JoV's Book Pyramid
Humour
An Idiot Abroad by Karl Pilkington
I admit in the process of aging I lost my sense of humour. So when someone told me about how hilarious ‘An Idiot Abroad’ was when it was on air in Britain’s Sky TV in 2010, I was sceptical. Until I watch series 1 this summer and then series 2 a month ago. The show … Continue reading
The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim by Jonathan Coe
Maxwell Sim is the kind of person who, in our darkest nights of the soul, we all dread becoming: unloved, unsuccessful, doesn’t like himself very much. He is an after-sales customer liaison officer in a London department store, he has been taking leave off work because of depression for six months; his wife, Caroline, and … Continue reading
3 cosy mysteries review series (3): Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters
The love of my beloved is on yonder side A width of water is between us And a crocodile waiteth on the sandbank. – Ancient Egyptian Love Poem I first heard of Crocodile from the Sandbank from Bernadette@Reactions to Reading. I’m a novice when it comes to cosy mystery. Perhaps I don’t know any better … Continue reading
A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif
On 17 August 1988, a plane carrying General Zia ul-Haq, the military ruler of Pakistan since 1977 and America’s staunchest ally in the first Afghan war, went down in flames, killing everybody on board, including American ambassador Arnold Raphel. Zia was accompanied by some of his senior generals, the US ambassador to Pakistan and the … Continue reading
Mergers and Acquisitions by Dana Vachon
Spenser was the oldest, proudest bank on wall street, but it had entered into the early stages of a low decline around the time I was hired, it was in all honesty this trend toward mediocrity that best explains my hiring. – Quinn This is not a book that teaches you on how to evaluate … Continue reading
The Complete Book of Mothers-in-law by Luisa Dillner
There have always been mothers-in-law and most of us will end up either having or being one. The role of mother-in-law has existed throughout the ages; a part that no one actively chooses and anyone would be forgiven, considering the negative stereo-types, for thinking it has little to recommend it. Mothers-in-law have been variously feared, … Continue reading
The Silver Lining Playbook by Matthew Quick
I was looking for an author with a last name Q. I don’t know many. While searching the library catalogue I came across Death of the Red Heroine by Qiu XiaoLong which is a crime fiction set in China, which I think is interesting. I picked The Silver Lining Playbook instead because it was featured … Continue reading
Waiting for the right theme….
For a long time I have been searching for the right blog theme. Last month I had a conversation with Prince Charming who happened to have a blog theme I would like to convert to, this is how the conversation goes: JoV : Your new theme looks really cool. I was tempted to switch to this, … Continue reading
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by Scott Fitzgerald
It is my ritual to look for the author’s biography or other reviewer’s view about the book after reading a book. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is very curious indeed, as the blog that I stumbled upon are either bloggers who left their blogs after 6 months (which amazed me that I last this … Continue reading
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie (Whatever) Society
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society(GLPPP) is one book which I can’t say it without taking a look at the title. Before I begin the story about literary society and books, I like to explore a strange phenomenon ever since I began reading for leisure in 2008 (yeah, I often wonder what took … Continue reading
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Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking. - Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)
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