Enchanting Garden Spells

I want to introduce you to this little fella. Guys meet one of my favorite reads Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. As usual I bought this book because the cover intrigued me. I was wondering how the title would match with the cover. In the end I found out it didn't quite, but that's a entire different story now.

This book is about the women in the Waverly family who have been touched by magic for generations. Don't worry, it's not a Witches from Waverly Place Disney thing, rather it is a truly enchanting story that took me by surprise.

Claire lives in her family home and works as a cook/caterer. She uses magic herbs, flowers and spices which cause interesting reactions in people. She can calm them, she can excite them and so on. One day, her sister Sidney returns home with her daughter Bay. Sidnay has been running from her abusive husband and her talen is to give people the perfect hairdo. Her daughter Bay has the ability to know where things or people belong to. The family also has an aunt who gives gifts the recipients will need in the future.
Both of the sisters fall in love with two men in town. One of them is the newest addition in town and Claire's neighbor. The other one is Sidney's old friend. The story is carefully crafted around those two fresh relationships until the climax comes where the abusive jealous husband of Sidney arrives and tries to take Bay.  
This is where the good ol' Apple Tree in the backyard comes in. This tree has the ability to show upon eating an apple either the happiest moment in the life to come or the worst. Guess what the apple showed the abusive husband.....

Sarah's writing style is romantic and unique. She creates this environment where even as reader you feel right at home and protected. She lets you envision the little town, the flowers, the people. You see everything clear in her books. You see the characters, the emotions and the actions. All this she shows subtly without even telling the way things are all the time but rather hinting them. Garden Spells is a sweet charming book that is really worth taking a look at.

The Zahir: A Beautiful Tale of Obsession, Happiness and Love

It is now finally time that I put this novel on the spot. OMG! How long I have been waiting to share my personal experience with the book to the world. And there it is, the great moment :)

I bought this book back in 2008 when I was living in Dumaguete, Philippines. A friend referred this book to me and said it was great. Without even getting the gist of the book, I bought it. I am easily attracted to book covers and titles and have found the best books by just simply buying a book whose cover I liked. So there I was with the book and since I already read The Alchemist by Paulo and Veronica Decides to Die, it was time to read my third book written by Paulo Coelho.

The time during which I read the book was sort of a break-up make up time with my boyfriend back in '08. Needless to say he is my ex now. Anyways, I didn't expect anything from this book and gained so much out of it. The first few phrases were kinda boring to me, but I moved on because I knew that Paulo's books were alway a little slow in the beginning for me.

The story is about a husband whose wife's gone missing. He is an author and she is a war journalist. He didn't hear from her for months and started getting worried. He realized how lonely he was and how much he needed her to be happy. One day a mysterious fellow from the middle east came to see him and told him that he knew where his wife was, but that he (the lead character) wasn't ready yet to receive the information. So this quest of obsession began. His quest was to himself and to being happy by himself and to love himself. Once he had overcome himself, he received the info he needed to find his wife and still, he delayed the journey because he didn't think it was necessary to find her right at that moment. Then he embarges on the trip where he would trace her footsteps and get to know the people she met along her way. When he finally found her she embraced him and was pregnant by another men, which he accepted because he was free of his obsession and jealousy. In the end only happiness remained. Happy ending and end of story.

The whole journey of the man to himself sort of reflected what I was going through that time. I used to depend on other people so much to make me happy and never sought the happiness in myself. I was stuck in the typical urban legend that you are waiting for your fairy tale prince to come and MAKE you happy. Well no one made me happy in the end but me. Of course, like every other girl, I emerged with lakes of tears from this book and it somehow changed my life for the better. I understood myself so much better. I understood relationships so much better, and I understood my situation then so much better. Paulo Coelho has this way of touching your heart and more importantly your soul. I wish that I will be as wise and patient and of course happy as he is.

‎"No one should ever ask themselves that: why am I unhappy? The question carries within it the virus that will destroy everything. If we ask that question, it means we want to find out what makes us happy. If what makes us happy is different from what we have now, then we must either change once and for all or stay as we are, feeling even more unhappy."

Yours truly
CC

A Real Life Saver

So remember when I posted that I am not solely going to concentrate on reviewing books anymore (although the next review is coming pretty soon ), and that I will also give you some livesavers. Some more livesaving and some more of the saver of the moment (whatever that moment might be).

This one is pretty recent and it's supposed to be a no brainer, but so many people around the world and around the clock ignore it. So here it goes:

If you are NOT feeling well, GO to the Doctor and DON'T procrastinate!! 


Why this you may ask? The story behind the advice just happened to me recently. My boyfriend got sick on my birthday. This little "not feeling well" mood turned into high fever later that night. His fever lasted throughout the next day as well. He was shivering all the time and he complained of soreness all over. He couldn't swallow food and therefore couldn't eat. This went on for the whole weekend and if you thought it doesn't get worse it did. He woke me up in the middle of the night telling me he had to take a shower. A shower at 4 am? Riiiiiiiight, I thought. Then I touched him and he was drenched in sweat. This happened every night since. We went to the doctor on a Monday morning and the doctor couldn't diagnose whether it was a simple case of tonsilitis or if it was a monononucleosis. The latter was worse and would mean that he would stay sick for at least 2 weeks after that. In addition to that it meant that I was going to get sick too, since it is called the kissing disease and only contagious through exchange of saliva. I googled the symptoms and they were exactly the ones my boyfriend was exhibiting. Damn, I thought.
So two days and a lot of caretaking later, we went to the doctors again and she said it was getting better. Oh, right I forgot to tell you that it was just a tonsilitis after all. So the doctor made a comment that left us all thinking. She said that we came just at the right time. If the tonsilitis was left untreated it could've developed a bubble or so (I know it sounds funny :D). That bubble is lifethreatening. So there we were stunned which left me thinking and eventually led me to write this post.

So many people die of the simplest things all the time. Pneumonia, because it was carelessly left untreated. A stroke, because the person neglected to take Aspirin. Tonsilitis, because you didn't go to the doctor. Get my point? Do not neglect your health for a second.
For the ladies: put yourself first gals, do not take care of others if you should take care of yourself.
For the gentlemen: Do not act so tough and refuse a doc because you think it's gonna be okay, because the possibility that it will be is pretty slim.

So guys stay healthy and safe. And precious I'm so relieved and glad your better <3

other Lifesavers

so.... it's been a hell of a trip from 2008 when I first started this Blog to the me in 2011. Wheeeew what's this?! Three years already. I've learned and read plenty within these years and now I am officially reviving my baby to share it with the world, You. I love books, but I also love giving good advices thus the change in Title. I will still regularly be updating you with must reads and must-leave-in-the-store books. I'll be mixing things up a little and I hope you will like the future posts.

Greetz CC