My Goodreads Review Bercinta Sampai Syurga

Bercinta Sampai Syurga by Nik Raihan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Kisah benar yang diceritakan oleh seorang suami dan bapa yang menjaga isterinya yang lumpuh sebelah badan setelah diserang sejenis penyakit yang jarang ditemui. Ia penuh dengan panduan berguna untuk pasangan yang melayari bahtera rumah tangga. Ia juga penuh dengan iktibar dan apabila selesai membaca buku ini, wujud kesedaran baru pada diri pembaca tentang apakah makna cinta yang sebenarnya.

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My Goodreads Review How I Became An Online Freelancer

How I Became an Online Freelancer by Azlina Abdul Jalil
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Upon finding this title on a bookshelf in MPH, I knew I had to read it because I am looking forward to become an online freelancer myself. Ms. Azlina's accounts on her path in becoming an online translator is very interesting to read and they provide many useful points for me to remember. The small and handy book (more like a booklet) makes it really convenient to read during my daily train rides. Recommended for those who specifically looking for guides on this topic.

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My Goodreads Review Teh Tarik Nasi Arab

Teh Tarik Nasi Arab by Imam Muda Hassan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Pada mulanya ingatkan ia adalah satu olahan penulisan yang lebih menceritakan pengalaman penulis ketika berkelana ke negara-negara Arab dan pelajaran yang didapati daripadanya. Apapun ia tetap menarik untuk dibaca. Penulisan yang membincangkan isu akidah yang sentiasa relevan dalam kehidupan masa kini.

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My Goodreads Review Komik Tazkirag Tok Guru

Komik Tazkirah Tok Guru by Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Mantap. Kata-kata hikmah daripada Allahyarham TGNA yang disampaikan dalam bentuk komik yang mudah dicerna oleh setiap golongan dan penampilan juga menarik.

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learn all the good things

Tun M: Inilah Perjuangan by Sabaruddin Hussein
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ia merupakan catatan seorang penulis sepanjang proses mewawancara Tun untuk menghasilkan sebuah buku yang lain. Namun ia banyak memberikan pendedahan tentang bagaimana sikap dan peribadi seorang tokoh dalam menghadapi tugas hariannya. People can agree or disagree to his ideas but a lot of goodness can be learned from his ethics. Banyak yang boleh dijadikan iktibar dan banyak perkara yang kita akui kebenarannya.

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Fitnah Terhadap Sahabat Rasulullah seperti yang dijelaskan oleh Dr. MAZA

Fitnah terhadap Sahabat Rasulullah : Merungkai Kontroversi Menyingkap Realiti by Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sebenarnya aku selalu tertanya-tanya, kenapa orang Islam ada yang berfahaman Sunni dan ada yang berfahaman Syiah ... Kenapa Khalifah Uthman dibunuh? Kenapa Sayidina Ali dan Sayidatina Aisyah berperang antara satu sama lain? Kenapa kepimpinan Khalifah Uthman dikatakan lemah? Hati ini tidak mahu mempercayainya kerana logik akal mengatakan mana mungkin sahabat Rasulullah SAW yang dijanjikan syurga dikata sebegini... Nah, seperti judulnya, isi kandungan buku ini sememangnya merungkai kontroversi dan menyingkap realiti ... betapa dahsyatnya fitnah yang dilemparkan sehingga umat Islam sekarang yang kebanyakannya lemah minda (seperti aku) tidak mengetahui atau malas nak mengkaji sejarah yang sebenarnya. Buku yang tidaklah terlalu tebal mudah dibaca dan dihadam dan dijadikan pencetus semangat untuk membaca kupasan lain yang dengan lebih mendalam in shaa Allah...

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Travelog Mr. Traveller

Travelog Mr. Traveller by Meor Farid Asyradi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"Dengan Lafaz Basmalah Aku Menjelajah" ... aku memang suka baca travelogue atau cerita kembara orang lain terutamanya catatan pengembaraan orang Islam ke negara asing kerana banyak yang boleh aku belajar daripadanya. Pengalaman mereka boleh dijadikan panduan jika aku punya rezeki untuk mengembara suatu masa nanti. Subhanallah, pengalaman Radi sangat best! Semuanya dengan kurnia dan rahmatNya. Baca je lah kalau nak tahu betapa bestnya kembara mahasiswa Sains Politik Islam yang fasih bertutur bahasa Arab ini. Oh ya, buku ini aku beli special sikit sebab ditandatangani oleh Radi sendiri ...cuma, kan lebih baik kalau gambar-gambar yang dilampirkan dalam buku ini semuanya berwarna, tidaklah hitam putih semuanya..

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The Final "Curtain" for Hercule Poirot

Curtain: Poirot's Last Case by Agatha Christie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Finished another Agatha Christie's mystery novel, yeay! It is a sad one, though ... for this novel is about Hercule Poirot's final case. Fin, last, finale. Poirot has aged and ill, yet he is so adamant to finish this one final case that is so different from any of his other cases before. A foreseen crime soon to be committed, but by who or to whom, we do not know about. Yet Poirot know it will happen because it is linked to 5 different cases that happened before, and only he can see the link. The story is being narrated by Col. Hastings, Poirot's very dear friend. It's a mind-blowing guessing game, reading this and although this is one of the best cases, it ends in a sombre tune.

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Let sleeping murder lie....

Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Aku mula mengenali novel-novel Agatha Christie hampir 16 tahun yang lalu, di sebalik timbunan buku-buku lama di kedai buku-buku terpakai di tingkat atas Bazaar Chowrasta, P.Pinang. The dusty and crowded shop was my heaven during those days. Sehingga ke hari ini sudah banyak buku beliau aku dah baca, namun sejumlah lagi hasil tulisannya belum aku baca. Dan judul ini salah satu daripadanya. Kisah Gwenda, seorang suri rumah yang baru berpindah ke rumah baru di Hillside dan mula mengesyaki ada tragedi pembunuhan yang berlaku di rumah tersebut hampir 2 dekad yang lalu setelah dia diganggu oleh bayangan-bayangan dan aura yang menyeramkan. Dan rumah tersebut rupa-rupanya pernah diduduki oleh mendiang ayahnya bersama ibu tirinya suatu masa dahulu. Jane Marple ialah penyiasat Christie dalam judul ini dan beliau membantu Gwenda menyelesaikan misteri tersebut sama ada pembunuhan sememangnya terjadi atau ia hanya bayangan Gwenda semata-mata. Novel Agatha Christie sememangnya tidak pernah jemu dibaca dan peneman yang sesuai dalam perjalanan pergi balik kerja menggunakan LRT!

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Angguk Geleng

Angguk Geleng: Himpunan Kisah Dakwah Satira by Pahrol Mohamad Juoi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sebuah buku yang mengumpulkan kisah-kisah pendek yang penuh teladan jika kita membaca dengan pemikiran terbuka dan mendalami kisah-kisah tersebut dengan hati. Ada berpuluh-puluh kisah dalam buku ini dan ada 5 kisah yang menjadi kegemaran saya iaitu 'Dengar dengan Hati', 'Miskin kerana Malas', 'Tidak Ada Kebaikan yang Sia-sia', 'Siapa yang Kaya?' dan 'Semua ada dalam Al-Quran'. Sesuai untuk semua.

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a memoir, a chick lit and a mystery

Footprints In The Paddy Fields is what the author, Tina Kisil, regards as the family portrait and childhood memoir of hers. This captivating book is the author's reminiscence of her earliest life with her Dusun family in Sabah, Malaysia during the 1950s to 1960s era.

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For me, the book is an eye opener for the customs and traditions of the native Dusuns, related by the author through her family's roots and lineage, their life journey, values of life, relationship with other natives, survival and sustenance methods, crafts and skills, sources of entertainment, sadness and joys and everything else under the sun in an engaging way and all through the eyes and the perspectives of Tina Kisil, the young Dusun child at that time. Written as a memoir, this book is more interesting to read because of the honest narration of personal experiences. I was taken back to the times when I flipped the pages of serious books about Sabah and saw those old black and white pictures of native people in their traditional attires and holding baskets of their trades. I had thought nothing of them, until I read this memoir, and suddenly I realize that each and every faces in those old black and white photos has a story, a personality ... a life of their own. It is something to be appreciated and respected. It is a refreshing read.

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I picked up The Men's Guide to the Women's Bathroom purely because of the interestingly curious title. I had a sense that it could be a light and easy chick lit and I was not wrong. The narrator of the story is Claire St John, a 30-something woman who had just lived through a painful divorce, quitted her lawyer job and moved from New York to her mom's rental house in Austin, Texas. The whole story is about Claire's emotional journey to get over her post-divorce era and try to move on with her life. She decided to become a writer and her junior effort is to write about the women's bathroom. It's quirky and funny to read her notes about women and their association with the ladies room. As the author said, the women's bathroom is a sanctuary where every deep, dark secret is revealed... Of course, Claire found herself a new romance, experienced a few embarrassing moments, had a gay male friend and several other girlfriends who were as quirky and funny as she is ... a typical setting. The story doesn't have much of a depth but interesting enough to kill away time with light entertainment.

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In Death In The Clouds, Hercule Poirot solved a murder that happened right under his nose. It was in the airplane of Prometheus, where an old moneylender, Madame Giselle was murdered by a snake venom pricked to her neck via a blowpipe dart. Naturally, everybody in the rear car of the plane were the suspects and it's up to the brilliant work of M. Poirot to find the murderer ... and somehow arranged some matchmaking works in the process! As usual, the obvious question to be answered is who had the highest probability and possibility to kill, when everybody denied having seen anything related to the murder? But it is also important to learn about the victim herself. Madame Giselle is not the real name, an estranged daughter came to light, or perhaps it's one of the clients? In the end, M. Poirot caught his murderer in his usual grand 'moments-of-truth' speech.

The Long Walk

My encounter with this story started when I saw the movie, "The Way Back" (2010) last year on the movie channel. From the movie, I learned that it was actually inspired by a true story written in a book titled "The Long Walk". The movie gripped my attention till the end. It's one of those adventurous story of prison escape that I have enjoyed after The Great Escape (1963) and The Shawshank Redemption (1994). So, when my eyes caught the book on one of the library shelves one day, I didn't hesitate to pick it up for reading.

The Long Walk is a story of Slavomir Rawicz's adventure of escaping the infamous Siberian Gulag camp during the Second World War (WWII) and traveling about 6,500km south on foot from the camp in Siberia down to India, traversing harsh weather and difficult terrains including the Gobi Desert, Tibet and the Himalayas. His arduous and gruelling mission for freedom was shared together with six other inmates consisting of two Polish soldiers, a Latvian landowner, a Yugoslav clerk, a Lithuanian architect and a mysterious American engineer from the camp and later on joined by a young Polish girl, all were victims of the war. Rawicz himself was a Polish cavalry officer. Of all in the group, only 4 people including Rawicz succeeded in reaching the British India, while the rest succumbed en route.

I have also learned that this story's claim as being a true story that occurred to Rawicz has been debated by many, due to certain parts inside the story that were deemed inaccurate or questionable. Another fact that being brought to light was that the story actually happened to another Polish soldier, not Rawicz. However, as far as I know, none of these debates were definite in confirming whether the whole story told by Rawicz was really true or not. After all, it happened during one of the biggest war in human history, where the world was in chaos.

For me, true or not, this story is an ultimate tale of human perseverance with gripping adventure, exploration of different cultures and tragic disasters before freedom is finally accomplished. A captivating story.

Title : The Long Walk

Author : Slavomir Rawicz (ghost-written by Ronald Downing)

Published:  First published 1956, this edition was published in 2011 by Constable.

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recent indulgence

Hola ... oohh, it felt so wonderful and nice to be able to indulge myself in some books after so many months of not doing it. I don't know why I deprived myself from reading ... maybe too much distractions coming my way. However, it's time to hit the library and let's take a look at my recent accomplishments in the reading department, which consist of  2 very familiar authors in my book archive, Jeffrey Archer and Agatha Christie.

Honestly, I have never read a full novel from Jeffrey Archer, but I have enjoyed several of his short stories collections instead. New additions to the list are "A Quiver Full Of Arrows" (1980) and "A Twist In The Tale" (1988). Most of his short stories are inspired by true events, while a few are his own creation. The most common experiences of reading these stories are (for me) are, one, it's like reading a person's whole life biography, where a story could tell a tale encompassing decades of years, and two, the tales are often normal and bland in the beginning but smack you with a twist or something surprising or unexpected in the end. In these two short stories collections, I have several favourites i.e. from the "A Quiver Full Of Arrows"; The Luncheon, The Coup, Old Love, The Perfect Gentleman, One-Night Stand, Henry's Hiccup and A Matter of Principle. In "A Twist In The Tale", my favourites would be The Perfect Murder, A La Carte, Just Good Friends, The Steal, Honor Among Thieves and A Chapter of Accidents.

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Next, my favourite crime novelist, Agatha Christie. I have read so many of her books, yet there are still many more that I haven't read. Hallowe'en Party (1969) might not be as grand as her other stories that I've read, but it's still one of the best. And it's a bit dark story, when the victim is a child. Now that is quite different because there's never been a child victim in the books that I've read so far. In this book, Hercule Poirot is helping his novelist friend Ariadne Oliver to figure out who and why a 13-year old Joyce Reynolds is murdered in a Hallowe'en party.

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There, those were my recent conquests. And right now, I'm just starting to read a fourth book, all in one week. Perhaps, I'll write about it in my future post. Till then, au revoir.

Aku Melayu di Kota Inggeris

I like reading travelogues, especially the ones written by a Muslim traveler. I like travelogues because I always like the idea of traveling although I have not done it as much as I want to. I really wish I can travel more in the future, to more distant places and doing much more different things. I always enjoy reading a Muslim traveler's story because I always want to know how to manage oneself by being a Muslim in places where everything is different from my home country, a country where there's no problem in living my life as a Muslim. I like to see the 'other' world from the traveler's perspective and learn how 'the others' react to the traveler. Having my own little share of travel experience when I lived in a foreign country for almost a year several years ago, and though I have collected many wonderful moments and learned a lot of new things there, I wished that I could do more than what I had done in seeking experiences from the aspects of Islam.

 

From my old posts, perhaps you readers have read some travelogues that I had read and reviewed here, like here, here, here and here. Recently, I found this book while waiting to board a plane (most of my travel books I bought while I was on a journey to other place, such a thematic purchase...). Aku Melayu di Kota Inggeris is a book in Malay language written by a Malay scholar, Dr. Muhaimin Sulam, about his experiences while studying in University of Wales Trinity St. David, UK. He divided his story in three parts. In the first part, he shares things about the community around him and the country in the cultural, socioeconomic, historical and political aspects. The second part touches more on the life of Muslims in UK and his experiences and involvement in the Muslim community activities there. The poignant memoir of his late father is evident in the third part, showing how important he is in the author's life. Although there are three parts in this book, I don't feel that there's any distinct differences between them. I feel that there's everything in every chapter and it is full of values.

 

I don't have prior knowledge about Dr. Muhaimin but from this book, I think that it is quite obvious that he is very knowledgeable of the nation's politics and is involved in it at a certain level. However, this author is pretty fair in his comments and presents his discussion in a way that make the readers ponder about it without misconceptions or bad impressions on anybody.

 

All in all, Dr. Muhaimin's travelogue is enjoyable to read. It is always good to learn things that others have learned and to be mindful or aware of the things that happen to ordinary people like us but who lives so far away, and also of the things people take as their values in life.

 

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Monsters University & Despicable Me 2

I'm an adult and I'm a fan of animation movie. Never mind that, coz there's a lot like me! Quite recently I watched Monsters University and Despicable Me 2. One is a prequel while the latter is a sequel. In 2001, we have enjoyed so much of the hilarious Sully and Mike and the over-the-top cuteness of Boo in Monster's Inc. Now I would never imagine that 12 years later the Disney/Pixar studio would make a prequel of it, hence the production Monsters University this year. And yeah...it's also great!

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 In Monster's Inc., we have established the relationship between James P. Sullivan and Mike Wazowski as best buddies personally and one of the top scare teams in Monster's Inc. And we also established the fact that both of this monsters have a mutual arch enemy, Randall, the scary and bitter monster with a chameleon-like ability. In the prequel, we would see how these three monsters started to know each other and what made them as they were in the first movie.

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In Despicable Me 2, the story picks up from where the first one left off in 2010; Gru is a now a willing and loving father of the 3 girls he adopted in the first movie and already retired from being 'the world's greatest villain'. But when the world is threatened by a formidable villain that 'came back from the dead', there's no one who can stop him other than Gru, the notorious thief who once had stolen a moon! Or at least that's what the Anti-Villain League (AVL) thought when they send an agent to recruit Gru for help. It's fun to watch the minions, they are adorable even when they become purple with evil. And Gru, while still having his villainy instincts intact when pursuing his mission, still has to dwell with his daughters teenage love and mother figure issues. (Agnes is sooo adorable!) And love is in the air for Gru as well.

 

Overall, both movies are entertaining and so fun to watch. I can't help but noticing how strong the message in Monsters University in teaching the audience, especially young people about how important it is to know who they are and be who they really are, and not be someone else that you are not just to be accepted by other people. Also, each person has their own unique strength and ability. And in Despicable Me 2, it's all about family.

 

Aaaah..I wish I have children of my own whom I can teach all this while watching such fun movies....haha!

 

 

it's epic!

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Today I watched a very fun and entertaining new animation film, epic, which was directed by the same man who directed the hilarious Ice Age. It's a fantasy film with comedy and drama elements in the package, adapted from William Joyce's children novel entitled The Leaf Men and The Brave Good Bugs (1996).

The teenager Mary Katherine aka MK went deep into the forest where his estranged and eccentric scientist father lives to stay with him after her mother passed away. Apparently MK's parents divorced many years ago because her mother couldn't stand her father's tenacious-to-the-point-of-madness study about a world of tiny people living in the forest. After giving up on discussing with her father about stopping to pursue his study, MK decided to leave the house when his father's dog, Ozzy, suddenly ran out of the house into the woods. MK then also ran into the woods to find Ozzy.

Meanwhile, deep in the forest, in the Moonhaven kingdom, there exists a group of little soldiers called the Leafmen, who are the only creature in human form that function as the protectors of the Queen, and that also means, the forest. The Leafmen is led by Ronin, their leader. Nod, is Ronin's dead friend's son whom he tried to mold into becoming one of the Leafmen soldiers but Nod just not interested and insists to live independently. Queen Tara, is the queen of the forest and the main power who controls and protects the various life and creatures living in the forest. On the other side is the Boggans, the hideous creatures led by Mandrake who oppose the kind of balance the Queen is protecting and do nothing but rot and kill the forest.

So all these characters will soon have their paths cross one another when it's summer solstice and the time comes for the Queen to choose the new heir for the forest. The first part of the ceremony is for the Queen to choose a suitable leaf pod from a lake. These pods are nursed and guarded by a pair of slug and snail, Mud and Grub. When the Queen finally made her selection, the Boggans ambushed the ceremony, intending to kill the Queen and the pod. In the process, Mandrake's son was killed and the Queen was fatally wounded. On her last moment, she fell near MK who's looking for Ozzie and managed to transfer her powers to the pod and gave it to MK, at the same time shrinking her into tiny size and told her to take the pod to Nim Galuu.

From this part onward, it's a spectacular journey for MK to get the pod to Nim Galuu, assisted by Ronin, Nod, Mud and Grub while she tries to come into terms of being tiny and then surprisingly thrusted into the world that she didn't believe before and that her father has been searching for so long. The group has to dodge and secure the pod and themselves from the relentless attacks by Mandrake and his Boggans who after the death of his son, now wants to steal the pod for himself to create his own Dark Prince.

This is a very fun and entertaining story and you couldn't help but laughing at Mud and Grub with their funny dialogues. And watching this movie in 3D is really awesome. This film encompasses some good morals to discuss with your children. The first being the relationship between family members as shown in MK and her father's relationship. The second being the importance of protecting the environment and maintaining the balance in the nature's cycle of life (at one part Mandrake told his son that the forest is not built in one day, and his son replied that they can destroy it in a day...which is so true..). The third is about teamwork and even though everybody lives as individuals, no one should be alone. There's quite a lot of wisdom quotes in this movie. You can never go wrong with this type of movie, although this one is not the rolling-on-the-floor kind of funny but it has a nice amount of humour in it and the story is good, sensible and entertaining. The animation is also so beautiful. Recommended.

 

UTube : Inspector Mislan & the UTube Serial Rapes

Title : UTube : Inspector Mislan & the UTube Serial Rapes

Author : Rozlan Mohd Noor

Publisher : Silverfish Books, 2012, 298pgs

ISBN : 978-983-3221-41-7

Genre : Crime-thriller, fiction

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As I was browsing the English fiction shelves in a bookstore, among the loads of James Patterson, Jeffrey Archer, Dan Browns et cetera, my eyes caught one local name, Rozlan Mohd Noor (funny that I caught the smaller fonts of the author's name first before I saw the book title's bigger fonts...), and I was thinking...an English fiction book from a local author? That's nice! Picked it up and I remember being so much more intrigued when I found out that it's a crime-thriller, detective story-like...just my thing! Of course, I would give it a try.

The author - Rozlan Mohd Noor was a police officer with the Royal Malaysian Police for 11 years as an Investigating Officer and a Magistrate Court Prosecuting Officer in Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan. This info is available on the book cover. Being fascinated with the evolution of crime solving technology, he became passionate in writing crime stories, hence the production of some crime novels under the character 'Inspector Mislan' series. After leaving the force, he worked at several major corporations and multinational companies, before starting his own human resources and security consultancy business.

The story - The story started with a rape case of a woman at her own home whereby the rapist videoed the rape act and later uploaded the video in 'UTube'. The case is thus put under investigation of the D11 (Sexual & Child Abuse Investigation Division) where Insp. Sherry is the lead investigator. When another woman was raped with the same MO and her housemate was murdered at the same time, Insp. Sherry has to put up with the challenges of working with the tenacious Insp. Mislan under the D9 (Special Investigations) division. Along the way, 2 more rape videos went viral in UTube and the teams are hellbent on solving the crime although receiving a lot of heat from many aspects; bureaucracy, politics and smart-ass hard-to-get criminals.

Apparently, they discovered that the crime wasn't just a simple rape case but involving a more serious issue of hate crimes regarding the gays and lesbians. The author is tackling a what was once (and maybe still) a real-life issue of the nation in this book in such a way that I think he is maybe fictionalizing a non-fiction or maybe parts of the story was very similar to what really happened in real-life investigations.

The review - It's a good crime story, especially if you are a fan of such genre. The book is written in English but there's also a glossary of the local language and speech expressions at the back of the book to help non-Malaysian readers to understand certain terms that are used. The ending, however, is quite subtle. It left me with the impression of 'so is he the real culprit or not?'. A little annoying I suppose, in leaving suspense on the reader's mind at the finale. I tend to think that Insp. Mislan really nab the culprit but what's left hanging is the actual nabbing act and the question of 'will the criminal be prosecuted'?

As much as I admire this book for being one of the non-mainstream genre of novels written by a local author, I couldn't help but questioning the author a little bit about this; why should he needlessly portray local  'hero' characters as persons who embrace 'faithless' lifestyle as if all personnel in the crime solving department are like that? (I don't know if you readers can understand what I mean, 'coz it's difficult to try to explain a certain thing without being specific.) Maybe because I had hoped a local author could do the nation prouder by writing good stuff without the influence of a culture that does not come from this region. Anyway, this book is still a good read and entertaining.

The Great Gatsby

Gatsby. Who or what is Gatsby? To me, the name is quite familiar when I first heard of it. The first thought I had was the famous hair gel brand ... and also, Takuya Kimura (remember the interesting commercials he did for the brand?).

So, this Gatsby I'm talking about is not about the hair gel. It is actually a film currently showing in local cinemas near you. The film is basically adapted from a novel of the same name, authored by F. Scott Fitzgerald that was published in 1925. What a long, long time ago. Anyway, I haven't read the novel before but since this is an adaptation from a popular book, I won't write a lot about the story. Just a simple 'googling' and you can read the whole story in a jiffy.

Firstly first, I didn't know that this movie is from a book. So, I just watched this with zero anticipation and expectation except hoping that it would be a good movie. In a nutshell, I can simply say that this story is about hope, specifically, the hope of a man to rekindle his long lost but not forgotten love towards the girl of his dream. That man is Jay Gatsby, a mysterious young millionaire who owns a great mansion by the lake in the West Egg. He became friends with Nick Carraway, a young Wall Street hopeful, who rented a small cabin just beside his mansion. Across the lake, in the East Egg section, is the mansion of Tom and Daisy Buchanan, and Daisy is the 'second cousin once removed' of Nick (can someone tell me what's that supposed to mean?).

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The love story brewed since 5 years back between Jay and Daisy. Difficult situations ensued and drifted them apart. Since that, Daisy married Tom and Jay ... is mysteriously hiding in his many tales, but when Nick knew him, he is already a big millionaire who throws extravagant parties every weekend. How he came to possess that many fortune, no one really knows but it is demystified as the story unfolds. Everything in the story is about Jay. Who is he? What does he do? What is his motivation behind all the fame and fortune? This story is about a man so driven to re-possess the love he once had but had to let go because of some difficulties and hopes that he can return the time (and everything else) back to how it was before. In the end of the tragic finale, we can perhaps sympathize with Jay, or perhaps Daisy ... We might feel sorry for Daisy, who finds herself torn between an old flame or an infidel husband, or maybe we feel even sorrier for Jay, as he sacrificed everything to the one love he has but it led him to his doom. Sad love story, isn't it?

Anyway, the movie is also available in 3D. With all the extravagant colours of the festivities portrayed in this movie, it might be exciting to watch it in 3D (I didn't, just sticking to 2D). One last comment before ending this piece...why on earth Amitabh Bachchan was cast to play a Jewish character? I am so not getting it...Anyway, overall ... I am just liking the story, though it's sad, and it was enjoyable to see the acting ... but, I think some parts are just way too dramatic and maybe too weird. It's like a musical but not a musical. Modern era songs in a 1920s era movie, I don't know..maybe it's the director's style. Anyway, still...an entertaining film.

Lavender dari Rochester karya Fatihah Pauzihal

Tajuk : Lavender dari Rochester

Pengarang : Fatihah Pauzihal

Penerbit : Jemari Seni Sdn. Bhd., 2012

ISBN : 978-967-0508-07-8; 612 ms.

Harga : RM23.00 (WM)/RM26.00 (EM)

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Lavender dari Rochester merupakan novel penuh kedua nukilan Fatihal Pauzihal yang telah saya baca habis dalam satu malam. Kisah di dalam novel ini berkisar tentang 4 watak yang menjadi tunjang utama iaitu Lutfiyah, Hadi, Zakir dan Wardah.

Lutfiyah yang dibesarkan oleh babahnya dan Ibu Sumaiyah di Rochester pulang ke Malaysia bagi menjalankan amanat babahnya untuk mencari ahli keluarga mereka yang telah lama ditinggalkan. Malang yang bertimpa-timpa ke atas dirinya menemukan dia dengan Zakir, pemuda kampung yang bekerja di KL dan terkenal dengan sifat kasanova. Walaupun begitu, Zakir adalah pemuda yang baik dan bersama-sama Wardah, seorang gadis naif, guru tadika dan kawan sekampung Zakir, mereka membantu Lutfiyah dan membawa pulang Lutfiyah ke kampung mereka. Di situ Lutfiyah bertemu Hadi dan bermula lah satu episod permainan 'tarik tali' dan konflik emosi serta perhubungan antara mereka berempat dan manusia-manusia di sekeliling mereka. Lutfiyah dan Hadi masing-masing mempunyai sejarah duka mereka sendiri. Pertembungan hati watak-watak muda ini banyak dibantu dengan panduan watak-watak yang sudah berusia dan telah lama 'makan garam' seperti Nek Mah dan Ibu Sumaiyah.

Berjayakah Lutfiyah dalam pencariannya dan merungkai persoalan yang menjadi tanda tanya sekian lama? Dan bagaimanakah kesudahan 4 jiwa yang hebat diuji Tuhan dengan pelbagai cabaran pada akhirnya? Apakah hikmah di sebalik semua yang berlaku? Semuanya terjawab usai membaca novel ini.

Komen saya:

Saya bukanlah peminat novel melayu yang rata-rata temanya sentiasa klise dengan kisah cinta terhalang kerana perbezaan taraf keluarga, hubungan kekeluargaan yang terpisah, perhubungan cinta terlarang kerana hubungan saudara atau kisah hidup anak melayu yang belajar di luar negara dan terbawa-bawa dengan arus kemodenan. Novel ini juga begitu, tiada kelainan yang ketara. Namun, novelis ini mampu  mempersembahkan ceritanya dengan baik dengan gaya penceritaan yang lancar, bersahaja dan mudah difahami.

Dari segi isi, kisah ini sarat dengan cinta dan kasih sayang, samada yang membahagiakan mahupun yang menghancurkan; kasih anak terhadap ibu bapa, kasih nenek terhadap cucu, kasih antara 2 saudara, kasih penjaga kepada anak angkatnya - dalam erti kata lain, kasih sayang di dalam hubungan keluarga. Selain itu, kisah ini juga menyentuh tentang kepentingan memajukan diri sendiri, peluang kedua (second chance) dalam kehidupan dan hikmah sebuah kemaafan, seperti tagline novel ini, kemaafan adalah dendam yang terindah.

Kesudahan bagi cerita ini tidaklah sukar untuk dijangka, lebih-lebih lagi jika si pembaca sudah terbiasa dengan jalan cerita soap operas di kaca tv. Bagaimanapun saya cuba untuk tidak membuat jangkaan dan menerima apa sahaja kesudahan yang disampaikan novelis ini. Bagi saya, ia kesudahan yang agak baik dan teratur cuma mungkin sedikit kurang mencabar minda, hehe.

Apapun, novel ini baik untuk dibaca kerana banyak perkara positif yang boleh diambil daripadanya, jika si pembaca tidak hanya membaca untuk hiburan dan melayan mainan perasaan.

Parker Pyne Investigates

Title : Parker Pyne Investigates

Author : Agatha Christie

Publisher : Harper, 2003 (Agatha Christie Signature Edition)

Originally published : Collins, 1934

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I have truly enjoyed the serious business of crime and murder of various nature investigated by Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple, the two very different yet equally sharp and efficient detectives of Agatha Christie's creation. But this time is the first time I get to know Mr. Parker Pyne, who by profession is not a detective but more like a consultant of the human nature. He runs a business of settling his clients' 'unhappiness' as advertised in the Times newspaper: "Are you happy? If not, consult Mr. Parker Pyne, 17 Richmond Street."

Parker Pyne has retired from the civil service's statistics department for 35 years, and from his statistical experience he has studied a whole lot of the human nature. With that kind of knowledge and interest, Parker Pyne and his team set up this business of solving various problems of the people; from unhappy marriage, boredom in life and some other problems of serious nature that comes up in his travelling adventures.

This collection of 14 short stories really is really entertaining and very suitable to read while you are travelling.