It’s been a tough time for all of us, being confined in our homes with nothing much to do but to rummage the kitchen, stare blankly outside the window wondering if the little money left in our bank accounts would be enough to buy us food for the rest of the quarantine period, scroll on our phones for hours, and maybe chat a little bit with family and friends. Good thing I was too lazy to read books last year that I have something else to do to take my mind off horrible things.
I decided to do a quarterly wrap-up of all the books I’ve read, and see if I am somehow fulfilling the reading challenge I set for myself. So far it’s going great, and here’s the list of books I’ve read the last three months.
A book with a Pantone Classic Blue cover – Written In The Stars, Aisha Saeed. I haven’t written a review for this book – it’s the first book we’ve read in the book club I established with my two other friends out of boredom also known as enhanced community quarantine. Written In The Stars is a harrowing tale that talks about the horrors of fixed marriages and child abuse, and how a genuine love can sometimes be your only salvation. We chose this book because we wanted to read something that also demonstrates ways on how a woman can be empowered. Did we achieve this goal? I’d say, cultural differences is a huge factor in all life aspects.
A book with an animal in the title – Raymie Nightingale, Kate DiCamillo. I bought this in one of the many NBS sale that happened last year, and read it in January before I decided on this book challenge. You can read my review here.
A book to help you shift your perspective – Safe Haven, Nicholas Sparks. Ah, yes! I’ve read this book for the first time some 10 years ago, and I didn’t think my thoughts on this book have changed over time. I got excited when we agreed for this to be our book club’s second book to read, as I told my friends Naila’s (Written In The Stars) escape is somehow reminiscent to Katie’s escape, but different. There isn’t a man irl that’s as perfect as Alex, and now I think Kevin didn’t deserve to die just like that. In the end, we all enjoyed reading the book and discussing it after. But who wouldn’t enjoy it, when it’s Nicholas Sparks?
A coming of age story – Not That Kind of Girl, Siobhan Vivian; Right Where You Left Me, Calla Delvin. Not That Kind of Girl is the first book I’ve read this year, and I didn’t want to invalidate it so it’s still making it to this list, with Right Where You Left Me which is oozing with Russian culture. I love the fact that I am reading multi-cultural books this year.
A book with Philippine historical events – Dekada ’70, Lualhati Bautista. Who could ever forget the ’70s Philippines when we have an existing #NeverForget on social media? Martial Law is one of the grimmest nightmares we’ve woken up from, but then again if we come to think of it, have we really woken up from it?
A book about Filipinos overseas – Soledad’s Sister, Jose Dalisay. This is the book I’ve had the most difficulty to procure to date. But I should say it’s worth the bookstore hopping, plus it aligns with my #BackToBasics2020, back when I’d go from one bookstore to the next just to get a copy of my most wanted reads.
I still do not have any idea if I’d be able to pull off every challenge read in this list, but I’d like to keep my hopes up and trust myself once again that I’d defy procrastination and the great urge to sit idly and stare blankly at the stars at night. What have you read in the time of quarantine? Let’s talk about it down below.