The Beach by Alex Garland

When I bought this book, what caught my attention was the fact that it is a story regarding  backpacking in Asia. I am somewhat of a traveler and a backpacker myself so it got me very interested. After several pages, my husband mentioned that it is the same story as the movie of the same title starred by Leonardo DiCaprio. I did watch that film ages ago and all I remember was this sexy beach scene Leo had with a very beautiful French actress. So that pretty much hyped my excitement to finish this book. As it turned out, it's not just about the thrill of  backpacking in Asia. It was way, way more than that.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

It was after I watched the film, Journey to the Center of the Earth, that I bought this book from Powerbooks. I was actually looking for the book version of the movie. The sales lady said that they were out of stock. So I browsed through the other works of Jules Verne and  this one was the book that got my attention. 

The story is all about the journey of Captain Nemo into the unexplored parts of the ocean all over the world. It all started when his ship, the Nautilus, was thought to be a humongous sea creature that has been causing other ships to sink. The government has tasked experts to take on a major project of bringing down this so-called sea monster. Ned Land, a famous harpooner of whales was called to attention, as well as Monsieur Pierre Arronax, a professor and scientist and his faithful assistant, Conseil. The day they found the Nautilus was the day that changed their lives forever.

The Chronicles of Narnia Book 3: The Horse & His Boy

It took me a while before I found the time to finish this book . And I never got to watch the movie, Prince Caspian,  either (which I promised myself before I embarked on the pages of its book version). Blame it on my busyness and what not. But don't worry, I still intend to finish all seven volumes of this well-known series. For now, let me tell you about the third book, The Horse and His Boy.

The Power of Purpose by Richard J. Leider

This powerful book by Richard J. Leider is one great tool especially for people who feel like they have lost their purpose in life. Or maybe, they know what they're meant to do here on earth but for some reason, certain circumstances and situations just don't allow them to express who they really are and what they should really be doing. Instead,  they are consumed with busyness if only to fill that void left by their unfulfilled longing to do and be so much more than just another regular, ordinary person in this dog-eat-dog world most of us call life. 

Many times in my thirty years here on earth, I have felt that way. I still do from time to time and I give it my best shot to shrug off the feeling and replace it instead with hope and belief that I am meant to do something greater. This is the reason why after two years since I last read this, I am once again finding myself reading its words of wisdom every now and then, just to give me that extra push I need to pursue my life's purpose. 

The Chronicles of Narnia Book 2: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Have you read Book I of the Narnia Series? Well, I just finished reading Book Two of the C.S. Lewis' Narnia Chronicles, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and I must say, it has captivated and motivated me to read the whole series now more than ever. We all have seen the movie in the past with all its fantastic special effects and computer graphics. But having read it at this time gave me a whole different view to it (or perhaps, I just didn't see it before). I know in the movie, the death and resurrection of Aslan sort of conveyed a "Christian" point of view to it, pertaining to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, as I went through the details of the story, it really depicted A LOT of Christ-like behavior and scenes as told in The New Testament of the Catholic Bible. Like the time when Aslan was in deep sorrow prior to his captivity, letting the daughters of Eve (Susan and Lucy) come with him the night before his death but only up to a certain point, afterwhich, he was left alone (felt like the scene in the Garden of Gethsemane); and that time when Aslan willingly surrendered himself to the  White Witch (like when Jesus willingly surrendered himself to the Roman soldiers); and when the Stone Table was broken signaling Aslan's resurrection (same way the stone door of Jesus' tomb opened on the day he resurrected); and lastly, how about the feast they had right after the battle... where did all the food and drinks come from? Didn't it portray some of Jesus' miracles like the feeding of people with bread and fish and the miracle of the wine? Hmmm...

The Chronicles of Narnia Book 1: The Magician's Nephew

I bought the whole set (7 books in all) around 3 years ago but I only got to read book 1 at that time. And now that Prince Caspian is showing in the cinema, I'd like to get to know the history of Narnia again before I see the movie for I have forgotten it already. So lately, instead of blogging, I've been spending some time, not only playing with my guitar and keyboards  but reading my books as well. And I started it off with Book 1 of C.S. Lewis' wonderful Narnia series...

Shopaholic & Baby by Sophie Kinsella

Between working 14 hours almost everyday, traveling and shopping on weekends and simply hanging out with hubby and friends, I found it hard to find time to read my books. And when I was about to, I'd always find something else to do, something more pysical like cleaning my stuff, making a couple of designs for the house, exercising while watching TV, etc. So the stack of books I have by my bedside has been there for several months now. And my OC tendencies lately have been driving me to put them all away in my library along with all my other book collection. 

But the thing is, it's the  same OC tendency that hinders me from putting them there. Because the moment I have it by my bed side, I HAVE TO finish reading it first before I can put it away. Sounds complicated? Not really, actually. But I am a complicated woman, so.. last wednesday, I  started reading Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic and Baby. And oh my God! This morning, I finished it! I just couldn't get rid of the book! I even took breaks from working just to keep reading. The story was that fun to read! Becky Bloomwood, the main character, is just so funny in a British kind of way! I keep picturing Renee Zellweger in my head. And for Luke Brandon (the hubby in the story), I keep picturing this semi-bald guy from LOST.  And for Danny Kovitz (the funky designer  and Becky's friend), I keep picturing Christian (the winner of this season's Project Runway). I was just captivated by the whole craziness of Becky's life as a pregnant shopaholic wife! Except for the baby and the squillions (Becky's term) of money they have, I feel like I am her! Hahaha! I found myself crying and laughing at certain parts of the book. And when the bitch Venetia Carter (Becky's celebrity obstetrician) would come into the picture, I found myself hyperventilating with anger too. I was that captivated by the story. The entire plot of non-stop shopping  would seem shallow for some people, but there are several witty turns there that will surprise you.  It came to a point that I did consider having a baby. But MAYBE, just maybe, not in another 3 years. We have to be squillionaires first! Hehehe.