Coffeespoons

It's Coffeespoons' 3rd birthday! Three years ago, on this date, I made the first post of this blog live. I always have a certain fondness for that post whenever I read it. It's not one of those things I write that I cringe at (I have a lot of those), mostly because it was honest and I like the sense of history. I started this blog because I was bored and because I love reading. Now, I am no longer bored. Haven't been for a long time. And I still love reading. In my last 2 blogiversaries, it was my custom to outline my advocacies for the year, whether I realized it or not. If you care to check back on my  first  and  second  year anniversary posts, you'll see that it was always about reading and the Filipino reader. That hasn't changed yet. So, this year, I hope I can do more to help push reading and readers in this group of islands where I'm from. This blog, which was meant only to allow me to share my love for reading, has been good to me. I know ...

Ulysses wordle ( img src ) Early this year, during a conversation on Twitter, Jaclyn of a book diary and I decided that we'd have a read-along. I'd never done one before and I thought it might be fun. Besides, I figure that, sometime during the year, I'd need this push in my reading. And so, Jaclyn suggested Ulysses. Perfect, really, since I only went as far as the second page long in my previous readings of the work. We decided we'd check in on each other every 16th of the month, since Bloomsday, the day in celebration of Joyce and Ulysses, happens on June 16. I do not take credit for this idea. To be honest, I stole it from dovegreyreader who ran a Ulysses read-along almost 3 years ago. So, this is the first check-in. Frankly, I'm 6 pages into the text. However, I did read the introduction and the publication history. Around 3 or 4 years ago, I took a course called History of the Book. One of the most fascinating examples of a book with an intricate...

Summary "Madeleine Hanna breaks out of her straight-and-narrow mold when she falls in love with charismatic loner Leonard Bankhead, while an old friend resurfaces, obsessed with the idea that Madeleine is his destiny." - from NPR.org The good stuff It started with the books. And it went on and on with books. The Marriage Plot is replete with references to books. We catch the three main characters, Madeleine, Leonard, and Mitchell, in college and the first year out of it, and much mention is made of their reading material. In fact, two of the characters fall in love precisely because of books, and the other one in the triangle uses his readings and scholarship as a crutch for his unrequited love. However, it is Madeleine's reading list that speaks the most to me, since she loves the narrative and considers herself a "Victorianist," a specialization I would also love to have. (Just to show how much I enjoyed the books, see the list compiled below.) I on...

My new Kindle Touch. Forgive the sucky picture. It was night, I was using my iPad camera, and I really take sucky pictures. I work in digital publishing. So, though I have my own trusty Kindle 3, now being rebranded as the Kindle Keyboard, I was issued today with this new office equipment. Yep, the Kindle Touch. Of course, I did a little happy dance inside.:) I've been giving the Touch a test run, and here's what I found so far... The Good: It's smaller and lighter. I can secure it with a numerical code. There seem to be more setting options. It's easier to transfer books into folders or collections. It's touch screen! The Not-so-good: The screen is deep, so there's a slight shadow on whichever side the light comes from, and it's a bit distracting. (In the picture, check out the shadow on the right edge of the screen. Sorry, I'm a nitpicker.) The keys on the screen are small. Even if the keys on the Kindle 3 are small, too, at le...

I plan to chill, just like her. ( img src ) This year in reading, I'll... relinquish my little semblance of control and be entirely honest with myself. Ergo, I opt not to formally join any reading challenge this year. let my reading develop organically, while trying to read more of the following: African women writers Filipino literature (for fun, not just for work. Though work is fun.) Graphic novels try to limit my book buying to P1000 (around $23) per month. try blog more regularly? (I don't think I can commit to anything beyond that question mark, especially with my current schedule. I know people say it's all a matter of scheduling, but I seem to have a medical condition that prevents me from keeping to any concrete schedule. In an ideal world, I woud like to blog at least 3x a week. But I can only promise to try.) participate in or organize more read-alongs, either with fellow book club members or fellow bloggers.  definitely have a Ulysses read-al...

Of the 69 books I read last year, these were the most memorable. They're ordered according to when I read them. The El Bimbo Variations by Adam David  - Adam's a valued co-worker, but before he was a co-worker, I'd already read and loved this poetry collection of his. A year after reading it, I still count it as one of the most memorable books I read last 2011. Its humor, wit, and intelligence haven't faded with time for me. The Woman in Black by Susan Hill - At a time I was looking for satisfying ghost stories after reading a few disappointments, I came across this one. Sadly, I haven't gotten around to watching the movie version with little Danny Radcliffe, but if you're looking for a slow-burn scary read, I highly recommend this. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver - This book has been in my TBR for a while, and I picked it up because, well, I don't really know. I think I was looking for a lyrical Oprah book. This one gladly fit the bi...

This was my reading life in 2011... On reading goals and challenges: I'd like to think I started out well. I aimed to go through at least half of my 2010 TBR .  I joined the TBR Dare , which lasted for me until the end of February. I also aimed not to buy more than 12 books in the whole year, unless I had already finished my TBR goal. Sadly, by March, that 12-book buying goal was compromised by one thing--the Kindle. My sister had given me one as a gift , and there went my goal. To be fair, I held out until the middle of the year. To date, though, I do not know how many additional TBR books I've acquired. I can count how many print books I've added, but cannot and do not want to count how many ebooks I have on my TBR. As for my other goals, well, I barely remember them and I suppose I lost interest in them along the way. Figured that, as long as I'm reading and trying to vary it, I'm ok. In any case, here's my total reading progress for the year . On...