(Tentative) 2013 TBR Book Pile

[aorin]

It's a little bit too early to prepare this but since I'm obviously looking for an excuse to procrastinate (and tumblr was down earlier), so why not. I'll be taking one of those online reading challenges next year, mostly because I just want to cut down the To-Be-Read book pile in my room (which will expand massively in December after I return from

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[aorin]

Let's do this together and we can cheer on each other! Though I'm sure you are a faster reader than I am. ;) And same here, I will probably end up buying a lot more books next year but I hope to at least clear off some of the unread books with this list. And yes! I mean, it's such a waste to not to buy during book sales (the cheapest for me is about $3 at the upcoming year-end sale). Who knows if we'll ever need those books, y/y?

Oh, I had always been curious about it since it was one of the canon books of Asian American literature. It was 20% off so I thought why not... well, it's not like it's going to get any cheaper for me to own. (totally not making excuses here) :P And it's so cool that you get to take an Asian American lit class, we don't even have anything close to that around here. :/ What books did you read? Curious minds want to know. :D

I still don't understand Murakami but... he's so popular that it has to be good, right? Maybe he's one of those hit and miss authors (like James Joyce) but I hope I would at least score a hit with this book. :)

And do create your book list, I would love to see your fabulous list of books! :D Unless of course you are in Japan and your unread books are not with you. :3

[leafyaki]

Nope, I'm terribly slow, what with tumblr and LJ and all sorts of other distractions. And then there's school, haha. Sales are really hard to resist! I went for a library used book sale, that's where the books were all $2 unless otherwise stated. And even then I think I saw nothing higher than $5? There were so many people! I didn't know Singaporeans liked to read so much :P These books are treasures, man. They'll always be needed ♥

Ah that class was the only one on Asian American literature, but it was an interesting one. Besides The Woman Warrior, we read The Joy Luck Club and Jasmine. Hmm a few other poets as well, but I'm afraid their names escape me at the moment. I do remember one of the poem titles was "Persimmon", and it was really good.

Haha some of my professors didn't like Murakami. Perhaps he's popular because something about what he writes really strikes people...I know his themes are rather dark, usually to do with loneliness and coping with modern society. If you're interested in his other works he has quite a lot of short stories, which I really enjoyed. I think the collections are "Blind Willow, Sleeping Willow" and "The Elephant Vanishes". James Joyce was really a miss for me, though A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man was a more or less interesting read. Just cannot bear to sit through Ulysses ><

Hee you guessed right! Most of my unread books are home and collecting dust. I do have the last two books of the Game of Thrones series to get through, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Hmmm maybe will try tackling some Japanese books, though I'll likely fail miserably in that aspect. Many second hand book stores around here, so I might check those out :D

[aorin]

But you do so well with distractions... well, better than me anyway. But yes, school. The biggest time consumer! Don't get me wrong, we read a lot for school, it's just... not what we always want to read. I find it almost impossible to resist book sales or bargain bins, and because of the cheap prices, I sometimes end up with books that I'm not even sure I want to read. Reading habits are pretty terrible in my country so I'm generally surprised to find a crowd in bookstores. Have I told you that I tend to run into a bookstore to avoid a large crowd during weekends at the shopping malls? XD But yes, books are treasures. *nods*

Ooh, I've read "Joy Luck Club" but not "Jasmine". You are talking about Bharati Mukherjee's Jasmine, yes? And don't worry, I'm more partial to books anyway and it'll be hard to locate these poems, especially if they are obscure.

Remember that year-end book sale that I've mentioned earlier? For some reason, Murakami's books are always the first to sell out. I don't know if people really likes his books that much or they are just buying his books because he's a popular writer. Other than Kafka, I currently own "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" and "After Dark" but I think I'm going to go ahead with reading Kafka first. :) I know some of my course mates read "A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man" for one of their classes and I did like the "Dubliners" (which I think you'll like)... but not "Ulysses".

Your unread books are crying for you to return. By the way, how long will you be in Japan? :) Second-hand books sound like a fine option. Library is good too but you don't get to own the copy and it's just... different. :/