Peek-A-Book

I love to read! I guess it's a requisite to survive in law school.

Anyway, I arranged some of my stuff today and decided to take a picture of the book shelf in my room. Tadaa!

A whole gamut of books! Most of the books here are mine, while the rest are shared by the family ;)

There's a "Giant All-Colour Dictionary", "Philippine Almanac", "Almanac of the Uncanny", "Reverse Dictionary", "Book of Facts", "How Was It Done" and 2 Stamp Albums stuck among the other books.

I also have the "FRIENDS" Book.

I have my Law School Books and my "for teaching" books - some of those books cross over.

And of course, the fiction books! I have the 4 books by Malcolm Gladwell (Outliers is my favorite), as well as books by James Patterson, Michael Connelly, Mary Higgins Clark, among others.

I also have the 6 Harry Potter Books and other books given to me by my dear friends.

In the middle of the bottom shelf, I have the Holy Bible and the Daily Bread - easy to reach for daily use!

Take a peek at my shelf and if you are a reader like me, I think you have read some of the books in this shelf ;)

The Litigators

"Just survive it"

The Litigators is one of the more recent Grisham novels.

I love reading the works of John Grisham. I got hooked with A Time to Kill and the main reason I read it is because I read in a magazine that Sharon Cuneta was reading it while they were shooting Madrasta (I know it's weird because I remember these facts!). Anyway, she said that she already read A Time to Kill but she decided to read it again because it has now a paperback version with Sandra Bullock on the cover - and I'm a fan of Sandra Bullock. I have to thank Sandra and Sharon then for introducing me to John Grisham.

Since I liked it very much, I tried to read the succeeding Grisham novels. I know I cried when I read The Client, hehe.

Anyway, I bought The Litigators just last Tuesday. I was eyeing it for a few months already but I was not in a hurry to read it. Every time we see it in the bookstore, Allan would then say that the next novels would be The Stenographers or The Process Servers (I know, corny!). Since I had some free time nowadays with no summer classes, I decided to buy it.

The Litigators is not really that much of a thriller. By reading a short overview of the novel at its back cover, I did not have any inkling of any twist or suspense action for that matter. As I progressed with the next chapters, I can't help but get hooked. I can't really say that there is a villain in this novel. It's like I want to root for Finley & Figg but I can't. But I just kept reading - I was hooked. And the only reason I can think of is because of David Zinc.

This novel is quite predictable but I just liked it. I can't really say that I can relate to David Zinc. I've worked long hours before, not related to law, but not quite the way David did with his previous job. I was happy when I decided to quit and study law. But I can't say that I felt so free like David because I didn't really feel I was a prisoner of my work. I always had a choice. I still had a life compared to what David previously experienced.

But I cheered for David. And even if I had a feeling how the novel would end, I still continued to engage myself reading it.

One thing that caught my attention is when they had to go trial against a big firm, and David was still new to the litigation and Finley & Figg did not have that much experience. Finley & Figg had breakdowns because of the pressure. And David was left by himself.

I can't imagine how nervous he was going to trial before a federal court and having no litigation experience yet.

I can remember my first few court appearances and how nervous I was. I guess I had to multiply it up to 20x just to have an idea how David felt - what a humongous pressure! And with my every now and then court appearance for the past two years, I still feel nervous!

So reading this novel was fun because I could somehow relate to it. I love these parts:

"Just survive it," he kept telling himself.

"You're only thirty-two years old. This will not be the end of your career."

-oOo-

"Just get through it," David repeated each time his stomach turned flips.

It's more or less the same stuff I say to myself before I go to court. I don't know until when I will get nervous whenever I appear in court. I hope in time I will be able to adjust to it. I am not really dreaming to be one of the best trial lawyers in Davao City. I just want to do good and not prejudice my client. If one would really ask me what is one of my dreams, it is to be one of the best law teachers in Davao City. (And that is another story!)

Anyway, back to The Litigators. I really had fun reading it - no major twists, no suspense action, but still a page turner for me.

A Purpose Driven Life

I read The Purpose Driven Life way back in 2006 and these are my favorite quotes:

-oOo-

We worry when GOD seems silent on specific issues such as "What career should I choose?" The truth is, there are many different careers that could be in GOD's will for your life. What GOD cares about most is that whatever you do, you do in a Christlike manner. GOD is far more interested in what you are than in what you do. We are human beings, not human doings.

-oOo-

Your capacity to remembers is a GOD-given gift. You may think you have a poor memory, but the truth is, you have millions of ideas, truths, facts and figures memorized. You remember what is important to you.

-oOo-

If you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate. Worry is focused thinking on something negative. Meditation is doing the same thing, only focusing on GOD's word instead of your problem.

-oOo-

GOD is never in a hurry, but He is always on time. Great souls are grown through struggles and seasons of suffering. Be patient with the process.

-oOo-

People rarely excel at tasks they don't enjoy doing or feel passionate about.

-oOo-

When you are doing what you love to do, no one has to motivate you or challenge you or check up on you. You do it for the sheer enjoyment. You don't need rewards or applause or payment, because you love serving in this way.

-oOo-

Don't waste your life in a job that doesn't express your heart. Remember, the greatest things in life are not things. Meaning is far more important than money.

-oOo-

Do your own work well, and then you will have something to be proud of. But don't compare yourself with others. There are 2 reasons why you should never compare your shape, ministry, or the results of your ministry with anyone else. First, you will always be able to find someone who seems to be doing a better job than you and you will become discouraged. Or you will always be able to find someone who doesn't seem as effective as you and you will get full of pride.

-oOo-

When GOD's at the center of your life, you worship. When he's not, you worry.

-oOo-

Harry Potter

After watching the the last movie installment of the Harry Potter series, I made sure I will read all the books all over again. I actually got to read the first 6 books already before watching Part 2 of the Deathly Hallows. I finished Book 7 for the first time just the other night.

I love Harry Potter!

It's just amazing that I was still excited reading the first six books all over again. And I was still pretty excited in reading Book 7 although I have already watched all the movies.

I started reading around July and just finished the whole series the other night.

Of course, book lovers would totally agree that the books were way awesome than the movies and that there were a lot of things that were missed out in the films.

I love the books. I love how it made my imagination work. I love the thrill of turning each page even when I was sleepy so that I would just finish a chapter. I love reading the words themselves and just making my mind work.

But it doesn't mean I didn't appreciate the movies because I sure did. It's a different experience when you just sit back and relax and take everything in. I still get excited even though I already have an idea what is going to happen next.

There may have been a number of discrepancies, a number of scenes not in the movies and a number of scenes that were not present in the book.

Just the same - I love Harry Potter - the books and the movies!

My goal now is to watch the movies all over again. And it was just weird that HBO had a Harry Potter marathon yesterday of the first 6 movies. I missed the first 5 but I watched the 6th nevertheless.

My goal to watch the movies all over again remains.

Again - I just love Harry Potter .. brings out the child in me ;)

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."