The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf
The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf |
| Posted: 01 Dec 2011 11:48 PM PST IT'S almost that time of the year again when greetings and gifts will be exchanged. Now, there's nothing we bibliophiles at Reads love more than a beautifully-wrapped book (or two!) in our stockings, but with so many books out there, making a choice can be quite a challenge. So we'd love to know which book you'd like to give someone as a present, and what book would make the perfect gift for you. And if you are one of five readers who sends in the best, most creatively/touchingly/hilariously explained reasons for the chosen titles, you stand a chance to win a RM100 voucher from the kind people at MPH Bookstores! To participate, go to thestar.com.my/lifestyle/lifebookshelf/ and fill out the "Gift-A-Book" survey. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Posted: 01 Dec 2011 11:48 PM PST Cabin Fever Author & illustrator: Jeff Kinney Publisher: Puffin Books, 224 pages GREG Heffley is the No.1 suspect when school property is damaged, but he's innocent ... sort of. A blizzard hits, trapping the Heffleys indoors and buying Greg a little more time – but really, perhaps being punished would actually be preferable to being stuck inside with your family during the holidays! The Heroes Of Olympus Book 2: The Son Of Neptune Author: Rick Riordan Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd, 544 pages IN The Lost Hero, the first book of this series, three demigods named Jason, Piper, and Leo made their first visit to Camp Half-Blood, where they learn that, with four other half-bloods (the offspring of the union between humans and gods), they must defend the world from destruction. Who are the other four demigods? Well, at another camp thousands of miles away, a new camper appears to be the son of Neptune, god of the sea. With an ever-expanding cast of brave-hearted heroes and formidable foes, this second book in The Heroes Of Olympus series offers all of the action, pathos, and humour that Rick Riordan fans crave. Legend Author: Marie Lu Publisher: Putnam Juvenile, 336 pages FIFTEEN-year-olds June and Day are both citizens of the Republic, but while June is a member of the elite and is being groomed for a career in the military, Day is the country's most wanted criminal. Their paths cross when Day is wrongly accused of murdering June's brother. June swears to make Day pay for her family's loss while Day must save himself and his own loved ones. But, in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth about their country and the sinister lengths it will go to keep its secrets. Inheritance Author: Christopher Paolini Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 880 pages IN this conclusion to Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle, Eragon and Saphira must finally confront the evil and greedy King of Alagaësia. The fate of the empire lies on the Dragon Rider's shoulders – will he be able to defeat the king and restore justice to Alagaësia? And if so, at what cost? Eight Keys Author: Suzanne LaFleur Publisher: Puffin Books, 224 pages ELISE and Franklin have been best friends since she can remember, but things seem different when they start secondary school. Suddenly, Elise feels like a fish out of water and everything seems to go wrong. Even Franklin. Then, one day, Elise receives a mysterious key and uncovers an incredible secret – a secret that just might change everything, for the better ... if Elise lets it. Gangsta Granny Author: David Walliams Illustrator: Tony Ross Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books, 240 pages BEN has to stay at granny's house – worst luck! Talk about boring: all she wants to do is play Scrabble, for crying out loud. Little does Ben know that old gran used to be a jewel thief and she's not quite retired, either. Granny wants to steal the Crown jewels and her plans include help from Ben! Brother Sun, Sister Moon (Saint Francis of Assisi's Canticle Of The Creatures) Author: Katherine Paterson Illustrator: Pamela Dalton Publisher: Chronicle Books, 36 pages IN Brother Sun, Sister Moon, award-winning author Katherine Paterson re-imagines a hymn of praise originally written by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1224. Illuminated with the exquisite illustrations of cut-paper artist Pamela Dalton, this picture book offers a stunningly beautiful tribute to nature. Stuck Author & Illustrator: Oliver Jeffers Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books, 32 pages WHAT do you do if your kite gets stuck up a tree? You throw something up after it to unstick it, of course. That's what Floyd does, but a pair of shoes, a ladder, a pot of paint, the kitchen sink, an orang utan and a whole lot of other stuff later, the kite's still stuck. Will poor Floyd ever get his kite back? Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Posted: 01 Dec 2011 11:39 PM PST This local author's debut short story collection nicely shows off her development as a writer. The Female Cell Author: Rumaizah Abu Bakar Publisher: Silverfish Books, 166 pages RUMAIZAH Abu Bakar's work was first published in the collection News From Home (Silverfish Books, 2007) alongside short fiction by Shi-Li Kow and Chuah Kok Yee, who both went on to publish individual collections (Without Anchovies and Ripples respectively). Rumaizah's solo debut, The Female Cell, is very much a mixed bag comprising fiction, short pieces of observational writing best described as vignettes, and non-fiction travel writing. In all of them her greatest strength is her ability to capture the smallest of details and to freeze the moment. She is clearly the kind of writer who enjoys travelling with notebook in hand, capturing the minutia that most of us would be too preoccupied to register. I particularly enjoyed her vignettes in the first section of the book, Love, Lies And Lives. (I'm a great fan of this form – the best example of which is Sam Shepherd's Motel Tales). Kuala Lumpur's LRT system is the focal point of several of the pieces and she captures unusual individuals, small dramas and conflicts, and creates a sense of menace very well. Rumaizah draws on her inside knowledge of the hotel industry for several of the pieces in News From Home, and revisits this territory here. In Christmas in July, a world famous Michelin-starred chef returns to the hotel kitchen where he started his career 22 years before and stirs memories of old rivalries; while The Moon Fairy involving a battle over a hotel's moon cake promotion powerfully demonstrates the politics of this small enclosed world. The strongest piece of fiction in the collection is The Other Woman, which records a pivotal moment in the relationship of two lovers after one of them is forced to admit that he is marrying someone else to please his family. The inner turmoil of the main characters contrasts with the matter-of-factness of the setting; the sweeper idly observing them, and the passing tourists. Counting Raindrops is a story of adolescent sexual awakening which has a mystical, almost fairy-tale like quality. Other pieces of fiction don't work quite so well. Sunny Side Up feels like an incident in search of a story. House Husband captures family politics rather well, as 75-year-old Tok practices some reverse psychology on her unwed daughter, but the piece needed pushing further as it leaves us with many unanswered questions. In Shoe Bags, a story set in Mecca, two Malaysian sisters become separated during a visit to the Al-Haram mosque. One is never seen again. The setting is very well drawn, and real tension is generated, but the story is let down by the rather flat ending. Any short story writer surely owes it to his/her readers to provide all the clues that might be needed to at least make a decent stab at what happens in the end. In this case we find that we do not know the characters, or their relationship, well enough to be able to begin to make a guess about the cause of Kak Teh's disappearance. The second part of the book comprises travel stories. The Wooden Liver Box tells of a visit to a pyramid and an encounter with an unusual tour guide. It has a corny "I've just spoken to a ghost" ending, much loved by Victorian horror writers, but the detail in the setting largely redeems it. The other pieces in this section are more straightforward travel pieces. She describes the frustrations of travel so well, and has a keen eye for ironies. Room Ensuite tells of a holiday experience from hell in a small "Family Atmosphere" pension in Turkey with "mother-cooked meals". Elsewhere she travels to Mecca, Singapore, and Vigan City in The Philippines. Her account of a visit to Malaysia is not the tourist brochure view of Malaysia, and the way she writes about her experiences, warts and all, is refreshing. However, we are waiting for the over-arching observation that ties everything together, but it never comes. The Female Cell reveals Rumaizah as a more confident writer than she was in News From Home, and demonstrates that there are a number of directions she might move in next. (Personally I'd like to see more of Rumaizah the travel writer.) However, the collection feels rather bitty and it lacks real cohesion and, although the pieces do show real promise, many of them could have been further developed. Sharon 'Bibliobibuli' Bakar blogs at thebookaholic.blogspot.com. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan