Georgette

I'm not sure if another other book made me simultaneously cry with laughter and despair. Or if any other book can be hilarious and depressing at the same time. If you've been to enough meetings, you'll recognise These People. If you don't, you're probably it.

A great use for this book is to bring it to every meeting with your and write down the name of the colleague or manager who exhibits the behavior. Or check it off when you pull that line on everyone else. Just try not to get fired.

There's even illustrations for each trick, and a handy guide to useful facial expressions and what to do with your hands during a meeting. The line art is delightful.

In all seriousness, these people exist and sometimes your best weapon is a subtle sarcasm. Buy it as a lifeline for a friend or family member who is drowning in meetings. Buy it for the manager whose life revolves around meetings or that turd-polishing colleague who not-so-casually name-drops the boss's first name like they'll be doing their nails together later.

‘100 Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings: How to Get By Without Even Trying' will be available Oct 4. All I can say is, “Ship it!” (Trick #71)

This ARC is courtesy of NetGalley.

Guy Gavriel Kay s fantasy trilogy about a land called Fionavar is a little over 20 years old. I ve never heard of this Canadian author before, but an online friend was so adamant that I should read it that he ordered the books from Amazon and had them delivered to me as a gift.[return][return]The trilogy is made up of Book One: The Summer Tree, Book Two: The Wandering Fire and Book Three: The Darkest Road. Since it s essentially one huge story, I ll be talking about all three books in one review.[return][return]In The Summer Tree, five Canadian university students Kevin Laine, Kimberly Ford, Jennifer Lowell, Dave Martyniuk and Paul Schafer - were spirited to Fionavar by a mage named Loren Silvercloak of Brennin. They were invited at attend the anniversary of the king s ascension to the throne, but not long after their arrival, it became clear that there was more to it than what they were originally told.[return][return]We learn that Fionavar is the first of all worlds. All that happen there will reflect in other worlds, including our own. [return][return]A thousand years ago, Fionavar survived a war against the evil god Rakoth Maugrim the Unraveller. Rakoth breaks free from his prison and is bent on finishing what he started - destroying the land. [return][return]Loren and Brennin Seer Ysanne would readily confess that Loren came into our world for Kim Ford, whom Ysanne dreamt will succeed her as Seer. What they didn t foresee is that the other four also had specific roles to play in the Tapestry.[return][return]The Wandering Fire, which is the middle book that will make little sense without the other two, is where Kay moves all his characters into attack position for the next book. It sees the Arthurian mythos joining the tale, along with deities and symbols from various Northern and Celtic myths. [return][return]The Darkest Road is where it all comes together and makes sense. This is where we get to appreciate how intricately woven the tale is as a whole. Light triumphs over Dark, of course, but the journey there is ultimately fulfilling to follow. [return][return]I m not a big fan of High Fantasy. Most fantasy literature is either Tolkienesque in depth and length, or just sorry imitations of it. I must confess that by the time I got to The Two Towers, I ve forgotten what Fellowship if the Rings is about and summarily gave up trying to read it.[return][return]Another friend commented that The Fionavar Tapestry is too much like Lord of the Rings and it s true. You have the big bad guy, a group of people unwittingly caught in a fight against the villain, a good wizard who help the good guys, another wizard who ends up batting for the other team, the return of exiled royalty, a nation of horse riders, dwarves, a race that will no doubt bring Tolkien s elves to mind, and a lonely journey made by a short guy to the very heart of evil.[return][return]Kay, who helped Christopher Tolkien edit The Silmarillion, deliberately set his novels in Tolkien s tradition of High Fantasy to show that there is still room to come up with something that follows a formula, yet throw many surprises of its own at the same time.[return][return]The prose is beautiful without being overbearing, and despite the many characters running all over the place, Kay still manages to make you care deeply for them. Often times, you don t realize it until the characters go off and sacrifice themselves for the greater good.[return][return]There aren t that many books out there that make me cry so much reading. The last one that comes close is Anita Diamant s The Red Tent, but that is just one book and this is three.[return][return]Every time I re-read The Fionavar Tapestry, I am reminded that there is hope for High Fantasy yet.[return][return]For more on Guy Gavriel Kay, visit his website at www.brightweavings.com.[return]return

Texan church pastor Gordon Atkinson is an example of a blogger whose writing is so appealing that he was offered a book deal. Atkinson, more widely known to his online readership as The Preacher , discovered blogging as a relatively anonymous way of telling his stories and conveying his uncensored take on things. [return][return]Within months, his readership skyrocketed. People who found him can t help but tell their friends, regardless of religion, to come and read the blog of this preacher who can make us look again at simple things that we take for granted, or tickle us with tales of evicting a raccoon from his chimney. [return][return]Most of all, they can t help but share with others on how unpretentious this man of God is. Atkinson is frank with his own very human struggles with faith and God, and a lot of his reflections or observations have a tendency of punching readers in the gut when they recognize how they ve felt the same or it has happened to them before.[return][return]This book is a collection of his finest online essays as well as several more never published online. The good news is that you don t have to buy this book to sample his writing. Just look it up online.[return]return

Everyone knows this title because it's been made into a movie starring Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette and Shirley Maclaine. I've not seen the movie, which I intend to remedy one way or the other.[return][return]Rose Feller is a successful lawyer - 30 years old, a bit on the frumpy side and quite proper. She wishes that her sister Maggie would find herself a nice guy for once and get a steady job.[return][return]Maggie is drop dead gorgeous and irresponsible. She wishes that Rose would mind her own business. She also has a learning disability which might explain her inability to keep a job and use what she has to get what she wants.[return][return]They share very little in common except a childhood tragedy and the same shoe size.[return][return]After the Fellers are forced to live together, Maggie proceeds to turn her sister's life upside down; making her laugh, sharing some nice sister moments, stealing her money, her shoes and eventually, Jim - the man Rose is working so hard to maintain a relationship with. Rose walks in on them and throws them both out of her apartment.[return][return]Rose wallows in her misery and finally take an indefinate leave of absence from work (and from Jim). For once in her life, she follows her impulses and does something difference, gaining a change in outlook.[return][return]Maggie stows away in a university, sneaking into classes and slowly teaching herself how to read. The reckless girl, guilty over upsetting her sister and knowing that she won't be forgiven so easily, gradually grew a conscience and a few responsible bones in her body.[return][return]An enstranged and very guilty grandmother enters the picture, with her side of the story to the childhood tragedy. [return][return]The book synopsis suggests that there are only two main characters but grandmother Ella also plays a a main part. Their stories start out separately, but by the end of the book, it all comes together.[return][return]Good ‘chick lit' is hard to find, but one of the main reasons why I like Jennifer Weiner is because her characters are not limited to unbelievably gorgeous girls with the vital statistics of a toothpick. Neither are they about fat girls who miraculously lost all their weight and found happiness in the end (boy, that sends a wonderful message, doesn't it?)[return][return]At the end of the day, I'm fond of books that places me in serious danger of losing my page when I roll over laughing, and “In Her Shoes” is one of them.[return]return

Lucy Fly left home as soon as she was able and found herself in Japan, as far away as one can get from England. She lives and works there as a translator. As the novel opens, Lucy is arrested on suspicion of murder. As the police interrogates her, Lucy narrates her life story to the reader.[return][return]She left immediately after college, without bothering to inform her family. Not that they cared anyway; her mother was expecting another boy and lost interest when she saw that her newest child was a girl. Lucy was a ghost in the household. Her brothers followed their mother's example and ignored her, except for the times when they made cruel sport of her.[return][return]This was how she accidentally caused the death of one of her brothers.[return][return]In Tokyo, Lucy finds work, an irregular set of friends and a boyfriend who is obsessed with taking photographs. Teiji is a puzzle to her, but it is a comfortable bed-buddy arrangement. Then, Lily entered the picture.[return][return]Lily is from the same part of England as Lucy. The little piece of home unsettles Lucy and her new friend's personality sometimes grate on her nerves, but somehow they became friends. It was Lily's disappearance and recovery of a woman's torso that led the police to arrest Lucy.[return][return]Similar names in the same story annoy me because I have to look twice to make sure I didn't mistake one for another. It didn't help that they were both 4-letter names starting with an L.[return][return]It also didn't help that Lucy is a little peculiar. In the middle of a narration, she starts referring to herself in the third person, which doesn't help with keeping track of both women. However, it does show that there's something wrong with her and her take on what happened may not be what really happened.[return][return]Author Susanna Jones lived in Japan for a number of years, and brings the Japanese culture and society to life in her novel, although thankfully, she didn't thrown in unnecessary details that may overwhelm the reader.[return][return]The Earthquake Bird is one of those quiet mysteries where it's all already happened, and what's left to do is follow the road that led them there.[return]return

Deborah Copaken Kogan graduated from Harvard in 1988 and plunged straight into the world of photojournalism. Like most fresh grads, reality is something college doesn t prepare you for.[return][return]Living in Paris, she knocked on agency doors for an assignment. Within weeks, she was in Afghanistan with Pascal, a more senior photojournalist who promised that he would help get her into the thick of the war.[return][return]The book opens with her travelling in a group of mujahideen - rebel “freedom fighters”, shortly after Pascal abandoned her, forcing her to make her own arrangements. So her short career in photojournalism begins, and they lead her into some very hairy situations, in parts of history that I was too young to care about at the time.[return][return]Kogan gives us a peek into the world of the photojournalist fraternity, a group dominated by men. For that reason, the book is broken down into six chapters that relates to a man in her life and career - starting with Pascal, who took her into her first war and ending with her son Jacob, who is the reason she decided to end her career. [return][return]Her memoirs, candid as it may be in some places, is eye-opening to those of us who have no idea how the international media works. It also hammers home the fact that it is sometimes necessary for journalists to lie, bribe and persuade so that their journey would not be for nothing, and they will bring back images that will help cover their expenses.[return][return]At one point of the book, Kogan described feeling like a vulture as she entered the scene to photograph an African poacher shot dead. There is, after all, no story without a dead body. Horrifying? That's the media industry.[return][return]Kogan's photographs have appeared in magazines such as Time, Newsweek, and the New York Times, her freelance writing in The New York Times, Paris Match, and O, the Oprah Magazine, and her television segments on ABC News and Dateline NBC.[return]return

“A Bend in the Road” is a love story written by a man, and my last few brushes with male authors in this genre led me to believe that they have something good going here.[return][return]The plot goes down easy - it is predictable and accessible. Miles lost his wife and high school sweetheart Missy to a hit and run accident. The driver is still at large. Miles is left to raise their son Jonah alone.[return][return]Two years later, the deputy sheriff of a small town is called into a meeting with Sarah Andrews, Jonah's new second grade teacher. Apparently, Jonah's past teachers have not pushed him in is education after his mother died. Miles agreed to let Jonah take extra classes with Sarah.[return][return]Sparks fly between the teacher and deputy sheriff, with Miles being charmingly uncertain on how to make his move.[return][return]Sarah is not without her own sob story. She was happily married to an ambitious man, who abruptly withdrew his love and affection as soon as he discovered that Sarah was unable to give him children.[return][return]Miles and Sarah's newfound happiness seems settled, especially when Jonah approves, but there is still this little matter of Missy's killer that haunts Miles.[return][return]Certain chapters were written from the POV of the hit and run driver, the true story unfolding as the Miles chases a lead that may destroy what he has with Sarah, not too long after they decided they are serious about their relationship. Miles does something uncharacteristic, which leads him to getting suspended.[return][return]But when we learn the real story, we are made to wonder if Miles and Sarah's love is strong enough to survive it.[return][return]I said this story is predictable, so guess away.[return][return]This is my first Sparks novel and according to reviews on Amazon, it's not his best. However, I am impressed enough consider picking up his other books, most of which have been made into movies or for TV. [return]return

The Great Automatic Grammartizator and Other Stories[return]Paperback, 264 pages[return][return]The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More[return]Paperback, 213 pages[return][return]Roald Dahl[return]Published by Puffin Books[return][return][return]I recently developed a fascination for the works of Roald Dahl, perhaps years too late. But better late than never. I found the 2001 Puffin Books editions irresistible and decided that it's probably a good investment for my personal library.[return][return]Both books in this column are aimed at teenage readers, but of course, older readers will likely also enjoy them. The number of stories in both volumes total up to 20. Because I'm feeling cheeky today, I'm going to talk about some of the stories but not specify which book it came from.[return][return]Unless it's really obvious... like The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.[return][return]In the beginning of his story, Henry Sugar is a rich and selfish man. His main concern in life is making sure that he stays wealthy. He stumbles upon a strange story in a friend's library, written by a doctor who interviewed an Indian who can see without using his eyes.[return][return]The doctor's story conveniently describes how the Indian achieved this, so Henry followed the instructions. Three years and three months passed before he perfected his yogi-inspired powers.[return][return]But something happened to Henry in that time. He no longer finds pleasure in casinos and the shallow pursuit of riches. Yet he possesses the skill to clean out any casino he chooses to play in. An incident with a policeman gave him an idea, and Henry sets out to do good.[return][return]It's also rather obvious which book The Great Automatic Grammartizator came from. [return][return]Adolph Knipe's invention, the great automatic computing engine, is a success but Knipe is feeling depressed. By night, he is a writer, and not a very successful one either.[return][return]When sent home by his boss Mr Bohlen for a well-deserved holiday, Knipe mourns his failure as a writer before hitting upon an idea. After spending all of his holiday thinking about it, he convinces Mr Bohlen to back him on this and invented what is virtually an automatic story writing engine, able to produce works depending on the target audience. [return][return]Any writer, especially those who've ever gotten a reject slip, could appreciate the wicked humour behind this piece.[return][return]Another one with wicked humour that made me laugh out loud (“LOL” to you Internet people) at the end is “Mrs Bixby and The Colonel's Coat”. Mrs Bixby have been having an affair with someone only known to us as the Colonel. Her carefully concealed trips have been successful so far, until the Colonel gave her a luxurious mink coat.[return][return]There was no way Mrs Bixby will be able to explain this to her husband. She devises a plan on the way home and left the coat in a pawn shop. Upon returning home, she tells Mr Bixby that she found a pawn ticket in the taxi she took, and sent him off to collect. That's where the fun begins.[return][return]A story that I found particularly harrowing to read comes under the peaceful-sounding title of The Swan.[return][return]Precocious Peter Watson is unfortunate enough to be out in the woods birdwatching alone when local bullies Ernie and Raymond came along. They made him their captive and subjects him to the kind of cruelty we associate with people who grow up to become serial killers.[return][return]First, they tied Peter to the train tracks and let him believe that he'll be run over. Finally, they shot a swan, cut her wings off and tied them to Peter's arms. They made him climb a tree as high as he could go and made him jump. [return][return]The surprise came when Peter discovers that he is one of those souls whom bullies will never break.[return][return]Dahl delights with his humour, yet some stories contain a sensitivity that moved me. As an extra bonus, one of these books contain Dahl's account on how he got his luck break into writing, as well as his very first published piece. Both of these pieces offer a glimpse into how this surprising man accidentally became one of the greatest authors in modern literature.[return]return

In a world of horrors, Finney Bleak is the normal kid in a school, where his classmate are literally monsters and witches. Since normal is the new weird, he gets picked on by his classmates. He comes from a family whose greatest claim to fame is the manner all of them died - unnaturally and preposterously. As one of the few Bleaks who are not ghosts yet, Finney knew it was a matter of time before he joins them. [return][return]During a family trip to the travelling carnival, he meets Jenny. She is beautiful, smart and as into Finney as he is into her. Not even his parents's deaths at in the Tunnel of Love put a damper on his day. They agreed to meet, but Jenny never showed.[return][return]If you haven't already figured from the title, Jenny eventually turned up dead, randomly killed in a self-accident the day after she meets Finney at the travelling carnival. With everyone he loves becoming ghosts, will he and Jenny have a future?[return][return]”My Dead Girlfriend” strikes the right balance between the awkwardness of being a teenager and appealing to those of us who are tired of the standard teen romance fare. It's funny and weird.[return][return]Writer and artist Eric Wight is best known for being Seth Cohen's ghost (heh) artist on TV series The OC. His style is more edgy cartoon than manga, which is why I was attracted to the artwork whereas I'm normally not interested in manga. Childhood memories of bad Japanese dubs have irreparably ruined manga and anime for me for life. [return][return]This book covers Finney's background and how he and Jenny met. Nothing more than a taste of what's to come, but it's been exactly a year and 5 days since and there's no word on Volume 2. Oh, “My Dead Girlfriend” is a manga, in case I didn't make that clear earlier.

Let's be honest here, even those of us who don't pay much attention to politics have heard of certain things that spill out of the political arena and into the streets. Sometimes it's because a politician said something funny. But often, it's because someone who should have known better let their racist, sexist and generally rude side show, probably under the impression that they are being funny. [return][return]On International Women's Day last March, Tourism Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said this in response to Indonesian TV journalist/blogger Nila Tanzil:[return][return]”All bloggers are liars, they cheat people using all kinds of methods. From my understanding, out of 10,000 unemployed bloggers, 8,000 are women. Bloggers like to spread rumours, they don't like national unity. Today our country has achievements because we are tolerant and compromising. Otherwise we will have civil war. Malays will kill Chinese, Chinese will kill Malays, Indians will kill everybody else.”[return][return]This caused filmmaker and blogger Amir Mohammad to look at other Outrageous Quotes that cause waves in the local media. He found about 200. About half of that appear in this first volume, providing glimpses into three decades of Malaysian culture, society and politics.[return][return]It doesn't really matter whether or not you are familiar with the circumstances that inspired the quote. Amir provides context, along with where and when the quote was reported.[return][return]To come upon an Outrageous Quote in the news every now and then is one thing. We laugh or rage, “lie” about it on our blogs and we move on. Reading more than just a handful in a sitting makes you laugh a lot, and then wonder what kind of people we entrust our country's governance to.[return][return]Are politicians really this frivolous? Do they think they're being witty? Are these ridiculous comments just a ploy to get into the news? And more importantly, can they focus on the real issues of the country instead of bringing in menstrual cycles and making declarations about subjects they understand nothing about?[return][return]To find out, stay tuned for Vol. 2. Select snippets can also be found in Off The Edge magazine. Meanwhile, Vol. 1 is already available at most good book stores in town.

I've never met a ghost and I don't really want to, but I am fascinated by the stories and the theory behind the supernatural phenomena. I ask people to tell me their ghost stories. My fellow ghost enthusiasts discuss things like why they stay and whether ghosts are bound to the land or to the people who see them.[return][return]Melba Goodwyn's “Ghost Worlds: A Guide to Poltergeists, Portals, Ecto-Mist, & Spirit Behavior” is a practical guide to ghost manifestation and haunting. The term “practical” has to be taken with a pinch of salt because most people think that believing in ghosts is not something that should be categorised under the term “practical”. [return][return]Moving past that “Ghost Worlds” is a surprisingly easy and engaging read. I expected a book full of complex spiritual and scientific theories. Goodwyn approaches the subject from her background as a parapsychologist and paranormal investigator who is inclined towards the spiritual aspects.[return][return]The first chapter asks, “Do you believe in ghosts?”[return][return]Those who believe in ghosts also believe that they are created of two very distinct energy systems that combine to form one unit - physical, which is condensed energy; and spiritual, which is ethereal energy. Our ability to manifest as a ghost is based on our spiritual body's vibrational frequencies. What does this mean?[return][return]A chapter further in described our existence as such:[return][return]”Our physical bodies exists due to the electrical impulses that keep it energized - the essence of our soul. when we die, we stop breathing and everything that was energized by the electrical charges in our bodies ceases to function. End of story?”[return][return]The electrical impulses have to go somewhere, Goodwyn writes. Since energy cannot be destroyed, it is transformed into ghosts or spirits. This electromagnetic form is able to communicate with us, although it operates on a finer vibrational frequency than its previous form (aka human). This vibration theory is another point you're going to have to accept for the rest of the book to work. [return][return]I found that “Ghost Worlds” do cover a lot of ground. In a chapter is dedicated to haunted places (houses, taverns, cemeteries, hotels, theatres), she lists down reasons why those places are such popular haunts (heh).[return][return]There are various types of haunting, including what is called residual ghosts. These are not conscious entities, but a “recording” of an event where high amounts of emotional energy was released. The energy is trapped in the area or building, and appears during certain occasions and circumstances. These ghosts will not interact with the living any more than Angelina Jolie will notice you while you're watching her in Beowulf.[return][return]The chapter on haunted items, we learn about possible reasons why certain items may randomly attract your attention, and how other items can bring bad luck to its owner.[return][return]A few paragraphs were of particular interest to me because they were about books. The reason you get drawn to a particular book is because of your relationship with the “knowledge and wisdom” contained within. Books often reveal mysterious hidden messages for you alone, which will reveal itself in good time. [return][return]Almost everything Goodwyn described about acquiring books fitted me to a spooky T. Yes, I often find a book I wasn't looking for. Yes, I tend to leave new purchases on my shelf for months or years because picking it up and finding that it's the best book I've read in weeks. And yes, “Ghost Worlds” practically leaped out of the shelf (in a section that I don't normally browse it) and refused to let me leave without it. [return][return]Goodwyn's years of experience in the paranormal field means she has plenty of real life stories to support her explanations about things like poltergeists (which she insists are not ghosts), imaginary friends (did you have one as a kid?), shadow people and light orbs. [return][return]She reminds us many times throughout the book that she is clairvoyant and clairaudient, meaning she can see and hear ghosts, and that she also anticipated that some of us will be thinking, “This is hogwash” at various points of the book.[return][return]For budding ghost hunters out there, there are a couple of chapters dedicated to equipment, ground rules when exploring a haunted house, and how to conduct an interview with a ghost.[return][return]Overall, “Ghost Worlds” is a fascinating read for amateur ghost enthusiasts or those who are simply curious to read what an experienced parapsychologist has to say.[return][return]Meanwhile, a note to any ghosts out there would like to fling me more books I should read: please provide me with means of paying for it and I'll be happy to hear what you have to say.

I m rather fond of online-to-real-life publishing successes such as two of those previously featured in this column. Sharing origins with Everything Matters and RealLivePreacher.com, Movies in Fifteen Minutes (M15M) hails from one user on LiveJournal.com (LJ), who came back from watching Van Helsing and wrote an entry that somehow became a 2500-word parody.[return][return]Her friends loved it, linked to it in their own LJs and emailed it to their friends. This LJ user, who goes by the name Cleolinda Jones, saw Troy the following week and Troy in Fifteen Minutes followed. [return][return]Through the very viral nature of the online community, the M15M phenomena hit nearly every corner of the Internet and Jones was approached for book deal.[return][return]This resulting tome, aptly subtitled Hollywood Blockbusters for people who can t be bothered , contain the parodies of 10 movies (12, if you want to count all LotR movies individually) - Braveheart, Gladiator, Harry Potter and the Philosopher s Stone, Independence Day, Jurassic Park, The Matrix, Spider-Man, Star Wars II, Titanic and of course, all three Lord of the Rings& which may run a little over 15 minutes.[return][return]To the uninitiated, the book looks like a collection of bizarre scripts at first glance. If you ve never ventured into that side of the internet chat language, I have no room to explain the lingo to you here.[return][return]But once you get into it, you realize that Jones has it nailed. Take a movie, whit it down to its barest minimum and rewrite the script with appropriate amounts of irreverence, sarcasm and wit. Instant quotables.[return][return]Now she doesn t hate the movies here. In her Acknowledgements in front of the book, she states that this book is for everyone who loves movies so much they can laugh at them anyway. Laugh they did.[return][return]Picture this: Harry Potter asking a muggle porter how to get to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, and the porter retorting with, God, I hate this time of the year. [return][return]There were jokes that reoccurred throughout the chapter, like Legolas and his habit of staring the obvious. There were jokes that crossed over into other movies, like Darth Saruman. There are section titles like The Cliff of Manly Weeping in the Fellowship of the Rings chapter (I ll leave you to guess what scene that is!).[return][return]Van Helsing, Troy, Phantom of the Opera and a slew of other M15M parodies do not appear in the print version. Thanks to the fact that M15M was first seen on the Internet, you can still read them at http://community.livejournal.com/m15m if you poke around a little for them.[return][return]Read it, laugh and share it with a friend. And no, you can t borrow my book.[return]return

Five years ago, little Matt Jameson got on a ride in a street fair and disappeared without a trace. His older sister Kate Jameson and mother Frances are frequently at odds with each other ever since.[return][return]Kate is now 14, your average rebellious teenager with a taste for heavy metal and being difficult with her deeply-hurting mother.[return][return]One day, their neighbour Mrs Vaughn cornered Kate and told her she knew where Matt is. He has been taken into Abadazad, a fantasy land known to the “real world” as the setting of a popular children's book series. This series was Matt and Kate's absolute favourite before he vanished.[return][return]How does Mrs Vaughn know all this? Kate originally thought she was a huge fan herself, but it turned out that her old neighbour was the little girl who travelled into Abadazad in the stories. [return][return]How could any of this be possible? The “Little Martha” of the stories was a red-haired, green-eyed girl... not a African-American. And Abadazad is just a story, not a real land you can go to.[return][return]Mrs Vaughn explained that in her time, the general public won't take kindly to a little “Negro girl” being the heroine of a book. Franklin O. Davis, the writer she worked with, changed her into Caucasian girl and applied some artistic liberty to the stories that Mrs Vaughn supplied him.[return][return]Kate decided that Mrs Vaughn was absolutely nuts, and left. But certain events occured after, giving Kate no choice but to believe and take the journey into Abadazad to find Matt.[return][return]”The Road to Inconceivable” serves as an introduction (ours and Kate's) to Abadazad. She is reunited with Mrs Vaughn, in the form of Little Martha, and meets Queen Ija, ruler of Inconceivable. Kate learns the difference between the real Abadazad and Davis's version. [return][return]A great deal of this book also established Kate's background. She is not anybody's idea of a dream child. Kate represents that difficult age where nobody “understands” her and she is frequently in trouble at school. [return][return]It's only in the second book, “The Dream Thief”, where get over Kate's astonishment in finding herself in storybook land, and we finally get into the business of her finding Matt. [return][return]The tale starts with an attack on the Queen's castle. Apparently, whoever took Matt realises that Kate will soon be his problem.[return][return]Upset that Queen Ija is hesitant on letting her start her search, Kate runs away with Master Wix, a boy made of candlewax and minor character who happens to be Matt's favourite in the book.[return][return]We see more of The Lanky Man, our six-armed man villian, and discover his objectives for taking Matt prisoner.[return][return]I spotted these books in one of our local book stores and thought they looked interesting. It is a hybrid of journal-style storytelling and a graphic novel. I got one at first because it isn't exactly cheap, then found myself back first thing the next morning for the second book. [return][return]Abadazad originally was a comic. When their publisher closed shop, Disney bought the series over. Abadazad is reborn as a high quality and beautifully-illustrated children's book. [return][return]Kate's narration and the comic parts of the book flow smoothly in and out of each other. It's a good example of how the two medium can complement each other.[return][return]Abadazad is “the Place where sorrow has no home, where time has no meaning, where joy lives forever”. The catch phrase has a high level of cheese for those of us above 15, but at least they don't throw that at you before they have you deep in the story.[return][return]With hints of Wizard of Oz and Narnia, Abadazad contain elements that I love in fantasy - the transplanting of an everyday person from “real life”, into a whimsical fantasy world.[return][return]Hold on tight. The journey is only beginning.[return]return

Five years ago, little Matt Jameson got on a ride in a street fair and disappeared without a trace. His older sister Kate Jameson and mother Frances are frequently at odds with each other ever since.[return][return]Kate is now 14, your average rebellious teenager with a taste for heavy metal and being difficult with her deeply-hurting mother.[return][return]One day, their neighbour Mrs Vaughn cornered Kate and told her she knew where Matt is. He has been taken into Abadazad, a fantasy land known to the “real world” as the setting of a popular children's book series. This series was Matt and Kate's absolute favourite before he vanished.[return][return]How does Mrs Vaughn know all this? Kate originally thought she was a huge fan herself, but it turned out that her old neighbour was the little girl who travelled into Abadazad in the stories. [return][return]How could any of this be possible? The “Little Martha” of the stories was a red-haired, green-eyed girl... not a African-American. And Abadazad is just a story, not a real land you can go to.[return][return]Mrs Vaughn explained that in her time, the general public won't take kindly to a little “Negro girl” being the heroine of a book. Franklin O. Davis, the writer she worked with, changed her into Caucasian girl and applied some artistic liberty to the stories that Mrs Vaughn supplied him.[return][return]Kate decided that Mrs Vaughn was absolutely nuts, and left. But certain events occured after, giving Kate no choice but to believe and take the journey into Abadazad to find Matt.[return][return]”The Road to Inconceivable” serves as an introduction (ours and Kate's) to Abadazad. She is reunited with Mrs Vaughn, in the form of Little Martha, and meets Queen Ija, ruler of Inconceivable. Kate learns the difference between the real Abadazad and Davis's version. [return][return]A great deal of this book also established Kate's background. She is not anybody's idea of a dream child. Kate represents that difficult age where nobody “understands” her and she is frequently in trouble at school. [return][return]It's only in the second book, “The Dream Thief”, where get over Kate's astonishment in finding herself in storybook land, and we finally get into the business of her finding Matt. [return][return]The tale starts with an attack on the Queen's castle. Apparently, whoever took Matt realises that Kate will soon be his problem.[return][return]Upset that Queen Ija is hesitant on letting her start her search, Kate runs away with Master Wix, a boy made of candlewax and minor character who happens to be Matt's favourite in the book.[return][return]We see more of The Lanky Man, our six-armed man villian, and discover his objectives for taking Matt prisoner.[return][return]I spotted these books in one of our local book stores and thought they looked interesting. It is a hybrid of journal-style storytelling and a graphic novel. I got one at first because it isn't exactly cheap, then found myself back first thing the next morning for the second book. [return][return]Abadazad originally was a comic. When their publisher closed shop, Disney bought the series over. Abadazad is reborn as a high quality and beautifully-illustrated children's book. [return][return]Kate's narration and the comic parts of the book flow smoothly in and out of each other. It's a good example of how the two medium can complement each other.[return][return]Abadazad is “the Place where sorrow has no home, where time has no meaning, where joy lives forever”. The catch phrase has a high level of cheese for those of us above 15, but at least they don't throw that at you before they have you deep in the story.[return][return]With hints of Wizard of Oz and Narnia, Abadazad contain elements that I love in fantasy - the transplanting of an everyday person from “real life”, into a whimsical fantasy world.[return][return]Hold on tight. The journey is only beginning.[return]return

Librarian Jan Lars Jensen just sold his first novel - a science fiction story set in future India - to a publisher. Excellent news to any writer, but as he revised the story for his editor, he grew increasingly convinced that his novel - which featured the gods of Hindu mythology - will anger the Hindus, lead to the collapse of his life, and the destruction of the world. [return][return]While it's natural for most authors to be apprehensive about an upcoming release of a new novel, Jensen lost his grip on reason and reality. He was unable to sleep and is highly paranoid. Convinced that the only way to fix the situation is that he died, a suicide attempt followed and Jensen woke up in a psych ward. The ward did little to curb his paranoid; it merely provided additional nooks and crannies to feed it. [return][return]”Nervous System” is Jensen's account of his swift decline in mental health, and his much slower recovery. While mental illness isn't funny (especially if you have it), Jensen is blunt and candid about the various conditions of his mind throughout the whole incident. His memoirs are readable and conversational, even if the topic is usually avoided in polite company.[return][return]There were many nights when he is convinced that there is a sniper or assassin outside, waiting for a chance to kill him. What's comical about that situation is how resigned Jensen is to his eventual fate, and how concerned he is that none of his fellow patients are at any time, between him and a possible bullet. He charts his relationship with his doctors, fellow patients, and his wife. [return][return]There was no angel choir or great revelation when Jensen won the battle with his mind, just a gradual healing and acceptance of “normal”... with the occasional pep talk to himself that there is no reason to give in to any renewed paranoia.[return][return]Most memoirs are about how a person had an awful life but became famous and awesome in spite of it. We all want to be inspired to be great, especially when our lives are nowhere half as awful as people who merit getting their own biography. Perhaps that's why many of us will not be immortalised in a book; there's nothing unusual or remarkable about finding your own rut and staying there.[return][return]”Nervous System” will probably find an audience with people who are interested in mental illness from an eloquent patient's perspective, or for writers who believe they are this close to going crazy. At least the writers can rest assured in the fact that if they survive a lapse in mental health, they can write an entertaining book about it.

I bought this book fresh after a holiday. A real holiday, not the kind where I take a few days off and not leave the house until have to go back to work.[return][return]What prompted me to get it is the realisation that I would prefer to do something useful or educational while on vacation. Dashing around a foreign country on a controlled schedule with minimal interaction except for the part where they try to sell you things like snake placenta pills? No thanks and yuck.[return][return]The latest baby in this famous travel book series was put together by LP writers, with contributions from volunteers, who have or are still doing work in the international volunteering sector. [return][return]So you want to volunteer. Now what?[return][return]There's more to it than identifying what you want to do and picking a place to go. Volunteer work means you pay them to take you in for a certain amount of time. Depending on the type of programme you choose, food and accommodations may be included. [return][return]There are two kinds of international volunteering. Development Volunteering involves humans - emergency and relief, working with children, building and construction, community development and education. Conservation & Wildlife Volunteering involves non-human subjects - archeology, wildlife and marine conservation. [return][return]And then there are the programmes - Organised Volunteer Programmes, where almost everything is arranged for you; Structured & Self-Funding Programmes, where you'll have to figure out half the arrangements yourself; DIY Placements, where you cut out the middle man and go straight to an NGO or locally run program yourself.[return][return]The book also deals with the practical questions. How do you fund your trip? Do you have to quit your job for long-term volunteering? Can you volunteer as a family? What are you going to do about the house? Pets? Mortgages? Cars?[return][return]There is also a section for volunteers coming home after a stint in a developing countries. How do you deal with reverse cultural shock? How do you put your volunteer work to your advantage when looking for a job? What if your trip is prompting a complete career change?[return][return]Lonely Planet's “Volunteer” is subtitled “A Traveller's Guide to Making a Difference Around the World” - showing you how to get a different sort of holiday, the kind where you roll up your sleeves and pitch in on what other people might identify as “work”. [return][return]In fact, certain organisations mentioned in this book welcome skilled volunteers - there's always some use for a doctor, veterinarian, architect or scientist in some far-flung destination... like exotic Borneo.[return][return]Which brings me to one disadvantage I identified in this book - it was written with the Western demographic in mind. Most of the organisations listed here are based in USA, UK, Australia and New Zealand. [return][return]Dr Kate Simpson, who completed a PhD on gap years and international volunteering, said in the overview chapter:[return][return]”International volunteering is part of a long tradition of people from the West setting off to help or change the countries of the Global South (aka the developing world) and have adventures while they do it. Where once these people were missionaries and soldiers, colonists and explorers, teachers and entrepreneurs - now they are international volunteers.”[return][return]There's a tiny section somewhere in the book with contact information for volunteers based in Asia, but unsurprisingly, this doesn't include organisations based in Malaysia. [return][return]Borneo and Malaysia only pops up as one of the locations for volunteer placement, which raises the question of us looking at local volunteering opportunities to begin with. A local option will not take up as much of your time and money, and will give you a taste of what to expect when you decide to mount a major expedition. [return][return]For those of you looking to make a difference during your annual leave, I encourage you to look up local NGOs who may need a helping hand and a little more local awareness. However, I don't blame you if you prefer to work with street children in Romania or sea turtles in Greece instead. It's your holiday, and there are Western volunteers out there who will be thrilled to come here.[return][return]After all, the whole point is to get away from home, wherever that is, and learn about the side of the world you don't live in. You might do some good and change some lives while you're there.

Heidi Munan is a familiar name among Sarawakians, especially if you're somehow involved in or have an interest in the local material culture - beads in particular. When striking up a conversation with a bead craftswoman during the World Harvest Festival at Sarawak Cultural Village, I mentioned that I was reading Beads of Borneo. The young Baram lady's response was an immediate but not too surprising, “I know Heidi! She and my mother are good friends.”

Beadwork is something most of us have gotten used to seeing, perhaps to the point of taking forgranted. This book eases you into the world of small and sometimes shiny things, beginning with a rundown of Borneo's geography, history and ethnic groups in which beads still feature prominently.

For a land so rich in bead culture, we can only really lay claim on beads of bone, tooth, pebbles and shell dug up in archeological sites. Most beads came to Borneo from overseas. They arrive as part of the international trade, only to soon make their way up and down the river. Beads are used as currency and carried by all traders as a medium of exchange for goods or goodwill.

Chapter Two takes a look at the origins of beads found in Borneo, including a fascinating Kayan origin myth.

Beads have many uses in the Borneo ethnic community. Chapter Three describes how they are used for rituals and spiritual purposes.

Beads are more durable compared to textile, metal and ceramics. It is said that an object that lasts a long time is physically and spiritually strong. The rightful owner can draw strength from it.

Shamans and healers have special beads that nobody else may touch or see. Depending on the group, beads may play the role of strengthening, attracting spirits, or identifying the intermediary between the human and spirit worlds.

Chapter Four tackles the issue of beads as a sign of wealth and status. Precious beads are often passed down to the next generation, but the occasional wealthy person with no close heirs may ask for her beads to be buried with her. She may also ask that the beads be smashed first to thwart grave robbery.

A single bead can be worth hundreds of ringgit. The peerless lukut selaka (or rosette bead), origins still a mystery, is said to be worth a life.

Beads these days are not used to ransom prisoners or work some magic anymore, but they are still used to embellish traditional costumes. They are also very common as souvenir items in the form of costume jewellery, or in the shape of practical items like handphone pouches and lanyards.

Chapter Seven in Beads of Borneo has descriptions and photos of beads which are common or have unusual historical interest, useful for identifying items.

It's good to know that the bead culture of Borneo is not in any danger of dying out, but I'm one of those people who believe we should take some time to learn where it all came from and how it evolved from there. This book makes it easy.

Illustrated with plenty of photos (guess who spent more time admiring pictures than actually reading!), Beads of Borneo is not as hard to digest as the cover suggests, and an intelligent yet interesting book on Borneo is always a welcome addition on my shelf.

(2006)

I've been waiting get my hands on an English translation this novel, since it's the one that launched Japan's Ringu and pretty much the entire 2005 onslaught of Asian horror movies. As expected, the book and movie is quite different, but this book is different enough for me not to know what to make if it yet.

In the movie, a female reporter investigates the mysterious death of her niece, which leads her to a killer video tape and seven days to unravel the mystery, which cumulated in this long-haired spook climbing out of the TV.

In the book, the protagonist is a man names Asakawa, also a reporter, who noticed that three other teens died around the same time as his niece. He tracks down the tape and watches it. There was nothing coherent in it, just some abstract images, and a message:

“Those who have viewed these images are fated to die at this exact hour one week from now. If you do not wish to die, you must follow this instructions exactly...“

The tape then cuts to static.

The race throughout the book is to find out what it said, which sends him on a long chase over Japan trying to discover its origins.

Joining in the hunt is his professor friend Ryuji Takayama, who provokes even less sympathy by being both male and a sexual predator. Ryuji thinks it's a virus, and he's not too far from wrong.

What they both find is references to the beautiful Sadako Yamamura, daughter of a famous Japanese psychic who became a laughing stock. Sadako had something to do with creation the tape and could possibly holds the answer to their salvation.

The structure of the story is similar to the movie but the plot is different. It's like two people writing their own take using the same characters and back story. One might say that the movie version was vastly over-dramatised for cinema audiences. That classic moment when Sadako climbs out of the TV is not even part of the original novel.

Ring the novel reads more like paranormal detective fiction rather than a horror story. It's creepy, but neither horrific nor nightmare-inducing. If you're looking to relive the movie, you'll be disappointed, but if you want to see where it came from, this is for you.

Ring is the first of the hugely successful thriller trilogy. The other two books are Spiral and Loop, both also filmed as cult movies.

(2006)