Sagging face

I think my face is sagging.. oh no.. a sign of aging...

Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz

Jimmy Tock was borned just moments after his grandfather died. Before the man died, he made 10 predictions about Jimmy, including 5 terrible dates that Jimmy will face. Shortly after the birth of Jimmy, 5 of the predictions had came true, now the 5 terrible dates awaits...

I read before that the author Dean Koontz is known for his endings, and I couldn't agree more. The action right from the start of the book kept me going till the end. But what I like about Life Expectancy is really about the numerous twists of the story, especially at the later part. Many times I told I had guess it, only to be told otherwise by the author. And after all the ordeal, it has a happy ending. I love it.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Picked up this book for several reasons.

1. I'd read "Crooked House" by Agatha Christie many years before and it was a very enjoyable read.


2. Recently there was a cartoon on tv that shows the work of Agatha Christie and her famous story characters.


3. I read in "Odd Thomas" about this particular book.

Count it lucky that I found this book in the library, and I am not disappointed. Roger Ackroyd is a rich man, the man of a household. When he discovered a secret of his lover, he was murdered. As expected, everyone in the household became immediate suspects. Hercule Poirot the famous detective is subsequently involved in solving the mystery.

As I mentioned above, this book was brought up in Dean Koontz' "Odd Thomas". Hence before even reading the book I knew who is the murderer. I tried to look for clues that give him away, but the story gets more and more complicated that I wondered if Dean Koontz got it wrong. Amazingly, like what people always say, "the jigsaw pieces start to fall into places".

I'm truly shocked by the ending, despite knowing who is the murderer beforehand.

Are You In Love with a Scorpio? (Oct 23 - Nov 21)

Found this article in the Internet. Those who wanna love me better take note.

If you are in love with a Scorpio man or woman, give him or her your full
attention and devotion. Sharp as a tack, this person definitely notices
everything. You will be able to keep no secrets here; this individual is
an expert at ferreting them out. Truthfulness is well appreciated by this
mate. Emotions are extremely important to a Scorpio and you must be
willing to explore the range (the valleys as well as the peaks) in order to
keep this partner happy. Passionate and possessive, he (she) needs a lot of
physical statement. This mate often even defines his (her) relationship to
you by the amount of actual physical connection. If you are not interested
in touchy-feely, you might want to look elsewhere for true happiness.

Loyalty is also very valuable to this individual as he (she) will want to look at you as being his (hers) alone. Should you stumble in this area, you may be forgiven but don't think that your Scorpio lover will forget (with such a sharp mind, little is forgotten). Of course, this works both ways and a more devoted mate would be hard to find. You have in this partner an extremely strong personality. This relationship works best if you! can maintain some of your own strength and keep things equal. Finding other arenas to excel in by yourself can also help here as very few signs can successfully compete with Scorpio. Don't ever try to force something on this mate, either; coaxing works better than brute force here.

Be aware, too, that Scorpio's power is often of the hidden variety. You mustn't take this mate at face value only. If you delight in challenges, enjoy the world of emotions and are also a sturdy and strong personality, you may have
just your cup of tea here. This is one individual who is going places and,
if you can keep up, would be happy to take you along.

The King of Torts

Clay Carter is a struggling lawyer in The Office of the Public Defenders, viewed as a loser by his propective parent-in-laws. A street killing case that was handed to him seems to be just another random murder that occur every so often in the Washington D.C. What is unknown to him, is that the case is linked to a corporate secret that is much more complicated than he thinks, and he finds himself in-charge of settlements that add up to millions of dollars. The subsequent chain of events was beyond his wildest dream, in a few months time, he is to become the newest kid of the block, the latest KING OF TORTS.

My previous book by John Grisham was a disappointment, but with "The king of Torts", I finally understand why some readers worshipped him. The main character was so real that I almost feel that I am him. How he felt when he was put down by his girlfriend and family, how he hope that he could have a career that people can only dream of, and when he is presented by an opportunity that can change his life, how he was overwhelmed.

When he made it, his urge to show off to those who have looked down on him was so understandable. Predictably, his meteoric rise to "stardom" can only lead to one thing, catastrophic downfall. I guess the book has to be morally correct ultimately, though I have often put myself in the character's shoe, and thought I might have did almost the same thing. A wonderful read, I'll be picking up more of John Grisham books for sure.

PS: Singapore is one of the place mentioned in the book too. Guess more and more ppl will get to know the small red dot.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

There's a lot of anticipation for this show since the first one is so good.This time the show introduces a octopus-faced baddie who supoosedly rules or owns the sea. And to beat this baddie, one must obtain the key to a chest, that contains his still pumping heart! Eeek! haha... As everyone have their own motive for obtaining the heart, a mayhem started in search to the key ad the chest.

The show is quite funny, but mid-way through I dozed off. I think two and a half hours is too long. Still, just watching Johnny Depp's antics is good enough for the price. Though I'm no big fan of him (I watched becos of Keira Knightley), Depp's portrayal of Captain Jack is hilarious. He is the star of the show. Poor Orlando Bloom, his character doesn't allow him to have much fun... Oh, they mentioned Singapre again, haha, wonder why they like Singapore so much..

The Teeth of the Tiger

Three young men joined a secret organization whose aim is to identify terrorists and to eliminate them in any ways that is possible.

A simple enough story. The book got of a good start. Two of the men, brothers in fact, were headhunted, one a marine the other an FBI agent. The third man recommended himself. I thought the story would proceed at a similar pace. Instead, the author slowed down everything by writing a whole load of rubbish, trying too hard to be suspenseful. Quoting a line from the book itself, the author succeeded in, "telling a awful lot and nothing at all at the same time."

Many times the book is testing my patience. Eventually I decided to skip all the middle garbage and go on to the action at the end, and I feel I didn't miss anything at all. Luckily the action  is passable, but I still want to punch those reviewers inside the book.  

BEST MOMENT IN WORLD CUP 2006 - This is what sportsmanship is about

Two of the greatest players of their time in their last international tournament.

Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane.

I'll miss them.

Odd Thomas

Odd Thomas can see dead people, sense evil beings and have vague awareness of things that is going to happen in the future. He see it as a gift, and felt obliged to use this ability to help people in the town of Pico Mundo.
It was an usual day at work when he notice a man who attracts evil beings like bees to honey. He instinctively knew something was wrong, and it is up to him to prevent something big and disastrous from happening.

 

The beginning of the book was quite boring to me. But things starts to make senses, and the suspense starts to build up. Halfway through the book I am already flipping the pages furiously, and sacrificing my precious sleep for the climax. It is not so much of a horror story, I think it is more of an action thriller. Enjoyed it very much, though the ending is quite sad for me, I rather the book end without the last 2 chapters. Odd Thomas is a cool character, but I wouldn't want to be him... I will not be able to take the stress.

   

 

 

A Guy's Gotta Eat

A very entertaining and informative read. Great for clueless guys who wanted to eat healthy but in a fun way. Useful book to keep as well for all the fast cook recipes.   

 

 

Prey

Jack Forman is hired by the very company that rendered him jobless for 6 months. Apparently there were some problems that the company couldn't solve and urgently needed his expertise. He arrived at the facility that his wife was previously in-charge of, and saw an installation mistake unfolding into a battle between nano-robots and the human beings, just predators and their prey.

 

I finished the book in 3 days, which is considered fast according to my usual pace for a book of this length. It shows how gripping the story is, in fact, I got hooked right from the start till finish. Crichton is incredibly good at combining science with action and making them seem so real and terrifying. Power!!

    

 

 

The Boyfriend Test

A crappy book on how to evaluate a guy's potential as a dream boyfriend. Not to be taken too seriously.

 

 

 

 

Fallen Idols

An archaelogist became a changed man after his wife were killed in an excavation site. His refusal to meet his family, new lavish lifestyle and new girlfriend half his age worries his sons. As his sons tried to find out more, they realised that he has been hiding things from them, even before his wife dies.

 

The story engages me, dropping clues and bits of information that points to a great conspiracy. The pace was just right, with the author choosing to indulge in some extra details, presumably to bring more colours to the main characters. Though sometimes it seems the brothers got hold of the supposedly confidential information rather easily, I liked it as it makes the novel more direct and uncomplicated.

 

It has been a really interesting read, but the ending was a bit draggy for me. A lot of unnecessary meetings who doesn't really contribute to the climax. The ending, the unveiling of the truth, was rather predictable too. While that is acceptable, there are still several doubts I have in my mind, which I felt is unanswered. Its like I enjoyed the process, but was kinda letdown by the ending.

 

Overall, still a good book to spend your leisure time.   

The five people you meet in Heaven

Not bad. The initial part was a bit boring, and it became better later. A very dreamy and beautiful feeling.    

 

 

Nightmares and Dreamscapes

Didn't finish this book. Guess I'm not into horror stories. The book is a compilation of 20 (I think) short stories. Some of the stories are quite dark. Some has no physical demons or evil beings, but just demons in the mind.

 

There is a story about a man who took revenge for his dead wife by burying the target (inside his car) alive; Another man who killed his younger brother and then committed suicide after they did something wrong; a teacher who killed her students after she kept "seeing things". The way Stephen wrote the stories were quite different from what I expect and I did enjoy reading some of the stories, but horror story is not my cup of tea after all, and I found reading the small fonts quite daunting.

 

Still, I recommend this book to those who like to read about stories from the dark side. Pretty cool book.

 

 

 

The Andromeda Strain

Dun like this book. Too descriptive, too scientific. Not exciting enough compared to Timeline or State of Fear.