My Reading Habits!!!

Saw this me-me on The Undercover Book Lover (Not Really) and I simply know I’ve got to do have it too!

Do you snack while you read? If so, favourite reading snack:
NO! I love laying/sitting down in a comfortable position and enjoy reading the book. Only reading. Soft instrumental songs in the background is wonderful too. =)

What is your favourite drink while reading?
Rarely drink when I read but if I do, it has to be English Breakfast tea or hot chocolate. These 2 complement best when you have your nose stuck in a book!

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
I will NEVER write in my book (except for my name and the year I bought it).

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?
No way I’m ever going to lay my book flat open!Esp faced down!!! *that’s so horrifying!* I use a bookmark or remember the page where I stopped. As for recipe books, I mark them with adhesive indexer.

Fiction, non-fiction, or both?
Both! 75% of fiction and 25% non-fiction. ;)

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?
I can stop anywhere LOGICAL..say after a paragraph. Still prefer to stop at the end of a chapter.

Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?
No way!!! I care for ALL my books to be throwing 'em anywhere at all! If I’m not happy about a book, I’ll just shut it and put it back on the shelf.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?
Most of the time, I’ll just read the sentence and have a rough idea what the word means. If the word still hangs in my head, I’ll look it up when a dictionary is within my reach. I don’t really like my reading interrupted.

What are you currently reading?3 books;
Mathilda by Roald Dahl
The Rules of Life by Richard Templar
Freakonomics by Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt

What is the last book you bought?
Smoothie Heaven by Wendy Sweetser

Happiness in Hard Times by Andrew Matthews

The Housekeeper + The Professor by Yoko Ogawa

Freakonomics by Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt

Are you the type of person that reads one book at a time, or can you read more than one?Mmm..depends on my mood. As much as I would like to concentrate on one book, I’m always torn between many. Most of the time, I will end up with atleast 2 books. *can’t be helped*

Do you have a favourite time/place to read?
On my bed or at a corner of a comfy sofa!

Do you prefer series books or stand alones?
Standalones. If it is a great one like the Shopaholic series, why not? ;)

Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. =) I don’t just recommend. I would even go to the extend of buying it as birthday presents!

How do you organize your books? (by genre, title, author's last name, etc.)
Sizes and types(hardcover/paperback). I have also tried arranging by colours and authors but sizes and types makes me feel more satisfied.

Would you like what others have answered? Click here!

S.O.S.!!! Help me pick! 12hours left!

Opinions needed.

Not experiencing bloggers' block but torn between 4books.

Conmpany trip starts tomorrow. I just finished a reading book and now need to decide which of these 4 would be a good pick for a 2days2nites stay...

Options are :

1. To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee

2. Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

3. Every Breath You Take by Judith McNaught

4. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

Sophie Kinsella next book; Mini Shopaholic

Wake me up when September comes.
That is also when the new book by Sophie Kinsella will be out. *Soooo can't wait!*

According to MPHOnline, it will be out on the 2nd of September this year.

Though so, the book can be pre-ordered online namely on MPHOnline

The book cover has been revealed on the 19th of April at http://www.sophiekinsella.co.uk/news/2010/apr/mini-shopaholic-uk-jacket/
CHECK IT OUT! =)

Excerpt from the back book:
Becky Brandon thought motherhood would be a breeze -- but it's trickier than she thought. Two year-old Minnie has created havoc everywhere from Harrods to her own christening. She hires taxis at random, her favorite word is "mine", and she already has a penchant for Balenciaga bags. Becky is at her wits' end. On top of this, she and Luke are still living with her mom and dad, there's a big financial crisis so everyone's having to cut back -- including all her personal shopping clients -- and her husband Luke is feeling low after the death of his beloved stepmother. To cheer him up, Becky decides to throw Luke a surprise birthday party -- on a budget -- and that's when things become really complicated. Becky tries to keep the arrangements secret and soon she's told so many fibs she can't keep track of them... Will Becky pull off the surprise? Will Minnie give everything away? And what will happen when Becky discovers Luke is keeping a big secret, too?

Catch her on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf4L2wA1VdE

p/s: Feels gewddd to finally get to update my blog and yeah..share the sweet news. Was tempted to order online...as in pre-order but maybe I should coz going to bookstore and pick my own copy is the greatest! ;)

Stationary For Books; Mark the pages!

Typically bookmarks help mark pages where you pause in your reading. What if it is not a reading book? What if you want to mark many pages? Bookmarks will be quite troublesome to use;
1. You will need many bookmarks
2. Many bookmarks between the pages will bloat the book and could also affect its spine.
3. Dog-ear the pages; I despise this! I don't even do it to a single page in any of my books or even mags. It will ruin the page and if you fold too many, one end of the book will look funny. Other than that, the fold can easily unfold and you could lose the page you marked.

If you are still wondering what kind of books I'm talking about, I'm referring to cook books and travel books. Well, there are many more but only these 2 comes to mind as of now.

Solutions to mark multiple pages and yet never lose it the next time you want to browse through the pages? You can jot down the page number on a piece of paper or on some empty space in the book. (Something which requires me to think a gazillion times as I don't really scribble anything in my books...I only write my name and the year I bought it.)

My solution? I use the adhesive coloured labels. ^__^I believe Post-it first came out with it. Costs about RM10 for a pack...which doesn't last me very long even when I've cut a piece into 2 or 3 to cater my needs. I browsed through the stationary section and found another brand and it is obviously chheeeppper; RM5.00. Cut into the right size of strip and has 5 diff colours in one pack. Each pad has 25 pieces. Therefore 25*5, I have 125 pieces. =)

The Last Chapter by Alicia Loh

Title
The Last Chapter
Author
Alicia Loh
Publisher
MPH Group Publishing Sdn Bhd
Price
RM15.00
Rating
3/5

Piper, 17 years old was thrown out of the house by her mother when she did not win the swimming championship for which she is expected to gain scholarship. She did not understand why her own mother would do such thing. She had nowhere to go. She had never knew of any other relations other than her mother. That night, she was only given a backpack. She had nowhere to go and headed to a river to seek calmness. That is where Jaeson turned up in the picture and gave her shelter.

She then discovered that this boy knows more about than herself. She about to unveil the mystery of her life when Jaeson bumped into an accident. Will she understand why her mother threw her out of her only home? Will she ever find out how and why he knows so much about her? Will she ever know who her father is?

p/s: I was initially frustrated that the book didn't have an ending. I really wondered why was it written that way. Then again, I'm the person who wants good endings to all the books I read. *Can't help it!* I did a little googling today and found Alicia's page and found that there is a sequel to this book. Phewww!!!

Reference : http://www.alicialoh.com/2010/01/announcement.html

Proceeds from the sale of this book will be channeled to Alicia's medical fund. :)

To visit her page, go to http://www.alicialoh.com

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Title
My Sister's Keeper
Author
Jodi Picoult
Publisher
Pocket Books
Price
RM35.90
Rating
4/5

Bittersweet chocolate. That is what this book tastes like. It is a story about how a younger sister is brought to the world for the sake fo saving her ill elder sister. I don't see that as a valid reason to conceive a child. How can you just decide to just have another baby for her organs? I wonder if it really happens in the real world we are living in.

Anyhow, Anna is expected to provide whatever her elder sister needs. Which means she has been hospitalized everytime her sister is because she needs to either provide blood and everything else her sister needs to stay alive. Her parents could opt for other options to get help for their eldest daughter but help could take a long time; too long to allow Kate to have another breath. There was only once they all shaved their heads just so that Kate won't feel alienated. I guess a mother would do anything for her daughter. Story begins when Anna sues her parents to object their request to donate an organ to Kate.

As much as I love the story, the ending is not to my liking. How can it not have a happy ending???Why can't they let the sisters be happy and live? Or why can't the ending be like how many of us predicted; Anna lives while Kate goes..? Maybe that is the beauty of the story. To have an ending we do not hope for.

On the other hand, this book has quite a spotlight that it was made into a movie starring Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin, Alec Baldwin and Sofia Vassilieva. Yet to watch it. To those who have watched, feel free to fill in. :)

p/s: This is my first Jodi Picoult's. I have to admit that she has a talent to tell such a serious story in a very light way. The story is very sad and at times complicated but she has made it light enough for her audience to be with her throughout the entire story. May try her other books but I don't think I will read ALL her books because to me, it all seems similar; sickness, sacrifices, death, hardships, recovery and etc.

Long Cool Glass of Books

Thirst for books? Head to Kinokuniya@KLCC. :) Their Long Cool Glass of Books Promotion was on in December 2009. For every RM100 purchase, you will receive RM10 voucher.

I got one voucher for free! Thanks to my bro.Hihihi The voucher is valid from 4th January 2010 til 31st March 2010.

Yet to decide which book to buy must most probably will get another Roald Dahl's as that's my aim this year; to collect all Roald Dahl's!

*I know this may be abit late of an info but you can always drop by Kino as they always have 25-30% discount on their gem books; usually purchase-with-purchase. Still not too bad. I find it more valuable than those offered by Borders. Borders seem to have quite a standard 2 for 3 promo. Don't mind the recipe books but others, I'll pass.*