In case the Philippine IATF needs further proof of how much social distancing I’ve done, the plan was to build a tower out of the books I read this year (minus the e-books and several that are currently being lent to friends).
So what have we here? A ziggurat? Pyramid? Pagoda? Babel? I am not sure anymore, that’s why I refrained from posting this when I took the photo the other day. But it is 2021, after all. A year of things not turning out the way you envisioned them in your head. And apparently, I won’t make such a good architect. Haha
But here is a pile of my closest companions at a time when physical interaction was discouraged and I could not be with people I wanted to be with; fragment of a reply to Camus’ “It is because the world is, in its essence, unhappy, that we need to create some joy,” and partial answer to his “because the world is absurd, we must provide it with all its meaning.”
Yesterday, I got on a plane for the first time since the pandemic started, and suddenly I was flooded with a bright and warm clarity that translated everything I felt and thought — and I realized, this is reading. This beauty. Even without opening the book in my hand, this is reading. This beauty, when, at last, everything worth keeping from all those pages blossoms into something that transcends language inside of you.
This beauty, is why we read.
The Book-Butterfly 
Wow you’ve done well with your reading! Lol. That’s a lot! Loved your last paragraph… reading is beauty! Best wishes to you for this festive season! X
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The pandemic left me no choice. Haha! Thank you, Anna. It is, indeed! Wishing you a lovely 2022!
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I’ve been looking through your reading list today to get some ideas and thought I’d give you a few ideas for books that are on my shelf that I think you might like.
Tablet and Pen – Reza Aslan
Travels with a Tangerine – Tim Mackintosh Smith
The Disorientated – Amin Maalouf
Mirrors of the Unseen – Jason Elliot
Sovietistan – Erika Fatland
The Persian Boy – Mary Renault
The Eighth Life (for Brilka) – Nino Haratschvili
Have you read any of those?
Enjoy! X
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What wonderful recommendations, Anna! My Book Depository cart has been updated! (Nevermind the fact that deliveries take 6 months to get to my part of the world. Haha)
I loved “Mirrors of the Unseen,” “Tablet and Pen” has been enjoyed, too, although not in its entirety yet. The other titles are all new to me and I appreciate you listing them down for me. Thank you so much!
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Oh wow so long to get books for you! My book depository orders usually come between 2/3 weeks! I had a feeling you would have read some of my recommendations, but I’m glad there is the odd new one in there for you to try! X
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I’m envious of your delivery time. Haha! Jim Al-Khalili’s “House of Wisdom: How Arabic Science Saved Ancient Knowledge and Gave Us the Renaissance” is also one of the books I’d recommend to anyone interested in the region. You might want to check it out in case you haven’t come across it yet. 🙂
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Oh thanks for that recommendation! I haven’t heard of it so will look into it! Cheers! X
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