Oh the memories. I remember hanging out at the STC grade school library and reading this book out loud with a friend, giggling over every page. Tongue twisters are the best. :)

Reading Lists - 2013

Saw a couple of interesting reading lists on Mashable and I can't wait to get started!

http://tomorrowsreflection.com/forget-the-books/

HP vs PJ

Been reading the Percy Jackson series on and off the past couple of months. It's my quick read on the phone while waiting in lines. It's quite interesting and to be honest, it's teaching me more mythology than school ever did. Wish my generation had this book growing up. I probably would have been less intimidated by gods and goddesses and all the strange monsters and mythical creatures.

Photo from: http://www.charming.aislin.net/crossover/percyharrybanner400x222.png

Book Recap (Fiction): Messenger, Night Circus, Fight Club, The Fault In Our Stars

This past month, I read four good books, each entirely different from the others. No monotony :) Here's a run down of what I thought. 


1. Messenger (by Lois Lowry) 

rating: 3/5 stars


thoughts:
I had high hopes for this book simply because it's part of the "The Giver" trilogy. I am most unfortunate to have skipped the second book, "Gathering Blue," because I wasn't aware of the sequence. Fortunately, the story of "Messenger" stands alone and you can enjoy it even without reading the first two books. That being said, I would still recommend that you read the first two because some characters show up in this final installment and it would be easier to appreciate them if you knew their background.


The story is set in a place called Village, where outcasts and newcomers are welcomed and given a place in society (characters from the first two books have fled to this Village to seek belongingness). People are revered for their unique imperfections. Everyone is accepted and there is always a helping hand wherever you go. 


The story revolves around a young boy named Matty who hopes to someday be named as Village "messenger." Because of his familiarity with the forest, he is usually tasked with sending messages or goods to communities outside of Village.  


Through time, some people in the village start changing. They decided that they didn't want to continue welcoming the needy, the imperfect, the handicapped. They fear that their resources may not be enough for them. With this,they decide to close off Village by building a wall. 


I am this close to giving spoilers, so I'm stopping myself while I can. All I can say is that this book gave me a lot to think about. I had a lot of "why" questions and metaphors I needed to piece together. "Messenger" has that depth to it that usually the seemingly simple books have. 


My only problem with it was the ending. While I was reading through the peak of the story, I couldn't help but notice that there were very few pages left. I'm like, "How can the ending be so near? It's only starting to get exciting." And then it does end, and I wish it hadn't ended that way. That abrupt, and as usual, without the closure you get from knowing what happens to them after. Guess Lois Lowry really wants us to keep us guessing.


2. The Night Circus (Erin Morgenstern)

rating: 3/5 stars


thoughts:
This book was a recommendation from my boss. I was a bit hesitant to read it at first because I wanted to take some time away from fantasies and read more real-life types of stories. I'm glad I picked this up though because reading it is a thrill to the senses. 


"The Night Circus" is about Celia and Marco, magicians trained from childhood to eventually compete against each other. The problem is *surprisesurprise* they fall in love. The circus was to be the venue of their "battle."


Morgenstern is an expert at creating magical atmospheres, beautiful imagery and mysteriously interesting characters. She probably knows this, which is why practically half of the book are descriptions. It is not a book to read if you're into fast-paced stories. 


To give you an idea about how slow the story is, Celia and Marco don't meet until about halfway into the book. My hair turned white just waiting for them to finally meet. When they do, the story picks up, but not in the way I expected. 


I guess I expected it to be exciting and action-packed, as the summary talks about some sort of competition between magicians. However, there wasn't much action at all. In fact, I think the story just kind of "faded" towards the end (pun intended, but you'll only get it if you've read the book=p). 


I did like reading about the (somewhat shallow) love story though - it entertained me, and the circus and all it's aspects mesmerized me. I desperately want to go to the night circus right this minute. Now that I think about it, The Circus was the main character of this story, not Celia and Marco.

“The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.”


Second to the circus, my favorite part was reading about the "midnight dinners."


“But the Midnight Dinners have an air of nocturnal mystery already, and Chandresh finds that providing no menu, no map of the culinary route, adds to the experience. Dish after dish is brought to the table, some easily identifiable as quail or rabbit or lamb, served on banana leaves or baked in apples or garnished with brandy-soaked cherries. Other courses are more enigmatic, concealed in sweet sauces or spiced soups; unidentifiable meats hidden in pastries and glazes.”

Care for dessert?

"The desserts are always astonishing. Confections deliriously executed in chocolate and butterscotch, berries bursting with creams and liqueurs. Cakes layered to impossible heights, pastries lighter than air. Figs that drip with honey, suger blown into curls and flowers. Often, dinners remark that they are too pretty, too impressive to eat, but they always find a way to manage."


And that is how you describe food. 


I therefore conclude that this book 1)makes you wish this fantasy circus existed, 2)makes you hungry.



3. Fight Club (Chuck Palahniuk)

rating: 4/5 stars


thoughts:
Finally finally finally. It took me ages to finally read this, and I put off watching the movie because they all say you have to read the book first. So now, I've read it and watched it, and I can't decide which one I loved more.


Honestly, it wasn't that easy for me to get into the groove of Chuck Palahniuk's writing, especially when he was jumping from one thing to another after every sentence. Once I got past the first few chapters though, it got better.


It's about a guy living a mundane life who's reality changed after meeting Tyler Durden. Together, they started Fight Club, where men of all backgrounds fight their nights away and go home with a renewed sense being able to handle anything life throws at them.

"After a night in fight club, everything in the real world gets the volume turned down. Nothing can piss you off. Your word is law, and if other people break that law or question you, even that doesn't piss you off."

I can't really say much about this book, except that it blew my mind. Reading it is an experience in itself. It's dark and witty and not as focused on violence as I originally expected. It's more about breaking away from the traps of society and renouncing consumerism.

"You have a class of young strong men and women, and they want to give their lives to something. Advertising has these people chasing cars and clothes they don't need. Generations have been working in jobs they hate, just so they can buy what they don't really need."


It's really good storytelling, a story that's hard to forget. 

""Because everything up to now is a story," Tyler says, "and everything after now is a story."
This is the greatest moment of our life."

What Palahniuk book should I read next?

4. The Fault In Our Stars (John Green)

rating: 5/5 stars


thoughts: So here's the thing. If a book makes me cry buckets, it automatically gets 5 stars. (Following this kind of logic, this book should probably get more than 5 stars.haha!)


This is the story of Hazel and Agustus, two teenagers who fall in love. It's just like any other young romance, only, these kids have cancer. For that, they have a deeper understanding of being alive and being in love, which is evident in the way they talk.


Even though cancer plays a major part in their lives, they don't let it control them. Hazel aptly words it as "living with cancer, not dying of it."


I like that the characters are smart, witty and very likable. They're not cheesy or melodramatic, and they're like regular teenagers in a lot of ways. "Flirting was new to me, but I liked it."


For a book that initially seems daunting because of the theme it tackles, "The Fault in Our Stars" actually made me laugh a lot.

Me: *reading*
Boyfriend: What are you reading?
Me: A book about kids with cancer who fall in love. *continues reading*
(after a while)
Me: *giggles*
Boyfriend: Why are you laughing? Aren't you reading about cancer kids?

And of course it made me cry, too.

Me: *crying*
Boyfriend: Why are you crying?
Me: *still crying, can't talk*
Boyfriend: WHYARE YOU CRYING?
Me: Someone died.
(Well, you can't read about cancer and nobody dies. This is not a spoiler because I'm not saying who died.)

See. You go through the whole range of emotions. Never has the word "okay" meant so much.

It's a beautiful, beautiful book. One that can only be truly appreciated if read because summarizing it would not do justice to the words John Green put together.

"You don't get to choose if you get hurt in the world, but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices."


Favorite book of the year, so far. :)

Greatest Books Chosen by Famous Authors

Early this year, Brain Pickings posted an article on the Greatest Books of All Time, As Voted by 125 Famous Authors. It's from a book called  The Top Ten: Writers Pick Their Favorite Books and it sums up what writers consider as the "greatest books of all time." I find this interesting, because why wouldn't it be? Who doesn't want to know what writers (who write the books we like) read?


Here's the list they came up with:


TOP TEN WORKS OF THE 20TH CENTURY

1. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
2. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
3. In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
4. Ulysses* by James Joyce
5. Dubliners* by James Joyce
6. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
7. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
8. To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
9. The complete stories of Flannery O’Connor
10. Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov

TOP TEN WORKS OF THE 19th CENTURY

1. Anna Karenina* by Leo Tolstoy
2. Madame Bovary* by Gustave Flaubert
3. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
4. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
5. The stories of Anton Chekhov
6. Middlemarch* by George Eliot
7. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
8. Great Expectations* by Charles Dickens
9. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
10. Emma* by Jane Austen

TOP TEN AUTHORS BY NUMBER OF BOOKS SELECTED

1. William Shakespeare — 11
2. William Faulkner — 6
3. Henry James — 6
4. Jane Austen — 5
5. Charles Dickens — 5
6. Fyodor Dostoevsky — 5
7. Ernest Hemingway — 5
8. Franz Kafka — 5
9. (tie) James Joyce, Thomas Mann, Vladimir Nabokov, Mark Twain, Virginia Woolf — 4

TOP TEN AUTHORS BY POINTS EARNED

1. Leo Tolstoy — 327
2. William Shakespeare — 293
3. James Joyce — 194
4. Vladimir Nabokov — 190
5. Fyodor Dostoevsky — 177
6. William Faulkner — 173
7. Charles Dickens — 168
8. Anton Chekhov — 165
9. Gustave Flaubert — 163
10. Jane Austen — 161

Now, where to start?

Game of Thrones

Last night, I took the "In Which Game of Thrones House Do You Belong?" quiz that a lot of people seem to be taking on Facebook. I met disappointing results because they placed me in the Night's Watch. Yikes. But I thought only men were allowed in the Night's Watch?? Then again, Lady Yza Urgel doesn't sound lady-ish. The only redeeming quality of the Night's Watch is Jon Snow, the cutest of all the GOT characters, in my opinion. That being said, I'm still not happy with the results, boo this quiz.lol

Officially Ravenclaw

The Sorting Hat has spoken. I am a Ravenclaw, just like I've always wanted to be. Yey! I've always thought the word "Ravenclaw" sounded pretty cool and besides, I want to be in the same house as Cho Chang. Also, I'm extremely glad the Hat considers me smart enough to get into such a brainy house.

The Sorting Hat asked me a series of questions ranging from choices between black or white, river or forest, which mystical creature I would like to study, what scent would draw me in, etc. Finally, the sorting hat asked me to choose between Ravenclaw and Slytherin. In my mind, I was like Harry. "Not Slytherin." I picked Ravenclaw and that's where the Sorting Hat placed me. My friend Pam, an extreme Harry Potter expert and fan, is jealous because apparently I'm a Hatstall. What's a Hatstall, you ask? You can read about it on Chapter 7 of Pottermore. Ha, I'm not giving it away just like that :)

I know I'm lame 'coz I only started Pottermore recently. I'm still trying to catch up. So far, it's been kind of slow, but there are some really interesting tidbits from J.K. Rowling. I've had much more fun playing the Harry Potter Playstation games back then, but then again, Pottermore isn't a video game anyway, so it's not fair to compare. Pottermore allows you to explore back stories and interesting trivia that you'd never know just by reading the books. J.K. really has the whole wizarding world figured out. The coolest I've read so far is Professor McGonagall's parents' story.

I'm slowly treading through (took me a while to figure out Potions!) but I'm enjoying the ride. Can't wait to experience the rest of the chapters. Hopefully, I get to contribute to the Ravenclaw house points so we'd win the house cup. Current standing is Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. How very true to the book.

And so I end this in the words of the great Albus Dumbledore, "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

:)

Addendum: A few weeks back, I learned that both my brothers also ended up in Ravenclaw. Now isn't that cool? I swear we didn't talk about it. We can be like, the Weasleys of Ravenclaw. Ha! :D As much as I don't want to put pressure on her, I really hope our baby sister ends up in our house when she finally gets sorted. She's our own little Ginny!:)

So today I caught this article on Young Blood that just instantly made my day. (Thanks, Alex, for sharing!) This is exactly the type of guy I would drool over. In my imagination, he looks like Leonardo di Caprio or perhaps, Ethan Hawke (give me a break, this is my blog. FYI Titanic and Before Sunrise will never get old).  I am lost in a daydream right now, trying to picture a world wherein I'm dating a guy version of myself, only more romantic and more attractive. 

Such happy thoughts. 

Thank you, Carlo Andrion, for writing this.


Anyway, to make things clear, (I believe) I already found my soulmate in this universe and I love him to death. So he doesn't exactly read (he read the first two Harry Potter novels a few chapters at a time, while waiting at the carwash -- at my constant prodding) but he's brilliant in a lot of things that when put together, weigh much more than the "man who reads."

But who's to stop me from imagining my Leo/Ethan-guy-who-reads in an alternate universe?:)

Young Blood

Catch a man who reads

By: Carlo Hernandez Andrion

12:23 am | Tuesday, March 6th, 2012

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The Philippines is not a “reading” nation. Books in this country are considered a luxury. Underpaid and poor, most people here would rather save money for other home essentials than spend on books.

But I want to tell you some things about people who read. It’s really about finding your Mr. Darcy—to date, marry, and grow old with.

Date a man who reads. Date a man who invests on books rather than on clothes, food and electronic gadgets. His may be a messy room—with tools, magazines and electronic gadgets scattered all over. But in the litter, you’ll find a “spice.” Books. Which would make you smile.

Guys who read books do not necessarily wear eyeglasses. They are neither nerds nor emos, nor are they introvert and antisocial creatures. They would hate you for sticking that stigma on them.

Date a man who reads. Social networking sites do not spoil his life. He can survive without Facebook,  Twitter, Tumblr, or e-mails, but not without a good read.

Date a man who reads. For he does know the value of poetry. Yes, science, engineering, math, law and medicine, they are great pursuits. But  the man who reads values love, life, true happiness—with passion.

Date a man who reads. A great place for him is a coffee shop, or anywhere cheap that he finds conducive to reading. He knows when you are upset, or happy, or guilty. He knows it because he is familiar with human emotions. You don’t need to give him a clue.

Date a man who reads because he will not take you to jampacked movie houses on premiere nights. He understands that a good movie is adapted from a great book. He knows that any movie adaptation is always inferior to its book original.

Date a man who reads. He knows that you’re going to give him a book for his birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries, but still he will be so eager to see what’s inside the gift. For he is so in love with literature—and with those who love the things he loves. Reminisce your childhood with the lessons from Dr. Seuss, “The Little Prince,” and the mysterious “Charlotte’s Web.” He’ll admire you for being familiar with those great stories.

Date a man who reads. He knows what is true, and what is fiction. If it’s possible in novels, why not in real life? Talk to him about Sherlock Holmes, of the magic kingdom of Narnia, and the best series so far, Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings.”

Date a man who reads. You’ll find him in a park, beneath a tree, with a newly acquired book whose pages could be white or yellow; or sitting by the bus window, relishing the yellow light, his perfect aphrodisiac for reading. He always welcomes a conversation with a stranger who likes to read Austen, Bronte, Woolf, Dickinson, and Niffenegger.

No, you will not find in his wallet a condom or a thick wad of money, or credit cards. Instead, you’ll find a list of books he wants to buy, and love letters and poems and quotes that he had earlier come across and that caught his interest. He does not put money in his wallet, unless he’s going to buy another book.

He knows when to make it with a girl. He doesn’t need to flirt. He has had enough flirtation in the books he had read. When he’s in love, he’s in love. He understands the concept of serendipity—and waiting. It takes time and patience to finish a Tolstoy novel.

He can spend the night with you, without sleep, and without sex, just talking endlessly about novels, and stories and poets and their lives. That Sylvia Plath committed suicide, Robert Frost took the road less traveled, Margaret Atwood knows the variation of sleep and love, and that John Keats’ last request was to place a “Here lies one whose name was writ in water” in his tombstone.

Date a man who reads. He does not judge a book by its cover. Or will he judge you by your appearance. He knows you have interesting stories “within” you, and he will listen to them, and fall in love with them. He knows how to make you smile. He’ll just read a good line, and you’ll know you’re inspired. He shares everything: the stories that break, and the ones that stink. Aside from reading, he gives you ample time—to eat, to pray, and to love. He accepts the fact that you need to find and discern yourself, sometimes.

Marry a man who reads. Make love to him as the two of you make new stories together. You’re guaranteed that your children will not have a boring childhood, that he’ll be there to tell bedtime stories because he believes (still) in fantasy even though he’s not a child anymore and he’ll play out the characters in children’s books.

He appreciates comedy and satire. His most precious belongings are his books and your family, which are to him a big story and a big event in his life. Although it is not quantifiable, he trusts the word “forever.”

Grow old with a man who reads. He knows that the worlds he has read in books will sometimes be more colorful and livelier than the world you two will actually live in. But he will not leave you. People die. Children come and go. But the memories and stories will be with you. Forever.

By the way, he believes in women’s lib, because he accepts that women are good readers, and writers too.

Carlo Hernandez Andrion, 21, is married to engineering but regards literature dearly as his mistress.

The Rory Gilmore Reading List

I'm currently marathon-ing all the seasons of Gilmore Girls (aka the most awesome TV series ever). If anything, Rory was the perfect role model for my generation back when this show was still on air. She still is. I will definitely make my future daughter/s watch this show. I keep praying that I will have the same mother-daughter relationship as Lorelai and Rory with my future daughter/s. My only regret is that I didn't have a daughter at 16 (kidding, mom!)

Hunger Games Movie

Around a couple of years back, I randomly came across this book called "Hunger Games" which (my favorite) bookstore, Fully Booked, recommended. At that time, there was no hype about it yet, but based on some online reviews, it seemed cool. So I reserved myself a copy and practically ran to the bookstore to get it.

From the moment I finished reading the first book, I kept telling everyone to read it. It's been the best young adult book I've sank my teeth into after Harry Potter. It was a refreshing read, especially after Twilight disappointed me so bad (I wanted to like it, I really did. So far, I've read the first book and half of New Moon. I'm not ashamed to admit that I like Edward's cheesy lines, but the storytelling was somewhat boring.)

When I moved jobs, I let my new office mates read the Hunger Games series, too. Ha ha. And I even blogged about the series here.

Imagine my excitement when they finally announced that a movie version was in the works. By that time, almost everyone knew about (or have read) the books.

A couple of weeks back the movie trailer FINALLY came out and so far, I haven't heard anything negative about it. It looks like it's going to be the next big movie franchise. Very promising. The great thing about it (I think) is that unlike Harry Potter and Twilight, you won't need to read the books in order to enjoy the movies. The story's not as complicated as Harry and it's fast paced and full of action, unlike Twilight. Please just don't give me a Mockingjay Part 1/Part 2, okay?

Leonardo

Oh yes. He will definitely do justice to Jay Gatsby's character. He's not my favorite actor for nothing. 

"It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced - or seemed to face - the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just so far as you  wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would lie to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey." --The Great Gatsby