iReview

I am currently reading How to Multiply Your Baby’s Intelligence - Glenn Doman & Janet Doman.

This book is the most comprehensive of the teaching series. Its 21 chapters are a conglomeration of three of the series books (Reading, Math, & Encyclopedic Knowledge) and it shows you in Step-by-Step procedures how to teach your infant these important life-long principles.

It also explains how your infant can learn several foreign languages by age six - and it will also teach you, the parent, about the unlimited teaching and learning abilities you and your infant share.

For those who never heard of Glenn Doman, here are some facts about him.

Glenn Doman and the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential (www.iahp.org) have studied child brain development for more than half a century. Their world-renowned work with brain-injured children had led to vital discoveries regarding the growth and development of well children. Their work has helped made well children intellectually superb and brain-damaged children remarkably improved.

Glenn Doman is the creator of the method of teaching babies using word cards, picture cards and maths dot cards. He is the international best-selling author of seven books including “How to Teach Your Baby to Read”, “How to Teach Your Baby Math”, “How to Multiply Your Baby’s Intelligence” which has sold millions of copies in 6 continents.

Her daughter, Janet Doman, is now the Director of the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential.

I went out yesterday after such a long hiatus from shopping mall visit..huhu! I didn’t notice that the book should get 20% discount so I paid for full price..isk! I know this book is not really the newest work of literature by my favorite author, Danielle Steel but since I have not been reading fiction for so long, I thought it should be a good start to choose from..(after all I like story related to the time when Titanic sinks..huhu!)

Here is the synopsis of the book:

From the glittering ballrooms of Manhattan to the fires of World War I, Danielle Steel takes us on an unforgettable journey in her new novel - a spellbinding tale of war, loss, history, and one woman’s unbreakable spirit….

Nineteen-year-old Annabelle Worthington was born into a life of privilege, raised amid the glamour of New York society, with glorious homes on Fifth Avenue and in Newport, Rhode Island. But everything changed on a cold April day in 1912, when the sinking of the Titanic shattered her family and her privileged world forever. Finding strength within her grief, Annabelle pours herself into volunteer work, nursing the poor, igniting a passion for medicine that would shape the course of her life.

But for Annabelle, first love, and a seemingly idyllic marriage, will soon bring more grief - this time caused by the secrets of the human heart. Betrayed, and pursued by a scandal she does not deserve, Annabelle flees New York for war-ravaged France, hoping to lose herself in a life of service. There, in the heart of the First World War, in a groundbreaking field hospital run by women, Annabelle finds her true calling, working as an ambulance medic on the front lines, studying medicine, saving lives. And when the war ends, Annabelle begins a new life in Paris - now a doctor, a mother, her past almost forgotten.until a fateful meeting opens her heart to the world she had left behind. Finding strength in the most unlikely of friendships, pulling together the broken fragments of her life, Annabelle will return to New York one more time - this time as a changed woman, a woman of substance, infused with life’s experience, building a future filled with hope.out of the rich soil of the past.

Filled with breathtaking images and historical detail, Danielle Steel’s new novel introduces one of her most unique and fascinating characters: Annabelle Worthington, a remarkable woman, a good woman, a true survivor who triumphs against overwhelming odds. For Annabelle’s story is more than compelling fiction, it is a powerful celebration of life, dignity, and courage - and a testament to the human will to survive.

I managed to read this parenting book - Secrets of the Baby Whisperer: How to Calm, Connect, and Communicate with Your Baby by Tracy Hogg from page one till the last..and I have to say I should have read it long before my baby was born..huhu!

It’s not really for those advocating attachment parenting or breastfeeding on demand, but it’s a solution for parents especially mothers (like me) who need a break (from a demanding baby) and some precious ME-time in everyday parenting.

Read what the reviewer at Amazon.com has to say:

“The last thing new parents can find time for is quiet reading, so many helpful books on infant care rely on bullet points and a “let’s get to the point” writing style.

Tracy Hogg, a neonatal nurse, teacher, and mother of two, uses these techniques to good effect in Secrets of the Baby Whisperer. Focusing on newborns and their parents, her simple programs are a blend of intelligent intuition and methods based on years of experience.

The first half of the book is devoted to E.A.S.Y–her name for creating a structured daily routine for you and your baby that makes the most of your baby’s awake times and also leaves time just for you. These concepts aren’t designed to force your bundle of joy into not following her body’s needs, but rather to create a feasible middle ground between total rigidity and on-demand food and sleep (and no time for mom to shower). If it still strikes you as too regimented, keep reading.

The author makes room for differences in personal style and includes short quizzes to determine whether you’re a “planner” or a “winger”, and what level of daily structure you are likely to find helpful. In the same chapter, she identifies five general temperaments of infants, how to get an accurate feel for yours, and what methods of care are likely to be the most effective for his temperament. Her statement that babies prefer routine is backed up by research from the University of Denver.

While most of the book relies on anecdotes to get the points across, Hogg does find room to back up some of her statements with quotes from various researchers and institutions. Included at the end of the book are assurances that E.A.S.Y. can be followed even with a colicky baby or one who’s been ruling the roost for the first few months.

Frustrated parents might like to read the last page first: “all the baby-whispering advice in the world is useless unless you’re having a good time being a parent” is an excellent reminder to enjoy this time with all of its ups and downs.

I bought this book like 4 months ago, but till this date I still haven’t read even a page out of it..sigh! Must find some time to read the book. I never read the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella, but after reading the back cover of this book, it makes me interested.

Read the review from Publishers Weekly:

Shopaholic powerhouse Kinsella delights again with her latest, a winning if unoriginal tale of amnesia striking an ambitious shrew and changing her life for the better.

After taking a nasty bump on the head, Lexi Smart awakens in a hospital convinced that it’s 2004 and that she’s just missed her father’s funeral. It’s actually three years later, and she no longer has crooked teeth, frizzy hair and a loser boyfriend.

Initially wowed by what she’s become—a gorgeous, cut-throat businesswoman—Lexi soon finds herself attempting to figure out how it happened. As her personality change and lost memory threaten her job, Lexi tries to dredge up some chemistry with her handsome albeit priggish husband, Eric, though the effort is unnecessary with Eric’s colleague Jon, who tells Lexi that she was about to leave Eric for him.

Amnesia tales may be old hat, but Kinsella keeps things fresh and frothy with workplace politicking, romantic intrigue and a vibrant (though sometimes caricatured) cast. Though the happy ending won’t come as a surprise, readers will be rooting for Lexi all along.

I got a rebate voucher from one of my favorite bookstores and I think I will buy this new book by Jude Deveraux.

This is the product description taken from Amazon.com:

With her shining gift for “exquisite and enchanting” (BookPage) storytelling, Jude Deveraux sweeps readers away in a breathtaking follow-up to her beloved New York Times bestseller, The Summerhouse — where a marvelous new adventure awaits.

Magic most definitely resides in the Maine summerhouse where the mysterious Madame Zoya has granted the innermost wishes of its visitors. Now, three women have come to this special place with one thing in common: a painful past they would each like to rewrite. Amy, who hides a heartbreaking loss behind her seemingly perfect marriage and family…Faith, a widow in her thirties whose deepest grief is for a man from years ago…and Zoë, an artist shunned by her hometown for reasons she doesn’t know, after a traumatic night erased her memory. With their mystical powers, Madame Zoya and her sister Primrose are about to transport the trio to eighteenth-century England to alter Amy’s ancestry. But although surprises await each of them, will stepping back in time bring the women the happy endings they seek?

I am not sure whether it will be as good as Remembrance, but with all this time travel and historical romance, it should be good enough for me to spend a day or two finishing up the book. After all I am on break from any craft projects and pending dateline..heh! I will write my comment after I finish reading this book.

I went to a glass and porcelain painting class last week and I think I’m falling in love with the art of glass painting..heh! I haven’t bought the paints that I need but I went to a book store and found this book - Creative Glass Painting written by Moira Neal.

I hope I will be less busy in the coming months so that I could really try my hand on the 22 step-by-step projects. Soon no more empty bottles and jam jars will be saved from my painting experiments.

The first time I read Lisa See’s work, it was Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. It started slow but towards the end of reading the book, I told myself when she writes a new book, I will buy it.

I saw this in hardcover last few weeks but since I don’t like to collect hardcover fiction, I will wait for the paperback version to be in soon. What I like about Lisa See’s book is that it brings you to a different timeline and culture. With this new book, Peony In Love it has the afterworld stories which gives the mystical supernaturals element. I can’t wait to read this book.

Here is the synopsis from Barnes & Noble:

“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”

For young Peony, betrothed to a suitor she has never met, these lyrics from The Peony Pavilion mirror her own longings. In the garden of the Chen Family Villa, amid the scent of ginger, green tea, and jasmine, a small theatrical troupe is performing scenes from this epic opera, a live spectacle few females have ever seen. Like the heroine in the drama, Peony is the cloistered daughter of a wealthy family, trapped like a good-luck cricket in a bamboo-and-lacquer cage. Though raised to be obedient, Peony has dreams of her own.

Peony’s mother is against her daughter’s attending the production: “Unmarried girls should not be seen in public.” But Peony’s father assures his wife that proprieties will be maintained, and that the women will watch the opera from behind a screen. Yet through its cracks, Peony catches sight of an elegant, handsome man with hair as black as a cave–and is immediately overcome with emotion.

So begins Peony’s unforgettable journey of love and destiny, desire and sorrow–as Lisa See’s haunting new novel, based on actual historical events, takes readers back to seventeenth-century China, after the Manchus seize power and the Ming dynasty is crushed.

Steeped in traditions and ritual, this story brings to life another time and place–even the intricate realm of the afterworld, with its protocols, pathways, and stages of existence, a vividly imagined place where one’s soul is divided into three, ancestors offer guidance, misdeeds are punished, and hungry ghosts wander the earth. Immersed in the richness and magic of the Chinese vision of the afterlife, transcending even death, Peony in Love explores, beautifully, the many manifestations of love. Ultimately, Lisa See’s new novel addresses universal themes: the bonds of friendship, the power of words, and the age-old desire of women to be heard.

This is the book that I’m currently reading. It seems that the more busy I am, the faster I can finish a book. Maybe it’s my way of procrastinating..heh!

Here is the synopsis and review of the book taken from bookbrowse.com:

All children mythologize their birth…

So begins the prologue of reclusive author Vida Winter’s collection of stories, which are as famous for the mystery of the missing thirteenth tale as they are for the delight and enchantment of the twelve that do exist.

The enigmatic Winter has spent six decades creating various outlandish life histories for herself — all of them inventions that have brought her fame and fortune but have kept her violent and tragic past a secret. Now old and ailing, she at last wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. She summons biographer Margaret Lea, a young woman for whom the secret of her own birth, hidden by those who loved her most, remains an ever-present pain. Struck by a curious parallel between Miss Winter’s story and her own, Margaret takes on the commission.

As Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good, Margaret is mesmerized. It is a tale of gothic strangeness featuring the Angelfield family, including the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire.

Margaret succumbs to the power of Vida’s storytelling but remains suspicious of the author’s sincerity. She demands the truth from Vida, and together they confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves.

The Thirteenth Tale is a love letter to reading, a book for the feral reader in all of us, a return to that rich vein of storytelling that our parents loved and that we loved as children. Diane Setterfield will keep you guessing, make you wonder, move you to tears and laughter and, in the end, deposit you breathless yet satisfied back upon the shore of your everyday life.

I bought the book two weeks ago and finished reading it in 6 hours (well, could be less if I don’t have to sleep and do house chore..heh!) I’ve read Jude Deveraux’s books before and this one couldn’t beat Remembrance as far as I love historical romance with supernatural elements.

For me, it’s a good book for light reading, no emotionally struck moment to say but enough to give you some pleasure in reading romance book. It’s like the normal life story, a man and a woman destined to be together, they happened to be in a crisis and somehow they fall in love. And as much as you think you know someone well, there is a part of them that you don’t know and could not really believe that it’s true. It could really be a bitter betrayal when you thought it’s your fault, while actually it has nothing to do with you but the person’s past history.

There is one romance book that caught my eyes recently. It is written by Jude Deveraux. Her last book that I’ve read was Remembrance and it’s still one of my all time favorite books.

This time although the plot of the book is not in a historical, medieval setting but there is like a past history in the old estate in England with ghost that committed suicide before her wedding. Now that sounds interesting enough for me to buy this book.

Read the excerpt here:

After three years, Jace Montgomery is still grieving over his fiancée Stacy’s mysterious suicide. He hasn’t been interested in another woman since her passing, and her family still blames him for her death. While flipping through one of her old paperbacks, Jace discovers a photo of a house stuck between the pages, bearing the cryptic message, “Ours again. Together forever. See you there.” The note was dated the day before her death. Obsessed by the possibility of understanding Stacy’s suicide, Jace seeks out the property - Priory House, a big brick fortress in Margate, England - and buys it.

It doesn’t take long to learn that the house is haunted by a headstrong and feisty ghost, Ann Stuart, whom he must tangle with if he’s ever to solve the mystery. Ann died under circumstances similar to those of his late fiancée, and he has a hunch that there is a connection between the two. Through his own investigations and with the help of a beautiful foreign correspondent who is worn out by what she’s seen in the world, Jace is forced to reconcile his fiancée’s life and her death.