Friday, February 27, 2009

Reading - Charm

Charm by Kendall Hart



Avery Wilkins is in her prime. She's 30 years old, living in Manhattan, beautiful, smart, and the head of her own cosmetics company, Flair. But her enviable exterior hides deep heartache and painful secrets. Determined to launch a successful perfume, and hopeful that her relationship with handsome and supportive Marcus is getting serious, Avery is chasing her dreams--and running from her traumatic past.

Just when things seem to be on an even keel, Avery is hit with a succession of shocking setbacks, surprises, and betrayals: A drug-addicted colleague who threatens the future of Flair, one boyfriend who is incapable of fidelity, another who may have committed a terrible crime, a long-lost sister who isn't quite who she seems, and most disturbing of all, the sudden appearance of a woman claiming to be Avery's birth mother.

Avery is forced to question the loyalty of friends, lovers, and colleagues, and even her own beliefs about where she came from and who she is. Through it all, she draws on her ambition, grit, and cunning to outsmart her enemies, keep her company afloat, and protect herself from emotional meltdown. But when her archenemy resorts to kidnapping, has Avery finally met her match?

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Reading - A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini



Mariam, a 15-year-old bastard whose mother commits suicide, is married off to 40-year-old Rasheed, who abuses her brutally, especially after she has several miscarriages. At 60, Rasheed takes in 14-year-old Laila, whose parents were blown up by stray bombs. He soon turns violent with her. Although Laila is united with her childhood beloved, the potential return of the Taliban always shadows their happiness.

I really love to read Hosseini's books.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Reading - Lost and Found

Lost and Found by Carolyn Parkhurst



As two-person teams journey from Egypt to Japan to Scandinavia, the carefully constructed, TV-ready personae of the competitors slowly unravel. Employing a constantly shifting perspective, Parkhurst admirably juggles a large cast of characters, with a number of competitors emerging as standouts: squabbling mother and daughter Laura and Cassie, tormented by a secret neither of them wants to publicly acknowledge; Justin and Abby, an "ex-gay" married couple wrestling with unruly desire; and Juliet, a former child star desperately angling for a return to the limelight.

The action focuses on four characters. Justin and Abby are a married couple, a lesbian and a gay man who have renounced their lifestyles and proudly carry the banner of their newfound faith while they both struggle to remain straight. Although described as young, these two seem much older than their years in their pursuit of a traditional marriage. Meanwhile, the mother-daughter team of Laura and Cassie deals with the fact that the girl gave birth without anyone even noticing that she was pregnant. When she is given the chance to choose a different teammate–and does–emotions and rivalry ratchet up exponentially. Teens may well relate to Cassie, who feels alienated from her mother and unable to communicate about the most basic parts of her personality (most notably, that she is attracted to women). Lauras reaction is that of love and guilt. Despite being rejected, she keeps trying to find a way to connect to her daughter.

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Re-organization Sale of my ETSY shop

One of my ETSY shops : oriental flea is now having a sale of the Woven Jacquare Trim for my partner and I want to re-organize the goods supply in this shop.

Please visit and have a look.

Reading - Size 14 Is Not Fat Either

Size 14 Is Not Fat Either by Meg Cabot



Heather Wells, a teen music idol turned student-life employee at NYU-like New York College, a cheerleader in Heather's dorm turns up dead—or, at least her head turns up, stewed almost beyond recognition in a cafeteria pot. Lindsay Combs was bubbly and popular, but as Heather digs deeper, she learns that Lindsay wasn't all sweetness and light. She slept around and was involved with obnoxious fraternity boys who made pin money dealing drugs. If solving Lindsay's murder isn't enough to keep Heather busy, her father, recently released after a 20-year prison sentence, shows up on her doorstep, looking for a renewed relationship and a place to stay. The roster of suspects is underdeveloped, and the denouement is both predictable and implausible, but Heather's charm and wit amply compensate.