Of presents and wishes

-
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 for for the past year. Of course, I bought it. And while I was at it, I thought I'd bring out my handy-dandy notebook with my book wishlist. Then, I promptly went through the bookstore with the list in my hand. Fortunately, I didn't go all out. In addition to Shades of Grey, I just got myself mass-market paperback versions of The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson and Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. I put Christopher Moore's The Stupidest Angel back on the shelf because my conscience kicked in.


I was surprised, though, to find Fforde's book available already. Last I heard, the release would be on the 29th of December still, yet here it is, on the 26th. In the Philippines. And in trade paperback! Beats buying the hardback at full price.

Though, for the next year, I do foresee me buying more hardbacks at full price. My book love has gotten to the point that I am waiting for new books coming out, and this is entirely new ground for me. The only new book that I actually reserved before it was released was--laugh at me, if you will--Breaking Dawn. That's because I really wasn't a big fan of Harry Potter.:)

So, here are the books that I'm really looking forward to next year:

Hunger Games, Book 3 (currently untitled) by Suzanne Collins

It's scheduled for release on August 24, 2010. If you've ever read both Hunger Games and Catching Fire,then you'll understand why I am counting the days.




Monsters of Men (Book 3, Chaos Walking trilogy)
by Patrick Ness

Release date is on May 3, 2010. I've been pimping the Chaos Walking series to people, too, after hearing about it from Peter. The first two books, The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and The Answer, were books I found meaty and powerful. If you haven't tried them, I urge you to.



Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris

Release date is on May 4, 2010. I just want to find out who Sookie finally ends up with. I think it's about time that's settled.






There are actually a few more books to be released in 2010 that I'm also thinking of getting, but these are the top three. Do you have books that you're looking forward to next year? I'd be glad to find out what they are; I might be missing out on a good thing to look forward to.

Oh, and before I forget... MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! I hope your Christmas celebration was filled with family, friends, and love all around.

Comments

Patrick said…
Hello Honey! Just thought I'd drop by to say Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you. ^_^

Um.. what books am I looking forward to in 2010? Well I'm sure book 3 of Hunger Games will be one of them once I've read books 1 and 2. Hehe! Sorry, I'm not really good at this new releases. The only book release I ever looked forward to are the Potter books because I'm a fan! Haha!

Anyways, hope you're having a great time with your loved ones. =)
December 27, 2009 at 12:36 AM
ning said…
oh wow. jasper fforde!!! how is it?

and the new charlaine harris! yes i do hope things are settled.

*sigh* i forgot about my reading life altogether.
December 27, 2009 at 1:22 AM
fantaghiro23 said…
@Patrick - Another Hunger Games fan! I guess it's also easier to keep track of new releases if you're following a series. And Merry Christmas to you, too!

@Ning - Well, so far I've read the first page. Hahaha! I just started now, since I finished this other book first. Usual Fforde stuff--the weirdness that we love. I'm tempted to color the cover since it's paint by numbers.:)
December 27, 2009 at 3:23 AM
Peter S. said…
Hi, Honey! Oh my goodness -- a paperback edition of Wolf Hall! Now I'm guilty of purchasing my US hardback.

As to the books I'm looking forward to next year? Well, you've mentioned two of them -- the Ness and the Collins. But what I'm really excited about next year is reading the classics. I've been putting off reading them for the longest time, and I decided that 2010 would be the year I would face them head on. So more classics and fewer contemporary novels/books next year.
December 27, 2009 at 8:08 AM
Peter S. said…
Hi again, Honey! I forgot to mention: Ian McEwan will be coming out with his latest novel in 2010. Now that's something I'm really, really, really, really looking forward to.
December 27, 2009 at 10:06 AM
claire said…
Hello! I found your blog through Mel U. :)

Books I'm looking forward to in the new year: Ian McEwan's Solar, Yann Martel's Beatrice and Virgil, Peter Carey's Parrot and Olivier in America, Roberto Bolaño's Monsieur Pain, and Miguel Syjuco's Ilustrado.

Happy new year and enjoy your books!
December 27, 2009 at 12:39 PM
fantaghiro23 said…
@Peter - Reading the classics--that's a wonderful plan.:) Oh, and thanks for telling me about McEwan. I've only read two of his books, but I liked them.

@Claire - Hi, and welcome! Those are great books that you're looking forward to. I'm especially interested in Syjuco's Illustrado. I'm glad it's finally coming out.:)
December 27, 2009 at 1:35 PM
Teresa Kravtin said…
I am an evangelist for the Chaos Walking Series, too! Please join our FaceBook chat group and share your thoughts! We'd love to have you.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=109855269768&ref=ts
December 27, 2009 at 9:20 PM
Teresa Kravtin said…
Oh! I forgot to add, I have been a publisher rep for my entire career, so my life has been filled with books, too. I never ask for books as gifts EXCEPT this year. I had a few special requests of books that I wanted to receive and my family bought them for me. I was thrilled to get them. You should try it. It feels GREAT.
December 27, 2009 at 10:16 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Soledad's Sister by Jose Dalisay, Jr.

-
Image
Soledad's Sister  by Jose "Butch" Dalisay is the first Philippine novel to be shortlisted for the distinguished Man Asian Literary Prize  in 2007. I remember reading about the Man Asian at that time and finding out about Dalisay's shortlisted novel. And I recall thinking, "Well, that sounds about right." After all, Butch Dalisay is one of the country's premier writers.This much is evident when you read Soledad's Sister . Way back in college, I was fortunate enough to have Butch Dalisay as one of my professors. The class was an undergrad course on Survey of American Literature, and I remember every single story and poem we took up to this day. I also remember him reading to us one of his essays during class. He had his Mac open on his desk and was reading his essay from the screen. Back then, I was thinking, "This should be boring. But it isn't." And I realized it wasn't boring because I was entranced by his words. The summary...
Read more

Filipino authors with internationally-published books

-
Image
Some of the books from Filipino authors published by intl. publishers. Clockwise from top left: Age of Blight by Kristine Ong Muslim; The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco; The Courageous Princess Vol. 1 by Rod Espinosa; Learning To Fall by Mina Esguerra, Smaller And Smaller Circles by F.H. Batacan; The Last Time I'll Write About You by Dawn Lanuza. It seems an exciting time for Filipino authors. A Filipina YA author was at the Brooklyn Book Festival and other festivals, some Filipino authors just wrapped up panels during the Fil-Am International Book Festival in San Francisco , a few other Fil-Am authors are coming out with new books from a major publisher in the next few months ( literary fiction , young adult , and middle grade ), and another classic author was recently published by Penguin Classics. Not to mention that a few Filipino authors have been pitching at #dvpit and have already found agents . And I'm pretty sure I'm barely scratching the surface her...
Read more

The El Bimbo Variations by Adam David

-
Image
When reading a poetry collection, one of the last things you expect to do is laugh out loud. But, if you were to read Adam David's new edition of The El Bimbo Variations , that is exactly what you'd be doing. My advice: try not to read it in public, unless you're okay with people looking at you weird because your shoulders are suddenly shaking in laughter or you have a snap-happy grin on your face. I first read The El Bimbo Variations back when it was still in pdf format. Four years ago, the poet Adam David gave a talk to one of our high school junior classes during a yearly activity where we expose students to real-life writers. In preparation, he sent us  a copy of his El Bimbo Variations , and told me that we could distribute it to the students so that they'd know his work. We photocopied them for the classes assigned to Adam and, on the day of the talk, I went in and listened to his session where he got riled up about big publishers and their limited repertoire...
Read more