Twilight – Stephanie Meyer

Just to satisfy my curiosity, I finally got a copy of Twilight yesterday.

You probably know the plotline, but in a nutshell, Bella is a clumsy yet independent teenager who moves from sunny Arizona to cloudy Forks in order to live with her father. At her school, she spots a bizarre family at the cafeteria: The Cullens. She is drawn to Edward, the tall and handsome Cullen; but is shocked and angry at how repulsed he seems when next to her. She also finds his (also the other Cullens’) features out-of-the-ordinary: he has marble white, smooth skin; his eye color changes depending on his mood… And after he saves her life, which was practically impossible for any normal person, she urges him to tell her about himself and they fall in love, even though Edward warns her that they shouldn’t be friends because he could suddenly lose control and risk her life, or even kill her, putting in consideration the he is a blood-thirsty vampire. But Bella, who is so charmed by him, makes it clear that she will risk her life for him rather than stop loving him, which gravely endangers her life.

The story is pretty absorbing at the first 2 or 3 chapters, but after that, it just keeps dragging on monotonously. It is ridiculously repetitive and even after reaching more than half the 500-page book, nothing happens. What’s even worse is that in the middle of the story, there are many moments when your heart starts racing in excitement that something is going to happen, but nothing does, as a beguiling strategy from the author to keep you reading.

Bella is intrigued by Edward and his past, which he gives her in small portions throughout the story, but the rest of his family’s history wasn’t interesting. Sometimes it makes you want to skip lines or pages out of boredom.

On the whole, the plot was dull, hasty, and unimaginative. While reading, I would think back and wonder why I’m going through all this, and I’d remember that it is because an impulsive, conceited 17-year old decides to risk her life for an attractive, mysterious vampire. She loves him so much that she is actually willing to let him turn her into a monster - putting no regard for her family - just in order to be with him. The plot is not convincing at all.

And after long, unbearable hours of reading, comes the point when the villain appears, and my eyelids are still drooped. Also, the moment of action to protect Bella was so silly: “you get in the car; I’ll go with him; you got with her; you’re staying with him; we’ll take the jeep; you take the other car, etc”.

I couldn’t believe that Bella was actually tricked with the not-so-real voice of her mother with a VCR, then blackmailed and almost brutally killed. That happens in an action movie, like Bourne Ultimatum, not a classic vampire love-story. The plot was supposed to be clever.

Yet with all those terrible flaws, how come the novel’s so popular and successful? I’m thinking it’s because of the consistent dose of romance in the book, which is what high-school girls want, regardless of whether the plot is good or not. Twilight really can’t be more romantic or sensual that it already is. It’s also exaggerated, causing fans to crave for more of the irresistible, charming Edward Cullen, resulting in the other trail of books: New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn - plus another one on the way.

Twilight is a crappy novel. But after it sinks its venomous, you can’t put it down.

ِAnimal Farm – George Orwell

http://www.strategicpoliciesinstitute.org/Images/Reading/animalfarm.jpg

book: Animal Farm

Author: George Orwell

Number of pages: 141

THE SEVEN COMMANDMENTS

1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy

2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend

3. No animal shall wear clothes

4. No animal shall sleep in a bed

5. No animal shall drink alcohol

6. No animal shall kill any other animal

7. All animals are equal

Because of being mistreated and underfed by human the human race, the animals of Manor Farm decide to create a just, progressive world for themselves. They start a rebellion and take over the farm (chasing away all the humans), calling it Animal Farm.

The pigs, the smartest animals of them all, lead the rebellion. The two main leaders are Napoleon and Snowball, who are always in disagreement with each other.

Later, Snowball disappears and Napoleon remains the leader of Animal Farm.

Above are the seven commandments agreed upon, but when the pigs start to fiendishly punish and kill animals, editing the Seven Commandments each time to make excuses for ruthlessly breaking the rules and acting like humans, the other animals start to contemplate on whether life was better off before their revolution.

The style of the book was simple and straightforward, so it was easy to read.

Memorable characters in the story included Boxer, the diligent, determined horse whose slogan is “I will work harder”; and Benjamin the pessimistic donkey whose opinion is firm throughout the story until the end: that life is unfair.

After reading it for the third time, Animal Farm still continues to be my favorite book.

Most of the parts in it were ironically funny, and Orwell didn’t put exclamation marks or present the novel in a way that that made you feel he forcefully wanted you to laugh.

Animal Farm is called a ‘fairy story’, but like Orwell’s other novel, 1984, it is an anti-totalitarianism novel; yet Animal Farm can be enjoyed as a classic novel.

You will love this book, so pick it up.

My rating: 10/10

Animal Farm SparkNote

The Reader – Bernhard Schlink

The Reader is a book by the German author, Bernhard Schlink.

On his way to school, a 15-year old ill with hepatitis named Michael throws up and is assisted by a stranger old enough to be his mother.

After Michael gets better and pays a visit to the stranger, whose name is Hanna, he and Hanna fall in love with each other. Soon, Michael is obsessed with her and starts visiting her daily at her apartment.
Hanna doesn’t tell Michael a lot about herself, and after Michael betrays her, she disappears.

In part two, Michael is a law student, and Hannah is being tried for a crime regarding the Nazi.
As Michael observes the hearings, he realizes that Hanna has been concealing a secret – one that she considers more shameful than the Nazi ones - all this time.

This was a haunting and mysterious read, yet it is written simply.

The Reader is absorbing and unputdownable. It makes you want to finish it in one quick read.

The story was very wise and you could feel the guilt and perplexity of the protagonist. It leaves you thinking even after you’ve finished the book.

This is a book you should add to your reading list.

The story is now a motion picture starring Kate Winslet (Titanic) and Ralph Fiennes.

My rating: 9 ½ (a memorable, worthy read)

Buy at amazon

The Reader movie site

The Catcher in the Rye

https://www.stanfords.co.uk/stock/the-catcher-in-the-rye-129247/

Title: The Catcher in the Rye

Author: J. D. Salinger

In The Catcher in the Rye, an odd teenager called Holden Caulfield narrates his experiences in New York after being expelled from his fourth prep school, Pencey.

Holden states that he is undergoing mental treatment, and throughout his narration he criticizes and judges people and likes to stand out from the crowd. He alienates himself from the world: he says he doesn't like the adult world because it is full of deception and betrayal, even though he's a lying fiend himself. He prefers the innocence and honesty of childhood.

Holden wants to find an identity in New York, but he falls into a lot of trouble. He misinterprets people's actions and irritates everybody he meets.

His little sister, Phoebe, is an important character in the story because Holden accepts her advice and she shows the reader Holden's faults.  

Some people were offended by the slang in Catcher in the Rye, but I think it's ok. It also makes the book stand out among others.

This is a very good story because I could empathize with the phases Holden goes through, especially loneliness and being rejected by people. Holden Caulfield is a very unique, memorable character. He is naive yet intelligent, but the people around him don't understand him nor appreciate him for that.

I think that any teenager should read this book because they can relate to it and the narrator, a teenager himself, speaks very openly.

The Catcher in the Rye SparkNote

Amazon 

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

image via wikipedia

Yesterday, I finished reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, which is definitely a favorite of mine.

During their childhood, Amir and Hassan shared an inseparable friendship, despite their different beliefs, ethnicity and status.
Hassan is supposed to be the son of Amir's father's servant.

After a kite fighting tournament, Amir witnesses Hassan being raped by the bully, Assef, and doesn't defend him, which haunts him all his life.
Now Amir is an adult living in the United States and he has a chance to atone for what he had done in his childhood.

The Kite Runner is set in Afghanistan during the period of its invasion by the Soviet Army and the ruling of the Taliban.

 

Gripping and poignant, The Kite Runner is very well written. The twists and events in it are totally unexpected and moving.

Khaled Hosseini successfully manages to put you in the state of emotion of his characters. I like the way he portrays many different feelings, especially panic.

While reading, the story shifts to memories from the past very neatly.
I'm also very impressed at how the characters and events all link together in the end.

The story is heart-warming yet it is very realistic.

The Kite Runner is not just a dramatic story of a long-lost friendship; it vividly shows you through the eyes of the protagonist the effects the war left on Afghanistan.

The Kite Runner is a stunning read about friendship, betrayal and guilt. It also gives you an insightful understanding of the writer's homeland and its people.

If you haven't, you must pick-up this book and read it.

My rating: 10/10 (outstanding!)

I'm very eager to read Khaled Hosseini's other book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and I'm also looking forward to seeing more from this author.

The Kite Runner has been made into an Oscar-nominated movie. Visit the official site.

Khaled Hosseini's website

Buy the book at amazon now

Love in the Time of Cholera

Buy the book at Amazon

After impatiently reading the last pages, I've finally finished Love in the Time of Cholera.

The story begins with the accidental death of Dr. Juvenal Urbino, the husband of a woman named Fermina Daza.

Then it switches back to the past, when Fermina is a young teenage girl who keenly falls in love with Florentino Ariza, a telegraph boy, and soon their correspondence with each other through letters becomes an obsession.

But when Fermina Daza unexpectedly marries the prestigious and wealth doctor, Juvenal Urbino, Florentino is devastated, but has a strong will to wait for the death of the doctor.

After fifty-one years, nine months, and four days of patience and long-suffering for Florentino, Dr Juvenal Urbino is finally dead. Florentino and Fermina are now in their seventies. Will Florentino be able to win back Fermina's heart again?


Right from the first page to the last, I've been absorbed into Marquez's captivating world of love, devotion and wit.

Not only does he make you eager to know what will happen to the two lovers in the end, but he will lure you into his magical world of brilliant, unique imagination.

Through his humane stories and characters, Gabriel Garcia Marquez again proves to be a master storyteller.

I've read three books of his now, and I think he's the most talented and powerful writer ever.
I am sure you will treasure this book as much as I have.


I am also looking forward to watching the 2007 movie adaptation of Love in the Time of Cholera.

Read my review of One Hundred Years of Solitude, by the same author.

The Thief and the Dogs

The Thief and the Dogs is a popular novel by the Egyptian author, Naguib Mahfouz.

After being imprisoned for four years, Said Mahram is finally out of jail; he is seeking revenge.

All those who have betrayed him are now leading their own lives.
His wife and his once best-friend, Illish are now married and estranging him from his daughter, Sana. She is now six years old and doesn't remember him. Rauf Illwan, who was once his partner-in-crime and mentor, is now a wealthy businessman who wants nothing to do with him.

Driven by revenge, Said wants to take vengeance on all those people even if it the last thing he does, but eventually everything goes terribly wrong: he shoots two wrong people, gets caught stealing, and is being chased by the police.

Was revenge really worth it?

This was a very thoughtful, absorbing novel which is worth buying. It also has a very good message behind it.

My rating: 10/10 (highly recommended)

Naguid Mahfouz is a well-known, nobel prize-winning Egyptian author (passed away in 2006).
He has written over a hundred short stories and many novels.

Dubliners - James Joyce

photo via Wordsworth-editions

Dubliners is a book of 15 short stories written by James Joyce, which is about the life of middle-class people living in Dublin. It is set in a period where people were searching for a sense of identity.

I thought the stories were very ironic and realistic. My favorite stories were A Little Cloud, a story of a man who thinks he leads an unsuccessful and unhappy life because of his family, and The Dead, about a man named Gabriel, who later discovers how insecure he is and something else he didn't know about his wife.

Some of the characters and events in Dubliners, particularly those in The Dead, were actually based upon Jame's own life.

Basically, the stories in Dubliners are about people discovering themselves.

I loved this book because each story leaves you thinking long after you've finished reading it.
The conversations between the characters were fun to read.

I read it as a Wordsworth book, and the introduction gave me a very good understanding of the stories.

Read the full text of Dubliners online, free

my rating: 9/10 (must-read)

update: Stevie pointed out the sequel to The Dead, The Ugly, written by a young Irish writer called Anne Pignone in 2007 (click here to read it)

Atonement - Ian McEwan

image via wikipedia

Title: Atonement
writer: Ian McEwan

On a summer in 1935, Briony Tallis, a thirteen year-old aspiring writer, accuses her elder sister’s lover and gardener of a crime he did not commit. He is sent to jail then is sent off to fight during the war, where he is separated from her sister, Cecilia.

Then the novel switches to the future, where Briony is working as a nurse instead of going to Cambridge as a sort of penance. Robbie is at the war and corresponds with Cecilia through letters.

The book tells the story of how Briony tries to atone for the unforgivable, lifelong ruin she has done to Cecilia and Robbie’s lives.

There isn’t a lot to say about Atonement; it was beautifully written. Ian McEwan has writes elegantly and the plot nurtures very smoothly.

It’s was heart-warming, good read that I highly recommend.

My rating: 9/10

Blackbird House - Alice Hoffman

Author: Alice Hoffman

I read this book because it was the only interesting one I had.

Blackbird house is a story that spans for about 200 hundred years, about the families living in a house in Massachusetts called Blackbird House.

Once Coral Hadley loses her sons and husband at sea, tragedy strikes all the next generation of inhabitants of that house. And a bird witnesses all those tragedies.

Each chapter in the book tells the story of the families living in that house. I loved the stories and thought they were very imaginative and delightful. Alice Hoffman is a very good storyteller.

I think this book is similar to One Hundred Years of Solitude, since it does not have a particular plot but it consists of many happenings. In contrast to One Hundred Years of Solitude, it is much shorter.

However, the end didn’t make any sense to me and I didn’t enjoy how it ended.

Blackbird House is a good, short read that will lighten you up.

My rating: 6/10

Click here to read what I thought about One Hundred Years of Solitude

Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher

Author: Jay Asher

genre:young adult novel

Although I don’t read teen novels much, I’ve always longed to read this book because according to the review everybody seemed to like it.

Thirteen Reasons Why is about Hannah Baker, a teenager who has recently committed suicide. Before she did, in a set of 7 tapes, she explained the reasons why she ended her life. The tapes should be passed on between the people who impacted on her life, causing her to kill herself; and Clay, her classmate who had a crush on her, is one of the reasons why.

You will be reading what the tapes say, which is in italic, and Clay’s thoughts, which is a normal font. This made it very confusing. After every few lines of the tape comes what was on Clay’s mind, and I often found myself reading on, still thinking it was Hannah on the tape when instead, it was what Clay was thinking.

Another thing I didn’t like about this book was that some parts were longer than necessary, and I sometimes thought of giving up on reading the book.

note: it gets more exciting near the end.

However, what was good in this book was that the idea of the tapes was unique. The book shows what high school is like: the people there and their intentions.

Although Thirteen Reasons Why has good things and bad things, I generally enjoyed reading this book. I think it was a very good story. The ending was also satisfying.

I think everyone liked this book because it was different.

I have learned from it that you should go ahead and say/do whatever in your mind before it’s too late, and that when someone impulsively does a stupid thing to a person, no matter how small, it can affect that person deeply, so you should think twice before doing anything.

If you have read this book, please tell me what you think.

visit the official website of the book

My rating: 8 / 10

Shopaholic Abroad - Sophie Kinsella

image via FantasticFiction.co.uk

Shopaholic Abroad (also called Shopaholic takes Manhattan) is the second book in the best-selling Shopaholic series, by Sophie Kinsella.

This time, Rebecca Bloomwood, the shopaholic, moves to New York, where her boyfriend, Luke, has made a deal. She also has a chance to work there.

New York is a shopping paradise for Rebecca, but can she pay off all her debts and stay with Luke?

Will Rebecca be able to keep her job when Alicia, who works for Luke at Brandon Communications, tries to ruin Rebecca and Luke’s reputation?

Near the end of the book, things start to get more thrilling and you’ll become excited to know what will happen to Rebecca.

This is the first Shopaholic series book I’ve read, and even though I don’t like these types of books, I enjoyed this one. It was downright funny. Even though I wanted to, I couldn’t laugh hard at school or else I would have looked awkward. I adored how the author, Kinsella, wrote the book in Rebecca’s point of view. It was very realistic too.

This was an exhilarating read, but I didn’t find the end satisfying. I also thought some parts were unnecessarily long.

Sophie Kinsella's website

One Hundred years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Today I have accomplished a great achievement – I’ve finished reading One Hundred Years of Solitude, a novella by the noted Colombian author, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who has written other great works including Chronicle of a Death Foretold – which I’ve already read and appreciated, and Love in the Time of Cholera.

I found One Hundred Years of Solitude quite a long book, and I wouldn’t have read it all if it wasn’t an amusing, clever story.

One Hundred Years of Solitude was not like any other novel I have read: it had no particular plot; it was rather a series of events that have happened in the fictional town of Macondo, which is similar to where Garcia Marquez grew up. The story covers more than a hundred years (according to Wikipedia), as you read about the lives of the Beuendia family through generations.

Although the story is purely fictional and has the wittiest happenings I’ve ever read – even wittier than Harry Potter – it seemed so real and magical.

Lots of parts in the book were skillfully hilarious and bizarre.

What confused me was that members of the Buendia family were named after each other, since the story went on for about seven generations; sometimes I couldn’t identify who was who.

As you read One Hundred Years of Solitude you’ll encounter war, amnesia, spirits, solitude, heavy rain, incredible Gypsies and supernatural amusements. The story also contains a shade of mystery behind it.

This surely is a book to read. It’s a very long book, but you’ll never regret reading it.

Visit Wikipedia to read more about One Hundred Years of Solitude.

The Diamond Girls - Jacqueline Wilson

image via http://www.readingmatters.co.uk/book.php?id=258

A classmate lent me The Diamond Girls by Jacqueline Wilson (thanks); I’ve just finished reading it, so here’s the review.

The Diamond Girls is a heart-warming story about 4 sisters, Martine (the eldest), Judy, Rochelle, and Dixie (the youngest), who live with their mother, Sue, who is pregnant with a boy. They call themselves the Diamond Girls, but they’re not prosperous as their name suggests. All of the girls have different fathers who are not living with them. The Diamond Girls have just moved to a new home, hoping to live happily ever after, but things turn out totally different from what they’ve expected. Devastated and disappointed, Martine, Judy and Rochelle start going their own ways. Read the book to find out how Dixie tries to bring the family together and make things better when she finds out that the baby is a girl, her new friend is abused by her mother, and that Martine, the eldest sister, storms out and goes to their old home and her boyfriend Tony.

I loved reading this book because it deals with all sorts of problems that happen in people’s lives including abuse and teen pregnancy. Jacqueline Wilson sure has a talent of telling the story from a child’s point of view.

However, the only thing that annoyed me about this book was that the author made the story unnecessarily longer by adding too many details on Dixie’s imagination and the way she thinks. That made a book a bit tedious for older people to read, even though the book looks suitable for those a little bit older than tweens.

Other than that, The Diamond Girls is a very good book with an uplifting ending.

I highly recommend this book for those aged 9 to 12.

The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

 
The Alchemist is a best-selling book by the Brazilian author, Paulo Coelho.

Its concept is to follow your dreams, heeding omens and listening to your heart on the way.

Santiago is a young Spanish shepherd who dreams to finding treasure on the Pyramids of Egypt. The story follows his journey to Egypt, where he encounters several wise people who guide him on his journey and teach him many valuable things about life, especially achieving your dreams.

The story says that everybody has a Personal Legend or a goal in life, and no matter how difficult that legend is you will fulfill it if you remain persistent and recognize small details or omens, which will lead you to your objective.

I loved this book because it was very simple, and the message behind it was filled with wisdom and it was inspiring. It’s not a very long story either; it’s worth your time and money, and teaches you great lessons, too.

The Taste of Melon – short story by Borden Deal

The Taste of Melon is one of the set texts of the IGCSE 2010 syllabus.

It’s about a person who recalls his inconsiderate doing as a sixteen year-old of stealing a watermelon.

The boy had just moved to a new home with his parents and had stolen a watermelon from the fiery Mr. Wills, whom nobody dares to touch his crops.

Mr. Wills had raised the biggest watermelon in the country and was guarding his patch with a gun.

When the boys and his friends passed by Mr. Will’s patch one night, the boy successfully manages to steal the great seed melon and enjoy it with his friends.

Mr. Wills soon discovers about his stolen watermelon and becomes desperate and angry; the boy is touched when he discovers that Mr. Wills wanted to give it to his sickly wife to make her feel better. He decides to collect the seeds and go confess to Mr. Wills with his father, expecting Mr. Wills to try to shoot him.

Instead, Mr. Wills makes a deal with the boy that they’ll grow together next year instead of this one, which is ruined.

I’ve found The Taste of Melon a very entertaining 16-page read.

The end is very ironic and witty. This short story is worth reading.

Click here to read the story.

Season of Migration to the North – Al-Tayyib Saleh

My rating: 3 3/4 out of 5

Season of Migration to the North is a mysterious novel by the well-known Sudanese writer, Al-Tayyib Saleh.

It was originally written in Arabic, but is translated into English and French (I read the English version).

It tells the tale of a young Sudanese man who had come back to his local village after spending seven years in England, studying poetry at a university there.

Among all the people who had greeted him, he spotted one, Mustafa Sa’eed, a stranger whom he did not know. All the villagers knew very little about him, only that he had a business in Khartoum.

One night, after the young man hears Mustafa narrating some English poetry when he was drunk, he grows more suspicious and curious about him until he urged Mustafa to tell him his true identity, which Mustafa had never told to anyone before.

It turns out that Mustafa Sa’eed was a brilliant student who was sent to England on a college scholarship, where he had complicated relationships with various women. Mustafa Sa’eed does not tell the young man his whole life story, but instead gives him a key to a ‘secret room’ in his house for the young man to explore and learn more about him.

After Mustafa Sa’eed unexpectedly dies, the young man opens his secret room to discover the past of the stranger who had settled in his village.

I enjoyed reading Season of Migration to the North, but I took pleasure in the little hilarious bits and dialogues more than the actual story. To be frank, I didn’t understand some parts of the novel, especially when the young man enters Mustafa’s room.

While Season of Migration to the North is more of a “Dorian Gray” ghostly novel, it depicts in depth what the Sudanese society was like in the past and how ignorant villagers used to think and treated their wives.

In 2001, Season of Migration to the North was selected as the most important Arab novel of the twentieth century. (Read more on BBC)

This is an enjoyable, entertaining novel that will cover some History, African studies and culture.

Read another review

The Film Club - David Gilmour

Title: The Film Club
Author: David Gilmour
Genre: non-fiction

Could you imagine a father who lets his teenage son drop out of school as long as he watches 3 movies a week?

That’s what David Gilmour, a re-married former film critic did. His 15-year old son, Jesse, a heavy smoker and drinker, is miserable at school; so one day his father asked him whether or not he wanted to go to school. After Jesse mentioned that he hates school, his father told him that he’ll let him quit school under those conditions: 1- That he watches 3 movies a week selected by him and 2- That he quits drugs.

As you read along, you’ll know what ups and downs occur in David and Jesse’s lives and what Jesse learns from watches over a hundred movies.

The 3 years of film school was a great moment for David and his son because teens don’t spend that much time with their fathers at that age.

The Film Club is a truly entertaining read that you’ll never get bored of. It is written as a memoir on the point of view of David, where he writes his observations on his son in a hilarious and amusing way.

David Gilmour, like any father, worries that whether letting his drop out of school is the right decision.

The Film Club is definitely a must-read that you will love.

Read about David and Jesse

NYTimes book review

The Secret

Author: Rhonda Byrne

I’ve heard about The Secret on Oprah. After some time I received it as a gift… Must be the “law of attraction”.

I must admit that the book looks very attractive. The Da Vinci style paper, the cursive font for the title, and the glossiness… It just looks gorgeous!

Within hours after being featured on Oprah, The Secret became a best-seller.

The book is based on The Law of Attraction; which states that your thoughts become things, whether they’re good thoughts or bad thoughts. That is why you should only think positively, because if you think negatively, you will be attracting the negative things that you’re thinking about.

By The Law of Attraction, you can get whatever you want in life: wealth, perfect health and weight, that car you dreamed of, a new home, friends.. anything… The 3 steps you have to follow are:

1) Ask for what you want

2) Believe that the thing is already yours

3) Receive: Pretend it’s in your hands right now. Feel about it the way you’d feel once it arrives

According to the book, legendary scientists and inventors such as Einstein, Shakespeare, Galileo, and Beethoven knew The Secret, which has been passed on through ages.

The author of the book, Rhonda Byrne, says she has found the century-old scraps of The Secret and with a group of experts, gathered and summarized them into this book.

The book includes quotes from experts and well-known people and miraculous stories regarding The Secret.

What I learned from this book was positive-thinking.

Most of the content of the book was unrealistic. It visualized the universe as a wonderful world and as if life’s so great and that you could “experience heaven in the world”. All you have to do is ask, and “your wish is under I-don’t-know-who’s command”.

In the book, the author stated that after discovering The Secret, she didn’t need to read any Newspapers or know what’s going on around the World.

The Secret gives you the impression that you can get whatever you want, even a million-dollar check, by just asking and imagining it’s there. And if you don’t get what you want, YOU are the one who’s doing something wrong.

I disagree with the statement that said you shouldn’t sacrifice anything and just put yourself first – ok - I do agree with “put yourself first”, but sacrificing is a personal value. Maybe you did it to save a life, like this story. You should think of others, and not only of yourself. The book also states that all you have to do is live the good joyous life and have nothing to worry about. You should do something to save some people that don’t get to live a great life.

The book states that you are actually God and you’ve created the Universe and you have the power to do anything to it…

I came across weird unbecoming things, like sticking a million dollar check that you made yourself on the ceiling and staring at it every day and saying “Thank you” a dozen times. This story reminded me of the Pet Rock. It’s something that you know isn’t realistic and you just insist on believing in it and if it happens you say it’s the Law of Attraction method.

Some of the stories were inspiring, but some were awkward… like this guy who visualized a feather with all its details in his head, then as he was walking he saw the exact same feather that was on his head in the street.

I think this book is kind if spiritual, not practical, and the method is not very convincing.

If you’d love to own an iphone, instead of visualizing yourself feeling one and pretending you already own one, as it’s going to appear in your mailbox tomorrow, save some money and go buy it.

I can’t even imagine why this book is called “The Secret”. It’s as if when you read this book, it’s a tablet to paradise or something similar…

I don’t think this book is a must-read. You really aren’t missing anything grand if you don’t read it.

The Secret is also available on DVD.

Visit the website

Reviews:

http://butyoudontlooksick.com/2007/05/book_review_the_secret_by_rhon.php

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2007/05/24/a-review-of-the-secret-by-rhonda-byrne/

image credit: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/02/TheSecretLogo.jpg

Murder on the Orient Express

Author: Agatha Christie
Genre: Detective Fiction
My rating: 5/5

In Murder on the Orient Express, a brutal killing takes place, the train is stuck in a snow bank and everybody is trapped.

Hercule Poirot is on the Orient Express on his way from Syria.

A man named Samuel Ratchett, comes up to the Belgian detective and asks him to work for him because his life is threatened, but Hercule refuses to take his case. The next morning, the man is found dead in his compartment, stabbed 12 times.

Poirot, his old friend M. Bouc, and Dr. Constantine investigate the case.

Although the window of Mr. Ratchett’s compartment is open, there are no fingerprints on it. The murderer is inside the train, among all the 13 suspects.

After interviewing each of the suspects Poirot discovers that Mr. Rachett’s real name is Cascetti, the man responsible for the kidnapping and murder of a little girl named Daisy Armstrong, and that the suspects have a sort of connection with the Armstrong case.

He considers the bizarre clues (which lead to more than one killer) and triggers his little gray brain cells before exposing the mystery.

Was it an evil unjust murder or a justice-serving execution?

After reading this story, I found it very satisfying and intriguingly clever.

It’s a must-read!

image credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Murder_on_the_Orient_Express_First_Edition_Cover_1934.jpg