Essential Reading: June 2013

Posted by bennardfajardo on June 4, 2013 · 5 Comments 

I knew it. I just knew it. The moment I reveled in the amazing feeling of reading so many books last April, I conked out in May. I wouldn’t exactly say that I am in a reading rut since I still enjoy reading (or maybe I am just in denial?) but it’s just that I found more distracting activities while I’m here in the US. The Xbox and the adventures of the Masterchief in Halo 4 is just one example. Netflix, MI-5, and Gordon Ramsay is another.

Anyway, I still haven’t slackened off my reading since I managed to read these books for the month of May:

• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (4/5)
• When I Was Mortal by Javier Marias (3/5)
• World War Z by Max Brooks (2/5)
• Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg (4/5)
• Ghost World by Daniel Clowes (3/5)

Five is still a good number but I still get the feeling that I squandered some of the time that I spent here that I should have spent on reading. Still, I enjoyed playing video games with my brother and, for me, that is still a worthwhile use of my time here (telling him that he’s a “noob” is a very big bonus).

Enough chit-chat, here are the books that I plan to read this June 2013:

On the left are new to the list:

• Self-Help by Lorrie Moore – I’m on a short story spree and Lorrie Moore, as I have probably said time and again in this blog, is one of the writers that I want to explore. Well, I can’t really wait since a copy of her book is now in my hands.
• Pastoralia by George Saunders – Another short story writer that I am curious about. Just having a copy of his book is making me, as Dr. Frank-N-Furter so eloquently put it, “shiver with anticipation.”
• Love In The Time of Cholera by Gabriela Garcia Marquez – I have already read this book but, since I am going to co-moderate an F2F discussion for this book with Rhena, I decided to read it again to reacquaint myself with the book. Besides reading a GGM book is one of the few pleasures of my life.
• The Amazing of Kavalier and Klay by Michael Chabon (not pictured) – Our book club’s pick for the month. I’m actually excited to read this because (1) I have already read two books written by Chabon and I liked both of them and (2) I am a big comic nut.

On the right is my backlog:

• Atonement by Ian McEwan (untouched)
• Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (untouched)

I think two books on the backlog is okay. I don’t want to force myself in reading a book when I’m not in the mood so it’s better for it to be in the backlog than to be read and not understood.

There you have it. I’m actually excited for this month since I’ll be reading two short story collections and two of the authors that I greatly admire (Marquez and Chabon). I foresee an awesome June.

Filed under Books, Reading List · Tagged with Atonement, Books, Essential Reading, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, George Saunders, Ian McEwan, Lolita, Lorrie Moore, Love in the Time of Cholera, Michael Chabon, Pastoralia, Self-Help, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Vladimir Nabokov