Endings and Beginnings

I write this with barely three or so hours left before the year ends. It feels weird to sit down and finally gather my thoughts. It seems I have been avoiding it for the better part of the year. You see, I only posted fifteen times this year, a handful of them just plain Status Updates if I remember correctly. To think that when I started this blog it was just an offshoot of my online journal as I wanted something dedicated to books. Then I killed the online journal altogether and retained this. While I've had thoughts of rebooting this I didn't find the time. Life caught up with me this year, and now that I'm on a break, it feels right to write, at last.

I haven't read much books this year, yes, compared to last year at least. I still have read more than the average reader (though considerably quite less than the average book blogger, hahaha). Then again, how many books does an average reader eh, average in a year? A book a week? A book a month? I've read, alright. My issue is that I haven't blogged much. And it felt like I lost a lot if not all of my virtual friends in the process. Virtual only in the sense that we are bound by circuits of this world wide web. Virtual but no lesser in any respect as far as friends and/or acquaintances are concerned. I know that blogging is a bridge that connects me with a lot of you, dear readers. We've shared a lot these past years I've consistently raved and ranted about books and authors I adore and detest. When I failed to blog, the end result is that I failed to connect. You see, it's not just the lack of posts this year I barely skimmed the surface of blogs I follow as well. And a part of me feels that unfilled space meant for books I intend to get, characters to admire or revile, and bloggers to follow and share stories with.

I have no excuses really. I just didn't blog. If I wanted to, I could have. But life happened. And I broke a lot of blogging promises in the course of the year already to vow yet again that I will blog regularly. I just hope that this will do, for now.

In the meantime, I read some great books.

2011 will always be the year that I was so enthralled with Alan Bradley's wonderful Flavia de Luce. I read all three books this year, starting with The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie sometime earlier and the last two (The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag and A Red Herring Without Mustard) during the Readers Imbibing Peril challenge, a failed challenge on my end (one book posted, two books read with nothing to show for it, hahaha). All three books were easy reads, if I may say so.

Emma Donoghue's Room is a favorite. So with Lionel Shriver's We Need to Talk About Kevin.

This year I finished Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking trilogy with Monsters of Men. I never really talked much about the series save for the one-liners I did as my yearend post last year for the first two books. Suffice it to say that I loved the ending, despite uh, the fact that I did not like the way the Mayor died. Well, it is justice and the Mayor really has a powerful mind. Dying on his own terms, Todd's goodness retained. Still.

I also read Suzanne Collins's Mockingjay this year. Next year I'll reread the first book, in time for the film version. Yes, I am looking forward to the film version of the trilogy. While Jennifer Lawrence was not my Katniss of choice, the stills and trailers I see nowadays are more than promising.

Oh and because of the HBO series, I started reading George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones. I love Jon Snow. I love Arya. And goodness, the character Tyrion Lannister is such a pleasure to read. I am done with and greatly enjoyed the second book as well – A Clash of Kings. I started thumbing through a couple of chapters of the third book (A Storm of Swords) but I haven't gone back yet. There were other things to tempt my brain in the meantime.

As far as graphic novels are concerned, I finished Fables: Rose Red. Prior to that, The Great Fables Crossover and Fables: Witches. That's why I named my stuffed elephant Bigby at the start of the year. If that's a spoiler, ooops! Hahaha! As an aside, I started watching Once Upon a Time. I'm done with three episodes and looking forward to watching the rest of the available seven, so far (I download torrents, the series has yet to air here in my part of the world) and I've read this interesting interview of Bill Willingham (with himself) regarding the show. On another Fables-related note, James Jean is coming to Manila! But he'll be visiting another part of the metro and I am not sure if I will be able to catch him. I'm also looking forward to reading Fables: Super Team next year.

I also skimmed through a handful of Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead. I'm watching the series too. My favorite character in the show is not a character in the comics. I think it's quite obvious that I'm referring to Daryl Dixon (ably played by Norman Reedus). Ergo, I stopped reading the comics.

What else do I remember? I want to know if it's a good thing to continue reading the series that started with A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray. I liked it, yes. I don't know if I like it enough to pursue the story though.

Wallflower at the Orgy by Nora Ephron took me to the not-so-distant past and she still made me laugh. I have always liked Nora Ephron's writings. This book is actually a collection of some of her earlier magazine articles way back in the 70's. It's more newsy, compared to the essays I've grown accustomed to reading from her.

As far as great rereads go, I went through the last two books of Harry Potter prior to watching the final installment of the film. Enough said. And yes, I still cried reading that part of Snape's story. And went misty-eyed while watching the film.

I think I'm already rambling as I don't want to go through the other books or graphic novels I finished. It is also evident that I spent more time watching tv than reading. Technically, I watch shows through my laptop but that is beside the point. I still fill my head with stories. So I'll start the wishes of the year with words borrowed from one of my favorite authors.

What am I reading now? What do I hope to finish next year?

Jasper Fforde's Shades of Grey. Scott Westerfeld's Behemoth. Gerry Alanguilan's Elmer. David Masiel's 2182 Kilohertz. Chelsea Handler's Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea. George R.R. Martin's A Storm of Swords. And Sarah Vowell's The Partly Cloudy Patriot, at least for January.

I'm also looking forward to reading Sarah Waters's The Little Stranger, and Terry Pratchett's Nation.

I have a great stack of books by my bedside in the metro (I'm not there, hence I cannot rattle of titles and titles of my TBR nor take a picture of the pile). My TBR gets bigger and bigger by the minute. I can opt not to buy a lot of other stuff but I just can't seem to stop myself from getting new/old books.

So there. A post to end the year with hope for a better reading year next year. Less than three hours before 2012 creeps in.

May you all have a prosperous new year reading, writing, and loving stories further.

May this ending post bring forth a better beginning for 2012.

And, may we all have time to read our TBRs next year before the world ends, if the world will end.