October's come and gone

Hello from a month-long hiatus!

I miss it here, though to tell the truth, I shun this corner out of hopelessness. There really comes a time in your life that you fail to see the point in everything. So you blindly trudge on and bump into things and you end up with a couple of bruises.

The past month has been a philosophical roller coaster ride. I spent weeks of introspection and lost thousands of brain cells in the process. Just when I was clearly losing a battle with myself, someone I barely know looks me in the eye and says, no - exclaims "great pretender!", with a finger pointing at me of course. I have nothing against mind-reading and mind-readers, but that accusation knocked me off, like I was found guilty without due process in court. Psychologists or whatever you call them - not even a real one! - are not supposed to judge you or persecute you. I guess I was more bothered by the fact that I was bothered at all.

The thing is when I asked someone who really knows me if I was guilty, he said yes, and I accepted it without question. I realized that while some people are out to diminish you, there are people who accept you for your being, your flaws, your passion, that you learn not to be so hard on yourself. That I am very much appreciated. I'm glad someone found me before I fade away.

Do you know the feeling when you're reading a book and it becomes your perspective on life? I found solace in Milan Kundera's words:

"What fell to her lot was not the burden but the unbearable lightness of being." 

"The absolute absence of burden causes man to be lighter than air, to soar into heights, take leave of the earth and his earthly being, and become only half real, his movements as free as they are insignificant." - The Unbearable Lightness of Being

September's slut

We sit through days willing the Earth to rotate faster, wishing Mondays turn to Fridays, to skip the tawdry parts that have become essential in our lives. Still, we look back and realize how fast time flies. Days that dragged on now seemed weightless.

I barely had enough time to cozy up with September when it's about to fold into itself again until next year. My relationship with September is more than a dodgy one night stand - though it was great. We went on a date at The Night Circus, gave me a bouquet of orange Hemingways, had a bottle of Bradbury talking about What happened to Anna K. all night. As we lay side by side, Maugham playing softly on the background, I felt The Unbearable Lightness of Being. ;)

September books from MIBF, Booksale & J. <3

Lust

Having a day at your own pace. Being able to read at breakfast, a book on your left hand, the fork on the other, and taking little sips of coffee in between. I live for these things. When I finally get out of bed after hitting snooze three times on a Monday morning, it's what I look forward to. We can't help but live for the weekends. We drift through days.

I love my work - don't get me wrong - even if sometimes I feel like I'm being thrown at the open sea, leaving me to swim my way back to shore. I can barely keep my head above the water, but I keep on treading. At the end of the day, when my toes finally feel the smooth sand, there's nothing left to do but wade to dry land. And it's fulfilling, to save yourself.

Then I'm left alone with my mind for one and a half hour ride home. I look forward to those times, when I can watch the streetlights moving in a constant stream of light. Look at people's shadowed faces, bowed heads swaying almost rhythmically to the moving car. Once, I buried my nose up a book, only stopping on the short distance between streetlamps, enveloping the car in darkness. Most times, thoughts pour in. Memories. Dreams. Life. It becomes the air I breathe, filling me up before I breathe them back to the world in quiet whispers.

The thing is, I don't know what I'm talking about. When I wrote (typed) the first sentences, I don't know where I'm headed. I weaved words one after the other and it's such a delicious feeling to be doing so. Not constructing sentences, but writing them, flowing from my fingertips. Exhaling words into the world.

I'm not sure if I made any sense. I just wanted to write, to create, to appreciate words. I find I want a lot of things, turning me into a million pieces. I want to move, want to be here and a hundred places all out once. To see the fiery colors of autumn. To fold in to myself. To feel lost then found. I want to bite into the world. I want the imprints of the world on my skin. To not feel limited but infinite.

"I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in life. And I am horribly limited." - Slyvia Plath

A bibliophile's dream

Every bibliophile's dream is to have a room full of books - four walls covered from floor to ceiling - like Karl Lagerfeld's, but most of us don't run House of Chanel. Though I'm lusting over his library, I prefer cozy sunlit spaces with a comfy couch or a wing chair for a reading room-slash-home library. Looking at books, and spaces for books, over at weheartit makes me happy as a feather floating in the breeze.

Curling up in bed with a good book tastes delicious just by thinking it, especially when it's drizzling.

Still, nothing beats having a room you can shut the world out and lose yourself in another. It'll be your sanctuary, a shrine for books and reading, your two-cents worth of escape - sweet all the same.

Until then, I'll be daydreaming. Or dreaming, given the hour.

PS. Every bibliophile also dreams to visit Shakespeare & Co in Paris and stay a week or two at the apartment above and help in the bookstore by day. Maybe I'll put that in another post.

Goodnight!

Book event: MIBF 2012

As promised, I brought my little brother to the Manila International Book Fair at the Mall of Asia SMX Convention Center last Saturday. We're the two bookworms in the family, thought it was only fitting that we go. It's our first time so imagine our faces when we entered this huge hall full of books! The weekend crowd had not come in yet but there were already lot of people by 11. Bought the books we mostly wanted before going out to grab some lunch. Went around the department store cause they're having a sale. When we came back at the book fair at 4pm, the place was packed!

A bit disappointed that I didn't get all the books on my list. The Unbearable Lightness of Being and the book my brother was looking for was out of stock at the Fully Booked booth. I had to get The Night Circus at the mall branch. But thank the book gods for the 20% discount!

Our MIBF loot!

Just wanna hibernate with these.

What my 9-year old brother likes to read.

I was mostly overwhelmed by all the books and the people that I didn't got in my zone. My brother is elated and he's almost finished reading all his books. Didn't get to take photos of the event cause I have a sucky phone camera. Today's the last day of the book fair. Heard there were more freebies! Can't wait for next year!

Gatsby's Girl

Gatsby's Girl by Caroline Preston

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I don't know how to review a book. Let's get that out of the way.

I simply put into words what I felt, thought and tasted. Though sometimes I could be harsh when I'm being a book snob, which unfortunately I am.

Gatsby's Girl is a sad, nostalgic love story. It's heartbreaking yet illuminated. The way the characters come alive, the way Ginevra gets under your skin, Scott - blonde, melodramatic, eccentric - everywhere in the background, and Julian. Oh Julian. Julian was gone too soon, but I can still taste his sweetness in my mouth.

The way Ginevra and Scott's lives take their own course away from each other but not quite. There was always a fleeting thought between them. And the dim glow of an era I've always wanted to live in.

Truly a tour de force. When I read the historical notes at the end, I was confused that this book was not what really happened to Ginevra and Scott. This book swept me in.

"Love stories make me cry, even when they turn out happily. Because the best part has come to and." Maybe I cried because I was afraid that this might be the best part of my romance with Scott - an illicit pair hiding in a dark theater, our upturned faces bathed in stage light.

He reached over and tenderly wiped each eye with his thumb. "What nonsense. Why can't we live the best parts over and over again?"




View all my reviews

1 more week til Manila International Book Fair! 1 more week til I get my hands on a new book/s! 1 week is too long :(

33rd MIBF 2012

One of the things I look forward to in September? The Manila International Book Fair 2012!

Been hearing about this but never actually been to one. Will definitely make it a point to come this year. I'm already saving up! 

September Spill

Can't believe it's already September, which means my birthday privilege is up! Sadly running out of ideas to blog about. I'm all over the place lately, with work, random late nigh hangouts with friends (on a weekday!), & the ever distracting internet! Thankful for the weekend so I can curl up with a good book. I'm already halfway through Gatsby's Girl. Weird that I didn't have time to read during the past two long weekends. I bought my little brother The Adventures of Tom Sawyer because he's been spending too much time playing Minecraft and it's about time he read classics, even if it's an abridged version. Fascinated about this Tumblr site called Bookface where you can submit photos of your face and your book/s! Submitted two photos - the first and last one. We're famous, yey! 

My friends left a huge gap on my bookshelf when they came over for my birthday. I think I was still hungover when I stacked 10 on my arms and handed them 2-3 each to bring home. I can't help smiling whenever I remember their faces like children given free candies. And it warms my heart to know that they loved it as much as I do!

It's always been my dream to go on an all out book shopping, to just grab everything on my list! Wish I had the money for that. But for now I'm alright with getting my monthly fix or digging books at Booksale. :)

PS. Oh, and I found this nifty post about e-readers that made me drool!

Book find: Gatsby's Girl

Whenever I'm at Booksale, I get lost in my own little world.

The place is like a treasure trove full of books. The thrill of not knowing what you'll find, the calming effect of aimlessly reading titles after titles, the feel of books, the simple pleasure of unearthing a book you never thought you'd wanted or find. I could go on and on for days just tasting unfamiliar titles on my lips. I'd read every last one, row after row, and tuck them back in place. I blame a minor OCD to leave no book unturned though it's also sort of a craving you just have to satisfy.

I picked up four good books (based on my hunch, and okay, the synopsis) before deciding to get Gatsby's Girl by Caroline Preston.

Though I don't get lucky every time I visit. But it's been a long time so I think the book gods put the odds in my favor.

Sad the long weekend's over.. but we'll be having another holiday next week. And it's my birthday!!!

M-day Wish List

I'm fond of making wish lists that I don't, in some weird way, stick to. I always end up getting things not on my list - afters hours of wandering in bookstores, some books just show themselves to me at the last minute - that I never tick off anything. These few books (from a three page-list) are way up on my list! Thinking which one I should get for myself (IF I have moolah).

The Time in Between by Maria Duenas
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt by Caroline Preston
The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult & Samantha Van Leer
The Art of Seduction by Robert Greene
The Elements of Style by William Strunk & E.B. White
Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

It's a long weekend at MNL. Catching up on my reading. Will visit Booksale soon!

Stuck

When writers can't write it's called writer's block. But when a reader just can't turn the page..

I've been putting off reading for weeks. I have excuses: work, sleep, things. There so much going on in my mind that I'm living in it - I'm putting everything real on hold. You know that feeling of not wanting to read on just because you don't have the energy to let it sink in? The book is a world of its own but whenever I open it I absorb it, instead of the other way around. Isn't it supposed to be an escape? You get sucked in, free falling. I don't want to put the blame on the book, it's not fair. I want to read. I need to read. Reading is a part of me, creeping into my fingertips until the words blink up at me. I breathe in words so I can breathe them back to the world.

Where's my lust for reading?

Can't help but wonder whether this has something to do with my tensed neck/shoulder/back muscles - not knowing why I don't read is so bothersome it's taking a toll on my body.

PS. I'm currently "reading" 22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson

Best YA Novels

NPR announced the winners of the 100 Best-Ever Teen Novels last August 7. See the full list of finalists here.

Find out if you've read enough and update your to-read list!
Bold ones, I've read.
Underlined, added to my reading list.

1. Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
2. The Hunger Games (series), by Suzanne Collins
3. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
4. The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green
5. The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
6. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
7. The Lord of the Rings (series), by J.R.R. Tolkien
8. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
9. Looking for Alaska, by John Green
10. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
11. The Giver (series), by Lois Lowry
12. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (series), by Douglas Adams
13. The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton
14. Anne of Green Gables (series), by Lucy Maud Montgomery
15. His Dark Materials (series), by Philip Pullman
16. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
17. The Princess Bride, by William Golding
18. Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
19. Divergent (series), by Veronica Roth
20. Paper Towns, by John Green
21. The Mortal Instruments (series), by Cassandra Clare
22. An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green
23. Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes
24. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher
25. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon
26. Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson
27. Twilight (series), by Stephenie Meyer
28. Uglies (series), by Scott Westerfeld
29. The Infernal Devices (series), by Cassandra Clare
30. Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt
31. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
32. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (series), by Anne Brashares
33. The Call of the Wild, by Jack London
34. Will Grayson, Will Grayson, by John Green, David Levithan
35. Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
36. Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones
37. Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli
38. A Separate Peace, by John Knowles3
9. Vampire Academy (series), by Richelle Mead
40. Abhorsen Trilogy / Old Kingdom Trilogy (series), by Garth Nix
41. Dune, by Frank Herbert
42. Discworld / Tiffany Aching (series), by Terry Pratchett
43. My Sister's Keeper, by Jodi Picoult
44. The Dark is Rising (series), by Susan Cooper
45. Graceling (series), Kristin Cashore
46. Forever..., by Judy Blume
47. Earthsea (series), by Ursula K. Le Guin
48. Inheritance Cycle (series), by Christopher Paolini
49. The Princess Diaries (series), by Meg Cabot
50. The Song of the Lioness (series), by Tamora Pierce
51. Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson
52. Delirium (series), by Lauren Oliver
53. Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins
54. Hush, Hush Saga (series), by Becca Fitzpatrick
55. 13 Little Blue Envelopes, by Maureen Johnson
56. It's Kind of a Funny Story, by Ned Vizzini
57. The Gemma Doyle Trilogy (series), by Libba Bray
58. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs
59. The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros
60. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
61. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
62. Just Listen, by Sarah Dessen
63. A Ring of Endless Light, by Madeleine L'Engle
64. The Truth About Forever, by Sarah Dessen
65. The Bartimaeus Trilogy (series), by Jonathan Stroud
66. Bloodlines (series), by Richelle Mead
67. Fallen (series), by Lauren Kate
68. House of Night (series), by P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast
69. I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith
70. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlsit, by Rachel Cohn, David Levithan
71. Before I Fall, by Lauren Oliver
72. Unwind, by Neal Shusterman
73. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
74. The Maze Runner Trilogy (series), by James Dashner
75. If I Stay, by Gayle Forman
76. The Blue Sword, by Robin McKinley
77. Crank (series), by Ellen Hopkins
78. Matched (series), by Allie Condie
79. Gallagher Girls (series), by Ally Carter
80. The Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale
81. Daughter of the Lioness / Tricksters (series), by Tamora Pierce
82. I Am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak
83. The Immortals (series), by Tamora Pierce
84. The Enchanted Forest Chronicles (series), by Patricia C. Wrede
85. Chaos Walking (series), by Patrick Ness
86. Circle of Magic (series), by Tamora Pierce
87. Daughter of Smoke & Bone, by Laini Taylor
88. Feed, by M.T. Anderson
89. Weetzie Bat (series), by Francesca Lia Block
90. Along for the Ride, by Sarah Dessen
91. Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (series), by Louise Rennison
92. Leviathan (series), by Scott Westerfeld
93. The House of the Scorpion, by Scott Westerfeld
94. The Chronicles of Chrestomanci (series), by Diana Wynne Jones
95. The Lullaby, by Sarah Dessen
96. Gone (series), by Michael Grant
97. The Shiver Trilogy (series), by Maggie Stiefvater
98. The Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley
99. Wintergirls, by Laurie Halse Anderson
100. Betsy-Tacy Books (series), by Maud Hart Lovelace 

Excuse my 'Rules of Civility' withdrawals

Grand Central Station circa 1935-1941/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives

“In our twenties, when there is still so much time ahead of us, time that seems ample for a hundred indecisions, for a hundred visions and revisions—we draw a card, and we must decide right then and there whether to keep that card and discard the next, or discard the first card and keep the second. And before we know it, the deck has been played out and the decisions we have just made will shape our lives for decades to come.”

“It is a lovely oddity of human nature that a person is more inclined to interrupt two people in conversation than one person alone with a book.”

“If we only fell in love with people who were perfect for us...then there wouldn't be so much fuss about love in the first place.”

“Anyone who has ridden the subway twice a day to earn their bread knows how it goes: When you board, you exhibit the same persona you use with your colleagues and acquaintances. You've carried it through the turnstile and past the sliding doors, so that your fellow passengers can tell who you are - cocky or cautious, amorous or indifferent, loaded or on the dole. But you find yourself a seat and the train gets under way; it comes to one station and then another; people get off and others get on. And under the influence of the cradlelike rocking of the train, your carefully crafted persona begins to slip away. The super-ego dissolves as your mind begins to wander aimlessly over your cares and your dreams; or better yet, it drifts into ambient hypnosis, where even cares and dreams recede and the peaceful silence of the cosmos pervades.”

“I've come to realize that however blue my circumstances, if after finishing a chapter of a Dickens novel I feel a miss-my-stop-on-the-train sort of compulsion to read on, then everything is probably going to be just fine.”

“Whatever setbacks he had faced in his life, he said, however daunting or dispiriting the unfolding of events, he always knew that he would make it through, as long as when he woke in the morning he was looking forward to his first cup of coffee."

“That's the problem with living in New York. You've got no New York to run away to.”

Inspiring. Gad, I adore Amor Towles.

Monday Read Lusts

Sorry for going haywire all of a sudden. The past days has been a whirlwind of work, a pseudo-typhoon that submerged MNL making me work at home for two days, distractions (my resurrected Tumblr), hanging out with friends - glad to be back on the outside world, and my stint at the emergency room yesterday because of my swollen, irritated eyes.

I just had to whip up something good for ya, like these interesting things from around the web (not the usual "links only"):

Is it just me or is RPattz becoming more boy toy material since she left KStew? Extra points for this quote.

I wanna be Molly Mahoney and this will be Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium! Ahhhh!

11 Books You Should Read If You're A Woman In Your 20s - What would you read from this list? I'd probably go for Garden of Eden, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and The Edible Woman.

This item tipped the scale to "buy a Kindle ASAP". Pretty nifty!

Gives me hella good laughs and a glimpse of the world of writers. Cos writers can joke too!

Hit me up on Tumblr.
Happy reading/watching :)

Writing & work

The faster I write the better my output. If I'm going slow, I'm in trouble. It means I'm pushing the words instead of being pulled by them. - Raymond Chandler

When we read we start at the beginning and continue until we reach the end. When we write, we start in the middle and fight our way out. - Vickie Karp

Sometimes you have to go on when you don't feel like it, and sometimes, you're doing good work when it fells like all you're managing is to shovel shit from a sitting position. - Stephen King

All the words I use in my stories can be found in the dictionary - it's just a matter of arranging them into the right sentences. - Somerset Maugham

The secret of becoming a writer is to write, write and keep on writing. - Ken MacLeod

One hasn't become a writer until one has distilled writing into a habit, and that habit has been forced into an obsession. Writing has to be an obsession. It has to be something as organic, physiological and psychological as speaking or sleeping or eating. - Niyi Osundare

I never want to see anyone, and I never want to go anywhere or do anything. I just want to write. - P.G. Wodehouse

Being a good writer is 3% talent, 97% not being distracted by the Internet. - Anonymous

If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write. - Stephen King

If you read good books, when you write, good books will come out of you. - Natalie Goldberg

You are what you read. - Esko Valtaoja

PS. Having too much fun on Tumblr lately but I promise not to abandon Blogger!

Crave

Letting you slip away is such a terrible waste, it’s consuming me.
I could’ve had you for a couple of touches and it will be the world for me.

They stare at me while I crave you.

A reminder

For several weeks I felt like a speeding train with no brakes - a machine, nothing more. Something stopped me in my tracks just when I thought I was going straight for the cliffs. And I breathed, I was human after all with dreams as scary as this. Thank you Anon, for pulling me back a step just so I could see how far I've come - not that far yet. It was the best prologue for my birthday month!

"Sometimes, you need to step outside, get some air, and remind yourself of who you are and who you want to be."


Why hello, August!

Working from home

In tattered t-shirt. Shorts. Rain outside. My bed a foot away. Much needed 'break'. Have a good Tuesday! :)

Monday Read Lusts

Woke up to another rainy Monday morning! I braved the storm in my cozy San Francisco hoodie & red bow shoes. I read the news with a steaming cup of chocolate coffee. Then the AC broke down. Again. The room was so hot we had to work without lights to cool off. The next thing I know there was smoke everywhere and people were rushing to the door. What a day. The only good thing is that there was no traffic - I was home in 30 minutes flat. And of course, your Monday dose of links! Read on :)

Your favorite paperback as a piece of jewelry, perhaps?

Saves you a lot of bookshelf space!

If Thumbelina & Tom Thumb was real they'd read this.

Making the world a better place one payphone booth at a time.

Not joining the e-reader bandwagon? Read this.

I updated my About page! Have a look if you have time to spare and visit my other corners in cyberworld. I also added the 'You might also like' widget. Don't forget to check 'em out!

Been uninspired lately. I think the rain has got something to do with this.



Sorry for the rant.

Happy reading :)

Come fly away

I get fascinated by the most random things/persons sometimes. It could be sparked in a split second - read somewhere, heard somewhere, saw somewhere - then I forget it until something comes up.

This is overdue but I wanna do something for Amelia Earhart's 115th birthday (July 24th, thank you for the memo, Google!). Amelia Earhart was one of the first women to fly a plane in the 1930s. She lived with determination and strength, especially being a woman in that era. Though women were beginning to have their way by that time, still she had to prove herself. She mysteriously disappeared after attempting to fly around the world in 1937. No one knew what really happened until now - some theories claimed that she was cast away on an island where she eventually died.

Who would've thought such a fragile woman could fly a a plane by herself? Photo from National Archives.

Earhart wrote books and there are books written about her.

Monday Read lusts

On Sunday morning I woke up to the sound of rain, to the warm hue of my room tinted by peach curtains, I reached for Age of Innocence on my bedside table, and thank the heavens for the simple pleasure of spending my morning bundled up in my bed without the urgency to move. I feel I could stretch the morning into days.


Makes it harder to get up on Monday mornings, right?

Read away your Monday blues with these...

Found this charming blog by a bookseller who finds the most interesting bookmarks -from vintage ephemera, tickets, black and white photographs to mundane grocery lists.

Staying in with a good book? How about reading outdoors in a book-vineyard?

Does this mean I'm a book snob because I don't read out of my comfort genre?

Ever wished fictional bookworms weren't so fictional? Peek at their reading list!

Happy reading :)

And then I saw this..

Lucas Scott's reading list, I literally squealed!

The Winter Of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Call of the Wild by Jack London
Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle

PS. I first knew about Great Gatsby from him years ago!

Find out other fictional characters' reading list on Flavorwire.

Wishful thinking

There are rare works of fiction that seep into our lives - books, movies, TV series - that when we reach the epilogue or the finale, we're hit by a kind of longing for the future, for the parts that the curtains closed on or the author left out. And we'd indulge ourselves that on the other side of the world, the characters we're rooting for is walking the earth just as we are. The thought is comforting if not wishful.

If you could take something/someone out of a book, movie, or a series, what/who would it be?

It'd be Lucas Scott's book An Unkindness of Ravens, from One Tree Hill. I've always been a fan of the series. I skipped a few seasons but I watch it whenever I have the chance. The characters felt so real, the things they go through felt human. Lucas wrote that in Ravens - the girls he loved, dealing with his stepbrother Nathan, friendships, vulnerability, adventures, family. Lucas wrote the novel when he was in high school, he didn't take out the real names, "written as they happened and written exactly how he felt at the time". He became a known author after the novel was published. To read the series in print from Lucas' point of view will be a guilty pleasure!

An "excerpt" from the novel:

"Suddenly, it was as if the roar of the crowd, the echo of the final buzzer, the cheers of my teammates were all sounding from a thousand miles away. And what remained in that bizarre, muffled silence was only Peyton, the girl whose art and passion and beauty had changed my life. At that moment, my triumph was not a state championship, but simple clarity. The realization that we had always been meant for each other and every instinct to the contrary had simply been a denial of the following truth. I was now, and would always be, in love with Peyton Sawyer."

Got the idea from an article I read over at Flavorwire: 10 Fake Books in Movies That We Wish We Could Read. 

Ramblings

My mind is a clutter right now - overlapping thoughts and daydreams and words - stumbling to get out. Every time I stop to sort things out with myself, I hit a writer's block. I feel detached, floating aimlessly in a sea of words. I feel restless and anxious, wanting to say everything but not knowing how to say it. Words are not enough but they're everything.

Spending too much time in one's head is dangerous. But when you bow your head in front of a paperback, you escape, you stop the tide from pulling you into monotony and routine. Books are like anchors, they hold you down, and lift you above the choking water when you need to breathe. 

I felt how strong the tide was and I refuse to go with the flow.

Listening to: 1901 - Birdy & Little bit - Drake ft. Lykke Li

Read lusts for the bibliophile

Since my work meant reading tons of news from the internet everyday, I also get to wander around a bit. I came across several interesting articles about books and writing! It's my escape from countless territorial disputes, international issues, economics, market shares, and all that. Just wanna share them with you.

Photo by Ourit Ben Haim/Underground New York Public Library

Am I the only one who doesn't want to "Keep Still and Obey Mr. Grey"? Why Fifty Shades is a "Best Seller".

Do you read books because of the writing style or the plot? What makes a good book, then?

Be a poet! Just tilt your head sideways at your bookshelf and ta-dah!

For every bibliophile who likes to carry their book around, you know you want one.

It's nice to know a lot of people still read paperbacks, even in subways - and that feeling when you don't care even if you miss your stop so you can go on reading.

Happy reading! :)

Will work for books

Novelists write a great deal about paperbacks with creased spines, falling pages, missing covers, and the readers think it's beautiful, romantic even, and it says a lot about the character's personality. I love the thought of it, but in reality I'm pretty fussy about my books. 

I like my books..


- Plastic covered. I have a thing for plastic-covering. I even have my own step-by-step procedure which I follow religiously!
- Signed with my initials & the date I got the book. For gifts, I include the name of the person who gave it to me.
- Marked with highlighters for quotes
- Dog-eared, in small folds, if a highlighter is not in hand
- Not creased, the spine and the cover. But there are exceptions to the rule, like books I got from Booksale. I love them the same!

PS. I keep the receipts and use them as bookmarks! 

I feel like I'm such a dork!


Every one of my books holds a certain memory, a feeling, time, place, persons. I'm not one who goes around getting every book that I want. I have to work for it and I give up certain things, like clothes and shoes and make up! Haha! But nothing beats the feeling from a good read! 


How do you like your books? :)

Book review: Love Story

Love Story by Jennifer Echols

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Jennifer Echols disappoints, again. That or everything pales in comparison next to Amor Towles.

Good points: (I actually took down notes)

- Plot: Creative writing. New York. Hook line and sinker.
- Some laugh-out-loud dialogues
- Found a highlight-worthy quote (just because I love the thought, I could ignore the prose):

"Each night during my fifteen-minute break at the coffee shop, I looked around at the customers, picked two of them to put together, and brainstormed a happy ending for them... Any of these young men and women could be perfect for each other. They just didn't know it, and they would never introduce themselves to each other except in a file on my laptop."

Downsides:

- Dialogue feels mechanic, too structured
- Bad writing, even the stories for an "advanced creative writing class". I wanna pull my hair out!
- Flat, shallow characters, running on excess hormones
- More horses than actual "creative writing"

I expected lyrical prose, lots of literature (because they were supposed to be majoring in English/Creative Writing in a "New York City college of her dreams"), a novel inspired by New York. Still, the girl in me was gushing in several parts. I like Hunter more than Erin. I wish I could be in Erin's shoes, leave out the disinherited part, studying Creative Writing/English in New York.

But then I wanted a light read, that's what I got.



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Stealing away

A quick segue from work. Been feeling down lately, like I carry the weight of the world. Cliche, yes. But it drives me to sudden burst of tears sometimes. It's the worst feeling ever, to not know, to be helpless, but at the back of your mind you know you brought this upon yourself.

Do you know what makes me happy? Books.

Seeing books. Holding books. The smell of books. The smell of paper. Reading books. Reading words. Drinking prose. The elation of discovering a book, a different world,  beautiful characters. The fulfillment of finding a great read with just intuition. The feeling when you reach the epilogue, like jumping off a cliff. Closing your eyes when the words are so beautiful. Closing your eyes so you can imagine.

Then I remember, that's all I need. My family, my friends, my love, my books.

Books and lusts

Currently reading: Rereading, actually. I have the Penguin classic edition, but don't you love this cover? Have you seen the movie?

Thinking about reading: Was supposed to get this book but I ended up with 501 must-read books!

New on bookshelf: Both were on sale when I bought them! 500 bucks for 2 hard bounds. Great finds! 

Perfect for my bedside table :)

Lusting over:

Novels without the prose

I judge a book by its prose. I love how words weave together - how they leave me with a delicious and intoxicating feeling - sometimes more than the novel itself. But great prose can turn any story into a great read, I suppose. And I'm one who likes to get waist-deep into books, that feeling of familiarity with the places and the faces through a mental movie reel.

The thought of novels told through pictures was a bit disconcerting for me (not exactly graphic novels). Then fate showed me these two books which I Googled and searched on Goodreads now I'm lusting over them! 

and

Chopsticks and The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt are novels in scrapbook format. I love the idea of using bits  and scraps of memories to tell stories and adore Caroline Preston for using vintage ephemera from her grandmother's attic and antique shops to make a novel set in the 1920s. I envy her for having bits of the era I wish I lived in! 

I think photos are as beautiful as words! These novels will surely be delectable, don't you think?

Mine for the reading!

I came across this beautiful quote from Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Will definitely put this on my reading list!

“From that time on, the world was hers for the reading. She would never be lonely again, never miss the lack of intimate friends. Books became her friends and there was one for every mood. There was poetry for quiet companionship. There was adventure when she tired of quiet hours. There would be love stories when she came into adolescence and when she wanted to feel a closeness to someone she could read a biography. On that day when she first knew she could read, she made a vow to read one book a day as long as she lived."

My love affair with Amor Towles

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I still can't put this down. It feels like a love affair - sneaking glances, hurried words, stealing away to unlit rooms, just to taste Towles' prose on my lips.

I love Katey. I want my own Wallace Wolcott and Dicky Vanderwhile, and cried when they left. I hated Eve. I wanna punch Tinker on the face and wrap my arms around Hank, or maybe the opposite. I adore Anne Grandyn, her grandeur, her poise, her strength. I miss New York, and fell in love over and over again for the blinding lights, the nostalgic feeling for the future, every feeling, every word that is New York. Katey Kontent is my heroine. I'm Amor Towles' lover. This book will take you in.



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Current read: Rules of Civility

The crisp sound of plastic ripping under my fingers, the smell of paper, the smooth plane of the cover slightly disturbed by embossed letters, the crowded parking lot, lines of impatient work people, a woman clicks her tongue loudly, a man wipes his sweating nape, a girl staring me down over his boyfriend's shoulder. I looked up once, she looked away. I smirked and read and read and read, my body humming with lust over pages of prose. The van abruptly arrived, the line pushed me forward, I trip over words. Inside the capsule-like vehicle, bodies cramped against each other, shoulder-to-shoulder, elbow-to-rib, knees against the back of the seats, I pray for a short ride home. 

"On Friday nights, we let boys whom we had no intention of kissing buy us drinks, and in exchange for dinner we kissed a few whom we had no intention of kissing twice."

Bad days

There are bad days and there are great ones. Good days are always short lived, bad days are tougher on us. We obsess over it, painstakingly analyze what went wrong, wish and pray that we could undo it. It's a hopeless case and it crushes us, deep in our bones. Well, for me.

Others can take on that bull with both hands on its horn, I scream and run away. I internally scream, and internally curse myself, and internally run away. I had a bad day. It's not about luck, fate, the cosmos, or anything. It was words, words that hit me like sticks and stones.

Here's my solution to a bad day (if not effective, seek professional help):

"Books are hardbound drug with no danger of an overdose. I am a happy victim of books." - Karl Lagerfeld

We all have different beliefs of what our own heaven would look like when we die. If afterlife was eternal we'd want to spend it with the things we'd never get tired of, our guilty pleasures. 

Photo by Todd Selby/The Selby Is In Your Place

Karl Lagerfeld's library, I died! Not only is he the genius behind Chanel, he's also BFFs with my girl crush, Blake Lively! And he has this glorious stack of books in his Paris studio! Lucky guy. 

Photo by Toddy Selby/The Selby Is In Your Place

I feel like staring at the photo for the rest of the day. If I was there, I'd just stand in the middle of the room, my eyes glazed over in awe and vomit rainbows. I mean, who won't!

48 Laws of Power

 Got my package from Bookay-Ukay yesterday!!! 

Not even close to a self-help book. I wouldn't even call it that. I wanna devour this in one greedy gulp! The Art of Seduction soon!

Posting from work. Done early! Articles up at Asia Daily Wire.

The Spies of Warsaw

"Sip the wine, taste the food, find everyone fascinating - a good motto for diplomacy."

"I guess that's one way to save the world."

Alan Furst's novel is a glimpse on the dreary and sophisticated diplomatic life. Espionage isn't always thrilling. Spies in World War II dealt with obtaining intelligence rather than battling goons or thugs Salt-esque (Angelina Jolie), but equally dangerous. But diplomats live a double life. While they're not prying on their enemies' secrets, they show up at parties just to conspire against each other. Scandalous in their uniforms, waistcoats, and beautiful women in their arms. 

Covers and titles

I took my little brother to see The Avengers yesterday (watched it for the 2nd time) but were an hour and a half early so we made a badly needed trip to the bookstore! We're the two bookworms of the family.

A few covers and titles caught my lustful eye.

1. Chopsticks

I read from reviews that this novel comes with photos and illustrations, more like a raw scrapbook. The plot is intriguing, "it's up to the reader to decide what is real, what is imagined, and what has been madness all along." It has an artsy feel combined with music, the "The Sky Is Everywhere" kind. Reminds me of the movie Crazy/Beautiful, one of my favorites! 

Fashion and Guantanamo

I came across this article during work (I got the job! W/c explains why I'm MIA lately. Squeezing a post in before I go home). Alex Gilvarry writes about Filipinos in his debut novel with two completely different subjects - fashion and Guantanamo, the most notorious prison. I'm really curious how that'll turn out.

Book intuition

I miss walking on aisles lined with bookshelves, spending hours - but it never feels that way - reading title after title, going nowhere exactly but every step has a purpose that leads me to that one book. Then I just know. Magical.

I dream of entering a bookstore, covered with spines from ceiling to floor, light seeping through cracks on the spaces between books. It's the only maze I'd never wanna get out of.

The feeling of letting time slip away, no worries, because time seem to slow when I'm surrounded with books.

Hello, May!

A lot of things to look forward to in May!

- I turned my shoe shelf into a bookshelf because my desk can't hold everything any longer. Loved the result. Though I still need to find more space for new books.

- Work! Words, words, words, because I'll be writing for a living! And a notebook so I can write random or work related stuff.

- Dad's arriving from London via HK tonight.

- More books! First up in my list: George Martin or John Greene

- A cup of coffee every morning to wake me up for work :)

- Summer rain, I hope! The heat's becoming unbearable. It rained a while ago, though it only lasted 5 minutes.

- To write more.

- An adventure!

Reading the heat away

It's been a lazy day. Wrote a writing sample for an editor. Still not sure if I got the job. I really really really want the post. It's 86 degrees F in Manila. The heat is unbelievable! Spent my afternoon rereading Austenland by Shannon Hale while I'm in the middle of The Spies of Warsaw. I like to take a breather when my current read is a bit dragging. My hair still wet from the lukewarm shower (that'll make you feel all the more stickier for having a bath), a glass of cold orange juice and the windows wide open.

Deja vu

This book gave me deja vu. Going through the day Sam died seven times wouldn't sound appealing, especially because she's the popular kid at highschool who hangs out with her girl friends and makes fun of everybody else, a lot like Mean Girls. But then each day she wakes up, she's a different person, still figuring out how whatever-it-is works. Each day comes with little changes, little shifts, but each day closes with the inevitable end. Sam soon makes a hard turn, angry at the world, realizing she was a hopeless case, thinking that it'll be over when the day ends, when she dies. She wakes up again and comes to the conclusion of what she had to do, to save herself or someone else's life. It's a journey of a person trying to be better towards a heartbreaking end.

On the writing style, Oliver writes an abundance of metaphors. I was on a highlighting spree! Here's some of my favorite lines: