Coffeespoons

This was a momentous year. I started this blog, met the wonderful people of the book blogging community, and even got shortlisted for the national blog awards . Our house sunk under 8 feet of flood water , washing away not just appliances and furniture, but irreplaceable pictures, books, and mementos. I left the only career I knew to begin a new one. And life goes on. A wonderful thing about occasions of great moment is that they give you perspective. For instance, I learned that things in my life will come and go, and that is all right. We only really need a few constant things. In my case, it's my family and my love for reading. And so, that is what 2009 looked like; I now look forward to 2010. And I am truly grateful, reader of this blog, that you were part of it, whether I knew about you or not. Here's an excerpt of T.S. Eliot's Little Gidding . It's something I used to show to my class when I wanted to talk about beginnings and endings and the journey of life. Let ...

When I started this blog this year, I noted down certain reading goals that I had. In the course of the year, I believe I forgot about most of these goals or just kept them at the back of my mind. Except for my 100-book goal this year. That, at least, I wanted to finish. And, I'm glad to say, I have.:) A couple of months ago, I listed down the 83 books I'd already read. These are the books I've read since then: 84) The Ask and the Answer - Patrick Ness (Nov. 2) 85) Storm Front - Jim Butcher (Nov. 6) 86) Trese 3: Mass Murders - Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo (Nov. 18) 87) Voices from the World of Jane Austen - Malcolm Day (Nov. 18) 88) Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (Nov. 20) 89) Julie & Julia - Julie Powell (Nov. 28) 90) Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians vol. 2) - Rick Riordan (Dec. 1) 91) Vampire Knight, vol. 4 - Matsuri Hino (Dec. 6) 92) Arthur and George - Julian Barnes (Dec. 13) 93) Hush, Hush - Becca Fitzpatrick (Dec. 14) 94) T...

Read: 30 Dec 2009 Jasper Fforde takes a break from his post-modern romp through Anglo-American literature to explore the world of color in his new book. And, my, how vibrant it is! I've been a fan of Fforde for several years now. In a previous post , I mentioned how I've read his entire oeuvre and was eagerly awaiting this new book. I was fully expecting to see it in our local bookstores by next year still, but it seems I should've put more faith in our local bookstores because I was able to buy the book a couple of days ago. The extent of my fanhood is revealed by the fact that I finished this book just a day and a half after purchasing it, and that was amidst work and family demands. So, what's the story? In Fforde's new dystopian tale, we have a futuristic England ruled through Colourtocracy, where the social hierarchy is dependent on what color of the spectrum people can see. As with most dystopias, there is a stringent set of rules, embodied in the teachings of...

Read: 28 June 2009 How I got it… Also lent by my book pimp Why I read it… A former co-teacher, Eric , raved to me about this series before. I wanted to complete the 20-book reading challenge that I set for co-faculty members. What's the story? In this first volume of Fables , you're introduced to characters from traditional fairy tales exiled to New York; they were thrown out of their homes by the Adversary, an as-yet unrevealed entity. The fairy tale characters keep track of their own, with Snow White, currently divorced from Prince Charming, acting as deputy (something like a mayor) for the bunch, and Bigby Wolf of Red Riding Hood fame giving up his grandma-eating days for the sheriff's badge. The mystery begins when Jack (of Beanstalk fame) discovers his girlfriend's, Rose Red, apartment spattered in blood and Rose Red herself missing. Snow White is concerned about the disappearance, especially since Rose Red is her sister; she puts Bigby on the case. That's it w...

image from ijm.nl I do not ask family members to give me books for Christmas anymore. Not for the past couple of years. In fact, I tell them that they can give me anything BUT a book. I have a simple reason for this: though I often scrimp on many things I might need and want, I hardly ever scrimp on books. So, I tell my family to go ahead and buy me that kitchen gadget I've always wanted but won't spend money for because I probably spent too much on books already. (Besides, it's also kind of embarrassing to ask my family to buy books for me when they know and can very well see how many books I have yet left unread.) So, my family buys me the other stuff I want, while I just go on buying myself books. Case in point--I promised myself I wouldn't buy any more books until the New Year, Christmas being a very expensive season for me. However, I dropped by the Fully Booked mothership earlier and saw Jasper Fforde's new book, Shades of Grey , which I've been waiting f...

Read: 28 June 2009 How I got it… My book pimp lent it to me She was the only one willing to lend me a copy of Sandman. She says guys don't lend out their Sandman graphic novels. It's supposedly a guy-thing. Why I read it… I am a big fan of Neil Gaiman I've always, always wanted to read a Sandman graphic novel. I was thinking of including it in one of our school reading lists. What's the story? The Endless--Destiny, Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium, and, of course, Dream--gather for a family meeting which will supposedly be pivotal in causing terrible events in motion; the family meeting descends into a family squabble. Death accuses Dream, or Morpheus, of pride for sending his former lover to hell simply for refusing him; Morpheus realizes his mistake and seeks to rectify matters by trying to release his former lover, Nada, from hell--a no mean feat considering Morpheus' enmity with Lucifer. Morpheus is prepared for battle as he enters hell, but he is surprised...

From Dead to Worse Read: 27 June 2009 How I got it… borrowed it from a smart and talented poet friend who is hooked on Harris Why I read it… check out my other Charlaine Harris marathons here and here . those should explain it What's the story? something about how they coped with stuff after the big explosion something about Alcide and a play for power something about Bill and Eric, I think Oh, and a surprise about Sookie's background What I liked about it… More Sookie and Eric ...what can i say? I'm a fan. What I didn’t like about it… the fact that i can't remember the story and I had to Google it the fact that, after Googling it, I still can't remember much of it. it's just one of those books you have to read because you've invested in the entire series already and you can't not read one of the books in the series. Rating: Dead and Gone Read: 28 June 2009 How I got it… Again, borrowed from my paranormal-romance-as-a-metaphor-loving poet fri...

image courtesy of AllPosters.com In thirty days, according to my widget down there in the right column, it'll be my blogoversary. Now, to prevent me from getting sentimental and maudlin, which I occasionally get when I have an opportunity to look back on the past, I shall endeavor to turn a blind eye to how I've been keeping this blog (badly...) and look toward the future! (cue Back to the Future soundtrack) And so, on to explaining what I intend to do (God help me, God help me)... My main goal for this year is to read 100 books. Then, because I like listing things down and, really, because I had time, I started this blog to note down the books I read and the thoughts I had about them. So, eventually, my covert goal became to read 100 books and to blog about them. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way--let's say around June--I couldn't keep up with the blogging regularly. Now, it has come to the point that I have 37 books that are read but unreviewed. My temporary-tho...

(What's a 555 Review ?) Read: 25 June 2009 1) How I got it... Lent by the father of my tutee 2) Why I read it... Because I had read and loved Child 44 . 3) What's the story? A woman from Leo’s past shows up to take revenge. Formerly the wife of a pastor Leo sent to jail, the woman has become a Vory leader and threatens the security of the newly established state. She also threatens the security of Leo’s family, specifically the future of Leo’s adopted daughter. In any case, Leo's adopted daughter has become unpredictably rebellious--not surprising given her background (which you'll have to read in the first book). 4) What I liked about it... It's set in Russia, a country I'm totally a sucker for. The pleasure of finding out what happens to the old characters, like Leo and his wife. The pleasure of finding out what happens in post-Stalinist Russia. The wider scope--more about the state and more about politics 5) What I didn’t like about it... Plot seemed episodic...