These Days

We took Neil to the doctor last Saturday for his vaccination and regular checkup. He's now 12kg, gained about a month! From his last checkup, we found out that he was consuming less milk than what's recommended (because that's all he drinks) we've tried to give him more. I say milk is the reason for the drastic weight gain. He's also more "malikot" these days and when he doesn't want to be carried, there's almost nothing you can do. He will contort his body in so many ways you're left with no choice but to acquiesce. He also doesn't like it when we hold his hand while walking (no HHWW for Neil!). He will pull his hands and will go his own way. He also likes stepping on unusual things. For example around the neighborhood, the striped speed bumps and on the lightly colored pavement. So amusing. :) When he's in an unfamiliar environment, he clings and cries when you put him down but just wait a few minutes and he's back ...

There is a blog post entitled 30 Books Everyone Should Read Before Their 30th Birthday .  The author also provides reasons for choosing the books. I love lists and measuring myself against them so I am reproducing it here.  The ones in bold are books I've read (23%).  I still have a lot to read, which is a good thing.  And what does it matter if I'm past 30?  I've gone through other good books that are not in this list.  Hey, probably I should make my own suggestions?  That's will be a project. :) Back to the list!   1. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse – Read in college. 2. 1984 by George Orwell 3. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee  4. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess 5. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway 6. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy 7. The Rights of Man by Tom Paine 8. The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau 9. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez 10. The Origin of Species by Charles Darw...

This is Harry's angry, growing pains period. He hasn't heard from his friends during the school break and is feeling dejected, he gets attacked by dementors and will be subjected to a disciplinary hearing that might result to his being expelled from Hogwart's . This sounded like a different Harry Potter book compared to the previous books and it took me a number of pages before I can get a reading rhythm going. But it is still good. For the synopsis, check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Order_of_the_Phoenix .

I zoomed through the Harry Potter books this month. I read Goblet right after Azkaban and again, it didn't disappoint. Props to JK Rowling for creating this imaginary world of wizards and magic, and for adding new twists in the tale of the boy who lived. For a complete synopsis, check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Goblet_of_Fire I discovered that the movie versions change the storylines quite a bit (e.g. using other characters), so if you want to get the whole story you have to read the book. :)

The Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr I've had this book for years and it's just now that I chose to read it over the other literature on my shelf. I bought this because I really loved The Alienist also by Carr, which I read back in college. This is the sequel to The Alienist and has the same main characters. The Angel of Darkness is written from the pov of Stevie Taggert , a former troubled street kid who was eventually employed by Dr. Laszlo Kreizler , the alienist. The crime-solving team also includes the Isaacson brothers who were pioneers of forensic science (before fingerprinting and ballistics became accepted as evidence), the journalist John Moore, Sara Howard and the Cyrus Montrose . The book is set in 19 th century New York. The team was asked by the wife of a Spanish diplomat to investigate the kidnapping of her baby daughter. The team takes on the case and unknowingly stepped into a web of murders, delusions, deception and gang violence surrounding the antago...

10 years later. :) This book was published in 2009 and I just read it. Yup, 10 years after the fact. This book has been sitting in our shelf for a long time (Richard's) and I never got to it until recently. I've tended to shun anything that is too popular anyway, preferring to be ahead or in this case, behind. Hehe ... Anyway, I really enjoyed this book. It has all the elements for an engaging tale - hero, villain, mystery, twists, triumph. It deserves to be a bestseller. Even though it's targeted for the young adult, I still enjoyed it. For the record, 5 out of 5 stars. :) *I am now reading HP and The Goblet of Fire.

I finished reading this book just recently and it has lots of interesting new words and tips on how to improve one's vocabulary. Some days were devoted to Latin, Greek and other roots that can help in deciphering the meaning of English derivatives. Some days are focused on medical terms, restaurant terms, the arts, and other popular categories. It's helpful if you want to build your vocabulary. I enjoyed reading this book, but I do need to practice using the words to receive it full benefit. I hope this blog entry did not have a soporific effect on you...