1. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
Maybe I’m the only one here who hasn’t read #TFIOS (though I’ve seen the movie and it was sweeeet), but I’ve finished the best-selling YA author’s debut, Looking For Alaska, which won the Michael L. Printz Award in 2006. I loved Green’s unembellished style and simple storytelling, and after subscribing to vlogbrothers and learning that he used to work for Mental Floss, I was piqued. An Abundance of Katherines instantly went into my to-read list after I learned about the simple, straightforward, yet unique plot, and that it’s something of nerdom. So far I found the protagonist Colin Singleton really endearing, sarcastic at times, sensitive and naive, yet fun to follow around. He’s a 17-year-old child prodigy who just got dumped by the 19th girl he’s dated named Katherine, and his goal in life is to become a genius by means of a Eureka moment. How cool is that.
2. The Giver by Lois Lowry
I’ve actually been wanting to read this ever since I was a kid back in the days I was studying in Singapore. I’ve seen this cover so many times before whenever I’m in the bookstores. Very often, I find The Giver under the classics section, right next to L’Engle’s A Wrinkle In Time, but I’ve never picked it up to see what’s it about. Now that I’ve learned it’s going to be made into a major motion picture (featuring Taylor Swift, people) this summer, I finally stopped hesitating and started venturing out to Lowry’s dystopian world. She’s the mother of the genre after all, and I’m sure the recent popularity of it is sure going to bring a huge success for the movie this August. So far I’m loving how she’s conveying so much with such concise sentences. I’m sure this is going to be a fast read so I’ll quickly follow the rest of the books in the quartet: Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son.
3. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Like I said, my family is a bunch of introverts, so it comes naturally that I want to know how our minds work in order to foster better communication and keep our relationships strong. Although I’ve seen this book about a million times in bookstores, reckoned it’s been on the top spots of major bestsellers lists, and watched Susan Cain’s talks and interviews on the topic across all media, I wasn’t planning on reading the book because I already know that the thesis for Quiet is basically stating that introverts, unlike previously thought, actually possess more favorable traits than extroverts for them to thrive in the modern-day world (the title says it all). Then I found this book lying on my brother’s bed while I was visiting him in June. He told me to read it, as it’s helped him a lot in both his personal and professional lives. So here I am reading it now, finding it extremely insightful so far. Now I can see what’s the hype …
4. Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan
5. BBC Knowledge Asia Edition Vol. 6 Issue 7
So this is my latest discovery while I was making a transit in Singapore. It’s a relatively new magazine by Regent Media Pte Ltd, and it’s quickly become an instant favorite for me. Unlike most science magazines out there, BBC Knowledge has practically all fields of science (physics, biology, chemistry, psychology, astronomy, you name it) as well as their relating departments (namely history, anthropology, zoology, engineering, and more) condensed into one tight magazine. I can understand if you think the magazine covers one broad and dangerous arena, but I assure you, they’ve really gone in-depth across every topic. I think if I leave this magazine lying around the living room when I have a kid later on, he or she will outsmart the science teacher at school and then go score all tests with flying colors.
Now it’s your turn to share: What are you reading these days?
Love, Stace
