What are you reading?

Books are a delightful society. If you go into a room filled with books, even without taking them down from their shelves, they seem to speak to you, to welcome you.
(William E. Gladstone, 1809-1898)


I am talking about book again. Just finished reading 'A Year in Provence' by Peter Mayle and currently reading 'Wildwood - A Journey Through Trees' by Roger Deakin. Oh, I almost forgot this is one of the books that I was talking about in one of my recent blog. I finally found this book two weeks ago at Borders. It is the only copy left and the only Roger Deakin's title available at Borders.

I seem to be enjoying reading books about travel or travelogue. Maybe because it 'takes' me to different part of the world, meet different people, reading about different culture ..... There are few titles that I have read so far that I enjoyed it very much such as, 'The Places in Between' by Rory Stewart, 'Three Cups of Tea' (ah, I forgot the author's name- I lend this book to one of my colleagues and it has been few months now :), "C'est la Folie' by Michael Wright. I also have few more titles .... all about France .... that Herb gave me and yet to be read. :)

Yesterday I went shopping at Amazon.uk .... or rather window shopping :). I was so excited that I found several titles and selected 7 titles (for the time being):

Travels with a Tangerine: A Journey in the Footnotes of Ibn Battutah - Tim Mackintosh-Smith £6.99 You Save:£2.00 (22%)

From the Holy Mountain: A Journey in the Shadow of Byzantium - William Dalrymple £6.99 You Save:£3.00 (30%)

The Lost Heart of Asia - Colin Thubron £6.99 You Save:£2.00 (22%)

An Unexpected Light: Travels in Afghanistan - Jason Elliot £6.99 You Save:
£2.00 (22%)

Mirrors of the Unseen: Journeys in Iran - Jason Elliot £6.99 You Save:
£2.00 (22%)

A Shadow Falls: In the Heart of Java - Andrew Beatty £9.09 You Save:
£3.90 (30%)

Almost French: A New Life in Paris - Sarah Turnbull;£5.59 You Save: £3.40 (37%)


I placed it in my shopping basket and the total price was £ 49.58 and what made me extermely happy was that I got a message that I was entitled for Super Saver Free Delivery for my order - meaning that no postage charges! Great! I proceed making payment and before last step to place my order I did final check and I noticed that it was addressed to HerbMaster! (Amazon must has automatic picked-up the first delivery address in my account!). Phew! Otherwise Herb will have to read the books on my behalf. LOL. So, I changed it to my address and guess what? The total price has now changed and I am no longer entitled for Free Delivery and the postage charges was £29!!!!!

Whoa! It seems that the Free Delivery thing only meant for UK! Sigh.

So, you people in the UK and US are lucky to live in a country where most books are published.

I am back quiet.


Larra

Gifts from the Mountain

All things happen for a reason.

Something happen to me at work yesterday.

It really has stirred up the fire of my anger!

I can say that I was mad enough to choke!

But one of my habit ... I won't say anything when I am too angry.

 

I remember this old quotes that has become part of me:

" For the word that sting the deepest is the word that never spoke.

Let the other person wrangle till the storm has blown away,

then he'll do a heap of thinking about things you didn't say."

 

So, to distract my mind from thing that just happened,

I headed to our University library - my perfect hide out -

and browsing the shelf that has books on quality.

I didn't find anything interesting and continue browsing to the next section,

then I saw a title on the spine of one of the book

"Gifts from the Mountain" by Eileen McDargh.

I pulled out the book and I already fall inlove with cover

.

.

I flipped through the first few pages ... and I liked what I saw!

.

.

Each page is illustrated with stunning watercolor paintings.

Mind you I didn't actually 'read' I just wanted to look at something that can divert me from my 'current state of mind' .

I took the book to the counter to borrow it and headed back to my office.

It's a simple book!

Simple enough to make you sit and ponder.

The sub-title of this book is 'Simple Truths for Life Complexities'.

What's in this book is nothing new.

 

Like what the author said in her Prologue:

"In many ways it will remind you of what you already know

but have forgotten in the tension of time constrains, work worries, and family frustrations.

Some passages will jar your memory while others might evoke a new awareness and result in action."

 

We all have our own mountain.

There's always a challenge that demands our attention or a complication looking for simplification.

But first, I need to thank the person who had stirred my anger.

If not because of 'that person' I won't discover this book.

 

Happy reading!

 

Love - Larra

 

 

'Stock taking'

Hi everyone,

It's a quiet Sunday morning at my end.

I woke up at 6.30 am and after my morning prayer I started preparing breakfast! Here's today's breakfast!

.

Spinach monay and roasted potatoes! Of course the recipe for spinach mornay came from my cooking guru I remember I enjoyed eating mornay while in Tatton Park and Chester during my recent holiday in England.

After breakfast I started re-shelving my books - ahhhh, I need additional booksheves! While re-shelving, I get this idea of doing some kind of stock taking of books that I bought or acquired in 2008:

General interest/Memoir:

1. Scheherazade Goes West - Different Cultures, Different Harems" by Fatema Mernissi
2. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
3. The Cave of the Yellow Dog by Byambasuren Davaa & Lisa Reisch
4. The Road to Mecca by Muhammad Asad
5. Tree Cups of Tea Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin
6. Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
7. Growing up in Trengganu by Awang Goneng
8. The Places in Between by Rory Stewart
9. The Garden of Truth – The Vision and Promise of Sufism, Islam’s Mystical Tradition by Seyyed Hossein Nasr
10. Perilous Power – The Middle East and US Foreign Policy , Doalogues on Terro, Democracy, War and Justice by Noam Chomsky & Gilbert Achcar (yet to be finished )
11. From a Persian Tea House – Travels in Old Iran by Michael Carroll (yet to be finished )
12. Alek Wek – The Extraordinary Life of a Sudanese Refugee by Alek Wek (yet to be read)
13. The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop – A Memoir, a History by Lewis Buzbee (just bought this title, will begin reading it today)

It seems like most of the titles that I have been reading is either a memoir or a true story. I must admit that I am not so much into fiction. But I do read fiction and will continue reading it:

Fiction:

1. The Valkyries by Paulo Coelho
2. The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho
3. The Kite Runner by Khalid Hossseini (yet to be read)
4. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khalid Hosseini (yet to be read)
5. By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept by Paulo Coelho (yet to be read)

It looks like I have only been reading fiction by Paulo Coelho! But not to worry I have two titles by Khalid Hosseini -in my waiting list - it's a Christmas gift from Herbie. It is Khalid Hosseini signed copy limited edition set! Thank you H!

.

There are also few titles on gardening or plant but not much can be practised since I moved to the new condo which has no balcony! Due to that Herb bought me books on bonsai, but I am yet to really work on bonsai .... I think I nead a 'real' guru

Gardening:

1. Bonsai Master Classic by Craig Coussins (from Herb)
2. Bonsai School – The Complete Guide Course in Care, Training & Maintenance by Craig Coussins (from Herb)
3. The Complete Practical Encyclopedia of Bonsai by Ken Norman
4. A Guide to Common Plants of Ayer Hitam Forest, Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia by I-Faridah-Hanum and Shamsul Khamis (from Herb)
5. Trees and Fruits of Southeast Asia – An Illustrated Field Guide by Michael Jensen (from Herb)

And the new subject that started to fill up my bookshelves are books about travelling or places of tourist attractions as well as cookery books.

Travel:

1. Ghosts of Spain – Travel Through a Country’s Hidden Past by Giles Tremlett
2. Andalucia (Lonely Planet)
3. Spain (Rough Guide)
4. 1001 Historic Sites You Must See Before You Die
5. Seeing and Understanding Andalusia
6. All Cordoba
7. An Easy Guide to Cordoba – Yesterday and Today
8. 100 Greatest Trips – From The Editors of the World’s Leading Travel Magazine (3^rd edition)

Cookery:

1. The One-Dish Bible
2. Around the World in 450 Recipes
3. Authentic Mexican – Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico by Rick Bayless with Deann Groen Bayless
4. Fast and Healthy by Flora Airey

So, those are the books on my book shelves. How about you? Is there your favorite titles that you have read in 2008 that you would like to share with us here? Please feel free to do so.

"If you cannot read all your books, at any rate handle, or as it were,

fondle them - peer into them, let them fall open where they will,

read from the first sentence that arrests the eye,

set them back on the shelves with your own hands,

arrange them on your own plan so that you at least know where they are.

Let them be your friends;

let them at any rate be your acquaintances."

(Sir Winston Churchill)

 

And not to forget, to all my Muslim friends "Happy New Year" 1430H. 29th December 2008 is the 1st Muharam 1430H in Islamic calendar (Muharam is the first month in Islamic calendar). May Allah bless us for the coming new year.

Love - Larra

 

What's in the shopping bag ....

I went out to Suria KLCC today - with one objective, to buy books! Seriously! I have no intention of shopping for other things I have run out of book to read while on my daily train ride to/fro work and I also need to look for book on Spain

So, after getting off the train I went straight to Kinokuniya bookstore. Spending almost 3 hours ..... browsing and enjoying the smell of old and new books and these are what in my shopping bag today:

The Places in Between by Rory Stewart, published in 2006.

" In January 2002 Rory Stewart walked across Afghanistan -- surviving by his wits, his knowledge of Persian dialects and Muslim customs, and the kindness of strangers. Along the way Stewart met heroes and rogues, tribal elders and teenage soldiers, Taliban commanders and foreign-aid workers. He was also adopted by an unexpected companion -- a retired fighting mastiff he named Babur in honor of Afghanistan's first Mughal emperor, in whose footsteps the pair was following. "

I read a review about this book last year and I went looking for this book but I couldn't find it. Today when I saw it displayed on the bestsellers shelf, I just grabbed it. This book is one of the New York Times Bestseller and if you would like to read the review about this book, visit this page .

And as a preparation for my holiday in Southern Spain, I also bought Lonely Planet's book, Andalucia . Hopefully it will give enough background information about Andalucia in order for me to experience Andalucia to the fullest in October  .

I think these 2 books are enough to keep me occupied for the next couples of weeks.

Good night everyone!

October 20, 2007: My Saturday!

Hi everyone,

My Saturday started early today. After webcam chat with Herb, I headed to train station as early as 9.30 am. My destination ..... Borders bookstore at Berjaya Times Square, Kuala Lumpur. I had with me a list of 8 titles of books that I would like to read in preparation for my new job in February 2008:

1. Assessing for learning: building a sustainable commitment accross the institution by Peggy L. Maki

2. Assessment clear and simple: a practical guide for institutions, departments and general education by Barbara E. Walvoord

3. Assessing academic programs in higher education by Mary J. Allen

4. Quality and performance excellence in higher education by Charles W. Sorensen

5. Continuous quality improvement in higher education by John Robert Dew

6. Higher education in the world 2007: accreditation for quality assurance: what is at stake? by Global University Network for Innovation

7. Prioritizing academic programs and services .... by Robert C. Dickeson

8. Understanding faculty productivity .... by Michael F. Middaugh

~

I was so confident that I could find these titles (at least few, if not all) at Borders since I have checked Borders webpage and all of these titles are in stock at Borders US. And not to forget that Borders' bookstore at Berjaya Times Square is not only the largest bookstore in Malaysia but also the largest Borders' bookstore in the world occupying 60,000 square feet!

~

BUT ................ to my surprise, NONE of the books available in the bookstore!! I can't place an order either because these titles are not in stock at Borders KL! Did I mentioned that this is the largest Borders' bookstore in the world!?

Hmmmm .... it looks like I have to buy it at Amazon (these titles are in stock at Amazon.com) .... and pay the extra cost for postage!

~

Anyway, I can never leave a bookstore without buying anything . So I end up buying the following books:

1. I am Muslim by Dina Zaman (local author)

Below is the synopsis by Dr. Farish A. Noor, Political Scientist and Historian of Political Islam:

" I am Muslim is a selfish journey of faith. Dina meets shamans, nationalists, moderates and gets into all sorts of scrapes, to discover what Islam means to Muslims in Malaysia. Heartbreaking, angry and downright funny.

Dina Zaman's articles about being Muslim in Malaysia today captures the multifaceted aspects of difference and alterity in normative religios life better than many academic studies... "

~

2. The Secret of Secrets by Hadrat Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani

"This book considered as one of the greatest works of classical sufi mysticism and interpreted here for the first time in English by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al Jerrahi.

The Secret of Secrets reveals in a brief compass the very essence of sufism, showing how outward practices such as prayer, fasting and almsgiving contain a wealth of inner dimension which must be discovered and enjoyed if external actions are to be performed in a manner pleasing to God ..... "

And also another cook book :

With that I headed towards Starbucks for my favorite

caramel machiato and marble cheese cake. But, something is missing ........ Herbie is not here! Who is going to help me finish the cheese cake as well as caramel machiato?

~

Before headed home, I stopped by at the hair salon for one and half hours henna treatment.

~

So, how's your Saturday or what have you planned for your Saturday?

Love - Larra

September 08, 2007: "Home" at Last ....

Hi everyone,

I hope you are enjoying a great weekend!

My Saturday started at 9.30 am! Alas! (that also meant I missed morning chat with H! ! ). Finally I got my sleep routine back - now only I feel like I am at home! Have been sleepless the last few days since I got home - counting sheep didn't work and my head full of sheep!

Today I washed all clothes that I brought home from my holiday

And also ate few cheese biscuits that I brought back from England. There is a story behind these cheese biscuits. I am actually not so fond of cheese. But, during my holiday with H, he introduced me to few types of cheese biscuits that we used to eat while travelling in the car. And guess what? I loved few of the biscuits and H end up bought few boxes for me to take home.

I bought few books during my holiday:

- Pocket Pub Walks: Derbyshire by Charles Wildgoose (the author is a blog friend of Howard and I - known as Charlie in 360. In fact (just to share with you our little secret), I first 'met' HerbMaster on one of the 'walk' on Chalie's blog! . We follow (even though not 100% I think) Mappleton Walk trail from this book on my second last day.

- Soups & Hors D'Oeuvres (this book was on sale!) . I shall try the delicious recipes and share it with you ....

- Paulo Coelho, The Zahir (some of you might remember he is the author of the great book "The Alchemist")

- Cycles Rides: Lake District & The Northwest. But unfortunately we didn't go cycling - blame me as I lost my cycling skills and it will take longer for me re-learn cycling. So, we exclude it from our holiday program. Sorry Hon, next time I'll learn how to ride bicycle first.

- Orhan Pamuk: Istanbul Memoir of a City. I bought this book at Manchester Airport while looking for book to read while waiting at the airport (silly me, I have packed all my books in the suitcase!). Orhan Pamuk is the author of the book My Name is Red. It won the prestigious International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 2003 as well as the French Prix du meilleur livre étranger and Italian Premio Grinzane Cavour awards in 2002. But unfortunately I can't find My Name is Red at that bookstore so end up buying his memoir - so far after reading the first few chapters, I like his writing style.

- Wild Flowers of Britain and Europe. H bought me this book while we were at Muncaster Castle & Garden and we have been using it during our walks.

So, that the story of my Saturday so far. How's yours?

Love - Larra

March 07, 2007: Reading Time!!!

Hi everyone,

I found this tag on BarnDweller's blog who was tagged by her friend Potsy. Since I am currently reading a book on aromatherapy that was sent to me by Herb, I decided to play along. (I received 3 books on aromatherapy oils and massage from Herb last Friday - not sure whether I can finish it before Marh 26, 2007! )

The rules say (as on Potsy's page):

1. Grab the nearest book. Don't think, just the nearest book.

2. Open the book to page 123.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog (Please include the book and author) along with these instructions.

5. Don’t you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.

6. Tag five people. Make sure to let the people you're tagging know by leaving them a comment.

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

1. Title: The Complete Book on Essential Oils & Aromatherapy by Valerie Ann Worwood

2. "Tonics stimulate the circulation, reduce oilness, and help refine open pores and unevenly textured skin. They are usually applied after cleansing to ensure complete removal of any residue left from creams or lotions. A skin tonic has a much milder effect than an astringent and should also refine the skin texture."

3. I am not going to tag anyone, but those who would like to play along, you are most welcome. You can post it on your blog or post it as comment to this blog entry.

4. That's all about the tag. Now I would like to share some info from the book on making your own aromatherapy skin tonics and astringents.

a. Ingredients:

Tonics:

i. Normal to Dry Skin - Rosewater (3 ounces), Sandalwood (1 drop), Palma rose (1 drop)

ii. Normal to Oily Skin - Orange flower water (3 ounces), Neroli (1 drop), Orange (1 drop)

iii. Normal to Sensitive Skin - Chamomile infusion (3 ounces), Chamomile german (1 drop)

iv. Blemished skin - Lavender water (3 ounces), Lavender (1 drop), Juniper (1 drop)

Astringents:

i. General - Witch hazel (1 ounce), Orange flower water (3 ounces), Cider vinegar (1 teaspoon), Juniper (2 drops), Lime oil (1 drop), Grapefruit (1 drop)

ii. Stimulating - Witch hazel (1 ounce), Rose water (3 ounces), Cider vinegar (1 teaspoon), Basil (2 drops), Chamommile blue (1 drop), Peppermint (1 drop)

b.Method: Put all the ingredients in a bottle and shake well. Leave for 24 hrs then pass through a paper coffee filter. Rebottle and use as needed after cleansing or just to freshen up.

c. Note: Essential oil used in tonic and astringents are very effective, although they are not easy to blend without a dispersing agent and should always be shaken well before use.

Happy reading everyone! Reading is to the mind, what excercise is to the body .......

Love - Larra