Another Mad Week of Bookathon

Sleepy....another week of Mamarazzi's crazy Bookathon.

Not long ago, A Little Bird presented Mamarazzi with this book "Sailing To Capri" by Elizabeth Alder.

Story about Daisy(not Daisy Duck) Keane who had divorced, got kick out by her hubby with no where to go and no money.

Somehow, the One Up There must have been looking after her as she meet a Billionaire, Sir Robert Hardwick. He was a hard man to please but he was a good fellow. He felt instead "click" with her and hired her as his Personal Assistant. They become close friend though not lovers.

Sir Robert(Bob), had a feeling that someone is out to kill him and he hired a detective, Harry Montana, to find out.

Unfortunately, someone did managed to murder Bob.

Bob in his Last Will and Testament had left instruction to Daisy and Harry to find his killer. He had 6 suspects.

As per his instruction, Daisy is to invited the "suspects" with a hundred Thousand Dollar as bait, for a cruise on a luxury private yacht from Monte Carlo to Capri. And during the journey, they are to try and find his killer(s).

The suspects? Ex-wife, Ex-Mistress, Ex-Business partner, Ex-friend, Ex-Business Friend and his 1st love. All whom except for his 1st love have valid reason to want Bob dead.

Meantime, romance is brewing between Harry and Daisy.

It's really a lovely book to read and very "Kan Cheong" too.


Next in the Bookathon was "The Dangerous Days of Daniel X' by James Patterson bought from BookXcess at RM3.

Well for those who know James Patterson's works will know that this book is a steal. Great read.

Story similar to Superman. Daniel X was just a 3 year old kid when his Alien Hunters parents were murdered by Alien. His parents have with them a list of dangerous Alien who reside on Earth and who are planning to destroy life on earth.

As Daniel grew up, he had special powers too. And he started to hunt down the evil Aliens on Earth. Hopefully one day he will come upon the Number One Alien in the list who is also the Alien that killed his parents.

He managed to hunt down and destroyed many Alien ..that is till he came upon Alien ranked number 6 in the list. Daniel was taken captive.

He was sent to another planet which he discover was his home planet. Alien number 6 planned to destroy all life on that planet.

Daniel managed to get away and bumped into his Grandmother. There he got to know his history. He saw the devastation that was happening in his home planet. He tried to stop it by engaging Alien Number 6 to a fight to the death.

The ending of course Daniel X won. And he came back to Earth to pursue his parents murderer.

Another good read. Suitable for teens.


Belly Dancing For Beginners by Liz Byrski bought from BookXcess at RM3.

Nooooo....Mamarazzi not trying to learn Belly Dancing. This is actually an emotional novel. It took Mamarazzi a few days to finish this thin book. It is a good book.

Story about 3 women in their 50s. Ya..it's a novel for mature women.

Marissa, the belly dancing teacher who have problem in personal relationship. She is scared to get close to people thus she rather lives alone. That is until the time she met Sonya and Gayle. They are her students and later on become her "teachers".

Marissa was offer the chance to go on a Belly Dancing Tour for women health group. To create awareness on women health. She needs dancing partners. Thus, she invited Gayle and Sonya to join her tour.

Sonya a successful woman on the surface. She is confident and outspoken..that is until she met her own parents. She was incapable to deal with her parents. She felt the pressure of trying to live up to her parents expectation and her relationship with her once very close sister seems to deteriorate. When she join the group to promote Belly Dancing she was very worried as they have to perform at her home state. Her parent had a row with her.

Gayle a model homemaker. Takes care of the home and let her husband walk all over her. She was willing to let her husband walk all over her for a pact that she made with her husband. Her husband promised never to beat her up and keep her secret for her while she promised to stay in the marriage. Though he never beat her up again but he bullied her emotionally. That is the worse part of all, emotional blackmail.

For that dreadful secret pact, she lost her beloved son when her husband threw their son out of the house for being a homosexual. Even her daughter lost respect for her because she never stood up for what she wanted in her whole life

Now her daughter had married. Gayle discovered that she love dancing and that she is doing something that she wants. She is determined to go on the Belly Dancing Tour. But her husband is against it. This round she finally pluck up the courage to stand up against him and to do what she wanted.

This novel is like an emotional roller coaster. Explored many parts of human relationship. Need a very calm and clear mind to take in everything that is highlighted here.

Read at your own risk.




Well, after such an emotional roller coaster of a book, Mamarazzi opt for a light hearted book.

Divorced And Deadly by Josephine Cox. Bought from BookXcess at RM9-90, hardcover with a ribbon for a bookmark. Not bad of a bargain ya?

Story about Ben Buskin a newly divorce man with an obsessive ex-wife whose motto is "if I can't have him, nobody can!". After the divorce, he had to move in with his parents and his mother is suffocating him with "motherly love".

This he had to move out and share an apartment with Dickie Manse "brain-in -the-pant". Well, what can you expect of a man with such name?

Between the two of them the managed to get into all sorts of funny situation. Anything that can go wrong WILL go wrong with the two of them.

From what Mamarazzi gathered, Josephine Cox started to writing Divorce and Deadly as a series in her website, loosely based on true incidents. The series were very popular and is now materialise as this book.

Story is written in a "Dear diary" form by Ben. Very refreshing to read.Just the kind of book to be read when you are having a bad day...when your car broke down, the boss in a bad mood, the kid messy up the house, the cake got burnt in the oven or the lift to your 20 storey condominium not working with you staying on the 19th floor.

A true hilarious book. Must read when you are in a bad mood.

Why did I said it's a hilarious book? Coz I tengah syok-syok tidur and Mamarazzi's laughter woke me up lo!


Next comes "Ready or Not?" by Chris Manby. Got it from BookXcess at RM17-90.

It's about the bride, Heidi Savage getting pre-wedding jitters. Is Ed the man for her? Ed the dentist that forever go crazy with his pals and did some very stupid thing like getting treacle pudding smear all over his body by his pals and worse, his eyebrows shaves off just before they are due to take photographs. He is anxious to start a family while she is apprehensive. Didn't know whether she wants to have babies or not.

Then in come her sexy and sensitive ex-boy friend, Steven, back to the scene. This was her first love and they nearly got married. And you know what they say about first love...it's the deepest of all. Moreover, their story never really had a proper ending as he broke it off without giving her a reason.

Fuiyoh...Mamarazzi really "gila". Went thru this book within a few hours.

The book have a surprising ending.


Next comes a solemn book. The Purple Hibiscus by the award winning author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Bought from Bookxcess at RM17-90.

The story from the point of view of a 15 year old Kambili(Not kambing biri-biri) who live in fear of her father who is a born again overzealous Catholic patriarch. He was very generous and well respected in his community but a fanatic at home.

He won't even allow his elderly father to step into his house compound just because the father was not a Catholic.

He kept a tight rein on his two kids. Everything in their life were properly scheduled and accounted for. No time for Television or any type of entertainment. Kambili have to be the top student in school. God forbids when Kambili gets second place.

One day the aunt managed to persuade Kambili father to let them stay with her for the holiday. Hence, Kambili eyes were open to the world outside.

Her grandfather fell ill and her aunt invited him to stay with her. Her grandfather died and her cousin gave her a drawing of her grandfather.

When Kambili's father got to know that his pagan father was staying in the same house as Kambili and her brother, he immediately went to fetch them home.

When they arrived home, the sadist father punished them. Kambili father poured boiling hot water on her feet for staying in the same house as her pagan grandfather.

Later on beat her up till half dead when he discover the drawing of the grandfather in her possession.

In the end, her father died. He was poisoned by Kambili's mother for she couldn't take the abuse anymore.

A very moving tale.


Nobody Came by Robbie Garner with Toni Maguire. Bought from Bookxcess at RM9-90.

This is an appalling true story. If Auntie Claire read this, Mamarazzi is sure she who be horrified and cry from beginning to the end.

The true story of what Robbie Garner had gone thru when he and his brothers and baby sister was taken from their drunken mother and suicidal father.

Robbie(5 years old), Davie (3 years old) and Denise (Newborn) were taken to Sacre Coeur while his elder brother, John (8 years old) was taken to the notorious Haut de la Garenne.

At Sacre Coeur, Robbie and Davie were separated from Denise. The boys had to endure harsh treatment by the sadist nuns. Whipped and stuffed into reban ayam when they were deems to have misbehaved. They were even being molested by a staff there.

Davie nearly die when the Head Nun whipped him causing his to fall a level down. This caused some irreparable damage to his brain.

Later Robbie was transferred to Haut de la Garenne too. But by that time John have been released. Robbie were subjected to inhuman treatment where he was beaten up, molested and subjected to terrible sexual acts. Many who caused trouble were "silenced". Some who can't stand the maltreatment had chosen death.

Somehow, Robbie managed to survived and he was reunited with John and later with Davie.

Very sad story. Those warden are really inhuman and the so call nuns are Satan in disguise.




Haiz...what a week..Macam la Mamarazzi having examination....book book book and more books daily...but then hor...if buy liao must read lor. Else wasted, right?