Okay, so here we are again for my weekly book roundup 🙂 Yay!
But before that, I would like to talk a little about how my preference for books has expanded. I would normally go for my “safe” books – Coelho, Rice, King, Albom and my stack of non-fiction marketing/management books (Lindstrom, Maxwell, Covey, Gladwell, Godin among others). Although I can read almost anything, I was just not willing. Haha.
I knew that I should do something though to expand my reading.
So two years ago, I bought this book called Bibliophile’s Devotional. Basically, it recommended 365 books that I could read. While I have grabbed (and read) some on its list, I haven’t really finished it. I find classics hard to read (please don’t kill me) so they are sitting pretty on my bookshelf as of the moment. I am still mustering some courage to open them hopefully this year!
Did it help me achieve my objective? Hmm, probably by around 5-6 authors. I still do hope to read everything on its list though.
The next thing that made me materialize my goal was somehow an accidental one. A friend of mine Joei (from Joei&Me) invited me to this book club!
We call ourselves the Secret Book Club. Haha :)) Each member gets to recommend a book every month which we are assigned to read. We have meetups (when schedule permits) to discuss books, blogs and everything else under the sun!
Photo by Joei |
It is so fun meeting other bookworms! Last Christmas, we had our first party and we exchanged books! I got this one from my Santa, Liz, who also maintains a blog!
So anywayy, back to my BOWs. I was able to finish two books last week: How They Met by David Levithan and my first Kinsella, I’ve Got Your Number.
How They Met is a compilation of short stories of, well, how couples met each other. It is a light read from Levithan (as all his other books). It ranges from teen stories, same-sex encounters and how married couples have gotten together.
Some of the lines I liked were —
“What do I think about love? Not much – that’s the safe answer. Even when I think I have a grasp on it, something comes along to make me realize I don’t know anything at all. It’s just a concept to me. It’s the thing that all the songs are written about, the thing that makes smart people act stupidly. If I an make love a concept, it makes me a better observer. And it also leaves a place inside of me hollow. Sometimes I can actually feel it. To reach down inside that part – I wonder how it would feel, to touch a void. That nameless empty.”
“Well, there’s something about the stars that makes you realize both the smallness and the enormity of everything, isn’t there?”
“To love – to fall – is not a question. To touch – to kiss – to speak – those are the questions. There is nothing worse that a ruined friendship. There is nothing better than a companion. Somewhere in between lies risk. Somewhere in between, lies.”
So there. I rate this book 3 out of 5. It was a nice read but I didn’t have goosebumps or a crying spell or some weird introspection right after reading it (benchmark: you should have seen me reading Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas, haha – couldn’t stop crying or how I made a life-altering decision after I read Eat, Pray, Love)
For my second read — it’s the book I received last Christmas: I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella.
I know there’s a lot of you who enjoyed her Shopaholic series but yes, I haven’t had the chance to read any of them yet but this first “experience” with her did not disappoint.
I gave this book a 5 out of 5 star ranking in Goodreads. First because I am a girl and I love sweet, sappy, fun love stories. Second because it was such an easy read. I seriously did not put the book down once I started reading it and was able to finish in two hours, I think. Third, because it makes you dream of love again, haha! What a sentimental fool I am. So anyway — here is my favorite line (boys, prepare to cringe):
“I don’t know if she loves me. I don’t know if I love her. All I can say is, she’s the one I think about. All the time. She’s the voice I want to hear. She’s the face I hope to see.”
*giggles*
So there you go. It was a “pakilig” week for the books I read. How about you, loves? What was your book of the week?
xx,
Balot