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?"




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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 :(

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 

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. 

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! :)