May 2016: Required Reading

April 2016 - Required Reading Report:

1. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet by David Mitchell - (5/5 Stars) I admit I was expecting Mitchell's spinning, twisting, genre-hopping razzmatazz, so I was very surprised to find a straightforward narrarive this time. Well it has several storylines, yes. But it is more simple in structure than his books prior to this. I say this not as a complaint but as a compliment to his range. And well, every inch of it is still very much a Mitchell book. That is, it touches on big themes like religion and belief, and immortality and reincarnation, and life and death, and supremacism. And as always he spins a fantastic yarn, historically rich, and magical, and grand, and romantic, and saddening. My gawd. Why is he so disgustingly good? 

On hold:

1. Daytripper by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba - I was supposed to have read this last month, but Thousand Autumns proved to be a lenghty read. And I have to prioritize the above mentioned books because The Rest of Us Just Live Here is our book club's book of the month, and Locke Lamora is a planned buddy read which I am already lagging behind in terms of schedule. So yeah, putting this one on hold until further notice.

May 2016 - Required Reading:

1. The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness - I am liking this. I mean at first I wasn't quite sure about how things will turn out, with this whole meta, breaking of the fourth wall narration thing. But it is shaping up to be less annoying that what I perceived such type would be. Now I am going to hold off whatever thoughts I may have until I finish the book.

2. The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch - Buddy reading this with Meliza of Mecanism. This is a hefty book. But if it is as entertaining as they say it is, then the "heft" won't be a problem won't it? Besides I find the whole idea of having "Gentleman Bastards", that is elite, con-artists bearing taste, and style, and suaveness, quite alluring and amusing. Reminds me a bit of Maurice Le Blanc's gentlemen master thief, Arsene Lupin III.
___________________________________________________________________________________

 That's about it folks! Tell me what you have lined-up for May! And have a great summer!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ABNKKBSNPLAKo by Bob Ong (REVISITED)

Image
"Bakit namamalo si Miss Uyehara? May mga notebook bang lumilipad? Bakit masakit sa ulo ang Mafhemafics? Ano ang lihim sa likod ng pagkakaibigan nila Pepe at Tagpi? Bakit may mga taong nakapikit sa litrato? Masarap ba ang Africhado? Sino si Tigang? Bakit may mga classroom na kulang ang upuan? Masama bang mag-isip nang malalim habang naglalakad? Saan ang Ganges River sa Pilipinas? Bakit may mga umaakyat ng overpass pero hindi tumatawid? Sino ang webmaster ng bobongpinoy sa Internet?" I remember having read this book sometime during the end high school or the start of my college years. I did not think much of this book back then. Now, re-reading it as a legitimate (ehem) adult, I found that my appreciation for it has increased.   The power of this book lies in nostalgia. The shared experiences of student life, as humorously related by Bob Ong. And I realized that these experiences, more or less, never really varies THAT much from era to era. The 70s born Pinoy
Read more

Instead of Three Wishes by Megan Whalen Turner

Image
Image from Goodreads The first time I've heard of Megan Whalen Turner is through Chachic of Chachic's Book Nook . If you follow/frequent her blog, you'd know that she is a huge fan of Whalen's The Thief Series. Being a fantasy fan myself, I've put in The Thief in my (very long) book wish list. Since, I haven't really gotten around acquiring The Thief just yet, when I saw her name on this book I thought it would be a good chance for me to get acquainted with Whalen's writing style. Instead of Three Wishes contains seven short stories, all depicting the existence of magic in everyday lives. 1. Plague of Leprechaun - Tells the story of how a small idyllic town of North Twicking is shaken up by the news of a Leprechaun Sighting, bringing in an influx of tourists coveting the bag of gold that a leprechaun brings. All this chaos proves to be too much for Mag Malleaster, the local innkeeper, and to Roger Otterly, a struggling painter commissioned to come up w
Read more

Filipino Friday #1: Introductions

Image
What Reader Species Are You? Reader Species Infographics by Lauren Kelly I found that I fit in several of the categories and may as well be what the infographic refers to as a  Cross-Bred Reader Mutt.  Class: Book Lovers,  Complusive The Hoarder -  I do have the tendency to acquire books faster than I can read them. I can't fit them on my bookshelves so I have them shoved inside a drawer beside my bed, like some secret stash of cookies (which I also have). Plus, my Kindle holds quite a number of e-books. And yet I still acquire more. Hee.  Situational The Kindle Convert - I used to be the type who would never consider getting an e-reader. I thought that digital reading will never equate to the experience of reading a physical copy of a book. But my sister persuaded me to get one, so I got one, which I named River, and since then I thought to myself, where have you been all my life? The Sleepy Bedtime Reader - I definitely do most of my reading before bed. And
Read more