September 13, 2006

A Long Overdue Booktag

Dr. Emer tagged me weeks ago and initially, I was stumped on how to do this. So here goes:

Books that changed your life? - Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang- This small book from National opened my eyes to the forgotten Holocaust in Japanese-occupied China. It's full of harrowing details, photos of mutilated victims and atrocities of the worst kind. It made me realize that man is capable of inflicting the worst evil towards his brethren.; One Hundred Years of Solitude by G. G. Marquez opened the doors for me in discovering the wonders of the modern Classics. Because of him, I was encouraged to read Orwell, Maugham, Dostoyevsky, etc, where their works speak volumes of man's struggle against oppression, and whose words are blended so masterfully that you immediately swoon at each line. It made me see that there is life past Paolo Cuelho's The Alchemist & Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code.

Books you have read more than once? - Shogun by James Clavell (The best epic on feudal Japan! The characters simply jump right out of the book.)

Books you would want on a desert island? Perfume by Patrick Suskind

One book that made you laugh? The Decameron by Boccaccio (A very funny, irreverent and sexually charged compendium of medieval lore. Think: Benny Hill Show circa 1450), Short Stories of Saki by Hector Hugh Munro (Best way to sum it up is this: Fawlty Towers circa 1900.)

One book that made you cry? - Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Personal reasons. This book will become a classic in the next decade, just like To Kill A Mockingbird.)

One book you wish you had written? - Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

One book you wish had never been written? - Veronika Decides to Die by Paolo Cuelho (Chick-lit for those who want to commit suicide.)

One book you are currently reading? - A Plague Upon Humanity by Daniel Barenblatt. (The hidden history of Japan's human experimentation camps called Unit 731 and how the U.S. absolved all those charged in the Tokyo Tribunals just so they can utilize the data gathered by those murderous Japanese scientists. FYI: The US used the same biowarfare against the Chinese & North Koreans in the Korean war- the same methods as those made by Unit 731.)

One book you have been meaning to read? -Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (This should be a required reading in High School!!)

Next people to tag: Pia, Terai, Jake, Cel

6 comments:

Dr. Emer said...

Excellent choices, Jules. Yung Rape of Nanking is one of the reasons why most Chinese people are still angry with the Japanese. But if you hobnob with the Japanese today, you'd be amazed if these people were of the same race as those who did the horrible iniquities. Mababait na sila ngayon.

Yung CMC ni Dumas is also on top of my lists. At yung Kite Runner eh binili ko dahil ni-recommend mo. Truly moving.

Thanks for doing this and sharing with us your favorite books.

b3Rn1cE said...

hi doc!lolita by nabokov is a good read, found it by accident at the UST humanities library when i was in college. it was disturbingly passionate.

kumusta na ba jules?

Citizen of the World said...

I\'ve previewed parts of the film version of Decameron. I just had to return it from where I bought it. Don\'t ask for an explanation though, he he!

Anonymous said...

perfume by patrick suskind is also a fave of mine! :)

J.P. Hormillosa said...

One Hundred Years of Solitude is one of my favorite books. Garcia Marquez has this lyrical elegance to his writing that is just beautiful.

I recently read Kite Runner as well - it's definitely a future classic. I was just a little bit exasperated by the ending.

E. S. de Montemayor said...

dr. emer: thanks for booktagging me. hope more pinoys read books for the sheer pleasure of it.

bernice: wow. good for you that you've enjoyed lolita while in college. ngayon ko lang na napabasa ito. you're right, it's quite passionate- more like weird john malkovich kind of passionate.

dylan: hehehe... i know which film you mean. the book is way funnier cuz the movie i think was just sexed-up.

gibbs: dessert book ko yan... ah suskind. he was published sa bbc big read as the #73 most read book sa uk and one of the best selling book sa powerbooks ngayon.

jp: you're absolutely right. it's terai's favorite book too. i'm getting her to read the classics.hehehe... as for the kiterunner, it became a hollywood schlok in the end. but it will still become a modern classic.