What are you reading? 2
Interesting choices. Next question: How do you pick the books you read? Do you rely on book critics, friends’ recommendations, or bestseller lists? Do you lurk in bookstores and skim through the books? Do you read the first page and decide if you want to continue? If a book has been adapted for film, are you more likely to read it?
If I really like a particular author, I try to read all their books (Hardy, Wharton, Waugh, Greene), although I no longer aspire to read everything by Philip K. Dick. And much as I love Tolkien, I cannot get through The Silmarillion. (You have to read The Lord of The Rings as early as possible, preferably before the age of 16. because after that your concentration goes.)
Speaking of film adaptations, I just learned that No Country For Old Men will open round the second week of April, but only in Greenbelt 3 and Glorietta 4. Will Atonement open on Holy Week because of its title? A lot of people seem to be reading the McEwan—here’s a review which notes how Atonement is a sort of survey of British literature.Â
When you read a work of fiction, do you imagine it as a movie in your head? Do you play casting director? Who would play the lead roles in the film of the book you’re reading? My default casting is Christian Bale, who can play scrawny, buff, handsome, ugly, earnest, psychotic, amazing range.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
March 8th, 2008 at 15:13
I lurk at the bookstores. I usually don’t have any preconceived idea on what book to buy and choose what catches my interest. I don’t browse the contents but read the recommendations at the back cover and if i see that it is recommended by someone whose views i respect, then i buy it. However, i’ve since learned that many times, authors get recommended because, in the body of the book, they usually say something favorable about the recommender, i have taken this tit-for-tat into consideration as well. I also try to avoid buying books from the same authors to give other viewpoints a chance.
I don’t read fiction as i prefer to wait for the movie adaptation.
March 8th, 2008 at 15:19
I lurk in the bookstore and let my instincts get the better of me. Usually I choose ten books (and try to whittle it down when reason argues with me).
Now that I’m studying in uni my quota is 3 books a week.
March 8th, 2008 at 15:36
I love reading books with movie adaptations. I usually read the books first before watching the movie and most of the time i end up disappointed with the movie versions, my imagination is so much better. The exception is the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, I so love the movie. Nahirapan ako magbasa ng book.
March 8th, 2008 at 15:44
I lurk in bargain bookstores and get my hands dirty looking for something that catches my eye, then look at the back cover for the blurb. I dont check critics’ reviews or best-seller lists first. If I see something, I skim through the pages and see if I like the style. I dont like any one style. It’s like food. Sometimes I just want steamed talbos ng kamote with bagoong, and sometimes I want a four course meal with wine and coffee with my dessert. I also usually try to read all of author’s books if I liked the first one I read (e.g. Salman Rushdie. Loved Ground Beneath Her Feet, and Midnight’s Children, couldnt quite relate to Satanic Verses, and Shalimar the Clown? Blek. His other works havent appeared in Booksale yet.) Bargain bookstores are great. They allow you to try new authors out without feeling youve wasted your money if they suck.
If a book I havent read is adapted for a film, I usually just see the movie and dont bother with the book anymore. But if I read the book, I go see the movie. And no, I dont adapt the book for a movie in my head. But I suppose it would be a good exercise.
March 8th, 2008 at 15:47
“If a book has been adapted for film, are you more likely to read it?”
Not really, but sometimes the only chance that the books are going to be more available is when they are adapted into movies. Yes, I usually rely on promotional materials.
Example: I have been wanting to read LOTR since I was 10, when I was about to finish the Narnia books (inherited from cousins). But I live in those 1990’s subdivision in Calamba, Laguna, where neighbors are usually ex-blue-collar workers from the provinces (no offense, but this market is not interested with books), and where National Bookstore Alabang is the most reliable book provider. Unfortunately, Tolkien wasn’t available anywhere in the 90’s; ask any school library there about Tolkien and you’d get a blank stare.
I read reviews, columns, and anthologies, and get recommendations from there. Also, most books I discover are quoted in other books I’ve read. But in some cases, I just pick a book from the shelves of bookstores, browse, and read it. There are also some weird friends with great books.
Usually, I read more works from authors I like.
I usually imagine them as moving illustrations/highly-detailed animation.
I’m lucky to have relatives who collect books (novels and art books), because I don’t need to buy them for myself. And unless I can afford more, I’m stuck with e-books. Haha.
March 8th, 2008 at 16:10
I read Atonement, but didn’t like it much. I heard the movie is much better, which is not the usual, right? Often it’s the book that’s more enjoyable. I’m reading now The Wind-up Bird Chronicle of Haruki Murukami. I have developed a passion for Murukami lately ever since I’ve read his Norwegian Book. His characters, especially the narrator, has both humor and depth.
March 8th, 2008 at 16:21
I have very few friends who regard reading a book entertainment, so I have to weigh in on the critics’ say. But usually it’s up to me. Sometimes, if I know a film adaptation is coming, it also interests me. I’m looking forward to finding a copy of Yeats (?) Revolutionary Road which will reunite DiCap and Kate after Titanic. Speaking of adaptations and casting, I was once reading Guterson’s East of the Mountains and thought of Clint Eastwood as a likely candidate for the lead. When I read Bernhard Schlink’s The Reader, I immediately thought of Nicole Kidman as Hanna. I just read though that it will be Kate Winslet. The film will be directed by Stephen Daldry, and also stars Ralph Fiennes though I don’t know if he’ll play the 15-yr old Michael as well.
March 8th, 2008 at 17:49
I judge a book by its cover. If the cover is interesting, I will read it. I scan the books on display in almost all bookstores in the metro, yes, including St. Pauls and Libreria de San Pablo. If a cover fascinates me, I will read the last pages. Then work my way backwards. i cant affford to buy those books, since my budget only allows fare to bookstores. so i spend time inside bookstores of choice, coming back almost everyday until i finish the book. right now i am reading Art and Beauty in the Middle Ages By Umberto Eco. Its a brilliant book, but most importantly, i love the cover.
March 8th, 2008 at 22:00
i read books that catches my interest, fiction or non fiction. i dont really listen to critics’ reviews but sometimes i read books that are recommended by friends. i always think that books are way better than movie adaptations, but there are some exceptions (like LOTR). because of my work, i try to read at least 1-2 books a week.
March 8th, 2008 at 23:14
my criteria:
1. story
2. author
3. review
4. film adaptation
casting starts with thinking/imagining an actor that would fit the character. if the movie industry does not fit at all, i would choose someone from my own circle of friends.
March 9th, 2008 at 02:04
I usually rely on a friend’s recommendations. And I always want to read the book first before watching the movie.
March 9th, 2008 at 02:20
I lurk in bookstores. I also try to read all the works of authors I like. I can’t play casting director, not good at that sort of thing. As in I imagined Viggo Mortenson as Robert Langdon — duh.
Funny you should mention The Silmarillion. I started reading it in college and finished it 10 years later.
March 9th, 2008 at 08:10
author, blurbs, the first page, price.
March 9th, 2008 at 08:58
half the time, movie adaptations form the core of my “library”.
yes christian bale figures prominently in my own adaptations too.
i’ve cast him as the ashley judd’s bf in the divine secrets of the yaya sisterhood.
March 9th, 2008 at 11:23
i rely very much on reviews. for example i would not have known of atonement, the it book of the century, if it weren’t for flip. but i wouldn’t go to powerbooks or fully booked to get them at those prices. i wait for them to turn up at nbs bargain bins and you wouldn’t believe that i get these ian mcewan hardcovers for 100 bucks. gambling with the authors is also good. it’s a waste of time to read books whose film adaptations you’ve already seen but there are exceptions such as a clockwork orange, american psycho, last exit to brooklyn, etc.
March 9th, 2008 at 13:54
Oprah.
March 9th, 2008 at 13:56
just kidding.
re Scott Smith’s The Ruins. Stephen King said the book was “Simply the best suspense novel of the year!”
I also use the yearend top ten best book list from the NYT or Entertainment Weekly for guide.
yes.
March 9th, 2008 at 13:58
If the author works for me, I’d buy every work he’s done. Of course I have to find it first in the bargain bins of my ever reliable friend, Booksale as I rarely buy new books (I’m among those who find romanticism in having previously-owned books. Besides they’re really cheap.). I’ve read almost everything by John Irving (I have his latest, Until I Find You though I heard that it’s not as good as his other work) and Michael Connelly. I have read a spattering of Hornby, Buckley, Tan, King, Harris, Meltzer, Tyler. I love trashy paperback bestsellers!
Yeah, Christian Bale is good in anything. But my heart belongs to Ewan McGregor.
March 9th, 2008 at 14:14
or when a blogger i read daily recommends a book. that’s how i got to know about “Prayers for the Assassin” by Robert Ferrigno. when i saw it at national bookstore for only P100 Hardbound, binili ko kaagad.
Or when a academic/political figure working for barack obama is in the news lately, and this brilliant thinker has a book out, I’ll go and look for it in the NBS/PB bargain bin.
March 9th, 2008 at 14:58
I choose read them because
a. they’re classics (e.g. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Of Mice and Men..)
b. of they’re written by authors who leave you thinking they’re are gods and I am a mortal who can only have faith that I understand their books the way they meant it to be understood (eg Barry Lopez, Heman Hesse, Faulkner…)
c. they’re written by authors who tell you a story you not only understand but also appreciate them because they introduced you to a new world – of course the authors are also gods but they are friends to mortals (eg GGMarquez, Paul Auster, Gaiman, Carlos Fuentes…)
d. they’re cheap (I bought a hardbound CFuentes’ 40 Years with Laura Diaz at 40pesos, I had no idea who the author was and I’m glad I had 40 pesos that day. Now, I read Fuentes whenever I can Kwento lang, I bought Atonement and Auster’s Book of Illusions in hardbound at 70pesos each)
e. I like the book cover (Country of Last Things, Adarna Books-and then put them back on the shelves, Like Water for Chocolate (not the one with the movie’s poster)…)
I started reading Faulkner because Marquez looks up to him. I also read books because I learned about it from a film I saw (can’t remember an example but I know this happened before). I also enjoy reading auto/biographies especially of people I like (eg. Bob Dylan) and I’m curious about (eg Jim Morrison, Johnny Rotten – you have to read this guy’s autobio!) The best book, so far, that I read which was adapted for film is The Kite Runner. Now, I’m waiting for this girl who owes me a Christmas (of 2006) gift to give me A Thousand Splendid Suns. I loved Vanity Fair, the film, I have the book on my one-of-these-days list. I think that Romola Garai girl is really good.
When I was reading The Kite Runner, I thought of Aishwarya Rai (is this spelled right?) for Amir’s wife. I saw the film, the girl who actually played her is not bad. I had a friend who got upset because Claire Danes played the star in Stardust. I think we all play casting directors when we read a book or when we meet someone for the first time, we think of a role for him/her-at least I do.
March 9th, 2008 at 20:49
i used to lurk in bookstores before, especially national and booksale. Nowadays, though, I no longer have the luxury of time so I tend to rely more on reviews I see here. Anyway, does anyone know of any places where I can get dvds of really mind-blowing movies that were never really released commercially? I can only think of going to quiapo….Jessica, I can’t find a copy of your book, Chicken Pox for the Soul anywhere and Twisted 8 is forever out of stock in NBS here in North Edsa….I don’t have a credit card (I’m a cash-kind-of-girl hehe) so I can’t get one online….
March 9th, 2008 at 21:17
If they have been done as a movie. I wold think the story must be good, so I would buy and read them. I just finished reading “House of Sand and Fog.” I have not seen the movie, but the book is devastatingly brutal.
I then go for the author if the first one I read catches my attention. Example of this is Tracy Chevalier. I have read all her books since loving “Girl With A Pearl Earring,” the movie first, then the book. Both the movie and the book have their unique beauty.
March 9th, 2008 at 22:13
Critics’ reviews and award-giving bodies’ picks usually influence me. This is how I got to read Banville’s The Sea, Zadie Smith’s White Teeth, Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, and McEwan’s Atonement. In booksales, though, it is the thrill of unearthing a gem (usually classics) at mind-blowingly low prices that provides major incentive. Actors’ photos on book covers are a bit of a turn-off for me; given a choice, I would pick the original cover, before the film adaptation is used to sell the book.
I went through a John Updike phase after college (Couples, A Month of Sundays, The Coup, his memoirs Self-Consciousness, although strangely, never the Rabbit series; his mastery of language is simply breathtaking) and later Anne Tyler (no one else captures the minutiae of daily life as faithfully).
When I read Never Let Me Go, I had the boarding school Hailsham and the winding streets of Norfolk in clear cinematographic detail in my mind; the lead character Kathy would have to be Samantha Morton, or if Morton is not bankable enough, Kate Winslet. Haven’t seen Atonement yet, but I would say Vannessa Redgrave and Keira Knightly are the older Briony and Cecilia in my mind. Robbie, I thought, was heftier in build; and the young Briony a brunette.
March 9th, 2008 at 23:58
The question I almost always ask a new friend is what his/her all-time favorite book is. I assume my friends and soon-to-be friends have good taste.
March 10th, 2008 at 04:14
i spend at least 3 hours in a bookstore. first, i skim through all the titles and get the ones that are catchy. second, i open to a random page and read through it. if it gets my attention, i put it in my pile. i do this until i’ve goen through all the books.
when i have my choices, i narrow them down based on a budget. this is when i’ll open my laptop, google the titles and read through reviews. if the book got good reviews, it stays.
once i’m done choosing, i’m off to the counter to pay.
March 10th, 2008 at 08:16
I choose the books mostly because of friends’ recommendations. I seldom buy a book which I’ve just happened to see in a bookstore. Although it would really be an adventure to try that. For books with film adaptations, I read the book before the movie comes out.
I haven’t read all of the works of my favorite authors. Yeah, even JK Rowling’s. I haven’t read Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them even though it’s a companion book from the series. Also Jane Austen’s. I’ve just read Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion. I’ve just watched the TV/movie adaptations. (shame)
When reading a work of fiction, I imagine it as a movie. That’s why I love books whose authors can write amazing detail. Like in Atonement, I can really picture out the Triton Fountain, in Harry Potter, I can picture out the what Hogwarts really looks like, and Pride and Prejudice, I can imagine what Pemberley Estate looks like.
I don’t really cast actors in my “movie”. I’d always imagine the characters almost exactly how they were described in the book.
March 10th, 2008 at 08:34
I ALWAYS buy books through (credible) recommendations, and by skimming through my sister’s books-to-buy list posted on her mini library, which she always updates. That’s why one day she got really crossed when I got home and saw that I bought four Roald Dahl books (the ones that are not for children). Then I bought all of J.D. Salinger’s and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s books, she refused to speak to me for week.
March 10th, 2008 at 10:09
i could only base on hearsays, then i’ll check the book if it’s good (based on reviews and introductions). and if i liked the title, i go for the rest of the titles from the same author.
i was once hooked with lualhati bautista when i was in college because i found “bata, bata..” also, i once borrowed a bob ong book from a friend, since then i’m buying his releases. then i got the twisted travels from melo, i haven’t made a follow up after that but i’m looking forward to reading “the 500 people you meet in hell”
March 10th, 2008 at 11:50
I don’t choose books. They choose me. This means I need to spend a considerable amount of time in a bookstore to hear them calling. The cheaper the books, the louder the call, the longer I stay.
Perusing through non-fiction, I am usually adept at weeding out journalistic crap (i.e. anything written by Thomas Friedman) from good, quality non-fiction stuff. If the author is a PhD, the better. If the author is teaching in a European university (as opposed to an American university), the better.
I don’t usually read fiction, but I shop fiction for people I love. They love non-American authors (i.e. Haruki Murakami, G.G. Marquez etc.), Filipino fiction, and science fiction authors (James Barclay).
When I do read fiction, they are the sort where the cover features half-naked characters in an old world setting. After almost 2 decades of reading historical romances, I now depend on brand names. Which reminds me, my exile in Australia has resulted to reading a grand total of 3 historical romances. I figure this has made me an old, bitter shrew.
I can’t wait to fly back home. If only for Booksale and Books-4-Less.
March 10th, 2008 at 13:49
Like most of you, I like “lurking” in the bookstore. I usually read a few pages of the book that catches my attention (how it does that, I don’t know. It just does) and if I like the writer’s style or the story seems interesting enough, I buy it. I also usually buy the “classics” when I see them, like I bought Fitzgerald’s translation of the “Iliad” for P20 and the red cover edition of JD Salinger’s “Catcher In The Rye” for P10 in a bookstore in Baguio.
I also usually buy the books of the author/s I like. I had my Robert Cormier, JD Salinger, Haruki Murakami, Salman Rushdie, Henry James, Thomas Hardy, etc. phases. I bought all the books of Jostein Gaarder, too, after reading Sophie’s World. They all put me to sleep. The Silmarillion was likewise a challenge. Until now, I have yet to get pass the first few pages.
And yes, I also imagine film adaptations of the books I read, particularly Stevan Javellana’s “Without Seeing The Dawn”, a local version of Hardy’s “Far From The Madding Crowd” (both to be directed by Carlitos Siguion-Reyna since I read these books during the time of Hihintayin Kita Sa Langit), Neil Jordan’s “Sunrise with Sea Monster” (my friend says it has indeed been adapted for the screen already but I have yet to look it up), and Murakami’s “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” (directed by David Lynch), among others.
March 10th, 2008 at 13:54
During the summer vacations back in high school, I lurked in the bookstores whenever I ran out of stuff to do at home. Back then I was into classics, my favorite was Dumas. At the library I hung out mostly at the Asian Lit shelves and strayed sometimes at the young adult stuff (Nancy Drew, Berlie Doherty, etc). Now I mostly rely on reviews.
And I had casting director fantasies! :D I don’t have a default actor, though.
March 10th, 2008 at 17:54
We have 7 “lurkers”.. :)
Ruth, i also have that P10-Catcher In The Rye, red bound book, also bought in Baguio! We must have been rummaging in the same bin!
I spend hours searching through book sales hoping that I will find my treasures, classic literature for a bargain! :)
March 10th, 2008 at 20:16
I read book reviews. Then I lurk in bookstores and skim through the books. When I like the author’s book, then I do something like what Alice does in The L World, called The Chart, only instead of charting who the authors sleep with, I amazon-search other authors who write in the same genre. That’s how I discovered Terry Pratchett, through Neil Gaiman, through a book review (it was Coraline I think).
Then of course there are the classics. The classics are totally jab in the sky sort of thing. I know their names, I get their books (preferably the pulitzer prizers or the most controversial or something book reviewers call “the definitive”) then I decide whether I like them or not halfway through the first chapter. That’s how I found out, 3 or 4 books belatedly, that I am not likely to read D.H. Lawrence in the immediate future. The covers were so Monet! The sole reason I bought all the D.H. Lawrence I could lay my hands on. (That was 7 years ago. I should be getting rid of it soon. If somebody loves his work, um, contact me?)
If a book has been adapted for film and I like the film, I am more likely to read the book. But if I love the book, I am more likely to become The Great Grim Guardian of (name of the book). Good thing that the LOTR films were well-made.
March 11th, 2008 at 14:37
I check the best sellers list first. If nothing interests me, skim through all the estantes.
When I find one, read few pages of the book and imagine like i’m watching a movie. If the imagination movie of the book excites every inch of my body, then I buy it.
March 11th, 2008 at 22:39
I used to teach literature so a lot of books I just had to read. But I love lurking in bookstores for my own finds (meaning “discovering” good authors without any help from critics) and bargains (prices so low you could hardly believe it). I prefer to read the book first before seeing the movie version.
March 12th, 2008 at 08:50
When Powerbooks invaded Cebu last December, i was like “i just wanna stay here and i dont wanna go home for days”..
I usually read reviews online, check out the figures in Powerbooks and NBS,look for it in Booksale and do treasure hunt for hours..
Found Alice Sebold, Ayn Rand, Alice Munro hardbound copies for only 100php,=)..
Been looking for Neil Gaiman and Ian McEwan in Booksale, can’t found one so i have no choice but shell out 300-400 in Powerbooks, =(..
March 12th, 2008 at 11:14
I savor the words (“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past…”).
For some reason, I love seeing this word in a page—“Yes.”–complete with quotation marks and a period.
I imagine the narrator is speaking to me (“How much reverence can you feel for a Supreme Being who finds it necessary to include such phenomena as phlegm and tooth decay in His divine system of creation?”).
A movie plays in my head as I read (Look, M’sieu the Mayor, a piece of string…).
When reading Elmore Leonard novels, my “default actor” is the boss of cool-
John Travolta, who else.
March 13th, 2008 at 01:06
i read reviews, look at the (last) year’s best-of lists, hear recommendations, and trawl bookstores