Sandalwood & Chamomile

I used to read quickly. By staying up very late each night, I would finish several books in one week. But now, I'm happy with completing one book in two months.

I feel a tingle of envy whenever I hear of people doing book challenges or joining book clubs or just plugging along their reading lists. Sinta is doing very well in her 21-book challenge. And Gracey is reading Ms. Jane Austen, starting with the beautifully subdued Persuasion.

So, I try to read a lot during my 1.5 hour-commute to work by bus. But sleep overtakes me so I usually nap instead of read in the mornings. If I don't carpool with Sarah, with whom I carpooled way back in college, then I am able to go through a lot of pages in the 2-hour 2-bus ride home. Hopefully in this way, I'll be able to enjoy some lovely prose from my ever-growing reading list.

At the start of my 101/1001 list, I expected a lot of free time to read because I was not working. I boldly wanted to finish all 3 library books I had checked out. I finished only two. The last one was a hard read. It dealt with a history of American immigration, which was very interesting. Because I wanted to finish it, I kept it way past the due date (after renewing twice) until I got a lost notice. I owed the library $30 for the book. Immediately, I returned it to get the charges taken off.

I decided to remove a word from #82 on my list: Finish the 3 books borrowed from the public library. I thought that would make this task complete-able. The third book was Han Ong's The Disinherited, which I picked up because it was written about the Philippines.

The book was OK. Although the Filipinos portrayed in the book were very unlikeable, I thought the portrayals were dead on. The commentary on the collective Filipino attitude towards the West as well as to their plight is something I share. Filipino-American Ong appear to be well-versed in the rhetoric of Roman Catholicism in the Philippines. I don't find him to be unfairly critical of the Catholics in the book.

I didn't enjoy the book as well as I would have liked to because I didn't find anyone to be sympathetic. I disliked the main character, and I didn't relate to his struggles and his relationships with the other characters. Frankly, I found him to be exploitative. The book started with this guy inheriting half a million dollars, and he wants none of it. The rest was an exploration of how hard it is to give money away. Reading that from the dust jacket, it sounded like a promising premise. But after I turned the last page, I didn't feel it was an illuminating experience. I don't even remember if the protagonist changed.

By finishing this book, I finally complete #82. Yay.

Now, on to Prince Caspian. I have to finish the Narnia books, which I borrowed 2 years ago from a friend. If he were charging me late fees, he'd be a rich man. Good thing he doesn't read my blog.

Written by Gail T. at 10:35 PM |    
Filed under 101/1001, being Pinoy, books