2008 books

Last year, with the all the toxicities of hospital work, I must have read only a dozen books. This year I decided to take the 50-book challenge. I ended up reading 65 books (and still counting), not my all time high but still a lot compared to last year. I think I have to up the ante for next year.

Books I've read in 2008 (faves for the year in bold).
1. For One More Day - Mitch Albom
2. The Key - Junichiro Tanizaki
3. Final Epidemic - Earl Merkel
4. Love, Etc - Julian Barnes
5. The Europeans - Henry James
6. Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman - Haruki Murakami
7. The Bookseller of Kabul - Asne Seierstad
8. Burning Bright - John Steinbeck
9. In Praise of Shadows - Junichiro Tanizaki
10. Vita Brevis - Jostein Gaarder
11. 1984 - George Orwell
12. Factotum - Charles Bukowski
13. Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami
14. The Relation of My Imprisonment - Russell Banks
15. Knots - R. D. Laing
16. The Blue Girl - Charles De Lint
17. I'm A Stranger Here Myself - Bill Bryson
18. Diary Of A Bad Year - J. M. Coetzee
19. Kitchen - Banana Yoshimoto
20. New Japanese Voices: The Best Contemporary Fiction From Japan - (ed) Helen Mitsios
21. The Wanting Seed - Anthony Burgess
22. After Dark - Haruki Murakami
23. A Verse To Beasts - Nick Bantock
24. A Long Way Down - Nick Hornby
25. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
26. The Meaning Of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen Scientist - Richard Feynman
27. The Wolves in the Walls - Neil Gaiman
28. Reasons to Live - Amy Hempel
29. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith
30. Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah - Carlo Vergara
31. New Spring: The Novel - Robert Jordan
32. The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
33. A Wrinkle in Time - Madeline L'Engle
34. Take the Cannoli - Sarah Vowell
35. Gut Symmetries - Jeanette Winterson
36. The Brooklyn Follies - Paul Auster
37. The Life of a Cell - Lewis Thomas
38. Tears of a Giraffe - Alexander McCall Smith
39. Lullaby - Chuck Palahniuk
40. Blind Submission - Debra Ginsberg
41. Drawn and Quarterly Showcase Three
42. Next - Michael Crichton
43. Goodbye Lemon - Adam Davies
44. Short Cuts - Raymond Carver
45. The Dharma Bums - Jack Kerouac
46. Drinking, Smoking and Screwing - (ed) Sara Nickles
47. Unlikely Destinations: The Lonely Planet Story - Tony and Maureen Wheeler
48. Apathy and Other Small Victories - Paul Nielan
49. The Men Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat - Oliver Sacks
50. Animal Farm - George Orwell
51. The Kindness of Strangers - Mike McIntyre
52. Hardboiled and Hard Luck - Banana Yoshimoto
53. Happy New Year, Charlie Brown - Charles M. Schulz
54. The Gum Thief - Douglas Coupland
55. The Painted Word - Tom Wolfe
56. The Coma - Alex Garland
57. The Neon Bible - John Kennedy Toole
58. Tales of My Melancholy Whores - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
59. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
60. The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! - Jon Scieszka
61. The PowerBook - Jeanette Winterson
62. The Final Solution: A Story of Detection - Michael Chabon
63. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress - Dai Sijie
64. Side Effects - Woody Allen
65. The Camera My Mother Gave Me - Susannah Kaysen

Currently Reading:
Seeing - Jose Saramago
Good Omens - Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

pay day weekend

I deferred going home to the province today. I woke up late and had to do a few errands. Lately, it's been alternating days of waking up early and waking up late. It's been alternating days of being productive and unproductive as well.

I went to Cubao in the afternoon to have some repair work done on my mobile phone. The jeepney from Kalayaan stopped in front of AliMall. I had a late lunch and proceeded to the second level to have my phone fixed. Renovations where still ongoing at AliMall and there really wasn't a lot to see. I walked through, crossed the street and headed to Gateway.

Just like during Halloween Gateway was cashing in on the Holiday spirit. Halloween saw witches and broomsticks and men walking on stilts. This coming season we are to expect a white Christmas. Santa Claus was already there. Interesting enough instead of little kids sitting on his knee, grown-up women were lining up to take pictures with him.

I forgot that it was a pay day weekend. There were so many people milling around Gateway and too many employees in business suits handing out brochures for rent-to-own apartments and newly built houses in subdivisions far, far away.

I checked the cinema at the top floor just in case there was something I wanted to see but there wasn't anything I was remotely interested in. Why is it that there is never something nice on when I have all the time in the world to watch? Stupid question, I know.

No tickets to buy at the cinema: all the time in the world but nothing to see.

I went to FullyBooked instead where I was glad to see so many people for a change. Even though the majority of the book shoppers where reaching for Twilight I was still happy at the thought of so many people reading.

I don't think I have ever bought a book at that FullyBooked branch though. I love going through the new titles there. I enjoy comparing prices and book covers of different editions. I carefully weigh in my hand the hardcovers of my favorite books. But I've never bought a book there before. They do have a good selection but at the moment I really can't afford to buy new books there.

From there I walked to Farmer's Plaza and went straight down to the lower ground to Booksale where I was sure I could afford a couple of used books. After almost an hour of going through the new stocks I did come out happy.

I finally have a copy of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks. I have been looking for it a long time and at P40 it was definitely a steal. I also finally decided to try reading Kathy Acker. Her novel My Mother: Demonology may not be the best place to start but the chances of coming across a Kathy Acker book at other bookstores is almost close to nil so I got it.

This is becoming more of a book blog than a travel blog, not that it's a bad thing. But it really does seem that I have to put going on the road aside for a while to hit the books instead. In truth, I shouldn't be out buying new books. I should be getting out my medical textbooks and burning the midnight oil again.

I've been on vacation long enough. I need to start working again. I know I've got a long road ahead of me so I better start preparing.


Next time it's a pay day weekend I'm going to have money in my pocket.

walking the backpack

My backpack has been sitting forlornly on the floor. Relatively new at three months old it has been to and from Batangas, gone around Metro Manila, spent a few days at Cebu, got covered in white sand in Bohol and jostled around by Chinese in Hong Kong. But in the last couple of weeks it has only seen the inside of my apartment. Today I decided to take it out for a short walk.

I was on my way to UP Village again. I was broke and was planning to consign a few books to sell at a bookshop there. Walking the backpack came in handy as the books fit snugly inside. Late in the afternoon children were already out in the street playing.


There were toys strewn all over the road in front of a pre-school at Matahimik.


A few steps away a paper cup lay on the gravel. I pondered over whether it was some adult's litter or some little kid's toy.



Walking along I myself felt like a kid curious to learn why someone smashed a hole in the wall


A block away I silently praised the paint job that gave the gates' texture . . .


. . . and wondered why I had never heard mass at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish Church


I marveled at the fresh bright greens at Mahusay . . .


. . . and ended up at the bookshop where a group of artists where having a forum.


After perusing the new titles I went home happy carrying a 1948 edition of The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri, translated by Lawrence Grant White, with engravings by Gustave Dore.

Still a productive afternoon, I'd say.

RIP: Michael Crichton, 66

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Crichton, the million-selling author of such historic and prehistoric science thrillers as Jurassic Park,Timeline and The Andromeda Strain, has died of cancer, his family said.

He died Tuesday in Los Angeles at age 66 after a long battle with the illness."

http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2008-11-05-michael-crichton_N.htm

I started reading Michael Crichton as a freshman in high school. It was around the time when the movie "Jurassic Park" came out and my science high school friends' idea of having fun was trying to separate fact from fiction in mass media productions.

Through the years I've always picked up his books. I haven't been so thrilled about his writing lately but out of habit every time a new Crichton book is published I still check it out.

I admire that his books are replete of steadfast and intelligent women. Women who are at the forefront of science, research, technology and the industry. Young readers just might find role models in them.

But I have to admit, with my interest in Molecular Microbiology and Molecular Medicine, Andromeda Strain is a favorite.

armchair travel

I haven't been much of a traveler lately. Except for the trip from Batangas back to Manila I haven't been on the road much. I have, however, been a very good armchair traveler.

I got a new pair of eyeglasses. It was a tad on the expensive side but it looks pretty good. I suppose I look smart wearing it as opposed to looking geeky. I found out I'm a few grades away from being legally blind without the correction. Anyway, it was a perfect tool for a week of armchair traveling.



Of course the bibliophile in me could not resist another trip to National Bookstore (lately it seems those are the only kind of trips I've been making). Lucky me fished out another bargain find for only P300.

I got Unlikely Destinations: The Lonely Planet Story by travel gurus Tony and Maureen Wheeler. I'm still on the first chapter but it seems promising. I'm a Lonely Planet fan. What can I say, anybody who can build a multi-million dollar empire from 27 cents is worthy of a fans club.



The thing I really love about being at home in Batangas (aside from the beaches and the feel of being in Taal) is cable TV and DSL.

I missed watching old favorites like City Cabs, Six Degrees, Sync or Swim and Globe Trekker. But I was still hooked on Discovery Travel and Living watching Fun Taiwan, LA Ink, Passport with Samantha Brown and America the Wright Way.

I have also been reading a lot of travel stories online . Once again I'm looking for new travel destinations. Right now I have my eyes on China. I'm going to read more about it now :)


P.S. I love the idea behind Couchsurfing. When I first found out about Couchsurfing I was disappointed to find only a handful of couchsurfers in the whole of Asia. Now, it's overwhelming to find that there are 1485 couchsurfers in the Philippines alone.

fly solo

What do I do when I can't go out and travel?

I read about traveling.

I recently fished out Fly Solo: The 50 Best Places on Earth for a Girl to Travel Alone from the bargain bins at NBS. The author Teresa Rodriguez Williamson is the founder of TangoDiva.com, an online travel magazine. Blurbed as an inspiring guide to the ultimate destinations, the book includes "candid advice and insider's secrets about some of the most exciting places on earth."


For each of the fifty travel destinations in the book Williamson utilizes a CAWS rating which she herself formulated with friend Stephanie Block. CAWS which stands for Cultural opportunities, Activity level, Weather preference and Social interaction is a rating scale to help a girl find her ideal travel destination. A short CAWS quiz is also included in the introduction with suggested travel destinations based on the final score one gets at the end of the quiz.

Why you should read the book:
Williamson definitely considers the wide spectrum of women's interests. The book covers a mix of culture, history and nature trips for the seasoned traveler and at the same time highlights must-see tourist spots and places to shop, socialize and party. Of course, for those who want to be pampered, spas, resorts, five-star restaurants and hotels are also listed.

Why you should think twice before getting the book:
Cost of transportation, accommodation and tours are not listed in the book but at least Williamson includes the numbers to call and websites to check out to get more information.

Duration of packaged hikes and treks are indicated in some entries but travel time between some destinations are sorely amiss.

As with any kind of information, you just can't get enough of it. You gotta have more, more and MORE. Sadly, there's just not enough info in the book to plan a trip on. It was not written as an on-the-road travel guide that you lug on your trips. BUT, if you can't decide where to go it is a must to check the book if only for the CAWS quiz. Once you've determined your ideal destination grab another travel guide (a Lonely Planet or Rough Guide perhaps) to plan your trip in greater detail.

BONUS:
I loved the Flying Foreplay, Read Before You Go and Movie Musts sections for each destination. The section includes what books to read and what movies to watch to learn more about your travel destination. Cheeky as it sounds, I did read Paul Theroux's Kowloon Tong before I went to Hong Kong and I would definitely watch The Last Emperor before I visit mainland China.

So, did I like the book? Let's just say if I happened to have enough money in my pocket I probably would've bought another copy and given it to a girlfriend to read. But for the seasoned traveler, I suggest you save up for the Lonely Planet guide instead.