In this book, his father had written as an inscription and directive, write what you want. Every day, or as often as you can, write what you want. That way, whenever you’re confused or rudderless, you can look to this book, and be reminded where you want to go and what you’re looking for…This journal was for positive wants, not negative wants. When you wanted something negative, it didn’t count, he said. A want should be positive, his father had said. A want should improve your life while improving the world, even if just a little bit.

-The Wild Things by Dave Eggers

Read an excerpt from the book here.


I want a fur-covered version, like so:

I miss MTV Ink magazine. That was my favorite magazine when I was younger, since PULP had interesting photos sometimes but was too "pa-macho" and sexist for me. MTV Ink, in all its huge format glory was quirky, cool without being too pretentious, had a wonderful layout and equally loveable short stories and reviews. The people from the mag seemed like a fun, approachable bunch and I could almost imagine me fangirling in their presence. I saved up every month so I could buy it, and it never let me down. Until they had to reformat the mag, that is. And now the mag is gone.
I remember the ukay trips the editors took, and the detailed descriptions about every MRT and LRT station and distinctly remember re-reading each article a gazillion times that I could almost quote it. Yes I did not have a life.

No one else comes close, MTV Ink. (Except for BURN, which is now sadly gone, too) sob.

Everything reminds me of everything.


"The Law of Averages", short stories by Frederick Barthelme
I am in the middle of reading "The Law of Averages", short stories by Frederick Barthelme. The book blurbs mention that it's postmodern Americana, whatever that means. Maybe that means it's similar to sad, introspective American films like American Beauty, or Gigantic. It bears a silent elegance, and I am afraid of disturbing the quiet. Each story leaves me puzzled, with no clear resolution, but with heady words strung neatly, like so:

Above her the sky is going very dark , and the rain is no longer a suggestion, it is a promise. This makes her excited and nervous at once--like a child, she is seduced by the prospect of passing the rainstorm outside, in the splashing mud of the hole, in the cold water on her skin. Like an adult, she is apprehensive about getting out of the hole, about tracking the mud into the house, about the scrubbing that now seems inevitable.

From "Domestic", Frederick Barthelme, The Law of Averages

It actually reminded of Karen Russell's collection of short stories, St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves, which I just had to own at the usual expensive bookstore price, only to find out that a much cheaper (and hardbound!) copy could be found at my usual cheapo bookstore haunt. Le sigh. Barthelme's stories are similar to Russell's stories since they're mostly open-ended tales. In SLHFGRBW (whew) though, the incidents are of the fantastical sort: Giant seashells as a tourist attraction, A camp for people with sleeping problems, the title story (self-explanatory), etc. This made it more enjoyable for me, since it read like some hybrid of science fiction and fairytale. I'd want some sort of closure though, for Russell's stories. The buildup was fantastic, only to leave me wanting at the end. I'm not expecting happy endings here, just a resolution. Something Atwood-like, perhaps, where even just a phrase or a movement of the hands would seal the deal.

In "The Law of Averages", true enough, incidents are more realistic, more...average. Settings would include a high-end area of the mall, the poolside at a girl's 17th birthday and a porch, for example. I kept expecting something dramatic or sinister to happen, but to my disappointment the book was just like one of those hipster indie talkie movies, where everyone talks to make you understand their subconscious desires but I just ended up getting bored, mostly. I won't give up so easily though. Will give the other stories a go, maybe there's a gem there somewhere. Nice usage of words though, that much I can say.

What I think: 3 unicorns


Highlight of the week, thus far:
♥ Finished a book on my TBR list in less than three days for my 30 before 30 list. That book is "Oranges are not the only fruit" by Jeanette Winterson. My introduction to Jeanette Winterson came in the form of this book. Many years ago a queer lj friend of mine recommended it and then a few months after I saw a book by Winterson: "Written on the body", at the young adult section of the used books department of National Superbranch Cubao, no less. It cost me Php40. That was where I also bought Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith by another beloved author, Sarah Waters, but that's another story. The rest is history. Thus started my love affair with Jeanette, who writes heartbreaking lines like "Why is the measure of love loss?" and sometimes other stories that are just too awesomely incomprehensible for my teensy brain, but I love her nonetheless.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
Dr. Henry delivered his own twins one night, and, discovering his daughter has Down's syndrome, sends her away to an institution. His nurse, Caroline, secretly raises the child, Phoebe as her own. His wife, Norah, doesn't know about this, and so does their son, Paul.
I really struggled with this one. The style is easy and it seems like a very quick read, but I guess it wasn't as fast-paced as I would have wanted. I bought this book from Booksale a year ago (for only Php40), since I thought it would be interesting, expecting something Anne Tylerish or even Sue Miller-like. I was right. It's a family drama, plain and simple, but it basically bored me. The characters kept exclaiming "Oh," and it got to the point where I wanted to count the number of "Oh's", it was so annoying and distracting.

Case in point:
Norah and David are talking after Norah gives birth:
"Oh," she said. "A little girl too? Phoebe and Paul. But where is she?"
"Oh, my love," he said. "I am so sorry."


However, after all that ranting, the plot was meaty enough for this book to warrant being finished, which was what I did, painstakingly over a year or so, going through a page a month sometimes, sometimes not at all. I wanted to know how everybody would fare and secretly I was wishing they'd kill each other. Maybe while shouting "Oh!".
Maybe this would be better if it were translated to a movie. Dr. Henry takes up photography as his hobby, taking pictures of things in an effort to freeze time through his images, and this book is rife with descriptions. I could almost imagine something Hallmarky, with lots of hugging and wistful staring off into space and "Oh" exclaimings.
No, seriously.

There are some good reflections, though, found in the Penguin readers guide at the back:
Life is a moving image, unfolding and changing beyond our control.

What I think: 3 unicorns

The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold
I read this a year ago, and the images here still haunt me. The first page already talks about the focal point of the book, with Helen killing her mother Claire in an instant. Helen justifies this to being "too tired" of shouldering the burden of her "crazy mother". The events that follow describe the aftermath, trigerred by that instant. It was shocking, and different, and kept me turning the pages all night. I still like the Lovely Bones more, but props to Alice Sebold for another haunting and disturbing book. While I was reading this, I noticed that Sebold wrote this with an eerie, almost deafeningly silent setting and tone, if you consider that possible. It was like reading the Bell Jar and reaching that part where Sylvia Plath buried her hotdog in the sand, and things are normal one minute, and weirdly insane the next. Maybe craziness was hereditary for Helen's family.

What I think: 6 unicorns

No One Belongs here more than you, stories by Miranda July
Miranda July is my hero. So I might have read her book with fanmode glasses on. Haha. This book is wonderful. A girl gives swimming lessons in her kitchen. A lesbian pseudo-couple provides their services to women so they can pay the rent. A secretary falls in love with the wife of her boss and stalks her. A woman contemplates about her lover while confronting an intruder. Events seem so ordinary and realistic in some stories, and fantastical and dream-like in others. What does transpire through all her stories is her unwavering eye for the delicateness of human emotion. Know that game kiss, slap, kill? It would be fun to apply this game to her characters, to kiss those wretched souls who live in fantasyland, slap off the apathy from some, and kill-- well, I don't want to kill anyone here, 'cept maybe for that scary intruder. If you like her movie, Me and You and Everyone We Know, or have been to her site- Learningtoloveyoumore.com, this book might be perfect for you, cause it's really not for everyone. It might be a bit too strange for others, and don't let that hot pink cover fool you into thinking these stories have happy endings, because most of them don't. All her stories do end unpredictably, sometimes realistically, sometimes too abruptly, and you end up feeling like you've just eavesdropped into someone's private affairs, only to learn that they know you've been listening all along.

What I think: 8.5 unicorns

disclaimer: i did not make the image above, image above taken from people are people paper bag.
i am in love with it.

Was able to borrow "the complete brothers grimm fairy tales" fully illustrated, from my officemate. i went bonkers.


( tell me stories )

The instructions again:

1. Select 5 random books you own.
2. Take at least one pic of them! :) More, would be better.
3. For each book, list Title, Author, Editor, where you bought it, why you bought it and the price!
4. Force everyone to answer it too!


My answers: (see previous post)
1. The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy by Douglas Adams
2. Dangerous Angels by Francesca Lia Block

3. A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass.
I saw this a few years ago at Powerbooks, costing around Php700 I think. It's about a girl with synesthesia, a "neurologically based phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway", according to Wikipedia.
Synesthesia, like aphasia, fascinates me. More so since it involves associating colors with letters or numbers, tasting shapes, having sound become visible.
I learned about synesthesia through this book, and became obsessed with it for a while. Unfortunately it was too pricey for my taste so I just had to be contented with browsing through it every chance I get.
Fast-forward to the future, and I get to see this book again at my beloved Booksale, for only....
Php70! (God, I love Booksale.)

4. Women's Glib, A collection of Women's Humor, collected by Roz Warren
This was a great buy, containing comic strips, monologues, essays and other fun, feminist articles. I had to buy it. Especially since Alison Bechdel of the "Dykes to watch out for" fame has some comic strips inside. A great Booksale buy for...Php40

5. The Book Club Cookbook: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club's Favorite Books and Authors

I saw this at Booksale and just had to have it. Each chapter begins with a plot summary of contemporary books I actually like: Books by John Irving, Frank McCourt, etc. Apparently, most of the book clubs in the U.S. also have theme parties, wherein they cook/bring dishes that befits the book to be discussed, like Asian for The Joy Luck Club or Southern for the Divine Secrets of the Ya-ya sisterhood. Sometimes the authors even have interviews of the book authors or they research recipes if a dish is mentioned in the book.

Each chapter has a recipe and a menu theme of the featured Book Club, something that satisfies my booklusting self with my always hungry self.

Around Php90 at Booksale.