rambling on. . .

A few weeks ago, I finished reading a book (I think. Was it 2 weeks ago or was it 3 weeks? OR was it…?)

Hmm.

a.n.y.w.a.y…doesn’t matter. As I was saying, I finished a book. I dun usually talk about the books I’ve read (though there was another entry that I wrote which was about 2 books that touched me – a couple of entries before this) unless reading it had a great impact on me.

This book that I’m going to tell u about also has a great impact on me. It is written by an author named, Jill Marie Landis. I have never read any of her books before this but she’s definitely gonna be one of the authors I’ll look out for when I step into a book store in the near future… =)

It’s a pure romance novel. Usually I dun go for these kinds of books – a little too sappy for me…so my choice of fiction books will often be a combination of romance n thriller. Or romance n mystery. OR like in the book ‘Blue Skies’ (one of the 2 books that I was talking abt earlier) it is romance n a whole load of information on a particular disease, going about it in detail. The romance part of a book is what I like because it makes the story less heavy…somewhat like light reading. So it wouldn’t feel like I am reading a school textbook which makes me feel stressed (out of my life), bored (to tears) and sleepy (like a sleepyhead) *smiles*

Haha..anyway, I had a good time reading the book. The story is actually set back in 1820.
I fell in love with the characters in the book, esp the main character who’s the ‘hero’ in the story.

He’s not the typical hero that one would have in mind cuz he is actually handicapped. He lost an eye while piloting a boat down a river. The currents were strong, swept him underneath and he hit his eye with something sharp while he was underwater. He’s also a ‘half Breed’ as mentioned in the book. Actually that’s a crude, old way of calling a person who has mixed parentage. Oh ya, I haven’t mentioned his name! His name is Noah LeCroix. He’s a person who is not very comfortable around people and also since he was being cast aside due to his race and the loss of his eye, he gladly became a reclusive loner who retreated in his own world…away from civilization and built himself a house near a swamp, called Heron Pond. And I just wanna add, in the story, Noah portrays a man who is calm, gentle, respectful, honourable and protective along with a little sense of humour.
A girl’s dream of a man.

So, cutting the story short, he rescued a girl (who is his love interest in the story) from being attacked by coyotes one night and nursed her back to health. The girl whom I also fell in love with, is named Olivia Bond. She has an ugly and dangerous past, though she is only 19. Because of that, she became wary of ppl and she was frightened by Noah’s silent, almost shy and guarded nature, but over time, she finds herself moved by Noah’s actions and slowly, he began to touch her heart and soul. Over time, both fell in love with each other but both believed strongly that they’re not good enough for one another..that the other deserved someone better. In the middle of the story, Olivia’s past came back to haunt her. And Noah is forced to face and overcome his past.
The ending? I wun tell you, you wanna noe, you go and read.
Hehe…but I’ll give u a hint, Love conquers it all.
*laughs* Big hint man!

What I really wanted to highlight from this book is actually the characters. The entire time I took to read this book makes me feel like I know Noah and Olivia. The qualities they have, their thoughts…why they do what they did…what made them feel a certain way..it’s almost like Noah and Olivia came alive to me. I can picture them in my mind…the images are soo vivid that it feels like I’m watching a movie instead of reading the book.
I think that is what good authors are all about. Personally, I feel that once a reader cannot envision the setting / characters / plot that the writer is portraying or trying to portray in his / her story, then the story is lost. In fact, there is no story anymore because either e reader gives up on finishing the book or the reader monotonously finishes the book for the sake of finishing the book.

A good book is important to me. I like to read…it’s like a hobby, though I know a lot of ppl find reading very tiring and definitely not their idea of a form of relaxation but for me, reading makes me feel. It calms me in an odd way. I feel like I can put a halt in my life for awhile and escape in the world that I consider ideal. Does that sound weird? Who cares…it’s my blog.

LOL…

Like…it’s almost like a haven to me. Truly. Reading makes me believe again…in the things that I always, always doubt exist. Many things. I always think, “There must be such a thing because it is written in books. People wrote those books and I have read those books. Doesn’t matter fiction or non-fiction. The fact that it is written shows that people have experienced them and so…it exists…”

I just must find a way to make myself believe it does…somehow.

Oh by the way, I was watching Oprah the other day..they were talking about people who are hooked on plastic surgeries. This disorder is called the obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) according to Oprah. There was this lady…she is only 28 years old and she already had 26 plastic surgeries. *shakes head* I dun quite get it. She was beautiful before…it’s not as if she had a drooping chin, saggy cheeks or even look anywhere near a state whereby she is in dire need of a plastic surgery…she was not even fat, her skin was flawless…personally, I couldn’t see any flaws that could actually be the cause for her to believe so strongly that she’s not beautiful. In fact, NOW to me, she doesn’t look beautiful. She looks like a walking Barbie doll, and believe it or not, it’s not pretty. It’s scary because her face looks really taut and as if it’s being pulled from both sides, her lips so wide that it looks like a clown-ish smile has been plastered on her face and wat’s more, her nose is so puny that she can barely breathe in air using her nostrils because the passageway is too narrow! She actually went to her plastic surgeon and told him that she wanted to have her nose done exactly like Michael Jackson’s!
I’m a fan of Michael Jackson too but goodness, why would she want a nose like his?@! Her nose was perfectly fine before…she was real pretty before all the surgeries…really she was. But somehow…she doesn’t believe it.

Then there was also this other woman whose husband was sitting beside her. According to her hubby, she has always been self-conscious of her body. Initially he has given her his full support when she voiced her intention to go for a plastic surgery. She wanted to get rid of her love handles, wanted slimmer, thinner thighs and sth else, which I cant quite remember now. Over time, her wants became ridiculous to the point that she doesn’t want to stop. She just wants more and more surgeries until she looks in the mirror one day and be satisfied with what she sees. Which will never happen, she says. Due to that, her hubby threatens to divorce her if she goes for another plastic surgery. They have 2 children by the way. And her husband works 3 jobs so as to pay for the surgeries she wants. They even sold their house, if I’m not wrong.

Anyway, there was this part, when Oprah asked the woman’s husband, “So, are you happy with your wife after she has gone through surgery?”
He answered instantaneously, “I was satisfied before.”
Then Oprah asked, “Were you serious when you said that you are going to divorce your wife if she goes for another plastic surgery?”
He answered instantaneously again, almost answering before Oprah finished her question and said, “Yes.”

At that one moment, my mind was thinking, “how could a husband say that in front of his own wife, looking as if he just answered a question about the weather or something trivial?”
Literally, right after that thought flashed in my mind, what I saw on the TV screen touched my heart deeply.

He actually broke down and cried.
The husband wanted to say more but couldn’t find his voice to speak.
When Oprah said, “You don’t actually want to leave your wife, do you?” He cried harder and started to shake his head vigorously.
Then Oprah said, “You love your wife…” He nodded his head so many times and looked at his wife (so lovingly), started to cry even more and his wife held his hand to comfort him.

Seeing that, I felt a rush of warmth inside me. That’s one of the few of the sweetest things I’ve seen.

Towards the end of the show, the woman was convinced that she is not willing to let go of her marriage because of her crazy need to look perfect. I’m glad because her husband obviously loves her a lot. Love handles or no love handles…thick or thin thighs..apparently, it didn’t matter to him. I find it hard to believe actually but I saw how he cried. It pained him to know that his wife is not seeing the beautiful woman that he sees everyday, the beautiful woman he married and took his vows with.

It must be genuine, if it’s not, he deserves an Oscar…
But I believe it is.

P/S (this is gonna be a looong P/S *smiles*):
Today was super tiring for me. I was having it (1st day) so it's no wonder that i was short-fused these past few days..i was also having a migraine all of a sudden at the centre today cuz the chn were running and shouting on top of their tiny lungs (I swear they're nowhere near tiny!) and i snapped at some of them. *sobs* I'm sorry dearies, i didn't mean to...truly i didn't. Anyway, having K2 for the first time, they're still adorable actually. They don't mind being hugged..which i thot they would. They're just more vocal, which in a way is pretty good cuz they're responsive.
I hugged them goodbye today and Kendrick (handsome boy, according to me that is, but soo stubborn at times that i have a strange urge to throttle him...hahaz...i wonder why..) asked me if he could kiss my cheek!

Awww...and i said, "Sure u can..." And he did!

My first kiss from a 5 year old boy... and my heart melted *smiles*