The Good Old Books (II)
by shz
I went back to Bangsar last weekend.
I just got my pay and I was determine to spend RM35 which usually went to other unnecessary things like badly chosen blouse or pants that make my ass look bigger than it actually is to something worth keeping, something that by the time I finish reading it, it will feel like the cheapest RM35 I’d ever spent. I first went to MPH since its nearest to where I parked my car and left Daisy continue napping, with Fakhrul joining her in.
There was only one copy left and its in the smaller sized but the same price. I wanted the bigger one I saw last week, so I walked to the other end of Bangsar Village where Borders is and suddenly, The Kite Runner was nowhere to be found! I couldn’t find one and starting to get paranoid that the whole Malaysia read my blog and decided to get one for themselves too! At that point I was starting to regret writing The Good Old Books and went straight to the counter. To my relief, there was one last copy left and I almost screamed, “YESS!!”. I couldn’t believe it, last week there were like more than 10 copies, sitting at the Bestseller table, screaming to be read, neglected, no one wanted. So now I am starting to read again and thanks to you who commented previously, this time I also got A Thousand Splendid Suns for half the price along with the full priced The Kite Runner. I kept reading it every free time I could possibly posess. While waiting for my Nandos chicken to arrive, while Daisy’s having her milk, while Daisy’s sleeping of course, while waiting for Isya’, while waiting for the client, also while waiting for my white sauce to thicken.
It’s a funny thing getting hooked by a book. Suddenly all I could think about are words. Words kept playing, jumping around in my head while I’m doing things, imagining how I would describe it as if I am a character in a story. Although I’ve never intended to be like Khaled Hosseini.
I am now just through with Chapter 11. The Kite Runner could have been one of those long 2 hours epic picture, like Braveheart, Titanic or Saving Private Ryan. I wished they’d done every single thing in the book in the movie. Like Amir’s first word is Baba and Hassan’s first word is Amir. Or the more elaborated scene of Baba crying when Ali & Hassan were leaving. Or Kamal’s death. It would’ve been greater.
Oh well, back to burying my face on Chapter 12, about lying considered as a theft.
TKR is the best written novel (for me) tht i’ve ever read. reading it was like a breeze. even ATSS could not beat KH’s first novel. i saw the movie and hated it. mainly because if i ever read it again, the actors’ faces will jump out of the novel instead of those faces that i had imagined earlier. and the scenes in the movie were just plain..oh well, sucks!
I am also starting to hate the movie now that I’m nearly finished with it. I can’t believe they didn’t do Rahim-Khan’s last letter to Amir. That brought me to tears!
books can take on anything, any place, anytime. have you read “extremely loud & incredibly close” by jonathan safran foer? i think you’d love it. the main character can be a bit too precocious at times but you will be so affected by it.
also try “the thirteenth tale” by diane setterfield. it’s one of the most memorable books i’ve ever read. it gets under your skin. have fun.
Thanks so much for the suggestion. I am almost done with The Kite Runner, will read A Thousand of Splendid Suns and get more books as suggested! I’ve always wanted to read Murukami’s. But I don’t know which book to start with. Have you read any of Murukami?
P/S: You have an AWESOME blog.
hi shz sorry i got mad skillz at snail-ing. how did you like “the kite runner”? & have you seen the movie? i was disappointed. as often the case with films made from books i guess. except for “into the wild”. WHOA that film, man, i still have to watch that film every few months and then i get weird for dayysss from watching it.
bigbadwolf is having an Aftermath sale soon, all books RM5 or less. pergi la if ada masa. oh i was reading “kafka on the shore” but then the steve jobs book happened. steve-o trumps a lot of things obvs. (i bought it at border only to see it being sold at tesco the next day. i didn’t have the nerve to check the price. epic fail lah senang cerita). anyhoot, have you read this article though? best gila. oh oh i’m also reading A. samad said – “di hadapan pulau”. baca selo nak mampos. slamba la.
(re: blog) dan thanks! it means a lot. i’m teaching myself to animate. and i’ve been comtemplating starting a new blog for just drawing/animation, because i need to activate comments to hopefully get feedback if i suck or if someone can suggest ways for me not to suck :] but then i think about annie leibovitz and her pro/personal book where she goes “i don’t have two distinct life. i have one life” and i just keep going back to that. oh man i am such a dugong. ok i’m done. i hope life is going along swimmingly for you. take it easy!
Dear Shaliza, me too want to read Murukami’s. There’s a book by Murukami on sale at Penjaja Buku (FB).. Go and grab it for yourself!
not sure if you have read the catcher in the rye..do let me know if you haven’t..i have 3 copies 😛
I haven’t, and I’m ready to type my address if you want to post one to me! 😉
Oh yes..do drop me ur address 😀
Thanks so much!! Only if you have it to give it away tau, ..!
Shaliza Mokhtar
M&R Architects
G-16-GA, Jln Prima Saujana 2/E, Tmn Prima Saujana,
43000, Kajang, Sel
Muahsssssssss!!
hi~~
if u wanna get good books but with super cheap price..can go to amcorp mall..book axcess..top floor..really worth it..
Thank you for the suggestion. I have heard about it, its time to cekidautttt!
shz, i agree with most of the recommended title here. the catcher in the rye is another must read classic. but if you love dry humor as much as i do, i’d recommend you to read david sedaris’ me talk pretty one day. incredibly hilarious.
btw..BBW is having book sales from 7th-16th : http://www.bigbadwolfbooks.com/
Thnx for the info. Let’s see if I can catch it