Thursday, June 24, 2010






Synopsis:
A Yale-educated Korean aristocrat finds herself disinherited and neck-deep in debt. To pay off her creditors, she joins a Russian ogresse's international harem of blue blooded courtesans and sinks into more debt. Irritable bowel syndrome caused her to fall out of favor with her rich lover but more in love with her penniless boyfriend. But soon her boyfriend discovered her secret life as a courtesan and she is forced to return to Korea with the impending death of her cousin. There she discovers a dark family secret that questions her nobility.




What do I think?
This book reminds me of Gossip Girl, though the plot has no similarity at all with the series. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the characters in the book find it so easy to lie and deceive other people to get what they want. Spinoza reminds me so much of Dan Humphrey -- brooding and intelligent.  




As other reviewers have commented, the book's got no lovable characters. But it does have an interesting plot and I learned a few trivial things. Here they are:


  1. Never scratch or pick your nose in public.
  2. Courtesans do not ask for money. They wait to be given.
  3. You're never really an aristocrat if you do not know to play at least one instrument and  do not speak a foreign language other than English.
  4. Egyptians like to keep in the family, i.e. sisters and brothers have a go at each other to keep the bloodline pure.
One more comment: Author Y. Euny Hong just can't resist giving our heroine a happy ending.


Other Reviews:


Where did I buy it?
Booksale in Festival Mall for 20 pesos

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Shelved: Therapy by Jonathan Kellerman






Synopsis:
What do you get  when you combine self righteous psychologists and ex-cons? Medi-Cal fraud and body count. To uncover the fraud, Detective Milo Sturgis and Dr. Alex Delaware had to make sense of the family dynamics of the Quicks and untangle Dr. Mary Lou Koppel's relationships with the men in her life.




What do I think?
This is probably one of his boring books. It took me a week to finish this one, when I would have normally finished an Alex Delaware novel in less than two days. It's like watching a talkies film -- too many talk and not many action. But it's a great testament to the bond between Sturgis and Delaware.


It has an interesting twist, though. Former snipers make good mercenaries and lovers, but poor husbands. Speaking of husbands, Delaware's former live-in partner makes a cameo appearance which unnerves his current lady love, Allyson.


If you're interested in committing Medi-Cal fraud or just running a scam with ex-cons, here's a book for you.




Quotes:
"That's what I love about my job. I get to make sense . Then when I get home, I'm an idiot." 
- Detective Arnold Mattingly


"Flexibility is the hallmark of maturity."
-Detective Milo Sturgis




Other Reviews:
Joe Hartlaub's Review
Amazon Customer Reviews




Where did I buy it? 
Booksale for only 35 pesos.

Friday, June 11, 2010

I want a Sony Pocket e-Reader!


I've always been a fan of printed books. When I learned about Project Gutenberg before, I was ecstatic because it  gave me access to really old books. But what bugged me was that I had to use the desktop or the laptop to read a book. That's really inconvenient for someone like me who likes reading books in the bathroom and in public transportation ( I know it's bad for the eyes but I can't help it!).

So thank God e-readers are invented. However, they're still to pricey for me. But I am hoping to win one courtesy of Monica S. of Bibliophilic Book Blog. She is giving away e-readers for followers of her blog. Hopefully, I get the Sony Pocket Reader! This will entertain me as I wait for my daughter Gabby to finish her classes.

If you want to join, just visit her blog by clicking on the button below.


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