The Hobbit ( Book Review )

This is the second book that I am reading among the books that I have bought from the bookfair.

And my goodness, I just love this story.

It's a beautiful yet simple story, and it's easy to understand why LOTR trilogy and The Hobbit have so many fans around the world. I can easily imagine myself in Middle Earth and it's as if I'm going through the same journey with the 14 of them.

My favourite character is of course Bilbo Baggins. I mean he is so much like me. We prefer our old comfortable life , relaxing, carefree , without any worries and all. But deep down inside, we long for ADVENTURE !!
( But seriously I prefer another kind of adventure though, TALKING TO SMAUG ???  Thank you very much ....)

I can't believe I can identify myself with Bilbo to that extent, because at times in life , sometimes I feel as if I longed for an adventure and when it really happened, it just changed me from the inside out.

I too, like the company of friends. Maybe because you don't live with them , so there is less conflict with each other, compared to your own family. I like the fact that Bilbo dislikes some of his relatives, and favors some of them, particularly Frodo, which later became the main character in the LOTR trilogy.

The only disappointment I have while reading this book is regarding the death of Smaug. I was expecting Bilbo to slay it, ( SERIOUSLY I KNOW I THINK TOO MUCH ), it was the Bard who killed him, with some arrows ?? ( I need to re-read this part again ), and then HE DIED !!!!
I WAS LIKE , "  HE DIED JUST LIKE THAT ???"

Clearly Mr Toiken is not a fan of EXTREME DRAMA like Yours Truly. =P

But overall, I love this story, and I can't wait to read the LOTR trilogy.

Rating : 4.7/5

Emma by Jane Austen

I must admit that it would have been a greater pleasure to read this book if I have not watched the movie first. My bad.

Nevertheless, I insist to read the unabridged version out of respect to my favourite author, Jane Austen, and because I want to know the details of the whole story. 

I must say, this is the most cheerful story that Jane Austen ever written. 

Really curious, was she in love when she wrote this story ? It's just plan funny and sweet. 

Meet Emma Woodhouse, single, clever and beautiful. She is one who acts according to what she thinks,and she does it HER WAY. And guess what, she loves match- making. 

In  terms of characters, I think Jane Austen has done a great job to let the readers have a love/hate relationship towards Emma. You really dislike her when she makes rash decisions, and at times acting very rude towards the elderly of those " below " her. 

One trait mark in every Jane Austen book is that she emphasize the practice of finding someone of equal or higher social class or noble family line for matrimony purposes. She doesn't adore this practice, but she simply made it clear that it was very MUCH practiced THOSE DAYS. And in her novels, she proves that LOVE should never be bound by social class and family backgrounds. LOVE is about mutual respect, sacrifices and understanding one another. 

I like the fact that Mr Knightley is always beside Emma no matter what happens. Truly , Emma found her true love the HARD and most UNEXPECTED way. 

An enjoyable read. =) 

Rating : 4/5 

The Hobbit : An Unexpected Journey

I have a little confession to make.
1. I hardly read any fantasy themed book.
2. Half of the reason why I actually watch this movie is because of Martin Freeman .
( aka  Dr John Watson in Sherlock )

And, I'm glad that I watched it. After buying the book , I needed a comparison and a visual back up.
(Just in case I don't really get it )

So, here's the honest movie review.

The movie started with a narrative by Bilbo Baggins, who was quite an elderly hobbit.  He then started to tell part of his life story - about an adventure that he never imagined he could experience.

I must admit that Bilbo's dialogues are the clearest of all actors. I don't know if it's about the sound system ( I watched it at home ) , or about the actors. But he has the most understandable accent and clarity in voice. I know a lot of people will hate me for this, but sometimes I just don't get what Gandalf is saying. But in terms of acting, he is definitely at his best.

The plot sparks a great imagination in terms of characters and animation. Stones that can move, oaks, wolves , elves , dwarfs......

Some action scenes are really unnecessary to me, but there was one scene that really intrigued me a lot. The scene where Bilbo had this riddle game with the Gollum. It was so terrifying!!! But very nicely done !

One of my favourite scene is actually towards the end, when Thorin hugged Bilbo after he saved the former's life !!! Awwww, I love it when  a tough guy hugs a not so tough guy.
( Well, you get the picture ! )

I have nothing but praise for the setting of the movie ! It was filmed in New Zealand, and it has many breath - taking scenery.

Well, it was meant to be a serious movie, but it has its jokes as well. My favourite one
( perhaps the MOST OBVIOUS ONE ) is when Bilbo requested the group to stop, just because he didn't bring his handkerchief out !! LOL !!!!!
( Well, you can't blame the hobbit because it was his FIRST adventure )

In short, The Hobbit : An Unexpected Journey is an enjoyable movie. You 'll need to follow the plot and characters really carefully though to understand the life in MIDDLE EARTH.
=)

Books and movies

Alright, I broke my own record by watching The Hobbit : An Unexpected Journey before actually reading the book itself.

For those who know me, or are familiar with my writings and habits, you know that my principle is READ FIRST, WATCH LATER.

I have four books to complete, and quite a number of movies to watch as well ! So, I gotta do it the MULTITASKING WAY ! Do both at the same time !!

And it's simply amazing to read Emma and The Hobbit at the same time. These two books are of completely DIFFERENT genre ( SERIOUSLY ). But very engaging. ( You gotta have the similarities )

I was tempted to read The Hound of Baskervilles at first, but I thought, since I am watching Emma Approved, I might as well read the unabridged version too. =)

Then , I watched The Hobbit. That's it. You can call me a fan now. =)

Movie review on the way. =)

Time to read

Just came back from Big Bad Wolf Book Sale today !!! Bought 4 books altogether !! =D

I'm looking forward to read all 4 of this books !!! 

Will post the reviews here as soon as possible !! =)

As much as I enjoyed the trip, there were a few letdowns though. 

I wished there were more choices for classics. 

I couldn't find the Anne of Green Gables series at all !!!

Nevermind, good things come to those who wait and SAVE !! 

Till next time, peeps ! =) 

Part 2 ( Penelope )

My dear friend, Jocelyn asked me to watch this movie a few years back, but I didn't watched it till today.

So happened that someone uploaded the whole movie on youtube , and I was pretty free today. Hence , I decided to give it a go !! And it turned out pretty good!!

I have to say, I hardly watched any chick flick ( is this what they call it ?) . But this movie is quite my cup of tea, because it is not that kind of boy meets girl, you like me, we kiss each other, and some over the top love scenes.

Seriously, does it have to be that way all the time ??  * Annoyed *

But Penelope is a decent movie that deals with accepting and loving yourself for who you are. And that love is more than just a physical attraction or infatuation.
I love how Penelope slowly accepts herself for who she is, and slowly let the public see her as she is. It takes lots of courage and determination to act as she did.

BTW, I love her scarf. And she speaks French too!! =) 

And, there's the guys. Yes , two guys to be exact that 

i ) Claims to love her ( He proposed )

ii ) Really loves her but didn't confessed at first. 

The first guy was the actor that played Mr Bingley in Pride and Prejudice ( 2005 ) 

He played such a nasty character in this one. 

Halfway watching Penelope, I was shouting

" How could you, Mr Bingley ?" 

I mean I like his hairstyle, but seriously I hated him in this movie.

Which means that he is a good actor. Oh well. 

And the second guy, 

Ahhhhhhhhhhh 

James McAvoy , blue eyes. Nuff said. 

My favourite scene 

Too bad I don't play chess. 

All I can say now , is that this movie has a happy ending. How ? 

You'll have to watch it yourself. 

Here's the link for the full movie. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhM6saBCEsw

Enjoy ! 

Books, movies, songs ( Part 1 )

The Sound of Words is HERE TO STAY !!!!

I'm getting all excited to blog again !

I have listed ( AGAIN ) the books that I really want to buy at the Big Bad Wolf book fair.
( That is, if I can go )

So, there you go, peeps.

1. Emma by Jane Austen. ( The non- abridged version )

Been watching Emma Approved lately and I love it !!! =)

Here's the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeeXkf8LZ_8&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PL_ePOdU-b3xcKOsj8aU2Tnztt6N9mEmur



2. Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery

I just HEART the Anne of Green Gables series. ( Well, maybe just Gilbert Blythe ) ;)

3. Anne of Island

4. Anne of Windy Willows

5. Anne's House of Dreams

6. Anne of Ingleside

7. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

I'm learning French now. =)

8. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

9. What Katy Did  by Susan Coolidge

10. Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens

( Absolutely love Charles Dickens too )

11. Bleak House

12. The Pickwick Papers

13. A Tale of Two Cities

14. The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit

15. By the Light of The Silvery Moon by Tricia Goyer
( A Christian themed book ) I hope I can find it. =)

Just when

Just when I just deleted this blog, I received an email from Amrita S from India. ( Yes, I got a huge shock as well ) Apparently she came across this blog , and found out that we shared a lot in common.
It's very nice of her to write me an email. =)

Does this mean that this is my first international pen pal? ( well , cyber pen pal I guess )
It's truly amazing to find someone who shares so many common grounds with us. I mean, that's how a friendship starts right ? =)

Amrita is quite a blogger and writer, I must say. I love her writings and I hope you will support her as well.

Here's the link. http://www.theblackcatopinion.blogspot.in/

So I guess, The Sound of Words is here to stay. =)

But I'll start another blog, which deals with my new passion for shoes and also about my life after STPM. =)

God bless =)

Sherlock , Camp and Good Wives

It has been so , so , so long since I last blogged. Feeling guilty but who am I suppose to blame ?? A new semester has now begin, and my dear readers, please do forgive me if I fail to update my blog now and then ......

But I had a good , 2 week semester break. Don't want to talk about exams now, but I'm rather happy to share with you how I started and how I ended my holidays.

1. Sherlock

That's how I begin my holidays lol. My deskmate, Juwie has been telling me how nice and how addictive this series is , and my oh my, how true she was. The minute I watched the first episode of Season 1, I continued to watch until Season 2 and now, I longed to watch Season 3 !!!
I have been a fan of Sherlock Holmes ever since I read the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes , and now with Benedict Cumberbatch in the picture, I am nothing but an ardent fan of his !!! Oh, I love how he portrayed Sherlock, in a modern, versatile yet original and inspiring manner. And of course, the ACCENT ~~~ How I love listening to British accent, it's just too wonderful ! Oh, and of course his famous sidekick, Dr Watson too ! Watching both of them  talking on TV is like watching a married couple on TV. I wonder if that's the producers' idea to stir up some " bromance " between both of them. I truly appreciate their friendship. But with all due respect, I hope that Sherlock ends up well and good as a normal guy. I don't mind if he's courting Molly, because she truly deserves him . =) It was somewhat emotional to see Sherlock sacrificing himself for the sake of his loved ones. He is a human, afterall. Awwwhhhhhhhhhhhh

2. Camp 

I truly needed a get away from all my reference books and endless tuitions. Having the church camp in Genting View Resort is indeed a wise decision. I was truly blessed by the sermon and God's amazing grace and love. I began to understand more about what we are to do, as children of God and how the Word of God enables us. With God, all things are possible. I am thankful to God that he has spoken to me, and ministered to me during the camp. It's very comforting to know that there's someone who cares for you , and will never reject you, leave you nor forsake you even if everyone does. I slowly began to surrender my burden, baggage to Him, because with my own strength, I will struggle continuously and aimlessly. Sometimes when I think I'm over a person or forgiven a person, but it's not. Forgiveness is one of the greatest gift that one can give to oneself. It opens the door of your heart, ( prison ), and set you free completely . And there's more to life than just focusing on disappointments, and why seek appreciation from the wrong company ? There's a spot in our heart that only our Lord God can fill in. 

I pray that God will slowly show me the way, and wisdom on how to be the person that I was fashioned to be. =) 

3. Good Wives 

What are holidays without  at least a good book ??? I have longed to read the sequel of Little Women - 

Good Wives !!! I know it's only available in KLCC. Hence , I sought help from my BFF and sister in Christ, Jocelyn to buy for me. And , I never regretted it !! Even though, I knew what was going to happen, I simply enjoyed the book so much ! In fact, Louisa May Alcott is such a good storyteller that , at times I simply hope the story will go on forever and ever. The story continues with the later life of the 4 sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. Each of them had their own share of story in the book. Meg got married to John Brooke, and had a pair of twins ( Demi and Daisy) , Jo married !!! Lol, she actually married, seriously ! So did Amy ! But poor Beth died towards the end. I love how true the characters are to me. They are not without imperfections, and this book perfectly demonstrated how they struggled , and persevered towards the end. What happened to the charming Laurie ? You'll have to read it yourself !! =)

And I watched the movie " Little Women" too ! It was really nice, but I prefer the book !! =) 

The March family 

The handsome and sweet Laurie ( Yes, " Batman" he is ) 

Smile

4/2/2013

So, the long awaited day finally arrived..... Haha, I sound so " desperate "

Just turned 19 and am happy about it. This year is not bad, most of my loved ones remembered my birthday, and I even got a few presents!!!

From Jia Wearn 

From Yan Teng 

I am really thankful to God for giving me  a beautiful life, filled with ups and downs, so that I know that  He is always in control and that He makes all things beautiful in His time.

Thank you everyone for giving me such a pleasant memory. More photos to come! I am thankful for such a loving sister, Joanne! =)

The Parable of the Talents

" I can't do this..."

" Nah, this thing is not for me...."

" That guy/ girl can do better than me ..."

Have you ever said this statement ? 

*guilty as charged *

We are to busy magnifying other people's strength and talents, and we sometimes forget how blessed are we. I mean , all of us have strengths, and weaknesses. Hence, we need to realise it and do something about it.....

Today, Pastor Andy Yeoh from Acts church shared about the parable of the talents. Three men were given different measure of talents by their master. Those days talents were not exactly talents like singing, dancing etc, it was well, money. $$ 

The first man was given 5 talents, the second man, 2 and the last man 1. 

Now , you would probably think to yourself, was the master acting a little unfair to the second man, what more the last man ?? Did he like the first man more ?? Was he more clever and stuff like that ??

Well, that's not the message of this parable......

It's not about having more / less, it's making use of everything you have. 

The first man went and invested the 5 talents, and got back another 5 talents. The second man did the same thing and gain back 2 talents as well. The last one, did nothing but hid the talent until the master return.

So, the master came back...... He was very pleased with the first man and the second one, but to the third one, he said : You wicked and lazy servant!!! 

Gosh~~ I was shocked.....

Why did Jesus tell this parable in the first place ?? You see, the three man actually represent different type of individuals. God gave us talents according to our capacity, and it's really foolish to compare how big and how great is our talent if we don't use it........ 

And, we need to know that God bless us with talents based on our capacities.

Here's a very logical and funny illustration. 

When you buy a pants , no matter what size you're buying , the prize is still the same. If you are being calculative of the amount of the material used for the pants, let's say you wear a size 30, but you think that by buying a size 40 is more worth it, will you buy it ??? Question is, can you wear it ???

                                                                             Size 30

                                                                           Size 40 

Another thing that caught my attention was the word " LAZY " Ahhhh, I'm feeling so guilty......

In simple words, it means that you know what to do, but you refuse to do. The third man knew that he could please his master, but he CHOSE not to do it. He REFUSE to do it. 

Laziness prohibits potential and destroys destiny

What a way to end a weekend ! 

God bless~~

Finding a balance

I always had a problem with balancing, since I have acrophobia ( fear of height). But there is more to life than just balancing yourself on a bicycle or at a high mountain...... Balancing your life between your studies and other issues is becoming one of the most overwhelming task that one struggles with. It falls back to our identity at this present moment.

Me ? I'm a student, daughter, sister, friend, child of God, and the list goes on.... ( or is that all?? ) There is a lot actually, but the ones that I mentioned earlier at the ones that I should prioritize. So, how to find a balance???

Basically what parents will tell you is this ( modern day parents ) : Spend less time on Facebook!!!
Hahaha, even though this sounds amusing and a little cliche, it contains a tiny weeny truth. Facebook
( with all due respect to its founder and the guys who invented it ) , is slowly turning us to be more busy body, or in my case, I think I'm slowly turning into a professional stalker......
 *cue the horror music effect * I don't know how to defend myself except to say that so and so puts it as public, therefore I have the right to see it..... ( Yeah right....... )

So, I think I should take this advice into serious consideration. I'll try. I promise.

Today in church, Pastor Timothy shared about a very interesting topic about foundation. Every building has a sub structure, structure and super structure. He related all these elements to us, particularly in our life.

The sub structure represents who we are and what we do when no one sees. It also illustrates our true strength and unseen foundation. In this case, it is our spiritual depth.

The structure represents the areas we need to guard in our personal life. Our time with our loved ones, family and kindred spirit.

The super structure is our outward accomplishments in life and ministry, the ones that requires our competence and skills.

And one particular statement amazed me the most :

A super structure is only worthy when the substructure is solid and the structure is set in place.

Aren't we suppose to be this way?? Before setting up our super structure, we should always remind ourselves about our sub structure and structures in life. Then, only we can find our balance.

I pray that by God's grace, we all can find a balance in our everyday life, particularly as we walk alongside Him. =)

2012 ( movie and reality )

Since we have just celebrated New Year, should we consider 2012 as a comedy?? Been waiting for ages for this movie to show on TV, and voila, they decided to show it a day before New Year's Eve!

Many said that it's really a good movie, as it really sparks our imagination about how the world will end. I have to admit, it was kinda creepy. It really made me think of that possibility, what if the world is going to end? What will I do? Thank goodness, this is just a Hollywood movie.

The Bible has this to say...



Matthew 24:36
No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

So really, what's the big fuss?

Come to think about it, I can't imagine going through life before Christ's return. I'm of course referring to the persecution faced by those who profess their faith in Christ. About anti Christ, 666, etc etc..... May God's mercy be upon us. 2012 is a nice movie, but they simply forgot about God. All of us need to face God one day, and how will we react when we see Him?  To be frank, I was thankful for the fact that I'm still alive as I can't really say anything if I were to face God now. I'm a sinner saved by God's grace. Nothing more, nothing less.

So, what really happened to me in the year 2012??

1. I became 18 years of age. ( I know, I know, tick -tock.......I'm not " young " anymore)
2. I went back to school, to study Lower 6. ( St Paul's.... )
3. I got my driving license!! ( After 4 attempts... phew )
4. I watched lots of movies ( This blog can substantiate my point )
5. I read quite a number of books ( Ditto )
6. I made new friends ( Praise God )
7. I did more house work ( Hahaha, I guessed it was the sense of guilt that pushed me )
8. I climbed a hill. ( Broga..... )
9. I attempted Flying Fox ( It was scary, but... fun.... ) *gasp*
10. I am simply blessed.

Onwards to 2013~~