12 posts tagged “books”
This book was one of several books I purchased months ago at this small used bookshop in our office building. I knew it tackled controversial, and emotional themes. It isn't something you'd choose if you wanted light reading.
I picked it up last week to keep me company as I waited in line at the doctor's clinic.
The language it is written in is definitely something you'd have to get used to, but not at all difficult to understand. I find myself at times reading it aloud because it sounds better, and it makes it easier to feel the words that way.
Reading The Color Purple is like eavesdropping in to a person's conversations with God. It's an insight to Celie-the main character's soul.
It speaks of an awakening, a realization really, of what God means to one person. For all her life, Celie wrote letters to God until she realizes that maybe, she hadn't known Him in a way that would make her appreciate her life and everything around her. And then finally, after a lifetime of abuse and another lifetime of being in a dark, she woke up and noticed the color purple, and everything else that was screaming for her attention.
We've all been told to stop and smell the flowers, right? Well, I think the book is trying to tell us that too, while it tells of a woman's story of triumph over enormous adversity. It's trying to remind me of how to appreciate God's work in every little thing. When we live our lives in a way that makes us truly happy, we honor God. When we appreciate nature, and nurture what we can, we care for God's work.
But, more importantly, it is about who a woman is.
All her life, Celie thought one thing of where a woman's place is - at home, cleaning for the man, lying under the man, taking care of the kids, working at home and in farming. There were other women in her lives that did other things she woudn't even have dared think about. To a certain extent, she envied them, and then she learned to admire them, to love them. She had to take a long journey to actually find herself, and build up herself. It took a long time, but she learned to live and get by, with the help of her beloved girlfriends.
There's another theme there - about how meanness and doubt and disbelief could kill. Maybe that's why the terminally ill people have peace, because they know they're dying and they set out to make peace. It ends up giving them a better quality to their remaining life, doesn't it? We should all learn from that. The world would probably be more pleasant if we just learned to own up to our fuck ups, confessed to our sins, and asked for forgiveness from the people we hurt.
It's also about not knowing love, and finding love. Of falling in love, and then getting hurt. Then acceptance, and letting go.
Family is a central theme too - the family you are born into, and the family you make.
I've read a number of chapters and I probably would have gone through more than half of the book until tonight, but there were other things I had to do, so I reluctantly put it down.
I'm not one who's into conspiracy theories, but I would enjoy hearing of them, and would probably think about them too. This book's a lot like the Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons, in the sense that it's about uncovering great secrets of a popular religious group.
I don't really know a lot about the Knights Templars. I mean, I don't ever remember really having discussed it in (Catholic) Church History in high school. What I know of them, I picked up from novels and Hollywood movies.
There was action on the first page of the first chapter. It was surely a great way to captivate an audience. I'll read more tonight.
At last, I finished the book. I liked it, but it was a bit of a drag. I definitely liked Lipstick Jungle better. By this time though, having read LJ and 4 Blondes, the characters in the book were quite familiar (and I mean that in a positive way).
To this time, I find it difficult to imagine a real person who is just like Janey, I bet there are many of them though.
Even knowing that Selden ends up in a good relationship with someone else in LJ, I still secretly hoped they would have stayed together. Specially when I thought that Janey was really finally growing up. But I guess she has to find an Ian again, or a Bill.
She does have things in common with Judge Cate, the character from the other novel I read this week - Dirty Blonde.(I picked up the book in my mom's office on Monday afternoon and finished it by Tuesday, with shopping and lots of sleep in between.
I was captivated from the moment I picked it up. It was... stimulating.
Both Janey and Cate knew that they were beautiful and sexy. They had different ways of expressing their sexuality, but they were both called whores by society.
I'm lousy at book reviews. Either I end up telling the whole story, or I assume whomever was reading me has read the book too.
Both were good reads. That's that. I've traveled to New York, Paris, and Philly, through them.
I have a January list over here.
Finally, I was able to read. I finished Lipstick Jungle a week or so ago. I finished Tara Road just a few minutes ago. I still have a pile of books to go through though.
Tara Road is the first Maeve Binchy book I've read and I think I will read more from her. Somehow, when I picked the book up I was kind of compelled to turn page after page. It was a rather long novel, with so many things that have happened and yet it wasn't a bore to read.
I think it would be nice to have a life like Ria's. Except for the philandering husband and the eventual separation, of course.
Makes you think about friendships, and in general how we relate to other people.
Would have been too fairy-tale like if the story ended with Ria and the kids getting to keep Tara Road, but one couldn't help but wish it was so.
One, I forgot to bring my books along with me. There was plenty space left in my bowling bag! I really just forgot to grab the books on my way out :(
Two, even if I had taken the books with me, there was no chance of having 'alone' time just to read books. During the drive to and from Zambales, everyone was chatting and sharing stories. I would have looked like a miser if I whipped out a book and started reading. When we got to the resort, there wasn't any time for reading either.
So the third book is one by Lisa Scottoline, but I forgot the title. I got it for mom because she's a fan. I will read it too though, because I've so far enjoyed the Scottoline books I've read.
I've put three other books on reserve in the same book shop. I was supposed to pick them up last week but didn't get a chance to. I did ask a friend to tell the guy manning the booth to hold it for me for a few more days, and that I will pick it up. I hope he hasn't sold them yet. One is The Color Purple, the other is by Amy Tan, and there's one more that I just can't seem to remember now... Maybe I'll pick them up tomorrow morning. We'll see.
Yesterday, the bangles I purchased from an online shop over at Multiply were delivered. Each piece is so cute!
I bought those bangles there because they were a steal at the price I got them. There's an accessory stand in our building and they carry pretty much the same items. The one's I purchased were priced at about 50 pesos more in that shop! Paying for shipping still made the online shop a cheaper alternative. (I know there are probably shops in Greenhills and Divisoria where I could get those items cheaper, but this way it was hassle free. And I would have ended up spending more with taxi fare and food)
I found out on Sunday that there's a new used-books store in our building and since I was still at work til about 10am, I decided to go ahead and check it out. I do not regret going there! They have a great collection of books there and they restock on a weekly basis. I bought three books today and had three others reserved! All bargain prices when the books were in very good condition!
Over the weekend, I placed an order for a PSP Lite! yay! Boyfriend and I talked about it a lot the past couple of weeks and we decided that my dad's trip to the US this month would be a good time to purchase it. I had the goods delivered to my uncle's house and my dad will pick it up in about two weeks. Can't wait!
Seems like I've been getting a lot of retail therapy, but to be honest, it still hasn't cured what's been bothering me. I don't expect it to, though.
Perhaps I'll be cutting my spending for the time being. I declare a moratorium on shopping for accessories!
Did I mention that I also placed an order for a bag and an earring holder? Hehe, I'll post pics when they arrive (not that anyone's interested). After this, I won't order anything for a while. :)
I finished Gela's book today, Confessions of A Pregnant Princess.
It's been awhile since I've read anything of this genre, and it was a good one to read for a weekend. If one was to be in the situation that the character Venus Gilroy found herself in, I'm sure that person would feel like a diva! I would.
You really can't explain how you fall in love, or who you fall in love, or how you come to realize that you have. Sometimes there's a process to it, there are times when there's none. But you will know.
I wonder if you go through the same things when you fall out of love. Do you realize it all of a sudden, that you no longer desire to be with a person? That the love has gone?
Back to the book... I loved how Swan Adamson was able to portray the stages a woman goes through as she finds herself falling in love. What goes on in her mind, the right but unexplainable mix of emotions. The debate that goes on and on before she decides to make love to another.
Giovanni/Johnny's role was certainly intriguing. I was prone to think that he really was a trusted staff that would betray Il Principe in the end. As the story unfolds and his true identity was revealed, I was convinced he was the young boy in Capri, the one she first fell in love with. I was glad to have this confirmed at the end of the book.
But you would clamor for a sequel, the way the story ended. As I was washing the dishes, I was already picturing how the story continues. They finally found peace at their relationship of orphaned son and widow. La Principessa has accepted her and has been taking care of her. Would they disturb this peace by allowing themselves to be true? Would Venus ever admit that it was she, the young girl with pistachio ice cream, and that she too had fallen in love?
Oh well...
The book also touched the wanna-be traveller in me...
Found this picture of the Blue Grotto through Google, courtesy of http://milvetstravel.net It's definitely in my 'places to see' now.
I visited a site or two about the island of Capri, and I was surprised to see that there is a villa so close to what was referenced in the book. I said close. :) So the Brunelli's had Villa Brunelli in Capri, and there's a real hotel called Villa Brunella that's actually on the island! Coincidence or not? I don't really care. Hehe. Here's a photo of that villa, and another view of the blue grotto (from the inside, looking out the entrance) courtesy of http://capri-island.com and http://capri.net
I would love to visit Rome and Capri Island someday. I don't how to make it happen, but perhaps it will. One day. After all, unexpected things sometimes happen when you least know it.
And dreams do come true.
"When someone is in your heart, they're never truly gone. They can come back to you, even at unlikely times."
I find this true. And I believe this to be true. I believe that Chick Benetto did spend one more day with his mom. One day to answer all his questions (without him even asking), one day to give him clarity - to show him where he should go.
I've never gone through anything similar, but we were witness to my grandmother going through it. Oh, she was very much alive then, but she was seeing spirits who were waiting to take her to the next life.
It gives me comfort to know that in the end, Lola was not alone in her journey to her God. And it was even more comforting that she may not have had to go with the angel of death, like Nicolas Cage was in City of Angels, but with family and friends who have gone before her. Her kindred. It comforts me, I admit, to believe that when my time comes, she will be there guiding me through too.
I don't know what the author meant by writing Chick's story. Is it, as many think, to remind us not to waste our time? Was it to teach kids to appreciate and get to know their parents' stories? Yeah, I get all that, but what was more striking to me is this: the heartstrings that transcend life and death.
I'd like to believe that I'm the kind of person who would not wish to spend one more day with anyone, because I give of myself so freely to the people that I love, while I can. A lesson I learned when we lost my Aunt. I am not wishing for the impossible, for her to come back to life just so we can show her how much we love her. But I am looking forward to that one more day with her because I know it will come. She'll be there with my grandma when my time comes.
"You need to keep people close. You need to give them access to your heart."
I guess this is what's most important. After all, no man is an island.
So, after an episode in the drama of my love life, I went to the bookstore alone and bought these books:
This is the first time in a long time that I bought books at full price.
I don't know exactly when I'll get to read these, but I will.
And no, it's not just because of the episode. I would have bought them even if i was in a better mood.
I am currently reading Book 11 of this series, The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. I have been hooked on this for years now. A couple friend gave me Book One as a gift. I wasn't into this genre at that time, but it totally got me hooked. My brother too, as well as a cousin. It just really takes me places. The world transforms right before my eyes.
It's just annoying that you wait more than a year for the next installment. I seriously have forgotten details from Book 10 already. And they sometimes just come back to me when they are mentioned in the current book. But I don't get really lost anyway, so it's all cool.
Sometimes I just imagine how it would be like to live in peril, as they do? It doesn't have to be the same circumstances, like, any difficult situation that is found in our world (as we now know it). Like living in a war-torn country; spending time in a war zone; or living in the shadow of an active volcano that could spew lava anytime. I haven't lived in any real danger. i mean, i probably have been exposed to a dangerous situation or two, but i don't live in persistent or ever-present danger.
But, if you look at it from another perspective, i guess you can also say that we are in danger. Because there is something that threatens humankind: AIDS and Global Warming, among other things. So our world is not much different from the world of Rand al'Thor. Good for them because they have Rand that holds all their hopes of survival. And serious action is being done to ensure that their world lives on.
What about in ours?
