Books

On my way home last Wednesday, I had a sudden urge to drop by the mall. It all started during my Business and Corporate Income Tax law subject when it suddenly hit me that I haven't been to a mall in over a month(s). I didn't actually have in mind going to the mall that evening, but I figured there's no reason not to -- midterms are over and I only had one class the following day.

So I got off at Cubao station and ventured into Farmers, then took the bridge to Gateway. (Michael Learns to Rock is having a concert next month -- I didn't even know they were still together!) After I got a bite to eat I stepped into Fully Booked. It felt good to be surrounded by books again. Glancing at different titles on the book shelves I was wondering if I'd find anything worth reading. Well, I did . . .

First book that caught my attention. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, the same guy who wrote Blink and The Tipping Point. He's a great writer that makes psychology and economics understandable. Gladwell's a story teller more than a scientists, which makes reading his material that much more fun.





Thursday Next: First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde. Vix told me about the Thursday Next series back in High School, but I didn't get ahold of a copy until last year . . . in Tanzania. My sister had the first book, and I also saw some of the sequels in a bookstore in TZ (which was a British colony). I finished that book and I've been meaning to get read the sequels. Now I had my chance.





Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon. I've read two books of Michael Chabon: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and The Yiddish Policemen's Union, both of which are very intelligent and good reads. I usually get lost in the Jewish lingo he tends to include in his work (Gentlemen is another story about a Jew), but . . . it helped broaden my mind. The book looks appealing because it's one of those quest novels, which I've recently had an itch for.



World Without End by Ken Follett. I read the prequel of this novel back in '05. Well, I actually didn't finish reading the book because I grabbed it off a bookshelf at a place I was visiting, and I had to leave before I could finish it. Then the following summer I saw the same book at a bookstore and bought it. It's a great book, one of my favorites (though it's not suited for all ages), and I've been waiting for the sequel to come out (which it did late last year). I haven't seen it here in the Philippines, but lucky me! There it was teasing me on that bookshelf.


Other books that caught my interest: The Appeal by John Grisham; The Age of Turbulence by Alan Greenspan.
Books I didn't see but want to read: Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov; Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
Currently Reading: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Next Book: The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer

P.S. Unfortunately, I didn't buy any of the books listed (supra). They were all above my budget.