轻食沙拉元气果汁 / 郑育龙 主编

本书讲解了轻断食的原理和方法用凉拌、水煮、烘烤等方式烹饪低 热量食材，制作一道色香味形俱全的减脂沙拉，适合有瘦身需求的人，想 要减糖、减脂的人等。沙拉代替油炸、煎烤类食物，一段时间后，你会发现 皮肤变好了，小肚腩也不见了，整个人容光焕发起来！这就是吃沙拉带来 的改变，越吃越年轻、越吃越健康！ 本书讲解沙拉种类丰富一日三餐不重样，食材常见容易购买。本书 给出了7天轻断沙拉搭配元气果汁。酱料百搭多种低热量沙拉汁、沙拉酱， 任意随心搭，为沙拉注入灵魂。 元气果汁：蔬果汁、奶昔、五谷杂粮汁帮助读者更好的实践轻断食理 论，从而获得健康美丽的身体。本书邀请作者拍摄了沙拉以及果汁的制作 视频做法一步一图，不用下载软件，手机扫码直接看视频，让读者在学习 沙拉制作、果汁制作时更加直观、清晰，能够做出自己喜欢的健康沙拉食 品和搭配合理的果汁。

经典与创意树桩蛋糕制作详解

本书分为基础制作工艺,经典篇,巧克力篇,创意篇,冰激凌篇,附录等部 分,收录了45份独创树桩蛋糕及淋面酱食谱,通过45张结构图解循序渐进讲 解甜品制作工艺法式树桩蛋糕是甜点大师将美好的甜点与美丽的节日融 合在一起而创造出来的时尚甜品。作者把繁复的树桩蛋糕制作过程抽丝剥 茧地呈现在读者面前，让读者能够一步步按照食谱方法完成树桩蛋糕的制 作。 法式树桩蛋糕是甜点大师将美好的甜点与美丽的节日融合在一起而 创造出来的时尚甜品。本书专门介绍了树桩蛋糕的制作方法，从基础的蛋 糕技法（蛋糕片的制作、奶油夹心的调配、淋面的技巧、蛋白霜的制作）到 具体树桩蛋糕（榛子冷杉蛋糕、香草千层卷、圣奥诺雷蛋糕）的制作细节 。

正确减糖

一直在减糖，为什么体重一直没减？老人和孩子可以一起减糖吗？点外 卖时如何规避高糖食品？一天可以只吃两顿吗？ 不正确地减糖，很容易导致心慌头晕、急躁焦虑、低血糖、体重反弹、 内分泌失调。本书根据医学研究，介绍科学、正确、能坚持的减糖食谱。 从减糖的理论知识、经验技巧、选择食材的方法，到精选包含主菜、配菜、 主食、预制菜、汤菜、小吃与甜点等的减糖菜谱、374种食品含糖量对照表 ，再到点外卖的减糖要点、关于减糖的各类疑问，本书统统包含。本书将助 你全面、科学、可坚持地减糖，让你变瘦、变健康、变年轻！践行健康的饮 食方式。 应以GI值（血糖生成指数）较低的食物作为主食。选择低GI 主食，避免 血糖迅速升高。通过调控主食来减少糖类摄取量的同时，也可以借助控制 血糖升高的方式，让自己不容易发胖。食物摄取后血糖是否升高取决于食 物的GI 值。所谓GI值，就是人体进食后机体血糖的变化情况。以大米为 例，糙米要比精细的白米GI 值低。人体消化、吸收糙米的速度比较慢，糙 米还可以为人体提供维生素、矿物质、食物纤维等糖类以外的营养物质。 饮食本是人生的快乐之一。如果强忍着不去吃想吃的美食，或者仅仅在 意糖分或热量而与美味失之交臂，那只能导致本末倒置。对此，本书就是 既让大家快乐地享用美味，同时又能选好食材合理减肥。

Nomadland

Reviewed by Library Information System Division's staff, SSL Headquaters.

From the beet fields of North Dakota to the campgrounds of California to Amazon’s CamperForce program in Texas, employers have discovered a new, low-cost labor pool, made up largely of transient older adults. These invisible casualties of the Great Recession have taken to the road by the tens of thousands in RVs and modified vans, forming a growing community of nomads.

Nomadland tells a revelatory tale of the dark underbelly of the American economy—one which foreshadows the precarious future that may await many more of us. At the same time, it celebrates the exceptional resilience and creativity of these Americans who have given up ordinary rootedness to survive, but have not given up hope.

To Kill A Mockingbird

Reviewed by Library Information System Division's staff, SSL Headquaters.

The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it. "To Kill A Mockingbird" became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.

Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, "To Kill A Mockingbird" takes readers to the roots of human behavior - to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos. Now with over 18 million copies in print and translated into forty languages, this regional story by a young Alabama woman claims universal appeal. Harper Lee always considered her book to be a simple love story. Today it is regarded as a masterpiece of American literature.

A lawyer’s advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee’s classic novel – a black man charged with the rape of white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch. Harper Lee explore with exuberant humour the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. the conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one man’s struggle for justice. But the weight of history will tolerate only so much.

‘Someone rare has written this very fine novel, a writer with the liveliest sense of life and the warmest, most authentic humour. A touching book; and so funny, so likeable’.

A Dog's Courage

Reviewed by Library Information System Division's staff, SSL Headquaters.

Number one New York bestselling author W. Bruce Cameron once again captures the bravery and determination of a very good dog in the gripping sequel to A Dog’s Way Home, the acclaimed novel that inspired the hit movie!

Bella was once a lost dog, but now she lives happily with her people, Lucas and Olivia, only occasionally recalling the hardships in her past. Then a weekend camping trip turns into a harrowing struggle for survival when the Rocky Mountains are engulfed by the biggest wildfire in American history. The raging inferno separates Bella from her people and she is lost once more.

Alone in the wilderness, Bella unexpectedly finds herself responsible for the safety of two defenseless mountain lion cubs. Now she’s torn between two equally urgent goals. More than anything, she wants to find her way home to Lucas and Olivia, but not if it means abandoning her new family to danger. And danger abounds, from predators hunting them to the flames threatening at every turn.

Can Bella ever get back to where she truly belongs?

A Dog’s Courage is more than a fast-paced adventure, more than a devoted dog’s struggle to survive, it’s a story asking that we believe in our dogs as much as they believe in us.

The Stranger in the Lifeboat

Reviewed by Library Information System Division's staff, SSL Headquaters.

Mitch Albom’s stories have touched 40 million hearts. Now the global phenomenon returns. What would happen if we called on God for help and God actually appeared? In Mitch Albom’s profound new novel of hope and faith, a group of shipwrecked passengers pull a strange man from the sea. He claims to be “the Lord.” And he says he can only save them if they all believe in him. Adrift in a raft after a deadly ship explosion, ten people struggle for survival at sea. Three days pass. Short on water, food and hope, they spot a man floating in the waves. They pull him in. “Thank the Lord we found you,” a passenger says. “I am the Lord,” the man whispers. So begins Mitch Albom’s most beguiling novel yet. Albom has written of heaven in the celebrated number one bestsellers The Five People You Meet in Heaven and The First Phone Call from Heaven . Now, for the first time in his fiction, he ponders what we would do if, after crying out for divine help, God actually appeared before us? In The Stranger in the Lifeboat, Albom keeps us guessing until the end: Is this strange man really who he claims to be? What actually happened to cause the explosion? Are the survivors in heaven, or are they in hell? The story is narrated by Benji, one of the passengers, who recounts the events in a notebook that is discovered—a year later—when the empty life raft washes up on the island of Montserrat. It falls to the island’s chief inspector, Jarty LeFleur, a man battling his own demons, to solve the mystery of what really happened.  A fast-paced, compelling novel that makes you ponder your deepest beliefs, The Stranger in the Lifeboat suggests that answers to our prayers may be found where we least expect them.

NEVER GIVE UP, JACK MA IN HIS OWN WORDS

Reviewed by Dr. Mahat Jamal, Thinker Vault Media, Kota Kinabalu

"Buku bertajuk Never Give Up, Jack Ma in His Own Words yang disunting oleh Suk Lee dan Bob Song ini memuatkan himpunan petikan kata-kata dan pandangan Jack Ma yang dibuat dalam beberapa peristiwa, liputan akhbar, temu bual, dialog dan forum antarabangsa (1999 - 2015) terhadap dunia perniagaan, prinsip perniagaan, kejayaan dan kegagalan, persaingan, kepimpinan, pemasaran dan media, internet, e-dagang dan perdagangan global dan banyak lagi.

Jack Ma merupakan pengasas dan pengerusi eksekutif Kumpulan Alibaba, salah sebuah syarikat e-dagang paling kaya di dunia. Kekayaan beliau yang mempunyai nilai bersih USD 21.8 bilion mula mengenal internet melalui seorang kawan semasa bercuti di Seattle, Washington,  Amerika Syarikat pada tahun 1995. Pada bulan Mac 1999 Kumpulan Alibaba melancarkan laman web e-dagang dan menerima dana modal usaha niaga sebanyak USD 5 juta daripada Goldman Sachs dan pelbagai syarikat dari Amerika Syarikat, Asia dan Eropah.

Pada ketika itu, Jack Ma tidak mengetahui apa-apa tentang komputer atau pengekodan. Bahkan, ramai orang Cina belum faham mengenai internet, apa tah lagi  tentang potensinya yang besar dalam bidang pemasaran. Namun, yakin dengan masa depan bisnes atas talian, Jack Ma membuat keputusan memulakan syarikat internet dengan membawa jaringan World Wide Web ke China. Jack Ma yang mengelar dirinya sebagai manusia buta yang menunggang seekor harimau buta, berhadapan dengan pelbagai cabaran dan halangan, namun beliau tekad memulakan perniagaan tersebut (Majlis Asia Game Changer Awards, 2014).

Jack Ma mengaku tidak pandai dalam aspek teknologi, selain daripada hanya tahu cara menghantar dan menerima emel serta melayari internet, namun dengan tekad yang kental, beliau berjaya menjadi pengurus salah sebuah syarikat e-dagang paling terbesar di China.

Menurut Jack Ma, di dalam dunia perniagaan, perkara yang sangat penting dalam sesebuah syarikat atau organisasi ialah misi, nilai, dan matlamat bersama (Pertemuan Operator Rangkaian Ningbo, 11 Jun 2002). Tanpa tiga perkara ini, perniagaan tidak akan berjaya. Di samping itu, pelanggan hendaklah sentiasa diletakkan di tempat pertama, pekerja di tempat kedua dan seterusnya pemegang di tempat ketiga. Sistem syarikat jangan disandarkan atas satu atau dua individu utama sahaja kerana syarikat akan runtuh sekiranya infrastruktur yang kukuh tidak dibina (Majlis Anugerah Utama Juara e-Perniagaan APEC, 2 Ogos 2008).

Dari segi kepimpinan, Jack Ma melihat antara faktor penyumbang kepada kejayaan syarikat ialah keupayaan membina sebuah pasukan pengurusan yang mantap, menghargai pekerja, mengamal semangat berpasukan, membimbing kakitangan dan mempunyai ciri-ciri kepimpinan yang positif. Di samping itu perlu mempunyai carta organisasi yang jelas, matlamat yang realistik, mempunyai keupayaan menghadapi krisis, usah takut pada kesilapan, belajar daripada pengalaman dan menganggap kegagalan sebagai kunci kejayaan (Pertemuan Operator Rangkain Ningbo, 11 Jun 2002).

Salah satu rahsia kejayaan Alibaba, mengikut Jack Ma ialah 33 % daripada ahli pengurusannya terdiri daripada kaum wanita. Mereka merupakan 24% daripada barisan pengurusan tertinggi yang menyandang pangkat CEO, CFO dan CPO. Menurut Jack Ma, sekiranya mahu menang dalam abad ke-21 ini, kuasa perlu juga diberikan kepada orang lain. Beliau mendapati golongan wanita di lihat lebih banyak memikirkan tentang orang lain berbanding diri mereka sendiri (Sesi temu bual dengan Charles Rose, Forum Ekonomi Dunia, 23 Julai 2015).

Dari segi pengalaman pengguna, Jack Ma berpendapat teknologi harus mesra pelanggan. Beliau meminta pasukan jurutera syarikatnya mewujudkan program yang boleh memenuhi keperluan orang ramai. Baginya, tidak kira betapa majunya sesuatu teknologi, ia tidak bermanfaat sekiranya orang ramai tidak tahu menggunakannya.  Matlamat beliau, 80% orang ramai yang buta IT sepertinya dapat menggunakan teknologi syarikat tanpa perlu membaca sebarang manual (Program Fortune Life, 29 Mac 2003).

Bagi Jack Ma, persaingan memang menyeronokkan kerana dalam perniagaan walaupun pihak lawan mati, beliau tidak semestinya menang. Beliau sentiasa  bersifat terbuka menerima persaingan dan bersedia mengatur pelbagai strategi menghadapinya. Persaingan memberi peluang untuk meningkatkan kualiti diri untuk menjadi lebih baik. Pada masa yang sama, ia boleh menyebabkan pesaing naik darah. Baginya pejuang yang marah bukanlah pejuang yang bagus (Pertemuan Operator Rangkaian Beijing, 17 Mac 2008).

Mengenai cabaran, Jack Ma tidak pernah berkata beliau adalah pemenang. Beliau lebih suka bercerita cara beliau menangani pelbagai kesukaran dan bukan dengan riak bercerita tentang kejayaan. Setiap hari cabaran dan masalah perlu diatasi dan itulah pencapaian utama beliau. Semua usahawan tahu, hari-hari mereka akan dipenuhi pelbagai kesukaran dan kegagalan dan bukan semestinya dengan kejayaan. Pengalaman hampir sedekad mengajarnya bahawa kesukaran itu tidak boleh dielak atau dipertanggungjawabkan kepada orang lain.  Usahawan mesti mampu menghadapi kegagalan dan tidak menyerah kalah (Sesi temubual di laman web CCTV, 2004).

Berhubung tanggungjawab korporat pada abad ke-21, Jack Ma berpendapat bahawa dunia mendambakan peradaban komersial baru.  Dalam tamadun komersial lama, syarikat sangat mementingkan diri sendiri dan hanya fokus kepada keuntungan. Pada abad ke-21, syarikat perlu mengkaji semula hubungan dengan masyarakat, alam sekitar, kemanusiaan dan para pelanggan. Selain itu, syarikat pada hari ini perlu sentiasa telus, bersikap terbuka, bertanggungjawab dan berpandangan global bagi mewujudkan kehidupan yang lebih baik (Sambutan Ulang Tahun Ke-10 Alibaba, 10 September 2000).

Buku ini sangat bermanfaat kepada mereka yang ingin mengetahui faktor-faktor kejayaan Jack Ma dalam perniagaan e-dagang di dunia. Oleh yang demikian, untuk mengetahui lebih lanjut lagi tentang buku dan isi kandungannya, sila lawati laman web Perpustakaan Negeri Sabah di www.ssl.sabah.gov.my atau hubungi talian 088-231623 214828, 256192 untuk mengetahui ketersediaan buku tersebut. Bagaimanapun buku-buku ini mungkin mengambil masa untuk dihantar ke perpustakaan di luar Kota Kinabalu, sila berhubung dengan perpustakaan terdekat untuk tempahan pinjaman".

Faker

Reviewed by Dian Suaidah Binti Azudin, Intern, UiTM Merbok Kedah.

In this sexy and entertaining multicultural romance, two office rivals work out their differences to forge a lasting love. Debut author Sarah Smith pulls it off perfectly. A skilled forger, Emmie Echavarre. She must be in order to survive as one of the few female workers at Nuts & Bolts, a power tool firm where the majority of the employees are stern, powerful men. She is incredibly tough from nine to five, Monday through Friday, the complete contrast of her laid-back actual personality. She doesn't have to pretend to anything, right? Tate Rasmussen, a coworker, is detested by her. Since the first day they met, Tate has been antagonistic toward her. He responded to Emmie's cordial greetings and frequent attempts to get to know him only with scowls and curt one-word responses. Unfortunately, she can't help but ogle his Thor-like biceps. Things get hot when Tate and Emmie are made to collaborate on a charitable construction project. Tate's hard exterior is beginning to reveal a sensitive heart to Emmie, but it will take more than a few encouraging words to let her forget the past and believe what they have is genuine.In this sexy and entertaining multicultural romance, two office rivals work out their differences to forge a lasting love. Debut author Sarah Smith pulls it off perfectly. A skilled forger, Emmie Echavarre. She must be in order to survive as one of the few female workers at Nuts & Bolts, a power tool firm where the majority of the employees are stern, powerful men. She is incredibly tough from nine to five, Monday through Friday, the complete contrast of her laid-back actual personality. She doesn't have to pretend to anything, right? Tate Rasmussen, a coworker, is detested by her. Since the first day they met, Tate has been antagonistic toward her. He responded to Emmie's cordial greetings and frequent attempts to get to know him only with scowls and curt one-word responses. Unfortunately, she can't help but ogle his Thor-like biceps. Things get hot when Tate and Emmie are made to collaborate on a charitable construction project. Tate's hard exterior is beginning to reveal a sensitive heart to Emmie, but it will take more than a few encouraging words to let her forget the past and believe what they have is genuine.

Killer Instinct

Reviewed by Dian Suaidah Binti Azudin, Intern, UiTM Merbok Kedah.

This follow-up to James Patterson and Howard Roughan's critically acclaimed Murder Games opens with the murder of an esteemed Ivy League professor that is made to appear accidental. Detective Elizabeth Needham and Dr. Dylan Reinhart are reunited to work on the case together, but their investigations are put on hold when a severe act of terrorism hits New York City. Reinhart's secret CIA past is brought to light when his name appears on the casualty list, putting his family in grave danger. When Needham saves her employer just before the explosion, she narrowly avoids taking a direct hit. Needham and Reinhart must work together to connect the dots because the terrorist Mudir, also known as the Governor, has more bloodshed planned. The pair's ex-CIA father and a whiskey-swilling computer hacker are assisting in the fight against the terrorists. The collaboration between Roughan and Patterson resulted in a gripping thriller.

Summer Secret

Reviewed by Dian Suaidah Binti Azudin, Intern, UiTM Merbok Kedah.

In addition to being a fascinating drama, Summer Secrets is a wonderfully depicted depiction of relationships, betrayals, and forgiveness. It is a story about accepting the things we cannot change, mustering the courage to alter the things we can, and developing the fortitude to withstand hardships. Twenty-something journalist Cat Coombs finds herself descending into a downward spiral after a shocking family secret is revealed. She gets used to having wild, extravagant evenings out in London and severe hangovers the next day, which causes her to make a tragic mistake one night when visiting family in America on the island of Nantucket. She is unable to forgive herself for her error. When she gets back home, she faces the unavoidable reality of her situation and realises that she needs to mature. She is unsure, though, of her ability to win the individuals she wronged over. As the years go by, Cat reaches her forties as a struggling single mother, dealing with her newly discovered sobriety and resolved to make apologies at last. She might be able to win their forgiveness by going back to her past and seeing the family she abandoned on Nantucket all those years ago, but doing so could put the people she loves most in danger.

Letters To My Teacher: Tributes to the People Who Have Made a Difference

Reviewed by Dian Suaidah Binti Azudin, Intern, UiTM Merbok, Kedah.

Our most cherished teachers are those whose lessons transcend the classroom and whose advice endures throughout our lives. Letters to My Teacher is a compilation of motivating letters to instructors from people looking back and youth looking up. It was written with these teachers in mind. This beautiful book, which is filled with several actual letters, tells the stories of lessons learned, lives transformed, and the unsung heroes that made it all possible.

Music Review

Reviewed by Intern, Sabri bin Madsahi, Sabah State Library Headquarters.

The song was written by M. Shadow, the vocalist for the Avenged Sevenfold group. Behind this song is the sad story of his life unable to leave his lover. They parted ways for months following the Avenged Sevenfold tour to several foreign countries. The song is a heart-wrenching exposition of missing someone and feeling utter loneliness without that person; praying to God to hold them close and care for them.  A line in the lyrics of the song, but I left her when I found her expresses regrets for leaving someone just as they get to know them.

It was written by Paul Simon in February 19, 1964. In the making of this song, he really likes to play the guitar in a room as dark as a bathroom that just sounds like water falling from the tap and the sound reflections are heard from the floor tiles. This song talks about the rapid development of technology to improve the quality of life of people at that time so as not to care about the hardships of others.

Construction of the Berlin wall was commenced by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) on 13 August 1961. The Wall cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany, including East Berlin. In 1989, a series of revolutions in nearby Eastern Bloc countries—in Poland and Hungary in particular—caused a chain reaction in East Germany leading to the fall of the wall. Wind Of Change was published by the rock band, Scorpion, to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall and the uniting of East and West Germany.

The Lorax

Reviewed by Nuratiqah binti Hj Mohamad Deris, UiTM student, Rembau, Negeri Sembilan.

Parents should be aware that this animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss' classic story, The Lorax, is suitable for younger children; there is little scary material, and the pro-environmental message is positive.

You don't have to be under the age of 12 to appreciate all of the craziness in Thneedville. You don't have to be over the age of 12 to understand the message that the film brings out: plant trees to rescue the Earth. Theodor Seuss Geisel, an American writer and cartoonist, deserves praise (better known as Dr Seuss).

Ted adores Audrey, who, for the first time in her life, want to see a living, breathing tree. In a world where air is sold in bottles, this is somewhat tough. When our tweeny hero finally catches up with Once-ler, he is not only given the last Trufulla tree seed, but he (and we) are also made aware of what can happen to Nature without trees. All of this and more are included in the script, which is based on Dr. Seuss' 61-page illustrated children's book of the same name.

Watching the last tree being felled and the magnificent creatures migrating to a country where trees are not felled are both heartbreaking moments in the film. We do, however, wish there were more. It also contains some amusing moments, such as the marshmallow rain and the Once-ler dream scenario. Also, I wish there was more of this. The voice over comes next. Ted, played by Zac Efron, comes across as a happy-go-lucky adolescent, closely followed by Audrey, the girl next door (Taylor Swift). Once-ler, directed by Ed Helms, is a good combination of good-guy-turned-bad-guy-turned-good. The Lorax, played by Danny DeVito, comes across as authoritative enough to be the forest's guardian.

Finally, the 'then' and 'today' setting is what really catches you off guard (since the original was written in 1971). Thneedville was full of Brown Bar-ba-loots playing in the shade and Singing Fish humming all over before the trees were cut down. Thneedville is all about retail malls, parking spaces, and high-tech roadways now that the trees are vanished. With the exception of The Lorax himself, no one appears to emerge from the pages in the animation.

 Life Without Limits

Reviewed by Flora, Sabah State Library HQ

Nick Vujicic is an author, motivational speaker and the Director of an organization that helps share the message of hope in Christ to others around the world, named Life without Limbs. He produced the book Life without Limits which tells about how he deal or underwent his life with the physical disabilities. He also shares how he endured the emotional battle that he faced as a child, teen and young adult.

Born without arms and legs, is not easy for us, so does the author. It is the reality that he must accept throughout his life. If we take a moment and try to put yourself in the author place, what will you do? Will you accept it? How will you endure it? What about your future? Will you still have faith in God? These questions have also pop up in Nick’s mind. He felt alone, depressed and overwhelmed with negative thoughts. But, with his faith in God, he managed to overcome it and found the purposed of his life.

If you have the desire and passion to do something, and it’s within God’s will, you will achieve it. With this powerful statement, Nick began his journey to motivates and encourage others to live a better life by sharing the methods in finding hopes. So, if you still trap within your dark days, you need to do something or you can try to read this book to find some inspiration. Who knows, it might help you in finding and knowing yourself more.

This book is highly recommended to all because, we need to motivate ourselves and stay positive especially during this pandemic Covid-19.

The Midnight Library

Reviewed by Chung Fon Mee, Sabah State Library HQ

My curiosity grew on this book because it is highly recommended by my circle of librarian friends who love to read.

Now you see, I'm not actually in the category of librarians who love to read. I prefer magazine and movie over books. Then again because the title of the book with the "library", so it got my attention and curiosity to find out what it is all about.

The hard copy is not available in our library yet, lucky me that I've found it over at Libby in the e-book collection. I checked it out straight away and it took me less than its 2 weeks due date to finish it.

You’ll find this excerpt at the beginning of the book before the contents page:

‘Between life and death there is a library,’ she said. ‘And within that library, the shelves go on for ever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices... Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?’

This itself would give you some idea what this book is about – life!

Half way through it, it got me thinking.. no matter where she ends up or where she'll be, what she's having right now could actually be her best life.

Well, this is the kind of book that is neither a love story, nor a sci-fi. It is a mix of more than one genre and it is interesting on the way how it is put together. I believe most of us would be able to relate to this book.

Doesn't matter in what stage of life you are in, as long as you are a curious person, one that wonders what would life be if you are in another situation, another time line, another personality, you'd be able to put yourself into the shoes of the main character and keep turning the pages. In no time you’d be able to finish the book.

This is definitely an interesting read and it will worth your time finishing the whole book.

Novels Martial art for ancient China reworked

1. The Sword Dancer : Rebels and lovers by Jeannie Lin

Jeannie Lin has written many novels set during the Tang Dynasty, but they’re standalone and don’t need to be read in order. The classic wuxia protagonist is an outcast whose personal code of honour guides them to act with righteousness. The Sword Dancer takes that archetype and puts woman in that role. And the hero, naturally, is the man sent to capture her.

2. God of Slaughter by Ni Cang Tian

An apathetic, moneyed youth throws himself into the world of extreme sports for the adrenaline rush that comes with the near death-experience.

When he is rendered temporarily unconscious following a sky dive, Shi Yan awakens to find himself among a pile of corpses. Worse still, he comes to realise that his mind occupies a stranger’s body. The mystery of how he came to be in this unusual circumstance, gives him – and by default the book’s readers – a renewed passion to unravel the plot against him.

3. Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao by Flying Alone

The supreme warrior and Alchemy Emperor has died in his quest to achieve godhood. Thanks to the intervention of the “Invincible Heaven Scholl’, he finds himself reincarnated 10,000 years later in the body of a younger man with the same name.

He sets himself the task of taking on the many geniuses of this new era in a bid to become known as a legend once more.

4. Super Gene by Twelve-winged Dark Seraphim

It is the dawn of a magnificent interstellar era, with advances that allow for teleportation. However, the technology used to accomplish this feat cannot guarantee where users will wind up: they could be sent to the future, past or God’s Sanctuary. The last is a mysterious place inhabited by strange creatures, where man will make the greatest evolutionary leap to create the most glorious epoch in mankind’s history.

The Worst President in History : The Legacy of Barack Obama

Reviewed by Siti Debitha Dawinda, SK Togop Darat Ranau.

"If you want to know why the history books will have a dim view of Barack Obama, this is the book to read."-John Hawkins, Right Wing News and Townhall.com

The presumption of Barack Obama's presidential greatness began before he even won the presidency. Now that he's out of office, presidential "experts" and historians are ranking Obama as one of our nation's greatest presidents, placing him amongst Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, and Truman.

Did Barack Obama really save America from another Great Depression? Did he really unite America or improve America's global image? Did he really usher in a new era of post-partisanship and government transparency? Did he really expand health coverage while lowering costs and cutting taxes? Did he really make America safer and stronger than it was when he first took office? According to his supporters in the media, Hollywood, and academia, he did. But they are wrong. And they're working aggressively to ensure their version of Obama's legacy is written into the history books.

Matt Margolis and Mark Noonan have compiled everything you need to know about the presidency of Barack Obama into a single source. First published in 2016, this book has now been updated to include the entirety of Obama's presidency, and the shocking details that have come to light since he left office.

The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama compiles two hundred inconvenient truths about Obama's presidency-the facts that define his legacy: his real impact on the economy; the disaster that is Obamacare; his shocking abuses of taxpayer dollars; his bitterly divisive style of governing; his shameless usurping of the Constitution; his many scandals and cover-ups; his policy failures at home and abroad; the unprecedented expansion of government power...and more.

In his farewell address to supporters on January 11, 2017, Barack Obama declared, "By almost every measure, America is a better, stronger place than it was when we started." This book destroys that narrative, putting Obama's presidency into historical context and offering an avalanche of facts that simply cannot be ignored. All of these facts are now at your fingertips in a single source. The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama is your ultimate guide to Obama's real presidential record-the record he'd like history to forget.

The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto

Reviewed by Siti Debitha Dawinda, SK Togop Darat Ranau.

Mitch Albom’s passion for music has brought to life another mesmerizing fictional masterpiece, The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto. This is yet another surrealistically magical, heartfelt story that can all be indulged in a single novel. First published in 2012, this novel has since become the talk of the town.

This novel narrates the epic adventures of Frankie Presto, a guitarist prodigy who touches and changes six lives with his six magical strings. The said man was born in a beleaguered church in Spain, during the Spanish War in 1936 where his mother dies not too soon after having him. His mother, Carmencita lulls him a song to keep him quiet and dies with Frankie in her arms. Josefa, a nun from the church takes pity on him and begin to take care of him. Unfortunately, he is thrown in the river as Frankie never stop crying the first time he ever hears music. Frankie is later saved by a hairless dog and gets adopted by Baffa, who does not say a word to Frankie of his adoption.

Upon growing up, Frankie’s keen interest and much developing talent on music has Baffa looking for a music teacher for him. Baffa sends Frankie to El Maestro for lessons. When Baffa is arrested during political factions, Frankie has no where else to go but El Maestro’s place. Frankie begins living with El Maestro amidst his learning with him. Unbeknownst to any of them, El Maestro is actually Frankie’s biological father. Under El Maestro’s guidance, Frankie becomes a great guitarist. Frankie is sent to America to achieve better luck and is given six magic guitar strings that turns blue every time Frankie changes someone’s fate. Those strings were his mother’s.  El Maestro asks for his friends to assist Frankie on his journey to America but is later betrayed by him. El Maestro is drowned, Frankie’s money is stolen and he is abandoned in London.

Frankie meets Django Reinhardt, a famous gypsy guitarist in London where he is asked to join his tour in America with Duke Ellington’s band. Frankie starts gaining more fame in America and later it comes to his knowledge that Baffa is not his real father. Frankie also meets his true love from Spain, Aurora, but they do not hit it off as his fame becomes the hindrance for them to be together. Frankie gets involved with someone else and reunite again with Aurora after quite some time. Unfortunately, an ill-fated event befalls on Aurora when Frankie is out drinking at night and Frankie blames himself while searching for his beloved. He mutilates his very hand that is used to play the guitar as guilt takes over him. They both rekindle their relationship and move to Waiheke Island where they opt out for adoption.

They adopt Kai, a foundling little girl. Frankie is reached by a band of young men, in attempt to record him playing his guitar while chatting with his family. He is secretly taped, naming the tape as “The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto”. Not too long after that, Aurora begs Frankie to visit Spain. They go in search for El Maestro and Aurora, for her sister. There, Frankie meets Alberto who then explain his massacre of El Maestro. He goes on a rampage but could not get his hand to harm Alberto. Josefa do the deed for Frankie. He and his family return to Waiheke where Aurora dies in a hurricane. Frankie goes on searching for the original tape of him playing the guitar so Kai will be able to hear them chatting together again. Frankie’s life ends on the stage of Kai’s award ceremony in Spain where they play “Lagrima”, together.

This story is not only a piece of art in the sense of its literary aspect, but also the way Albom accompanies his 17 original song sound track. Mitch Albom is not only a great novelist, he is also a musician- The Magic String of Frankie Presto really is his remarkable ‘song’ in all senses.

The Five People You Meet In Heaven

Reviewed by Siti Debitha Dawinda, SK Togop Darat Ranau.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven was written by Mitch Albom and was first published in 2003. Upon its released, this book has been on the New York Times best seller list for 95 weeks straight and was then turned into a movie in the following year, starring John Voight. As interesting as its title, this novel offers a whole different outlook on the subject of life and death as well as the disparate possibilities of the afterlife. Afterlife is only known by the dead but unknown to those who still live. Thus, what makes this book interesting is how the author extended a pristine insight on the afterlife that makes those who read it long for it to be how it is for their upcoming journey.

Mitch Albom takes us to the life of an old wounded war veteran who soon after has been living the rest of his life as a maintenance man at an amusement park. He is to fix broken rides on the park in which he had always deemed as uninspired life. He despised the life he had been living but to no avail, he kept on and on. On the day of his 83^rd birthday, he faced his death in attempt to save a little girl from a falling cart. Eddie awakes in the afterlife and reaches heaven. There, he meets 5 people whose purpose is to show him the true value and meaning of his life. He meets each person in his/her heaven and he has to go through 5 different heavens to meet all the said people and each of them is relevant to his life. He gets to choose his heaven once he is done meeting all five of them. The book ends with that. It is interesting how in this book, the first chapter started at the ends of Eddie’s life, giving the readers a different kind of experience. Not only is it somehow spiritual, it is definitely a wake up call for us to amend the relationship that we are building in real life as it is what shapes us into the person we are in the present.

Conflicts are also shown in this masterpiece, embedded by several characters. Eddie as the main character is supported by several other astounding supporting characters and their personas are all a delight to get involved with. Eddie is a broken man when he comes back from the war. There is not any hint of enthusiasm despite his chaotic working environment in the amusement park. Albom also lets the readers to grasp the idea of accepting oneself as who we are regardless of any mishap and dearth we are in possession of through The Blue Man and Eddie’s wife, Marguerite. The Blue Man, even when his own father disowned him out of embarrassment for how he has become, picks himself up and joins the Ruby Pier’s freak show and comes to terms with the way he is. Marguerite, who has been keeping her dreams to have children of her own, turns out to be infertile but decides to not dwell in perturb and sorrow. She thinks of alternate options and makes the best of every situation.

The author has well composed the story line and is great to set up scenery in the readers mind. It is not a heavy reading but rather light even though spiritual genres are not exactly what I would go to in a novel. It gets us to think on how the acts that we have done in real life would determine our wellbeing in the afterlife.