as grotesque as Grotesque can be

I felt physically sick reading some parts of this novel. The title should serve as warning enough if you are planning to read this novel.

The novel has numerous merits however. It has been translated into many languages. Firstly, it portrays the vulnerability of girls or females despite modernity and changing times. Females in this story are subject to injustices in all facets living, driving them towards a path of self destruction as a means of gaining power over their lives.

Another big theme of this novel is the differing perspectives that people have or the stories they write about their life. The book is divided into several parts narrated by different people that left you wondering who the protagonists or antagonists are at the end of the book. Suspension of disbelief is a disservice or rather useless when reading this book, which is a testament of the author's ingenuity in driving home a point. There are facts and there are stories that we tell ourselves. The book will even make you question the definition of reality. Clarity could be deceiving, and at times people could be really blind about themselves or those that they love.  It made me wonder about our relationships with people around us, whether we have taken them for granted and the need for us to always find a way to connect and relate to one another. It is especially painful for me, as someone who has five sisters, to learn about the relationship between the unnamed narrator and her sister Yuriko.

I have read somewhere that the author maintained that this novel is a crime novel. It is and so much more, and much darker. As someone who could be greatly affected by things she reads, I would not recommend this if you're not in the best of moods.

Daniel X: Watch the Skies

Actually, I haven't finished reading this book yet. However, I will be able to give some description of the book because I'm already halfway through.

If I have to categorise this book, I will categorise it as a sci-fi and maybe fantasy. It is a book about a boy (I am not sure he's human) whose job is to hunt for criminal aliens. I think calling him an interstellar police would not be unsuitable. There are several books in the Daniel X universe but I do not think that this is the first one.

The author is James Patterson and I am not familiar with his work, although his name is very familiar. Perhaps I should google him but I'll do that when I have the time. The target audience for the book is children or young teenagers. The main character is a teenage boy and the language used is simple enough, although sometimes I find it to be overly descriptive. Not enough of "Show! Don't tell". Sometimes, it feels like I am reading a manual or something that is written by a teenager or an inexperienced writer. Perhaps I should also find out who Ned Rust is and whether he is a teenager?

I don't mean to say that this book is bad. In fact, I am really enjoying the book. I think the authors have the target audience on their mind when they are writing. The story is fun but it could be even better if it's told in a different way. The main reason for me to like this book is that it portrays Daniel, the main character, very well and you could really emphatise with him. I got a sense that although Daniel is blessed with special powers, he is still a lonely boy who doesn't really fit in with the rest of the world.

why books, life and i?

If I get a coin for answering the whys for everything I do, I would not be a very rich person. At times, I do understand the reason I do things. Many of the times I don't. I think there are many people in this world who do things without having a clear reason for it.

Reading has always been something that I like to do and enjoy doing. I think it stemmed for my childhood experience of being the only 'illiterate' in my class when I was in year 1.

I began reading at a later age than most of my peers. I only learn to read at the age of 7. I was a lucky child because my parents surround me with books for as long as I could remember. My father used to work for DBP and he always got my sister and I books and magazines. I remember that I really enjoy looking at pictures in them, although I could not read.

When I got to school, during the first exam, I was amongst the low achievers. I could not even do the test because I couldn't read. My mom took me to her workplace everyday and taught me to read. I am proud to say that my mom is the one who taught me to read Malay, English and Arabic (jawi and the Quran). It was as if a floodgate has been opened when I finally learned to read. I devoured every single book that I found and I read anything and everything.

I still like reading today and reading is one of my past time. I can say that I spend more money on books than I spend on clothes or other things. Reading has always given me pleasure and it has helped me through the thicks and thins of life. I think everyone has experienced that moment when something you read resonates with you and you could really relate with what you read.

I think this place is where I will write about such things. I have a personal blog, but I just think that it's nice if I could have one where I could write about the books I read.