My Den

Of China, Life And Death And Its Many Spring Moons.

2008-08-13T00:13:00.000-07:00

The recent launched of the the Beijing Olympics reminded me of a period in my reading interests, some twenty odd years ago, when I was intrigued with events inside the Bamboo Curtain, at a time when China had yet to open itself to the world.

Books like Re d Star Over China, written by acclaimed journalist Edgar Snow, and The Soong Dynasty by Sterling Seagrave, provided fascinating historical perspectives and insights about China during a period of turmoil and struggle between the late 19th and early 20th century.

But it was the individual but rare accounts of life and struggles amid a nation trying to find its identity - from feudalism under the Manchu Dynasty to China's emergence as a republic and communism under Mao Tse Tung - that left lasting impressions on me.

To this end, two particular books and the stories that they told - Life and Death In Shanghai and Spring Moon - remained vividly in my mind after all these years. My recent re-reading of them did not diminished the impact they had on me when I first read them so many years ago but instead reminded me of the strength of the human spirit during times of adversity and I highly recommend them to readers.

And by the way, after recovering from my recent accident, it does feel good to be able to blog regularly again.

Life & Death In Shanghai by Nien Cheng
An autobiography published in 1987, Nien Cheng's memoir is an exceptionally gripping story of a woman caught in the upheavals of the Cultural Revolution and excesses under Mao Tse Tung's China.

Poignant and haunting, Life and Death in Shanghai is a detailed and courageous account of her imprisonment, incarceration, persecution and torture during the Cultural Revolution of the 6os'. A former adviser for Shell Petroleum China, her refusal to admit to being "an imperialist spy" led to six years of solitary confinement, torture and harsh deprivations in 1966. When finally released in 1973, she found out that her only daughter, Mei Ping, had been beaten to death by the revolutionary Red Guards.

Providing fascinating insights of life in Mao's China, Life and Death in Shanghai is an intimate, honest and addictive literary classic of a woman's determination to survive and the courage, triumphs and ascendancy of the human spirit in times of adversity and tyranny.

Spring Moon By Bette Bao Lord
Nominated for the American Book Award for First Novel when it was published in 1990, Spring Moon is an epic spanning five generations of a Chinese family and is set amidst a background of tumultuous events when China abandons its ancient tradition of an imperialistic monarchy and adopts the philosophies of a socialist order.

Seen through the eyes of Spring Moon, the headstrong daughter of the aristocratic Chang family, the epic provides an intimate glimpse of traditional China and the joys, sorrows and struggles of a great family amid uncertain and often, violent, social and political upheavals of late nineteenth- and twentieth-century China.

Thronged with memorable characters, compelling and exceptionally well-written, Spring Moon is an engrossing read and a spell-binding story of one remarkable woman - a woman ahead of the times - and of a love that is forbidden and a China in tremendous turmoil.

Back From The Dead And The Indomitable Spirit Of Charmaine Tan.

2008-06-08T08:08:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, there are moments in our lives when things happen that changes the way we look at and live our lives. One of these moments occurred to me some three months ago when after dropping my kids at the school, a monster of a truck, against the flow of traffic, came charging at me after I did a right-turn.

The thoughts at that moment : "Damn, this is it." and "What about my kids?", the impact and the resultant black-out remained vividly in my mind three months down the line. Waking up in the hospital, disorientated and unable to move my legs, prompted another worry that I might be paralysed.

Well, I am not dead and neither am I paralysed. Guess somebody up there was looking out for me but the accident broke both my legs and right arm, fractured my hips and landed me in hospital for the past three months.

Moments like this reminded me of the unpredictability of life, of the importance of your loved ones and not taking them for granted, and more importantly, spending as much time as possible with my family, especially my kids. In the face of what I just went through, all other pursuits and considerations are actually distractions and are secondary.

There is an old saying that I could not remember in its entirety but it goes something like this : "I come this way but once, so any good...." Essentially it means that we live only once and we should be kind, compassionate and do as much good as we can while we are here. So, I intend to be less critical, more accommodating, compassionate and open-minded to others. And where possible, volunteering at some of the local charities.

While the focus of this blog will still be on books and the literary scene, my blogging will also take on a social bend, using my various blogs to promote social causes especially for the less-privileged.

Besides the change in perspective, there was another lesson learned - strength in adversity. This was largely due to an elderly gentleman, Marcus, who was my next-bed neighbour and in for colon cancer treatment.

Though clearly in pain, Marcus showed remarkable courage in facing his condition and also much grace in cheering me up during my hospitalisation. A fellow book lover, he also related a story that touched me profoundly - a story of courage, of dreams and hopes.

Charmaine Tan is one of the authors of the book "Pick Me Up", a community project by the "Make-A-Wish" Foundation Singapore. Her story, “Ceryni’s Secret”, is one among a compilation of short stories written by more than 40 people for the book - a collection of true stories about how people overcame their circumstances and turn their dreams into reality.

Nothing unusual about a published author except for the fact that she has a congenital eye condition which visually-impaired her, losing 95 per cent of her eyesight, and is also suffering from end stage kidney failure.

Despite her sickness and disability, Charmaine's love for writing resulted in “Ceryni’s Secret”, a 12,000- words story written in three days and it represented her first published effort. It also fulfilled her dream of being a published author.

When Marcus told me the story of Charmaine Tan, I realised, besides encouraging me, he was also drawing strength and inspiration from her, vis-a-vis his condition. The story of Charmaine Tan epitomised determination, courage and strength in adversity and with strength in adversity, the fulfillment of hopes and dreams.

All the more so for Charmaine. You see, Charmaine Tan is only 13 years old.

*Readers who wish to order the book can drop an email to : pickmeupbook@gmail.com or visit the Pick Me Up website. All proceeds from the sales of the book will be donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

*For regular readers of this blog, please be patient as it will take some time ( for my right arm to heal ) before I can resume regular posting.

*Related post :
- For The Love Of Writing

Another Blast From The Past - Vampiric Thrills With Anne Rice.

2008-02-28T21:25:00.001-08:00

Besides Stephen King, who got me hooked on the horror genre in the early 70s', another author whose books have left a lasting impression on me was Anne Rice, especially with her Vampire Chronicles.

I remembered picking up a copy of Anne Rice’s Interview With The Vampire in the late 70s’, largely piqued by the interesting title and wanting to try out books by not so-well known authors (Anne Rice at that time, have yet to become the highly popular author that she is now). And what a thrill it WAS!

Rather than being just creepy, evil and one-dimensional creatures of the night, Anne Rice’s vampires were imbued with so much depth, pain, loneliness and fluid sexuality that one just can’t help but identify with her vampires’ sufferings.

The lush and descriptive background that the stories were set in - from ancient Egypt in Queen of the Damned to biblical history in Memnoch The Devil - together with her immaculate grasp of history and the beauty she creates with her tales got me fervently hooked. So hooked, that I remembered eagerly waiting for her next novel in the Vampire Chronicles.

Rice's magical tales and her rare ability to make readers identify and connect with her characters' sense of alienation, their search for the meaning of their existence in a human world, and her excellent casting of vampires as metaphors for the human condition, have made names like Lestat, Louis, Armand, Marius and Akasha very special and memorable to me. And I have yet to come across vampire literature that can match the depth and breadth of the tales by Anne Rice.

Even though I have read her other books like The Witching Hour series and The Mummy, it has always been the Vampire Chronicles that made Anne Rice such a great author in my mind.

Sadly, for me anyway, since 2005, having reaffirmed her Catholic faith, Rice announced that henceforth, she will “write only for the Lord “ and that there will be no more such vampire tales.

While I respected her decision, I also mourned the loss of such rich vampire literature. So, to readers who have yet to experience the magic of Anne Rice tales, here are my favorite Rice’s tomes and I hope you will experience the same vampiric thrills as I did.

The Vampire Chronicles
Interview With the Vampire
Published in 1976, this is the first of her Vampire Chronicles and the book that started my vampiric thrills. Set apart from other works of the vampire genre by it’s confessional tone from a vampire’s perspective, it has the vampire Louis relating the story of Lestat, a vampire with a conscience. It is an engrossing tale of the despair of an alienated being who searches for the meaning of his existence, and his conflicts because he cannot find redemption and does not have the strength to end the evil that he is.

The movie adaptation in 1994, with Tom Cruise as the vampire Lestat and Brat Pitt as Louis, was a rare and surprise hit of novels brought to screen. As an indication of its popularity, Interview With The Vampire remains the best-selling book in the Vampire Chronicles.

The Vampire Lestat
Set in the late 18th century to the late 1980s’, the 2nd book in the series is a rich narrative of the beginnings of the anti-hero, the vampire Lestat. From his origins as a penniless aristocrat to his becoming a vampire at the hands of Magnus, a vampire elder, The Vampire Lestat is an extravagant and dazzling story spanning prehistoric Egypt, ancient Rome to 20th century New Orleans.

The Queen of the Damned
My favorite among the Chronicles, The Queen of the Damned explores the rich history and mythology of the origin of vampires. Dazzling in depth and lush in historical myths, the story tells of the awakening of Akasha, Mother of all vampires, after more than 6000 years of slumber. Awaken by the electrifying songs of Lestat, it is now up to him to stop her monstrous plan of ruling the world of the living.

Breathtaking, imaginative and complex in plot, it is a must read for fans of vampire literature. The 3rd book in the series was also adapted into a movie in 2002, with the deceased R&B star, Aaliyah, as Akasha and Stuart Townsend as Lestat.

The Tale of the Body Thief
Published in 1992, The Tale of the Body Thief is a departure from Rice’s previous settings in history, with the novel set entirely in the late 20th century. Dealing with Lestat’s desperation to be free from the nightmare of his own immortality and his efforts to regain his lost humanity, it tells the tale of a mysterious figure, Raglan James, who has the ability to switch bodies and thus, possesses the cure for Lestat’s depression and conflicts. A unique and unconventional tale of despair and redemption.

Memnoch The Devil
Probably the boldest and most controversial book in the series, Memnoch the Devil goes back to the beginning of Creation and is a breathtaking and ambitious tale that reinterprets biblical stories to create a complete history of Earth, Heaven and Hell.

Imaginative as only Anne Rice can be, Lestat finally meets the Devil, who calls himself "Memnoch" and he takes Lestat on a whirlwind tour of biblical history, Heaven and Hell in an attempt to convince Lestat to join him in a noble quest. Lestat even meet God and his time on earth as Jesus. Lavishly narrated, it is an epic reinterpretation of biblical history and brought the Vampire Chronicles to a close.

Not surprisingly, with Rice’s portrayal of God as a flawed being and the idea that Jesus sacrifice was insufficient, Memnoch the Devil came under severe criticisms from Christians as being heretical and blasphemous.

*Related posts :
- In Memory Of Gary Jennings
- A Blast From The Past - My Journey With Stephen King

A Blast From The Past - My Journey With Stephen King.

2008-02-22T01:05:00.000-08:00

Looking at how Duma Key, the latest book by Stephen King, is rapidly climbing up the bestsellers chart reminded me that the horror master has not lost his magic touch and at the same time, brought back many fond memories.

My journey with Stephen King began more than 30 years ago, in the 70s', when I was still a boy. Like most children during the 70s' who made do with hand-me downs, including books, I remembered being attracted by the book cover of Salem's Lot, brought to school by a better-off classmate. The black cover, with an etching of a girl's face and a drop of blood at the corner of her mouth, captivated me. Well, guess what I did? I "borrowed" the book (it's still with me) and so begun my journey with Stephen King.

Over the years, I have read most of King's books, including his earlier novels Carrie, Cujo, Christine, Firestarter and even books that he had written under a pseudonym, the "Richard Bachman" novels like Rage and The Regulators. So ardent am I a fan of his, that I have also watched all the movie adaptations of his work (unfortunately, the adaptations are all bad except for Misery).

Spell bounded by his rich imagination and his gift for telling compelling stories, Stephen King was largely responsible for my induction into and love for the horror genre. And every time the word "horror genre" comes up, his name will automatically pop up in my mind. So, going down memory lane, here are my all time favorite Stephen King books :

Salem's Lot
The book that started it all. Published in 1975, it came about when Stephen King asked his wife : "What if Dracula came to modern America?" "He will probably be knocked down by cars in Sixth Avenue!" said his wife.

Originally titled "Second Coming", this is the only book in my life that I finished in one night and it left me scared *stiffless. Set in a small town, it tells the story of the arrival of an old vampire, his corruption and decimation of the town populace and the struggles of a man to fight this menace. Rich in characterization and plot, it stands out among the many vampire novels during that time.

*Readers are advised that I, sometimes, take liberties with the English Language and there is no such word as "stiffless."

The Shining
Having watched the movie adaptation of this book, with Jack Nicholson as the derange father, I felt the movie paled in comparison in fleshing out the sense of eeriness of the hotel and the helplessness of the young son.

Published in 1977, though a simple premise of a couple with a young son isolated from the outside world in a old haunted hotel up in the Colorado mountains, the story fleshed out brilliantly the eeriness of the hotel and the helplessness of the young son in trying to deal with both the demonic forces and a murderous father. King's description of the derange morphing of the father got me hooked on this book and made me think twice about looking too long at a mirror.

IT
Even among favorites, there are "favorites". I have read "IT" a total of 4 times over the years and I had never gotten tired of it. Published in 1986, it is one of King's few books of the monster-horror genre. Set in Derry, Maine (like most King's books), it tells the story of a evil clown who lurks in sewers and lures children to their death.

Spanning across their childhood years to growing up as adults, it also describes the heroic efforts and determination of a group of children in fighting this evil. King's superb characterization of the group's fears and their triumph over evil, especially the stuttering leader Bill, made "IT" a book to remember for a long time. And "IT" was definitely no clown.

The Talisman
Imagine a book that can transport you to another world, a parallel universe, a world so different and enchanting that you do not want to return. That was what the magic of "The Talisman", my all time favorite, did to me. Published in 1984, the book was King's collaboration with Peter Straub (another great horror master).

Wonderfully told, rich in characterization and plot, it tells the story of a boy, Jack Sawyer, and his travels in a parallel universe - The Territories - in search of the "Talisman" to save his mother. I was spell bounded by the rich imagination of the authors with their description of this parallel world and its inhabitants. Most of all, their concept of "Twinners", our twins in the parallel world, made this book such a wonderful read and further introduced me to the magical world of the "fantasy" genre.

Misery
When I first read the synopsis at the back of this book, my first thought was : "This is so unlike Stephen King, what is there to be scare about a fan and an author?" How wrong I was! Published in 1987, "Misery" was unlike King's previous books with its story about a rabid fan and her favorite author.

With only two main characters in the story, only King can turn it into a bestseller. His story of an author being kept prisoner by his number one fan and forced to bring back a character from the dead was a masterpiece. And the movie adaptation was, in my view, the only one of the many King's adaptations that was able to fleshed out the story. Kathy Bate's portrayal of the fanatical fan was fanatically good.

*Related Posts :
- In Memory Of Gary Jennings

Phyllis A. Whitney - A Lifetime Of Words.

2008-02-17T01:38:00.000-08:00

For a person with a voracious reading habit, there was a recent piece of writing that I wished I never laid eyes on - an obituary. Beloved American novelist Phyllis A. Whitney, whose romantic suspense tales has sold millions of copies, passed away recently at the age of 104.

Born in Yokohama, Japan, the superb and gifted story teller wove her magic for more than 80 years and words were her life even before she began writing professionally. She started writing at the age of 12 while still a student, and worked in libraries and bookstores, eventually serving as Children's Book Editor of the Chicago Sun and the Philadelphia Inquirer in the 40s'.

After graduation from Chicago's McKinley High School in 1924, Phyllis began to write seriously, starting with short stories. A prolific writer, her first hardcover success came in 1941 with A Place For Ann, a book for teenagers, and by 1960, had 37 books and hundreds of short stories.

Hailed by Time Magazine as "one of the best genre writers" in 1971, her popularity reached international proportions by the mid 1960's, particularly in England and the Scandinavian countries.

While she had great success with juvenile mystery, turning to adult fiction brought her international fame. Striking a chord with readers, her adult romantic mysteries always had a vulnerable female protagonist, offered optimism and have happy endings. Among her bestsellers were Feather On The Moon, The Flaming Tree, Daughter Of The Stars and her last novel in 1997, Amethyst Dreams.

Re-known for her exhaustive research, Phyllis A. Whitney also won many literary awards and accolades.

In 1961, Whitney's sixth juvenile mystery, Mystery of the Haunted Pool, received the prestigious Edgar Allen Poe Award for best children's mystery story of the year from the Mystery Writers of America. She won the same award again three years later with The Mystery of The Hidden Hand.

In 1975, Phyllis A. Whitney was elected President of the Mystery Writers of America. In 1988, she was named a Grand Master, the pinnacle of achievement for a mystery writer, by the Mystery writers of America, honoring her high quality work and contribution to the genre. With this lifetime achievement award, Phyllis A. Whitney joined the exalted ranks of former honorees like Alfred Hitchcock, John le Carre and Agatha Christie. She also received another lifetime achievement award - the Agatha in 1989 from Malice Domestic.

Phyllis A. Whitney's 1956 novel The Trembling Hills was also recently reprinted in the United Kingdom as part of the Hodder Great Reads series "celebrating the best and most-loved popular classics of the 20th Century." All in, she wrote more than 75 books and her works have been published in more than thirty countries.

* Fans of Phyllis A. Whitney can sent their condolences here

* Related posts :
- For More News From The Literary World

The Boy Who Saw Angels.

2008-02-10T10:19:00.001-08:00

A Short Story by My Den
A NEW JOURNEY
All he wanted was to die at home. On 20 Jan 2007, with his parents by his side, *Adrian got his wish and was finally relieved of the pain he bore for four years. Adrian was only seven years old.

THE BEGINNING
"Look at those round eyes!" a delighted Joanne said. "Going to be a very handsome man when he grows up!" echoed Dan, both joining in the celebrations of *David and *Mary on the birth of their first child.

Adrian's birth was an answer to a long wished-for prayer and filled his parents lives with purpose and hopes. With his ever-present laughter, Mary loved to bask in the compliments heaped upon her son by both friends and strangers. But things changed when Adrian turned
three.

The PAIN
"The sudden onset of fevers, chills and flu accompanied by the loss in appetite and rapid weight loss were serious enough for the hospital to conduct blood tests and a bone marrow biopsy on Adrian. I am sorry but Adrian is suffering from acute leukemia," said Dr. Wong. David's and Mary's world collapsed.

The next four years of Adrian's life were spent in and out of hospital, undergoing painful chemotherapy. "It was so painful to see Adrian undergoing chemo, injecting drugs to the brain through a catheter under the scalp," choked Mary. There were also the side effects - the constant nausea, vomiting, mouth sores and lost of hair that three year old Adrian had to coped with.

DECISION
"Please Ma, no more chemotherapy," pleaded Adrian on hearing about his third relapse in Sept 2006. "I just want to live normally with whatever time I have left. I want to go to school, to Disneyland and I want to be at home when I die." Adrian knew he would die without treatment.

Saving Levi by Lisa Bentley

"It's time to let go," with a lumped in his throat, David told his wife. "Let's grant him his wishes and allow him to enjoy whatever time he has left with us."

For the first time in his life, Adrian went to school, something which he always longed for. A trip to Disneyland, Hong Kong, was also made possible with the help of "Make-A-Wish" foundation which grants the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses. Adrian waited every night for his father to come home from work so that they can spent time together. He enjoyed his time left in this world tremendously.

RELEASE
Holding her son's hands, "Adrian! Look out for the angels!" Mary besieged. In the early hours of 20 Jan 2007, Adrian's condition took a turn for the worse. He was so cold and in so much pain. Choking back tears, she could feel her son's life slowly ebbing from his tiny hands.

Summoning a last drop of strength, Adrian look at his mother and shouted :"Mama, I can see angels, angels, angels!"

REMEMBRANCE
Adrian will always lived in my heart. A brave young child whose life was cut short by a terrible illness and my heart goes out to his parents. Tribute should also go to "Make-A-Wish" Foundation for making possible the wishes of children with terminal illness.

*Names were changed to protect privacy

*More stories by MyDen
- A Live Unlive

Short Story Writing Contest.

2008-02-07T23:41:00.000-08:00

For aspiring writers, head over to BeboAuthor for the perfect writing contest. Totally free to enter and requiring no registration, the short story contest is open to anyone and other than erotica, all genres are accepted.

Just send in a short story of at least 1,000 words and win attractive prizes ranging from one year’s free hosting, including domain name, for a WordPress blog, one year Flickr Pro account, Amazon vouchers to Entrecard credits. So, put on your creative caps and submit your entries before March 21, 2008.

*About BeboAuthor (from the website) :

Elements Of Storytelling

"I first set up this blog to give those with author pages on Bebo a place to advertise and promote their work outside of Bebo. The aim of that was to have another way to get visits to their pages and hopefully a little bit of support and constructive criticism too. I began to review or advertise these author pages through my posts.

With that in mind, I felt that anyone interested in writing should have a place to promote their work which is why anyone can leave their links here in the link submissions page or else in the genre of their choosing. I occasionally talk about some of these unpublished works but I also review books, share any writer’s resources I find and talk about as many different areas of writing as possible.

I like the idea of writer’s sharing their ideas and readers having a chance to get to know writers who, with a bit of encouragement and advice, could someday be published. Although I have focused on young writers in particular, this blog should be for anyone interested in reading or writing."

Mangling Wednesday - What You Says?

2008-02-06T01:06:00.000-08:00

Mangling Wednesday is a new category that I am starting and is a light-hearted attempt to put into print the hilarious moments that I come across in my daily life - moments when the English Language is mangled in daily conversations.

There is no intention to mock anyone and neither am I as linguistically sound as I wish I was, and I am as susceptible to committing these faux pas as the next person.

Mangling Wednesday also features a fictional and pompous Professor X, and his attempts to correct, in his own words, " those grave grammatical sins!"

What You Says ?
(Overheard at a cafe about his date yesterday.)

"So, I asked her what she want to eat. She says: "I doesn't know. You choose ok!" So, we went to Long John Silver."
"So, what you all do next?" asked his friend.

Unable to contain himself any longer and biological programmed to correct grammatical mistakes, Professor X walked over to the two teenagers and with a huff, said :

Writing Wide
by Billie Williams

"First of all, when you are relating an event in the past, you should say ".....what she WANTED to eat," and it is 'she SAID' and not 'she says.'"

"It was also atrocious that your......girlfriend said : "I doesn't know!" Only 'he' or 'she' take a 'doesn't know' and 'I', 'you' and 'they' use 'don't know' or 'do not know'."

Turning to the friend : "And it is not "So, what you all do next?" but "So, what did both of you do next?"

"Furthermore, to inject eloquence into your conversations, use 'And' or 'Then' instead of the incessant 'So' that both of you are so fond of!"

The young man glared at Professor X for a second, then turned back to his friend and continued with gusto : "So, I says to her......."

For The Love Of Writing.

2008-02-03T10:18:00.000-08:00

Writing in itself is a remarkable experience. It is an act of discovery and of joy, and it gives meaning to thoughts, feelings, hopes and life. And writing a book is an even more impressive achievement - a labour of love that can take months, maybe even years. But what if we are lacking in the only tools we have for writing - our hands?

Imagine the severe limitations, the frustrations of being unable to express ourself in print if we are unable to use our hands to write those words that are crying to be written. But the human mind is, in fact, boundless, and here are some inspirational examples of authors who, through sheer determination and grit, transcended their physical limitations and produced brilliant works of literature :

1. The Diving Bell And The Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby.
About the author : Jean-Dominique Bauby was a prominent French journalist and editor of French Elle when he suffered a massive stroke in Dec 1995 at the age of 43. When he regained consciousness 20 days later, he was completely paralysed except for being able to move only his left eyelid.

Writing Method : To describe Bauby's method of writing as painstaking is a gross understatement as he literally wrote the 139-page book letter by letter. He would compose whole paragraphs in his mind, editing and memorising sentences for hours, got someone to recite the alphabet and he would blink when the letter he required was reached.

His Book : The Diving Bell And The Butterfly is a poignant memoir about living with Locked-In syndrome, a neurological disorder in which a person is of sound mind but almost completely paralysed. An extraordinary book that paints a luminous portrait of a mind dancing within a frozen body, it was an international bestseller and sold 150,000 copies in its first week of publication in France.

Wistful, witty and written with considerable humor, it is a remarkable tribute to the majesty of the human spirit. The book was also made into a movie in 2007 by American director, Julian Schnabel and won the Best Foreign Language Film at the 65th Golden Globe Awards.

Sadly, Jean-Dominique Bauby passed away two days after the book's release at the age of 44.

2. My Left Foot by Christy Brown.
About The Author : Christy Brown is an Irish poet and painter who was born with cerebral palsy. As a child, he was incapable of voluntary movements and despite the advice of the medical community to institutionalize him, his mother remained supportive of him. Remarkably, at the age of five, he grab a piece of chalk with his left foot and scrawled a mark - the letter "A"- on the floor, stunning his family in the process.

Writing Method : As suggested by the title of his autobiography, he used his left foot to write, type and even paint, but was also helped by his brothers, who recorded as he dictated.

His Book : Imprisoned in a world all his own and seemingly without any means to communicate, My Left Foot is an inspiring account of Brown's life and the struggles he had to overcome. Published in 1954, when Christy Brown was 22, it is a triumphant story of his battle to learn to read, write and paint, all with the aid of his left foot, and his yearning for acceptance and fulfillment. Giving readers a first-hand account of what it is like to be a person with severe cerebral palsy, My Left Foot is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.

Christy Brown passed away in 1981 at the age of 49 and his book was adapted into a movie, with Daniel Day-Lewis as Christy Brown, in 1989.

3. A Brief History Of Time by Stephen Hawking.
About The Author : Recognised as one of the most brilliant theoretical physicist in history, Stephen Hawking was stricken with Lou Gehrig's disease when he was a 21-year-old graduate student at Cambridge University. He subsequently lost the use of his limbs and voice, and is now almost completely paralysed.

Writing Method : Using a special infra-red device which detects blinks from his eyes, he communicates with the computer attached to his wheelchair, allowing him to "type". Through an electronic voice synthesizer attached to the computer system, it also allows him to "speak".

The Book : A Brief History of Time, published in 1988, was an iconic piece of science writing which has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide and was on the London Sunday Times bestseller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks. Using a minimum of technical jargon, Hawking helps the average man understand highly complex topics like the origin and nature of the Universe, black holes and gravity with vivid clarity.

*Related posts :
- Poetry & The Innocence of Children
- Of Old Book Stores & Literary Gems.

Poetry And The Innocence of Children.

2008-01-28T08:53:00.000-08:00

They say children say the damnest things but children can also come up with beautiful poetry - simple and from the heart. Their innocence, together with an imbued ability to be in awe of the natural beauty surrounding us and the wonders of life as they grow up, makes them natural poets. Unlike most adults.

We lose something, don't we, as we aged and travel on this journey called life. Tempered by pragmatism and numbed by the harsh realities of life, we no longer feel inspired and rarely are there times of exhilaration or that "eureka" moment, and neither does life allows us the luxury to be melancholic or even time for self-reflection - all necessary ingredients for writing poetry and along with poetry, an appreciation for life.

I certainly can no longer come up with the poems that I had written in my childhood, poems that were kept in a dusty box and tucked away, and re-discovered recently in The Magic of Poetry. Sad actually, for poetry is the language of life.

So, it was with great delight that my 9 year-old daughter told me about her maiden effort at writing poems. Her "What Is Red?" was a simple but delightful piece of poetry that gave me more insights about her than many sessions of father-daughter chats.

Written with a natural rhythm, it shows me her ability to feel, to appreciate and enjoy the natural beauty surrounding us and the simple things that life has to offer, a fast disappearing trait in an age where children are sometimes rushed to grow up, taught to be like adults before their time, without enjoying the best times of theirs and everybody else lives - childhood. It also reminded me what I had lost.

That it came in 2nd after her teacher had submitted it to her school's poetry competition, makes me even prouder of her.

Poetry by
Wislawa Szymborska

What is Red?

Red
is a rose
as beautiful as can be.

Red
is an apple
as juicy as can be.

Red
is a chilli
as spicy as can be.

Poetry by Billy Collins

Red
is a strawberry
as sweet as can be.

Red,
my favorite colour
how beautiful
it is!
- By Teri
Aged 9.

"A poem begins with a lump in the throat, a home-sickness or a love-sickness. It is a reaching-out toward expression; an effort to find fulfillment. A complete poem is one where the emotion has found its thought and the thought has found the words." - American poet Robert Frost

* Related posts :
- The Magic of Poetry
- The Joy of Writing

*For more poems of startling originality :
- View with a Grain of Sand by Wislawa Szymborska
- The Best Poems of The English Language by Harold Bloom

Of Old Bookstores and Literary Gems.

2008-01-22T01:07:00.000-08:00

There is just something magical about old or second-hand bookstores that makes me feel at home. Sure, modern bookstores like Borders and Kinokuniya, all gleamingly bright, lushly carpeted, neatly merchandised and having the "hip" element makes them a nice place to shop but to me, nothing compares to the 60s' and 70s' feel that a run-down old bookstore have.

Perhaps it's only me, at an age where I start to miss the many old familiar landmarks, cultural icons and old neighbourhoods that are fast disappearing in the face of relentless modernisation, and old bookstores, with their musty smells of old books, dusty shelves and counters that have seen better days and haphazard merchandising methods that have no apparent system to them, represent a trip down memory lane - back to a time when I was a boy, spending many splendid afternoons browsing old books, rummaging through dusty tomes and the joy of unearthing literary gems. Almost like a time-machine.

So it was with great delight that I chanced upon an old bookstore, tucked away in a row of old shops, on a recent trip to town. And what a find it was, turning up 2 sizzling reads :

1. People Of The Book by Geraldine Brooks.
A Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction in 2006 for her novel, March, Geraldine Brooks' People of The Book is an epic and fascinating tale based on an actual 15th century Hebrew manuscript, the Sarajevo Haggadah.

Stunningly written, it begins in 1996 in Bosnia, where the rare book, feared destroyed, turned up in a bank vault and the task of analysing and conserving the book falls on rare book conserver, Hanna Heath. As she pores over the ancient manuscript, she finds tiny clues as to its history littering its pages - an insect wing, saltwater marks, wine stains and a fine white hair and begins on a journey to unravel the stories behind the book.

From anti-Semitic 19th-century Vienna to the Spanish Inquisition in 17th-century Venice to 15th-century Barcelona, People of the Book takes us on a journey of historical grandeur and spans centuries and continents, and follows the trials and tribulations of individuals who, driven by circumstances and conscience, created and preserved the Haggadah amid war and persecution. Breathing life into the history of a rare illustrated Hebrew manuscript, People of The Book is an electrifying tale that takes us on a journey from the Haggadah's salvation back to its creation.

2. The Solitude Of Emperors by David Davidar.
A former CEO of Penguin India and the author of acclaimed novel, The House of Blue Mangoes, David Davidar's new work is an unflinching look at fundamentalist beliefs in modern India.

Inspired by the Mumbai riots of the early 1990s' between Hindus and Muslims, Davidar's ambitious and disturbing new novel has Vijay at the heart of the story, a young man who left his suffocating small town home in south India to cosmopolitan Mumbai to work as a journalist for a small but respected magazine - The Indian Secularist. He finds himself in the middle of violent riots and sees the chilling effects of a country caught in a surge of fundamentalism.

Written as a novel within a novel, Davidar's deep understanding of India, its people and cultures is demonstrated by the colourful characters that peppered his story - from the idealistic Rustom Sorabjee, Vijay’s mentor and boss at The Indian Secularist, to his roommate Rao, the wastrel son of a wealthy landowner to the ganja-smoking, poetry-spouting and messiah-like Noah Yesudas. Brutal and honest, The Solitude Of Emperors is a stunningly perceptive novel about India and looks at intolerance and sectarian violence unflinchingly.

*Related posts :
- The Top 5 Books For 2007
- Great Books For The Holidays

Cassie Edwards Accused of Plagiarism.

2008-01-16T23:05:00.000-08:00

An article in the local newspaper recently caught my eye. Headlined :"Romance Novelist Accused of Plagiarism," the article - where popular romance novelist Cassie Edwards was criticised for allegedly using other writers' material in her books without attribution - actually stunned me.

Apparently, Cassie Edwards, the author of more than 100 novels with about 10 million copies in print, had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar after a romance novel website, SmartBitchesTrashyBooks, compared numerous excerpts from her novels with passages from magazines and non-fiction books found through Google's search engine.

Getting it right

One of the examples juxtaposed text from Edwards 1997 novel, Savage Longings, with a passage from George Bird Grinell's The Cheyenne Indians, an ethnography published in 1928. The plagiarism was startling with the stolen passages and words standing out like an ocean beacon shining in the dark of the night.

Worse, she has now angered the biggest name in the romance genre : Nora Roberts, the bestselling romance novelist whose works has sold hundreds of millions of copies. "Given the side-by-side comparisons I've read, it seems clear Ms Edwards copied considerably portions of previously published work and used them in her books without attribution to the original source. By my definition, copying another's work and passing it as your own equals plagiarism. As a writer, a reader and a victim of plagiarism, I feel very strongly on this issue," she told The Associated Press.

Plagiarism guide
And the accusations of plagiarism seems to be growing. In an interview with Newsweek, nature writer Paul Tolme, accused Cassie Edwards of copying his work on the endangered black-footed ferrets in her romance novel Shadow Bear.

What took the cake was Edwards defence. In an interview with Associated Press, she acknowledged that she sometimes "takes" material from reference books but did not know she was supposed to credit her sources. Come on! A writer with at least 25 years experience not knowing basic protocol and etiquette? Even much lesser mortals like me know the need to first ask permission and attribute accordingly any borrowed content, notwithstanding the doctrine of fair-use.

Having been a victim of content theft myself, I can certainly understand the anger felt by those whose works have been stolen by Cassie Edwards, but while plagiarism - something that is very common and happening with increasingly regularity in the Web - is a nasty habit that lesser mortals like me have to live with, it has never occurred to me that it can happen in the hallowed halls of established and published authors.

If the accusations are true, it just goes to prove that nothing is sacred anymore, not ethics or hard work - just instant gratification, money and fame. The joy and pride in the efforts that are needed for any success seem to be traits that are fast disappearing in modern society where the incessant need for instant success without wanting to put in the efforts required has led to an erosion of values like ethics, hard work and integrity. That it is happening in the hallowed halls of the literary world just makes it so much harder to accept.

*Further reading :
- Romance Novelist Accused of Copying - The New York Times.
- Paul Tolme Amused by Cassie Edwards - Newsweek.
- Plagiarism by BeboAuthor

* Other interesting literary news :
- The World's Most Published Author.
- Robert Ludlum & The Business of Ghost Writing.

A Life Unlive - An Untold Story.

2008-01-13T01:10:00.000-08:00

A Short Story By My Den
NO NAME.
"How is Patient No. 2 today?" Doctor Ang asked. "Same as usual, staring into space," replied nurse Devi. Entering the ward, Doctor Ang saw the back of Patient No.2, with her long white hair, sitting in front of the window. In her 70's, she is the longest-staying patient in the Institute of Mental Health. Nobody knew her name and all efforts to trace her family and relatives were fruitless. She was found dumped at the Institute's gate one morning 53 years ago.....

SICKNESS.
"Stop!, Ah Mui, no!," shouted her mother. Ah Mui was banging her head repeatedly into the wall, the living room was a mess of broken glass and porcelain. Blood was streaming down her face and dripping onto the floor. Since she was 8 years old, Ah Mui has been suffering from fits accompanied with violence and destructive behaviour. Now a teenager, she had on occasions, attacked her mother, siblings and even strangers during her frequent bouts of fits.

Writing guide

With her husband having abandoned the family and three other children to care for, Ah Mui's mother found it extremely hard to cope and care for her. There were also the gossips and friction in the family to deal with : "I think she is possessed, better don't go near her," neighbours would warned their children. "We cannot live here anymore as we are frightened of her. Ma, you have to do something!" implored the eldest son.

While her fits has always been a part of Ah Mui's life since she was young, it deteriorated rapidly 3 years ago when one day.......

3 YEARS AGO.
"Ah Seng, I am home!" shouted Ah Mui's mother. With no sign of her alcoholic husband, she started to call out to Ah Mui but instead heard crying coming from her room. The scene that greeted her in the room chilled her heart.

Writing guide
Ah Mui was crouching in a corner, her clothes in tatters and hair dishevelled with blood and bruises on her face. "What happened, Ah Mui?" she cried. All Ah Mui could uttered was : "Papa...he...very pain here..." she pointed to her groin. Ah Mui was only 11 years old.

Out of shame and not wanting to subject her family to further humiliation, Ah Mui's mother did not report the rape to the authorities. Since that fateful day, her husband has not been seen and Ah Mui's condition degenerated rapidly.

ABANDONED.
"Who is making all that noise so early in the morning?" Duty Nurse Chin grumbled, irritated that the loud wailing had woke her from her much needed rest. Looking out the window, she was shocked to see a young girl been tied to the gates of the Institute, wailing and struggling to be free of the ropes.

The magic of words

So began Ah Mui's stay at the Institute of Mental Health. For 53 years, Ah Mui had never talked, just the occasional mutterings that nobody understood. Staring blankly at the walls all day long, her nights were always accompanied by her wailings.

Each day passes placidly and for 53 years, Ah Mui never had any visitors, not her mother, siblings or relatives.

YESTERDAY.
Going through the paperwork, Nurse Devi just couldn't help being distracted by Patient No. 2 : "Just who was she ?," she wondered.

Patient no. 2 passed away in her sleep last night, leaving no trace of her identity. No siblings, relatives or friends were by her side when she slipped away.

*Author footnote :
As a reflection of the times and the stresses of living in a modern society, the incidences of people suffering from mental illness have being rising worldwide. A taboo subject in most societies, many are shunned, treated like pariahs and dumped at mental institutions by their families, just like Ah Mui, many.... with lives unlive.

*More stories by MyDen
- The Boy Who Saw Angels

A Pleasant Surprise From Blog Catalog.

2008-01-05T12:33:00.000-08:00

Five days into 2008 and what a way to start the new year!

A recent participation in Bloggers Unite In Acts Of Kindness, an event organised by Blog Catalog, had turned into an unexpected but pleasant surprise as my post was among the top 20 as announced in the campaign results.

While there was never an intention to participate for the purpose of winning any prizes or garnering attention, and especially in a kindness campaign where everyone participating is a winner, the unexpected result nevertheless provided a positive boost as the campaign included hundreds of bloggers around the world coming together in acts of kindness.

Taking part in Bloggers Unite In Acts Of Kindness has also changed the way i perceived certain things. To be honest, there was a certain discomfort with coming out with a post about my contribution to the campaign and the initial feeling i had when i realised that my...simple act was within the top 20 was actually one of embarrassment as within certain cultures, especially Asian, and definitely the older generation, drawing attention to good deeds is actually not the norm.

But having seen the viral nature of blogging, from the Myammar crisis - where local bloggers were the first to alert the world about the abuses by the regime - to Blog Action Day to the Bloggers Unite in Acts Of Kindness campaign, i realised a lot of good can actually come out if the message is spread. A reply by Rich of CopyWriteInk to my comment on his article about this campaign, aptly summed it up :

"It took me almost ten years to learn that sometimes the result of saying nothing is the same result as doing nothing. Times have changed. It used to be that everyone did good deeds and didn't talk about them. But something changed. People stopped doing good deeds because they believed they were the only ones. Nowadays, it requires a few brave people to stand up and say that they did something good to inspire others."

Bloggers Unite In Acts Of Kindness, with the multitude of bloggers who took part, clearly demonstrated that blogging can be an effective platform for change and reinforced the views in one of my earlier article - Blogging, Society and What It Means To Me - about the impact of blogging on society and its effectiveness as a platform for dissemination of information.

Like all the great innovations and ideologies in man's history that started with a simple idea or a conviction, it is to the credit of the administrators at Blog Catalog, most notably Tony, Nine, The GoodKnife and Rich, for having the gumption to come out with the campaign and harnessing the power of blogging to do something good for society, especially in a cynical modern world where acts of kindness are sometimes viewed with disbelief or as being hypocritical.

Bloggers Unite In Acts of Kindness have also reinforced a view that i had about Blog Catalog : It is an exceptionally unique blog directory and networking site. Unlike many other networking sites, their responsive behaviour towards members suggestions, most of whom are using the services for free, and genuine efforts in constantly improving the Blog Catalog experience for users is something that is very rare in the wild frontiers of the Web where almost everything is about building eyeballs and traffic in the shortest possible time, and the resultant monetary value they can fetch when these sites are sold.

Together with keeping a tight lid on spam, the Blog Catalog team have succeeded in creating a strong sense of belonging in its community members and in attracting large numbers of respectable and notable bloggers throughout the world, and as a result, the standards of the members' discussions is a notch or two higher than other networking sites, making them a delight to participate.

Blog Catalog is a networking site with a difference and with the social conscience it had recently displayed, truly deserves the "Premier" tag to its name.

If there is one New Year wish that i have to make, it will be to see Blog Catalog grow from strength to strength, to the size and popularity of MySpace or Facebook, while retaining its core set of guiding principles that made it such a wonderful experience.

*Related posts :
- Bloggers Unite In Acts Of Kindness
- Blogging, Society and What It Means To Me

The Top 5 Books And Most Memorable Literary Events For 2007

2007-12-31T08:01:00.000-08:00

The year is coming to a close and what a remarkable year it has been for the literary scene.

With the released of the much-anticipated last book of the Harry Potter saga, 2007 saw the magic of author J.K. Rowling. A record-breaking 11 million copies were sold on the first day in the United States and Britain and on that day, millions of children and adults read or flipped through the 607-page tome to find out the hero's fate. It was also the year that saw the world's most expensive fairy tales - The Tales of Beedle The Bard. A book of fairy tales created, handwritten and illustrated by author J.K. Rowling, The Tales of Beedle The Bard was bought by online bookstore Amazon for a record $1.95 million pounds at a Sotheby's auction.

Besides the frenzy generated by Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, 2007 was also a year of controversies with both J.K. Rowling, with her outing of Dumbledore as gay, and Philip Pullman, the author of the award-winning His Dark Materials trilogy, whose first book has been adapted into a movie - The Golden Compass, coming under attack by Christian evangelicals in United States for being unsuitable for children and promoting atheism.

2007 also saw the sad passing of Norman Mailer of renal failure at age 84. The literary icon and two-times winner of the prestigious Pulitzer Prize, with The Armies of the Night in 1968 and The Executioner's Song in 1979, was noted for his acerbic wit, biting prose and as an antagonist of the feminist movement.

It was also a year of achievement for Irish author Anne Enright who won the Man Booker Prize award. Her 272-page tome, the Gathering which chronicles the disintegration of an Irish family, pipped five other contenders and hot favorites like British writer Ian McEwan and New Zealander Lloyd Jones for the award, netting her $52,500 pounds.

And in closing what had also been a wonderful and remarkable year of blogging adventure for me, here, with the last post of 2007, are the top five books that i have enjoyed reading :

TOP FIVE BOOKS OF 2007
1. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
After his stunning bestseller, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini returns with a beautiful, riveting and haunting novel that confirms his place as one of the most talented literary writers today. Propelled by the same superb instinct for storytelling that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is an incredible chronicle of thirty years of Afghan history and the story of two women, Mariam and Laila, born a generation apart and brought together by war, by loss and by fate.

It is a deeply moving story of faith, family, friendship and the salvation to be found in love. As Mariam and Laila endure the ever escalating dangers around them, they come to form a bond that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other which will alter the course of not just their own lives but of the next generation. A stunning accomplishment, A Thousand Splendid Suns is a haunting, heartbreaking, compelling story of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship and an indestructible love.

2. The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
From the Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, comes a compelling novel of alternate history, a gripping whodunit and a love story with 1940s vibes. A what-if, the story is set in a present-day alternate reality in Sitka, Alaska, a safe haven for Jewish refugees after World War II and the collapse of Israel, and after nearly 60 years, the Federal District of Sitka is about to revert to American rule.

Into this setting comes Chabon's hero, Meyer Landsman, a drunken rogue cop, who wakes up one day to find a dead body next to him. Poignant, lyrical, hard-boiled and funny all at once, The Yiddish Policemen's Union's central murder mystery has its roots in the Biblical tale of the Messiah, who would one day lead God's chosen people to the promised land. With elements of an international terrorist thriller complicated by religious conspiracies, it is a haunting account of alternate history and demonstrates the power of a good story.

3. The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas
Voted as one of the best young writers in UK, Scarlett Thomas's narrative is a breathless one, a combination of postmodern philosophy, physics and spine-tingling science fiction, that propels you relentlessly like a bullet train. About a smart young woman, Ariel Manto, who stumbles upon a rare book by an obscure 19th century Victorian scientist at a secondhand bookshop and through the book, discovers the secret to accessing the "Troposphere", a universe of the collective unconscious and the ability to leap into the minds and bodies of other living beings.

This book is the literary equivalent of the science fiction movie, The Matrix, and is a rollicking adventure story with ideas about sub-atomic particles, existence and reality. A delirious valentine to the pleasures of reading.

4. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Composed of 108 short chapters, based on the beads in a traditional Indian prayer necklace, this beautifully written and heartfelt memoir comes across as scenes in a movie. Plagued with despair after a nasty divorce, the author made the difficult choice of leaving behind all the trappings of modern America and embarked on a soul-searching journey on the aspects of her nature amid three different cultures.

Exploring her competing urges for earthly delights and divine transcendence, Gilbert first savored Italy's buffet of delights - the world's best pizza and free-flowing wine, then spiritual rigor and seeking communion with the divine at a sacred ashram in India and followed finally by the seeking of balance between the two in Bali, where she studies with a merry medicine man and plunges into a charged love affair. Eat, Pray, Love is down-to-earth, honest, conveys infectious rapture and delight and recalls anguish with touching candor. It is a sprawling travelogue of soul-searching and self-discovery.

5. The City Of Joy by Dominique LaPierre
The last spot in my list is for a book that is at least twenty years old and into my seventh reading. Dominique LaPierre's heart-wrenching account of the lives of the poorest of the poor in one of Calcutta's most devastating slums, Anand Nagar - "The City of Joy"- touches at a visceral level.

From the dedication of Polish priest, Steven Kovalski, to Hasari Pal, an inhabitant of the slum, to American physician Max Loeb, the book is a searing vision of the struggle for survival of the poor. It is a story of hope and love amid all the devastating realities of poverty, desperation and death and is a testament to the majesty of the human spirit, unbowed by the most wretched of circumstances. City of Joy epitomized the philosophy of the Christopher Award it won in 1986 - "It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness."

*Related posts :
- J.K.Rowling Under Attack
- The World's Most Expensive Fairy Tales
- Turmoil In The Kingdom of The Golden Compass
- Winner Of The Man Booker Prize 2007

J.K. Rowling's Tales Of Beedle The Bard - The World's Most Expensive Fairy Tales.

2007-12-21T01:30:00.000-08:00

Just as fans of J.K. Rowling eagerly await her next work, supposedly to be in the crime/thriller genre, out pops a collection of fairy tales - The Tales Of Beedle The Bard.

A book of fairy tales created, handwritten and illustrated by author J.K.Rowling, The Tales of Beedle The Bard has been sold for a record $1.95 million pounds at a recent Sotheby's auction, making it the world's most expensive fairy tales.

The astounding price the book fetched is a record on three fronts. It is the highest ever achieved at an auction for a modern literary manuscript, a record for children's fiction and a record for a work by Rowling. In keeping with Rowling's philanthropic character, all proceeds from the book's sale will benefit The Children Voice, a charity which campaigns for children rights in Europe which she co-founded with Emma Nicholson, a member of Britain's House Of Lords.

The 157-paged tome is one of only seven handmade copies in existence and is bound in brown moroccan leather and mounted with silver and semi-precious stones. The book is actually the volume of five wizarding fairy tales left to Hermione Granger by Albus Dumbledore in the Potter book, Harry Potter And The Deathly Harrows. One of the tales, The Tale Of The Three Brothers, appeared in the Deathly Harrows but the remaining four are told for the first time.

Rowling was naturally ecstatic with the record amount that the book garnered, "...this means so much to children in desperate need of help. It means Christmas has come early for me," she said. The book has been described by Rowling as a distillation of the themes found in the Potter books, calling it a farewell to the Potter world she has inhabited for she last 17 years. As for the remaining six copies of the Beedle book, it have been given to people closely associated with the Harry Potter series.

The buyer of the book is none other than online bookstore, Amazon, and Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, truly seems to love books and understand the following that Rowling commands by displaying photos of the book together with reviews on the site. Interested readers can see it here.

While there are no plans currently by Rowling to publish the Beedle book for distribution, the burning question in my mind is whether the book will eventually be mass published for the public. As fairy tales are an intrinsic part of childhood, it will be a shame if the Beedle tales are confine only to the rich, and Rowling's large following of fans, most of whom are children (including some adults like me), are deprive of the enjoyment of such rich literature.

*Related posts :
- J.K. Rowling Under Attack
- What is J.K. Rowling Working On Next?
- The Next Harry Potter
- Life After Harry Potter

Get beautiful
mousepads
from Zazzle.com

Bloggers Unite In Acts Of Kindness.

2007-12-17T01:09:00.000-08:00

Having been bitten by the viral nature of blogging in my recent participation in Blog Action Day, today will be another special day where I will take a break from my usual fare of books and literature, and celebrate Bloggers Unite, a day where thousands of bloggers around the world unite in doing acts of kindness. With Christmas, a time for sharing and giving round the corner, Bloggers Unite In Acts Of Kindness is especially timely and these acts of kindness will definitely spread cheer and joy during this festive season.

After hearing about Bloggers Unite about a month ago at Blog Catalog, a blog directory, it got me thinking about what will be meaningful acts of kindness that will not only benefit disadvantaged individuals but also society as a whole, especially since environmental issues are very close to my heart, and i wanted to involve my 10 year-old daughter in the process as well. Well, this was what we did.

Since last Thursday till Saturday 15 Dec 07, with a van borrowed from a close friend, my daughter and I scoured almost the entire neighbourhood in my housing estate, collecting old newspapers, magazines and anything that is recyclable. A whopping total of about 415 kg of old newspapers and magazines, 22 kg of plastic bottles, 6 old mattresses and 1 mini hi-fi set were collected. The items collected was sold to a recyclable goods dealer, netting us a grand total of $197.75.

At a loss who to donate the money to, my daughter suggested taking part in the Boy's Brigade Sharity Gift Box project. Held during the Christmas season, the Boy's Brigade Sharity Gift Box project, in its 20th year, promotes the spirit of giving and sharing and distinguishes itself as a charity initiative that goes beyond monetary donations for the less privileged among us. Through various donation locations in the city, members of the public can choose to either donate daily necessities or fulfill a specific wish of a child, elderly or family to bring joy to their lives.

The entire $197.75 that we have collected was used to buy daily necessities like rice, canned food, beverage and milk powder plus a Barbie doll - a Christmas wish of a 9 year-old girl - and left at the donation box outside a local supermarket outlet.

While I am no Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, with their ability to donate millions to charity, the experiences and lessons learnt from these 3 days were priceless. Besides spending quality time with my daughter and inculcating the importance of helping the less fortunate, the large amount of recyclable goods collected in such a short duration reminded me of our social responsibilities and the importance of doing our bit to cut down waste, recycle, preserve and protect our environment.

Caught up in the maddening rat race in our competitive society, we sometimes forget about the less fortunate and disadvantaged among us, and taking part in Bloggers Unite In Acts Of Kindness has made me.... human again. It also reminded me that anyone can make a difference and effect change, all it takes is just a little bit of time and effort.

*Read more acts of kindness by :
- Cybercelt
- Lisa Mcglaun
- Matts Nutts
- Blog Catalog members

*Related post : A pleasant surprise from Blog Catalog

Christmas - A Time For Humanitarians.

2007-12-11T18:19:00.000-08:00

Christmas Celebration Series
Do you know of anyone or have relatives and friends with dead-beat jobs, desperately trying to obtain small loans or finance to start simple businesses to break out of their poverty cycle but were unsuccessful, as all financial institutions requires either collateral or an income that meets the borrowing criteria? Or have you met or heard of....knights in shining white armour, helping the poor with small loans to start simple enterprises, loans with easy-to-meet criteria and repayments terms? What about a story of a man who with just US$27 and through his beliefs and vision, started a revolution and created an institution that lifted millions of people out of poverty in the Third World through micro-loans?

Christmas, besides saints like Mother Teresa, is also a time for remembrance of humanitarians like Dr. Mohammad Yunus.

"......these millions of small people with their millions of small pursuits can add up to create the biggest development wonder." - Dr. Mohammad Yunus

Born on 28th June, 1940 in the village of Bathua, in Hathazari, Chittagong, in what was then Eastern Bengal, Mohammad Yunus was the third of 14 children of a successful goldsmith father. His father, believing in the importance of education, sent him to the United States where he graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Ph.D in Economics in 1970. He returned to Bangladesh in 1972 and took a chair in economics at the University of Chittagong. But it was his mother, Sufia Khatun, with her generous spirit of helping the poor, who was his biggest influence in his early childhood years and inspired him to a lifelong mission of helping the poor and the eradication of poverty.

In 1974, a time of famine in the country, Dr. Yunus led his students on a field trip to Jobra, a poor village in Bangladesh where they came upon a woman who struggled to etch out a living by making bamboo stools and learnt that she had to borrow capital, at outrageous repayment terms, to buy the raw bamboo for the stools she made. After repaying the usurious loan, she was left with just a penny profit margin, barely enough for subsistence. Shocked by the poverty surrounding him and the struggles of the poor, he realised that something is terribly wrong with the economics he was teaching, "What is the point of all these splendid economic theories when people around me are dying of hunger?" he asked himself.

Yunus took matters into his own hands and lent US$27 dollars out of his own pocket to 42 craftsmen in the village, telling them that they could pay the money back when they could afford to. He found out that with tiny loan amounts and the removal of usurious repayment terms, it was possible to not only help the poor and give them a chance to survive, but also create the spark of personal initiative and enterprise necessary to pull themselves out of poverty. He decided that there have to be an institutional solution and hit upon the idea of a bank for the poor.

Going against banking wisdom that loans to the poor are not viable and against the advice of many banks, government officials and even threats from violent radicals and warnings from the conservative clergy, Yunus's persistence finally secured a loan in Dec 1976 from the government-owned Janata Bank to start lending to the poor in Jobra. On Oct 1, 1983, what began as a pilot project to help the poor with micro loans became a full-fledged bank - the Grameen Bank, a bank for the poor.

Mohammad Yunus reversed conventional banking practices by removing the need for collateral and provided credit to the poorest of the poor in rural Bangladesh to start simple enterprises, and created a banking system based on mutual trust, accountability, participation and creativity. By 2206, in Bangladesh alone, Grameen has more than 2,200 branches serving 6.74 million borrowers in over 72,000 villages, 97 percent of whom are women. With more than US$6 billion in loans dispensed, Grameen boasts of a repayment record of over 98 per cent, a recovery rate higher than any other banking system.

Dr. Mohammad Yunus efforts in eradicating poverty did not stop with Grameen Bank. In the late 1980s', he started major social projects aimed at increasing agricultural yield and productivity for the thousands of peasant farmers like the Grameen Agriculture Foundation, Grameen Fisheries Foundation and Grameen Telecom. Projects like the Village Phone has brought cell-phone ownership to 260,000 rural poor in over 50,000 villages since the beginning of the project in March 1997.

With more than one billion people in the world living on less than one US dollar a day, the struggle against poverty is an existential struggle for survival. Through the granting of micro-credit, Dr. Mohammad Yunus has helped millions of the poor get out of the poverty cycle. He has given the poor a chance where none have existed before and promoted entrepreneurship that puts the poor, especially women, in the control of their lives. Even beggars are not turn away from Grameen bank as he firmly believes that alms destroy initiative and creates dependency. The story of Mohammad Yunus and the success of the Grameen initiative not only shattered stereotypes about the poor but also proves that the poor and disadvantaged are no different from you and me, they just needed to be given a chance. It is an inspirational story of how so simple an idea could have worked so well for millions of poor around the world.

Dr. Mohammad Yunus's tireless humanitarian efforts in eradicating poverty and uplifting the lives of millions of the poor have been widely praised and acknowledged, and has won many awards including the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the World Food Prize and the Sydney Peace Prize. Along with Grameen Bank, he was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 and is the author of Banker To The Poor. The success of the Grameen model of microfinancing has also inspired similar efforts in hundreds of countries throughout the developing world and even in industrialized nations, including the United States, Canada and France.

".....at the rate we're heading, we'll halve total poverty by 2015 and create a poverty museum in 2030," - Dr. Mohammad Yunus.

*Sources :
- Nobel Prize.org
- Mohammad Yunus.org

*Related post: Christmas - A Time For Saints

*Author's footnote :
This is the second of my "Christmas Celebration Series" - a celebration of the human spirit.

Turmoil In The Kingdom Of The Golden Compass

2007-12-04T12:24:00.000-08:00

With shades of the recent attacks on J.K. Rowling with her outing of Dumbledore as gay, here is another controversy generated by the movie The Golden Compass.

Book 1

Based on the award-winning trilogy His Dark Materials by British author Philip Pullman, the US$180 million film has been attacked by the Catholic League in the United States for promoting atheism - the belief that there is no god - among children. An e-mail campaign promoting a boycott of the film has been circulated among the Christian community.

Book 2

Author Philip Pullman's, whom the New Yorker once called England's most outspoken atheist, trilogy comprises of Northern Lights which was retitled The Golden Compass for the American release, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. The award-winning series, once hailed as the next Harry Potter, tell the tale of an orphan girl, Lyra Belacqua, who rescues children kidnapped by a mysterious and evil organisation.

Ironically, the uproar over The Golden Compass has been fueling book sales worldwide with major book retailers reporting a surge in sales of the trilogy. Even yours truly here has sold 3 copies of Northern Lights, 2 of The Subtle Knife and 1 copy of The Amber Spyglass through Amazon.

Book 3

Putting the controversy aside, Philip Pullman's trilogy is actually a good read, with breadth and depth matching the Harry Potter series. An adventurous fantasy tale of magic and wizardry, the series gallop along at an adventurous speed and celebrate universal values such as friendship, bravery, sacrifice and loyalty. The richly textured series come with an intelligent subtext which advocates free will and thought over slavish devotion to doctrinal authorities. And if one read between the lines, you will find that Pullman's tale is not about killing off God but removing an understanding of a God who is antiquated and resurrects a far more sophisticated divinity.

For fans of Harry Potter and Lord Of The Rings, Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials is a trilogy i highly recommend and its popularity has been acknowledged with more than 12 million copies sold worldwide.
Save 20% With The
Complete His Dark
Materials Trilogy

*Related posts :
- J.K.Rowling Under Attack
- The Next Harry Potter
- Great Books For The Holidays

Great Holiday Gifts For Children.

2007-11-29T14:50:00.000-08:00

Having done a post on great books for the holidays, it just doesn't seem complete if i did not come up with a selection of gifts for children, just like what my daughter pointed out to me : "What about gifts for children?" Being relatively clueless about what children would like for the coming festive holidays, i roped in my daughter and 11 year-old nephew to help me with the selection. So, here is a selection of gifts from Amazon that would bring on the smiles in a child's face :

Imported from Europe, this fun Happy Zebra bead frame on wheels is beautifully crafted of wood and wood beads and will keep little hands and minds busy for hours and develops fine motor coordination and critical thinking skills as the child slides beads across the tangle of wires. Washes easily with a damp sponge. Recommended ages 1 & up.
Size - 7" x 3" x 6".
Happy Zebra Bead Frame Play Toy on Wheels From Friendly Company. Price : $19.99

Delightful and adorable Monchhichi 8"Dolls. Based on the adventures of a monkey from the popular Japanese animated series "Futago no monchhichi", these cute 8" dolls are highly sought after collectibles by young and old.
Assorted Monchhichi 8" Dolls From Sekiguchi.
Price : From $15.95 onwards.

KidKraft Veranda Swivel Dollhouse , mounted on a 360 degree swivel, offers plenty of room for your child's dolls and her BIG imagination. With 24 pieces of furniture, 4 rooms and 2 levels, the included wooden doll family of four, can move in right away. Let your little one use their creative eye to arrange and decorate the living room, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. It's a dream house your little doll will love! Measures 23 1/2 x 2 1/4 x 8"
KidKraft Veranda Swivel Dollhouse From KidKraft
Special Price : $71.62

With Hasbro Transformers Cyber Stompin' Action Figures, kids can take control of the Autobots and rescue Earth from the ruthless Decepticons. Based on the characters from the 2007 summer blockbuster hit movie, "Transformers," this action figures series has battle sounds and features galore and will let kids relive all of the movie's best scenes. Recommended for ages 4 and up.

Assorted Hasbro Transformers Cyber Stompin' Action Figures.
Price : From $9.99 onwards.

Girls can style Princess Rosella for the royal ball as they sing along to favorite songs from the beloved "Barbie as The Island Princess" movie. The beautiful island rose becomes the microphone and girls can even record and play back their performances. Play set includes hairbrush, clips, faux makeup and a special tiara that girls can share with Princess Rosella.
Measures 11.5"H x 13.5"W. Requires 4 "AA" batteries, included. Barbie Island Princess Rosella Karaoke Styling Head From Mattel
Special Price : $34.99

The bride Giselle debuts from the blockbuster Disney movie "Enchanted," in stunning lightweight tulle and rich brocade with princess sleeves, gloves, a tiara and hair adorned with sprays of delicate faux flowers. Doll measures 12" tall.
Disney Giselle Fairytale Wedding From Mattel.
Special Price : $28.70

Based on Cartoon Network's smash hit - Ben 10, this game features a three-dimensional Omnitrix that tells players what alien they turn into. Will it be the one they need to fight the villain they just encountered? If it is, you've captured it and continue on to your next challenge. For 2 to 4 players ages 7 and up.
Ben 10 Total Transformation Game From Pressman Toys
Price : $14.99

Attach Jedi Starfighters to hyperdrive rings and blast off into hyperspace. Removable Jedi Starfighter features retractable landing gear, multi-position wings and an opening cockpit that can seat Obi-Wan Kenobi or the firstever Kit Fisto minifigurine. Hyperdrive ring features flick-launching missiles and opening starfighter connection plates. Size 11.34"H x 18.92"W x 2.83"D.
LEGO® Jedi Starfighter™ with Hyperdrive Booster Ring
Price : $49.99

Discover the fantastic micro-world of ants with Forest Ants, of the Antquarium range. An educational and interactive game, learn how ants build tunnels and their habitat in a blue transparent Gel, while a rain forest grows on the gel surface.The tiny Forest Ant Ecoterrarium measures 5" x 3-1/2" x 1"
Globus Space-Age Ant Habitat, Antquarium From Noted
Special Price : $19.99

*Related post : Great Books for The Holidays

Christmas - A Time For Saints.

2007-11-24T08:05:00.000-08:00

Christmas - a joyous occasion where millions of people around the world celebrate the joys of love, the wonders of giving and the importance of family. A time of togetherness when children and adults alike, dream of wishes come true. And what would my Christmas wish be?

Like parents around the world, I wish for happy, peaceful and joyous lives for my family and children. But with the way things are in the world now - the crisis in Darfur, strife in Middle East especially Iraq, extreme poverty in many parts of Asia, foreclosures and bankruptcies of millions of people affected by the sub-prime mortgage crisis and the multitudes of people displaced by natural disasters - I also wish for more advocates of peace through non-violent means like Mahatma Gandhi, many more humanitarians like Dr. Muhammad Yunus and Dr. Paul Farmer, freedom fighters like Nelson Mandela but above all else, I wish for more authors of compassion and love like Mother Teresa and Polish priest Stephen Kovalski.

Christmas is a time for remembrance of saints like Mother Teresa.

"To care for the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone." - Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity

Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was born on 26 August 1910, in Skopje, Yugoslavia, of Albanian parents. Fascinated by stories of the lives of missionaries and their service at an early age, she left home at age of eighteen and entered the Missionary Order of the Loreto Sisters, taking the name of Teresa in memory of the little Flower of Lisieu, the patron saint of missionaries.

On January 20, 1931, she came to Calcutta, then the largest city of the British Empire after London and served as a teacher at the Loreto convent school in eastern Calcutta. For sixteen years, she taught geography to daughters of the well-to-do in British and Bengali society and although Mother Teresa enjoyed teaching at the school, she was increasingly disturbed by the poverty surrounding her in Calcutta. One day in 1946, on a train journey to Darjeeling, a town on the slopes of the Himalayas, she heard a voice.

God was asking her to leave the comfort of the convent and live among the poorest of the poor in the vast city beyond. In 1950, having obtained permission from the Pope, she started the order of the Missionaries of Charity, a congregation which began as a small order with 13 members in Calcutta. Today it has more than 4,000 nuns running orphanages, AIDS hospices, caring for the poor, the blind, disabled, aged and homeless, and victims of floods, epidemics, and famine and has several thousand charitable foundations throughout India and the world.

In 1952, an incident gave birth to "Nirmal Hriday - the Place of the Pure Heart - Home for Dying Destitutes." It was June 1952 and the time of the monsoons when Mother Teresa stumbled upon an old and dying woman outside the Medical College Hospital in Calcutta. The old woman was hardly breathing and her legs had been gnawed to the bone by rats. Mother Teresa scooped the old woman in her arms and ran into the hospital, depositing the dying woman in a stretcher. "Take that woman away immediately!," an hospital attendant intervened. "There is nothing we can do for her." Mother Teresa took the dying woman and set off to another hospital. Suddenly, she felt the woman's body stiffened and realized that it was too late. "In this city, even the dogs are treated better than human beings," she sighed.

So was born "Nirmal Hriday - the Place of the Pure Heart" - a place for the dying to appear before God in dignity and love. Those brought to the home received medical attention and were given the opportunity to die with dignity, according to the rituals of their faith; Muslims were read the Quran, Hindus received water from the Ganges, and Catholics received the Last Rites. "A beautiful death," she said, "is for people who lived like animals to die like angels — loved and wanted."

Taking in dying destitutes was only a first step for Mother Teresa, for the living too needed care and among the most neglected of the living were the abandoned newborn babies that might be found in a gutter, on a rubbish heap or in the doorway of a church. On February 15, 1953, she founded "Shishu Bhavan - the Children's Home of the Immaculate Heart," and welcomed its first guest, a premature baby wrapped in a piece of newspapers and left on a street pavement. "Shishu Bhavan" was to serve as a haven for thousands of discarded babies, orphans and homeless youth.

After the dying and the abandoned children, Mother Teresa turned her attention to the most wretched of Indian society, the lepers. At Titagarh, a shantytown in an industrial suburb of Calcutta, she constructed on land borrowed from the railway company, a haven to harbour the worst leper cases, bringing them medicine, dressings and words of comfort. She named the hospice, "Shanti Nagar - the City of Peace."

For over forty years, Mother Teresa ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned, the unwanted and dying in Calcutta, and her selfless dedication and compassion for the underprivileged has been widely recognised and acclaimed throughout the world. She has received a number of awards and distinctions, including the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize in 1971 and the Nehru Prize for her promotion of international peace and understanding in 1972. She was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian efforts.

Mother Teresa passed away on September 5, 1997, nine days after her 87th birthday. At the time of her death, Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity had over 4,000 sisters, an associated brotherhood of 300 members, and over 100,000 lay volunteers, operating 610 missions in 123 countries. Following her death, she was beautified by Pope John Paul II and given the title "Blessed Teresa of Calcutta."

"....but I found the poverty of the West so much more difficult to remove. When I pick up a person from the street, hungry, I give him a plate of rice, a piece of bread, I have satisfied. I have removed that hunger. But a person that is shut out, that feels unwanted, unloved, terrified, the person that has been thrown out from society - that poverty is so hurtable and so much, and I find that very difficult." - Mother Teresa's Nobel Prize speech

*Sources :
- Nobel Prize org.
- Wikipedia
- City Of Joy by Dominique Lapierre

*Author's footnote :
Beginning today right up till Christmas, there will be a series of articles dedicated to humanitarians who have made tremendous contributions to society and these articles - the "Christmas Celebration series", will truly be my Christmas celebrations - the celebration of the human spirit.

*Related post : Christmas - A Time For Humanitarians

In Memory Of Gary Jennings.

2007-11-23T01:04:00.000-08:00

Norman Mailer, an American literary icon, passed away this week but today's post is not about him. Instead it is dedicated to a personal literary icon of mine - Gary Jennings, who passed away in 1999, something which I had belatedly found out.

Going down memory lane, I remembered browsing at a local book store some twenty years ago and chanced upon Aztec whose synopsis about the life and times of a lost civilization looks interesting enough for me to buy it. And what a find it was!

Meticulously researched and exceptionally well written, I was spell bounded by the unique prose, wit and bawdy spirit of the epic novel. The breathtaking story of the protagonist's, Dark Cloud, adventures as a warrior and traveling merchant in what the Aztecs called The One World, was a novel of heroic dimension.

Rich with memorable characters and colorful exoticism, it was an epic tale full of surprises and led me on a wonderful journey back to a time now lost. Jennings's Aztec world was filled with vivid details and written with an authenticity that is hard to matched. Over the years, Aztec is one of the few novels in my collection that I had read many times and remains one of my all time favorites.

Besides the evident amount of research Gary Jennings pours into his historical epics, he also has this special ability to imbue his protagonists and characters with an irrepressible and zany lust for life, exotic wit and roguish charm, so much so that a reader wants to identify with them.

Who can be untouched by the adventures of Dark Cloud or the loss of his wife and daughter? What about the Goth, Thorn, the protagonist in Raptor and his spell bounding narration of his tempestuous exploits through his exciting journey across Europe at the time of the Roman Empire? Or Jennings's take on Marco Polo in Journeyer? His men and women were eccentric, always roguish and unabashedly bawdy. Jennings enlivened their adventures with an energetic prose and a narrative drive that many believed unique to historical fiction.

Nearer to our times, Jennings's Spangle was another tour-de-force of fascinating circus lore set in nineteenth-century Europe, with its stolid innkeepers to drinking poets amid a continent on the brink of change and the emergence of the new nations of Italy and Germany. The journey brings us from the impoverished post-Civil War South to the decadent courts of Europe, the grim of the Russian Czar and finally to Paris under wartime siege.

To the literary world, Gary Jennings was acknowledged as a man of intellect and erudition. His novels were international best sellers, praised for their stylish prose and widely acclaimed for the years of research he put into each one. To me, he was a rare literary great that comes once in a while and I mourn the loss of such a great icon in historical literature.

Thank you very much, Gary Jennings, for the memories.

"I'm a writer. I write not only for a living, I write because I'm a writer."
- GARY JENNINGS

* Gary Jennings other works :
- The Rope In The Jungle
- Sow The Seeds Of Hemp
- The Terrible Teague Bunch

* As Gabriel Quyth
- The Lively Lives of Crispin Mobey

*Reference :
- Gary Jennings net

*Related post :
- A Blast From The Past - My Journey With Stephen King

Great Books For The Hoildays.

2007-11-22T01:02:00.000-08:00

Whenever anyone ask me what i would like for a Christmas gift, my answer has always been books, even when i was a young boy. I still remember the thrill of receiving my first book, Moby Dick, as a Christmas present from a dotting aunt when i was about 10 years old. The excitement and joy was simply beyond words.

Unlike other gifts, books to me are timeless and i experience the same joy, if not more, when reading a book a second or even a third time round. There is just something about books, maybe it's their texture, the smell of printed paper, the visual impact of the cover or the promise of a wonderful journey, that make books so attractive to me. So, here is a selection of books from Amazon.com and with 34 per cent off books over $25, would make wonderful gifts for the coming festive holidays :

INSPIRATIONAL


Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Yo... by Joel Osteen $11.19	The Secret $13.17	You: Staying Young by Michael F. Roizen $15.60

Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, ... by Tony Dungy $16.19	Conversations with God : An Uncommon Dialog... by Neale Donald Walsch $16.29	Basic Black $14.97

Become a Better You by Joel Osteen $13.75	Five Wishes by Gay Hendricks $10.80	Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld $14.97

NON-FICTION


I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert $16.19	Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert $8.99	90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper $7.79

Three Cups of Tea:One Man's Mission to Pro... by Greg Mortenson $8.99	Clapton: The Autobiography by Eric Clapton $15.60	The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New ... by Alan Greenspan $20.99

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks $15.60	The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls $8.99	Rescuing Sprite by Mark R. Levin $13.20

FICTION


Love in the Time of Cholera (Oprah's Book by Gabriel Garcia Marquez $8.97	Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen $8.37	The Gathering (Man Booker Prize) by Anne Enright $8.40

The Choice by Nicholas Sparks $13.74	A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini $14.27	World Without End by Ken Follett $19.25

The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold $13.74	The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta $16.47	The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield $10.20

*Related posts :
- August sizzling reads
- This week's bestsellers

Red Clay Media - The Right Partner For Mortgage Lenders.

2007-11-21T08:34:00.000-08:00

It is the time of the year where celebrations are in order but i cannot help sympathizing with the plight of the people who were affected by the US sub-prime mortgage crisis. Defaults on mortgage loans in the US are at their highest in years and the damage to homeowners is extremely severe. There are already more than 1 million foreclosures in 2007 and many more people are facing the prospect of losing their homes, and are going through painful bankruptcies when they should be enjoying and celebrating the festive season.

Other than home owners, an estimated 110 mortgage lenders have collapsed, with US investment firm Bear Stearns and Northern Rock in UK becoming the poster boys of the crisis in sub-prime mortgages, and the troubles have spread beyond sub-prime mortgages to so-called Alt-A mortgages.

With the spectacular collapse of so many mortgage lenders and the expected contraction in the mortgage market, it seems only prudent that mortgage lenders should adopt currently available marketing intelligence services such as those offered by Red Clay Media, who generates premium mortgage leads of people who can actually afford to take out a mortgage.

Red Clay Media provides a range of solutions, specifically targeted at mortgage lenders, from acquiring exclusive mortgage leads, live transfer mortgage leads to online mortgage lead generation. With exclusive mortgage leads, all the leads come pre-qualified and are ready to buy, with all the screening work done by Red Clay Media. Their online mortgage leads can help mortgage lenders set up multiple internet marketing campaigns to drive leads directly to their sites. Together with their network of websites that generate quality leads for refinance, debt consolidation and new home loans, mortgage lenders can lower their cost per funded loans by as much as 40 per cent.

Rather than adopting aggressive marketing campaigns that push financial products and homes at people who actually cannot afford them and contributing to defaults and foreclosures, using targeted marketing intelligence services and exclusive mortgage leads generation offered by Red Clay Media is the way to go for mortgage lenders.

The Magic Of Poetry.

2007-11-04T02:39:00.000-08:00

A bit of spring cleaning done over the last week, in view of the coming festive seasons, turned up something unexpected. Lying inside an old, dusty and out-of-shape box in my store room was a scrapbook containing poems which I had written a lifetime ago, when I was a boy.

Looking through them brought back memories of a time long gone. The places and neighbourhoods that I grew up in - changed beyond recognition by modernisation, and the childhood friends that, for one reason or another, have drifted apart and lost contact with. It reminded me of what it was like to be a child - innocent, naive, full of hope and optimism and also, the regret of passing into adulthood. How I missed those simple childhood days!

Days spent flying kites and playing marbles, hunting for fighting spiders, catching fish and grasshoppers and the wonder of puppy love for the girl with the twin pleated long hair. So, what is it about poetry that, through a few simple sentences, is able to evoke such feelings?

Poetry, meaning "I create" in ancient Greek, is a human language art form and is a powerful way of expressing feelings and ideas. Like art, the beauty and magic of poetry lies in the eye of the beholder and is subjected to different interpretations. It is intangible, an act of self-discovery and defines deep feelings and emotions. It is intense, captures distilled perceptions and is personal and unique to its author.

Poetry has the ability to take us on a journey, to places we have never been before. It is everywhere - in nature, in the moment we look into the eyes of those we love, in the depth of one's soul, in our memories and in the flashes of our childhood.

Poetry is there for you to contemplate - "It is as it is."

Mother
Once,
my tears
were dried
by you
but no
longer.

Once,
i loved you
but no
more.

Yet,
my mind
is full
of you.

Not,
as a
mother
but a
long lost
friend.
- My Den (circa1971)

Emptiness
Night time is overtaking me
as daylight falls behind.
My life is slowly losing
the sparkle and shine.

A life filled with promises
and empty bottles of wine.
This loneliness is beginning to

encloak me,
I've lost all sense of time.

Self-pity overwhelms me,
I've begun to lose my mind.
While death is overtaking me
and daylight falls behind.
- My Den (circa 1976)

"A poem begins with a lump in the throat, a home-sickness or a love-sickness. It is a reaching-out toward expression; an effort to find fulfillment. A complete poem is one where the emotion has found its thought and the thought has found the words." - American poet Robert Frost

*For more poetry of startling originality :
- The Eye Of A Poet by Billy Collins
- Each Happiness Ringed By Lions by Jane Hirshfield
- View With A Grain Of Sand by Wislawa Szymborska
- The Best Poems Of The English Language by Harold Bloom

*Related post : The Joy Of Writing.

Shopping With Coupon Chief.

2007-11-03T02:08:00.000-07:00

With the festive season round the corner, it is the time of the year to shop for presents for my family. Unlike previous years, where much time was wasted hunting for the best bargains at brick-and-mortar stores, i am going to do my shopping this year with online retailers and what better way to do it than with CouponChief.com, an industry-leading provider of online coupons and discount codes to major internet retailers.

Not only do i avoid the crushing holiday madness, shopping with Coupon Chief can result in massive savings with discount of up to 50% for selected retailers. With just a click of the mouse, everything i need is right there - from searching by store or categories to recently added coupons. And with their extensive list of online retailers from BestBuy, Staples, Target to Dell, this is the best time for me to take advantage of their discount coupons and get that Enid Blyton book from Amazon.com that my daughter has been asking for and a new desktop at Dell for myself.

So, if you are shopping online, make sure you check out Coupon Chief for all your online shopping needs and save by using their discount coupons.

J.K.Rowling Under Attack.

2007-11-02T02:17:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter author J.K.Rowling has come under attack by Christian evangelicals in the United States ever since she outed master wizard Albus Dumbledore as gay. Apparently this happened after she had told a New York audience recently that Potter's head teacher was in love with rival wizard Gelert Grindelwald.

Matters seem to have heated up with talk shows in the US Bible belt in the south and websites condemning and reviling her. Newspaper letter columns have also been filled with complaints. Roberta Combs, president of Christian Coalition of America, said :"It is disappointing that the author have to make one of the characters gay. It's not a good example for our children, who really like the books and the movies. I think it encourages homosexuality."

Calling for a ban on her books, Jack M. Roper on TV evangelist Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network, said : "Harry Potter is one hero who has captured the innocent hearts of many children. When such a hero uses evil as a problem-solving tool, we need to be warned. Over time, the child can be adapted to the dark world of witchcraft and not even know that it is dangerous."

Even those who supported this "outing" have not been spared. Melissa Anelli, of The Leaky Cauldron website, said : "My inbox is full of people who wish to let me know that I'm scum for supporting this outing, that J.K. Rowling should go back to the devil who spawned her, etc. It's really disgusting. We're trying to simply ignore it."

There are now fears that the backlash may affect profits at Warner Bros, which has two new Potter movies to make and a DVD on sale this Christmas.

The controversy reminded me of what author Anne Rice went through with her novel - "Memnoch The Devil" but it does leaves me wondering why Rowling would out Dumbledore as a gay, now that the series is truly over? More hype for her series? I very much doubt so as she definitely does not needs it.

I found the manner of the "outing" troubling though, as it is apparently an answer to a young fan question about Dumbledore's love life at a reading of her last book. Besides it being totally unnecessary, stating that Dumbledore is gay hardly seems an appropriate answer to a young child and with the series central themes of love, bravery, courage and loyalty, there really wasn't a need to muddy the waters with issues of sexual orientation, especially with it's popularity with children worldwide.

*Related posts :
- Turmoil In The Kingdom of The Golden Compass
- Tales of Beedle The Bard
- What Is J.K. Rowling Working On Next?
- Life After Harry Potter

Organizing My Garage With CarGuyGarage.com

2007-11-01T04:27:00.000-07:00

With the festive season round the corner, it is the time of the year to carry out spring cleaning of my house. While i will probably have no problems with the rest of the house, i have a massive headache when i saw the state of my garage. Overflowing with my kids' discarded toys, gardening equipment, tools, old comics and books from my youth, i could hardly squeeze into the room and it makes me determined to get one of those garage cabinets available at CarGuyGarage.com.

With the extensive range of garage storage cabinets at CarGuyGarage.com, from the stylish Ultimate series, aluminum, stainless steel to heavy duty diamond plated cabinets, it will be great to have a storage solution for organizing my old and untidy garage and together with their attractive garage flooring tiles, transform it into a stylish and functional room for my family and friends.

The Next Harry Potter.

2007-10-27T04:21:00.000-07:00

A Review By My Den.
For those who are still suffering from withdrawal symptoms, now that the saga of the boy wizard is truly over, take a dose of Tunnels by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams.

First published in Britain in March 2005 as The Highfield Mole, about a young boy, Will Burrows, who discovers a secret underground world while searching for his missing father, the book was a result of the laying off of Roderick Gordon, an investment banker, in 2001. Instead of hunting for a new job, Gordon decided to write, first a screenplay and then a children's book, with his artist and actor friend, Brian Williams.

Unable to find a publisher, Gordon financed the self-publication of their book by selling his country cottage. The gamble paid off. Not only was the original print run of 2,500 copies quickly snapped up, the book also caught the eye of Barry Cunningham, the founder of publishing house - Chicken House. Cunningham was the man who, 10 years earlier, took a chance on an unknown writer named J.K. Rowling, the wildly successful author of the Harry Potter series.

Renaming the book Tunnels, the publisher re-released it in July this year. Heavily hyped as the next Harry Potter, the book sold more than 50,000 copies in Britain alone within the first month and is set to be translated into 27 languages for a worldwide release.

With the film rights to the planned five- or six-book series snapped up by Relativity Media, the duo have already completed the sequel, to be published next year and are currently working on the third book. Hmm...seems like some gambles do paid off in life.

*Related post :
- Life After Harry Potter.
- What is J.k.Rowling Working On Next?

Winner Of Man Booker Prize 2007.

2007-10-21T05:27:00.000-07:00

A Review By My Den.
Irish author Anne Enright was declared the winner of this year's Man Booker Prize. The Booker Prize, now known as Man Booker Prize since it's sponsorship by investment company Man Group in 2002, is a prestigious literary award started in 1969. It is awarded to the best novel of the year by a citizen of the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland and is judged by a five-person panel of critics, writers and academics.

Out of a group of six shortlisted contenders, the 45-year old author pipped hot favorites like British writer Ian McEwan, New Zealander Lloyd Jones and my personal choice , Indian writer Indra Sinha, to clinch the award. Her 272-page tome, The Gathering, which chronicles the disintegration of an Irish family, netted her $52,500 pounds.

Besides the prize money, winning a prestigious literary award usually translates into increase worldwide sales for the award-winning novel with the attendant effect of readers and libraries looking into the author's previous works. According to Enright's publisher, winning the Man Booker Prize may quadruple sales, currently at 35,000 copies, of her award winning novel. Even being shortlisted for the award has an impact on book sales with Pakistani author, Mohsin Hamid, reportedly saying that rights to his novel have been sold in 20 countries as a result of his novel - The Reluctant Fundamentalist being among the contenders for the award.

Like some things in life, however, winning a prestigious literary award does not always guarantee continuing literary success. One example will be Briton P.H. Newby, the inaugural Booker Prize winner in 1969 with Something To Answer. He is now largely forgotten and his winning novel is out of print. Another would be Cologne-born writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala who is better known for her award-winning work on screenplays for Merchant Ivory Productions than her 1975 win for Heat And Dust.

While the Man Booker Prize has it's fair share of controversy, it can also lead to increase exposure for lesser-known authors and allow readers to explore works that are under-appreciated and this is a definite plus for both writers and readers. The rise in profiles, in recent years, of writers from the post-colonial world - India, Africa and Australia in particular, is another benefit of the Man Booker Prize. Prominent post-colonial authors like Salman Rushdie and V.S. Naipaul have helped to wrest the stranglehold on what makes good English writing away from the British and their literary focus can be decidely non-Western.

There are also indications that the organisers of the Man Booker Prize plan to make its shortlisted novels available online for free so as to shake off its stodgy image and reach out to a wider global audience.

*Related post : Man Booker Prize Contenders 2007.

The World's Most Published Author.

2007-10-17T06:10:00.000-07:00

Is it humanly possible for an author to pen tens of thousands of books and trade reports in a single year? Well...meet Professor Philip Parker who, with more than 250,000 publications to his name, surely qualifies him as the world's most published author.

A professor of management science and international strategy at world-renowned French business school, Insead, the 47-year old scholar had apparently developed, after 10 years of research, a method of programming computers to mimic human authoring behaviour. His "Automatic Method of Authoring and Marketing" has secured a United States patent in Sept 2007 and is also capable of authoring videos and software. And how did he churn out thousands of books a year? By using more than 80 computers running non-stop to "write" his books!

Through his publishing group Icon Group International, he uses his computers to publish health guides, economic forecasts, multi-lingual dictionaries, bilingual crossword puzzles and anagrams. His most famous work, created with the help of his computers, will be his online dictionary at websters-online-dictionary.org with translations in more than 90 languages. His publications are sold mainly through Icon's website as well as popular online bookstores like Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com. A short list of his works includes :

-The 2007 Import And Export Market For Seaweed And Algae In The US.
-The World Market For Non-Monetary Gold.
-The Official Patient's Sourcebook On Thyroid Cancer.
-Webster's Chinese Simplified To English Crossword Puzzles Level 1.

None of his titles, so far, is close to topping any bestseller lists but with the amount of works that he is churning out, the earnings are apparently more than enough to keep his research and publishing operations running. Perhaps the world's most published and MOST OBSCURE author?

It was also with great relief to learn that his invention will not create the next J.K. Rowling or Agatha Christie as the program is highly unsuitable for churning out novels. The technology works best only with works that resemble mathematical formulae in nature which involve a lot of repetitive tasks. Suitable examples would be books on Sudoku or Haiku - traditional Japanese poetry which consists of three fixed parts of five, seven and five syllables and economic reports, which are aptly suitable.

Hmm...poetry "written" by computers. Wonder what fans of Japanese Haiku would say?

*Related post : Robert Ludlum And The Business Of Ghost Writing.

Get Unique Caps
Coffee Mugs &
Post Cards

Blog Action Day - Global Warming And The Decimation Of Arctic's Polar Bears.

2007-10-15T20:38:00.000-07:00

Taking a break from my usual posts about books, writing and the literary world, today's post celebrates Blog Action Day, a day where thousands of bloggers around the world come together and write about a common theme - our environment.

With global warming and environmental issues increasingly affecting our lives throughout the world coupled with the inertia and apparent lack of governmental efforts in tackling what is probably the greatest single issue facing humanity in recent years and in years to come, Blog Action Day is an ideal way for citizens around the world to come together, raise awareness of common issues and have their voices and opinions heard. The following is my contribution on the plight of the polar bears and the impact of global warming on their habitats, an article that i had submitted to an article directory recently.

Global Warming And The Decimation Of Arctic's Polar Bears.
Even under moderate projections for shrinking sea ice caused by global warming, leading scientists have warned that two-thirds of the world's polar bears will disappear by 2050. Current polar bear population is estimated to be about 22,000.

By mid-century, due to global warming, the bears will be largely relegated to the Arctic archipelago of Canada and spots off the northern Greenland coast where sea ice persists even in warm summers. This shrinking of their habitat will reduce the polar bear population drastically and eventually result in their total disappearance from the Arctic continent.

An analysis by scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that sea ice coverage of the Arctic Ocean will decline by more than 40 per cent before the summer of 2050. "Sea ice conditions would have to be substantially better than even the most conservative computer simulations of warming and it's effects on sea ice," a spokesman said.

Alarmingly, the analysis also concluded that the decimation of the polar bears is largely unavoidable, at least for decades, no matter what the level of greenhouse gases emissions is. In other words, even in the unlikely event that all the major economies agree to rapid and drastic reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases, the floating Arctic ice cap will continue to shrink at a rapid pace for the next 50 years, wiping out much of the polar bears' habitat.

In the United States, the Fish and Wildlife Service is currently considering listing the bears as a threatened and endangered species. While this will have no impact on the rapid shrinking of the polar bears' habitats, it will prevent further decimation of the bears through hunting and poaching.

With domino-like effects down the line, it is worth emphasizing that the decimation of Arctic's polar bears, due to the rapid shrinking of their habitats, applies also to the other denizens of the Arctic continent like sea lions and walruses and the impact on the food chain due to the vast shrinking in numbers of the top predator in the Arctic, will result in massive imbalances in the ecosystem.

*Sources :
-National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
-United States Fish and Wildlife Service

*Related Articles :
-Read all about indiscriminate dumping and it's impact on our ocean's marine life at The Right Blue.
-How To Make Your Home Environmental Friendly.

Blogging, Society And What It Means To Me.

2007-10-13T22:16:00.000-07:00

Being relatively new to blogging, it's popularity across the world have both surprised and intrigued me. What started out many years ago as online diaries have now morphed into blogs of all types and forms, ranging from hobbies, technology, news to socio-political blogs. Enterprising individuals have also used blogs as a means of developing alternative sources of income and many companies have employed blogs to market their products and services and relate to their customers.

Serving as a platform for people to voice their opinions, the phenomenon of blogging has seen stratospheric growth since it's advent. Four years ago, Technorati tracked about 8 million online diaries but today, it is tracking over 90 million blogs and estimates show that the total number of blogs doubles every six months! Just what is it about blogging that makes it so popular?

At it's most basic level, blogging is a technology that is drastically lowering the cost of publishing and makes available, the opportunity for every one's opinions, views and interests to be heard and shared. Largely driven by interest and passion and not commercial activity, it's personal nature coupled with the ease which one can publish their thoughts, has resulted in increased interconnectedness with the world. As an outlet for expression and the ability to shared, connect and gain knowledge with a worldwide audience, blogging is priceless and fulfills an important part of our human need for communication and the longing to belong.

Blogging also has a tremendous impact on traditional media and how journalism functions in our society. It has been viewed as a threat to mainstream media as it primarily takes away central control of content and distribution. It's relevance, speed and nimble nature was aptly demonstrated in the recent uprising in Burma where bloggers, and not the mainstream media, were the first to disseminate information to the world about their plight.

With readers across the world increasingly doubting the authority of their countries' mainstream media, blogging with it's personal touch and imbued with the character of it's author, just seems more in tune with readers' sensibilities than the opinionated newspapers with their agendas and affiliations. Readers are aware that behind major newspapers are writers and editors who are not necessarily more trustworthy than a lone blogger who has earned readers' respect.

The biggest impact blogging has on society was to take over the means of production and distribution of content. Readers would not be able to read this and countless other articles if not for blogging. Prior to the advent of blogging, writers had only one route to readers - they needed an editor and a publisher. Blogging bypasses this ritual and the inherent distortions that this route created - with editors looking for a certain angle to the stories and publisher pushing their agendas, and results in content that is largely unbiased and relevant.

Furthermore, the exposure of well-regarded blogs can rivaled the audiences of traditional news and opinion magazines. Coupled with the availability of print-on-demand technology, there is also no longer any need for established writers to go to newspapers and magazines to get their articles published as they can easily convert them into a pdf file and even charge for it's download.

The advent of blogging reminded me of the immense societal changes that took place more than 500 hundred years ago with the development of the Gutenberg press and the publication of broadsheets. The launched of the printing press transformed the way communication and information flowed in society at that time.

After nine months of this wonderful blogging journey, I can no longer envision a world without blogging as it's interactive element has enriched me tremendously and allowed me to gain valuable insights into the many issues in our society and the varied cultures, lives and people of our world.

*Related posts :
- Internet and it's impact on reading and thinking.
- Blog Action Day
- Bloggers Unit In Acts of Kindness

Internet And It's Impact On Reading And Thinking.

2007-10-07T02:51:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had this...disconcerting feeling that the amount of time one spent online is affecting the way we read, write, assimilate knowledge and maybe, even think? Do you find yourself with a tendency to skim while reading a book or an article in the newspaper as if you are impatient to go..somewhere? How about a general sense of discomfort that your ability to probe and analyze information has somehow been diminished and that it requires further mental effort to force yourself to think deeper and not accept at face value, an article you have read online, when this process used to be automatic.

It was with these thoughts in mind that led me to Maryanne Wolf, a cognitive neuroscientist and professor at Tufts University, whose book "Proust And The Squid : The Story And Science Of The Reading Brain" provided fascinating insights on the impact of digital media, especially the Internet, on reading, thinking and the cognitive development of children.

Proust And The Squid : The Story And Science Of The Reading Brain.
Wolf believes that the the reading brain, formed over the past 5,000 years since the acquisition of reading, is been endangered - an unforeseen consequences of the transition to a digital age that is affecting every aspect of our lives including the intellectual development of children.

Citing Socrates, Wolf explained that the philosopher found himself at a similar crossroads, when writing emerged as an alternative to oral communication. Socrates was against the acquisition of literacy and the core of his arguments rested on his fears that young people would mistake the absorption and understanding of written information for the cultivation of true knowledge. He believed that the seeming permanence of the printed word would delude the young into thinking they had accessed the heart of knowledge rather than simply decoded it. To Socrates, only the arduous process of probing, analyzing and ultimately internalizing knowledge would enable the young to develop a lifelong approach to thinking that would lead them ultimately to wisdom and virtue.

In the digital world, Socrates' concerns for the young have new relevance. "How many children today are becoming Socrates' nightmare, mere decoders of information who have neither the time nor the motivation to think beneath or beyond their googled universes? Will they become so accustomed to immediate access to escalating on-screen information that they will fail to probe beyond the information given to the deeper layers of insight, imagination and knowledge that have led us to this stage of human thought?" she asked.

As a neuroscientist and scholar of reading, Wolf was particularly concerned with the plight of the reading brain as it encounters this technologically-rich society. "We know that no human being was born to read and we can do so only because of our brain's capacity to rearrange itself to learn something new. Neuroimaging of novice readers allows us to observe how a new neural circuitry is fashioned from some of its original structures. In the expert reading brain, the first milliseconds of decoding have become virtually automatic within that circuit. It is this automaticity that allows us the precious milliseconds we need to go beyond the decoded text to think new thoughts of our own - the heart of the reading process." she wrote.

More importantly, Wolf believes that children need to have both time to think and the motivation to think for themselves and to develop an expert reading brain before the digital mode dominates their reading. "The immediacy and volume of information should not be confused with true knowledge and it would be a shame if the very intellect that produced the digital revolution could be destroyed by it," she said.

While the Internet has it's obvious benefits, Wolf's book provided valuable insights on the impact of the World Wide Web on reading habits and thinking processes. Her assertions that children's exposure to the Web should be limited and instead, be expose widely to traditional sources of information like books, magazines and newspapers so as to allow for the development of an expert reading brain and not impede the development of the mind's ability to think, probe and analyze information, is worth considering.

*Related post : Blogging, Society And What It Means To Me

The Fear Of Writing - Even Literary Greats Make Mistakes.

2007-09-29T06:42:00.000-07:00

By My Den
A recent conversation with a friend, about starting a blog, got me thinking about her unfounded fears of writing and blogging, largely centered on her mistaken beliefs that one has to be supremely articulate or have superb command of the English language in order to write and blog. I do not know how others see it but i felt that blogging is actually something very personal and is an act of self-expression with no need to justify for one's perceived inarticulateness.

As writing is the most common means of communication and necessary in the sharing of information and knowledge, i believed we sometimes put too much pressure on ourselves when we write, thus causing unnecessary apprehension and anxiety. My advice is to just go ahead and write, enjoy the experience and i am sure, along the writing journey, one will pick up the necessary skills to be an effective writer. Besides, there is actually a certain joy in rawness, reading unclinical views and opinions that comes out straight from the heart.

With no intention of demeaning the importance of grammar in the English language, i felt that we sometimes get so worked up about it that we stumble over our apprehensions and fall into error. While we should be mindful about correct usage, we must also not be so fearful of committing errors when speaking or writing English as consciousness of grammar should actually facilitate clear speech and precise writing instead of shutting us up.

It is also interesting to note that even literary greats make mistakes and there is not a single great writer in all of English literature who has not committed grammatical mistakes. Here are some highlighted by F.G.Fowler's The King's English, a standard guide to grammar:

- "The most pompous monument of Egyptian greatness, and one of the most bulky works of manual industry, are the pyramids" (Samuel Johnson).
Subject-verb agreement (or disagreement).

- "..neither of which are very amiable motives for religious gratitude" (William Thackeray).
Neither and either should always take singular verbs.

- "Nataly promised amendment, with a steely smile, that his lips mimicked fondly" (George Meredith).
That, should not be used to introduce a non-defining clause.

- "All debts are cleared between you and I if I might but see you at my death"? (William Shakespeare).
Usage of wrong pronouns, me instead of I.

One book that greatly influenced me to start writing was Dorothea Brande's "Becoming a Writer". A classic since 1934, her book is very different from the many "how-to-write" guides. Instead of techniques, styles or methods, her book touches on the philosophy, thinking, lifestyle and attitude of a writer. In essence, it was designed to simply help you get over yourself and start writing, just like what i did after reading her book.

So, to all who intends to embark on the writing journey but have unfounded fears, just go ahead and write and experience the joy that writing brings.

*Related Posts :
- The Joy Of Writing
- A Writer's Ernest Assessment

Man Booker Prize Contenders 2007.

2007-09-22T04:46:00.000-07:00

A Review By MyDen
Book lovers around the world should now be eagerly awaiting the outcome of this year's winner of the Man Booker Prize. The Booker Prize, now known as Man Booker Prize since it's sponsorship by investment company Man Group in 2002, is a prestigious literary award started in 1969. It is awarded to the best novel of the year by a citizen of the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland and is judged by a five-person panel of critics, writers and academics.

With a prize pot of $50,000 pounds, there are a total of six authors and their shortlisted books vying for the prestigious prize this year, with Ian McEwan, the winner in 1998 for his novel Amsterdam, again in the running. If McEwan wins again in Oct 16, he will be only the third person in the prize's history to have won more than once. Australian author, J.M. Coetzee was the first to win on two occasions, in 1983 and 1999, while Peter Carey, another Australian author, won in 1988 and 2001.

Unlike the uproar last year when the shortlist comprised largely of unknown authors (Indian writer Kiran Desai won for The Inheritance of Loss), this year's list, all first time nominees except for McEwan, are reasonably well known in literary circles.

Besides international glory, winning the prize usually translates into increase book sales worldwide. After her win last year, Desai's The Inheritance of Loss rocketed into the bestsellers list in Singapore and remained there for 23 weeks. All the six shortlisted books except for Nicola Barker's Darkmans, are available here together with short reviews, author bios and just for the fun of it, the odds at Ladbrokes of the six authors.

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan.
Set in 1962, the book delves into the psyches of a young English couple to explain their disastrous wedding night.
About Ian McEwan.
Born in 1948 in Aldershot, Hampshire, McEwan followed his army officer father to postings in East Asia, Germany and North Africa. A graduate of the University of Sussex, he lives in Oxford. This is his 10th novel and fifth Booker prize nomination.
Stranger than fiction.
He discovered a long-lost elder brother, a bricklayer, in 2002, who had been given up for adoption during World War II, the result of an extra-marital affair between his parents when his mother was married to someone else at that time.
Ladbrokes Odds.
His odds of 5/2 are second only to Lloyd Jones but the general consensus in literary circles is that the slim novel is not one of his most profound works. Then again, his Booker prize winning Amsterdam was also considered one of his lesser novels.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid.
The story of an American-educated Pakistani man who became disillusioned with the United States after Sept 11 and his doomed relationship with an American girl.
About Mohsin Hamid.
Born in 1971 in Lahore, Pakistan and a graduate of Harvard Law School and Princeton University, Hamid worked as a management consultant in New York before moving to London in 2001. This is his second novel and his debut work, Moth Smoke, won a Betty Trask Award in 2001. The award is given to first-time writers from the Commonwealth under the age of 35. He is also the youngest among the shortlisted authors.
Stranger than fiction.
Given the pivotal date in the novel, he actually started writing The Reluctant Fundamentalist in 2000, well before the cataclysmic Sept 11 event and had already relocated to London when the World Trade Center was attacked.
Ladbrokes Odds. This elegant novel was much talked about when first published but with odds of 6/1, Hamid is currently, not one of the front runners.

The Gathering by Anne Enright.
An Irish tale about a middle-aged woman who discovers the seeds of her alcoholic brother's doom, who committed suicide by drowning, in the history of her sprawling family.
About Anne Enright.
Born in Dublin in 1962, the former television producer and director studied English at Trinity College in Dublin and creative writing at the University of East Anglia. The Gathering is her fourth novel and her second book in 2000, What Are You Like?, was shortlisted for the Whitbread Novel Award and won the Encore Award. Her collection of short stories, The Portable Virgin in 1991, also won the Rooney prize for Irish Literature.
Stranger than fiction.
She has written extensively about the discomforts of breast-feeding and that "amniotic fluids" smells like tea with regards to her being pregnant with and raising her two young children.
Ladbrokes odds.
Though critics like the book's blend of cynicism and sympathy, there are some who dislike it for it's cliches about Irish families. It is currently a dark horse with odds of 9/1.

Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones.
Set in the 1990s', the story is about the only white man on the South Pacific island of Bougainville and his attempts to re-open the school in a small village to teach the children Charles Dickens' Great Expectations against a backdrop of the ongoing civil war to secede from Papua New Guinea.
About Lloyd Jones.
The former journalist was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1955, where he still lives. He is a graduate of Victoria University. This is his seven novel and it has already clinched the Commonwealth Writers' Overall Prize for Best Book. His fifth book, The Book of Fame, won the Deutz Medal for Fiction in the 2001 Montana New Zealand Book Awards and the Tasmania Pacific Fiction Prize in 2003.
Stranger than fiction.
As a journalist, Jones visited the island of Bougainville and even stayed with Sam Kauona, the military leader of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army.
Ladbrokes odds.
With odds of 2/1, Jones is currently the front runner for the award. However, being the bookies' favorite does not guarantee the prize and the book has been criticised for its unconvincing ending.

Animal's People by Indra Sinha.
About a community quest for justice, the novel is set in the fictional Indian city of Khaufpur, which was ravaged by a leak from an American chemical factory. The narrator is Animal, a teenager who walks on all fours due to his chemically damaged spine.
About Indra Sinha.
Born in Mumbai, India, in 1950, Sinha studied English at Cambridge University before working as an advertising copywriter. Now a full-time author, he lives in France. Although he is the least well known among the nominees, his debut novel, The Death Of Mr. Love in 2002, garnered critical acclaim. Animal's People is his second book.
Stranger than fiction.
An award-winning star copywriter at top agency Collett Dickenson Pearce, he has used his design savy to set up a website about the fictional city of Khaufpur at www.khaufpur.com.
Ladbrokes odds.
Though an outsider with 9/1 odds, his epic novel has all the the ingredients - globalisation, politics, culture clashes and an idiosyncratic narrator - to pull him to the head of the pack.

Darkmans by Nicola Barker (Image not available).
A complex narrative about an estranged father and son dwelling in Kent, England and their shenanigans while being occasionally possessed by the spirit of John Scogin, one of King Edward IV's court jesters.
About Nicola Barker.
Born in 1966 in Ely, Cambridgeshire and raised in South Africa, she return to Britain when she was 14. She studied English and philosophy at Cambridge University and lives in London. Her third book, Wide Open in 1998, won the International Impac Dubin Literary Award. This is her seventh novel.
Stranger than fiction.
She is a self-confessed addict of of popular reality series Big Brother and property programme, A Place In The Sun.
Ladbrokes odds.
Her current odds are 4/1. While Darkmans has been praised for it's ambitious scope, it might be a little to offbeat to win a mainstream prize.

*Related post :
- Winner Of The Man Booker Prize 2007

Monetizing Your Hobby - About PayPerPost.

2007-09-08T22:58:00.000-07:00

Almost everyone is looking towards increasing their incomes with catch phrases like "multiple streams of income” and “alternative streams of income” common in books on personal money management. It basically means that you get additional income from other sources besides your regular job.

Other than working two jobs, which will be extremely taxing, one of the best way to increase one's income is by monetizing your hobbies. Since you enjoy doing it, you might as well get paid for it thus turning it into an "alternative stream of income." With that in mind, especially since writing and reading are my hobbies, i recently signed up for PayPerPost, a blog marketing network that pays you to blog about things that interests you.

Being new with PayPerPost, i am not entirely familiar with the mechanics of the network but looking at their website, i get the impression that there are plenty of opportunities available for you to blog about and also a general sense that it pays better, between $5 to $20 per opportunity, than Google Adsense. Of course, it correspondingly requires more effort as it is not just a contextual ads network like Adsense. The best part is that you get to choose the opportunities that interest you and are relevant to your blog content. Nifty tools like PayPerPost Direct are also available where you can negotiate directly with advertisers who like your blog and want you to blog about their products or services.

The requirements of getting your blog accepted into PayPerPost network are minimal with your blog at least 90 days old and have 20 posts. Payment is through Paypal and with their disclosure
policy, sponsored posts are declared so that there are no deception to readers. As a matter of fact, my first assignment is to write about PayPerPost itself and i believe that i will be paid US$20 for it. Not too bad for doing something that i enjoyed and for those who are interested, check out PayPerPost, as a means of monetizing your hobbies.

Robert Ludlum And The Business Of Ghost Writing.

2007-09-03T07:16:00.000-07:00

I have always wonder whether i had my facts mixed up about Robert Ludlum, the best selling author of thrillers and international intrigue, as i remembered reading that he had passed away a few years back. Yet, i kept seeing his latest books in the book stores that i frequented, like his latest - The Bourne Betrayal.

It was an article in the local newspaper recently, that got this puzzle of mine straightened out and apparently, the estate of Robert Ludlum had allowed ghost writers to preserve and continue Ludlum's literary tradition, resulting in a total of 12 books since his death.

Excerpts from The Sunday Times Aug 26 2007 :
"Writer Robert Ludlum died six years ago, but that had done nothing to slow the release of books published under the name of the actor-turned-novelist who specialised in thrillers built on a foundation of paranoia.

Twelve Ludlum books have been released since his death, with a 13th due out next month. The business is deployed now as a kind of film studio, presenting books completed by others or new ones written using his name. Since early last year there have been three : The Moscow Vector, the sixth in the Covert-One series of paperback originals; The Bancroft Strategy and Ludlum's The Bourne Betrayal by Eric Van Lustbader.

Ludlum did not want to be forgotten or leave behind only an enormous backlist that started with The Scarlati Inheritance in 1971. He had little reason to worry : He is now a brand extended far into his afterlife. His estate has borrowed from the examples of V.C. Andrews, dead since 1986, but selling well thanks to novels in her name written by an uncredited author, and Ernest Hemingway, whose estate issued several books after his suicide.

Mr. Jeffrey Weiner, the executor of Ludlum's estate, says : "People expect something from a Robert Ludlum book, and if we can publish Ludlum books for the next 50 years and satisfy readers, we will." The estate's post-mortem publishing game plan is reminiscent of licensing and other deals for dead stars such as Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe, and the film industry's comfort with familiar franchises.

Whether it is fair to readers to publish Ludlum books posthumously - in the form of spruced-up old manuscripts or new novels written by others - is not a serious concern to the estate or to the publisher, Grand Central Publishing. "I don't think anyone objects as long as you maintain the quality of the books," says Mr. Morrison, the late writer's agent....."

I am not so sure how others see it but i believe it will be extremely difficult to replicate the works of another author given that each author has his or her own unique style of writing, choice and usage of words, methods of characterisation, rhythm, tenor and so forth. The reading experience would also be...different. As to whether it is fair to readers, i will leave that judgement to fans of Robert Ludlum. Well anyway, at least it solved one of my puzzles.

*For fans of Robert Ludlum, follow the adventures of Jason Bourne :
- The Bourne Identity
- The Bourne Supremacy
- The Bourne Ultimatum
- The Bourne Legacy ( by Eric Van Lustbader )
- The Bourne Betrayal ( by Eric Van Lustbader )

*Related post :
- A Vampiric Thrill With Anne Rice
- My Journey With Stephen King
- In Memory Of Gary Jennings
- The World's Most Published Author

The Joy Of Writing.

2007-08-28T04:52:00.000-07:00

I am not sure how others view writing but for me, writing has always been therapeutic and I derived a certain amount of satisfaction and definite joy from it. While I have always wanted to write short stories and even poetry since I was young, it was only recently, about 6 months ago when I got my personal desktop, that I was able to actually fulfilled this ambition through my various blogs and articles submission. Be it writing a short story or a post in a blog, the completion of a piece of writing always gives me tremendous satisfaction.

In society, writing is essential as it connects us to culture, people, knowledge, work and at times, gives meaning to life. It is a process of turning experiences into text and allows for communication of thoughts and feelings. Writing is an act of discovery, an act of joy and a catalyst for imagining and creating the future.

With that in mind, here is a piece of poetry, "The Joy of Writing" by Wislawa Szymborska, a Polish poet, that I would like to share with readers. Incidentally, this piece won The Nobel Prize for Literature in 1996.

The Joy of Writing
Why does this written doe bound through these written woods?
For a drink of written water from a spring
whose surface will xerox her soft muzzle?
Why does she lift her head; does she hear something?
Perched on four slim legs borrowed from the truth,
she pricks up her ears beneath my fingertips.
Silence - this word also rustles across the page
and parts the boughs
that have sprouted from the word "woods."

Lying in wait, set to pounce on the blank page,
are letters up to no good,
clutches of clauses so subordinate
they'll never let her get away.

Each drop of ink contains a fair supply
of hunters, equipped with squinting eyes behind their sights,
prepared to swarm the sloping pen at any moment,
surround the doe, and slowly aim their guns.

They forget that what's here isn't life.
Other laws, black on white, obtain.
The twinkling of an eye will take as long as I say,
and will, if I wish, divide into tiny eternities,
full of bullets stopped in mid-flight.
Not a thing will ever happen unless I say so.
Without my blessing, not a leaf will fall,
not a blade of grass will bend beneath that little hoof's full stop.

Is there then a world
where I rule absolutely on fate?
A time I bind with chains of signs?
An existence become endless at my bidding?

The joy of writing.
The power of preserving.
Revenge of a mortal hand.

By Wislawa Szymborska
From "No End of Fun", 1967

*For more poems of startling originality, read Wislawa Szymborska's "View With A Grain Of Sand"

Related Post : The Fear Of Writing - Even Literary Greats Make Mistakes

This Week's Bestsellers.

2007-08-26T22:47:00.000-07:00

A Review By My Den
This is My Den's compilation of this week's top 5 bestsellers, according to Times bookstores, MPH and Amazon.com, for fiction and children. Numbers in brackets are the previous week's positions :

FICTION BESTSELLERS :
No.1 (1) For One More Day by Mitch Albom.
This is the story of Charley, a child of divorce who is always forced to choose between his mother and his father. He grows into a man and starts a family of his own. But one fateful weekend, he leaves his mother to secretly be with his father - and she dies while he is gone. This haunts him for years. It unravels his own young family. It leads him to depression and drunkenness. One night, he decides to take his life. But somewhere between this world and the next, he encounters his mother again, in their hometown, and gets to spend one last day with her - the day he missed and always wished he'd had. He asks the questions many of us yearn to ask, the questions we never ask while our parents are alive...
Available here : For One More Day

No. 2 ( 2 ) Next by Michael Crichton.
By the bestselling author of Jurassic Park, Crichton once again focuses on genetic engineering in his new thriller. With a clever blend of fact and fiction, Next is a breathless tale of a new world where nothing is what it seems and challenges our sense of reality and notions of morality. In an ambitious effort to show what's wrong with the America's current handling of gene patents and the laws governing human tissues, the author interweaves many plot strands, one involving a California researcher, Henry Kendall, who has mixed human and chimp DNA while working at NIH. Kendall produces an intelligent hybrid whom he rescues from the government and tries to pass off as a fully human child. A page-turner with intellectual substance but relatively lame when compared to his other bestsellers.
Available here :Next

No. 3 ( 4 ) The Afghan by Frederick Forsyth.
Set in the very near future, veteran Forsyth's latest thriller of modern terrorism, is a cut above most other post-9/11 spy thrillers. The discovery of a threat of catastrophic assault by al-Qaeda on the West, compels the leaders of the U.S. and the U.K. to attempt a desperate gambit to substitute a seasoned British operative, Col. Mike Martin, for an Afghan Taliban commander being held prisoner at Guantanamo Bay. The intelligence agencies will try to do what no one has ever done before, pass off a Westerner as an Arab. It will require extraordinary preparation and then extraordinary luck, for nothing can truly prepare Martin for the dark and shifting world into which he is about to enter....Filled with remarkable detail and compulsive drama, The Afghan is further proof that Forsyth is truly a master of suspense. Available here : The Afghan.

No.4 ( 5 ) A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.
After 103 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and with 4 million copies of The Kite Runner shipped, Khaled Hosseini returns with a beautiful, riveting, and haunting novel that confirms his place as one of the most important literary writers today. Propelled by the same superb instinct for storytelling that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once an incredible chronicle of thirty years of Afghan history and a deeply moving story of family, friendship, faith, and the salvation to be found in love. Born a generation apart and with very different ideas about love and family, Mariam and Laila are two women brought together by war, by loss and by fate. As they endure the ever escalating dangers around them, they come to form a bond that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other and that will ultimately alter the course not just of their own lives but of the next generation. A stunning accomplishment, A Thousand Splendid Suns is a haunting, heartbreaking, compelling story of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship and an indestructible love...Available here : A Thousand Splendid Suns.

No.5 ( 7 ) The Quickie by James Patterson.
Lauren Stillwell is not your average damsel in distress. When the NYPD cop discovers her husband leaving a hotel with another woman, she decides to beat him at his own game. But her revenge goes dangerously awry, and she finds her world spiraling into a hell that becomes more terrifying by the hour. In a further twist of fate, Lauren must take on a job that threatens everything she stands for. Now, she's paralyzed by a deadly secret that could tear her life apart. With her job and marriage on the line, Lauren's desire for retribution becomes a lethal inferno as she fights to save her livelihood and her life. Patterson takes us on a twisting roller-coaster ride of thrills in his most gripping novel yet. This story of love, lust and dangerous secrets will have readers' hearts pounding to the very last page. Available here : The Quickie by James Patterson.

CHILDREN BESTSELLERS :
No.1 (1) Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows by J.K.Rowling.
The brilliant, breathtaking conclusion to J.K. Rowling's spellbinding series is not for the faint of heart. Revelations, battles and betrayals await in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that no fan will make it to the end unscathed. Deathly Hallows is an odyssey the likes of which Rowling's fans have not yet seen, and are not likely to forget. The heart of Book 7 is a hero's mission, not just in Harry's quest for the Horcruxes, but in his journey from boy to man. Harry faces more danger than that found in all six books combined, from the direct threat of the Death Eaters and you-know-who, to the subtle perils of losing faith in himself. A spectacular finish to a phenomenal series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a bittersweet read for fans. Available here : Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows.

No. 2 ( 2 ) The Mysterious Cheese Thief by Geronimo Stilton.
Follow Geronimo Stilton as he investigate the disappearance of the Stilton cheese all around him. Will he find the mysterious cheese thief or be in for a big scare? Putrid cheese puffs and mystery,what an adventure! Available here : The Mysterious Cheese Thief.

No.3 ( 4 ) Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince.
A darker book than any in the series so far, this book moves the series into murkier waters. While Rowling has long been praised for her cleverness and wit, the strength of Book 6 lies in her subtle development of key characters, as well as her carefully nuanced depiction of a community at war. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, no one and nothing is safe, including preconceived notions of good and evil and of right and wrong. A series that began as a colorful lark full of magic and discovery has become a dark and deadly war zone. Book 6 casts a mean shadow over Quidditch games, silly flirtations, and mountains of homework.
Available here : Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince.

No. 4 ( 9 ) The Mouse Island Marathon by Geronimo Stilton.
The funniest Geronimo Stilton book ever with him joining the marathon! Follow Geronimo as he nabbed a thief, got chased by flies and mosquitoes, saved a rodent from an earthquake, saved a drowning rodent and win the marathon all in one day! Available here : The Mouse Island Marathon.

No. 5 ( 10 ) The Dangerous Book For Boys by Conn & Hal Iggulden.
A mammoth bestseller when it was released in the United Kingdom in 2006, The Dangerous Book is a guide book for dads as well as their sons on lore and techniques that have not been lost in today's digital age. Covering boyhood skills such as building tree houses, learning how to fish, finding true north, building go-carts and even answering age old question on how to deal with girls, this book recaptures Sunday afternoons, stimulates curiosity and makes for great father-son activities. Available here : The Dangerous Book For Boys.

* For non-fiction bestsellers : This Week's Top 5 Non-Fiction Books available here

Get Unique Caps &
Coffee Mugs
at Zazzle.com

What Is J.K.Rowling Working On Next?

2007-08-23T04:52:00.000-07:00

Now that the saga of the boy wizard is truly over, here is an interesting snippet on what to expect from J.k.Rowling, the wildly successful author of the Harry Potter series :

The Straits Times 21 Aug 2007
London - Pen and notebook in hand in Edinburgh cafes, Harry Potter author J.K.Rowling has been seen working on her latest work : a crime novel, the Sunday Times reported.

Ian Rankin, a fellow author and neighbour of Rowling, was quoted as telling a reporter at an Edinburgh literary festival : "My wife spotted her writing her Edinburgh criminal detective novel." Famous for his own police novels set in the Scottish city, he said he had not discussed the project with Rowling personally and declined to reveal how he had learnt about her plans. "It is great that she has not abandoned writing or Edinburgh cafes," he said.

When Rowling created her boy wizard story, she was a struggling single mother who wrote in cafes to save on the heating bill at home. Now Britain's richest woman, worth US$1 billion, according to Forbes magazine, her seven Potter books haven sold more than 335 million copies worldwide.

Writing a criminal novel? Let's wait and see if Rowling's next piece of work will be as engrossing and successful as her Potter series. In the mean time, for die-hard fans of J.K.Rowling and Harry Potter, here are some interesting reads :

Conversations With J.K.Rowling by Lindsey Fraser.
In an easy-to-read Q&A format, the author of the Harry Potter books reveals what it was like growing up, school days, her family life as well as her career as a writer. This is the first and only true telling of Ms. Rowling's history from her birth in Chipping Sodbury near Bristol, England, to the stories about her favorite and least favorite teachers in school to the funny misunderstanding in her first fan letter. Conversations With J.K.Rowling available here.

Fact, Fiction and Folklore in Harry Potter's World by George Beahm.
For fans who want to know more about the myths, folklores, legends, and Muggle history embedded in the Harry Potter novels, this book is a treasure trove of fun and tantalizing trivia covering the fabulous beasts, creatures, wizards, magical artifacts and magical places in the Harry Potter world. This fascinating book belongs on the shelf of every Muggle who wants to know about Rowling's inspiration for the wildly successful series. Fact, Fiction and Folklore in Harry Potter's World available here.

Hidden Myths in Harry Potter by David Colbert.
An illustrated map and guide book to the hidden legends behind the Harry Potter series. Together with a beautifully illustrated poster-sized map, it takes readers on a worldwide treasure hunt to uncover those hidden clues and the accompanying Book of Secrets reveals even more incredible facts behind the magical places and people. Hidden Myths available here.

Related Post : French Teen Detained Over Harry Potter Translation

Life After Harry Potter.

2007-08-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

A Review by MyDen
So you have finished the last Harry Potter book. Suffering from withdrawal symptoms? Re-reading the entire series and reluctant to return to the mundane Muggle world? Well, no need for further and unnecessary suffering, as here are other new fantasy titles vying to be Harry's heir.

The Black Book Of Secrets by F.E. Higgins
This book received a lot of attention and comparisons to Harry Potter when it was released last year and with it's healthy appetite for gory descriptions, reminds one of another beloved British writer, Roald Dahl. The protagonist is a street urchin, Ludlow Fitch, raised by his drunken parents to be a pickpocket, who managed to run away when Ma and Pa try to sell his teeth. He is taken under the wing of an ecentric and unusual "secrets" pawnbroker who accepts junk and secrets from the impoverished townfolk. Thus begins an intriguing blend of adventure, fantasy and historical fiction. Higgins creates a fascinating novel peopled with colorful characters and imbued with clever plot twists. The reader’s interest is sustained throughout the book, and the novel’s climax is both excellent and surprising. With Higgins planning the story over 3 or 4 books, expect a sizeable readership for this engrossing series. The Black Book Of Secrets is available here.

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
A mix of fantasy and old-fashioned romance, this book has already spawned two sequels with a fourth book coming out next year. It was such a hit in the United States that an accidental early shipment of the third book about a week before it's release date resulted in online fan sites voluntarily shutting down to prevent spoilers. The book stars 17 year-old Isabella Swan, who moves to a new high school and meets the handsome Edward Cullen. His mysterious ways eventually leads her to discover that he is a reformed vampire who substitutes animal blood for human blood. The series is driven by the complications of love between a vampire and a human. Meyer has achieved quite a feat by making this scenario completely human and believable. She begins with a familiar premise (the new kid in school) and lulls us into thinking that this will be just another young adult novel. Meyer's writing lifts this wonderful novel beyond the limitations of the horror genre to a place among the best of young adult fiction.
Available here :
Twilight
New Moon (Twilight Book 2)
Eclipse (Twilight Book 3)

French Teen Detained Over Harry Potter Translation.

2007-08-18T06:54:00.000-07:00

With the euphoria over Harry Potter, here is an interesting article from The Sunday Times 12 Aug 07, regarding the detention of a French teen over the illegal translation and posting online of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows within days of its July 21 release.

"PARIS - Was it wizardry that guided him? Or too much free time? Whatever it was, a French 16 year-old was accused of accomplishing a mystifying feat in translating all 759 pages of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows within days of its July 21 release and posting it online.

The problem: It was illegal and the teen spent a night in jail last week and faces charges of intellectual property violation. Author J.K.Rowling's lawyers say networks of other illegal Potter translation span the world, seeking to profit from the boy wizard's global appeal, and are growing more sophisticated with every new new tome.

The alleged French teen translator, a high school student in southern France, likely has less sinister intentions. "He just wanted to get the book online and did not appear to be seeking commercial gain," Aix prosecutor Olivier Rothe said. The boy apparently compiled the entire translation himself, he said.

The teenager, whose name was not released because he is a minor, was picked up following a complaint, then was released after questioning, the prosecutor said. He added that the boy could face charges for violating intellectual property rights.......

.....French police had identified an organised system of online translation networks where unofficial and decent translations of Harry Potter are posted onto website networks and then onto peer-to-peer networks. The manager of these networks derive profit by attracting advertisers. Such translators are becoming more organised as each new book is released and as file-sharing becomes more prevalent..."

Fans in several countries have already posted unofficial translations of the Deathly Hallows online, including in China, where publishers fear it could lead to counterfeit books. Worldwide, the Potter books have sold more than 325 million copies, have been translated into at least 64 languages and have been spun off into a hit movie series.

Related Post : What Is J.K. Rowling Working On Next?

August Sizzling Reads.

2007-08-10T08:48:00.000-07:00

A Review By MyDen
With time on my hands as i am on leave, i managed to catch up on my reading and the following are 3 of the hottest books for August :

The End Of Mr.Y by Scarlett Thomas.
Voted as one of the best young writers, Scarlett Thomas's narrative is a breathless one that propels you relentlessly like a bullet train. About a smart young woman, a voracious reader, who stumbles upon a rare book by an obscure Victorian writer and her fantastic journey. She discovers that the book contains a secret to accessing the "Troposphere", a sort of universe of the collective unconscious and she attains the ability to leap into the mind and bodies of other living beings. This book is a literary equivalent of the science fiction movie, The Matrix, and is a rollicking adventure story with ideas about sub-atomic particles, existence and reality. A delirious valentine to the pleasures of reading. The End of Mr.Y is available here.

The Religion by Tim Willocks.
A historical fiction, The Religion refers to the Order of Knights of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem where they earned their rights in history when 700 of them defended Malta against an 8,ooo strong Ottoman army led by Suleiman. That great siege in 1565 is the setting for this rowdy entertainment. It's main protagonist, Mattias Tannhauser, is an apostate, first by force then by choice. Willocks gleefully describes the horrifying effects of medieval warfare and its impact on the human body with stomach-churning details. By exploring so vividly the clash of the civilisations divided by religious fervour, this work of fiction makes history, contemporary and in light of the current world situation, this book is aptly relevant. The Religion is available here.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare.
An odd mating of Gothic horror and romance, City of Bones has beautiful and mysterious strangers, horrible monsters and a magical parallel world. It begins with the 15 years old protagonist, Clarissa, witnessing a murder where the victim disappears into thin air. Strange occurrences surrounds her where her mother goes missing and she is attacked by a monster in her own home. The first book of a planned series, City of Bones is a pleasurable gothic read as you explore the magical parallel world with Clarissa. City of Bones is available here.

Structure And Components Of A Story.

2007-08-04T11:28:00.000-07:00

A Review By My Den.
Further to the writing tips mentioned in my earlier posts ( The Art of Writing Fiction and Tips on Writing Fiction ), today's post highlights the components of a story. While aspiring writers should be equipped with a certain amount of technical knowledge to be effective, i would like to suggest that aspiring writers need not be too bog down or be unduly worried about the technical aspects of writing but to just go ahead and write for the enjoyment it brings. I am sure you will pick up further writing tips along your own writing journey, just as i did. While more experienced writers will have better insights, the following are the conclusions that i had gathered in my short writing journey. A story is essentially make up of the following components :

* Theme
* Plot
* Setting
* Characters
* Dialogue
* Point of view
* Style

Theme
A theme is the main idea or meaning behind a story. The theme of a story is often abstract and not addressed directly in the narrative. It is imparted to the story by the concrete events and dialogue occurring in the story.

Plot
A plot is the organization of events that will take place in the story. Plot and characters carry the elements of the story. The plot must be believable, plausible, interesting and most importantly, engaging. It is a sequence of events connected in a cause-and-effect manner. Generally, the plot consists of a series of increasingly more intense conflicts, a climax (the most intense part of the story) and a final resolution. The plot must be advanced as the story unfolds and in general, the closer to the end of the story the climax is placed, the better.

Setting
The setting is the place, time and in some cases, the environment in which the story takes place. The setting should be specifically described in detail to make the story seem real, to set the atmosphere and mood of the story. The setting also exert limitations on the characters and helps to establish the basic conflict of the story. It can be used for contrast, having something taking place in an unexpected place. In general, the more unfamiliar the reader is with the setting, the more interesting the story is.

Characters
Characters are the people or animals in a story. A well written story will have characters that readers can identify with and care about as they seem so real. Characters should be introduced early in the story and the more often a character is mentioned, the more significance the reader will attach to the character. The nature of characters can be brought out through description, actions, thoughts and dialogue of the characters.

Dialogue
Dialogue is the spoken words of the characters in the story and it makes fiction seem real. Interior dialogue is what a character is thinking. Dramatic dialogue is a character thinking out loud, without response from other characters. Indirect dialogue is the narrator telling what a character said. Dialogue should be used to develop character or to advance the story. It should not be used just to hear characters talk. A small amount of dialect in dialogue can be used to establish the nature of the character but should not be overuse as dialect can be difficult to read. The level of use of language by the characters i.e. pronunciation, diction, grammar etc, is often used to characterize people in a story. The form of dialogue use should be varied to keep the reader interested.

Point of View
Point of view is the relative identification of the narrator with the characters. A first person point of view has the main character telling the story or a secondary character telling the main character's story. Everything that happens in the story must be seen or experienced by the character doing the narration. The reader's judgment of other characters in the story will be heavily influenced by the narrator. A first person point of view gives a sense of intimacy to the story. Third person point of view can be objective or omniscient. An objective narrator describes actions but not the inner thoughts or feelings of the characters while an omniscient narrator can describe all the actions of all the characters and their inner thoughts and feelings as well.

Style
Style is the writer's use and the method of using the language. The choice of words can help set the tone and pace of the story. Mistakes in language will greatly detract from the story being told. Shorter, concrete words tend to be stronger and provides sharper definition while long and flowery words tend to be abstract. Writing in a concise, precise, concrete, and specific manner will flesh out the story better. In general, the longer the work, the less important language becomes. Above all, the writer's work must tell a story. A writer should not be too concerned with the words used than with the story the writer is trying to tell. However, a combination of a good story with good language used, will be a delight to read.

WRITERS GUIDE
Characters & Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card
A great book for budding writers, Characters & Viewpoint, is full of explanations, instructions, viewpoints as well as entertainment. If you want to write stories that are engaging and full of imagination, then I highly recommend that you read this book. A valuable, informative and entertaining guide, it is fun to read and easy to understand. Orson Scott Card makes informative and lasting insights into the creation of each character. This is not just a STEP A to STEP Z version of writing instructions but breaks down the elements of writing for many want-to-be writers. It is also filled with little anecdotes and any writer, no matter how experienced, would benefit from this book. Its an excellent reference that forces the reader to THINK.

*Related posts :
- The Art Of Writing Fiction
- Tips On Writing Fiction

Get Unique Caps &
Bumper Stickers
at Zazzle.com

This Week's Bestsellers.

2007-07-29T05:17:00.000-07:00

A Review By My Den
This is My Den's compilation of this week's top 5 bestsellers, according to Times bookstores, MPH and Amazon.com, for fiction and children. Numbers in brackets are the previous week's positions :
FICTION
No.1 (1) For One More Day by Mitch Albom.
This is the story of Charley, a child of divorce who is always forced to choose between his mother and his father. He grows into a man and starts a family of his own. But one fateful weekend, he leaves his mother to secretly be with his father - and she dies while he is gone. This haunts him for years. It unravels his own young family. It leads him to depression and drunkenness. One night, he decides to take his life. But somewhere between this world and the next, he encounters his mother again, in their hometown, and gets to spend one last day with her - the day he missed and always wished he'd had. He asks the questions many of us yearn to ask, the questions we never ask while our parents are alive...
Available here : For One More Day

No.2 (5) The Children of Hurin by J.R.R. Tolkien.
The first complete book by J.R.R. Tolkien in three decades since the publication of The Silmarillion in 1977, The Children of Hurin reunites fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, dragons and Dwarves, Eagles and Orcs. Presented for the first time as a complete, standalone story, this stirring narrative will appeal to all, returning to the rich landscape and characters unique to Tolkien. The Children of Hurin, begun in 1918, was one of three 'Great Tales' J.R.R. Tolkien worked on throughout his life. Though familiar to many fans from extracts and references within other Tolkien books, it has long been assumed that the story would forever remain an unfinished tale. Now reconstructed by his son Christopher from his father's many drafts, this book is the culmination of a tireless thirty-year endeavor by him. Available here : The Children of Hurin.

No.3 (8) The Blue Zone by Andrew Gross.
From the number one New York Times bestselling coauthor of Judge &
Jury and Lifeguard comes this electrifying solo debut, The Blue Zone.
Kate Raab's life seems almost perfect: her boyfriend, her job, her family . . until her father runs into trouble with the law. His only recourse is to testify against his former accomplices in exchange for his family's placement in the Witness Protection Program. But one of them gets cold feet. In a flash, everything Kate can count on is gone. Now, a year later, her worst fears have happened: Her father has disappeared—into what the WITSEC agency calls "the blue zone"—and someone close to him is found brutally murdered. With her family under surveillance, the FBI untrustworthy, and her father's menacing "friends" circling with increasing intensity, Kate sets off to find her father—and uncover the secrets someone will kill to keep buried... Available here : The Blue Zone.

No.4 ( 2 ) A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.
After 103 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and with 4 million copies of The Kite Runner shipped, Khaled Hosseini returns with a beautiful, riveting, and haunting novel that confirms his place as one of the most important literary writers today. Propelled by the same superb instinct for storytelling that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once an incredible chronicle of thirty years of Afghan history and a deeply moving story of family, friendship, faith, and the salvation to be found in love. Born a generation apart and with very different ideas about love and family, Mariam and Laila are two women brought together by war, by loss and by fate. As they endure the ever escalating dangers around them, they come to form a bond that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other and that will ultimately alter the course not just of their own lives but of the next generation. A stunning accomplishment, A Thousand Splendid Suns is a haunting, heartbreaking, compelling story of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship and an indestructible love...
Available here : A Thousand Splendid Suns.

No.5 (10) The Quickie by James Patterson.
Lauren Stillwell is not your average damsel in distress. When the NYPD cop discovers her husband leaving a hotel with another woman, she decides to beat him at his own game. But her revenge goes dangerously awry, and she finds her world spiraling into a hell that becomes more terrifying by the hour. In a further twist of fate, Lauren must take on a job that threatens everything she stands for. Now, she's paralyzed by a deadly secret that could tear her life apart. With her job and marriage on the line, Lauren's desire for retribution becomes a lethal inferno as she fights to save her livelihood and her life. Patterson takes us on a twisting roller-coaster ride of thrills in his most gripping novel yet. This story of love, lust and dangerous secrets will have readers' hearts pounding to the very last page.
Available here : The Quickie by James Patterson.

CHILDREN
No.1 (-) Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows by J.K.Rowling.
The brilliant, breathtaking conclusion to J.K. Rowling's spellbinding series is not for the faint of heart. Revelations, battles and betrayals await in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that no fan will make it to the end unscathed. Deathly Hallows is an odyssey the likes of which Rowling's fans have not yet seen, and are not likely to forget. The heart of Book 7 is a hero's mission, not just in Harry's quest for the Horcruxes, but in his journey from boy to man. Harry faces more danger than that found in all six books combined, from the direct threat of the Death Eaters and you-know-who, to the subtle perils of losing faith in himself. A spectacular finish to a phenomenal series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a bittersweet read for fans. Available here : Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows.

No.2 ( 2 ) Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince.
A darker book than any in the series so far, this book moves the series into murkier waters. While Rowling has long been praised for her cleverness and wit, the strength of Book 6 lies in her subtle development of key characters, as well as her carefully nuanced depiction of a community at war. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, no one and nothing is safe, including preconceived notions of good and evil and of right and wrong. A series that began as a colorful lark full of magic and discovery has become a dark and deadly war zone. Book 6 casts a mean shadow over Quidditch games, silly flirtations, and mountains of homework.
Available here : Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince.

No.3 ( 4 ) Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix by J.K. Rowling.
Compared to the rest of this wonderful series, The Order of The Phoenix was a bit of a let down. Although it began to piece together some of the many questions the previous books introduced, the many chapters it took to get to those answers was a little painful. Harry's new teenage attitude is hard to deal with and the romance is fairly shallow. Read it to fill in the blank pieces of information regarding Harry but chances are you won't find it as enjoyable as the other books.
Available here : Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix.

No.4 ( 6 ) Surf's Up : The Life and Times of Cody Maverick by Susan Korman.
Cody Maverick has been dreaming of being a surf champion for as long as he can remember. He desperately wants to enter the big competition but he'll need some help first. Join Cody as he teams up with Geek and learns all he'll need to know to win. But it isn't until the final moments of the competition that Cody finally understands what Geek was trying to teach him all along—having fun is the most important part of surfing—not winning!
Available here : Surf"s Up : The Life and Times of Cody Maverick.

No.5 ( 7 ) Transformers : The Junior Novel by S.G. Wilkens.
Dueling factions of an alien race, the Autobots and the Decepticons, descend upon Earth in search of the one thing that can keep their race alive—the Allspark. With the United States government involved, it takes a battle with both humans and machines to decide the fate of human kind and robots...once and for all.
Available here : Transformers : The Junior Novel.

* For the non-fiction bestsellers : This Week's Top 5 Non-Fiction Books available here

Tips on Writing Fiction.

2007-07-28T12:50:00.000-07:00

By My Den.
Other then the 6 disciplines that were mentioned in my earlier post ( The Art of Writing Fiction ), the following are some further tips that i had gleamed on my own journey on writing fiction :

-The beginning of a story is of extreme importance. It must be interesting, riveting and readers should be hook on page one.

-Be specific in your writing. The more specific the details, the more real the story will seem to be to the reader. Descriptions and technical details must also be authentic.

-Be imaginative. The best fiction comes from the preposterous imaginations of writers who are good storytellers.

-Don't just tell what happened but recreate it instead.

-The shorter the story, the more important each word becomes. Avoid overused words and clichés.

-Focusing on surprise and irony will make the story a better read.

-Write what you like to read.

-Enjoy what you are writing.

-Revision is extremely important. A writer should always do one more revision before getting it published.

-Success breeds success. The more published you are, the easier it is to get published again.

-Never scorn the work of another writer as it will not make us a better writer.

-Try to obtain and accept constructive criticisms and feedback for your story.

WRITER'S GUIDE
"So You Want To Write" not only addresses all elements of storytelling but also includes hundreds of writing tips such as "How to begin a piece that a reader can't put down" and "How to create compelling characters." Written by Marge Piercy who is a New York Times best-selling novelist, this is a highly recommended book for aspiring writers. Available here :
"So You Want To Write."

The Art of Writing Fiction...My Own Journey.

2007-07-20T08:53:00.000-07:00

By My Den
Although writing fiction and short stories is an art, my own journey so far made me realized that there are skills, tools and techniques that one can learn in order to develop as a writer. Before touching on the structure and components of writing a story, the following are the 6 main disciplines that i think one must have, in order to be a good writer :

- Read a lot.
- Write a lot.
- Listen and observe everything around you.
- Have a good grasp of the language.
- Be a researcher.
- Be a storyteller.

Writing takes a lot of discipline because writing can actually be hard work but can also be very satisfying. I remembered the feeling of exhilaration and self-satisfaction that i had when i completed my first short story ( The Boy Who Saw Angels ). That was only possible because i had set up a routine for writing. Setting a routine is very important as it is very easy to find something else to do besides writing. A compulsion to write is essential.

Fiction writers should have a good grasp of the language and developing a reading habit will help greatly in this area. Reading widely from different sources like newspapers, fiction and non-fiction books etc, will also expose aspiring writers to the different techniques in writing a story.

Most importantly, fiction writers must be storytellers. A really good story can compensate for less-than-brilliant writing but brilliant writing will not save a bad story. Readers of fiction want very much to find the writer's work to be believable. It is the task of the writer to produce a story that does not makes the reader into recognizing that the narrative is just the writer talking. The writer should write about what he or she already knows through experience or can learn about through research. The narrative should read as if the writer really knows what he or she is writing about.

WRITER'S GUIDE
One book that greatly influenced me to start writing was Dorothea Brande's "Becoming a Writer". A classic since 1934, her book is very different from the many "how-to-write" guides. Instead of techniques, styles or methods, her book touches on the philosophy, thinking, lifestyle and attitude of a writer. In essence, it was designed to simply help you get over yourself and start writing, just like what i did after reading her book. Her book available here : Dorothea Brande's "Becoming a Writer"

Related Post : Structure & Components Of A Story

A Magical Ride With Hong Kong Comics...Down Memory Lane.

2007-07-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

A Review By My Den
My love for comics started when i was a boy, back in the 70s', where i would visit the many 2nd hand book shops that doted Bras Basah road. Having not much pocket money to actually buy the 2nd hand comics, i would round up a few of my friends and pooled whatever money we had to borrow the comics instead. I remembered it cost about 15 cents to borrow each comic. In this way, i got acquainted with the many super-heroes of the DC and Marvel universes.

But it was comics from Hong Kong, especially the martial arts genre, that got me really hooked especially the "Dragon & Tiger Gate" series by maestro Tony Wong. In the early 80s' however, a new series "Heaven & Earth" by a new writer, Ma Wing Sing, came into the market and immediately turn into an extremely popular and an overnight hit series.

I was hooked by the engrossing story line and enchanted by the superior art renditions. Since then, i have been an ardent follower of this particular comic series from Hong Kong. In fact, i still have all the issues from day one, all kept in pristine condition and it is the only Hong Kong comic series that i had followed into my adult years.

The "Heaven & Earth" series focuses on 2 protagonists, "Wind" & "Cloud" (literal translation) and their trials and tribulations in the martial arts world. Woven with rich tales of bravery, loyalty, fight for justice and revenge with the overall theme of human's greed for power, the series captivated me with it's well fleshed-out characters and description of the many ancient and powerful martial arts. Not only was the artwork superior to many before it, it got even better over the years when computer graphics was used in the art renditions.

To ardent fans, the hero "Cloud" seems to have a larger following but for some reason or other, i favoured "Wind" more. So, going down memory lane, here are my attempts at translating extracts from the story into English for the enjoyment of non-chinese speaking audience. Because of the vast differences between the 2 languages, some flavour will inadvertently be lost in the translation but i hope you will be as enchanted as i was. I will begin with the story of "Wind"...

THE HERO "Wind"
EPISODE 1
In the cold northern mountains, a small boy, "Wind" looks for his father, "The Wild Saber of the North", who has become wild and unpredictable because of abandonment by his wife who had leave him for another man...

Running into the snow valley, "Wind" came upon a cave and senses a aura of blood and madness in the air. A huge tiger came out of the cave, it's menacing eyes upon "Wind". Without any fear, the small boy returns the glare and make direct contact with the tiger eyes...

Suddenly from above the mountains, a shadow leaps off a cliff as the tiger pounces onto "Wind". With one smooth stroke of the saber, the shadow severs the tiger head. Blood splashes across onto "Wind" face and spills onto the white snow.

It is "Wind's" father, "The Wild Saber of the North" holding their family heirloom, "The Snow Drinking Saber", which had just killed the tiger. Looking like a wild man, he holds up the tiger head and drinks it's blood.....

* If you like comics, pay a visit to "My Comics Store".

A Writer's Ernest Assessment.

2007-06-25T11:28:00.000-07:00

Looking at this blog now, i could hardly believe that i had managed to come so far. In the one and a half months since it was started, i had managed to write four short stories.

What started out as an attempt to write short stories has now become something that i am honestly excited about. Not only did i gained tremendous satisfaction, i had also gained insights on the elements of storytelling i.e. researching, structuring, striking a chord with the story and most importantly, just to go ahead and write it.

This writing trip had also woken me to my fondness for reading, writing and comics during my younger days. I probably have hundreds of novels, of all genres, kept in my store room and i still have the first edition (25 years ago) of Stephen King's Salem's Lot which i remembered finishing in one night that left me scared stiffless. As for comics, i remembered scouring Bras Basah in the 70s' and early 80s' for 2nd hand editions of Spiderman, The Swamp Thing, etc and reproducing the drawings myself.

I was also especially enchanted with martial arts comics from Hong Kong and since the early 80s', had a sizeable collection, all in pristine condition, of Ma Rong Chen's epic "Heaven & Earth". So, somewhere along the line, i will probably start reproducing some of the comics renditions on this blog and do some review of old books by authors that were extremely popular during my time.

The next step on my writing journey will probably be to get some sort of feedback on the standard of my writings either through submission to writing portals for review or comments from visitors to this blog. Let's see where this journey will lead me to.

*Interested in becoming a writer? Read Dorothea Brande's "Becoming a Writer."

Archives - Other Stuff

2007-05-29T05:09:00.000-07:00

- A Pleasant Surprise From Blog Catalog.
- Bloggers Unite In Acts of Kindness.
- Blog Action Day.
- Christmas - A Time For Humanitarians.
- Christmas - A Time For Saints.
- Blogging, Society and What It Means To Me.
- Internet and Its Impact On Reading.

Archives - Writing And Poetry.

2007-05-28T05:02:00.000-07:00

- Poetry & The Innocence of Children.
- The Magic of Poetry.
- The Joy of Writing.
- The Fear of Writing.
- Structure & Components of A Story.
- The Art of Writing Fiction.
- Tips On Writing Fiction.

Archives - News From The Literary World.

2007-05-27T04:51:00.000-07:00

- Cassie Edwards Accused of Plagiarism.
- J.K. Rowling's Tales of Beedle The Bard.
- Turmoil In The Kingdom Of The Golden Compass.
- J.K. Rowling Under Attack.
- Man Booker Prize Contenders 2007.
- Winner Of Man Booker Prize 2007.
- The World's Most Published Author.
- Robert Ludlum & The Business of Ghost Writing.
- What Is J.K. Rowling Working On Next?
- French Teen Detained Over Harry Potter Translation.

Archives - Book Reviews.

2007-05-26T04:38:00.000-07:00

- Vampiric Thrills With Anne Rice
- My Journey With Stephen King
- For The Love Of Writing.
- Of Old Bookstores and Literary Gems.
- The Top 5 Books and Most Memorable Literary Events For 2007.
- Great Books For The Holidays.
- In Memory of Gary Jennings.
- The Next Harry Potter.
- Life After Harry Potter.
- August Sizzling Reads.
- This Week's Best Sellers (Aug)
- This Week's Best Sellers (Jul)

Slavery Today......The Story Of Francis Bok.

2007-05-10T18:07:00.000-07:00

A Novel Excerpt By My Den
A native of southern Sudan, Mr. Bok was abducted at the age of 7 by Arab militias from the north and enslaved for the next 10 years. This is his story, a young Dinka tribesman's story of abduction, enslavement and freedom.

INNOCENCE
"My father's farm was full of family, friends and love. We had chickens, goats, cows, beautiful green trees with mangoes and coconuts as big as your head. I spent my days playing games and running in the fields. I liked to follow my father as he worked the fields. I felt my father's love every day."

ABDUCTION
" At the market, people had already set up in the shade. The market smelled of fish, fruit and vegetables. I made some sales from my stock of boiled eggs and peanuts. Something changed, suddenly, people became to walk faster, talking to each other. Smoke can be seen rising from the villages. The Murahaliin are coming!.

Men with guns were entering the town. Men on horses, shooting with their rifles, slashing people with their swords, chopping off heads with a single swipe. Someone grabbed me from behind - a murahaliin, yelling and waving his gun. He pushed me back together with other boys and girls. Everyone was crying and screaming for their parents. There were no Dinka men standing, everywhere i turn, i saw blood running from them like water in rivers."

ENSLAVEMENT
"We rode away, the silence of the night broken by my sobs. I kept thinking how my father and big brother Buk will save me from these people. We finally came to a farm.

The militiaman name was Giemma Adullah, an Arab of lighter skin. I now know i am in northern Sudan where no Dinka lives. What i did not know was that this was my first day of slavery - forced to work for no pay but the garbage from the family's dinner and beatings from Giemma's cattle whip. My job was to herd the animals into the forest, keep them from running away and get them back to their pens at the end of the day.

For the first few weeks i cried everyday but i replaced crying with praying when i realised my crying did not bring anyone to help me. I prayed to God : Please help me. I love my parents and i don't want to die.'

Mr. Francis Bok was to spent his next 10 years in enslavement, forced to work and live like an animal. He lost his childhood to a cruel and vindictive master. He tried to escape twice but was caught. He did not had his hands or legs amputated, the usual punishment for trying to escape, not because his master was kind but found him useful. He succeeded the third time when he was 17 years old.

FREEDOM
"That morning i herded out with the cows as usual. As soon as they started grazing, i ran as fast as could towards Mutari. I was farther away from Giemma than i had been in ten years. I was hot, tired and dirty but i felt relief and excitement.

With the help of friends, i crossed the Egyptian border and reached Cairo. There i was accepted as a UN-sanctioned refugee and in Aug 1999, went to America. I eventually learned that my parents and two sisters were killed but my older brother Buk survived. After 13 years, i finally talked to him."

CLOSURE
Closeted in my little island i called home and caught up in the maddening rat race, the story of Francis Bok touched me profoundly. It makes me........human again.

This article is my contribution towards raising awareness of the situation in Sudan where more than 200,000 people in Darfur have been killed and more than 2.5 million made homeless in four years of bloody attacks by Arab militias.

Today, Mr. Francis Bok works for American Anti-Slavery Group, which speaks out against slavery in Sudan and throughout the world. Visit their website iAbolish.com and spread their mission. His book is now available at "My Den's Book Store".

*Excerpts adapted from "Escape from Slavery" by Francis Bok.

Read more short stories by MyDen: A Life Unlive