228. The World's Best Brunches: Where to Find Them and How to Make Them by Lonely Planet

BOOK REVIEW: The World's Best Brunches - Where to Find Them and How to Make Them by Lonely Planet

Food is the epicentre of my life, not only literally but figuratively. With a hectic academic schedule, off days are spent with a late starting of the day. Between morning and noon, what's the best to chow down on? Brunch of course!

A term originally coined for Saturday night carousers who couldn't wake up for breakfast, brunch has evolved into a sunny, social meal beloved the world over.

In this book, a collection of mid-morning meals are accompanied by the origin of each dish, the best place to sample a bite, and an easy-to-prepare recipe for cooking it at home.

Written by food writers from across the globe, this tantalizing tome has a glossary of exotic ingredients with suggestions for easy-to-find alternatives.

I give this book a whopping 5-star rating for its food photography and luscious food descriptions that would have you planning for tomorrow's brunch.

227. Crystal Cove by Lisa Kleypas

BOOK REVIEW: Crystal Cove by Lisa Kleypas

Shoutout to all you cumbu fans out there! I know you gals (and maybe some guys, shhh) simply adore romance novels, not only for the raunchy bits but also how the hero and heroine have the happily-ever-after ending of love and its beauty.

Will sparks fly when an unlikely hero (an RPG game designer without a soul) and an unconventional heroine (a witch who runs an inn on a quaint island and is cursed never to find love) run into each other? Well, as they say, opposites do attract.

Jason and Justine meet in a small island town in the Pacific Northwest, where magic is in the air and fate is a force too powerful to defy.

Justine Hoffman has made a comfortable life for herself on the island of Friday Harbor. She is the proprietor of a successful boutique hotel, and she has the safe, predictable life she has always wanted. Growing up with her flighty, nomadic mother, Marigold, has instilled in her a deep longing for stability. But in spite of everything Justine has achieved, there is still something missing. Love. And after years of waiting and dreaming, she is willing to do whatever it takes to change her destiny.

What Justine soon discovers is that someone cast a spell on her when she was born, with the result that she will never find her soul mate. Determined to change her fate, Justine finds a way to break the enchantment, never dreaming of the dangerous complications that will follow.

When Justine meets the mysterious Jason Black, she accidentally unleashes a storm of desire and danger that threatens everything she holds dear because Jason has secrets of his own, and he wants more than fate will ever allow.

A truly magical read of undying love and the emotions involved, it was a touching read from page to page. Do keep it away from younger prying hands though as certain scenes are not suitable for translation if you get what I mean.

226. Frankly in Love by David Yoon

EXCERPT REVIEW: Frankly in Love by David Yoon (Courtesy of Times Reads)

As I promised, here it is. Times Reads had a generous heart to provide an avid reader as me an excerpt from David Yoon's newest release, Frankly in Love. As a young adult myself, YA novels always resonate with my life and its many trials and tribulations.

This book from David Yoon discusses on the adversities faced by a Korean individual brought up by truly Korean parents in a westernized society that is America. as you can already guess, a string of funny misfortunes begin to line up when you try to swim against the flow of the norms.

This candid, romantic and original coming-of-age YA contemporary debut about a Korean-American teen falling in (and out) of love is perfect for fans of The Sun is Also a Star, Eleanor Park and Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda.

High school senior Frank Li is a Limbo - his term for Korean-American kids who find themselves caught between their Korean parents' traditional expectations and their own Southern California upbringing. Frank is ready to fall in love, but his parents have one strict rule when it comes to romance: "Date Korean".

His love story takes a complicated turn when he falls for Brit Means, who is smart, beautiful - and white. Fellow Limbo Joy Song is in a similar predicament, and so they make a pact: they'll pretend to date each other in order to gain their freedom. Frank think it's the perfect plan, but soon enough, Frank and Joy's fake dating maneuver leaves him wondering if he ever really understood love - or himself - at all.

This book heralds the arrival of a sensational new YA voice that explores the ties between love, identity, and race for a generation that wants to love and let love. After reading this excerpt, I just can't wait to get my hands on this funny and heartwarming novel of what love truly means and of adhering to tradition.

225. Scream to the Shadows by Tunku Halim

BOOK REVIEW: Scream to the Shadows by Tunku Halim (Courtesy of Times Reads)

If the movie IT 2 didn't already give me the heebie jeebies then this book definitely did. Times Reads certainly put a smile on my face considering I'm a stickler for all things horror. Malaysia's very own Stephen King, my all time favorite king of horror, Tunku Halim, has outdone himself once again.

Tunku Halim is one of Malaysia's most acclaimed authors, and yes, I would like to stress it once again, especially in the horror genre. His scream-inducing tales of terror will set even the bravest heart screaming for the hills.

20 shadowy tales from Asia's Stephen King will make you tremble under the covers (and this is barely a joke, I had many a sleepless night after reading the stories). 

Within these quivering pages you will encounter the beautiful wife who keeps returning from the dead,a book seller with a cursed book collection, a bewitching hermaphrodite, a terrifying demon unknowingly unleashed, a village where were-tigers abound and many more spine-chillers of the night.

Written over a period of 2 decades, these dark stories are feats of mystery and imagination that will keep you turning the pages, until you scream to the shadows....

Masterfully spun to ignite the flames of fear, this is one book that will certainly make you shed tears of unrelenting fright. If this book were to be given a rating of 5 stars, I would give it an exceeding 100 over 5 stars. It was that good!


Times Reads also never fails to appreciate their reviewers and this time they have given book lovers like me an extra reason to be joyful. I was gifted with an excerpt from David Yoon's upcoming novel, Frankly in Love (which I will be giving a brief run-up in my next blog post) and also 4 beautiful bookmarks to place in each of my books. Thanks Times Reads!

224. Stir-fried and not Shaken: A Nostalgic Trip Down Singapore's Memory Lane by Terry Tan

BOOK REVIEW: Stir-fried and not Shaken - A Nostalgic Trip Down Singapore's Memory Lane by Terry Tan (courtesy of MDIS library)

Singapore recently celebrated her National Day and this book, I believe, is reviewed at just the precise moment, in commemoration of all that is Singapore.

What we see with our eyes today is only of Singapore's unceasing technological development and academic success which is famous the world over. But what actually took place years ago before Singapore relished all of these developments? How did she look like and how were the people then and now? 

If any of these niggling questions have been buzzing in the back of your mind, this book will prove to be a salve to that looming headache of unanswered queries.

Perhaps more than any other Southeast Asian city, Singapore has seen tumultuous changes that have catapulted this once-sleepy colonial port into a buzzing metropolis. From its humble beginnings, it has emerged with an identity, social lifestyle and language imbued with the most fascinating mix.

In this book, Singapore's favourite cookbook author, TV chef and food writer takes a trip down memory lane offering an intriguing insight into a very different Singapore that existed from the 1940s to 1970s. Resident or visitor, you will be endlessly fascinated by his memoirs that recall funny, familiar and forgotten moments of this 40-year passage.

Meet Khan Chia Peh the trishaw man, Muthu the barber and delight in Granny's flying fox curries. Peel away the decades and discover what it feels like to be "stir-fried but not shaken". Lap up the mirth of his anecdotal observations and enjoy memories that would otherwise be relegated to the mists of history.

I found this book humorous yet informative, regaling tales of Singapore's lost past, the glorious moments that made Singapore what she is today. I give this book a serious thumbs up, and if anyone would love to relish this book, it is available in MDIS college library. Happy reading!

223. The Hundred Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais

BOOK REVIEW: The Hundred Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais (from MDIS library)

I love my full-bodied college life. The campus, the lecture halls and yes, most importantly......THE LIBRARY! Well-equipped with computers and strong wi-fi connection and definitely BOOKS galore, the library is my most favorite place in the whole of the college. It is from this magical place that I found this gem of a book which I have been meaning to read for a long, long time.

As if being surrounded by food in Singapore wasn't enough, my unsatiated hunger pangs were further stoked by this book in all its food porn glory. Wonderfully written about the passions that food could incite to create a dream, I had to reluctantly put down this book whenever I had to continue with my requisite assignments.

This book is the story of Hassan Haji, a boy from Mumbai who embarks, along with his boisterous family, on a picturesque journey first to London and then across Europe, before they ultimately open a restaurant opposite a famous chef, Madame Mallory, in the remote French village of Lumiere. 

A culinary war ensues, pitting Hassan's Mumbai-toughened father against the imperious Michelin-starred cordon bleu, until Madame Mallory realizes that Hassan is a cook with natural talents far superior to her own.

Full of eccentric characters, hilarious cultural mishaps, vivid settings and delicious meals described in rich, sensuous detail, Hassan's charming account lays bare the inner workings of the elite world of French haute cuisine, and provides a life-affirming and poignant coming-of-age tale.

This book resonated with myself as I, just like Hassan, found my world, comfort and warmth through the culinary world. If you are hungry, please be ready with some snacks when you read this book as highly descriptive writings of Indian and French cuisine abound in this book. Highly addictive, I recommend this book to anyone who is a born foodie or just love books that put a smile on your face.

222. The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo

BOOK REVIEW: The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo

Growing up in Malaysia, I was never far away from the many folk tales and superstitions regarding the parallel worlds of the living and the dead. From penanggals (violent ghosts of female heads with entrails hanging from them) to toyols (imps which are used to steal money from households, being fed human blood from the owners themselves), my childhood and adulthood was and always revolves around the inhabitants of the spirit world.

The author, Yangsze Choo, being a Malaysian herself, has masterfully woven an eerie yet beautiful story of the custom of Chinese ghost marriages that will set you rethinking about the boundaries of our world and the afterlife.

In 1890s Malaya, 17-year-old Li Lan receives an unwonted proposal: marriage to the recently departed son of the respected Lim family. Li Lan knows what this means for her impoverished father. She has to appraise it prudently.

The Lims' opulence and splendour is dizzying, but Li Lan has her sights set on another - undoubtedly she has to be certain of her heart's true desire before pledging to a life with a ghost?

Night after night, Li Lan finds herself trawled into another world. One where the thresholds between reality and dreams are hazy, and where the afterlife shows itself to be a place of dread, enticement and delight.

Li Lan must uncover the mysteries of the ghost world, and be united with her true love, before she is confined there for all time. A stirring, eye-catching and passionate ghost story.

Intricately woven throughout the story is Chinese folklore and the Chinese believes of the afterlife, underworld and all things supernatural. There are even snippets of information at the end of the book regarding ghost marriages, Chinese notions of the afterlife, Malaya, Straits-born Chinese, Chinese dialects, Chinese names, meanings of names and Malay spelling.

This book was entirely refreshing from the macabrely scary stories of the spirit world filled with blood and gore. An historical romance set amidst the bushes of the spirit realm, it was a beautiful book from start till the end.