The only thing that I have been doing lately is read books, study for final, read academic stuff, sleep and read manga.
Reading is my retreat from unpleasant aspects of life.
I read because I find adventures, peace and solitude, as well as enlightenment in the stories penned by unknown people who impart their wisdom (or inane ideas) in the plots that they have made.
Talking about retreat-to-the-corner-of-the-world time, there are some books that I would really like to recommend to Syahmi (I know you don't really read thick books so I've mixed some choices here. Do read them when you have time).
A food guide by Consumers Association of Penang. It is an eye-opener to all human beings who eat (every single homo sapien on this planet should read it!). You don't know what kind of poisons you ingest everyday. Scary wooh. I could never have imagined some of the common food that we eat everyday may have small doses of harmful substances in them.
This is a must read for LoTR fans
Taken from Wikipedia:
The Silmarillion comprises five parts. The first part, Ainulindalë, tells of the creation of Eä, the "world that is". Valaquenta, the second part, gives a description of the Valar and Maiar, the supernatural powers in Eä. The next section, Quenta Silmarillion, which forms the bulk of the collection, chronicles the history of the events before and during the First Age, including the wars over the Silmarils which gave the book its title. The fourth part, Akallabêth, relates the history of the Downfall of Númenor and its people, which takes place in the Second Age. The final part, Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age, is a brief account of the circumstances which led to and were presented in The Lord of the Rings.
The five parts were initially separate works, but it was the elder Tolkien's express wish that they be published together. Because J. R. R. Tolkien died before he finished revising the various legends, Christopher gathered material from his father's older writings to fill out the book. In a few cases, this meant that he had to devise completely new material in order to resolve gaps and inconsistencies in the narrative.
Tales of each Age (of the Middle Earth world) are told in this book. There are five parts that tell tales of each Age.
The first tale is a profound story (for me). It's sort of a prelude to how the world of was created and how one of the Illuvatar's children, Melkor, deviated from the creator's wish. The depiction of his character sort of wowed me: charismatic and all powerfull but yet has insatiable desire for the world itself. His character truly overshadows Sauron. Meh. Me like Melkor.
And then there is the part where Beren, a man and Luthien, the first generation of elf fall in love with each other. This is the part where two generations of elf have made a choice for mortality: both Luthien (the first generation) and Elros, the descendant of Beren and Luthien chose to live with mortal life-span.
The book is an awesome prelude to LoTR, I tell you (you have to read it, Syahmi).
The third book of the day is, ta-da!: Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Caroll.
It's the sequel to Alice in Wonderland. This the part where she gets engaged in the battle of the Queens, chess-style: remember the White Queen and the Red Queen? Coming along, Alice meets Humpty Dumpty, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, and the illustrious Jabberwocky (me like the poem, even though it sounds nonsensical).
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Now, I need to make time to watch all those dramas and movies I've collected (in my laptop). Must open my eyes. Don't...sleep..must watch..zzZZZ
