Starting July With A Bang

How’s this for a first post this month?

When I started this reading challenge this January, I was not even sure if I could finish 50 books in a year because sometimes, lulls in reading are more frequent than the number of times I  hold a book in my  hand. It’s a great leap from the 35 I managed to read in 2014.  Goodreads says, “You have read 50 of 50 books in 2015.” Chick lit, YA, fiction, a memoir, some inspirational books and contemporary stories made up my reading list for the challenge. And it helped that I have my new tab because I could read at night without interruption. Now it’s time to concentrate on the classic books that I wanted to read for a long, long time but didn’t have the time to start. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy is on the list, so with the L.M. Montgomery series ( I love Anne of Avonlea), Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak, my new and still unopened  copy of The Collected Works of Oscar Wilde  (the complete plays, poems and stories  including The Picture of Dorian Gray and De Profundis) and maybe cap it with the Outlander Series  (a re-read) by Diana Gabaldon before the year ends.

There is this sweet lady I follow here on WordPress.  Lately, she was able to publish a book based on the series of books and authors she has read in a year. Her blog is aptly called A Year of Reading the World. She sourced books from different authors in different countries.  I dream of doing that too, some day, not the publishing of a book but reading several authors like she did. I love this quote from William Styron:

A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading.

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My Reading List For 2012

I promised myself I would go easy on blogging and concentrate on reading more books this year. There are so many books I have set aside the past year in lieu of being in front of  my computer blogging everyday. The lure of books is making itself felt, a little tug here and there, looking into some pages  I accumulated over the years, starting on a few chapters but not really absorbing them.  There are books and there are books that seem dull at first but when you start re-reading them, you ask yourself, “why have I missed this”?  For in truth, they  are just waiting for you to pick them up.  Or maybe the second time around is like a love affair that goes sweeter by the minute. So here goes, this list is not even complete but the books I have here will have to be first. The stash is definitely growing everyday.

• Mythology – my two kids are lovers of mythology and Nissa invested on hard bound books on Greek, Roman, Norse and Celtic mythology. It’s not too late to educate myself on this because the only mythology book I read before was a paperback copy of  Edith Hamilton’s book. Tall order, don’t you think?
• Thai Cooking and More – Yes, definitely more experiment in the kitchen. I have tried one or two recipes but the problem is, sometimes it is hard to find authentic Thai ingredients here.
• Cell by Stephen King – this has sat on our shelf  for the past three years and I haven’t even open the pages. It was a gift from a friend.  It’s hard to read a hard-bound book when you are on the verge of sleep.
• Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher – Have I read this in the early years, I am not sure now but it’s another book on hard cover. Pilcher is a favorite and I am trying to complete all of her published books.
• The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown – Dan Brown is not exactly my cup of tea but I’ll give it a try.
• Border Music by James Waller – Waller is another author whose writing style appeals to me.
• The Bridge Across Forever by Richard Bach – would love to read this again and get reacquainted with Richard Bach and LeslieParrish. This is an excellent and wonderful journey of Richard who bares his soul here. It speaks about fate and soul mate encounter. If you loved reading Jonathan Livingston Seagull, you would surely love this too.
• Valley of Horse by Jean Auel – The thick book scares me but I’ll give it a try.
• Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson – The inspiring account of one man’s campaign to build schools in the most dangerous, remote, and anti-American reaches of Asia . For a time, I was hooked on reading books on Pakistan, Afghanistan, and other Asian countries where turmoil is still present until now.
• Coraline by Neil Gaiman – Well, it’s by Neil Gaiman, no question there.
• If Life Were A Bowl of Cherrie, What Am I Doing In The Pits by Erma Bombeck – She’s funny, that I can tell!
• Between Blinks by Jim Paredes – a collection of poems and essays by one of Apo’s members.
• A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving – There’s a good review on this so I’ll give it a try.
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte – would love to re-read this classic. The last time I encountered this book was when I was in high school.
• Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert – Some of my friends are raving about this but I got bore reading the first part. Who knows, I’ll finally find a treasure when I read it again.
• Julie and Julia  by Julie Powell – Another much-hyped about book that I started but got bored after the first fifty pages.   

What about you? What books do you plan to read this year?

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The Shack

“So is the story true?  The pain, the loss, the grief, the process, the conversations, the questions, the anger, the longing, the secrets, the lies, the forgiveness…all real, all true.  The story in particular… fiction… but….  Then there is God who emerges so very real and true, unexpected and yet not unexpected, but surprising and…       

So… is all this real?  Is all this true?  I suppose each of us has to decide for ourselves, don’t we?”

I am about to read The Shack. It was on my to-be-read list for quite sometime now but it is still in its original plastic cover. A friend from our book group highly recommended it years ago but I got hold of a copy only this year. I am glad I waited because it’s a trade paperback copy. I bought it when National Bookstore went on sale this year. The original price was pegged at P495.00 but they slashed it in half. The author is not familiar to me so I googled him up and found this site. I am quite excited to start it since the subject is a little  different from the other books that I am used to.  Here is a good review I found  on the net. I am planning to buy two more books before my birthday. I always give myself a birthday gift every year, no matter how simple it is. It’s a plain reminder how I spent my previous birthday.

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Happy Sunny Sunday

I woke up to the chirps of the maya birds outside our window. “Good morning world”. It’s another day, it’s another month and I suddenly remembered, I forgot to really greet October with a bang! So “happy new month, welcome October”.

Last night, Nissa and Obet brought home several magazines and again I was thrilled to see the latest issues  (October 2011) of Animal Scene, Agriculture, Cruising, Sense and Style and a thick copy of July-Dec. 11 issue of Wedding Essentials. Much as we love books, we also love buying mags, this time though, they came free. One of their ninongs, who is an executive of Manila Bulletin gave them to Nissa.  Had they come earlier, they could have been included in the wedding features of Wedding Essentials.  Next publication would be by January so it’s still okay. This is the first time that I read an issue of Cruising and I love their features on Simple Joys – travel stories  on several hidden treasures in the Philippines. I didn’t even know where Cagbalete Island is until I read this very interesting article about it. Do you know that you could travel to Baguio on a P1,000 peso budget (excluding bus fares) and that covers an overnight accommodation and food plus some pasalubong? The best way to explore Baguio is on foot.

I finally had the chance to sign up at Goodreads. I have this ambitious longing to create another virtual library with all our books bought after typhoon Ondoy. I had one at Shelfari but when we lost most of our collections to the flood, I became so lazy updating my online library there because most of the lovely books I had for years were destroyed. If I’ll have enough time, I’ll make a list of all the books I have at the moment then update Goodreads. The good thing is, you  can make your  own book review and find people who have the same interests like you do.

Books, books and more books, where could you go wrong with books? Read, read and read a lot more because “Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers. ”  That’s a quote from Charles W. Eliot 

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My Book Challenge for 2010

I promised myself to read more this year and make a review of some books I have encountered.   Last January, I started making a list of the books I have started  reading  and clearly forgot to update it.  It’s somehow pathetic that I was not able to keep my promise to read at least three or four books a month.  I feel lazy at times  to  hold one, but I still regularly go to bookstores to buy more books. We are slowly replenishing the books we have lost  during the  flood  last year but I still can’t find some good replacements for my collection.  At least now, my daughter and I have become more selective, choosing hard bound copies over mass market read.

1.  The Mermaid Chair –  Sue Monk Kidd  (Midlife crisis and self-awakening)

2.  The Pillars of the Earth – Ken Follett (historical – 12th century England)

3.  Mr. Write – M.D. Balangue  (local chick lit)

4.  The Breakup Diaries – May Calica (local chick lit)

5.  King of Torts – John Grisham (legal/suspense novel)

6.  The Secret – Rhonda Byrne (the secret to prosperity, health,relationships and happiness)

7.  Candle Creations – arts and crafts

8.  Between Blinks – Jim Paredes ( insights, poetry, stories)

9.  Love Rosie – Cecelia Ahern

10.  The  Thorn Bird – Colleen McCullough  (my third copy, I think, the first two were borrowed and were not returned).

11. Love  the One You’re With – Emily Giffin ( have you ever thought of the one that got away?)

12. Gone Baby Gone – Dennis Lehane (thriller)

13. Sundays at Tiffany’s – James  Patterson

14. Sam’s Letters to Jennifer – James Patterson

15. The Valley of Light – Terry Kay

16. Girl With A  Pearl Earring – Tracy Chevalier

17. Loving Through Heartsongs – Mattie J.T. Stepanek (book of inspirational poems, made a review of this earlier).

18. How Do You Know If Your Pearls Are Real? – Barbara C. Gonzalez (family relationships)

19. Grace – Richard Paul Evans

20. The Interruption of Everything – Terry McMillan

21. Under The Tuscan Sun – Frances Mayes

22. Resistance – Anita Shreve

23.  Cause Celeb – Helen Fielding (read some chapters by candlelight because I could not put it down)

24.  Sail – James Patterson

I will update this from time to time and here’s a list of the unread ones:

1.  Critical – Robin Cook

2.  Coming Home – Rosamund Pilcher

3.  Cell – Stephen King

4.  A Prayer for Owen Meany – John Irving

5.  Eat, Pray, Love – Elizabeth Gilbert

6.  Julie and Julia – Julie Powell (watched the movie but half way through reading it, I got bored)

7.   Atonement – Ian McEwan

8.  Favorite Poems of Emily Dickinson – ( I read the poems at random)

9. If Life Were a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits- Erma Bombeck

10. From Beginning to End – Robert Fulghum

11. It Was on Fire When I Lay Down on It – Robert Fulghum

12. Coraline – Neil Gaiman

13. Three Cups of Tea – Greg Mortenson  (can’t wait to read this one)

14. Ilustrado – Miguel Syjuco (and this one too)

15. The Glass Castle – Jeannette Wells ( a memoir of resilience and redemption)

16. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte ( a reread)

17. The Prophet – Kahil Gibran (lost my first copy to flood Ondoy)

18. Irish Linen – Andrew Greeley

19. Judge and Jury – James Patterson

20. Breathing Lessons – Anne Tyler

I’ve meant to update my virtual library at Shelfari.com but just thinking of removing the titles which are now gone sort of depresses me.

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