If my life is a mistake, I mean, a mixed tape :-)

Only Time ( Enya )

Music has always been a part of my life. Well, ever since I got hook to it. I even have this thought that it's cool to have music on, while driving ( anyway, it's just a thought since I don't drive, yet )

Welcome To My Life ( Simple Plan )

It has been a constant presence in my every waking hour, so much so, that I broke more than a couple of headsets, way back in college. I used to have a collection of cassette tapes ( too bad, I don't know where I have stash them) I had music on while I studied for exams. Some said it was a distraction. In some ways, it was. I put music on when I come close to exploding with anger, to calm me down. When AJ was still a baby, I used to carry her and "danced" to a favorite tune, before I head to work.

Anything But Ordinary ( Avril Lavigne )

November Rain ( Guns N' Roses )

Sometimes, music brings me to tears. Other times, it brings back good memories shared with friends and family. Now, it helps me either to run faster or just cruise along.

Smells Like Teen Spirit ( Nirvana )

Ana's Song ( Open fire ) - Silverchair

The songs I have here are in no particular order. I chose them for the simple reason that I like them at certain points in my life. And I just come up with a few, otherwise, it will go on forever.

Don't Look Back In Anger ( Oasis )

"All good music resembles something. Good music stirs by its mysterious resemblance to the objects and feelings which motivated it."

Jean Cocteau

Updated Book List ( at last )

“We read to know that we are not alone.” - C.S. Lewis

Since the start of this year, I put it upon myself to make a list of all the books I've read in a month. And I was able to do so, at least for the first quarter of the year, though. You can check it out here.

I think I'm lazy. Once I started to get engrossed in a book, I just completely zone out everything ( except my work, of course ) I have this thing of sticking a POST-IT note on the first page of the book I will read and jot down the title, author's name, date started and date finished. It's my way to keep track of the books I've read and the time it took me to finish them.

Somehow, I muster enough willingness to come up with the list and update it diligently. It's not much actually. I usually get the books I read from the library ( which has become my favorite haunt during my days off ) and some I buy from discount stores ( if and when I want my own copy of a book that I particularly like) And so, here it goes...

APRIL 2011 

1. The Help ( Kathryn Stockett )
2. Up Island ( Anne Rivers Siddons )
3. And Thereby Hangs A Tale ( Jeffrey Archer )
4. Mirage ( Soheir Khashoggi)
5. Water for Elephants ( Sara Gruen)

MAY 2011

1. The Mermaid Chair ( Sue Monk Kidd )
2. False Impression ( Jeffrey Archer )
3. Someone Knows My Name (The Book Of Negroes ) ( Lawrence Hill )
4. World Without End ( Ken Follet )

JUNE 2011

1. Roots ( Alex Hailey )
2. The Kite Runner ( Khaled Hosseini )
3. Life Without Limits ( Nick Vujicic )
4. A Thousand Splendid Suns ( Khaled Hosseini )
5. The Book of Awesome ( Neil Pasricha )

“It is what you read when you don't have to that determines what you will be when you can't help it.”  - Oscar Wilde

JULY 2011

1. The Distant Hours ( Kate Morton )
2. Sarah's Key ( Tatiana de Rosnay )
3. Marathon Woman ( Kathrine Switzer )
4. Any Known Blood ( Lawrence Hill )
5. To Be A Runner ( Martin Dugard )
6. The Hours ( Michael Cunningham )

AUGUST 2011

1. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan ( Lisa See )
2. Let's Take The Long Way Home- A Memoir of Friendship ( Gail Caldwell )
3. A Cup of Friendship ( Deborah Rodriguez )
4. Dreams of Joy ( Lisa See )
5. Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone ( J. K. Rowling )
6. The Splendor of Silence ( Indu Sundaresan)

SEPTEMBER 2011

1. Ancestor Stones ( Aminatta Forna )
2. Burnt Mountain ( Anne Rivers Siddons )
3. Kabul Beauty School (Deborah Rodriguez)
4. A Fine Balance ( Rohinton Mistry )
5. Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets ( J.K. Rowling)
6. Running on Empty ( Marshall Ulrich)
7. Prisoner of Tehran- A Memoir ( Marina Nemat)

My reading experience for the past few months has been wonderful and excellent. I cried when I read "The Kite Runner" and "Sarah's Key". I'm always transported to a different time and place whenever I start reading. I read about various subjects. Slavery, conflict between the Nazis and the Jews, and the ongoing struggle in Afghanistan. Then there's about India and China. And there's also about running.

I'll look forward for more great reads in the future. Many thanks to the South Cowichan Library here in Mill Bay!

Let's keep reading.:-)