White Oleander by Janet Fitch

This book will probably one of my favorite books of all time. While reading the book, I've told myself, I don't think anyone could ever be in such a never-ending streak of bad luck as the lead character in the story, Astrid. But I fell in love with the story and I don't think it would be great if I were the one to write a synopsis here myself. I am not a good writer of such things. I do love the lyricism of the words used, how the story was told --in poetry and letters -- and how the emotions portrayed have haunted me long after I've read the last few words.

I love the last part. The story didn't end with a ending perse, as with real life, every "end" is a start of something new. Astrid's story is still unfinished which is something I love so much about the story. It made me hopeful about numerous other paths she might pursue after I closed the last leaf of the novel.

Astrid has also met a lot of people in her life which she never meets again. I realized that that could be true for most people as well. So many characters in our lives have helped shape who we are, and even if they have caused a significant change, we never meet them again. Those people that stay, or return, just like in Astrid's life will probably be the ones who we would most cherish.

Also, I can relate with her. She makes mistakes very repetitively or constantly. Human nature is so much like that. You make the same mistakes almost all the time. There are times that your imperfections can define you. I remember someone telling me that our Maker knows us because of our flaws. Just like her, I know where my stumbling blocks are, which are so hard to overcome because somehow you are born with them. No matter how much you know how wrong it is, you still keep making them. It takes a lot for you to fight back from those imperfections.I probably am still in that phase in my life where I am about to overcome the mistakes I make constantly. So I am not here to tell you that mistakes can be overcome, especially if they're part of your nature, but I have heard wisdom from others that we must all try hard to overcome our wrongdoings especially if they hinder our growth.

So there. I love this book. There's nothing much to wonder about knowing that this is one of Oprah's most favorite books as well.

Have a good night!

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

The Color Purple by Alice Walker is the 1983 Pulitzer Prize Winner for fiction and also the Winner of the National Book award. Since it's first publication, it has been made into films and has also been adapted for Broadway.

I have a knack for collecting Pulitzer Prize winners ever since I've read "To Kill a Mockingbird". That particular novel will always be one of my timeless favorites. Since then, I've made sure that when I go book-hunting, I buy all the Pulitzers that I find.

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I searched Google and learned that these books are favorites of Oprah Winfrey. Being an African American that she is, I find it easy to acknowledge the fact that she greatly supports their literature. She even produced the latest version of the Color Purple in Broadway.

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So I was trying to see what's so special about this novel. Among all the books that I've read, Color Purple is in the same genre as "I Know Why the Caged Bird sings"and "The Bluest Eye" in that it narrates the way of life of African Americans. It also has a similar theme with those other books: rape and incest. But what I like most about the Color Purple is the heroine's capability to love and forgive even if she suffered through most of her life. I also love the contrast between her life and her sister's and how everything concluded with a great reunion of family and friendship.

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Here are some of the lines that I love from the book:

"Oh, Celie, unbelief is a terrible thing. And so is the hurt we cause others unknowingly."

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" 'If only I'd understood what I know now!' he said. But how could he? There is so much we don't understand. And so much unhappiness comes because of that."

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Well then,

Happy reading everyone! :)

This Month's Read: My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Okay, so I have already finished the book and I'm not going to write a spoiler here. But I've noted two things about this bestseller by Jodi Picoult.

First, it is the most wholesome book I've read in months. Nothing here would offend you. There are some books that just discuss sex as an ornament to the story no matter how unnecessary it is. Luckily (and thankfully), this book does not have that quality.

Second, the novel is a total tearjerker. Other people say that whenever you read/watch as a story unfolds, what touches you is something that you can relate with. I cannot relate to any of the people in this book but somehow every single time I read at night, I find myself in tears. The story just fills you with compassion for every character that the author imagined.

My Sister's Keeper also touches upon Ethics. Back in nursing school, we have encountered this sensitive subject several times. The medical field is involved with preserving life or sometimes the loss of it. When we make decisions with tough issues such as euthanasia, abortion, using a new, but suspicious drug, etc etc, there is no definite set of guidelines to follow. No one can say who is really right, moral, or wrong. There is no black and white. And this is what I think makes the story so touching. All people make decisions not knowing what is truly right or wrong. But we all still make up our mind according to what we think is right for ourselves and for the people we love.

Anyway, it is a stories for mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, brothers and sisters. Basically everyone. Enjoy reading!

This Month's Read : The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

Pretty much excited to finish my 75 peso copy of the Pulitzer Prize winner, The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. Got my copy for a great bargain. I'm getting better at book hunting. Already in the middle though, and I love the simple language used to write it.

No spoilers please!

Super Bookworm

I know, reading doesn't keep up with the image of a superhero but i do love to bury my head in a book most of the time. I'm big on bargain book hunting and my novels keep piling up cause I keep on buying and collecting even if i still have a lot of unread ones stacked on my small shelf. I'm sure most booklovers can relate. So now, I sell some of them in my multiply site. (The website is still in the works, my apologies)
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Anyway, here's a TAG I copied and posted. I hope readers out there would participate and share their favorites, too.

The Booklover's Tag

Here's a list of books you may or may have not read (or even desire to read). Here are the rules:

- Bold the ones you’ve read

- Italicize the ones you want to read
- Leave unaltered the ones that you aren’t interested in or haven’t heard of

Here it goes:
1. The DaVinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (JRR Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (JRR Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (JRR Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (JK Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (JK Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (JK Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (JK Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (JRR Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (George Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. The Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Charles Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (F Scott Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (JK Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveler’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
68. Les Miserables (Victor Hugo)
69. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
70. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
71. Love in the Time of Cholera (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
72. Shogun (James Clavell)
73. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
74. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
75. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
76. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
77. The World According to Garp (John Irving)
78. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
79. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
80. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
81. Of Mice And Men (John Steinbeck)
82. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
83. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
84. Emma (Jane Austen)
85. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
86. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
87. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
88. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
89. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
90. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
91. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
92. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
93. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
94. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
95. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
96. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
97. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
98. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
99. Ulysses (James Joyce)

TOTAL BOOKS READ FROM THIS MEME: 30 (!) 

Some of my friends say , I read too much. I don't care. Reading takes me to other worlds and makes me learn about cultures and histories that are foreign to me. I'm not the type though who'd  post quotes from a book in their statuses or blogs. When reading, I try to understand the author's style and overall beauty and impact of the novel. Based on impact, my favorites are Atonement, The Kiterunner and The Da Vinci Code.
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My Big Mistake

Anyways, I guess the biggest mistake I did because of reading was when my friends came over at my house and I didn't get out of my bedroom because I was so engrossed with a book. They didn't come over anymore after that. We're still friends but I guess they were offended because I ditched them for a book.  Heck, I cant even remember the name of the book or it's story. It's now that I realized that that was really wrong and stupid. Lesson learned. 

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Okay, now, it's your turn to share about the books you love, too. Am I a record holder with my total of 30 ?

photos taken from 
http://barcelonablog.wordpress.com, http://mssolitaire.files.wordpress.com, http://warkscol.files.wordpress.com, http://www.dirjournal.com

This Month's Read: Atonement by Ian McEwan

I think that there is no novelist who writes at present who can compare with how beautiful Ian McEwan writes. I don't know which particular writer he reminds me of, but when I started reading Atonement, I feel as if I'm reading a novel worthy of being a classic or probably a 19th century literature. To think that this book is set in 1935 or in the 20th century and it is written within the last decade. I have read a book by F. Scott Fitzgerald and his books are set in the 20's... and yet, being older, he doesn't compare. I have also read Angela's Ashes which has almost the same time and setting as Atonement. It also doesn't compare with this novel.  I just love the way that Mr. McEwan writes.

But then again, I really wouldnt recommend this book to those who want wholesome reading material. Within the first few chapters, there are sexual innuendos and then there's also a love 'scene' in the library. But even if the scene was described in detail, I think it was written in good taste. WheneverIi read a book that has any sex in it, I close it, and sell it. Honestly, I was able to go through with that part because I believe that it was written rather well. Or maybe, my tolerance was really low that day. (my bad)

Though, truth is, I havent even read halfway of the novel. I'm just in the part where "Briony commits her crime"..so I dont appreciate any spoilers here.

One thing i also like with my copy of the book is that i got it for an awesome bargain (almost like 60% the original) at Booksale. So hurray for that wonderful store.

Any books you wanna discuss?

This Month's Read: Love Story by Erich Segal

This book is sort of short. And it is the only copy left in the bookstore that's why i bought it..

Usually Erich Segal's novels are longer, thicker volumes, has a usually very deep context and comprises a variety of characters. Aside from the main characters (who usually fall in love), there are also the background " cast who add color and life to his novels.

I love Erich Segal's style because I feel that I'm not reading fiction.. it feels so much like you're reading a very beautiful, thought-provoking, and emotional, true to life story. You will definitely feel fulfilled after reading a book like his.

Titles to choose from:
The Class
Acts of Faith
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Now let's get back to this short book(let) called Love Story. It proudly banners in the front page "21 million copies sold"..plus the words "Love means never having to say you're sorry...

And so I am very intrigued to buy it because this was really recommended to me, plus Erich Segal is such a great novelist and needless to say, he's my favorite.

True enough. It is a love story. With 2 college students involved, they fall in love in the span of ..what?.. 5 or 6 pages? The guy just met the girl and then suddenly they were a couple, suddenly there was "action", suddenly they were inseparable, and the guy loved the girl.

Plus there were too much cuss words. I never thought Mr. Segal was capable of that. And then I learned that it was a movie. And that really disappointed me.
The book..well..it was all too fast for my taste. Learing to love is not that fast! Sharing a beautiful relationship which the couple was told to have doesn't take just a few pages to describe. It's like I was trying to look for the Love they were pertaining to.

Well in fairness to the story, I did find out about sacrifice..about the girl giving up her dreams for this man. And this man, truly caring and truly loving and ready to give up his riches and prominence to prove his love. I found out about sacrifice and maybe this is the love that they were talking about.

Honestly, I'm not a fan and I'm a bit wondering why it sold 21 million copies. But my opinion of Erich Segal probably wouldn't change.

Book-hunting? Read this.

If you're an avid reader, you may probably know the best places to bookhunt for bargain sales.

In National Bookstore, they have a section featuring classics that cost around 70, 85, 99 and 125 pesos. That's really cheap considering that these are classics and can mostly be used for homeworks like book reviews. They sell editions in a green, thin paper cover and all these cost around P99. Titles include: The Secret Garden, Little Women, Gullivers Travels, Frankinstein etc. If you don't like the green thin paper covers..an if you're really lucky like me, you can buy classics for also P99 but the covers have pictures in them. Find these publishers: Dover thrift edition and Penguin Classics. The novels are thick, and sometimes I also wonder why they're so inexpensive. Titles include: Ivanhoe, Scarlett pimpernel, Scarlett letter, Huck Finn, David Copperfield, A Chirstmas carol..etc.

Sometimes National Bookstore goes on SALE up to 70% I think. The best buys I had so far are A Christmas Carol (P50) and the Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man (P30).

The cheapest probably are the BOOKSALE outlets (my favorite) that have opened in almost all the malls. Not only do you find classics here but also popular novels. You will be surprised at how good the quality of the books still are. You can also find computer books, children's books, magazines, textbooks, references, comics, autobiographies... Sometimes they also sell new items like medical & nursing handbooks & dictionaries. If you're really patient with bookhunting, you will find a lot of popular novels like the Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons (P125), Sisterhood of the Travelling PAnts, Master and Commander, Under the Tuscan Sun, White Oleander.. but you have to always go to that BookSale outlet bec. there are a lot of bookhunters out there who, like you, are very keen in finding the most popular ones. One of the best finds I had there so far is a hardbound Memoirs of a Geisha book worth P350 (still good quality). Sometimes books are the same but priced differently, e.g., one book of Divine Secrets of Yaya Sisterhood cost P70 but when I look in another corner, there I find the same book worth only P15.

My best buys in BOOKSALE: Persuasion (P40) and Gone with the Wind (P90) which sells for 300+ in National Bookstore.

3rd is Books-for-Less., here most books are on bargain but they're more expensive than Booksale. Comparison: Little Altars Everywhere in Booksale (70 to 100), in Books-for-Less 150 to 185. But in this store the books are arranged properly. You will know where fiction is, or where the suspense thrillers are. Danielle Steel books are also put together and so are books from Oprah's books club that's why you will really know what to look for. Here also, it's airconditioned and there are big, comfy sofas where you can just sit, relax and read. There's also an area for children where they can squat with other kids and enjoy their first ABC's.

Sometimes when they're really desperate, they opt to really lowering their prices and going on 2 for P99 or 3 for P150. One time I went to National B..and I found this classic named Age of Innocence worth P99 but I didn't buy it. Then I went to Books-for-Less, and found the same book worth P20!! I bought it and mine's better cause it has Michelle Pfeifer's picture in it as she plays the lead character in the movie rendition of the book.

Share your bookhunting adventures with me.

Kiterunner by Khaleid Hosseini

This book by Khaleid Hosseini is wonderful, dramatic, and powerful. This is a story of brotherhood, forgiveness, and love. It presents a brief view on Afghan history while it proceeds on telling a story about friends in a discriminative society. This is where we have first learned that there is a difference between people in that country not only because of religion but also because of race.


Reading this book made me feel that the lead characters Amir and Hassan are real. What I loved about the story is the way Amir's intentions are presented. Here, Amir's perceptions change through time which, for me, describes the genuine complex nature of, us, humans.

My other favorite parts are the love story between the lead character and his wife ;and Amir's changing relationship with his father.

Khaleid Hosseini is really a great storyteller. I wouldn't mind buying his other books.