Sometimes...

Sometimes life sends your way people with so much passion and energy in them, you can't help but feel inspired to become a better person.

(Even though it makes you feel a little small when you measure yourself up against their innumerable accomplishments.)

Step by step, day by day, I'll aspire to get off my bum and do my best too. :P

Somewhere Out There

Strange, I'm not even a fan of Bruno Mars but I seem to be on a roll. Maybe it's got something to do with my fondness for Mars and Mars bars ;)

I super ♥ Somewhere in Brooklyn. The rhythm's catchy and the lyrics are, well, lyrical. Plus, it's so very infectious and brimming with hope!

My feet can't stop tapping, my body starts grooving on its own and I want to dance around and sing this whenever I hear it!

I know he's out there somewhere, waiting to be found :)

Little Miss Perfect 

Sitting at the train stop

Red Nike high tops

Listening to Hip Hop

It's unfair she's out there

Somewhere, somewhere in Brooklyn.

When Music & Books Collide II

Heard Talking to the Moon at work today and it struck me that the song's so Lola and the Boy Next Door.

Just, the book's less creepy. Bruno Mars writes some seriously emo-obsessed-stalker lyrics (Grenade, anyone?)  :P

Here's to Lola, Cricket, and Lola's whimsical "Dear Moon, I've got something to say to you" quirkiness. Cheers!

I kid you not. She talks to the moon. Hmm, maybe I should try that too sometime :P

"For as long as I can remember, I've talked to the moon. Asked her for guidance."

Semi Road Trip ☀

Saturday's day out at Morib beach :)

Sun, sand, a gentle sea breeze,

little crustaceans out at play.

What's missing was more of the ocean,

which the tide had turned away.

(Bad attempt at so-called poetry :P )

When Music & Books Collide

Books and songs that go hand-in-hand:

Etienne and Anna. 

Anna loves the way her name sounds in his British accent, and Anna's choice to call him Etienne instead of St Clair's one of the book's turning points.

Thought of this first thing when I found out the name Etienne is the French equivalent of Stephen. 

Reminds me of the book's last chapter, every time ^^

Michelle Madow has said Remembrance is inspired by Taylor's Swift's Love Story :P

Love and Leftovers

My wish

is to fall

cranium over Converse

in dizzy, daydream-worthy

love.

(if only it were that easy.)

When her parents split, Marcie is dragged from Idaho to a family summerhouse in New Hampshire. She leaves behind her friends, a group of freaks and geeks called the Leftovers, including her emo-rocker boyfriend, and her father. By the time Labor Day rolls around, Marcie suspects this "vacation" has become permanent. She starts at a new school where a cute boy brings her breakfast and a new romance heats up.

But understanding love, especially when you've watched your parents' affections end, is elusive. What does it feel like, really? can you even know it until you've lost it?"

I'll be honest, I've got mixed feelings about this one.

So let's start with the positives. I can't recall if I have previously read a novel written in verse, hence I've a strong suspicion Love and Leftovers is my first. And it was less painful - much less painful - than I thought it would be.

That makes me really glad and it's drummed up my confidence to try Gayle Forman's If I Stay soon. I've heard so many good review of that novel, I'm afraid I'm in for a big let-down if I end up not liking it.

I've got to say though, it's amazing how well-chosen words could contain so much meaning, and for this I tip my hat to Sarah Tregay (from a writer-in-training to one that has mastered the art of concision).

Tregay's tender handling of the bunch of Leftovers - Marcie and her friends, and the novel's term for those students that don't seem to fit into any high school stereotypes - makes me wonder if she herself was one.

Marcie's circle of friends seem just the kind that I would have identified with. Indeed, I sort of fancy that my own clique in high school were Leftovers (although maybe my peers would have labelled us geeks :P).

I really love just how "real" and believable the story is. I can say from experience that it's difficult to find other like-minded fiends to click with when you're thrown into a new environment, so I could identify with Marcie and the emotional turmoil she faced at having to adjust to a new town/city and a new school.

Sure, she could have made some different decisions, but to tell you the truth, I don't know if I wouldn't have made the decisions Marcie did if I were in her situation. The same applies as well to Marcie's boyfriend Linus, her friends, and even the hot guy she has confused feelings for at her new school. After all, it's part of growing up - discovering where you belong and who you are, searching for the answers to the mysteries of love and sex, and just generally maturing as a person.

So what didn't I like about the novel? I started skimming at around the halfway point. Oh no. Maybe I was just too anxious to get to the end and find out how things turn out. But, I think it's because the story felt a little draggy by then.

While the bits in the the parts I skimmed over were necessary to tie up lose ends, my patience did wear thin after a while at having to keep reading lines after lines of verse, even though the verses themselves were not bad.

Perhaps it's just a matter of getting used to the rather unusual writing style. For that however, Love and Leftovers fell a little short of a truly delightful novel to me.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

I've got to learn not to get conned by striking, mysterious-looking book covers and rave net reviews.

It's always, "Surely this book must be as awesome as book bloggers and reviewers say it is. Oh look, even my favourite author is gushing about it. So. Must. Read!"

.... Then comes the inevitable let down.

The first time was Beth Revis' Across the Universe trilogy. Two books into the series and its lead characters still annoy me. Saying that, I do have a soft spot for the trilogy - even if it's a very small and discreet spot.

     

Daughter of Smoke and Bone didn't leave as much of an impression. Blame it on high expectations if you must. It's a 4.12/5 star book on Goodreads after all! And this book was #1 last year on Amazon's young adult book list.

What it's about:

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war. 

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

To be fair, the book actually started off quite all right. For 3/4 of the story, I thought "this is interesting, I can see why people say it's good".  The descriptions of Prague were beautiful, the prose elegant, and the characters and folklore well fleshed out. But something was still missing... which I hoped I would find as I continue reading.

Then it struck me: I wasn't getting pulled into DoSaB's world(s). Neither was I feeling as much as I would like to for Karou and Akiva. It was a struggle to connect. 

If anything, my favourite character was Brimstone, the tender and mysterious chimaera that raised Karou. Pity that he weaves in and out of the story and eventually disappears.

So by the time the book ended on a rather abrupt note, I was annoyed.Yes, DoSaB is part 1 of 3 books, but personally I feel that all books in a series should be self contained. 

You read the next book and then the next-next one to find out how the story continues, but you should also be able to enjoy a full story on its own in each book.

I may pick up Days of Blood and Starlight - book #2 - when it's out November 2012, or I may not. I'm just not too concerned.about it. I'm content to ogle the awesome book cover for now.

When pictures do the talking

Arimino Peace Prodesign Series Gloss Milk. 

The name's so technical for such a sweet-looking product~ ♥

SCAPE, Singapore.

What we found at SCAPE!

Soooooo cute I'm gonna die!! XD

Look who dropped by!

I've been going around without makeup lately; not even concealer ><

Messy Situation

Okay, confession time - I'm ridiculously sentimental and a pack rat too. Not a good combination. No no no no no!

I seem to think that if you hold on to something long enough, it'll become valuable - antiques are nothing more than glorified junk that's now defunct, aye? :P

So 1 corner (or 2, or 3) of my room always looks like a mini tornado swept through it. Always. And although this will sound weird, I actually really do hate clutter.

I just practise selective vision and filter out what I don't want to see.

When I do 'look', this is how I look...

And then you'll see me start stuffing things in drawers, taking stuff out of paper/plastic bags, hanging up my accessories, etc, like a xiao zha bo (mad woman).

True story :P

Hello Seattle

Gorgeous pic of Seattle's skyline.

Anyone knows where it's from so I can credit?

I've never fancied visiting Seattle...until I heard Owl City's Hello Seattle. Just like that, Seattle suddenly seems so beautiful.

Just realised today that there's 2 versions of the song. Me thinks the older version from Of June (EP) is so much prettier than the one in Ocean Eyes (Album).

What about you? :)

I especially love, love, love this part in Of June's version:

Take me above your light

Carry me through the night

Hold me secure in flight

Sing me to sleep tonight

Of June version

Ocean Eyes version