This year, 2023, could be considered quite different from the years I had because, contemplating it now in this chilly almost end of November, I did not have a TBR or a To-Be-Read list.
Usually, I have a target number of how many I will challenge myself to read for the year. Last year was a feat as I targeted 40 books and ended the year with 61 books finished. It was a good experience and it sure did help me veer away from social media and actually put me into a habit of not checking social media sites as often as before nor centering my career on it. In this light, I was able to enjoy more, cook more, and write more and better–especially as I finish my dissertation.
I entered the year without any TBR list in mind because I did not want to put much pressure on what I should read. I also cut my target in half to concentrate on this huge year ahead as I knew that I was heading to the last months of my doctoral and I did want to focus. So instead of 40, I cut it down to 20, and before I knew it, I already finished the reading challenge last July.
If you are like me who does not create a certain direction when it comes to what book to read, I know you can resonate with this: read what you feel like. Some of my friends do notice that I gear more on romcom, fiction, and historical regency. I guess so. I think they are easier reads for me and I shy away from too technical stuff. I feel that when I am reading non-fiction, it is research material for me; that I feel like I am studying when in fact I want a breather. But, I still purchase and read non-fiction materials, especially Filipiniana and those written and published locally.
I know it is quite early to wrap up for the year, but I just want to share some of the books that spontaneously made it to my list and I did not regret getting my eyes and mind on:
1. Fairy Tale by Stephen King
Image from Simon & Schuster
Originally, I borrowed the e-book from a digital library in New York, and I got hooked when I started reading the book. It is a thick book, about 600 pages long (just usual for a Stephen King) and the plot just kept getting better and better. If you are a dog-lover, you’d appreciate this book more; and probably cry your eyes out, too.
It was the adventure of a lifetime! It was gross, it was trouble, it was satisfying, all in one! If I were to be asked if this book, albeit long, could be something I could read again–yes, absolutely! I even purchased the hardbound copy of this book and it.was.worth.every.pence.
Hardbound copies are hard to come by and they are usually offered very limited in quantity in bookstores here in the Philippines. I found mine when I visited FullyBooked in their SM Grand Central branch.
2. Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism by Mariana Mazzucato
Image from Fully Booked (fullybookedonline.com)
I first came across this book during one of my classes with Professor Jeffrey Sachs when I was finishing my Certification in Sustainable Development under the UNSDSN. This book was one of his reading materials that changed tons for me; by which, I was on the hunt on ever since then.
You can also check out the synthesis I wrote taking the Mission Economy book as an immense inspiration.
It was hard to source since I am living in the Philippines and book sources could vary on availability and their shipping. But good thing, my ever-trusted bookstore reserved one for me. They re-stocked, too! So if you are curious, you may check this book out here.
3. Creating Sustainable Value in Social Enterprises: Stories of Social Innovation by Maria Assunta C. Cuyegkeng, Raquel Cementina-Olpoc, and Ana Maria A. Tan
Image from Ateneo De Manila University Press
When I first entered my doctoral classes, I already knew what I wanted to study and make a full dissertation on (it was a requirement by UP to send a plan of your ventured studies during the application process hehe) — Social Enterprise. As early as 2021 (I started in 2020), I already started gathering resource materials that could help me get inspired or get supporting literature. This book on Creating Sustainable Value in Social Enterprises: Stories of Social Innovation was one, if not the most useful books, I came across during my search.
It was published by Ateneo de Manila University Press and is an insightful publication following the stories of social enterprises and social entrepreneurs hailed from Ateneo. This brought me to the reflection and a dire wish to write something similar to it — and conveyed to my dissertation panel that the research I am currently working on be translated into a book and an open resource material (if permitting) to be read and used by others. One can dream, yes?
4. False Nostalgia by JC Punongbayan
Image from Ateneo De Manila University Press
Also from Ateneo Press, this book debunks the myths of the “Golden Age” through facts available in research, data, anecdotes, and other valid resources. It is an insightful book that keeps you in an array of thought, wondering, “where did it stem from?” and “why?” or “how?”, and most of the time, throughout the book, “whuuut?!”
5. Ang Tundo Man May Langit Din by Andres Cristobal Cruz
Image from Google Books
I first read this book in high school during our Filipino (or Social Studies class, I cannot fully recall anymore). Our class did not have a full-blown discussion of the book, but I remember us doing a reflection paper on what we understood.
Since I do not have a TBR list for the year, I revisited some of the readings in former classes that I did not fully grasp yet at a young age, but I am sure can better understand now that I am older. Then, I knew, why this is a must-read.
Not having an exact list to read for the year has been freeing for me. Instead of planning out what to read for the whole year round, I read whatever I see on my shelves (books I hoarded, e-books I purchased and borrowed from libraries abroad, and old reading materials in the cloud). In a way, I thrift my heart through buying books (not so much hehe but better than last year). I try to categorize purchases so I do not fill my shelves to the brim but also give myself an ample allowance if I cannot resist.
While I have an e-reader, I also still purchase physical books from time to time, especially locally written and published ones as e-books are not that large yet from our Filipino authors in the country; but also to get the feel of the pages as the experience is still different. And while I am also big on reading fiction, I also make space for other insightful titles like those books mentioned here.
For next year, I think I will follow through with this no TBR list, as there are more titles I can discover.
Shainne Hostalero 