Last post for 2010 and a blogging break!!!

This will most probably be my last post of the year 2010. My parents and little sis are coming for vacation tomorrow and will be here till the first week of Jan. Needless to say, it’s going to be fun. We have planned to be in Malaysia during Christmas and Thailand during the new year.

I am so not in the mood to do ‘best of’ lists, so I won’t be doing them now (maybe sometime later). I might pop in sometime to check on my favorite blogs and to check my email but I won’t be blogging.

I wish all my Christian friends a Merry Christmas and everyone a very Happy New Year in advance.

If you missed my post on list of books by East and SouthEast Asia, please go check it out. Since it didn’t pop up in my Google Reader, I am assuming it didn’t in yours too.

Anyway, Happy Holidays and see you next year

East and SouthEast Asia books list!!!

It seems the more you look, the more you find. So before the list gets out of control, I will post it here. If you are joining the East and SouthEast Asia Challenge and don’t know what books to read, refer to this list. I guess it also will be helpful to those who are not joining the Challenge but are still interested in books set in this region.

There are tons of books available on China and Japan. Also Vietnam if you count all those War books, but the rest are not that easily available. Let me know if you have any additions or have read any books from the list. There are around 300 books in the list, so I had to hide the rest of the post and create page links. If you want to use the page links you will have to open the entire post by clicking on more or by clicking on the post title. Some of the descriptions are mine, some from GoodReads, some from amazon. So if you find the descriptions too flowery or over the top, take them with a pinch of salt.

Indonesia | Taiwan | Malaysia | Hongkong | Thailand | China | Burma (Myanmar) | Vietnam | Laos | Singapore | Japan | Korea: (North and South) | Mongolia | Philippines | East Timor ( I will add any missing countries later if any) HongKong is not really a country but for the sake of reading, I’ve kept it that way.

SouthEast Asia ( Just because these books don’t seem to be based in any one country)
One Crowded Hour by Tim Bowden
Lands of Charm and Cruelty : Travels in Southeast Asia
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Street without Joy: The French Debacle in Indochina by Bernard B. Fall: Originally published in 1961, this book offered a warning about what American forces would face in the jungles of Southeast Asia; a war fought without fronts against a mobile enemy. This book describes the brutality of the Indochina War, in which French forces suffered a staggering defeat at the hands of Communist-led Vietnamese nationalists.
A Dragon Apparent by Norman Lewis: a poignant description of Cambodia, Laos & Vietnam in 1950, with all their beauty, gentleness, grandeur and intricate political balance intact – Restores this lost world, like a phoenix, from the ashes of the Vietnam war and its aftermath – shows the Vietnamese guerilla movement in its infancy, ranged against the French colonial powers, and the early affects of imported Western materialism – a best-seller when first published, and venerated by all the Saigon-based war correspondents in the ’70s – inspired Graham Greene to go to Vietnam and write The Quiet American

Books I’ve read with the review links
The Travel Writer by Simone Lazaroo
The Road of Lost Innocence by Somaly Mam (Combodia)
Wild Swans
Empress Orchid by Anchee Min
The last Empress by Anchee Min
No More Tomorrows by Schapelle Corby with Kathryn Bonella (Indonesia)
The Long Road Home by Kim Yong (North Korea)
More Than a Memory-Reflections of Vietnam (Vietnam)
Beyond The Comfort Zone by James M Turner (Thailand)
Geisha: A life by Mineko Iwasaki
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (Sorry not reviewed but an awesome book)

Please pick one!!!

I get bored with blog layouts very soon, but I can’t change this one because I don’t like the other layouts provided by wordpress. So I thought I’d change the header. I need something in the header that shows books and I love fairies, that’s why they are there in both the headers. If I look at them long enough, I’ll hate them both, so please do help me pick one. The first or the second? (You could click to enlarge if you want to). I know the second one is a bit hazy but that can be corrected.

Weekly Geeks: Guilty Pleasures

Recently NPR aired a Guilty Pleasures episode where writers talked about the books they loved but were embarrassed to be seen reading. It got me thinking about all those books I love but don’t necessarily want other people to know I love them. Given that the holiday season is filled with eating the foods we love (but shouldn’t eat), parties that last far into the evenings (way past our bedtimes), sipping those holiday drinks (fat with calories but oh so delicious), and curling up in front of our fireplaces with books that take us away from the holiday stresses…I thought it might be fun to share our guilty pleasures with other readers. So, for this week’s Weekly Geek post share:

• The Books that you Love but are Embarrassed to be Seen Reading
• Tell us WHY you love them
• And (just for fun) tell us your favorite guilty snack that goes perfectly with all that guilty reading

I don’t really have guilty pleasures, as in I don’t feel guilty while reading any specific genre. Of course, when I read romances, I’m a little weary of the covers, so I might hide them sometimes, but I would never ‘not’ tell anyone that I’m reading a specific book. I had people laugh when I tell them I am reading a specific book. In fact I had a colleague who laughed when he saw me carrying a different book with me everyday. He called me weird. And it didn’t bother me, because I knew it was an ignorant comment. I feel bad for such people.

I’m cool with people not loving to read, but I wish some people respected that others do. The only time I felt a little guilty was when I was in the Young Adult section of the library and saw all these school kids picking out books. I thought maybe I was depriving them of something. But that didn’t last long. Now I don’t think anything about it.

I wish people didn’t judge others on their reading choices.

Note: The above pic is from the site PostSecret and although I don’t relate to it, I do like it.

Heart With Joy by Steve Cushman

Title: Heart With Joy
Author: Steve Cushman
Genre: Young Adult
Source: Review Copy
Paperback: 200 pages
Publisher: Canterbury House Publishing (September 1, 2010)
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

My Thoughts:
Heart with Joy is about a 17-year-old boy Julian whose mom left him and his father because she said she wanted to help her parents with their motel and complete writing her book. But Julian knows it’s more than that. He plans on going to Florida to his mother for the summer, and possibly to settle there. He is not as close to his father as he was with his mother, so staying with his father is not really appealing to him.

Julian takes up cooking and other household activities after his mother goes away. Slowly, he discovers that he really likes cooking and is possibly even passionate about it. He gets acquainted with his next door neighbor, who is a really old woman, who has a passion for birds.

Heart With Joy is exactly that, finding something that fills your heart with joy instead of going through life just because you have to. It’s a coming of age story, where Julian begins to understand his father, his mother and his own heart. It’s an easy read and its a very simple and quite story. I enjoyed knowing more about birds as a hobby and also loved the glimpse of recipes given in the book.

I had a problem with what a sweet, understanding teenager Julian is. I haven’t met any teenager who is as well adjusted and has his priorities in place and also who has such insight into things. But maybe I’m just being cynical.

It’s a good book though, definitely worth a try if you like YA or like quite stories.

2011 Challenges!!!

Next year I will be participating in 3 Challenges.

First is ofcourse, the one I am hosting-East and Southeast Asia Challenge. I am planning to read as many as I can. There are only 2 books in my TRB that fit this challenge, so I’ll have to rely on the Library. But I’m excited.

The second one is Swapna’s South Asian authors Challenge: I joined it in 2010 too and I most definitely completed it. I have a lot of books in my TBR that fit this Challenge. I’m excited because it will also help lessen my TBR pile.

The last one, for now, is the eBook reading Challenge. Now that I have a Kindle I have to start utilizing it to the fullest. I am joining the curious level which is 3 books, but I’ll try to read more.

Which ones are you joining in 2011?

Wordless Wednesday: Rural India

My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison

Title: My Fairy fair Godmother
Author: Janette Rallison
Genre: Young Adult (Fantasy)
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers (January 6, 2009)
Source: Library
Rating: 4 out of 5

My Thoughts:
This book was on my Wishlist for some time so when I spotted it in the library I grabbed it and the good thing is I wasn’t disappointed. Before I tell you how much fun it was let me tell you a little about the story. 2 sisters-Jane and Savannah. Jane steals Savannah’s boyfriend Hunter. Savannah is heart-broken which is why when a fairy godmother asks her to make 3 wishes, she wishes for a Price and a happily ever after like in fairy tales. But the problem is that her godmother is a teenage fairy, Chrysanthemum Everstar(Chrissy) who is granting her wishes as part of an extra grades project.

As part of Savannah’s first 2 wishes, Chrissy sends her to the middle ages, once as Cinderella and once as Snow White. The third time, even though Savannah tries to get her wish correct, she is again stuck in the middle ages with Tristan who is a guy in her school. They both have to take care of whatever problem they have and come back to the 21st century.

I just loved the concept and the fact that the fairy Godmother was a teenage girl who was always shopping and partying. I loved how Savannah’s ideas about a fairy tale were shattered when she went to the middle ages. In fact, it was so logical that even I had to think over how dreamy these fairy tales really are. I loved all the characters. Savannah was a typical popular teenage girl but I liked how much depth there was to her even when portrayed as a caricature.

I loved the sense of humor and I laughed out loud many times. It’s such a fun book. The end was a little confusing for me but overall I enjoyed My Fair Godmother a lot. Those who love YA or love fun books, I’m sure you would like this one.

Kindle!!!

I have been busy for the last couple of days, so couldn’t tell you. I got a Kindle as an anniversary gift. Although my husband doesn’t read much, I’m glad that he understands my passion for it

Pic from Amazon

It’s a little less user-friendly, probably because we have got used to computers and iPhones. But I got used to it. So far, I love my Kindle, I just wished they had included a few free ebooks with it. Fortunately I already had some with me.

I also made an earring holder from the Kindle box, so I can say I’m using the Kindle to the fullest

East and SouthEast Asian Challenge-faq and Sign Up!!!

Which countries are included in the Challenge?
Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Mongolia, North Korea, People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, South Korea, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, East Timor (Timor-Leste), Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam

What is the duration of the Challenge?
The challenge runs from 1st Jan 2011 to 31st Dec 2011

How many books do I have to read?
Minimum number of books = 3
All the 3 books should be from different countries. After 3 you can read as mnay as you can, repeating the countries if you wish.

Do I have to write reviews?
Not necessary. But it will be great if you can write a few lines or do a mini review. That way more people will be aware of the books from this region.You can also link you GoodReads, Shelfari or any other sites where you post your reviews instead of your blog.

Does the author have to be from East or SouthEast Asia?
No, just the book has to be set in this region.

What kind of books can I read?
Every type available out there, from YA to literary fiction to mysteries to memoirs.

Can I combine it with other Challenges?
Absolutely.

Why is South Asia excluded from the Challenge?
Because Swapna already runs a great Challenge called the South Asian Authors Challenge.

Where do I sign up for the Challenge?
Please go here to Sign up.

Where do I link my reviews?
Please go here to link your reviews. I want all the reviews at one place so there won’t be month-wise segregation of reviews.

I have huge list of books from the above countries, but I’m still compiling it. I’ll put it up this week or the next. I hope you decide to join me in this challenge.