Ramblings of Twilight Singapore – Books

The Twilight Singapore girls were discussing one day and we thought, while we wait for the latest ECLIPSE news, we humourously thought of creating a post, all about our ramblings. Just to say, you’ll get to know more about us.

So these few weeks we will just babble about random stuff like books, TV, films, music etc. It’ll be getting to know more about us through our likes and dislikes. So this week, we will ramble about our favourite books. We were all brought together through the love of the Twilight Saga books, but this time we would like to ramble about our current and favourite reads.

NASYITA’s Ramblings

Current book I’m reading: Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult

Things break all the time. Day breaks, waves break, voices break. Promises break. Hearts break

A heartfelt and tragic read about a girl diagnosed with a disability from birth and her mother sueing her gynae cum best friend for a wrongful birth. How would you feel when you get to know that after 6 years, your mother suddenly realises that if she was able to diagnose the disability earlier, she wouldn’t have to bear the burden of raising you and live a peaceful and unstressful life? Though I’ve a few more chapters to go, Jodi has a way of catching the reader’s attention about family, life, love and friendship and every page is a page turner. Definitely a good read!

Favourite read: Rosie Dunne aka Where Rainbows End by Cecilia Ahern

Rosie and Alex are destined for each other, and everyone seems to know it but them

This is one one my favourites as I’ve read it so many times and yet it doesn’t bore me. Every time I read it, it gets funnier and you get so involved with the characters that it felt so real. A story between the lives of two best friends, Rosie and Alex. But when one event changes everything, their lives between one another, changed, together with their friends and families. A romantic and hilarious story between two best friends and how fate meddles with their lives. If you’re someone who seeks stories of love, friendship and believes in fate and destiny, then this book is definitely for you.

Recommended reads: I have a lot of books that I would love to recommend and I had a hard time choosing. After much deliberation, these are my choices:  My Sister’s Keeper, Perfect Match and Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult, Every Boy’s Got One by Meg Cabot, True Blood series by Charlaine Harris, Me and Mr Darcy by Alexandra Potter

MARIA’s Ramblings

Been kinda in a limbo. In between reads of short story books cos can’t commit to long stories every since Twilight hahaha. Seriously. Usually get my books at my favourite book shop Kinokuniya and sometimes Barnes & Noble.

My favourite so far is ‘Clair De Lune’ cos reading it made such a beautiful picture in my head.

Not for me is the love that knows no restraint, but like the foaming wine that having burst its vessel in a moment would run to waste.

Send me the love which is cool and pure like your rain that blesses the thirsty earth and fills the homely earthen jars.

Send me the love  that would soak down into the centre of being, and from there would spread like the unseen sap through the branching tree of life, giving birth to fruits & flowers.

IZZATI’s Ramblings

Current book I’m Reading: The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold

When all is said and done, killing my mother came easily…

After reading The Lovely Bones, I proceed to read The Almost Moon. Am currently at Chapter 2. There’s nothing much to say for now but like The Lovely Bones, the first chapter of The Almost Moon describes how the narrator, Helen Knightly killed her elderly mother. Yes, her mother! Just what was she trying to do – killing her very own mother?!

I am interested to know what happens after this.

Recommended Read: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie.

I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.

The Lovely Bones is a novel which you will not know what to expect every time you turn the pages. Susie Salmon was raped and murdered at the age of 14 by her neighbour, Mr. George Harvey. The first chapter focused on how Susie died. It was brutal. I felt for Susie.

As you progress along with her from heaven, you’ll discover much more about her family &  friends and how life changes for everyone after Susie died.

Trivia:

The author, Alice Sebold, was raped at the age of 18.

We will get to see The Lovely Bones in cinemas soon. The film was directed by Academy Award Winning Director of The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy.

AISHAH’s Ramblings

Current book I’m Reading: The Tipping Point – How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell

A groundbreaking analysis of how trends are sparked and take hold, Malcolm Gladwell’s book The Tipping Point became an exemplification of the very processes he was describing.

The book describes the various processes and mechanisms of how some trends achieve massive popularity, while others  fade away, have long to been thought to be mysterious and resistant to analysis. However, Gladwell’s explained that there are actually a number of patterns and factors that are at play in almost every trend, ranging from the spread of  diseases to a popularity of a particular children’s television show. If you analyze the evolution of any major phenomenon, the author suggests, you will find that these processes involved are very similar.:

Recommended Books: The Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead

The first book of the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. The book starts with Rose Hathaway returning to her school, St. Vladimir’s Academy, with her best friend Lissa Drogmir, a Moroi Vampire Princess. Rose is a Dhamphir, a half-human and half-Moroi, who has been Lissa’s bodyguard while they were on the run for 2 years. Now back at school, Rose and Lissa will have to resume their duties, training as a Moroi bodyguard and learning of Moroi powers respectively.

All I can describe this book is KICK ASS. With Rose’s character, there’s so much female empowerment that I admire and the curriculem in school are interesting as the school teaches on how to body guard you Moroi and even being a safe Moroi yourself. A definite recommended red for those who can’t get enough of this vamp-craze phenomenon. And this is just the beginning. Richelle Mead has published 4 books and 2 more still are in works with one of them coming out in May 2010. I’ve read ll 4 and I seriously can’t wait for the next one.

BESSY’s Ramblings
Currently Reading: Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t, but if he was sane he had to fly them.

I’m actually pretty interested with World War II events, having studied it and picked up on it at an early age. Hence my choice in reading Catch-22. It talks about the story of Yossarian, a bombardier, as he works for the US Air Force during World War II. He gets increasingly paranoid as the war carries on, because people whom he doesn’t know are trying to kill him.

Peppered with dry humour and based on the logic paradox that has been titled Catch-22 as well, I strongly recommend this read to anyone who is up for a fast-paced, war-based novel. I’m actually only halfway through the novel but I’m enjoying it a lot so far.

Recommended read: The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger

I was half in love with her by the time we sat down. That’s the thing about girls. Every time they do something pretty, even if they’re not much to look at, or even if they’re sort of stupid, you fall half in love with them, and then you never know where you hell you are. Girls.

Having read this book before the famously reclusive author J.D. Salinger passed on a month ago, it jumped the list to make it into one of my most treasured books ever. In fact, I think I was pretty lucky to get my hands on a copy of the book with the original cover (above).

It was one of the most controversial novels of the 20th century as it documented two, maybe three, days of a teenage schoolboy named Holden Caulfield. He was a character that composed of all the characteristics of a typical teenager in 1950s America. As Singapore gets more Westernized, I find Holden’s personality more and more applicable in the teenagers of today’s society.

Ultimately, the controversy caused by Holden was that numerous murderers have been connected to the novel, including Mark David Chapman (who shot John Lennon). While some may argue that this piece of work is overhyped and overrated, you might want to judge it for yourself.

Caution: Lots of swearing in there.

We would also like to hear from you! Tell us what you’re reading right now and your favourite book other than The Twilight Saga series which will always be the #1 favourite for all of us!