Book Review : Dead Heat

My delight was doubled when I picked up Dead Heat by Joel Rosenberg at the library. On first sight, I thought it would be another thriller action novel, along the likes of Dan Brown and James Rollins. The book is a page-turner with its suspense and playout of end-time prophecies.

From the time I had a taste of James Rollins and his mastery in incubating fact with fiction to hatch a fascinating tale of thrilling action, I got hooked onto this style of writing. And so, now Rosenberg presented me with another series of books written along a similar vein. I love how the authors threaded real fact with imagination to weave an almost credible story bordering on real-life investigative work. Some of the plots and subplots mentioned in their books bring a thrill along your spine as they hint of a sinister slant to real world events.

Dead Heat is a roller-coaster ride that had me gripping the political thriller till the end and then, left me rushing to get hold of its earlier prequels. It brings into play Biblical prophecies of the end-times (or eschatology) and shares bone-chilling insights to how it parallels with world happenings as they unfold. What is scarier is that, each of the 5 books in the series was written/published just before the major events mentioned in them happened in our world.

Verdict : 9/10. Two thumbs up!

Book Review : Fame

Most people tend to view Christian literature as well…boring, dry and functions best as a sleep-inducing tool. Reading has always a favourite hobby of mine, as far back as I can remember, and I enjoy books of various genres. The one thing that I had always wondered is why there is an absence of books written for a widely secular audience but yet loaded with Christian values and presented in a manner that paints Christianity in a positive and appealing light. It would be a perfect way of sharing Christ and His values in a most non-threatening manner.

Over the years, I had concluded that it is probably a case of sensibility – dollars and cents just do not marry seemingly lofty heavenly morals. It would be hard to create a riveting storyline with God lurking between the lines, most people would have turned away. Thus, most Christian authors of secular fiction books will just mention God in their foreword or acknowledgment page.

Imagine my delight when I found Karen Kingsbury’s series of books. If you have not read any of her books, you would have missed out on powerful stories beautifully crafted to illustrate God’s blessings and ways in the lives of ordinary families and people. It is totally refreshing to see how ordinary people struggle with and live out kingdom values. Her stories touch on themes of love, loss, death, forgiveness, fame, acceptance, loyalty, trust, etc. Kingsbury effectively portrays Christianity not as a religion but for what it is – real relationship with God.

God comes through so strongly through her books that as I followed the story, I found myself tearing at times and stopping now and then to pray for myself or my family. You know it is a good Christian book when you feel motivated to do something for God. But you know it is a fantastic Christian book when you are compelled to immediately stop reading to respond to the message God is bringing you through the book. And only after you have responded then you are able to pick the book up to continue reading.

God bless Kingsbury for being a literary agent of God’s message to the world. She is also involved in various ministries ministering to different groups!

Verdict : 10/10. I love all her books!

Up up and away

Last Sunday was Hubby’s Company Family Day and they organized a private viewing of UP at the cinema. There were lots of other kids and it was great fun meeting other families. We were given vouchers redeemable for snacks at the snack bar and we came away with bag loads of hotdog buns, popcorn, nachos and drinks. To top it all, there was a mini lucky draw just before the movie screening and we were pleasantly surprised to discover that our family won a prize.

UP is a stereoscopic 3D movie, requiring specially provided glasses in order to view the 3D effects. It was great fun with the kids reaching out to grab at things that appear to pop-out at them. But yet I wished those glasses came in smaller sizes for the kids as Little Buddy had his adult-sized one falling off his nose.

The movie had a story-line with much more depth than the cute characters and graphics. It explores themes of love, adventure, loyalty and honour, issues associated with aging, making choices and dreaming new dreams with cursory light mention of childless marriage, absent parenting – some in greater depth than others. The emotional aspect was so well portrayed that even Big Buddy caught the nuances and could empathise with the characters at critical moments. It is a wonderful journey of sorts, whimsical and yet poignant.

UP is a fantastic showcase of how far Pixar has advanced over the years. I love their subtle portrayal of unlikely themes and the clever presentation of subjects that may still appeal to the thinking adult.

Go watch it if you can!

To the movies

Last Saturday marked the first cinema visit for my two boys.

We were given tickets to watch Transformers – Revenge of the Fallen last Saturday and since the men in my family are crazy over Transformers, I thought it would make a great family outing. On the other hand, I had my apprehensions too.

I had heard that the movie was a marathon 2½ hours long and was in fact wondering if the kids would be able to sit in the cinema for that length of time. Would they fidget, stand on the seats or talk loudly and disturb the other patrons or clamor to be let out? Would they be frightened by the loud sounds or the darkness of the cinema and end up with nightmares at night? Oh my, such a long list of considerations you may say until you know my boys.

Big Buddy is fearful even of Tom and Jerry cartoons when it turns a tad violent. You will never catch him watching thrillers, he heads for a hiding place when suspenseful music comes on to up the ante. Little Buddy is braver but he can be unpredictable. While he usually has no issues with watching suspense thrillers, he refused to sit in for a 5-minute show when we were at the Army Museum two weeks ago because it had gunfire.

Well, I decided to throw caution to the wind and just go for it. In the worse case, we will just leave the cinema should the children get too difficult to handle.

And I am glad we went for the movie, the kids thoroughly enjoyed the whole movie experience. As for the loud noises…Little Buddy slept through the last 30 minutes of the movie ;-)

Book Review : Black Order

I love this book. It has all the elements of suspense, intrigue and action to hold you spellbound to the novel, gripping you in its page-turning pace as it brings you from the tops of the mountains to the depths of the earth.

To my pleasant surprise, James Rollins has thrown in a bit of romance in this one and it has its tender moments as the main character grapples with his fragile humanity. Black Order is a winner, juxtaposing the brash with the soft and the horror with the triumph.

Verdict : 9/10. I would read it again!

Book Review : The Whole Truth

Hubby introduced me to David Baldacci’s books and from the first book of his that I read, I fell in love with his style of writing. I would eagerly trawl the library bookshelves, searching more new titles to feast upon.

I love the way he fleshed out his main characters. Most action thrillers tend to confer their heroes near-superhero status, but Baldacci chose to make his more human-like, with strengths and weaknesses.

The Whole Truth brings the reader to a world of spies, espionage, murder, mayhem and like while spinning a tale of how events unfold at the strings of a master puppeteer.

Verdict : 8/10. A wonderful read.

Book Review : Deep Fathom

This is another book by James Rollins, one of my favourite authors. I picked up Deep Fathom with confidence that it will be just as good a read as another book of his that I finished not too long ago.

Sadly, I was a little disappointed. While the theme of science-cum-history-cum-action is perpetuated, somehow the plot seemed a little too simple and not sufficiently convoluted to generate a sense of intrigue and suspense. The eventual fate of the enemy also seemed too conveniently resolved and hardly did justice to the hero’s abilities.

Perhaps this being one of Rollins’ earlier works, it might have been a exploratory journey as he honed his writing skills.

Verdict : 5/10.

Book Review : The Judas Strain

I chanced upon The Judas Strain by James Rollins at the Tampines Regional Library and borrowed it without any prior knowledge of this writer and his works.

The book proved to be a thrilling and riveting read. I finished it in three days, bookmarking and returning to it whenever I found snatches of time whenever I had free time on hand.

The suspense was masterfully strung out throughout the novel, the pace of developments was quick yet controlled. Rollins employed a clever mix of modernism with history and with a satisfactory dose of science injected into the drama that unfolded. However, there were elements that left me disappointed at their simplicity and later portions that jarred with the earlier general sentiments that the book conveyed. Parts of the ending felt like an anti-climax that had seemed to promise more.

Verdict : 8/10. A great entertaining read nevertheless.

Book Review : For One More Day

I came across some recommendations on Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom. While I was unable to borrow it from the local library, I found For One More Day by the same author.

It is a story of a guy who attempted suicide, went into a coma and got a chance to spend one day with his decreased mother. Through incidents that opened his eyes, it brought to light his mother's undying love and support for him.

To be honest, I was not impressed by the storyline. I had also read Albom's The Five People You Meet In Heaven which also employed a similar fantasy/fairytale-kind-of theme which does not appeal to me. There have been great reviews for Tuesdays With Morrie so maybe, I will just pick it up and see if it will reverse my verdict on this writer.

Verdict : 4/10.

I found some great blinkies

For some time, I have been wanting to add some blinkies to my blog to liven up the look. Finally I managed to find some time to surf around and I uncovered some interesting ones at Blinkies By Alexis, Blinkies by Sparky, Desha's Blinkies, Mel's Blinkie Swap and Tami's Blinkies.

These brought back warm memories of some 80's movies I had enjoyed :






I remember watching this with my brother after accompanying him to collect his PSLE results.


My father brought us to watch Empire Strikes Back at the now-defunct Rex Theatre.


And here are some musicals that Hubby and I love.








I remember the front few rows of audience were offered umbrellas to shield themselves from the water during the splashing rain acts.

Here are some other random ones that described my family's taste in life, or just because they are so witty and catty!

Cool robot cities

I stumbled onto this interesting flash city and spent some time exploring it. Move your cursor around and you will discover that some features can be manipulated. There are two more fun robo-cities to check out, here and here. Have fun!

I love Pocoyo

I first met Pocoyo and his friends last month when we stumbled onto their program on Disney Playhouse. It had a very different concept for a children's program which to my surprise, worked! Big Buddy, and even Little Buddy, enjoy it very much.



The program revolves around the adventures of Pocoyo and his friends, Elly, Pato, Loula and Sleepy Bird as they explore the world around them. The characters are depicted in bold block colours with very little accessories. To further minimise distraction, the usage of props is kept to a minimal and when present, are always integral to the storyline. All these help young children focus on the main points. The storylines are simple, often exploring a single concept per show. Narrator Stephen Fry does a great job as he guides Pocoyo along, often engaging the viewer to participate too.

As for me, I love the artwork, humour and the antics.

Hey, I sound as if I am Zinkia Entertainment's spokesman, raving on and on about this precocious little boy! Anyway, I invite you to check it out and let me know what you think.

Movies and more movies!

Hubby and I are movie buffs and we get our fix from Hollywood Clicks. It is an online DVD rental with a doorstep delivery service.

We love it for the convenience and the huge library of movies, documentaries and TV series available. For a reasonable subscription fee, we are no longer passive audiences watching whatever Starhub pushes out on their various cable channels. I am reveling in the low-cost opportunity of finally being able to check out some indie/cult movies that I might otherwise not be able to have access to.

We have been so satisfied with this option that recently, we upgraded ourselves from a 2-disk plan to the 3-disk plan and are now looking forward to more home entertainment.

Cool music site

I stumbled upon this cool website Project Playlist while browsing through the applications on Facebook. I don't know about you folks but I find those invitations to Mob Wars, Vampires, Zombies, Slayers and whatever-else-biting/slaying/warring type of useless applications super irritating.

So I was pleasantly surprised to find Project Playlist. It allows you to create and share playlists by consolidating songs which are already residing on the internet. Although I could not find all of my favourite songs, it was however compehensive enough to allow me to create some decent playlists that accompanied me while I tap away at my workstation. The cool standalone player is pretty nifty too.

Go check it out!

Toys for Boys

Last Friday, Hubby bought this for the boys.

But if you ask me, I think it is just an excuse to buy it for himself :)

I love the sleek new look and pristine white casing. Even the various controllers and gadgets come in matching whites. The set came with bundled with Wii Sports - bowling, tennis, boxing and golf. It has been a great tool for family bonding thus far. It is actually quite amusing, watching how the kids anticipate the moves and respond accordingly.

Over the weekend, we browsed the shops for Wii games and we are drooling over the following :

We discovered that prices for the games vary quite significantly from shop to shop, even for the same game titles. Overall, it may be more cost effective to purchase them oveseas if we are buying more titles.

As with all computer and interactive games, Wii can be addictive. So we laid down rules regarding time and duration of play and play etiquette that must be adhered to. At the same time, it also presented us with opportunities to teach the kids about sharing and taking turns and reinforcing while playing the games. There are also platforms to talk about winning and losing and the more constructive way to react to that.