12 Steps to Quitting AJ

Type: Prose
Genre: Novel (chic literature)
Author: Faye Ilogon
Year Published: 2009
Publisher: Summit Books
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Summary

Grace and AJ have been friends since their childhood days. They have fallen in love and has an on and off relationship. One day, something important happened to Grace that might change the course of her relationship with AJ. She started to evaluate things and even composed a list of steps to quitting the guy.



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12 Steps to Quitting AJ tells us a story of a couple who always break-up and get back together again. You'll notice that in the novel, Grace, the protagonist, is just like any other girl, fickle-minded, hopeless romantic and quite childish. She wants her man to be expressive in every creative way. And, she also wants to be the one to handle the reins. But of course, that isn't always possible.

The plot of the novel might confuse you for it is full of flashbacks narrating the love story of Grace and AJ. But, it is one interesting novel because you'll learn a lot of things not only about humans but also on animals. This is so because AJ is a veterinarian.

Another thing you'll love in the book is that it has a magazine-feel. It is full of guides that at one point, you might even find yourself wondering, "Is this really a novel or a magazine article?" But at the end, you'll still enjoy the story saying it's a nice read and that you learned from it.


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Memorable Lines from the Book


"Men are like dogs. They like to chase catty sexy things. " - Grace


"Never make a man do anything he isn't ready for. He will give you hell for it and make up all sorts of excuses to get back at you. " - Grace's mom


"A man who has little or no self-esteem is just as bad as man with too much of it." - Elise

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

Type: Prose
Genre: Novel (Young Adult Fiction)
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Year Published: 2010
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

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Summary

This story is about the young vampire we encountered in the book "Eclipse". Her name is Bree Tanner, one of the newborn vampires. She was created not knowing the many interesting and important facts about her kind. Until one day, she learned that her creator is using her and the other newborns as an army against another vampire coven, the Cullens. Too late to escape, she finds herself trapped in the war between the Cullens and her creator. She decided to surrender and is given another chance to live. Unfortunately, this chance to live is only good for a short time because she would still be facing death. Not in the hands of the supposed-to-be-enemies but of the Volturi.


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This book is actually a companion novella to the third book in the Twilight series, Eclipse. What is interesting here is that we are taken to the other side of the story. The side of the vampires.


In the Twilight series, what we only read are things from Bella's point of view especially the first three books. Thus, we are not aware on how the vampires really live, how they feel about their situation and what is it like being a vampire. Well, those questions were answered by Bree.


This young vampire, Bree, somehow gives us a glimpse of what Bella Swan would be like in the fourth book, Breaking Dawn. Yet, unlike Bella, her story ends in a tragedy. Her love that hasn't even started has already came to an end. Which leads us to question the author. What really happened to Diego? Why did he just disappear in the scene? Does he really have feelings for Bree?


Actually, there are a lot more questions in the book that were left hanging in the air. If it's intentional, that we do not know. Still, it would be better if they would be answered if not in the same book, maybe in another one.


Short as it was, at least we were able to hear a vampire's point of view this time. How I just wish that next time, it will be Edward Cullen telling the story. I think Stephenie has a book for that. Midnight Sun, right? Well, hope she'll finish and publish it soon.

Table for Two

Type: Prose

Genre: Novel (chic literature)

Author: Marla Miniano

Year Published: 2010

Publisher: Summit Books

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Summary

The novel revolves around a small coffee shop that served as a quiet witness to the love stories of its customers. There's this long-time couple about to break-up after college graduation. A young teacher who decided to accept a dare from her brother to quit dating. A wedding photographer trying to stop the marriage of his bestfriend. A guy who never got over a girl. And a girl sitting alone reading romance novels thinking when will her loneliness come to an end.

It is amusing how the lives of these characters are connected and how their joys and heart aches lead them to the coffee shop.

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The book is divided into five parts narrating every story of the usual customers of the coffee shop. No, it's not a collection of short stories because as you move from one chapter to the other, you'll come across the previous main characters of previous chapters and realize what has happened to their story.

What is lovable with this book is that you'll find that you could relate to the characters. That these stories are somehow true and real for some people. That at one point of your life, you've heard their dialogues or maybe even said some of their lines.

The plot is not the traditional, rather, it was written in a way that will make you wonder and say "Hey! So that's just their story? What happened after?" Then you'll catch yourself hooked and flipping the next pages. You'll never know that you have reached the end. But when you did, you'll be grateful that you've found this good read.

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Memorable Lines from the book

"Girls don't like shy guys; they think they do, but they always end up with the ones who speak up and assert themselves and win people over with the grandest of gestures." - Mandy (in "Fresh")

"Anger, more than any emotion makes you lose control." - Mandy (in "Fresh")

"Guys are so easy to drive out of your life, especially when their interest in you has mostly been sustained by your blind, naive, hopelessly hopeful interest in them." - Jill (in "Timeout")

"Goodbye is a strange concept - if the person being left behind resents it and refuses to accept it, is it still goodbye, or simply a departure? " - Lucas (in "This Closure")

Trees

Poet: Joyce Kilmer
Source: "Trees and Other Poems"
Year Published: 1914

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Trees


I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.


A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;


A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;


A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;


Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.


Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.


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This poem is the very famous piece created by Joyce Kilmer. In fact, there were even some commercials and posters using the verses from this poem to tell us how beautiful and important a tree is.


In the first stanza, the poet states that it is quite impossible to see a poem whose beauty is comparable to a tree. And from there, he started to enumerate the lovely qualities of the tree in the following verses.


You will then notice that a tree here is not just an ordinary thing. With the dominant use of the figure of speech, persoification, the tree has somewhat transformed into an animated object. A creature full of life. An example from which personification added color to this poem are the following lines:

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

Of course, a tree cannot move. But with the writer's imagination and through personification, we can now have an image of a leafy tree raising its stems as if it is really praying.

At the end of the poem, the writer then tells us that the existence of a lovely masterpiece such as the tree is something that only God can create. And even if poets and fools can write beautiful verses, no one can still be at par with God who created all things.

My Dad

Type: Prose

Genre: Short Story (children's book)

Author: Anthony Browne

Published: 2001

Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux

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Summary

This book is about a young boy who tells us about the great things that his Dad could do. Usually in a brown plaid bathrobe and blue-striped pajamas, this Dad can do just about anything. He is not afraid of the bad wolf, he could swim like a fish, eat like a horse, wrestle with giants, and even walk on a tightrope. For the young boy, his dad is just about the coolest thing ever.

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My Dad is a heart-warming and funny book that pays tribute to all fathers out there It shows that every father in the world is always the "Best Dad" in his children's eyes. And whatever big achievement a father achieves, raising his child to be a good person is still the biggest achievement he'll ever have.

This book is a perfect gift for a birthday or even on Father's Day. Though your father is already too old for this kind of read, it will still be a sweet gesture for him to receive a copy of this. The book would able to express to him your appreciation and gratitude for all the love and sacrifices that he has given you especially if you are too shy to say it to him. (Tip: Place a bookmark or post-it at the last page of the book with your note for Dad in it. Surely, he'll be touched.)

Men

Poet: Maya Angelou

Source: "The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou"

Year Published: 1994

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Men

When I was young, I used to

Watch behind the curtains

As men walked up and down the street. Wino men, old men.

Young men sharp as mustard.See them.

Men are always

Going somewhere.

They knew I was there. Fifteen

Years old and starving for them.

Under my window, they would pause,

Their shoulders high like the

Breasts of a young girl,

Jacket tails slapping over

Those behinds,

Men.

One day they hold you in the

Palms of their hands, gentle, as if you

Were the last raw egg in the world. Then

They tighten up. Just a little. The

First squeeze is nice. A quick hug.

Soft into your defenselessness. A little

More. The hurt begins. Wrench out a

Smile that slides around the fear. When the

Air disappears,

Your mind pops, exploding fiercely, briefly,

Like the head of a kitchen match. Shattered.

It is your juice

That runs down their legs. Staining their shoes.

When the earth rights itself again,

And taste tries to return to the tongue,

Your body has slammed shut. Forever.

No keys exist.

Then the window draws full upon

Your mind. There, just beyond

The sway of curtains, men walk.

Knowing something.

Going someplace.

But this time, I will simply

Stand and watch.

Maybe.

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This poem titled "Men" is somehow a glimpse of what has happened to the poet in the past. As we all know, every poem depicts a moment from its writer's past. This is the same for this poem because if you would notice, its verses reflects the deep emotions that Maya had experienced when she was raped way back when she was a child.

But, apart from the poet's background, Men also tells us how a young girl's view about the opposite sex has changed. If you'll carefully read the first stanza, it shows the innocence of a girl -curious about men and what love is all about. The age when there was very little knowledge about the pains that men and relationship could bring.

Moving on to the second stanza, it is when the persona (the girl) started to discover more about the nature of man. She has welcomed a man in her life, perhaps she fell in love with him and enjoyed the feeling of having someone caring for you. This is very much evident with the lines:

"They tighten up. Just a little. The
First squeeze is nice. A quick hug."

Yet, as we move on to the poem, you'll notice that the persona has also come into a realization that the man has started going beyond and takeing advantage of her being defenseless. It is then when she learned (in the hard way) that a man could not only give sweetness but also pain. In her case, the pain she experienced was really bad: "Your body has slammed shut. Forever. No keys exist." This reminds us of how Maya has reacted to the abuse she had experienced during her childhood. It was very traumatic for her. We recall that she became mute for years.

In the third stanza, the persona seems to go back from where it all started - watching men as they passed by. However, this time there's a difference because now she had experienced how cruel men could be.

The last stanza shows the persona's reluctance whether she'll just let the world go on with what they are doing and watch the men passing by or let go of what had happened and try to fall in love again. With the word "Maybe", it is clear that despite everything she had experienced, she has decided to move on and welcome new possibilities in her life -like falling in love again.

In the end, we have come to know that this poem isn't really about its title "Men". In fact, it is never the subject of the poem. The real focus of the poem is the woman. How she first wondered about her opposite sex, discovered new emotions such as love and passion, got hurt and importantly, moved on. Her struggles and triumph over them were perfectly presented in the verses of this inspiring poem. Truly, Maya Angelou knows how to empower women through her craft.

The EX Commandments and Other Post Break-Up Stories

Type: Prose
Genre: Short Story
Author: Carmelle Hyacinth Penetrante
Year Published: 2006
Publisher: PSICOM Publishing Inc. (Philippines)

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Book Overview

This book, as the title suggests is a compilation of stories about girls who had just experienced a break-up. The five stories show the different ways of females in handling a heartbreak. Some are funny, crazy and there are also some that are touching and heart-warming. So, I picked two stories to review...

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The Ex Commandments


This short story is divided into ten parts. Actually, I think it's more of a mini-novel. Anyway, each part is about the commandments that the protagonist, Jenni has thought of in dealing with her break-up with ex-boyfriend, Joe.

The first commandment up to the ninth are very much realistic. Overspending, confiding with friends, denying what happened, and throwing away relationship-related things. If you are a girl, certainly you've done a thing or two in those nine commandments that Jenni has listed. Or perhaps, you even did them all.

However, when you reach the tenth commandment, that's when you realize that this literary piece is truly fiction. The tenth commandment is about seeking revenge. And, Jenni's idea of sweet revenge is burning her ex's car.

As you read the last part, you will notice that it seems as though what you are reading is a material for a film. Everything in that part is detailed and very cinematic. You could even imagine yourself as Jenni trailing away gracefully while the flames devour her ex's F150.

Well, even if it was a biased narration (but justifiable since the idea of the book is a collection of girls' post break-up stories), it was a nice story. Something that you would let a brokenhearted woman read that won't make her cry even more. In fact, she might even smile and think if she has done all those commandments.

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Sleepless in Makati


Unlike the Ex Commandments, this story was narrated from the point of view of the two main characters, Jen and Jeff.

The two characters were batchmates during high school. They had a thing before but they were too young to make it work. After seven years, they met again in a coffee shop. Both of them single again because of finished relationships.

Jen's relationship with her boyfriend ended after she discussed wedding gowns over breakfast. It was the same for Jeff. However, the reason for Jeff's break-up with his girlfriend was because he never had time for the girl.

And so, they spent hours coping up with each other in the coffee shop until they realized that they seem to click well. At the end, they ended up with each other. Jeff is still the same workaholic guy and Jen still the same dominant woman. But, they accepted each other's attitude so there was no conflict.

So, this is the light part (and definitely the last in the process of recovering from a break-up) of those post break-up stories. When the girl has decided not just to move on but to move forward and welcome a new love. And though "Sleepless in Makati" is somehow a story that lacks in sweet moments, it was still able to justify the whole theme of the book.


To sum up, the author, Penetrante, was able to showcase what girls are going through after a break-up in a realistic manner. Her choice of situations and conversations were able to connect pretty well with the reader especially if you are a female. For male readers, reading this book will truly enlighten you and let you understand why your ex girlfriend acts weird after your break-up. Somehow, this is like a guide book for both men and women. It tells females how to recover from the incident and it tells the males how to handle their ex girlfriends.

By the way, if you wish to grab a copy of the book and can't find it in the bookstores, get it here.

Shanghai Baby

Type: Prose
Genre: Fiction
Author: Wei Hui
Year Published: 1993
Publisher: Robinson Publishing UK
Main Characters: Nikki or Coco - a Shanghai woman who works as a waitress in a cafe
Tian Tian - Coco's boyfriend; an artist who frequently uses drugs
Mark - a married German businessman whom Coco got involved with.



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Summary



Coco, a young woman working in a cafe has always been struggling to become a writer. During her struggles, she met a young artist named Tian Tian who encouraged her to reach for her ambition. She fell in love with him, moved in with him and left her work. They lived together as they try to fulfill their dreams. However, one day, Coco met another man named Mark. The two became intensely attracted to one another. Tian Tian somehow sensed something's wrong and started to use drugs. Confused of what she feels for the two men, Coco became torn between conflicting emotions.



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A semi-autobiographical book, Shanghai Baby exposes a different face of the society. A woman blinded by love and lust.


Actually, this book was banned in China in April 2000. An estimate of 40, 000 copies were even publicly burned. However, a different reaction came when the book was brought to the West.


Shanghai Baby possess an aggressive voice that some people even don't want to hear. It's views on life, love and sex have never been so realistic. It was no doubt that the book became a bestseller.


If you want to have a feel of how complicated love is and how it is different from lust, then read Shanghai Baby.



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Memorable Lines from the Book



"Death is the expression of exhaustion, a solution arrived at rationally once one has known the deepest depths of tiredness." - TianTian (Coco's boyfriend).



"Life is like a chronic illness, and finding something interesting to do is a kind of long term cure." - Coco