The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum

Yet another story of how the legendary Santa Claus came to be. This time, the setting is at the Forest of Burzee and we see the future Santa Claus being surrounded by mythical creatures: Wood Nymphs, Ryls, Knooks, and Fairies. We discover that Santa happens to be an abandoned child, raised by the forest creatures and to whom the Mantle of Immortality was bestowed. I've never read any book that quite fully explained who Santa Claus is and why he seemed to have made it his mission to keep children happy. L. Frank Baum's work answers all of my Santa questions and more. His story is imaginative and the closest I've come to 'real'. I'm neutral on the subject of Santa Claus, neither a staunch believer nor a vehement denier. What I'm sure of though is this: Santa Claus or not, there is indeed 'nothing as beautiful as a happy child'.

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb

Beneath the gutsy exterior is a girl who's all messed up. When her mom succumbed to depression after losing her baby, it has all been downhill for our young heroine Dolores Price. I witnessed her transition from a pretty thing to a fat couch potato. I felt sorry for her when she had to go through high school scarred, afraid, all confidence gone. It must have been a struggle for her to try to understand the people who still believed in her, enough to coax her to go to college, when all she could see in the mirror is this fat lady, the path of her life laid out before her - down the drain. I triumphed with her when she's finally come undone and purged herself of the ghosts of her past: her mom, her dad, her failed marriage with Dante, Vita Marie.

A must-read for a woman who had experienced life at its most cruel and had come undone.

The Bookworm

I'm a bookworm first, and a movie buff next. In fact, I don't give away my books to second-hand bookstores. I keep them stacked on my shelf for easy access anytime I want to read their stories again and again and again...and again. I don't have a particular author or book category. I guess you can say that I'm a wide reader. I have my favorites, I admit. I'm a sucker for Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings. Right now though, I'm reading John Grisham because I understand the author's language, having had a law background myself.

Now why start a book blog? I have no idea, really. I just logged in one afternoon and decided to expand. I don't intend to do book reviews. Book reviews can be pretty tedious. I remember way back in high school, when my class would be asked to do book reviews, I would choose the thinnest and easiest-to-read books. Maybe because I didn't have the luxury of time then. I don't have that luxury still, yet I easily absorb the books' stories better than when I was in high school. Through the years, I've discovered that when I'm not pressured to do book reviews, time doesn't matter and the book becomes my friend. Will this blog consist of book reviews? Nope. It will simply be a list of and a little comment on the books in my library.