Off Topic Sunday: My Recent Trip to Seoul

Sorry for the unannounced hiatus guys! Last week, I took a trip to Seoul, South Korea!!! It was mostly for work but I managed to go around and see a few amazing sites. I honestly thought I would have the time to post too but after just completing night shifts, flying for 12 hours (plus stressful layovers), and then sight-seeing plus conference, I was completely flat by the end of the night.

Seoul was simply amazing and super easy to navigate! I had booked my hotel near my conference place so that worst case scenario, I could walk to the conference every day. But from the moment the plane touched down, there were labels and signs everywhere telling you where to go. The city is very well equipped for tourists! The subway system is out of this world (for a Melbournian like myself)! Plus I never had to wait more than 5 minutes for trains. 

The city is an amazing complex blend of the new and the old. Nestled right in the heart of the city is Gyeongbokgung aka the Northern Palace, which is the largest palace in Seoul. It was absolutely stunning. And although I was technically two or so weeks too early, but there were some cherry blossoms blooming already and they were so pretty!

I could gush about my trip for hours but I really only posted to let you guys know that's where I've been hiding. Then work kind of took over. But I will definitely make an effort to get back into the blogging pattern. Especially since I have just read an amazing book that I could to share with you guys soon.

Until next time!

Happy 2016! And a reflection of the year that was

Happy New Year guys!!!!! I hope everyone had a great festive season with their friends and family and I wish you all the very best for 2016!!!!!

Looking back on 2015, I must say I have had a great reading year. It was stressful meeting my reading goal of 150 books but I managed to make it just under the wire by finishing my 150th book on the 29th of December. And after all that reading (47,537 pages according to GoodReads), there are a few lessons that I took away from my reading experiences in 2015.

Blog Update: I'm Back!

It's been awhile, hasn't it?

Before I started blogging, I knew that starting this project was going to take time, patience and discipline. I knew real life was sometimes going to get in the way of things, but I always thought I would be able to handle it most of the time. Sure, I may let things slide once in awhile, but I will always come back to it.

Right? Wrong. 

Off-Topic Sunday: End of My Internship

Welcome to Off-Topic Sunday, a tag that I'm using to post whatever is floating in my head that I want to chat about. For the most part, they'll be book-related but you may occasionally see some none book-related posts/rants as well.

2014 Wrap-Up: My Bookish Accomplishments This Year

Image sourced from Peddhapati at Flickr

At the end of every December, I look back and marvel at how quickly the year has come and gone. And it almost feels as if with every year, the speed of its passing seems to be that much quicker. I feel like I'm getting old.

2014 has been quite an up and down year. Career-wise, I've finally graduated and started working. It's been quite an experience. So much to learn. So much to do. So much to overcome. With the final two weeks of my internship looming ahead of me, residency is starting to look mightily scary!

Book-wise, 2014 has been a big year. It's been the first year that I've really started to read novels in large volumes. And when I started this blog back in February, I had five bookish goals for the year. So let's have a look and see which ones I've accomplished.

Feature Follow Friday: City Galore

Feature Follow Friday is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee & Alison Can Read. It's a way for bloggers and readers alike to make some new friends and gain some new followers as well. The point of this hop is to follow other bloggers. I follow you, you follow me.

Also, this week's featured bloggers are I am Simply a Book Drunkard (great name!) and Sara in Bookland, so make sure you check them out too.

While I do prefer GFC and/or Bloglovin follows, if you would like to follow me via email/twitter etc, that's great too! Also, please leave a comment so I can follow you back!

Top Five Bookish Confessions

TTT is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

It's confessions time! Though I've only got five this week. :D

Feature Follow Friday: Personal Pets?

Feature Follow Friday is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee & Alison Can Read. It's a way for bloggers and readers alike to make some new friends and gain some new followers as well. The point of this hop is to follow other bloggers. I follow you, you follow me.

Also, this week's featured blogger is Literary Escapism, so make sure you check it out too.

While I do prefer GFC and/or Bloglovin follows, if you would like to follow me via email/twitter etc, that's great too! Also, please leave a comment so I can follow you back!

Question of the Week

Have any pets? Tell us or show us.

I am a huge dogs person! But unfortunately I don't own one. Mostly because as much as I adore dogs, my mother is freaked out by them by just as much. Seriously, we would be walking by the shops and there would be a fat little beagle tied to a lamp-post who's ignoring us and my mother would let out a scream and back away.

*sigh*

But one day when I get my own place, I'd definitely get my own dog - probably a golden retriever or a labrador! :D

So yeah, sadly I have no pets at the moment. What about you? Leave a comment and/or link down below and I'll be sure to check it out!

The Liebster Blog Award (#2 & #3)

Back on the 18th of March (I know, that was ages ago), the lovely Tash @ TashBrilliantBookBlog nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award. Thank you so much Tash! :D I can't believe it's taken me two weeks to get back to this. I'm so honoured and very thankful for the nomination.

Then, a couple of days ago, Hagar @ The Serial Book Lover nominated me again (which reminded me of Tash's nomination and the fact that I'm yet to blog about this). Again, thank you so much Hagar for the nomination as well!

Like my previous Liebster Award post, this award is designed as an opportunity for smaller blogs to get some love and recognition. 

Here are the rules:

• List 11 facts about yourself
• Answer the 11 questions asked by whoever nominated you
• Ask 11 new questions to 9 bloggers with less than 200 followers. You cannot re-nominate the blog that nominated you
• Go to their blog and tell them they have been nominated!

11 (New) Facts about Me :D

1) I was born in mainland China

2) I am a chili head! I absolutely adore hot food and I have a very high tolerance level. For example, Thai green curry or Indian vindaloo paste barely makes a dent on my palate.

3) My favourite colours are baby colours (like baby blue or baby green) but the majority of my clothes are black and white (just easier to coordinate for work)

4) I cried on my third night shift (which was also my third day of working) after I lost my first patient in a code blue. I was a wreck for the rest of the shift.

5) I am semi-bilingual - my verbal Mandarin isn't bad but my writing and reading is a bit sketchy.

6) I read all four Twilight books in one sitting over one afternoon - that is one afternoon of my life I'm never getting back. I know this is not really a popular opinion but seriously, saying I disliked the series would be a serious understatement.

7) I play the flute & piccolo but it has been years since I have picked up either instrument. I secretly want to learn to play the piano though.

8) I listen to a lot of K-pop even though I don't understand a word of it! :D

9) I read a lot of shoujo manga - don't know why but they are really addictive. My favourite would have to be Fruits Basket.

10) I'm not a big fan of audio books. Some of the voices for characters just doesn't sit right with me.

11) I'm a Leo :P

11 Questions from Tash

1) How long have you been blogging?

Not very long - only for the past two months. I started back in February this year. 

2) Why did you start blogging?

I had been contemplating starting a blog for quite some time before I committed. Firstly, to keep track of my reading and help me reflect on what I read. Secondly, to challenge myself to expand my horizons and pick up books that I normally wouldn't have read. Lastly, to connect with other book lovers out there - there is a limit to how much I can gush about books to my friends.

3) Favourite Book(s)?

So many! But number one would have to go to The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. Closer runner-ups would be Harry Potter and the Demon Child trilogy. The rest of my favourite picks really depend on my mood. If I want romance, I go Nora Roberts. If I want chick-lit, I go Meg Cabot or my recent favourite Fangirl. 

4) If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

London. I was briefly in Glasgow before and I love how old UK is. It's a place full of history, culture and of course, literature. Plus, UK is such a short step away from the rest of Europe that I'd be able to visit a different country every weekend, something that's slightly more difficult here down under.

5) Fictional crush?

Well... I'm more into shipping couples than having fictional crushes. My biggest OTP at the moment is Doctor x Rose. My other giant OTPs include Cloud x Tifa (Final Fantasy VII) and Akatsuki x Ruka (Vampire Knight).

6) Favourite film?

Really depends on my mood. But all time go-to favourite would be LoTR trilogy (noticing a trend here?).

7) Have you got a quote you live by?

"If you don't go after what you want, you'll never have it. If you don't ask, the answer is always no. If you don't step forward, you're always in the same place."

~ Nora Roberts

8) Do you have any other hobbies/interests?

Sleep :D and well, I enjoy writing as well. And some TV shows.

9) Favourite thing about blogging?

Connecting with other book lovers and finding books through recommendations. There's nothing better than reading a book and discovering to your delight that it does live up to all the hype and expectations.

10) What has blogging taught you?

Be passionate, be consistent, be disciplined and network with fellow bloggers.

11) Blogging advice?

I'm still a relative newbie but I think the best advice is that slow and steady wins the race. If you're here to get famous fast or make money quick - forget it. Blog about what you're passionate about and that way, every small achievement will feel like a success. :)

11 Questions from Hagar

1. If you could switch lives with any book character, who would you pick?

Can't really pick one off the top of my head, sorry. But anyone who finds her happily-ever-after and the love of her life would be good, thank you. :D

2. How do you usually get your books (i.e. online, library etc.)

I used to solely rely on public libraries because my mother was very strict with book purchases. Her philosophy (which is fair enough) is if you buy, there is never time pressure to read them whereas if you borrow, you are forced to read it in the time period. Having my TBR pile explode recently, I most definitely agree with her assessment. Nowadays, I'm more into online books simply due to my busy schedule & the fact I commute to work. I don't want any library fines! :D

3. What book made you really angry?

All that Glitters by Linda Howard. I get sometimes in romance, the male can be a tad too alpha. That's okay and I enjoy it. But this male protagonist was just being such a douche bag to the female protagonist that I don't understand how she could have possibly forgiven him and loved him back. Ugh.

4. If you could live in any fictional world, which one would you live in?

Hogwarts - you get the best of both worlds: comforts of modern muggle society as well as the magic goodness!

5. What book would you like seen transferred to TV/film?

The Legend series by Marie Lu!

6. What is your favourite book to movie adaptation?

Easy answer would be LoTR as it is both my favourite book and movie. However, I think my favourite adaptation would have to go to the Hunger Games simply because having suffered through so many disappointing adaptations, this is the first one where I went "Yes! This is exactly how I pictured everything in my head!" I cannot sing enough praises about it. 

7. If you had to listen to one song for the rest of your life, what song would you pick?

The Ashokan Farewell. It's really sad but nice. :)

8. What are your favourite TV shows?

Doctor Who - Russel T Davies era. I absolutely detest Moffat's episodes.

House MD. How I Met Your Mother. Friends.

9. What are your thoughts on the New Adult genre?

I enjoy it if it's done correctly. But like the romance genre, sometimes it can be too generic or too implausible for me to derive enjoyment out of it. I guess you can say I approach New Adult books with high expectations and a very critical eye.

10. What book/TV/movie character death did you not agree with?

[Spoiler!!!!!] Allegiant's ending. If it had been a sacrifice for the greater good, I may have accepted it. But it was just such a waste for no reason what so ever. Definitely did not agree with it.

11. What is your favourite book cover?

11 Questions from Me

1) Favourite place(s) to read

2) Bookshops vs library: which do you visit more often? Do you prefer buying or borrowing books?

3) Do you notate your books or keep them clean and pristine?

4) Who's your favourite artist/painting?

5) Do you know a second language? If so, which one? If not, which one would you want to learn?

6) Who's your celebrity crush?

7) Besides reading and blogging, what else do you like to do in your spare time?

8) Do you also write? If so, which genre?

9) Are you a coffee or tea person?

10) When you are having a bad day, what do you do to destress?

11) If you suddenly received a monetary windfall (say $1000), what would you do with it?

Nominated Blogs

Monique @ Mo_Books

Kristen @ Pretty Little Pages

Itara Sosa @ My Midnight Fantasies

Alisa Kepner @ The Reading Obsession

Ipshita Ranjana @ Gateway to Different World

Lauren B @ The Hottie Harem

Kyendwarrior @ Eternity Through Pages

Elizabeth @ So Long and Thanks for All the Fish

Lakin Higgins @ Wonderous Reviews

Over to you guys :)

Top Ten "Gateway" Books/Authors in My Reading Journey

TTT is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week, we have to list the ten books and/or authors who have been the "gateways" to our reading experience. These may be the books that got us into reading, or books that opened up a genre to us or books that have helped us out of a reading slump. So here, below, in roughly chronological order, are my "gateway" books.

1. 25 Fairy Tales

This is the first set of books that my parents bought for me to read. It is all in Mandarin and is a collection of twenty-five very familiar fairy tales such as The Little Mermaid, Cinderella and The Little Match Girl. You can probably say these are the books that got me in love with stories and reading in general. My mother recalled that I would often sit there with a book in my lap and read out loud. My aunts were all amazed I was reading at such an early age but my mother would roll her eyes and say that I couldn't read, it was just that I had gone over the stories so often that I knew all the words off by heart. :P

2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

This is the first book that I picked up by myself and attempted to read (in English that is). Back in grade four, about three months since my migration to Australia, my teacher was reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to us in class. I remember being bored out of my mind because I had no idea what was going on. We had to sit there, on the floor, cross-legged until our feet would go numb. Everyone else was so excited but I really didn't see the point in it all. So out of curiosity, I went to the library and borrowed the second book out and attempted to read it over the weekend. I think I manage to make it about four chapters in before I had to return the book.

3. Thoroughbred series by Joanna Campbell

This series was my staple read during primary school. I think I went through a whole horse-craze phase because of this series and I briefly considered being a jockey because of these books. I only ruled it out because in grade seven, at 1.7m and growing, I was way too tall for the sport.

4. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

My favourite novel of all time. There isn't enough praise I can heap onto this book. I picked it up in grade 8 and I couldn't believe I hadn't read it before. This is also the book that had me falling in love with the fantasy genre. After this, I simply couldn't get enough. From this, I moved onto Jennifer Fallon, Sara Douglas, Philip Pullman, C.S. Lewis etc.

5. The Diary of Anne Frank

You cannot read this book without being completely and utterly moved. I read it back in grade ten as part of the English curriculum and *shiver* it still haunts me today. This is the book that really opened up the experiences of World War II and made me view conflict and battles in a different light.

6. Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts and all her fabulous works made me fall in love with the experience of falling in love. I can't remember which one of her books I read first but afterwards, I was determined to rifle out every single one of her works that was available in the library. She is a prolific author and in turn, she made me into a prolific reader of romance. I eventually branched out and fell in love with the works of many other authors such as Diana Palmer (though her books always give me mixed feelings), Linda Howard and Elizabeth Lowell. But if I'm in the mood for romance, Nora Roberts is almost always my first choice.

7. Oscar Wilde

Another compulsory read of my high school English curriculum but I really did enjoy it. The Importance of Being Ernest was my first foray into classic plays that were not written by Shakespeare and I really had a blast.

8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Not sure if it's fair for Harry Potter to feature twice on this list but honestly, this series has been the book ends of my reading experience during school. The first two books was the beginning of my reading experience and the final book came out in grade twelve and was possibly one of the last books I read during high school. I was determined not to be spoiled (unlike the sixth book) and despite the fact I had upcoming exams and assignment deadlines, I finished the book in one night, staying up all the way until four o'clock in the morning.

9. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

This is the series that really brought me back into reading. I was in my last semester of university and for the five and a half years before that, I really didn't do much reading for enjoyment simply because I didn't have the time. But The Hunger Games created such a huge wave through modern culture that even a hermit like me found out about it. Intrigued, I read it and a) it was fantastic (with the minor exception of the final volume) and b) it reminded me how much I enjoyed reading. Once I rediscovered reading, there was no way I could go back to my former habits.

10. The next book I read

I'm going to keep this last slot open because I'm always going to be in the hunt for the next book that will mark a milestone on my reading journey.

So that is my list! What books did you pick to mark your reading journey? Leave a comment and/or link below and I'll be sure to check it out!

Top Ten Things on My Bookish Bucket List

TTT is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week, the topic is for us to list the top ten things on our bucket list book-wise. It can be blogging-related, book-related or writing-related. So here are the 10 things that came to mind :)

1. Own a personal library collection

Now this doesn't have to be as impressive as Jay Walker's personal library collection (now that one is a masterpiece - google image "world's greatest personal library"). But someday maybe, when I get my own place, I'd like to have a room dedicated to the library with floor to ceiling bookshelves lining all the walls (ideally with one of those rolling ladders too).

2. Read all the books on Time 100 list of the 100 best novels

I think I went through the list recently and discovered I've only read a handful of the books on that list, so I'm hoping to rectify that!

3. Meet more authors and attend book signings

I think the only book of mine that is signed was by Isobelle Carmody and that was only because she came to my high school for a talk. But hopefully, once I get more free time under my belt, I'll be able to indulge in my bookish hobbies.

4. Be part of a book club

I'm not very good at joining things and regularly participating. But I'd love to join a book club one day (again, when I'm more free) and participate with other people - I don't mind if this is in person or online.

5. To build a well-established book blog

I don't have a certain figure as to how many followers I would like to have or how many unique visitors. Since I'm just starting out, I guess I just hope my blog is here to stay and that it'll continue to grow.

6. Have a better online presence

Going hand in hand with the previous goal, I think I'm still at the learning process when it comes to building my online presence, using social media and interacting with fellow book lovers out here on the world wide web.

7. Write and (hopefully) publish a novel

Clearly, a lot of us book bloggers (and even non-bloggers) have this goal. But *shrug* it's just something I'm very interested in and maybe, one day, it'll happen.

8. Get a better grasp of the English grammar

Grammar has always been the thing that has eluded my grasp. Even during high school, I would get excellent grades but grammar would always be the thing that drags my average English grade down to an Asian F (A- for those wondering what an Asian F is).

9. Get into new genres that I'm not too familiar with

This is similar to the 2014 book goals I had about expanding into new genres and trying books that I normally wouldn't try. I still haven't read a classic yet (I don't think) so I still need to do that.

10. Get to the point where publishers will send me ARC copies :D

Well, that's the dream, isn't it? :P

Anyway, what were your top ten bookish bucket list goals? Leave a comment or link below and I'll be sure to check it out!

Feature Follow Friday: My Reading Habits

Feature Follow Friday is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee & Alison Can Read. It's a way for bloggers and readers alike to make some new friends and gain some new followers as well. The point of this hop is to follow other bloggers. I follow you, you follow me.

Also, this week's featured bloggers are My Midnight Fantasies and Fathomless Reveries, so make sure you check them out too.

While I do prefer GFC and/or Bloglovin follows, if you would like to follow me via email/twitter etc, that's great too! Also, please leave a comment so I can follow you back!

Question of the week: my reading habits

How have your reading habits changed in the past few years? Did you get interested in a new genre? Do you read more? Less? Why do you think your habits changed, if they did.

1. Primary school
I was really mostly into children's books, duh. I was obsessed with horses back then and The Saddle Club, Thoroughbred, the Silver Brumby series, were part of my staple reading regimen. But I also read other series too like the Redwall series, a Series of Unfortunate Events and of course, Harry Potter.

2. Secondary school
High school was when I really fell in love with reading and tried a variety of different genres. I was initially a big romance fan and consumed pretty much every thing that was written by Nora Roberts, Linda Howard, Diana Palmer and Elizabeth Lowell. I then discovered my love for fantasy with The Lord of the Rings remaining my favourite book of all times. This was when I also discovered some amazing fantasy authors like Jennifer Fallon, Sara Douglas and Juliet Marillier. I read plenty of contemporary YA novels like Saving Francesca and Tomorrow, when the War began. I briefly dabbled in science fiction and classics but didn't really fall in love with either.

3. University
This was when I really fell off the band wagon and pretty much stopped reading for six years! In my defence, I was still actively reading, even though it was all medical textbooks.

4. The Present
Now that university is over, I'm hopping back on the band wagon and am catching up on all the great reads I've been missing out on. I'm finding myself reading a lot of YA and fantasy lately but I hope to branch out once more.

What are your reading habits and how have they changed in the past few years? Leave me a comment/link below and I'll be sure to check it out!

Feature Follow Friday: Favourite Outdoor Reading Spot

Feature Follow Friday is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee & Alison Can Read. It's a way for bloggers and readers alike to make some new friends and gain some new followers as well. The point of this hop is to follow other bloggers. I follow you, you follow me.

Also, this week's featured bloggers are Sarcasm & Lemons and Sylvia Hubbard, so make sure you check them out too.

While I do prefer GFC follows, if you would like to follow me via bloglovin/email/twitter etc, that's great too! Also, please leave a comment so I can follow you back!

Question of the week: Favourite Outdoors Reading Spot

Spring is in the air! Show off your favourite outdoors reading spot. If you don't go outside... well where else do you read that isn't inside your house? We want pics!

Unfortunately, work plays a huge role in my life at the moment. So whenever I am not at work, I'm usually curled up at home, resting after a long day (by lying comatose on the couch). Whenever I do get the chance to read, it's almost always at home.

Out of necessity, the outside spot that I frequently find myself reading is on the commute to and from work. So yup, I'm talking about train stations, the trains and then the trams. Is that a bit sad?

Anyway, enough about me! What is your favourite outdoor reading spot? Leave a comment or link below and I'll be sure to check it out. Perhaps it'll give me some inspiration to find a better outdoor reading spot :D

Name Update!

Hi everyone,

After many people commented on my rather ... uhm unusual ... pen name, I've thought about it and decided it's probably time for a change. And no, this was not a snap decision. Ever since I first had it back on Fanfiction.net, I have been getting comments about it and I've thought on and off about whether or not I should change. Even on forums, many of my online friends would lament that they feel bad calling me Witless Fool and also that they couldn't shorten it to anything. (One friend tried just calling me Wit for a while, that didn't sit well with either of us unfortunately). 

I think this blog was really the final straw that broke the camel's back. I've decided while I may be comfortable with it now, as my blog continues to grow, I might not be so comfortable with this in a year's time or two years' time. So after some hard thinking and some more hard thinking, I've decided to just drop the Witless Fool and go on as simply

Obsessive Compulsive Reader

That way, you guys have one less thing to remember :D Plus you can shorten it to OCR if you want a nickname.

It might take some getting use to but I figured it'd probably be better to make the change now rather than later. I've also made the change across on bloglovin too and hopefully over the coming months, the confusion will fade away into the past and no one will ever remember my unfortunate original pen name.

I hope you guys will continue to support me :)

The Liebster Blog Award

Back on Tuesday, fellow book blogger Vicki W nominated me for a Libster Blog Award. Thank you, by the way, Vicki! The award is designed as an opportunity for smaller blogs to get some love and recognition, and I am very honoured by the nomination. :)

Here are the rules:

• List 11 facts about yourself
• Answer the 11 questions asked by whoever nominated you
• Ask 11 new questions to 9 bloggers with less than 200 followers. You cannot re-nominate the blog that nominated you
• Go to their blog and tell them that they have been nominated!

11 Facts about Me :D

1) I'm currently working as a medical intern, still not quite used to the d-word in front of my name so I avoid it as much as I can. 

2) My favourite past-time beside reading would probably be sleeping

3) I work best under pressure, so unfortunately, that does come hand-in-hand with procrastination

4) I am socially awkward and have had frequent mis-communications with friends and colleagues - usually resulting in me walking away convinced they think I'm a complete imbecile

5) I'm a big shipper. When I ship, I ship hard. Most of my ships are canon but some are not, but I stand firmly by them, such as Serena and Nate from Gossip Girls. 

6) My favourite genres are fantasy, romance, adult contemporary and YA-fiction

7) I love dogs but my mum's terrified of them so there's no chance of me keeping one. Seriously, a little pug is chained outside a cafe that we're walking past and she'd scream out loud - causing everybody in the shops and on the streets to pause and stare.

8) I'm a PC fan - and proud of it. I've got a Windows 8 laptop and mobile and I love both of them.

9) I'm a night owl - some of my best work happens in the middle of the night.

10) In the pursuit of my studies, I have fallen behind quite badly in some essential life skills such as cooking.

11) I'm too timid at times, often wishing I have a stronger back bone.

11 Questions from Vicki W

1) What got you into blogging in the first place?

Books! And my sheer amount of thoughts on them once I've finished reading. My friends and families can only tolerate so much of what I want to say before they go crazy with boredom and/or confusion (those two are not mutually exclusive!). I debated long and hard about whether or not I should do a blog and in the end, my love of books won out. That, and the fact I really don't want to alienate my friends. :D

2) What's your favourite book and why?

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. The language is beautiful. The story captivating. And it has something for everyone. Adventures for the boys. Myths and legends for the girls. Themes of good and evil. Lessons regarding loss and farewells; power and temptation. Courage and the fate of the world resting on a small fellowship with the unlikeliest of heroes. If you haven't read it, go and read it. Don't be put off by the thick volumes. And don't tell me you've watched the films. Amazing as they were, it's not the same thing!!!

3) What was the last film you saw at the cinema and what did you think of it?

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and it was freaking amazing! I am generally very against movie adaptations since there are so many books that ended up butchered by the film (I'm looking at you, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief). But oh my goodness, this one, like its predecessor, just blew my mind away. Everything was exactly as how I pictured it. The cast was perfect and apart from one or two tiny tiny details that got cut in the film, I couldn't have wished for a better adaptation. Who knows, maybe the third and fourth films might even change my mind about the final book.

4) Do you have a favourite song?

With pop songs, I get obsessed with them for awhile and then move onto the next one. Soundtracks always stays with me for longer. The Gladiator, LoTR, Sean's theme from the Minority Report, Rose's theme from Doctor Who - they stay with me. Off the top of my head, I love The Ashokan Farewell. But no, not really. I don't have just one favourite song.

Art by Mara T from ArtDungeon
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5) If you could live in any fictional world (i.e. Narnia) where would you choose?

Hogwarts - you'd get the best of both worlds: modern muggle society as well as the magic goodness. :D

6) Who would your dream fictional husband/wife be?

There's so many! And I generally like pairings - so I hate to break a couple up. So if I had to settle for one, it would probably be Sirius Black - as how I picture him and NOT the film version. Hm... or maybe someone else, I don't know, I'm a bit indecisive. 

7) Do you have a favourite cartoon character?

Eeyore - I just want to hug him and never let go.

8) Do you prefer eBooks or physical ones? Which do you read most often?

I prefer physical books, definitely. There's just something about holding a book in my hand and physically flipping the pages that makes me appreciate it more. Unfortunately, due to the inconvenience of lugging big books to and from work (I work in a hospital, rarely get breaks so I'd only get to read on the way there and back), I've found myself reading ebooks a lot more. Recently, I got back to reading paperbacks and there are so much about physical books that I miss. When reading ebooks, I lose perspective as to how far I'm into a book. Plus, I find myself appreciating the language more when my eyes are tracing the words on a page. 

9) What's your favourite TV show?

Ah, I rarely follow TV shows and those that I do, I enjoy equally. Some favoourites are sitcoms such as How I Met Your Mother, Friends, the Big Bang Theory. Plus, I recently watched Broadchurch and it is something I wouldn't normally watch but oh my goodness, it was amazing. I finished all 8 episodes in a day and a half - it was that good. But if I had to pick a favourite TV show, it would have to be Doctor Who the Russel T. Davies era (RTD for short). I hate what Moffat's doing at the moment. Nine and Ten will forever be my doctors. Plus, Rose Tyler. Doctor x Rose = my OTP. Always.

10) Why did you choose your blog name? Is there a story behind it?

My friends always joke I'm a bit OCD and I figured that sort of bleeds over into my reading too.

11) In the film of your life, who would play you? And what would you call it?

The witless ramblings of a fool - and I honestly don't know who I'd like to play me. There aren't that many Asian actresses known in the Western culture and among them, I can't find one who closely resembles me. 

11 Questions from Me

1) Favourite place(s) to read
2) Bookshops vs library: which do you visit more often? Do you prefer buying or borrowing books?
3) Do you notate your books or keep them clean and pristine?
4) Who's your favourite artist?
5) Do you know a second language? If so, which one? If not, which one would you want to learn?
6) Who's your celebrity crush?
7) Besides reading and blogging, what else do you like to do in your spare time?
8) Do you also write? If so, which genre?
9) Are you a coffee or tea person?
10) When you are having a bad day, what do you do to destress?
11) If you suddenly received a monetary windfall (say $1,000), what would you do with it?

Nominated Blogs

1) Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings
2) Katie @ Book Savvy
3) Rimsha Salam @ Ramblings of a Bookworm
4) Kimi, Beryl & Audrey @ Geeky Chiquitas
5) Sashoy Wilson @ Disappear into Reading
6) Jessica @ The Pyschotic Nerd
7) Ellie @ Ellie's Reading Nook
8) Sarah @ Snurtle Reader
9) Mary @ Reading and Running

Handball over to you guys :D

Top Ten Reasons I Love Being a Blogger/Reader

TTT is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

I'm going to split this topic up and do 5 reasons each.

Top 5 Reasons I Love Being a Reader

Ever since I was little, my parents fostered a love of reading in me. I remember I had a collection of 25 fairy tales like Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella etc (all in Chinese of course) and my parents read them to me so many times that I memorized it all. My aunts and uncles were all really impressed with me sitting there with the books in my lap, reading out loud, never realizing I was reciting from memory and couldn't actually recognise all the characters. :D

English is my second language. Back in primary school, about 6 months after I moved to Australia, my grade 4 teacher was reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to the class and I had no idea what was going on. I can still remember how bored I was sitting cross-legged on the floor, listening to the teacher droning on and on in a foreign language. Curious, I went and borrowed The Chamber of Secrets and read the first five chapters or so - it made absolutely no sense to me. It was just a jumble of words on a page that I got through rather painfully. But yes, that was my first foray into reading. But afterwards, I just kept reading and never looked back.

1. Escapism

Books are such a great gateway to other countries, planets or universes. While you are immersed in between those covers, you could literally end up anywhere, in anybody's shoes and experience their lives. For those few hours, you get to escape from the problems and issues of your own lives and live vicariously through others.

2. Basking in the feels

There's nothing better than sinking into a good book and feeling all warm and fuzzy from the romance blooming in front of your eyes, or share in the triumph of the protagonists as they overcome obstacles.

3. De-stress

Now that I've commenced work this year, I often come home exhausted and still mentally going over whatever happened during work. So grabbing a book and reading on the train for 20 minutes has been a great de-stress therapy for me.

4. Knowledge is power

I've picked up a lot of knowledge from the various books I've read over the years. Sure, most of them are probably only applicable in the universe from which they originate, but you never know when you might need to know something. For instance, the Thoroughbred series is one I followed avidly as a child and now, whenever I watch the Melbourne Cup, I actually know vaguely what's going on.

5. Sharing is caring

When discussing the books we've read, I can actually have a decent meaningful conversation with friends rather than just talk meaninglessly about the weather or some brainless celebrity.

Top 5 Reasons I Love Being a Blogger

This blog is still very much in its infancy. But I have internally debated about whether or not I should start a book blog for quite a long time now. Now that I have, I must admit it was a good idea and these are the top 5 reasons why.

1. Meet people with similar loves and interests

There's nothing better than meeting people from all around the world who share similar reading interests as I do. All these wonderful people are from all walks of life with all different experiences. We can have an exchange of book recommendations and learn from each other.

2. Share my reading experience

Not all my friends share the same intensity of love for books as I do. And whenever I gush about a book I've read or compare a book to the movie, they all stare at me blankly or admit they've only watched the movie. So shouting out to the world wide web allows me to share my reading experiences with people who actually gets what I'm on about.

3. Broaden my horizon

I've been living in a literary hole for the last six years or so while I was slaving away in university. Thus, without the web and all the bloggers/booktubers I follow, I would never have stumbled across some fantastic works and/or authors. Can you believe I've never heard from John Green or Neil Gaiman until this year?!

4. Challenge myself

Without my blog holding me accountable, I would probably sink into a nice comfortable groove where I only read the books that I know I will enjoy. While there's nothing wrong with that, it also means I would never challenge myself to read outside of my comfort zone and discover great new works and/or authors.

5. De-stress

Again, blogging is a good therapeutic experience for me. For instance, I just had a really long day at the hospital today and am about to go to my volunteer organization in about 10 minutes from now. However, even as I sit here typing these words, I find myself calm and relaxed.

So there you go, those are the top ten reasons I love being a blogger and reader. I'd love to hear about your reasons too. Leave a comment or a link below! 

OCR: It's not a disease, it's a way of life

Hi, my name is Witless Fool (yeah, don't ask, that's a blog post in itself) and I am an obsessive compulsive reader (hence the name of this blog). I love books. I love reading them. I love the endless potentials they contain. I love being able to pick one up and escape into the world that exists between the covers.

In short, I love books.

I think I fell in love with reading way back in the later years of primary school. That was roughly when I managed to have enough of a grasp of the English language to truly enjoy the process of reading. Some of my favourite childhood books are Brian Jacques' Redwall series, Joanna Campbell's Thoroughbred series, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events to name just a few.

Then high school came around and I continued to read during my spare times, even during the busy final years. Isobelle Carmody, Jennifer Fallon, Juliet Marillier, J.R.R Tolkien, Nora Roberts, Linda Howard are just some of the standouts that come to mind as I type this post. I was in the midst of developing my taste and personal preferences so I was eager to try my hands on everything, including a brief foray into science fiction before I decided nope, I'm definitely more of a fantasy and romance type of gal.

Sadly, in the past few years of my life, I have done very little reading. Real life, and in my case, university, got in the way of my reading. It wasn't until at the end of last year, when I finally finished university that I have had the time to sit down and finally start reading again. And boy, did I miss reading.

I joined GoodReads' 100 books challenge this year and already, I'm sitting at 32 books and counting. The more I read, the more I realize how much I've missed out on over the past 6 years. But looking back on what I've read so far this year, I've realized I have been sticking predominantly to YA-fiction that's either fantasy or dystopian. I want to broaden my horizons again as well as catching up on the good books that have come out in the past that I haven't read.

So here's the goal of this blog: to keep track of all my reads, my thoughts on them, and plans for future reads. I'm also quite keen to tackle some classics (as I am genuinely not a classics fan) as well as revisit some genres such as science fiction that I abandoned a long time ago. I'm still sticking to my 100 books challenge plus also do some rereads of some old-time favourites.

In my next post, I think I'll do my 2014 reading goals.

So yeah, welcome to my blog, thanks for dropping by and wish me luck! :)