Another Youngblood.

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It was only yesterday that I learned that my article was published in Youngblood Inquirer. But that was so last year. My article was about the unfortunate incident that happened inside our house. I passed that article using my father’s hand-me-down phone. I thought that youngblood didn’t receive it. Then I saw my article titled […]

The Rise of Nine: A Book Review.

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Ta-dah! The Rise of Nine is the third installation of Lorien Legacies. Remember I Am Number Four? Before reading this book, I think you need to read I Am Number Four and The Power of Six.

The Rise of Nine follows Six, Seven, and Ten with her Cepan (guardian) to India to look for Eight. In this book, all living members of the Garde except Five are presented. Four and Nine are travelling to Chicago to plan how to reunite with the other members and how to save Sarah Hart and Sam Goode from the Mogs.

The book will guide to the busy streets of India, to its mountains, all the way to Stonehenge in England, coast of Somalia and deserts of New Mexico. The leader of the Mogs is already on Earth and the members of the Garde must find a way to kill him now that the charm is broken.

My opinion of this book is pretty short. First, I find it annoying that it was told from the first person point of view of three different characters (Four, Six, and Seven). Second, there’s a lot of combats that the essence of it gradually diminishes hence, it becomes a simple narration. Third, I love Eight. He’s hotter and more gorgeous than Four. 😉 Fourth, yeah, I think it’s not a bad read at all and I look forward on meeting Five.

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The Thief: A Book Review.

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The Thief is a novel written by Fuminori Nakamura and won the prestigious Kenzaburo Oe Prize in 2010.

The story follows The Thief, a man who pickpockets around Tokyo. This man is very skillful, often forgetting the faces of his victims. He’ll be surprised to see that there is a stranger’s wallet in his pocket. Of course, he snatched that. He just forget when and where.

The Thief is a perfect example of Hobbes description of life: solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. Obviously, being a pickpocket, the thief doesn’t have friends, family, or connections. But every man has a past. It could be good or bad. Or both. And as it catches up with him, he might not be able to get away from it.

As expected, Japanese authors never fail to amaze me. The Thief gives you a glimpse of how a pickpocket functions in the society. At least, they still feel nervousness when they do these things. Even though the thief has no conscience when it comes to stealing other people’s wallets, he still have empathy which shows when he helps a boy to stop shoplifting. A man who is at conflict with himself. He wants to be alone yet he craves for connection.

What I like about the Thief and pretty much about other Japanese novels is their sex scenes. (Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m not being a pervert in this book review.) It’s just that no matter how intense the scenes are, the other themes overpower it hence it becomes a blur. The other themes are so strong that you sometimes forget there is this scene. This book is a light read compared to Natsuo Kirino’s Out.

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The Fault in Our Stars: A Book Review.

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I first came across this book from a fellow Candymag girl, Jona. That time, I wasn’t really impressed with the synopsis simply because I don’t like to read about death and illness. I maybe brutal but I like to keep it fictitious. And then, I thought that maybe I should start reading books that tells life in which I can’t relate. I’m not being mean or something.

Written by John Green, ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ tells the story of Hazel Grace Lancaster, a sixteen-year old girl who has a cancer and her ‘friendship’ with Augustus Waters or Gus. The book gives the reader a glimpse of the life of cancer patients (even if the author claims that the work is purely a work of fiction).

At first, I thought it was a light-read. The first part was damned humorous. I even saw Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Like the diagram itself. It’s one the diagrams I really don’t like because my father keeps lecturing me about it. But as I progress towards the end, it just made my head ache because of too much tears my eyes are releasing. I expect to cry based on the reviews but I didn’t expect to cry like this, with exaggerated puffy eyes, clogged nose, and a headache to boot.

It was a good read despite the fact that I was bombarded with medical terms and pretentious words. I’m not really a vocab person and it really pisses me to keep looking through the dictionary just to know what this or that word means. I don’t know if the author is just a show off or he’s just a person with rich vocabulary. I also don’t like how the story revolves on one book about a cancer patient like Hazel. It always keeps popping out that I really think it has the same air time with the story.

The part I liked most was the trip to Amsterdam. I’m half-guilty of the fact that I want to visit Amsterdam because of its Red Light District. Half-guilty because RLD might be the reason I want to visit there but I’m not crossing out the museums. 😀

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The Giver: A Book Review.

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A literary classic is something that everybody wants to have read but nobody wants to read it. ~Mark Twain

I know I want to read it but I’ve never been curious until now. The first five pages of the book overwhelmed me.

The Giver was written by Lois Lowry and was published in 1993. It won the Newbery Medal and Regina Medal in 1994; William White Allen Book Award in 1996.

The novel tells the story of Jonas, a twelve-year old living in a place separated from Elsewhere. It’s a utopia (or dystopia since all utopian societies become dystopia in the end) at its best. The inhabitants of this place live orderly, don’t see colors, and don’t have memories of happiness and pain. Jonas was chosen to be the Receiver of the Memories. It was a highly-respected assignment and gives the person liberty to do just anything he wants. Even to lie. But this assignment is synonymous to the forbidden apple in the Garden of Eden. And Jonas must make a choice that will change him and the rest of his community.

How it slipped from my radar for a long time, I don’t know. The novel is somewhat short so I don’t have trouble finishing it. It could also be that it’s just gripping. It’s the first time I wasn’t irritated at the prose that described the sceneries. It felt like I’m living in his community while reading the book. I wouldn’t want to live in a society that restricts the human nature. I think people of this generation are lucky enough to live in this era. Choice and memories. I’m thankful I have these two. I like how the author addressed social issues like control of population and sexual desires. But that’s all. I didn’t consider to live in that kind of world. I prefer to feel pain than to live in seclusion with only black and white.

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I can’t wait for its movie adaptation.

The Celestine Prophecy: A Book Review.

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The Celestine Prophecy was written by James Redfield. The story revolves around a manuscript which predicts a big transformation in the human society. It also tells about the nine insights (Which I can’t grasped no matter how hard I squeeze my mind). Told from the first person point of view, the narrator flew to Peru after he heard from a friend about the manuscript mainly out of curiosity. But as he delved deeper and acquired new information about it, he finally thought that this is not just a simple adventure. Especially if unknown powerful people are behind your heels.

The first thing I noticed about the novel is how the author maximize the description of sceneries. Aside from that, I was bombarded of ideas that are hard to catch up. I feel like I was reading a sermon and not a novel. The author looks like he wanted to preach the reader. Sure, there are some adrenaline-bombing scenes but it’s not enough.

I feel like I was back inside our Philosophy classroom discussing vaguely about consciousness and existence. The novel presented an examination of the human nature; of its dynamics and how it affects the course of life and even the universe. I think it’s alright to read books like this once in a while.

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Insurgent: A Book Review.

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One choice can destroy you.

Finally, I give in to temptation to read Insurgent. This is the second book of Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth.

Insurgent tells the story of Tris and Four (Tobias) and how they battle against the main antagonist, Jeanine Matthews for freedom. Of course they did that with the help of their friends and their factions. As you know, the story is set in future Chicago where the population is divided into five factions: Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Erudite, and Dauntless. The word themselves suggest what kind of people belong in each faction. In this society too, the slogan “Faction before Blood” holds true. You need to read Divergent to know what Insurgent is all about.

In Insurgent, Roth took us to see what it is like to live at the other three factions (Amity, Candor, Erudite). Abnegation and Dauntless were presented in Divergent. It shows the technological advancements used to make the lives of the people better and how the people lives under control. In other words, they tend to live like they are free from outside forces but the truth is they live like a puppet without knowing it.

You want action? Insurgent will give you one. You want to get mushy, goodness, Insurgent is the book for you. There’s a lot of PDA here I was actually praying it would end (HAHA!). I’m not a fan of teens’ romance. You want friendship? Insurgent has a lot of it.

But I tell you, if you have zero tolerance for idiots, you might need to reconsider reading it. But if it’s okay for you to punch your pillows and mutter some curses, give it a go. I tell you this. Tris is an IDIOT. I just want to shake her shoulders to wake her up. For the entire time I was reading, I keep thinking “Tris is an idiot.” She makes my blood boil. There is a thin line between perseverance and idiocy.

In the end though, she won me again. She is imperfect. But I think it is what makes her close to being perfect. She knows her flaws and embrace it. She knows how to make choices even if it means losing her friends or her only love. There is something inside her that wants to be unleashed. And no one can stop it. Not even her. Because that’s what makes her a ‘human.’

I can’t wait for the movie to come out. And the third book too (I want to know who Edith Prior is). You know that feeling when you know a book before anyone starts buzzing about it. So read it now and don’t ride the bandwagon next year.

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Freakonomics: A Book Review.

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Funny, very enlightening,and full of hilarious accounts.

Leny, a classmate from UP Cebu, told me that Freakonomics was like a bible to  them. I have it for a while now but when she told me that I need  to read it because it’s really a good read, I decided to start after I finished Camus’ Stranger.

This non-fiction book is written by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. I finished it last October 2011 but I just noticed that I haven’t made a review for this one. It’s a good timing since I think our dear Senator Sotto should read this one if he haven’t yet.

Freakonomics tackles the application of economic theory in different subjects or issues like the impact of legalized abortion to reduction of crime or cheating of teachers. Things like that.

I don’t know if it’s a bad or good idea. I was once again introduced to relationship of variables and all. How x is related to y and not causing the former at all. Frankly speaking, I’m not really fond of economics especially the part that deals with numbers. What can I do anyway? It’s economics. Obviously, it will deal with numbers. Good thing, it’s just my minor. God help me if I made it my major. I’m in for a doomsday.

In this book, it says that ‘drinking 8 glasses of water a day has never actually shown to do a thing for your health.’ I don’t have to worry if I only drink three glasses of water in a day. On cheating, it says that ‘cheating is a primordial economic act: getting more for less.’ So, if you caught someone cheating, he or she is behaving like an economist. I’m not saying economists cheat. Well, sometimes they are, I think.
It’s a book that educate you about something which is common and yet you still don’t know or you just don’t pay attention. Combined with humor, this is a book that goes against the status quo.

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Fifty Shades of Grey: Yeah, It’s a Book Review.

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I reached the part of the book where I told myself. I had enough. Paouie warned me prior to reading this book that it’s not literary so I might not like it. But knowing my tastes for these kinds of books, she thought that I should give it a try. Well, I did.

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James is about naive Anastasia Steele being drawn to handsome but enigmatic Christian Grey. Typical story. Cinderella falls for prince charming. Except that there’s an undeniable sexual tension between them and the introduction of Sadomasochism. The plot was common that I ended up predicting every scene. Kinda irritating.

But really, some parts of the book especially the steamy scenes brought smile and giggles. And yet, I found it lacking of warmth. I think it’s too fast-paced. I feel like I’m running. When it’s too slow, it’s sooooo slow like I’m watching a turtle race. When it’s too fast, wow, I think I’m in an F1 race track.

Plus, there’s a lot flowery words that I think don’t fit with the sort of air the book creates. It’s just too awkward.

I think reading the first half and a glimpse on the closing part of the book is enough for me. Yeah, I get it. So I’m not reading the last two books. But I’ll consider reading the Tagalog translation.

Pardon me but I think I’m being EXTREMELY bias when I say that it’s not even on Delta of Venus’ level.