BOOK REVIEW: Foreign Body by Robin Cook
Since reading on autopsy, I have been piqued by diabolical crimes that are revealed by the medical examiners. Medical crimes have been rampant for quite some time. Angels of death are cases in which medical personnel murder their own patients through poisoning or other methods which are intrinsic, identification of the crime only able to be done through an autopsy.
This book delves further into the issue of succinylcholine poisoning such as in the famous Coppolino case years back in the States. The storyline will leave you on the edge of your seat till the last page.
Jennifer Hernandez is a fourth-year medical student at UCLA, just beginning an elective in general surgery, whose world is shattered during a break in an otherwise ordinary day. While relaxing in the surgical lounge of L.A.'s Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre, she half listens to a TV segment on medical tourism: first-world citizens travelling to third-world countries for surgery.
But when she hears her beloved grandmother's name mentioned, Jennifer's heart nearly stops: the CNN reporter says that Maria Hernandez has died, a day after undergoing a hip replacement in New Delhi's Queen Victoria Hospital.
Maria had raised Jennifer and her brothers from infancy, and the bond between grandmother and granddaughter was unbreakable. Still, the news that Maria travelled to India is a shock to Jennifer, until she realizes that it was the only viable option for the hardworking yet uninsured woman.
Devastated, and desperate for answers, Jennifer takes emergency leave from school and heads to India, where relations with local officials go from sympathetic to sour as she pushes for more information.
With revelations of other unexplained deaths compounded by pressure from Indian hospital officials for hasty cremations, Jennifer reaches out to her mentor, New York City medical examiner Dr. Laurie Montgomery, who has her own deep connection to Maria.
Laurie, along with her husband, Dr. Jack Stapleton, rushes to the younger woman's side, and discovers a sophisticated medical facility with little margin for error. As the death count grows, so do the questions, leading Laurie and Jennifer to unveil a sinister, multilayered conspiracy of global proportions.
I have only recently riveted by murder mysteries and thrillers. This novel certainly has made me dig in my heels deeper to continue these genres with a thirst.
BOOK REVIEW: Ripley's Believe It or Not! Planet Eccentric!
When I was a kid, I used to watch Ripley's Believe It or Not on television. The shows used to hold me enthralled in its grasp. Death-defying feats, animal intelligence and physical traits were just some of the oddities that this famous show revealed in all its glory.
Since then, a number of books have been released with even more updated oddities that will leave you bug-eyed wondering if its even possible. In Planet Eccentric, the book has been divided into chapters, for example a chapter based on food-centred activities.
All the facts and snippets contain precise dates that lets you trace back to where and when it was discovered. Black-and-white as well as coloured photographs serve to enhance the reading experience by letting you literally peek into the lives of human's and nature's most weird turnouts.
This book is suitable for teen readers and even adults as it serves to enlighten and entertain at the same time. Somewhat like the Guinness Book of World Records, Ripley's is its cousin that focuses entirely on the weird and wonderful.
BOOK REVIEW: Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult
I love Jodi Picoult's novels as her story line touches on current issues that are debated throughout the world. Some of her novels narrate a gripping story line revolving around abortion rights, assisted suicide and even school shootings. In this novel, she has managed to write a heart-wrenching yet beautiful novel on LGBT rights.
In the aftermath of a series of personal tragedies, Zoe throws herself into her career as music therapist. When an unexpected friendship slowly blossoms into love, she makes plans for a new life, but to her shock and inevitable rage, some people - even those she loves and trusts most - don't want that to happen.
This novel follows the story of Zoe, Vanessa and Max. After almost a decade of marriage and unsuccessful attempts to conceive with the aid of fertility treatments, Zoe and Max Baxter divorce and begin building their own separate lives. Max finds himself staring at the bottom of a bottle, until he finds salvation in the conservative Eternal Glory Church after a near fatal, alcohol-induced car accident.
Meanwhile, Zoe befriends Vanessa and their friendship ultimately blossoms into love. Soon after marrying, the two decide to try for a baby using the 3 remaining embryos from Zoe and Max's fertility treatments - a decision that brings Max and his new Christian community crashing into their lives. An emotionally draining court trial for custody of the embryos ensues, testing the limits of faith, love, and the definition of family.
This book was a true tear-jerker to see how the LGBT community just want to fit in by having families of their own. These people don't pray to become that way and ultimately they are humans too. Reading this has taught me to look at this community with a different form of respect and concern. Being different doesn't always mean being alienated. Wonderful read and a book I truly would love my friends and family to read.
BOOK REVIEW: Visual Vegetables - Appetizing Images and Recipes for Cooks by Susan Simon
Recently I have been quite attracted by books that come along with quirky and cute illustrations. They seem to have a charm all on their own, besides the evocative written contexts within. This beautiful book is definitely a charm to read and have, each page brought to life with thoughtful brushstrokes and handwritten recipes.
This delightfully eccentric book is the perfect gift for cooks. The author has written recipes for not only vegetables but also pasta, rice, fish, fruit and more from different parts of her travels.
And her recipes are more than just recipes; each is vibrantly illustrated and accompanied by a story about life and entertaining and what food can - and should - be. The author has written and illustrated a book that is meant to be enjoyed.
Read it. Cook from it. Let the drawings, stories and recipes, inspire you to further invention. But most of all, share it. I'm not really sure if this is available in higher end bookstores as I personally have not seen this book. Even this copy was purchased pre-loved from Facebook. But it was worth the money I spent on this beauty in my ever-expanding collection.
BOOK REVIEW: From a Buick 8 by Stephen King
We may have come across stories of bewitched cars, possessed by the spirits of previous owners, possessing lives of their own. Never have we ever stumbled upon a car from another realm that gave birth to alien monstrosities and sucked those gullible enough to step closer to its chrome fenders. Stephen King has spun a tale of macabre intensity that will leave you gripping the edges of your seat.
There is a secret hidden in Shed B in the state police barracks in Statler, Pennsylvania. A secret that has drawn troopers for years to look at its chrome fenders, silver grille and exotic exhaust system. Come close, children, and see the living crocodile: a vintage '54 Buick Roadmaster.
Young Ned Wilcox has started coming by the barracks, mowing the lawn, washing the windows, shovelling snow; it's the boy's way of holding on to his father's memory.
And one day, Ned peers through the windows of Shed B and discovers the family secret. Like his father, Ned wants answers. He deserves answers. And the secret begins to stir...
Wonderfully riveting till the end, this book never fails to deliver a punch in each of its pages, the art of horror that Stephen King has mastered and crafted to perfection for readers worldwide. I highly recommend this book for those who thought cars were lifeless shells, well, think again.....
BOOK REVIEW: Nina Garcia's Look Book - What to Wear for Every Occasion by Nina Garcia and Ruben Toledo
Dressing up is every girl's biggest nightmare. Nobody wants to appear in public in shambles or make an appearance at a party screaming "hooker". So just how do we know what to wear during those times? Pick up this book and let your fashion faux pas be a thing of the past.
Every woman, at one time or another, has contemplated an all-important job interview, first date, formal party, or important presentation and wailed to herself and to her closest girlfriends, "What should I wear?".
In this book, the author solves this universal quandary with an inspired and unbeatable combination of fashion knowledge and common sense.
She shows us the pieces, the accessories and the strategies to create the looks that will take us from the first day on a job through the day we ask for a raise and beyond, from the first time we meet our boyfriend's parents through the day we see our own children walk down the aisle.
With this book by your side, you can't go wrong. You'll have all the tips you will need to navigate every day looking your best.
Besides fashion tips, Nina also provides useful hints on how to feel in the inside as well as facts and trivia on cultural norms and beautiful places. A definite beauty and lifestyle guide for every woman who lives to shine.
BOOK REVIEW: The Doll Collection by Various Authors
If the book cover gave you the creeps, the stories will give you goosebumps that will never go down no matter how much you rub. If you thought haunted dolls were the mainstream of doll horror, this book is foing to change your thoughts.
This anthology is designed to frighten and delight, featuring all-original dark tales of dolls compiled by one of the top editors in the field, a treasured toy box of stories about dolls of all types, including everything from puppets and poppets to mannequins and baby dolls.
Master anthologist Ellen Datlow has assembled a list of beautiful and terrifying stories from bestselling and critically acclaimed authors.
Featuring everything from life-sized clockwork dolls to all-too-human Betsy Wetsy-type baby dolls, these stories play into the true creepiness of the doll trope, but avoid the clichés that often show up in stories of this type.
The collection is illustrated with photographs of dolls taken by Datlow and other devoted doll collectors from the science fiction and fantasy field. The result is a star-studded collection exploring one of the most primal fears of readers of dark fiction everywhere, and one that every reader will want to add to their own collection.
It left me shivering thinking of days when I used to own dolls, glassy soulless (really?) eyes staring back at me. I think my nightmares will be more vivid from now on.
