My Latest Reads

Late last year, I asked one of my best friends from high school to recommend some good reads as I found my books to be on the stale side. I missed getting absolutely absorbed in a good book which I haven't felt/done since Harry Potter 7. To be frank, I have been let down with some over hyped titles.

I may be biased but I'd say that my best friend is quite an authority as she reads and reviews books and blogs about them too. In the "blogosphere", she is The Guiltless Reader and her blog makes me proud. :) She gave me quite a number of recommended titles and authors and half the fun lies in the search in our local bookstores.

Last Wednesday, I finally found the title I wanted at Fully Booked in Promenade, Greenhills. I grabbed it as soon as I saw the copy on the Best Sellers shelf.

Suffice it to say that this book was such a compelling read that I finished it in less than 48 hours (I would have finished it sooner but I have kids, a husband and a home to take care of)! I haven't felt light-headed from spending too much time in bed because I just could not put down the book. The story is absolutely moving, a number of emotions was evoked in me. I smiled one minute and I cried after a few pages. This is definitely a must-read and I would urge my eldest daughter to read this soon.

Yesterday, I took my two younger girls to a second-hand book shop called Bookay-Ukay along Maginhawa Street inside  UP Village. I have seen this shop several times but this was my first time to go inside and scour the shelves. Armed with the list of recommended reads and authors which are saved on my trusty smartphone, I patiently looked over the titles until I saw something by Jasper Fforde from the Thursday Next series. The title seemed to reflect exactly the mood that I was craving for.

As for my girls, well, they didn't leave the store empty-handed. Zoe found one and didn't want to leave the shop without it. This is a first in a series and should she enjoy it, I hope we could find the other titles easily.

I was so giddy when I saw this next book. I remember borrowing this series from my grade school library. I had no qualms in getting  this book for Fiona.

The three books totaled 670 pesos, quite a setback considering we got second hand books. But the titles were hard to find so the shell out was a bit justifiable. But while my wallet was a few hundred bucks "poorer" when we left the shop, I am sure that my girls and I will be richer with the words from our latest book hauls. For this, there is absolutely no price tag.

Book Hauls from National Bookstore

About a month ago, I got into the bandwagon and started to read The Game of Thrones. This is the first book in George R.R. Martin's Song of Fire and Ice Series. 

It wasn't exactly light reading for me for the first part of the book. While the characters were developed by the author, it took effort for me to keep track of the names of the characters and the "Seven Kingdoms". The good part for me started after reading about two thirds of the book and I was particularly drawn to the characters of Lord Eddard, Lady Catelyn, Bran and Arya. (This isn't an attempt to review the book and I'm not going to spoil it for you if you're about to read it, so let me leave it at that.)

From the recent Cut-Price Book Sale of National Bookstore, I  got the three other books to complete the series.

                                             The Song Of Fire and Ice Series: 

                                             Book 1 - Game of Thrones, 

                                             Book 2 - Clash of Kings, 

                                             Book 3 - A Storm of Swords, 

                                             Book 4 - A Feast For Crows

Each book was originally priced at Php 315 and marked down by 20%.

My total savings for the lot was P 189. (Yey!)

I scoured the bargain book racks and chanced upon a couple more books. 

I favor reading John Grisham novels mainly because it is light and easy reading for me. I grabbed this book as I don't remember reading it yet and it's something that I know (and hope) that HB would also like to read. This may have been a sample copy as the book was out of its plastic covering, so the cover was a bit dilapidated. Still, I thought it was a good buy for its price tag.

a bargain book indeed!

Another book I picked up still had its plastic wrap.

While I'm not into Clive Cussler, HB is quite a follower of the Dirk Pitt series so I did not hesitate to get the book. When I turned the book over to look at its sale price, it turned out to be my best bargain score for the whole lot!

 A brand new book for only 50 bucks!!

Now I've got a stash of books by our bedside table and I'm looking forward to just curl up in bed the whole day to finish these books. Must. Find. Some Time. Soon.