Bookclub - what are you reading?

[alhana]

Avid

Yeah, I watched the 1st ep of Ugly Betty last wk. Ok lah, the premise was alot like 'A Devil Wears Prada'. Think Heroes better Are u watching the latest season of CSI? It's good! My hb is a big fan of The Shield, so he's really glad it's back. Quite alot of shows to watch now. U watching the latest ANTM too? I got the day wrong..the new ep starts every Mon..but they repeat on sundays i think.

I din know Nail Gaiman counts as urban fantasy. My sis read his Sandman graphic novels, and I've read his 'Good Omens' (hilarious) and 'American Gods'.

Watched 300 yesterday. It's not bad. Story wise quite simple lah..abt the Battle of Thermopylae. How 300 Spartans tried to hold back a persian army numbering the hundreds of thousands. Watch it more for the action (it's quite gory) than story. Now waiting for David Fincher's Zodiac

 

[lipingbooks]

The Books Warehouse Sale
Public
Hall 6B
05-Apr-07 to 08-Apr-07
Start Time: 10:00; End Time : 21:00

 

[man_tou_bear]

Hi gals!!!

Good news! pre-order cum delivery from Singpost for Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows is out! check out the link at the bottom and reserve! i will be reserving mine soon!!

http://shop.vpost.com.sg/GenericMall/invoke/viewCatalog?catalog=HarryPotter07.Promo

Are we gonna start another thread on HP & the Deathly Hallows like wat we did for HP & Half Blood Prince?

 

[avid_reader]

hmm.. the thread is really quiet these days..

Bear, which version did you order? I ordered the adult version. Alhana, you have ordered yours from a secondhand bookstore?

I think I will go re-read Half Blood Prince soon.. don't quite remember what happened.

 

[necrosis]

hello everyone..

i'm reading greg keyes now.
briar king.
getting quite interesting.

finished watching prison break season 2....ended with a cliff hanger!!!!
have to wait till fall of 2007 for season 3!!!
gggrrr...

enjoy all the HP books...

 

[alhana]

Hey all

Have not had time to come in for awhile..been real busy at work, and when I get home, all my time is focused on baby, TV and my online pc game

Bear, I changed my mind and decided to watch Phantom of the Opera after all. We're watching the 2nd last show...on May 19. Spent $400+ for 3 tix...watching w my hb and sis.

Avid

Yes I will prob get from the 2nd hand bookshop. And yes, I always get the adult version. I think he's offering at a cheaper price than Vpost. And since he's so near my place, I can just drive by once he opens and pick it up. Think he'll open q early that day. I've been re-reading all the HP books..but out of order..haha. Started w GoF, then HPB, then Chamber of Secrets, now re-reading Philosopher's Stone..picked up quite a few hints that I nvr caught earlier...the joys of re-reading books

Gonna re-read Azkabhan and OoP after I'm done w PS. Like I told Bear, I don't know if I can resist turning to the last page when I get my hands on the last book

nec

Wow, u finished watching Prison Break already! My new favourite crime show now is Dexter. It has such a cool premise. Pity it's only 12 eps long for the 1st season. I've not watched the latest season of Desperate Housewives at all...so bored w it. I dun quite get Ugly Betty either..it's kinda painful to watch.

Avid

U mentioned that ure hb likes the Brit version of The Office? Do you know that YouTube has vids of some of Ricky Gervais's stand up comedy shows? It's damn funny. Search under 'Rick Gervais Animals' or 'Politics'...hilarious stuff I laughed till my sides hurt.

 

[man_tou_bear]

Hey Ladies... haven't been checking on this thread for a bit. was surprised to see that there were posts aft mine.

Avid, i order the adult version... except for the GOF everything else is adult version.. my sis is the reverse, she got everything in the kids cover.

Nec, wat's Greg Keyes abt? gd???

Alhana, i wanna watch too.. why nv chio me... i got nobody to go with... so sad...

 

[alhana]

Hi Bear

Ooh, didn't know you had no one to go with! I may be watching this Wed instead..swap with my folks coz dad's got the flu...he may not be well enough to watch it this week. Ure hb dowan to watch? My sis actually wanted to watch King Lear (the one w Ian Mckellan), but the tix damn ex, and I dunno if I can tahan 3 hrs of Shakespeare So that's a no go.

How's ure lil Corgi doing? He's such a cutie

 

[necrosis]

hey babes,

PHANTOM ROCKS. if i could post in font 999999, highlighted, bold, it cannot emphasize how PHANTOM ROCKS!!!
BEST musical i've ever seen (seen 5 others, so not like it's the only 1 lah)

greg keyes is pretty good.
jenny wurts/raymond feist standard i feel.
fantasy.
he starts with 3-5 diff char with no relation then thru circumstances, meet , fight the same fight against big bad evil dude.

quite enjoyable.

i saw the ad for king lear too. but like alhana, dunno if can tahan or not. last shakespear play i watched was midsummer's night dream. that was pretty good (was studying the text for 0 levels last time....haha, so can understand the script)

 

[necrosis]

brit version of the office is funny , but sometimes i find their accent really thick or the jokes a bit oblique.
maybe i need to work in a office to fully appreciate.
but i do like dilbert! heheh

 

[levynn]

wow... haven't been in here for some time... hello all...

how's all the reading so far?

nec... i like dilbert too. some of them actually reminded me of my own workplace... haha...

 

[avid_reader]

Thanks Alhana. I'll tell my hubby to check out Ricky Gervais's stand up comedy shows on YouTube. So you are going to watch Phantom of the Opera.. enjoy! I saw it like 10 years ago? Or was it longer... hmmmm.... Oh you mentioned Dexter.. it's showing on Fox right? Will try to catch an episode since you said it's good. We're finishing 1st season of House. And when there's really nothing else to watch we "tried" to watch the 2nd season of OC (*big yawn*)

Levynn! I'm reading Teacher Man by Frank McCourt. It's quite boring but I'm going to give it another chance so I'll keep reading..

Caught any movie lately? I saw The Pursuit of HappYness.. I think it's quite a depressing show.. the kind of hardship one has to go through. Imagine having to sell blood for money! (I know Bear has great imagination... )

 

[alhana]

Hi all

Glad to see that the thread has sort of revived..hehehe.

nec

Good to hear Phantom rocks! I keep humming the music in my head, esp after watching the movie version on Ch5 recently. It's quite funny having to work while "Masquerade" keeps playing over and over again in my head

Were you the one who also reads books by David Gemmell and Steven Eriksen? The former has died (much to my hb's dismay) and the latter has a new book coming out soon. I'm still waiting for GRRM's latest book to come out..whenever that happens.

Avid

They aired the last ep of Dexter last nite! Only 12 eps in Season 1. They were picked up for another season...dunno when that will air in the US.

I rented some movies to watch 2 wks back. Caught Babel (it was good!), World Trade Centre (boring....United 93 was the better 9/11 movie) and The Descent (monster flick ) Looking fwd to Zodiac and Spider-man 3!

 

[avid_reader]

Alhana, I've watched Babel recently too. I think it's ok only. But Cate Blanchett is one of my fav actress. World Trade Centre is the one with Nicholas Cage in it? I still don't know how we managed to finish watching.. it's so boring! I have also watched Blood Diamond.. which I think it's better than Babel. I didn't finish watching Snakes on a Plane cos I'm so sick of the snakes killing almost everyone on board by first half of the show.

So did you manage catch Little Miss Sunshine? That has got to be the most enjoyable movie I've watched recently.

 

[avid_reader]

Apologies to all who thought they have clicked wrongly to the movies thread instead

I need a good book to read! Any recommendations?

 

[trixter]

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks - my all time fav author!

this is one of the most unforgettable ones...

 

[avid_reader]

Thanks Trix. Dear John is his latest book right? I like A Walk to Remember, The Notebook and Message in a Bottle and they have all been made into movies.

 

[man_tou_bear]

Hey hey hey!

Sad to disappt u gals but i haven't been watching movies either.. i guess i m not the visual entertainment kinda person.. i mean i prefer a whole experience like plays and operas but nobody wants to go with me.. anyway the last movie i watched was A Night in the Museum. it was hilarious.. can't wait for Spidey and Harry Potter.. ooh ya Pirates of the Carribean III!!

Avid, wat i read u won't like.. still into crime and thrillers...

Hoping to get the latest from Mariam Keyes.. heehee..

Nec, Greg Keyes is gd ah.. wat book should i start with?

 

[avid_reader]

Bear you mean Marian Keyes' "Anybody Out There"? Want to read her newsletter?

Marian's March newsletter is now available.

I win a prize!
Infested with blackbirds!
Leftover anecdote from Argentine trip!
Have authors' christmas lunch!

Read on at
http://www.mariankeyes.com/diary/newsletter/2007/march.html


Other news:

Irish readers should be able to see Marian on Tubridy Tonight this coming
Saturday 6th April. And British readers can see Marian on The Paul O'Grady
show on Channel Four on 17th April.

 

[man_tou_bear]

Shd be Avid.. i didn't take note of the title... i m like that.. read the book then dun rem the title unless i wanna keep the book or the book left a very deep impression abt me.. to me the author's name is more impt.. but more oft than not, i forget both.. heehee...

 

[trixter]

avid reader - yes that is his latest book!!

you must read "The Resuce" & A Bend in the road[something like that]!!

i jus finished Dear John - so so so....touching.

 

[alhana]

Avid

Yes, World Trade centre is the one w Nic Cage..yah man, it was damn boring. For an event that was so horrific, I dunno how Oliver Stone managed to make it so dull and emotionless. I remembered tearing alot at the end of United 93. And that was a movie filled with unknowns. It ran more like a Nat'l Geographic docu rather than a movie, and yet I felt more sadness and pain watching it.

Little Miss Sunshine is not out for rent yet, so I've not had the chance to watch it. That's one of the movies I will def rent when it's available.

Bear,

If you want, come watch Phantom with us lor. I'm watching the May 19 (Sat) 8pm show. Bought the $135 tix. Let u know the seat number if ure interested..maybe still available

 

[man_tou_bear]

Alhana,

that's nice of u.. but won't i be very extra? heehee... my hb dun have any arty-farty backbone in him... and he majored in Eng Lang in NUS!! sigh....

how u find time to watch tv ah? i get so tired aft playing with my puppy.... go home, play play play until 1130, then put him to bed, wash the floor, shower and slp... no life one...

 

[alhana]

Bear

Hee..my sis already extra mah...so add you oso no diff But i dunno if Sistec will let u choose a specific seat leh. Let me know lah..if ure keen to go and want company. My hb is also not the arty farty sort despite being from NUS Arts...but he loves music and he enjoys the music from Phantom, so it was not tough getting him to go.

Oh, Catelyn is usually asleep by 8+ or latest 9..so I can watch TV after she zzzzzzzzzz. My shows usually start around 9 or later anyway..so just nice In fact, I've also found time to play my online pc game...advanced past so many missions liao..hehehe. And I'll cap off the day by reading HP before I sleep. Need to de-stress lah...work v stressful now, so I have to do the things I enjoy when I get home

 

[anemic]

Hi,

Happen to bump in.

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Knowing the healing properties of real gemstones, we are specializing in gemstones accessories.

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E.g.
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Please visit us.
http://search.ebay.com.sg/_W0QQcatrefZC12QQfrtsZ25QQsassZhealingstoneaccessories

 

[man_tou_bear]

Alhana, i got the Golden Compass!! heehee... waited for it for 4 mths i think! haven't started on it though.. catching up with some of my fav authors.. they published quite a no. of new books since i last read them..

I dun think i will get to watch Phantom liao.. so sad.. nobody wants to go with me... sigh....

Ur nites are equally as packed as mine! i get hm abt 9+, feed my hb, train and feed the dog, settle the dog, wash the floor and then its 12+ 1 liao... shower and slp..next morning the whole routine repeats... sigh...

 

[alhana]

Hi Bear!

Glad you're enjoying The Golden Compass! And The Subtle Knife is very good too...so nice to have good books to read right?

AWw, too bad abt the Phantom. Should've asked you before I went to get the tix..we really wldn't hv minded you joining us

Hehe..having Cody is almost as good as having a baby! Good practice lah!

For those who live in the East, and have yet to pre-order the last Harry Potter book, do note that the Silver Kris second hand bookshop located in Marine Parade Central's wet market is taking pre-orders now. His retail price is $42 (cheapest I've seen so far)..deposit of $10 req'd. You can collect the book from 7am on the launch date. Can't wait!

 

[man_tou_bear]

Ya man Alhana! the Golden Compass is wonderful!! i read till 1am last nite and half way through the book already! my dreams were filled with armour bears, flying witches.. i m especially enamoured by the bears!! heeheehee...

now doing more online research on His Dark Materials. heehee... got spoilers but who cares? i m too kan cheong to know wat's happening... anyway here is the link to the movie trailer of The Golden Compass!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFc2Ug7ILQM&NR=1

 

[alhana]

Thanks for the link! I sent it to my sis and she said it looks very good...*drool* Yes, I love the armored bear too

And I love Lyra's daemon

I sure am looking fwd to the movie! I hope they do the book justice.

 

[necrosis]

hello girls...

i;ve suddenly got addicted to james patterson and thought i'd share with you guys.
his is dectective/thriller/mystery kinda genre.
really quite addicitve.
and one of his books was made into a move..."along came a spider" i think.
in any case, i find his murders are quite refreshing...at least those i've read (abt 3-4 books)
also, not too emotional or whiny... (aka peter parker)
just my 2 cents.

 

[man_tou_bear]

Hey Nec,

Yups i read everything written by him that has Alex Cross as the main character... Its a lil' too jerky sometimes but way better than the Kay Scarpetta series (which leaves me baffled at times).

U can try Kathy Reich. Her novels have been adapted into a TV series named Bones. Think its showing on Channel 5 cos i read the review for the TV series on Newpaper a couple of days back.. its a bit more cheem than CSI though...

 

[man_tou_bear]

Eh, our long awaited book has arrived. How was it?

Before i go any further, i have to warn that spoilers ahead.

I hated it!!!! it ranked second from bottom aft Order of Phoenix. It sucked man.. aft waiting 10 yrs, the battle btw Lord Voldy and Harry only took less than a chapter! and who are the 2 major characters to die u tell me? I don't think Mad Eye, Dobby, Fred, Lupin and Tonks are considered major characters!

Sorry to sound so mad but i felt a bit cheated aft waiting for so long..

what abt u gals? u like it?

 

[alhana]

Hi Bear

Since you complained that you were talking to yourself, I better write something here

*Deathly Hallows Spoilers Ahead*

I actually loved the last Potter book. It wasn't my favourite (think that honour still goes to HBP & PoA), but I thought that JK Rowling tied up everything beautifully. It was quite plain that she had everything plotted out since book 1, and yet we couldn't tell till all 7 books came out. It seems she had never intended for Harry to die..she was just playing with us with hints that he might not make it. I liked the whole plot about the Deathly Hallows, the search for the horcruxes, I loved the Battle for Hogwarts, I loved the Ron/Hermione hook up (yay!), and I was torn by Snape's love for Lily. The part where he told Harry to 'Look at me'...just so that he could see Lily's eyes one more time...*sob* I've always been a Snape's-on-the-good-side shipper, so was not surprised that he turned out to be on the good side (after all, I had absolute faith in Dumbledore's trust in him)..but the chapter 'A Prince's Tale'..that really made me feel sad for Snape. I also loved the part where Harry 'died', and his conversation with Dumbledore in King's Cross.

As for the final battle, yeah, it was short, but I think if it was too long drawn out it would've been kinda overdoing it. There was already quite a lot of action preceding it. And it felt right that Harry nvr had to resort to a Killing Curse to bring down his deadly foe. In fact, Voldemort actually brought about his own destruction, which was quite apt, and ironic

My only gripe was that some of the chapters kinda dragged..esp when the trio (and duo at one point) went 'camping' all over England. Other than that, I really don't have much bad things to say about the book. One thing's for sure, I'm really looking fwd to this movie, and I hope they don't cut out too many things.

 

[man_tou_bear]

Eh, finally someone bothered to replied!

I felt that the whole saga was complicated enough but Rowling had to drag in the Deathly Hallows which doesn't have anything to do with the action Potter-Voldy fight! It made things even more confusing.

With the introduction of the Hallows, the search for the Hocruxes were shortened. Noticed how convienently they found who R.A.B was? and how they got the Hufflepuff's (i hope i rem it correctly) diatem? so easy like that! I hated the camping part!

Of cos there are bits of it i like: esp the Hermione-Ron pair up. The battle of Hogwarts was also gd, but kinda short.

Didn't get how the Elder Wand was supposed to be Harry's though. Also don't understand the King's Cross scene of the deformed baby..

 

[alhana]

Bear, think you read too fast liao..hehehe. I liked the whole Hallows part - we had some background on Harry's cloak (I was wondering how no one else seemed to have such a wonderful item); the elder wand also fit in nicely (since Voldy was going after it, thinking that he could only destroy Harry once he got his hands on it) and the resurrection stone brought Harry's dead loved ones back to help encourage him when he decided to meet his end..found that part very touching.

Think most of us knew who RAB was before Harry did..heheh. I had no problems with that. Think that's y she had Harry inherit Grimmauld Place and Kreacher..otherwise, it didn't seem as significant. And the diadem is Ravenclaw's. It first made an appearance in HBP, altho we didn't know its importance then. I didn't much enjoy the search for Hufflepuff's cup (the one in Gringott's). The escape w the dragon was kinda overboard But I guess it's kinda true to it being a children's fantasy book..hee. The adult in me would quibble.

As for the Elder Wand, I think alot of pple were confused by it. Basically, this is how it went.

The Elder wand belonged to Dumbledore after he defeated Grindewald. Dumbledore was disarmed by Draco at the end of HBP (in the tower), hence the ownership transferred to Draco. Draco was later disarmed by Harry during the flight from Malfoy's home. Hence, Harry became the true owner of the wand. It seems you don't need to own the wand physically to become the owner. You need to defeat the owner of the wand in order to claim ownership. That's why, even tho Voldy had physical ownership of the wand, the wand recognised Harry as its true master and it refused to attack him, hence causing the Avada Kedavra spell to rebound on Voldy. As for why the wand did not transfer ownership to Voldy when he 'killed' Harry, it was argued that it was becoz Harry died willingly (he did not put up a fight), hence the wand had no choice but to do the deed, since it was what its master wanted. I read this explanation off a forum.

As for King's Cross, the deformed baby was the part of Voldy's soul that was trapped in Harry (since Harry was an accidental horcrux). It was expelled when Harry 'died' to save the rest. That was Voldemort's end...his soul was so maimed and broken that nothing could be done to save him.

 

[andain]

I am currently reading 'The Kindly Ones' from Neil Gaiman's Sandman series.

I am a huge fan of his

 

[ariesta]

reading terry pratchett's going postal and thud, both are discworld. thud features commander vimes. u can roughly guess the storyline muahahahaha..there has to be at least a murder, some bitchin abt dwarfs and trolls...overall nice book.... going postal is similar to his guards guards, whereby a useless agency is given a new lease of life when a con-man took over the job.

 

[man_tou_bear]

Hello! Glad to see some life in this thread..

Angeline, Neil Gaiman writes fantasy?

Ariesta, i have been itching to try terry pratchett... his colourful books are very attractive! heehee.. what would u recommend me to start with?

Currently in love with John Connelly's Charlie Parker series. It is a crime/supernatural type of books.

 

[sparkless]

I like books by Alexandra Potter. Romantic comedy type. Had read all her books so now waiting for her new book to come out.

 

[necrosis]

oh, i've long been a fan of terry prachett....quite hilarious...

i like Mort and ...actually, i like all this disc world and even his landover novels.

oh, george r r martin's new book is out....er...maybe my news is a little stale..hah, been waiting for the 4th installment of game of throne (cant rem the series name) until i grew a beard ah...

 

[andain]

Hey bear,

Yups Neil Gaiman is a fantasy/surrealist writer. One of his work - Stardust was made into a movie. But i absolutely hated the movie becuase the director totally ruined his book for me.

His best work has to be his Sandman series, which I am currently reading now.

Neil Gaiman also paired up with Terry Prachett to writ this book called American Gods. It a very good read, very cheeky!

 

[ariesta]

yup nec, same same....terry is a very funnie writer...his monstrous reigment was hilarious...i used to avoid his books coz i nvr did like the covers, until my hb intro him to mi...Never judge a book by its cover!

angeline, neil gaiman wrote American Gods alone... tat was veri much his style, serious yet out-landish....the book tat he coop with Terry was "Good omens"...veri funnie i agree!!!! It was a great mix, outrageous yet quite believable....muahahah

 

[ariesta]

bear, u can try his guards guards first, followed by men at arms, feet of clay, Night watch, monstrous reigment, thud (i like those wif murders), good omens, ...etc

 

[andain]

hey ariesta,

Opps, I got the 2 mixed up! LOL, yea and love all the characters in Good Omen, its so funny!

Sometimes I wonder where on earth does that man finds all the material for his works! I mean he has such an imaginative mind!

I enjoyed American Gods also! Some of his really hard core fans followed the 'route' illustrated in the book!

 

[man_tou_bear]

Wah... i got lotsa new books to read now.

Hi Nec, how have u been? Alhana intro me GRRM's A Song of Ice and Fire. Game of a throne is book 1 if i not wrong. Latest one is the Feast of Crows. Not bad! ALhana and I are both eagerly waiting for the next one.. there are even talks that this might be converted into a mini-series!

Ariesta: the book's name is Guards Guards? or is that a series?

Angeline, oh Stardust! i wanted to watch it but my hb isn't a fantasy lover... will go and look for the book then. heehee...

Hello Starrry, oh u mean chick flicks? that's what i call rom-coms... hahaha... my guilty reading pleasure.. i like Cathy Kelly... her's are a bit more serious than the usual ones like the Shopaholic series. I hated that one.. too frivolous and flighty...

 

[sparkless]

Hi Bear,

Find Alexandra Potter easy to read, just good for destressing!

Haha

 

[ariesta]

hi bear, guards guards is the name of the book. part of discworld series. but tink its the first book to intro Sam Vimes, and intro abit on the city. sometimes, i find parrallels in his books wif life in singapore (maybe coz terry's a brit, and sing used to be brit colony, so veri similar). btw wat are GRRM's books mainly on? fantasy??

angeline, yup, neil gaiman is pretty cool, i've read his anasic boys too. so far most of his stuff i've read are part myth part real-life.... Nice....coz i happened to like mythodology....tink he's also veri writer...much better than the normal american writers. muahahah...btw u mean there r fans tat followed the route? which route? the route all the way to the lake town? (Is there really such a town?)

 

[andain]

Hey ariesta,

I got it off a thread from the Neil Gaiman board.
http://neilgaimanboard.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/64210996141/m/88410735331

http://neilgaimanboard.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/64210996141/m/798602665
http://neilgaimanboard.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/64210996141/m/88910108811

I really adore Neil Gaiman to bits man!

 

[man_tou_bear]

Hello gals.

Ariesta i went to borrow book 1 of the Discworld series.. colour of magic? funny but very fast.. can't speed read cos if i do so, i tend to miss details... a bit messy though... but funny..

Angeline, haven't found Stardust yet!

 

[alhana]

Hi ladies,

It's nice to see life back in this board. Any Terry Pratchet and Neil Gaiman fans to boot! I read Good Omens and American Gods and loved both. Nvr got around to reading the Discworld series but my hb likes them (he's a big fantasy fan). Sis has Sandman...I've been meaning to read them...but somehow nvr got around to it. Guess I just might do it in 2008 My sis loves Gaiman too..met him when he was in Singapore and got him to sign a copy of Sandman in Kino..said he was a really cool guy

GRRM writes mainly fantasy and sci-fi. The series he's focusing now on, A Song of Ice and Fire, is high fantasy. Not the usual Dragonlance crap (which I read as my initiation into the fantasy genre, and loved then)..but way more complex..like a melding of fantasy elements with medieval history.

I'm currently reading 'The Other Boleyn Girl' by Philippa Gregory. It's fun if you like a soapish take on Tudor history. And I just finished Peter Straub's 'Ghost Story', which was pretty darn creepy. Anyone into the horror genre? I'm looking to read a good horror book.