Reading something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue
Posts tagged reading
Reading time!
Aug 6th
I’m not a terribly vain person, but there is a reason I like going to the salon — I get some reading done! The, erm, “beautification” is an added bonus.
This year has kept me pretty busy that I’ve rarely had time to read for very long, and I have to consciously jump at all opportunities for reading, including, to the amusement of my officemates, that snippet of time after the afternoon bell has rung, and I’m waiting for the rest of them to shut down their terminals and pack up their stuff.
Anyway, last weekend, I threw some books into a totebag and headed to the salon for a hair rebond. I get my hair rebonded once a year, because it saves a lot of time fussing about hair all year round and drastically reduces the frequency of bad hair days (especially in the humidity!).
The Left Hand of Darkness (FFP June Book Discussion)
Jun 22nd
I don’t normally read science fiction, but I always take FFP’s monthly book discussions as a challenge when I’m not comfortable with the assigned genre or author. Because our book club grants the moderator the power over the monthly assignment, I’ve been challenged a fair deal in past discussions, as some of the book assignments are far from my comfort zone.
I think, though, that Ursula Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness is one of the book assignments I’ve dreaded the most — I’m just not into unpronounceable names and anything that needs a map! Le Guin’s introductory section, where she explains what science fiction is about (not merely “extrapolation,” but a “metaphor”), is actually helpful. I also like her statement (cautionary warning, perhaps?) on novels:
“In reading a novel, any novel, we have to know perfectly well that the whole thing is nonsense, and then, while reading, believe every word of it. Finally, when we’re done with it, we may find—if it’s a good novel—that we’re a bit different from what we were before we read it, that we have been changed a little, as if by having met a new face, crossed a street we never crossed before. But it’s very hard to say just what we learned, how we were changed.”
Art in Fiction (Flips Flipping Pages May Book Discussion)
May 19th
Last Saturday, the Flippers met up again for our monthly book discussion, this time moderated by Raissa and Joel on the theme of “Art in Fiction.”
It’s a theme I personally love — ever since I read Tracy Chevalier’s Girl with a Pearl Earring around five years ago, I was hooked on this subgenre, and I still read one every so often.
Our afternoon was packed for this discussion, we had a drawing session, a discussion, and a museum tour!
The Girl from the Chartreuse
Mar 17th
I was poking around at an 80% off sale at one of my favorite book stores when I came across a book that caught my eye: The Girl from the Chartreuse by Pierre Peju. I’d never heard of it before, but I thought it would look pretty on my bookshelf (yes, I judge a book by its cover!) so I decided to add it to my purchases.
The Girl from the Chartreuse (Fr. “La Petite Chartreuse,” translated into English by Ina Rilke) is a French novella that won the prestigious Prix du Livre Inter in 2003, and was made into a French film in 2005.
It starts off ominously: “Five in the afternoon. It will be exactly five in the afternoon under the bitter cold November rain when the van of the bookseller Vollard (Etienne) spurting down the avenue collides head-on with a little girl who runs smack into his path.”
A-Z Challenge
Feb 7th
Flipper friend Gege started the A-Z reading challenge this year (check out the full mechanics here), and I’m participating, because it’s a fun way to start reading authors I haven’t read before, and make a substantial dent in my TBR.
Basically, the objective is to read 26 authors with surnames from A to Z between January 1 to December 31, 2010. The more obsessive-compulsive participants are reading in alphabetical order, but I’ve always gone against the rules when it comes to reading so I’m striking off the names on my list as the mood strikes, until I finish the list off before the year ends.
Here’s my list, and my progress, so far (reviews to follow)
Atwood, Margaret
Bolano, Roberto
Camus, AlbertDunn, Mark
Eugenides, Jeffrey
Fitzgerald, F. Scott
Gavin, Jamila
Hornby, Nick
Irving, John
Jin, Ha
Keyes, Daniel
Le Guin, Ursula
McEwan, Ian
Nix, Garth
Orwell, George, Ondaatje MichaelPeju, Pierre
Q
Rushdie, Salman Stewart, Trenton Lee
Tartt, Donna
Udry, Janice May
Vonnegut, Kurt Willingham, BillXiaolong, Qiu
Yoshimoto, Banana
Zola, Emile
As you can see I’m still missing a Q (not feeling Quindlen), a U and an X. Let me know if you have any suggestions!
*cover photo courtesy of sxc.hu
24-hour Read-A-Thon end-of-event meme
Oct 26th
This is a bit delayed, as the read-a-thon officially ended at 8pm (Philippine time) last night, but my internet was on the fritz for the weekend and I couldn’t even post a midway update.
It was a tough weekend for me as I was up late the night before working on a painting, and then I was out all day for several meetings (I had to read through one of them) until I got home past midnight. And then I was going to update, but found out I didn’t have an internet connection at home!
I’d like to thank all those who dropped by to wish me well on the reading, though, even though I didn’t have any updates posted. Cheers to all the readers and cheerleaders, and hope to see you again on the next read-a-thon!
Lovin’ my Thumbthing!
Feb 24th
I wandered into Powerbooks while waiting to be seated at Saisaki for lunch last Sunday and discovered a nifty new gadget that’ll help me reach my target of over 234 books this year: the Thumbthing.As soon as I saw it on the counter, I just knew I had to have it — it’s perfect for people like me, who attempt to read at practically any given opportunity, regardless of logistics (hehehe, MRT, bathtub, the loo, in bed, jeep, trike, while cooking, while watching tv, while eating, etc…). My sister was like, what, P150, for that little thing?!? But I ignored her, because I considered it a good investment.
The dynamics are hard to explain, so I’m borrowing a diagram from the ThumbThing website to explain:
And here it is in action:
It’s been four days and I’m thoroughly enjoying this little thingamajig, which makes juggling a book so much easier for me, especially when I’m multi-tasking. The ergonomic design allows you to hold a book open with one hand, freeing your other hand to attend to other things. It doesn’t break the spine of the book (yay!), and it doesn’t obscure the text either, because the wings fit neatly in between the lines.
You can also use it as a bookmark, although strictly for leaving books on flat surfaces — it’ll probably get dislodged when you stow it inside a bag.
I’ve tried it on different books, and it works perfectly on everything from mass market paperbacks to standard hardcover novels. Doesn’t work on magazines and coffeetable books, but I think that’s asking for too much. Also doesn’t turn the pages for you, but then again, a page-turning device is also asking for too much.
It comes in a variety of sizes (mine’s a small and it fits perfectly) and colors (I wanted a pink or blue but they didn’t have it in my size so I had to get purple) too. My tiny complaint — I wish they had thought of adding a little hole to thread a handstrap or an id strap through for people like me who tend to lose (knock on wood) or misplace little things like this. Oh, and I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m foreseeing a juggling act reading in the dark with my Lumos booklight on.
Hmm, maybe I should stock up — I could try reading two books at a time, one in each hand!
(Clarification: not a sponsored post, despite my rave review 
)
Rating: 5/5 stars!
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