Battle Hymn of The Tiger Mother by Amy Chua

Synopsis from www.goodreads.com

After igniting a firestorm of debate across the nation, Amy Chua's daring, conversation-changing memoir is now in paperback.

At once provocative and laugh-out-loud funny, "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" set off a global parenting debate with its story of one mother's journey in strict parenting. Amy Chua argues that Western parenting tries to respect and nurture children's individuality, while Chinese parents typically believe that arming children with skills, strong work habits, and inner confidence prepares them best for the future. Achingly honest and profoundly challenging, "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" chronicles Chua's iron-willed decision to raise her daughters, Sophia and Lulu, the Chinese way-and the remarkable, sometimes heartbreaking results her choice inspires.

My Comments :

I have been looking forward to getting my hands on this book since I heard about it.

Started reading it this afternoon and I feel that I had to write down how I feel about it before I forget. Yup...am getting senile.

I read to page 47 and I text my friend and told her that am not liking this book much. Managed to finished the book somehow

From early on, the author had stressed what she deemed to be a "Chinese Mother" and "Western Mother". A Chinese mother is not necessary of a female and Chinese. It could be of other gender who follows the trait of a Chinese Mother.

It is good to demand excellence from children. I agree with the author to some degree that  "view childhood as a training period. a time to build character and invest for the future." However, I would not go to the extend to rejecting Birthday cards that my child made for me because they are not good enough and that my child could have made a better card if they put 100% effort on it.

I believe that the author is not a monster like some people thought she is. She loves her children very much and wanted them to excel in life which is why she was constantly pushing them to their limit and trying to get them to the best teacher and institution for their lesson in piano and violin.

Nevertheless, I suspected at times, she might have lost her way in her quest to give her child a better life. She is living their life for them instead of letting her children to live their life.

For example in page 213 when she describe that when Lulu decided that she does not want to go to New York every Sunday for violin lesson.."so we gave up our spot in Miss Tanaka's studio - our precious spot with a famous Julliard that had been so hard to get!". It makes me wondered about the "we" and "our" part.

However, I do admire the author for being frank in her book on her child rearing method although I do not fully agree with her methods. 

For me the method is too strict. Not letting the child to attend party and sleepover? Pulling the kid from gym and art class so that the child can have some extra practice session with her violin teacher is a bit extreme to me.

Some parents might demand too much perfection from their children that it might have and adverse effect. This can be seen by Lulu's rebellion. Anyway, from the description, Lulu who is the younger of the two daughters has always been rebellious while her elder sister, Sophia is more mature and biddable.

Maybe I am over sensitive, but I feel that the author seems to be rather smug and racist at some parts of the book. It leaves me with the impression that she feels Chinese method of child rearing is superior than the west.

It is certainly nice to see at the end of the book there is a letter from the author's eldest child, Sophia defending her mother when the author was criticize by some people for what she wrote in this book.

But you know what would have been nicer? It would have been nicer if the letter is from the younger sister, Lulu, who is the more rebellious one.

The Gatecrasher by Madeleine Wickham

Synopsis by http://www.goodreads.com/


The Secret Is Out!
Madeleine Wickham is Sophie Kinsella, and The Gatecrasher is just as delicious as her internationally bestselling Shopaholic series. Madeleine Wickham's bitingly funny and edgy style keeps fans coming back for more.  So hold onto your haute couture hats, as you dive into the fantastic world of Wickham! 

Everything's coming up roses for Fleur Daxeny, as she goes through more rich men than she does designer hats....if that's humanly possible.  Beautiful, charming, and utterly irresistible, her success at crashing funerals to find wealthy men is remarkable.  But behind Fleur's Harvey Nichols wardrobe, is a woman with a mysterious past. 

Fleur wastes no time in seducing her latest conquest, the handsome and rich widower Richard Favour, and she swoops into his life like a designer-clad tornado.  His children are caught up in a whirlwind as their father's new girlfriend descends on the family estate leaving chaos and excitement in her perfume-scented wake. Soon, more than one family member is suspicious of Fleur's true intentions.     Fleur is not one to wear her heart on her Chanel sleeves, but she soon finds herself embracing Richard and his lovable family. But just as Fleur contemplates jumping off the gold-digger train for good and enjoying the ride of true love, a long-buried secret from her past threatens to destroy her new family. Fleur is thrown into a race against time to prove herself to Richard before it's too late.  Can she trust her heart or will she cut ties and run away as fast as her Prada pumps can take her?

Take a wild and marvelous ride with The Gatecrasher, whose clever, chic, and sassy style will leave you desperately wanting more wonderful Wickham!

My Comment:


This has been an easy read but with nothing new or improvement from her previous work. Storyline and plot were pretty predictable.

Sad to say that I don't feel any connection with the characters. No sympathy to Fleur nor her daughter Zara. I feel the characters were a bit one dimensional .Even Richard and his family also not that engaging.

What I like about this book is that it gives a light-hearted feel when I was reading it. Fleur's attitude were rather care-free and cheerful. I laughed when she managed to get at table at the Golf course although the two men sitting at the table obviously disliked her.

Like I have said earlier. It has been an easy read. Good thing to read when you have too much trouble in your mind.

Nejla by Barbara Hicthing

Pick this book at the Floating Book Fair  on the ship Logos Hope.

I quote from the cover of the book " A true to life story of love and tragedy in the Middle East".

Nejla got to know about the Bible from her stay with a cousin and she feel in love with it. When she went home, she brought along a copy of the Bible. Each day she reads it and learn to let Jesus into her heart.

Nejla is very close to her sister Leila. In fact, their father have arranged for them to marry two brothers, Hussien and Hamid. Leila is unhappy with the match as everyone knows that Hussien heart is blinded with rage. Nejla tries to help Leila by telling her about the Bible and God.

Subsequently, Nejla married Hamid and they found love. However, her mother-in-law hated her and tried as much as she can to make life miserable for Nejla. Nevertheless, Nejla with the love of God in her heart tried to forgve and love her mother-in-law and love her husband. And this love subsequently broke her.

First of all, I am not sure this book is a work of fiction or non-fiction. In some website, this book is classified as Biography while some classified as fiction.

Notwithstanding whether it's a work of fiction or not, I find that this book is hard to believe. There are so many bad things that happen to Nejla and yet she stayed calm.

Her conversion and the conversion of the people around her seems to be so "easy". For example the conversion of her Father-in-law.

The conversion of Leila is more believable as Leila made bargain with God if God would help her so that she don't have to marry Hussien, she would believe in God. That was what she believed until Nejla corrected her. Yes, that part is more believable as many had "bargain" with God although it does not work this way.

And why is that her Mother-in-law hates Nejla and Hussien's ex-wife, Serap, so much? The reason given was her mother-in-law wants her sons to love her and her alone. The idea does not hold water for me as it is the norm in the Middle East to arrange the marriage of their children. If that is the case, at some point of time, her MIL would have agreed to take Serap and Nejla as her Daughters-in-law.

In my opinion, the solution to the problems presented in this book is too simple. Nejla sounds like a Saint.

The Diamond Smugglers by Ian Fleming

I pick up this book at the Subang Jaya Book EXchange Programme.

This is not another James Bond book but it's a non-fiction work of Ian Fleming. It highlighted the truth about a huge diamond smuggling operation. An estimated ten million pounds worth of diamonds were smuggled out from Africa every year.

It's interesting to read how the diamonds were smuggled out and also why the diamond company decided to band together to form monopoly of the industry.

Overall, it was an informative reads but not a page turner.

The Two Lives of Miss Charlotte Merryweather by Alexander Potter

Synopsis from www.goodreads.com


From the "fantastically funny" (Elle), "sharp" (Salon) author of the international bestseller Me and Mr. Darcy, an enchanting drive down the road not taken, in the most surprising company

At age thirty-one, American Charlotte Merryweather has spent ten years in London pursuing personal and professional perfection. Yet her present-day success- heading her own PR company, owning a gorgeous apartment, planning a future with her devoted boyfriend- only heightens the shock of a visit from the past.

"Lottie," Charlotte's twenty-one-year-old self, drives onto the scene at the wheel of a rusty, orange Volkswagen Beetle identical to Charlotte's first UK ride. Charlotte pursues a friendship aimed to bestow upon Lottie a decade of wisdom. Yet Charlotte's prosperous polish proves a pale substitute for Lottie's innate, youthful graces- openness, passion, and kindness. Will the student become the teacher in this witty turnabout?

The clever plotting and winning characterization that made Me and Mr. Darcy a bestseller are on full display in these pages.

My Comments :

I finished this book in four hours.

This is a pretty easy read . Plot were rather smple. Not much surprise there.

Charatcher wise was pretty much ordinary. For the first part of the book, I find it lack of challenge. Nothing much to chew on. Things only git better when Olly the bartender was introduced.

However, the ending was rather clever. Love the twist that the author added there.

Starting Over by Tony Parson

George Bailey came from two generations of cops. He was happily married with a near adult son, Rufus, and a teenage daughter, Ruby. His wife, Lara had always care for him.

One day while chasing a felon, George suffered a heart attack. He was given the heart of a 19 year old. From that day onwards things started to change. He feels younger and more "open" as compared to previously patriarch figure.

He felt closer to his son and more relax to his daughter.

He sort of fell in love with his wife, Lara, all over again. Even went as far as getting a tattoo of her name on his body.

However, things was not all rosy and sweet. This new change brought disaster to the family. Without the stern-old school dad around, the family started to unravel. George had meant to do some good but somehow they backfired.

Pretty soon he was kick out of the house. The son dropping out of school, the daughter takes up with some unsavory character while his wife found herself with a new man.

For me this had been a difficult read. Many things in thing book were not straight forward. There was a lot of hinting and readers are to come up with their own conclusion. Hence some part things came up disjointed.

Scene seems to flash here and there. For example, his son Rufus, from a Comedian wannabe to suddenly dating a waitress and going to be a father.

I have read several of his books before this and this book is definitely not one of my favourite book of his.

Swimming Pool Sunday by Madeline Wickham

"Swimming Day" is an annual tradition with the Delaneys for many year. The whole village would come and enjoy themselves at the Delaney's swimming pool. It's for Charity.

This year is no exception. Louise and her estranged husband, Barnaby were there with their daughters. The kids were playing at the pool while she was sun basking  dreaming of her new boyfriend, Cassian, a lawyer. It was prefect till an accident happened. Recrimination started to fly  and the village is divided in opinion of whose fault is it.

This is the first book which Madeline Wickham(Madeline Townley) that I have read. I have read some of her other books which she wrote under the pen name "Sophie Kinsella".  I was expecting something similar in the likes of the Shopaholic series. It's not. This is something more serious in comparison.

I can't help feeling de javu when reading this. Jodi Picoult's "House Rules" plot is pretty similar to this book. I find that I enjoyed Jodi's book more and the characters are more believable.

I find that the character, Louise, was pretty shallow and cold. She had a husband who loves her and who is responsible and yet she went hankering after Cassian. Her reason? Cassian offers a more glamorous life. She was warned by Ursula Delaney about the children at the pool and she choose to ignore it. When accident happen, did she fell guilty? Instead, she felt only anxiety about the daughter till she neglected the other daughter. It's like there is not enough "spices" in the character. Throughout these "episodes", I don't feel anything for her. I just can't connect with the character.

There weren't much connection of the supporting characters to the main story too. Meredith is Hugh and Ursula's daughter in-law who live with them after the death of her husband and have feelings towards Alexis, the family friend. Nothing much elaborate after that.

Alexis having an affair with Daisy who is 18 years old and young enough to be his daughter. Hmm...so?

It would be better if the characters have more depth in them and more involved in the story instead of just the surface. Can't say I sympathised with any characters in this book.

This is a nice book. If I haven't read Jodi's "House Rules", I would say this book is pretty good.

Angels by Marian Keyes

Synopsis by www.goodreads.com

A new Marian Keyes novel is always something to celebrate, and her sixth novel, Angels, will have you cheering. From the first couple of sentences: "I'd always lived a fairly blameless life. Up until the day I left my husband and ran away to Hollywood, I'd hardly ever put a foot wrong" to the hugely satisfying last page, you're immediately involved in the story of Maggie Walsh's life; of how it went wrong, and then went right again.

The Walshes starred in a previous Keyes novel, the delightful Rachel's Holiday; Maggie is Rachel's older sister, (one of five) and the only one who "never did any of that nasty sleeping around business". Instead she got married to her first boyfriend Paul Garvan and everything was fine, until they suffered a couple of "setbacks".

Unable to face sorting out the difficulties, Maggie hightails it to Los Angeles to stay with her old pal Emily. Emily is a script writer, her short film A Perfect Day was a big hit in Ireland, but her working life is a little tougher in the land of sunshine and fat-free Pringles.

My Comments

When I pick up this book, a lady told me it's quite dry. She can't get pass page 5 of the book. I did managed to get beyond page 5. Read it till the end and I agree with her opinion.

The main character, Maggie, was weak. I find it that it's hard for me to love her despite her pitiful plead that her husband is two timing her by going out with another woman. For one thing, who is she to complain as she was pining for a "closure" from her ex-boyfriend who ditched her without a word.

The plot was rather tame. Nothing much in terms of surprising twist or things like that.

However, this will not deter me from reading other books from this author as a friend told me this author have some real good books.

Don't Look Twice By Andrew Gross

Life was good for the local detective, Ty Hauck. Though he was divorced, the break was a amicable one. He gets to see his daughter and he have a new girl friend.

But then a day trip with his daughter to downtown turned into a blood bath when a gunman suddenly open fire into the store.

From a glance it looks like a revenge. But is it as simple as that. As Ty dig future, many parties seems to tried to advice him to change his course and do not pursue the investigation.

He was determined to get to the bottom of it. How far is he willing to go? The more he dig, he does not only put himself in danger but also of his family. Even his en strangled brother Warren also seems to be entangled in all of it.

I find that Ty is not a lovable character. Someone just opened fire at them and his daughter were in shock. Yet all he can think of is his work. Left the daughter to go to the hospital alone.

I love the beginning and the middle but when comes to the ending, I was kinda lost. The reason for the blood bath was just too big to digest

The Eye of Jade By Diane Wei Liang

Mei is a Private Investigator in the new China. There is no P.I. in China. It's not allowed. Thus, she had to register herself as a Consultant instead of P.I.

She was approached by an old family friend "Uncle Chen" to look for a piece of missing jade from Han Dynasty which is supposedly taken by the Red Guards from the museum during one of the Cultural Revolutions raids.

On top of the investigation, her mother was taken ill suddenly. She had to worry about her mother and she had to deal with her gorgeous but self-centred younger sister who is married to a rich man.

There seems to be many layers of deceptions here. During the investigation, Mei found out that things might be link to her family.

I find that this book is rather slow paced for a suspense/thriller type of book. Mentioned and elaborated a lot on Mei's relationship with her mother and younger sister instead of the investigation. Seems like it is a secondary issue.

The plot at the ending was rather confusing on how everything was linked up. I sense that this book could have done better and need some improvement.

The Ivy Chronicles by Karen Quinn

Ivy Ames seems to have everything. Two lovely daughters in private school, a handsome though out of job husband and holds a high position in a corporation. Her life is near to ideal.

But in a blink of an eye, she lost almost everything. She have been retrenched from her high power position. Came home , found her husband in the arms of another woman.

With no job and no husband, her funds is running out fast. They have to make drastic adjustment. The girls being pulled out of Private School. They moved to a cheaper rent rate neighbourhood.

Ivy went for interview but the job still did not materialise.

As she was chatting with her best friend Faith, they discover a niche for Ivy. She is going to go into business. What business is that? To help upscale New Yorkers get their kids into the most exclusive kindergartens in the city.

For the first season, she selected 7 candidates. The job should have been manageable. Simple enough. Just need to coach the parents and the kids what to do and what not to do in order to get the kids accepted into the Kindergarten which they have selected. But that is where the hard part being.

Ivy unknowingly is turning into a person which she can barely recognised. She lies and she cheated. Would she wake up in time to mend her ways?

I  can't connect with the character, Ivy. At times she was a responsible mother trying her best to make ends meet but then she jumps into bed with the first guy that catches her eyes. When she was dump by one guy, she would go to another. 

The issue on getting kids in to exclusive or private school is a hot issue in many country now. Yes, the scenario portrayed in this book is pretty much believable. Parents would go to any lenght to have their kids studying in a good kiddy.

Well, there is still room for improvement in this book.

The Dispeller of Worries By Lau Siew Mei

This is a story of two different culture of Chui Hong and Rysiek. Their lives collided. Each have their own hidden past.

Chui Hong the 2nd daughter from a Peranakan family who grew up in Penang and her parents subsequently migrated to Singapore. She grew up in the midst of local believes in "Pantang" and the supernatural.

Something happen in the past which shadowed and shaped her life. Two men seems to hold the answers that can free her, Naga and Rysiek. Naga is her step-cousin while Rysiek is a Polish man.

Rysiek, is also a very confused man. A filial son who was felt guilty on not being at his mother bedside when she pass on. Married a nice girl but subsequently the marriage lost its charm. They migrated to Australia but that didn't help. The wife left him to go back to Poland. He was offered a job in Brunei where he met Chui Hong.

For me, this is a rather hard book to read. Too many ambiguous scene. The first part of the story was devoted to Chui Hong and her feeling about her sister. Then there comes the part of bomoh, pocong and charms.

This part was rather eerie for me as I was reading that in the middle of the night. The things that Chui Hong's Amah described was very scary. Good job on this.

The second part was devoted to Rysiek. That one is easy to understand. Quite straight forward.

As for Naga....hmm...not very sure of his part in this book.

Till the end of the book, I am still not too sure how Chui Hong and Rysiek supposed to heal each other. What I saw is that they had an affair. But what does that have to do with Chui Hong and Rysiek's past?

The Conspiracy Club By Jonathan Kellerman

Dr Jeremy Carrier, a young psychologist, was dating a nurse, Jocelyn Banks when she was brutally murdered. As usual, the police would make the boyfriend as their suspect first. There is no difference in this case.

As a result from that, he had become a blacksheep in the hospital where he worked.

Then more women turns up murdered and the police paid a a few more visit.

Jeremy started to wonder and wanted to investigate himself. And out of the blue he started to received notes/ hints in his mail. These hints are very suspicious. It could be a clue or it could be a trap

Then there is another doctor, Arthur who was formerly attached to the hospital who also aroused his curiousity.

Jeremy does not know who is the friend and who is his enermy

I don't really like this book because the pace was kind of slow and not that much of suspense unlike his others novel.

Christmas Treasures- Betty Neels & 2 others

This Mills & Boons is a 3-in-1 book.

1) Always and Forever by Betty Neels

Amabel is a "small dull creature that wears the most appalling clothes". She kept the B & B(not blackberry but Breakfast and Bed) while her mother went to Canada to visit her sister who have just gave birth. Amabel was a bit scared as this is the 1st time she is all alone and was hoping that her mom would come back soon

People thought she should close the B & B while her mom was away but money is a problem. Her mom had to take up a loan to go visit her sister and the new baby.( I don't understand, why so desperate to see the baby till have to take up loan for it.)

One day a guest checked in with his mom. That guest was Dr Fforde, a doctor, and he seems to be very concern about Amabel staying alone there keeping the B & B. He kept contact with Amabel

One day Amabel received a shocking letter. Her mom met a man and married the man. And they plan to convert the B &B into a greenhouse. Her mom hinted that Amabel should find work. (Grrrr...such a selfish woman.)

Her mom and her new stepfather came home suddenly. The darn man didn't like Amabel but expect her to work in the Greenhouse for him. Her mom sid she should do it and after she help her stepfather then maybe she can go out into the world to find a job (Habis manis, sepah dibuang).The final step came when the man planned to destroy her cat and dog. She ran away.

When Dr Fforde found out, he helped her again and again. But he have his own problems too.

I don't like this story at all. There is no clear time frame for this story. Don't know it's set for which era. Modern or historical.

Amabel seems to be such a pushover. Worry too much. I don;t seem why Dr Fforge sees in her apart from she being so "helpless".Very frustrating to read about her. Thought the story have a happily ever after, but if in real life, I wonder if this marriage would work.

2) The Perfect Christmas - Caroline Anderson

Julia is a widow with a young daughter, katie. her "husband" was a terrible flirt who abandoned her after she gave birth coz she is not sexy anymore. He managed to wrap his car and himself onto a tree one night and left Julia with a mountain of credit cards debt. She had to sell the house and work herself to the bone to payoff the debt. And she had swore off man as she want to protect her daughter

She is a nurse and one day she saw a roadside accident. She helped. And there was this man who is a doctor who also help. When she arrived to the hospital, she found out that this man is a new doctor in the hospital.

The doctor, David, was attracted to Julia from the first moment. But Julia tried to hold out as she does not want any messy relationship for the sake of her daughter.

This is story have the regular feel of a typical M & B. Enough romance and stuffs. Like it.

3) Christmas At His command - Helen Brooks

Marigold Flower...yup that's the name of the heroine was a woman scorned.. She borrowed the Cottage from her colleague Emma to hide during Christmas period to lick her wounds.

But unfortunately on the way to the cottage, her car broke down. To make the matter worse, she twisted her ankle very badly.

Then a car stop . A man came down to help her but before that he "shoot" her. Not with a gun but with words. He thought she was Emma. From his description, Emma and her family seems to be a horrible bunch. Nevertheless he did help her. Took her to his home and nursed her.

Then he found out the mistaken identity. He was attracted to her and vice versa. But as usual, there are obstacles.

A whirlwind romance. Good read.

Well this book seems to have a bad beginning but the later two stories were good. Satisfying. Worth the money.

Unhurried Thoughts At My Funeral by Catherine Lim

Thank you very much, Chen Chzan for this book. Just finished reading this two days ago but haven't have time to post about it.

This is a fiction about the 3 days that Catherine Lim had pass away where she lay in the coffin before being cremated. Her thoughts and her doubts.

There are parts where people come to pray to her for help, part where Natas(Satan) came to seduce her, part where her love ones show their true colours and part where she "bargain" with God.

The part where Satan made her question the existence of God and doubtful whether God is a forgiving God or not was interesting

In Asian society, I guess it's rather a taboo to be speaking of death and let alone writing about oneself being dead. This lady really have guts.

Very fascinating story. Cleff, this story is definitely not for you. Could be depressing also.