Kate by Sean Smith

With all the hype surrounding the biggest event of the year, I just had to get the book to learn more on the latest member of the British Royal Family, especially one that will be Queen one day if she keeps doing what she does best and avoid the drama and pitfalls that Diana went through. The book essentially chronicles Catherine Elizabeth Middleton's upbringing, her meeting and subsequent relationship, break-up and reconciliation with Prince William, which culminated into a perfect Royal Wedding. I remembered watching the live event been streamed via BBC. Everything was just perfect,the weather, the dress, the bride and ceremony - nobody flubbed their lines or names, no creased wedding dress, no crazed fans trying to get a piece of the Prince or his Bride. Reading the book gave me a somewhat understanding of Kate's personality, character and demeanor. She is certainly a very patient person - considering the fact that she didn't mind waiting for 9 years before Prince William proposed. She is also very poised, has a good sense of fashion and is definitely a perfectionist. Not a hair out of place and not a single look of weariness on her first gruelling tour of Canada and LA. She is also very kind to people - very much a People's Princess just like Diana - I'm certain that had she been alive, while Diana would have been very proud of her son's choice, she would also be equally jealous of Kate's growing popularity with the people. I think much of her personality and growing popularity has to do with her stable upbringing in a close knitted family. This is in contract to Prince William's unhappy childhood which saw a stormy marriage that resulted in acrimonious divorce. In that sense, I think she would complement William very well by bringing in the stability that she was brought up with into the relationship and perhaps just what the Royal Family needed to revive the Monarchy which is losing touch with its people!

Verdict - The book is very informative without the feel of a trashy tabloid. The author was straight forward and honest in presenting his opinion on Kate.

Personal rating - 3.5 out of 5

The Royals by Kitty Kelley

The queen of biograhies have done it again with her book on the Royal Family which was released in 1997 just after Diana's death. The tabloid style biography with its severe allegations made about every member of the Royal Family including the beloved Queen mother just goes to show that every family in this world whether royal or not is not perfect. The dysfunctional aspect of this family were rather revealing especially with the press hounding and documenting the various escapades that Diana and Fergie and not forgetting the Charles put themselves through each week. It really was like watching "The Kardashians" except that whatever they did made it to the front page of the UK tabloids each week instead of reality TV. With the no-holds barred interviews given by Charles and Diana whereby each confessed to adultery and Fergie " toe sucking" episode, this book wouldn't have done much to the royal family's approval ratings which have fallen drastically since Diana entered the picture. Honestly, I do not know how much of the allegations made by Ms Kelley represent fact or fiction. Some of them seemed so far-fetched that it would be impossible for me to imagine them behaving in the manner described by Ms Kelley. After all, this is the most famous royal family in the world.

Verdict: It's a good read, if you are into the British Royal Family. For the British who are pro-monachist, you would definitely not like what Ms Kelley has to say about your Sovereign!

My Personal Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Diana (Unseen Archives) by Alison Gauntlet

I have always been a Diana fan ever since I was seven. I thought her wedding in 1981 was the most fascinating event that I have ever watched on TV. Her star quality fired the imagination of the world including little kids like me and from the 500 or so photographs captured in the 380 pages of this book, it is hard not to see why. The first couple of photographs were in black and white and perfectly captured the shy, awkward gawky kindergarten teacher right through to her engagement to Prince Charles before she was fully thrusted into the limelight after the wedding. Subsequent photographs showed her older, but more confident and adept at connecting with the public through her various royal engagements. Her fashion and style would also evolved over time as she become a fashion icon adored by the world over. From the photos, it was apparent that she loved her children and was happy to spend time with them while her relationship with the Prince deteriorated. The scenes from her funeral marked the closure of the book at the end.

Verdict: This book is not for reading but I really like to flip through the pages of the book and look at the photographs especially when I am waiting for my son to finish his homework or do his "business" in the big bathroom.

My personal rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Go the F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach

Everyone who is a parent must know what it's like to get your child to sleep including me. It's worse when they have just a little too much sugar during the day as all hell breaks loose at night. The author came up with this infamous book (which resembled a children's book in all appearances but after reading its content, you know it's a children's book for adults) after having an especially trying time making his daughter sleep. You can get the pdf copy of the book online or watch the video here which is quite hilarious!

Verdict: 4.5 stars out of 5 for ingenuity. Fun but really not for children. Need to keep it under lock and key!

The Magic of Ordinary Days by Ann Howard Creel

In all fairness, I already knew the the story by heart even before I bought the book. Reason being, this heartwarming tale was made into a movie on the Hallmark Channel ( now known as Diva Universal) years ago with the leading characters of the book, Olivia Dunne and Ray Singleton, played by Keri Russell and Skeet Ulrich respectively.. I got the book off Amazon.com since you can't find it in any leading bookstore over here in Malaysia. There were some minor differences here and there but majority of the dialogue in the movie were lifted off the book directly. Also, the description of Ray's appearance in book didn't do justice to Skeet and I didn't found the character in the book appealing.

Sypnosis:

The book is pretty much about Livvy or Olivia's relationship with Ray after she was shipped out to a rural town in Colorado by her strict minister father to marry a farmer in an arranged marriage upon finding out that she was pregnant after a one night stand with a military personnel. She pretty much had to give up her dreams of pursuing a Masters degree in archaeology and travelling around the world looking for archaeological digs like Ephesus in Turkey. Much of the book deals with Livvy's conflicting feelings for Ray, a good and kindly farmer who would do just about anything for Livvy to help her fit into life at the farm. While Ray loves her, Livvy, understandably finds it difficult to reciprocate the feeling given her misgivings in relation to arranged marriages. However, as their friendship blossomed, Livvy grew increasingly fond of Ray but still had to deal with the guilt that she still didn't deserve him as she is carrying a child out of wedlock. I very much enjoyed reading the book as Ray and Livvy's relationship progress positively from the initial awkward encounter at the train station when Livvy arrived until the birth of her child.

Verdict: 4.5 stars out of 5. Can't wait to watch the sequel which is scheduled to be filmed upon availability of the principal actors.

Small Miracles Books by Yitta Halberstam and Judith Leventhal

The original Small Miracle Book attracted my attention in 2002 and it has now become a firm favourite. The book which is a collection of short stories has spawned a series of best sellers under the Small Miracles banner. It is quite difficult to get hold of these books unless you purchase them online through Amazon.com which appears to be the only place that continue to supply these fantastic books. I have also the following books in the same series:-

a. Small Miracles 2

b. Small Miracles for Women

c. Small Miracles for Families

d. Small Miracles of Love and Friendship; and

e. Small Miracles for the Jewish Heart which I recently purchase in March this year. I also intend to get the latest one which is called "Small Miracles of the Holocaust" but have yet placed my order yet todate.

What I appreciate most about this series of books is that the collection of stories are not just merely uplifting extraordinary true life accounts to warm the soul but also each story or miracle told yield a lesson to be learnt or a moral point which is summarised at the end of the story. I have read and re-read the stories countless times and mostly on days when I feel down, depressed or just having a particularly bad day at the office. They make me feel good on days like these and keep my spirits going.

Verdict: Absolutely fabulous - one of my best buys!

My Personal Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

True Tales of American Lives edited and introduced by Paul Auster

As most of you might agree, we often find the steady stream of American movies and cartoons fed to us since childhood rather appealing. Why is that so? For most part, these movies or TV shows often depict the "American Dream" whereby if one work hard and overcome adversity, one would be able to taste success and prosperity in the land of opportunity which we call the great US of A. I like most kids were in awe of America. However, the book True Tales of American Life dispel this myth altogether. The book is essentially a collection of 180 short stories gathered by Paul Auster through a National story project which was aired on National Public's Radio "Weekend All Things Considered" programme.

The stories in the book are arranged in accordance to the following categories:-

Animals

Objects

Families

Slaptick

Strangers

War

Love

Death

Dreams

Meditations

Each writer will chronicle an incident or an experience in their lives which has significantly or profoundly impacted and influenced them in either a positive and negative way. What I gather from these stories is that the challenges, miracles, heartbreaks and misfortune faced by them are no different from those faced by people around the world. Nevertheless, I found the written account of their experiences nonetheless interesting and in some cases, heart wrenching and distressful. Some of these stories also demonstrated the strength of the human spirit in overcoming adversity and challenges during the depression and war era. It's definitely a good buy for me and I still re-read some of these stories from time to time whenever I am free.

Verdict: Great book to read especially if you are waiting at the bus stop or commuting on a train to work or waiting for a doctor's appointment. Each story takes about approximately 5 to 10 minutes to read.

My Personal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars