It’s a mixture of CNN updates, Star Sports Channel, the movie Gladiator and TV reality shows Survivor and Project Runway all rolled into one magnificent novel.  Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (the book two of The Hunger Games) surpassed all my expectations.  It’s as greatly entertaining as the first book.

The novel has tons of twists and turns leaving me guessing at every flip of a page.  New characters are compelling while old characters are developed in satisfying ways.  I can’t wait for the third book of this awesome series.  The tension in the story is thick, the action is full-packed and will guarantee every reader’s heart will pound as they once again thrown into the world of these colorful personalities.

I have nothing but good things to say about the book.  It’s just that when I reached the last page I was craving for more.  It left me literally cursing after reading the final chapter because I don’t have the third and final book yet.

Galing. Sobra.

Brilliant is an adjective I seldom use.  And this is the adjective that would be most appropriate for the non-stop action novel written by Suzanne Collins entitled The Hunger Games.  The book is a thrilling adventure that ensures the reader to be captivated the whole way through.  The story contains the perfect amount of riveting suspense, page-turner action and exciting adventure.

The book sucked me in and it is impossible to put down.  No doubt this is the best book I read this year.  If you decide to read the book, the only thing left to say is: Welcome to The Hunger Games!!!

Tarush at bonggacious!!! Promis…

For the past few nights before I sleep and whenever I got the opportunity, I would peruse on several pages of this book trying to digest and understand the witty comments and sharp concepts that it presents. My background in Psychology helped a lot in comprehending this book. Now I have a reference to read when I need to be logical on illogical moments. Stumbling on Happiness written by Daniel Gilbert (a Harvard University professor) is not a directional guide or instructional materials on how to be happy but explains the deepest and complicated concepts of happiness.

The author will not make you stumble into sudden happiness but would rather make you rational about life’s experiences. The sample situations and descriptive illustrations presented were simple (at times funny) yet smart and remarkable. It is worth the hours spent plunging into this book. It provided me insights about simple everyday things and situations. It puts logic to all circumstances.

The book is like a portative psychologist that I can refer to anytime at any place. I know happiness is in our hands. But this intelligent manuscript helped me to be more grounded about my oxymoron existence.

Kaaya-aya ang mga eksplanasyon…

Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Meet In Heaven is a light-read novel.  The story may depict tragic episodes in a person’s life but the style of writing is so pleasant and pacified that you would not actually feel the horror of the main character’s experiences.  The book is not preachy but you will be able to understand certain aspects about the dynamics of life.

It is a short-read manuscript that I enjoyed comprehending during a relax weekend.  The storyline will not cause you to experience a cardiovascular workout or even eat most of your fingernails due to the suspense other novels may contain.  But the immense messages it conveyed totally stole the thunder away from my contorted behavior.  If this book was a song it is considered a smooth & easy sound kind of a tune.

The book assures the reader that dying is a normal thing and there is nothing to be terrified about when you expired and gone totally horizontal.  It will in a way advice you about the concept of serendipity, sacrifice and living a simple life may actually mean enormous significance for others.

I was surprised and especially enjoyed the last part because the fifth person the main character met in heaven was a kababayan (a fellow Filipino).  It assured me that there actually is a Pinoy soul in heaven aside from St. Lorenzo Ruiz, the first and only Pinoy saint.

Sino kaya ang limang malas na tao ang makakaharap ko sa heben?

(Originally this post was released in June 2008 from my previous blog in Friendster that would not transfer.  Reason of which is I don’t know…)

My social schedule for the past week has been literally empty, thus, enabling me to finish reading a very good book.  The Shack by William P. Young, a compelling and beautiful mortal-guy-meets-and-talks-to-God novel.

In the novel, the Holy Trinity is uniquely presented as figures that are easy to talk to, way beyond how religious and non-religious Pinoys would see and perceive Him to be.  While reading the book, the author took me to a place where all people want to go, into the welcoming arms of our Father.  The novel is an awesome depiction of God’s mercy and grace.

Some of the issues the novelist wrote seemed to be true to form, while other more complicated points he wrote were just plain bewildering which compelled me to re-read the paragraphs for me to fully absorb.  What I had to remind myself while reading this book is that it is “fiction” yet something in this book gripped my soul and twisted it in a beautiful way.

It is worth a read by every hungry spirit.

Nakakabusog ng kaluluwa. Promis!

The recent long weekend enabled me to read (again) and finish (again) one of my favorite novels.  Like Water For Chocolate authored by Laura Equivel for the second time brought me to the mystical story of Tita.

The style of writing was superb for I can taste, smell, feel and see the characters lives unfold.  The author did a well crafted device of connecting food’s texture, flavors and concoctions being bind together with love, longing and passion in the story.

I particularly liked the unique idea of the main character – being born inside the kitchen – has an unconscious power of transmitting her feelings, passions and emotions that she possess while preparing her exotic dishes to be transmitted and passed on more than double to those who taste it.  The feeling she pours into her cooking affects the people who eat it.

The unusual novel combines a magical romance of true love with mystical angles.  Food lovers as well as romantic readers will definitely relish this book.  It will make you hungry and want to fall in love at the same time.  Besides, this is the only novel that I have read in which the main character died of erotic euphoria.

Ang Tagalog sa “died of erotic euphoria” ay “namatay sa sarap”.

More than 5 years ago, Erwin Miranda (an officemate during my hotelier days) gave me a book as a Christmas present.  It is entitled By The River Piedra, I Sat Down & Wept written by Paulo Coelho.  This is the final book I read in 2008.

It was only in the last remaining days of 2008 that I had the audacity to read the book for I was hesitant to read it simply because of the title and its cover.  The title is so sad while the book’s cover design is so depressingly gloomy.  It made me decide that I would only read it if I am extremely happy so as to at least neutralize my feelings and overflowing endorphins or I am extremely miserable so as to realize that mine is not that shtity after all and others are actually suffering worse than I am.  I know that more than 5 years was too long and it was such a trivial and superficial reason but I won’t reveal in which state or feeling I was prior to reading the book.

But upon reaching the middle of the already-sepia-colored-pages of the manuscript I fathomed that there really is nothing to be anxious about the story.  It has nothing to do with despair, melancholy or hopelessness.  My brain’s frontal lobe down to my medulla oblongata was actually digesting a beautiful literary masterpiece that discusses many of life’s big questions.  It made me blameworthy why only now did I read it and had the precious book just gather dusts in my book shelve in all the years that passed.

What I like most about the story are the little tales and vignettes as told by Pilar and the main male character whose name was never mentioned – the story about the Other; the story of Bernadette and the apparitions; the story of Teresa of Avila; the story about the feminine face of God; the story about the presents given to each other by a boy and girl who were engaged and insanely in love; and, the story about a city that can be moved but not a well.  These little stories within the story provoked reflections and meaningful messages to me as mortal being.  The messages were so profound I would sometimes think that a lightheaded and mischievous person like me don’t deserve to have read such a literary masterpiece.

Ang lalim pero hanep!  Oo, sa babaw kong ‘to, malalim na sa ‘kin ‘yon.

I was intrigued by the title that lured me to seek for it.

Every time I would have the chance to go to a mall, I would always drop by a bookstore to find “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky.  I also entered numerous book-sale shops to ask about the existence of this book.  I even took the effort of calling all bookstores listed on the yellow pages to inquire its availability.  When all attempts were made, I had no choice but to order for the shipment of a copy from USA via Powerbooks – pay a considerable amount (reservation fee included) and waited patiently for the notification that it was already available for pickup.

It took me months to finally got hold of this elusive book.  Upon opening the package I was surprised that it was such a small thin paperback.  It only took me two short nights to finish reading it.

I hate to say it but the story was a big disappointment.  Though I do not consider myself to be one wallflower, I was not able to relate to the main character, Charlie.  Or, I was too much of a wallflower during my adolescent days (like the age of Charlie in the story) that I know what it was to be one and I wonder why he was like what he was in the story.  I believe everyone got at least a single gene of being a wallflower that would enable to correlate with the main character.  Unfortunately, I did not!

It was not worth all the sweat, blood and spit of searching for it.  I personally do not believe that the main character was a wallflower.  A wallflower is somebody boring, unadventurous, geeky, introverted and with uptight moral fiber due to being shy and meek.  However, Charlie an adolescent in his freshman year is somebody who is weird but not a wallflower.  Charlie in the story had sexual experience, attended parties (and was even an exciting wild figure in one), did drugs and had cool Senior high school students as close friends – an unlikely characteristics of a wallflower.  It is rare for a freshman – a wallflower at that – to have friends already in their senior year in high school.

The only good thing about the book was the title.  Now I know why this book is no longer available in the market.

Parang gusto ko batukan yung sumulat.

Normally, when I want to memorize the lines of a good song, I would usually print out a copy of the lyrics in a small piece of paper and would stick it at the side of my computer monitor in the office.  This is for me to refer to the printed copy everytime I would forget a word or a line while trying to sing it loud while working.  When I already memorized it and a new good song comes along, I would type, print and attach a copy of the new song and replace the old one.

However, after reading a book entitled “The Secret” written by Rhonda Byrne I no longer stick a printed copy of songs on my computer monitor.  Instead, I took some lines from the book, incorporated it, print it in a small piece of paper and affix it on the side of my monitor.  This is now my personal incantation which I would review and utter every time I got the time to do so.

The book reveals the “law of attraction” and teaches about positive thinking.  It somewhat affirms the power of the spoken words.  It asserts that whatever you think will be attracted towards you and the universe (in its own weird means) will find a way for it to transpire and come true.

Here is what I actually picked out from the book and integrated together to come out with my Money Chant…

“I am the master of my thoughts

I am receiving now

I am receiving all the good in my life now

I am receiving a good prosperous life now

Life is so easy

Life is so good

All good things come to me

I can afford all the things that I want

Money comes easily and frequently

More money for me!

I have more than enough

There is an abundance of money

Money is on its way to me

I am a money magnet

I love money and money loves me

I am receiving money everyday

I feel wonderful.  I feel so good

I treat myself with love and respect

I am beautiful inside and out

People love me”

Salamat kay kumareng Rhonda, mayaman at yayaman pa ko!

I just finished reading another fun book!  Gregory Maguire’s Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is about the intimate and moving tale of two nasty looking sisters: Ruth, a mute and whom everyone assumes to be dim-witted; and Iris, a talented, smart, practical and delightful girl minus the aesthetic beauty. 

The novel cleverly recreates the Cinderella story without the magic spells, without the fairy godmother, without the prince in shining armor, without the happily-ever-after concept.    It rectifies the usual clichés and stereotypes.  It relates that not all stepparents are wicked; not all ugly girls are dreadful, undeserving, and unlovable; and not all beautiful girls are good, commendable and amiable.  The novel in some way would illuminate that beauty can sometimes be a curse. The “Cinderella” character in the novel is actually spoiled, capricious and annoying!

I thought Iris was the most interesting character in the book, but the ending packs a lot of wallop in which I did not expect Ruth would truly astonish and surprise me.  The book shows that there are always more than two sides to a story.  It’s a great all-around fabulous tale from a grown-up’s point of view.

Sabi ko na nga ba luka luka yang si Sinderela eh.  Mabuhay ang mga panget!