books books books

I have a new book. I wasn't suppose to buy a new book because I haven't finished "Ground Beneath My Feet" by Salmon Rushdie. I couldn't remember when I bought that book. I think i bought it last April 2008 for my trip to Bali.

Usually, I would only buy a book on certain occasions such as when I happen to see a book written by Nick Hornby that's below P700 pesos or when I have a trip somewhere usually beach trips.

Since I started working I never really found time to read books again. I would usually go home late and dead tired to the world to even pick up a book. Plus my eyes would definitely hurt having to face the computer for more than eight hours a day.

The perfect opportunity for me to read a book is when I travel. Reading a book is better than having to stare into space, staring at other people or talking with someone you don't really feel like talking to while waiting for the bus, the boat or for the plane to arrive. However due to my short attention span when I am not inside the house I could only read for a short period of time, unless the book is (a) Danielle Steele, Dan Brown, Sydeny Sheldon, John Grisham where mystery, drama unfolds right before your eyes or (b) a compilation of short stories. After that short period of time devoted to reading, i then either close my eyes, listen to music or stare into space and eventually people watch. The book is then placed inside a ziplock together with a small noteboo and a pen and stuffed inside my bag. Most of the time, that book will be able to breath fresh air when I am on a different trip or when I remember that there's this book that I needed to finish.

Admittedly, there are times that I would already forget what the story is all about or the page where I last stopped. I am not a fan of bookmarks because I always lose them nor do I fold the page.

Because I couldn't find the "Ground Beneath her feet" and had an unexpected business trip the next day to Singapore, I decided to buy a new book. There was a struggle which book to purchase. I was eyeing at three books: Travellers Wife and two novels by Haruki Murakami. I wanted all of them but then I had to act smartly and think wisely. I don't want to buy too much books until I have a place of my own where I can settle and display my book collection. Until I have that place, I try not as much to purchase much and borrow instead. I'm thinking of selling some of my books since I know that I can always purchase one again when I have my own house.

Anyways, my friend Vyx has a copy of Travellers Wife, if will save me a couple of hundred bucks too, y'know.
So I ended up with this:

The funny thing was I never got to even open a single page of the book while I was on my way to Singapore because I also bought a copy of the latest Reader's Digest Asia which I read and finished.

So today, while wasting time because I didn't go to work, I noticed the new book. I just finished Chapter One. I will try to read atleast one chapter per day or per week? I will try my best.

Last year, I promised myself to read at least 4 Filipino literary pieces. 1 atleast every quarter. I haven't bought a single book written by a Filipino. Shame on me. The year isn't over though... let's see what will happen next.