2013 bookwormery

At the beginning of 2013, I made it a goal to read at least 50 books before the end of the year, and whoopee! I made it. I don't think I'll be doing it again this year; I'll probably just revert to my usual goal of 40.   Like usual, I wanted to make a more-or-less even amount of fiction and non-fiction.

So anyway, here are my 2013 friends (and the possibly the reason why nothing seemed to have happened in 2013).  I've already read some of them previously, but I enjoyed them enough to read them again.

My ratings:
-- ***** Awesome; a fave for the year;
-- ****- Great fun.
-- *** -- OK.  Cool.
-- ** --- Meh.
-- * -----Rubbish.


I. Nonfiction

Memoirs
1 Boy: Tales From Childhood [ROALD DAHL] *****
2 Going Solo [ROALD DAHL] *****
3 Eat Pray Love [ELIZABETH GILBERT] ** (Oh, why oh why is this a bestseller?) 
4 Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil [JOHN BERENDT] ****
5 Summer At Tiffany [MARJORIE HART] ****

Christian Inspirational
6 Blue Like Jazz [DON MILLER] (Re-read it for the second time) *****
7 The Heart of a God-Chaser [TOMMY TENNEY] ***
8 In the Grip of Grace [MAX LUCADO] ***
9 Re-Church [STEPHEN MANSFIELD] ****
10 Searching For God Knows What [DON MILLER] ****
11 The Spirit of Loveliness [EMILIE BARNES] *** (Re-read; somehow it seemed much nicer the first time I read it)

Humanities
12 Coffee With Michelangelo [JAMES HALL] **** (Re-read)
13 Michelangelo and Raphael In the Vatican ***** (Featured awesome full-color fold-outs of the paintings)
14 Seeing Salvation:  Images of Christ In Art **
15 The Story of Art [E.H. GOMBRICH] ***** (Re-read)
16 Van Gogh [JOSEPHINE CUTTS, JAMES SMITH] ****
17 The World of Delacroix [TOM PRIDEUX] *****

Other
18 An Inconvenient Truth [AL GORE] *****
19 Epicenter:  Why Current Rumblings In the Middle East Will Change Your Future [JOEL C. ROSENBERG] *****
20 Purple Cow [SETH GODIN] *****
21 Speeches That Changed The World *****


II.  Fiction-Nonfiction Hybrids

22 The Bell Jar [SYLVIA PLATH] *****
23 The Te of Piglet [BENJAMIN HOFF] **
24 Roald Dahl's Incredible Chocolate Box ****
25 The Villain's Guide to Better Living [NEIL ZAWACKI] ****


III. Fiction

Science Fiction and Fantasy
26 The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure [WILLIAM GOLDMAN] *****
27 Dune [FRANK HERBERT] ****
28 Foundation [ISAAC ASIMOV] ****
29 Foundation and Empire [ISAAC ASIMOV] ****
30 Second Foundation [ISAAC ASIMOV] ****

Chick Lit
31 How To Make an American Quilt [WHITNEY OTTO] ****
32 The Kitchen God's Wife [AMY TAN] *****
33 Paint It Black [JANET FITCH] **
34 Morrigan's Cross [NORA ROBERTS] *
35 Dance of the Gods [NORA ROBERTS] *
36 Valley of Silence [NORA ROBERTS] *

Thrillers / Mysteries
37 Children of the Furor [ROGER ELWOOD] *
38 The Girl Who Played With Fire [STIEG LARSSON] **** (Would have given it *****if it wasn't so dragging.  Imho, not as enjoyable as "Dragon Tattoo", but still a good read).

39 Interview With the Vampire [ANNE RICE] *****
40 John Dies At the End [DAVID WONG] ****
41 Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children [RANSOM RIGGS] ** (Almost rubbish.  What can you expect from a story driven by found vintage photographs? Paradoxically, it was those photos that saved the book for me.  Without them, this would be just another crap story).

Children's Fiction and Easy Reading
42 Giant Treasury of Beatrix Potter *****
43 The Phantom Tollbooth [NORTON JUSTER] *****
44 The Roald Dahl Treasury *****
45 Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing [JUDY BLUME] ***

Other
46 The Count of Monte Cristo [ALEXANDRE DUMAS, Pere] *** (Re-read. It was immensely enjoyable the first time I read it years ago.  This time, it wasn't so.  The one I read this year is an abridged edition without some of the delicious nitty-gritties; i.e., a different, duller translation).
47 The Kite Runner [KHALED HOSSEINI]  *****
48 The Namesake [JHUMPA LAHIRI] ****
49 The Orange Girl [JOSTEIN GAARDER] *****
50 Skipping Christmas [JOHN GRISHAM] *****
51 Veronika Decides To Die [PAOLO COELHO] ***

2012 bookwormery tally

photo from gettyimages

I think I said in an earlier post that I aimed to read at least 40 titles in 2012.  Did I say 50 titles? Well, maybe I did; I don't really remember how many exactly, and I'm too lazy busy to search through my old blog posts.

So how did I do?  Lemme make a list of the past year's books.

A.  Fiction

I often play safe by selecting something from the bestseller list, or those with good recommendations from reliable sources.  But of course, finding a good book is hit-and-miss. The underlined titles are the ones I took the most pleasure in, i.e., highly recommended by yours truly.  The ones in grey font are i.m.h.o. awful, i.e., don't even bother.

My fave novel
this year.

(1) Classics and Bestsellers

1. Love in the Time of Cholera [GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ]
2. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo [STEIG LARSSON]
3. One Day [DAVID NICHOLS]
4. Summer Sisters  [JUDY BLUME] *second re-read
5. Atonement [IAN MC EWAN]
6. The Lovely Bones [ALICE SEBOLD]
7. Dracula [BRAM STOKER]
8. Memoirs of a Geisha [ARTHUR GOLDEN] *second re-read
9. Bridget Jones' Diary [HELEN FIELDING]
10. The House of the Spirits [ISABEL ALLENDE]
11. Life of Pi [YANN MARTEL]
12. The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, the Good Parts Version [WILLIAM GOLDMAN]

(An observation:  Books #1-11 have all been made into movies, some of them very recently)

(2) Lesser-known Titles

1. Choke [CHUCK PALAHNIUK]
2. Four Play [FIONA WALKER]
3. Angelology [DANIELLE TRUSSONI]
4. The Family Tree [CAROLE CALLAWADR]
5. Picture Perfect [JODI PICOULT]
6. Joshua [FR. JOSEPH GIRZONE]

(3) Story Collections

1. Shame in the Blood [MIURA TETSUO]
2. After the Quake [HARUKI MURAKAMI]

(4) Easy Reading and Children's Books

1. Hope for the Flowers [TRINA PAULUS] *hundred-umpteenth re-read
2. The BFG [ROALD DAHL]
3. 100 Cupboards, Book 1/3 [N.D. WILSON]

B. Nonfiction

This year's fave
non-fiction read.

I endeavor to read as much non-fic as fiction.  It helps provide a balanced literary diet, me thinks.

(1) Histories and Biographies

1. Band of Brothers [STEPHEN AMBROSE]  *third re-read
2. Conversations With Michelangelo [JAMES HALL]

(2) Self- Help

1. Wide Awake [ERWIN MC MANUS]
2. How to Walk In High Heels:  The Girl's Guide to Everything [CAMILLA MORTON]
3. The Pocket Muse 2:  Endless Inspiration for Writers [MONICA WOOD]
4. Home Spa [CHRISSIE PAINELL-MALKIN]

(3) Treatises and Research-paper types

1. The Prince [NICOLLO MACHIAVELLI] *first re-read, not counting required reading for school
2. Origin of the Bible [Multiple Authors]
3. The Manhattan Project: Big Sciene and the Atom Bomb [JAMES HUGHES]
4. The Case for Christ [LEE STROBEL]
5. Leading With a Limp:  Turning Your Struggles Into Strengths [DAN B. ALLENDER] *first re-read
6. Rx:  Coconuts (The Perfect Health Nut) [VERMEN M. VERALLO-ROWELL, M.D.]

(4) Coffee Table Books and Others

1. 1000 Jewelry Inspirations [SANDRA SALAMONY] *umpteenth re-read
2. Dear Mom
3. Great Mysteries of the Past [READER'S DIGEST] *umpteenth re-read
4. Mysteries of the Unexplained [READER'S DIGEST] *umpteenth re-read
5. Seeing Salvation:  Images of Christ in Art [NEIL MACGREGOR]

My 2012 total:   40 books (not including the Bible, which I read every year anyway, at least in part).

I've reached my goal of reading 40 titles, but if my goal was actually 50 - aw, shucks - I'm  a mere ten books shy.  Now I kinda feel bad for taking a break from reading last October/November.  :/   Oh well, Even 20 titles ain't so bad, especially since I had a lot of fun and I learned stuff.  Going for better in 2013.  ^_^
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bless my book-wormery

Earlier today I thought about how much my books have been a source of joy for me these days.  Then as I checked my Blogger feed tonight, by happy coincidence, I found these lovely artworks in two of the blogs I follow: 

fifi-lapin.blogspot.com

cinderellaincombatboots.blogspot.com

Cheers to that! I've been a sort of book-lover since childhood, even though reading often gave me headaches.   Well I still get headaches sometimes, but since after college I've set a goal to read at least 20 titles every year .

I decided to push myself  for 2012 and I hope to exceed 50 books this year (with at least 20 each of fiction and nonfiction).   So far so good.  ^_^ Since discovering the used books store (the one with good titles) last summer, I've faithfully read at least one book every week and am enjoying myself.  

I  just finished ...
a compilation of mysterious phenomenon published in 1982 by Readers' Digest (and not so mysteriously, some of those "unexplained" occurrences are no longer so these days).  

I'm currently reading ...  
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Alende.  The first few pages are delicious.
* I started on The Brothers Karamazov, but I decided to shelve it until I could find a non-compact copy with larger print - I admit, my eyesight is  beginning to deteriorate so I tend to stay away from tightly-laid out pages.

Next in line is ... 
The Life of Pi,
Epicenter, and
Kite Runner.  

How 'bout you? Any reading lists or reading plans you'd like to share? What about a list of recommended titles?  

Speaking of lists and recommendations, I recently came across the the following on the NPR site:

• Top 100 Science Fiction / Fantasy Books 
• Top 100 Killer Thrillers
• 100 Best Young Adult Novels

And a final thought: After seeing the above artworks, I thought maybe I should employ my artistic skills in making my blog entries more visual.  Actually, I've been thinking that for more than a year now, and it's about time I actually do it.  It's not a matter of great importance, but I should I should.
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i got me a few new books! ^_^

As some of you may already know, there was a book fair at the SMX last week.  And I almost forgot about it! Good thing the Hubby and I were able to make time to go on Sunday, the last day.

The last day of course means a lot of people.

For non-literature lovers, it must be confounding as to why there was such a fuss about a books (a friend of ours for example, asked, What are you going to do at a book fair?).  This annual event gathers various publishers and distributors together all in one place, and books are sold at much lower prices than they go for at bookstores.  There's a good chance of finding titles that aren't usually sold at National or Fully Booked, even hardbound copies.

Well I love books.  I don't exactly enjoy the process of reading, but I enjoy taking in what a good book has to offer.  I have therefore made visiting the Book Fair a yearly tradition.

I was hoping to buy a biography of Sir Winston Churchill and of Teddy Roosevelt, but I didn't find any.  The bio sections were full of tomes of William and Catherine, and various volumes on Obama ( 9_9 tsssss) but I didn't care for any of those.

I proceeded to look around and found other titles I was interested in:

 

They were all titles I intended to buy years ago, but I thought the bookstore prices were too expensive.  Book Fair discounts are much more budget-friendly.  And oh, I got a free sampler from Penguin Books too - WHAT THE WORLD IS READING is a compilation of  the first chapters of hot new novels; if I like any of them I'll know what to look for in the future.

I prefer hardbound versions to paperbacks, especially for bestselling novels, but  I decided on saving a few pesos by settling for the paperbacks. They have the same contents anyway.  They don't look as lovely and they have smaller type, but it's a tiny inconvenience I'm willing to put myself through. Besides, most of the hardbound copies were already sold out by this time.

Hubby and I wanted to look around some more, but I - in a lack of foresight - was wearing four-inch wedges and I'd already twisted my ankle several times.  Plus the crowd was getting thicker and more impatient by the minute, we had to bail before things got too uncomfy.  Anyway we acquired five new titles, and we're really happy about that.  ^_^

I'm excited to start devouring our new books, but I still have an old one to finish...  Maybe I'll start on a new one anyway.  ^_^

girls talk: all-time favorite book

Just ONE all-time favorite? That would be hard. Alright, I'll just pick one random favorite of mine.



J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is easily at the top of my list of all-time favorite reads. Of all my faves, I've loved it the longest.

Okay, wait - I know that the instructions at Beauty Queen Gene said ONE BOOK ONLY. Well here's a bit of trivia: The Lord of the Rings is actually one whole novel published in three volumes, each volume further separated into two books each. So I'm not cheating. ^_^ This is still actually one book.

I first discovered LOTR when I was ten years old; I spotted a copy of the first volume in the Grade School Library. I borrowed it thinking my brother would like to take a look at it, and then I ended up falling in love with it. I was lucky to find the two other volumes in the same library; at that time no one as interested in them (I was the only one) so it was an easy task. They're not exactly easy reading for a ten year-old, but even if I didn't completely appreciate everything at that age, I developed an affinity with LOTR. It was for me a profound secret that hardly anyone else knew about, like it was something exclusive for the brilliant and special.

I re-read the books when I was older of course, and it was much easier to navigate through Midde-Earth with an adult vocabulary. ^_^

When the movies came out I sort of had mixed sentiments. It was definitely exciting to see my favorite fantasy lore incarnated on the big-screen, but a lot of director Peter Jackson's work - though impressive - turned out to be quite disappointing for lovers of the novel like myself (So while LOTR is one of my favorite books, the LOTR trilogy is not in my list of favorite movies. Furthermore, I felt like Peter Jackson just opened my exclusive little club to the whole world. I found it disgusting that fangirls watched the movie just to see Orlando Bloom, and not to appreciate the amazingly-crafted story. Har har, I'm a prick that way. :D ). Thankfully, the fuss over the LOTR movies eventually died down, and LOTR movie fans have moved on to new fixations.

But as for myself, I'm still a huge fan of Tolkien and his books.

And here's another trivia tidbit: J.R.R. stands for John Ronald Reuel.

So yeah, I'm a geek. ^_^ I'm not the type that goes around in costume or spews Elvish words, but I suppose I can ace a test on Arda-lore.

girls talk: thrilling page-turners

I almost forgot about Girls Talk this week (again); good thing I remembered to check my dashboard.

Today we're doing suspense-thrillers. The first thing that comes my mind is Dan Brown.


I read them before the movies came out (I didn't like the movies much though) and I was enthralled. They had the right combination of mystery and the things I happen to be interested in - Christianity, history and art (I was so proud of myself when I was able to figure out the clues!). If I didn't have work to do at the time I picked those books up, I would have read them straight through without sleeping; those novels are so hard to put down.

Those two books are phenomenal - aside from the fact that they caused a worldwide stir because of the controversial claims, they're excellently written, brilliantly woven and amazingly narrated. There are a lot of holes in the research, but Dan Brown is definitely a gifted writer.

Another writer of thrilling page-turners is Chuck Palahniuk.


Palahniuk is another genius. Very cleverly written; layered and twisted His tone of choice though is very dark humor, delivered in perverse language through an unglamorous cast of characters - something that many people might not appreciate.

Fight Club spawned a movie and a cult following. Not many know that the irreverent flick starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton was taken from a novel. It's one of my favorite books, but it's not something I'd recommend to everyone.

girls talk: humorous reads

I like this month's Girls Talk topic because I love books. This week we're doing funnies.

Do comics count? At the top of my list would be The Book of Bunny Suicides by Andy Riley, and Gary Larson's The Far Side Gallery. They're very easy reading.


But yeah, I have some favorite funny books too.

The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a compilation of five novels by Douglas Adams. It maps out the outrageous story of Arthur Dent's survival through space after his home planet, Earth was demolished to make way for the construction of a hyperspace bypass. Brilliantly funny; mocks science fiction a bit with dry Brit humor, while it attempts to explore the answer to life, the universe and everything. The answer, it says, is 42.


Arthur Dent's adventures were made into a BBC television series sometime in the '8os I believe. The first of the five books, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, was made into a movie a few years ago.

Another set of humor books I absolutely enjoy are The Sacred Diaries of Adrian Plass.


British author Adrian Plass has a humorous take on Evangelical Christianity, through his eyes as a church member and later as a preacher.

It's nice to have books that poke fun at life, the universe and everything (I'm quite inclined toward witty, brilliant and/ or dark humor though; I don't like slapstick or green jokes). It's good to laugh, and I particularly enjoy laughing out loudly.

Other ladies share what's in their library. Click the badge to read about their choices:

i love books

I love books.

Not reading, mind you, just books. But since there isn't any other way to enjoy the contents of a book but to actually read it, I've gotten into the habit of reading as well. I am an occasionally voracious reader.

Yesterday, the Hubby and I drove over to the SMX where there was a great big Book Fair. There were mostly trade books, textbooks and self-help lit, but one would find some fiction and classics in there as well if one knew where to look. Maaaan, it was a candy shop.

It's often frustrating for me to browse through a good bookstore, and even more so at a Book Fair where hardbounds can go for 20% off. I went home wishing I brought more money, despite the fact that we went way over budget.

The Hubby and I collectively bought 9 new books (naturally, I was the bigger spender), including some Christian self-helps, a gigantic hardbound volume of Shakespeare's complete works (for which I sacrificed a hardbound, complete, illustrated Poe, because we didn't have enough cash) and a lovely, user-friendly pocket Maccchiavelli (heart heart heart).

I'm really glad about the new purchases. And excited to devour them all. Yum yum.