Required Reading: December 2014

November had come and gone. And December is here carrying all the Christmas cheers we may enjoy. For a bookish person that means more books –receiving, listing, buying, shelving, and reshelving.  But let us not forget Thanksgiving, feasting, family, and fellowship on our list, my dears.

Here are the books and short stories I finished last November:

• Flury: The Journey of A Snowman by Tony Bertauski – 5/5 stars – Wonderful story about love, family and sacrifice. If you haven’t started with this series yet, may I suggest you get your copies now? Because this is the best read for the season.
• Dwellers by Eliza Victoria – 4/5 stars – TFG’s book for November turned to be a very interesting read and prompted a really good discussion last FilReaderCon.
• The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell – 5/5 stars – It took me a while to finish this, but it has nothing to do with the writer’s storytelling. Three quarters through, I got heartbroken and I found it difficult to turn another page.  I did muster my courage, eventually, and let the tears fall where it should.
• The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell – 4/5 stars – This one is a journey in time and characters. It was not exactly a sad story, but I ended my reading with a constricted sigh. Sorry, I have to explain myself at length some other time.
• The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera – 3/5 stars – This is my last Dare You To Read challenge. Yay! Kundera is a very good poet, no doubt about that.
• Doll Bones by Holly Black – 3/5 stars – A brave adventure and a test of friendship. A very nice “coming-of-age” story.
• Roselily by Alice Walker, and The Swimmer by John Cheever – 5/5 stars – Short stories of the month via The Short Story Station.

For my last Reading Requirement of the year, I've chosen only one book. The one that matters the most…

•     Fall Like Rain by Ana Tejano – There is no secret why I know I will love this. I love the person who wrote it, and I know she had put plenty of love and effort into making this book.

I believe that I will not be able to finish all my 70-book challenge this year, but I don’t feel too bad about that. I did try my best to fight off the giant called “Reading Slump.” It was a good fight, because I was able to bounce back, somehow. I do know it will be back and try to overcome me again. That is the reality of every reading life; we just keep doing what we love.

A Christ-filled season to everyone and a prosperous bookish year ahead of us!

Read more →

DWELLERS by Eliza Victoria

Family Secrets.

The story started with these two cousins who can inhabit another person’s body. Their present hosts are brothers Louis and Jonah, bachelors living in an affluent village, both IT professionals.

These dwellers' abilities go back in history. They came from a well-off clan, very private, but were never reluctant to amassing their wealth and holdings. But in spite of their power, it was strictly prohibited among them to exercise their abilities without justification and always as a last resort. They set rules that they need to follow carefully.

This is Eliza Victoria’s latest book, and I am really glad to find it very easy to read and engaging. The pacing and the direction of the story are really good, driving the reader to make second guesses as to what’s ahead. It was really fun making “what if scenarios” as I read. And that, for me, is a good mystery. 

Victoria was careful not to focus on the whole magical system, but elements were divulged to make the background story of the clan enticing enough –incantations, symbols, rape, and incest. It took her less than 200 pages to make a very interesting read.

And to make this story more delicious, the mystery is not about the clan’s magical powers. It’s about the dead body the boys found in the basement.

Book details:

Title:  Dwellers

Author:  Eliza Victoria

Publisher:  Visprint, Inc.

Publication:  June 2014

Genre:  Fiction

Rating:   ★★★★

...

F2F35 @Filipino Reader Conference,
Bayanihan Center.
Photo courtesy of Monique.

Read more →

Wednesday Spotlight | Lake Of My Heart by Temba Magorimbo

Publisher: Createspace

Publication:  May 18th, 2014 

Genre:  Fiction 

ISBN-10: 1499345399

ISBN-13: 9781499345391

About the book:

Naomi is slightly shorter than Trevor with a broad smile and dimples when the mood is upon her. Trevor on his part is taller and broader with a good sense of humor. He used to like her laughter especially when she threw her head up exposing her tender neck. She loved his dance, his jokes, and his behavior when he was walking drunk. Give and take their differences, they are only human beings living in a melting pot of an economy. Their differences seem to be growing now in their marriage. What is wrong with marriage, Trevor constantly asks himself? Is it worth it to call a spade a spade and divorce? Then he checks in his mirror to look at the walking mistakes of broken homes. How will his little children fare without him or their mother? Since both of them are young, they will certainly remarry. One only needs to read the daily newspaper Monday to Friday to find court cases of step-parents who have abused their charges. Can they work out their marriage? Trevor starts from the back looking at the days he had dated Naomi to seek and destroy that which causes them to separate. How is he going to deal with her moods, her temper tantrums and his own need to hold the green bottle? With three children, a mortgaged house, both parents having degrees and the economy in free fall, times are tough mentally for both Naomi and Trevor. Can they hold on until the end as the Zimbabwean political circus and national elections collide?

Get your copies of Lake of My Heart via Amazon.com.

About the author:

Temba Magorimbo was born in August 1966 in the then Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He is currently employed as a government bursar at Mberi Primary, Zengeza, Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe. He writes love and general fiction. To date, he has not yet been published. He is married to Itayi and has 2 daughters, Pelagia N. and Pamela S.

*Content sent by the author for this blog's publication. This is a free ad.

Read more →

Book Review| Flury: Journey of a Snowman by Tony Bertauski

Life hasn't been kind to Oliver Toye.

As if juvenile diabetes isn't enough, he’s forced to live with his tyrannical grandmother in a snow-bound house. He spends his days doing chores and the nights listening to the forest rumble.

But when he discovers the first leather-bound journal, the family secrets begin to surface. The mystery of his great-grandfather’s voyage to the North Pole is revealed. That’s when the snowman appears.

Magical and mysterious, the snowman will save Oliver more than once. But when the time comes for Oliver to discover the truth, will he have the courage? When Flury needs him, will he have the strength? When believing  isn't  enough, will he save the snowman from melting away?

Because sometimes even magic needs a little help.

(10% of the profits is annually donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.)

I am sure you've all heard the song “Do You Wanna Build A Snowman?”  Well, the elven did build snowmen, waaayyy before they even heard the song. And they sure didn't use a carrot for a nose.

Wow! I have to say, Tony Bertauski outdid himself with this sequel. The sense of humor, mystery, and the love moving along the pages are simply wonderful. It was thoroughly absorbing; I didn't let go until I am done. The story, like the two books before it, can turn a reader into a believer of the impossible. I mean, I am not a huge fan of Scifi Fantasy, but I am totally astounded by this one.

If you’re still wondering why people build snowmen in front of their houses…           

…read this book!

Book details:

Title:  Flury: Journey of a Snowman

Author:  Tony Bertauski

Publisher:  DeadPixel Publishing

Publication:  November15, 2014

Genre:   Children's Books, Science Fiction, Fantasy

Rating:  ★★★★★

*Thank you for indulging me with a copy, Tony.

Read more →

Filipino Friday (4): Let’s talk about Diverse Books

Look at that, we are now on our fourth Filipino Friday!

Let’s talk about Diverse Books:  (1) Do you think we have enough diversity in the books that we read? Are our choices enough to satisfy our different tastes? Are our writers able to present the variety of people, culture, lifestyle, interests and so on?  (2)How diverse are your reading interests, and are you able to find enough books to satisfy your reading needs? Do you think we need more diverse books?

My reply would have to be a resounding "NO", I'm afraid. That is not out of disappointment or despair. If we scour Filipino Literature, we will discover books of different genres. True. But is there enough choices, vast enough, that choice would be a tad difficult? No, definitely. But I believe in the Filipino writing ability, our spirit to rise up to the challenge, and the inspiration to drive it forward. So, I do encourage our local writers to write more, create more. We may not be there yet, but we are swiftly and surely will achieve that soon. Maybe even sooner than we dreamed.

I do have a pretty diverse collection of books. What I can't find here, I googled, shipped, and bought internationally. Procurement is no longer a problem nowadays.

Diversity is essential in life, even in reading. The choices on how to mix and balance the books may depend on how each reader will take them. Parang Centrum lang 'yan, from A to Zinc, para complete! *corny

Happy weekend, everyone. Ciao!

Read more →

Required Reading: November 2014

When November comes, things start to move faster than usual. It takes a lot of work to stay on top of the schedule. But, it's also the time of the year when most excitements start pouring in.

This month, I really, truly want to finish my David Mitchell challenge. Jacob de Zoet is breaking my heart, and I can't seem to move on from what I last read. Yes, fiction can do that to me. 

To that, I am adding:

• Dwellers by Eliza Victoria -TFG's book for the month. 
• The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera -the last book in my I Dare You To Read challenge. 

Before I go, here are the books  I read last October:

• Fludd by Hilary Mantel -4/5 stars -Humorous and symbolic. 
• The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Dr. Oliver Sacks -3/5 stars -It challenged misconceptions and case isolation.
• Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson -5/5 stars -It was both sad and beautiful -it was perfect.
• Jack: The Tale of Frost -4/5 stars -Grinch has to make a huge step backward from this one. 

Have a great November!

Read more →

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Dr. Oliver Sacks

The Profound Affliction

     Oliver Sacks is a famous neurologist, who gained more popularity through the movie Awakenings, which was adapted from his book of the same title, starring both Robert De Niro and Robin Williams. He worked on several other books involving rare neurological cases.

THE MAN WHO MISTOOK HIS WIFE FOR A HAT consists of select strange patients that the good doctor encountered through his practice. He strongly believes that the personhood and the study of the condition cannot be separated. The book introduces the reader to the evaluation and understanding of the entire being, looking for connections between the human experience and scientific theory. Gradually, he was able to demonstrate aspects showing that neurology, psychology, and physiology are sciences that need to fuse together to form a complete patient history, and (perhaps) alleviate the patient from his/her condition. For Dr. Sacks, these [patients’] lives and journeys have a quality of the fabulous.

If we wish to know about a man, we ask 'what is his story--his real, inmost story'--for each of us is a biography, a story.

When I said rare and strange, I am referring to a time when this book was written and published. A present reader might find the cases and terms used were already dated. Nonetheless, this book (and the author himself) actually made quite a stir during my college years. It brought a certain level of understanding to non-medical people -it challenged misconceptions and case isolation. And we cannot blame people for using commonly acknowledged terms during those years before political correctness was established.

—animals get diseases, but only man falls radically into sickness.

I must admit that I had a hard time reading the book. It was very difficult debating with a book -very unproductive. I meant debating. Believe me, I know. It was not until I convinced myself to read it as another form of literature, rather than as case studies or histories, did I finished its entirety. The telling turned out to be engaging for the most part then.


Book details:
Title: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for A Hat

Author:  Dr. Oliver Sacks

Publisher:  Odyssey Editions

Publication:  Kindle; December 15, 2014

Genre: Non-fiction

Rating:  ★★★

F2F34 discussion at Wood Neighborhood Deli, 

Makati; Moderated by Kirstel.

Photo courtesy of Monique.

***

Read more →