BookFest! Woohoo!!

The crowd was unimaginable I tell you. It's like Cheras Taman Connought Night Market, only it wasn't Taman Connought, it wasn't at night, and it wasn't a market. Uh, yea, I suppose that was pretty clear? It was the BookFest in KL Convention Centre.

The photo above isn't really translating the magnitude of the crowd. (Magnitude?) See if I were to take in the crowd as it was, which obviously I couldn't, but to best capture it, I would have to hold my camera phone high above the crowd - which is not something that I will ever do. It draws too much attention. And this was outside the exhibition halls, mind you. In there in the halls, it's Connought Scenario at it's worst. Well, I might be exaggerating a bit, but it was really packed up. There were so many people queuing up to pay that I managed to finish off a Sudoku on my iPod while waiting in line. I was actually a bit touched to be able to fight alongside my fellow comrade of bookaholics on our way to nirvana. Ah, bliss of life. They had quite some great bargain books over there. For those who have not been there yet, you should go. For those who haven't been there and won't be able to or read this post after 4th September, well, too bad. XD

And the crowd wasn't just there at the convention centre. It was everywhere in the shopping complex too! You have no idea how much perils I had to endure to get to the top, where Kinokuniya was. I felt as if I was climbing Batu Caves, and every step brought me closer to my House of God. Didn't you other people have better places to go other than where I wanted to go? Worshiper goes first don't you know. Argh, the nerve of you people...

Anyway, all in all, it was a great day!!!

The Books and I

I got a mail yesterday, an e-mail. It was one of the numerous e-newsletters that I subscribed to. Why worth mentioning? Well, it brought me news, tidings from the distant land of Alagaesia. Christopher Paolini is coming out with the last book of the Eragon saga, Inheritance! God knows I've grown a few inches taller over the wait. (The neck, got it? Plus, I think I did grow taller, by centimeter though.) It's coming out in November. Yea, months to go still.

I still remember my first encounter with Eragon. It was back in high school. I was at the awkward age of 15 or 16. The shoes were white, the dress was blue, AND THE BAG WAS HEAVY. Sharp ten on bed for normal days, blazing light through the nights during exam week. (Granted, it was the light only. And yes, days were classified into exam day and non-exam day.) Life was as boring as it could dip, as crazy as it could soar. Time passed as fast as slow. Friends were as best and insane as they could be. Sleepy mornings, draggy afternoons. The sky was blue, and dreams were big: be an astronaut, own a bookstore, build a castle, write a book, etc. It was when we never complained of the cafeteria food. (At least for me.) It was when fast food was a luxury. It was when recess time meant library time for me.

I was always on hunt for books. When I saw Eragon, I'd just finished whatever there was of Harry Potter for the Nth time, craving for more like a vampire craving for blood. While browsing through the books, Saphira caught my eyes. It was love at first sight. I jumped right in, and days after, I resurfaced alive with the urgency of the Ice Age squirrel seeking his acorn, seeking the sequel. Ever since then, I have been waiting. And it has been more than five years.

So the mail actually reminded me of those books that accompanied me into adulthood(So-called). Harry Potter and Eragon are by far my favorites. The story sort of grew along me. I feel connected to it somehow. All those eager-waitings, those staying-ups whole night when I finally got the books were part of my awkward adolescence. They helped shaped it. They kept me alive. (Seriously. When SARS hit, I was thinking: Please don't let me die, at least until I finish reading Harry Potter. I was that unambitious. Or you can say 看破红尘.) There were the books that never made it to adulthood too. R.L. Stine's, Christipher Pike's, Hardy Boys, Sweep Series ( I do miss Hunter and Cal. Now that I've mentioned it, I really really miss them! =( ), etc. This post shall be my tribute to all these books, (mentioned or not), thanks for being there with me when I was as lost as I am right now. ;)

It's Saturday

I was watching Nigahiga's video, and I heard this song, Handle With Care by JRA. Very nice. =) There's another song by him that I love a lot too - By Chance (You & I). He got me sticked to my laptop, keep hitting the replay button.

Reading 'Eating Animals' by Jonathan Safran Foer now. There's this one line that got me thinking: 'If nothing matters, there's nothing to save.' His grandma was a war survivor, when during that period of time life was constant starvation while running and escaping. Not all made it. She herself doubted whether she could survive another day, when a kind-hearted farmer came to her rescue by giving her a piece of meat. She didn't take it. It was pork ,and she was Jew. So the grandson asked her:' Not even to save your life?', and that's her answer.

On a lighter note, here's another line from a book,《鲸鱼女孩，池塘男孩》by 蔡智恒 that I read a while back: '世界上最遥远的距离，就是课本在你面前，你却不知道答案在哪里。' ' The greatest distance in this world is when the textbook is right in front of you and you can't find the answer.' (during an open book test)

世界上最遥远的距离，莫过于我在你面前，你却对我不屑一顾。

--照片中小叮当的心声

CNY Week

So, it's been a while, maybe more than a while. Lots of things to tell you, my friends, but if I were to do it my usual way, it's gonna be hours. So I'm doing it the Unusual Way.

In reference to my previous post, the surgeon agreed to help me in breaking the bond once I've secured a place in the university, so I'm taking all the necessary tests this year to apply for Fall intake 2012.

I'm still on annual leave. Another week to go. =)

It was great to meet up with my high school friends for barbecue the other day, the other raining day.

New Year Resolutions failed. Zero adherence.

CNY, as usual, not much going on. I'm not really that type of person who goes door to door. Been staying at home, rotting, in a good way. (Don't ask me how)

The increasing waist line's been a concern.

Been leading the ultimate sedentary lifestyle. I do feel guilty.

Watched ShaoLin on CNY eve. Not bad. I like 大师兄.

Watched The Green Hornet two days ago. 3D. Disappointed. ( It's out of courtesy that I did not use capital letters for that.)

Been watching Wong Fu Productions videos. They are hilarious.

Had reunion dinner with my extended family, mom side, yesterday. 7 tables, Chinese style. You can imagine.

Do you know that every 19 years, your Western and Lunar birthdays are gonna meet? I didn't. I do now. But mine doesn't meet.

Bought myself 4 books today in Popular while waiting for my sis. I know, it's her fault right?

Anyway, the first book that caught my eyes was Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. The other three were by 蔡智恒 （回眸）and 藤井树（十年的你，寂寞之歌）. Reading 回眸. There are actually 3 stories in there. Finished the first one already. Nice. More than nice. There are so many cool lines and paragraphs that I wanna quote to share with you guys, that I might as well copy the whole story. So I recommend that you read it. His first novel that I read was 第一次的亲密接触. That was years ago. I'm glad that I came across his books again. As for 藤井树, my first from him was 我们不结婚，好吗？

Gonna get back to my book.

Like,

seriously whatever happens to planning?

Went to Sunway Pyramid yesterday with my mind set on shopping for new year dresses, ended up home with tomatoes, grapes, bananas, bread, Chipsmore, lettuce, carrot, and persimmons. No, those aren't dresses. Well, there was a reason for that. The crowd was simply crazy. It made me wonder where had all those people been hiding, waiting for the moment when I needed to do my shopping to ambush me. Yeah I'm that paranoid.

Today, I went over to Mid Valley, like seriously wanted to do some no kidding dead serious shopping. (That's the third 'serious' thus far in this post. I'm That Serious.) And shop I did. Three books, and nothing else. Book store wasn't even on my list, for once! After my lunch, I was just thinking that, hey, why not just stop by Borders and check out the new books? And that's what I did, initially. Then one thing led to another, before the ramen was even acquainted with my stomach, I bought myself three Mitch Albom's books in value pack from MPH: Tuesdays with Morrie, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, and For One More Day. Been wanting to buy them for ages anyway. So what tempted me? Well, it's a who actually. My colleague. The day when I was butchering Mr Time setting my new year resolution till the time for home, so was my colleague. Waiting I mean. (He thinks new year resolution is a joke.) So we got talking. This colleague of mine reads Harry Potter too!!! (Pardon me I just HAVE to put in the two extra exclamation marks.) You know the quote by C.S. Lewis -- Friendship is born at the moment when one person says to another: 'What! You too? Thought I was the only one.'? I believe so too. Anyway he recommended Mitch Albom. And you know what? It's year 2011! It means that I have made it to another year alive! It means that there is a reason to celebrate! It means that the promise that I made myself not to buy another book till the end of the year is officially accomplished! I'm a free soul again! Finally, fate (and money) has brought us together, books of Mitch Albom. Josephine recommended his books to me like four or five years back. Well, back then, this type of books just did not appeal to me. (I was just a teenager waiting for the never-coming letter from Hogwarts then.) Now that I'm (Eh, supposed to be) more grown up, it's time to open myself up to various categories of books.

Anyway, they are still having the winter season clothes on display. I'm waiting for spring. When is spring coming though?

Life Ain't Bad

Drifted off to sleep yesterday reading John Grogan's Life Is Like A Sailboat and listening to Justin Bieber's Pray.

I was reading this part about kindness, true stories shared by readers of his column. Mom who donated her brain-dead son's organs; stranger who offered shoes to someone with broken sandals; taxi driver who returned accidentally tipped $70; someone in the queue who offered a desperate mom her number; local who drove lost tourists back to their hotel, and a whole lot more. I particularly like this one line from a person who refused a reward for returning an important briefcase: 'I'm just going to sleep better, knowing I did what I should have done.'. Now if everyone thinks the same way as he does, utopia might not be that unreachable. Why not lend a hand to those in need, given the chance? You might just make his or her day. And to my favourite author, John Grogan, thanks for reminding me that there is still the bright side of humanity when my compassion for fellow humans is gravely stricken by the headlines made up of crimes.

I was also checking out Nigahiga's videos last night. Then I thought of Justin Bieber all of a sudden, so I checked out his channel as well and saw this MV, Pray. Love it. It reminds me that the world is as big as it is, fortunes as unfair, and there is always something larger, something that shouts for attention from people who are too caught up in their own lives like me. While I'm fretting over the occasional little troubles, I fail to notice that there are some other people living on this same planet who face even greater challenges which I doubt myself can handle. By comparison, they make my problem a laugh. (Not that I can really laugh off it) There are always things that we can do to help. Skip that ice-cream, walk that short way, put back that dress, save the money, and donate it.

These two are the things that have touched my heart. Hope that you can check them out, and let them touch yours too.

The Day of A Bookaholic

It's my off day today. Thought of sleeping late, but woke up before 8 anyway. Surfed the net for a while, check some mails, half way reading an on line novel while listening to Jay Chou when the line got cut off. Yeah, I forgot to pay my bills. Lazy actually. So, got myself off the bed, showered and went out.

Settled some banking stuffs and the bill, and I was off to shop! Destination number one: book store number one. Destination number two: book store number two. Destination number three: book store number three. Haha! It was such a great day! Told myself that I'm gonna splurge on books today, and today only. Screw the budgets and savings, forget about the trees and the earth, just for one day. Oh, and the book stores were, in sequence, BookXcess, Kinokuniya and MPH.

So, books that I bought today are: Today Matters by John C. Maxwell (The irony is, at the back of the book cover, there is this one line: 'Manage your money- every day, instead of letting it manage you'. Well, I was thinking, 'if I bought you, my dear book, I'm letting the money to manage me'. And I bought it anyway.), Thinking for A Change by John C. Maxwell (Because of the title of another book, What Got You Here Won't Get You There. Or something like that. So, it's simple isn't it. You've got to change! And I like John C. Maxwell. But seriously, I don't know him at all, other than the fact that he is a bestselling author of like a million books. And Shona likes him too.), Everyday Greatness by Reader's Digest and Covey (I just love Stephen Covey, him and his 7 habits), Eragon by Christopher Paolini (I've been meaning to buy this for ages!! Read it back in high school. It was a library book. Got the second and third book, Eldest and Brisingr, but never got around to collect the first book as well. Finally!), The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (It has great reviews.), Life is Like a Sailboat by John Grogan (One of my favourite authors! It's actually a collection of his articles. See, he wrote for the newspapers previously.), Your Money and Your Brain by Jason Zweig (Simply want to understand my money and my brain.), The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern (Plan to buy this for a long long time! It's on The List. And hard cover no less!), The Power by Rhonda Byrne (I've been eyeing it even before it was out in the market! Bless the MPH for it's Christmas Pick! 30% off!), Blink, The Tipping Point and Outliers by Malcom Gladwell (It was for these three books that I went all the way to Kinokuniya. Vaguely remembered that they had value pack for these three books, but I guess it's either I remembered wrongly, or they no longer have it. Got them in MPH in the end.) So, these are all the books that I bought today!

I'm getting better at utilizing the public transport. Got around the whole day by bus and LRT. Totally proud of myself.

Love Kinokuniya so so much! Love the vast collection of books, the unparalleled variety, the soft lighting, the wooden floor, the soothing classical music, the pullover sweaters and the aprons on the nerdy staffs, everything. Had a sudden urge to work there, seriously. Since I couldn't find the books that I was after, I went round the store. Wondered into areas that I've never been to before (because they never tempted me to) like Performing Arts and Comic. Saw a bunch of Japanese school kids in their light blue uniforms and knee-high black stockings, chattering away in Japanese. For a split second I wanted to learn Japanese. Then I decided that I'm gonna head home and write a blog.

It was raining on my way back. A Korean girl sat beside me in the bus. The sky was palely grey. The colours were muted through the curtain of rain. People were having either their handphones or their MP3 players in their hands. I had my book. =)

I See You

I just had easily the most awesome lunch that I've made myself lately. It's just sandwich actually, and the highlight was lots and lots of vege. =) Wholegrain bread+ Cameron lettuce+ tomato+ bell pepper+ black olives+ sweet corns+ baked beans+ cherry honey tomato+ carrot+ apple. Dressing was splash of apple cider vinegar+ drops of hot pepper sauce+ chili sauce. And some herb flakes and black pepper and margarine spread. Totally vegan and heavenly. If only I could get a big fat onion, it would be perfect. The sweet corns, baked beans, cherry tomato, carrot and apple were just side dishes of course. Couldn't fit them all in between two thin slices of bread. Wanted to make carrot sticks initially, ended up crunching the carrot just as it was. Well, to tell the truth, it is a bit of cheating to say that it's the best lunch that I've made myself lately because I haven't been preparing lunch for myself for quite a while (settled it in the cafeteria at hospital), so there wasn't any comparison to begin with, thus 'easily'. Still, I would say that it's the healthiest thus far.

Thought of writing a post every time after jogging initially, but the last related post was quite some time ago. And now I've given up totally. Guess it's my 'hangat-hangat tahi anak ayam'. Why the 'anak'? Well, in my humble opinion, the chick is much smaller, so I reckon that the stool will be smaller in size too, thus contains lesser heat and requires shorter time for the heat to radiate off it. See, it takes just this much time for my determination to flicker and then, snuffed. As much as the chick's droppings. One thing to be glad is that I still go for regular jogging. =)

Finished 'The Longest Trip Home' earlier today. It's officially one of my favourite books now. John Grogan is simply gifted at telling stories. Not that it's a story, as in fiction. It's a memoir. And I admire his courage to share with the world his embarrassing moments and dirty little secrets. I would not have the guts to do that. Plus, there isn't much to tell of my life. I've been a good kid throughout my life, so good that when I look back, it's simply boring and insignificant by comparison. Not complaining though, just wish that I'd had the courage to do things I'd only contemplated. It's a story unfolding his life from childhood to adulthood, in which his parents play a major part in. Towards the end, like his first book, Marley and Me, it got me crying. He really put his heart and soul into it. There's this particular paragraph among others shortly after his father's death that triggered my lacrimal glands:

"Tim and I had both lived independently for years, but always in the back of our minds we had known our father was there if we needed him. For a loan or career advice or handyman tips or life guidance or a place to move back to if all else failed. No longer. The paternal safety net was officially and permanently cut away. It was our turn now."

I remember few years back (when I was still in high school or freshly out I guess) when mom was hospitalized, dad took me out for dinner before we went to visit mom. It was a food court, brightly lit, noisy and crowded with people. We found a place and we sat down. Dad asked me what I would like to have before walking off to order for the both of us. He was having join pains due to high uric acid level. I remember looking at his slight limping figure, tears threatened to fall, but not quite, realising that dad was getting old, and it would come a day, irrevocably, when he can't be there for me any more. Such realisation reinforced itself again. I was out with my dog for a morning walk, few years back too. We got chased by a stray dog in the neighbourhood. I was pretty sure that the dog was not ill-intentioned, but just to be on the safe side (plus it was scary), I scooped up Ahgal and ran all the way home. Luckily where we were wasn't that far from our house, and dad was just out there. I yelled for dad, and he came to our rescue.

I was extremely grateful that dad was there to protect me, but at the same time it struck me that dad can't be my shelter forever.

I see you. It's a line from a movie.

Currently reading: Haven't decided yet

One of Those

Steamboat dinner with family. Felt like it's the eve of Chinese New Year, except that Cheng wasn't here. Dinners nowadays are even rowdier with the addition of a little devil, but in a good way. Ah, the bliss of life.

Checked my mailbox just now. I subscribe to newsletters from Time.com, and one of today's top stories was 'Nine Years After 9/11, is Al-Qaeda's Threat overrated?' Wasn't particularly interested in the article, but it struck me that nine years had gone by since the disaster. I still remember a year after the disaster, my reaction had been almost the same: 'It's been a year already?' Things seem to be just yesterday. And by the 11th of September next year, it would have been a decade. How many decades do I have to live? Time flies, and while living my monotonous everyday life, it never occurred to me so, thus time spent unwisely. It's only moments like this that it dawn on me that life is short. I was so focused on getting the daily chores done, the to do's and all the other distractions, that days and weeks and years have gone by, as if in a blink of an eye. In the end, are these all that I have to define my life? Do I need one? Definition, or the meaning of life? I do not seek to be remembered long after I'm gone, but to be in peace and content, when I shall take my last breath. Or, to be able to proudly share what I've achieved when I can no longer run the way I do now, when wisdom grows and wrinkles creep.

Finished reading The Choice by Nicholas Sparks. A truly touching story. If there's a guy like Travis Parker, I wouldn't think twice of marriage. (I'm just saying) And just to share something that I find interesting, Kinokuniya categorizes Nicholas Sparks' books under general fiction. There were a few reasons why I bought the book. 1. It was on sale (BookXcess). 2. It's hard cover. 3. The cover is nice. 4. It's Nicholas Sparks. 5. I'd got money in my wallet. 6. The synopsis didn't seem like the typical Nicholas-Sparks-sad-ending. 7. The bookaholic-me on the loose. Wow, I didn't realise that there were actually that many reasons, but I'm glad. Never really thought that I would fall for his books one day. They have been around for like forever, but the sad endings never appealed to me, and still don't. But I guess I can handle it. The Choice, though, is a happy ending story.

'Even if I spend the rest of my life visiting her in the nursing home, it's still a better life than one I could spend with anyone else. I love her too much to let her go.' -- Travis Parker

It's Elvis Presley today.

Currently Reading: The Longest Trip Home by John Grogan

Back with the Devil

It's Hari Raya. But really, what it means to me is holiday! Got back in Malacca yesterday. As cliché as it sounds, there's no place like home. Another thing that I love about my job: I get public holidays just like everyone else, unless I'm on call.

Woke up at a quarter pass seven this morning. Guess I'm used to waking up early already. What else better to do on a gorgeous morning than a little jogging? So I got out of my bed and went to the master bedroom's bathroom to freshen up myself. (brother was occupying the bathroom that both our rooms share) Woke Ahgal up for jogging too. (she sleeps with my parents) Dad chose to sleep in rather than exercise. (he was like, 'Gal you go with Ahyong la.') Ahgal's always up for anything outdoor. (nothing too vigorous though, or rather, nothing remotely vigorous) After getting everything ready, I went downstairs with her. To my surprise, the little devil a.k.a. my nephew a.k.a. Ethan, was up and awake already. Well, I had a fun time teasing him while he watched me and Ahgal getting out of the door, with him fretting in the arms of the maid. Haha! He's another one who's in for anything outdoor. Ahgal was already barking impatiently while I looked for a pair of running shoes in the cupboard. Just as we were getting out of the front gate, sis came to the door and called out to us. She's bringing that little devil along, him with his stroller of course, since he couldn't walk yet. Thus, the morning jog turned into morning walk.

A glorious morning like I had sensed. The sky was a bit greyish, suggesting an impending rain. The air was cool with soft breeze, and fresh. The neighbourhood wasn't much awake yet, just a few stray dogs patrolling the streets, and occasionally some early risers cleaning up their front porches. Met a few middle aged women who were out with a ShiTzu. The reason I mentioned them is because they commented (among themselves) that Ahgal looked like a pig. (even though that's no news, they didn't even lower their voices) I've come to find these comments funny instead of insulting. But I wonder what effects they have on Ahgal. I suppose she's convinced that she's a human instead of a dog-pig or a pig-dog. Ended our walk when we heard the grumbling thunder. Mom and bro were up by the time we got back. Chatted for a while at the dining table, then decided that we should go out for breakfast. Dad was still asleep. By untold rules, the job of waking dad up falls on the youngest, so I went upstairs with Ahgal. And that pig, instead of doing her job, went straight to her bed. Anyway, in the end everyone's awake and we had a nice breakfast together.

Now I'm back in my room, listening to The Beatles. Yeah, you're reading right. Oldies had never been my cup of tea, but I guess I got influenced by Rosanne and Rakhee. The songs remind me of that afternoon we shared in Old Town coffee shop. Sweet memories they bring.

I was reading a book after getting back from breakfast, munching on home made cookies. Then guilt crept over me, for I've abandoned my blog for quite a while again. So putting my book aside, I turned to my laptop. Nice to be alone in the room with my blanket over me. I guess it stopped drizzling already. Brought quite a few books back from Sunway. I'm determined to make this weekend a book marathon. Finished my Life of Pi. A great book it is. Seriously. Guess award-winning books aren't bad after all. And it's not just any award, it's Man Booker Prize. I've always had this habit of steering myself, subconsciously or consciously, clear of anything (be it film or book) award-winning. They seem boring to me. I don't know what bad experience that I had to make me feel this way, but probably it's really simply because they are? Anyway, million thanks to Rosanne who got me the book. I might have just missed such a great book forever. Even though I might not agree with the writer on some of the issues regarding Zoo, Life of Pi is simply captivating with the wildest imagination at work.

Time to get back to the book. =)

Currently reading: The Choice by Nicholas Sparks

The Small but Almighty Screw, On the Loose

Listening to The Last Song OST album. Nice songs it has.

Went straight to P1Wimax head quarter after work today. Off at 1230pm, and the head quarter closes at 1pm. Wanted to return the Wiggy actually (the salesman didn't tell me that I'll have to go all the way to the head quarter just to return the Wiggy). Anyway, my sixth sense asked my to bring along my laptop. (but really it's my common sense. See I guess I was still hoping that something miraculous could happen) Reached my destination at five minutes before one, parked my car, grabbed my bag and laptop, and rushed into the building. Plenty of people around. First step to get attended: get a queue number. There were only two choices. A: Customer Service. B: Technical Support. See at this point I was only thinking of returning the Wiggy, but the forever mysterious mind, (with my subconsciousness being the conspirator) commanded me to choose B instead. So, while I was contemplating whether to press once more, it was my turn. Being the good kid leaves me with no other option. I went up to the guy, told him that I suppose I pressed wrongly, (and he agreed with me) and by the way is there any way to fix my problem. 'Well, we can fix that most probably', he said. Skipping through the process of fixing the problem, the conclusion was: the salesman should have asked whether I'm using Windows 7 or not, and to give me a CD for installation because Wiggy itself does not support Windows 7 and Mac. (yeah the salesman again) So, I'm now using P1, at last.

With the problem solved, it was time for lunch. But where to? Before I could make up my mind, I might as well go somewhere else. BookXcess was beckoning me. In just a short while I was in the book store already. As welcoming as it ever was and will be. I know, I was not supposed to buy another book until I'd finished one, but the books here are all exempted because BookXcess has the best deal ever for every single book in store. After about an hour, I stepped out of the store a happy owner (with growling stomach) of three great books. (and none was on the list I posted earlier. Well, stealthy great books are just everywhere. And I'm just human, too weak to defy the higher power of, uh... BiblioGod. (you know what I mean) So, my latest collections are: The Choice by Nicholas Sparks; The Longest Trip Home by John Grogan (I just love his Marley and Me so so much); The Power of Giving by Azim Jamal and Harvey McKinnon. And I'm broke.

It's such a wonderful Saturday!

Currently reading: Life of Pi

P.S. Check this out

www.receiptstories.my

My List (of like I have to spell)

Currently Reading

Pocket Guide to the Operating Room (duh)

Waiting-List Books (trust me, I told myself to stop, but failed)

Life of Pi - Yann Martel

James Herriot's Dog Stories - James Herriot

The One Minute Manager - Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey

Better Than Good - Zig Ziglar

The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown

the Shock Doctrine - Naomi Klein

Mosquito - Roma Tearne

Duma Key - Stephen King

The Innocent Man - John Grisham

Microtrends - Mark Penn

Promises To Keep - Joe Biden

Goal Mapping - Brian Mayne

The Inkheart Trilogy - Cornelia Funke

To Own (seriously good books that cannot miss out)

The Power - Rhonda Byrne

How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be: The 25 Principles of Success - Jack Canfield

The Last Song - Nicholas Sparks

The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

The 8th Habit of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey

Have a Little Faith: A True Story - Mitch Albom

Change Your Life in 7 Days - Paul McKenna

The Book Of Tomorrow - Cecelia Ahern

Promises to Myself

To control my bookaholic-ness (think of the trees, think of the trees...)

Shall I fail in the above, to at least finish one book before buying another (exempted when it's on sale)