Reading is my hobby since age 7. Check my card 001.

I seldom review a book that I read. There a reason - I just read and absorb every single word from the book and alas....forgot the whole context; I don't know what to say about it. Buy a book, read, forget what you've just read after an average of 200 pages. If you see the my Friendster's typelist, there are a lot of books that I've read and enjoyed, and some authors that I've grown fond with. My fav. books titles range from the Harvard econs geek "Freakanomics" to romantic classics like "Jane Eyre" with no one genre that I can stay focus onto. I think I chose NOT to focus; I CHOSE to read a range of genre as to widen my knowledge and reinvent my worldview about everything to anything (politics, environment, travel, fantasies, history, and romances) that's happening around me (and not). My dad is my greatest motivator in reading. If you come to my home in Ipoh, you'll be surpised to see stacks of fiction and literatures lying around.....they are all my dad's!!! My dad reads more than anybody I've seen in my life. No joke. He loves literature especially those from kuno romantic English authors. There's no wonder he can accept any crap behaviour from me. He understands every woman's mind as easily as Bronte would have feministically pun-it in words.

I just finished reading "England, England" by Julian Barnes. This book was shortlisted for the prestigious Booker's Prize. I never could put this book down once I started. Well, no review here, as I said before: I don't write reviews (my English actually sucks) and every book/story relates to the reader in a different way. However, I totally recommend this book if you want something to mourn, laugh and wonder about. How satisfiying!

Another book I recommend is 'The Road" by Cormac McCarthy which won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize. If this sounds familiar to you, yes, this is the same author for "No Country For Old Men" which adapted screenplay has won an Oscar. Though I've not read the latter, "The Road" has actually made me thought of the maintenance of moral in mankind though the world has apparently ended. Can you still believe in God though you know God put you through this s**t? Do I have to behave properly although no one's looking? Will you survive without anyone but your dad who kept bugging you :P ? Survival skills and moral and innocence is the question behind "The Road". You must read it. I gave this favourite book away to Jo Nie on my trip to Bangkok. I NEVER give books away, but I would love to give it to someone I think is special.

Other books I recommend: Middlesex, Animal Farm by Orwell (this is a classic one!), The World Is Flat, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (oooo, I recomm. this for aspiring politicians), 1984 by Orwell (again!).

Books that I plan to buy and read: The Other Boleyn Girl, Atonement by Ian McEwan, Love In The Time of Cholera, Molecular Cloning by T.A. Brown (Muahahaha! had to include this one, sorry!)

Writing off,

Ivy

P.S. I Love You

Condemned on both occasions.

Valentine's day (to my horror) is looming. Watching movies alone (again???!) and no popcorns to share with? My plan on V-day: re-watch Brokeback Mountain.

CNY was a major dissapointment because I was sick. On CNY's eve, the right side of my jaw and cheekbone were killing me. I blamed my wisdom tooth but I realised don't have any Wisdom since hell knows. So, what was it??? I wikipedia-ed the symptoms. Nothing. The pain throbs thru' the whole CNY eve dinner and starts to intensified 'til my neck got stiffened and soon my migrain started. Went to Assunta the next day and the doctor said I have some sinus points blocked. Bla Bla Bla bla bla bla bla.... Then my heart skipped a beat when she said the word: Bell's palsy. I felt like I was passed the death sentence (because it sounded like I was going to get retarded i.e. 'cere-bral palsy'), but who or what is this Bell??? Then I remembered my friend Kelvin Hew had something similar but I forgot the name of the penyakit. My two-week-incurable-runny-stuffy-nose-cum cold could be the trigger of it.

Then, my doctor uncle and aunt came on the second day. I asked them many questions about Bell. I ask JoNie too. All of them scared me to death with their explanation of the disease. Thanks Jo for the help and the fear instilled :P There's no medication. Just rest and let my nerves grow back. 2-6 weeks. Could be 6 months to 1 year. Depends. I really died-ed.

Btw, I still look leng-lui as usual, and my face is not SENGET. Not senget, ok!!? I can still smile and laugh. So, jangan harap ler, Beh!

Happy Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day. H/P: 016-2639631 if you want to watch Brokeback and cry with me.