Well, I've finally just finished the last pages of "The Hobbit".

That's the last book that I'll have finished reading this year. And, of course, I'm ridiculously far away from my goal of one hundred books.

To recount, these are all the books that I've read this year:

1. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire (completed 28th January)
2. Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (compiled in one book), by Lewis Carroll (completed: 16th January)
3. After the Quake, by Murakami Haruki (completed: 12th February)
4. I Am Number Four, by Pittacus Lore (completed: 16th February)
5. The General in His Labyrinth, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (completed: 18th April)
6. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, by Tsutsui Yasutaka (completed: 28th April)
7. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick (completed: 19th May)
8. Plainsong, by Hosaka Kazushi (completed: 2nd June)
9. The Grass is Singing, by Doris Lessing (completed: 31st July)
10. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins (completed: 16th June)
11. Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins (completed: 18th June)
12. Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins (completed: 23rd June)
13. Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes (completed: 9th Nov)
14. The Good Terrorist, by Doris Lessing (completed: 12th Dec)
15. The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien (completed: 31st Dec)

The idea that I've only read 15 books the whole year (in 12 months! 52 weeks! Three hundred and sixty-five days!) is quite depressing to me. But then I kinda console myself with the knowledge that I've actually been doing a LOT more reading on my computer instead - fanfiction and whatnot.

Someone asked me once how much I fanfiction I do read. And then I realised that at almost any one point in time, I have about ten tabs open in my Firefox; ten stories - many of them likely to be multi-chaptered, and not one-shots - all at various stages of reading. And for some reason, while reading, I just *have* to skip back and forth between them. I dunno why, I just click and read through one for a while, then maybe it gets to a lull or something and I read another story for a while, and then maybe I'll jump to something else, or I'll go back to the story that I was reading earlier. I've no idea why I do this, honestly.

And then he asked, "You mean you can keep track of ten different stories at the same time??"

Yes... it isn't that difficult really. And there're my books too, in addition to stuff I read online.
As I've already mentioned before, I read two books at a time: one I keep with me for when I'm out and about, and one stays by the bed at night for bedtime reading.

And actually, if I happen to get a new book or something that I just have to start reading, that might become a third book that I'd be reading at the same time as well.

His mind was just boggled even further. Poor guy.

So, I wonder, does the sum total of all that I've read (in print and in type) amount to about 100 books? I wonder.

But I remember when I used to read a lot more. Books, that is. When I used to be what you'd call "a voracious reader".

When I was in secondary school and JC, I read in bed into the wee hours of the morning - I had to be scolded to put the book down and go to sleep. I read in between class periods, I read during recess sometimes, I read while walking to the bus interchange after school, I read on the bus, I read while walking home.

I used to read so much more. And it all tapered off in uni, when class readings took up all the time, and I just got so tired of reading stuff that was on paper, I think. Reading *books* dropped to a lifetime low when I was in uni.

I miss the me that loved books so much.

Let's see how far we manage to get through one hundred books in the new year. :)

But for now, I have another project to take me through to the new year. More details in my next post! :)

Ooh, look. Another post.

This time, just to update on my reading and the "100 books" goal... which really doesn't look like it'll be fulfilled. Hmm.
Oh well, doesn't mean I have to stop reading. Hahaha.

I have really and truly run out of shelf space. The books are piling up on my room desk now, which I don't really use, since my cousin is using my room, and we all study/work in the upstairs common area, anyway.

My mum remarked to me on Monday:
"Gerri, the books on your table.. reaching the ceiling already, you know."

To which I replied:
"Which is why I keep saying I need more shelf space, what."

But what she's saying is just an exaggeration; they're not reaching the ceiling. They're only halfway there.


Anyway!

The Reading List as of today:
1. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire (completed 28th January)
2. Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (compiled in one book), by Lewis Carroll (completed: 16th January)
This is listed as book 2, even though it was finished earlier, because Wicked was started first.

3. After the Quake, by Murakami Haruki (completed: 12th February)
4. I Am Number Four, by Pittacus Lore (completed: 16th February)
5. The General in His Labyrinth, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (completed: 18th April)
6. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, by Tsutsui Yasutaka (completed: 28th April)
7. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick (completed: 19th May, while on the plane back from Japan! :D)
8. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keyes (started: 28th April. Still reading. Oops.)
9. Plainsong, by Hosaka Kazushi (completed: 2nd June)

This book was kind of an impulse buy; I remember walking past the Japanese Literature shelf at Kinokuniya and the cover just catching my eye. The cover really is as plain as it looks in the picture - I'm not sure if there're other covers, but this is the one that I have.

The story inside is no grand masterpiece, but a meandering telling of the just-slightly-short-of-mundane life of our protagonist and the friends who randomly stumble into his life and just... stick there. The protagonist is someone not too different from the average person on the street; someone who did reasonably well in school, landed a respectable job, and lives comfortably enough within his means; with no great destiny, and simply going about his life from day-to-day. But those happenings of his day-to-day life do make for a heartwarming story. :)

Give it a try if you have a day when you have nothing to do, and you have the time for a quiet sit-down. :)


10. The Grass is Singing, by Doris Lessing (completed: 31st July)

To be honest, there isn't anything to *like* about this story. How does one like a story about how a person slowly loses oneself in a sucking downward spiral that hits a new low everytime you think they might've already hit rock-bottom?

But even though that's the way it is, it's still oddly compelling; even though you wonder how the characters can carry on the way they are, how everyone can be so blind as to believe in their racist sentiments, and you know that it does not meet a happy end, you're compelled to finish it. At least, I was. Maybe it's partly morbid fascination, and partly a sort of schadenfreude.

It's not a happy story. But it still is a good one.


11. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins (completed: 16th June)
12. Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins (completed: 18th June)
13. Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins (completed: 23rd June)


Yes, it's the Hunger Games trilogy. I decided to jump on the bandwagon and see what everyone was raving about, since my sister came home with the first book, borrowed from one of her friends, and she seemed to go through them pretty quickly. I was a little curious about the series, since the movie was making such a big thing of it, and since my sister was reading through them so fast, I figured they should be pretty easy reading and that I should be able to get through it even faster.

The story is good; exciting and well-paced, with vivid descriptions (of feelings, sensations, scenery, people, injuries and decimated landscapes all alike). It falls into its cliched moments sometimes - ah, young love and all that - but it's very absorbing.


14. The Good Terrorist, by Doris Lessing (started: 6th August)
I picked another Doris Lessing book off the shelf after finishing The Grass is Singing. I think it was the first thing that I saw when I opened my bookcase, haha.

And yeah, Flowers for Algernon still isn't completed yet. Sigh.
Because that's the bedtime-reading book, and I tend to read a lot of other things on my laptop instead at night, into the wee hours of the morning, by the time I actually crawl into bed, I find I don't have any time for actual bedtime reading. If I did stay up any longer to read in bed, I might not be able to wake up for work.

... Then again, I might still wake up; my brain might carry on sleeping, though. :p

And Flowers for Algernon is written in a diary-entry style that I find kinda difficult to stay with... it bores me a little after a while. But, oh well; shall stick with it - have to finish it now that I've started it, anyway - and maybe things will develop more as it goes on.

Ahh... lazy Saturday afternoon.

Decided to take the time to sit down and finish off "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time", because really, it's just two short stories, and I should've finished it much, much faster. Except that I pretty much sit and read a heck of a lot of stuff online, so when I actually hop into bed with my bedtime reading, I end up not reading much before starting to fall asleep...(-_-;;)

So, book number 6, "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time", by Tsutsui Yasutaka, is finally finished today!

It's two quirky little stories in the same book; if any of you thinks that the title sounds like a film that you might've seen or heard of somewhere before, that mght be because it is. There was an animated film based on the same story, with the same title.

The ending of the main story reminds me a bit of one of Murakami Haruki's short stories though; how the protagonist only remembers vague promises and fleeting feelings every time she smells lavender. And now I can't think of what the title of the Murakami short is. Oh well.

Makes for good light reading. Give it a try. :)


The Reading List as of today:
1. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire (completed 28th January)
2. Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (compiled in one book), by Lewis Carroll (completed 16th January)
This is listed as book 2, even though it was finished earlier, because Wicked was started first.

3. After the Quake, by Murakami Haruki (completed 12th February)
4. I Am Number Four, by Pittacus Lore (completed 16th February)
5. The General in His Labyrinth, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (completed 18th April)
6. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, by Tsutsui Yasutaka (completed 28th April)
7. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick (still reading)
8. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keyes (reading; today's new addition!)

Yep, book number 8 is on the list now. :)

Ah. I think I almost forgot to mention that book number 7 was started yesterday.
The lovely classic, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick.

And just in case you're getting confused as to what I've already finished, because of the way that I'm numbering my books:

1. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire (completed 28th January)
2. Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (compiled in one book), by Lewis Carroll (completed 16th January)
This is listed as book 2, even though it was finished earlier, because Wicked was started first.

3. After the Quake, by Murakami Haruki (completed 12th February)
4. I Am Number Four, by Pittacus Lore (completed 16th February)
5. The General in His Labyrinth, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (completed 18th April)
6. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, by Tsutsui Yasutaka (still reading)

It's been a productive day.

Went to apply for my visa to Japan this morning, and I'll be back to pick it up this Friday.

The efficiency of the Japanese Embassy amazes me; it's the second time I've gone to apply for a visa there, and it is completely unlike any other Embassy/ High Commission I've ever been to.

From the time you step in, take a number, sit down to wait, and then hand in all your documents and are told, "That's all, thank you," it's a grand total of about 15 minutes.

 And since that was sorted so quickly, I took the bus back to Holland Village, had brekkie at the Coffee Bean there, and finally finished Marquez's "The General in His Labyrinth".

So that means book number 5 for this year is finally complete! :)

"General Simon Bolivar, “the Liberator” of five South American countries, takes a last melancholy journey down the Magdalena River, revisiting cities along its shores, and reliving the triumphs, passions, and betrayals of his life. Infinitely charming, prodigiously successful in love, war and politics, he still dances with such enthusiasm and skill that his witnesses cannot believe he is ill. Aflame with memories of the power that he commanded and the dream of continental unity that eluded him, he is a moving exemplar of how much can be won—and lost—in a life."

The synopsis makes me feel a little sad, and strangely, it makes me think of our dear Mr Lee Kuan Yew as well. Singaporeans now seem to be divided between the (fading) generation which remembers his glory days and how much he did, and the younger generation who only seem to be champing at a bit which they can only see as restraining.


5. The General in His Labyrinth by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, completed on 18th April 2012.


And finally, the biggest news of all today:

This is my ticket for AAA's 13th May concert in Shimane. Connor helped me ask a friend of his friend (who turns out to be Ben and Gen's mutual friend! It's an awfully small world!), who bought it for me!


This alone has just made my day, week, and entire MONTH. XD

Look what I found today while we were out for lunch at Vivocity!

The bookmark of my dreams!!!

Yes, it does sound rather nerdy - who on Earth has "dream bookmarks"?? Well, Gerri does. :D

If you can't tell what it is just from the picture, it's basically a large rubber-band-ish thing, with a little hand pointing out the exact line where you stopped reading. It's not too tight, so it won't damage book covers and pages by warping, bending or folding them. And its size should be suitable for most QP-sized books. That means Quality Paperback; books that usually around 20 by 13 cm. That's the term that I know it by, but sometimes these sizes are also called "B-format paperbacks".

And Gerri has always wanted to make a bookmark with a sort of slider thingy, which would slide up and down the vertical page marker, so that you'd remember which line you stopped at on the page.

I've thought of making something like that since I was about 9 or 10? But I didn't know how to make sure that it wouldn't be too bulky or anything. And now there's this!

Oh, I am so ridiculously happy. :D

Only thing is that it's $12.90 each (slight ouch); otherwise, I'd have been tempted to get two instead of one; one for my travel reading book, and one for my bedside reading.

Just in case anyone who's reading this is interested, this nifty little thing is by Fred & Friends; click to get to their website! They've got an online catalogue full of tons of other nifty things! :D

Done with "I Am Number Four".

Which, unfortunately, did turn out to be about 95% predictable and sort of cliched. And then at the end, I find out that it's actually a series! Not just one book!

Which... just makes me feel like buying the other books coz I just. have. to. know. what. happens. Yes, even if it's rather cliched and a little cringeworthy at best. GAH.

Hmm. Control. There are better books to spend money on.

4. I Am Number Four, completed on 16th February.

Things aren't looking too good for my goal of 100 books if I'm only on book number 5 at the moment. :(
I spend too much time at my laptop, reading stuff that I find online instead.

But, we shall carry on, no sense in giving up; still 10 more months of the year to go! And while Marquez travels around with me, bedtime company shall now be in the form of "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time", by Tsutsui Yasutaka.

I'm not sure where I heard of it, but when I first came across it at Kino, the title made me stop and wonder why it sounded familiar.

And then I bought it. Hahaha.

Well, "After the Quake" is done now.

After reading this collection of short stories, I really do believe that Murakami in small doses might be better. I was on a bit of a Murakami kick early last year, and read three of his novels back-to-back. Rather depressing. Needed a break from Murakami all the way up till now. Even though "Sputnik Sweetheart" was bittersweetly lovely. :)

I find that all the stories in "After the Quake" end in a somewhat ambiguous way - which isn't necessarily a bad thing; it fits the theme of the book, considering that all these stories were supposed to have taken place in the wake of the Kobe earthquake.

They end on a note of "Now where do we go from here?" where the only bright spark might be the empty sensation of relief that at least there are still choices; like disaster victims picking up pieces while being forced to acknowledge that they are lucky even to be doing so.

3. After the Quake by Murakami Haruki, (whom some may know as "Haruki Murakami", but I write names in the way and order that they're meant to be) completed on 12th February 2012.

Book number 5 shall be "The General in his Labyrinth", by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.


I wonder if the way I'm numbering these books seems a bit confusing... you might be wondering, why are you moving on to number 5 after finishing number 3...??

I read two books at a time. One I keep by my bed for nighttime reading, and another I keep in my bag for reading while waiting or when I have nothing else to do while I'm out of the house.

"After the Quake" was a "travelling" book, while number 4, "I Am Number Four", is a bedtime book. That one still isn't completed yet. Hence, the jump from 3 to 5. :)

I wonder if I'll really manage to complete 100 books in this year alone... it seemed a pretty feasible goal at first, but we're already nearly 2 months into the year, and I've only got through 3 and a half books! Sigh. Oh well, I'll just keep at it. No sense in giving up now.

Well, I've finally finished "Wicked"! I'd originally wanted to finish reading it before going with Connor and Jiaxin to watch the musical in December, but sadly, I got distracted by a lot of other reading material during that time and didn't finish it by then. Only got halfway through. Really, quite literally. My bookmark was stuck in the very middle of the book in late Dec.

But anyway, it's finished now!

1. Wicked by Gergory Maguire, completed on 28th January 2012.
(Trivia: Ever wonder how the main protagonist in the book, Elphaba, came by her name? She was named as such for the author of "The Wizard of Oz", Lyman Frank Baum, whose initials are L.F.B.; El-Fa-Ba. ^-^ )

Connor has also since enlightened me that "Wicked" is actually only the first of a series of four books. If nothing else, this provides me with more reading material to hunt down and add to my bookshelf and this list of one hundred books. I really do need more shelves.

Book number 4 for the year shall thus be:

4. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Fitting, innit? Book number 4, number 4, y'know? :D

I bought it on a bit of a lark, really; I saw my cousin watching the movie on his computer, and it seemed quite a cliched thing, but then I heard that the book was really much better than the movie. So since I had vouchers for Page One which were already over a year old around the middle of last year, I decided to see what was there and I happened to see it.

So, since I had vouchers, I figured I wasn't technically paying for it, and decided to give it a shot. :)

Almost forgot to mention that I'd finished "Alice in Wonderland" (and "Through the Looking Glass", included in the same book) tonight. :)

Weiquan says that it's actually a very dark book - I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case; sometimes children's books do have grim themes hidden in all that happy language - but I haven't been reading too much into it. I do find, however, that the prose is very oddly lyrical in some way. It just... flows. I can't think of any other word to describe it, but it does read a bit like a very long poem. Although the meter might be a little odd at times, but the prose really is very flowing and lovely. :)

So:

2. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (which, if you didn't know, is really a pseudonym for Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) was completed on 16th January.

Book number 3 for the year shall be:
After the Quake by Murakami Haruki

One hundred books in a year.

Literature fans, bookworms and reading enthusiasts in general, any one of you who is a lover of the printed word, clicky over HERE!

This is the blog of a dad who aspires to read one hundred books in this year (2012) alone, and by so doing, setting a good example for his kids, and giving to charity at the same time (if he accomplishes his goal, he'll donate $1 for every book read to a reading-related charity; if he doesn't accomplish it, it'll be $3 for every book he's read).

Do support him by commenting and giving him some recommendations as to what to read.

And then, start your own list, okay? :)

Here's mine for now:
1. Wicked - Gregory Maguire
2. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll