Deantastic! » Books

Killing Time In A Warm Place

Deantastic — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 17:36:06 +0000

I’m happy to say that I have more or less regained my appetite for reading, prodded as I am by the rotating brownouts that give me five hours away from the computer everyday. I’ve been buying issues of TIME magazine regularly now, although I’m a bit embarrassed to admit the fact since I essentially kill trees with every issue I buy. (I would subscribe to the online version of the magazine, but apparently they don’t offer a Zinio-like e-mag service, which they really should.)

Speaking of TIME magazine, last Thursday I got hold of a copy of their April 26 issue, on the cover of which is Noynoy Aquino. The cover story sadly confirms my long-held view that while his campaign sits on the solid foundation of his parents’ legacy, the matter of whether it can be convincing on its own merits is another story entirely. (Yes, even though the piece sounded quite biased. Haha.)

* * *

I was in Cagayan de Oro last week. Of course I bought books. (Butuan is sadly devoid of good book shops. We have two relatively respectable bookstores, Newsies and Book Nook, but they sell only a handful of Picoults, Coelhos, and Sparkses, as well as weeklies and monthlies.)

I decided to finally grab a Twisted book. I’m a fan of Jessica Zafra’s blog, but I haven’t read any of her Twisted books yet, so I picked up “Twisted 5″, the only Twisted they had in stock at the SM CDO branch. Don’t judge the book by its hideous cover. (Voltes V? Really?) Ms Zafra’s wit and humor are easy to digest with her fantastic style. There are more movie reviews than I care to read, though.

My Twisted purchase must have pleased the universe, because a few days after buying “Twisted 5″, I won the weekly LitWit challenge on Ms Zafra’s blog! The two new additions to my already-insurmountable reading backlog are now sitting in a National Bookstore somewhere in Manila waiting for me.

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Over the past week I’ve been killing time in a warm place (the warm place being my bedroom in the sweltering summer heat and with the absence of airconditioning, owing to the brownouts) by reading “Killing Time In A Warm Place”, a novel by Jose Dalisay Jr. about life during the Marcos years. I didn’t think I would be able to finish the novel—a few years ago when I tried to read a Nicholas Sparks I swore off writing in the first person—but Dalisay’s style is enjoyable to read. I’m afraid I have to say that the novel lacks something, though; I didn’t feel connected enough to the protagonists. Novels like “Killing Time…” are expected to paint a vivid picture of the event or struggle they deal with. This novel does so to my satisfaction. However, considering that the Marcos Years were a pivotal era for our country, I, a Filipino who was born almost a decade after the overthrow of the regime, was looking to much more than just see the picture in all its detail—I wanted to feel like I was in the picture itself. People like Dalisay who were in the heat of the action would have found it easy to feel what I wanted to feel. But there are people like me who never had to go through those turbulent times, and I’m sad to say “Killing Time…” didn’t make me feel what Dalisay’s contemporaries must have felt as they read this novel.

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It’s back to reading Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”. Every time I pick that book up (I have the 50th anniversary edition) I have to wish Rand would have given future readers more consideration and shortened it, or at least split it into two or more volumes. (She would have made more money that way, too.)

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I say this with a certain amount of hesitation, but I will once again ask for your book recommendations. My quest to discover the classics, which you can read about in previous posts under the Opinion / Books category, is not yet over; my brother seems to have joined me on this quest, as he’s read Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and is now on “Adventures of Tom Sawyer”, another Twain. I want so badly to start on “Huck Finn”, but when I think about it I can feel my copy of “Atlas Shrugged” staring at me with a look of betrayal.

Oh hey, and Goodreads apparently has a Bookmooch-like feature now. Goodreads, by the way, is a website that allows you to share what books you’ve been reading and gives you suggestions on what to pick up next; Bookmooch lets you swap books for points—send a book to someone and you get points, which you can use to request for a book from someone else (so it’s both cost-effective and environmentally friendly!).

Continuing adventures in reading

Deantastic — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 12:00:32 +0000

I finally finished “To Kill A Mockingbird” today, nearly two weeks after I borrowed it from our school library. I’ll spare you the boredom of a lengthy review, but suffice to say, Harper Lee did a great job weaving a tight plot and portraying it with brilliant prose, in the process creating something precious: a story of an idyllic childhood during a tumultuous time in the distant past that has kept its sheen through the years, remaining relevant even today. Certainly a must-read.

I want to borrow another book in my continuing mission to discover the classics of literature, but there aren’t any more interesting titles available in the school library. Good news, in a way, because I still have two books here at home that I haven’t read yet: “Dreams From My Father” by Barack Obama (I bought it ages ago, but it sat neglected on my to-read shelf as I went through the classics) and the ridiculously thick “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand (in hindsight, I should have bought “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” by Milan Kundera instead of it). I think I’ll finish “Dreams” first because I’d already started reading it when I decided to do classics and because Caffeinesparks strongly advised me not to read Ayn Rand, because—and I quote—”objectivism sucks”.

Book suggestions are encouraged and appreciated!

[To Kill A Mockingbird book cover from Wikipedia]

Update on my reading + Pacman v Cotto: my fearless forecast

Deantastic — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:39:48 +0000

Hello, friends. Just a quick update on my reading: I found a copy of “The Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway in the school library last Monday. I mentioned in my last post that I recently finished reading the Barrons Book Notes on the book, but not the novella itself. I wanted to read the original work so I could properly appreciate Hemingway’s strong, strikingly simple language. I looked for a copy of the book in Bookmooch and in National Bookstore but found none, and in retrospect, I wonder why I didn’t think to look in a library first.

At any rate, after stumbling upon the book, I decided to get myself a library card just so I could take it out. Never mind that this is the first time I bothered to get a library card and that I’m graduating in four or five months. I finished it today, and, unsurprisingly, I must say I enjoyed it very much.

After I returned the novella (four days before it was due—huzzah!), I went back to reading “Dreams From My Father”, Barack Obama’s poignant memoir. However, upon coming across J.D. Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye” while going through the small collection of classic novels our library had, I decided to take it out. Hopefully I’ll be able to finish it before the weekend is over. “Dreams From My Father” will have to wait.

Actually, it might have to for a long time yet. “The Jane Austen Book Club“, which I was able to watch months ago on HBO, piqued my interest in Jane Austen, and the library has all her works (I think), so after “Catcher in the Rye”, I’m planning on going through as many Austens as I can.

You will notice that I’m just beginning to discover the classics, which is quite odd for a high school senior who labels himself a writer. I’m not sure I’ve talked about it so much yet, but I was introduced to leisure reading very abruptly. While many other bookworms of my generation entered the world of novels through Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew and their ilk, for me it was “The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown, about three years ago. Since finishing TDVC, I’ve read four of his five novels (I haven’t gotten around to buying “The Lost Symbol” yet—I’m waiting for the paperback version). After that I moved to Steve Berry (a less recognizable name, but he writes the same genre as Brown), and then to Coelho (deep stuff), and then a little Sidney Sheldon. It was only when Sir Jay gave me his copy of The Old Man and the Sea’s Barron Book Notes to read that I realized, “Why haven’t I gone through the really important works yet?”

Better late than never, I guess. Now, considering the breadth of English literature, it will probably take me a long time to go through the more enduring works, so if you want to suggest certain novels or works for me to read, I’d appreciate it.

Oh, and if you would for some reason or other like to see what books I have/am/am planning to read, visit me on Goodreads.

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My fearless forecast for Manny Pacquiao’s impending bout with Miguel Cotto: Manny will lose. Whether by knockout or by numbers, I can’t say, but my gut feeling (which I myself have learned to trust with caution) tells me he will come home defeated.

This prediction was made solely by observing how both Manny’s and his mother Dionisia’s heads have swelled up recently. Here’s hoping Cotto knocks some sense into them.

Consider it, then, an earnest, well-meaning wish instead of a forecast: I hope Manny loses, for his sake.

Book cover of “The Old Man and the Sea” obtained from Wikipedia. Not used for commercial purposes. No copyright infringement intended.

Catching Up On My Reading

Deantastic — Fri, 08 May 2009 07:25:53 +0000

I have, at long last, finished reading Eleven Minutes (Paulo Coelho), the only novel I managed to read all summer. Big shoutout to Marielle who lent me her copy of the book.

Eleven Minutes took on a difficult task: bringing sex, still a taboo topic in many parts of the world, to a better light. Essentially, the story revolves around the life of Maria, a beautiful Brazilian woman who becomes a prostitute in a foreign land. at a young age, Maria teaches herself to keep away from love, as she thinks it brings a person only pain and despair. As she keps away from love, she becomes inquisitive about sex. Her view of love is challenged when she crosses paths with a talented young painter who she thinks can show her a different kind of sex, a sacred sex, sex in the sense of love. (A good summary of the story can be found here.)

It was a good read. Not exactly page-turning, but interesting. Throughout the book are excerpts from a diary Maria kept which held her insights into love, sex, seduction, and the crazy world of prostitution she entered. The book did a good job at casting a less disgusting light on sexuality, at saying that it isn’t always the dirtiness society and religion make it out to be. For the critical novel reader, it is a wonderful read. For those who seek to find more meaning to sex, this is a gem of a book, as well.

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I still have quite a to-read list to go through. I had originally planned on finishing Nineteen Eighty Four (George Orwell), but after obtaining and viewing a copy of the movie adaptation of the novel, I didn’t think reading the novel was necessary anymore.

I’m currently reading The Romanov Prophecy (Steve Berry), an action-packed read about Russia’s Romanovs. I might re-read The Templar Legacy (also by Steve Berry), whose story I have completely forgotten.

My iPhone also has the Stanza app with which I downloaded Emma, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility—all by Jane Austen. (I blame The Jane Austen Book Club for my sudden interest in Austen’s works.) I also have digital copies of The Divine Comedy (Alighieri Dante) and The Kama Sutra (Vatsyayana) *giggle*.

With school opening soon, I’m not sure I will be able to clear up my to-read list. Jane Austen help me.

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You’ll never guess who just left the Republican Party.

OK, ready? It’s Joe Wurzelbacher! That’s right, the plumber-who-isn’t-actually-a-plumber and unofficial mascot of John McCain’s presidential campaign has left the Republican Party! This from Time Magazine:

SSamuel Wurzelbacher, better known as Joe the Plumber, tells TIME he’s so outraged by GOP overspending, he’s quitting the party — and he’s the bull’s-eye of its target audience. But he also said he wouldn’t support any cuts in defense, Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid — which, along with debt payments, would put more than two-thirds of the budget off limits. It’s no coincidence that many Republicans who voted against the stimulus have claimed credit for stimulus projects in their district — or that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal stopped ridiculing volcano-monitoring programs after a volcano erupted in Alaska. “We can’t be the antigovernment party,” Snowe says. “That’s not what people want.”

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret [Book Review]

Deantastic — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:15:05 +0000

It’s never too late to start reading a classic, so while I struggle to finish Nineteen Eighty Four, I read “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret“, a short, 25-chapter novel by Judy Blume that revolves around Margaret Ann Simon, a 12-year-old who grew up with no religion.

Having one Jewish and one Catholic parent, Margaret grows up without a religion, although she does talk to God all the time (most of her conversations with Him begin with the title’s words). In addition, it features the young Margaret transitioning into puberty and all the hullabaloo associated with it, such as purchasing her first bra and having her menarche. At the same time, Margaret’s paternal grandmother tries to convince her to choose Judaism while her maternal grandparents insist that she was born into the Catholic faith.

Cover of the book's 1970 edition; Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:AreYouThereGod.jpg

The novel is written in the first person, from Margaret’s point of view. Blume’s style of writing in the book is very characteristic of a young pre-teen. The protagonist’s thoughts are so similar to those of tweens all over America that the first page of the book boasts that “She (Blume) gets many letters from young people asking how she knows all their secrets”.

I would guess that tweens and teens the world over would love this book, if only because they can relate to it. Even I, a full-blooded dude, found the book interesting and almost unputdownable. From a tween’s first brassiere purchase, to her flipping through her father’s Playboy magazines, to the timeless chant of “I must, I must, I must increase my bust”, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is a book to have, a true classic in every aspect.

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret gets four out of five thumbs-ups, one thumbs-up being omitted due to the unexpectedly abrupt ending of the story.

P.S. This was the first novel I was able to finish reading in one day.