The Reader

Since last October, I already read 6 books (excluding those necessary readings for my teaching .. hehe). After taking the bar, one of the must-do things that I planned was to go back readings novels. Here's a rundown of those books:

THE CONCRETE BLONDE (Michael Connelly)

Justice is a Concrete Blonde because she doesn't speak and she is blind.

I started reading Michael Connelly when I was working. I saw in one of our ex-pats bookshelf Connelly's novels and I got interested because they were all suspense-thrillers.

When I was in Manila, I saw this book in a Book Sale and bought it.

What interests me about suspense novels is the guessing game. It took some time for me to guess who the killer is but the novel was a good read nevertheless.

WHILE MY PRETTY ONE SLEEPS (Mary Higgins Clark)

Another mystery murder. I think I started reading Mary Higgins Clark when I was in college for the same reason that her books are suspense-thrillers. But with her, it has a feminine touch, ergo, there is will always be a blooming love on the horizon.

I can't remember how many novels of her I have read but I still don't get bored with her stories, even if I am able to guess earlier than expected who is the killer. But the suspense is still with me just the same.

LOVES MUSIC, LOVES TO DANCE (Mary Higgins Clark)

And yes, of course, another thriller. Mary Higgins Clark's novels generally involve women of beauty and substance. And that's the same thing with this one. Same thrill, but I still relish the joy of reading it.

JUST BEFORE SUNSET (Stephen King)

The last time I really enjoyed reading Stephen King's works was when I was in college reading "The Shining". And yes, enjoy is definitely the right word.

I am not really a big Stephen King fan nor am I fond of short stories. But this book was given to my brother as a gift and I thought of going over it.

THE DEVIL AND MISS PRYM (Paulo Coelho)

Coelho always writes thought-provoking stories. And sometimes, it is too much for me .. hehe.

This one is quite deep but I somehow got the message. The story deals with good and evil. It made me think that indeed, we all have our good and evil side. But for those people who know evil but does not allow it to consume them, the difference lies in the power of control.

The thing with Coelho is that he all has these quotes that really makes you stop and ponder and I am sharing with you some quotes that struck a chord with me.

"It is always far easier to have faith in your own goodness
than to confront others and fight for your rights..."

"It isn't the desire to abide by the law that makes everyone behave as society requires, but the fear of punishment. It is always easier to hear an insult and not retaliate than have the courage to fight back against someone stronger than yourself; we can always say we're not hurt by the stones others throw at us, and it's only at night
- when we're alone and our wife or our husband or our school friend is asleep -
that we can silently grieve over our own cowardice."

"Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed."

OUTLIERS (Malcolm Gladwell)

I so love this book! A non-fiction but definitely, a favorite! As I was reading this one, I had so many "aha!" moments and it made me appreciate success in a wholly different perspective. Some practice or beliefs I have had before were reinforced. Some new thoughts were introduced. A very great read indeed! I am looking forward to read his other works as well.

Here are some of my favorite quotes:

"Practice isn't the thing you do once you're good. It's the thing you do that makes you good."

"Those three things - autonomy, complexity, and a connection between effort and reward - are, most people will agree, the three qualities that work has to have if it is to be satisfying. It is not how much money we make that ultimately makes us happy between nine and five. It's whether our work fulfills us."

"Once a musician has enough ability to get into a top music school, the thing that distinguishes one performer from another is how hard he or she works. That's it.
And what's more, the people at the very top don't work just harder or even much harder than everyone else. They work much, much harder."

"To build a better world we need to replace the patchwork of lucky breaks and arbitrary advantages today that determine success--the fortunate birth dates and the happy accidents of history--with a society that provides opportunities for all."

"In fact, researchers have settled on what they believe is the magic number for true expertise: ten thousand hours."

"Hard work is a prison sentence only if it does not have meaning."