new toys for saving up

saving up for this! and this:

airing something out

lumipat na ng pinagtuturuan, wala namang pinagbago sa ugali. chismoso pa din. sinungaling pa din on the side. naghihintay ng pagkakataong ilabas ang bastos na ugali at kawalan ng breeding.panira sa paaralan ng patron ng mga guro.

isama mo na yung alalay mong undersize na saksakan din ng chismoso. buko na ang kabugtutan ng paninira niya sa madlang pipol.nakakahiya sa pamantasang pinanggalingan niyong dalawa. nandadamay pa kayo.


let karma take its course.

book review: Broken by Karin Slaughter

This is my first Karin Slaughter book I bought at its regular price at a local bookstore as I could not find a used copy yet in the usual booksale outlets.

Broken presents a more extensive interaction between Sara and Will. Sara comes home to Grant for Thanksgiving but is suddenly caught in the midst of a suicide investigation. After getting a hard time, she calls GBI and she gets Will Trent. Together, they get enmeshed in uncovering the secrets of the deaths while Will gets in the tension between them, Lena, and the whole police force.

I think this novel wraps up everything the could possibly have ties with Jeffrey. However, it does not say whether Sara will opt to return to her small town or remain in Atlanta to be near Will. Alas, until the end, Will is still "married" even if Angie has left him.

I bought my first Karin Slaughter novel because it was funny that a crime novel is authored by someone who has that last name. Immediately, I wanted to finish Kisscut. Eventually, I found her other books at the secondhand bookstores. One time, while I was paying for Beyond Reach, another customer at the counter said she was a fan of Karin Slaughter, too. I smiled and then I wanted to wring her neck when she said she was not sure if the novel was where Jeffrey died! WTF! I had no inkling that would happen.

Some sites mentioned that some fans did not want to read next novels because they hated that she killed off Jeffrey at the time when the Sara-Jeffrey tandem was getting loved. Personally, I think Jeffrey was killed too soon but that bound to happen because he was getting too boring. He was becoming predictable and together with Sara, not much could still be done. I am speculating that Karin Slaughter did not think she'll be that big so with the demand for her writing, she has to churn out something new and interesting all the time.

In Broken, I sense she just had to write some sense of closure for herself and her readers. That's how I interpret the scene when Sara loses the necklace with Jeffrey's ring. Yet, there is a sense of tiredness as well. Towards the middle, it becomes obvious as to who has done it and towards the end, it's just telling. As usual everyone gets their justice.

I look forward to reading Fallen to complete the Will Trent series. Faith's character seems to be more interesting than Sara because she's Sara's anti-thesis. Will is Jeffrey's foil, too. Will is faithful and imperfect! I think I like Will and Sara actually. Hahaha.

So, now I need to save up so I can buy Martin Misunderstood and Like a Charm and Fallen.

book review: A Dangerous Fortune by Ken Follet

Published in 1993, this novel chronicles the life of a the Pilaster family, a British family involved in banking. Set in the last three decades of the 19th century, Follet creates a story that is enough to keep the reader wanting to find out what will happen to Hugh, Micky, Edward, and Augusta.

I discovered Ken Follet because of the tail end of Oprah discussing how fascinated she was with Pillars of the Earth. Oprah said the book was quite long yet it managed to move the story quickly. True enough, there was always a twist every third page.

A Dangerous Fortune was written after Pillars of the Earth but it does not have as much details as the latter. However, the narrative is tight that all characters and problems are resolved towards the end. Typical of all his novels is the justice meted out on all evil.

As a Follet fan, I'm already familiar with his style, straightforward, attention to details, twists, social deviants, human issues (there's always a tinge of homosexuality). However, this familiarity makes reading his works more interesting because of realizing the validation of my prediction as to what will happen in the end. I think that is where his magic lies. Follet is able to capitalize on the reader feeling that he/she is write as to what will happen in the end.

What I have read so far are in my order of reading: The Pillars of the Earth, World without End, A Place called Freedom, The Big Needle, and A Dangerous Fortune. My next novel is Fall of Giants but I'm dilly-dallying because it's the first of three and the two others have yet to be published. I have Night Over Water waiting to be read as well.

I think I should find his earlier novels and read them while waiting for the two other books to be published.