Status Update--The Coffeespoons

October is ending, and around this time of the year, I like taking a good long look at where I am in my life. I think it has something to do with December creeping up, signalling the following things: Christmas, the end of another year, and the celebration of another birthday. Yup, I love December and its significance that, months before it, I like getting psychologically prepared.

So, with two months left in the year, I thought I'd take a look at my reading progress. When I started this blog, I set out my general reading plan. Basically, I had pretty fluid goals--read a lot of books from my awards lists (Booker and Pulitzer) and other distinguished lists (1001 Books to Read before you die, BBC Big Read, Time 100 Novels). No time limit on the reading, and I do not intend to compel myself to read every book on these lists. Just the ones I am interested or vaguely interested in.

I'll summarize my progress on these lists by this year's close, but now, I'm checking my status with another more concrete and more immediate reading goal I have. And that is to read 100 books this year.

I know, I know--for some of the people, 100 books is easy-peasy. But, for me, it's the perfect kind of challenge: difficult, yet doable. I didn't really list down this challenge in my General Plan, but it's my only concrete reading goal this year. I just settled on 100 to up my game from the 66 books last year.

So, I've been keeping my reading log in one of my Shelfari groups. And here's my progress so far:

1. March - Geraldine Brooks (Jan. 3)
2. The Elephant Man - Bernard Pomerance (Jan. 4)
3. Motherless Brooklyn - Jonathan Lethem (Jan. 8)
4. Club Dead - Charlaine Harris (Jan. 9)
5. Grave Sight - Charlaine Harrs (Jan. 12)
6. Grave Surprise - Charlaine Harris (Jan. 14)
7. Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood (Jan. 18)
8. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail - Bill Bryson (Jan. 19)
9. Island of the Aunts - Eva Ibbotson (Jan. 20)
10. Housekeeping - Marilynne Robinson (Jan. 22)
11. An Ice-cold Grave - Charlaine Harris (Jan. 23)
12. The Time-Warp Trio: Knights of the Kitchen Table - Jon Scieszka (Jan. 28)
13. Dragondrums - Anne McCaffrey (Feb. 1)
14. One for the Money - Janet Evanovich (Feb. 1)
15. Stormbreaker - Anthony Horowitz (Feb. 3)
16. White Noise - Don DeLillo (Feb. 5)
17. Bloodsucking Fiends - Christopher Moore (Feb. 6)
18. The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger (Feb. 11)
19. Love Story - Erich Segal (Feb. 12)
20. Breathing Lessons - Anne Tyler (Feb. 18)
21. The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip - George Saunders, illustrated by Lane Smith (Feb. 21)
22. Vampire Knight, Volume 1 - Matsuri Hino (Feb. 22)
23. Vampire Knight, Volume 2 - Matsuri Hino (Mar. 1)
24. The Inheritance of Loss - Kiran Desai (Mar. 2)
25. No Country for Old Men - Cormac McCarthy (Mar. 2)
26. The Birth of Venus - Sarah Dunant (Mar. 6)
27. Naomi - Junichiro Tanizaki (Mar. 9)
28. Cirque du Freak # 1: A Living Nightmare - Darren Shan (Mar. 16)
29. Garden Spells - Sarah Addison Allen (Mar. 20)
30. Something Blue - Emily Giffin (Mar. 22)
31. Surfacing - Margaret Atwood (Mar. 22)
32. The Fourth Bear - Jasper Fforde (Mar. 29)
33. Heartsick - Chelsea Cain (April 2)
34. Para Kay B - Ricky Lee (April 5)
35. The Hero and the Crown - Robin McKinley (April 6)
36. Slumdog Millionaire - Vikas Swarup (April 8)
37. The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman (April 9)
38. Something Wonderful - Judith McNaught (April 11)
39. The King's English: Adventures of an Independent Bookseller - Betsy Burton (April 18)
40. Ella Enchanted - Gail Carson Levine (April 19)
41. Bunnicula - Deborah and James Howe (April 19)
42. Uglies - Scott Westerfeld (April 21)
43. Baby Proof - Emily Giffen (April 24)
44. Peter Pan - J.M. Barrie (May 11)
45. The Fairy's Return - Gail Carson Levine (May 24)
46. The Dante Club - Matthew Pearl (May 29)
47. Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen (May 30)
48. Dead to the World - Charlaine Harris (May 31)
49. Child 44 - Tom Rob Smith (June 3)
50. Dead as a Doornail - Charlaine Harris (June 4)
51. Definitely Dead - Charlaine Harris (June 5)
52. All Together Dead - Charlaine Harris (June 5)
53. The House on Mango Street - Sandra Cisneros (Jun 16)
54. The Master and Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov (June 18)
55. Up the Down Staircase - Bel Kaufman (June 19)
56. The Secret Speech - Tom Rob Smith (June 25)
57. From Dead to Worse - Charlaine Harris (June 27)
58. Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris (June 28)
59. Sandman vol. 4: Season of Mists - Neil Gaiman (June 28)
60. Fables vol. 1: Legends in Exile - Bill Wittington (June 28)
61. Shakespeare: The World As Stage - Bill Bryson (July 6)
62. The Book of Illusions - Paul Auster (July 18)
63. Fevre Dream - George R.R. Martin (August 4
64. A Dirty Job - Christopher Moore (August 7)
65. Brokeback Mountain - Annie Proulx (August 14)
66. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz (August 20)
67. City of Bones (Mortal Instruments #1) - Cassandra Clare
68. In the Woods - Tana French (Sept. 7)
69. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins (Sept. 12)
70. Trese: Murder on Balete Drive - Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo (Sept. 20)
71. Trese: Unreported Murders - Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo (Sept. 21)
72. City of Ashes (Mortal Instruments Trilogy, Book 2) - Cassandra Clare (Sept. 23)
73. City of Glass (Mortal Instruments Trilogy, Book 3) - Cassandra Clare (Sept. 27)
74. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) - Rick Riordan (Oct. 2)
75. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins (Oct. 6)
76. Howl's Moving Castle - Diana Wynne Jones (Oct. 7)
77. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons (Oct. 13)
78. Leviathan - Scott Westerfeld (Oct. 18)
79. The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness (Oct. 19)
80. Vampire Knight vol. 3 - Matsuri Hino (Oct. 25)
81. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh - Robert C. O'Brien (Oct. 25)
82. Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller (Oct. 25)
    
83. Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier (Oct. 29)

83, so far. And I owe that with the help of a few graphic novels and a couple of middle readers. But I draw the line at my children's picture books and the books I read for work. Only because I don't really count them as part of my leisure reading material. And I've really been remiss in reviews. I only regularly reviewed up till book #55.

Now that I've typed this list, I realize that, though I might not remember every little detail from these books, I do remember how I felt while I was reading most of them. And those memories are still very fresh, so much so that I'm surprised to find out that it's been months since I read those first few books. Was it really that long ago? Has it been almost a year since I read Motherless Brooklyn, gone on the first of my Charlaine Harris sprees, and discovered Bill Bryson?

Looking at the list, I feel like I'm looking at a picture album--seeing a snapshot of each book and who I was when I read it.

I have seen the mornings, evenings, and afternoons
I have measured out my life with coffeespoons.

These are my coffeespoons so far, these books I've read.

But, while I might enjoy looking at the past, Lord knows I have 17 books left to read to get to my goal of 100 by December 31. Wish me luck?

And how are you doing so far with your reading goals?

Read-a-thon End of the Event Meme

I finished! Albeit a few minutes after zero hour, but I finished, in between all the interruptions of life.:)

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?

I'd say the last. Only because I was rushing reading my third book. Granted, my third book is very thin.:)

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

Among the three I read, I'd suggest Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. But in general, I'd strongly suggest the following:

the Sookie Stackhouse series
the Hunger Games series
the Hitchhiker's Guide series
the Mortal Instruments Trilogy series

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

Televise it? Just kidding.:)

Then again...

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

Well, as usual, I loved the Cheerleaders. Oh, and this time, I was keeping track of all the #readathon tweets. It was highly encouraging to read them.

5. How many books did you read?

Three! Short ones!

6. What were the names of the books you read?

Vampire Knight vol. 3 by Matsuri Hino
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

7. Which book did you enjoy most?

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. I can relate to Mrs. Frisby, so much so that I even forgot that she's a mouse.

8. Which did you enjoy least?

I enjoyed them all, but I'd have to say that the book that didn't make me happy (on account of its content) is obviously Death of a Saleman.

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?

Hmm, not really sure. I've always loved the work of the cheerleaders in the Readathon. Oh, and it was great that some posted where they were cheering from. I liked that touch.

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

I'll definitely be participating again as a reader. I met my goal of reading more than my last readathon. So next time, I'll target four books.:)

Thank you to all the organizers, cheerleaders, and fellow readers for doing a great job!

Read-a-thon Mid-event Survey

My apologies for doing the Hour 13 survey at Hour 16. My only excuse is I was reading!:)

1. What are you reading right now?

Still Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. After posting my review of Vampire Knight last night, I curled up in bed with my book and promptly fell asleep! Oh well, sleep is a good thing to have.

2. How many books have you read so far?

One and a half. I think I'll make my goal of reading more than two and a half books this time, though.:D

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

Death of a Salesman. Because it's short and because I've been waiting for an excuse to read it for a while now.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?

Ah, I wish. But Sundays are partly workdays for me since I do some tutoring on the side. Plus, it's when I usually have play time with my kids. So, I grab reading time whenever I can.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

Yes. Like going out last night, then falling asleep after my first book. I'm thinking if I should let lunch interrupt me. Who am I kidding--I love food! I prefer to take the interruptions in stride. After all, I'll have to attend to my other responsibilities. But I like the challenge of getting in as much reading as I can in spite of the interruptions.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

That I actually considered staying up the whole night just to read. But we all know how that turned out.:)

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

I really can't think of anything right now. I actually noticed that there are more readers and events this time. I'm very glad that the Read-a-thon is getting bigger. Though I'm guessing it's becoming more challenging to organize. Hats off to the organizers!

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?

I would get a private hotel room and hole myself up in there with my books and lots of soda and chips.:P

Seriously, though, I think the only realistic thing for me so far is to avoid going to meet-ups with friends during the read-a-thon. Or the night before it, so that I get a good number of hours of sleep to prepare for the read-a-thon.:)

9. Are you getting tired yet?

Nope. Had sleep, remember?

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?

What's working well for me is that I concentrate on having fun and enjoying myself, which I think most everyone knows anyways, so congratulations to all of us!:D

Vampire Knight 3 by Matsuri Hino

Read: 25 Oct 2009

My first book for the Readathon!

Vampire Knight is about the only manga I read and buy. I just bought this third volume not three hours ago, and now I've read it. Pretty quick, eh. But then again, it's manga.

I wrote about the first and second volumes of Vampire Knight previously. My fascination for the series has even led me to buying the DVDs. I've seen the whole first season, which was why, when I read volume 3, I had a feeling that I'd read it before. Turns out I haven't; I'd only seen it on DVD.

In this volume, more is revealed about the backstory of Yuki, Kaname, and Zero. It's not surprising that Yuki's fascination for the pure-blood vampire Kaname stems back from her childhood. What is surprising is that Kaname seems to have been equally entranced by her, even when she was a child. And Zero--well, it's also predictable that Zero's aggression towards Kaname existed from the moment Zero starts living in Yuki's household after surviving the vampire attack that took his whole family.

The unpredictable thing, however, is that, for once, I seem don't seem to be rooting for the vampire in this human-vampire love triangle.

Don't get me wrong--Kaname the vampire is as noble, handsome, powerful, and kind as they come. And I have a feeling Yuki will end up with him. But can I help it that I find Zero's tortured personality more appealing? Not to mention that he does look hot in the drawings. Kaname, however, looks slightly feminine.

Now I wish I had bought the fourth volume, too. Both because I'm really eager to read the rest of the series and because it's going to ensure me a quick read in the Readathon. However, no use regretting the past--I'm off to read Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh now! Oh, and time check--it's 3:04 AM where I am.:)

Good luck to everyone else in the Readathon!

Ready, Set, Read!

It's Readathon day! And guess what? I'm only starting now and it's already Hour 4. Darn it. I was actually out with book club friends, including Blooey, who's also participating in the readathon. The difference is, while we were at the restaurant and later, in a coffeeshop, Blooey just kept on reading and making headway with her books, while I was just chatting with our other friends. So, no reading done yet, but here I am, raring to get into the thick of things.

Oh, here's my first hour meme:

Where are you reading from today?

From Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. So, right now, hour 4 actually translates to 1AM.:)

3 facts about me …

1. I have two beautiful children, a five-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl who has Down syndrome. I adore both of them that it breaks my heart.:)
2. I am about to undergo a career change.
3. I do not peek at the endings of books I read.

How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?

I had 7 books, but I just bought a new one, so that's 8.

Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?

My goal is to better my stats last readathon (I only read 2 1/2 books.)

If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?

It's ok to cheat, i.e., read really short YA and middle reader books. Or graphic novels. But most of all, I think we should all do it for fun and because we love reading.

"The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

Read: 12 Sept. 2009
5/5 stars

What can I say about The Hunger Games that hasn't already been said?

Not much, I think. But since I'm blogging to enter into the greater discourse that blogging allows me, here are my two cents...

The Hunger Games storyline might already be familiar to readers of Koushun Takami's Battle Royale. In The Hunger Games, as in Battle Royale, teenagers fight to the death in an arena. The lone person left alive is the victor. However, whereas in Battle Royale, the purpose for the brutal game is to discipline the lax youth, in The Hunger Games, it is to commemorate the defeat of 12 states against the autocratic Capitol. This commemoration takes the form of a sacrifice of 24 youths--one boy and one girl from each district. Except for the lone victor, of course.

If this, too, sounds a bit like the story of Theseus and the fourteen youths sacrificed each year to the Minotaur, that's because Ms. Collins does acknowledge that she takes inspiration from that particular Greek myth.

However, majority of her inspiration, as I believe is readily apparent in the book, is from Roman gladiatorial games. Reality and brutality as entertainment. Entertainment as a means of keeping the masses in check. The concept of panem et circenses. Literally, bread and circus. Food and entertainment. Stave off hunger by watching the games.

A little more about this story, though: Katniss Everdeen is a fifteen-year-old girl from District 12, the coal-mining district. She knows hunger and loss. Her father had died in a coal-mining accident years before, and she alone takes care of her mother and her younger sister, whom she adores. Everyone in District 12, except for the very special few, live in constant fear of hunger. Katniss keeps her family alive by learning how to hunt, and hunt she does with her best friend Gale.

However, the day comes for the annual reaping--the ceremony that randomly determines the boy and girl tribute to the Hunger Games from each district. To Katniss's horror, the girl tribute is her sister. This she cannot allow, so she volunteers herself instead. The boy tribute, on the other hand, is someone familiar to Katniss, though one who she barely had any connection with, a Peeta Mellark.

Katniss and Peeta are whisked off to the Capitol to get ready for the Hunger Games, the whole duration of which is telecast live to the entire country. Reality TV, extreme-style. Hence, preparation means a team of stylists and a coach-cum-publicist. Fighting for one's life then becomes dependent not just on physical prowess, but on how well one panders to the crowd. In this kind of situation, therefore, reality and fiction intermingle.

And I believe this is what I found fantastic about Hunger Games. The fact that it muddles the line between reality and the fantasy depicted in entertainment. Interestingly, this line is muddled not just in the case of the characters and their conflicts, but also in terms of the reader's reaction. For Ms. Collins has made voyeurs of us all. We have all become citizens of the Capitol.

What distinguishes the people of the Capitol from majority of the citizens from the districts is that Capitol citizens live in comfort. Hence, the Games are entertainment for them, nothing more. And the contestants pander primarily to them. They are characterized as superficial, spoiled, carelessly extravagant. Put that side by side with the teenagers who are fighting for their lives and for their districts that are languishing in poverty, and you are meant to despise the Capitol people. Despise their enjoyment in the tributes's wholesale death.

Yet here I am, enjoying the book and the entertainment that it provided.

It is one thing to get involved in the story. Quite another to be drawn in as a participant, in ways that you never expected or saw coming. So, my reality is that I enjoy this fictional account of kids fighting for their lives in an arena which is meant to simulate reality, though it is really contrived fiction. In Katniss' arena, then, one cannot even be truthful even if one wanted to. In my arena, the lie--the fiction--shows me a truth. Though I acknowledge that people from the Capitol are despicable, in the end, my enjoyment actually lumps me with them.

And if you're willing to take another level of this drivel I'm dishing out, consider also the fact that this fictional world created by Collins is based on the reality of the ancient gladiatorial games. Fiction from reality and reality from fiction. This, I believe, is the genius of Hunger Games.

So, more than the fact that I can definitely qualify the book as "un-put-down-able," more than my excitement at the developing romance angle, more than the concern about who would really win the games and how, I am truly impressed with The Hunger Games' themes and how the reader is made to experience these first hand.

For this experience then, my undying gratitude goes to the people of Scholastic, specifically Ms. Roselle and Ms. Joyce, who gave me my free copy of this book during a meeting with book bloggers last month. Thank you big.

I wonder if someone has already said something as confusing as I have about The Hunger Games. Let me end with something much clearer, then...

It's fascinating. Read it.

Read-a-thon again!

So, I signed up again for Dewey's Read-a-thon, to be held this October 24. And I find my inner critic saying "No, you'll barely have enough time to read one book." My inner critic is probably saying this because I only finished 2 and a half books last Read-a-thon, one of them a really short middle-reader. Nevertheless, I am choosing to ignore my pesky inner critic and am determined to join this Read-a-thon. I think my thoughts after last April's read-a-thon aptly explain why.

More than the reading of several books, I loved the sense of community the read-a-thon creates--imagine, book bloggers everywhere reading and cheering each other on. There's nothing more enjoyable than having a bunch of like-minded people engaging in the thing they love at the same time AND being supportive with each other about it. :)

And so, in preparation for October 24, I'm coming up with my reading list. From experience, I think I will just stick to the shorter reads. That way, I'll have a greater sense of accomplishment. Of course, I'm allowing for additions or substitutions to this list. It's a good two weeks away from the Read-a-thon, and who knows what other interesting books I might get between now and then. Not to mention TBR books i might unearth from the disorganized pile in our spare room.

Tentatively, therefore, here's my list:

1. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien
2. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
3. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller (yep, haven't read this one yet)
4. The Miracle Worker by William Gibson (nor this one either)
5. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (I'd like to reread this one because I plan to finally read the next book.)
6. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
   
7. Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake
   

I thought the read-a-thon would be the perfect time to read books that I think I should've read but still haven't. Of course, I'm still open to suggestions.

To the non-read-a-thon-ers (trying to invent a word here): I hope you do get to try it out, at least once. The organizers manage it so well and the community spirit is great. Just in case you're interested, here's the post of the different start times for the read-a-thon, so you can plan your day.

To the read-a-thon-ers: I'm glad to be reading with you again. See you all on the 24th!