What if your memory fails you every day?

Imagine, if you will, waking up every morning with absolutely no recollection at all of the past several years. Imagine seeing a stranger next to you in bed only to find out that he's your husband. Imagine looking yourself at the mirror and getting confused with all the age lines that you see in your face, for you remember being only in your 20s when you went to bed. In S. J. Watson's debut novel, Before I Go to Sleep, these are exactly what happen to Christine Lucas the moment she first opens her eyes in the morning.

Christine has amnesia. She can't recall the details of what happened to her for the past several years. She's had this condition for more than 20 years, a condition brought about by an accident, which her husband Ben tells her.

So you might be thinking that Christine's husband is a dearie, right? Explaining to Christine every day for the past 20 years who he is and telling her about her amnesia. It must be nerve wracking to be in Christine's shoes. I'd seriously consider killing myself if I were in my shoes. Thankfully, she discovers that she has a journal, one that she's writing on every day recently. The journal also tells her one important thing. Written on the first page of it is this sentence:

Don't trust Ben.

It's chilling reading that sentence. Just 3 words. Three words that somehow turn the novel into a very engaging one. Yes, Before I Go to Sleep is a thriller. And what's more interesting is, you find yourself really curious as to how Christine can get herself out of the situation she's in.
Something's definitely not right with the things Ben keeps telling her. Ben mentioned that they didn't have kids, that her accident caused her amnesia, that she was a lowly clerk at some office. But Christine has occasional flashes of memory: a son named Adam, a best friend, an affair, a sexual assault.

Watson's novel is one of the most entertaining novels I've read in years. I found it refreshing that the novel just focused in on a few characters, allowing him the leverage of wonderful character development. Everyone would love Christine and be distrustful of Ben. Although, some readers would definitely be put off by the apparent black-and-white attributes of the characters.

But what I found even more compelling is how Watson throws something to the reader from the left field. Her husband may not even be the person he's telling himself to be. Christine finds out that she's been seeing a medical specialist clandestinely every day, meeting the doctor as soon as Ben leaves home for work. Watson slowly unravels the reasons for these. It's a nail-biting unraveling though. Watson definitely teases the reader's patience.

Before I Go to Sleep is one novel that feeds on paranoia. I think that Watson has entered the realm of genre fiction with a bang. Let's just hope that his next novel is just as rewarding as this one.

Read this book if:

1. You've always been afraid of losing your memory.
2. You love the movie "Memento".
3. You keep a journal.

The year that was in reading

In just 3 days, we'll be saying good-bye to 2011 and then making those resolutions, futile and otherwise, for 2012. This got me to thinking though: What were my reading highlights for 2011?

To start, I read 111 books, which is fitting for the year '11, no? (I doubt if I'll be able to finish another novel in 3 days with all the get-togethers still squeezed within those 3 days.) And then, I looked back at all those 111 books and said to myself, "Why, yes! 2011 was a good year for KyusiReader!"

I discovered Gary D. Schmidt this year, who instantly became my favorite YA novelist. No magic, no vampires, not a hint of a fantastic element. Just pure storytelling brilliance. His are the kind of books that you want your children, nephews, nieces, classmates, strangers on the bus, and the sexy hunk next door to read.


And then there's Brandon Sanderson. Oh, Brandon, Brandon, Brandon. Where do you get all those friggin' ideas? A world where people use colors for magic, where a city inhabited by gods become cursed, where a gang of thieves can topple a tyrant. You made a lot of people realize that they don't need a George R. R. Martin to get their fantasy fix.


And speaking of GRRM, 2011 is the year when I finally got all hardcovers of A Song of Ice and Fire. Thanks, Iya, for the first edition of A Game of Thrones. In this edition, I can't help but snigger at the author bio, wherein it's mentioned that GRRM is currently at work on his 2nd novel, A Dance with Dragons.


On a lighter note, Tove Jansson's Moomin books were a constant delight. They're the perfect palate cleanser, something to read between those "serious" books. I've read the first 4 and can't wait to read the remaining 5 books.


It's also the year Penguin released their Red series. Again, another excuse for more mindless book buying. How can anyone resist the highly artistic covers! In the cover for D. H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers, for example, artist's inspiration was the woman's vulva.


How can I go wrong with classic science fiction? John Wyndham has given me the perfect escapist novels this year. Very, very enjoyable, I must say.


Y: The Last Man. Best graphic novels ever. Read them! Thankfully, the 5th deluxe edition (the last book) came out this year.


And it's been my tradition to collect the Booker shortlisted novels every year, no matter how late the books become available here in Manila. Funny thing is, I'm missing this year's winner, Julian Barnes's A Sense of an Ending. (So far, I've read only 2 of the 5 that I have. Hehehe.)


How about you, dear reader? What were your reading highlights this year?

Christmas gifts

Okay, so you can call me shallow, but one of the best things about this season is that I receive books as gifts! And for this year, I got books that I haven't even read yet! (Well, maybe I dropped a couple of hints here and there to friends and relatives. Hehehe.)



I'm especially looking forward to reading Maus and The Phantom Tollbooth, which I heard are very enjoyable books. So allow me to get back on my reading, but let me first wish you a joyous season and here's to more books in 2012!

The circus is in town

Much has been said about Erin Morgenstern's debut novel, The Night Circus. You can't miss it, it's all over the place these days. And so I found myself in a bookstore doing some last-minute shopping when I thought, heck, why not get just one book for myself.

I've always loved the circus, and I found the paper cutout elements of the cover quite amusing. So off I went to the register with several books in my arms, including this novel which I do hope is really worth the hype.

Fortunately, The Night Circus is one very enjoyable and well-written novel. Morgenstern's story may appear derivative to some (i.e., elements of Cirque du Freak, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell), but the novel's storyline holds water on its own. Aside from the author's apparent talent for describing setting vividly, Morgenstern does a great job in coming up with the most eccentric characters in fiction that I've read recently.

The novel is, at its heart, a love story. It's a romantic tale between two people (Cecilia and Marco) who have been trained in illusion, and tangible and mental manipulation. Unfortunately, they have been pitted against each other by their masters, and their masters have chosen a circus as the arena. To complicate things further, Cecilia and Marco both fell in love with one another much to the chagrin of their mentors. They soon learn that, by the end of the game, only one will emerge alive.

Morgenstern's novel works in so many levels that it would appeal to a wide range of readers. First, the love story between the protagonists would appeal to fans of romantic fiction. Fantasy readers will definitely love the scenes where magic plays a central role. The Night Circus's air of mystery and motley of performers will delight readers of all ages.

I was surprised that, with all the elements that Morgenstern brings into the novel, the story isn't a mess, with the subplots flying all over the place. The writing is very controlled, but the pace of the novel is oh so deliciously taxi meter. I loved this circus. I sure hope you find the time to step inside and see the wonders waiting for you, dear reader, underneath the striped tents of the night circus.

Read this book if:

1. You're big on circuses.
2. You love outstanding debut fiction.
3. You believe that true magic really exists.

Really, really, really loving this series

If there's one fantasy series that's quickly becoming my favorite, it has got to be Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn. I've been telling friends and other fantasy lovers that they'll surely love Sanderson's mystical world.

I've just finished book 2 of the series, The Well of Ascension. I read it in white heat, probably all 800 pages of the paperback in a little over 2 days. The story isn't as standalone as the first one. But I'm telling you, dear reader, the story arc just keeps getting better and more intriguing.

Sanderson has raised more questions in the 2nd book, which I think is very clever, as readers have left no option but to get to the 3rd book, which I am doing right now.

So right now, when you mention fantasy to me, it's just Mistborn, Mistborn, and Mistborn. GRRM, I love you, but Westeros and Tyrion would just have to wait.

Of course, I've been searching the Net for Mistborn toys and action figures, and I am literally drooling over these painted miniatures. These are very detailed, I think.


And I've been thinking a lot about mist cloaks, the tasseled ones that Mistborn wear. It must be awesome to have one. I can imagine landing softly on the ground with the cloak fanning out in slow motion.

Photo from Hyde Designs

Another one from my favorite YA novelist

I made a promise to myself to read all the books written by Gary D. Schmidt. His two latest releases, The Wednesday Wars and Okay for Now, remind you why you read books in the first place -- to enjoyably lose yourself in a story that is wonderfully written. Like these two novels, Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy doesn't disappoint.

Scmidt transports us to an island in Maine in the early years of the 20th century. Turner Buckminster, together with his father (who is moving to the small island community to be the minister) and silent-but-strong-willed mother, arrives in Phippsburg, Maine and discover that not everyone in this place is happy to have him.

Turner has several things going against him. Of course, being the minister's son has its obvious disadvantages. He finds out that the boys on the island community play baseball differently from the usual. And, he becomes friends with a black girl named Lizzie Bright. Lizzie comes from Malaga Island, an island just off the coast of Phippsburg and populated by former slaves. He soon knows that the community of leaders of Phippsburg want to kick out this African-American settlement to convert Malaga Island into a tourist spot.

Schmidt, instead of writing a novel about a hero conquering seemingly insurmountable odds, has written a book that feels very much grounded. Nevertheless, Turner does do everything he can to rescue Lizzie's family and friends in Malaga Island. Turner fails though, but what he accomplishes after this sad fact is noteworthy.

What is it about Schmidt's novels that make me want to shed tears, buckets and buckets of them. If the reader shed tears reading Schmidt's last two novels, it's very different altogether in Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy. Turner makes a very unfortunate discovery concerning Lizzie that will leave the reader in shock at first and then possibly weeping because of it.

And there's no sugarcoating in this novel. Schmidt presents bigotry in all its ugliness, always reminding people that this is how some people think and feel about African-Americans in the early 1900s. It's a very unsettling picture, especially when he writes about how people foolishly act on their prejudices.

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy actually has historical truth in it. There really was an island in Maine cleared off its African-American residents during the early 1900s. And, there really was a black girl who was transferred to a mental institution during this time. The girl's name was left out in the records; Schmidt, however, gave her a name in his beautiful novel.

Read this book if:

1. You love historical YA fiction.
2. You've experienced moving to a new home when you were a kid.
3. Like me, you'll read anything written by Gary D. Schmidt.

My best reads for 2011

It's that time of the year again, fellow book lovers! Now's the perfect moment to round up our best reads for 2011. I had a fabulous year, as I was able to read more than 100 books! Normally, I list my top 10, but it was a bit difficult to do that this year. So I came up with my top 12 favorite books!


Two YA novels struck a chord this year. Schmidt's The Wednesday Wars and Vanderpool's Moon over Manifest. Both are touching reads and are very life affirming. Moon over Manifest definitely deserves the Newbery this year. I'm still waiting for Schmidt to win though.


For classic reads, I highly recommend Williams's Stoner and Hesse's Siddhartha. Stoner has received universal acclaim recently. Williams's story about the life of an academic is pure reading bliss. As for Siddhartha, well, it's simply profound.


2011 is the year that I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy. Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind is recommend to people waiting for the next George R. R. Martin novel. Miéville's Perdido Street Station has elements of steam punk, horror, and fantasy. It's unlike anything I've read before. Bacigalupi's cyber punk The Windup Girl combines aspects of politics, genetic engineering, and sociology. I loved it!


Of course, most of my best reads are in contemporary fiction. I liked two 2011 Booker-shortlisted novels -- Miller's Snowdrops and Edugyan's Half Blood Blues. Tóibín's Brooklyn was shortlisted last year. Rachman's The Imperfectionists is one very funny novel made of stories. And I was floored by the narrative and scope of Syjuco's Ilustrado.


Hmmm... This must be the first year when I haven't listed a non-fiction book as a best read. Maybe I should read more non-fiction next year. How about you, dear reader, what are your favorite books of 2011?