AJ Jacobs.

This man wrote a book called The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to follow the Bible as Literally as Possible, in which he documented - yeah you guessed right - the year when he lived his life by following the Bible as literally as possible, including growing a messy beard and not wearing mixed fibre clothes.



And he is no nutcase. He has a good CV. He just happens to be a guy who likes to use himself as an experimental tool.

I came to know about him when I read his other book, The Know-It-All. In this book, he wrote about the year he spent on reading the Encyclopaedia Britannica from A to Z. The book - a bit like his journal and extremely funny and informative - is easily one of my favourites. I haven't read The Year of Living Biblically, but I will get a copy.

His new book, The Guinea Pig Diaries, is coming out September this year.

For all dog (or cat) (or animal) lovers.

This is one of the best books I have read this year. If you love dogs, this is the perfect user manual. If you love animals, this book is for you too.

"A dog's love is the same as God's love. That's why 'dog' is 'god' spelt backwards." It cannot be more true.

Maybe I should get a few copies for my animal-loving friends for Christmas...

Memory and sulking DBJ.

For those of you who, like me, find the concept of memory fascinating, you must read this article from the November issue of National Geographic.

I always thought that people like Drew Berrymore in "50 first dates" do not exist. I mean, how can a person have a memory span that lasts only one day?

National Geographic introduces us to a gentle, friendly old man named EP, who has zero memory. He cannot retain old memories nor can he form new memories. He wakes up in the morning, eats his breakfast, goes to his bedroom and lie on his bed to listen to the radio, and then, forgetting that he has eaten breakfast, he wakes up again and eats a second round of breakfast, and then goes back to his bedroom to listen to the radio. Sometimes he will have breakfast a third time. His world is now, and now only.

Every person is a stranger to him, even if that "stranger" has met him for 200 times. Every TV program re-run is a first time excitement to him. His life is nothing like you and I can imagine.

But -- he is happy, worry-free and stress-free. (Although his family may feel otherwise - it must be heart-breaking.)

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About two months ago, I booked through my travel agent air tickets to Singapore in mid-December (I am flying this Sunday). The ticket price was HK$1,700, a bargain mainly because I booked early. The deadline for confirmation was 28 Nov. Due to some and miscommunication, the travel agent did not confirm the tickets on the due date, and as a result my booking was cancelled, and I had to re-book my tickets yesterday. As any seasoned traveller will know, try buying an air-ticket 6 days before departure and you are bound to be ripped-off.

The price of the ticket I have to pay this time for the VERY SAME flight is HK$4,300, more than double of the previous price. (I am flying with BB so it's twice the damage.) I almost fainted when I was told the "new" price. I spent the past few days sulking big time and thinking what I could have done with the price difference - dinner at Petrus, new mobile phone, donation to charity, huge Christmas present for my parents, even a trip to Bangkok(!)... anything BUT giving to the blood-sucking airline.

As I was reading the article this morning, I couldn't help thinking, if my memory failed me and I could not remember having booked the tickets for a much cheaper price, then I wouldn't feel so bad about it. I might even think $4,300 is a bargain!

Now I wish I were EP.

The Five Love Languages.

The concept of the Love Languages is, to me, one of the most important and practical theories I have learned in my pursuit of relational bliss.

According to Dr. Gary Chapman, author of the successful book "The Five Love Languages", the five love languages include:

1) Affirmation - verbal compliments, encouragement, confidence boost, etc.

2) Quality time.

3) Receiving gifts.

4) Acts of service - helping with housework, simple chores, etc.

5) Physical touch - not just sexual intercourse, but sometimes as simple as a kiss, a hug, or a hand on the shoulder.

As the theory goes, each of us speak, and is most receptive of, one or more of the five emotional languages above.

The problem is, our love language may or may not be the same as our spouse / friend / children. A lot of the relationship conflicts (not just marriage, but friendship or parent-children conflicts) arise because of a misinterpretation of the other's love language. For example, I may express my love to you by spending hours in the kitchen cooking a fancy meal (act of service), when all you want is for me to sit beside you and chat about your day (quality time). Nobody is at fault, it's just a mismatch and misunderstanding of each other's love language. Once we have a better understanding of our spouse's love language, then we can express our love in a way which is most effective, hence reducing misunderstanding and frustrations.

This book is good for anyone who is in any form of relationship.

For One More Day.

A great story is a story that goes right to your heart.

I love For One More Day, not because it makes me cry (oh boy how it made me cry!), but because it is about family love. As I was reading this book, I thought of my own parents.

Just like all the other books written by Mitch Albom, For One More Day is easy-to-read with a great theme.

Just don't read it in your office. People will wonder why you go all teary-eyed and sniffing and blowing your nose the whole afternoon....

A Small History of Nearly Everything.

I know I know, I am on holiday and therefore I should be spending quality time cuddling and having sweet talks with my husband, instead of blogging ABOUT SOME BOOK. But I cannot contain myself.

A Small History of Nearly Everthing is probably the best book I have ever read in recent years. I bought this book a few years back, read a couple of chapters and then put it down, and only picked it up again and finished it recently.

Faithful to the title, the book talks about the universe, the earth and the sea, all forms of life, basically about nearly everything.

Having obtained only a pathetic "D" grade in my HKCEE biology exam, and with no physics or chemcial studies background, I should have no reason to read, let alone like, a book about science, which is packed with complicated information and 47-letter-26-syllable-jargons. But I adore this book.

When I read the last chapter, which I believe is the main theme and reason for Bill Bryson to write this book, I cried. And it made me love this book even more.

If you care about this universe and all things that live in it, get yourself a copy. You will be so glad.

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BTW there are so many geckos in Phuket!!! I love the universe and all that, but could somebody make the geckos leave our villa?