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Reading List

I bought a lot of books while I was in Manila. I have no idea why, after spending years and years reading books, I'd even want to see another one, but honestly I love books. And I don't know, there is something about bookshops that comfort me. This is especially mind-boggling since I have this weird aversion to libraries. Anyhoo, what am I reading?

  • The Mass by F. Sionil Jose
I read The Pretenders about a year ago. The Mass is supposed to be the sequel. I'm planning to read the entire Rosales trilogy and when I'm done with them I'm going to read all the other opus of this master storyteller. It's probably too soon to say this but F. Sionil Jose is my favorite Filipino author.

  • The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho
I have always been skeptical of uber-popular books and authors. It can't be gainsaid that Paulo Coelho practically embodies that niche in modern literature, but I have actually read the first few chapters of this book a few months ago and I found myself having to exert a lot of effort NOT to sit down and read the entire thing in one go. He is that good at drawing readers in, which probably explains his popularity with the mass market. Anyhow, my sister gave me a copy of the book so I'll have no problem getting around to reading it through.

  • The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
I got this neat hardbound book at a bargain price of P70.00. It's a novella and it looks really interesting.

  • Echoes by Arlene Babst-Vokey
The author is a columnist and this is a collection of her columns. Never heard of her or her works. I don't read that much newspaper columns. Truth be told, I don't read the paper much. It's a habit I'm still trying to develop.

  • What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
The subtitle to the Prologue reads like this: "Suffering is optional." :) This guy speaks my head.


As you can see, I don't read nonfiction much, although technically speaking, What I Talk ABout When I Talk About Running is supposedly an autobiography. If you ask me, everything is an autobiography. Even the most fantastical piece of storytelling has glimpses of the author between the lines.
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  1. LingDecember 15, 2009 at 5:17 PM

    i have "what i talk about when i talk about running" by haruki murakami. every time i read it, he inspires me to run!

    ReplyDelete
  2. juteJanuary 3, 2010 at 8:10 PM

    me too. i've been wanting to try running as a hobby. this year siguro. new year's resolution :)

    ReplyDelete

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