four private ones (commonly termed as dark pools). So many! And this is just the tip of the iceberg - one of the many surprises in store for me - as I embark on my journey along Wall Street to uncover the ugly truths hidden within the inner workings of the U.S. financial markets.

This book is about a small group of idealistic, like-minded people who put together what they know collectively, in a bid to fix a financial system that has over the years become increasingly entrenched in unscrupulous monetary gains. The book provides details to the why, how, what, where, and the many challenges faced by the group as they set out to go against the majority. As it is oft said "A lie doesn't become truth, wrong doesn't become right and evil doesn't become good, just because it's accepted by a majority." This minority group, some of them, left their high-flying, high-paying jobs, to do what is right because that is the right thing to do.

If I am to sum this whole book with a single word, the first that comes to my mind is "speed". Here in this book, speed is not measured by the seconds. It is also not speed that is within the span of "in the blink of an eye" (on average, the human blink lasts a tenth of a second which is 0.1 seconds/100 milliseconds/100,000 microseconds). Instead, the unit of time that the author is talking about is roughly one-thousandth of the blink of an eye: 350-microsecond (0.3 milliseconds). That is the kind of speed where the stock market predator set its eyes on. After all, there is big money for those who have the resouces to create speed. So then, what is the thing about speed that makes it so important?

Well, the truth is that the stock prices that people see on the U.S. stock market and the numbers running across the bottom of the CNBC screen, are not reflective of market demand and supply. Traders are not able to execute their orders because someone else is able to identify what the traders/brokers are trying to do and race ahead of them to the other exchanges. The bottomline is, the U.S. stock markets are rigged. Opportunities have been created which enable high-frequency traders to front-run brokers. And that is where speed comes into the picture.

This book set out to reveal how loopholes in regulations are exploited by high-frequency traders to predict most accurately where brokers will send their customers' orders, and how high-frequency traders are ripping off the retirement savings of the entire country through systematic fraud without the people knowing it. As this small group of people digs deeper and deeper, they go back to earlier events leading to new regulations implemented to curb corruption on a certain loophole, and that loophole brings them back to even older events from 2013 to 2007, to 2004, to the 1987 stock market crash - which gave rise to the very first, though less sophisticated, form of high-frequency trading - and ultimately all the way to the late 1800s, where the history of Wall Street is nothing but scandals. To quote "Every systematic market injustice arose from some loophole in a regulation created to correct some prior injustice." Indeed, it is a never-ending vicious cycle where the man in the streets, small investors, ordinary Americans, are getting their life savings ripped off.

The interesting thing about this book is that not everything in it is about stocks and trading. Because this is Wall Street, the author includes some accounts of the event that shocked the world on September 11, 2001. There is a first-hand encounter by one of the Wall Street technologists who witnessed the explosion as the second plane hit the South Tower. Then there is the sound to be heard where bodies hit the ground, and papers fluttering down from above the World Trade Center, and people crying, people screaming and people puking.

After reading pages and pages of what is wrong and what feels right and all those big Wall Street banks such as Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, Credit Suisse to name a few, I finally reach the end of the book. The ending is unexpected, not that I have any expectations to being with but I like the way the author ends off his book, by posing a riddle that does its job perfectly to bring across his message - if you care enough to find out, you will, since information is now easily available in cyberspace. Change will come only if you care enough to want the change, to find out, to talk about it and to push for the change.

To quote, Flash Boys closes with this paragraph:

"I noticed, before we left, a metal plate attached to the fence around the tower. On it was a Federal Communications Commission license number: 1215095. The number, along with an Internet connection, was enough to lead an inquisitive person to the story behind the tower. The application to use the tower to send a microwave signal had been filed in July 2012, and it had been filed by … well, it isn’t possible to keep any of this secret anymore. A day’s journey in cyberspace would lead anyone who wished to know it into another incredible but true Wall Street story, of hypocrisy and secrecy and the endless quest by human beings to gain a certain edge in an uncertain world. All that one needed to discover the truth about the tower was the desire to know it."

So, who owns the Pennsylvania tower with FCC license number 1215095? What is the answer to the author's riddle? I am sure most, if not all, of those who have read Flash Boys, will have done what I have done, by typing FCC license number 1215095 in any of the search engines. I get the answer easily enough from just a few taps on my keyboard. With that, the author has succeeded in concluding his book on a memorable and fitting note.

Sometimes ignorance is bliss. Having read this book that is on all counts, informational and educational, I'm not sure to be glad or worried or alarmed. The fact that the people who have the most to gain, to make the most money, want the least clarity possible in this deeply screwed-up of a financial system is totally not what I have expected when I start out on my journey with Flash Boys. The most scary thing is, this story can happen to anyone, you or me, him or her, as long as we have any contact with the market, directly or indirectly.

Review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows |《Reread》

5 stars for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows |《Reread》.

I highly recommended this book to my book club for our next discussion in October. It goes without saying that I adore this book and do not mind reading it again.

It feels strange to say this, that even though I read this book less than a year ago, not quite so long ago in fact, I find that I have already forgotten much of the finer details in the story. Reading the novel again helps bring back fond memories of my first time reading it. The story is still as endearing, informative and amusing as I remember it, about a book club and its members who read books, talk books, argue over books and are drawn closer and dearer to one another over time.

After reading the book a second time, I still stand pat on the 5-star rating and detailed book review which I wrote and posted on 13 November 2021. Yes, definitely still holds true.

Review: Stardust by Neil Gaiman

4 stars for Stardust by Neil Gaiman.

We all need a bit of fantasy every now and then in our lives. This book fits the bill in more ways than one. It is an enchanting story about the village of Wall, a Wall that separates the village and its people from Faerie and magic, and the curious thing that occurs there every nine years.

The story may seem fragmented initially, but at the end of the day, when all pieces of the story come together, it is simply a love story. A love story that is as endearing as it is heartwarming, a story about a boy with an unconventioal heritage, how he goes about attaining his Heart's Desire and how he becomes a man. I love the way the story unfolds with unexpected aspects of magical properties. I particularly like this one. To quote "I gain my freedom on the day the moon loses her daughter, if that occurs in a week when two Mondays come together. I await with patience."

While reading, I am pleasantly surprised to find out that Stardust was made into a movie in 2007. What happened was limbus grass. I was checking out this grass name mentioned in the book when I came across a snippet of the movie. After that, I get really excited that I keep telling myself that I must watch the movie after I am done reading.

Another interesting thing to know is that Stardust is actually written as the sequel to a novel - Wall - which the author has not yet written, and which the author himself is not even sure if he will ever write it one day. The author did include an early Wall story calling it "Wall: A Prologue" at the end of Stardust where he says that if ever the day comes when he writes Wall, this same prologue where the story began years ago, may highly likely be used.

Finally, I will have liked to recommend Stardust to everyone. Sadly, I cannot say this book is suitable for people of all ages. I will have liked to, very much indeed, but unfortunately one particular scene - depending on how you interpret the necessity of it in the story - renders the entire book not appropriate to young children.

Review: Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan

Did Not Finish Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan.

I am in a bit of a fix when writing this review. Because I am not quite sure if I should give this book a star rating or simply a Did Not Finish rating. I like the book title and the book cover of a humanoid robot intrigues me so. Together, they entice me to read the story. But often, liking a book visually may not be enough to sustain the interest to devouring the whole book. This book is exactly that. While I want to like this book, it is difficult to finish reading the entire book. The story starts off well and fair enough, but after reading sufficient pages, I know it is not a book I want to spend more time on and I start to skip chunks and chunks of it.

The story is about artificial human, about having a machine as a companion, both a friend and helper who can help with washing dishes, making beds and... thinking.

How will it be like to own a machine that has an operating system as well as a human nature and personality? It certainly makes an interesting topic and has much potential for a great storyline. I will say that in devising an improved modern version of ourselves, the author has brilliantly invented a technical miracle. Unfortunately, only the first few chapters captivate my attention. After that, the story loses its focus on artificial intelligence and instead, side track onto other sub plots and developments which can be disjointed and confusing at times.

I like that the story mentions the First Law of Robotics by Isaac Asimov. To quote "A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm." Perhaps this is what I feel most comfortable when reading about stories dealing with AI, because only by laying down such a rule that humans can follow our desires and create machines that can think like humans. Otherwise, it is scary to think about the consequences of human's infatuation with technology. Humans may even end up doing the bidding of machines.

Having done some serious thinking, I finally decide to go with Did Not Finish. As disappointing as it is, I have read the opening chapters, the ending and then some, but I think it is only fair to say I did not finish reading as I have skipped way too many pages of the book to properly considered it read.

Review: The Rosie Result (Don Tillman #3) by Graeme Simsion

3 stars for The Rosie Result (Don Tillman book 3) by Graeme Simsion.

At long last, I decide that it is time to read this third and final Rosie book. Based on my earlier experience with the books in the series, I know I need to read this book with a clear mind, if not, the humour will be lost on me. I think I manage to achieve most of that as I did laugh out loud even though they are mostly inside my head.

From Rosie Project in book 1, to Rosie Effect in book 2, to Rosie Result in book 3, it all seems like only yesterday that I have read book 1, but in reality, eight years have come and gone in the blink of an eye. Actually, this book should have been titled the Hudson Project as it revolves around a boy called Hudson. But then, I can understand why it remains a Rosie something after all.

Though a Hudson Project, this book is still very much about Don. It is about problem solving, about family spending time together, about relationships, about regaining self-esteem, about accepting the person we are and being who we are instead of trying to be someone we are not. There is much meaning in this story as we see how the father and son's lives follow similar trajectories. They are living parallel lives but yet different in their own ways. It is interesting to see how the author creates a mini me Don in his son, Hudson. And how Don tries his best to guide his son according to what he feels is the correct way. But then, what is the right way?

I am not sad to see the last of this series as I feel that the author does a great job wrapping it up nicely. Of all the three books, I still love The Rose Project the most. And it is likely a book I may choose to read again some day. One day.

Review: The Devotion of Suspect X (Detective Galileo #1) by Keigo Higashino

5 stars for The Devotion of Suspect X (Detective Galileo book 1) by Keigo Higashino.

As we all know, the mystery of solving a crime is a job for the detectives, not the reader. A good guessing game, especially one where the reader keeps getting it wrong, makes for an excellent mystery novel. That is why I say this is not your run-of-the-mill mystery where the reader is kept in suspense until the end when the real killer is revealed. Here, the murderer is disclosed right from the start, almost like a spoiler before the story even begins. So what makes this book such an exciting read that keeps me on the toes?

Well, the answer is actually very straightforward. Because I do not want the killer to be caught! Based on this simple logic and that of a mind saddled with guilt "What will it be like to live the rest of one's life with a dark, hidden guilt, never knowing true peace?", the author weaves a story where two geniuses, one in the dark and one in the light, face off against each other. The race to outrun the other is what makes this story so engaging and mind-boggling. To top it off, the author still manages to surprise the reader with an unexpected twist somewhere along the way that, in my opinion, elevates this mystery story to a different level.

I will definitely be checking out the rest of the books in this Detective Galileo series. The Devotion of Suspect X, is without a doubt, a remarkable start in this mystery crime series.

Review: A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire #5) by George R. R. Martin

4 stars for A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire book 5) by George R. R. Martin.

It's been more than a month. And I am finally writing again. I'm not sure what to make of it, but I realise I did not miss the writing as much as I should have. In fact, it feels kind of strange; sitting at my desk, booting up my laptop, and trying to put my thoughts into words once again. Deep down, I know I am no stranger to such a setting as I have been writing book reviews since the year 2014, so perhaps, this reveals something about what I really want. I hope I have not simply grown too lazy to write, but it sure feels good to have more time to pursue my other hobbies. That said, I will keep this one short and sweet.

The events in this book 5 run parallel to that of book 4 A Feast for Crows. It is very thoughtful of the author to prepare the reader right from the start by pointing out the aforementioned. Yet knowing this in advance does little to help me as it feels weird reading on regressed happenings. I think I feel this way is because it is not the same across; some characters such as Tyrion has moved forward yet Samwell Tarly and Gilly the wildling have gone back in time. I will have preferred that book 4 tells half the story for all the characters than telling all the story for half the characters, and suffer through the regression in book 5. Be that as it may. It is what it is. The consolation is, each chapter in this book is mostly half that of Feast, making it a breeze if I need to pause for a breather. In Feast, a chapter is usually more than sixty pages.

This book is very much similar to the earlier books in that there is doubt, division and mistrust in the story and characters are killed off when you least expect it. A boy king sits the Iron Throne. The north is in chaos, the riverlands a devastation, and a rebel holds Storm’s End and Dragonstone. Battles and lands and castles won a moment ago can just as easily be lost to another in a matter of tide turn. When winter comes, the realm will starve. And who remains to deal with all of this, who rules the little king who rules the Seven Kingdoms? For me, I am mostly glad to see that Bran, Jon and Tyrion are back to tell their stories once again.

Having read this series one after another in continuous succession (sadly with a mini break between book 3 and 4 due to a book club read), I can no longer discern which are the events that have taken place specifically in each book. It is all a mishmash of happenings, of fighting, of battles, of scheming, of survival and more.

Finally, I like to think that I have graduated. That is, having read all the existing and available instalments in the series, I am now ready to go onto the drama version. For years, I have been holding off on watching the drama series for fear that watching the act out will impede on my reading and the internal drama in my mind's eye. It has been a long wait to graduation but one that is worth all my reading attention. I'm not sure when the next book will be made available but I'm sure the drama series will keep me well occupied till then.

Review: A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire #4) by George R. R. Martin

4 stars for A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire book 4) by George R. R. Martin.

It has been a long time coming since I get to enjoy a good fantasy series. This fourth book of A Song of Ice and Fire series, otherwise better known as The Game of Thrones series, is a good story even though it is my least favourite book to date.

I am rather surprised that the book takes a different turn from the telling. It is no longer coming only from a single appointed character, but rather, the author chooses to include the perspective of one from a given title or position. We have the Prophet, the Captain of Guards, the Kraken's daughter, the soiled knight, the Iron Captain, the Drowned Man, the Queenmaker, the Reaver, the Cat of the Canals, and the Princess in the Tower. We certainly have to guess who is telling the story though it is easy enough to confirm after a few pages. So, on top of these and those same pairs of eyes that tell the story previously, two new voices - Cersei, the twin sister of Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth - are thrown in for good measure. I am not sure if it is a good or bad thing to have more viewpoints in this instalment. But I know for sure, I do not understand the reason and significance for some of them as they seems more of a filler to me than one of necessity.

In this book, nothing is what we do not know, yet everything is new. There is the rivermen and seamen, smiths and singers, priests and septons, spells and prayers, kings and princes, novices and acolytes of the Citadel, and the forging of chain by maesters. It is very much a story on King's Landing, Highgarden, The Arbor, Oldtown, the riverlands, the Reach, the kingswood, the rainwood, Dorne and the marches, the Mountains of the Moon and the Vale of Arryn, Tarth and the Stepstones.

Old powers waken and shadows stir. The story is still very much about the wonders and terrors upon Westeros and their gods and heroes. There is the old gods of the North, the godswood with a weirwood at its heart. And there is the new gods of the Seven as well as the Lord of Light, R'hllor, to save the people from the darkness. Signs, portents, visions continue to play a major role in the telling of the story.

At first, I thought the crows in the book title are referring to those who have taken the black on the Walls (figuratively speaking), but as I read on, I start to think that the feasts are referring to the dead bodies that the crows (literally speaking) feasted on. I'm not sure what the author has in mind when he writes this story but I sure hope it is not my latter guess.

As the author points out at the end of the book, this 4th instalment tells all the story for half the characters. Even as I am writing this review, I have already moved on to the next book, A Dance with Dragons, to unravel the story for the other half of the characters. Yea.

Review: The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore

Did Not Finish The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore.

This post is long overdue. It should have been posted more than two weeks ago. In truth, I am not only reluctant to put this up, I have been all too unwilling to start on this book in the first place. The reason is simple enough; reading this book equates to taking a break from the Song of Ice and Fire series. I am so into this fantasy series that I do not want to read any other books until I have read them all. But then, this is a book club read. I will feel bad if I do not read it in time and before the loan is due. So, here I am with the review.

This book is about electrical energy - how electricity is generated, how a generator works and how it generates current. It is an uneventful story that tells of the history of electricity, the invention of light bulb and the taming of electrical current. One quarter into the story and I already feel like giving it up. The only thing that keeps me going is the law suit case about the infringement of the light bulb patent. I keep hoping something exciting will come along the way.

In the end, nothing of interest appears and I find myself counting the grievances I have against the story instead. For a historical novel, one set in 1888, I expect quotes from people of the same time period, give or take some years, but definitely not something that comes from someone born more than sixty years down the road. While I think it is reasonable to quote James Watson (co-discoverer of DNA, born 1928) and Karl Popper (philosophers of science, born 1902), it just seems so wrong to be quoting Steve Jobs or Tim Berners-Lee or Bill Gates (born 1955).

It is hard to continue reading a story that does not interest me. Still, I struggle on for the sake of my book club discussion. But at halfway mark, I can stand it no longer. The topic in question is too boring for me. I decide that I shall not suffer myself to read on. That said, I find myself wanting to know about the ending since I have invested at least some five days reading half the book. So, I skip everything in between and jump right to the last two chapters. Having read those two chapters, I am glad of my decision to throw in the towel.

It doesn't feel right to say I have read this book. So I am listing it as a Did Not Finish. I will say this is no fault of the writer's but for the simple reason that this book is not my cup of tea.

Review: A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire #3) by George R. R. Martin

5 stars for A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire book 3) by George R. R. Martin.

The first thing I look at in this book are the maps and then the appendix (at the back of the book). I am glad to see that the author has finally provided a map of The Free Cities beyond The Narrow Sea. There is also a bonus map of whatever lies beyond the Wall in the North. It is a bonus to me because I am not expecting it. At all. As usual, due to the extremely small print of my leather-cloth-bound edition, I need the aid of a magnifying glass to read the maps properly. But that does not stop me from consulting the maps as and when needed. Instead, I am oft seen carrying the hand lens around when I read.

Two new voices are added in this instalment. The first is someone totally unexpected. And that is Jaime Lannister, the kingslayer. The second is Samwell Tarly of the Night's Watch. I am pleasantly surprised and very happy to be seeing the world through Jaime's eyes. He is, after all, a Lannister and known to be a formidable character - albeit from afar - since book 1. As for Samwell, I didn't have much expectation of this character, but since his voice is added, I am sure the author has great things in store for him.

As with any good book, each time I open the page to where I leave off, I want to do nothing else but curl up on my couch and devote my entire being to the world of the Song of Ice and Fire. Yes, a great story will do that to you. I yearn to continue the search for the three-eyed crow, to learn more about the first men in the Neck also known as the Crannogmen or mudmen or frogeaters, to discover the secrets of the children of the forest, and to find out more about the greenseers and wargs. The wargs especially; it is said that the greatest of them can wear the skins of any beast that flies or swims or crawls and can look through the eyes of the weirwoods and see the truth that lies beneath the world.

There are fights and battles to win before the kingdom is secure. This book is very much a story on the King of the Trident, the northmen and the rivermen as much as it is about the knights and squires and men-at-arms, lords and commoners, all bound together only by their one purpose. There is also the mystical Others which I am still very much curious about their origins. Another is the mysterious make of weapons and the purpose for their presence - Valyrian steel, dragonglass daggers, dragonglass arrowheads and dragonglass spearhead.

As with the earlier books, there are so many exciting opposites here. There is day and there is night. There is dark and there is light. There is black and there is white. There is ice and there is fire. Bitter and sweet. Pain and pleasure. Winter and summer. Evil and good. Death and life.

Reading this book, this series, is like taking an exhilarating walk in the mountains. Only it is even better. Everything is so welcoming and refreshing. I can never know what is going to happen next. There are not just ups and downs but plots and developments that take me aback totally. The characters are seldom who they appear to be. The author does an impressive job giving life to his characters. They leap out of the pages with a mixture of good and bad traits depending on the perspective of the characters.

Thus far, I like almost all the characters, major or minor, in the book, with the exception of two who constantly get on my nerves. I get really annoyed over this one character who keeps repeating the phrase "You know nothing". Every time I see this phrase, I want to roll my eyes even though knowing my doing so will not stop it from appearing again. The other character which I dislike to the core is one who has a black heart through and through. There is not a shred of goodness in that person. None whatsoever. At the end of the day, what I want to say is, the author does a fantastic job crafting all his characters, no matter the numbers. There is quantity for sure, but there is quality as well, which is what makes all the details so amazing.

This book 3 is the thickest among the five in the series. Perhaps because of that, even as I reach the end of the story, I still find it hard to believe that I have stormed through the entire book. As the saying goes "The problem with reading a good book is that you want to finish the book, but you don't want to finish the book." The consolation is, there are two more books to go before the series wrap up for good. I know I can still continue to live in the alternate world of Westeros for some time yet. I am so looking forward to the next book, to experience the cold that is approaching and the night that never ends. Winter is coming...

Review: A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire #2) by George R. R. Martin

5 stars for A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire book 2) by George R. R. Martin.

This time round, I make no mistake of taking on another standalone or series after I am done reading A Game of Thrones. I move on to book 2 to continue my adventure of the Seven Kingdom of Westeros almost immediately, in fact, before I even sit down to write and post my review of A Game of Thrones.

A Clash of Kings is as good as A Game of Thrones if not better. Summer is gone and there are now four kings in the realm. Well, this makes good sense to understanding given the title. On top of the voices of old in Book 1, two new voices are added here (even as only one is being removed). First, we have a smuggler-turned knight, Ser Davos Seaworth or otherwise known as the Onion Knight. He plays the part of seeing to the happenings in Dragonstone and matters related to Lord Stannis. The other new voice is that of Theon Greyjoy, a ward in name to the Starks of Winterfell, but a hostage in truth. From his eyes, we are told that nothing has changed, yet everything has. I certainly do not envy this character. How much joy can there be with a family name such as Greyjoy?

Signs and dreams and omens continue to be a harbinger of later events. It is interesting to see how different characters interpret the signs according to their roles which in turn affect what they choose to believe in. The fine red tail of the comet visible in the sky throughout the realm is a very good example. To name a few, in Riverrun, it is said the red comet is a herald of a new age; a messenger from the gods. The Septon of Winterfell is of the view that it is the sword that slays the season with summer coming to an end while Old Nan who has lived longer than any in Winterfell insists it is the dragons.

To think that when I read book 1, I feel that the story is swamped with characters, but book 2 makes the numbers in book 1 pale in comparison. Here, more characters come on board but more also dropped dead. Some characters are easy to dislike and it makes no matter when they are killed off. But there are those I am very surprised and sad to see them go.

Then, there is the fantasy aspect in A Song of Ice and Fire series which excites and entices me to keep reading. There is the ancient wisdom and the magic of old. There is the secret speech of dragonkind. There is the good magic and there is the bad magic. There is the intriguing children of the forest. There are the green dreams and the wolf dreams. There are the shapechangers; beastlings. There are the dead men walking. And there are the trees with eyes grown. There are the wargs and giants and mammoths, all coming back alive.

For a story that comes with a devil of details, it seems that everything is happening at the same time. There is the King in the North. There is the King in the South. There is the King on the Iron Throne. There is the King in the Narrow Sea. And then, there is the Queen across the water. There are battles and there are wars. There are winners and there are losers. But no matter, sitting a throne is a thousand times harder than winning one. And so, I will continue on with book 3 A Storm of Swords to see how long the winner can sit on this throne.

Review: A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire #1) by George R. R. Martin |《Reread》

5 stars for A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire book 1) by George R. R. Martin |《Reread》.

I always relish in-between books; the infinite possibilities with all the wonders one may have at the fingertips. Well, that is until I settle down on the one book. But then, there is just so much to it. It gets on my nerve when one week or three pass and I have yet to find that one book. By then, the thoughts of reading A Song of Ice and Fire series are no longer fleeting but taking root. It is actually something I have been thinking of since last year. But to read the series, I will have to reread this long joyride of more than 800 pages of a book 1 A Game of Thrones since I have forgotten bulk of the story and badly in need of a refresher to the many characters. Perhaps that is what has been holding me back from reading this series. But no books fancy me at the moment, so I take it as a sign. A Game of Thrones, it shall be.

As I go on this perilous journey of revisiting the Iron Throne, the Seven Kingdoms, Dragonstone and King's Landing, I realize I have not totally forsaken the devils in the details. Ha. Hidden away in the dim recesses of my mind are bits and pieces of the story, the plot, the development and the characters. I feel as if I am visiting an old friend and the feeling's not only wonderful and welcoming but fill me with nostalgia. I certainly did not expect this but I actually enjoy this second visit more so than my first as I gain insight from the finer details best absorbed from a second reading.

Honor, glory, loyalty, faith, courage, truth and lies. All are seen and felt and told through the eyes of different characters, mostly the Starks of Winterfell. There is Eddard Stark (Ned), Lord of Winterfell and his wife Lady Catelyn and their children - Sansa, Arya, Bran and Jon. Interestingly, the author leaves out the Stark's first trueborn son Robb and instead assigns the same unfolding of events in third person perspective to two other characters. They are the dwarf from House Lannister, Tyrion, also called the Imp, and Daenerys, a thirteen-year-old girl descendant from the old dynasty House Targaryen.

For a story that rest heavily on signs and dreams and omens and godswood and prayers, this one has it all panned out and truly well. Indeed, the significance to each and every one of the signs is there if you know where to look.

For a book that has no lack of characters and yet more added with every few chapters or so, I am impressed with the details and efforts taken to name them aptly. Brilliant I will say. One can easily infer much from the name of a character or a House and their sigil and location in the Realm. To name but a few, House Lannister of Casterly Rock brings forth a House that is not only powerfully rock solid but comes across as sinister as well, and the commander of the City Watch, Janos Slynt, makes me think of a man who is nothing but sly from head to toes. And I will not want to get on the wrong side of a knight, one with a name such as Ser Alliser Thorne.

Signs and names aside, I will say I still dread coming to that part of the story which I remember as vividly as if I have read it yesterday instead of eight years ago. The shock of it reverberated through my entire being still. But there is also beauty in it for not many authors are willing to kill off their characters. Authors who dare to do away with characters, big or small, are oft not burdened by baggage and have the leeway to explore and move on to greater things.

A Game of Thrones. The start of an epic saga to which the player wins or dies; there is no middle ground. Read it yourself to find out who lives and who dies in this game of thrones.

Review: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

5 stars for The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.

I am not usually keen to read books with title that contains the word "library" or "book". Past experiences have taught me to steer clear of such titles because somehow, these books just fail to keep me going. Well, that is until this book. I am so glad to have given this book a go.

This is one book the more I read, the more I like it. It is a story about living that is inspirational in its own right. It explores the theme of loneliness, grief, depression, love, regrets and the reason to exist.

The main thing about this book that makes it so interesting and mind-boggling is that it deals with the concept of multiverse, the idea that there are many parallel universes that exist, each one different from the other. The breathtaking part of it all is how the many worlds interpretation of quantum physics links up with the Midnight Library to create a library of possibilities, the notion that books are portals to all the lives we can be living.

Reading this book makes me feel as if I have lived many different lives, all variations of what can have been of the main character, Nora Seed. Indeed, every decision taken leads to a variation of sorts. To bring this point further, it means doing one thing differently is the same as doing everything differently. To quote "Every life contains many millions of decisions. Some big, some small. But every time one decision is taken over another, the outcomes differ. An irreversible variation occurs, which in turn leads to further variations."

Upon concluding the book, I cannot help but think of this question: How will you feel knowing that your life, the different variation of it, has the power to shape the life of others in more ways than one?

Review: The Murder on the Links (Hercule Poirot #2) by Agatha Christie

3 stars for The Murder on the Links (Hercule Poirot book 2) by Agatha Christie.

Reading this book makes me think I have been too harsh in my earlier rating given to book 1 The Mysterious Affair at Styles. I definitely prefer that book to this one and if this book 2 warrants a 3-star rating, then I need to up my rating for the Styles story. That is exactly what I did, and in fact, before I have even finished reading this book, I went to revise my review rating from 3 stars to 4.

This book 2 of the Hercule Poirot series is once again narrated in first person and by the same Captain Hastings. His friend, Poirot, is hired by a rich man who is in need of the services of a detective and Hastings is involved because he is somehow embroiled in everything in which Poirot is concerned.

The mystery is a particularly perplexing and baffling one in which there is a deep riddle for Poirot to solve amidst a man's love affairs, business transactions, friendships, and enmities that he may have incurred. In reading the story, it feels as if the author tries too hard to please the reader by making it unnecessarily complicated. Yes, it is too complicated for my liking.

Regardless of my above grievance, there are still aspects of the story which I do enjoy. And one such is the entertaining side of the writing where Poirot is portrayed as not just the detective who knows the mind of man, he is also funny in his behaviour and choice of words.

This is still a series I will like to explore more of in the future.

Review: The Miracles of the Namiya General Store by Keigo Higashino

4 stars for The Miracles of the Namiya General Store by Keigo Higashino.

I read this book for my book club. We meet once every two months to talk books. The librarian who organises and facilitates our club meeting and discussion suggested this novel as our next book for discussion in April. I welcome the idea the moment my eyes landed on the book cover. The cover is not only mesmerising, the picture of the general store seems to be shrouded by magic. This and the word "miracles" in the title make me want to find out more.

The Miracles of the Namiya General Store is a story on family, friendship and life. These are fairly common themes in a story. So what makes this story any different? It is the element of time-travel. The travel back to the past and into the future is what makes the Namiya General Store so special on top of its huge role in affecting the lives of those who seek the advice of the store owner.

At first glance, this seems to be a story about people from all walks of life. But when all the dots are connected, it is revealed that they are related one way or other with the Namiya General Store and one other place. The careful crafting of the characters, the events, their surroundings and how they all add up to be one big picture is amazing.

This is a touching, heartwarming and thought-provoking novel. As with all stories that involve time-travelling, it can get confusing at times when one thinks too deeply on the logic of the past against the future. I think that is why, this is a story about miracles. They defy logic.

Review: The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot #1) by Agatha Christie

4 stars for The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot book 1) by Agatha Christie.

I have finally read a book written by the Queen of Crime. It is not just any of her detective novels or short story collections, but the very first book of the Hercule Poirot mystery series where she created the most notable Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, who goes on to be one of her most famous and long-running characters.

I have never been much of a fan of mystery crime novels. Needless of say, since young, I have no interest in any of Agatha Christie's books even when her books are so readily available in school libraries and national libraries. But that was in the past, before I read the Magpie Murders series. I will say the Magpie Murders books open my eyes and make me look at mystery crime novels in a different light. Since then, I have learnt to appreciate whodunnits.

The story of The Mysterious Affair at Styles is told from first person viewpoint by a Mr Hastings. Even though Poirot is a central character to the entire affair, the author chooses another character as the protagonist. As we read on, it soon becomes apparent why this is so. Detective Poirot is an astute observer of human behaviour and criminal mind. His intelligence at solving difficult puzzles of crimes earns him the respect and admiration of police forces across countries. But to prop up the clever Poirot, there will be need for another to come across as being dense. And who else but the protagonist is the best choice?

The first 15% of the story is spent on getting readers up to speed on the background and development of what is to come. Characters are introduced by name and profession and how they relate to one another. As with most mystery cases, the obvious deduction is usually and most likely to be the incorrect one. There are twists and turns, ups and downs and so many suspects that it is hard to guess who the perpetrator is.

This is a book I enjoy reading. My only grievance is the French words and phrases scattered throughout the book which I do not understand. I dislike having to interrupt my reading just so to do a Google translate but I dislike even more not knowing the meaning - no matter it is a word or two or a short sentence - of what I am reading.

As a debut novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles may not be Agatha Christie's best, but it definitely is a story well-thought-out and well researched at a time of war (towards the end of War War I). It is also one that clearly demonstrates a lot of potential in the author's writing style and thought processes, and hint of more good stories to come.

It is hard to believe that I have finished reading a book that was first published more than one hundred years ago, in 1920, and way before I am born. It is even harder to believe that it has taken me so long to read an Agatha Christie's book. What is not hard to believe is I will want to manage my reading time to include more mystery crime cases solved by the fictional Poirot.

Review: In an Instant by Suzanne Redfearn

4 stars for In an Instant by Suzanne Redfearn.

After I emerge from the depth of the Mappie Murders series, I thought I will have difficulty getting into the next book. Luckily, my worry is unfounded. I manage to choose the next book well and In an Instant steps up to fill the empty void left by the whodunnits much better than I expect.

The book is about a sudden accident that causes great damage and suffering. The story is not so much about the mishap itself, but rather the revelation of a base instinct for self-preservation and the natural tendency to protect one's own, that when tested makes the characters in the story capable of things they never believe themselves to be capable of. This and the aftermath of that fateful day, when the consequences of the choices made by the survivors come back to haunt them, are what make the story so engaging and thought-provoking.

The story revolves around three families, the Millers, the Golds and the Kaminskis. The entire story is told in first person viewpoint by a sixteen-year-old Finn Miller which later evolves into a fly-on-the-wall perspective. I think it is impressive that the author thought of such a brilliant way to narrate the story; the fly-on-the-wall perspective turns the protagonist Finn invisible and silent, a witness to everything - yet she is nothing but an awareness - thus enabling honest insight into all the other characters, even when they think they are alone.

What makes the story memorable is the heartbreaking journey of travelling alongside Finn who bears witness to all that happen but yet entirely helpless as she moves fluidly from scene to scene with ease that makes perfect sense.

The story explores the theme of friendship, loss, grief, denial, regret, guilt and love.

One of the focal points of the story is the friendship between the Millers and the Golds. The lesson taught here is that outward appearances are deceiving and people are not what they seem. The perfect friend you think you have can turn into a perfect foe in an instant, in a single tragic night.

Another focal point is how the characters cope with their loss. One character chooses the easy way of denial where out of sight equates out of mind while another prefers to be constantly reminded so that the loss will not be forgotten.

The story explores the theme of regret well. Regret is a difficult emotion to live with because there is no turning back. What's done is done. There is no "what-if". But in order to have regret, one needs to have a conscience, and that's where the irony comes in. The author put it down beautifully in a single sentence. To quote "I’ve always believed regret is the most difficult emotion to live with, but in order to have regret, you need to have a conscience: an interesting paradox that allows the worst of us to suffer the least in the aftermath of wrongdoing." So, yes, there is one character who is portrayed as such.

Then there is the theme of love, that of husband and wife, parent and child, friend and friend, human and animal, and above all, a mother's love for her child. The story explores the different dynamics of relationship. One may seems indifferent or even ignorant of another within the family but it may well turn out to be otherwise.

I enjoy every bit of the story until I hit the 64% of the book after which, it feels very much like reading a young adult novel rather than a literary fiction. I am not saying that it is not good as the protagonist is, after all, a sixteen-year-old teenage girl who is full of zest and supposed to be having the time of her life. And her good friend and sisters are all in that age bracket which makes sense to the story being kind of young adult. It is just that, well, call me jaded or whatever, I am not a fan of young adult story.

At the end of the story, I am surprised when the author reveals that the story is inspired by a real-life event that happened when she was eight years old. I actually feel sad for the author that the two not-so-nice characters in her book are not crafted out of thin air but from her experience in life. Reality bites but that is life.

Review: Moonflower Murders (Magpie Murders #2) by Anthony Horowitz

5 stars for Moonflower Murders (Magpie Murders book 2) by Anthony Horowitz.

I like book 1 Magpie Murders so much that I am super glad to be able to continue with this book 2 right away after the first one.

As with the earlier book, Moonflower Murders is also told from the first person perspective of editor Susan Ryeland. The story opens with Susan in a family-run hotel called Polydorus which is located in Cete, a Greek island in the eastern Mediterranean. But no sooner have we make acquaintance with the hotel, we see Susan returning to the UK to solve a case. The mystery is as complicated as the Atticus Pünd series written by one of her former writers, Alan Conway, whose work she used to edit. But this time, there are no hints and tips from the author to help Susan solve the mystery. And to make matters worse, depending on who Susan speaks to, there are different versions of events. She knows not who is lying and who to trust.

Moonflower Murders is another excellent murder mystery that keeps you guessing and wondering. The book mentions the Atticus Pünd series right from the start and the moment it zoom in on book 3 Atticus Pünd Takes the Case, I get really excited because I know without a doubt that I will get to read it. The only thing is I have no idea when that will be. So when the time has finally come to confront the text, even though I do not have with me a mug of coffee, or a club sandwich held together by a cocktail stick flying a miniature stars and stripes, or even a bowl of chips, I am more than ready to read one murder mystery while going through another one. I have the book within a book with me. And that's all that matters.

It sure feels real. I mean the book within a book. There is even a book cover, about the author, a listing of books in the Atticus Pünd series, praise for book 3 Atticus Pünd Takes the Case, title page, copyright page, dedication page and table of contents before I can plunge headlong into the story; a story set in a small community where no one tells the truth. It seems a lot of efforts to me, the extent to which the author goes into for putting up a book within his book. It is amazing.

Once again, in reading this series, one has the feeling of value for money. It is a book that contains not one, not two, but three mystery crimes with three sets of solutions. One book, three mystery cases. What a steal! I will say that many of the incidents in the book as well as the book within, are quite imaginative. But there is something very satisfying about a complicated whodunnit that actually makes sense at the end of the day when all is revealed. 

This is a terrific story that will leave you guessing all the way. Everyone is a suspect. To get the book to unlock the secrets, you will want to keep reading, without stopping. It has been a long time since I stay up late into the night to read. But that's what this book does to me. I give up my sleep hours in exchange for finding out who the perpetrator is. Don't say I didn't warn you.