The Allure of Books

There is this warm, fuzzy, exquisite feeling of happiness every time a book lover is browsing in good book shop. As you stand in front of the shelves of your favourite genres you are giddy with excitement, lightheartedness, exhilaration, exuberance, euphoria ............ all the adjectives that described joy and delight. There are all these books of all kinds and genres. From autobiography, memoir, chick lit, classics, fiction, non-fiction, mystery, horror, fantasy, romance, sci-fi, children, self-help to philosophy, poetry, politics, religion, sport and leisure, travel guides, business and finance, history, economics, etc. etc. A few are books you have already read. Some are famous titles by prominent and celebrated authors that you have put in your to-be-read list. Others are by new authors which seem just as intriguing when you read the snippets usually on the back covers. You are overcome by euphoria, all these books, all the knowledge, wisdom, facts, poetry waving at you, seducing you, whispering in your ears "buy me, read me, your soul will not be at peace, you will not find contentment until you've read me".

My idea of heaven is a very large, modern, well-stocked (with physical as well as digital books) library with an adjacent equally large reading space with lots and lots of comfortable chairs for adults as well as children to read. There are some cats and dogs relaxing around together with people in that reading place. There is also a large clean park nearby where there are green trees, a lake and well manicured lawn and people sit on park benches watching others pass by or simply discussing the content of their books while children run around with some cats and dogs. If you get hungry there is also a cafe nearby. OMG I always have such images in my head!

In the 1998 American movie City of Angels, starring Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan, the angels are depicted as very learned, very cultured and cultivated beings. They are very subdued, humble, gentle and they are very respectful to one another and to human beings as well. They always hang around libraries where they acquired all the knowledge and wisdom for themselves. Of course in the movie, they have the power to absorb everything very very fast. They speak many many languages and are very knowledgeable about a lot of things. I find those qualities as very becoming for higher beings. I wish our clergies would emulate such qualities for themselves. Speak softly, do not say bad things about others, be generous, be forgiving, be respectful of others, be very knowledgeable, do not restrict your knowledge only about religion and show that you view human beings from many different angles before condemning humans as sinners or deciding that something is haram. Drop that holier-than-thou attitude and for heaven's sake, they should cease promoting the 72 virgins or the golden umbrella cliches. I have yet to hear a Muslim man proclaiming that all he ever wanted in the afterlife are his good wife on this earth, his children and other people who are meaningful to him in his lifetime. The point I am trying to make is, it is good to be curious, to ponder and to question a lot about issues. Make reading an essential part of daily life and ensure that there are books to read at home. A home without books is like a person without a soul.

Finished some lovely lovely books recently.


                    

                            

                     


The Girl With No Shadow

This book by Joanne Harris is the sequel to the movie-tie-in Chocolat. I have seen Chocolat countless times but have not read the book. I believe, as usually the case, the movie is less telling than the book itself. Even after watching Chocolat for so many times I was still guessing who Vianne Rocher really is. Whether she is psychic or she is a practitioner of magic. From this book the reader knows Vianne Rocher or Yanne Charbonneau is actually a witch. Well this my first foray into what a modern witch is really like and what kind of power she really has. Well, of course according to what the author thought of that subject matter.

Summary
Living in a tiny chocolaterie in Montmartre, Paris, Vianne and her daughters Anouk and Rosette have forsaken magic and adventure for a stable, if unhappy life. Vianne has now become the widow Yanne Charbonneau, mother of 'Annie'. Hiding her magical nature, she feels she is doing the right thing by her daughters, but she herself is dissatisfied: there is friction with Anouk; money is short; there is pressure from her landlord, Thierry le Tresset, to marry him and she no longer has time to make hand-made, quality chocolate, but is forced to sell the ordinary, factory-made kind. Anouk is equally unhappy. She is bullied at school and made to feel like a freak; her mother seems to have changed beyond recognition and she hates living in Paris. She misses Roux, Rosette's father, with whom Vianne is still in love, but whom she left because of his inability to settle down. The situation seems hopeless and set to deteriorate. And then, on All Hallows' Eve, Zozie de l'Alba blows into their lives, bringing back magic and enchantment. She seems to be exactly what Vianne herself used to be: a benevolent force and a free spirit, helping people wherever she goes. But Zozie is a thief of identities, a con woman, maybe even a collector of souls. She has her eye on Vianne's life, and begins to insinuate herself into the family.

She is soon working at the chocolaterie, helping and understanding everyone as Vianne used to do. She helps Anouk to deal with the bullies who torment her at school. The shop begins to prosper under her guidance, much to Thierry's displeasure. When Roux, Vianne's former lover, re-appears on the scene, Zozie helps Vianne to decide between a stable life with Thierry and a loving relationship with the man she loves.

But as Vianne's life begins to improve little by little under Zozie's influence, it becomes clear that all this must come at a terrible price. Finally, Vianne is forced to confront Zozie on her own ground, to reclaim her magic and her identity and to fight back. Zozie is determined to kick Vianne out of the chocolaterie and starts assuming to be Vianne Rocher herself. Either that or she leaves and take Anouk/Nanou with her, because she knows Anouk is very talented in magic.

The Storied Life of A.J.Fikry

Summary
A.J. Fikry is the cranky owner of Island Books. Cranky with good reason. His wife has died. His store is failing. A treasured book, which doubles as his retirement fund, has gone missing. To make matters worse, a young child has been abandoned in Island Books’ by her mother. So while not technically a mystery, there is a lot to be solved. Who is the child? Who stole Fikry’s valuable edition of Poe poems? How can his store, and his life, be turned around?

Fikry is a great admirer of the short story, and each chapter in the book is named after a story that Fikry himself quickly reviews or summarises. And so we get snippets from Roald Dahl, Raymond Carver, Flannery O’Connor and J.D. Salinger. More than tributes, these brief passages provide Fikry an opportunity to philosophise on how his worldview is similar to or different from the story in question, and they frame each portion of the book very well. I find that very very fascinating.

Yes, it’s about books and the power of stories. But it is not only for people who have spent time in creative writing workshops. Its strength is its very mainstream appeal. It is, at its most basic, a story about love and redemption with people and art. Fikry and his motley group of friends and family are easy to cheer for.

My Heart and Other Black Holes

I like books written for young adults. Young adulthood is a time you are developing your identity as a person. It can be a tumultuous period of one's life with school and examinations to deal with, nagging parents, personal problems, unstable family life etc. etc. In this book all these challenges are compounded further by the fact that Aysel Seran has depression. Depression can have hideous outcome if left untreated. It is indeed very sad that mental illness like depression is still shagged with so much stigma that sufferers tend to hide it from families and friends.

Summary
The story centres on a pair of teenagers, Aysel Seran and Roman Franklin, who meet through an online site matching up suicide partners (these groups actually exist) to help ensure each partner will not back out of their own suicide. In a twist on Romeo and Juliet, they become more and more intimate through the 26-day countdown to their date until one question hangs between them: Will they live or will they die?

Jasmine Warga is a 26-year-old Jordanian American from Cincinnati who wrote the novel after the death of a close friend to give voice to feelings of depression and isolation. “Aysel was a vessel for me to tackle questions about the demon of depression, grief, and the ultimate saving power of love and human connection,” said the first-time writer.

The Wandering and Meandering Mind 17112010

In late 2010, I started writing snippets about my everyday life and then e-mailing them to my close friends. Named the e-mail thread The Wandering and Meandering Mind. Most of the time I would send them to Bonda, Darling and Dear. It was prequel to blogging actually and I found it to be quite therapeutic. I was using Yahoo mail at that time. It was the time before Android devices are all the rage and Yahoo Mail was more popular than G-Mail. I have decided to paste those short e-mails onto this blog as they are quite nostalgic to me.

In this particular e-mail pasted below, the ginger cat mentioned is actually Mickey which someone had dumped near my house. At that time, I had recently lost my very beloved Benjamin Miki and the pain of losing him, made me vow never to have another cat again.

Of course, Mickey's persuasive and loving nature changed all that and I am very glad that I decided to adopt him about 3 weeks after this e-mail was written.
My beloved sister-in-law mentioned below had also passed away in 2012 after a short illness.

My gorgeous boy now

Mickey, another recent photo

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HOW I SPEND MY HARI RAYA HAJI

17th November, 2010

Woke up at around seven thirty. Heard the ginger cat that someone dumped near my house meowing near my front door. He's quite a manipulative cat. He knows I melt every time I heard the loud meow. Fed ginger with canned food. Would you believe that? When I've sworn I'll never have another cat, and yet I bought cat food to feed a stray. Anyway ginger is never allowed into the house. If anybody wants an affectionate orange-coloured male cat, please let me know.

Mickey, the early days

A rather skinny cat at the beginning

Washed my face and brushed my teeth. Hmmm.......what's for breakfast? Still had one ketupat palas I bought last evening at PKNS Complex with some serunding. The ketupat was quite tasty anyway. Called my sister-in-law, talked to hear for a while. Glad that she's recovered from her fever. What's on TV? ASTRO, the terrestrials, holiday programmes sucked. Looked at my newspaper cuttings which I haven't pasted onto the scrap books. Must do that ASAP. Did some washing. The day is turning cloudy. Please no more rain today I hope.
It's one o'clock. Get Smart (the movie) is on 412. Well, for the sake of nothing better to watch, I suppose, this will do.

I actually should drive out to buy something for lunch, or get the car washed. The other option? Lie down with a book or just lie down. Second option better!

French Liaison

It has always been my dream to be able to speak and write another international language, as I find learning a language quite interesting.
I learned Japanese way back in the late eighties when I was sent to do a training in Japan. It was a three-month intensive course. Me and my six other male colleagues learnt very fast. We took every opportunity to speak the language, with our coordinators, with the training centre's staffs as well as with other participants especially those who did not speak English. Most of the time our grammar was quite hay wired but our vocabulary was enough for the Japanese to understand us, which was terrific for us. We speak Japanese even among ourselves when we went out shopping or sightseeing. It was hilarious at times but it made life much easier when we can converse with the natives in their own language. We made friends easily and were often invited into Japanese homes. We had a very wonderful time, all the nine months that we were there. It is indeed sad that I have forgotten a lot of Japanese words, mainly due to lack of practise. I am also unable to read and write hiragana and katakana anymore.

The first French book I read all
by myself....ha ha ha

So now, I have chosen to learn French. It is not an easy language to learn. There are definitely more things to remember and a lot more rules to follow than English. If you do not have a strong determination, it will be quite easy to quit I think. For me particularly, it is indeed very frustrating when I am unable to understand much of spoken French, as of now.

Whenever a French movie is shown on Cinema World channel on HyppTV I would make sure I watch it. First I would watch it with all the English subtitles, really absorbing the story. Then when the movie encores, I would just listen to the TV, doing other things, moving around, without looking at the screen to try to pick up as many French words as possible that I can understand. It is indeed very frustrating when I can only pick a very few isolated words. Spoken French is definitely not easy and can easily intimidate and undermine your enthusiasm to learn the language.

Well, I have decided to look at the positive side in this particular learning process. I started with zero French some months back. The only French words I know can be counted with the fingers of one hand only. There are encore, ensuite, avant-garde, pâtisserie and chocolat. Presently my vocabulary is still very pitiful but has definitely increased from before. I can already make simple sentences though with mistakes at times. The pronunciation does not overwhelm me so much anymore as I get a little hang of it. I think there are places where the pronunciation is quite phonetic in nature and perhaps easier than English in some ways. There are also accents to help your pronunciation which are non-existent in English.

Every language is beautiful in its own way and so does French. I am falling in love with it just the way I fell in love with English when I was a young teenager. I am much older now and the learning environment is different compared to when I was learning English, or even Japanese for that matter. I am, however, still determined to be good in it, even if it takes time. I may be slower than some of my classmates who are much younger than me, but that is okay, I can always put more effort into it.

My first weekly French class was on 23rd Dec. 2014. It will be a year soon. I am very glad that I made the decision to learn French, even if I was apprehensive at the beginning. It is not an easy language. But then English is not that easy also. The difference is that I started learning English intensively when I was twelve and I continued learning it at least 3 or 4 times a week until I was eighteen. All my subjects in school were taught in English except for Bahasa Malaysia and Religious Knowledge. English was everywhere while I was learning it. There were English newspapers, English books and TV programmes. Our teachers speak English all the time. There was indeed immersion into the language from many angles. This situation is very much lacking in the present school system in Malaysia, resulting in the decline in the performance of students in the English language.

Bearing all these in mind, I supposed, I need not be so harsh with myself, if I am slow in picking up spoken French or if I make a lot of mistakes in my sentences. The most important thing is to put whatever effort I can into this learning endeavour. In my heart, I still carry the ambition that one day I will be able to easily read and understand literary works like Les Miserables by Victor Hugo or Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry in its original French.

The following article in blue is taken from the net. It is a very interesting write-up on French liaison which is a tough challenge in spoken French for beginners like me.


Things You Need To Remember About French Liaison

There is a huge line between sounding like an actual French speaker and sounding like a joke (and a stupid one at that). We call it liaisons. When done right, 
congratulations, you will actually sound French-y and coherent. But when used poorly, you will appear as an unintelligible, bumbling mess.

We are here to help you navigate the disparity between the two.

1. So... what is a liaison?

Liaison is what makes listening to and speaking French so darn difficult for newbies (and even not so newbies). Liaisons happen when a consonant which is normally silent, dead, orphonologically null, suddenly gets pronounced at the beginning of the word that follows it.

Think of it as just like your normally silent and docile friend who suddenly acts up under a specific set of circumstances. Like probably the quiet guy who who turns loud and rambunctious after a bottle of beer (yeah you know those types). That’s exactly what liaison is like.

2. “No Boundaries”

Before we go into the details of when and how liaisons occur, or the specific circumstances that set it off, you have to remember a couple of things first. One: there are no clear divisions and syllable boundaries in French words, so the words are all basically linked together. This is unlike English or other languages wherein syllabic boundaries correspond to word boundaries. This is the backbone of the liaisons.

3. Final Consonants... what final consonants?

In relation to number two, also keep in mind that the final consonants in French words (except for the letters c, f, l and r) don’t get pronounced at all. This happens in almost every case, except when liaisons step in and try to run the show.

4. So liaisons appear when...

The liaison steps into the spotlight and gets some airtime when a word that ends with a consonant (which is normally silent), is followed by a word that begins with a vowel or a mute h. The reason for this is to facilitate the melodious link between words that must never, ever be broken. Like, ever.

When this happens, the sound of the last consonant will be merged with the syllable that follows it.

For example: ils ont.

As you can see, the first word ilsends with the consonant s while the second word ont begins with a vowel. To pronounce this, you say |eel zon| instead of saying |eel on| which would be so un-French and so wrong. See how s gets pronounced as z and becomes the start of the second word or syllable? That’s liaison for you, guys.

Compare this with ils sont which ends and starts with a consonant, and therefore does not require the services of the liaison. It is pronounced as |eel son|.

See the difference? 

5. Some liaisons are required

We call this liaison obligatoire, and as the name implies, you should always use liaison in some cases.

Here’s when it is terribly necessary that you use liaisons:

After the determiners: un, les, des, ces, mon, ton, quels, etc.
After the pronouns: nous, vous, ils, elles, les,etc.
After the adjectives: bon, mauvais, petit, grand, gros, etc.
After the monosyllabic prepositions: chez, dans, sous, en, etc.
After the word comment when the speaker is referring to health-related topics
After some monosyllabic adverbs: très, plus, bien,etc. (Please note that it is optional after pas, trop, fort); and
After est (but it is optional after all other forms of être) 

 
6. Some liaisons are optional

We call this liaison facultative. In some cases, you may or may not use liaisons because it is not mandatory at all (hooray!) So when do you need to use these optional liaisons?

When you feel fancy and you want to put your knowledge of liaisons to good use,
When you’re a bit on the older, more formal crowd,
When you’re giving a speech at the Académie française,
When you just wanna show off for no reason at all, and
When you haven’t bothered memorizing the list of required and optional liaisons.

In other cases not mentioned, you are probably better off avoiding liaisons. Or not. It’s totally up to you.

This is when liaison is optional:

After some single syllable adverbs like pas, trop, fort,
After all other forms of être aside from est, and
After the word quand when it is used with est-ce-que. 

 
7. Some liaisons must NEVER see the light of day

Remember when we said liaisons are used so that the sound of the string of words remains melodious, unbroken and pleasing to the ears? Well, there we said it. So in cases when liaisons ought to be used (theoretically) but they just don’t sound right at all when used, these are times when it is prohibited.

These include:

after the word et,
before words that begin with h aspiré (such as les héros)
before the word onze
after singular nouns or proper names
after plural noun objects
plural forms of compound words

So remember if you feel like using liaisons at some point during those words, please…

8. Changes in pronunciation

There are some changes in the sound of the consonants when it is used in liaisons.

If the word ends in -s or -x, it will be pronounced as z,
If the word ends in -d or -t, it will be pronounced as t,
If the word ends in -n and -m, instead of the nasal vowel sound (which will then be denasalized), the n and m will be pronounced,
Sometimes during formal speech, the -g ending is pronounced as k, but most of the time, it is left as it is — a g sound.
Neuf is pronounced with a v sound instead of f, but only when it is used with ans and heures. 

9. Some examples for s, x, and z liaisons

trois amis
les enfants
aux enfants
mes élèves
certaines idées
vieux hôtels
les avenues
petits hommes
chez eux
nous avons
vous êtes

10. Some examples for t and d liaisons

petit ami
Où sont-ils?
Où est-elle?
un grand hôtel
Ils sont en haut

11. It is different from enchaînement

Enchaînement is when a consonant has to be pronounced whether it follows a consonant, a vowel, or a mute h. This is quite unlike liaison wherein a previously silent consonant gets pronounced because of the word that follows it.

12. It is quite different from elision too

It’s the opposite, really. Elision happens when sounds that are normally being pronounced, do not get pronounced anymore when it follows a vowel or a mute h. Think of it as your other friend – the one who is usually loud and obnoxious but suddenly goes silent when there is a hot girl nearby. Yep, exactly like that.

Aside from all those listed, the most important thing you have to remember is to keep listening to spoken French. Soon enough the liaisons would jump out at you and become all too familiar. So listen, listen, and listen some more. It will get ingrained in your system soon enough.

If you need any clarifications about this lessons, just ask me in the comment section.

P.S. You would be doing me a HUGE FAVOR by sharing it via Twitter, Facebook, Google + or Pinterest.
About the Author
Frederic Bibard is the founder of Talk in French, a company that helps french learners to practice and improve their french. Macaron addict. Jacques Audiard fan. You can contact him on Twitterand Google +

On Being Grateful

The API reading for Port Klang is again in the hundred plus this morning. It was 136 at 8.00 am. After a number of days of less smoky sky the haze is back. I can feel the smokiness and the heaviness of the air. I am not asthmatic and yet the discomfort is irritatingly felt. Perhaps because I am a senior citizen too. A fact that I tend to forget a lot of the time. In my mind, I always feel much younger. Anyway, feeling younger or not, I celebrated my 61th birthday recently ha ha ha. A 61-year old senior citizen with a youngish mind. My nephew A and his wife took me out to dinner at our usual seaside eatery. They were commenting that I look happy and healthy for a 61-year old. The fact is I just came back from Hanoi for a short holiday with my travel gang. Had a great time there. Some photos from the trip at the bottom.

Well, happiness to me is a choice. A lot of things makes us feel uncertain, nervous and cautious nowadays. The haze is very irritating. Everything is more expensive. Money is like water flowing away very fast. Our currency is depreciating and the economy is definitely not healthy. The country is helmed by a very questionable leader with his own troupe of clowns and jesters. The future is uncertain.

Such thoughts about the future can be indeed very depressing. Nowadays I tried to wake up early everyday even though I do not need to. The quiet and stillness of early morning is very spiritual. I try to do some simple mindfulness exercises. Mostly breathing exercises and also some exercises for my knees. I voice out positive affirmations to kindle and kick start my psyche into positive mood for the day. Honestly it can be easy to be drawn into the negative mood sometimes. When things do not work out the way we wanted them to be or when we are disappointed because we do not get something we really want. Every morning after saying the affirmations I make a habit of listing things that I am thankful for. There are always good things in our lives, if only we stop and think about it.

I cursed and complained a lot when Port Klang's API reading nearly touched 400 last time. It was stuffy, heavy, smoky, choking air all around. I was stuck in the house all day, with doors and windows closed. I was even worried for my three cats. They are smaller in size and the air is not healthy for them to inhale. Mickey and Tam looked okay but Comot was coughing every now and then. Then I heard and read about API readings in Riau and Jambi in Sumatra. There were days when it was over 1000, some days above 800 and on good days perhaps at 400. Over 1000? How do people breathe in that kind of air? Made me realise how much worse the situation was in Riau than in Port Klang. I should have been thankful that Port Klang's API did not reach even 400.

A positive mind, a sensible degree of self-esteem, a sense of worthiness as an individual is very very important in life. There were times when I felt my life as a pensioner is very routine and monotonous. Some people also commented on the lack of spontaneity in my life. But is it bad to have routines? A life of too much unpredictability will definitely not suit me at all. I am a stickler for punctuality, I like certain things to be in order, I like to know things thoroughly before I make decisions and I adore being knowledgeable about a lot of things. So routines are quite okay with me.

I am very grateful for my life now. Humble though it may be, but I enjoy it. One of the privilege of being old is that you tend to care less about what people say. If the fact that I am single, I live alone, I do not wear the head scarf  and I tend to dress tomboyishly make people think I am weird and eccentric, that is okay with me. After all most very talented and very intelligent  people are weird and eccentric. If people pity me because I am single and they think that nobody will take care of me when I am very old and frail, that is okay too. Because nobody really knows what will happen in future. You might have many children but still they might not be able to take care of you even if they are willing too. I have been through many things in life, the ups and downs. More the downs I think. I am very glad that there is always a fighting spirit in me that drives me to stand up for myself when I am down. After all, life is really about making choices. To the very best that I can, I live my life one day at a time and I always try to live in the present. People can say anything they like. What do they know? I fight my own battles and I do not need their approval.

I am thankful to be alive and healthy at 61. There are health issues but nothing that I cannot tackle. I am definitely not rich, in fact I am a little poor, but I can still afford to take care of myself and my three cats reasonably well. I supposed I know myself a little better nowadays, but still there are lots and lots more for me to find out. I am always curious about things and I intend to find out more. The universe is such a humongously huge space with billions and billions of galaxies and here I am, such a very minuscule collection of vibrating atoms that make up my humble self and yet how magical and elegant that is. There is so much out there to think about and to wander!