The Magician's Nephew

The Magician's Nephew (TMN) is the first book in CS Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. But it was the second book to be written (the first one was The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe). So you can say that TMN is a sort of prequel.

The nephew that the title refers to is Digory, the nephew of Uncle Andrew Ketterly, a demented recluse who thinks he is a magician. Although his parents are still alive, Digory is forced to live with his old maid aunt and bachelor uncle, Ms and Mr. Ketterly. While with the Ketterlys he befriends their neighbor's daughter, Polly Plummer. Together, Digory and Polly are sent into different worlds commencing with the brand-new world of Narnia. Along the way they experience various adventures, and meet Jadis the White Witch, who, unlike other white witches, is evil. They also meet Aslan, the majestic leader of the Narnians.

Tw7sted

The first-ever Jessica Zafra book I read was the second installment of Twisted. I was a senior in high school back then. And I got the book because my cousin gave it to me as a gift for Christmas. And I loved it. I read it over and over again. I eventually got to read the first installment and the four others in the series. I remember reading the entire fifth book in Powerbooks in SM Megamall. I was standing the entire time.

The Twisted series is actually compilations of her column entries on a national daily.

Deception Point

I first read DECEPTION POINT months ago. And I liked it. Although the topic was a far departure from those in Dan Brown's earlier and more popular books--Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, it basically had the same elements: deception, twists, turns and a good dash of trivia and knowledge here and there.

This novel, however, deals more with politics and science. Instead of the Catholic Church, the institution in question is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The book reminds me of Michael Crichton's writing. Except of course, for the obvious pending romance between two of the main characters. Dan Brown kinda gives me the impression that he secretly wants to be a romance novel writer. Anyhow, the romance is kept to a minimum (although it is distracting and annoying at times).

Struggling with Sophie's World

I am reading Jostein Gaarder's SOPHIE'S WORLD right now. I've been reading it for almost 10 months. No, I am not a sloooow reader. It's just that after reading the first few chapters, I got bored. But I've wanted to read it for the longest time, that I think I owe it to myself and the person who gave it to me (after I asked for it), to simply finish it.

I do like Sophie Amudsen's story, but I find the Philosophy lectures boring. I loved Philosophy when I was in AdMU but I think the way Gaarder presented it was cumbersome. I thought that she subtly put it in Philosophy tidbits within the main story. But that is not the case. Somebody has mentioned that it might be the fault of the translator. But I think not. It has something to do with the format, the flow of the novel itself It was structured in such a way that I think I am reading two books, a fiction novel and a Philosophy textbook.