Essential Reading: September

Posted by bennardfajardo on August 31, 2012 · 7 Comments 

August may have been my most productive reading month in terms of works read. This is primarily because I read a lot of novellas this month and because I don’t have a social life except for my girlfriend and for TFG. It may seem sad but it is not since I’m not really a going-out-the-door-to-party-or-to-go-to-the-mall kind of guy and I like where I am right now. But enough about me, let us start first with what I read this August (including my essential reads and nonessential reads):

• Noli Me Tangere by Jose Rizal(5/5)
• Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco (4/5)
• Reportage on Lovers by Nick Joaquin(4/5)
• Gagamba by F. Sionil Jose(3/5)
• That Kind of Guy by Mina V. Esguerra(3/5)

I managed to finish all my essential reads for the month of August (the theme is works written by Filipino authors) which are all above 3 stars for me in Goodreads so I think it’s not a bad list. I managed to read these in between essential reads or sometimes alongside them:

• Man in the Dark by Paul Auster (5/5)
• Wit by Margaret Edson (4/5)
• Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger(3/5)
• Shopgirl by Steve Martin (3/5)

All of the books that I have read are brilliant in their own way and I have really enjoyed this month. I just hope that this reading streak will not drown in the busy-ness of the succeeding months. Anyhoo, without further ado (damn, it rhymes), here are my essential reads for the month of September:

So the theme for the month of September is contemporary American literature. I’ve been wanting to read these four authors for months now and I decided to make it my essential reading for the month of September to maybe inspire me.

• The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon – I was hoping to read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay but I can’t find an inexpensive copy so I opted for his other work which, if rumors are to be believed, is being made into a film by the Coen Brothers (who are my favorite film directors ever). Plus I’ve read Chabon’s The Final Solution which is a homage to Sherlock Holmes and I loved it because it was Sherlock as I’ve never seen before.
• The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen – I have been hearing praises for this book and I have been curious about Franzen for quite some time now since his most recent novel is being heralded as a candidate for the “Great American Novel”.
• Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides – Again I am curious about this book and the praises that it has been receiving. I mean the title alone is enough to captivate a bibliophile.
• Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon – Psychedelic Drugs. Los Angeles in the 1960s. A drug-addled PI. That is enough to convince me into buying this book. And I hope this will prepare me for the monstrosity that is Against the Day and Gravity’s Rainbow.
• The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell (not pictured) – The title alone is making me curious and I have read Mitchell’s short story, Judith Castle, and, from that experience, I know how he can make characters interesting and believable. Plus it is also my first buddy read with Atty. Monique and Angus; and my second buddy read with Mae. So color me excited.

This month is going to be an interesting month. I am going to be introduced to four new authors (not including tose whose books are nonessential for this month) and I am going to have a buddy read with three interesting and bookish people. Bring it on September!

 

 

 

Filed under Books, Reading List · Tagged with Books, Catcher in the Rye, David Mitchell, Essential Reading, F. Sionil Jose, Gagamba, Ilustrado, JD Salinger, Jeffrey Eugenides, Jonathan Franzen, Jose Rizal, Man in the Dark, Margaret Edson, Michael Chabon, Miguel Syjuco, Mina V. Esguerra, Nick Joaquin, Noli Me Tangere, Paul Auster, Reportage on Lovers, Shopgirl, Steve Martin, That Kind of Guy, Thomas Pynchon, Wit