THE CHAIR

For as long as I can remember, I've always been fond of reading. My mother often tells me that I started to read at age 3, and by age 4 I was already perusing the newspaper. We used to live next door to my cousins, who were avid readers, and I soon followed their footsteps. By third grade I had started my own little library. By fourth grade I was already scrimping my allowance so I could expand my collection. I love reading so much that I would finish skimming all the stories in my English textbook even before the school year starts. I hang out so much at bookstores that relatives often joked that if my parents didn't know my whereabouts, they can easily figure out where I am. (And there was indeed an instance when my parents just randomly strolled into a book fair hoping to find me, and they did!) Back then, my dream job was to be a librarian. To be surrounded by different kinds of books was my ultimate bliss.

As the years went by and other priorities set in, I found less time to read. It didn't stop me from buying books though, or borrowing from friends, cos I still have high hopes of being able to read them "someday soon". And so eventually, I have accumulated quite a long reading list (and also gathered much dust on the shelves). This year, I resolve to catch up on this, with the goal of finishing at least 30 novels this 2012.

And so yesterday, I went to work armed with Ptolemy's Gate, the final installment to the Bartimaeus Trilogy. Luck was on my side, cos there were hardly any patients during my 12-hour shift. As an added bonus, there was a comfy chair in the resident's quarters (see picture above). Oh, what joy! My reading went undisturbed and I finally finished the series.

The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud is composed of The Amulet of Samarkand (2003), The Golem's Eye (2004) and Ptolemy's Gate (2005). Set in an alternate history of 1930s London, where magic plays a strong role in politics and in shaping world events, this is the story of a gifted and ambitious young magician named Nathaniel, his cheeky five-thousand-year-old djinni Bartimaeus, and a feisty commoner named Kitty Jones. Their lives are intertwined in a series of conflicts, magical adventures and complex conspiracies that will bond them in a destiny that just might save their world.

Initially I found this a bit hard to digest cos the books are quite thick and the fonts quite small. I also thought that it might be a drag, so I kept pushing off reading this series. But when I really focused on it, I realized that it was immensely enjoyable! The story is rich with humor, suspense and excitement that will make you flip page after page and keep you guessing until the end. Since every chapter is told from one of the protagonists' point of view, I can associate and empathize with all three main characters. I particularly looked forward to chapters that are told from Bartimaeus' POV, cos he's such a tease! He likes to brag and make snide and sarcastic comments that often made me guffaw out loud. There are also footnotes in his chapters which give us glimpses of his rich past and explains a lot about his otherworldly attributes. Nat, on the other hand, developed not only physically but also in knowledge and in character. Seeing him grow up and change from book to book makes you wonder expectantly if he will become the typical corrupt magician, or if he does have traits which will make him exceptionally different. And sure enough, I was not disappointed with how he turned out. Kitty's perspective does not appear till the second book, but her character also develops wonderfully and she becomes a significant part of the plot. I especially loved the third novel, since it was so exciting, fast-paced, action-packed, and I won't spoil, but the ending just clinches everything so perfectly and satisfactorily that I am still affected by it even until now, more than 24 hours after finishing it. I thought that each book is separate from the other, but when I read the final installment, it actually connects all the incidents and wraps up the trilogy into a beautiful and epic conclusion. I am certainly most pleased with it! (^o^)/

I really want more of Bartimaeus and I'm so happy to learn that the author has actually released a prequel for this series, called The Ring of Solomon (2010) (Oh~ Thank you so much, Mr Stroud!!!) Although sadly, we won't be hearing more of Nat and Kitty, but I am thrilled that I can read more about our audacious djinni! I hope I can find the book (prolly not in our local bookstores though, maybe in Manila...).

Lately I've only been reading books aimed for children and young adults. Series I've finished in the most recent years include The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, Twilight, Fablehaven, Daniel X, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Hunger Games, Beyonders (first of trilogy), etc etc etc. Series I still have to read are Maximum Ride, The Kane Chronicles, The Heroes of Olympus, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Witch and Wizard, Artemis Fowl, Inkheart, Redwall, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Lord of the Rings, etc etc etc. If you notice, most of these are of the fantasy/adventure genre cos I'm currently only interested in those (although I also have other more "mature" or "serious" materials here). Although I want to write about all of them, but as you can see, I'm kinda bad at describing my reading experiences (what's with all these adjectives that fail to describe @___@). Well, whatever. To blog or not really depends on my mood and my skills in time management. As of now, I'm juggling a lot of activities in my hands, though I feel that I'm still accomplishing nothing and not really serving my real purpose in life. Oh well. I guess I'm off to the next book.