Staircase Wit

Woke up at the break of dawn and climbed all the way to the grotto on top of the hill.

Just finished Karin Slaughter’s Pretty GIrls. What a devastating, incredibly well-written, and incredibly exhausting and painful read. The plot twists (there were so many) were staggering. I was overwhelmed by how descriptively violent this novel is. One of the best murder mysteries/psychological thrillers I’ve read in a long time. Rating: 5/5

Manila Noir is an edgy and gory homage to Metro Manila. The characters are colorful and diverse, and the cryptic endings of all the stories in this collection leave plenty to the imagination. Rating: 5/5

It’s true what they say about how travel and literature open our eyes and teach us about people and cultures totally foreign to us. City of Veils may feel so-so as a murder mystery, but it is set against a very fascinating backdrop–Saudi Arabia. It is a very insightful and educational read, and it taught me a lot about Muslims and the culture in conservative Middle Eastern countries. Rating: 4/5

It seems as if the sole purpose of this book is to point out that all the seemingly useless movie/TV, book, and music trivia and video games skills that geeks know/have are not so useless after all. Having said that, Ready Player One is utterly unputdownable. Plus, knowing that a Spielberg movie adaptation will be released in less than two weeks just makes reading this book all the more exciting. Rating: 3/5

It was my first time in Boracay. Notwithstanding everyone else's whining and griping that Boaracay is an overrated cesspool, I still found Boracay just breathtaking. On the other hand, I have been to very few beaches. My favorite thing to do was reading a book while l lolled about on the beach.

Read six volumes so far. I am a very casual comic book reader and I must say, this fascinating epic space opera is a good place to start. Think Star Wars, but with characters a hundred times more interesting. Rating: 5/5

Aziz Ansari's 279-page advertisement slash field guide to Tinder. Reading this book, and taking into consideration the recent controversy concerning Ansari, I therefore conclude that he just didn't care that much about that girl to act like the dating guru he passes himself to be. P.S. Not his funniest work, but the food references were okay. His TV series Master of None, on the other hand, is hilarious. Rating: 3/5

Ian McEwan’s Atonement is beautifully written, vivid, and psychologically penetrating. Truly a great work of fiction. And what a staggering and heartbreaking plot twist/surprise ending! Re-reading the earlier chapters, I realized that clues were sprinkled all over this gorgeously written novel. Rating: 5/5

Haul from last night’s trip to the Big Bad Wolf Book sale. I just spent around 20 minutes at the Literature section and skipped the rest. I initially picked up a dozen books, then cut my choices by half after checking book reviews on the Goodreads app. Imagine if I gave myself an entire day to browse…

The life-size Gundam Mobile Suit in Odaiba is astonishing! I used to watch the anime (Mobile Suit Gundam Wing) when I was a teenager. If you told me back then that in the future, I will see an actual-size Gundam Mobile Suit in real life, I would definitely have not believed you.  

Finally finished watching Stranger Things Season 2. My notes: 1. The Hawkins kids have more acting prowess in them than, say, 100 local adult actors combined. 2. S02E07 is totally skippable. Pat Benatar, tho. 3. And maybe this episode is a prelude to Season 3? 3. The Billy Hargrove character is absolutely sexy, absolutely douchey, and absolutely unnecessary. 4. The sole purpose of Bob's existence is to prove to us that if you find a nice, decent, loving, and caring man, he will most definitely die. Rating: 5/5

1. I cannot get over how wonderfully written their dialogue/conversations are. Jesse and Celine’s afternoon-to-sunrise “walk” together is the perfect first date you may or may never get to experience: walking around a picturesque city, talking about everything and nothing at the same time, complaining about having no money, and endlessly debating about the most trivial topics. 2. That record store scene will make you want to go to a record store with the person you love, but where are the record stores now? Well, you can listen to Spotify together, but…nah. 3. People say that That Thing Called Tadhana is based on Before Sunrise. However, it must pointed out that in Tadhana, Mace mainly whined to Anthony about her ex. We cannot tell if those two actually enjoyed being together, or if they are compatible at all, because Mace was just whining about her ex. Celine and Jess, on the other hand, are all electric chemistry. Rating: 4/5 stars.

1. While Tyrion is good with politics and diplomacy, he knows little about warfare. Jorah, Jon, and Grey Worm are great soldiers, but they are not military strategists. With Jamie joining them in the North, Dany is finally getting a good military general by her side. 2. I like how Cersei addressed Jon as "Ned Stark's son", and considers him as a Stark. Considering that seven seasons ago, Catelyn didn't even see Jon as fit to even be seen by the Queen, Cersei now respects him enough and doesn't refer to him as illegitimate at all. 3. Nothing says "That's my girl!" like the proud grin the Hound had on his face when Brienne updated him about how Arya can now do.. 4. I wonder how many times the Hound and Jon practiced their grand white walker presentation. Great theatrics, guys. 5. Superb acting by Aiden Gillen. The range of emotions his face can make in less than five minutes of screen time is incredible. 6. Jon Snow, why wear ten laye...

1. The girl who can't even spare a second to flirt: OA ha! Lots of law students, nay, lawyers, have happy and healthy relationships, so I'm sure a first year student has thirty minutes to spare for flirting. 2. The most accurate thing about the movie: The 1000 pages of required reading. For the first meeting of Constitutional Law 1. 3. These boys may seem so full of themselves and so self-important, but yes, it's a pretty fair depiction of how a lot of law students think and act. 4. Everyone hates and openly (sometimes jokingly, sometimes not jokingly) mocks the curve breaker. It's a title you have to toil for but you can never brag about. 5. WHAT. A. CHEESY. AND. CRINGE-WORTHY. ENDING. Rating: 4/5. (I'm biased because, hey, I miss law school.)