Archive for the ‘Book Reviews’ Category
Saturday, March 13th, 2010

The Little Prince is one of the most meaningful books in my life and I never get tired of reading it. There is also a favorite memory attached to the book — forty four girls in blue and white uniforms, enthralled as one very special teacher read us the following lines:
“Goodbye,” said the fox. “And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
“What is essential is invisible to the eye,” the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.
“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.”
“It is the time I have wasted for my rose — ” said the little prince, so that he would be sure to remember.
“Men have forgotten this truth,” said the fox. “But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose…”
“I am responsible for my rose,” the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.
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Tags: Antoine de Saint Exupery, asteroid B-612, B-612, baobabs, boa constrictor, businessman, classic, conceited man, deluxe edition, desert, fox, king, lamplighter, leon werth, Little Prince, little prince asteroid b-612, Little Prince Deluxe Pop-up, Little Prince Pop-up, paper engineering, pop-up, ram, rose, sahara, sheep, snake, tippler, unabridged, volcanoes, what is essential is invisible to the eye
Posted in Book Reviews | 4 Comments »
Thursday, March 11th, 2010

I love getting spa treatments — that little window of time for relaxing and revitalizing is a godsend, whether it’s a heavenly massage, beautifying facial, a glam hair treatment, or a foot spa for your aching feet.
One of my recent memorable spa experiences is the Lulur Ken Dedes massage at Win’s Spa in Batam, Indonesia (we took a ferry from Singapore) — around 175,000 Rupiah (more or less SGD 30 or USD $20), which is a two-hour package inclusive of a traditional message, sauna, body scrub, and herbal soak. Apparently, “Ken Dedes” is a royal beauty treatment named after Princess Ken Dedes of the Singosari Empire of 18th century East Jaya, and is a complete package of beauty care, especially for brides (they didn’t tell us that at the spa, or maybe they tried to but they weren’t speaking much English).
I love Javanese massage –it’s based on thumb pressure: pushing and circling the muscles while the palm strokes simultaneously, releasing the knots and improving blood circulation. Then the body scrub (“lulur”) — it’s a fragrant paste of sandal wood, turmeric, groundnuts, rice and other scented woods. The golden scrub is rubbed onto the skin for exfoliation and left to dry, then rubbed off again, leaving the skin rosy and silky smooth. A fragrant herbal bath follows, and they dress you in this luxurious batik gown, and give you a cup of ginger tea while you sit for a certain procedure that can’t be posted here (hahaha — my book club gal pals know, though). It was a great spa experience, and I’d go back to Batam just for this.
I mention this because of a book I recently discovered, Wellness on the Islands: The Philippine Spa Experience by Elizabeth V. Reyes, photography by Luca Invernizzi Tettoni (also the team behind design coffeetable books such as Filipino style and The Tropical House: Cutting Edge Design), which I reviewed for Zen Health Magazine.
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Tags: coffee table book, Elizabeth Reyes, Fully Booked, healthy living, lifestyle, Luca Tettoni, massage, natural, organic, philippines, Sketchbooks Inc., spa, spa culture, the Philippine spa experience, therapies, treatments, wellness, wellness on the islands, zen health
Posted in Book Reviews | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

I’ve had the Percy Jackson books thrust at me by random people because they know I’m a big Harry Potter fan, and people who really know me can tell them that the more people foist a book on me the less likely I am to pick it up. Hence, it’s taken me a while to pick up the Percy Jackson books.
I originally read the first book because I was planning on seeing the movie, but changed my mind about the movie when I heard it was a long way away from the book. So I ended up reading on in the series instead. I finished all five books in the space of one week in February: the first two books in one night, and the next three books (borrowed from my cousin Chickoy) in one sitting.
Here goes my verdict post.
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Tags: Ancient Greek, Aunty Em, Big House, Big Three, Bronze Bulls, Bull Number One, Bull Number Two, cabin eleven, Camp Half-Blood, Coach Nunley, conch horn, cow serpent, Diet Coke, empathy link, Empire State Building, Fields of Asphodel, Fields of Punishment, golden drachma, golden drachmas, golden fleece, Golden Gate Bridge, Gray Sisters, Half-Blood Hill, Hoover Dam, Hunters of Artemis, Joe Bob, Lady Artemis, Long Island, Long Island Sound, Lord Kronos, Lord Zeus, Los Angeles, master bolt, Matt Sloan, Meriwether Prep, minotaur horn, Monster Donut, Mount Olympus, Mount Tamalpais, Nancy Bobofit, New Jersey, New York, other guinea pigs, Percy Jackson, Perseus Jackson, Princess Andromeda, Queen Anne's Revenge, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, San Francisco, santa claus, Santa Monica, Sea God, Sea of Monsters, seaweed brain, Silena Beauregard, skeleton warriors, Smelly Gabe, Son of Poseidon, Son of the Sea God, Sopwith Camel, The Nemean Lion, titan lord, Uncle Ferdinand, Western Civilization, Westover Hall, World War, Yancy Academy, Zoë Nightshade
Posted in Book Reviews | 17 Comments »
Monday, March 8th, 2010

I just saw Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland today, and much like the Sherlock Holmes movie some months ago, it’s not part of the canon, although it does borrow much of Lewis Carroll’s Alice is 19, doesn’t remember any of her “Wonderland” adventures, and falls down the rabbit hole again as she flees from a marriage proposal from the foppish Hamish. Alice must fulfill the prophecy in the oraculum and slay the Jabberwocky to save Underland from the evil Red Queen.
Like all Tim Burton Films, it’s a visual spectacle, and I credit him that. I liked the Cheshire Cat, the Blue Caterpillar (Alan Rickman!), and the Red Queen, not so much the jaded Alice, the depressing Mad Hatter (as much as I love Johnny Depp, I don’t like his Wonka and his Mad Hatter and they both seem like the same eerie caricatures on crack), or the hammed up White Queen. With this grown up version of Alice, I missed the heart and whimsicality of the original Alice, and I wouldn’t trade that for all the visual effects in the world.
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Tags: absalom, alan rickman, alice, alice in wonderland 2010, alice's adventures in wonderland, blue caterpillar, Cinzia Ratto, dormouse, John Tenniel, Johnny Depp, lewis carroll, mad hatter, march hare, paper engineering, picture book, pop-up, red queen, robert sabuda, through the looking glass, tim burton, White Queen, white rabbit
Posted in Book Reviews, Film Adaptations | 11 Comments »
Sunday, March 7th, 2010

Shortly after reading Fables, I read another Eisner award-winning graphic novel: Mom’s Cancer by Brian Fies.
In case you’re not into graphic novels, Eisner awards are like the Oscars of graphic novels. More formally known as the Will Eisner Comic Industry award, these awards are given in honor of comic artist and writer William Eisner to recognize exemplary works in the comics industry.I’ve recently finished some Eisner-award winning graphic novels — Eisner awards are like, the Oscars of graphic novels. More formally known as the Will Eisner Comic Industry award, these awards are given in honor of comic artist and writer William Eisner to recognize exemplary works in the comics industry.
Mom’s Cancer, originally published online, won the Eisner for Best Digital Comic in 2005, the first ever awardee for that category.
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Tags: brian fies, cancer, coping with cancer, Eisner Award, health, illness, metastatic cancer, mom, mom's cancer
Posted in Book Reviews | 2 Comments »