13 songs for 2013

Because I can't seem to gather my thoughts into place and I know I have to post a little tribute to the songs that made my year :)

1. Katy Perry - By the Grace of God

Was 27 surviving my return to Saturn /A long vacation didn't sound so bad
Was full of secrets locked up tight like iron melting/ Running on empty, so out of gas

Thought I wasn't enough and I wasn't so tough /Laying on the bathroom floor
We were living on a fault line And I felt the fault was all mine
Couldn't take it any more

By the grace of God (there was no other way) /I picked myself back up (I knew I had to stay)
I put one foot in front of the other and I Looked in the mirror and decided to stay
Wasn't gonna let love take me out
That way

(All the feels because I finally found my way back to God this year, in terms of being faithful, but not with the whole organized religion thing...this song is too beautiful)

2. Lorde - Royals

Gold teeth Grey Goose/ Tripping in the bathroom
Bloodstains Ball gowns /Trashing the hotel room

We don't care, we're driving Cadillacs in our dreams

And we'll never be royals (royals)
It don't run in our blood /That kind of lux just ain't for us, we crave a different kind of buzz
Let me be your ruler (ruler) /You can call me queen bee
And baby I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule
Let me live that fantasy
(I love Lorde. Ever since I came across her songs on You Me and Charlie like, a year back, she has already amazed me. Really happy for all the success she has now. and this song is AMAZEBALLS)

3. Demi Lovato/Idina Menzel - Let it Go (I like both versions so...)

A kingdom of isolation and it looks like I'm the queen.

The wind is howling like the swirling storm inside.

Couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I tried.

Don't let them in, don't let them see,

Be the good girl you always had to be.

Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know.

Well now they know.

(I couldn't count the number of times this song almost drove me to tears)

4. Britney Spears - Work Bitch

You wanna hot body

You wanna Bugatti

You wanna Maserati

You better work bitch

You wanna Lamborghini

Sip Martinis

Look hot in a bikini

You better work bitch

You wanna live fancy

Live in a big mansion

Party in France

You better work bitch 

(This song is such a peg coz you know...you bettah work, bitch, whatever way you can. And Queen B inspires me coz she was able to turn her life around and she's awesome :))

5. David Guetta - Play Hard

Work hard, play hard
Work hard, play hard.
We work hard, play hard
Keep partyin' like it's your job

(No, I don't really party, but I do Play hard. Work hard, Play Hard!)

6. Christina Aguilera - We Remain

Yes I'm a sinner
Yes I'm a saint
Whatever happens here
Whatever happens here
We remain

(Why do I like songs with sinner and saint on 'em? haha. I dunno.)

7. Miley Cyrus - We Can't Stop

Remember only God can judge ya
Forget the haters 'cause somebody loves ya

(This year was very Miley, and you can't deny that)

8. A Great Big World ft Christina Aguilera - Say Something

Say something, I'm giving up on you.
I'll be the one, if you want me to.
Anywhere, I would've followed you.
Say something, I'm giving up on you.

And I am feeling so small.
It was over my head
I know nothing at all.

And I will stumble and fall.
I'm still learning to love
Just starting to crawl.

(It's so heartbreakingly beautiful)

9. Mary Lambert - She Keeps me Warm

And I can’t change, even if I tried
Even if I wanted to
And I can’t change, even if I tried
Even if I wanted to

What’s your middle name?
Do you hate your job?
Do you fall in love too easily?
What’s your favorite word?
You like kissing girls?
Can I call you baby?
Yeah, yeah

(This song relaxes me. Mary Lambert's voice is sooo refreshing)

10. Avicii - Wake Me Up

They tell me I'm too young to understand
They say I'm caught up in a dream
Well life will pass me by if I don't open up my eyes
Well that's fine by me

So wake me up when it's all over
When I'm wiser and I'm older
All this time I was finding myself
And I didn't know I was lost

11. Lana del Rey - Young and Beautiful

Will you still love me

When I got nothing but my aching soul?

I know you will, I know you will

I know that you will

Will you still love me when I'm no longer beautiful?

12. Chvrches - The Mother We Share

I'm in misery where you can seem as old as your omens
And the mother we share will never keep your proud head from falling
The way is long but you can make it easy on me
And the mother we share will never keep our cold hearts from calling

In the dead of night, I'm the only one here
And I will cover you, until you go-o-oh
And if I told the truth, I will always be free
And keep a prize with me, until you go-o-oh

(Total Eargasm. Earworm. Whatever you call it . It's hauntingly beautiful.)

13. Demi Lovato - Warrior 

All the pain and the truth
I wear like a battle wound
So ashamed, so confused
I was broken and bruised

Now I'm a warrior
Now I've got thicker skin
I'm a warrior
I'm stronger than I've ever been
And my armor, is made of steel, you can't get in
I'm a warrior
And you can never hurt me again

It surely was a year of great music. Looking forward for more great ones in 2014! 

Goodbye 2-0-1-3

This year was great, crazy, and all kinds of things. It was thought-provoking; it was a big change; it was a big leap from who I once was into the person I am right now.

2013 was all sorts of crazy. 2013 was defining. I've changed, and there's no turning back, but it does not prevent me from looking back. I've been hurt, I've hurt people in the process, too. I've left, I've moved, but somehow, the roots are still there. I've finally found a job that I like. I've finally found my niche. I've done a lot of writing--although the stories and the fics would have to wait for a while. I've found new friends, and I've also lost a lot. I've also regained friendships that I thought were lost. I've been through hell and back.

2013 was a year that I'll never forget. Although I have no idea where the first couple of months went, and what I was doing back then (Okay, I do, but let's leave it at that). There were days that were full of tears, and days that were full of smiles. There were days when I did nothing, and days when I did everything. Days that were too full, and days that were too empty. Days I won't forget, and days I'd rather forget.

This year was a milestone. This year was complicated. This year molded and shaped me. This year was all about compartmentalizing; This year was all about putting the feelings into place, keeping them in check. This year, I learned a lot about myself...and I learned that not everything you'll learn will be good.

So, goodbye 2013. Here's to the memories. So long.

13 Books for 2013

So 2013 is almost over and I haven't posted any EOTY lists yet--until now. I'll start with what else? Books, of course.
It's hard to narrow down everything to just 13 books since I read 164 books this year (yay!) but I'll try.

Here are my Top 13 books for 2013: (Note: Some of these books may not have been released this year in particular but I read them this year, so, there..)

1. Rainbow Rowell - Fangirl

“Underneath this veneer of slightly crazy and mildly socially retarded, I'm a complete disaster.”  (Cath, "Fangirl)

In Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan, but for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.
Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?


All the feels for this.


2. Chris Mariano - Cover (Story) Girl

"He thought it smelled like regret." (Gio, "Cover (Story) Girl)

) She has amnesia.
2) She’s on the run from her father’s creditors.
3) She’s enjoying her last days on earth.

Ever since Jang Min Hee walked into Gio’s small museum, she’s given him one excuse after another about why she’s vacationing at scenic Boracay Island. Rarely has Gio’s neat and organized world been shaken like this. Soon he finds himself scrambling over rocks, hiding in dressing rooms, and dragging her out of bars. But how can Gio tell what's true from what isn't? Their worlds are getting unraveled -- one story at a time.


I think this is one of the best books that have ever been written. It's just something you'd want to read over and over again. 

3. Rainbow Rowell - Eleanor and Park

“Eleanor was right. She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn't supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something.” 

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, ELEANOR AND PARK is the story of two star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love – and just how hard it pulled you under.



4. Maria Semple - Where'd You Go, Bernadette?

"You have to create! Or you'll become a menace to society!"

Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.

Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle—and people in general—has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic.

To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence—creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's role in an absurd world.

5. Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling) - The Cuckoo's Calling

“The dead could only speak through the mouths of those left behind, and through the signs they left scattered behind them.” 

After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, and creditors are calling. He has also just broken up with his longtime girlfriend and is living in his office.

Then John Bristow walks through his door with an amazing story: His sister, thelegendary supermodel Lula Landry, known to her friends as the Cuckoo, famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The police ruled it a suicide, but John refuses to believe that. The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man.

You may think you know detectives, but you've never met one quite like Strike. You may think you know about the wealthy and famous, but you've never seen them under an investigation like this.

Introducing Cormoran Strike, this is the acclaimed first crime novel by J.K. Rowling, writing under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

6. Gillian Flynn - Gone Girl

“Men always say that as the defining compliment, don’t they? She’s a cool girl. Being the Cool Girl means I am a hot, brilliant, funny woman who adores football, poker, dirty jokes, and burping, who plays video games, drinks cheap beer, loves threesomes and anal sex, and jams hot dogs and hamburgers into her mouth like she’s hosting the world’s biggest culinary gang bang while somehow maintaining a size 2, because Cool Girls are above all hot. Hot and understanding. Cool Girls never get angry; they only smile in a chagrined, loving manner and let their men do whatever they want. Go ahead, shit on me, I don’t mind, I’m the Cool Girl."

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick's clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn't doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife's head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media--as well as Amy's fiercely doting parents--the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he's definitely bitter--but is he really a killer? 
As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn't do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

THIS IS BATSH*T CRAY AND IT'S SOOOO GOOD.

7. Mina V. Esguerra - Love Your Frenemies

"So we liked to speak our minds, but not our hearts. Too bad, because sometimes people needed to hear that. A whole mess of things could have been avoided if we just knew how to say the right thing.” 

Kimmy knows everyone hates her, but when she comes back after a long disappearance, she has a nagging feeling that things aren't exactly what she thought them to be.

First of all, there's her first love, the very sexy Manolo who used to have a nasty habit of breaking her heart. Then there's her bride-to-be BFF whom Kimmy means to write out of her life right after the wedding. And there's her mother who Kimmy can't wait to abandon - again.

Is Kimmy headed for more disaster, or can a girl everyone hates finally get a clue and find happiness?

8. Meg Cabot - Airhead

"“Looks can be deceiving.” 

Meg Cabot expands her huge fan base with this slightly darker, more mysterious novel - without losing any of her signature heart and humor.

EM WATTS IS GONE.

Emerson Watts didn’t even want to go to the new SoHo Stark Megastore grand opening. But someone needed to look out for her sister, Frida, whose crush, British heartthrob Gabriel Luna, would be singing and signing autographs there—along with the newly appointed Face of Stark, teen supermodel sensation Nikki Howard. 

How was Em to know that disaster would strike, changing her—and life as she’d known it—forever? One bizarre accident later, and Em Watts, always the tomboy, never the party princess, is no longer herself. Literally.

9. Jessica Park - Flat Out Love

“It was always you. I thought it was someone else, but it was you. You were the person that I felt.”

Flat-Out Love is a warm and witty novel of family love and dysfunction, deep heartache and raw vulnerability, with a bit of mystery and one whopping, knock-you-to-your-knees romance.

It's not what you know--or when you see--that matters. It's about a journey.




10. Chrissie Peria - All's Fair in Blog and War

Five Cuevas @fivetravels
Three guesses to where I'm going next. Starts with an M. Ends with a U. Has a lechon named after it. #travel

Twenty-something travel blogger Five thinks she has hit the jackpot when she gets invited to glittering Macau for an all-expense-paid bloggers tour. Think majestic old churches, sparkling casinos, exhilarating bungee jumps, and the world's most unforgettable egg tarts. The trip is practically perfect, except for one little glitch. She gets assigned to be travel buddies with Jesse, the world's most infuriating photo blogger, and it's definitely war at first sight. 

Will Five let Jesse turn her dream vacation into a total nightmare? Or will falling in love be on the itinerary?

11. Gillian Flynn - Sharp Objects

WICKED above her hipbone, GIRL across her heart 
Words are like a road map to reporter Camille Preaker’s troubled past. Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, Camille’s first assignment from the second-rate daily paper where she works brings her reluctantly back to her hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls.

NASTY on her kneecap, BABYDOLL on her leg 
Since she left town eight years ago, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed again in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille is haunted by the childhood tragedy she has spent her whole life trying to cut from her memory.

HARMFUL on her wrist, WHORE on her ankle 
As Camille works to uncover the truth about these violent crimes, she finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Clues keep leading to dead ends, forcing Camille to unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past to get at the story. Dogged by her own demons, Camille will have to confront what happened to her years before if she wants to survive this homecoming.

With its taut, crafted writing, Sharp Objects is addictive, haunting, and unforgettable.

12. Graeme Simsion - The Rosie Project

“But why, why, why can't people just say what they mean?” 

An international sensation, this hilarious, feel-good novel is narrated by an oddly charming and socially challenged genetics professor on an unusual quest: to find out if he is capable of true love.

Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. He is a man who can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand, whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has convinced him that he is simply not wired for romance. So when an acquaintance informs him that he would make a “wonderful” husband, his first reaction is shock. Yet he must concede to the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, and he embarks upon The Wife Project. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things, Don sets out to find the perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical—most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver.

Yet Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent—and on a quest of her own. She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might be able to help her with. Don's Wife Project takes a back burner to the Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper.

The Rosie Project is a moving and hilarious novel for anyone who has ever tenaciously gone after life or love in the face of overwhelming challenges.

13. Koushun Takami, Yuji Oiniki - Battle Royale

Koushun Takami's notorious high-octane thriller is based on an irresistible premise: a class of junior high school students is taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, they are provided arms and forced to kill one another until only one survivor is left standing. Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan - where it then proceeded to become a runaway bestseller - Battle Royale is a Lord of the Flies for the 21st century, a potent allegory of what it means to be young and (barely) alive in a dog-eat-dog world. Made into a controversial hit movie of the same name, Battle Royale is already a contemporary Japanese pulp classic, now available for the first time in the English language.

See the full list of the books I read this year HERE. 

The Rosie Project--Review

Title: The Rosie Project
Author: Graeme Simsion

An international sensation, this hilarious, feel-good novel is narrated by an oddly charming and socially challenged genetics professor on an unusual quest: to find out if he is capable of true love.

Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. He is a man who can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand, whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has convinced him that he is simply not wired for romance. So when an acquaintance informs him that he would make a “wonderful” husband, his first reaction is shock. Yet he must concede to the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, and he embarks upon The Wife Project. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things, Don sets out to find the perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical—most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver.

Yet Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent—and on a quest of her own. She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might be able to help her with. Don's Wife Project takes a back burner to the Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper.

The Rosie Project is a moving and hilarious novel for anyone who has ever tenaciously gone after life or love in the face of overwhelming challenges.

***

I wolfed this book down in a day or two because it was really good.

This is the story of Don Tillman, a professor of Genetics, who is suffering from Asperger's Syndrome. This prompted him to create the Wife Project, a series of questions and regulations that would help him find his match when it comes to the game of love. 

Unfortunately, it seems that almost every girl who he puts under the program cannot seem to attain the kind of "wife material" that he needs--and then enter Rosie. Cactus-haired, crazy, woman of the world Rosie who would change his life forever. What started out as the Wife Project turned out to be the Father Project in order to help Rosie find the father whom she has never known.

This book was very witty, charming and will not bore you at all. And you know what? It has so much heart. It actually reminded me of the movie "Adam", because they both deal with Asperger's. However, this one is in a First Person POV so you'd really get to feel what the author wants you to feel, and help you understand what you need to know about the said disorder in a way that you won't get heartbroken just like that, but you'll know that reading things like this are fun, too.

There are so many lessons that you can pick up from this. Lessons about life, love, friendship and about accepting one's self and accepting others because we are all unique individuals. 

If you're looking for a great read this Christmas, then do check this book out. It's substantial, it's not overtly deep that you'll get bored, and it has something with a heart.

MERRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS PEOPLE! 

The Real Score: Author Interview + GIVEAWAY

Hi everyone! So, I posted a review of The Real Score a few days ago, but I got another surprise for you. You see, I got the chance to ask Kesh Tanglao, the author of "The Real Score" a few quick questions. That said, here's my interview with her:

Q: So, what's your inspiration for "The Real Score"?
A: Celebrities always fascinate me, and best friends had always been one of the most relatable stories to people. This wasn’t my intended #romanceclass story—I had to start all over again because I wasn’t feeling the initial plot I had—and it was just something that came to me during a bus ride. Writing The Real Score was easier compared to other stories I did because it just ‘clicked.’

Q: In your personal opinion, do you think a relationship between a fan and a celebrity would work in real life?

A: Inclined to say yes (because that would be fun and look at The Hansons, who married fans!), but it would be tough and would take a lot of work from both of them. I’d think celebs would go for people in their own ‘circles’ because they would like someone who could get where they’re coming from, but who knows? :)

Q: Do you consider yourself a Fangirl?
A: Yes. But I’m not the hardcore type. I’m passionate about the subjects of my fangirling (I’d probably pick a fight or two if someone insults them and I have tons of pictures and videos of my favorite artists saved in my laptop), but put them in front of me and I won’t ask for a picture or an autograph! I’m shy, so I’d just watch them from afar.

Q: What is love for you?
A: Oh boy, this is hard! I’m tempted to make references to songs or to a popular bible verse or to the cliché responses when answering slumbooks (I just dated myself, didn’t I?). But I think love is a complicated feeling. It can make you feel all sorts of things, take you on a rollercoaster ride, and make you do things you don’t usually do, but at the end of the day, it will make everything worth it. Whether you end up getting hurt (and you learn a lesson from it) or you end up happy, it is always something worth taking a risk for.

Q: A message to your readers.
A: Thank you so much for taking a chance and reading my first book! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I had fun making it. And I wish you would stick around because there’s still more to come! *crosses fingers and hope I didn’t just jinx it*

Aha! So we might probably be seeing (err, reading?) more of Marcus and Caitlin soon, huh? And while we wait, you should join this AWESOME GIVEAWAY first and get a chance to win AMAZING prizes!

***GIVEAWAY TIME!***

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

On Repeat

\

Been watching this since last night, I can't help it. I just can't help but ogle at them and be happy for them because they look so happy together. Watch this and you'll know what I mean. I know John Mayer has a crazy past, but who knows? Maybe, hopefully, he's changed and Katy...mygod, she looks so much at peace, she looks so happy. If he breaks her heart, I'll be sad. And, did you guys see their GMA interview? It was just soooo sweet.

Anyway, I also like the lyrics of this song, here goes: (and toodles, gotta get back to work.)

You love, who you love
Who you love
You love, who you love
Who you love

My girl, she ain't the one that I saw coming
And sometimes I don't know which way to go
And I tried to run before
But I'm not running anymore
Cause I've fought against it hard enough to know

That you love, who you love
Who you love
You love, who you love
Who you love
You love, who you love
Who you love

Oh, you can't make yourself stop dreaming
Who you're dreaming of
If it's who you love
Then it's who you love

My boy, he ain't the one that I saw coming
And some have said his heart's too hot to hold
And it takes a little time
But you should see him when he shines
Cause you never wanna let that feeling go

When you love, who you love
Who you love
You love, who you love
Who you love
Yeah, you love, who you love
Who you love

Oh, you can't make yourself stop dreaming
Who you're dreaming of
If it's who you love
Then it's who you love

Oh, you love, who you love
Who you love
You love, who you love
Who you love
You love, who you love
Who you love

Oh, you can't make yourself stop dreaming
Who you're dreaming of
If it's who you love
Then it's who you love

It's who you love
Who you love
Who you love
Who you love
You're the one I love