From Pah Rahmah and family!

Pah Rahmah is my grandmother, the matriarch of our family. She was, unfortunately, sick the whole morning, so it really was a feat that she was smiling when this pic was taken. This is not the whole clan, but we take what we can get!

And I just can’t hide it!

America’s Next Top Model is back!! This “cycle” Tyra is exclusively featuring under-5”7 girls, again deluding herself that her show can change the fashion industry’s perception of beauty. Her Fashion-God-like complex is the reason why we… ehem.. I love Tyra. You just don’t meet people like her everyday, you know.

And the girls themselves? Just because they’re short, doesn’t make them less crazy than all the other contestants before them. YES! I know I can always count on ANTM for the reality tv drama.

For every “cycle”, the episode that I’m waiting for most is the Makeovers. This time Tyra didn’t even make me wait! The girls got their makeovers in the 2nd hour of the show. Does this mean that I have nothing to look forward to for this cycle? We’ll see. And I love how Tyra thinks she gave the best makeovers for the girls. Some of them look better, I admit, but most of them? Downgrade.

And Ms. Jay seriously need to retire from the judging panel. He’s only funny when he’s teaching runaway, anyway. Tyra, reevaluate your judges!

Let’s start with the synopsis:

Great Britain circa 1985: time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously. Baconians are trying to convince the world that Francis Bacon really wrote Shakespeare, there are riots between the Surrealists and Impressionists, and thousands of men are named John Milton, an homage to the real Milton and a very confusing situation for the police. Amidst all this, Acheron Hades, Third Most Wanted Man In the World, steals the original manuscript of Martin Chuzzlewit and kills a minor character, who then disappears from every volume of the novel ever printed! But that's just a prelude.

Hades' real target is the beloved Jane Eyre, and it's not long before he plucks her from the pages of Bronte's novel. Enter Thursday Next. She's the Special Operative's renowned literary detective, and she drives a Porsche. With the help of her uncle Mycroft's Prose Portal, Thursday enters the novel to rescue Jane Eyre from this heinous act of literary homicide. It's tricky business, all these interlopers running about Thornfield, and deceptions run rampant as their paths cross with Jane, Rochester, and Miss Fairfax. Can Thursday save Jane Eyre and Bronte's masterpiece? And what of the Crimean War? Will it ever end? And what about those annoying black holes that pop up now and again, sucking things into time-space voids. (source)

Weird, right? And AMAZING. I haven’t read anything this wacky since Douglas Adam’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (mad love). Imagine, a world where people actually read more than watch tv. A world where people are passionate enough about the written word that hundreds of people would change their name to their favourite poet (eg: John Milton 432, means the 432nd person who officially changed his name to John Milton). A world where time travel and cloning exist. Vampires and werewolves live among us. A world where the line between the literary world and the real world can be crossed only by special people with untapped abilities. A world where the literary characters are self-aware that they are part of the book. Even with the advancement of technology, the undead, and magic, the people are still… people. Crime still prevalent, no flying cars, and single career ladies of mature years will always be at the receiving end of When-are-you-going-to-get-married lecture from the mother and well-meaning but inappropriate aunts.

You can still enjoy the book if you haven’t read the classics, but the ‘inside jokes’ will be funnier if you have. For me, the best part of the book is when Thursday transported herself into Jane Eyre (the book) to capture the evil criminal Acheron Hades, who tried to escape prosecution by transporting himself into the book. To read her adventures there, while the story of Jane Eyre is unfolding is… I don’t know, felt intimately connected to the book. Gad, I have to stop now because I’m thisclose to reveal some very important plot device that can be considered as spoilers.

Sometimes, you have to suspend logic and rational thinking when you read this book because if you try to make sense of the shenanigans, your brain WILL explode. Oh yeah, I logged on to Fforde’s website, and look at the funny shit he has on it:

See the text in the blue-lined box, reads: To Initiate Emergency “Boss Approaching” Procedure, Press Here

And when you click it, this come out:

LOLLLLLLLLLL I almost peed myself.

The next book in the series is Lost in a Good Book. Can’t wait to get my hands on it!