FICTION

 Title : THE FIVE MEET YOU MEET IN HEAVEN

 Author : MITCH ALBOM
 Publisher : LITTLE, BROWN
 Number of pages : 231
 Published Year : 2003
 Published Place : GREAT BRITAIN
 Edition : 1ST EDITION
 Price : RM 39.90

THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN

Assalamualaikum and a very good morning/afternoon to the respected judge panel.

I, Nashwa Kameela Binti Khuzairi, a form 4 student of SMK Section 10 Kota Damansara.
Today I will introduce to all of you a book by Mitch Albom who is an internationally best-
selling author, journalist, screenwriter, playwright, radio and television broadcaster and
musician. His books have collectively sold more than 39 million copies worldwide; have been
published in forty-nine territories and in forty-five languages around the world; and have been
made into Emmy Award-winning and critically-acclaimed television movies. Out of all his
wonderful works, the book entitled The Five People You Meet In Heaven had caught my
attention.

Mitch David Albom was born on May 23,1958 to a Jewish family in New Jersey. While living
in New York, Albom developed an interest in journalism. Still supporting himself by working
nights in the music industry, he began to write during the day for the Queen Tribune, a weekly
newspaper in Flushing, New York. This is where he started his passion for writing and after
the success of Tuesday with Morrie that is his first non-fiction book, Albom’s follow up was
the fiction book The Five People You Meet in Heaven published in September 2003. Although
released six years after Tuesday with Morrie, the book was a fast success and again launched
Albom onto the New York Times best-seller list. He is also known for his inspirational stories
and themes that weave through his books, films, and play.
The novel The Five People You Meet in Heaven tells you a story of Eddie a lonely war veteran
who feels trapped in a meaningless life of fixing rides at seaside amusement park. His days are
full of dull routine of work loneliness and regret. Then on his eighty-third birthday, Eddie dies
in a tragic accident while trying to save a little girl from a falling cart. With his final breath, he
awakens in the afterlife where he learns that heaven is not a lush Garden of Eden but a place
where your earthly life is explained to you by five people who were in it. These people might
have been loved ones or distant strangers. Yet each of them changed your path forever.

In my perspective, this book is the perfect book for the spiritual ones who eager to hear stories
on afterlife. Surely everyone has an idea of heaven, as do most religions, and they all should
be respected. The book isn’t purely about heaven or the concept of heaven, but rather the
relationships you make in life and how they shape us into the person we are today. Its like
connecting all the missing dots you have in life. Connections with people you may not be aware
of have an impact to your life journey.

Despite of all the good things, of course there is different flaws noticed by people. In my
opinion, it will be the story line. The event always changes from the present to the past, back
and forth all through the book explaining about Eddie’s present state and his childhood. At
first, I have a hard time adjusting myself with the storyline but soon enough I got a hang of it.
Nevertheless, this book is easy to understand for teenagers. The language that the author used
to portray the story is simple yet unique for his choice of words. You’ll probably come across
some new words but I don’t think that would be a problem.

This book gave such a huge impact on my life because of all the moral values you’ll gained
from it. It opened my eyes to see the world differently and appreciate this gift called life more.
Through the book, you’ll learned that everything happens for a reason. There are no random
events in life. All lives and experiences are interconnected in some way and even the little thing
you do can affect other. Moreover, sacrifices are a part of life. Everyone makes these sacrifices.
Some sacrifices are big, some are small but they all make an impact in other people’s lives.
Some parts of the book might not relate to you in terms of the war event but I can say that this
book will definitely touch your heart in a miracle way just like what the Irish Examiner said “
Its miracle book…delightful and thought-provoking”.
NON-FICTON
 Title : HOW TO TALK SO PEOPLE LISTEN
 Author : SONYA HAMLIN
 Publisher : HARPER & ROW, PUBLISHERS
 Number of pages : 314
 Published Year : 1988
 Published Place : UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
 Edition : 1ST EDITION
 Price : $12.99

HOW TO TALK SO PEOPLE LISTEN

My second book would be ‘How To Talk so People Listen’ by Sonya Hamlin. Sonya Hamlin,
an award-winning television talk show host, consults and coaches America’s Fortune 100
Companies and executives, including American Express, IBM, Bayer Corporation and others.
She has taught at Oxford, Harvard Law School and John F. Kennedy School of Government
too.

Sonya Hamlin is a nationally recognised expert in many phases of communication and author
of five books. She has received two Emmys Awards one for hosting the Sonya Hamlin show
and one for the writing, filming and directing her innovative documentary. Some of her books
are What Makes Juries Listen, What Makes Juries Listen Today and How To Talk so People
Listen: The Real Key to Job Success.

This book is written for everyone, from the entry level employee to the executive. Hamlin
delivers solutions to some of today’s major communication issues at work such as negotiating
the generation gaps, organizing your message and making it visual, and understanding what
motivates today’s audiences. She provides unique innovative tools in an informal way.

From my opinion, this book is not suitable for kids or young adults. This is due to the high
English words that is used by the author to deliver a clear message to the readers. The choice
of words is too hard for young readers to register in their brain. Therefore, I don’t recommend
youngster to read this book as it talks more about problem solving in your career life. Even
though the contain of the book is extremely useful and inspiring to be use as a guide line when
you need to do a presentation or just randomly talking in front of a lot of people.
However, if you are someone who is just starting their first job, this book might come in handy.
This book shares a lot of cool techniques and tips that can make people talk with confidence
and fluently. One of the tips are having a question and answer session, knowing your audience
and use informal language so it’s easy for people to understand. This will create a bond between
you and the audience also loosening up the tense atmosphere.
NON-FICTION
 Title : KOREA
 Author : SIMON RICHMOND, TIMOTHY N HORNYAK,
SHAWN LOW, YU-MEI BALASINGAMCHOW
 Publisher : LONELY PLANET
 Number of pages : 414
 Publisher Year : 1998
 Published Place : AUSTRALIA
 Edition : 9TH EDITION
 Price : $26.99

KOREA
Lastly, my third book would be about Korea by four authors that is Simon Richmond, Shawn
Low, Timothy N Hornyak and Yu-Mei Balasingamchow. These authors had worked together
to make the perfect travel guide book for people who are planning to go to Korea.
Simon Richmond known as the main author of this book is a journalist and photographer who
is specialized as a travel writer since the early 1990s. The second author, Shawn Low is the
book editor. Timothy N Hornyak the third author wrote his master thesis on Korean
reunification after a research stint in Seoul. Lastly, Yu-Mei Balasingamchow is also known
for the co-author.
This book covered almost everything you need to know about South and North Korea. For
example, about the currency that is Korean Won, the language, what to pack, what to wear,
etiquette, food and et cetera. Furthermore, we can’t forget about the attractions that is a must
for all traveller to know. I’m going to focus more on South Korea because it is extremely
popular among youth these days. As we all know, the Korean Wave had spread wildly all over
the world, this is because of the K-POP influence and Korean Drama. People, more specifically
teenagers are swooned over by the Korean entertainment and culture. Thus, these encourage a
lot of people to go to South Korea.
Some of the famous attractions that is mention in the book is Seoul, the heart of South Korea.
In Seoul, we can go to Gyeong Bok Palace. It was the main royal palace of the Joseon Dynasty.
Its free to enter the palace if you are wearing Korean traditional clothing, Hanbok. Talking
about neighbourhood, Hongdae, Myeongdong, Gangnam and Itaewon is always crowded with
foreigners. These places attract people for different purpose. For example, Myeongdong is a
shopping area packed with international fashion brands, luxury department stores and
homegrown cosmetics shops. On the other hand, Itaewon is known for the Halal Corner. There
you can find a lot halal and Malaysian restaurant. Plus, the Seoul Central Mosque is located
there too.
Overall, the book is good and it suits all ages except children. It has everything you need, want
to know and easily understood. Unfortunately, the downfall of the book is the way the
information was organized, it’s a bit confusing and dull must I say.