Looking For My True Love

Before you get any ideas, I would like to clarify that by “true love”, I mean books. Duh. Yeah yeah, lame, I know. But really, since I don’t have plans with anyone this Valentine’s day, I decided to spend the day with myself doing one of the things I love: book hunting.

And so 3 hours after a meticulous search, I found not only one, but 5 new loves. Got them all from Fully Booked and Powerbooks, Trinoma branch. I can truly say that my time was well spent and I didn’t care that there were so many lovey-dovey couples all around the mall, even inside my favorite bookstores.

So here are what’s included in my Valentine’s haul:

• Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk — If you don’t already know, I am a very liberated type of person and pornography and sex in literature doesn’t bother me at all as long as the are well written. And this particular book is one I wanted to read because it’s unusual and also dashed with Palahniuk’s trademark mystery theme.
• Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys — I have been debating whether or not to read this book for a long time now. It’s like what happened to me with Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief. This book also revolves around a certain point in history and was set in the midst of World War II. As I’ve said before, I am not a big fan of history but that didn’t stop me from loving The Book Thief. A lot of friends already recommended this to me so I finally gave in.
• The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly — Even when I am already way too old for this, I still have the tug and affinity to wondrous magical adventures found in children’s book. With that I got hooked by this especially when I learned that the story is about an  innocent young bookworm who find solace in heroes and monstrous characters of his books.
• The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells — I guess it’s time to update my collection of classic book and I am very much excited with this new addition. It has always been my dream to have the powers of invisibility that’s why I got drawn to the book in particular. I must admit that the beautiful cover also caught my attention. I am very curious to read about the best and worst possible thing a man can do with this kind of power.
• The House of The Scorpion by Nancy Farmer — This is a very intriguing sci-fi/dystopian book. The premise goes like this:Matteo Alacran was not born; he was harvested with the DNA from El Patron, lord of a country called Opium. Can a boy who was bred to guarantee another’s survival find his own purpose in life? And can he ever be free? Reading this, I immediately grabbed the book to include it in my haul. I love genetic mysteries and I just cannot resist weird characters.

Oh and also got some roses from a good friend of mine. Nothing romantic at all. I swear. :) 

5 books all for the price of 2!

Yup, you’ve read that right! I got all of these books for only Php580 (around $13). And despite the marked down price, these books are in very pristine conditions. I really am quite impressed with my book shopping.

Although I know that I am already drowning in my huge to-read pile at home, that had never hindered me from buying more books. And since I only have one more day of exams, I recon it’s best to have a little pre-semestral break haul. After tomorrow, I can finally have around 3 weeks to read and knock-off books from my ever growing to-read heap. Finally, some quality time with my print-on-paper friends. It’s a temporary farewell to my academic books and a wonderful hello to my fiction books. Here are what’s in the loot:

• The City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare - It’s the 5th installment of The Mortal Instrument series. I know that it has been out in the market for quite a while now, but for some reasons, I wasn’t able to buy my own copy. “Clary plays a dangerous game of her own. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost?”
• Atonement by Ian McEwan - I fell in love with the movie adaptation of this book, which was tragic and heart-wrecking. I have this feeling that the story would be even better when read. “On a hot summer day in 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis witnesses a moment’s flirtation between her older sister, Cecilia, and Robbie Turner, the son of a servant and Cecilia’s childhood friend. But Briony’ s incomplete grasp of adult motives–together with her precocious literary gifts–brings about a crime that will change all their lives.“ 
• An Accident Waiting To Happen by Adrian White  - I only came across this book today and I was intrigued of its story as I’ve read the summary at the back. So I decided to buy it, too. “A young woman disappears. Her partner Gregory, under suspicion from the police of having done her harm, is left to care for her son Tomas from a previous relationship. The race is on for Gregory to find the woman he loves before the authorities take Tomas away. How far would you go to protect the ones you love?”
• The Pact by Jodi Picoult - I have been a fan of Jodi Picoult ever since I’ve read My Sister’s Keeper and Nineteen Minutes. I’ve been told by a few of my bookworm friends that this book is at par with My Sister’s Keeper in terms of the story line so, needless to say, I grabbed it at once. “And the Hartes and Golds must face every parent’s worst nightmare and question: do we really know our children at all?”
• Hoot by Carl Hiaasen - I know for a fact that this is a children’s book, but who says I cannot indulge in its good content? As I’ve said before, regardless of our age, we will always find that one children’s book that would strike us in a unique way. “Behind it’s lighthearted and often joking facade the book is a window into the rapid destruction of Florida wildlife in order to make room for civilization and pancake houses. This book is just a reminder that as Paper Towns spring up the animals are forced to flee or die.”