Moon River

"What qualities do you want in a guy?"

I never quite know how to answer that question. Heck, I can't even imagine what my so-called Prince Charming would look or be like.

I just know I probably wouldn't want him to be Prince Charming. Those guys have all got royal egos.

Yeah, I'm romantic that way.Lol.

... But it's definitely a plus if he wants to be my huckleberry friend :)

You & I

You and I//Ingrid Michaelson

Let's get rich

And give everybody nice sweaters

And teach them how to dance.

So sweet I wanna melt. ♥

The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book//Neil Gaiman

Rating: 3/5

I truly want to love a Neil Gaiman story; to feel for it as deeply as I know his fans do. I've heard it's a life-changing experience, but it's one that has eluded me thus far.

So to be absolutely frank, I still don't get the hype surrounding a Gaiman book. I've read about 2 or 3 I think, including one which he co-wrote with Terry Pratchett, who does happen to be one of my favourite authors.

They weren't bad, but I didn't exactly connect very well with them either. Perhaps I've just got very little patience for certain kinds of descriptive prose - I can't get past page 1 of a Robert Jordan book without wanting to hurl myself off a cliff.

The story at the core of The Graveyard Book is certainly original and fascinating; in Gaiman's masterful hands, the graveyard turns into a homely and perfectly cosy place to grow up in. That's no mean feat.

My grouse, as I mentioned, is with the prose which I felt to be ploddingly slow at times. And I remember having the same problem with Anansi Boys too. But Gaiman is a good author, I tell myself, a wordsmith; he strings words together so beautifully. That's something I've got to admit.

Oh Gaiman. I've come to a conclusion that maybe, like the infamous saying, it's not you but me.

'12 Honour Roll

2012's honour roll is a little late this time round but hey, better late than never right? Right.

Note that selections were not necessarily released/published/burped out in 2012; they're just what I consider my best discoveries of the year, or the ones which I really connected with.

Moving on... *drum roll*

Song of the year: Ready To Go//Panic! At The Disco

I've fallen head over heels with P!ATD's 2011 album, Vices & Virtues. It's got this dramatic yet spirited appeal which reeled me in hook, line and sinker - catchy beats, smart lyrics, a little touch of eccentricity... they're all present by the bucket loads.

Movie of the year: Skyfall

Sorry Pi. Nothing I saw in 2012 was as spectacular, visceral, moving, well-written and oh what the heck - almost everything about the movie was great.

Needlessly staggering body counts usually turn me off, but that and the gripping suspense (swear there were a few scenes I was hiding behind my palms) weren't enough to distract me from the bigger picture. And what a resplendent picture it was - in a gritty, hard-hitting sort of way. There's also the fabtastic opening sequence which has got to be one of bestest in Bond land. Ever.

Book of the year: (It's a tie >.< )

The Evolution of Mara Dyer//Michelle Hodkin

Anna Dressed In Blood//Kendare Blake

Marni Bates' Awkward and Melina Marchetta's Saving Francesca (I gave this 5-stars on Goodreads, so you know it's super awesome!) are noteworthy mentions. I passed those over for these two as I felt these fared better over the test of time and memory.

Anna and Mara's stories still live on vividly in my mind, and Anna's in particular was a heart-wrenching gust of fresh air. I guess when push comes to shove, I make the best emotional connections with contemporary YAs, but the ones that capture my imagination the most are still fantasies/horrors/dystopians/thrillers... those with a little more bite to them.

Book cover of the year: A Million Suns//Beth Revis

Purdy awesome cover. What can I say, I've got a thing for galactic motifs. Find out what I thought of the book here.

Fear

Zeus knows how many times this has gotten me out a tight spot.

So tempted to say 'amen', lol :P

Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear

Dune//Frank Herbert

(http://imgur.com/MhWh9?tags)

Nostalgic Keys

There is, in all honesty, only a handful of songs that inspire me to linger at a corner of the upstairs sitting room where my neglected piano resides.

Piano lessons were one of those things that were fashionable (and perhaps some would say appropriate) for a shy, rather lonely girl with a mind that's constantly wandering. Stubbornness, a sentimental streak and dogged refusal to throw in the towel saw me through a decade of tear-fraught lessons with 5 hard-fought grades to show for it.

Needless to say I'm not a good pianist. I don't have the patience and concentration to keep working on melodies without words, and I've never really found appreciation for classical music - definitely not a desirable recipe of traits for someone training as a classical musician.

Sometimes though, nostalgia and a really inspirational assembly of notes make me wish I tried harder at mastering the ol' black-and-white keys.


A Drop In The Ocean//Ron Pope

  River Flows In You//Yiruma
Yiruma's my absolute favourite instrumental maestro. I'm so tempted to string together words and be the lyricist to his compositions; they're always just so exquisitely beautiful and hauntingly elegant. The keys to my soul.

Bookgasm

Ahh, the sigh of a dwindling bank balance. My poison? Not shoes, random beautifying contraptions or a pricey new chunk of technology.

(I can't add clothes to the list as technically, I did lay down a small investment in the wardrobe department :P )

It's books, baby! I'm very broke but oh gosh... I've scored amazing finds from Big Bad Wolf (BBW) Books last month. Check out their FB page here!

Held at Mines Convention Centre from 7-23 December, the mom and I managed to squeeze in 3 visits - over three weekends - which we felt was worth the 35-40 min drive each way. New books kept being added to the pool and we snagged titles which weren't available on our previous visit(s).

Here's my stash. (click on photos to enlarge)

Round 1, 9th December:

Terry Pratchett - Eric

Paul Torday - Salmon Fishing In The Yemen 

Jostein Gaarder - The Christmas Mystery

Anthology - Midsummer Nights

Richard Mason - The World Of Suzie Wong (remember the show? :P )

Keigo Higashino - The Devotion Of Suspect X

Alexander McCall Smith - The Full Cupboard Of Life

Alexander McCall Smith - The Good Husband Of Zebra Drive

Carlos Ruiz Zafon - The Prince Of Mist

Melina Marchetta - Finnikin Of The Rock

Anne Rice - The Queen Of The Damned

Anthony Horowitz - The House Of Silk

Jeffrey Archer - Paths Of Glory

Round 2, 15th December:

Ian Fleming - Octopussy And The Living Daylights

Charlotte Ward - It's Not Me, It's You

Neil Gaiman - The Graveyard Book

Ruta Sepetys - Between Shades of Gray (not 50 shades of gray :P)

Susan Cooper - The Dark Is Rising

Yasutaka Tsutsui - The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

John Green - Paper Towns

Round 2, 23rd December:

Madeleine L'Engle - An Acceptable Time

Rebecca Skloot - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Madeleine L'Engle - A Wrinkle In Time

Ian Fleming - From Russia With Love

Yasutaka Tsutsui - Salmonella Men On Planet Porno

Banana Yoshimoto - The Lake

Susan Cooper - The Dark Is Rising:The Complete Sequence

So happy to have picked up Banana Yoshimoto's The Lake! I was seriously contemplating ordering it from Book Depository, where it's retailing for a grand total of $15.15 (US dollars; I got mine for RM8). Yay! :D

Oh, and you're not seeing double - that's two copies of The Dark Is Rising. Long story short, I can't find my  old copy of the book, so I got it during Round 2. During Round 3, I found all 5 books in the series squeezed into one very bulky tome, so I got that too. 1. I love the series to bits, and 2. I've misplaced most of my individual copies. :(

I'm sure they'll turn up over time, but both these books cost RM15 in total, which is a lot less than what I bought most of my other copies for, save The Dark Is Rising and The Grey King, which I got ages ago from a used book store. You really never know what treasures you'll dig up when hunting for a good bargain.

That, to me, is a true bookgasm!