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I just got the parcel that I asked Boom to send me from last year’s Comiket. I asked her to get me some doujinshi for me and for Chris. I got one Prince of Tennis and two Death Note ones, and the rest are for Chris (Yu-Gi-Oh!, Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu).
Aside from that I also asked her to get me anything related to Honey and Clover. Mahal yung art book so she got me an animation guide instead.
With the way my schedule works this summer, I don’t think I’ll be able to read a huge amount of books. I am saying this even though I’m done with school. But at this rate, I think everything’s doing okay, it’s just that I read slower than usual. As of today, I read 20 books already for this year; manga included.
By the time I get my “real” vacation in September, I’ll be reading less. I think I have more time by the end of the year (November-December) because I practically have nothing to do there.
So… until August I’m planning to finish Murakami’s Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, Mishima’s The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, Jose’s Tree, and Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses. The latter is actually a “banned” book so I’m a bit scared reading it really. It’s a pretty big book and I was planning to bring it on my way to Manila (while on the plane), but then had second thoughts about it and decided that… nah, I’ll just read it at home. We never know, right?
One of the reasons why I don’t have a favorite author is because I think that authors tend to reach a “low point” in their career and produce works that aren’t as good as their previous ones.
Reading Murakami’s Dance Dance Dance is a good example. I like Murakami’s works in general because he managed (consciously or unconsciously; whether he denies it or not) to combine Western aspects of literature to Japanese ones. Now that I get more familiar with his characters, I think what attracts me more to his works in general is the idea that he has intellectual, and to some extent, idealist characters/protagonist. It’s not much about the “wasakan ng utak” that walrus from Peyups.Com refers to (I don’t even see his works as “wasakan ng utak”, really, but anyway I digress), but mostly because his characters think too much. These aspects of his characters’ personalities make me draw near to them but at the same time it make me feel detached to them. In that way, I admire Murakami for creating “real” people for I believe that human beings are complex creatures that we cannot be compartmentalized in certain personality categories. More »
Well, hopefully it’s a permanent one. I’m worried about one of my exam results. Ang haba kaya! Tapos 60% pa yung weight nun. Nakakagago.
Guess what arrived in my mail today? 
It’s my copy of Nachural photobook na binili ko from Jocey. Hehehehe. Ang saya ko kasi andito si Takagi Shinpei, hahaha. Hindi ko pa natitignan nang maayos pero so far natuwa ako sa mga shots. Sulit. Hindi ko pa napapanood yung DVD baka bukas na lang. More »
I finished reading all the required books/novels for my ASIA2670 class!
I know I have to write something about the books that I’ve read. Overall I enjoy reading all of them and majority managed to find their way on my favorite books list.
Without further ado… More »
Seven Japanese Tales is the second book that I have to read for my ASIA2670 class. Medyo battered na ‘yung kopya ko kasi naiipit sa loob ng bag at nagugulo. Anyhow.
I haven’t finished reading everything in this book since my class was required to read only three (”Shunkinsho”, “Shisei” and “Aoi Hana”) tales, but I definitely love this book. I find Tanizaki Jun’ichiro’s writing really compelling and “graphic” and well, I like authors like that. Despite of the “perversed scenes” that one might encounter in some (if not all) of his stories, Seven Japanese Tales is still a good read. More »
Habang nagpo-progress ako sa aking Japanese Literature class, I cannot help but think na hindi as “postmodern” si Murakami Haruki as what most of his foreign readers think about him. Ayokong magpost sana sa Peyups where there’s a thread for him and actually explain why do I think this way because I am afraid that I might take all the magic and excitement out of the people who actually read his works.
Hindi sa ayaw ko kay Murakami ha. In fact, I actually owe it to him and to his works kaya ako na-immerse sa Japanese Literature (well of course, it’s really because of my minor degree, that’s why I consume this crazy amount of translated Japanese short stories and novels). But really, the more na I learn more about earlier Japanese writers such as Mori Ogai, Natsume Soseki, Tanizaki Jun’ichiro, et al., I really cannot help but think that he is still traditional when it comes to his writing. I guess kaya lang siya nagmumukhang modern is because of his weird plots, but looking at his works in general, I think may pattern pa rin siyang sinusundan.
More on this later when I write my paper. 
This is the first novel that I had to read for my Japanese Literature class for this term. Uh, sabi nila required reading daw ang Kokoro sa Japanese high schools so widely-read talaga ‘tong novel na ‘to sa Japan.
If asked what’s my initial impression about this novel, it’s like Tuesdays with Morrie gone wrong, hehe (although it’s not fair to compare both books kasi pangit kaya yung Tuesdays…). I mean, it’s about an optimistic young guy who crossed paths with an old, intelligent but cynical man. Sige, I can tolerate the cynicism though, at marami rin naman akong natutunan. Maganda naman yung narration, but somehow the book didn’t really capture my attention. Para pa ngang nanadya eh, kasi since the narrator (he doesn’t have a name here) is a university student, there are a lot of statements made by the old man (sensei) na seem to refer to education and life, and it just so happened that most of them are pretty pessimist in nature. Tulad na lang nito.
O tulad nito:
It is true that everybody begins his university career cherishing great ambitions, like a man who sets out on a long journey; and that, after a year or two, most students suddenly realize the slowness of their progress and, seeing that graduation is not far off, find themselves in a state of disillusionment. (173)
Paano ka naman gaganahan niyang mabuhay? Ha ha ha!
Anyhow, isa lang sa ayaw ko dito sa book na ‘to ay yung narrator mismo. Makulit kasi siya. Ang dami niyang tanong. Parang pilit na pilit yung pagpasok niya sa buhay ni sensei. At nakakairita siya, kasi ayoko ng ganung klaseng tao. Kaya siguro wala, sa halip na makisimpatiya ako sa mga iniisip at mga angas niya sa buhay ay naging detached lang ako.
Lumabas akong mag-isa after ng aking Media Anthropology test kaninang hapon. It’s been a while since I last had a “self” time kasi kadalasan lumalabas ako with friends eh. Anyhow, bali kumain lang ako ng lunch sa school pagkatapos ng test ko, tapos eh pumunta na ako sa Winnipeg Art Gallery para puntahan ang installation ng PostSecret. I missed the book signing last January 17th, sayang.
At oo nga pala, bawal ang cameras sa loob ng gallery so walang pictures. Eto na lang, sa labas ‘to ng gallery. More »
I passed my 50-book mark! I read more books last year, but the thing is, I was worried that I won’t be able to read as many books as I want to because of school and other activities, such as my student org.
Of course, the books I read varied, but I still read manga this year. The thing is that I decided to concentrate on certain titles instead, as I have read most of my manga and sold some of them (because I lost interest on some of the titles I bought before). I guess it helped a lot that my friends gave me books on my birthday and I “discovered” authors whose works caught my attention. Anyways, my list under the cut! More »
Angela Solis grew up in the Philippines before moving in to Canada in 2003. She became a Canadian in 2006. Angela is 22 years old and an alumnae of University of Manitoba with a degree in Bachelor of Arts (Adv.) in Psychology and a minor in Asian Studies. She has been blogging since 2002 and occasionally writes for Tinig, Peyups, and Filipino Journal. [MORE] [PHOTO INTERVIEW]