The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks

 My friend, Chen Chzan, went and dig out her collection of Nicholas Sparks books when she got to know that I like his writings.

The Guardian is a bit out of the norm for Nicholas Sparks usual style which is mostly about love. This book have is a book about love and a hint of thriller.

Julie Barenson's husband, Jim, died when she was just 25 years old. They were so in love. Knowing that Julie will be lonely after his death, Jim had arranged for a puppy to be delivered to her after his death together with a letter stating that he will be her watching over her even though in death.

Strangely enough the dog which she named "Singer" have an almost human like attitude and seems to understand her every word.

For a long time, Julie mourn  for Jim.

During this period, Jim's best friend Mike fell in love with Julie but he dare not voice out.

Then Julie started to date again. There were some disastrous dates till she met the mysterious Richard who seems to be every woman dream man. Richard courted Julie in the earnest .

Mike also came out of his shell and started to express his feelings to her and Singer like Mike. Julie was not sure whether to choose Mike or Richard for she didn't want to jeopardise her friendship with Mike should their romance does not work out.

But then Julie noticed something about Richard which makes her feel uncomfortable. When she tries to break off with Richard, strange things started to happen. There is more to Richard than what's meets the eyes.

Mike tried to protect her but even Mike also got in trouble with the law because of that.

Things started rolling and till the end of  the book

I love this book very much. It have just the right hint of romance and the suspense. Am a bit sad also as Sparks seems to love to put a bit of sadness at the end of his books

The Rescue By Nicholas Sparks

It was a dark and stormy night. Denise is a single mother and she was travelling alone with her 4 year old son, Kyle. Kyle is not your normal boy. He have speech problem and can't really communicate much with the people around him. Denise love Kyle very much. He is her life.

Denise car went in to a spin when she tried to avoid a deer. She woke up in the dark. A man face was at the window. He was Taylor McAden, a volunteer fireman. Taylor is not your ordinary man. He was a contractor but also a dare devil. Whenever there is a risky mission, he is the 1st one that volunteer for it

Denise was horrified when she discovered that Kyle was no longer in the car. There were a search an rescue team.

Taylor managed to find and rescue Kyle.

Taylor and Denise was mutually attracted to each other. But then, Taylor have a problem. Whenever a relationship grows closer, he would break off with the woman. His previous girlfriends said there is one part of him where they can't seems to reach. He want to rescue people but deep down inside he hide a dark secret and needed rescuing.

I like this book very much especially the character, Denise. Though she was young and made a mistake in her life, she did not give up. In fact she started to build a life of her own with her son even though the son have some problem. She gave up a lot for him

I hate Taylor's character. I really don't know what the heck he wanted. He wanted to "rescue" people but then in the end he is the one who hurt the people he rescue. His previous girlfriends all were having problems of their own when he rode in like a knight in shining armour to rescue them. But when they wanted more, he back out.

The way he giving them hope like that and the dashing them is just  despicable. If yes, say lah yes..if no, then say lah no.

The way that he hurt Denise and Kyle by backing away like that is just too wicked even though he had his own devil to deal with.

I guess this book aptly portray what people like to do nowadays.

The Claire Tham Collection

When I spotted this book at The Big Bad Wolf Sale, I was like 15..16...whether to buy or not. It's a case of judging a book by it's cover. The cover looks dirty and "worn". I tried to find a "good" copy. But every copy looks the same. Moreover, I had two boxes  full of books in my trolley.

In the end I was won over by the author's name. Those who know me know what I meant.

By the way, I discovered when I came home that the cover has been purposely printed that way. It's not dirty nor worn out.

There are 3 Collections of short stories in this book.

First being  "Fascist Rock : Stories of Rebellions". There are 8 stories in this part.True to the title, it contains stories of rebellious youth.  Stories based in Singapore, Britain and etc.

I find most of the characters in this part at first were mostly portray and brats but deep in their soul they were searching for the meaning of life. Some are pretty must abstract.

The Second collection "Saving The Rain Forest and Other Stories" have a more matured story line. There are 7 stories here.

Stories are about the desire for individualism and the social norm. What happen when these two doesn't go along with each other.

The being "The Gunpowder Trail and Other Stories". 6 good stories here.

Here, it show what happen when an individual takes a step further for self gain and to continue with self destruction.

A girl who watches silently when her father is being kidnapped; a traffic policeman who accept bribe; a banker who escape town and etc.

This is a case of do not judge a book by it cover. A good book to read when you are emotionally stable. Be forewarned, it is not a book for one who is easily depressed because some parts are very depressing.

Book Blogger Hop: December 3-6, 2010

This is my 2nd round joining the Book Blogger Hop. This week question is "What very popular and hyped book in the blogosphere did you NOT enjoy and how did you feel about posting your review?"

I can't say that The Associates by John Grisham is very popular and hyped, but it's popular. I did not enjoy reading this book as there was not much depth in this book. Just barely brush the surface.

I felt like a traitor for posting a negative review of this book because I have been a fan of his since the first book that I read(The Firm) . I was swept off my feet when I read the 2nd book "Run Away Jury".

Skipping Christmas By John Grisham

Christmas is just around the corner, so I thought of reading something "Christmassy".

Luther and Nora Kranks thought of skipping Christmas this year since their daughter Blair had gone to Peru to help out with the poor children there under the Peace Corp.

Luther convinced Nora to "skip" Christmas this year and join a Caribbean 10 days cruise.

They are not going to put up any Christmas decoration, buy any gifts nor hold Christmas Party.

However, this does not goes well with their neighbour who are into Christmas spirit. The neighbours were horrified and had used various method to convince the Krank to join in the Christmas fun. The more they push, the more Luther got angry. It's their life and if they want to skip Christmas this year, then nobody should stop them and that nobody CAN stop them

That is till when they received a sudden call from Blair. The fun begin.

There was a movie based on this book. I preferred the movie to the book coz I love Tim Allen in that show. He was pretty funny.

BookXcess Christmas Promotions & Charity Drive

It's that time of the year again. Lotsa joy and sharing everywhere.

Looks like my favourite local book store have also join in the spirit of giving and sharing.

Bookxcess have all along been sharing good books with bookworms at a low and affordable price. This round the price got even lower.

Not only that! They are also having Charity Drive for Children homes. They do this annually

I just have to pop by their store, pick a book and pay. Select a child name and write a simple message for the child. Then Bookxcess will send the book to the child. On top of that, they will give one more book to the child.

Hope this weekend I will have the time to drop in and do some charity and scout for more books

Real Time Stories & A Reminiscence By Amit Chaudhuri

There are 16 short stories in this 184 pages book.

Stories are mostly of the modern Indian subcontinent. A wide range.

Among the stories, I like the most is A Man From Khurda District. It's about a man trying to help someone and end-up getting into trouble for himself and his family.

I don't really like the stories in this book. Too many of it with not clear ending and clear story line. More like hanging threads of thoughts. For example"Confession of a Sacrifice". The lady said she was aware that she is being prepared for a sacrifice in the future. But there is no mention of what sort of sacrifice that she is being pushed to. It was left hanging there.

I like story where there is a beginning, middle and preferably and ending. If no ending, at least a hint of it. Instead of just hanging there

1star out of 5.