The much-dreaded 2666

Earlier in the year, I started reading Roberto Bolaño’s 2666.

I was eager to read it because I’ve heard book club friends raving about it, and I’d splurged on a lovely hardcover copy because I wanted to be in the mood to read such a long book. I’d also signed up for the Chunkster Challenge because it seemed to be a promising start. And I’d designated it as the B book in my A-Z Challenge!

I’m not even sure if I should count 2666 as one book, because technically there are five books in this hefty volume. 2666 was Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño’s last work; he died shortly after the first draft was presented to the publisher. His original intention was to publish the books individually, but then he passed away and the heirs decided on compiling all the parts in one massive volume, the English translation of which was named by Time Magazine as the Best Book of 2008.

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Chunkster Challenge

I’ve been meaning to join the Chunkster Reading Challenge ever since my book blogger friend Jo blogged about it, and because I’ve just started a real chunkster of a book (Roberto Bolaño’s 2666, in case you’re wondering), I’ve decided to formally join the challenge.

I’m an escapist reader by nature so I like thick, meaty reads, which is perfect for joining  the Chunkster Reading Challenge, a challenge for “readers who like their books fat and chunky.” The challenge defines a chunkster as “450 pages or more of ADULT literature (fiction or nonfiction).”

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Counting

birthday-cupcake

Because I’ve just gotten through my 2009 backlog, I realize the end-of-the year summary is in order.  I’ve been blogging for over a year now, and I can’t believe how fast it’s gone! Blogging been an awesome experience (and I was a finalist for the Philippine Blog Awards, too!) that led to new friends and new discoveries, and I’m sure this year will be even more fun.

Here’s 2009, in figures… and photos!

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Trivia, trivia #2

A few months back, I did a review of a series of trivia books and I’ve finished a bunch more since then. I have a habitual vice of poring into tomes of useless information, especially when I’m too stressed to read continuously, or when I need a break from long narratives.

This time around, I have another set of four trivia books on a variety of subjects, from general information to language to etiquette and combat: Why Don’t Penguins’ Feet Freeze? and 114 Other Questions edited by  Mick O’ Hare; Red Herrings and White Elephants: The Origins of the Phrases We Use Everyday by Albert Jack (illustrated by Ama Page); Directions to Servants by Jonathan Swift; and The Action Heroine’s Handbook by Jennifer Worick and Joe Borgenicht (books 237-240 of 2009).

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A-Z Challenge

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.

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