For the past two weeks I have been trying to finish the two books I started reading. Uhmm, yes, I do read books in parallel, sometimes even three or four at a time, from various genres. I then read whatever suits my mood. For one reason or another, I always put these two books aside and start (and eventually finish) other volumes.
Maybe these books don't really tickle my fancy that much, or they're a bit on the heavy reading side, but I'm just too proud to quit. And so I plod along page by page. These books? Negotiation Genius by Deepak Malhotra and Max Bazerman, and Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan.
Negotiation Genius is actually interesting, in that it offers very practical examples and applications of the concepts of negotiating. After my stint as a member of the management panel for the CBA talks in our company, I can relate to what Messrs. Malhotra and Bazerman wrote about. Concepts such as logrolling and packaging demands together, co-creation of value and BATNA -- they are all very useful, and presented in a very readable format. I wish we could've read this beforehand.
Somehow though, another book always manages to catch my eye, so I put this one aside, finish the other one, then come back to this once more. I will finish this in time though. That's my promise.
The other one, Say You're One of Them, is a collection of stories by Uwem Akpan, a Nigerian author. I had seen this book before in stores, but I always ignored it. Then I picked it up and read the blurb, browsed through it and decided that it looked interesting after all. The stories are about life in Africa, in countries such as Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia -- and not just about the picturesque and idealized views of living outside the big cities. It shows the harsh and sordid realities that people do live through, such as human trafficking, prostitution, and religious conflict.
It's serious reading, and much as I want to, I just can't seem to absorb it all in one go. That's why I need to take breaks in between and pick up a book with a lighter tone. But I will go back and finish this as well. It's good writing, honest and unadorned.
On the other hand, in one sitting last night I finished Twisted 9 by Jessica Zafra. Granted, it's a thin voume, but it's eminently readable, with that sardonic tone I admire so much in her writing. From movies to pets to her passion for tennis, she writes n a way that makes one think and chortle at the same time. A very talented writer, I have almost all of Ms. Zafra's books, and a lot of books by other Filipino authors such as F. Sionil Jose, Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo, and Ambeth Ocampo.
I think it's a pity that books by Filipino authors or those with a Filipinianan slant are not given as much air-time or ad-space as others, and are almost always excluded from special promos. But then again, maybe it's because they are already priced way lower than other books sourced from abroad. That's not to say they are of lesser quality though. Definitely not.
And while we're on the vein of easy reading, I started on the much-awaited sequel to Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert: Committed. It picks up from where Eat, Pray, Love left off: when Elizabeth met and fell in love with Felipe. Because they both came from first marriages that ended in divorce, they vowed to NOT get married ever, and which apparently made their relationship last. The complexities start when Felipe is banned from entering the US, except if they get married. The search for the meaning of marriage becomes the overarching theme of this book. I'm about a foruth of my way through, and I think I'll be able to finish it off this weekend.
While experimenting with the focusing mechanism on my camera, I was able to get this nicely blurred effect of the four books I've just written about, a photo of which is at the start of this post.
Quite interesting!
Maybe these books don't really tickle my fancy that much, or they're a bit on the heavy reading side, but I'm just too proud to quit. And so I plod along page by page. These books? Negotiation Genius by Deepak Malhotra and Max Bazerman, and Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan.
Negotiation Genius is actually interesting, in that it offers very practical examples and applications of the concepts of negotiating. After my stint as a member of the management panel for the CBA talks in our company, I can relate to what Messrs. Malhotra and Bazerman wrote about. Concepts such as logrolling and packaging demands together, co-creation of value and BATNA -- they are all very useful, and presented in a very readable format. I wish we could've read this beforehand.
Somehow though, another book always manages to catch my eye, so I put this one aside, finish the other one, then come back to this once more. I will finish this in time though. That's my promise.
The other one, Say You're One of Them, is a collection of stories by Uwem Akpan, a Nigerian author. I had seen this book before in stores, but I always ignored it. Then I picked it up and read the blurb, browsed through it and decided that it looked interesting after all. The stories are about life in Africa, in countries such as Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia -- and not just about the picturesque and idealized views of living outside the big cities. It shows the harsh and sordid realities that people do live through, such as human trafficking, prostitution, and religious conflict.
It's serious reading, and much as I want to, I just can't seem to absorb it all in one go. That's why I need to take breaks in between and pick up a book with a lighter tone. But I will go back and finish this as well. It's good writing, honest and unadorned.
On the other hand, in one sitting last night I finished Twisted 9 by Jessica Zafra. Granted, it's a thin voume, but it's eminently readable, with that sardonic tone I admire so much in her writing. From movies to pets to her passion for tennis, she writes n a way that makes one think and chortle at the same time. A very talented writer, I have almost all of Ms. Zafra's books, and a lot of books by other Filipino authors such as F. Sionil Jose, Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo, and Ambeth Ocampo.
I think it's a pity that books by Filipino authors or those with a Filipinianan slant are not given as much air-time or ad-space as others, and are almost always excluded from special promos. But then again, maybe it's because they are already priced way lower than other books sourced from abroad. That's not to say they are of lesser quality though. Definitely not.
And while we're on the vein of easy reading, I started on the much-awaited sequel to Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert: Committed. It picks up from where Eat, Pray, Love left off: when Elizabeth met and fell in love with Felipe. Because they both came from first marriages that ended in divorce, they vowed to NOT get married ever, and which apparently made their relationship last. The complexities start when Felipe is banned from entering the US, except if they get married. The search for the meaning of marriage becomes the overarching theme of this book. I'm about a foruth of my way through, and I think I'll be able to finish it off this weekend.
While experimenting with the focusing mechanism on my camera, I was able to get this nicely blurred effect of the four books I've just written about, a photo of which is at the start of this post.
Quite interesting!
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