Sunday, February 22, 2009

The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons


To write a review about this movie would be to erase the beauty that has etched itself within me after having watched it. I want to continue savouring the sweetness I received during the experience.

All I can say is that it is a beautiful film about living life and loving the people in your life. It is definitely a movie worth savouring thoughtfully.

I brought out with me smiles on my face as the credits rolled to signal the end of its running. I usually cry when I watch emotionally pensive movies such as this but this time, I did not. I guess knowing that it had been written by F.Scott Fitzgerald who had also written The Great Gatsby, one of my favourite novels, helped me lock in my literary perusal. There were poignant scenes of death and loss, but this intellectual approach to the film protected me from an outburst.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Regency romances and chic-lit

I realise I've fallen hard for the genre of Regency Romance. It all started with Kiera Knightley's interpretation of Lizzy Bennet in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Then I started going crazy over everything to do with Mr Darcy. I bought spin-offs on his character and the love between he and Lizzy.

Then it was everything about Austen. I ravished books on her world in the early 19th century and her wisdom about living.
I love Amanda Grange's series of diaries written from the viewpoints of the male leads in Austen's novels. I have lapped up Edmund's and Darcy's diaries. My next target is Knightley's diary. Ironically, I used to hate Austen's works as a Lit major. I guess it's different studying them as opposed to reading them for pleasure.

Chic-lit came up with novels on becoming a Regency lady in her era through time travel and entering a secluded place; one away from the hustle and bustle of city life. I threw myself into this world and have no way of coming out of it. That's fine by me. :D I especially love their covers, and of course, the stories contained within. Reading my recommended lists of books will tell you that. Most of the books fall in this category.

Yet another 'new' bookshop

Kinokuniya has been around for a rather long time but I went to the one in Liang Court only today. It is really big and a reader's paradise. I need at least 1 and a half hours to walk through the whole place, and this is merely restricted to the English book and magazine sections.

The children and young adult sections are full of jewels. I had to resist the temptation to buy a few books. There are books on well-loved characters like Dora, Strawberry Shortcake, Barbie, Harry Potter and the Narnians. It is such a pity that people are ignorant of the wonders to be found there.

The Literature section is also another treasure chest. Most of the books are chic-lit though. The whole collection of Little Black Dress Books is there. I bought one with a bright pink cover, my favourite colour. It is a Regency romance. It is entitled The Rules of Gentility. I now own a LBD book!

The stationery section is also a dazzle for ladies who like pretty and cute things. I bought pink flower stickers. I also saw paper crafts, drawstring and little tote bags, notebooks and diaries, and letter pads amongst other things. The designs are absolutely gorgeous and colourful, especially the Japanese ones. I was brought back to my secondary school days when I used to collect notepads.

This has become another favourite bookshop of mine, besides PageOne, MPH Citylink and Harris Suntec. :D

I discovered the Harris bookshop at Changi Airport T3. It was awesome, as I had finally found a book I have been searching for a long time. I couldn't buy it though, as I was flying off in a short time. I've not found the book in any other bookshop, and even in London, however. :S

Waterstone's at Charing Cross and Foyles at Embankment are two huge bookshops in London. They are as big as the Borders/Books Etc bookshop at Bayswater and Oxford Circus there. I bought/found unusual books and managed to find another book I had been searching for a long time. I also bought books I had seen back here, at much cheaper prices after conversion. Another bookshop I went to was Books Warehouse at Notting Hill.

Just like Rohit Brijnath, I too, zero in on bookshops at shopping malls. I have a love relationship with them too, courtesy of my parents. They take up a huge portion of my spending and I must cut down on it now that I've an additional Internet subscription plan.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Books and mags for sale!


Sugar(September 2008): a UK magazine for teenage girls at S$6. Original price was S$9.20.











Cleo Singapore(October 2008): a local magazine for women at S$3. Original price was S$4.40.










I'm also selling books for children and teenagers. There are books like Midnight Masquerade from Tiara Club series(newest book), two books from My Story series, Archie comics(double digest and holiday issue) and Teddy Bear Tales.

Please email me at siokhian@gmail.com, should you be interested in purchasing them. We will discuss the details of the exchange via email. Thanks.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Good book to devour!

I found this book in the Legend of the Sea ship's library. I am not a fan of Little Black Dress books but this particular novella kept my attention as the plot thickened. I was egging Daisy on to accept Eliot's feelings for her even though Miles had proposed to her. He was so much more sincere and even wrote a book based on his love for her! How sweet is that? This gestures resonates with the chords of my imagination. Miles's proposal was dramatic with all the stops he pulled in Venice but it seemed so elaborate that it took on a farcical-like nature as compared to Eliot's simple gestures of initial friendship, which turned into pure love for Daisy. I was so happy when she did accept Eliot's feelings for her.

The Legend of the Sea ship's library