30th June, 2008

The Poem I Turn To edited by Jason Shinder

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Most people ignore most poetry because most poetry ignores most people.
~Adrian Mitchell~

I found this quote here. Sounds interesting, huh? I don’t know what Mitchell meant by poetry ignoring people. Can somebody step up and share your thoughts on it?

Anyway, The Poem I Turn To – Actors & Directors Present Poetry That Inspires Them is a book of collected poems. Jason Shinder went out and asked various actors and directors to share their favourite poems and explain why they like them. These actors and directors would include Alan Arkin, Adam Arkin, Peter MacNicol, Carrie Fisher, Jane Fonda, Stanley Tucci and lots more! So, if you happen to be a fan of theirs, then you may get to know them a little bit better by knowing what poem inspires them.

Well, what kind of poems do celebrities like? Shakespeare? Poems by Robert Frost? Yeah, there are some sonnets from Shakespeare in it. It would be relatively surprising if nobody actually turned to Shakespeare’s words. Besides that, the simplest poem in it would be ‘Alone’ where there’s only one lone word in it, Alone. It is one of Stanley Tucci’s favourite poems.

Oh, do you like listening to poems being read aloud? I do! This book is accompanied by a CD where you can listen to some of the actors read their favourite poems. I didn’t really like Paul Guilfoyle’s (from CSI Las Vegas) poetry recitation. His voice was soft and he read the poems way too fast! Is that supposed to be a style? If I weren’t holding the book as well as reading and listening to the poem at the same time, I wouldn’t catch what he said. By the way, there are 30 poems being read aloud on the CD. And if you don’t like hearing other people read them, why don’t you read aloud yourself and record it? :)

All the same, this hardcover book has a lovely cover although it’s quite wordy. But I like it! Somehow I have a good feeling when I look at it. I’ve always liked poems. The poem I like most in this book would be The Guest House by Rumi. If only we had learnt more English poems in school. The only poems we were exposed to were:

Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
If by Rudyard Kipling
Monsoon History by Shirley Lim
There’s Been A Death In The Opposite House by Emily Dickinson
Si Tenggang’s Homecoming by Muhammad Salleh
Life’s Brief Candle by William Shakespeare
The Dead Crow by A. Samad Said
The Lake Isle of Innisfree by W.B. Yeats

Still, it’s a good start.

So…which poem do you turn to? :)

A heartfelt thanks to Sourcebooks for sending me a copy of this wonderful book.

Other Bloggers’ Reviews: John Mutford, Kim

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Posted in Authors S, Poetry, Titles P at 11:29 pm | Comments (11)



29th November, 2007

A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

I gladly plucked out this book from the shelf because I’ve watched the movie a few years ago and liked it. Well, the movie was quite similar to the book. Some things were changed though. Anyhow, this is a great book and if you’re the sentimental type, you’d probably cry at certain parts in the book. I noticed that there’s a lot of crying in it.

Landon Carter is already 57 years old and he’s telling his story of what happened to him when he was 17. His life changed when he started spending time with Jamie Sullivan, when they were 17. Landon was considered a bad boy and other parents assumed he’s plain trouble. His father was a congressman and was rarely home to be with his family.

On the other hand, Jamie Sullivan is the daughter of Beaufort’s Baptist minister. That’s where they all lived – Beaufort, North Carolina. She’s not fashionable and she always carries her Bible wherever she goes. So it’s certainly obvious that she and Landon have not much in common. That’s what Landon thought.

Incidentally, Landon did not have a date to Beaufort High’s homecoming dance. Most of the girls already had dates or he didn’t fancy going with the less attractive ones. In the end, it was either go to the dance alone and clean up puke in the toilet or go with Jamie Sullivan and risk being teased by his friends. She did smile at him in class, so maybe she might agree to go with him. Finally, he asked her and surprisingly, she accepted. On one condition, that is, he must not fall in love with her. He agreed. Anything is better than cleaning up puke.

Landon found her to be a very kind and understanding person who always looked on the bright side of things, no matter how horrible they are. However, after the dance, he did not feel like spending any more time with her. That time, he still had feelings for his ex-girlfriend, Angela.

But then later, Jamie asked him to join the Christmas play. Initially, he didn’t want to join but after some pitiful remarks from Jamie, he finally gave in. So, they rehearsed the play and then, it’s show time. Without warning, Landon fell in love with Jamie when she appeared looking amazingly beautiful.

All in all, it’s a nice story with a wonderful plot. Incredibly sad, though. Also, I found out what the title ‘A Walk to Remember’ refers to. It’s the kind of book where one may want to change to become a better person after reading it. And if you like books where the guy changes himself for the girl, then this is the book for you.

Buy A Walk to Remember

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Posted in Authors S, Romance, Titles A at 12:34 pm | Comments (22)



27th September, 2007

Holes by Louis Sachar

Stanley Yelnats has always been unlucky in life, that is, he’s always been in the wrong place at the wrong time. In fact, many Yelnats have had the same fate like him. It’s as though they’ve been cursed, which might just be true.

There are some flashback parts in this book that will explain why some things happen now. In one flashback, there’s the story of Stanley’s great-great-grandfather, Elya Yelnats who broke his promise to a Madam Zeroni, a gypsy, as she gave him advice on what he could do so that he can win the beautiful Myra’s hand in marriage.

Then, there’s the famous outlaw, Kissin’ Kate Barlow who kisses the men she killed. Hey, her history in this book is really interesting! She couldn’t be with the guy she loved and somehow ended up being on the most wanted list.

Anyway, back to the present. Stanley was caught for stealing a pair of sneakers belonging to a famous baseball player, Clyde “Sweet Feet” Livingston. He claimed that the shoes fell from the sky but of course, no one believed him. He was then sent to Camp Green Lake where there’s no lake and nothing was green.

At the camp, all the boys there were supposed to dig a hole a day. If they found anything interesting, they were to show it to the counselors there. It seems that digging holes everyday will build up the boys’ characters who were sent there because they did something wrong in the first place.

Stanley meets his campmates and soon gains their respect. They call him ‘Caveman’. The other boys have weird nicknames too like Zigzag, Armpit, Magnet, X-Ray, Squid, and Zero. Zero is the quietest and also the fastest hole-digger. Later on, Stanley and Zero become friends and they strike a deal with each other.

It’s quite an interesting book and like most books I like, easy to read. The perfect book to read when you’re feeling sick or down. I read this a few days ago when I was down with the flu. It helped to pass the time well.

In short, it’s a downright entertaining book with moral values, too, that is try not to break the promises that you made or you’ll suffer the consequences like Elya Yelnats! Furthermore, you will chuckle each time Mr. Sir says, ‘This isn’t a Girl Scout Camp.’ And oh yeah, there’s the 2003 Disney movie, ‘Holes’, which is based on this book. The movie is just as entertaining, too. Enjoy!

Other Bloggers’ Reviews: Valentina, Dewey

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Posted in Authors S, Titles H, Young Adult Fiction at 2:31 am | Comments (9)



24th June, 2007

White Boots by Noel Streatfeild

This is the second time I’m reading something by Noel Streatfeild. The story starts with Harriet Johnson who’s not feeling very well and does not look very well either. She’s nearly ten years old but she doesn’t have the energy and vivacity of normal ten-year-old kids.

The Johnson family consists of George and Olivia Johnson, Harriet’s parents, and Alec, Toby, and Edward are her brothers. Her parents own a shop that sells off vegetables, fruits and other stuff which their uncle, William Johnson sent them. Usually, what he sent them could not be sold off easily as they were bad, rotting or just things that people don’t want. He grew them in his own garden and always eats the good ones so the Johnson family is stuck with selling bad stock.

Now, since Harriet is feeling weak and looking fragile, her doctor, Dr. Phillipson suggested that she take up skating to improve her health and strengthen her legs. Alec will then get a job delivering newspapers so that there’ll be money to rent her skates and boots. Her brothers are really thoughtful.

At the skating rink, Harriet befriends another young girl, Lalla Moore who’s training to be the greatest skater in the world. Lalla’s parents died in a skating accident when she was very young. Her eccentric Aunt Claudia wished for her to be a star skater and made her practise as often as possible. The aunt is also always reminding everyone that Lalla is a special child and that she needs to concentrate fully on her skating and nothing else. Therefore, poor Lalla’s life is quite sad for a young child who shouldn’t have such a heavy burden on her shoulders.

The story is more focused on Lalla’s skating and not much on Harriet’s. When she first entered the skating rink, she could barely skate. But, we will know that she’s improving fast not only in her skating but in her health too. She’s become so good that Lalla’s personal skating trainer, Max, told her to take up some skating tests, which Lalla had taken earlier.

Lalla is quite a selfish little girl with too many grand ideas in her head. When she sees a photograph of Harriet in a newspaper and the article claiming her to have a great future in skating before her, she got upset and threatened poor Harriet. Of course, Lalla thinks that she should be the only good skater and Harriet will always be not as good as her.

White Boots is a nice story for children and adults alike. I thought the cover somewhat dull. Only a pair of legs in white boots doing a ‘left forward outside edge, most likely a crossover’, according to Noel Streatfeild’s nephew, William Streatfeild, who wrote a postscript at the end of the book. If it’s a book meant to attract children, they should make a cover that is more eye-catching.

Buy White Boots (Large Print)

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Posted in Authors S, Modern Classics, Titles W at 1:56 pm | Comments (6)



20th April, 2007

Ballet Shoes For Anna by Noel Streatfeild

Ballet Shoes For Anna is a tremendously beautiful story for children as well as adults. It is a story of three children who had the misfortune of losing their family and home in an earthquake in Turkey. The children are Francesco, 10, Gussie, 9, and Anna, 8. They led an almost extraordinary life for their parents, Christopher and Olga, lived in a caravan and they traveled frequently.

Their maternal grandfather, whom they affectionately called Jardek, thinks that Anna would make a great ballet dancer one day. He was an amazing dancing teacher himself so he gave Anna ballet lessons to train her.

Fortunately, after the earthquake, Sir William Hoogle, who wanted to offer help to the victims of the disaster, met the children and looked after them until he found a legal guardian for them. Finally, the children were sent to live with their unsociable uncle, Cecil Docksay, and his timid wife, Mabel. The uncle also refused to send Anna for ballet lessons.

Therefore, Francesco and Gussie diligently tried hard to find money so that Anna could be trained to be a dancer. I think that her brothers are very caring and thoughtful because they kept insisting to everybody that Anna must have ballet lessons. But, Anna can be quite silly, as she does not seem to realize the trouble and worries she’d caused to her brothers while they tried to earn money. She is just adamant to get the best teacher and also one she can learn with.

The cover of the book that I have now is not that attractive. To young readers, in my opinion. It was published by Collins. The colours are dull and it only shows Anna with her pink ballet shoes in the background. If the cover had brighter colours, there’s no doubt I would have taken an instant liking to it even if I haven’t read the book yet. That is why you ought to take care never to ever let the book cover fool you! Read the book first, and then only judge.

It is a simple story but a very meaningful one. You get a pleasant feeling while reading it. When Gussie managed to land himself in a tight spot, you’d be eager to find out if all goes well or not. This book had been sitting in my bookshelf for quite a long time and I regretted not reading it sooner. Well, better late than never!

Buy Ballet Shoes for Anna (Lions)

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Posted in Authors S, Modern Classics, Titles B at 2:25 pm | Comments (2)



22nd March, 2007

Roommates by Katherine Stone

Carrie arrived at Stanford University with high hopes and then her hopes faltered when she thought she could not fit in with university life. But after meeting her roommates, Megan and Beth, who are totally different from each other, she made up her mind to enjoy herself as much as she could.

Megan wants to be a famous actress while Beth is more interested in the science world. Carrie’s older brother, Stephen is also studying at Stanford and has a mysterious roommate, Jake. Jake never tells anyone about himself and no one wanted to ask him to tell more of himself.

Carrie learned important lessons in life as she spent time with Megan, Beth, Stephen, and Jake in and out of campus. The ups and downs that the characters go through are absolutely heartwarming and you are able to feel the joy, sadness, loneliness and pain as you read the whole book. ‘Roommates’ is a beautiful book and it will keep you captivated till the last page.

I read this book in 2004.

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Posted in Authors S, Romance, Titles R at 2:51 am | Comments (2)



21st March, 2007

Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

I used to watch ‘The King and I’ movie every day when I was little and Anna introduced ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ to the King’s wives. That’s when I first heard of the book. Well, now I have finally read it after so many years!

There are so many characters in this book but no worries, as I will write about them as best as I can. My favourite character would be Uncle Tom, of course. He is the slave of Mr. and Mrs. Shelby. Uncle Tom has a wife, Aunt Chloe who’s a very good cook, and some kids. He and his family are also close to the Shelby’s son, George.

Mrs. Shelby has another girl slave too, Eliza. Eliza is married to George Harris and they have a son. George Harris is a hard worker and intelligent but unfortunately, his master does not approve of his ‘easy’ life. He takes George away from the factory where he used to work and made him work like a dog. This makes George very bitter and he plans to run away to Canada.

Meanwhile, Eliza overhears her master and mistress’ conversation about selling her son, Harry, and Uncle Tom away to a trader, Haley, because her master, Mr. Shelby is in debt with him. Eliza panics and takes her son to Uncle Tom’s cabin and told him the bad news. However, Tom refuses to leave with her and Eliza set off alone. Tom remains faithful to his master and eventually, got sold off to Haley.

After that, he found a home with the kind Mr. St. Clare. Mrs. St. Clare would be one of my most disliked characters in this book. She’s selfish, always complaining, and is jealous of her own daughter, Eva. Eva is a lively little girl who becomes Tom’s best friend.

This is a very sad book because a few good people had to go to heaven. I won’t tell who died. You will have to read it yourself to find out. I also felt sad and furious about the way African slaves were treated back then when slavery was common. The masters had the idea that they were God or something and were always degrading the poor slaves, who had no freedom, no rights, no anything. This book is somewhat similar to Roots by Alex Haley, which is about slavery in America too.

Anyway, I felt for Uncle Tom very much. Mr. St. Clare promised him his freedom and Tom was so happy about it. He looked forward to being finally free when something unexpected happened and he was then sold to the evil Simon Legree.

But, no matter how Legree tormented and criticized him, Tom still prayed fervently to God and was always faithful to Him. This made Legree even angrier. Even his other tortured slaves kept asking Tom to tell them more about God.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin would be an insightful read about faith, kindness, and courage.

Buy Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Wordsworth Classics)

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Posted in Authors S, Classics, Titles U at 1:10 pm | Comment (0)


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