Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote

Breakfast at Tiffany's. The first thing that comes to the mind of most people would be Audrey Hepburn. The movie was a hit and until today, even the younger generation had heard of it. I have never watched the movie even though I owned it but I have watched the trailer and the movie is something that I want to start on in the next 1 month.

What some people did not know is that the movie is just loosely inspired by the book and Truman Capote actually did not approve the story nor Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly. The Holly Golightly in his mind was Marilyn Monroe.

What prompted me to pick up this book is definitely because of the movie. I always like to read a book before watching the movie adaption as I find that the book has more details and would have helped me understand the movie better.

In the novel, Holly Golightly is a country girl turned New York café society girl. What is a café society girl? Café society is actually a real nightclub in New York back in the 1930s to 1940s. Holly Golightly is a girl who mingled in nightclub, having men pick up her tabs, showering her with luxury gifts. You may think that she sounds like a hooker but that's not the impression that I've got when I was reading the book. She did not just invite any men into her room despite them paying her expenses. She was faithful to Rusty Trawler for a while (though I don't think she really loved him), and she was willing to marry José if not for her incident with the law.

Despite her friendship with 'Fred', her neighbor, I find that she had never really open herself to anyone except her real brother, Fred, and Doc Golightly. I loved her character but the novella was too short to really cover much about her. It's like we are just getting short glimpse through her life without really going into depth.

For this classic read, although I like it, it isn't something that I would re-read over the years. However, I would recommend everyone to read it at least once to get a glimpse of Holly Golightly's life.

I shall end my post with 2 favorite quotes from the book:

“I want to still be me when I wake up one fine morning and have breakfast at Tiffany’s.”
Excerpt From: Truman Capote. “Breakfast at Tiffany's.” 

“Not knowing what’s yours until you’ve thrown it away.”
Excerpt From: Truman Capote. “Breakfast at Tiffany's.” 

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

I have been a fan of Sarah Addison Allen since I first picked up The Peach Keeper (I need to put up a review of this soon! I still can remember the story even after 1 year!). Garden Spells is the debut novel of Sarah Addison Allen and after I have read it, I can really tell that her writing had improved over the years. The sentences in Garden Spells wasn't as smooth as it was in The Girl Who Chased The Moon and The Peach Keeper. Nevertheless, the story is great and I loved the magic in it.

In this book, we have Claire and Sydney who are half-sisters with two different personality. Both of them had magic in them to change someone else's day. Claire could cook up magical dishes with the herbs and flowers she grew in her garden and Sydney could do wonder to people's hair with her magical touch. Both of them found love after going through tough time trying to get over what it is to be a Waverley.

My favorite character in this book would have to be Bay and Evanelle. Bay for her matured character despite her young age and how she hope for peace and harmony to come. I loved her interaction with The Apple Tree. The tree is so lively and although Claire and Sydney did not like it, I found that the tree was actually protecting them. Those moments where the tree wanted to be a part of their family is just so funny. Evanelle gifts of gifting the right thing to someone which they would need it was great. I would have loved to have someone like her as my friend or relative. This would helped in many situation where I was forgetful and didn't prepare something in advance.

My only complain about this novel is that I couldn't really understand to how the Emma/Hunter John and Fred story contribute to the main storyline. They did not directly affect nor change the story at all. Even without their part in this book, the main plot wouldn't have been affected at all, so I felt that it was a waste to include their story. I would rather read more about Claire and Sydney without the somehow-seems-to-be-quick ending.

This is definitely not my favorite book by Sarah Addison Allen but I would be looking forward to reading her new releases in future.

Showtime (Marvelle Circus #1) by Chloe Kayne

Showtime is a book that follows the life of Laila Vilonia at Marvelle Circus. The book started with Laila and her friend Hannah at the circus and getting into troubles when Hannah attempted to dupe some guys into buying flour from her, passing it off as some drugs. Unfortunately, her lies was exposed immediately and a fight broke out. When the authorities rushed to the scene, everyone fled except for Laila who was caught and brought back to the circus. Being unhappy with her current living situation, she decided to tell a big lie and ended up traveling with the circus. Laila then made friends and enemies and fell in love with 'The Disappearing Man'. I seriously like the first chapter. The book started with a BANG and it definitely caught my interest and my curiosity rose as I read.

There are really quite a number of characters in this book and I get confused at times who is who. The story is really nice and captivating but there are definitely quite a few points that can be improved. Although the setting of this book is in the 1920s, I felt as if I am actually reading a contemporary book. There isn't much information in the book to tell us that we are actually reading a historical fiction besides telling us which year it is. It will be better if there are tell tale signs or significant events to let the readers know about the period. Personally I felt that the last scene for the book seems to be rushing the story to an end. I am pretty confused about what have really taken place. The actions of the characters were not clearly explained.

There were various comments about the similarities between The Night Circus and Showtime but I have yet to read the former so I shall reserve my comments on this part first.

Lastly, I want to thank the author for contacting me and providing me a copy of this book for my review. I have been joining all the giveaways on this book and have been dying to read it so when Chloe asked me if I would like to review the book for her, you guys can't imagine how excited I was. I am looking forward to reading Book 2 to follow the adventure of Laila at Marvelle Circus.

Note: I have received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. (The original review was posted in Feb 2013 on my old personal blog.)

Spring Cleaning by Brandi Salazar

The first thing that caught my eye about this book is definitely the cover. It screamed THRILLER to me. Once I started reading the book, I can't put it down.

This book tells the story of Terri who had an abusive husband. The Prologue told us how she decided that she had enough of him and its time to end the beatings. I wanted to applaud for her courage and I loved how she described the throwing out of his stuffs as 'Spring Cleaning'.

The story progressed with her living in disguise to ward off her crazy husband and falling in love with her boss who took her in when she was at her worst and care for her when her husband started stalking her.

The ending of the story is nice and what I had hoped for. I was smiling as I read the last few paragraphs. I had felt happiness for both Terri & Luke and I liked how they managed to lighten their mood with some jokes.

The book is an easy read, not too lengthy nor draggy. The story is very intriguing and definitely a page turner. The flow of the story is smooth and good too although I would loved to read more about the history of Luke and more elaboration on some parts. A few pointers were repeated at certain parts of the book but nothing major to affect my reading.

This is a great book to encourage women who had or are still suffering from abusive spouse not to suffer in silence to take a step forward. Be brave!

I will definitely recommend this book to my friends and am looking forward to future work from the author.

This book is retailing for US$0.99 only on Kobo! You can also get it from Amazon at US$2.99 and Barnes and Noble at US$3.99. Prices accurate as at 27 Dec 2013.

Note: I have received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. (The original review was posted in Sep 2012 on my old personal blog.)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

I am always a fan of stories about World War I and II. Before I picked up this book, I had thought I was in for a romance novel but halfway through the book, I knew I was wrong.

This is a book about how World War II had affected the people in Guernsey. I have never even heard of this place prior to this book and after reading it, I have an urge to visit Guernsey one day. This is how huge an impact the book had on me.

One could get confused with the many characters in this book. At one point of time, I actually felt irritated when another new character wrote to Juliet. I was like "What? Another one?" Then after some thoughts about it, I felt that these characters are actually a good contribution to Juliet's understanding of Guernsey.

The happiness and sadness of those who went through the hardship and losing loved ones touched me deeply. Unlike other WW1/2 books which depicts lots of sadness and harsh words about the Germans, this book told me that there are still humanity in the Germans when they first invaded Guernsey. It was when things turned worse, the Germans started to treat them with cruelty. The people in this book had found a way to live through war and I felt lots of positive vibes from them. The witty writing also made this an easy book to read despite the war subject. It wasn't a depressing read at all.

When I was done with the book, I have felt like I've know Juliet, Isola, Kit, Amelia, Sidney and Elizabeth personally. It is truly a wonderful read.

My Uncle Oswald by Roald Dahl

I have previously reviewed Switch Bitch which includes two short stories about Uncle Oswald. Now, Uncle Oswald is back!

This is a novel published about how Uncle Oswald became a multi millionaire. At the very young age of seventeen, he discovered the miraculous Beetles which would made all men and women go crazy about sex. Then, he made used of the sperm idea developed by a lecturer in his University, hoping to earn his first million before the age of thirty.

The book mostly told about his adventure with Yasmin, the teaser in his project, going around the world collecting sperms from Kings and geniuses. While the story is enjoyable, I find that it got too draggy as the process got repetitive. In the end, I got bored from it. Luckily this wasn't a long read. I am glad that the book is over.

As usual, there is an interesting twist at the end of the book and I was laughing out loud again at how Uncle Oswald's scheme got backfired.

I wouldn't really recommend this book if you want to read some hot and spicy stories. This is a book that can be passed but would be something interesting to read if you want to pick it up.

Switch Bitch by Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl is one of my favorite childhood author and I was surprised when one of my bookclub member shared that he actually wrote adult books! I immediately went in search on the books he had written and OMG, I was in for a surprise.

Switch Bitch consists of four short stories. I read on wikipedia that these were works that Roald Dahl had written for the playboy magazines. Can you believed that?

Before I started reading the book, I had thought that it would be an erotica read but I am pleased to tell everyone that it is NOT. There are plots in each stories and although they are pretty dark, the plots are captivating and interesting enough to make me want to know more.

---

The Visitor
The first story in this book is about Uncle Oswald (fictional uncle of Roald Dahl). The author received a set of diaries written by Uncle Oswald and decided to publish them. In this story, Uncle Oswald was stranded in the desert when the fan belt of his car was cut off and lucky him got invited to a beautiful mansion by a man driving a Rolls Royce.

Oswald did sound like a very selfish man here but I can totally understand about the particularities on cleanliness. I myself couldn't stand those smelly humans (especially on a crowded train!) and also dirtied sheets in a hotel. And that hair on the poached eggs! I would definitely have asked for a refund for that.

I like how Roald Dahl twisted the story at the end and made us wonder who is the lady who actually visited Uncle Oswald that night. Was it the wife? The beautiful daughter? Or was it someone else.  However based on the small introduction at the beginning of the story, it was understood that this was the last entry in Uncle Oswald's diary and nothing was ever heard from him after this. This made me wonder if the lady was who I thought to be.

Tell me what you think if you have read this story! I want to hear from others too!

---

The Great Switcheroo
This story didn't really leave much impression on me as it is mainly a story that fulfils a man's fantasy in exchanging wife for sex. However, it was done in a secret manner here without the wife realising that they were actually having sex with another man. It's pretty unbelievable but I guessed man do fantasized about it.

I like the tiny twist at the end of the story. It made me laugh out real loud.

---

The Last Act
Now this is one disturbing and sad story. This lady couldn't get over the death of her husband and was having thoughts of committing suicide. Luckily, the people around her were smart enough not to leave blades for her to do so. Things took a change when a friend called her up and asked her to work for her. She walked out of her depression once her mind was on other stuffs. I was smiling while reading about this.

But Roald Dahl didn't left her happy for long. Again, she was alone on a business trip and being alone brought up her depression again. What luck for her to find an old lover to chat with.

Then I got pissed at the lover.

He could have saved her but instead he left her to die. I was really angry about that. For a woman who he claimed to have loved, after she rejected him because of him spoiling the mood during sex with medical terms, he choose to leave and had nothing to do with her suicide instead of banging on the door and calling in the ambulance? What a bastard!

I would say that this isn't a story everyone would loved because of the dark element and the unhappy ending.

---

Bitch
Uncle Oswald is back! This time he brought back a liquid that could drove a man wild and make senseless sex with another woman he first laid his eyes on.

Another fantasy of man spotted here. In this book, I also spotted some of the fantasy elements that could be found in Roald Dahl's children book but written as an adult version. This story is really interesting and I was laughing by the end of it at Uncle Oswald's retribution.

---

All in all, this is an interesting read but nothing something that everyone would like. I would not recommend you picking this up just because you are a fan of Roald Dahl. Pick it up only if you enjoy dark humor, fantasies and disturbing stories. I enjoyed it but still it is not a book for everyone.

Waking Kate by Sarah Addison Allen

I was really excited when I found Sarah Addison Allen's new short story, Waking Kate, free on Amazon and B&N! I have been a fan of hers since I first read The Peach Keeper.

Waking Kate is a short prequel to the upcoming Lost Lake (expected publication: 21 Jan 2014). It is only 38 pages long but it will filled you with emotion by the end of it.

Honestly, this book is pretty hard to rate for me as the book started slow and you won't know what you will be expecting. However, by the middle of it, you will be captivated by Mr Reginald Donbeet's love story. I was caught by surprised on how Ms Allen managed to make that one sided love so touching.

The end made me wondered if the encounter with Mr Reginald was real or did Kate dreamt about it? The last sentence of this book made me wanna screamed out loud. Why can't the story be longer! I want to know if that's what Kate would have done instead of just pondering about it.

Now, let me put in some quotes that I like in this book:

“It’s hubris to think you’re the only person who can make another happy. Some people simply have the ability to make it seem like they need you. All they really want is the attention.”
Excerpt From: Sarah Addison Allen. “Waking Kate.”

“There’s no pain in the world like loving someone who doesn’t love you in return. But it disappears, almost like it wasn’t there at all, the moment you find the person you were really meant to be with.”
Excerpt From: Sarah Addison Allen. “Waking Kate.”

One thing that stayed on my mind all day after I have read this book is butter coffee. I ended up googling on it and found lots of recipes on it! I might try it one day. LOL!

There is a chapter of Lost Lake included in this book but I didn't read it as I didn't want to start something which I couldn't finish. I knew how Ms Allen would have my attention just with one chapter. I can't wait to read Lost Lake in Jan 2014!

Lost Lake Review is now up!