Books Catcher 2010 Series 2 @ Poundland

My book appetizer...my current initial read!

I'M CURRENTLY READING THE SECOND NOVEL of Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Angel's Game. Im now at the middle section of the book and Im not still excited to find out where the story is heading to.

Unlike the first novel of Zafon, "The Shadows of the Wind", I was already amazed of the storylines and the characters just only in the first few pages of the book; but in Angel's Game, it is a little bit slow and less surprises from the main characters!

More pages to go so Im expecting that the story will be intensed to a higher level of mystery! Some of the poetic lines from the first and second acts of the book that struck me most.

Faith is an instinctive response to aspects of existence that we cannot explain by any other means - be it the moral void we perceive in the universe, the certainty of death, the mystery of the origin of things, the meaning of our own lives or the absence of meaning.

All interpretation or observation of reality is necessarily fiction. In this case, the problem is that man is moral animal abandoned in an amoral universe and condemned to a finite existence with no other meaning than to perpetuate the natural cycle of the species. It is impossible to survive in a prolonged state of reality... we spend...our lives dreaming... when we're awake.

The day women are allowed to learn to read and write, the world will become ungovernable.

Books Catcher 2010 Series 1

Unforgettable places... memorable experiences

"By their very nature islands are often unforgettable. Their stark beauty and peaceful solitude bear witness to the drama of their creation "... Steve Davey

BEFORE BBC BOOKSHOP IN BELFAST was closed permanently in 2007, I bought several books and DVDs for a half price from the store. In particular, I collected 3 out of the 4 exciting series of books written by international travel writers, Steve Davey and Steve Watkins; and photographers, Marc Schlossman and Clare Jones. Briefly, these travel books include the following: Unforgettable Islands to escape to before you die, Unforgettable Journeys to take before you die, Unforgettable Things to do before you die, and finally Unforgettable Places to see before you die which I am planning to purchase in the future.

First, I will be sharing to you the fourth title published in 2007, entitled Unforgettable Islands to escape to before you die! Why the Unforgettable Islands? Well, just to give you first a background of my origin. I was born and raised in one of the 7,107 islands of the Philippine archipelago? Where is Philippines located, by the way? Having a review of geography, my home country is just 3 hours away from Japan and Singapore by plane and almost 5 hours from Australia. Also, this is where Mylene Klass' mother and Nicole Scherzinger's (Pussycat Dolls) father came from. People who are living in the Philippines are known as Filipinos and the country got its name from Spain - colonized "Filipinas" for more than 300 years. In other words, I am an islander who loves the beach, coconut trees, waves, sunset, coral reefs, forest, cool breeze and rivers! The environment I grew up was quite similar as portrayed in the Shipwrecked or Lost TV programmes, except that there is no competition and no fear for survival. It is a place I always called "home".

This is the reason why the book reminded me of my home - a place where illustrated inside the colourful 256 pages of the book. When I found this book during my first visit to BBC store, I was fascinated by its cover and the title itself. A feeling that draws me to browse the book and finding out why it is unforgettable. I searched it thru Amazon to see if I could get a cheaper deal using my dooyoo voucher; unfortunately the price is the same at £18.99. Few months later, I found out the BBC store is closing down and offering for 50-70% discounts. Without a second thought, I bought the 3 titles. The author, Steve Davey and with the assistance of Marc Schlossman for the images of the 40 islands featured in the book, vividly describe his personal experience visiting these islands for almost 11 months. Some of the islands where covered in the first three series of his publications which I will be reviewed in the near future. I don't want to give you all the contents of this book, but rather I will provide you the outstanding elements of the book that a traveller and photo hobbyist like me could get unforgettable insights of the featured islands which I am also dying to explore them before I die!

Generally, the book is perfectly packaged in a form suitable for a coffee table display. The image featured in the hard cover is taken from Stockholm, Sweden. The author's introduction is very well written emphasizing the value of visiting these places, without affecting the eco-system of the islands. He acknowledged both the positive and negative effects of tourism to these vulnerable places, and the same time the rewarding hospitality and generosity of the people living in these islands surrounded by bodies of water. On the other hand, the lay-out is simple where the texts and images were laid-out for easy reading. Each of the 40 islands featured in the book are illustrated between 8-10 pages, where photos are in different sizes with individual short caption. For each island, extra information is added explaining on how to reach the place in terms of the best time to visit and the mode of transport to reach the island.

Few pages at the back of the book cover important contacts that the author recommended to communicate, including useful websites. It also contains a map showing the locations of each island as a table contents graphically laid out at the first few pages of the book for easy browsing. When I finally finished reading the book, the first thing that entered my mind was on the decision of the author to embark visiting these places in a span of 11 months. As a traveller, visiting a place is always motivated by fascinating features and priceless experience of being there in the island as described by others who have been there and also the promotional campaigns thru available on-line or printed materials. I am not sure if the author was persuaded by what others have said or what he had read about these islands. Maybe, as a travel writer, he was looking for distinct characteristics of each island that might encourage other people (like me) to experience what he had or maybe trying to persuade a segment of the urban society to visiting some places that they would never considered before. In order to understand the motivation of the author to publish these 40 islands, I decided to examine the characteristics of each island as being discussed by the author.

These are the interesting points that I have found out and vividly demonstrated in the images printed on it.

* The island has unspoiled beaches, wildlife (flora and fauna) or biological diversity.
* The island has interesting history, including the way of living: culture, tradition, settlements, inhabitants, religion and beliefs

* The island has unique geological formation that attracts people for climbing, cycling, walking

* The island has a archaeological significance, including sensitive marine environment with endangered species

* The island has beautiful landscape, including cityscape and urban form and architecture

* The island is accessible for all means of transport, especially by air

* The island has "photogenic" charisma - a delight for both professional and amateur photographers

I also observed that the quality of the images inside the book portrayed the significance of these places, without major alteration of the print. In other words, the photos do not bear any special effects which enhance the colour and presentation of the images. What you see in the pages of the book, are what you get when you visit these places - very natural view of people, structures, motion, textures, and surroundings. I was really impressed with images taken in Thailand, Fiji, Santa Barbara (USA), Sicily, Portugal, including the Philippines. Why this publication stands-out from the rest of the travel books that have read?

Aside from the reason of having visited the countries (not the islands) mentioned, the book is unique in a sense that the author gave his personal reflections about the travel as well as the photographer captured the natural sceneries thru the images. There was a chemistry between the writer and the photographer to bring out the best features of these islands - to captivate the hearts of travellers like me - destined to explore the planet Earth. In a way, it serves as a travel guide as well but more on the aspects of the physical features of the islands - exploring the unspoiled beauty.

Are you hopeful that you have already visited some of these places during your holidays or are you planning to visit them in months to come and still undecided to have it a go as your next top priority holiday destination? Well, personally I have only visited 2 of the islands, namely: Stockholm (Sweden) and Hongkong (China) out of the 40 places mentioned in the book. But Im desperately dying to explore the rest before I die especially the following: Bacuit Archipelago, Palawan (Philippines), Big Island (Hawaii), Phang Nga Bay Island (Thailand), Bali (Indonesia), Ibiza and Formentera (Spain), and the Society Islands (French Polynesia). It is an unforgettable reading this book that provided me a glimpse of beautiful places that Mother Earth can offer. Despite the economic crunch, everybody deserves one or two places to visit before the year ends.

UNFORGETTABLE ISLANDS, unforgettable places, unforgettable moments and memorable experience of a life time await everyone!

A challenging priesthood life...

I got a copy of the book personally from the author himself. James (Jim) Kennedy had the opportunity to work and live in the Philipppines as a priest more than 30 years ago. The book accounts his personal struggles to serve God, his survival against the political and social system in the country. It is a human journey of facing difficulties and challenges to uphold his faith and beliefs while helping Filipino communities (north part of Metro Manila) with their daily lives.

Religion was an intellectual as well as an emotional experience. It had to be offered as something which could be accepted and rejected, and that meant that there should be dialogue about it.

Filipinos in general don't go in for 365-day-a-year or 52-weeks-a year religion. They do go in for 15-days-a-year religion - Easte (five days), Christmas (nine days), the town fiesta (one day) - and when they celebrate them, they do it in style.

... If you're clear in your mind about what you're going to paint, there's no sense in painting it. Our work should always be uncovering surprises, new options, new necessities. We should gear ourselves to life so that its Pandora's box confronts us, teases us, frightens us, awes us and shocks us into becoming bigger and better, albeit a bit more furrowed.

James Patterson's characters say...

The tiger was an enigma in every way, a mystery no one had ever solved. Actually, there were no tigers in Africa, which was how he got his nickname. He was like no other, one of a kind, superior to all the other animals, especially humans. (Cross Country)

You can't hold me here. I'm stronger than you. I'm stronger than the whole system. You can't judge me. (Judge and Jury)

Maybe I'll make a deeply disturbing film, like An Inconvenient Truth, or The Road to Guantanamo. Call it, Never See the Sun Again. Play it in all the art houses here in the East. Get the bleeding hearts on my side. (Double Cross)

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My Best Read...Find out why!

This is the list of my fav read since I started collecting books when I was in Australia in 2002. The authors allow me to love their characters, inspire me on their style of writing, and building up my interest in the category of their stories mostly in suspense and thriller genre, including stories about family values, relationships, friendships and sexuality.

1. Kane and Abel - Jeffrey Archer
2. Sons of Fortune - Jeffrey Archer
3. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
3. The Arrival of Fergal Flynn - Brian Kennedy
4. Roman Song - Brian Kennedy
5. Toad Heaven - Morris Gleitzman
6. Angels and Demons - Dan Brown
7. Second Glance - Jodi Picoult
8. Maximum Ride (The Angel Experiment) - James Patterson
9. The Prodigal Daughter - Jeffrey Archer
10. The Other Hand - Chris Cleave
11. The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
12. Marley and Me - John Grogan

I am a fan of Jeffrey Archer stories but Kane and Abel and Sons of Fortune are my best read - with mix of emotions. I like James Patterson's story of Alex Cross, including his Max (Angel Experiment) series. On the other hand, even though I read alot of Harlan Coben and Mary Higgins Clark novels, unfortunately, I coud not remember what stories stand out to be included in my fav list, but all of them are worth reading. I have a strong interest in short stories such like Different Seasons (Stephen King), including A Twist in Tale and Twelve Red Herrings of Jeffrey Archer.

Billy the kid... the Prince of Wales

I don't like the attention. I feel uncomfortable with it, but I have particularly appreciated being left alone at Eton, which has allowed me to concentrate on my school work and enjoy being with my friends without being followed by cameras.

The living conditions here aren't exactly what I used to... You dont have any secrets. You have everything with everyone. I found it very difficult myself to start with because I am a very private person. But I learnt to deal with it.

But William's copybook remains unblotted and while his popular image as a handsome young Prince in touch with the people provides the royal soap opera with a genuine hero, William remains the monarchy's hope and future.

The ecstasy-cyber girl

Sometimes TV talk shows serve as our source for new book releases like ‘Richard & Judy’ – the weekday afternoon show in Channel 4 (UK). I got the information of the book from the show as a recommended summer read.

Despite the fact I don’t know the author, Elisabeth Hyde (even her 3 previous novels: Crazy as Chocolate, Monoosook Valley and Her Native Colors), I grabbed a copy from Tesco (cost 3.73 pounds) and immediately let myself discover the story of this catchy title and cover lay-out of the book.

**THE STORY
The book tells us the story of the middle class family of Megan Thompson, the 19 year old daughter of Diana and Frank. As a typical teenager with personality, she is enjoying life to the fullest – college, boys, sex, drugs, popularity, etc. Her parents are well known professionals in the neighborhood: Diana as the Director for Reproductive Choice, a very successful surgeon and offering her services for women who want their few weeks-old babies aborted; and Frank who is workaholic and dedicated district attorney in his town with on-going investigation relating to illegal cyber sites. The family is not different to others – having domestic problems: raising kids, careers, money, etc. Megan is in the middle of the family crisis especially when her mother died – murdered inside their house. The sudden death brought implications to her father's work, her mother’s profession, her former boyfriend, Bill and significantly to herself. As the investigation progresses, the family becomes the ‘talk of the town’ and everyone speculates that Frank is the prime suspect! Aside from Frank, Detective Huck Berlin (with his partner, Ernie) who happens to be handling the case also identified possible suspects, including Reverend Steven O’Connell, one of the supporters of the Lifeblood Coalition – a group of people against Diana’s profession, and the ‘meth’ lab gang that supplies elicit drugs to Diana as Bill’s story. To some extent, the case also affected Huck’s personal life which brought to a sudden break-up with his girlfriend. Is it a happy family ending? Well, it is a typical family story of “Without a Trace” TV series in Channel 4.


**LESSON
The book covers real- to-life family problems as being faced by parents, especially the mothers. It tells us how the mother coped with her husband (saving the relationship after the death of her young son) and raising her beautiful daughter, without jeopardizing her career. Parents will always protect their children, no matter what the consequences are, as long as the family will be happy together. This brings back to my attention to Richard Templar book, The Rules of Life about ‘partnership and family rules’ such as: “Check you both have the same shared goals”, “Treat your partner better than your best friend”, “Never be too busy for loved one”, “There are no bad children”, and “Give your kids responsibilities”.

Well, Im just lucky that even though I came from a big family of 6 brothers and 3 sisters, my parents (especially my Mum as a ‘fulltime’ mother) was/were able to brought us as responsible individuals. I am still single so I don’t have hands-on experience in raising children, but I was able to help my parents in raising my younger siblings, until now even Im away from home.

Without any doubt, being a parent is one of the most difficult and challenging tasks to be accomplished. Some succeeded, but others failed! Again, that is the essence of living… move on and do not dwell on the past and failures… stand up and try again and ‘re-push the button’ for new beginning – a new life for being a better person!

On the other hand, technically, I was not impressed the way the story was written. I feel like that Im only reading a story adapted from a TV series like as I mentioned earlier, “Without a Trace”. There is “no suspense” at all, considering that this deals with a crime – a murder of a well known medical practitioner. It did not give a good impression to me despite the fact that story tackles some controversial issues in the world (abortion and drugs). I detected some loopholes or inconsistencies in the organization of the book itself such as using Part 1, Part 2, etc. with the month headings, and some initial chapters within that particular Part did not really occur on that indicated period. I feel that there are important events that need to be written; unfortunately the author did it “hanging” which the readers tend to guess or assume it.

My personal judgment over the book is that Im comparing this novel with the works of Mary Higgins Clark who happens to be the best female novelist (family drama/suspense/thriller/crime in America. Nevertheless, I give the full credit to Ms Hyde for raising these issues of drugs and porno cyber sites for parents to remind their young/teenage children to get away from it; and most importantly reminding us (especially the young adults) to be responsible human beings to face the consequences for being reckless of not using "contraceptives" for birth control or unexpected pregnancies!

The Shadow of the wind... witty and full of words of wisdom

Presents are made for the pleasure of who gives them, not for the merits of who receives them.

...but sometimes one feels freer speaking to a stranger than to people one knows... probably because a stranger sees us the way we are, not as he wishes to think we are.

All the remains in my memory is the touch of her lips and, when I half opened my eyes, the secret oath I carried with me on my skin and I would remember all the days of my life

Daniel became obsessed with the true identity of the author - his everlasting love to Penelope. He was drawn to Julian's life that led him to the shadows of Julian's past and present. Discovering Julian Carax persona, Daniel also discovered his own demons and to fight for his love to Bea!

Time travelling is exciting but dangerous...

Henry can travel in time and mostly visiting his past life which led him to meet his future wife. It is a mix of fantasy and love story that appeals to every reader.

Unfortunately, not a happy ending but the connection between Henry and Clare will continue in the presence of their daughter, Alba.

Every minute of his life since then has been marked by her absence, every action has lacked dimension because she is not there to measure against... I know, how absence can be present, like a damaged nerve, like a dark bird.

"Well, whoever you are, Im here now. You may be Henry's past, but I'm his future"

Man's best friend

The book is nominated in two categories for the 2006 Quill Book Award: the audio-book and biography/memoir categories finalist, including the Book of the Year award.

WHEN I WAS in Logan International Airport‘s (Boston) waiting lounge, a male passenger who seated besides me was carrying this book and I personally asked him if it is a good read. He politely replied that he has not started reading it and the reason why he bought it at the airport is because it’s on sale and a ‘bestseller‘. During the entire trip, I was thinking about the book as my next priority read. Unfortunately, I was not able to buy it; instead I got it from a friend who happened to be an active member of the bookcrossing.com group when I went back from my US vacation in summer 2006.

There are a series of reports of dog fatal attacks around the world and having this review might do a little repair to the damage and bring something good about having a dog in our homes.

Sit…jump…stop… good boy! These are familiar words from the master commanding his dog to do a series of tricks. Watching these tricks is amusing and a rewarding experience for the owner especially when the dog can immediately catch up with the commands. Otherwise, it is a frustrating effort to pursue these tricks which what John and Jenny Grogans are beginning to embark with their journey of having Marley, a dog in their marriage life.

The young couple who are both working as journalists in the local newspapers decided to have their own dog - a Labrador retriever! The dog got its name from a Jamaican singer (Bob Marley) who happened to record the couple’s favourite song. From a wiggly yellow fur ball puppy into a ninety-seven pound dog, Marley is the love of their life. But there is something unusual about Marley, contradicting to what Labrador is popular known as having the best quality breed of dogs. From crashing screen doors, eating various household products and to be expelled to the training school, Marley seems a hyper domestic pet. And even the veterinarian has to prescribe a tranquillizer for him to slow down and behave like a young normal retriever.

Even being tagged as a ‘worst dog’, Marley is just an ordinary pet. He can do what a dog is expected to do: being loyal to the Grogans’ family during happy and sad moments; a protector during house threats; and be ‘popular’ after his first movie appearance. Through the years, despite the hard works of the Grogans, Marley is always there to share his bigger-than-life personality and happy-go-lucky spirit - as one of the members of the Grogan family.

THIS IS MY FIRST TIME to read a book where a ‘pet’ is the main character based on real life and written by the owner himself, Mr John Grogan. Interestingly, the story is well written having actual accounts for being an owner of a Lab. John being a journalist has able to explain effortlessly how he and his wife made a big decision to have Marley in their lives.

John, being the author and the master of Marley provides the readers a complete perspective of having a worst dog and at the same time having a happy married life. His patience and perseverance making Marley his best dog is in futile, but on the other hand his friendship proves for being Marley as a loyal, wonderful, and memorable dog. He perfectly describes his struggles to making Marley an ideal Lab. Funny and embarrassing moments with his dog are authentic as readers could possibly connect themselves how these events unfold.

John’s wife, Jenny is also plays an important role in the story, aside from being instrumental to have Marley in their lives, but her support to John’s work-related decisions and family matters make their marriage intact. For Marley’s portrayal as the real pet of the family reminds me of my outlook in life – enjoy it and take a little risk of doing things.

I don’t have any dull moments reading this book which gives me the eagerness to finish it - from preface up to the last page of its acknowledgment. The content structure is straightforward which I could follow the significant events of the story covered within the 29 sections of the book. One of the highlights of this is that, the author conveys his mixed emotions to his readers effectively, particularly narrating the stages when he patiently learned his dog‘s behaviours and somehow be more realistic to deal with it. Consequently, I believe that this is very useful for people who desperately want to have a dog, with lovable qualities like the Labrador retriever breed; but unfortunately it does not happen all the times. In particular, the author expresses his high and low moments of being a dog keeper, the struggle to be sensible with the family needs without losing Marley. Most importantly, the author provides basic facts about Labrador retriever inherited qualities which only prove that this class of dog is really a man’s best friend! The other issue that the author discussed in the story is how he managed to accept the final moment of Marley’s health. His brave decision is something heartbreaking and maybe not everybody will agree on it.

The experience of John to raise Marley is an astonishing story that everyone could relate, especially for those who have share their unconditional love to their pets. As a reflection, I heard a lot of stories about couples/families who decided to have pets instead of raising their own children. It may seems weird but they argue that raising pets is a rewarding experience of having their timeless loyalty and respect, while having kids where there is no guarantee that after raising them could return back the love they showered to them. Somehow I could relate this argument in our society now. My friends working in the nursing homes and other elderly-caring institutions have shared to me the current plight of the older people when their families (children) and relatives do not bother to pay visit or totally abandoned them for years. Ironically, family members could only be seen in the bedsides when inheritance is being distributed and during the funeral arrangements. Fortunately, John and Jenny decided both, 3 children and a dog.

The big difference of this story from my readings in the past is that, it stands-out because the author offers me the chance to walk through in his journey as a Lab keeper and have a close encounter with an unpredictable hyper dog!

His life with Marley reminds us of our own lives - the good and the bad times! Life is too short with full of surprises. Everyone has one life to live, thus have it memorable and exciting.

FINALLY, this is also the story of loyalty of the master of Marley, John himself - a true and compassionate friend indeed! If Marley could only be able to speak to the Grogans family, he will probably say… ‘I love you and thank you for everything. You will always have a place in my doggy heart!’

A hero might fail but he never gives up...

This is not a fairy tale. I keep this to remind me that life isn't a fairy tale. Things don't happen by magic, or by wishing on a star. It takes hard work, discipline, control.

With all the time in the world at his command, he has the power to rescue millions. But what will it take to save the one life that means the most?

Stairway to Heaven

THIS IS THE SECOND INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER from Mitch Albom after the released of ‘Tuesdays with Morrie’ which gave him a good reputation for being an inspirational writer.

We have different concept of heaven. My first concept is derived from my volunteer teacher in Catechism, who provided me the fundamental understanding of God and the life with no end in heaven. With Albom’s book, it gives me a different perspective of heaven when his main character, Eddie died accidentally at the age of 83.

Edward (Eddie) is a war veteran, widower and no children. Prior to the tragic accident, he is a maintenance/repair man in an amusement park, Ruby Pier. He is responsible in overseeing the day-to-day operations of all the rides – making them safe to everyone. One day without any sign or premonition, he was killed while saving an eight year girl from the falling cart of one of the rides. A typical after death experience, Eddie woke up with a surprise that he is feeling differently and unusual things happening before his eyes. While trying to comprehend on what is going on, he is directed to five different people (The Blue Man, the Captain, Ruby, his late wife Marguerite and the young girl, Tala) that three of them were strangers whom he haven’t met during his life on earth.

The brief explanation for each Eddie’s encounter or journey to reach his final ‘home’ called heaven is not giving you the excitement of the book, but rather giving you a quick look of the lesson that Eddie learned from each individual he met. Also, it provides a better perspective of the characters directly or indirectly involved while Eddie is still alive.

The first acquaintance with the Blue Man is really a heart-breaking part of the story. It crashed my heart, knowing the life of the Blue Man as a nervous young boy and became an abnormal freaky person. The lesson learned by Eddie from this meeting: “Eddie realised that no life is a waste. The only time we waste is the time we spend thinking we are alone”.

The second person is with the Captain. Eddie was able to serve the army and this is the reason why he is limping due to a gunshot which the Captain has important to tell him. The flashback of Eddie’s life as a soldier is quite an inspiration – he learned so many things. Eddie learned a lesson: “He found out that sacrifice is part of life, either little or big. It’s not something to regret. It’s something to aspire to”.

The park owner’s wife, Ruby is Eddie’s third unexpected visit. Ruby explained how the amusement park turned to reality which made a significant impact to Eddie’s life, particularly to his father. Eddie did learn from it: “He learned that holding anger is a poison and hatred is a curved blade – the harm we do, we do to ourselves”.

The fourth person that Eddie met is his loving wife. For Eddie, seeing his beloved wife is an emotional situation. Memories flashed over him – the happy moments being together.
What is the lesson learned? “Eddie found his lost love in a different form. He also learned that life has to end while love does not”.

The last unexpected meeting is Tala, the young girl who that Eddie could not understand her significance to his life. Again the last lesson learned: “Eddie took it for granted his popular name, ‘Eddie Maintenance’ and the value of his work in the amusement park – keeping children safe”.

THE STORY is presented in 208 pages which divided it into three main parts: the encounters of Eddie with the five people, the lessons learned from those meetings, and the highlights during his birthday celebrations in the past 83 years. The author gives vivid descriptions of every detail of the meeting – the location, the emotion of every character, and the significance of why Eddie is destined to talk to them. This is a light read but full of wisdom and encouragement which I believe could probably enlighten you up in some way or another and brings a different perspective in your life at the moment.

It is a delightful surprise that the author featured the character of Tala, the young Asian girl who happened to be a Filipino (my nationality); and featuring basic Filipino words such as ‘sundalo’ (soldier), ina (mother), baro (dress), bakya (cloglike shoes), banig (bamboo mat), saya (skirt) and even the name herself, Tala which means ‘star’. Reading these words from the book gives me a big smile and thinking on how Albom managed to use them to highlight the event where it happened. It also brings a comical scene on how the young girl introduced herself by describing her clothes, but suddenly becomes melancholy when she explained to Eddie her fate inside the burning ‘nipa hut’(barn).

It is a powerful story depicting how our life on earth is interconnected with events and people. Surprisingly, I felt that Eddie’s meetings are also my very first encounters with these five strangers and provided me to understand the meaning of life – the human existence. There is so much to learn from this book that Albom did it perfectly to inspire us and value our stay on earth – put meanings to our life!

The author also reminded us how forgiveness as a powerful word that moves every hardened heart to soften. It is a magical expression of love and understanding that takes away all the fears, anger and hatred in our hearts.

LIFE IS TOO SHORT ENJOY IT!

I am impressed...

...another intriguing crime and law enforcement story after Archer's
imprisonment!

“False Impression” (2005) is much more interesting to read compare to the former (Shall We…), considering that the latter has something to do with 911 (Sep 11) bombing in New York, and I think everybody has still the vivid memory of what happened on that day when America cried!

There are 8 main characters in the story headed by the beautiful, athletic, artist, intelligent, successful, honest and ambitious woman, Dr Anna Petrescu working in a bank (Fenston Finance) located in one of the Twin Towers. Her life is in danger on the final stage of the negotiation/transaction with her new client, Lady Victoria Wentworth, the daughter of the late General Sir Harry Wentworth (Earl of Wentworth) in London. Unfortunately, without the knowledge of Anna, the heiress died before the 911 bombing and she is set to meet her to discuss the final arrangement for the debts and inheritance, including the art collection – one of them is the art of Van Gogh. Another problems strike – Anna was fired by her boss in connection of the transaction, and while she is leaving the office in the North Tower, she encountered the ‘life and death’ episode when an aircraft hit the Twin Towers! Her survival from the tragedy leads her to carry-on the negotiation with the twin sister of the heiress, Lady Arabella Wentworth without the knowledge of her former boss.

On the other hand, her boss a successful New York banker, Bryce Fenston and his sole adviser, Karl Leapman are happy on the things happening which makes the transaction easy for them to continue the unfinished business deal of Anna – the same plan similar to what they have done in their previous clients. It is interesting to know that these guys are hiding something about their illegal businesses in the past. On the other hand, detective and FBI agent, Jack Delaney is assigned to re-open the cases against Anna’s boss, subsequently Anna’s herself after the death of Lady Victoria. The fifth player in the story is Olga Krantz, the former Olympic gymnast being hired by Mr Fenston to do the leg-works of killing those innocent clients! The twin sister of the client, Arabella plays an important role in the later part of the story, especially in the final negotiation of the inheritance, including the Japanese businessman (steel magnate), Mr Nakamura who is interested to acquire the painting of Van Gogh, even it will cost him 50 million dollars. He also convinced Anna to work with his foundation. Moreover, Anna’s officemate and best friend, Tina Forster is also a key player in the story that helped Anna to recover the painting from Mr Fenston.

There is so much to learn from the book which leads to answer questions about the drive or intention of each character in the story. For example, why Anna stole the painting and brought it to her home country and her former boss is desperate to find her despite the fact that she is already in the list of people died in the 911 bombing? As the story progresses, I created several IMPRESSIONS for each character. To some extent, my first impressions about them are FALSE. Thus, I somewhat jumped to conclusion of why things are happening or why these characters are doing this or doing that.

For instance, why Anna is desperate to go back to her country (Romania) carrying the red box containing the painting, or why Tina Forster (honours graduate) is working with a corrupt boss; or even Lady Arabella (twin sister of the heiress) and Mr Nakamura (Japanese businessman) are very friendly with Anna, or what motivates Tina help Anna to carry on with the negotiation despite the danger being the private secretary of Anna’s boss?; why Detective Delaney is very interested to further investigate Anna’s whereabout after the bombing, and also eager to locate an old guest house called Romanian Club that links to a mysterious key of a safety deposit box No.13; or why Lady Arabella was able to close the deal for the painting worth 50 million dollars with the Japanese businessman, even Van Gogh’s masterpiece was destroyed by Krantz?

And most importantly, why the photograph taken during the day of the memorial service in the Twin Towers’ area - showing Mr Fenston (Anna’s boss) having a shake hand with the US President (Bush) as the ultimate sole evidence for the conviction in Lady Victoria’s murder?

Well, even the PAINTING (Portrait de L’Artiste San Barbe, self-portrait) itself has its own mystery that gives a ‘FALSE IMPRESSION’ to the artists and painting collectors… And the intriguing TITLE OF THE BOOK also makes a wrong impression to the readers as well. Mr Archer proves again that he is one of the greatest storytellers in the 21st century. This is a new literary work which somewhat different from his traditional stories.

On the other hand, the story reminds me of my interest in arts and my hobby of collecting big posters (movies, portrait, and landscapes); and jigsaw puzzles, coaster (Im not a drinker) and my paintings as well.

It also reminds me of my personal appreciation to visit museums and galleries to view some magnificent works of prominent artists around the world like the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Michael Angelo, Picasso, Raphael, Botticelli, etc. To date, I have not even purchase any of these masterpieces, even a ‘CLONE’ (fake) of one of them. But my wish, maybe someday I could own one!