Our Happy Time.

I didn't know what attracted me to this book, probably because it's an English novel with a Korean author. It's my first time reading a translated book. The book was originally penned in Korean, and translated to English. I picked up the book and read it's synopsis, decided to buy it without knowing if it's a good book.

And I thanked God I did.

Here is the synopsis:

Yujeong has now attempted her third suicide attempt. Her disdain for her mother and indifference to the rest of the world, isolates her from any chance for happiness. Her aunt, Sister Monica often goes to prison to meet with death row inmates. Sister Monica asks Yujeong if she would counsel this death row inmate and Yujeong reluctantly agrees to do so. Yujeong and the death row inmate do not open up to each other immediately. Yujeong comes from a family of wealth but she has never known happiness since the age of 15. The inmate that she meets, named Yunsu has had an even more traumatic childhood experience. Eventually Yunsu ends up involved in the criminal world and gets convicted for murder. With their disparate backgrounds, Yujeongg and Yunsu are still able to connect with each other, because both people know grief like few others could possibly know. As they both regain the will to live through their weekly meetings, they must now deal with their feelings for each other and come to grips with the short amount of time they have together.

I finally found a contender for my favorite book "Me Before You" by Jojo Moyes. This book provoked my thoughts and emotion so greatly. The book includes a series of "blue notes", a diary of the death row inmate, Yunsu reflecting on his traumatic childhood. I think I shed tears at every blue note I read.

I must thank Gong Ji Young for penning this book because she made me understand that even murderers are human beings with feeling, just like us. Because afterall we are all sinners, aren't we? It also somehow gave me a vague picture of why criminal commit crimes because...

"Behind every person who's committed an unimaginable crime is an adult who committed unimaginable violence against them as a child. All of them, as if it was plotted that way. Violence begets violence, and that violence begets even more violence."

While I was Googling this book for this post, I found out that there is actually a movie adaptation of this novel! It's called Maundy Thursday. I haven't watch it yet. Because many times the movies just jinx the original story of the book. The feeling is still fresh in my head after reading the book, so I prefer it to stay that way for a while.

If you haven't watch the movie yet, I suggest you to read the book first. Because movies are just the tip of an iceberg, the rest of the hidden iceberg under the ocean are all  the feelings you create and images you imagine yourself from reading the book =)

P/S: Tissues are mandatory, you will need them. A lot of them.

Here's my verdict:

The Fault in Our Stars.

I was browsing through goodreads.com (a reliable source for book lovers) and found this interesting book called "The Fault in Our Stars". The rating was tremendous with 4.5 stars. I downloaded the e-book for a preview and was instantly touched! I read up to chapter 8 and decided that I must get the book! The real book! I went to the bookstore and asked the counter for it. While I was waiting for the staff to look for the book, a boy approached the counter and looked for the same book. When he said the title, I thought my brain was talking. What are the odds, such a coincidence. 2 strangers looking for the same book at the same place and at the same time. It must be a real good book.

Here is the synopsis:

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

The first half of the book was so heart wrenching. I could literally feel the pain that Hazel had to fight everyday. Struggling everyday just to stay alive and couldn't afford a normal life despite such a young age. I felt how cancer patients felt at that moment. Then I stopped for nearly 2 weeks because I was waiting for the book to be launched in the bookstore. Maybe that was the problem, the ache I was feeling was gone. I felt the last half of the book wasn't that "into the spot". It just couldn't pinpoint my sad spot. It was OK, but very far from Jojo Moyes' "Me Before You". I thought I have found a contender for Me Before You, but no. The ending gave me so many question marks. I think the author, John Green was pulling a "An Infliction Affair" by Peter Van Houten which he raved about in "The Fault in Our Stars" itself. What happened to Hazel after the letter? How long did she lived? Probably John Green wanted his fans to act like Hazel, fly all the way to wherever he lives and knock on his door to ask for answers. Just like what Hazel did for "An Infliction Affair" in the book.

Nonetheless it is a good book with quite a few quotes worth pondering upon. It gave you a food for thought to love and live to the fullest. Even cancer patients live and love hard, leave alone people who is healthy and normal. What excuse do you have?

This particular quote touched me so badly. A relationship isn't judged by the span of time we spend together. But the things we do, the words we say and the love we give. 

Some readers even made some fan arts which I find super sentimental.

Here's my verdict:

Me Before You.

I picked up this book a few times when I was browsing in bookstores but it didn't dawn upon me to purchase it even after reading the synopsis. It was either the cover didn't appeal to me or the synopsis seemed rather uninteresting. Recently I saw Reese Witherspoon posted a photo of her reading this particular book in her Instagram and she said she might cry reading it. So I thought, if it can make an Oscar winning actress cry, it must be a good book. So I purchased it.

Here is the synopsis. The synopsis from the book did not do any justice to the book, so I took one of the review from the reader in goodreads.com instead.

Will Traynor lost everything in an accident, but worst of all, he lost the chance to live normally for the rest of his life. Because of it, he lost the will to live. Until the day Louisa Clark appeared in his life as his care taker for six months. At first, they argue a lot. Will doesn't think Lou can handle being his care taker for that period of time, but Lou is not a person who easily gives up. And after a while, when Will realizes he cannot push her away like he did to everyone else, he accepts Lou for what she is. A kind person who through time reached to him and showed him that not everything is dark - that there are still choices and that life is worth living. It is about two families and how they deal with what life has dealt them. It is about choices and being allowed to choose. It's about being alive but not living. Lou had the body but she didn't have the strength to crawl out of her shell and live. She couldn't get out of her comfort zone and feared life. Will passed his love for life on to her and she used her body to help him live his.

Allow me to express my thoughts.

This is not any typical sappy and corny love story about boy meets girl, fall in love, break up yada yada. It's about the sacrifices of love and choices in life. When you finish this book, you will not just put it aside or back on the shelf and go on with your daily routine. When you finish this book, you will close the book but still remain it in your hands, look ahead of you and start letting the story sink into you and makes you wonder about the fragility of life. This story is going to stay in you for quite some time.

While reading the book, it made me looking like this....

After I've finished it, it made me looked like this!

I'm serious, I really looked like that when I read the ending. It was so unexpected and made me wondered for days....Why? Why did he made that choice? Love is not enough? And after letting it sunk in, I finally realized....

You have to live life, not just being alive.

There was a part where Will Traynor got a tattoo with Louisa Clark. He tattooed "Best before 19 March 2007". It was so heartbreaking T________T The date was the day he became a disabled in the accident. A simple tattoo like that carried such heavy and heart wrenching agony in a man who has given up hope in life.

There were also a few words of wisdom that I found unforgettable.

“I will never, ever regret the things I've done.

Because most days, all you have are places

 in your memory that you can go to.”

The letter Will Traynor wrote to Louisa Clark in the ending made me cried like shit on the bed. This is like Chicken Soup for the Soul in one full story. The story touched me emotionally and mentally, I even teared up while listening to some sad songs at work the next day WTF!!!! If the previous books gave me a book hangover, this book gave me a bloody book poisoning!

I'm running out of words to describe my feelings, you just need to read! I can't wait for them to adapt it into a motion movie! I'm going to watch it with a box of tissue and prepare the next day for MC from work because I'll be having a massive flu!

As of now, I'm going to live everyday on behalf of Will Traynor T_______T

Here's my verdict:

The Providence Trilogy.

Since Jamie's McGuire's Beautiful Disaster and Walking Disaster gave me a good hangover, I researched about this author and found out she penned another book, Providence. And it's a trilogy! I couldn't find the book in the local bookstores, so I downloaded them and read with my ePub app instead. How I love the technology these days. Though reading from a gadget feels awfully different from holding a book itself.

It's a thriller/fantasy/romance genre kind a book. I found the synopsis quite interesting. But I was glad that I did not purchase the book from Amazon. It was a let down.

Synopsis from the book:

Book #1 Providence
Struggling with her father's death, Nina meets Jared Ryel, presumably by chance. However it soon becomes clear that he knows more about her than even close friends. When her father's former associates begin following her in the dark, Nina learns that her father was not the man she thought he was, but a thief who stole from demons. In searching for the truth behind her father's death, she stumbles upon something she never expected, and something Hell wants, that only she holds the key for. Jared risks everything to keep the women he was born to save, by sharing the secret he was sworn to protect.

Book #2 Requiem
Still healing from her last run-in with Hell, Nina struggles with not only her life as a Brown University student, but also as an intern at Titan Shipping, her father's company. Recurring nightmares about her father's violent death have become a nightly event, but being overwhelmed with guilt from Ryan's unexpected departure to the Armed Forces, and heart ache over Claire being across the ocean to protect him, Nina believes her sleepless nights are the least of her problems—but she's wrong.

Worried about Nina's declining health, Jared must steal back Shax's book for answers. Fighting new enemies, and with the help of new friends, Jared's worst fear comes to fruition. Desperate, he is faced with a choice: Fight Hell alone, or start a war with Heaven.

Book #3 Eden
She had seen the unspeakable. She would learn the unknowable. Now, she would fight the invincible. In the third and final installment of the Providence series, Nina Grey will marry the wrong man, carry the child that was never supposed to be born, and fight a war she can't win. Faced with the impossible task of protecting his new wife and unborn child against the throes of Hell, Jared Ryel is allowed no mistakes. Pressured to return the Naissance de Demoniac to Jerusalem, he revisits St. Ann's to learn the answers were in front of him all along. Together, they must survive long enough to let their child save them - and the world.

The first book was alright. When I started the second installment, the story started to dread into a boring plot. My head felt heavy every time I had to digest the facts, it felt like I was reading a bible (the story is in fact about angels and Gods). So dreading that by the third installment, I felt like reading it just to finish up what I started. Mind you, I already could guess what was the ending.

It was so predictable. It was just like another Twilight wannabe, instead of human+vampire+werewolves love story, this was human+angels+demons. The first book was about how they fell in love, the second book was about them getting married and the third book was about the baby. Why does all the trilogy romance novels have to have the same sequence? Same goes to Fifty Shades of Grey!!! SO EXPECTED! Be creative! Surprise the readers!

But this story has a difference of it's own, comparing to other romance trilogies. I hated the main character. Seriously. If this is the intention of Jamie McGuire, I think she has succeeded. The lead female character, Nina Grey was a spoiled brat, so full of herself and most of all, freaking weak. I can't remember how many times she cried in the whole trilogy. All she did was indulge in self pity. She only thought about herself all the time and caused troubles in the end, which was picked up by non other than the boyfriend. For instance, she wanted to have sex with the boyfriend so she could forget about her miserable life, when her boyfriend refused, she cried and cried and cried until he gave in. And guess what, she got pregnant =___= In another scenario, everyone was trapped in a cave to wait for her to give birth, she threw a tantrum and wanted to get out and complained that she had a choice, she didn't want to be in the hellhole (HELLO! Like everyone else were obliged to stuck in there for months! They were stuck there because of you! You were the last person to have the rights to complain!) and so she ran off selfishly and caused the death of her friend.

There were so many times I wanted to jump into the book and slap the shit out of her. Your life is miserable, so get over it! Stop crying and grow some guts, you whiny weak troublemaker bitch! UUURRRRGGGHHHH!!!!!

I didn't even bother reading some parts and just jumped to the end where they lived happily ever after. The end, yay!!!!!

Here's my verdict:

Beautiful Walking Disaster.

Do not judge a book by it's cover. Something might appeal a certain way to you, but the fact is if you get to know and understand it, it might turn out to be different from what you expected.

That is exactly the problem I'm having. I used to have people thinking that I'm a cool and arrogant person because when I do not smile, I kinda look cocky. But seriously, I can't wear my smile 24/7 wherever I go. I'm going to have laugh lines around my mouth. And blame my mother for giving me a non-cheery and non-sunshiny face when I ain't smiling. But when people get to know me, they realized that I'm a very funny person and I occasionally make a fool out of myself too.

Lately, I face another problem. People think I'm a bimbo =___= The other day Shaowen was asking me about pasting YouTube link in Facebook without the link appearing in the status. When I enlightened her, she said she didn't know I'm that smart, she had the wrong impression of me.

......... *cricket sound*

I might go gaga when I see bags and shoes more than the political issues. I might have more pink stuff than my niece. I might take time to doll up myself looking pretty and presentable. I might have my husband doing things for me. But that doesn't justify that I'm a bimbo! I think a lot and I think deep! My friends come to me for advice! And I'm the pillar of strength in my family! God forsaken this word to be concluded upon me! *kneel and cry with hands up in the air*

That goes the same when I told people I have read 5 books in a month. Their reaction was like as though they just saw Jesus came back to life. They said I don't look like a person who read. So how does a person who read looks like?

Like this?!

Stop being so judgmental!

If the book is interesting, I only need 3 days to complete it. I used to love horror novels back in high school. I had a whole shelve of books varying from the whole complete set of "True Singapore Ghost Stories" to "Goosebumps" collection. After I left for college, I only read a few chic lit novels and stopped until recently, I started to dwell in romance novels. I don't like to watch romance movies, maybe because the lead actor and actress sometimes can't deliver that chemistry to me. But in books, I have full control with my brain. And maybe because I'm married and have a stable love life, so I can only look for some love drama in novels.

This post is supposed to be a book review, but I have gone way past 50% of the blog post and I still haven't start reviewing =_____=

WALKING DISASTER / BEAUTIFUL DISASTER

Let me start with my favorite, Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire. It's a story about a fighter in illegal underground fighting arena with tattoos all over his body and a well known bad boy in college. But he fell hopelessly in love with a decent girl who was the total opposite of all the girls he had gone after. The story focused on how he tried to win her heart and all the heartbreaks that came along. It's a perfect book for hopeless in love.

Synopsis from the book:

The new Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University’s Walking One-Night Stand. 

Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby wants—and needs—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.

Do you know what is a book hangover?

Definition: When you've finished a book and you suddenly return to the real world, but the real world feels incomplete or surreal because you're still living in the world of the book.

I had it bad. So bad I had to buy the other version. The book also came in another version called Beautiful Disaster. It tells the story from the girl's point of view. Walking Disaster was the guy's point of view. Yes, same story line, just different perspective. It was so good I didn't mind reading the same story again on how crazily in love the guy was to the girl *heart melts*

Here's my verdict for this book.