pretty in pink :)

So..I haven't read a Malay book for the longest time. I don't know why..maybe I've been too caught up with the YA fantasy trend that is going on across the globe right now. Seriously, I'm all for Made in Malaysia things so while I was reading the newspaper today, I stumble upon the teaser cover for Ain Maisarah's new book and I decided to dug up her old books.

Who's Ain Maisarah? She's a 29 year old TESL grad from Johor who can be considered as one of the successful teen novelist in Malaysia. I think of her as a Malaysian Meg Cabot. Because her books are funny, chic, sassy and she absolutely loves pink. Most of her book covers are in that colour.

It was reported that she generated RM 5 million for her book sales. My..my..(and I'm one of those who contribute to that vast wealth). In my defence, I just can't help it. Her books are such a guilty pleasure.. you know. Wish there was a writer like her when I was a teen. Check out her blog to see the pinkness of it. :)
http://ainmaisarah.blogspot.com/

Mini revew: 'tis the season

It's Halloween and although I'm not celebrating it, I decided to review books which features witches and wizards just for fun. This is the season to be spooky, right?

Once A Witch by Carrolyn MacCullogh
Published September 14th 2009

Thoughts:
Tamsin was born in a family of powerful witches but the downside of it is that she doesn't have any magical powers of her own unlike her super powerful and beautiful sister. So one day, a stranger comes to her grandmother's shop and just to prove her worth she decided to help the guy find a mysterious clock. Only it's not what it seems. The guy turns out to be another warlock, wizard, magician who is enemies with Tamsin's family for generations.
Oh dear..and Tamsin's power is actually to render other magicians powers useless, meaning other people's power cannot work on her. How cool!
I simply pity Tamsin in the first few chapters but cannot help but feel annoyed when she help the bad guy through sheer ignorance.

Verdict: 4 stars.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman
Published August 11th 2009

Thoughts:
There should be a warning with this book. 18SX or something because this is definitely not for the young or the young at heart like me. My instant dislike comes from all the booze and sex that certainly is not important to the main storyline.
This reminds me a lot of Harry Potter and Narnia. I'm not sure this is a parody but it's certainly close to that. Quentin; a 16 year old kid gets accepted into a prestigious magical college. Sounds familiar?
There  instead of becoming a nice magician like Harry, he befriended a group of the most obnoxious magician wannabes ever. So he fell in love with a brilliant but introvert witch named Alice. Graduate and become losers without a job until a secret button found by his arch nemesis; Penny transported them into a fantasy world called Fillory. Thus the story gets weirder and weirder up to the point that I'm completely baffled by it.
Since the book is divided into three parts, I found myself only liking the first part during which Quentin is still studying in Bakersbill.Other than that..well. It's more of a book for our male counterpart.

Verdict: 2 stars.

Both series have their latest book published this year and I'm still on the hunt for it. Wish me luck!

a very, very bad book sale

No, it's not what you think. The book sale is wonderfully awesome! I overheard my honourable PHD sisters (I called them sisters because all of them are much older than me and most of them are lecturers) gushing about it in the middle of our annual law research colloquium.
" Ah..what's that you say? A very very bad book sale?"
"No-lah. It's the Big Bad Wolf Sale."
How come someone who's living way over in Kelantan knows about this but not lil ol me?
So here I am, in the middle of a very hot Sunday afternoon with my loyal sidekick; Miz Wanie heading over to MAEPS at Serdang to check things out.

And gosh..we went crazy! Hardcover books at RM8 only! Dear me..dear me..

Yes..fortunately I bring my own bag otherwise I have to lugged the books around..hehe what you don't see is people carrying boxes of books..yes..boxes..it's that crazy cheap! With a tight budget (I'm always on a budget) I still managed to buy a dozen of that nice hardcover YA fantasy  and a Toy Story book for that lil tyke. I felt guilty because he was crying his eyes out when I left the house. Check out the sale pronto because it'll end on 16th!http://www.bigbadwolfbooks.com/

P.S: You know sis wish you were here!

freaky friday

"So what's up with you?" someone ask me recently.
"Nothings up..same old same old."
"Why are you so quiet now?" another person ask me on my FB.
Em..how should I answer to that one?

It's just that after months of sleeping, reading, shopping, travelling and slacking off..I finally received the letter saying that my theses supervisor is appointed and in other words get your lazy ass of that bed and start working on your Master's degree. Ooooohhh..

Okay, so I really should be thankful to be given the opportunity to pursue my Masters by my employer (which would remain anonymous..yeah right) and a scholarship to go with it and leave with full salary.

Being a weird freak of nature, I opted to do my postgraduate full time doing theses. What? Some people say I'm crazy.Honestly sometimes I think I am, it's just that I hate learning about stuff that I know I'm not going to use it in the future. I love writing and doing research, so immersing myself in something I'm interested in is more like it eventhough it will take longer than the people doing coursework. Whatever..

Actually I receive 3 free digital copies of books that I have yet to read and review. I promise I'll do that soon or else I won't get free stuff anymore..huhu. So let me doze off a bit..tata!