THEME: MOTIVATIONAL STORIES

Hey everyone, Once again it is time to introduce our theme of the month! *drumrolls* MOTIVATIONAL and INSPIRATIONAL STORIES We all have our uniques and personnal source of motivation in our lives; be it our family, a dream, your friends or even a childhood hero. Motivation is what drives us to achieve our goals and become who we are destined to be. That's why this month it is going to be all about motivation; being motivated and giving motivation to everyone around us. We have suggested a couple of books that are real page turners for everyone who wants to find inspiration or as a source of entertainment for leisure. *The Alchemist by Paulo Caelho *Free Fall by Amber Lea Easton

*Death: Living to talk about it by Brian M. Hayden *Gifted Ones by Lisa Vaughn

*I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak From a story of "A young 19 year old man is challenged by an unknown benefactor to become a better person, by helping those around him. One can't help but fall in love with the book's theme: that happiness is a destination reached by doing good things for others." To Paulo Coelho’s masterpiece tells the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. Always remember to love life friends!!

The Three Musketeers (BOOKReview #5)

THE THREE MUSKETEERS!! By: Muhammad Iqbal

Originally written in French as Les Trois Mousquetaires, and written by Alexandre Dumas. The Three Musketeers is set in 17th century France and recounts the tale of d’Artagnan, who left home to go to Paris to join the Musketeers of the Guard. That being said, d’Artagnan is not one of the musketeers of the title; the honor belongs to his comrades Athos, Aramis and Porthos. The three inseparable friends live and die by the motto “all for one, one for all”. The story starts off to a very sluggish start, taking the span of about 10 chapters to establish the major characters, setting and plot. It does get boring at first, but once the characters and main plot is established, the story drives itself well.

Although the book bears the title “the Three Musketeers”, it did take a while before the aforementioned characters make their presence known and felt throughout this book. My peeves are that it suffers a bit from too much lesser characters making too frequent appearance or mentions, and the exposition, not to mention too little fancy sword-duels despite being a book about swordsman. The setting and the tone of this book, in my opinion, is what makes this a classic. Political themes involving the cardinal, Richelieu , Milady de Winter and the “scandal” involving the Queen, Anne of Austria are the driving force of the story. The book captures the corrupt political agendas and tug-of-war of power and influence of the late 17th century France. These dark themes are well supported by backstories of the Three musketeers. As is the title, the gray past of the musketeers connects the dots and links up the story, making it whole. The dark aspect of the book is balanced well with the vibrant youth of the protagonist d’Artagnan and the colourful personas of the brave Athos, gentle Aramis and the gleeful Porthos. This book was originally in French, but the English adaptation does well to capture the uniqueness of the French language. This book is a tough read to digest since it is mainly in mid-18th century English and the grammatical structures and syntaxes maybe difficult for those who are uninitiated or not used to it. I highly recommend this book for those who are interested in the behind the curtains view of how 17th century government work (not much different from today), swashbuckling action or have a lot of spare time, since it may take a while to finish. ANOTHER GREAT REVIEW FROM A TRUE BOOK LOVER, There's more to come!

The Library Coffee Bar- BookLovers Getaway#2

Evening! A fellow member recommended this beautiful book cafe and we decided to check it out, We are really excited and can't wait for it to be finally opened in Sunway Pyramid! THE LIBRARY COFFEE BAR, SUNWAY PYRAMID

We had to go all the way to KL to check it out, but we're please to say that one will be opened in Sunway soon. So, when you feel hungry, stressed out by the non-stop assignments that keeps coming your way, we say; PUT THAT ALL ASIDE AND ENJOY A MEAL AND A GOOD READ. It's really great to see that more and more book cafés are opening up in Subang Jaya. In our humble opinion, book cafés are a really great place to let your imagine run wild and spend quality time with your friends. It goes without saying that it brings our society, one step closer to high quality living and promotes a healthier lifestyle.

DISCLAIMER; Pictures were taken from The Library Coffee Bar Facebook page and we are not promoting/gaining anything from this post. It's just our honest opinion. Regards, Have a wonderful weekend!!!'

Quiet - The Power Of Introverts In A World That Can't Stop Talking

Book Review #4 Written by, Lam Thian Yin Quiet - The Power Of Introverts In A World That Can't Stop Talking

In this book that takes focuses on the people that we tend to neglect most of the times , or what society is moulding us into avoiding , author Susan Cain reveals some shocking facts about introverts and how significant their impact is on everyday life. Susan rose to become a global icon after her TED talk on the power of introverts went viral on YouTube , hitting the mark of 2.5 million view worldwide just recently. She spoke on how every 1 out of 3 people in the world were quiet introverts , and how American society were treating them as outcasts , because as like many other things , we shall learn how American culture is , and how it rose to become the world's most extroverted nation. Ten years in the making , Quiet focuses on the science behind what makes introverts introverts , using famous people such as Steve Wozniak ( Apple's co-founder ) and Al Gore ( Former American vice-president ) as great examples on introverts who have left their mark on the world , and the basic mechanisms of working with introverts at work , at home , and during day-to-day interactions. Quiet also shares an interesting bit on how Asian culture differs from Western culture in their favoritism towards being introverts. Of course , we as Malaysians know far better as to what that means. Being in America twice myself , I have seen true examples of extroverts - energetic , vibrant , big risk takers , but on the other hand , big talkers who act before they think , sometimes for the worse. Of course , there is never a universally correct or wrong way to live life , and being an extrovert does not necessarily mean that you're a person with all muscle and little brain. Acting before thinking can be seen as taking up opportunities and trusting oneself to fulfill them. What Quiet focuses on is how to create balance , how to create ambiverts which are said to have the best of both worlds. They know how to control when to be extroverted ( such as in taking up challenges OR public speaking ) and when to just stay true to their introverted nature ( such as in one-to one interactions where introverts are much better at ).

Although it might seem that everyone is able to be an ambivert in a utopian world , but sadly it is easier said than done. Most people aren't born ambiverted , so it is not worth it to become something that is not true to our nature. Quiet instead focuses on how introverts are to survive in the modern age since they seem to can't get a word in edgewise. One of the solutions put forth by this book is to be what is called a pseudo-extrovert , which is to learn how to stand up for oneself in corporate environments , or basically , be more extroverted to make sure they don't lose out in the climb towards the top of the corporate ladder. Yet once they reach home , it is important that they return to their natural introverted state of being. This is because the science of human behavior as also stated in Quiet has shown that people who live outside of their own true character for far too long tend to have higher stress , are more prone to migraines , cardiovascular diseases , etc. Please don't be mistaken that Quiet is a book on how to be manipulative and win in life. To me , it has given me a whole new perspective towards introverts. Instead of shunning them , I open myself to talking and interacting with them , and believe me , introverts are so much more fun to talk with. They are great listeners and also speak with intellect and heart. I believe that with the power of introverts and extroverts working together , some famous pairs being Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak ( co-founders of Apple ) as well as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. , miracles can be created.

Poll; Slytherine Wins!!

Our First poll has closed, thank you for everyone who voted and the Winner of "Fav Harry Potter Team?" is SLYTHERINE!!

Safe Haven #3

Safe Haven BookReview#3 Salutations everyone!! Here's yet another great review of a great book! And this time is by our very own TCSJ Readers'; See En

Title: Safe Haven Author: Nicholas Sparks Another amazing book for all the Sparks fans!! It's kind of emotional and depressing at the beginning of the story but still it has a happy ending. It's more than a love story. Katie was a pretty, mysterious young woman who attracted a lot of attentions from the people when she first moved to North Carolina. She always avoid herself to be too comfortable that she may begin to let down her guard. Alex, former detective, noticing Katie's dissimilar from her habit and gesture never give up on her although she never mentioned about her dark secret. Struggling between her past experience and new relationship with Alex, she started to put in effort to be attached to his family. I love the way they started their relationship, so natural and easy without understanding. I also loved reading about her interactions and relationship with the kids. The secret eventually uncovered when her abusive husband, Kevin came to find her!!! That's the climax of the story! It was so interesting when Kevin followed Katie's traces. Till now, when I reread the story, I still feel nervous reading that part. I will leave that part of the story for you to explore XP. .It's kinda like hard to predict, so it's really meaningful and highly recommended to all of you! What inspired me most is that love can heal any hurts!!! LOVE LIFE AND SHARE ALL YOUR HAPPINESS WITH PEOPLE YOU LOVE Here's to many more wonderful reads!!

Welcome Wagon (First General Meeting)

Evening fellow book lovers and New members of TCSJ Readers' Club!!

Thank you for everyone who joined our first General Meeting today, As you all know, today is a general meeting so we had to discuss all the technical stuff and plan our upcoming events! But, wait!! Our normal meetings aren't like that! Please come for our next meeting where we will begin playing games, get to know each other more and discuss about our theme for the month CLASSIC LITERATURE!! PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT and SHARE with us!