So what are you reading now?
Don’t talk to me when I am engrossed in a book because it will be futile. Your words will just be soundless, meaningless. You see, my mind and entire being belongs to a different world and you are an alien. I am totally immersed and I live elsewhere.
I love books. They are life changing, at least for me. I like stories of redemption — at a cost, of course, or it won’t be worth it. Stories that are painful but glorious at the end. My favorites are many, but off the top of my head these include: Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson, The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Grass Harp by Truman Capote, and Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. I also love books by Haruki Murakami (my favorite is Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage). I can also throw in some weirdly beautiful works of David Mitchell like Cloud Atlas. My list can go on and on until kingdom come. My affinity for literature has even led me to a project that is close to my heart: the annual Philippine Readers & Writers Festival at the Raffles Makati.
Stepping out of my book bubble, I asked these interesting individuals what they are currently reading during the affluence of time given to us by the quarantine.
Monchet Olives
At any given week, I have three books tucked in different parts of our home I share with Margie Manzano-Olives, my muse. Throughout the pandemic, I continued to read voraciously. This week on my desk is a book gifted by a Lifestyle editor friend, The Daily Stoic by NYT bestselling author Ryan Holiday, a daily devotional on life and philosophy. While Daily Bread is for the spirit, this is for the soul. On my nightstand, The New Girl…. I am a fan of literary fiction and crime novels. Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon series is one of my favorites, and I am currently reading his second-to-the-latest book, where this rather straitlaced super spy comes to terms with his inner battles given that he has seen death and killed throughout his career. On the reading chair is a James Patterson thriller, The 19th Christmas, co-authored with Maxine Paetro, which is part of his Woman’s Murder Club Series. Growing up with Agatha Christie, Patterson feeds my love for police procedural. What does my selection of books say about me? I like to think things through, with a touch of action, and I like it a tad suspenseful. Fantasy bores me, but I have read all the Potter books like everyone else. Next up is Kevin Kwan’s poke at Asian society, Sex and Vanity…. That, my dear friends, is pulp fiction.
Mariano B. Garchitorena
I'm very undisciplined when it comes to my reading habits. One would think that with this lockdown, I'd have more time to sit down, read, and finish a book, but NO! Well, yes... I am on the verge of finally finishing one — Brookland by Emily Barton — but I've also been dipping into all sorts of books while finishing it. There's John Goode's The Cultured Glutton that Doreen Gamboa Fernandez gifted me with when I joined The Pen ages ago. It's perfect when you're running out of copy for your Instagram posts.
Then there's Antonio Pigafetta's La Primera Vuelta al Mundo, which a friend from the EU gave me that will hopefully improve my Spanish and is a fascinating account of the first circumnavigation of the globe in the 16th century. The Taschen series’ What Great Paintings Say was a handy book to have when my friend Katrina Alcuaz and I were having a discussion on Velasquez's “Las Meninas.” Travelers’ Tales Guides: Food is a collection of essays that never gets old, if only because it serves as a reminder of the level of food journalism that I aspire to.
I have a soft spot for My Brother's Husband, a sweet manga by Gengoroh Tagame on how a traditional Japanese father comes to terms with his deceased twin brother's gayness when his Canadian widower visits him and his daughter. Raissa Robles' Marcos Martial Law: Never Again, because it’s something I’ve been meaning to read. I've been browsing through my copy of Danielle Ganek's Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him and it seems promising if only because it reads like a The Devil Wears Prada take on the New York art scene. I also always have Nick Joaquin's Almanac for Manileños somewhere near me because he's such a joy to read. The man, to my mind, can do no wrong.
Now, about Brookland. It's a fastidiously researched and absorbing novel about one woman — Prue Winship — and her dream of building a bridge across the East River that will connect 18th-century Manhattan to a cluster of villages collectively called Brookland. Aside from being a tale of overcoming her presumed "weakness" as a woman and men's envy because of her boldness, it's a historical novel that's rich in period detail and archaisms that a geek like me loves. It's also building up, I'm afraid, to a powerful and heartbreaking conclusion.
Patti Javier
Kevin Kwan is one of my favorite writers, since the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy. His new novel, Sex and Vanity, is a wonderful escape, something that the spirit needs! It offers the vicarious experience of traveling to Capri, Italy and New York, getting an insider tour of the world of the crazy wealthy, and the thrill of falling in love, discovering oneself and what truly matters in life. It is absolutely entertaining, a most welcome break to our lockdown realities. Thanks so much to KK for this hilarious and heartwarming adventure... which Sony Pictures will eventually produce into a motion picture! Buongiorno!
Shariza Relova
I’m reading Parisian Chic: A Style Guide by Ines de la Fressange. I bought this book five years ago but I never had the chance to read it. The upside to this lockdown is having all the time in the world to catch up on reading and spending quality time with family. I particularly love this book because it inspired me to edit my closet during the lockdown period. You realize you don’t need much, you just need to have the “Magnificent Seven,” which Ines defined as the brilliant basics that any woman must have in their wardrobe. The contents are creatively presented and the layout is playful. This book is also a nice travel guide as she takes her readers through her recommended hotels, restaurants, spas, art galleries and shops that are only known to Parisians. I’m sure we are all planning for that post-pandemic trip, and for those thinking of visiting the City of Lights and Love, this is a perfect book for you.
Margaux Hontiveros
During quarantine, I’ve been revisiting old favorites. Gabrielle Hamilton’s Blood, Bones and Butter is a wonderful memoir about chef Hamilton’s journey from a child of hippie parents to one of New York’s best chefs. Plus, after reading, you can top it off by watching her episodes on Mind of a Chef on Netflix! And during difficult times, I always go back to PG Wodehouse. The stories of butler Jeeves getting clueless Bertie Wooster out of the most ridiculous situations always makes me laugh out loud, and the glamour of London’s upper crust in the 1920s and 1930s is such a great escape.
Lady Bess Howe
I have always been fascinated by the art scene in NYC and Steve Martin’s An Object of Beauty is a story about a young woman navigating herself to the top — cunningly and manipulatively. I read this again last month because I needed to escape our current reality for a bit, and what better way than to absorb one’s self in the NYC art scene and Martin’s intelligent prose.
