Books I'm enjoying — the proverbial last hurrah for 2024

The Collected Stories of Gregorio C. Brilliantes, whose stories take me to various heights of imagination. I got my copy from the Solidaridad bookstore in Ermita. One Sunday afternoon, after a satisfying after-church nap, I read one story aloud to my mother. The story was The Distance to Andromeda, which I had first encountered in college, during a GE* class with the late Prof. Carlos Aureus. While listening, my mother was transfixed; she looked away, almost hypnotized, until the end, when she said, "Kanami, no?"

Samantha Harvey's Orbital, which I only discovered because it had won the Booker Prize this year. Critics call it a love letter to the earth. Nothing much happens in it, really, but the writing is exquisite, contemplative, and quiet. Six astronauts look at the earth from the orbit, then there are flashbacks of memories from their homes. It left me with heart that's worshipping — surely the universe couldn't have happened by chance?

John Updike's My Father's Tears. His story collection reveals his playfulness and insight. Uncle John is one of my favorite writers in English. 

Manu Avenida's Ikigai Ug Ibang Mga Piling Sugilanon, in Cebuano-Binisaya, translated into English by Prof. Marj Evasco. I'm about to read The Miracle in Barrio Camansili. The stories feel close to home. 

Hannah Whitten's The Foxglove King, which I read for utter pleasure. I saw it on sale at National (Php 300 for a hardback!). A woman named Lore has powers to raise the dead. I'm in the chapter where she meets the Sun Prince to spy on him. 

*General Education class, like a fun elective at the University of the Philippines Diliman.