176. Ms Ice Sandwich by Mieko Kawakami

BOOK REVIEW: Ms Ice Sandwich by Mieko Kawakami (courtesy of Pansing)

Japanese stories are cute and short and to me, they hold enough essence to make you feel what the author is trying to tell without overdoing things. This is one such story by Mieko Kawakami. What attracted me at first sight was the cover which was oh-so-cute and attractive. 

Ice Sandwich here is not ice cream sandwich though, don't be fooled. It means sandwiches kept in a cooler like chilled egg mayo sandwiches and cold chicken salad sandwiches. Ms Ice Sandwich seems to lack social graces, but our young narrator is totally smitten with her. He is in awe of her aloofness, her skill of slipping sandwiches into bags, and most electric of all, her ice-blue eyelids (no prizes for guessing where part of the title is from).

Every day he is drawn to the supermarket just to watch her in action. But life has a way of interfering - there is his mother, forever distracted, who can tell the fortunes of women; his grandmother, silently dying, who listens to his many musings; and his classmate, Tutti, no stranger to pain, who shares her private thrilling world to him.

Most of the young urchins today can relate to this story: preoccupied parents, loss of a dear family member and infatuations for people who normally aren't accepted by others as normal. It actually made me shed a few drops of tears as the young narrator spilled his feelings all over the pages of the book.

Tender, warm, yet unsentimental, this book is a tale about new starts, parents who have departed, and the importance of saying goodbye. I loved this book and highly recommend it to those who want a fresh read besides those from Western writers.

175. Murder, Interrupted: Shocking True-crime Cases by James Patterson

BOOK REVIEW: Murder, Interrupted - Shocking True-crime Cases by James Patterson (courtesy of Pansing)

Ahhhh....what's better than a good book complete with the most macabre murders that you can ever imagine? Twisted thinking you might think...when you read this book your mind becomes equally twisted at just how foul murder can actually be.

Derived from the television series Murder is Forever, the two gruesome stories in this book are brought to life through the tip of his pen making these true cases jump out at you at the worse possible moments.

In the first story, Murder, Interrupted, rich, cheating financier Frank Howard wants his wife dead, and he's willing to pay Billie Earl Johnson whatever it takes. When the bullet misses the mark, Billie and Frank will turn on each other in a fight for their lives.

For Mother of all Murders, you will be wondering how a mother's mentally sick ways almost killed her daughter and how the tables are turned on her. Dee Dee Blancharde is a local celebrity. Television reports praise her as a single mother who tirelessly cares for her wheelchair-bound, chronically ill daughter. When Gypsy Rose realises she isn't actually sick and Dee Dee has lied all these years, the daughter exacts her revenge by murdering her mother.

Reading this book made me feel queasy and utterly at unease because I never knew how criminally charged are the brains of these cold-hearted murderers. Imagine being shot in the face and being left to die but you survive the harrowing ordeal though you are in pieces. 

Unputdownable, this book is great for those who love a good murder novel made even better as these are actually true crime cases. Highly recommended, I'd give this book a 5/5!

174. Howl: Everything the Modern Werewolf Needs to Know by Serena Valentino

BOOK REVIEW: Howl - Everything the Modern Werewolf Needs to Know by Serena Valentino

Books, movies on the silver screen and many other influences have romanticized werewolves, good and bad, and left an imprint on much of the younger generation. There is much attraction (especially from girls) when these shapeshifters are around. Maybe one among us is a werewolf...If the answer is a hushed yes for fear of being hunted down, this book is the one for you.

This book is a claws-on guide for today's lycanthrope (ability to change into a wolf). For those who have yearned to run wild and free, howl at the moon or join a pack of bloodthirsty wolves, this book reveals:

• Time-tested techniques for controlling your transformation.
• Shocking secrets of real-life werewolves.
• All the amazing powers that await lycanthropes.

In the first part, Unleashing Your Wild Side, it portrays what type of werewolves there are, the signs of werewolf transformation and other werewolf characters and instincts. Part two, The Stylish Lycanthrope, details how werewolves can remain stylish among human company, decorate their homes to suit their needs and much more. Moonlight Mastery relates werewolves in movies, books, folklore and fairy tales for more information on these sexy and mysterious creatures of the night. 

If you have a dormant werewolf in you, I suggest you read this book to release your inner beast. I have unlocked mine and seen its wondrous talents and superpowers. Time for the change!

173. In The Devil's Garden: A Sinful History of Forbidden Food by Stewart Lee Allen

BOOK REVIEW: In The Devil's Garden - A Sinful History of Forbidden Food by Stewart Lee Allen

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. This famous saying paints a positive connotation of the humble fruit, but did you know it was once so blasphemous to eat that it was considered sinful? Piqued your curiosity, haven't I? This frolicking read relates the history of food that was and sometimes still are taboo.

Deliciously organized by the Seven Deadly Sins (lust, gluttony, pride, sloth, greed, blasphemy and anger), here is a scintillating history of forbidden foods through the ages - and how these mouthwatering taboos have defined cultures around the world.

From the lusciously tempting fruit in the Garden of Eden (the aforementioned apple, it got stuck in Adam's throat when he ate it to become the 'Adam's apple') to the divine foie gras (deliciously unctuous goose liver), the author engagingly illustrates that when a pleasure as primal as eating is criminalized, there is often an astonishing tale to tell.

Among the foods thought to encourage lust, the love apple (now known as the tangy tomato) was thought until the 19th century to possess demonic spirits. The gluttony 'course' invites the reader to an ancient Roman dinner party where nearly every dish served - from poppy-crusted rodents to "Trojan Pork" - was considered a crime against the state.

The vice known as sloth introduces the sad story of the "lazy root" (the potato), whose popularity in Ireland led British moralists to claim that the Great Famine was God's way of punishing the Irish for eating a food that breed degeneracy and idleness.

Filled with incredible food history anthropology and the author's travels to many exotic locales, this tome also features recipes like the matzo-ball stews outlawed by the Spanish Inquisition and the forbidden "chocolate champagnes" of the Aztecs. 

This is truly a delectable book that will be consumed by food lovers, culinary historians, amateur anthropologists and armchair travelers alike. I loved this book so much that I continued reading day and night.