Review: Forest Bathing: The Rejuvenating Practice of Shinrin Yoku by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles

3 stars for Forest Bathing: The Rejuvenating Practice of Shinrin Yoku by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles.

Having enjoyed reading Ikigai, I thought I will have a whale of a time reading Forest Bathing since it is written by the same set of authors, but boy, I am so wrong. I like to believe the issue is not so much the content but the translation. I really want to like this Forest Bathing book, but it is hard to make myself enjoy it for two reasons. First, the sentences are long, often too long for my liking; by the time I finish reading those long sentences, I have mostly lost sense of what they are about and I have to read them all over again, and sometimes, the same repeats itself. Second, the sentence construction - sometimes, or should I say, most times - just doesn't seems right to me. As a result, I find myself struggling to pick up the book to continue reading from where I left off each time.

This is a book that shows us the ways to boost emotional well-being and improve overall health. It guides readers to finding the connection with the natural world, and the ways to replenish our body, mind and spirt among the trees. To put it simply, this is a book on how to practice the art of Shinrin-Yoku, translated literally as "forest bathing". The book shares with us the healing and rejuvenating effects of Shinrin-Yoku. It also delves into the science of how Shinrin-Yoku - a powerful therapy for relaxing the mind and reducing stress - heals patients.

What I like most about this book is that it is filled with lovely drawings and relaxing black and white pictures of nature, of mountain, trees and bamboos. These pictures let the reader in me feel at ease while reading and gives me the feeling that it is possible to recapture the healing magic of nature, that nature is actually much closer to us than we think. And this is exactly what Shinrin-Yoku is all about. Also, I am glad that I have read the book Ikigai first as Forest Bathing refers to Ikigai and some of its content more than once. If I have not read Ikigai first, I will not have any idea what the authors are referring to.

Finally, I want to say that I can attest to the benefits of Shinrin-Yoku. Because I am a living example. I wouldn't for the life of me, have believed in the logic and explanations of Shinrin-Yoku if it has not happened to me personally. I attended a 7-day retreat in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, in May 2022. Long story short, at that time, I thought my healing is due to meditation, the quality of the food and beverage I consumed, and the way of eating. Looking back (and having read this book), I believe it is a combination of factors - meditation, mindful eating, the quality of food consumed and on top of these, yes, Shinrin-Yoku.

Review: Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year: A Little Book of Festive Joy by Beth Kempton

3 stars for Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year: A Little Book of Festive Joy by Beth Kempton.

I bought two non fiction books in Scotland last month - yes, two out of sixteen books altogether. I have already read and reviewed the first non fiction Cider with Rosie. This is the second one. Priced at GBP7.79 for a hard cover, it is an absolute steal. And the best part is, I cannot find any visible damage on the book, the very reason it was marked down from GBP12.99.

This book shares with us what it means to celebrate Christmas. It is in fact, a book for life, not just for Christmas. Filled with personal stories, it offers good advice for slowing down and staying calm to enjoy the Christmas magic during the festive season.

Perhaps it is the timing or the season in one's life, I find that chapter 6 on honoring the melancholy resonates the most with me. Indeed, grief is a part of life, and sometimes life can be hard, and hard to understand. As quoted, according to Caroline Abrahams, charity director of Age UK, "Loneliness is a feeling people experience when the relationship they have do not match up to those they would like to have. When this feeling persists it can have a negative impact on wellbeing and quality of life."

On the theme of loneliness, the author shares some really good tips on how to deal with it. Loneliness is often invisible. Most people will not tell you that they are suffering. As such, we cannot tell someone else's emotional experience, and it is not just during the Christmas season, it could be any time of the year - the shadow of loss, the beating heart of sorrow, the searing pain of loneliness and the full ache of wishing things are different. We can only help to reduce the pain of loneliness and elevate spirits by being kind to one another.

If I ever read this self-help book a second time, I hope I will feel differently when I come to chapter 6 again.

Review: Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

3 stars for Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa.

This is a tale about the value of kinship, the magic of reading and the power of books that bring together people from all walks of life, and to a smaller extent, the meaning to living.

Set in Jimbocho, Tokyo, the story of living in a bookstore with unlimited access to books is every booklover's dream. How I wish the same for myself, that I too, have a wild, carefree and unconventional uncle who owns and operates a secondhand bookshop, one where I get to work and live in at the same time. It will be a dream come true.

Though the story revolves around a bookstore and books, it is not a story just about manning a bookstore and selling books, it is also about relationship managing, networking and connecting to people. There are obvious parallels between doing a book business and living a life. The author works to draw a parallel between the two, to be connected to people through books. There is the joy to be had in connecting to someone we have little or nothing in common with through books. There are also the wonders of being connected to secondhand books, to be given the chance to experience encounters or connections that transcend time, to be a part of that bookstore where readers can feel the quiet flow of time.

To quote "Even though we think of it as an independent business, what matters in the industry more than anything are the relationships you have with people. I guess that's probably true of the world in general."

Besides the theme of relationship dynamics, the author also explores perspectives and possibilities. People's frame of mind change over time and so do their views on living life on their own terms and on values that feel true to themselves - the search for meaning in life and what one truly wants. Through the characters, we have glimpses about living life, about seeing the world, and about exploring a whole range of possibilities out there.

To quote ".. I don't know, maybe it takes a long time to figure out what you're truly searching for. Maybe you spend your whole life just to figure out a small part of it."

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop is not the most ideal story for me, but it is definitely a refreshing one with a gem of a book cover. The paperback with rows of upright books gracing the cover make a lovely addition to my bookshelf.

And yes, I will love to have a Morisaki Bookshop, one where I can call my own.

Review: Demeter's Tablet (Nia Rivers Adventures #2) by Ines Johnson

3 stars for Demeter's Tablet (Nia Rivers Adventures book 2) by Ines Johnson.

While readers visit China and learn about ancient Chinese history in book 1 Dragon Bones, we are transported to Greece this time to acquire a knowledge of the Ottoman Empire. Greece was under Ottoman rule for over four hundred years.

In this book, the protagonist, Nia Rivers goes on an adventure to investigate the mysteries of an ancient cult that promises everlasting life. The rumors of the cult went back for hundreds of years - it invited all into its ranks, rich and poor, male and female, philosophers and slaves. The rituals that the initiates undertook to get into the cult had never been revealed. All any outsiders knew was that, once accepted, the initiates were promised everlasting life, riches, and knowledge. Basically, Nia's job is to search for the missing tablet that depicts the sacred rites of this group, if it ever is true and can be found.

As with most, if not all Greek stories, this book involves not just the Olympians, but also their Titan parents. While it is interesting and exciting to read about Greek mythology once again, I cannot help but feel that something is missing. I find it hard to pick up the book to continue reading after each and every break. The gist of it is, I do not look forward to reading where I last leave off. I think the reason is the issue with Nia's memory loss. She is constantly trying to recall her past, to regain anyone and everyone's past that has been lost to her. Though she is visited by time-lapsed visions, they are not enough to reveal the person she is or used to be. Her inability to recover her lost memories grates on my nerves after a while.

Nia is an immortal that remains forever unchanged physically but mentally ancient. But the real story behind is still much unknown as the author dangles a carrot in front of readers to entice reading. This is where I get put off - too many missing pieces to the puzzle. And based on whatever is revealed of Nia, it all points to a promiscuous lifestyle in her past which for the life of her, she cannot remember. It gets tiring reading such a story. I am going to stay away from this series, at least for some time.

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 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 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 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: Do Not Disturb by Freida McFadden

3 stars for Do Not Disturb by Freida McFadden.

This story reminds me very much of another book. The author herself knows it and even makes a deliberate attempt to hint about it in her story though without citing the title. For those of us who have read that book (and I think most of us, voracious readers, will have), you will know which book I am referring to. Both stories revolve around a remote and quiet motel - Baxter Motel in this book - but that is where the similarity ends.

Do Not Disturb is supposedly an addictive psychological thriller. I finish reading it in two days' time and that says something about it being a page turner, right? But while I am curious about the story and its ending, I am not super impressed by the development of the story. Perhaps because I keep thinking about the other book while I read, and my expectation just becomes higher. I will likely have enjoyed this book more if there has been no parallel drawn or expectation to begin with.

Overall, this is a fast and fairly entertaining read. I am not overly impressed by the story and its ending, but I may give this author another try.

Review: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

3 stars for The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.

This book has been at the back of my mind ever since my ex-colleague turned friend Gi mentioned to me in passing, that she has read it. I know vaguely that the story has something to do with depression, but other than that, I have no idea the writing style nor the finer details of the story. Due to recent happenings, I decide to read this book, to see if it can offer me a better understanding to this mental illness.

The Bell Jar is a depressing story of a woman struggling with mental health. The protagonist, a 19-year old Miss Esther Greenwood, feels inadequate all the time. Even though she excels academically, she sees herself as anything but good; she is a terrible cook, she cannot dance, cannot ride a horse, cannot ski, does not know shorthand and does not know enough languages. She has trouble sleeping, eating and reading. As her condition progressively worsens, she undergoes the dreaded bell jar experience, the sudden descent into deep depression, one that triggers suicide attempt, and was finally warded. Through it all, the novel explores social expectations of women in the 1950s. It examines Esther's quest to forge her own identity, to pursue what she wants in life, to be herself rather than what society expects her to be. The book also gives an account of the treatment of mental health in that same period of time.

It is interesting to note that the protagonist's descent into mental illness parallels that of the author's own experience with what may have been clinical depression. Author Sylvia Plath died by suicide at the age of thirty, a month after the book's first United Kingdom publication. The writer's suicide on 11 February 1963 brought her instant fame in England. Unfortunately, the limelight comes too late to help this young American woman stranded in the British countryside with two young children and no money in the early sixties.

Truth be told, I find no joy in reading this book. It is sad and gloomy and all too depressing. Each time I put the book down for a break, I find myself dreading to continue with this cheerless story. I am also put off by the way the story flits about and moves on before finishing the parts that are clearly left hanging in the air. The book list down all possible ways to end one's life. You name it, the story has it. It is definitely not a book for those who are suffering from depression, anxiety or panic attacks. At the end of the book, I find myself none the wiser about major depressive disorder. It does not offer me any further information to what I already know about depression, except that this book, the only novel by the American writer and poet Sylvia Plath, contains references to real people and events in the author's life.

Review: Extraordinary Hearts: A Journey of Cardiac Medicine and the Human Spirit by John A. Elefteriades, MD

3 stars for Extraordinary Hearts: A Journey of Cardiac Medicine and the Human Spirit by John A. Elefteriades, MD.

This book is about the human heart and the human spirit that dwells within. The author is a medical doctor and heart surgeon. In this book, he shares ten of the cases that have touched him the most and leave a deep imprint on his being.

Besides getting to know the daily life of this cardiac surgeon and some of his patients, readers also learn about the different heart conditions such as coronary artery disease, aortic aneurysm, aortic dissection, and cardiac reparative procedures. I especially enjoy the author's sharing of real-life clinical application of suspended animation in cardiac surgery under Still Life in chapter 5. It is also interesting to learn about the two nurses, the scrub nurse and the circulating nurse, in any operating room, their responsibilities and importance.

Though there are shortcomings that still exist in modern-day medicine, it is amazing to see how science and medicine have advanced to the stage where the heart-lung machine has been invented to enable heart operations to take place smoothly. It is an eye-opener to see how modern surgery offers solutions and treatments in a bid to prolong life.

Extraordinary Hearts is a good to know book. It is informational as well as educational. However, I cannot help but wonder if it is also about fame and wealth and riches. Almost all the cases mentioned involved patients who are well-known and in all likelihood, well-to-do. I wonder if the author will remember a patient enough to want to share his or her story if it is the average man in the street. I doubt so. Also, I feel that the doctor gets carried away by the background of the patients he chooses to share in his book. He delves too much into the specifics of these patients' careers, what they do, and how famous or popular or well-liked they are by their community.

Finally, what I cannot stand the most in this book, is the author's constant reference of his cases in relation to his religious belief. Yes, we never know what will happen to those patients with severe heart and health issues, both during and after the heart operation. They may not survive. Or they will pull through to be long-term survivors, and if they do, they are not miracles but statistical outliers. They have a chance to continue living because of the surgery performed by the good doctor.

As I mentioned above, Extraordinary Hearts is a good to know book. However, it is not a book suitable for all. Half of the book is dedicated to knowing the human heart and open-heart surgery, the other half to the human spirit and whatever else. So, depending on one's worldview and religious beliefs, this can either be an enjoyable read or an annoying one.

Review: Rogue Protocol (Murderbot Diaries #3) by Martha Wells

3 stars for Rogue Protocol (Murderbot Diaries book 3) by Martha Wells.

When I borrowed Murderbot Diaries book 2 Artificial Condition and book 3 Rogue Protocol - on top of a few other books - from the library three weeks ago, I wasn't sure if I will have the time to read them all. But being overzealous with books that I rarely managed to secure, I decided to risk hauling the books home against my better judgement. Looking back, I cannot be more glad to have done just that. This post is proof that my weight-bearing risk has been worth it.

Once again, I have a great time with the rogue Murderbot, a heartless killing machine that is not so cold-blooded actually. It is in fact one of the most humane version of a nonhuman; it finds itself in moral dilemmas more often than not.

Rogue Protocol is about the investigation of the failed terraforming attempt at Milu and the possibility of dealing with alien remnants. The story is exciting and absorbing as much as it is funny and entertaining. But I do have one slight grievance against the storytelling, and that is, it gets too technical at some point, bad enough that I have issues visualizing the scenes in my mind's eyes. Well, I try solving it by reading the same passage or sentence a few times, and it works to some extent.

Regardless of the difficulties in transforming words into images, I am looking forward to my next library trip. Hopefully I will have good luck with procuring book 4 Exit Strategy.

Review: Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter

3 stars for Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter.

It feels good to be reading a classic children's fiction. I feel as if time has turned back; I am a little girl once again, sitting by myself and enjoying those magical moments created scene after scene from my own imagination as I devour the pages of my hardcover book.

This book is about eleven-year-old Pollyanna Whittier who comes to stay with her strict aunt (mother's sister) in New England. She is a girl who constantly finds things to be glad about. According to Pollyanna, when we are searching for the glad things, we sort of forget the other kind, such as the things we really want, and after a while, it comes naturally, to be glad for things. And mostly, there is always something about everything that we can be glad about, if we keep hunting long enough to find it.

Besides playing the 'just being glad' game, Pollyanna also teaches her aunt (and us, the readers) the meaning of living. To quote "You breathe all the time you're asleep, but you aren't living. I mean living - doing the things you want to do: playing outdoors, reading, climbing hills, talking to Mr Tom in the garden, and Nancy, and finding out all about the houses and the people and everything everywhere all through the perfectly lovely streets I came through yesterday. That's what I call living, Aunt Polly. Just breathing isn't living!"

Put simply, Pollyanna is a 'being glad for' story. It teaches us to always look on the bright side of things and be glad for things in life. Its positivity is felt throughout the story. It is a book suitable for children of all ages as it teaches the meaning to living and being grateful for things. My only grouse is the wordings applied which I am not used to. To name a few for example, the use of ter instead of to, and yer instead of your, and ye instead of you. To quote "I'm afraid you'll have ter have bread and milk in the kitchen with me. Yer aunt didn't like it - because you didn't come down ter supper, ye know." Though I'm reading Pollyanna, it's hard to be one. Because the wordings do make reading tiresome after a while. But understandably, I let it go due to the age of the book. It is, after all, a 1913 novel.

Review: Fangs by Sarah Andersen

3 stars for Fangs by Sarah Andersen.

Fangs is a love story between a vampire and a werewolf. It tells us what happens when a bloodsucker and a wolfman start having a relationship.

Overall, this is an entertaining and relaxing graphic novel that is relatively short and easy to read. While some scenes are cute and funny, they are not meant for teens due to the adult language and intimate moments.

To give a glimpse of the funny moments, below are two of the first few comic strips that enticed me to continue reading.

Review: Places I Stopped on the Way Home: A Memoir of Chaos and Grace by Meg Fee

3 stars for Places I Stopped on the Way Home: A Memoir of Chaos and Grace by Meg Fee.

I am not sure what to make of this memoir. It is a book I enjoy reading but do not enjoy in it. Call me anything but shallow, I feel that the author should have loved herself more, treat herself with more kindness and respect. She deserves better. But then, these are all in the past. And so, it is good to know that she knows to keep going.

This book is a collection of essays that covers ten years of the author's living in New York, from when she was accepted to Juilliard at the age of eighteen. It is a brutally honest storytelling, sad and bittersweet yet flowing with youthful enthusiasm and hope. It records the author's attempt to find happiness and meaning in life. Her constant search for answers reveals a life laced with more pessimism than not, more sadness than happiness, more grief than joy, more fear than security, more chaos than balance, more questions than answers. Basically, the perspectives project a depressing life filled with heartaches and dripping with loneliness.

I have never felt more alive reading a memoir about friendship and love, heartbreak and loneliness, fear and insecurity, and failure and suffering, all in the promise of a yet to be. Sad as it is, however, there are times I cannot understand why the author chooses to subject herself to such misery. It is good that the author faces up to it eventually and learns to self-love.

This book is a reminder to self-love, to live in the present, to live life to the fullest no matter where we are and to treasure what we have. Home is not a place. Home is where the heart is.

Review: The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life by David Brooks

3 stars for The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life by David Brooks.

I am not much of a reader of self-help books. It is only in recent few years that I start reading this genre. I may not have read that many self-help books but I know it when I come across one that is like a spark to my heart, a light bulb clicking on and illuminating the truth; the truths of life, something I already know all along and then seeing them put in words, elevate it to a different level. What I want to say is, I don't have this feeling with this book. It is difficult to enjoy reading The Second Mountain, least of all like it.

Having read the inspiring introduction, I thought I will be equally blown away by the rest of the book. But I am sorely disappointed. I don't usually enjoy reading a book's introduction but I always read it. Ironically, this book's introduction is one of the best I have ever read. Among the topics covered, the author talks about happiness and joy and the difference between them. He shares the reason behind the birth of this book. It reveals the author's vulnerability and perhaps because of it, feels most personal and relatable. Whereas, the rest of his book feels more like a collection of quotes where he takes the curriculum of other people's knowledge and passes it along. The only impressive thing out of it is that it goes to know how widely read the author is.

Having said the above, don't get me wrong. I do not mean to say this self-help book is no good. It is just the way the content is being delivered to the reader that does not sit so well with me. I do not doubt the sincerity of the author, but I also cannot remember much of what I have read and learned from him at the end of his book. There are simply information overload from his quotes and stories of others which come across as directionless at times. The wisdom presented is generalised at best. Still, I believe there are others who will benefit - much more than me - from this book. Ultimately, this is a book about finding meaning and purpose in life through relationships and commitments (after worldly success has failed to fulfill).

If you are like me, someone who does not like that a book is excessively filled with writings put together with stories and parables and quotes from other people, you can consider simply reading the introduction and the conclusion chapter on The Relationalist Manifesto. It provides a good summary of the case against hyper-individualism of the current moment, and for relationalism, which the author believes, is a better way to live.

Review: Sleigh Rides and Silver Bells at the Christmas Fair (Wynbridge #5) by Heidi Swain

3 stars for Sleigh Rides and Silver Bells at the Christmas Fair (Wynbridge book 5) by Heidi Swain.

It is not my usual practice to skip books when they come in a series. Truth be told, before I start out my journey with Sleigh Rides and Silver Bells, I worry about being clueless since I have missed out the first four books. In the end, my concerns are unwarranted as this book proves itself to be somewhat of a standalone even though it is part of a series.

It is not easy to find a good Christmas story, especially one to my liking. Most Christmas themed books are filled with clichéd plot and clichéd characters. And one thing for sure, it always starts off bad and worsens progressively before it turns for the better and concludes with "all's well that ends well". Sleigh Rides and Silver Bells is no different; the story and plot is predictable to a fault. I enjoy the first half of the book where I masquerade as Anna trying to find a perfect place to spend a quiet, peaceful Christmas and ends up with the Connellys at Wynthorpe Hall. But the same cannot be said of the second half where I struggle to get through the family feud involving the three Connellys brothers to finally reach the happily ever after.

Sleigh Rides and Silver Bells is a heartwarming story of Christmas magic, healing and love. But I feel that the story is non too cliché a Christmas fiction for me. I hope my next Christmas read will be a different one. A vastly different one.

Well, overused story setting aside, there is one thing I do adore much about this book though. And that is the lovely book cover of a picture. Look at that!

Review: Psycho House (Psycho #3) by Robert Bloch

3 stars for Psycho House (Psycho book 3) by Robert Bloch.

I finish reading Psycho House late last night and promptly heave a sigh of relief. Considering my ongoing crochet project, it is by no means an easy feat to finish reading the Psycho trilogy in succession and post this review in time to wrap up my Halloween reads before October runs out. Seriously, it never crosses my mind that I have the capability nor capacity to add more than one horror story to my repertoire of literary criticism this month. One Thin Air is good enough. A bonus when The Sun Down Motel comes along. Then before I know it, I have completed Psycho I and Psycho II and aiming to finish a Psycho III.

More than thirty years have passed since the happenings in Psycho I. The Bates house and motel which were burned down years ago have now been rebuilt and restored. Unfortunately, with the replica of the house and motel, the psycho also attempts to stage a comeback.

This is one story which keeps me going and guessing all the time. Given the way the author weaves his plot and his courage to kill off characters since Psycho I and II, there is no way to know for sure who the Norman Bates in this book is. Suddenly, every character in Psycho House has the potential to pass off as the psychopath. Well, one never knows.

With the conclusion of Pyscho House, I have come to the end of the Psycho trilogy. I am glad I did not give up on this series given that I did not like Psycho II much, but at least now I can hold my head up high and say I have read all three books. Well, if you ask me, I will say Psycho book 1 will have done very well on its own, and in my opinion, it may have been better being a standalone.

Review: Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein

3 stars for Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein.

This is my third attempt to read the book. For my first two tries, I cannot for the life of me recall reason for the reading failure other than a vague recollection that I did not go anywhere beyond the first few chapters. All things considered, I think I did a good job this time round as I manage to enjoy more than half of this original version of the science fiction classic, complete and uncut with a preface by Virginia Heinlein, erm.. before it loses me again. Yes.

This book was first published in 1961, eight years before The United States' Apollo 11's first crewed mission to land on the Moon. It is quite amazing to think that way before man's first successful Moon landing, author Robert Heinlein has already set the wheels turning to piece together a story about Earth making successful contact with another planet, another civilised race - the Martians. It goes to show how creative this writer's imagination is.

Stranger in a Strange Land revolves around an intelligent being with the genes and ancestry of a man. He is a man, but he does not think like one having been brought up on Mars by the Martian way shaped by Martian environment. He thinks like a Martian and feels like a Martian. In fact, he is more a Martian than a man and possesses great powers exclusive to the Martians. The author makes it easy for readers to guess who the stranger is and which planet this strange land is referring to.

There are three things I like about this novel. First is the good sense of humor throughout the book and the good dose of innocence as displayed by the Man from Mars, Valentine Michael Smith. He seems like an ordinary young male human, bright, docile and eager to learn, but he is more than he appears to be due to his strange background and upbringing. As such, I find myself constantly entertained by Smith and his grokking. Yes, he groks! Second is the superb display of political and media manipulation. I read with great delight the many conversations so masterfully crafted to show social media manipulation as a political tool with science fiction as the backdrop. Third and also last is the unexpected twists and turns of the story. Though a slow-paced story, it is not easy to predict what Smith is going to do next and this makes the reading fun and forward looking.

I will have gladly given this book a 4-star rating or more has it not been the way the story develops two-thirds into the book. From the writing, I have an inkling where the story is heading and my intuition tells me that I am not going to like it. As usual, intuition wins and I find myself losing grip with the story, especially when the Man from Mars goes into the sacred grounds of Archangel Foster Tabernacle of the Church of the New Revelation to meet with the Supreme Bishop. It didn't get any better from then on but progressively worse. There are pages and pages of discussion on religion. This science fiction of a story has turned into a wearying religious philosophy. I am so not interested to grok the topic of faith and doctrine even though I am only an egg (in the Martian sense), so I started skipping large chunks of text. And before I know it, I have reached the end of the book. Well, at least the ending chapter is funny and entertaining still.

I am thankful to friend Robert (of Mafia and Pet Society) for recommending this book to me. It has been an entertaining read (save the religious portion). I have finally completed my journey with the Man from Mars. And I think I have learnt to grok, not perfect but can make do.

Review: My Ideal Bookshelf by Thessaly La Force

3 stars for My Ideal Bookshelf by Thessaly La Force.

Books find readers. Yes, you heard me; I believe a book seek its reader. Books always unexpectedly find me instead of the other way around. And when it does, I will reshuffle my Reading List and go with the flow. What I like to say really is, I did not seek this book. Interestingly, this book comes to me at the right time, right after I have read My Bookstore. Any other time and I will likely have dismissed the book.

It is interesting peeking into other people's reading lives, especially people from all walks of life - actors, architects, artists, athletes, cartoonists, chefs, composers, curators, dancers, designers (for book cover, fashion, graphic, interior, jewelry, typeface), doctors, editors, filmmakers, historians, illustrators, journalists, librarians, musicians, photographers, poets, producers, violist, writers - to see what they have read or are reading or are rereading. It feels good to be among people who loves to read. I have an enjoyable time thumbing through the pages of this book, examining the bookshelves of every contributor in there, checking out the hidden gems in their collection, that is, books I never know existed, and it goes without saying, adding them to my ever-growing Reading List.

In some ways this book helps to accentuate the different reasons for reading. Different people see things differently and have different taste in books. They look for different things in books and they look at different things on books. It every much depends on people's upbringing and what they do for a living. The same book can mean different things to different people, or in different stages of life. What I glean from this book is, while most will advise "never judge a book by its cover", those who work in the artistic side of publishing, say an illustrator/artist will tell us to ignore that advice because to them, people judge books by their covers. Literally. Every day. Well, I think they are not wrong either.

My Ideal Bookshelf. The book title in itself is thought-provoking enough. It set me thinking. What does it mean to create my own ideal bookshelf? Hmm.. There is actually no such thing as one ideal bookshelf. Because a lot depends on where I am, physically and emotionally, when I decide to pick up a book and gives it a chance. It also depends on the different seasons of life. What I select today may be completely different from what I will assemble say one year later. What it means is, I may build my ideal bookshelf every year of my life and it will turn out to be completely different each time, though still as satisfying. Ultimately, it is not the building of an ideal bookshelf that matters, but rather, the ongoing search for the ideal book, the one more that I will love to read and hold dear for the rest of my life. That is the reason why my Reading List is growing longer by the day as I am constantly in search of and adding more good reads.

Nevertheless, I will still like to go ahead to put together my ideal bookshelf. It will display books that made me cry, books that I have read and reread, books that changed me, shaped my thinking and made me who I am today, books that I love most, and books that I think is the best I will ever read. These are books that are linked to the different moments of my life. They may be books I want on my ideal bookshelf for now, but who knows what the future has in store for me.

Reading is not simply a hobby or something done to pass time. Reading is a lifestyle, my lifestyle. Books are an essential part of my life and life story. There is nothing that parallels the physical book, nothing like its weight and feel, touch and smell, and the crackle of its spine. I am proud to say that I am the happy owner of physical books 1-6 below.

《My ideal bookshelf》

1. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
2. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
3. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
4. Stranger with My Face by Lois Duncan
5. The Lord of the Ring trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien
6. Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews
7. Across the Universe trilogy by Beth Revis
8. Red Letter Day by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
9. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
10. Promise Me by Richard Paul Evans
11. Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
12. Ways to Live Forever by Sally Nicholls
13. Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
14. The Year of Less by Cait Flanders
15. What I Know for Sure by Oprah Winfrey

So, the big questions is, if you are tasked to share your passion for reading with the world, to select a small shelf of books that represent you, books that have made you the person you are today, your favourite among the favourites, what books will you choose?