Ang complete title nya ay Modern Love: True Stories of Love, Loss, and Redemption. It’s a collection of love stories and based from the complete title, hindi lahat ng stories happy ending. Dun sa introduction part nagustuhan ko how the editor described love.
Kakatapos lang ng book club discussion namin kahapon about this book at naging makabagbag-damdamin ang naging usapan kasi nag-share din yung ibang members ng heartfelt stories nila. Sinimulan namin yung discussion sa favorite stories namin dun sa book. Eto yung sakin (in no particular order):
You want to read a story about talking farm animals
Gusto mong mas maging mulat sa mga nangyayari sa ating lipunan
Gusto mong mabilang sa milyong milyong tao na nakabasa na ng librong ‘to
QUICK AND TAMAD SUMMARY
The farm animals had enough! Hindi na nila kayang i-tolerate ang pagpapalakad ng amo nila na si Mr. Jones. Kaya naman gumawa sila ng paraan para mapatalsik ang amo nila at sa wakas! The animals reign supreme! Pero ngayong nasa pamumuno na sila ni Snowball (white pig) at Napoleon (fierce-looking boar), ano ang magiging kapalaran ng mga farm animals? Mas naging mabuti nga ba or worse?
📷: Katie Troy
This book is about power and how it can potentially change anyone who acquire them. At kahit animals ang main characters dito, the message is clear and strong. The author intended for it to be a reflection of the events that happened during the Russian Revolution so it’s a political satire. Pero I think pwede din syang ma-apply in the workplace somehow.
You want an okay psychological thriller involving a married couple (don’t expect Gone Girl levels)
DON’T READ IF…
You’re a loving pet owner
You have low tolerance for torture
QUICK AND TAMAD SUMMARY
It’s about Jack and Grace na seen by their social circles as the perfect couple. Pero ang suspicious ng pagka-perfect nila kasi magtataka ka bakit walang sariling cellphone si Grace, nung hiningan sya ng e-mail address binigay nya yung e-mail address ni Jack, at laging hindi sumisipot si Grace sa lunch invites ng mga amiga nya and kung makakasipot man sya, kabuntot nya lagi si Jack. So medyo given na dito na si Jack yung psychopath. Kaya ang tagline nung book is, “The perfect marriage? Or the perfect lie?”
More than a year kong binabasa ‘tong libro na ‘to. Sa wakas makaka-move on na ko sa next book. May times kasi na nasa mood akong mag-hangout sa Westeros tapos pag na-distract ako, totally makakalimutan ko sya. Kasi iniisip ko rin na alam ko nanaman yung ibang mangyayari because of the series. Pero nananaig pa din yung curiousity ko kung anong difference nung books from the series kaya kahit nakakatamad minsan, gusto ko pa din tapusin. At alam ko rin na once magsimula ako ulit, sure naman na manunumbalik yung pagka-fanatic ko.
You want to be enlightened on the amount of unnecessary information you consume
You’re bothered with your short attention span
You want to appreciate reading more
This non-fiction book about the negative effects of television was published in 1985. It may seem irrelevant nowadays but not really. The reason why this book is still being read today is because it couldn’t be more relevant.
This book was recommended by one of our book club members (Thanks Pearl!). She learned that I have some interest in Stoicism and suggested this book to me. I had a hard time finding a simple definition of what Stoicism is but I think this one is helpful:
STOICISM • a philosophy that helps us direct our thoughts and actions in an unpredictable world. We don’t control and cannot rely on external events, but we can (to a certain extent) control our mind and choose our behavior.
Basically, the book is encouraging us to have some kind of philosophy when dealing with life. And since I don’t have any religion, I think it’s a good plan. Although I’ve always thought that I turned out pretty well without being religious. That I don’t need to have a religion to be a decent person. But having a philosophy, as the book suggested, seemed appealing to me; and personally, a better alternative than religion. And this specific philosophy that the author is advocating for is Stoicism.
The primary concern of philosophy should be the art of living: Just as wood is the medium of the carpenter and bronze is the medium of the sculptor, your life is the medium on which you practice the art of living.
6:30AM ako nagising ngayon. Ang sarap magbasa ng non-fiction sa umaga lalo kung self improvement books. It sets my day on a high note. Dapat talaga pinagiisipan ng mabuti ang morning routines. Kasi it can make or break your day.
My 6th book this month! Super duper proud of myself. Ngayon lang ‘to nangyari.
Yay tapos ko na! Kala ko hindi ko matatapos kasi first classic novel ko ‘to and super hindi ako sanay sa writing style (1813 sya na-publish). Hindi ko pa din napapanood yung movie nung sinimulan ko so nahirapan talaga ko kasi wala akong idea. Nung sinimulan ko, feeling ko hindi kaya ng comprehension ko yung mga ganito. Nakaka-intimidate. Kaya rin hindi ako mahilig magbasa ng classics.
Pero nag-attempt pa din ako kasi highly recommended sya ng mga members ng book club namin. The first 20% is a struggle. Ang hirap talaga i-absorb for me. Pero unti-unti syang nagiging interesting and na-overpower nung plot yung writing style.
QUICK AND TAMAD SUMMARY:
Merong 5 sisters at ang bida ay si Elizabeth Bennet. Ang one and only goal ng nanay nila ay maikasal ang mga anak nya sa matitinong mga lalake. Super plus points kung mayaman. And given the time period, I wouldn’t blamer her. In the process of finding suitable partners for her daughters, na-meet ni Elizabeth si Mr. Darcy. Good looking and mayaman si Mr. Darcy but Elizabeth hated his guts.
Nung around 80% na ko, pinanood ko yung movie pero hanggang dun lang sa parts na nabasa ko na.
A ship is set to sail to Amsterdam to transport a super valuable and mysterious thing called ‘The Folly’. But someone is wreaking havoc and the passengers are relying on Samuel Pipps (world’s greatest detective) and Arent Hayes (his loyal bodyguard) to uncover the culprit. Thing is, Samuel is being held prisoner, so Arent has to step up and do the investigating himself.
This book is an adventure. Na-inlove ako dun sa setting and how the author narrates the story. It’s as if I’m there as a passenger enjoying the sea breeze, watching the dolphins, and being amused and entertained by sailors fighting. Super fond of how the author describes scenes.
Dusk arrived in ribbons of purple and pink, a few stars puncturing the sky. There was no land in sight. Only water.
I also liked how the chapters were short. My Kindle is set to show how many minutes each chapter would take to read, and most of the time it would show ‘5 mins left in chapter’, sometimes even 1 minute. So whenever I see that the next chapter would only take 2-6 minutes to finish, the tendency is to read “just one more chapter”.
I can’t remember being bored reading this book. Impatient maybe. Kasi gustong gusto ko nang malaman kung sinong nag-devise ng plan to sabotage the ship! They all seemed so innocent. Sobra.
Also, this is our book club pick for November.
START OF SPOILERS
Una kong hula ay si Vos. Ang creepy nya kasi pero parang ang obvious masyado. Kaya napunta naman ako kay Sara. Kasi she seemed so kindhearted. Kaya naiisip ko na baka may surprise sa huli na masama pala sya. And sobrang hate nya din pala yung asawa nya (justifiably so) kaya hindi pa rin talaga sya lusot. Gustong gusto na nyang makawala kay Governor General. So andun yung motive. Kahit nung nasa island na sila sya pa din yung primary suspect ko 😂
Naisip ko pa na, with the urge from Sara, si Lia ang nag-plano ng lahat. Kasi nga Promil kid sya. And at one point naisip ko rin na baka related si Lia kay Samuel Pipps kase pareho silang gifted. Mali nanaman!
Yung mga gripping scenes dun sa book is yung storm and nung nagkakagulo na. Feel na feel ko yung chaos. Nung una diba parang adventure lang tapos after mangalahati, puro patayan na. Nagulat ako nung pinatay yung Captain. Napaisip tuloy ako bakit nga ba nag-deviate sa plan si Crauwel? Magtatanong pala ko sa book club Discord.
Kaya naman kase hindi ko napagkamalan si Creesjie, kasi yung pinapakita nyang character is someone who only cares about having a wealthy husband. So I only perceived her as a simple minded woman who’s a gold digger and cares too much about her looks. Tsaka diba nagpakita sya ng interest kay Vos nung nag-propose sya and promised her a comfortable life. It’s all an act pala. Kaya rin nasa baba sya ng list ko of suspects gawa dun.
Mas mataas si Pipps sa suspect list ko kesa kay Creesjie. Pero sa isip ko kasi, sobrang imposible na maging involved sya kasi nga nakakulong sya. Sobrang pa-victim pati nya. Ang hirap din maging sobrang suspicious sa kanya kasi nung binigay yung background nya sa una, akala mo yun na ‘yon. Not until nung na-reveal sa huli yung totoong family history nya. Tapos yung Saardam pala is specifically designed para makalabas sya sa kulungan nya. Tss.
Anyway, nung hindi pa nari-reveal ang lahat, nag-panic ako dun sa fake act ni Isabel. Kala ko talaga totoo! In fairness kay Sara and Arent naisip pa nila ‘yon.
RATING [4 🌟]
While I enjoyed almost everything and sobrang nakakaloko yung culprits, I feel like the ending is the weakest point in the book. Hindi ako super na-satisfy dun sa execution nung reveal. And yung ending, parang, ganun na lang ‘yon? But I must say it’s still worth reading kahit medyo let down yung ending.
Nakakaasar yung magkapatid kasi halos walang remorse. Mej nakakaasar din yung sobrang curiosity ni Sara and Lia nung ina-unfold na nung magkapatid kung pano nila na-execute yung devious plans nila. Parang may halong wonder pa nga. Mas nangibabaw yung curiousity nila kesa sa galit.
Although ang intention talaga is to kill Jan Haan, ang dami pa din nadamay na tao. Plus the animals huhu. Mapapatay pa ni Vos si Arent. So parang hindi ako ganun ka-agree na walang justice. Naging “Let’s just forgive and forget and form a star-studded group.” na lang.
QUOTES
I chuckled at this:
“What brings fine sirs like yourselves down to the arse end of the ship?” asked the constable, putting a dried piece of fish into his mouth. Far as Arent could tell, there wasn’t a single tooth waiting for it.
Power should be a burden, not a shield. It should be used to everybody’s betterment, not merely for the person who wielded it.
Sara: Courage isn’t an absence of fear. It’s the light we find when fear is all there is.
Sammy had once told him that love was the easiest thing to spot, because it didn’t look like anything else. It couldn’t hide itself, it couldn’t disguise itself, it couldn’t go unnoticed for very long.
In the beginning part of the book, the author discussed how our society, our culture, our families and relationships shape our beliefs and identities. That we didn’t have a choice when we were little. And now that we’re older, he is challenging us to question these beliefs/practices or these “agreements”.
Another thing he talked about is how sometimes people just go with the flow to gain approval in order to have a sense of belongingness. Which is a natural thing for humans. Sabi nga ni Aristotle, we are social animals. But he also challenges that. Like saying no if we want to say no. Or attempting to ask even if it meant rejection.
Gleniz da Menace 