Thursday, January 28, 2010

Reading materials

Although I still have several posts about my trip to Singapore in my drafts folder, let's take a breather and talk about books.

A few days ago, I bought Alice Sebold's "The Lovely Bones". The main reason I bought it is because the novel has been adapted into a film. Normally, I'd watch a film even though I never read the novel it is based upon. There are simply a lot of movies to watch and books to read that (lack of) time is my main concern. But I got totally confused from "The Time Traveler's Wife" movie that I went and bought the novel to get a better grasp on the whole sci-fi time traveling concept. Verdict: I'm still just as perplexed! Perhaps because I don't really dig sci-fi themed novels or movies for that matter. I'm too much of a realist to get lost in realms of fantasy, wizardry and strange phenomenons. That's why I haven't read any Twilight, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings novels. But I've seen the movies for their special effects features.

I used to read quite a lot in my younger years. And I got the defective eyesight as proof. But lately I tend to fall asleep after reading just a few pages. Then the next time I open the book I would read the previous chapter all over again to refresh my failing memory. My preference has fluctuated through the years. Nowadays, it gravitates towards novels about espionage, conspiracy theories and intriguing stories set in exotic places like Turkey, Afghanistan and Iran. I don't really have a favorite author but if you check my book shelf you would find Alan Furst, Allan Folsom and Ian Rankin (among others) reigning supreme. I also read most of Erich Segal and Michael Crichton's novels. Sadly, both authors have departed for the great beyond and would no longer enthrall us with their literary works.

I made a silent vow that I would read more this year. More as a means to enrich my vocabulary in this age of abbreviated text messages (which I totally dislike) but my only wish is that books would be more affordable so it doesn't eat up a big chunk of my (limited) budget.

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