For the past few months of 2019, I started to notice that I have a number of books that are left unread at home. It was also during last year that I learned about the Unplug to Read Campaign of National Bookstore. The campaign aimed at promoting the reading habit by turning off mobile phones and gadgets every night at 8:00 pm and devote time immersing in a good book.
I decided to give that campaign a try in November last year. I don't get to watch TV a lot except for the evening news program so I thought I will be able to accomplish it. Around that time, I was intrigued with the Wattpad writer named Jonaxx so I decided to immerse in one of her books, Training to Love. I would spend an hour every night (usually until before my bedtime at 9:30 pm) and I believe the bookstore's campaign worked. Call it an achievement but I finished this book in four days.
After succeeding in my first attempt, I decided that I could probably make it a habit. For this year, I decided to engage in what I call Two Book a Month Challenge. I found the inspiration for this project after seeing the posts of actress Toni Gonzaga and a Taiwanese mommy and businesswoman that I am following on Instagram named Nikki Wu where they would post books that they have read.
I decided to read at least two books of any genre within a month. Yup, just to be on the safe side because given that I sometimes have unpredictable workload in the office, it might leave me tired if not exhausted to read (or do anything). At least, if I specify and keep it at that number, I can still keep up with my assignment. For this month, I picked books by two Filipino authors to be on my reading list. Hello, Love Goodbye The Novel by Charmaine Lasar and Right Where You Left Me by Elizabeth Galit.
While I have seen the movie twice (!) last year, I still decided to read the novel adaptation of Hello, Love, Goodbye in order to further understand the events that transpired in the story but were never shown in the movie. Content wise, almost all the lines from the movie also appeared in the book. I enjoyed reading it because it included the backstory of Joy's life in the Philippines before flying to Hongkong. Parts of the book also provided narrations from Ethan's point-of-view. And if everyone felt bitin with how Ethan and Joy's story ended in the movie, the epilogue in this book will surely justify every moviegoer's plea for the movie to have a second installment.
Can love really happen between two people living different lives and totally different careers? That was the question that prompted me to get a copy of the book Right Where You Left Me through my friend Kim Derla (who is also friends with the book's author Elizabeth Galit). When I first read the short summary of the book, I just knew I had to read it and there was not a single moment that I felt doubtful if it will be worth reading or otherwise. More than just finding out if romance is possible between a doctor and an ESL teacher, I found the book delightful (at least for me) because aside from giving the glimpse of an independent life, the book touched a number of subjects too -- from the existence of "Judgmental Titas" which we all tend to encounter at a point in our lives, the fact that fights are sometimes an essential part and test of a genuine friendship, to the importance of deciding to follow your heart because it is by doing so that you will be genuinely happy. The book further fueled my belief that doctors are crushworthy individuals especially when I found out that the male character in the story, Dr. Danilo Almendras was actually inspired by a real-life neurologist. But you need to read the book to find out who he is.
The love month of February starts tomorrow and so, I'll be starting with a new batch of books for the month. I wonder what the genre suits best. Should that be love and romance or anything else? Drop me a comment. I'll be glad to read your suggestions.
