2nd phase Confinement Reading List

Now that I'm into the next 20 days of my 'house arrest', and have finished reading the stash of chick-lit, I'm moving on to more serious stuff. They are:

1. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. I've read it once but somehow the message has not stuck as easily as the other two books did. Maybe the pregnancy hormones were in the way, so I'm giving it another go.
2. Rindu Bau Pohon Tin (Remembering the Scent of Fig Trees - my own translation) by Hasrizal Abdul Jamil, also popularly known as Abu Saif through his website saifulislam.com. It's a retelling of Abu Saif's travels in Jordan, where he went to university. It's in Malay, which normally is a challenge for me, but Abu Saif's style is light and easy enough to make this a breeze.
3. Aku Terima Nikahnya (I Take This Woman - again, my own translation) by Hasrizal Abdul Jamil. This is another autobiographical piece, this time about his experience and perception of marriage. Especially interesting is the fact that the bride is a medical student/doctor in Ireland, and Abu Saif agrees to the marriage without having ever seen her in real life.
4. Putri-putri Sahabat Rasulullah (Daughters of the Prophet's Companions) by Ahmad Khalil Jam'ah. I bought this on a whim, while searching for possible names for the baby. Since Aiesyah was named after the Prophet's closest companion Abu Bakar r.a., I thought it might be a good idea to name the next baby after another daughter. It's written in the typical formal style of a reference book, so this might not be a complete read.
5. Bila Anak-anak Bertanya tentang Allah & Alam Ghaib (When Children ask about Allah & the Unseen) by Muhammad Muhyidin. Again, more of a reference book. Hubby bought this, and left it behind for me to read it. It lists 48 FAQ's and provides the answers, although I've never heard my son ask "Why is the graveyard scary? Are there lots of demons there?"
6. 3 Tokoh Bakal Menakluk Dunia (3 Icons that will Conquer the World) by Ustaz Jaafar bin Salleh. The 3 in question are Al-Mahdi, Dajjal and Prophet Isa Al-Masih. Also bought by Hubby.
7. Panduan Mendidik Anak Perempuan (Guide to Educating Daughters) by Majdi Fathi As-Sayyid. As in teaching them the meaning of Islam and its basic tenets. Another book that Hubby bought and hoisted upon me to read. I've skimmed through the contents. What it does not address is, "How do I get my kids to stop watching Nickelodeon, Disney Channel and Barney all day?"
   

I should be making a start on this list as soon as I complete the remaining 9 Sudoku X puzzles. Although some of them will probably be sidelined once my order from MPH arrives!

Little Black Dress Books

I've managed to finish reading all the books my friend lent me for my Confinement period, and I still have 22 days to go! Anyway, for the LBD books, I decided to dedicate just a single blog entry to the collective six titles (excluding A Romantic Getaway which deserves an entry of its own). I also don't want to spend much time writing the reviews. Too many late nights as it is!

Title: Right Before Your Eyes

Author: Ellen Shanman

This was the first LBD book of the bunch that I read. Nothing memorable, really. Something about a struggling playwright wanting to find love but keeps attracting the wrong guy. Being the artsy-fartsy type, she's looking for a bloke with a kind, deep soul, and obviously rich successful businessmen are the shallowest of the lot, right? Duh, how pretentious can one get?

And the framework is so 'Shopaholic' - the girl with financial problems struggling to make a break in her career, the rich, ditzy best friend, and the cocky rich guy who turns out to be her soulmate.

She does end up with the rich guy, who, despite his cockiness, appears to have a highly sensitive side and gets easily upset over some of the things the girl does. I couldn't care less about her, though.

Title: Accidentally Engaged

Author: Mary Carter

After reading this one, I was almost ready to give up the LBD books. It started off okay, about Claire, a psychic tarot card reader who gives a false reading to a soon-to-be bride who has suddenly got cold feet. The client leaves behind her engagement ring, so psychic decides to return it to the jilted fiancé. On the way she finds herself daydreaming about the man, but after an accident falls in lust with another.

The plot had too many twists and turns, with a haunted house, hidden secrets, long lost relatives etc. And Claire keeps harping back to her previous failed marriages (3 altogether) which apparently was predestined in order for her to meet the One. As one review said, the key to liking this book is liking the heroine. Well, I like my heroines smart and rational, not constantly moaning about ex-husbands while stringing along two handsome men. So this one, I didn't like.

Title: Hysterical Blondeness

Author: Suzanne Macpherson

A brunette decides to lose weight extra fast in order to snag the man of her dreams and signs up for an experimental drug. She gets more than she bargained for, when her hair turns platinum blonde. Suddenly her dreamboat notices her, as well as her previously platonic best friend/landlord. She almost ends up marrying the dreamboat until she catches him, on their wedding day, doing his brother's fiancee (who of course is a natural blonde). She finally realises that it's the best friend she's in love with all along, so several months later, her hair back to its real colour, she marries the best friend. The end.

Why I didn't like this? I don't understand how her other best friend, who initially seems really keen to help her ensnare the dreamboat, suddenly conclude that dreamboat is not worth it? And why the heroine, who otherwise seems so clever and witty, can act so silly?

Title: The Girlfriend Curse
Author: Valerie Frankel

Again, it starts off well. After discovering that her latest ex was getting married merely months after their breakup, Peg Silver finds out that she is the Ultimate Girlfriend - all of her ex-boyfriends end up marrying within six months of leaving her. And they all attribute it to Peg's giving nature e.g. her willingness to give blowjobs with coffee every morning, etc. She decides to change her life by leaving New York for Vermont. On the way, she meets a guy who claims he is the Ultimate Boyfriend - his girlfriends all split and meet other people - and they end up making out. Huh???

Anyway, Peg does not end up with this guy. She finally falls in love with the director of a self-discovery program instead. Although the idea of falling for an academic appeals to me, I don't see how he could appeal to Peg, except for his conversation with his then girlfriend that she overheard, where the girlfriend was complaining about his sex drive (NOT lack thereof). HUH???

Title: Hex & the Single Girl
Author: Valeria Frankel

Strangely enough, I quite enjoyed this one. Emma is a telegraphopathist - someone who can project images into other people's minds using her brain. She uses this talent for 'the greatest good' - to set up women with their dream men, by projecting sexy images of those women into their targets' minds. One day, she gets a client whose intentions are not quite romantic, but as she is in desperate need of money, she takes up the job anyway. Emma ends up falling for the client herself, but of course the path of true love never did run smooth.

I loved the secondary characters in this book, and Emma comes across as a genuinely nice person with a tragic background (and she doesn't agonise about missing sex as much as the other heroines), so this one I enjoyed. Oh, and the bloke's half-British, so there's another plus for the Anglophile in me.

Title: I Take This Man
Author: Valerie Frankel

This one is hilarious! Penny gets jilted at the altar, so her protective mother, Esther, clobbers the groom with a champagne bottle. Esther then decides to hide the unconscious man in a locked room in her mansion. In the meantime, the groom's widowed father, Keith, searches for the son, enlisting Esther to help him, and sparks fly between them. In the end, the bride and groom reunite, and Esther & Keith also enter coupledom (is that actually legal?). And you've got to love Natasha, the Russian 'house manager'.

So there, 6 reviews in one. I've noticed a pattern about the books I like and don't like.

Likes: Heroines with a tragic/semi-tragic background that does not involve ex-boyfriends/husbands/bad sex.

Dislikes: Heroines who seem to think about nothing but sex.

A Romantic Getaway

Author: Sarah Monk

This is part of the stash of 'light-reading during confinement' that I borrowed from my colleague. It is one of the titles in the Little Black Dress series, and is actually the third that i've read. But so far this is the only memorable one and worth blogging about.

The story is about two sisters, Liesel and Marilyn. Liesel is a 'serial monogamist', as she gets dumped all the time by men who cannot seem to understand that this gorgeous, attractive woman is actually keen on a long-term commitment. The elder sister, Marilyn, was left by her husband for his older and more glamorous lady boss. Together with Marilyn's son, Alex, the three live in a poky flat in London until one day Alex inherits an old hotel in Cornwall from his father's aunt. The three then move to Cornwall, where they have to run the hotel for at least a season, otherwise the ownership gets transferred to Godrich van Woofenhausen - a dog.

Despite the strange inheritance, the tale is actually quite sweet. Unlike most chick-lit books I've read, Liesel is not an idiotic girl with her head in the clouds. And the love interest - a vet who gets called in when Godrich literally finds himself stuck in a tight place - is not the typical arrogant, slick charmer despite his astonishing good looks. In fact the couple are just regularly nice people.

Most of the story centers around family and friendship, and the romance seems to be a secondary thread to the main plot. It got to a point where I didn't really mind if Liesel and the vet didn't get together in the end.

I did find the vet's character a bit flat, though.I felt more for the other characters - Eric the cook, Kashia the Polish waitress, Lorraine the housekeeper and my heart really went out to Alex who refused to wear anything but Superman costumes. And the old hotel and its surroundings are pretty impressive too.

All in all, a nice good read if you don't want something too heavy but can't be bothered with carbon copies of Becky Bloomwood.

One dialogue I find memorable, is when the vet appears for the first time, and an elderly couple who were hotel guests met him:

Wife: "Could you please have a look at my chest?"

Husband: "He's a vet, my dear, not a doctor."

Wife: "I know that, but I'd still like him to have a look at my chest."

Hand of Isis

Author: Jo Graham

I picked this up at MPH, Gurney Plaza, Penang when I was there co-emceeing a corporate function in March. And I certainly do not regret it.

The story is about Charmian, one of Cleopatra's handmaidens. The name seemed familiar to me until I recalled the Shakespeare play 'Antony & Cleopatra', where Charmian is one of the characters in the play.

This novel is mostly historical fiction, with a bit of fantasy thrown in. It is told in first voice narrative by Charmian, who is also the Queen’s sister, borne of a Thracian woman from the Pharaoh’s harem. Together with another sister, Iras, the daughter of a Nubian serving woman named Asetnefer, they pledge themselves to Isis and represent different aspects of the goddess – Charmian is sensual as Isis Pelagia, Goddess of Love; Iras is the wise and aloof Lady of Amenti who presides with Serapis over the judgement of dead souls; whereas Cleopatra, in her role as Queen and caretaker of the Egyptian people, is Mother of the World, with Osiris as a husband and Horus as her son.

The novel begins in the Halls of Amenti, where Charmian’s dead soul faces Isis for the weighing of her heart against a feather. She then recollects the events that have brought her there, from her childhood right up to the suicidal snake bite to escape capture by the Romans. In between chapters, the novel returns to the scene in the Halls of Amenti, which I felt was effectively done.

The story is based on real historical events and figures. The main star of the novel, however, is Alexandria. Graham does a wonderful job describing the sights and sounds of the city during its heyday, as well as the life of its inhabitants. As Alexandria was home to a great library, and was the ‘apex of Panhellenism’, the three sisters are exposed to the different branches of knowledge under the tutelage of Apollodorus, so together they make a formidable trio in ruling Egypt.

Charmian’s major role, however, is Royal Event Manager. Befitting her representation of the erotic side of Isis, Charmian also has a very healthy sexual appetite, and despite having a child and several lovers, never marries. She does, however, dote upon her own daughter and Cleopatra’s various offspring, and stands by her royal sister throughout her life.

In an exchange with the judges in the Halls of Amenti, the angel Mikhael speaks in her defence:

“You see? One may search far and wide on this earth to find an incorruptible
servant, but You need look no further. Any monarch that ever lived should be
glad of one like her.”
I turned and faced Him. “It’s not that I don’t
appreciate You speaking on my behalf, but You are giving me credit that I do not
deserve! There was nothing anyone could give me that I wanted. How could I be
tempted?”
“And what was it you wanted, then?” Serapis asked.
“The only
thing I have always wanted,” I said. “To be with those I love and to have good
work to do. And as for the rest, justice and mercy and those in need, I didn’t
do anything special. I just tried to be fair. I just did my best.”
“That is
all that the gods can ever ask of anyone,” Isis said.

To be fair and to do one’s best. Isn’t that true?

The Landower Legacy

Author: Victoria Holt

After coming across a copy of Judith McKnaught's 'Kingdom of Dreams' in the local Gurun Popular bookstore (a rare sight indeed!) and not buying it, I was sort of hankering for a bit of historical romance. I borrowed this book (along with about 7 chick lit titles) from a friend as part of my 'confinement' reading list. It's an old book, written in 1984, so I assumed it would be a la Barbara Cartland.

Well, I have never read Barbara Cartland either, and if that Grand old Dame wrote anything like this, I would probably give it a miss.

Don't get me wrong. The plot was exciting, with lots of events, but the narrative I felt was a bit clumsy and amateur. Here's the story in my words.

Written in the voice of the ahead-of-her-time heroine, Caroline Tressidor, the story starts when she is fourteen, just before Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee celebrations. Caroline lives in London with her philanthropic father Robert Ellis Tressidor, beautiful socialite mother and timid older sister Olivia. The siblings get very little attention from their parents, spending most of their time under the watchful tutelage of a governess.

A scandalous discovery about Caroline's true parentage sees her being sent off to live with Cousin Mary 'the harpy' in Tressidor Manor in Cornwall. Caroline finds Cousin Mary gruffly affectionate, an independent spinster managing the large Tressidor estate better than one expected of a woman in those times. She also meets and forms a friendship with Jago Landower and a crush on the older Paul, sons of the Tressidors' neighbourhood rival. She finds out that where Tressidor prospered, the much older Landower mansion is literally falling into ruin, and the brothers face the unwanted prospect of selling their ancestral home to the highest bidder.

After some time she is called back to London, reunites with her sister and discovers that her mother has also left with her real father, a handsome and dashing Captain Carmichael. With the help of their parlourmaid Rosie Rundall (who later disappears from the household), Caroline manages to attend a masked ball with Olivia. There she meets and falls in love with Jeremy, they get engaged and start house-hunting, only to be jilted by him when she is disinherited by the wealthy Robert Tressidor, who dies after mysteriously suffering a stroke. Bitter and heartbroken, Caroline travels to the South of France to visit her mother, who is missing the glamour and glitter of London more than her now-dead lover Carmichael.

This is where Caroline once again meets Paul Landower, who is visiting France 'on business'. Paul has managed to regain Landower. Her childhood infatuation grows into a more adult desire for him, and the feeling appears to be reciprocated, but Paul is hiding something. When Caroline's mother remarries a French perfumier and is happily thrust back into fashionable society, Caroline decides to go back to the only place she really felt at home - with Cousin Mary who of course isn't really related to her but still loves her dearly.

She finds out that Paul had gone to France upon Cousin Mary's request to look for her, and that he had acquired Landower by marrying Gwennie, the daughter of Landower's erstwhile new owner. Although they have a son, the marriage is an unhappy one, as Gwennie keeps reminding the Landower brothers that it was 'Pa's pretty pennies that saved the old house'. While Jago takes it in his happy-go-lucky Lothario stride, Paul suffers both his nagging wife and also the new resentment from Caroline, who becomes even more embittered that Paul was willing to enter into such a bargain.

Meanwhile, Jeremy manages to land his hands on the Tressidor wealth by marrying Olivia, who apparently had always had a thing for him. They have a daughter, and Caroline travels to London to attend the christening as the child's godmother. Jago decides to surprise Caroline by travelling with her to London, and here I began to assume that he was going to pursue her more earnestly, but on their return to Cornwall that did not seem to be the case.

The plot has some dark moments, with a mysterious mine shaft becoming a recurring feature, and the odd lodgekeeper Jamie McGill's prophecy that 'death always comes in threes'. Of course, they come in quick succession (does a stillborn baby count?). Then the story diverts from being a historical romance into a sort of whodunit murder/missing person/split personality thriller, and Caroline realises that she truly does love Paul no matter what he did, athough it turns out that he wasn't the one who did it.

And so the book ends with the Diamond Jubilee celebration of Queen Victoria's reign, with Caroline now happily united with Paul (but of course!) and foreseeing that her goddaughter will grow up to marry her stepson Julian. Jago also conveniently ends up with Rosie - have to admit I didn't see that one coming.

Well, there. That's most of the plot (there's an interesting bit about Rosie and Robert Tressidor that I left out). Rather inspired, yes, but at what cost?

As I said before, the narrative was lacking. Holt started off well, building the background of the Tressidor sisters and family, and she does quite a good job describing the houses and scenery of the different localities. The story is eventful enough to keep me hooked. But she's pretty lousy at describing feelings and events. Except for the childhood excitement and adolescent fantasies, there was almost nothing about her feelings for Paul, and you could hardly detect the shift from schoolgirl crush into full-blown love.

The ending was also too convenient. The whole missing person/split personality angle was done in very few words so felt a bit rushed. Almost as if the author was thinking, "Oh my, look at the time and the size of this manuscript! I'd better get my protagonists together in a jiffy and tie everything up nicely before my publishers scream at me for the twentieth time!" I would also have liked to know more about how her mother hooked up with Captain Carmichael. Maybe there's a prequel.

Well, I don't think I'll bother finding out too soon. Maybe I should have just bought Judith McKnaught after all.

For other reviews, read here and here.