The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Source: Goodreads

A book for teens and young adults. If I read this book when I'm still a teen or young adult, I might have some problem understanding with the wide array of vocabularies that were used.

Some of the parts that I love most of the book is the first chapter where Gandalf gave a long reply to Bilbo's Good Morning. I never looked at "Good Morning" this way since it has long been embedded in my head that it is just courteous way of wishing someone in the morning.

Then the book moves on to "The unexpected Party" before the journey begins! How the dwarves came to his Bag End house, how they emptied his pantry and how fast and fun way to do cleaning till finally their final planning before heading out on the dangerous quest.

Another memorable part is the riddles between Bilbo and Gollum. Bilbo found Gollum in the Goblin cave and there while upon trying to find his way out, he played riddles with Gollum and found the magical ring. For one who has not a bright mind or much wit, I find the riddles difficult and amusing. I never thought of describing those things that way and if I have been Bilbo, I would have became Gollum's flavourful meal.

In the movie they showed the council meeting that Gandalf attended and the magical "verbal fight" between Galadriel and the Necromancer. I was hoping to read it in the book but of course it was only mentioned in a paragraph in the book.

Whatever I saw on screen is only a mention in the book. If you are expecting it to be the same, well don't get your hopes high.

Tolkien is a great writer. He described Hobbiton, Middle Earth, Mirkwood, The Lonely Mountain, home of Elrond beautifullt. If you have watched the movie, you would have journeyed through Middle Earth visually with the help of Peter Jackson and his team.

Now, open your mind and allow Tolkien to bring you on an amazing imaginative adventure.

Just note that some parts might feel a little draggy as there won't be much action. Nevertheless, it is an unexpected journey with lots of unexpected surprises by the little hobbit. (If you have watched the movie then it won't be that unexpected.)

Play by the rules

Dear Readers,

It's been a while and I am finally back, reading!  The book that I've picked is Higashino Keigo's "Meitantei no Okite／名探偵の掟" (Rules of a Detective/名偵探的守則.)

WHAT??? Another book by that author? Is this Higashino Mystery Book Club or Two Weeks A Book?

If that's your thoughts exactly, I’m really sorry! But "Meitantei no Okite" is really not your ordinary Japanese detective novel. It is a mockery of the genre/system clichés that it belongs to. A very ironic/sarcastic book!

Genre, is the classification of type when it comes to literature, television or films. It gives rise to such groups as the romance novel, the western, the gangster movie, film noir and so forth. (Sage Dictionary of Cultural Studies)

Anyway, there is a certain pattern or rule in Japanese detective literature and film/tv. If you think that only Korean dramas follow a certain format, you might find this book interesting.

Rule no.1
The investigators are always a combination of a police officer and detective. This detective is not from the police force, he can be a private detective, or someone related to the police officer.

Rule no.2
The police officer can never outsmart the detective. It is the officer's job to go to the wrong direction and suspect the wrong person. The detective is ALWAYS smarter than the officer.

Rule no.3
Just before closing the case, the detective will gather everybody involved in the case to gather at a crime scene and then, only will explain his deduction.


Ring a bell? Kindaichi, Detective Conan and many other Japanese detective series

Some cliché mentioned in the book includes

Cliche 1: Sealed room murder.
A gag that has been overly repeated and is still being used today. There is no such thing as a lock room, it ALWAYS ends up as a trick.

Cliche 2: Who did it?
A murder took place in a house/hotel. "The murderer is someone among us!" And it's always the most unexpected person who did it.

Cliche 3: Now its the time for a murder!
A heavy snow storm/ rain/ typhoon/ hurricane that prevents people from leaving and entering a certain area. Communication is cut off completely.. and the detective or police officer is coincidentally there!

Cliche 4: The dying message
The victim struggled really hard to write his/her last message. Usually it comes in some sort of code form. But...isn't it easier if the victim wrote the murderer's name instead?

Oh ya, then there won't be any chance for the detective to show his/her skills.

Well, if you're looking for some mockery of this genre to read, I highly recommend this book! Well, there's a TV series adaptation too..but meh, nothing beats the book.

Who is the real Me?

Source: Amazon 

This book has been sitting in my book shelf for awhile, only started reading it when I saw the news about Leonardo DiCaprio is going to be Billy Milligan in the movie version of this story. 

This book is based on a real story, Billy Milligan is the first person who were not being charged for the crimes he committed as he has no memories of what he did. After he was arrested, the doctors soon confirmed that he has DID (Dissociative  Identity Disorder) which we usually known as split personalities. It was a result from severe abuses from his childhood, by Billy's stepfather. It was so bad that Billy not only had 3 personalities but 24 of them, each personalities exist for a reason, to protect Billy from any possible harm from the world. 

The book is very informative, and quite encouraging too. The lawyers and doctors were very helpful in the beginning, trying to treat Billy and help him get better, but this wasn't something that people could easily understand, especially in that time (The 80s). Many people doubt him, and think split personalities was just an act he put on, to get away from crime he committed. Yet, they didn't give up, things got better for awhile but got complicated again towards the end. It is a book that you have to follow through, to see the challenges, the struggles and the changes in Billy. 

In the book, you can see the good times and bad times he had, there were times he got better, merged back into one piece, but there were also time he split again, due to stress from outside world. Treating mental illness is a long time battle, because they are so fragile that little mistakes can push them back into their world, and it will take longer time to get them back. 

The public is more understanding about mental illness than Billy's time nowadays, but still many people are scared of people who have mental illness, because they don't understand it. Many people who surfer from it, are either being abused, mistreated or neglect during the time they grown up. Our minds are very fragile and this book can give you a very good understanding of the challenges, struggles and difficulties that these people have to face, from family, friends, public and the media. It wasn't easy and they are not as scary as people see them.