Books

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I love the fact that my office is so near everything! Including a library! During lunch I popped in and grabbed these two!

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(1) A Vintage Affair. Isabel Wolff is well known in the chic flick readers but what really caught my eyes was the book cover! I’m half way through this book and so far it has been good! I love vintage and this book made me appreciates vintage even more! I think it’s really romantic to know that every piece of vintage has a story to tell and yes, I do wonder if the person wearing it was happy, married, or in love.

(2) How to be Married – by Polly Willams - was witty and oh so true! I picked this book immediately because Sophie Kinsella agree that it’s good! (Inferred from a note she wrote at the back of the book!) While reading this book, it makes me wonder if I really have to be the perfect wife (a little like the Stepford wife) to gain his attention and reduce the daily frustration! Even though the book ended with (spoiler alert!) the man telling his wife that he loves who she is (including all her mess and spontaneity), I think in reality, some man do love their wife to be just a little like the Stepford wife. Perhaps, just a little more domesticated. BOO!

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You cannot imagine that in all the messiness in my life right now, I read a book in three days. I’m an escapist. Becky’s life with Minnie in tow makes my life seems all peaceful and chill. If I have a child like Minnie, I’m sure I’ll put a leash on her!

I read a lot of books recently! Even though he frowns upon these chick lit titles and would possibly throw them out when we move into our new place, I’ll stand guard my bookshelf fervently defending against his evil plans! HAHA. Here are some quick reviews of the titles!

Lipstick Jungle – Candace Bushnell

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This book is better than 5th Avenue and Trading Up; and I’m eager to watch the TV series! I think my feminist self has shrunk in size over the years. All women in this novel are aggressive, competitive, powerful, and career minded; and they sounded like me or who I aimed to be a couple of years back! But because of these strengths, their married life suffered. I am reminded to strike a balance and to not lose focus in life!

The Wedding Girl – Madeleine Wickham (aka Sophie Kinsella)

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At the age of eighteen, Milly who was up for anything married a gay guy – Allan – so that he and his partner – Rupert – can stay in the country. Ten years later, Milly is a different person who is engaged to Simon – wealthy, serious and believes her to be perfect to complete his dream marriage. She hid her secret history well and has almost persuaded herself that it doesn’t exist – until, only four days before her wedding.

Sophie Kinsella is my favourite writer and I was thrilled to find her other works! All Kinsella fan will feel at home reading Wickham’s work! The intensity of finding out the truth behind her secret in the mist of planning for a lavish wedding is definitely a page turner!

The Gatecrasher – Madeleine Wickham (aka Sophie Kinsella)

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Fleur Daxeny is beautiful and utterly irresistible. She is tactical in sizing up her preys. She prowls at funerals to find wealthy men and she is no doubt a gold digger. This novel is predictable but I love how it ends. Everyone loves a happy ending unless you are a sadist of course.

Because She Can – Bridie Clark

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If you love Devils Wear Prada, you will surely love this! The plot is yet again predictable but the way she writes excites me! I’m trying to find her other books but it seems like there is only 1 title under her name. If you have an evil boss, read this and you will either be (1), grateful that your boss does not call your home number or in the middle of the night, scream vulgarity at you, physically abuses you, and leave you feeling unappreciated every second you are in the company; or (2) gets a kick scolding the said boss (Vivian Boss) in pretence of scolding your own boss. HAH. Please don’t ask me which camp I belongs to.




I bought lipstick jungle from eBay! With $5 I got a book in good condition and I just saved a tree! Reduce, reuse, recycle!

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The seller is sweet to wrap it up in a nice gift wrapper! It feels like a belated birthday present!

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New Read.

I realized I’ve been spending too much waking hour surfing and playing games on my phone. I’ve decided to pick up reading again and am glad I work near a public library! It is a great time passing place during lunch! Picked up two books from Madeleine Wickham (aka Sophie Kinsella!) and another one by Birdie Clark!

Chawanmushi

Remember a while back I bought the recipe book “Japanese Home Cooking with Master Chef Murata” for Jason? Over the weekends he made chawanmushi! It was good! The idea and taste were there! Just that we need to get the proper chawanmushi cup and use aluminum foil to cover the top as directed!

Blogged from the silly iPhone app

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This is on my To Buy List but I heard my sister is also interested in buying them! I shall wait. Hehe. I want The Carrie Diaries by Candance Bushnell too!

He loves Japanese cuisine.  I love Japanese cuisine. He read Master Chef Murata’s featured article about his book “Japanese Home Cooking” and am tempted to buy it. We love the fact that his recipe is fuss free, using readily available ingredients and looks yummy with great reviews!

Yoshihiro Murata, one of the most accomplished and respected figures in Japan’s culinary world, has combined his expertise and artistry with his enthusiasm for teaching Japanese cooking to create this exciting new book. Japanese Home Cooking with Master Chef Murata presents over sixty healthy home recipes, from classic to modern, ranging from popular restaurant offerings like yakitori, tempura, and shabu shabu to typical home dishes like onigiri (rice balls), miso soup, and tonkatsu fried pork cutlets. “

All of the dishes can be made using Western kitchen tools and ordinary ingredients readily available from the supermarket; if a more exotic ingredient is called for, Murata suggests alternatives. And, while he strives to retain the authenticity of a recipe, he also recommends ways for the Western chef to adapt it. For example, in a number of the recipes, he suggests using high-quality store-bought chicken broth, which is also used in Japan, instead of traditional Japanese dashi stock.”

- Amazon.com

He made me buy it and I made him promise me to whip up the dishes we both love!

With $30 dollars I get to eat up to 60 Japanese home cook dishes! It’s a great deal! Hee.

A fan of Sex and the City, I’m always trying to find the second best in Candace Bushnell’s collection, I doubt this the one I’m looking for, but I guess this is one of the few which I enjoyed reading.

Janey Wilcox is one tough character. Her stupidity, materialism and manipulative nature, bitchiness, love-less-ness together with her flawless exterior beauty makes me want to rip her apart like a paper doll when reading the book! On the flip side of the coin, her determination, strength, adaptability and resourcefulness is strongly displayed through the many trials and tribulations she went through. What a lady!

Just bought a secondhand book today! I can’t help buying chick flicks! I’ve got tons of books (7 unread books) sitting on my table arranged according to my preferred reading order yearning to be read by me. HAH. I’ll probably need a garage sale to get rid of all these books before I move to our new place next year!

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