Big Bad Wolf sale: A joy and an utter nightmare

I get it. If you want cheap books, you have to sacrifice some creature comforts.

Being a veteran of book warehouse sales, I have browsed happily in some stiflingly-hot warehouses and put up with itchy sinuses as the dust that coated the books float around the premises. But the Big Bad Wolf has not just tested my patience but have totally obliterated it.

I can tell you that the Big Bad Wolf sale is, hands down, the absolute worst book warehouse sale I’ve ever had to experience in my 33 years on planet Earth.

The products on offer are not the problem. In fact, they are 110% awesome in selection and price. Lots of variety, great fantasy and sci-fi collection.

I bought John Katz’s Dog Days – hard cover – for a lovely RM8. Found a Jared Diamond non-fiction book for the same price.

The problem is that the organisation of the entire event is utterly fucked up, pardon my French.

For reasons I do not understand, someone thought it prudent to sell 200,000 books in a tiny space – equievelant to two shop lots. A security guard had to be posted at the entrance to prevent people from getting in.

Seriously, if a sale had to prevent customers from coming in, something is seriously wrong.

It took me half an hour to get in, and about a bloody hour to pay for my 15 books. The payment counter lines were so haphazard; it snaked around the venue, preventing people from browsing properly and confusing the frak out of people. (“What is this line for?”; “Is this the payment queueu?”) I once had to requeue because the line disappeared suddenly and I went to the wrong line – it was a line of people exiting from the venue. I was so furious that I had a mini meltdown there and then, tossing my box of books to the floor in utter fury because I had to re-line up after doing so for 20 minutes. I’ve never been so mad in my life during a sale!

I quake for those who will be attending the sale tomorrow and during the weekend. If it’s insane on a working day, it’ll be cataclysmic then.

But if you want to brave it anyway, here are some tips:

1. It’s going to be near impossible to find parking as Amcorp mall doesn’t have much parking spaces available. If possible, park your car an LRT station away and take the LRT to Amcorp mall.
2. Bring a basket with wheels trolley, because you’re gonna need it – your shoulders and arms will thank you.
3. Get ready to queue for a long time. You can work as a team – someone to line up, and someone to choose the books. You can save time that way. Yes, it is that insane.

Someone at the sale said that I shouldn’t complain because the books are so cheap. I totally didn’t complain about the Penguin warehouse sale’s stuffy heat, because I know for bargain books, you shouldn’t expect a foot massage.

But you have customers leaving without getting books because they were so frustrated with the long lines and the difficulty in browsing for books. Isn’t this counterproductive for the booksellers? Shouldn’t they have an environment which encourages people to buy more books instead of the other way round? A bookshop owner told me that many frustrated BBW customers came to her store saying that they’d rather get books from her than go through the crazy queueus at the sale. I suppose, ironically, the BBW sale is increasing sales for the other bookstores in the building!

The Big Bad Wolf sale is being held at Amcorp Mall, Petaling Jaya, 10am to 9pm, until Dec 2.

Good luck, my friends. You’re brave for going.

Other reviews at The Ranting Cynic and Shopping and Sales Queen.

Pearson & Penguin Warehouse Sale 2009

Ah. Nothing like a book warehouse sale to make you feel happy and sad at the same time. Happy that you have new, cheap books in your hands and sad (rather, devastated) that your bank balance has been severely dented as a result. Details:

Preview sales: 1st October 2009
Date: 2nd – 11th October 2009
Time: 10am – 7pm
Venue: Pearson Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Lot 2 Jalan 215, Off Jalan Templer 46050 Petaling Jaya.

This time the warehouse sale has lots and lots of paperbacks! If you’re a lover of mystery books and popular titles such as The Kite Runner, The Wolf Totem, Jamie Oliver’s cookbooks, and other best sellers you’ll be in for a good time. Especially since most of the books are priced between RM10 and RM15.

Lots of Clive Cussler books for some reason. And being a Jeff Abbott fan I was glad to find a number of his bestselling thriller mysteries for RM10 each. The fantasy books are scattered everywhere, but was glad to complete some of my fantasy collections that were left hanging without the final volume. (Don’t you hate that most fantasy books come in Vol.1,2,3s?) Saw mostly Terry Brooks, Tad Williams stuff. Saw a Dragonlance Omnibus and a smattering of Neil Gaimans.

The non-fiction selection isn’t as extensive as before, which was fortunate for my wallet.

All in all a super, super warehouse sale. Though, probably, not as awe-tastic as the Big Bad Wolf  sale, which I woefully did not get to attend as I was in the United States.

My not-so-secret desire for an MA in Creative Writing

Sharon Bakar recently directed her readers’ attention to an article in New Yorker which asks “Should Creative Writing Be Taught?”

I have the same question, though I want to add: Should universities charge the prices they do for creative writing courses?

(PS: George Perkins thinks that New Yorker has a “strange take” on creative writing programmes. The comments that follow his post are intriguing.)

My best pal will be reading an MA in Creative Writing at Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland. It’s a very unique programme in the sense that it recognises and encourages you to write genre fiction; it’s also very industry-focused and has practical units that you can use for bread and butter work like subediting or more. I  would have totally followed her if not for the very hefty price tag of 10,000 pounds (about RM60k) + another 6000 pounds for living expenses.

If you want to be downright practical about it, the “return on investment” for MA Creative Writing courses are next to nil, I would say. This course cannot guarantee that your book will be published, let alone ensure that you will turn out into a bestselling author.

Many have asked whether pursuing an MA in Creative Writing is a waste of time, and I stumbled across an article (Character Building) in Guardian by Juliet Sutcliffe, who talks about her time studying creative writing at the premiere Creative Writing School in England, University of East Anglia. She seems to have mixed feelings about her experience and concludes:

When I started at UEA I thought I would wholeheartedly recommend such an MA to anyone. Despite claims that all writing graduates are taught to churn out work in the same (ie the tutor’s) style, nobody teaches much of anything at UEA. That’s not a bad thing. But the MA is not an easy option. The sceptical journalist had it wrong: these courses are more likely to stop people writing than to foster wild fantasies about living off royalties.

Yes, I do have a secret desire to pursue an MA in Creative Writing. But I told myself that if I am to do so, it would not be at the expense of my entire savings account. I am only 20 years away from retirement after all. (Oh, don’t scoff … it takes time to build your finances

If I was a British resident, who doesn’t have to pay the sky-high prices international students have to, I would so go for an CW degree. But because a CW degree would cost me, a poor Malaysian, the price of a small flat, I have to rethink my goal. Or at least find a cheaper way to do so.

Any suggestions?

3gqunaxhdy

I saw 25 minutes of JJ Abrams’ Star Trek

… and OMG, can I geek out here and say that it was awesome, and it’ll be fantastic and it most probably will restore some faith in the Trek franchise, especially in jaded Trekkers like me, who refused to watch the last episode of Enterprise out of sheer disgust.

Needless to say, I was hopping up and down in my seat (mentally anyway) at the special preview, knowing that Trek is probably safe in Abrams’ hands.

But just watching the trailer itself was a clue of what’s to come – a Star Trek movie that is grittier, more realistic (strangely), earthier, sexier and exciting. There has always been a layer and cheese and sterility over the Star Trek shows, original and spin offs. Everything’s just so … clean and neat and nice and pretty … But JJ Abrams’ version is just … I can’t explain it – real. But there will always be super hard core Trekkers out there who will be incensed if Abrams changed a single indentation on a Romulan’s forehead. Of which he did. Watch out for the rotten tomatoes from those bunch – there will be no pleasing them! 

If you want the blow by blow account of what I saw, head over to Nikki Finke’s blog post. I personally prefer not to spoil anyone about the movie because well, watching bits and pieces of it like I did was like eating a really delicious slice of cake only to have it yanked away just as you were getting to the best part of the dessert.

I can give vague clues:

• Sulu is no softie. No siree. Fencing!
• Is it me, or did Spock look as if he was going to turn Sylar on Kirk?
• I love Bones! Karl Urban yay!
• I love Scotty! The Hot Fuzz dude is a perfect choice. He’s so … chipper.
• Who Spock’s mummy is is a pleasant surprise.
• They have added quite a dose of Bourne to Trek’s action scenes. Whoowee!
• Chekov x 10. How in the world do people understand him?
• Red shirts! Hahahahahaa…

Oh, to wait five more months for a glimspe of Trek …

Book Review Carnival

Wow! There sure are a lot of contributors for this issue But I love the book review carnival for that – discovering new books from the many, many reviews in each issue. Without further ado, here are the reviews for this issue:

GENERAL FICTION

Amanda CMJ reviews The Best of Michael Crichton at Yield to Pedestrian: Stroll With Me Through the Universe @ Yield To Pedestrian: All the Cool, All the Time.

Alyce reviews Dark Pursuit by Brandilyn Collins – Review @ At Home With Books.

Fairion reviews Friday’s Finds – Tamora Pierce @ Lionden Landing.

Sarah reviews The House at Riverton @ SmallWorld Reads.

Cromely reviews Omnes Mundum Facimus @ Cromely’s World.
This was a great book filled with surprises. It’s one of the few books that I may actually read again.

switch2life reviews 3 Mistakes by Chetan Bhagat @ Book Reviews.

Lindsey reviews The Shape of Mercy @ A Kindred Spirit’s Thoughts
Christian fiction, an amazing story involving the diary of a girl who was accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials.

Mary Daniels Brown reviews Old Friend from Far Away @ Change of Perspective.

Woman Tribune reviews Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway @ Woman Tribune.

Alessandra reviews Innocence @ Out of the Blue.

Christina M. Rau reviews Loony Book @ Livin’ The Dream (One Loser At A Time).
Loon Lake is my first venture into the realm of E. L. Doctorow, and it may be my last.

Meagan Anderson reviews Thirteen Reasons Why @ By The Book Reviews.

Kindledue – Steve Shaw reviews The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu @ Kindlelicious.
The book being reviewed is excellent. It is the story of an immigrant from Ethiopia. The review’s not bad either! Of interest both to Amazon Kindle owners and anyone who likes a good novel with a significant story to tell.

Edmund Harriss reviews Mathematics a Very Long Introduction @ Maxwell’s Demon.

B_G reviews apocryphal stories @ the B_G talkies.

FANTASY

Joana reviews A Lick of Frost by Laurell K. Hamilton @ The Symposium.

Carrie White reviews Legend of Witch Bane by Kevis Hendrickson @ 4 Star Rating.

Ruth Schaller reviews Curse of the Marhime by Dayana Knight @ Books Books and more Books!. She says: “Oh, this one was so good. If you love shapeshifters with a sense of magic in the air, then this book is for you!”

HORROR

Ruth Schaller reviews Drood by Dan Simmons and A Devious Halloween Scheme by Chris Morrow (ebook) @ Books Books and more Books!.
I know, it’s Christmas time and I’m still stick on Halloween. What can I say? I love Chris Morrow’s books!

YOUNG ADULT & CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Jeanne reviews Disturbing YA Fiction @ Necromancy Never Pays.

NathanKP reviews “Lionboy – The Chase,” by Zizou Corder @ Inkweaver Review – Book Reviews and Cover Art.

Rani reviews My Little Golden Book about God @ Christ’s Bridge.
I think it is especially important for God’s children of all ages to learn more about Him. I would like you to look at these books to see if any interest you.

Book Calendar reviews Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson @ Book Calendar.

Tanya Z Turek reviews Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge, 486 pp, RL 5 @ Children’s Books: What, When & How to Read Them.
“Alternative historical fiction that is not just for kids. Hardinge’s debut novel is a wonderland of dream-like words, names and places that sound familiar but are a bit off kilter. Political and royal intrigue, as well as an attempt at a religious overthrow keep this plot spinning ’til the last word. “

Surfer Sam reviews Best Children’s Books. Best Kids’ Books. Good Story Books and Picture Books for Children ! Surfer Sam @ Surfer Sam and Friends.

Ruth Schaller from Ruthies Book Reviews reviews Moonstone (#1 The Unbidden Magic Series) by Marilee Brothers @ Books Books and more Books!.
This was a reviewers copy, but I enjoyed this YA book so much that I can’t wait for the next one!

NON-FICTION
Tim reviews Hurry Down Sunshine by Michael Greenberg @ A Progressive on the Prairie.

Gene Simmons reviews The Definitive Book of Body Language [Pease] @ Accumulate Profit Margin Invest Destroy.
Excellent book about body language and psychology!

Clark Bjorke reviews What You Should Know About Politics But Don’t @ I’ll Never Forget the Day I Read a Book!.
It’s not often that I stick with a book that I don’t like long enough to finish it and write a review. Well actually, I skimmed a lot in the last half of it.

GrrlScientist reviews Dry Storeroom No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum @ Living the Scientific Life.
I am one of the rare lucky people in the world because I have worked as a research scientist in a natural history museum, so I can tell you that this book brilliantly captures what this experience is like.

GrrlScientist also reviews Alex And Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Uncovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence — and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process @ Living the Scientific Life.

LAL reviews Investing in an Uncertain Economy for Dummies @ LivingAlmostLarge.

Annette Berlin reviews Great American Vegetarian By Nava Atlas @ Craft Stew
I’ve been a vegetarian for most of my life. Therefore, I can say with some confidence, that I’m an authoriity on vegetarian food. I may not be the best cook in the world, but I know what tastes good. And, more importantly, what to avoid.

Flash Gordon reviews Positive Ways to Deal with Negative Situations at Work: New Book Provides Solutions and Innovations @ Great New Books that Are a Must Read.

Tom Tessin reviews The Top 5 Marketing Books @ FBC Blog.
I’ve read a lot of books on marketing. See what I pick out as my personal favorite top 5.

Deb reviews Infidel, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali @ Stroll Through Storyland.

Ms. SP reviews The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss @ Ms. Smarty Pants Know It All.
“Is the advocate of the four-hour workweek convincing?”

Mike Bergin reviews Egg & Nest @ 10,000 Birds.
Reverent of life yet unsentimental, there may not be a live bird in the book but birders and basically anyone else interested in the eternal mysteries of existence will find it fascinating.

Charlie Moores reviews Rare Birds Yearbook 2009 @ 10,000 Birds.
Saving endangered species takes money, political pressure, and collective will. Without all of us learning about the Critically Endangered birds covered in this book, without all of us understanding what’s causing their declines, and without all of us wanting to contribute to their survival, they will simply slip away unseen.

Corey Finger reviews All the World’s Birds by George LeClerc, Comte de Buffon @ 10,000 Birds.

Note from DramaQueen: There are certainly lots of bird lovers here!

Tim Kring insults Heroes fans

Oh dear, dear. This is not the way to improve the show, Mr Kring!

At Creative Screenwriting’s 2008 Screenwriting Expo this weekend, not only did Tim Kring make the scary suggestion that Heroes should stop its serial storytelling and go (gasp) episodic, Kring also said:

“So [watching it] on air is related to the saps and the dipshits who can’t figure out how to watch it in a superior way.”

Wow, way to go to insult your most loyal viewers – those that bother to watch it live. Chicago Tribune’s Maureen Ryan is furious. In her post: Tim Kring: Heroes viewers are saps, she says:

How absolutely infuriating. How does Kring muster the gall to insult anyone who’s still watching his show? What arrogance. What cluelessness. Not only is his argument weak and without merit, he stoops to calling “Heroes” viewers names.

The only sap here is Kring. Any and all insulting terms should be directed at himself. After all, who is responsible for two seasons of mostly muddy, incoherent storytelling? It wasn’t the saps at home on their couches.

He also blamed the new way of watching TV (via DVRs and Tivo) and says that serial teleivision is a “bear” to do. Basically he says that new technologies, and viewers’ very short attention span is causing Heroes’ failure, which is why shows like True Blood and Dexter are such hits, of course. Time’s James Poniewozik, who suggests that:

Yes, you can blame technology for siphoning all the smart viewers away from your series. You could try revamping your show so that it becomes the complete opposite of what it was conceived as. Or you could try, you know, not sucking.

 If anything, new technologies like DVRs and broadband TV are encouraging the growth of serialised TV shows like Lost and True Blood. Viewers can rewatch the show when they can do it instead of fitting their schedules to ensure their bums are in the couch at an appointed time. So Kring is talking nonsense.

So much has been written about Heroes sucking this season. Personally I found season 2 watcheable, even if I rolled my eyes at the “Hiro goes to medieval Japan” leg of the season. But season 3 was insane, and not in a good way. 

It’s almost as if all the characters have collectively lost their marbles. Nathan has a religious conversion. Peter is good/bad/whatever and Sylar is suddenly Mr Mum. I feel as if I was watching a bizzaro alternate dimension of Heroes.

It got to the point where I couldn’t bear to watch another episode – only because I couldn’t bear to see it suck any further. Heroes’ spectacular fall from greatness – its first season is probably the most stellar in TV history, and I even hosted a Heroes TV party at my home with friends – was painful for me, an arden fan, to watch.

Now with Tim Kring insulting the 7mil American viewers who watch it live … oh dear, someone hand him a pink slip before its too late!

Book review carnival

I love blog carnivals. In case you’re wondering what they are, basically it’s when bloggers of a common interest share their posts weekly. The links to their posts are usually posted on a blog. Some blog carnivals have a rotating system where different bloggers host an issue of the carnival each week.

Well, I’ve been waiting forever for someone to set up a Blog Carnival for books!

Hence I introduce to you the Book review blog carnival – read reviews from all around the world at the second blog carnival, hosted at Novel Bloggers.

You can also sign up to be a host or submit your post to be put up at the carnival. Find the details at the Book Review Blog Carnival website.

Movie to watch out for: Solomon Kane

I’ll try not to think too much about Van Helsing when I look at this picture, but I have a feeling that Solomon Kane is way cooler and less cheesier than Van Helsing.

After all James Purefoy will be playing him – he of the constantly-shagging Mark Antony of Rome fame.

Solomon Kane is based on Robert E Howard’s (he also wrote Conan the Barbarian) novels about an English Puritan swashbuckler who battles nasty demons.

However, so very little is known about it, and there’s hardly any hype at all about the movie, which makes me a wee bit worried. The most information I’ve found about it was in The Movie Blog. I spotted in a Robert E Howard forum that Solomon Kane was “given a shot” for the movies way bck in 2003! Whatever “buzz” it had started in 2006, with articles about it appearing here and there, and now in 2008 we hear about Purefoy being cast. Gee, this loooong delay to the celluloid screen and its miniscule amount of hype is a tad worrying…

Movie to watch out for: Good

Do you recognise Viggo Mortensen here? I sure didn’t!

Viggo will be appearing in Good,  where he will play John Halder, a German professor who joins the Nazi party. According to Total FIlm, my favourite UK entertainment magazine (sorry, Empire!), “Believing he’s doing the right thing, the misguided academic … junks the morals he used to teach”. (Comment cut out because it contained spoilers, tsk tsk!)

I’ve always thought Viggo Mortensen deserves more fame than he has now. After being Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings movies, he could’ve gone the blockbuster popcorn route, made a name in the mass market for himself as one of many superheroes. Instead, he’s chosen his roles very, very carefully, and except for the lacklustre Hidalgo, his roles have gained him praise after praise from critics.

He was riveting as a “seemingly ordinary guy” in A History of Violence, and intimidating as a Russian mobster in Eastern Promises. He plays a cowboy, reuniting with Ed Harris (from A History of Violence), in the upcoming Western Appaloosa and later, as a desperate father trying to get his son to safety in the Cormac McCarthy adaptation of his post-apocalyptic bestseller, The Road.

Apparently there’s going to be a number of World War II movies coming out, including the much-hyped-about Valkyrie, starring hotthrob (when he’s not on full-on Scientologist envalist mode, that is) Tom Cruise. But you know what? I’d choose Good over Valkyrie any day. At least I’ll be ensured of a stellar performance. And no jumping-on-couches-on-Oprah hijinks.

Movie to watch for: Appaloosa

The big bad cowboy is making his comeback. After 3:10 to Yuma, which starred heavy screen presence Russell Crowe and Christian Bale; the beautifully shot The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and of course, HBO’s pervasively grim Deadwood, Westerns are no longer cheesy spaghetti western territory (though those are classics in their own right). These movies proove that Westerns can be quality stuff, and when they are, they can blow you away.

Take a look at the upcoming upcoming Appaloosa, which doesn’t just have one Oscar-nominated/awarded actor, but four: Viggo Mortensen, Ed Harris, Renee Zellweger and Jeremy Irons!

Their presence alone ensure that you should watch the movie, and the little look that we’re given via the trailer seem more than promising.

The story is a classic cowboy movie plot: Mortensen and Harris are two gunslingers who arrive at Appaloosa to bring some “order” to a town controlled by a rancher (Irons). They’re confident, quick with the gun and very sure that order will prevail – but judging from the trailer, their confidence may not be enough.