New (and Old) Book Loot

Does anyone else think "Everyday Is Fully Booked Day" is dangerous? Lol. I mean, I'd love a new book a day but I'm not sure my budget will agree. And I'm not sure I'd stop at only one book. Lol. Anyhoo, so much for not buying new books unless I've read half of what I already have. Bought a few new titles last week. 

Wednesday, I got: 

1) The Coffee Shop Book Club which is a collection of short stories from various authors. This was published by the Orion Publishing Group in association with Woman&Home. Apparently buying a copy means donating £1 to Breast Cancer Care. 

2) The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt! This 700+ pager is Ms Tartt's contribution to literary fiction this decade. Heh. I didn't think I'd see this right away in Manila but glad I did. Or Anj did. Lol. I'm saving this for when I can read in an slow pace since I'm 14 books away from my goal this year.

I went back Friday and got a few more even if I haven't started on any of the stuff I got Wednesday. See what I mean about "everyday" being a dangerous thing? Lol.

 Friday I got:

1) Room by Emma Donoghue: I saw this Wednesday too but couldn't find a plastic wrapped copy. I know it's the bookstore people that wraps them but I like to fool myself into thinking I get a better deal that way LOL. 

 2) Fyre (Septimus Heap Book Seven): Finally got me a copy and I'm reading this now. This is the final installment of the Septimus Heap series. I haven't posted the reviews on the other books but I have them on Goodreads. 

 3) Dodger by Terry Pratchett: Nuff said.

 4) The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera: That blurb ... LOL!

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I've also been doing an inventory of books I have and found fairy books from those days I was obsessed with fairies! Haha! One is a mythologies book for kids (Fairies by John Malam), the other one a children's story book (Alice the Fairy by David Shannon) and the other is a Disney Fairies' Fashionable Fairies paper doll book I bought on impulse. Lol!

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Now there's a book boyfriend if I ever saw one ... or read about one. Tall, cute, intelligent, kind ... and socially awkward. I read a review (well browsed a review) that said they don't get how he's supposed to be a nerd but looked hot. Well, IT guys can be lookers too ... just not in the office where I work. Why can't there be a Lincoln IT guy in the office where I work?! I so want to file this under the category fantasy. Get it? Fantasy. No? Okay, I'm not as witty as Rainbow Rowell. Deal with it. 

The review blurb on the cover of this edition said it's a story that's easy to relate to. I had to agree. The fantasy~ish part stopped at the Lincoln character. Isn't that what some people look for when reading? Something to relate to? That's why Coelho's books are such hits. Something confirms what they believe in. But let's not dwell on that. I gave this book five stars because it's very rare for me to read a book and find it hard to move on to another. I don't want to move on to a new book. I want this wonderful, wonderful feeling to last. It doesn't happen much. Not even with my favorite authors. But, alas, I am 17 books from my target this year so I will move on. I liked how this was such a light read but have so much truth in it. 

Isn't this always the case when you or your bff is dating a douche bag?

And it was laid down with such smart assery I even love it. SO MUCH.

People go to bars hoping to meet THE one but, yes, we don't want them smelling like Jager and cigarettes. I actually LOLed at stripper song.

I liked Chris's character too, actually. Although he's no more real than Lincoln is. Is there ever a guy who doesn't get flustered or isn't awkward when a girl cries? I thought it's either they just ignore the girl or get angry and then ignore the girl. Or they console the girl but get tired of it eventually and just ignore the girl. Chris's ignoring the girlfriend and not marrying type, I guess, I can charge to his "artist complex"? I know people like that, thus, I think there's more possibility for him to exist. Plus, Chris and Beth's break up was ludicrous, as the characters put it but ... his argument is actually pretty valid.

Valid argument. Period.

I borrowed this book from a co-worker (THANK YOU!) but I have to buy my own copy for my small collection. Along with Ms. Rowell's other books. I mean, how can I not?!

I was thinking the best part about the book was that it was set in 1999. I was graduating from high school and starting college. I remember the movies and the songs they talked about and how it was when emails and the internet was new-ish. I thought it was perfect ... but then I had to be the dork that I am and make calculations and disappointed myself. Towards the end, the "reconciliation" between Beth and Lincoln part, Beth said her favorite song was Here's Where The Story Ends that she saw on MTV when she was on her 8th grade. That would make her 14? She's supposed to be 28-29 in the book which was set around 1999-2000. Well, that song was not recorded until 1989 and released (or became a hit) until 1990 so ... she had to be 19-20, right? Bit late for an 8th grader. GOOD THING I LIKED THE STORY TOO MUCH TO ACTUALLY CARE! I'd give this 6 stars but I only stop at 5, really.

Unspoken (The Lynburn Legacy #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan

I understand it's a series before I started reading and I understand there would be answers that won't be addressed on the first book but ... I don't understand cliff hangers. I really don't. It works for them TV series but somehow it doesn't work on books. At least not for me. And this already dragged on some parts. Like the way they kept talking about the unknown origin of the connection between the main characters. You can't keep on repeating the issue from the beginning to about half of the book without spilling the answers and expect not to bore people. Speaking of TV series, this one screams Vampire Diaries lol. I'm not saying this was copied, it's a different plot and story all together but I couldn't help remembering the founding families the originals when they talk about the Lynburns' being one of the oldest families in a small, scarcely populated town.

It wasn't all that bad. I even considered buying it in print too to add to my collection. I'm glad they didn't have the hardbound cover I liked when I went to the bookstore. The paperback cover is ugly, imho.

Anyhoo, I admit it got interesting when I got to about 10%-15% of the book (that's why I considered buying it again) but when 64% came and they finally blurted the big "secret" I was like ... um okay. That was so anticlimactic. Pft. But then I said I promised to finish reading any book I started reading this year so ...

What really made the whole thing bearable was the humor. I gather that witty dialogue exchange is a trademark of the author? It can be funny, but there's a but lol. Butt <insert-minion-snigger-here>. There are scenes where Kami's wit is not really appropriate anymore. So that was kinda off?

Overall, I'm sad to say this only earned 2 stars from me. I guess I expected too much from it so ... yeah. I don't think I'll be reading the second book yet, though I have it on hand.

I'm A Guest Blogger at Little Miss Honey ... and some Polecats Manila stuff!

As intermittent as my blog posts are, I was still able to guest blog for someone else. Lol. I check very few blogs on a regular basis but this is one of them. Come visit Little Miss Honey's blog for books, food, travel, cosmetics and ... pretty much anything a Filipina blogger in Singapore might think of. If you want to be a guest blogger too, check out this page.

Also, since I blogged about pole dancing, here is a link to Polecats Manila's website. If you're ever thinking of taking up classes, they have schedules and tips for first timers there. Hmm ... I should do more pole blogs ... maybe.

Also, also, ALSO! They're going to have an anniversary show on the 3rd of November at the Meralco Theater and everyone is super excited about it. Here's a video teaser that super gives me goosebumps but that I keep watching anyway. 

And here are some awesome awesome posters.

It is going to be so so so so amaaaaazingly awesome so do come, hey?

Blacklands by Belinda Bauer

Kids are very impressionable. Their future and the length of their childhood depends on how they are raised or how susceptible they are to the elements around them.

In summary, this book started out as a psychological ... thriller (?) and ended as a crime novel. The story and events all fit but I read between the lines a lot so ... heh. I find it disturbing that a kid can read through a serial killer's letters and get his hidden messages so easy. I just keep telling myself that he is obsessed about the issue so he did a lot of research which is how anyone is like, no matter what age, when obsessing about something. It's just that their correspondence is like a recipe for a serial killer in the making. He doesn't seem to be a victim but a protege. The fact that they understand each other means they think alike. Here's a kid that's so disturbed about how not "normal" his family is so he finds answers and he thinks he will find them through the root of all the bitterness of the adults in his family. From the beginning, the author built an image of a kid who grew up too fast. But then halfway through the book he forgot about all of his troubles because someone significant came back into their lives which goes to show somewhere in his troubled personality, there's a kid just craving for normalcy and everything that comes with it. And then the crime novel began. Which is how crime novels usually are. For something so dark I liked that the ending gave me some sort of closure.

This part made me cry

Magyk (Septimus Heap, Book One) by Angie Sage

I do love a story with a happy ending. And I like that the author spent time to tell the readers what happened to the other characters, no matter how brief their role was. Actually it's like saying no character is big or small. But that was the downside too. It was hard to know where to focus. The book is called the Septimus Heap series but it was the Queenling that was sort of the focus. If there was any focus at all. I realize he was thought to be dead and people don't often think of dead people but the fact that the series was named after him tells us he'd end up being alive one way or another. But of course, as Marcia said, things have a way of working out on its own. Eventually.

Now this is a kid's book, it may be too much of a kid's book for me and it was a bit predictable but that was fine. What bothers me is how they spell some words. Adding "e" at the end of some words and misspelling terms on purpose. It's cute but for that reason I wouldn't advise kids to read this, maybe the parents could read it to them or they could get the audiobook. Children are the most impressionable people. Their minds are susceptible so there's a risk they may carry that growing up. Especially during this age when Tweeting and micro blogs force us to change and shorten words.

The characters? I loved all the characters. Especially Marcia. The bad guy was pretty funny too.

Overall, I really liked it. Apart from what I've written above this is pretty good for light reading. And, although this is the first of a series, it's also a good stand alone book.

Firegirl by Tony Abbott

Most of the young-adult books about awareness and social understanding are very dark. Actually even the fantasy type are, especially those dystopian-themed ones. I sometimes wonder how far a person can go before they get called on by parents or other ... erm ... conservative groups. I have a couple books that I know caused a stir that I'm yet to read before I can make some sort of conclusion. Anyhoo, this book isn't one of those dark books (haha!).

Firegirl, although tragic in nature and heavy in context, is surprisingly light. I thought the part where Tom was thinking about his super power fantasies was a bit too long but that was fine. It basically discussed how teenagers can be awkward and dumb when it comes to dealing with real life tragedies and situations but I though it would apply to adults as well. Not just about the Jessica and her condition but just medical conditions in general.

I bought this book without understanding the blurb. It turned out to be a nice, fast read. I got it from a second-hand bookshop for Php50 (a little over 1 USD) but even if I got it brand new it would still be worth it ... 5-stars :)

Bacon-wrapped cream cheese

I'm super excited to share this experiment and would've posted sooner if I didn't opt to go on an alcohol binge ... but that's for a different story. I first saw a photo of this on an account I follow on Instagram. It didn't have a recipe or a link to the recipe so I pretty much had to wing it. Well, it's bacon and cream cheese and I'm a firm believer you can't go wrong when those two are the main ingredients. Before I forget, I got it off Queen Bacon's ig account that you can find here.

INGREDIENTS: 

• 1k Bacon (woohoo!)
• 5 packs of 180g-227g cream cheese (I wouldn't recommend cream cheese spread)
• 2 salad tomatoes, chopped (preferably fresh but if you use canned make sure you drain it thoroughly so your stuffing doesn't become ... watery)
• Jalapeno, chopped (I'd have loved to use fresh but couldn't find any at the moment *sniffs; drain this well too)

Ingredients

DIRECTIONS:

• Put cream cheese, jalapeno and tomato in a bowl and mix it all together. Depending on the cream cheese you use, prepare your arms for some serious mixing because some can be thick and hard to blend by hand. The amount of tomato and jalapeno depends on you, really. I only used about 1/4 of a 473ml bottle of jalapeno.

Your stuffing should look like this. Mix WELL.

• Line your pan with baking paper and then line it with bacon ... lots and lots of bacon. Make sure they overlap and hang over the edges because you have to fold it later. 

Aluminum  tray lined with BACON!!

• Place the stuffing you made on the pan and fold up the sides to cover the stuffing.

Hello, gorgeous!

Tuck it all in

• Cover the top with more bacon.

More bacon!

• Put it in the oven (350C) and then cook for 45mins up to 2 hours ... or until your bacon looks like how you want it to. 

In to the oven

Now, in a perfect world you only have to put it in a pan and leave it BUT this is bacon, you might open your oven and find this masterpiece submerged in bacon grease. This is why it's important to use grade-a bacon, the thick ones. Not the super processed type that disintegrates into nothingness when  cooked.

This is how it looked like after I took it out of the oven the second time. I like my bacon crispy so I had to put it back a third time :)

What I did was poke some holes on the aluminum tray to drain some of the grease after cooking for 40mins. Careful not to make it too big because the cheese will most likely leak out too. I placed it back in the oven and then let it cook some more. After another 30mins I took it out, let it cool down a little bit, and transferred it into a CorningWare. This is where the baking sheets come in handy. Once it cooled down a bit for the cream cheese to become somewhat firm you can transfer the whole thing without breaking the arrangement by just holding the end of the baking sheets. Put it back in the oven again and cook some more.

 

I wasn't able to take a photo before I cut it up in parts lol