Books I Read: 2013

“Why do I read? I just can't help myself. 

I read to learn and to grow, to laugh  and to be motivated.
I read to understand things I've never been exposed to.

Reading for me, is spending time with a friend.
A book is a friend. You can never have too many.” 
― Gary Paulsen, Shelf Life: Stories by the Book

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That is precisely the reason why I love to read. I read to learn new things, new words, new places, new experiences. Reading for me is like Harry Potter entering platform 9 3/4 and gaining access to Hogwarts Express that is eventually leading to Hogwarts Castle where new adventure awaits.

On that note, I'd like to share to you the seven books I read in 2013. I am frustrated with the stat. Hubby read about 20, I hate him! Haha!  

My top three favourite in this batch are: The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty (paging Lianne, I'm now a fan! Count R too!) followed by And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini (seriously this guy is a genius!) and then The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.

I loved The Husband's Secret because of how unpredictable the story is. It kept me guessing and getting the story wrong every page, every chapter. It's narrated in many perspective in a seamless way that I actually touched based with each character's humanity. It's funny and witty. It's sad and melancholic. It basically touches on life using a different kind of style I have never previously read before. It's also the second book I read that was based in Australia so I was curious to read about how its people view life, love, family and everything in between. I was also in love how the book ended. It left me a valuable lesson in life: to be compassionate about others, because we don't really know what they are going through or have gone through. There's always more to people than what we see in the outside. And this one thing is perpetually true: Do not withhold the truth. A simple one, yet hard to live by. The maxim "the truth shall set you free" is never been truer than true in this book. I'm not really a good book reviewer and this is not meant to be a book review. This is just me telling you how the book impacted me and how much I enjoyed reading it. 

For next year, I plan to read at least 30. That is a very ambitious goal I knooow but once we move to our new apartment, I will have more travelling time from home to work and vice versa. That travel time will be allotted to reading. I am planning on cutting off my social media time. I spent waaaay too much time in FB and Instagram that I failed to do what I really enjoy to do and what will help me grow more. Reading for me is growing and expanding my horizons. So cheers to turning pages and growing in 2014!