Writing again, yay!

Ah, muse. Thank you for whispering.

Another story on-going in my head finally expressed readibly. Well, at least a part of it.

Unforeseen hiatus

I have disappeared from posting here for over a month. Was I missed? I would like to think so (narcissist, much?).

My Daddy passed away last month on the third. It was a stunning blow for our family; we took it for granted that he'd live as long as his mother did, his father and his siblings (only two died before hitting sixty). I guess we forgot that all of us were born to die and that there is no promise or contract to let us know how long we have in this world. I have had my Daddy for over thirty five years (he had his for much less, so did my Mum), but I don't think there was ever enough time to have with the people you love, right?

I penned (typed, rather) a little tribute to my Daddy on Cowbird. You can see it here.

Goodbye, Daddy. See you on the other side.

Foolosophy

My reading philosophy?

If you like it, read it.

Don't matter if it is a website manual, manga, romance, self help or porn.

I don't believe in censorship, but age appropriateness is important. On the other hand, I started reading romance novels (Mills & Boons and Loveswept, mind you) when I was 11.

Heh.

New stuff I've read this year ... so far

It has been 7 weeks and I have only read 8 books! Been so busy, so slow down a lot. Yeah. Right.

I read mostly romance and I don't apologise for it. I don't care if I don't know who won the Booker Prize, I don't want to read 'em. If it's a Nobel Laureate of Literature, please don't pass it to me. I am a Phillistine and I am okay with it.

Once I fall in love with the work of an author, I obsessively search out her/his catalogue of work and read everything I can get my grubby hands on. I follow them and urge (silently) that they type faster and publish more to keep feeding my reading habit. Hence, 6 out of the 8 authors below are authors I have been following, some since my teenage years. 

Since I am a creature of habit, I keep gobbling whatever it is they write even after they shifted style or had become plodding or whatever. Hey, we all evolve, right? Hopefully for the better, but if not, whatever. So even if they have shifted style into something that makes me go "meh", but I will continue to read them until they no longer write. Or I no longer have money to rent. Or the books really just swerved into "Do not go there!" territory. Whichever comes first.

Under cut because of loads of pictures. Not in chronological order.

Stuff to watch in 2012

Guys, when these come out, let's go! Let's go! Let's go!

One: Where Liam Neeson kick wolf ass.



Two: Where we get our hearts broken and mended again.



Three: We need to read the books for these!

Four: Edgar Allan Poe! Edgar Allan Poe! Edgar Allan Poe!



Five: Animated ginger girl kick ass.



Six: Old men kickin' ass and taking names.



Seven: Would I actually watch this? I may scream the cinema down. :p



Eight: I don't care if the movie is lousy. It's got Taylor Kitsch.

Lessons in song

(Severely personal post ahead. You have been warned.)

Majalah 3 tonight featured Mr. Abdul Halim Yazid, a dikir barat artiste and his travels in the Deep South of the United States to trace the story of the blues. I only caught it halfway when my ears pricked to the call of prayer from Senegal that was featured on the show (caught the rest on online). I happily abandoned the dishes I was washing in the kitchen and sat down to watch.

It was nice to see how musicians from different backgrounds and musical traditions could mesh together so beautifully when they sit down for a jam session. But what made me tear up was the song "Al-Fatihah untuk Ayah" (Al-Fatihah Prayers for Father) that Mr Abdul Halim sang together with some blues musicians. No one uploaded that version just yet, so here is the plain dikir barat version.



It was a beautiful tribute from a child to his father, singing farewell to his father who has departed this world for the next. My understanding of the Kelantanese dialect is poor, but I got the gist of the message of the song. The words were simple but heartfelt, the melody plucking the heartstring as it beats along to the rhythm of the drum.

(The rest is undercut for intensely personal navel gazing which may not be of interest to you.)

Traipsing down memory lane ...

I was eleven the first time I listened to this song. Although I was a callow child with little understanding of romantic notions, but the sincere emotions illuminated by a sweet melody and illustrated by prosaic lyrics really struck me. The song evoked a visceral reaction in me and I remember going to school, humming this song and trying to recapture the sensation I experience even from the opening bar of the song.



Since then, I have been a fan of Robert Palmer and am working towards collecting his discography. He was a talented musician and singer who delved in genres from pop to progressive rock to swing and jazz. But I love him best when he croons love sweet nothings.

Now, I all I need to do is find a guy who will dedicate this song to me. *grin*

A lolcat life

I love animal macros (I think you can tell by now). Let me use some of them illustrate what I think other people see when they look at me.

This is the reason why I make a lousy photographer (and investigator too).

This happens a lot to me too.

I do this a lot to my niece (and vice versa)

This could substitute as one my school photos.

The quest for new authors to read (venturing into TL; DR territory)

As a reading addict, I am always looking for new authors to read. This is because unlike that woman in Misery, I don't have my favourite authors in chains at my beck and call. Some authors aim for 2-5 books a year (Yay!) and others may produce 1-2 books a year, or even 1 book per year or more. Now, I understand that writing a book is a long process and requires input from a great number of people from copy editors to test audience sometimes, but I need my habit fed, damn it.

Kitty needs to read too.

To help me through the dry periods, I try new authors. I mostly read romance and all the associated sub-genres, but I have branched into fantasy and plain old fantasy whether romance is an element or not. I stopped reading thrillers and mystery in my late teens; I don't like reading the monstrous things humans perpetrate on one another. But I don't mind if the flesh tearing is done by a monster monster, if you know what I mean.

Sometimes I get lucky in my journey to find new authors to read; this was how I discovered Elizabeth Vaughan, Simon R Greene, Patricia Briggs, Mark Del Franco and Carrie Vaughn. These authors not only crafted worlds that are wondrous and immersing, but peopled with characters that you can love and hate and enjoy their triumphs and defeats. I am a character-driven reader; if I enjoy the character, I would slog through the book (even if it is painfully written) to the very end. Plot? What plot? If I were finicky about plots, I wouldn't be reading Sherrilyn Kenyon, fabulous as her 'verses are. I read her for the tormented and snarky Zarek, I look forward to hearing more from the adorably demented Simi and sex-on-legs Acheron and of course, for her kick-ass heroines like Tabitha and Bride.

I have been reading Jenna Black's The Devil Inside. The premise sounded interesting: kick ass exorcist possessed by what she hated most and having to deal with the aftermath. However, I do not enjoy Morgan Kingsley; I find her judgmental-ness off-putting. Now you may say that it could be part of her journey since The Devil Inside is the first book of the series and I should give her a chance to develop. After all, I gave Rachel Morgan (protagonist of Kim Harrison's The Hollow series) a chance although she was whiny and stupidly impetuous in the first book and now I've devoured everything Kim Harrison. But somehow I cannot like the way she made snide comments about another character's lifestyle choices. Frankly, if BDSM gay sex floats your boat, so what? If you find it gross or whatever, why on earth do you need to tell that person that he/she is gross/demented/sick/whatever?

IT'S A CHOICE, GOD DAMN IT. RESPECT OTHER PEOPLE'S CHOICES.

If it is a mutual pursuit between two (or even more) consenting adult, what is it to you? And for her to suddenly feel ashamed at her own voyeuristic pleasure at watching two men having sex, WTF is that? If she felt that way because she is religious and thinks that homosexuality is a sin, I get it. But she isn't. And there was a (pseudo?) rape scene at the end of the book that was just plain nasty. I get that it is to move the plot along, but it wasn't done very well or perhaps I just didn't like the way it was executed. Yes, mileage may vary but I still loathe it.

Phew. I have not ranted about a book so much since I finished reading Pullman's His Dark Materials. That was the only book I have ever read that I threw against the wall, I was that angry.

Reading a book that inaugurate a series can be like watching the pilot of a new show. If you hate it, you won't bother watching the rest even if it got better (Vampire Diaries, anyone?). I have been spoiled by Simon R Green, Elizabeth Vaughan, and Patricia Briggs who write books that just made me pick up and run. And then chase all the subsequent books in the series. Then of course there is the issue when the show (or book series) had jumped the shark.  I still read Laurell K Hamilton's books even after many had claimed that she had moved into fan fiction territory (too much smut, too little plot). A lot of PWP, but I like the characters enough that I can live with the PWP (although I can name more than a dozen fan fiction writers who do EXCELLENT smut that is both hot and touching).


Seriously, trying out new authors can really be a gamble. But happily, when you win, you can really win big.

To know me is to love me? Biblio edition meem.

I snagged this from an LJ friend (the lovely pwcorgigirl who shows fabulous grace in the face of much adversity).


Crossposted at LJ and FB. Just sharing some of my reading habits.*grin*

Damn right I want to save some naked women.

1. Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?

No. I read when I snack, not snack while I read (if you get my meaning).

2. What is your favorite drink while reading?

None. I often am too engrossed to bother.

3. Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?

I love to abuse my textbooks! Colourful lines, rude comments on the margins, the lot. But my storybooks are off-limits. No pencil, no pen although you may find the odd lipstick marks when I nod off and accidentally kiss the book *blush*.

However, I would love to chop off the hands of people who write, underline etc in library books. Hello? Not your personal possession. Other people want to read it too and nobody wants to read your illiterate scribblings.

4. How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ear? Laying the book flat open?

Commonly a book mark or laying the book face down (I try not to break the spine, though). I keep cardboard pieces for this purpose; nice bookmarks often disappear when you need them the most.

5. Fiction, Non-Fiction, or Both?

Mostly fiction. I read obsessively what interests me at the time, be it Persian history, Lalique or even social issues on pornography. But I do like my non-fiction with lots of pictures; especially coffee table art books.

Used to borrow books from the library and force my Mum to read them and give me the CliffNotes condensed version of them.

6. Are you a person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?

I prefer to go to the end of a chapter, but can stop anywhere.

7. Are you a person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?

Oh yes. On the floor; but mostly I whack my mattress with it. I do hold books dearly, even those that I loathe.

Non-fiction book that I've tossed: haematology textbook and the AABB blood banking manual (no wonder I could never get more than a C or C+ for it).

Fiction: The last book in Pullman's His Dark Materials series. I felt cheated to discover the culmination of an interesting series to be nothing but a rant against the Church. Give me back the time I wasted, dammit!

8. If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?

I try to figure out what it means from the context in which it was used. If it bugs me enough, I dig for the dictionary.

9. What are you currently reading?

Unperfect Souls by Mark del Franco. Delish!

10. What is the last book you bought?

Sandman Slim - Richard Kadrey
Some orchid growing thingie for my Mum.
I usually rent or borrow what I read, since books are pricy. I have wonderful suppliers (my cousin and friends, you know who you are). I usually buy books for my Mum and my niece; I do go nuts during book warehouse sale though.

11. Are you a person that reads one book at a time, or can you read more than one?

One book at a time. I can read more than one but it leaches away my enjoyment.

12. Do you have a favorite time/place to read?

I like to read on the swing in the garden, though it means sacrificing a few microlitres of blood to the mozzies.

I read practically everywhere; while queuing, eating, stuck in a jam etc. The prefects used to scold me for reading while walking back to class from recess time. In my defense, I have never tripped or bump into anyone/anything while I do so.

13. Do you prefer series books or stand-alones?

I love both. I would follow a series by an author I love obsessively; I rec the series by Carrie Vaughn, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Mark del Franco, Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, JD Robb and Simon R Green. I find urban (and non-urban but contemporary) fantasy to make the best type of series to follow. If you like the way the 'verse is shaped, you will want more.

14. Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?

Contemporary romance: Linda Howard, Jayne Ann Krentz, Jennifer Crusie.

Historical romance: Lisa Kleypas, Amanda Quick, Christina Dodd, Loretta Chase

Supernatural/paranormal romance: Shana Abe, Susan Krinard, Sherrilyn Kenyon, MaryJanice Davidson

Futuristic/fantasy: JD Robb, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Emma Bull, Elizabeth Vaughn

Urban fantasy: Mark del Franco, Carrie Vaughn, Patricia Briggs, Simon R Green, Jim Butcher

Feminist theorist: Fatima Mernissi, Amina Wadud

15. How do you organize your books? By genre, title, author's last name, etc?

By size and space. I am *not* an organised person.