I started reading COLLINS EASY LEARNING ITALIAN CONVERSATION a moment ago and loving the “Introduction.” Here are some of my my thoughts (emphasis mine).

”Becoming proficient in a foreign language means being able to use and understand a number of different aspects—vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and so on. However, it takes a while to be able to put all these elements together and be sure that what you are saying sounds like natural Italian.”

Or, any language for that matter. […]

My copy of SANDOKAN from the Institut Terjemahan & Buku Malaysia (ITBM) has arrived—I’ve read the book and enjoyed it. I’m usually not fond of pirates but this time I'm seeing things from another point of view and that is from the pirates’.

In this story, the fearful Sandokan, known as Harimau Malaysia (Tiger of Malaysia) is a famous and powerful pirate. He is the leader of the Mompracem pack. Together with his good friend, a Portuguese man named Yanez de Gomera, they set out to rescue the ill-fated Tremal-Naik.

This wonderful book, Pablo Neruda: Nobel Prize-Winning Poet by David Goodnough, is one of the 13 books I bought from Better World Books as part of my “2014 Annual Book Binge.”

I hadn't plan to read it so soon and certainly not in one sitting, but I did just that today. My cat, Trio, had decided to take a super long evening nap on my lap and eventually my laptop died on me (the battery ran out of juice), so I was immobilized with a black screen and a fur-ball on my lap. I took a look around me, locked my eyes on the pile of Pablo Neruda books just by my side and picked this one out.

My heartfelt thanks to a very dear friend, Maristella Tagliaferro, for bringing SANDOKAN to my attention. The legendary author Emilio Salgari never set foot in Malaysia, but he’s written an awesome series about the fictional character Sandokan through sheer research that became very famous in Italy.

I started reading INSURGENT (Book 2) by Veronica Roth yesterday the moment I finished DIVERGENT. The second book of the dystopian Divergent series was great and just like the first book, it was hard to put down.

I’m glad the book picks up exactly where DIVERGENT ended […]

It has been a while I last read a novel within two days and DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth was hard to put down. I like the vulnerable yet strong Beatrice (Tris) and the intriguing Four of Dauntless. The plot is exciting and in the face of circumstances surrounding the protagonists, the choices one has to make is […]