Long before Animal Farm and 1984, which established George Orwell not only a household name, but a literary giant, he wrote a little known work of non-fiction called Down and Out in Paris and London. In fact, published before Burmese Days, Down and Out is Orwell’s first official novel. Down and Out in Paris and…
Have you ever encountered a book that was so good or unforgettable that, after reading it, you instantly wished you hadn’t, just so you can experience the feeling of reading it again for the first time? Of course, re-reading the said book wouldn’t be the same, because although you will still enjoy it, the emotions…
Happy New Year!! I haven’t been blogging lately, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been reading. In fact, I have 2 back-reviews I have to post, of books I read in December. I also have to write and post a review of the first book I read in 2017, and other bookish / bloggish New…
When Ernest Hemingway was 19 years old, he signed up as a volunteer with the American Red Cross which was looking for ambulance drivers to send to the Italian front during World War I. Having just graduated from high school, it was his first time to travel abroad. He was hungry for adventure and eager…
I seem to have a very short attention span lately; if I don’t like the book I’m reading, I wouldn’t think twice before putting it down in favor of something else. I usually stick with a boring book until about halfway, or even till I eventually finish it, but lately, I don’t seem to have…
Bought several types of books in July – 4 novels, 11 short stories, and 3 technical books. So, I guess you can say that June was a great month for book buying (not so much for saving money though). I read about 3 books back in July: Austerlitz (W.G. Sebald), which I read with 2 book buddies, Murder on the Orient…
Back in January, I was confident that I could accomplish my reading goal of 50 books this year. Up until February, I was doing pretty well – I was even ahead, according to the Goodreads Reading Challenge tracker. Come March though, my reading slowed down, partly because I participated in a group reading of Middlemarch. After…
If you’ve been following my blog or have read more than a few articles on here, then you may know that I’m not one for biographies or memoirs. The number of biographies/memoirs I’ve read to date is probably less than five. However, sometimes, I come across a memoir or autobiography so intriguing that I can’t…
The Pilgrimage (O Diario Un Mago), which is Paulo Coelho‘s first official novel published in 1987, describes his personal journey along the El Camino de Santiago or the Way of St. James. In 1986, after failing his spiritual initiation as a Master of the Order of Regnus Agnus Mundi (RAM), Coelho loses confidence in himself and starts…
The Suspicions of Mr. Which or the Murder at Road Hill House by Kate Summerscale is a non-fiction novel that chronicles the rise in popularity of the private investigator, the detective/crime fiction genre in the mid 1800’s and how they were influenced by the gruesome murder of a boy in his home in the English countryside. Just before…
The Misanthropologist 