Curious as to what books were selling hot this past month? The Wall Street Journal has come up with their own list and here it is:

FICTION
1. “Sizzling Sixteen” by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin’s Press)
2. “The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner” by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
3. “The Overton Window” by Glenn Beck (Threshold Editions)
4. “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest” by Stieg Larsson (Knopf)
5. “Family Ties” by Danielle Steel (Delacorte Press)
6. “Dark Flame” Alyson Noël (St. Martin’s Griffin)
7. “The Kane Chronicles, Book 1: The Red Pyramid” by Rick Riordan (Hyperion Books)
8. “The Lion” by Nelson DeMille (Grand Central Publishing)
9. “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett (Amy Einhorn Books)
10. “The Passage” by Justin Cronin (Ballantine Books)
11. “Whiplash” by Catherine Coulter (Putnam)
12. “Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer” by John Grisham (Dutton Books)
13. “Frankenstein: Lost Souls” by Dean Koontz (Bantam)
14. “Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 5: The Last Olympian” by Rick Riordan (Hyperion Books)
15. “The Spy” by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott (Putnam)

NONFICTION

1. “Sht My Dad Says” by Justin Halpern (It Books)
2. “The Why of Work” by Dave Ulrich, Wendy Ulrich (McGraw-Hill)
3. “Women, Food & God” by Geneen Roth (Scribner)
4. “Medium Raw” by Anthony Bourdain (Ecco)
5. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Do-It-Yourself Book” by Jeff Kinney (Abrams)
6. “Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang” by Chelsea Handler (Grand Central Publishing)
7. “Delivering Happiness” by Tony Hsieh (Business Plus)
8. “Spoken From the Heart” by Laura Bush (Scribner)
9. “The Big Short” by Michael Lewis (W.W. Norton & Co.)
10. “The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary” by Jeff Kinney (Abrams)
11. “StrengthsFinder 2.0″ by Tom Rath (Gallup Press)
12. “Uncharted TerriTori” by Tori Spelling (Gallery Press)
13. “War” by Sebastian Junger (Twelve)
14. “The Last Stand” by Nathaniel Philbrick (Viking)
15. “Empire of the Summer Moon” by S.C. Gwynne (Scribner)

“Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer” by John Grisham really got my attention so I Googled for it and most of the reviews I’ve read give it a below-average rating. It seems that Grisham is not yet ready for a younger audience.

Though it has not completely killed my interest, hopefully I could fish a copy from Book Sale or some other used books store.

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Have no fear, I’m still reading books. It’s just that in the past two months, I can’t get myself to focus on reading just one book. As can be seen on the side bar, I have two books that I’m “officially” reading.

Sun Tzu’s The Art of War is actually a re-read, the first time I’ve read it was about 6 years ago during my junior year in high school. I’m re-reading it as a refresher and to help me in my social commentary blogging.

The second book, The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant is a super slow progress. I’m currently stuck at Chapter 11 wherein the book is going deeper into the politics of story, which took place in Renaissance Florence, Italy. Right around the time Niccolo Machiavelli was still alive!

So it’s probably because of my short-attention span and extreme interest in history, politics and philosophy that made me drop ‘Venus’ and pick up Machiavelli’s The Prince from my bookshelf. And I can’t help but smile to see that the two books are intimately connected.

Both books deal with the politics of 14th and 15th century Florence, Italy! The Prince dealing strictly with the politics side, while The Birth of Venus provides a personal and intimate glimpse of the politicians’ lives even though it’s just fiction.

Now I have a feeling that the other books in my collection also share some intimate link or another. Hopefully though, all of this would help me finish these two books I’m currently reading so that I can move on to the others.

I’m sure you other book lovers had a similar encounter like this before. Having two or more books that are not in the same series yet they share some intimate connections with each other. Care to share the story?

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Apart from the busy school work as a student-volunteer, consultant to various student organizations and being a "big brother" to many friends, my short-attention span has prevented me from finishing a book I’ve started to read.

I’ve joined the TBR Challenge of 2010 and at present, I’ve only finished reading two books in the list. The third one, "The Birth of Venus" by Sarah Dunant is stuck at Chapter 11. Remember that I’ve started reading this last March which was two months ago!

Now what could’ve distracted me from steadily reading this book? Let me list down the culprits:

Facebook – It had never occurred to me that I’d be so hooked on a social networking site, ever. Being an introvert and a geek, joining one was never big on me. When Friendster was still king, I was among the last of among my friends to join the site. Now, practically 1/3 of the time I’m online is spent on Facebook, playing games, checking out the latest posts from my friends and promoting my online publications.

Naruto Shippuudden – both the anime and manga series have become a staple digital consumption. It can’t be helped. I’m a solid Naruto fan and the series is top notch!

Online newspapers – Half of my RSS feeds are from news web sites as I continue to write about politics, social issues and commentary.

Movie marathons – On a lazy day, when there’s not much to do online, I spend the day away watching DVDs with my girlfriend. When we have the money to spare, we go to the mall to watch the newest movies.

TV – Despite being online for more than 8 hours a day, I still spend a great deal of time watching TV. Mythbusters, CSI: Las Vegas and New York, HBO and Star Movies are my daily TV fare.

Other books – This is the context of finishing the books on my TBR list. If I wanted to finish it on time, I have to prioritize what’s on the list. Unfortunately though, I keep on picking up books that are not on the list.

Come to think of it, the only time I get to read a book is when someone else is using my laptop or the connection is so slow I can’t do anything online.

Perhaps I should trim down the time I spend on the things that distract me from finishing the books I’m reading. It’s a matter of self-control and channeling the passion for books and reading into something more positive and productive. Like finishing my TBR list.

So which would be scratched from my daily routine? Facebook? Movie marathons?

How about you guys? What are the things the distract you from finishing a book you’re reading?

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It’s been more than a month since I last updated this blog and I kind missed it around here. Talking about books and reading it all feels relaxing and fun. School and extra-curricular work is the primary culprit in keeping me from updating this blog but it has not stopped me from reading books.

Speaking of reading books, or more accurately, my to-be-read books, I’ve managed to finish reading two books from my TBR list for 2010.

I’ve finished Richard Dawkins’ “The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution” last February while “Dead Air” by Bob Larson was quickly done with during the first two weeks of March. So I owe everyone two book reviews, which would be coming real soon.

I’m currently reading Sarah Dunant’s “The Birth of Venus” and so far it has been a colorful and passionate journey for me in 15th century Florence, Italy through the eyes of Alessandra Cecchi the book’s protagonist.

With the summer break officially open for me, there’s more time for reading, bargain book hunting, and visiting book blogs! I’ll be back for more.

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How many words can you read in a minute? If you know the answer to that question you’d have a pretty good idea of how long it will take for you to finish that novel that has been languishing in your to be read list for months even years on end.

My reading speed is average, roughly 200-300 words per minute. So besides the ton of things I must do besides reading, my reading habit suffers a lot because of my average reading speed. With so many books that we all want to read and literally little time to do it, speeding up the process would do some great help.

I found this speed reading tutorial by Kris Madden in which he explains how voicing out “A-E-I-O-U” or “one, two, three, four” as you read actually cancels out your subconscious tendency to read with your larynx, just below the audible level. This not only moves you quickly through the text, but provides a more visual, memorable read.*

I’ve tried it myself and it did speed up my reading. This is a useful technique not only for reading books for a habit but for also working your way through the required readings at school or at work.

If you have other speed reading techniques, be generous and share it.

*Via Lifehacker

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Asides from bloggers’ block, a reading block has apparently hit me. I’m on the second to the last chapter of Richard Dawkin’s “The Greatest Show on Earth” but my reading progress has gone down to nothing all thanks to the non-reading things I need to do at school.

Student elections are coming up and I’m once more on the front lines for my party. Being a volunteer is burying me with more paper work and less actual volunteer work. And with half of January already had passed by, it seems that my ‘to be read’ list would grow again by a couple of books.

So how do I deal with this? Time management is the key and of course, I have to simply get back to reading the books I have lined up for this month. And of course the book blogs that have become a regular staple of my regular feed reading habits.

How about you? How do you get back to reading books when things get sticky and a bit more burdensome for you?

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This is officially the 1st-ever book reading challenge I’d join and it’s quite exciting, a bit daunting if I may add, the 2010 TBR (To Be Read) Challenge.

The objective is simple, finish reading 12 books this year, 1 per month, so by the end of 2010 I’d be able to remove 12 books from my perpetually growing reading list.

Here’s my original list for the 2010 TBR Challenge:

1. Makamisa: The Search for Rizal’s Third Novel by Ambeth Ocampo
2. FAT by Rob Grant
3. Dead Air by Bob Larson
4. Military Errors of WWII by Kenneth Macksey
5. Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh & Henry Lincoln
6. The Associate by John Grisham
7. A Season of Grace by N.V.M. Gonzalez
8. Po-On by F. Sionil Jose
9. Treasure Island by Robert Louis
10. Inspirational Thoughts and Stories of Bloggers from All Over the World
11. The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
12. The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav

The alternate list, is still incomplete as I’ve only got 4 books on it and I’ve yet to get copies of each one, so I’ll just post them whenever it gets completed. Oh yeah, the purpose of this alternate list is a remedy in case I lose interest in reading any or some of the books in the original list, which I can no longer change by the way according to the rules. This would be a fun reading year and though I have the whole of 2010 to complete the challenge, I feel a bit pressured because I may not accomplish it. Nah! In fact, I feel that the TBR list would only grow each month. Either way, it’s going to be a great 2010.

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One thing I love about bargain book stores like Book Sale is that they have great titles at low prices allowing me to get the most bang out of my money. So after spending an hour digging around the book bins and rummaging through their shelves I walked out with three books:

The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant – A novel set in 15th century Florence, Italy about Alessandra Cecchi, a young woman with a passion for the arts and struggles her way through romance and being married off to an older man chosen by her family while the city is gripped by a fundamentalist monk and its streets stalked by a serial killer. Click here to buy this book.

The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav – This was recommended to me by my highschool mentor whom I happen to bumped into while at Book Sale yesterday. It’s about Zukav’s questioning of the Western concept of the soul and posits that the human species is in the middle of a great transformation and the explosion of human perception beyond the five senses. A very heady book isn’t it? You can click here to buy this book.

Perils of Perestroika: Viewpoints of from the Soviet Press, 1989-1991 – It’s a compilation of 33 articles translated into English from the Soviet press chronicling the reactions and viewpoints about the rapid changes the USSR went through during the last years of the Soviet Union. I look forward to reading this book because it gives a first-hand view of what it was like in the USSR during those turbulent times. Most of what I know about this period I read from Western sources so this book is a welcome counter-balance and a good basis for further studies.

The fourth book in the picture I picked up from Rex Bookstore in Dasmariñas, Cavite. It’s the 2003 edition of Justice Isagani Cruz’ book on International Law. It’s a required reading for my Political Science and Law subjects and of course it would be an essential reference once I get into Law school.

Anyone who has read any of the new books I recently acquired? You can share quick reviews but no spoilers please.

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Ever since the Amazon Kindle came out and the popularity of ebooks rose, the dilemma of whether to buy hard copies of books or their ebook equivalent became a more pronounced challenge for me.

The advantages of getting the ebook version of a book I like would be the following:

• Quicker acquisition – Kindle or other ebooks could easily be downloaded over the web and on to my PC or to my future Amazon Kindle device. It saves up on shipping costs and from the greedy Customs people in my country.
• Lower price – Naturally, ebooks are almost 50% cheaper compared to their printed counterparts, sometimes ebooks are downloadable for free.
• Space saver – To date I have approximately 90 books at home and already, I’m starting to see the need to have more space for additional book shelves to place them all. This is a non-issue with eBooks, I could store a thousand in my PC or future Kindle device.
• Friendlier to trees – Most would say that ebooks are more eco-friendly compared to printed ones because they consume no paper, ink and other packaging materials. However, ebooks are electronic in nature thus requiring electricity to read which in turn burns up fossil fuels so the saved trees could be outweighed by the amount of carbon produced.

On the other hand, a printed book gives you the following goodies:

• Books are personal – The magical feeling of holding a book is sometimes just indescribable. The smell, texture and weight of a book adds another dimension to the reading experience. You get nothing of this from eBooks even when you’re using a Kindle device.
• Books are social – Books can shared with your friends, classmates and fellow bibliophiles. Most often, a great amount of books read by someone came to him by borrowing or swapping it with others. You can’t do that with ebooks because of the restrictive digital rights management software/technologies or your friend must have a PC or a ebook reader in order to read it.
• Books grow in value over time – The older a book the more precious it becomes both in sentimental and monetary values, especially rare and out-of-print books. One dream I have is to leave behind a library of books to my grandchildren and no ebook can replace a printed one in achieving this dream.

At present, and after looking back on what I’ve written so far, it’s kind of obvious that I’m leaning towards getting the printed books over their ebook versions. Though I confess that the price difference is what’s keeping me torn in between.

What’s your take on the matter? Do you face the same dilemma? Share your thoughts on comments below.

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This project has been in the drawing board for the last six months or so. I kept on putting it on the backburner little did I know that 2010 has already dawned upon me. On the other hand though, starting off a new year with a new blog has always been a good thing to do. The excitement and thrill of it is just enough reason to compel me to labor for hours in putting together this blog that would be the home of my love for books and my passion for reading.

As you can read from the About page, this would be my personal book blog, a journal of my reading life, habits, discovery and adventures. A place to meet other book lovers and avid readers alike to share good reads and memorable books (book-swapping *ehem*).

I’d be spending more time in the book blogging niche, visit online book clubs, book blogs and definitely join reading challenges! On top of that, I’d be posting here book reviews which would reflect my personal take on the books I’ve just finished reading. Book authors feat not for I am not an expert book critic, I’m just a humble lover of your words and your work.

I have a lot of big plans in store for this blog and I’d be sharing it as this blog grows and more books are stricken off my reading list.

Hopefully you’d stick around for the ride and together we’re going to have a lot of fun reading books and reading even more books.

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