The Truth

Author: Terry Pratchett

Truth be told, I've never read Terry Pratchett before. I suppose for someone who lists fantasy fiction as one of her favourite genres, this seems pretty close to sacreligious.

This book, I must say, was a pretty good introduction to Pratchett's work, despite being the 25th Discworld novel. It revolves around a certain William de Worde, a second son who ekes out a living writing newsletters to various important persons. Having met a group of dwarves with a printing press, he subsequently starts a newspaper and turns into an investigative journalist-cum-news editor. Along the way he is joined by a reformed vampire, a talking dog and a bunch of homeless folks.

What I love about this book is how it satirises the media, be it mainstream broadsheet or tabloid. Oh, and horror movies' preoccupation with heaving bosoms. Of all the characters, the vampire Otto Chriek is my favourite.

Quotable quotes from the book:

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who, when presented with a glass that is exactly half full, say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!"

"A lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on."

The Other Boleyn Girl

Author: Philippa Gregory

I actually read this book almost a year ago, after the movie was made but before it arrived on our Malaysian shores (and from the reviews in the papers, heavily sanitised by our dear Lembaga Penapisan Filem).

At the time, Jonathan Rhys Meyers was also ruling the screens as a hip & hot Henry VIII in 'The Tudors', which, judging from the clips on the internet, will never ever make it to Malaysian shores due to the severely shortened airtime post-censorship. However, I had a grand time imagining him playing Henry opposite Scarlett Johansson's Mary Boleyn. Picturing Natalie Portman as the scheming & seductive Anne proved more difficult, and from the trailers, she did not succeed at it either.

As historical fictions go, this was pretty interesting, although it relies heavily on heaving bosoms and the like. It did leave me wondering whether the British aristocracy really were so sexually depraved and morally deprived, what with incest, adultery and homosexuality being the three main ingredients in the making of the road to the English throne. A-Levels History it definitely is not.

Read it if you want to know what 16th century sex habits are, in addition to the fashion and music of that period. If you're expecting romance, you'd be better off with Judith McNaught.