Category: Books

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Books Magical Realism

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami | Book Review

QUICK AND TAMAD SUMMARY:

Ang book na ‘to ay tungkol sa isang lalake (si Toru Okada) na in the beginning, hinahanap nya lang yung nawawalang pusa ng asawa nya (Kumiko), hanggang sa yung asawa na nya yung nawawala. First book ko ‘to from this author.

Nung una, sumasakay pa ko eh. Ang tolerable pa. Pero habang tumatagal, lalong lumalala. Lumalala yung pagka-boring and pagka-nonsense. Siguro nga hindi para sakin ‘tong libro na ‘to. Pero nalalamangan ng pagka-curious ko yung pagka-ayaw ko sa book. Kaya feeling ko naman matatapos ko ‘to kahit pilit na pilit.

START OF SPOILERS

Ang daming weird characters. May weird prostitute, may weird manghuhula, may weird na teenager. Pero lahat naman sila weird.

I’m currently at 41% and UGHHH. Hirap na hirap talaga kong ituloy-tuloy. Okay ako sa weird pero bakit kasi ang boringgg. Sobrang hindi pa likeable yung main protagonist and hindi ako maka-relate sa kanya. Sobrang apathetic nya. Kaya din siguro ang hirap. Wala akong makuhang connection sa kanya. And yung mga nangyayari sa book, sobrang labo. Hindi lang siguro abot ng intellect ko yung gusto nyang iparating. Pero kahit feeling ko nagsasayang lang ako ng oras, tatapusin ko ‘to. Nanghinayang na ko sa na-invest kong oras.

Siguro si May Kasahara na lang yung saving grace for me. Kung wala yung character nya, hindi ko na talaga alam. Sya lang yung character na interested ako. The rest parang mga bato. Siguro pag nagbasa ako ulit ng isa pang book ng author na ‘to, alam ko na kung anong i-eexpect.

Isingit ko na rin yung na-sad ako dun sa story ni Lt. Mamiya. Yung kahit buhay pa sya after surviving everything and getting through all those traumatic experiences, feeling nya walang meaning yung buhay nya because he already died on that well. Huhu. Eto yung mga rare moments na may na-feel ako while reading this book.

So tapos ko na.

Clearly, this book is too deep for me to fully absorb and comprehend. Parang yung buong book is isang mahaba at weird na panaginip (or bangungot). Most of the time walang sense pero yung nasagap ng brain ko is yung themes of introspection. Hanggang dun lang. Hindi ko na sya kayang i-expound.

Atat na atat na kong matapos ‘to kasi ang haba. 600 pages. Siguro 75% of the time hindi ko alam kung anong nangyayari pero weirdly, nung 95-98% na ko dun sa book, parang ayoko pa sya matapos. Parang nasa momentum pa kong magbasa ng kawirdohan.

Baka yung next ko basahin na book from this author is yung Norwegian Wood, as recommended by one of the book club members, Danielle.

My status updates on Goodreads

RATING [2.25 🌟]

Alam kong generally mataas yung review nung book na ‘to pero ayokong mag-pretend na naintindihan ko. Hindi pa abot ng brain cells ko yung ganitong klaseng books. Nagpapadala naman ako dun sa book. Wala akong expectations. May mga parts na gusto ko yung pagka-weird nya and may mga parts na nalulusaw na yung utak ko para pilitin na mag-make sense yung binabasa ko.

QUOTES

Curiosity can bring guts out of hiding at times, maybe even get them going. But curiosity usually evaporates. Guts have to go for the long haul. Curiosity’s like a fun friend you can’t really trust. It turns you on and then it leaves you to make it on your own—with whatever guts you can muster.

Toru Okada

When someone gets on my nerves, the first thing I do is transfer the object of my unpleasant feelings to another domain, one having no connection with me. Then I tell myself, Fine, I’m feeling bad, but I’ve put the source of these feelings into another zone, away from here, where I can examine it and deal with it later in my own good time. In other words, I put a freeze on my emotions. Later, when I thaw them out to perform the examination, I do occasionally find my emotions still in a distressed state, but that is rare. The passage of time will usually extract the venom from most things and render them harmless. Then, sooner or later, I forget about them.

Toru Okada

I’m not one hundred percent sure about any of this, and I don’t have any amazing solutions. All I’ve got is this feeling.

Toru Okada

If people want to lose all sense of direction, the best thing that you and I can do is let them. We have more important things to do.

Noboru Wataya

If people lived forever—if they never got any older—if they could just go on living in this world, never dying, always healthy—do you think they’d bother to think hard about things, the way we’re doing now? I mean, we think about just about everything, more or less—philosophy, psychology, logic. Religion. Literature. I kinda think, if there were no such thing as death, that complicated thoughts and ideas like that would never come into the world.

May Kasahara

I remembered laughing out loud when I read this:

May Kasahara: The women sell their hair to the wig companies. That’s how they earn their dowries in some places. The whole world’s so weird! The guy sitting next to you might actually be wearing the hair of some woman in Indonesia.

By reflex, I and the B-man looked around at the others in the car.

Click to view my digital book shelf.

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Books Life

Current Reads

Pakiramdam ko malapit na kong maging guru kakabasa ko ng mga self help books 😂 Nagsimula sa Digital Minimalism tapos sinundan ko ng Atomic Habits. Digital Minimalism para mabawasan yung bad habits ko sa paggamit ng phone and Atomic Habits para makapag-create ako ng good habits and para na din mabago yung iba pang bad habits.

Lapit na ko sa goal ko na 15 books this year

Bakit ba ngayon ko lang ‘to naisip? Siguro kung sinimulan kong magbagong buhay pagka-resign na pagka-resign ko, dami ko na sigurong na-achieve or ang laki na siguro ng improvement ko. Pero ayokong mag-dwell dun. At least bumabawi naman ako ngayon.

Siguro naman, gone are the days yung mga drama ko sa previous blog posts ko na naaasar ako sa sarili ko, na wala akong disiplina, kasi ang procrastinator ko, etc. Sana naman tapos na yang mga dialogue ko na ‘yan. Kasi nakatulong yung book para makita ko ang mga bagay bagay in a different light.

Siguro yung pinaka nag-stick sakin na nabasa ko sa Atomic Habits so far (di ko pa sya tapos), is yung pagsasabi natin sa sarili natin ng mga bagay about ourselves like, “Procrastinator kasi talaga ako.” or “Hindi kasi talaga ko magaling sa directions.” or “Wala kasi akong self control.” Okay so kung ganun, eh di wala na pala talaga kong pag-asa?? Mag-stick na lang ako sa ganun kasi yun na talaga yung identity ko? Mali. Sabi ni author, “Our identities are not set in stone.” We have the option to edit and improve and expand our identities. And na-realize kong tama nga talaga. Nili-link kasi natin yung bad habits natin sa identities natin.

Eto example. Yung sabi ko kanina na mahina ako sa directions. Bukambibig ko ‘to lagi. So usually naka-rely lang ako sa mga kasama ko or kay Kenneth most of the time pagdating sa directions. Pero bakit nung pumunta kaming Japan ng mga friends ko or nung pumunta kaming Hong Kong ng Mama ko, ako yung navigator? So ang nangyayari pala, pag merong tao na alam kong sila yung willing mag lead ng way, nagigi akong dependent na lang sa kanila and I tend to chill. Hindi ko pinapagana yung isip ko pagdating sa directions kasi anjan naman sila.

Hays I miss Japan

Pero when it’s time na ako sa grupo yung mas nakakaalam or for example, saming dalwa ng Mama, na mas ako yung nakakaintindi ng Google maps or nung subway app kasi hindi naman sya techie, I feel the need to step up. And kaya ko naman pala talaga. So it’s a choice. Pagkasama ko si Kenneth, choice ko na hindi maging magaling sa directions and sa Mama ko naman, choice kong maging magaling.

Hays I miss traveling with Mama kahit lagi kaming nagtatalo

Plano ko naman basahin next yun The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz. Ngayon sobrang enjoy na enjoy ako magbasa. Mapa-fiction or non-fiction.

And regarding dun sa concern ko na pano kung yung mga friends ko ay ma-hassle-an dahil hindi na ko nakikipagchat masyado which will result to not communicating at all, turns out it’s all in my head. Kasi they had positive responses about it. Humingi pa ng copy si Nick nung Atomic Habits. Ewan ko lang kung babasahin nun 😄

Since naiisabuhay ko na yung cliché na saying na, “Time is gold.” And next ko namang susubukan ay yung, “Health is wealth.” Eto yung isa ko pang bad habit na gustong mabago kasi ang hilig ko sa junk food and sa matatamis.

Kitang kita sa breakfast ko ngayon

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Books Insights Non-Fiction Personal Development

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport | Book Review + Notes [Part 5: Extra Notes and Rating]

So tapos ko na yung book. Nalito pa ko kasi nakalagay dun sa Kindle 64% done pa lang ako tapos pag-flip ko ng page, Acknowledgements na. Super dami palang notes sa huli and references kaya akala medyo matagal ko pa matatapos.

Since madami na din akong nasabi about sa book na ‘to, meron pa kong mga extras na gustong idagdag na nabasa ko pa after kong matapos sulatin yung parts 1-4.

Nabanggit yung importance of solitude. I think kaya nya ‘to in-include kasi yung magta-try ng digital declutter, they could get bored and will find themselves reaching for their phones. And kaya may whole chapter about solitude is for us to realize siguro na sometimes, okay lang na walang gawin. Hindi mo kelangan i-fill yung every second of your life.

Regular doses of solitude, mixed in with our default mode of sociality, are necessary to flourish as a human being.

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport

Nabanggit dito na solitude or being alone with your thoughts helps us regulate our emotions and process stuff. And medyo natawa and na-guilty din ako dito sa following quote:

Continue reading “Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport | Book Review + Notes [Part 5: Extra Notes and Rating]”
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Books Insights Non-Fiction Personal Development

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport | Book Review + Notes [Part 4: So Anong Dapat Gawin?]

Nung nag-start akong basahin ‘to, ang gusto ko lang talagang mangyari is mawala yung uncontrollable urge ko to always check my phone. Pero ang dami kong nakuha sa book na ‘to.

Sobrang necessary na diniscuss muna sa book lahat. It started with identifying the addictive behaviors, the reason behind it, and pano sya dapat i-approach which is yung strategies and principles. And eto na yung time para i-introduce naman yung concrete steps on how to start. From Paleolithic brains to economics, at this point, gets na gets ko na talaga. Parang hindi ko na kelangan ng further explanation. I’m sold!

Very important na maintindihan munang mabuti yung mga diniscuss before this para kapag gagawin ko na yung ‘digital declutter’, mas strong yung reason bakit ko ‘to ginagawa. Mas may conviction behind it. Which makes it more doable and sustainable.

The Digital Declutter Process

Continue reading “Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport | Book Review + Notes [Part 4: So Anong Dapat Gawin?]”
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Books Insights Non-Fiction Personal Development

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport | Book Review + Notes [Part 3: Minimalists vs Maximalists]

Ang freeing nung phrase na you will “happily miss out on everything else.” Naalala ko yung pinakinggan ko na podcast medyo recently lang. First time ko narinig yung term na JOMO.

Replace FOMO with JOMO (Joy of Missing Out). When everybody is off drinking and making shallow conversations, you are actually doing something deep and meaningful that brings more value to yourself and maybe to other people as well.

The Minimalists Podcast [Episode 250.5]

Sobrang tinamaan ako dito. And hindi pa nakatulong na andito ko sa ibang bansa. Medyo na-lessen na rin naman simula nung nagkapandemic kasi nga ang dalang na lumabas ng mga tao.

Continue reading “Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport | Book Review + Notes [Part 3: Minimalists vs Maximalists]”
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Books Insights Non-Fiction Personal Development

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport | Book Review + Notes [Part 2: Bakit Tayo Nagkaganito?]

Almost 1 week na since nag-start ako na baguhin yung unhealthy habits ko and so far, okay naman. Napapanindigan pa.

So balik ako dun sa book, meron daw iba’t ibang “ingredients” bakit nga nakaka-hook ang technology or social media. Two of those:

  1. Intermittent positive reinforcement

Eto na nga yung unpredictable rewards na sinasabi which releases more dopamine. Back to the slot machine analogy.

It hurts but it’s true 😭

And ang interesting neto. Nananadya talaga sila.

Continue reading “Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport | Book Review + Notes [Part 2: Bakit Tayo Nagkaganito?]”
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Books Mystery YA

Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen McManus | Book Review

This is our book club pick for October and kakatapos lang namin mag-discuss about it.

SUPER QUICK & TAMAD SUMMARY:

May serial killer sa town nila na pumapatay ng magagandang babae. Ang bida ay si Ellery na mahilig mag-play detective. Kasi feeling nya may connection yung pagkawala ng aunt nya from 20 years ago dun sa recent murders.

At first, kala ko super YA vibes. Yung typical highschool ganaps na ang annoying nung mga characters. Pero hindi naman sya naging heavy sa ganon kaya naging okay naman. Nag-focus talaga yung author sa suspense/mystery aspect which is good. Nag-enjoy ako manghula.

START OF SPOILERS

Naaasar ako kay Ellery kasi labas ng labas. Kita na nga na may killer on the loose. Although very typical yun sa mga horror movies, na parang nawawala sa tamang pagiisip yung character tapos lalabas pa din ng kwarto or ng bahay na as if ang tapang tapang nya.

Nafrustrate pa ko nung itutuloy pa din yung homecoming dance. Bakit itutuloy?? Bakit hindi sila nagiisip? Pero it turned out, wala naman nangyari. Pa-effect lang na feeling mo may mangyayaring masama nung araw na ‘yon.

And ang useless na lang din nung pagka-worry ko for Ellery kasi hindi naman sya yung target talaga nung killer. Si Brooke talaga (recent victim).

Sobrang dami kong napagbintangan na killer sa book na ‘to. Pero may tumama naman sa hula ko. Yung mga obvious suspects like Ryan and Vance or even Declan, inalis ko na sila sa list ko kasi ang dali naman kung sila na agad. Dumaplis sa isip ko na si Peter yung killer kasi dinescribe sya ni Ellery as, “good looking” and “charismatic”. So naisip ko, ah so mukang papasa ‘tong matandang ‘to sa mga teenage girls. So dun na-form yung theory ko na baka may secret relationship sila ni Lacey noon (the second victim).

Mga 85% into the book, naumay na ko manghula. Matatapos na wala pa ding hard clues. Pero shortly after, ni-reveal na din na si Peter na talaga.

So eto na nga yung ending. Yung last line na, “I thought she was your mother.” Super chillz! Yung akala mo tapos na kasi na-reveal na yung killer pero may twist pa sa huli.

My status updates sa Goodreads while reading the book 😆

RATING [3.5 🌟]

So dahil sa last line na ‘yon, imbis na 3 out of 5 stars yung ibibigay ko, nagi syang 3.5 stars. Walang lingering effect yung story for me. Yung tipong after ko basahin irerecall ko pa yung mga series of events? Hindi sya ganon for me. After ko matapos and ma-woah sa ending, okay na na ko.

Book club meeting

QUOTES

[I found this part sweet.] Your brother saved you, Nana had said. She was right. I just didn’t realize which one.

Our next book is The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton. Suspense/mystery ulit so I’m excited!

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Books Insights Non-Fiction Personal Development

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport | Book Review + Notes [Part 1: Ganito Ka Din Ba?]

Heto na ang mga quotes and commentaries sa book na to. Self explanatory naman yung title so wala nang intro.

Huhu. So true.

In all honesty, naaapektohan talaga yung mood ko and sometimes hindi ko ma-pinpoint kung bakit. Sometimes obvious yung reason pero minsan basta naapektohan na lang ako. Parang nasisira na agad yung araw after ko magcheck ng iba-ibang social media apps.

CALL TO ACTION: Wag nang magcheck ng phone sa umaga. Do your morning routine first. Magtiklop ng kumot, maglinis ng litter box, pakainin ang mga kitties, load dishwasher, etc.

Continue reading “Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport | Book Review + Notes [Part 1: Ganito Ka Din Ba?]”
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Books Dystopian

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins | Book Review

Nung Sunday, nagtipon tipon uli kaming mga Pod Sibs Book Club members at nagdiscuss nung book of the month which is: The Ballad of Chuchu by Suzanne Collins. All this time, ang pronunciation ko ay “Su-zahn”. Pero nung nabanggit nung isang member yung author’s name, “Su-zeyn” pala. I stand corrected.

Ang saya nung discussion kahit ang gulo ng thoughts ko and kahit feeling ko wala akong masyadong na-contribute sa usapan. Pero ang saya pa din at ang ganda ng effect sa soul/spirit/being kasi ang tatalino nung mga members at may napupulot ka talaga pag may ibang tao kang kausap na outside of your usual circle.

Daming attendees this month

Ang interesting nung napunta kami dun sa isang question na: Do you agree with Coriolanus and Dr. Gaul’s worldview that people are inherently violent or do you believe in Lucy Gray’s worldview that people are inherently good? Muntik ko nang hindi isali tong question na to kasi naisip ko parang ang dali lang naman nung sagot. Pero nung pinaguusapan na namin, dito kami nagtagal. Ang daming insights. Ako conflicted din sa sagot ko. Yung initial ko kasing thinking, inherently good. Maliban na lang sa mga mentally ill kasi hindi sila makakapagisip ng maayos. Pero ang nagpalito sakin eh yung na-come across kong article noon about sa isang performance artist. Parang experiment kasi sya. Yung artist, nagprovide ng 72 objects ranging from a feather and flower to pointed objects and a gun with a single bullet. For 6 hours, nakatayo lang yung artist at inallow nya yung mga tao na gawin ang gusto nilang gawin sa kanya gamit yung 72 objects. After 6 hours, hubad na yung artist, ang dami nyang sugat sa katawan at sobrang na-defile na yung katauhan nya. So bakit ganun? Bakit ganun yung mga tao dun? Ang wirdo lang na porke walang repercussions na mangyayari sa kanila, ginawa nila yung mga ganung bagay dun sa female artist. Kung hindi ko nabasa yung article na yun, 100% sure ako na inherently good ang mga tao. Pero dahil dun, hindi ko na alam.

For July, since pride month last month, yung book namin ay Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan. Excited na ko for the next discussion. Parang bitin nga yung monthly parang gusto kong gawin na bi-weekly. Kaso may mga days na super tamad ko naman magbasa kaya baka hindi ako maka-commit.

As for my opinion sa June book, ang rating ko ay 3.5 stars. Napaisip pa nga ako kung gagawin kong 4 pero nag-decide ako na 3.5 na lang. Interesting yung book sakin. Siguro dahil limot ko na yung mga evil things na ginawa ni President Snow kasi limot ko na yung movie, limot ko na din yung book. Basta ang tanda ko lang si Katniss Everdeen yung bida (😂) and other vague scenes na wala si Snow. So medyo clean slate sakin si Coriolanus nung binasa ko tong Ballad of Chuchu. Super nacurious lang ako nung huli kung ano na kayang nangyari kay Lucy Gray. At para sa thorough review nung book, pakinggan nyo dito.

Click to view my digital book shelf.

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Books Horror

The Stand by Stephen King | Book Review

The StandThe Stand by Stephen King

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Had a hard time finishing it. It it weren’t for our book club I would have put it down after reading the first few chapters. At first, I didn’t expect that there would be a supernatural element in the story. I think I would’ve enjoyed it better if there wasn’t. This was my first Stephen King novel and while I admire how detailed his storytelling is, sometimes I just can’t keep up. I find myself lost in some, if not most, of the references used in the book. But having said that, I know that this wouldn’t be my last King novel. The way he described those people dying of the super flu was really unsettling; it was very good and effective writing. Those chapters where it was getting close for the main characters to find their way to each other got me excited and gave me the extra push to finish the book.

FAVORITE SCENES:

When Stu faked his coughs while talking to Deitz. Deitz refrained from wearing the space-suit so he panicked when Stu suddenly displayed symptoms. Deitz was always withholding information from Stu so when Deitz asked him why he would pull something like that, Stu repeated Deitz words, “Sorry, that’s classified.” That was a cool move.

Glen Bateman’s superflu aftermath plan: Chill and paint. Then he said to Stu, “There is no one on earth painting better landscapes than Glendon Pequod Bateman, BA, MA, MFA. A cheap ego trip, but mine own.”

FAVORITE QUOTES:

PREFACE

Movies after all, are only an illusion of motion comprised of thousands of still photographs. The imagination, however, moves with its own tidal flow. Films, even the best of them, freeze fiction.

That is not necessarily bad… but it is limiting. The glory of a good tale is that it is limitless and fluid.; a good tale belongs to each reader in its own particular way.

NOVEL

PETER: But you have to remember, Fran, she’s too old to change, but you are getting old enough to understand that.

Structure is a necessary thing.

GLEN: (On dreams) I have always believed they served a simple eliminatory function, and not much more — that dreams are the psyche’s way of taking a good dump every now and then.

But she suspected it was going to be held over by popular demand inside her head. (A more creative way of saying overthinking)

Well, for one thing, it might mean that all these people here were just an epilogue to the human race, a brief coda. (Tragic)

JUDGE: But you can only be one man. Isn’t that true?
LARRY: Yes.
JUDGE: And your choice is made?
LARRY: Yes.
JUDGE: For good?
LARRY: Yes, it is.
JUDGE: Then live with it.

There was a single final breath, the last of millions. (RIP Mother A)

(Tom’s chapter while spying in the West) They were nice enough people and all, but there wasn’t much love in them. Because they were too busy being afraid. Love didn’t grow very well in a place where there was only fear, just as plants didn’t grow very well in a place where it was always dark.

Click to view my digital book shelf.