The 10 Books That I've Read and Have To Read Soon

I consider myself as a bookworm, meaning I love to read books; thanks to these people who made me realize that being a bookish person can lead you to everlasting knowledge and wisdom, all rolled into one. Boy Abunda is very proud to say that he reads book and he tells to everyone that we should read books. Kris Aquino can finish a novel only in an overnight stay. Ma'am Neriz Gabelo gave me so much ideas about the literature world from classics to Nobel Prize Winners for Literature. And Oprah Winfrey, in which she has her own book club raises the paperbacks and the hard bounds that everyone must have!

And now, I'll be showing to you the books that I already read and soon to be read, thanks to all of the people who gave it as a gift and I also thank myself for forcing to purchase it!

1. STAINLESS LONGGANISA by Bob Ong - Unarguably, Bob Ong is the best fiction author and fiction and non-fiction in contemporary Filipino literature. Thanks to my good friend Sir Yuan, he incidentally forced me to know more about this imaginary author. Some says that Bob Ong is a real person but it made me truly realized that Bob Ong came from a website called bobongpinoy.com. I don't know if this website still works but some of the writings that Bob Ong created loosely based from his website. This was actually my second try to read a Bob Ong creation, the first one was ABNKKBSNPLAKO; most entirely about being a student. I only finished it in one seating, thanks for the very good words Bob Ong used and that stuck me really hard. I bought Stainless Longganisa this year because of a quick read inside Powerbooks in ATC. And yes, it made me love the writings on how to become a decent, powerful and sometimes wacky writer, knowing that this profession is a trial and error one. He gave us his own story on how did he become a great writer starting from a rough-edged beginning down to the becoming of a feel-good and inspirational-worded genius. One thing I've learned from him: you don't need to have a Creative Writing bachelor's, master's or doctor's degree just to become a very proficient writer. All you have to do is to study about your own imagination. Just looking at him and yes, it is!

2. THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA by Lauren Weisberger - This was made into a movie in 2006 and it is about one of my greatest love, fashion. It starred Meryl Streep as the very workaholic, devilish, monotonous editor-in-chief of Runway Magazine, Miranda Priestly and Anne Hathaway as a Journalism-graduate, Northwestern University official paper editor-in-chief and now editorial assistant to Miranda, Andrea Sachs. Yes, Andrea does everything what her boss wants her to do. The project of her two daughters, going to go-sees of the models, purchasing everything from every stores in New York and going with her at France and screaming at her for not doing what she wants to do. Gladly, I first watched the film version of it, so I have an idea about the whole story. But when I turned on the book, I only knew that the film was only a "based-on-the-novel-by-Lauren-Weisberger" type. Same names but a whole different atmosphere. I remember the gay named Nigel and he screams his/her lungs out! How did I know it, by the all-capitalized letters the author used. She also has a best friend here, named Lilli and she was a hard alcoholic drinker. I liked it, not because it has a sense of fashion, sense of humor and sense of horror because of having that kind of boss but it tells us how to handle such issues between the employer and the employee. Are you going to fight back if ever your boss screamed his/her everything to you by not doing what he/she wants you to do? Or are you just going to make it more productive next time and make your boss feel speechless and somehow happy and proud of you? Lauren Weisberger was a real genius when it comes to women empowerment. Most of her novels are about having a good time, luxury and fashion, and about New York City! Was Miuccia Prada ever offended that most of her works were worn by a devil?

3. BY THE RIVER PIEDRA I SAT DOWN AND WEPT by Paulo Coelho - Thanks to my student Pia Tolon, she gave me this as her present to me last Christmas 2010. This was highly recommended by my best buddy Kenneth because he used this as his book for our novel analysis in our Intensive English class way back in our second year college heydays. Paulo Coelho is a well-loved Brazilian author, mostly noted about his love stories, mysteries and personal novels. They say that The Alchemist was his ultimate book to read on but for me, I think it is By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept. It is a story of waiting in vain in love. Pilar has a childhood sweetheart in which it was not named by the author. The childhood sweetheart fulfilled his dream to become a seminarian, a follower of God. She went to Zaragoza, Spain for her vacation where she met the guy. Pilar is asking him about their status but the guy gave him wonderful words in which she doesn't want to hear from him. They are like playing hide and seek, but about their own feelings to each other. You may say that Pilar is a martyr one but you can't blame her. She is wholeheartedly in love with the seminarian. It seems that she is really waiting for nothing, waiting for someone that will never come to her life. In the end, they still love each other but in a different perspective in which both of them do understand. What's more beautiful in this book are the quotable lines, such as "Love is a trap. When it appears, we see only its light, not its shadows," "You think about the person you love for two minutes and forget them for three hours. Now, you think about him for three hours and forget him for two minutes." But for me, my favorite part of the story is when they were at Lourdes, France to celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Pilar was in a prayer group asking for a blessing to the Blessed Mother. She made a prayer, not about herself but about the person that he loves. "May the Immaculate Conception teach me to love as she loves... May that love grow in me and in the man to whom it is dedicated!" It is really sad to love someone whom will never fall in love with you and Paulo Coelho made it more complicated.

4. LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE by Laura Esquivel - When our Anglo-American Literature professor Ma'am Neriz Gabelo told us about this in one of our sessions, we are truly in awe of the story. Aside from my another favorite topic in a certain novel, which is food, it is also a love story, in a sensual aspect and family story, too. The last time I read this book was when I was in college so I forgot some of the highlights of the story, but it is really good to read on. Every chapter is like a recipe for the month. It gives the ingredients, the procedure, the number of servings and the story behind the cooking, presentation and munching on of the food. Laura Esquivel is such a genius writer. She made it like a cookbook and at the same time, love story and about family. If I still have time to purchase this, I would love to read it again and again because it is mystical, lovable and delectable novel, especially for those food aficionados. Yes, I am one that's why I like to have this in my book shelf.

5. 1984 by George Orwell - "Big Brother is watching you!" That's the promise of this equally gorgeous novel made by Eric Blair also known to all of us as George Orwell. He made 1984 something horrific and stressful to the people. He made Great Britain, Oceania. He tumbled down the monarchs and made Big Brother the "eye" of the whole country. He created Newspeak, which is gallantly and interestingly intriguing to study. Even having sex needs to be asked to the Ministry of Love. Each house have a telescreen so they monitor whatever happens in their respective nests. At the countryside, there were no telescreens but there are microphones everywhere. The way I presently read it, I don't know the real reaction of the main character Winston Smith about the condition of their country under an autocratic rule. It seems that he doesn't like and needs to have a revolt, or he likes it because it gives him the benefits or it just a so-so feeling that he lets the day pass by under this rule. Really interesting with this story that the international favorite reality show Big Brother was based upon this. Same concept as with the novel itself, the house has CCTV cameras, microphones and Big Brother is watching their every inch of movements. The whole plot of the novel is indeed scary in a sense of having that kind of government. You'll be really scared with the punishment (they were using the term "vanished" instead of "dead") if you'd done something bad against a certain "comrade." George Orwell made this since he was a former soldier of the Royal Army. He is a real genius, a real man perhaps! He knows the knick-knacks of the army, being part of the government and his own interpretation of the Oceania land. And also, the enemies of the state, which are Eurasia and Eastasia. I'm not yet done with the novel but I can't wait for the next episodes and whereabouts of the story.

6. NORWEGIAN WOOD by Haruki Murakami - One of my favorite books of my favorite Japanese author Haruki Murakami is this. It is not based from the The Beatles' song Norwegian Wood but it was actually mentioned at the first part of the story. The main character of the story is Toru, a Literature college student from a reputable university in Tokyo. He has a best friend in which he fell in love with Naoko, his love of his life. But Naoko has something in her mind that made me think about her. Is she schizophrenic? Naoko became the girlfriend of Toru's best friend. He was in so much in pain but after his best friend committed suicide (it's Japan and all knows about their idea of committing suicide), Naoko fell in Toru's shoulder to cry on. Toru had set on his mind that he really loves Naoko but one day, he just delighted knowing that Naoko entered herself into a rehabilitation center just outside of the capital city. He went there to visit her and he knew her friend, my favorite character in the story named Reiko. Her life was a full of mess, during her old, glory days but after she entered herself in the center, everything had changed! Another character in the story is Midori, Toru's classmate and lackadaisical friend. They're not an item but Midori becomes angry whenever Toru is not present at her side. She even got angry at him by not telling to her that he will visit Naoko at the center. At the latter part of the story, Naoko committed suicide for no reason. Unfortunately, Toru and Naoko never became lovers but thanks to Reiko, and the power of writing letters, they professed themselves. Haruki Murakami's ingenuity in writing made myself a true blue follower of his works. His love stories are really in the circle of the literature, not just a fancy pocketbook-like romance. I need to read my two other favorite books of him, Sputnik Sweetheart and South of the Border, West of the Sun. Speechlessly, I love Haruki Murakami!

7. SAM'S LETTERS TO JENNIFER by James Patterson - James Patterson is one of my Mama Kris's favorite authors. He is known for his mystery novels, some of them are horror, terrifying, nerve-wracking and even make you feel goosebumps. He created characters like his infamous Alex Cross and The Women's Murder Club. I have no idea with those, but I am planning to collect all of the Alex Cross series, starting from 1st to Die, to his latest, the 10th Anniversary. But aside from his known mystery novels, James Patterson also writes romantic novels such as this one that I am wanting to buy and to read because I know it has a promise of a truly good love story. Sam's Letters to Jennifer might be an example of an epistolary novel, dealing with letters is the meaning of it. I have no idea with it, but based from the praises of his novel, it will really make you into buckets and buckets of tears. I can't wait to purchase this and to read this and I know in the end, it is really a good read!

8. ALEPH by Paulo Coelho - According to this book, this is Paulo Coelho's most personal novel yet. Inspired (probably) with some of the finest personal novels of Elizabeth Gilbert in her Eat, Pray, Love, Haruki Murakami's When I Talk About What I Talk About Running and Julie Powell's Julie and Julia, Paulo Coelho really lived to his fullest. Thanks to my co-teacher, she gave me this as my wish and as her gift to me. I never opened it and I don't want to read it (I need to finish the book I am reading right now before this) so that my mind is replenished and ready again to accept all of the ideas from this brilliant genius. According to the synopsis, Paulo traveled from Asia to Europe just to seek for some enlightenment (I presume) and needing to find himself from what have lost. I have been a huge fan of Paulo Coelho after reading another masterpiece (go to number 3) and from the quotes that he uttered most, and I know that I've been hooked by him. This time, it is going to be different because another dimension of being a Paulo Coelho will be known by reading this novel. No wonder he became one of the best selling author in the world. Hopefully I could find the worth of having this kind of life after reading this gorgeous book of Paulo Coelho.

9. JULIE AND JULIA by Julie Powell - Same with The Devil Wears Prada, I watched the film first before reading the book. Gladly, I wasn't disappointed, it is absolutely beautiful! No wonder if I could read the whole book. I can't say if this is an example of a fiction or a non-fiction, same thing with Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love, Paulo Coelho's Aleph and Haruki Murakami's When I Talk About What I Talk About Running. But based from its cover, maybe it is her own account of life. For one whole year, 365 days and 524 recipes of her idol Julia Child, she created a blog that depicts her daily life as a true blue fan of the queen of kitchen. She doesn't even care if others say that she does stupid things on telling everything about her cooking, her writing skills and her idol Julia but just for her, she wants to make it as a hobby. Indeed, she finished her plan with ease. Right now, as what her account says, she has her second book entitled Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat and Obsession, which has somehow related to her first book. I am excited to purchase this too and read all about cooking. Think of my other favorite book about cooking (Like Water for Chocolate); this book probably will be enticing and sumptuously delighted to read, soon.

10. SI AMAPOLA SA 65 NA KABANATA by Ricky Lee - I was so sad when I wasn't able to attend his grandest book launch at SM City North EDSA. My former college professor and idol Ma'am Neriz Gabelo together with her friend, my another idol Michael Montalban and my barkada Mark Pabilando, and also my colleague and friend Sir Yuan went to see and watch it. Ensemble and star-studded casts were part of the book launch including Ai-Ai delas Alas, Eugene Domingo, Judy Ann Santos, Ryan Agoncillo, Cherry Pie Picache and so much more graced the event. Tsk! If only I could go back time. Ricky Lee is known as one of the most talented, critically-and-commercially-acclaimed and most-awarded writers in the land. He was the only one who wrote Himala, Salome, Anak, Muro-Ami, and some of the drama series at ABS CBN. He also ventured and launched his very first novel entitled Para Kay B (O Kung Paano Dinevastate ng Pag-ibig ang 4 out of 5 Sa Atin) in which most of my colleagues are into it. Yes, it deals with love life, no wonder why some of Ricky Lee's fans are so hooked with the story. I never had a chance to read it, nor buying it but I want to read this second novel of his. According to its synopsis, it was really a feel-good and funny or horrific kind of novel because Amapola, here is a manananggal who just want to be in love with a straight guy. Amapola is a gay character and as a gay impersonator in a comedy bar in Tomas Morato in Quezon City. Other characters also shown that made me feel interested more in this novel (especially the policeman who is a Noranian). I don't want to be a "know-it-all" guy but from the blogs and forums that I've read, this second novel of Ricky Lee is a great hit. Again, I can't wait to purchase this, read the first few chapters down to last and while doing that, I am giving a hearty laugh, or expansive opinion or a serious mode.

There you have it, my top 10 books that I've read so far and will read in the future. Let me share you an excerpt from an American writer and cartoonist, Dr. Seuss:

"The more you read, the more things you'll know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."


Dr. Seuss is right! Look at those intelligent persons we knew from TV personalities to politicians to scientists and to even writers, they know almost everything and they are now on their pedestal because of one thing, reading books. Hope you have a good read! Pick a book according to your own delight and read it with a smile in your heart and in your mind!

Toodles!