a lesson in humanity
The massive tsunami and earthquake that hit Japan in March this year gave us the frightening images and videos of the effects of the disaster. After the tragedy, ...
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book review
The Bruneions Monthly Book Review brings you reviews of popular books available from dBookHaus, Brunei.
TITLE: TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE - A LYING GAME NOVEL
AUTHOR: SARA SHEPARD
The thing about gossip is that while most of the time it’s the truth, sometimes it’s just a plain lie. That’s why we’re super excited to curl up with the latest book in The Lying Game series, Two Truths and a Lie, by Sara Shepard.
The series (which inspired the hit ABC Family TV show by the same name) follows twin sisters Emma and Sutton. In the books, Sutton’s dead and she’s left Emma behind to solve her murder. Emma’s crush Ethan and Sutton’s killer are the only other ones who know about the murder, which means the killer knows Emma isn’t who she claims to be, and she’s likely to be the next victim!
Two Truths and a Lie focuses on whether Thayer, a mysterious character who has returned, was the love of Sutton’s life — or her murderer! Read this book if you like the likes of Pretty Little Liars.
TITLE: 1Q84 - BOOK ONE AND BOOK TWO
AUTHOR: HARUKI MURAKAMI
The year is 1984. Aomame sits in a taxi on the expressway in Tokyo. Her work is not the kind which can be discussed in public but she is in a hurry to carry out an assignment and, with the traffic at a stand-still, the driver proposes a solution. She agrees, but as a result of her actions starts to feel increasingly detached from the real world. She has been on a top-secret mission, and her next job will lead her to encounter the apparently superhuman founder of a religious cult. Meanwhile, Tengo is leading a nondescript life but wishes to become a writer. He inadvertently becomes involved in a strange affair surrounding a literary prize to which a mysterious seventeen-year-old girl has submitted her remarkable first novel. It seems to be based on her own experiences and moves readers in unusual ways. Can her story really be true? Both Aomame and Tengo notice that the world has grown strange; both realise that they are indispensable to each other. While their stories influence one another, at times by accident and at times intentionally, the two come closer and closer to intertwining.
1Q84 is just another Murakami's perfect work, a master piece and a very strongly recommended must-read book. Magical and surreal and scarily realistic.
TITLE: I’VE GOT YOUR NUMBER
AUTHOR:SOPHIE KINSELLA
I've lost it. The only thing in the world I wasn't supposed to lose. My engagement ring. It's been in Magnus's family for three generations. And now, the very same day his parents are coming, I've lost it. The very same day. Do not hyperventilate Poppy. Stay positive!! Poppy Wyatt has never felt luckier. She is about to marry the ideal man, Magnus Tavish, but in one afternoon her 'happy ever after' begins to fall apart. Not only has she lost her engagement ring but in the panic that followed, she has now lost her phone. As she paces shakily round the hotel foyer she spots an abandoned phone in a bin. Finders keepers! Now she can leave a number for the hotel to contact her when they find her ring. Perfect! Well, perfect except the phone's owner, businessman Sam Roxton doesn't agree. He wants his phone back and doesn't appreciate Poppy reading all his messages and wading into his personal life. What ensues is a hilarious and unpredictable turn of events as Poppy and Sam increasingly upend each other's lives through emails and text messages. As Poppy juggles wedding preparations, mysterious phone calls and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his parents... she soon realises that she is in for the biggest surprise of her life.
In true Kinsella form, you will laugh out loud and take a fast-paced trip with this great female character who is whimsical, smart and funny, but doesn't quite know it...which makes her so much more enduring!
TITLE: DEBT-FREE FOREVER - TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR MONEY AND YOUR LIFE
AUTHOR: GAIL VAZ-OXLADE
Tired of getting to the end of the money before you get to the end of the month? Wish you were in control?
If you’re afraid to open your bills, if you’ve never added up how much you owe, if you can’t even imagine being debt-free, it’s time to join the thousands of people Gail Vaz-Oxlade has helped. Her straightforward approach to money management is based on self-control, hard work, and prioritizing what’s really important. Debt-Free Forever is Gail’s step-by-step guide, and she’ll show you how to:
- figure out how much you’ve actually been spending
- calculate how much you owe—and what it’s costing you
- build a budget that works
- maximize your debt repayments so you can be free of consumer debt in 3 years or less
- prepare for a rainy day so it doesn’t mean a major setback
- set goals for your new, debt-free life
Make no mistake: Getting out of debt isn’t easy. But in Debt-Free Forever, Gail gives you a clear strategy and the steps needed to implement it. So if you’re finished with excuses, overdue notices, and maxed-out credit cards, pick up this book, follow Gail’s plan, and start becoming debt-free forever.
TITLE: COLOSSAL CARTOONING - OVER 750 WAYS TO TELL YOUR STORY
What's so funny? Your cartoons will be, once you develop the know-how using this comprehensive and fun book.
It covers all the essential aspects of cartooning, including how to draw expressive characters, create special effects, master anatomy, originate gags...and that's just the beginning! Plus, there are hundreds of illustrations throughout the 300+ pages to use as examples and jumping-off points for your own work.
TITLE: PANDEMONIUM [ SEQUEL TO DELIRIUM ]
AUTHOR: LAUREN OLIVER
Pandemonium continues Lena’s gripping story. After escaping from Portland, Maine, Lena makes it to the Wilds and becomes part of an Invalid community, where she transforms herself into a warrior for the resistance. A future without Alex is unimaginable, but Lena pushes forward and fights, both for him and for a world in which love is no longer considered a disease. Swept up in a volatile mix of revolutionaries and counterinsurgents, Lena struggles to survive—and wonders if she may be falling in love again.
Full of danger, forbidden romance, and exquisite writing, Lauren Oliver’s sequel to Delirium races forward at a breathtaking pace and is sure to appeal to fans who crave the high-stakes action of The Hunger Games and the bittersweet love story of Romeo & Juliet.
